“Rhiza?” I called out and the figure paused. I had spent enough time with her in the past, that I could pick up the small details that set her apart from other cloaked figures.

“Yuan?” she turned to look at me.

“Yes, it is good to see you,” I replied and went over to her and we both removed the hoods on our cloaks.

“You as well. It is rare to see someone after you part ways. But if anything, the Pit Stop from Hell is a good meeting place,” she said.

“It is nice to a see a friendly face. You taught me quite a bit,” I said as we took a seat at an empty table.

“With out your sensing ability, things would have been much more difficult. You are looking well. Did you get a body modification?” she asked me.

“No, I am just aging. A bit slow, but at least I don’t look like a child anymore,” I replied.

“Really aging, how novel. You look remarkably similar, but the extra height was throwing me off,” Rhiza said.

“Indeed, what about you? Having good luck scavenging?” I asked.

“A bit. You know how difficult it can get. Even with the right equipment. But you appear to be a bit nicely dressed for this place,” Rhiza commented.

“For a meeting. This is neutral ground. So, it works out. Are you thinking about getting a cultivation system any time soon? I know that was your goal,” I asked.

“Still saving up. I only have one shot, and as you know, everything is expensive. A couple thousand more cycles and I should have enough. It seems you have sorted out your path forward?” she asked.

“To some extent, but I am trying to gather more information from outside the Forever City. It isn’t cheap, but thankfully I only need some basic information. The hard part was finding someone. That has been incredibly annoying, going from one being to the next,” I said.

“Indeed. It can be frustrating to find anyone, or a specific good in the Forever City,” Rhiza said. A server came by, and we both placed our orders. She got Courage and I got clear water. “How is your cultivation handling getting bigger?”

“It is expanding with my growth, with my soul still overlapping my physical body. Though I suspect it is taking longer than other cultivators due to the strength of my cultivation. I was thinking I would only live to 1,500 years, I mean cycles, at most before there were serious issues. But it has been just over 1,450 cycles since my birth and I am aging incredibly slowly. Probably have at least 400 cycles before I decide to break through,” I replied.

“I have been alive for over 10,000 cycles at least, maybe 12,000. It is admirable that you work so hard on your cultivation while aging,” Rhiza said. I did not expect her to be that old.

“You must be really saving up for your cultivation,” I said.

“Indeed. I want to purchase the best possible cultivation system I can and have credits afterwards for equipment that would work for me at that level. But it takes time to save up and I am still doing some research. Any suggestions?” she asked.

“Only one. Don’t copy what I did and pick multiple paths. It causes a lot of problems,” I said. While I was being friendly, I wasn’t about to share the details of my cultivation or my future plans with anyone. I had spent the lest couple of centuries carefully working on how my future cultivation system.

Even now I was still working on it, trying to get information about other cultivation systems outside the Forever City. That knowledge was incredibly rare due to the simple fact that people rarely traveled the Firmament. Those that did so were much stronger than me. And getting in contact at a reasonable price was difficult.

Thankfully the TripleX faction had come through. They pointed me in the direction of an information broker, who had in turn set up a meeting with the Travel Syndicate. They handled movement for groups outside of the Forever City and its continents for cultivators. Like a mercenary taxi service, with lots of fire power. While I wasn’t qualified to leave the Forever City yet, I was able to put in an information request for them, asking for basic knowledge on other cultivation systems.

I had paid the Travel Syndicate 100,000 credits to put up the request with the offer of another 100,000 credits per basic information on another cultivation system. Something a person like Bones could pick up as a side job while outside the Forever City for some spare change. Well Bones didn’t talk about her adventures outside of the Forever City and I hadn’t pressed her.

Even when things got boring over the centuries, she had her secrets she wanted to keep just as I did. So, I hadn’t pressed. Even the concept of the Travel Syndicate, was not something that was widely advertised. Stationed in the first ring of the Forever City. It was the private airlines of travel. While the cylinder ships that the Heavenly Alliance used were more like the public airplanes people traveled on.

