Ignoring a man's wails of terror, a young man searched inside a middle aged couple's internal worlds.
As if finally obtaining something from this method, the man extracted a batch of green crystals.
However, annoyed by the man's sobs, he could not contain his hand any longer, sending a gust of Celestial Qi at the crawling youth.
With a bang, the man's head popped like a watermelon, his space ring soon caught by the man.
It had now been a few months since Alexander followed his [Seeking Dream Grand Array]'s targets. Currently cleaning his bloodied robes, he grumbled.
"Ah~! How long will it take to gather the needed World Seeds? I might have to think of something less tedious." Remembering his ingenious clone farm back then, he thought of doing something similar.
"World Seeds are just such a pain in the ass to collect, even after so long I barely have enough..."
Having collected enough to breakthrough once more, he prioritized attaining the second stage's peak over everything else.
Looking around, standing above a mountain, he curiously searched for a suitable location.
'Here is fine.' Spotting a small mountain in the distance, he flew straight at it.
-----
Having dug much deeper than usual, Alexander did not want anyone to disturb him.
Sitting cross-legged, he threw around 2200 World Seeds around him, not bothering with the specifics. But, he then frowned.
'Actually... better to use only the required amount.'
Since a perfect breakthrough would require a specific amount, using more by accident would induce another breakthrough, this time imperfect.
Alexander was too lazy to care until he noticed this detail.
'Luckily, I wasn't so sluggish back then...' Sweating from his near idiotic mistake, Alexander used his Divine Sense to carefully check the amount.
Once he confirmed there to be exactly 2187 World Seeds, he exhaled some air, closing his eyes soon after.
Swiftly achieving a breakthrough to the Inner World Expanding Stage, Alexander quickly absorbed the World Seeds' powers within his internal world.
Like usual, the green mist filled the earth while the Heavenly Laws melted with the sky.
But this time, his internal world started to rumble.
His Lotus Core trembling, it began to growl in pain. Ignoring the mind numbing assault of suffering as if he could not feel any of it, Alexander remained calm.
The process tedious, it took centuries for it to stop. But for each year, his internal world would expand greatly. The benefits were truly astounding.
'No wonder the difference between each minor realm is so great... My internal world has increased so much, how much Celestial Qi can it store?'
About to open his eyes, he frowned.
'My internal world...' Watching in excitement, he witnessed his internal world's structure radically change.
'It's starting to change... I can't quite see what is going to happen, but with how the Universe... no, the Multiverse was structured, I might be right.'
Actually opening his eyes this time, Alexander exhaled a mouthful of hot air.
'554 World Seeds left... but my cultivation has soared.' Now a peak second stage Greater Existence Realm master, he felt confident in surviving even against third stage ones.
'Well, it still depends on how far they are within the third stage.'
Alexander was not too worried about anyone below the third stage, not only was he stronger than most, but the amount of means and tricks he had gathered throughout his life was enough to warrant his safety.
But in the end, he still had a ginormous problem on his hands now.
'So, if I cultivate without World Seeds I might take a few millennia, if I cultivate with them on the other end, I might just need five centuries or something. But once again, this is where it gets tricky.' Having now slaughtered and ransacked multiple high profile places, he already had a target painted on his back. He was not sure if anyone knew who he was, but he did not wish to find out.
The biggest obstacle for him now was number.
Alexander was alone and not even at the Celestial Heart Continent's peak in cultivation. He could still be defeated and especially with numbers.
The reason he had stopped chasing people using his Seeker's Dream Grand Array was that the limit had been reached.
He felt that even his last kill was luckily uneventful, but what about the rest? He could not even rush to assassinate Greater Existence Realm masters since most would be on guard or at least in deep relationships of any kind with other behemoths.
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Therefore, Alexander simply decided to choose a much longer, but also safer approach.
His eyes' black shine dimming greatly, it disappeared soon after.
Alexander had cut his connection with his array!
'If they can find the array's markings by luck, some might be able to trace it back to me.' Alexander was not ready to take such a risk. He was fond of gambling from time to time, but his life was another story.
Preparing himself, Alexander had some time on his hands.
'What should I name my sect of slaves?' Pondering, he started to float, heading towards the outskirts of this region.
-----
Walking somewhat erratically inside a lush dark forest, a young man. His breath ragged, he did not run fast, but did not walk slowly either. He was right in the middle, saving his leftover stamina just in case.
Wondering if he should start flying, he decided against it, his Celestial Qi reserves low, just like his chances of survival, which he did not intend to lower any further.
*Huff!*
Almost collapsing, the youth finally managed to escape death's clutches after two days of slow yet steady jog.
A small village now in sight, he paused at one of its many inns. Clearly some injured and wandering cultivators like him were making the inn work's economy boom.
Greeted and fed, he paid with insignificant Cloud Essence.
