The final floor in the Pavillion of Techniques met Robert with a much smaller space that he was acquainted with after spending hundreds of nights on the lower levels of this place of knowledge. The dim light from above added a mysterious atmosphere to the place with a single table in the center that had additional focused illumination. The simplistic wooden chair and one bookshelf were ending the list of the furniture in the room. However, Rob couldn’t say that this floor didn’t have its own charm. All walls here were covered with paintings of the different cultivators. Old and young, they had a completely different appearance. Still, there was one thing that united them, simultaneously being the reason why they were all drawn here.
They are all cultivators in the Immortal Birth realm… Damn, I think there are at least thirty portraits here…
Slowly walking around, Robert paused in front of each painting as if acknowledging the accomplishments of the person. According to Rob’s knowledge from the scrolls, it was indeed a big deal to get to this point of cultivation. From Xu Wong’s explanation, he knew that the outer world had no one at this stage. Even this sect had raised so little powerhouse across its long history, lasting for many millennia.
I am sure the reason is weak foundations. Each realm represents what the cultivator is working on. At the Core Formation, you need to work on forming your core from the early stage to the peak, no matter how obvious it sounds. Only by stepping into the next realm can the cultivator be sure that he has finished the task while starting the next one. And if you haven’t done the perfect job previously, it takes more effort to proceed further down this qi-filled road. However, the real question is – what are you meant to do in the Immortal Birth realm? It can’t be immortality itself, as from the logic an infinite life is achieved only by advancing toward the last known realm – the Dao Seeking. Let’s read the scrolls then…
Robert was indeed curious about this topic. After spending so much time fixing everything in the sect, it left him only with a need for regular maintenance. The gardens with alchemy plants didn’t demand constant watering, using the qi from the air. Considering that there were no cultivators inside that would drain these energy resources and adding the fact of the contained space of the pocket dimension, there were more than enough nutrients for the botany to thrive. From the message in the Ascension Tower, he understood that there would be no fights for the time being, crossing another activity from his already short list. Therefore, cracking this mystery by further adjusting it to his personal needs was the only thing he could focus on to keep himself busy.
Surprisingly, despite the lack of life-threatening situations and barely any events that happened during my long stay here, I don’t feel bored at all… Nope, on the contrary, I feel relaxed and happy after those years of peace. Or whatever time has passed… I am quite sure that the arc inside the Tower is what both Aether and Hell wanted me to use to cut the link with their counterpart. But do I want to do it? I think not… What for? To be shoved again into another deep shithole? Fuck it! Just nope! I better stay here… For once, I have a place called home. I can teach Xu Wong if he ever returns. Hope this fool hasn’t died… Perhaps, in the distant future I will be ready to accept more guests… maybe to the point of recreating the sect again… The only problem would be with the banned entrance to the Tower of Ascension. Hmm, I will need a solution for that. However, right now, I better focus on learning more…
The next few nights were spent immersing himself in the reading scrolls and consolidating all available information to form a whole picture about the realm, the reason for the sect’s death, and other potentially useful things. That barely affected Robert’s standard routine. The new position of the Grand Elder nullified any limitations on the duration of the stay inside this place of knowledge, but Rob decided to keep the same schedule as before. Making a full round trip around the sect and checking everything each day, he proceeded with entering the spirit trial.
Confirming the message, the puppets kept their transformed state to create an oppressive construction. Robert’s attempt to close the distance toward the arc failed as before, but with more time passing he felt like this intangible energy was refining his body-soul, making the process of enduring the pressure easier. It was like his metal body was becoming stronger through the hammering of new layers after being heated. The final stop for the rest of the day and the following night was inside the Pavillion of Techniques. The place produced the most results in the short timeframe.
The first and foremost was the true goal of the Immortal Birth realm. The previous one, the Spirit Unity, was focused on merging the soul and the body into a single entity. Using an achieved state as a foundation, this realm was aimed at perfecting every previous step until they were ideal. In comparison with Robert’s ability to experiment with his body and change everything, ordinary cultivators had no instruments to fix the mistakes of their early stages, making the flaws permanent. However, by reaching the seventh realm, they finally got an opportunity to do it, strengthening their foundation to create the ultimate being of a cultivator. The fact of the latter would be tested by moving through the enormous soul pressure toward the arc before finally stepping inside and facing the last trial before getting to the Dao Seeking realm.
It brought him to the second revelation – the true purpose of the arc. It appeared not only was it impossible to reach the eighth realm by yourself, but also there wasn't a single cultivator of this stage currently present in the whole world. For each of them walking through the arc was a point of no return. They either died trying to advance or were transferred into the higher worlds to continue their road of cultivation there. This fact immediately reminded Robert about his Transcendent state and the all-mighty beings that controlled the process.