Thankfully they had a request system in place, but I had to go there in person, purchase a specialized communicator, pay the upkeep on the communicator, in addition to the other costs. I had spent over 20,000 credits on just travel and other expenses. And that was for the basic of goods.

It was a lot of money, but I needed to understand how other cultivation systems advanced through the stages and to make a comparative analysis. While one would expect a faction like TripleX to have this information on hand to sell, they operated solely in the Forever City. There was a lot of possible information they could collect, but it just wasn’t worth the investment compared to the payout.

My situation was unique, since everyone else followed the cultivation system that had been set up long ago by the ruling individuals in the Heavenly Alliance. Sure, there was variance and cultivators could go off track, but there was a clear progression of power that worked.

If I had just cultivated normally and come to the Forever City, I could already be an immortal. While this thought occasionally crossed my mind, I didn’t regret my choices even in hindsight. My focus was on the future.

My hope was that by learning about other possible cultivation systems out there, I would be able to better confirm what I had come up with for my breakthrough. While I hoped it would be the last major expense, I would probably need to spend some more when I did finally break through. I was down to around 800,000 credits at the moment. Burning through the money I had saved up previously.

“Excuse me, you asked to be notified if someone asked about you,” the server came over.

“Ah yes. Rhiza must contact is here, I am sorry I have to go,” I replied.

“It is fine. Hopefully we meet again Yuan,” she said. I got up and tipped the server who alerted me. They then showed me to the bar. There was a man that had huge thick muscles and their cultivation was immense. An immortal then. I gulped nervously but sat down next to them.

“So you are the one picking up my drink tab, huh. Weak,” he said.

“The information?” I asked.

“Three sets. Don’t know if they are good, bad, or whatever. That would be 300,000 credits, up front first,” he said. I pulled out my credit card and exchanged the money. That brought be down to around half a million. I then took the crystal data shards.

“Thank you senior,” I replied.

“Whatever, get out of my presence,” he said. Even if I had a complaint about the information or questions, this cultivator was clearly not interested in talking at all. Better to not to risk angering someone that powerful. I went to an empty table and began checking the information on each one.

The first method was to set up a collection system harmonized to a certain line of thought, and have people think that thought to draw in energy in the first part of cultivation, which corresponded to the first four stages of the system I was using. That was it. There was no information on the second or third part of cultivation in that system.

The hard part it appeared was getting the initial portion in place to draw in a specific line of thought and then getting beings to think that thought. There were other limitations, range being the biggest one.

The second method was grafting. One would find creatures out in the Firmament with powerful abilities, cut those off the monster and graft them on, both physically and on the soul. There were some monster adaptation chains that were listed. First monster A in this way, then monster B over here, and so on.

This method had drawbacks as well. One had to graft portions of the monsters onto their soul and physical body. Then one had to be able to get said monsters in the first place. It was easy to capture and use weaker monsters, but getting stronger ones were tricky. There was mention about purpose breeding monsters, but you would ultimately need some way to contain them.

In some ways it reminded me of demonic cultivation. Actually, the more I read it, the more it was demonic cultivation. Only for demonic cultivation they used other cultivators. Since they were the best and most compatible resource that was available.

The third method I looked over on the reading pad involved a completely different cultivation structure, but still a structure. It was turning the entire body into a core shaped body, with just meridians to suck in energy, and then reinforcing the outer shell to contain more energy over time.

This method was a single path, but I could understand its effectiveness. The amount of energy a cultivator would be able to contain would be immense. But using the energy in a controlled fashion would be far more difficult. Techniques would depend more on equipment and pushing energy through them, direct blasts, and pure body strengthening.

The force technique I used to protect my body while traveling between towers in the Forever City would not be possible with this kind of cultivation method. As for the later portions, it said to just repeat over and over. Increase the strength of the shell, improve the meridians, and so on.

Each of these methods was incredibly interesting. While it was only the broad descriptions of how they progressed and lacking on the later portions, only talking about harmonizing one’s energy with a Dao, it was still very useful for me in working out a new cultivation system on my own.

The predominant method of the Forever City, while more complex with its stages, also a lot more variation. I could easily see these systems being labeled as trash systems or niche systems of cultivation. Unless you had an inheritance or a senior to guide you and support you, then they weren’t as good.

