After taking a few steps into the tunnel Quin remembered that his guests were still reliant on normal sight and quickly performed a light spell, which summoned a small, softly glowing orb into the air in front of him.

“As you can see, the construction of the outer part of my dungeon has only just started. The first inner layer is at least wooded by now, but apart from that navigating this tunnel in the dark is currently the only challenge my dungeon provides.”, he said. He then had to do a double take as he realized that more and more critters began to populate the forest when he looked at it with his incorporeal body.

When he took a closer look, he observed that all manner of small mammals and insects were burrowing out of the earth while small birds suddenly exited previously empty bushes. Previously unnoticed by him, several small streams were now meandering through the landscape and were also teeming with life.

Taking his focus back to his physical body, he turned his head towards Nayda.

“I think it would be easiest if I share what I know beforehand so that you can fill in any missing parts.”, he said. “First, since you so easily accepted me as your teacher I assume you know that I am a reincarnated cultivator.”

While Nayda nodded her two protectors were clearly not informed and their surprise at this revelation was clear to see on their faces.

“When it became apparent to me that I was unlikely to reach the next rank and my ascension all but impossible, I began searching for alternative methods. Reincarnation was but one of them, but it was the method that seemed to have the highest possible upside.

As a result, when I had settled on the specifics, I visited many dungeons and thankfully a few of them were willing to meet me. They were however very reticent or unable to tell me about the specifics of what to expect and only gave vague advice.

They mentioned that it would be wise to reach the surface as fast as possible and that I should expect visitors a few weeks after. Your haste in reaching me was thus quite unexpected. They further said and I observed that the dungeon is supposed to be a prison for the Great Will’s enemies, a vault for foul objects and knowledge, as well as a site to challenge and reward cultivators, though the specific aims still elude me.

From my visits to dungeons, I am also aware that I should develop this outer part of my dungeon further as both a first challenge as well as a first line of defense in case someone seeks to free certain prisoners or abscond with the dangerous objects or knowledge.”, Quin elaborated.

Nayda nodded along to all of his points.

“I am glad that you are so well-informed already, teacher Quin, and I believe I can elaborate on what you told me to provide a clearer picture. Please keep in mind that I am limited in my knowledge too, though.”, she said. “But with my position as your advisor confirmed I can commune with the Great Will more often to hopefully clear up any questions you might have that I currently do not have answers for.

On the point of imprisoning the Great Will’s enemies, storing dangerous objects, and your points of interaction with cultivators I can already provide you with some additional information. The problem with those that infiltrate the Great Will’s domain from the outside or who swear fealty to those Outsiders is that the spiritual energy and resources they take from this domain get woven much more tightly into their bodies and cultivation bases than what cultivators from inside the domain would do.

As a result, what they take is exceedingly hard to reclaim through normal means. Due to certain restrictions, higher-level beings or cultivators are not able to free either in a cost-efficient way. Such a powerful technique naturally demands an equally large weakness to exploit.

That weakness is combat against native cultivators of even or lower cultivation. By killing and then immediately reviving the subject multiple times, the Great Will can transfer a significant portion of their power to the victorious cultivator and thus reintroduce it to the spiritual energy cycle.

Should the prisoner be bound together with an item whose power has a similar origin to them, both can be reclaimed at the same time.

The other important function of a dungeon is that of cultivator population control and strengthening. By weeding out those who are weak compared to their peers, strengthening the average, and elevating the strong, dungeons ensure that the cultivator population can defend the Great Will’s domain should that be necessary.

It might sound callous, but the Great Will does not care about individuals, but rather about the system that creates those individuals and its development over time.”

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After that impromptu lecture, silence descended upon the group for a while. While Quin was thinking about the ramifications this new knowledge would have for his plans for the future, the trio was waiting for his response.

A few minutes later, the group arrived at the portal which would bring them to his inner world. Quin entered it without thinking, but when Nayda tried to follow she was stopped by her protectors for a moment.

“Even if it seems overly careful at this point, Rafir will go first.”, her bow-wielding protector said and nodded to his companion. Before she could mount a protest, Rafir had already entered the portal and Seylin motioned that she was now free to continue.

