Discussing about some random things, the two men wandered about, ready to leave the forest. A few minutes gone since finding the campfire, their visions suddenly darkened.

Blood splattering everywhere, puddles of it forming near their collapsed vessels, Wu Tian was still far away. He coldly looked at their corpses before turning back around. Two small rocks sent at incredible speed were enough. Clearly, their cultivations were indeed poor. Their flesh had yet to be properly tempered, making them only slightly livelier humans.

Such a difference made reassured him. He knew such tactics to mostly be ineffective against him already.

Dawn coming, Wu Tian stepped outside the gloomy terrain. His feet landed on a patch of vibrant turquoise grass. It was quite strange, but he simply dismissed it. Far into the distance, wedding the horizon, a small mountain range. Three mountains only, one much bigger than the others, almost breaching apart the sky itself.

Guizou saw it through the pendant, whistling at the sight. "Quite the mountain for this place. Not bad."

The forest had blocked their visions, and since the mountains were so far away, their smaller appearances were not sighted prior. Just about to resume the journey, Wu Tian heard something to his left. Turning his head in said direction, a small white road stood like a river, rejecting the grass nearby. Onto it, two wooden carriages advanced.

There was a road? Almost wanting to shout at the sight, Wu Tian only clenched his fists in irritation. Especially since the road was so close. However, in the forest, he dared not claim the ability to see through its location.

Whatever... not my business... Calming himself, he ignored the carriages, marching ahead. Guizou, on the other hand, sensed something, coming out. "Mmh... Aiz~"

Frowning a bit, Wu Tian raised his head toward the old man. "What's wrong? Don't tell me I was caught by something..." Guizou only waved his hands with a few negations. "No, no. Don't worry about it. Just that, in that carriage over there, there is someone in the Star Realm..." Stroking his thick beard, Guizou pondered. The aura he felt was filled with rage and sorrow, but even this wrath could not ignite much to him. This person was most likely a newly promoted cultivator.

One Star, barely. Isn't that the first true Star Realm cultivator we found so far? Well, I wouldn't really call that cultivation proper, but still... Playing with his beard some more, he returned to the pendant, leaving behind a puzzled Wu Tian.

Shrugging for a moment, Wu Tian continued his leisure walk.

Inside the front carriage, a man with a brown ponytail was seated. His crossed arms and lowered head contrasted with his volatile aura. A scent of dirt was wafting from his being, his flesh the root of it. His left arm was clenched slightly more than the right, pulsating waves of earthly pale red visible to the naked eye.

In front of him was an old man, balding at the top. "Sect master, please calm your anger. This isn't good for your health." A glare from said sect master later, the old man sighed before shutting his mouth. Having tried multiple times during the journey, the old man could only give up once more.

As for the sect master, he was still visibly angered. "Sun Xieren better have what I want! If she doesn't, then I'll show her the might of our Earthen Prism Sect!" Widening his eyes, the old man sitting across panicked. "Sect master! Please don't! Let's not involve the fate of our sect for a bout of rage! Isn't sect mistress Sun Xieren at the second level?"

Seeing the middle aged man's composure be doused with cold water, the old man heaved a sigh of relief before hearing a reply filled with renewed resentment. "I don't care!"

A few days later, Wu Tian was seated on the turquoise grass, the night looming above. The sky was clear of clouds, countless flickering stars visible. He always wondered what they were or how far they stood. His childish smile greatly opposed his many wrinkles. Some age spots sprinkled over his body. Only his gaze felt worthy of this smile.

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Guizou came out to check on him. The mountains were much closer now, but still quite distant. Judging from their haste, it would take between ten and forty days to reach the foot of the bigger one.

Seeing his old master, Wu Tian closed his eyes for a moment, wondering if he should ask. Bold today, he felt like ignorance would haunt him. Even if it might ruin the mystery. "Master, if I may ask, do you know what those stars are?"

Guizou raised a brow at the mention, looking up. The stars were of different shades and colors, some brighter than others. He scoffed at the sight, shaking his head soon after. "Don't think too much kiddo. These are fake. The whole sky is a ceiling. The Fairy Land is the same. However I wouldn't worry, this sky is positioned quite high. Even if you can fly, it would take you a lot of cultivation or accumulation of Qi and years to get up there to the top. If you managed to become a Great Emperor, it would still take you hours to get there."