The idea of using one’s entire body aligned with my thoughts on where I should end up. A single soul tied into my body. That was the most basic concept of my planned system at the moment. Progression would occur by deepening this connection and being to draw in more energy over time to advance. It was very similar to the third method of cultivation I had been given, which I was thinking as mono-cultivation. The first method being faith and the second being demonic cultivation.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Detonating my soul cores cleared out an area so my astral soul could form. The implosion from the body core would draw in energy through my soul from the Astral Plane. And the mind cores would disperse and increase my understanding of the Dao they were based on, harmonizing with the energy of the Astral Plane.

I had looked into if I could just disperse my mind cores and advance that way. The short answer was no, while the longer answer was that when they dispersed, the entire cultivation structure would also disperse at the same time. Rather than forcing one’s way through, it was much gentler. Normally no one cultivated multiple paths, so it wasn’t a common problem to have. But if I did that, then the rest of my cores would have issues with no way to contain all that energy.

I couldn’t change which path my cores followed, since that was set in stone. That was the downside of the system I had used. There was a lot of adaptability and variation, but it also did not allow for one to go backwards. I looked at the mono-cultivation method and they didn’t align motes. They processed them in some way into different building materials that could be adjusted.

Such a cultivation system required a lot more effort for the same effect as the one I was using. But they could adjust things after the fact to a certain extent to fix foundational issues with their cultivation. But the idea of using motes to construct more complex internal cultivation structures was interesting.

Another additional thing I noticed was that there were three clear steps in each cultivation method. A foundational or preparation step. Then an energy gathering step. And finally, immortality by harmonizing with one’s Dao or path. For some of these methods the second and third step were only mentioned in passing. But the second step needed to fulfill two key purposes. Being able to gather energy in some way and being able to advance towards immortality.

With information in hand, I took a vehicle back to the room I had arranged on one of the floors of the TripleX faction building. The entire room had charts, notes, and other diagrams all over the place as I had been working for a long time on the issue of creating my own system.

Even with all the time I had, the system I used was too good in many ways. Trying to unify them all was beyond greedy. And even lesser methods were questionable. I looked at the stack of crystal shards that contained countless notes on the current cultivation system I was using, the first bottleneck, and the stages after that.

That was where a lot of my money had gone over the years. Housing, while expensive, was priced in terms of years. So it wasn’t that bad. I didn’t have running water, but that was fine. I was content to have a room to work out of. Trying to keep everything in my spatial rings and moving about was headache inducing. Since there was no one qualified that I could speak to about my cultivation, I had to figure it out myself.

“Explode the cores, form my astral soul. But how to use all my cores at the same time. And how to translate that into a single functional system,” I muttered to myself while looking over my notes. I had a lot of time left, but I had already spent lifetimes on trying to figure out this problem and at its most basic, I had good ideas on what I needed to get to, but no idea how to achieve any of them.

I saw various destinations, but there was no connecting road. The alternative cultivation methods were what I was hoping would be the thing I needed to have an epiphany. I would have preferred that, rather than the insight of what would be the most optimal cultivation to work towards. I only had a very limited amount of actions I could take.

Looking over at the flow chart I had made, I considered any alternatives. Lots of lines to boxes in regards to my cores. A gap, and then the best possible system at the end. Having the former cores being energy processing structures. I had been missing on how to build them, but the mono-cultivation method gave me ideas in terms of building more complex structures, but not how to get the building materials, or manipulate them once I had gotten them.

Harmonizing my soul and body, while possible lacked any clear method. While I could disperse the mind cores to try and achieve this, that was risky. Mind cores were meant to harmonize with a Dao, not with oneself. The barrier on the outside was the easiest. That could be formed and strengthened once I detonated my cores.

I jumped when there was a knock on my door. I was paid up in full, so why would anyone be knocking. I put on my cloak and equipment very quickly and went to the door. This rest area was protected by the TripleX faction, so I wasn’t too worried. While I had stolen a lot, I had moved up on their list of valuable people. The amount a cultivator would have to pay them would be immense. And if a cultivator did that, they would just burst in and not knock.