I bet there is another Deity there, overseeing everything as a puppeteer. Xu Wong was speaking about the Heavens, which sounds like dumb irony. Evil Hell, Good Heavens, Neutral Aether – the plain standard trio of powerful assholes like in a fucking game… Yeah, and there is a chance there are more of those entities, who don’t value the life of mortals at all.
The last important thing he found was the reason for the mass dying in the sect. As the breakthrough to the Dao Seeking realm took a lot of outer energy to fuel the process through the artificial structure, also known as the arc, it was drained from the surroundings. Previously, to compensate for such intensive demand, the sect used additional portals that led to the outside world while raising the qi density in the air by growing multiple specific plants and trees. However, from the old map Robert found when he studied the ideas of improving the chances, he noticed the additional territory of the floating rock that was currently absent, as if vanishing without a trace. It was exactly the place where the energy-supporting portals were located, helping to lessen the drain.
But it seems something went really wrong, and they got destroyed… And by trying to advance, the previous Grand Elder accidentally killed their own sect, draining not only Qi but even a soul energy… Well, fuck. It complicates the things… Hmm…
Pondering about plans and potential options, Robert took a clean scroll to write down his thoughts. They were slightly chaotic in that regard, so putting them on paper helped him to organize them into something processable. For something that would be turned into a set of actions for the foreseeable future.
So, let’s start. Do I want to use the portal? Nope… But I want to be prepared to do it, just in case. Never know when life decides to punch you in the face. Therefore, I need to work on growing more plants to increase the amount of qi. As I don’t use it, there will be no surplus – everything might be used to supply the process of advancing. Okay, another long session of studying the plants awaits... That is decided. What is next?
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Yes, improving my self-invented cultivation system. The idea of perfecting the previous adjustments from the Immortal Rebirth is good. I can do that too. Maybe my current setup works fine, but there is always a space for improvement. For the bare minimum, I can remake everything to make my reactor core decentralized. Why do I need any vulnerable spots, like my energy heart? I can try to make hundreds of tiny reactors instead, and the destruction of one or even several of them would never lead to my instant death. Maybe I can come up with a more efficient conversion method, who knows.
Okay, it leaves me with a final thing – I want a combat art. So far, the only passable idea I’ve got is to recreate the soul-pressing formation as it relies on the transformation of qi into some kind of soul energy. I can use the rest of the obsidian steel to put it inside my body. Considering my ability to increase my weight at will, and the interconnection between my body and soul, it might help me to achieve it. I just need more experiments… Hmm, but do I want to lose a cutting instrument? Might be useful for making items and greatly helps with maintaining the whole place… Well, I can replace my nails with obsidian steel – hope it will be enough. Currently, my physical strength and toughness far surpass the effect of the destructive layer. The nuclear blast won’t be a problem anymore…
Sighing at this thought, Robert for a short time returned to the painful memories of his past. If he had this might back then, many things would have been different. Many people would be alive. However, he couldn’t travel back in time at will. Moreover, exactly those events led him to this moment and this power.
No need to dwell on the past. It’s already gone… Focus on the present – you have a lot to do, Robert!
Nodding to himself with a light smile, Rob rose from the chair. The next day was already starting, which meant he needed to follow his routine checkup of the sect. Walking out of the building, he stopped for a moment to observe the bright cloudless sky. Despite having no sun, it was shining cheerfully, promising another happy day without world-shattering events, dangerous enemies, or appearing of even the tiniest disturbance in his calm steady life. Just another normal day – the same as it was yesterday or the day before that. Robert’s smile widened by itself, affected by his joyful mood. Reaching the central square, Rob stopped, evaluating the empty space that had no use for him.
I can make another garden here. In fact, I can feel every spare spot with plants. Nothing stops me… What was that? The portal?
Instantly turning around, Robert noticed a flash that made the whole world turn white for a moment. Almost like the giant sun suddenly invaded the pocket dimension, showcasing its mighty presence. Not avoiding his gaze not to miss any details, he continued to look at it without feeling any discomfort. In fact, his gray eyes never blinked at all, constantly watching the surroundings. Even the complete darkness barely affected them, only lowering the observable sight, but never to the point where he couldn’t see anything. It seemed the mechanism behind their work was different, but Rob didn’t try to study it as the ability to see was enough for him.
Guests? Xu Wong?
