Jack felt a strong sensation of nausea overcome him as his eyes widened in surprise. He saw, and even perceived the world around him as an artist’s abstract rendition of a watercolor painting— red, indigo, oceanic blue, dark orange, gray, black, the colors in a constant state of flux, red clashing against oceanic blue to create a vibrant purple, the cycle never-ending, limitless.

He found that his perception of time in this state was vague, distorted— it was hard to tell if it had been a few minutes or a few hours, but Jack was still able to think rationally. HIs only body was just a light blue two dimensional outline in the chaos, providing him with a modicum of reassurance. His entire gamble was on the system honoring his word, for without it he would have never dared to drink what Adept Lanhai offered him, not in a thousand years. Before Jack could stew in his thoughts further and contemplate his existential dread in this new, disturbing form, a heavy sensation overwhelmed his eyelids.

He blinked, and the world was born anew.

Jack gasped a breath of air he didn’t know he had been holding, his posture loosening now that his vision had been restored. But what he saw was not quite the same as before. The grass was still green, but it exuded a fresh, vibrant energy that Jack could smell, a single breath of air bringing comfort to his heart and making him feel refreshed. The next thing he noticed was that he could… see through his own body, but instead of finding blood or bone within he found a series of small, snaking veins that stretched across the entirety of his body, but Jack knew that these light blue veins were too numerous and small to be his real, rather, physical veins. They existed…. but not quite in the physical sense. It was as if a layer existed between the tangible and the intangible, and Jack’s new sight could pierce through it.

He knew that these veins were responsible for channeling Qi across his body, but they all shared one commonality— they all originated from a point below his navel, a circular pool of liquid blue qi floating without any form of suspension, the source of all his power. Jack felt an intense sensation of familiarity from the Qi Pool, letting himself follow his instinctual reaction to reach for it.

A second later Jack felt his body jolt, his expression one of slight surprise. The environment around him was shrouded in a thick blanket of roiling white mists, but clear enough to make out his own body in the smog. He was no longer clothed in his cultivator get up, no sword lay sheathed at his waist, no fancy silver cape or plain leather armor was donned across his chest— for a second, it felt as if the apocalypse had just been a dream, but Jack denied it a second later.

After a minute of walking, he was starting to understand what this place was. An understanding not brought out of skill or talent, but instinct. He seemed slightly unsure of his hypothesis, but ultimately figured there was no harm trying.

‘Clear,’ he mentally ordered in his mind, and the next instant the white fog disappeared, as if it had never existed to begin with. A dozen meters away from him was the pond he had seen while scanning his own body, not entirely relying on sight, but feel and sensation as well. This concoction Adept Lanhai had given him let him perceive the world around him as it truly was, temporarily awakening a sixth sense that could only be described as the ‘mind’s eye’.

Was he… inside his own body? That was what his senses told him, but it was still a hard concept to come to terms with. But he considered the nature of Qi as something that existed between real and illusory, was it truly bound by the same laws of physics as the rest of the world was. Was he even here, or was this a mental construct? A mental construct that had the ability to affect reality, or just an illusion? He didn’t know, but an idea popped into his mind.

He continued to walk forward until he reached the edge of the pond, now full to the brim with liquid blue Qi. Cupping his hands together and forming a bowl, Jack dipped it into the pond of liquid Qi, immediately feeling a cold, but refreshing sensation jolt through his nerves. Feeling a slight tinge of curiosity, he gulped the liquid Qi down, finding the whole thing absurd— how could he drink something that was already a part of his body.

Without warning, his silhouette disappeared from the mystical construct land.

----------------------------------------

A few seconds later, Jack was back in his own, real body, only getting a second to compose himself before a searing hot sensation started coursing through every part of his body. He could see azure flames spread throughout his body, obscuring his ability to see the vein-like structures running across it.