My cultivation notes weren’t in view of the front door, but I still moved everything into a spatial ring. While the walls and doors on a level would block observation techniques, if I opened my door, I had no idea if the person outside would be able to spy on me.

There was no way for me to check who it was through the door, so I just opened it. “Greetings, are you Yuan Zhou?” the figure asked. They were wearing a symbol of the White Lotus. Interesting, that was the faction that managed the continent I had come from and generally took in most new arrivals from there.

The figure was well dressed, but her cultivation was not massive. I would put them at the sixth stage at best. So fairly weak by Forever City standards.

“I am Yuan Zhou,” I replied, curious what could bring them here, since finding me couldn’t have been easy or cheap.

“Your presence is requested at the White Lotus tower,” they said and then gave the location.

“Why?” I asked.

“I wasn’t given an explanation. But you are requested immediately,” the female cultivator said.

“Unfortunately, I am busy. Without an explanation, I am afraid I won’t be able to visit,” I replied. There was silence at my declaration. They could beat me up and capture me, but this wasn’t their tower, but the tower of the TripleX faction which prided itself on working with outside people. If I was newly arrived, did less business, or was anywhere else then I would be in trouble.

But this cultivator wouldn’t dare act with impunity. It wasn’t that the TripleX faction cared about me, but more about their reputation. If any cultivator could kidnap someone from their tower, they wouldn’t be considered a faction. And if they were backing this lady from the White Lotus, they would have sent a representative to make sure there was no fuss while I was being handed over. That’s how I had the confidence to push back.

“That will make several seniors quite upset,” the female cultivator said. Basically, I would be on their hit list. And they might even come for me. While unlikely, this kind of threat wasn’t a common occurrence. I decided to be a bit cheeky.

“That sounds like a them problem, not a me problem. If they wanted me to visit and went to the trouble of locating me, and sending your esteemed self, they should give a reason senior,” I replied. The woman just looked at me and the seconds stretched on. She could kill me easily, but the fall out was not something she could survive.

I felt an overwhelming sense of danger and leapt backwards as her hand moved through the space where I had been occupying. She advanced into my room without hesitation. It had been a long time, but I pulled out my gun from my spatial ring and fired without hesitation.

The attack appeared to catch her by surprise, as she began dodging a bit too late. The rank 6 bullet struck the side of her face, leaving a long gash behind, that began to slowly ooze blood. The attack impacted the hallway outside of the room.

She gave me a glare and then rushed out of my room. I checked the corridor, but she was already gone. I put my gun away just as I felt an overwhelming presence focus on me. I could barely breathe for a couple of moments and then it was gone. The tower master had taken a look at what was going on and probably moved on since there was no more fighting. Once the presence moved on, I went to the lobby for this housing rental level of the tower.

“How can I help you honored customer?” the man behind the counter asked me.

“I was disturbed by a cultivator and had to unleash an attack to force them away,” I said. He asked for the TripleX card I had, and I passed it over.

“We take no responsibility for the safety of our guests. However, you are an honored guest and your account with us has not been flagged with us. And no one has made inquiries. However, you were located, it was not by our faction,” the man replied. I frowned at that. How was I found then?

“Thank you,” I replied and got the TripleX card back before going back to my room. They wouldn’t do anything else unless I paid more credits. That had been too close for comfort, and I wouldn’t be opening up my door again.

At least the room was at the edge of the tower. If necessary, I could cut my way out and leave that way. Why send someone so weak? Maybe they were just to confirm my presence and kidnap me if possible. That made sense. Demand that I follow them, and then I would be at their mercy.

It had been a long time since I had been in a fight, and I didn’t want to get into one. I tried to think why the White Lotus faction would want to bother me after all this time. I was a nobody and I had never stolen from them either during my time in the Forever City. I wasn’t sure if they were allied with one of the factions I had stolen from, but even that wouldn’t warrant sending someone out to get me, let alone whatever esoteric tracking method they had used.

