Karma shifted slightly, simultaneously exhilarated and uneasy. Venturing out of the sect on his lonesome was undoubtedly appealing; the absence of supervision presented a prime opportunity to experiment further with his unique abilities.

What does "slicing" a golden thread entail? The possibilities are as captivating as they are numerous.

Additionally, Karma had yet to uncover the implications of devouring loose golden threads to the point of saturation, a task he'd delayed far too long. Ouroboros's imperious decree sparked an intense urgency within Karma, shattering his previous complacency. After all, assuming Their claims were legitimate, They wield power inconceivable to mortal comprehension.

My objective transcends the external and embraces the internal.

Ouroboros's voice never tired, incessantly echoing throughout his psyche like a death knell. In a bid to regain tranquility, Karma sank into profound contemplation, converging upon a single notion: Soul apotheosis.

Elevating the most central aspect of his being perfectly captured the essence of Their creed. As if in confirmation, a modicum of quiet graced his racing thoughts.

Karma exhaled through his nose, resolving himself for the trials ahead.

Repeating the words of a primordial accomplishes nothing; my actions embody the sole instrument qualified to reap the harvest before me.

Exiting his prolonged introspection, Karma idly swept the lecture hall.

"Eh? Where'd everyone go?"

Swiveling left and right to barren stone, palm met face with a smack.

"I need to break this habit; soon, there won't be a sect to guarantee my safety, only slobbering beasts sizing up a tasty snack."

"Indeed."

Karma stiffened. Meekly looking up at an imposing man standing atop a flying sword, he uttered, "Disciple greets Administrator Zhao."

"Oh? You know so many words! A scholar now, are we?"

Unsure how to respond, befuddlement overtook Karma's initial subservience.

Administrator Zhao seemed to deflate, drooping his shoulders in resignation.

"The sect appointed me as your chaperone. We leave tomorrow at sunrise; meet me at my residence, you ... know where to find it."

To punctuate his sentence, he immediately set off, leaving no room for inquiry.

"I do?"

Shrugging noncommittally, he stood up and strutted toward the hall's egress.

"That's a problem for later. Time for some shopping!"

**

Karma sauntered up to a beautifully crafted entryway, its polished mahogany surface etched with ornate herbal decals. Gripping the handle with a mighty tug, he formally entered a chic establishment.

"Welcome to the Profound Pill Consortium, patron. Do you have an appointment scheduled for this afternoon?" greeted an elegant young lady adorned in velvet robes.

"I do not. I came hoping to purchase products suited to enhance cultivation speed," replied Karma.

Smiling, the employee began, "Then, it is with great displeasure that I must—"

"I intend to deal in bulk."

She paused before shifting to a more cordial tone, "We greatly appreciate your desire for our services, but unfortunately—"

"Hundreds."

"Hundreds?"

"Hundreds."

"Please wait one moment."

**

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Karma returned to the inn at a near sprint. Slamming his room door open and closed, he hurled himself into a lotus position on his bed, dumping a deluge of spirit medicines into a mound.

Circulating his spiritual energy with mild impatience, when his body felt ready, Karma practically inhaled a stream of pills. Amid the extravagant onslaught, a golden knot would happily jump into his mouth with each gobble, inducing an unfathomable chill in his soul. A moment later, a volatile detonation would occur in his Spirit Aperture.

Slowly but surely, the mountain of pills shrank, contributing to a growing feeling of bloatedness. Within, Karma perceived a sensation akin to two balloons expanding simultaneously, each teetering at the brink of an eruption.

Karma knew not where their limits lie, so he ate with gusto. Rainbowish streams coursed through his meridians, utilizing various mechanisms to call upon the energy of Heaven and Earth. Brilliant bundles of thread paved their way into the depths of his being, joining their comrades in a quest of the unknown.

…

Karma's outstretched hand swiped empty air, breaking him out of his trance. Opening his eyes to investigate, he suddenly froze.

"Eh? Wh—"

A chaotic maelstrom bombarded his consciousness, drowning him in a kaleidoscopic chasm. Sound and color overlapped, creating mind-boggling compositions perceivable only through his ears. The world unfolded into cascading dimensions, warping and folding across axes previously unknown.

Driven by instinct, Karma waved his arms and kicked his feet. The quagmire emanated palpable amusement at his motions, actively cooperating with Karma to simulate the effects of swimming. Imitations of general relativity were fashioned out of pure abstraction, canoeing him to its shores.