Shocked by the news, Wu Tian scratched his head. "Then, what's at the top? A ceiling like you said?" Guizou stroke his chin and fluffy beard before nodding. "Sort of. It just gets strange. Or maybe it's my and others' lack of omniscience. Up there, the sky becomes a colored mist and you end up with a rather dimly lit grey ceiling. But it feels both tangible and intangible. Like a sturdy piece of stone and just a remnant mist at the same time. It feels opaque and transparent all at once."

"Feels?" Wu Tian pondered on this. Guizou was happy to oblige. "Yes. It looks like this too, certainly. But you can feel it as well. Like I said, it's strange. Nothing calls anything, nobody feels compelled, no one feels curious either. At my level, I should have been rather starved for progress, though I personally did not really care due to various reasons, but even this, now that I think about it more, doesn't seem like the answer. Yet... the lack of drive makes me feel like it could lead somewhere incredible... But it's the same as asking what's outside everything? What contains everything we know about?"

"The answer is simple. Nobody within can truly know. To think outside of the box, you first need to realize that you are inside a box. To understanding what can be outside the box, you must not be limited by the box."

Wu Tian looked confused. Guizou only gave a faint smile for a few moments. "Basically... how am I supposed to know, since I never left this world? Be it the Fairy Land or Mortal Land, both have this limit. There also is such a limit on the sides, except that it's a white mist. As for underground, no one is bored enough to dig for decades if not centuries in uncertainty."

"Thinking outside the box starts by understanding that the box we are inside exist. But that alone is not enough to do much more. Does time and space exist outside the Lands? Is there even anything there? Are the Lands somewhere? Or not? Can something be there without being there? I don't know. I don't think anyone within the box will ever know."

"So while it is fun and everything to think deeply about these theories, don't mind it too much. Unless you already are peerless and extremely bored, don't bother thinking about something useless."

"Instead young man, why not practice your Qi mastery some more?" Grumbling at the sentence, Wu Tian began to control Qi despite his annoyance.

Throwing the idea to the back of his head, Wu Tian resumed his small journey, feeling less impatient than he used to. However the fear creeping from the future and his visible time grave pressed his heart further. The more time would elapse, the more fidgety he would appear. Every move might save or doom him.

The next day soon came, a chilling wind brewing. Raising his head as he walked once more, Wu Tian saw the bright grey sky shower the world with rain. With his poor clothing, he was soon drenched completely. But he did not mind a bit of cold. The air mixing earthy and cloudy appeased him slightly. The far mountains were mere dark shapes now, a faint mist emerging near the horizon. He only saw shades of grey and dark reflective turquoise in his field of view. The short blades of grass bowed to the hydration, Wu Tian's feet feeling their damp and sticky texture. His barebone torn shoes were only for looks. The soles had already been destroyed, leaving him barefoot essentially.

With his cultivation, the cold was not too sharp, and the softened ground a better alternative to stone. But after some comparison, he believed there to barely be any difference.

The carriages had long since vanished into the distance, disappearing into the misty horizon. Wu Tian sometimes ran and other times walked. He switched whenever he felt bored or felt like going for more thrill.

He was surprised not to see beastly feces along the way. With the short grass, the whole undulating plains felt artificially maintained almost. He hesitated to ask, but realized that his master would have warmed him beforehand.

With a lighter heart and a beautiful scenery all around, his steps felt more ethereal than ever. No gloomy and humid forest filled with nauseating miasma, no boring forest with only the same type of tree and a lack of vision. Wu Tian's heart sparked a flame of adventure. The world he thought of to be bland and deserted now seemed much more vibrant.

When he looked to his left, giant grey mountains would block the way, only ending somewhere down the far distance. His right bordered forests, including a bit of the dangerous one.

And so, the days went and passed. Hundreds of meters between him and the rest. Stranded in the middle, hunting rare wandering rabbits whenever hungry. Drinking rainwater or from a passing river to his right far away still.

Soon enough, as the mist dispersed, the sun and moon shifted, and his vision advanced, Wu Tian stood in front of three mountains. One high enough to pierce the clouds with a lot more to spare.

Surprising to him, the foot of this small mountain range was shielded with grey walls and a reflective metallic gate.