Nolan and company had only travelled about four kilometres through the forest when he called the group to a sudden halt. Without warning, he turned to Sean and Esteban and infused inner essence into his voice as he issued an English command. “You two aren’t allowed to tell anybody of what’s about to take place here.” The effects of the master-slave contracts assured that they wouldn't go against his words. He fixed Ian with a resolute stare and then reverted back to the Universal Language. “I trust you Ian, more than most people. Do you trust me?”

  “I do.” Though he responded instantly, his friend’s eyes had taken on a wary glint.

  “Then I’m going to let you in on my greatest secret. You can’t tell anyone about it—Liv, Shery, anyone. Do I have your word?”

  “On my life.”

  Are you sure, lad?

  Nolan directed a significant portion of his inner essence reserves into the Millennial Ring. Very soon a profound, clear and translucent energy poured into Nolan’s surroundings and then abruptly initiated a bizarre and disarming sensation in each person present.

  It’s the reason I used those master-slave contracts. As for him, I trust him. I’ll see you soon, old man.

  “What’s going? What did you…?”

  Ian toppled to the ground in unison with the other two, though Nolan didn’t see them land. He didn’t see anything at all. His consciousness had been swallowed up by the peculiar powers of the Millennial Ring, his awareness distorted by the inexplicable sensation of inertia and the incomprehensible agitation that he had experienced twice before, three times if he included the day of the Interspatial Migration. When he finally came back into his consciousness, it was to the dull and dreary backdrop that he had grown so familiar with in recent years. He had spent far more time in this solitary realm than he had on Venara.

  Nolan took a deep and satisfying breath as he felt the heavy concentrations of Origin Energy in his surroundings. Everyone else lay in an unconscious heap atop a patch of loose grass that had been uprooted during Nolan’s last stay when he had sprinted throughout the field to get a proper gauge on his speed. There were many scattered piles of shredded grass, not to mention what remained of the demonic fox and the giant mantis.

  Why are they still asleep? He stared down at his companions with an anxious heart. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that this was the first time their bodies had experienced such a sensation? If that’s the case, maybe Sean and the kid will wake up first. They’ve already ‘migrated’ after all.

  He made three casual jumps that saw him land lithely within the centre of the stone courtyard that occupied the middle of the glade. Without wasting a second, he strode over to the Divine Spirit Fountain and hopped into its gorgeously sparkling waters with a small smile on his face. A pleasant cool washed over him as the energized water began tickling at him with its invigorating touch, his mind at ease as he floated in place with a contented expression.

  It only took ten minutes for all of his bruises and scars to completely vanish, even the smallest blemish replaced with healthy, undamaged skin. His spiritual space had filled to capacity and was now thriving under the nurturing influence of the spectacular waters.

  “Uncle Grey?” he said casually.

  A translucent silhouette appeared a few metres above him, the shaded form resting in a reclined position with his head propped up by a pair of wizened hands in his usual pose of leisure. The old ghost’s bearded face wasn’t arranged in the mask of calm and contentment that he usually assumed, wrinkles more prominent now that the skin wasn’t pulled back in a smile or peaceful grin.

  “About last time…” began the spirit.

  “What’s there to say? You did some sketchy shit and now I don’t trust you. If your skeevy little schemes didn’t end up saving my life, then I’d never give you a second chance.”

  “My actions were in order to assure your safety, and through yours, my own.”

  “You could have at least brought it up before you cast a body-possessing arrayment on me. Do you think I like knowing that someone else sees everything in my line of sight?”

  “I know, Nolan, but you’re just too weak. I had to be sure that it worked, so that I could intervene in the worst-case scenario. Now that I have, I won’t be able to do so again for quite some time.”

  “How do I know that you won’t take control of my body the moment that you’re able to?”

  “I swear by the heavens that such a thing will never happen again. You are, after all, my dear disciple…”

  He rolled his eyes as he noticed that Esteban had begun to stir where he slept way out in the field. “Look, if we’re about to die and you can prevent that, then go ahead and take control of my body. Just ask me first, okay?”

  The old ghost gave him a guilty nod.

  “Last time I was here you told me that I can control when the Millennial Ring ejects me, even if I’ve only been here for a few days. If I do that then will I be able to return immediately since I didn’t take advantage of all of the time available?”

  “No, you will have to wait four to six weeks, as usual.”

  “Damn. How long do you think I’ll be able to stay here this time?”

  “Sixteen months, perhaps seventeen?”

  Nolan was quiet for a moment, contemplative. “Could you tutor those three in inner essence control?”

  “Not just the ones from your world?”