Finally breaching the surface, Karma hobbled out to a panoramic starry sky. Spinning back, a brief look at his former captor halted his discordant thoughts.

"I recognize you!"

With dense expectation, Karma looked up, viewing the side profile of a self-devouring serpent. It circulated around a spatial tear spewing indecipherable information, the same element that had submerged Karma moments ago.

"Come to think of it, I've never seen the self-devouring serpent from the third dimension, it's always oriented perpendicular to me. I wonder what's on the other side …"

A deafening, droning noise subsumed the space. Karma toppled over, flabbergasted at the scene before him.

"It can move!?"

The bronze titan completed a full turn, rotating about a vertical axle to reveal its backside. Wide-eyed, Karma gasped as an apocalyptic singularity came into view.

"A torrent of data on one side, and a bottomless vacuum on the other?"

Without warning, a potent ejection force surrounded him. Following a luminous flash, he was transported to yet another unknown realm.

Unlike his previous location, Karma's new environment boasted adequate lighting—taken to an extreme.

Opposite Karma, a star drifted serenely in the void.

…

Squinting, Karma realized the celestial body was not monochrome as he initially surmised. Coated in a scintillating lattice, a formless, gelatinous sphere ebbed and flowed. Confoundingly, the more Karma studied the enigma, the more turbulent its surface fluctuated.

Dumbstruck, Karma slowly enunciated, "Is that my soul? So shiny?"

Once more, a wave of rejection swept him away, this time to a locale he was familiar with.

Scrutinizing the bedding beneath him, Karma involuntarily queried, "You are a blanket, right?"

…

"It seems that is the case."

**

Karma settled down. Probing his cultivation base, his immense progress elicited a cheerful cry.

"Fourth stage of Qi Formation, and a decent portion through, no less."

After performing a series of rough experiments, Karma ascertained his spiritual reserves had once more tripled, a necessary boon to his upcoming journey.

"However, given the quality and quantity of spirit medicines I consumed, any future advancement will severely suffer from diminishing returns."

Nonetheless, that was an issue for future Karma; present Karma had one more thing he wanted to try.

"Have the recent improvements enhanced my divination prowess?"

Conveniently, Karma had an unanswered question. Taking a deep breath, twinned ouroboros with a pale-bronze hue manifested in each eye. Consistent with previous occurrences, white-gold threads stretched from his being into the distance, many of which veered toward a modest cabin seated above a lush hill.

Unprecedentedly, Karma sensed his perception drawn over to his mind's eye, the self-devouring serpent revolving at a remarkable velocity. Contrary to Karma's expectations, however, the mishmash of cluttered information was conspicuously absent. Annexing its usual position, a clear image depicted a stranger's first-person viewpoint as they prepared for bed, right up to when their eyes tiredly shut.

"My divination has been augmented by a quasi-memory stealing function, streaming the target's point of view?"

Karma called out sardonically on a whim, "Ouroboros, please turn around."

And it did.

Gawking, Karma stared intently as a swirling vortex replaced the real-time projection.

"If the other side is dedicated toward output … does this side accept input? But what should I test it with?"

Karma jolted, reminded of the events of Elder Li's exercise a few days past.

**

Administrator Zhao was in a bad mood.

The night prior, his sleep was inexplicably haunted by a horrifying nightmare. Upon arrival, he found himself under the relentless pursuit of an eldritch tentacle swarm, desperately fleeing atop an unfamiliar black disk.

Then, rendered nauseous by the incessant acrobatic movements, he vomited his stomach's contents, only for the wind to return them. Helpless, he focused on his escape, yet his efforts were thwarted one by one as if condemned to flee for eternity.

Adding to his misery, he frequently glimpsed two goliaths, their forms so massive they blotted out the Heavens. The experience left him so frightened he slumped over in defeat. Astonishingly, his pursuer's impenetrable formation broke at that moment. Unwilling to waste the opportunity, he drilled through, narrowly driving his disk into a nearby crevice.

However, as if forsaken by the universe, the damned thing teleported him straight back! Even worse, the colossi detected him, their furious stares rupturing the space around him.

Before Administrator Zhao could plead for mercy, a ticking clock hijacked his vision, counting down to zero and ending his life.

**

Administrator Zhao's leveled Karma a listless stare.

"Let's go," he said, voice tinged with melancholy.