There was something else going on and the woman who had shown up, clearly wasn’t ready for me to fight back. Why did she think I would go with her? Just by giving me an order, she thought I would comply. Well, that was possible even if I thought it was stupid. The arrogance of some cultivators was immense. And the look on the woman’s face, like I was dung indicated that.

Like she had any strength to look down on others. That was a joke. Well, it was time to get ready in case I needed to leave in a hurry. I cut a portion out of the tower’s wall to make an alcove. I could hide in there and seal up the outside. I had the equipment from my thieving days still on me just in case.

After a month and no follow up, I figured the White Lotus had given up or was waiting until I left this tower. That would be a reasonable assumption to make. Spook me, so I left, and they could ambush that way.

I didn’t like the situation. Getting any kind of answer would be too expensive, since that meant hiring someone through the TripleX faction. Which meant hundreds of thousands of credits for their time. I didn’t plan to leave until I was ready to head off for my breakthrough, and hopefully I wouldn’t run into any issues.

That was an equally big headache. The body core that would implode at the center of everything was still not something I could figure out a solution for. The mind cores would harmonize my body and soul. The soul core explosions would allow me to strengthen my soul. That much variance in my breakthrough was possible based on the notes and records I had managed to get my hands on.

“The idea of the body core is that it creates a void, the energy imploding creating a bridge between the soul and the body. Unlike the mono-cultivation method, it normally impacts only the body. I can’t use this method, since there would be no way to progress. Normally conduits are built from this hole across the body to move energy about and draw it into one’s body.”

“But, I don’t want a gaping hole connecting the two parts, my body and soul. Since that will create an energy imbalance. It works fine for body path cultivators, since the conduits will filter the energy out to them. That method will conflict if I try to harmonize my entire body with the Dao from the mind cores. And the barrier created to define my soul will also create a barrier around this hole. I need to repurpose the body core’s implosion, but there is no good alternative,” I speculated as I looked over my notes.

That was why I had looked at alternative outcomes to deal with the body core imploding and the effect that would have on my soul and cultivation. If I never had a body core, I would probably be in a better position.

I needed to use the soul cores to define the edge of my soul, since I would be gathering energy into myself, and needed my soul to perfectly overlap my body. Normally the souls cores would strengthen the soul as a whole, but I could just focus on the exterior. Defining the edge would provide the most benefit and avoid conflicting with the mind cores since they would be handling the rest. That would invert how the cores were set up, with a shell of a mind core around a soul core. This dichotomy should also help based on the literature.

But what was left? My physical body, which would make sense for the body core. Then it hit me. “I need an organ from a monster, or something that will help me in the long run. I would channel the implosion into it, which in turn would boost my body,” I said as I looked at my notes.

There were lots of problem with that idea and I worked back through everything from the start to make sure I wasn’t missing any steps. I needed to harmonize my physical body and my soul. That way I could draw in and process energy once I advanced, so I could increase my power to reach immortality. There would be complications in terms of building refining structures, but I could focus on the four points where the main cores were, as filter points. I needed flush this out more, but it made sense.

When cores did what they did, they left a mark on a cultivators soul regardless of the core type. The soul cores would define the edge of my soul to my body while my mind cores linked my physical body and soul. Both steps were key, so my soul didn’t disperse or collapse. That was what happened in failed breakthroughs.

For the body core, the implosion would be channeled into an organ or modification of some kind, that was placed in my body, and would in turn strengthen my body. A modification would be way too expensive and not improve with me, requiring me to upgrade it and other difficulties. An organ would be much better both long and short term.

I opened up the notes regarding demonic cultivation but focused on monsters. There were some notes included on specific parts that could be used as a set, but nothing what I was looking for. This was the last piece of information and item I needed to get. And then I would need to put it inside myself. That would require a specialist of some kind, since I wasn’t qualified in any way for that sort of procedure.

Then I could break through with a full plan on how to reach the next stage and the steps after that. Building structures where the cores used to be, to process my energy with my understanding of the Dao of Force. Over time this accumulation would build up and I could worry about issues after that. I didn’t like putting off my problems like that, but there was no way I could know what problems I would face until I learned of them firsthand. That was the challenge of going a completely different direction compared to others and changing my cultivation system.