I stared at the swirling earth essence, trying to figure out how exactly one goes about creating solid ground in a void.

In cultivation novels, it always seemed so simple - wave your hand and mountains rise from nothing. The protagonist just thinks about earth, and boom, instant continent.

The reality was... significantly more complicated.

My first attempt at creating soil resulted in what looked like brown smoke. The earth essence refused to coalesce, instead spreading out in wispy tendrils that dissipated into nothing. The second try wasn't much better – the essence clumped together in random chunks that looked more like floating asteroids than actual earth.

"Perhaps try focusing on a single type of material first?" Azure suggested after my fifth failure produced something that looked suspiciously like mud soup.

I dispersed the floating globs with a frustrated wave. "Right. Let's start with basic dirt. That should be simple enough."

It wasn't.

My next attempt created what could generously be called a dirt clod, if dirt clods were perfectly spherical and had the density of lead. The essence had condensed into a ball about the size of my fist that just hung there in the void, refusing to spread out or take any other shape.

"At least it's solid," I muttered. I reached out with my finger, and when I touched the floating sphere, ripples of essence spread from the contact point.

"The essence seems to want to maintain cohesion," Azure observed. "Perhaps too much?"

I tried again, this time attempting to create looser soil. The result was a cloud of fine dust that threatened to scatter throughout my entire inner world before I hastily gathered it back together.

"This is ridiculous," I sighed, watching the dust reform into another useless ball. "How can making basic dirt be this difficult? It's literally just... dirt! Why don't you give it a try? You certainly understand the theory better than I do."

"Inner world spirits are more like caretakers than creators," Azure smiled. "We can maintain what exists, offer guidance, but the actual shaping of the world must come from our masters."

His smile turned sad then, an unusual expression for him. "Though... for higher level cultivators, when they perish, if their inner world is developed enough, their inner world spirit can remain behind, which is when they gain the ability to manipulate things to a greater degree."

Something in his tone made me pause. The way he said it – not with longing, but with a subtle heaviness – told me more than his words did. This wasn't a power inner world spirits looked forward to gaining. The price was too high.

"Though," Azure continued, his expression brightening, "as your cultivation improves and this world grows more complex, I'll naturally gain more ability to help maintain it. Nothing as dramatic as full creation, but enough to fulfill my role as caretaker properly."

I nodded, I had wondered how I would maintain my Inner World when it grew to the size of a large city.

Closing my eyes, I focused back on the immediate problem. and thought about how I worked with vines. They had their own way of moving, their own nature. You couldn't force them – you had to...

My eyes snapped open. That was it. I'd been treating earth essence like a tool, trying to force it into shapes. But just like wood qi, it had its own nature. I'd been so focused on what I wanted it to be, I hadn't stopped to understand what it was.

I closed my eyes again, this time focusing on the feeling of the element. Where wood qi felt alive and growing, earth essence was... different. Patient. Ancient. It didn't resist being shaped, but it wouldn't be rushed either. Like the mountains themselves, it moved on its own timeline.

My next attempt focused on stone rather than soil. If earth essence was about patience and permanence, maybe starting with something solid made more sense. I gathered the essence and tried to compress it into granite.

The result looked more like a child's clay project than actual rock. The surface was rough and uneven, with weird swirling patterns that definitely didn't occur in nature. When I tried to adjust it, the whole thing crumbled into gravel.

"Remember," Azure suggested, "real stone forms under specific conditions. Pressure, heat, time..."

Right. I couldn't just create stone – I needed to replicate the processes that created it naturally. My next attempt went better. I layered the essence carefully, compressing it while maintaining the proper crystalline structure. Gradually, a small piece of genuine-looking granite formed.

Building on that success, I gave another attempt at creating soil.

"What if..." I focused on the wood essence I was more familiar with, creating the forms of simple plants – grass, leaves, roots. Without life energy they were just shapes, hollow imitations of living things, but when I broke them down and mixed them with the mineral components...

The result actually looked like proper soil. Rich, dark, and crumbly – the kind of earth that would make Lin Mei envious if she could see it.

"Now for the real challenge," I said, looking at my floating samples of stone and soil. "Creating actual ground."

I started from a single point, focusing on building up layers just like real geological formations. Stone came first, providing a solid foundation. Then looser rock, gravel, and finally soil. Gradually, a flat disc of earth began to form, spreading outward as I carefully maintained the proper composition of each layer.

"Good," Azure commented. "Though you might want to add some variety to the terrain. Perfectly flat ground rarely occurs in nature."

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I nodded, experimenting with subtle variations in elevation. Small rises and dips appeared across the surface, giving it a more natural appearance. Nothing dramatic - just enough to break up the monotony.

"Remember," Azure cautioned as I worked, "this control over earth essence only applies within your inner world. Don't expect to start throwing rocks around in the real world just because you can shape terrain here."

"I know," I replied, carefully smoothing out a particularly stubborn bump. "Different systems entirely. This is more like... programming the rules for how earth should behave in this universe. Actually manipulating earth qi would require completely different techniques."

"Exactly. Though your understanding of how earth essence moves might give you some insight if you ever decide to learn earth-based cultivation arts."

I continued expanding the ground until it filled roughly a quarter of my inner world's volume. That seemed like a good starting point - enough space to work with while leaving room for other features.

"Now," I said, looking at the expanse of earth I'd created, "let's make this more organized. We should divide it into sections so it's easier to keep track of everything."

Using the Genesis Seed as the center point, I mentally divided the space into quadrants. The ground I'd created occupied most of the South-West section, though some of it spilled over into the South-East.