And only after entering his shabby room, could he finally relax.
Phew~!
"This stupid flower had to be protected by not only a Primordial Beast but also multiple local sects wanting to steal it as well!"
The young man was only a third stage Blooming Lotus Realm cultivator, and in the face of greed, he could simply not stop his feet from moving.
He had been struck with envy at the sight of the majestic Royal Sky Flower deep inside the forest. Obviously intending on taking it for himself, he was shocked to find it protected by a winged tiger comparable to the early stages of the Primordial Harmonization Realm! Not only so, but he quickly realized himself to be standing right in the middle of a battlefield.
As multiple local sects and their masters ambushed the winged tiger with great ferocity, their forces were of course comparable in strength to the beast itself.
How could a little Blooming Lotus Realm cultivator fare in such a land of death? He naturally had to run! And so he did.
Unfortunately, he could only flee for a few days before a bunch of men chased after him. While their cultivation was not too high, it was not too shabby either. And outnumbered as he was, the youth could only curse in his heart.
Luckily, he managed to escape without too much trouble, but this still showed how frightened he must have been!
*Chatter*
Raising a brow, the youth got off the bed, slowly making his way to a wooden window frame.
As his room was at the first floor, he could benefit from a wide view.
Curious about the incessant chatter, as if the run down village was submerged under a capital city's bustling main road, he leaned over the frame.
'??' The sight was truly unexpected.
Down to the village's dirt plaza, a bunch of youths were eagerly crowding in front of a wooden sign.
His interested not just picked, but rather impaled, the youth had to see it for himself.
What could gather so many youths, whose power was equal or even superior to his, to gather at such a shabby village?
Making his way down, he had to wait for half an hour to get close enough. His Celestial Sense somehow obstructed by the sign.
Reading it, he was not shocked nor even surprised.
'A sect recruitment notice? If this sect is so great that countless talents wish to join, why is its recruitment notice here of all places?' Perplexed, the man could not understand why these youngsters would care so much.
But since he had nothing better to do, he decided to go look for it. But first, he would need to heal and replenish his energy.
-----
In a mountain range, its size quite striking, a bunch of buildings were erected with pride.
Their cobblestone look along the scenery gave it a certain old and mysterious feeling.
At the bottom, between two mountains, a gate was standing. Behind it, stone stairs were carefully carved. But while their splendid sharp angles were meticulous, the placement of each step was clearly meant to be natural.
The stairs seemed to embrace the mountain range, going right or left to follow its curves.
On the journey the stairs offered, many castle-like structures were present as well.
At the summit, where the mountain range pierced the clouds, a giant castle stood tall.
Each structure of this esoteric place covered by red tiles, the giant castle was no exception.
Within its depths, a young man was seated on a throne without a care in the world.
Obviously, it was none other than Alexander himself.
Cross-legged on a mountain of a throne, in the dark, Alexander's silver eyes shone.
Lucid, the first action he took was smile, showing his bright teeth to the darkness.
His Divine Sense strong enough to cover his new sect's territory, he waited.
By the time a thousand youths waited at the gates, he made his move.
His palm facing the ceiling, a ball of light formed itself.
When ten thousand youths waited at the gates, he stared with contemplation at a dozen clones.
And finally, when these ten thousand youths were blessed by the morning sunrise, granting the already majestic place a warm and otherworldly atmosphere, he spoke.
"Follow the test procedures and for all those that cannot pass these tests... just send them away! This place does not need trash... I, do not need trash!"
Nodding, the dozen or so clones blurred, vanishing from the dark room on the spot.
At the bottom of the mountain range, facing the gates, ten thousand experts.
Some were strong while others were weak.
Questioning what was going on, they were soon startled by a dozen figures fading in high above the gates.
Staring at the sea of cultivators beneath, the clones sneered, as if they were watching over ants.
Intimidated by their gazes, the crowd felt insignificant.
Among them, a young man, appearing in his twenties, pointed at them with a mouth agape.
"I-I-Immortal Sky Realm!! All of them are at the Immortal Sky Realm!"
Shocked, some of the cultivators fainted while others looked down in terror.
What kind of newly established sect had a dozen Immortal Sky Realm experts?
Even if the Celestial Heart Region was known for its high average cultivation, the Immortal Sky Realm was still considered powerful.
After all, any Immortal Sky Realm expert was worthy of ruling an entire Earth Sect. Of course the stage mattered, but would it be so for youths below this stage? The guidance of any expert at that level was obviously important, no matter how trivial.
Feeling the renewed pressure, the chatter stopped barely a moment later, all of them standing with their back straight in fear of appearing lackluster.
Noticing their decisions, one of the clones grinned meaningfully.
"Not bad! You all are quite understanding. I hope all of you to be ready, because the sect's recruitment will start now!"
Gulping, many ironed their determination, preparing themselves to achieve greatness!