John trained someone to replace him over this decade.
He trained Chen Zhao to become the next teacher. He also allowed him to gain the benefits of being a teacher.
John was now 41 years old. He had saved a total of 4990 low grade spiritual stones. He was also able to view the third floor of the book pavilion despite still being in foundation establishment. Why was this? It was because of his status as an operator for the sects main formation. In other words, he now had connections and was deeply respected.
What's the deal with breaking a few rules, if it means gaining the favor of a formations master?
John had been constantly studying ancient formations. He even had been looking through old programs that didn't use the current version of the runic library. Yet, he was able to understand it. He could even deduce a program through his runic vision.
That's right! He had completed his forbidden dao pillar. He could imbue the Qi from it, into his eyes. He no longer needed his admin ring. But he still wore it for nostalgia reasons. He had stored the operator signature in his sea of consciousness.
He was among the few people that could enter and exit the sect whenever he wished. Nobody questioned where he went or when he would come back. Generally, you had to go to the task manager to report your whereabouts. This was so they could assign you a personal talisman that was unique. John didn't even have one of these talismans.
As the person that designed the identification system. He obviously left some back doors for himself. This was a habit of most formation masters towards their creations. The barrier that could block core formation cultivators had no effect on him. It was as if it didn't exist.
John was quite happy with his decision to stop cultivating and expand his horizons by learning a discipline.
It was one of the most versatile of them all as well. He had basic knowledge on artificing and talismans as a result of his years of teaching.
His knowledge was far better then 'basic' in reality. He hid his skill deeply.
The only thing he remained ignorant of was alchemy.
But, this didn't interest him as much.
Alchemy was for producing pills. These could extend lifespan, heal injuries, nourish the body, and help speed up cultivation.
John was relatively wealthy. If he had a need for a specific pill. He had no problem with purchasing it himself.
Although John was only in the inner sect. He had a special status as a former teacher, and was seen as an elder. There were no 'young masters' picking fights with him over a seat in a restaurant.
There were a few women interested in him.
But, when had he ever reproduced besides operation phoenix?
He wasn't in the need of another family.
Earlier when John was doing experiments. He found that he was unable to generate Qi through his immortality. So he had written off an army of himself, due to requiring the build up of Qi. It was also because even if he made a foundation establishment body. It lacked the tempering of heaven and earth. It would just be a slightly stronger Qi Condensation.
Without a spiritual sense and soul field, it was pointless.
But John had a spell that could help with this. It was one he had already developed in the past.
It was a tier 2 spell called 'Create Food'. It created a cube of food, similar to tofu. This could provide Qi to his other bodies.
John didn't have any enemies to fight though, that wasn't why he planned to make more bodies. He left the sect and made a few more of his ontologies. The reason why? It was to build his magic inheritance!
You might be wondering what there is to gain by giving cultivators magic?
Everything.
John is capable of creating spells, he has the memories of a supreme being incarnated as a tree in his sea of consciousness. But he is limited by his processing power.
It is godly. But it is not enough.
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During the last decade he had been teaching, he had acquired the skills necessary to create this fake inheritance.
Why would he need a fake inheritance? It was to explain his future fast growth! He had a plan to get around his low grade spiritual roots.
He had built a blind spot in the sects formation. This was a hidden laboratory for himself. Even the administrator of the formation had no idea about this space. It was located underneath the sect! He had built an intricate maze.
There was a separate formation built in his laboratory that ran on an infinite loop. It was an illusion array, and it served to conceal the maze and make it look like a solid. It could fool the spiritual sense of a spirit severing cultivator!
John had been hiding his skills deeply. You might think him making the identification system for the sect was impressive. But it was only a mere fraction of his true capability.
By combining his knowledge of magic and formations, and the knowledge of artifacts over the years. He had stepped into the level of a formation cracker! He was already at the level of a grandmaster in formations...
The infinite illusion array was one of his more simple creations and it was powered by an artifact made from the core of a dead cultivator. It generated energy through a loop over time, enough to sustain itself.
