Everyone agreed and began setting up camp. It only took a few hours, and a small town was already sitting snug behind a forcefield supported by four magic towers.

Xasha sat in the north-facing tower, meditating and revving up his breathing technique to its limits. The high level of Imperium also affected him, but not like the others. His Valdis was already full of Imperium and ready to be compressed. It was his first compression since he became a Lava Sage several months ago.

He was not complaining. If he had stayed inside Sutherland, he would have needed a hundred years to reach this stage. His Valdis was full, but he was not ready to compress the Imperium. He rarely compressed the Imperium in his Valdis until he couldn't hold on anymore. Only then did he compress it, which leads to a much higher quality mana crystal. The better the quality of the crystal, the more mana in the atmosphere one could manipulate within their cultivation.

The mana entering his body increased as he increased the performance of his breathing technique. Xasha had studied and improved the breathing technique he used. Usually, a breathing technique would have the Imperium follow a specific route, opening up specific veins and meridians on its way to the Valdis.

Xasha studied thousands of breathing techniques and mapped every vein and meridian it opened. He studied cultivators who trained in each technique and observed what opening each meridian improved.

Breathing techniques were just a more efficient way to absorb Imperium. They improved the user depending on the technique. Some increased power output, strength, speed, or clarity of mind. Some even came with complementary fighting techniques.

The one he had Shay and Ari practiced absorbed the Imperium into their flesh and bone instead of Valdis. They store the excess Imperium in their bone marrow. It constantly nourishes their bodies, making them just as strong, if not stronger, than the average cultivator's.

After studying all the aspects that improved within the body based on which vein and meridians got opened. He changed the breathing technique to have the best attributes of all the techniques he studied and minimized the downside. All breathing techniques had drawbacks. They were unnatural and put a lot of strain on the body, so the body would start breaking down from the stress or reject the techniques' influence. Constant training countered this, improving the body to manage the added stress.

Xasha's breathing technique he called Burning Stardust. As the Imperium flowed into his body, it circulated and entered every single vein and meridian in his body that he knew of. It took much longer for the Imperium to enter his Valdis, which meant it spent more time in his body. A strenuous endeavor, but thanks to his firm body, he could manage the strain comfortably.

The Imperium in his Valdis reached its absolute peak. He winced, as it felt like it would burst at any moment. While the pain was intense, he did not panic. He knew, thanks to the infant pearl, there was a membrane around his Valdis preventing damage.

After he filled his Valdis, he kept absorbing Imperium, then sent it to his bone marrow instead. It was not until Imperium filled it and he felt like his body would explode did he release and let the Imperium compress into a spec.

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The Imperium in his body also compressed into his cells and merged with them. He opened his eyes and smiled. His connection with the surrounding Imperium had increased. It felt like his body was nothing but a feather. A breeze blew through him like he wasn't there. The feeling was surreal. He looked around and realized only an hour had passed and went back to his meditation.

Shay and Ari both had their blades in their hands as they moved in sequence. Every movement they made, while simple, brought with it enough force to crush a mountain. This force, however, was docile under their control it moved and flowed with their bodies. This was their aura and the fruits of their labor. They trained their aura so much they could manipulate it like Imperium and use it to power their attacks.

Sweat beaded down their faces and their bodies trembled as the pressure added up. This was their routine, every day they would practice their control. Also, their aura would become stronger and the pressure they faced would increase again, creating a never-ending cycle. Time passed while they trained and it was soon time for their excursion to begin. With only an hour remaining, they ended their training and meditated to replenish their energy.

The etchings on the bikes lit up, and Imperium roads took shape underneath the wheels. These new bikes created roads to ride on midair, making it many times more convenient.

The group left the camp behind and sped towards the center of the basin. The further they went, they realized this place was not simple. Every couple of minutes, they would spot something interesting and had to stop and check it out.

The color of the sand changed the further they went. It went from black to red to orange to yellow to green to blue, etc. In each, there were small desert plants, and each packed with Imperium.

Xasha concluded there was much more to this sand and wanted to investigate. But this place was now theirs. He could experiment later. Now he wanted to know whether they were alone. Ignoring his urges, he went on, still stopping to check a few things out.

A lot of these things turned out to be priceless treasures. Some were medicine, and others helped with cultivation. There were no nature mages among his current group, so he left them alone until Verra and the others show up.

There were no living creatures in this basin. After a day of traveling, only sand and plants filled their vision.

To their surprise, they came upon a mountain filled with vegetation. The group excitedly flew over and landed. The plants on the hillside were common grasses and herbs. Xasha was disappointed, but they were only a few dozen miles from camp in a basin almost immeasurable. He was not worried about adventure.

He got back on his bike and with everyone intending to leave. However, a second before riding off, he noticed the air in this area was behaving strangely. Upon closer inspection, the Imperium was acting strangely as well. They were heading in a single direction, similar to when a cultivating was meditating.

Xasha decided to investigate. He left his bike and followed the Imperium's trail down the mountain. At the back of the mountain near the foot, he found a small opening. He quickly used his wind to cut open a doorway, but to his disappointment, the cave was small, and cutting it open would cause it to collapse.

Premo grabbed his shoulder. "Allow me." With a wave of his hand, the small hole in the mountain turned into a luxurious hallway with columns in the shape of beasts and fixtures in the shape of flowers.

"Not bad," Xasha nodded. The group made their way inside the underground cave. At the end of the cave, they found an enormous cavern filled with blue crystals. The crystal glow filled the room with light. The stone-ground was all cracked and in disrepair.

The cause was the roots that seemed to cover every inch of the cavern. They followed the roots and found the plant it belonged to. The crowd could not contain their gasps in shock the moment they saw it. Even after minutes, they still had not come to grips with that's they were seeing.

Xasha called for Mylyn. She came out and saw their panic and began to panic, too. She was sure there was an unbeatable enemy before them, and they needed her help to defeat it.