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Were it not for his ability to control the flames, even in this form, and being lucid enough to power through the pain, he would have been terrified, hoping that Adept Lanhai would extricate him from the situation. For now, he could manage— knowing the solution was to provide an outlet for the power he’d funneled into his left arm, which was nothing but a mass of roiling azure flames in his eyes.

Clenching his teeth, Jack punched the ground— a strong oceanic blue energy emanating from his fist as he slammed down.

Boom!

Jack felt a face full of dirt hit him in the face, but that did not obscure his vision in the slightest. Finally, the burning hot sensation and the pain was gone, and a quick glance showed that his veins seemed unharmed.

The ground was… less fortunate, for where there had been a vibrant green energy before, now was a small, deep pit that likely stretched a dozen meters into the ground. A murky brown energy emanated from the depths of the hole he’d carved into the earth.

“So you learned ignition,” Adept Lanhai’s appraising voice came from the side, Jack turning to face the man.

He gaped, as in place of Adept Lanhai he saw a mass of writhing shadows that completely obscured his Qi veins from sight, two glowing red eyes glaring back at him with an intensity that sent chills up his spine. The shadows that cloaked him were almost like a living entity, always squirming around as if it were an amalgamation of beings instead of one, universal power.

He would have almost turned his back on the Adept and begun to flee, if he were not aware of his frightening capabilities.

“The system shielded you from the consequences this time, young man. Ignition is not a skill, but a primal form of utilizing Qi that comes at a cost. At the same time, having the opportunity to witness [Qi Sight] and having visited your [Inner world], you have gained an invaluable experience. Congratulations,” Adept Lanhai explained, clapping his hands together a single time.

Jack’s vision reverted to normal, and for a second it felt as if the past sequence of events was just a series of lucid dreams. But one look at the aftermath of his punch cemented the fact that this was undoubtedly reality, as cryptic and mystical it was.

“Why did it end so soon?” Jack asked Adept Lanhai, realizing that he was standing a dozen or so meters away from the place where they had originally been seated.

“Soon? Young man, it has been five hours and 56 minutes since you arrived in my abode. Unfortunately, the time for farewell has come,” Adept Lanhai warmly replied, giving Jack a pat on his shoulder.

Sarah, who was still seated at the table, got up and began to approach him.

“When did you, uh, get back?” Jack asked, not sure how to describe his experience in his so-called, [Inner World].

Sarah gave him an odd look, staring at the small crater he had left behind with befuddlement in her eyes. “He woke me up right before you,” She answered, seeming well rested from the endeavor.

“Did you manage to go to that place?” The inner world?” Jack asked her, curious at how her experience differed from his own.

“Yeah,” She replied, pausing, “Though I didn’t leave behind any craters after coming back,” she shook her head and chuckled.

Jack nodded, knowing that time was short. “How do we leave?” Jack asked Adept Lanhai, who seemed stoic for once, his hands clasped behind his back with the bearing of a respected elder in a small community.

“You don’t have to worry about that. The system will transport you out,” Adept Lanhai responded, and Jack glanced at the timer. Just over a minute left.

“If,” Sarah blurted out, most likely the same thoughts running through her mind as himself. “If we make it out alive, how do we contact you? If we are allowed to,” She asked hurriedly, having to come to like the old man despite the less than ideal circumstances they had met in.

Adept Lanhai broke out into a grin, like that of an excited child on christmas day, before he answered. “Lanhai Saris, Scion of the Saris-Illumei Clan, Planet Zeniril.”

Jack’s mouth twitched in disbelief while Sarah just stood there gaping, as he realized why a cloak of shadows had always been shielding the man from his [Qi Sight] prying. In front of him stood a young man that couldn’t be a day over twenty one, his silky black hair swaying in the wind as a mischievous smile rested on his face, his face angular, chiseled to perfection and his skin blemishless. His jade green eyes twinkled with amusement as he bent down and gave them a light bow, exuding a boyish charm that could not be faked so easily.

Before Jack could say another word, a white light engulfed the two of them and they disappeared the next second.