If he presented this method to the world, he would go down in history as a huge contributor. Not having to have cultivators or spirit stones power an array over time? It was a huge change!
But John didn't want too much attention, he did the bare minimum with his 'talents'. He didn't disappoint anybody and people respected him. He had spent a decade of his life dedicated to teaching those in the sect after all. He had personally taught over 200 people to become formation masters.
John was known as eccentric and often randomly disappeared to god knows where. People were use to not being able to find him. He had painted the perfect identity over the years. His identity was extremely convenient for his future plans.
He had gained the trust of the sect and won over many of those that were influential.
The maze underneath the sect didn't even have an entrance. It was entirely sealed. How did he get to his lab? He simply teleported. He was able to conceal the spatial disturbance using his illusion array, he had an simple formation in his cultivation cave that sealed the spatial anomalies. He felt completely at home in his lab.
He planned to use it for years.
John had many aspirations for the future. He was currently working on an artifact he called an 'Anti Space Stabilizer'.
What this artifact did was create an infinite area of space in a single point. It was essentially creating a pocket dimension. John already felt safe in this sect. But he wished to have his own pocket dimension before starting his more serious experiments.
It was through the calculations and simulations over the years that he was able to make an artifact like this. This type of artifact wasn't entirely unique in that it had never been done before. But the technology was 'lost' to time. It was something only true immortals were capable of. Yet, John, someone who was still at the beginning of foundation establishment. Was able to actually create one!
But this clearly wouldn't be his own dimension. John had fully understood 'Soul Domain' and the only barrier stopping him from manipulating his soul was his lack of cultivation.
John didn't spend any time cultivating anymore. This was because he planned to research a formation that could speed up his cultivation. Something that would shock the entire world, a way to speed up cultivation a hundred times!
His progress in formations was his tool used to conquer this world!
John didn't care if his pocket dimension technology was found out. That was something he could bare. But if someone stole his idea of a cultivation boosting formation. He wouldn't know where to cry.
His concerns were pretty invalid though. Not even the sects single formation cracker could crack his formations. Their level of complexity was on an entirely different level. But John was a cautious person by nature. He didn't plan to take any chances.
His goal still remained to protect himself. He wouldn't go looking for trouble or fish for benefits with other people. People considered him a salted fish, someone who didn't really have any grand goals.
If they knew his true thoughts and plans. The entire world would be shocked.
But he was still a small fry. If people knew his true capabilities... they would enslave him. He obviously could use reckless abandon. But he had grown fond of this particular body. Besides his skeletal body sitting on that mysterious throne. This felt like his main body, it was the body from which he learned this worlds secrets. It had the value of nostalgia attached to it.
But truthfully, if his plans were seen through. He could always abandon it. He still had that mortal family that worked for the sect. He could just be reborn casually and work his way back up. He was immortal. He had the time.
But the world was always changing. Who knew when a weird strangeness would spawn in the world destroying his plans. There was an imaginary clock in his mind ticking down.
He could just be overthinking things. But things had been going a little too well recently.
He constantly expected to be found out and trapped or sealed.
But so far, everyone showed him nothing but respect.
You could say he was a bit paranoid.
Feeling the world was out to get him despite there being no evidence of that whatsoever in his encounters.
He felt uneasy to say the least.
He enjoyed his 'retirement' and continued to work on the anti space stabilizer.
The moment of truth. The moment he activated it.
He honestly expected a blackhole to form killing him instantly.
He was prepared for the worst.
He made sure to use a test body to run Qi through it on normal mode.
The pocket dimension was successfully created!
There was a problem with his design though. There was no way into the pocket dimension. This was intentional. He had an orb in his lab on a podium. In the center of this orb was the single point that the pocket dimension was anchored to.
Inside it?
Was an infinite white void.
John didn't use this body to test the entrance.
He focused on the orb with a test body and had it teleport.
He appeared in the white space and immediately casted a tier 3 spell called flight.
"It all begins now!"