"The Genesis Seed seems to approve," Azure noted.

He was right. The massive tree-like structure had extended its roots down into the newly formed earth, anchoring itself firmly. The two suns had drifted closer as well, their earlier rivalry forgotten as they watched the world-building process with obvious fascination.

"What would you like to have as the basic layout?" Azure asked.

I considered the space carefully. "We need natural boundaries between the sections. Valleys or rivers would work, but without gravity..." I frowned, remembering Azure's earlier explanation about how water would just form floating spheres without proper forces in place.

"Perhaps depressions in the earth?" Azure suggested. "We can add water later once we've established proper physical laws, but for now, the terrain itself can mark the divisions."

That made sense. Starting from the Genesis Seed's position at the center, I began carving four great valleys that stretched outward like the spokes of a wheel. The earth essence responded more easily now that I understood its nature better, moving aside to create deep gorges that would eventually hold rivers.

"For the quadrants themselves..." I gestured to the north-western section. "This area will be for mountains. Proper mountains, not just hills. If we're building a world, let's make it impressive."

I turned my attention to creating the mountain range, confident after my success with the basic terrain. That confidence lasted approximately three seconds.

My first attempt at a mountain looked like a child's sand castle after a wave hit it – a lumpy, misshapen mass that rose about ten meters before collapsing in on itself. The earth essence just refused to hold the shape I wanted, crumbling away instead of forming the majestic peak I'd envisioned.

"Perhaps start smaller instead of trying to make it one attempt," Azure suggested. "Mountains need proper foundations."

Right. Even real mountains had layers of rock beneath them. I dispersed the failed attempt and started again, this time focusing on the base first. Layer by layer, I compressed the earth essence into dense stone, building up a foundation that spread over several hundred meters.

My second attempt at raising a peak went marginally better – the mountain actually looked like a mountain, albeit one that appeared to have been carved by a drunk sculptor using a hammer as a chisel. The slopes were uneven, with random bulges and depressions that made no geological sense.

"Why is this so hard?" I muttered, smoothing out a particularly offensive-looking bulge. "It's just... pushing rock up, right?"

"Real mountains are formed by incredible pressures over millions of years," Azure reminded me. "You're trying to replicate that process in minutes. Consider how the forces would actually shape the stone."

That made me pause. I'd been thinking about mountains as singular objects, but they were really the result of various forces working together – pressure, erosion, volcanic activity. Even without gravity, I could still apply those principles.

Starting fresh again, I began with tectonic movement. I visualized two great sheets of stone pressing against each other, forcing the earth upward in a more natural pattern. Where they met, the rock folded and compressed, creating more realistic ridges and valleys.

"Better," Azure encouraged. "Now think about the types of stone. Different rocks weather differently."

I adjusted the composition of the rising peak, making the core from harder stone while using softer materials for the outer layers. This time, when I shaped the mountain, it actually looked like it belonged in nature. The slopes had purpose to their angles, with clear signs of where water would eventually flow.

Encouraged, I continued working, finding a rhythm in the process. Create the foundation, layer the stone types, apply pressure, shape the weathering patterns. Each mountain came easier than the last, though I still had plenty of failures – one peak ended up looking like a giant mushroom, and another somehow developed what appeared to be stairs spiraling up its side.

"That's... interesting," Azure commented about the stairs.

"I got distracted thinking about access paths," I admitted, quickly smoothing them away.

Gradually, a proper mountain range took shape. The peaks rose naturally from their foundations, some sharp and jagged where I'd used harder stone, others more rounded and weathered where softer rock dominated. Deep valleys cut between them, their paths carved as if by ancient glaciers.

I added complex cave systems, thinking of all the cultivation novel protagonists who always seemed to find mysterious treasures in mountain caves. These were empty for now, but their twisting passages and hidden chambers would make perfect storage spaces in the future.

Maybe one day, when I could create true beings, some lucky creature would stumble upon these caves and find cultivation resources I'd hidden away. After all, what proper cultivation world didn't have its share of hidden treasures waiting to be discovered?

"Though hopefully, they'll be smarter than the typical cultivation novel protagonist who walks into every suspicious cave they find."

Once I was done with the north-western quadrant, I turned to its eastern companion.

“This section will be for gardens. Once we can actually grow things properly, we'll need space to experiment with different plants."

I thought of Lin Mei and her approach to the sect's herb gardens. She always emphasized the importance of proper preparation – everything from soil composition to drainage patterns had to be just right.

Creating gentle slopes was easy now that I understood how earth essence wanted to move. I guided it with the patience it demanded, letting the terrain rise and fall in natural waves across the landscape. Each undulation flowed smoothly into the next, creating perfect drainage patterns for when we eventually added water.

"Excellent work," Azure commented. "The natural flow of the land will serve well for different growing areas."

The hills took shape exactly as I envisioned them, neither too steep nor too flat. Some areas rose higher to create sheltered spaces, while others dipped into shallow valleys perfect for moisture-loving plants. After my earlier struggles with basic earth manipulation, it felt good to see my growing skill with the essence.

Next came the soil types, and I stared at the earth essence with growing apprehension. If creating basic dirt had been like trying to teach a stone to swim, this was going to be like teaching that same stone to dance. I'd need different textures, compositions, mineral contents...

"Well," I muttered to myself, watching the essence twist and coil around me, "at least I've already hit rock bottom with the floating mud soup incident. It can't possibly get worse than that."

I reached out to begin the first transformation, and immediately realized just how wrong I was.