However, quickly reaching the stone arc, Robert found no one. The oddness of the unexpected event pushed him into an immediate search for a potential intruder. Surprisingly, he found one after a few minutes of walking around in the far corner of the sect. Dressed in a distinguished scarlet robe, the man was hastily moving toward Rob as if he were being late. Or more like after committing a theft and trying to run away from the place of crime as the big sack was hanging behind his back, standing out too much from the rich attire of the cultivator with its plain brown color. Quite familiar sack with signs of dirt from Rob’s previous usages during his focus on growing more plants, when he experimented with types of soil. Now it was fully filled with something entirely different and obviously more valuable, just from the shape of protruding items inside.
“Greetings, Master!” Smiling with a tired expression, the man with long black hair spoke calmly. That was the moment when Robert recognized his apprentice in this intruder. The cheerful attitude and shining eyes were gone, replaced with inner coldness and exhaustion. Having a strange heaviness in the gaze, those eyes had also a piercing effect, as if the owner could even see the other’s soul. Xu Wong’s face became sharper, almost predatory, considering the ugly scar on his left cheek, which marked him with a touch of flame. His stance became firmer, with each step almost leaving a trace on the stone road.
“What has happened to you?” Robert asked, barely believing his eyes. He never tracked the time that had passed, but it wasn’t more than a year or maybe two from the moment when Xu Wong had left the pocket dimension. However, the changes were too dramatic.
“A lot,” his apprentice kept the same expression, “Sorry, Master, I don’t have much time… Can you follow me?” Getting a dumbfounded nod from Robert, Xu Wong accelerated his walk, clearly heading back to the portal at a fast pace. For a few seconds, there was silence, while Rob was trying to replace the previous mental image of his apprentice with this new appearance that resembled a seasoned warrior but not the light-headed teenager with a dream about unrestricted freedom.
“In short, the time goes differently outside of this pocket dimension… When I returned to my sect, it was already on the brink of destruction after an unsuccessful war against its enemies… Bloody battles followed until my sect completely vanished, taking most of the members into the grave… A lot of things happened after that, and around one hundred years have passed overall… Recently I broke through to the Spirit Unity realm and decided to start my own sect.”
“A hundred years?” Robert repeated absentmindedly, trying to process this crazy fact.
“Yes… But you don’t seem to change at all,” Xu Wong pointed out, “The same as ever… So, the sect. To do it, I need more resources. I decided to take them from the storage as you never used those items… You don’t mind, do you?”
“Well, no… As you know, I don’t use anything with Qi,” Rob replied with confusion, glancing once again at the huge sack, “Your sect…”
“The sect, yes... They are waiting for me to return as fast as possible because we are in the middle of establishing… Sorry, I can’t stay for long – with time dilation I simply can’t waste any minute. Those people are waiting for my return. They need me as their lives depend on my presence,” Approaching the arc, Xu Wong spoke with resolve.
“What has happened with your desire for absolute freedom?” Rob asked with a light smile, finally acknowledging that his apprentice had changed, and not only in terms of power by advancing to the sixth realm.
“I’ve grown up, and it naturally transformed. Now I need more power to secure everything I’ve reached throughout my life,” Xu Wong told, while focusing on activating the arc with a stream of qi, “By the way, have you understood how to advance to the Immortal Rebirth realm? I am far from that point, but it’s still important to know.”
“Actually, yes… But do you have time to listen, considering everything you’ve spoken about?” Frowning, Robert asked. Earlier he had an idea of making notes for such a case, but he never did it so far. He thought he had more time, not knowing about the difference in its flow. Moreover, the information was far from being structured properly, only in the process of organizing into a system inside Rob’s head.
“Yes, I do. Personal power is much more important to guarantee the safety of my future sect as the leader is not only the face of it but also its main weapon,” Immediately changing his mind, Xu Wong halted the fueling process and turned around. For a faction of second Rob even saw the very same expression of craving for knowledge that the man had when he was younger. But it disappeared in an instant, replaced with a serious expressionless face.
The next half hour was spent in Rob explaining what he had found out with occasional interruptions from his apprentice when the latter wanted to clarify something. There were no specific methods for advancement, but Robert still had plenty of information to share, using the notes of other cultivators who had experienced it personally. However, the moment he told everything he knew about realms, the arc in the Ascension Tower, and other things, Xu Wong once again remembered about his sect and, after a short farewell, vanished inside the portal, causing another bright flash. Looking at the now empty spot, Robert couldn’t get rid of an odd sensation that was constantly on the back of his mind during the meeting with his apprentice after a long separation.
What the fuck was that? I feel like I was sucked dry and thrown away after being deemed useless… Quite a shitty feeling I must say. Is it how parents feel about their grown children?