Hoping that the dungeon master would not take offense to this, she quickly entered the portal as well. The contrast between the dark and silent tunnel to the well-lit inner world teeming with life was a stark one.

All thoughts of apologizing vanished into thin air as she beheld the lush greenery, the ominous mist that coated the sky, and the jarring lack of a source for the light that illuminated it all. The air was saturated with spiritual energy which she drew in with every breath, and the songs of various bird species filled the air.

After a few moments she managed to collect herself and she turned to Quin to see how they would proceed from here.

“Since I started work on my connection to the outside world as soon as I was able to, there are unfortunately no accommodations for myself or you and your companions yet.”, Quin said. “Thankfully, sleep is not a requirement anymore for me, so I can focus on creating yours first. The only problem is that going by the extensive construction all dungeons do, I have not yet discovered the method they use.”

“I am afraid that such knowledge was not part of my education, but I am sure teacher Quin will find a solution. We have already had to make do on our way here, so camping for a few additional days will pose no problem to us.” Nayda answered, which was followed by nods from both of her companions.

In the following few hours, Quin tried every option he could think of, but nothing seemed to work. This was not to say though that his experiments were completely fruitless. He learned that his thin spiritual sense was able to give him detailed feedback on the composition of the landscape, as well as the inner workings of plants and animals.

His crystal body, on the other hand, was able to manipulate both the inanimate materials and plant matter, but the changes he could make were purely for their form, so while it would be possible to construct things with it, that process would take far too long to be viable on the scale he needed it for.

His large spiritual senses were even worse as no matter what he tried they could do nothing besides crude suction or ejection. When he noticed that his frustration was mounting, he decided to check up on his guests and get a read on their current cultivation.

While he would put his main focus on Nayda, as she was the one who was able to offer something worthwhile in return, he wouldn't just ignore her companions who were also responsible for her security if he happened to notice any issues with their cultivation or if they had pressing questions that he was able to answer.

Night had fallen in the meantime and the trio had started a campfire over which two small hares were roasting. Seylin had asked him for permission to go hunting and since the wildlife was self-replenishing Quin had seen no reason to deny his request.

After a short round of interrogations, he had found out that all three of them were still at the beginning of their cultivation journeys, having just started to gather and accumulate spiritual energy in their spiritual repositories. While different regions had different names and also techniques for the various stages of cultivation, their overall goals always stayed the same for the different races.

Since they had started their current stage with the image of a slowly accumulating lake of spiritual energy in mind, their best option was to continue with it and then swap over to a mental image that he was more familiar with and had techniques for after they had broken through to the next one.

While the two men were tending to their dinner, Nayda sat meditating, still in her body-concealing robes and mask. During her meditation she was drawing in spiritual energy at a far higher rate than normal, as such, this was the premier method every cultivator used to progress.

What Quin could see but not the trio, was the way the spiritual energy swirled around her during the process and how smoothly the absorption process was going. After observing her for a short while he walked closer to the fire and was soon noticed by Rafir and Seylin.

“The first breath in your sequence should be at least one heartbeat longer aren't you should reduce the time you exhale at the third and 5th time, but still try to empty your lungs as much as possible. That should improve your circulation considerably and make the spiritual energy you are taking in less chaotic.”, Quin told her.

Rather than getting distracted by him, Nayda tried to incorporate his advice with the next cycle but adapting parts of her breathing while keeping the others the same was a tricky affair and it took her a few more revisions and some more help from Quin until she managed one flawless cycle. She then repeated the correct cycle a few more times to make sure she would be able to replicate it later and then opened her eyes.

“Many thanks, teacher Quin.”, she said.

“There is no need for thanks between teacher and student. This is naturally what I should do.”, he answered. “I found myself at an impasse in my efforts and decided that my time would be better spent here than trying to force something that can’t be forced. It seems I was right in this regard and who knows, maybe in teaching you I can also find inspiration for myself. If you have any further questions about cultivation I will try to answer them now.”