  “Yeah, Ian too.”

  Though the old man’s transparent eyes had begun to shine with excitement, his voice was nonchalant and unfeeling. “I suppose I could.”

  Nolan slipped out of the fountain and enjoyed a relaxing stretch. He knew better than anyone how lonely the old ghost had become after hundreds of eons in solitude within this desolate little glade, so it didn’t come as a surprise that the eccentric spirit was particularly keen on meeting the others. “Alright, come on. I’ll introduce you to your new students.”

  They set off at a leisure pace toward the others, who were slowly regaining awareness where they lay in the emerald field. Reluctant as Nolan was to rely on Uncle Grey's assistance, he intended to spend the majority of his time patiently cultivating the Ancestral Body Technique, and thus didn't want to waste too much time monitoring the others while they trained. He would teach them his core cultivation method and then Uncle Grey would tutor them on the basics of cultivation.

***

“Hey Nolan. Hate to bother you, but it’s about time you showed me and the kid the next stance.”

  Nolan was floating atop the surface of the Divine Spirit Fountain’s immaculately clear waters, smiling as he enjoyed a quick rest before he got back to cultivating the Ancestral Body Technique. His main focus over the past several weeks had been on improving his spiritual sensitivity, which he had done so by following an odd but feasible bit of advice from Uncle Grey.

  He’d remained within the fountain for over thirty days, only leaving to relieve himself or to enjoy the occasional meal, or else to teach the others for a few hours here and there. He’d worn a blindfold the entire time, which forced him to rely on his spiritual sense to perceive his surroundings. This resulted in noticeable growth of his proficiency at manipulating the energy within his spiritual space, which had increased by about ten percent. Now that he’d improved his capabilities in that regard, it was time to work towards raising his cultivation level.

  “You guys are really getting the hang of it, eh?”

  “Six weeks is a lot of time to do the same thing over and over again.” Although Sean spoke with an exasperated voice, his smooth-shaven face was lifted by a light grin. “Not to sound ungrateful, but there’s only so much Mr. Grey can help us with if you don’t do your part.”

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  Nolan gave an awkward cough. Since they first arrived in the glade, Sean and Esteban had spent hundreds of hours each week training in dead silence with nothing to keep them company save for an eccentric old spirit and a creepy backdrop that was completely devoid of colour and sound. Sean had been hinting for over a week that they were ready to begin practicing the next steps, but he’d brushed them off without moving from the fountain at every instance of insinuation. If he intended for them to grow at a healthy pace then it was necessary for him to keep up with their learning curve.

  “Alright, what stance are you guys on now, the fifteenth?”

  “Yeah, well I am. Esteban’s one below me.”

  “You’d better pick up the slack else he’ll end up surpassing you.” Nolan climbed out of the fountain and nodded at Uncle Grey, who was feigning sleep in his usual hammock-resting pose. The old ghost acknowledged their departure with a friendly wave, which the black-haired man kindly returned. “Just think, that little rascal being able to kick your ass.”

  “Honestly, that’s a possibility,” said Sean as they began to walk toward the area where Nolan had knocked down several dozen trees after he’d initially entered the first level of Profound Entry. “He’s been addicted to training since that breakthrough.”

  “Aren’t you the same?”

  “After everything I’ve seen since leaving Earth, I’d be insane to waste any time now that there’s a way for me to become strong like the freaks of that world we were living in. What did you call it, Venara?”

  Esteban’s dark brown eyes lit up at their approach, and he broke the stance that he had been holding and ran over with eager steps.

  “Nolan, look this!”

  Following his use of the Universal Language, the pale boy took a few deep breaths and then proceeded to make his way through the first fourteen stances of the Ancestral Body Technique in a near flawless manner. Light trails of Origin Energy trickled into his body from the bizarre environment, the streams slow yet steady as the sequence of stances was repeated several times over.

  Patting the kid’s frizzled hair, Nolan smiled. “Good job, bud. Go and stand next to Sean now, would you? I’m going to show you guys the next few stances, and I’ll stick around to make sure you get the hang of them.”

  He spent the next eight hours doing exactly that, and eventually called Uncle Grey over to instruct them on inner essence circulation and the management of breathing patterns as they resumed the grind of endless cultivation.

  Nolan returned to the Divine Spirit Fountain and silently sat atop its stony ledge with his legs dipped into the refreshing water up to the knees, his pant legs soaked. He summoned his pill cauldron with a thought and used a small amount of inner essence to suspend the crude metallic container before him as he activated its essence fusion properties and began to portion different herbs into its confines with practiced skill.

  Focusing his spiritual sense on the interior of the cauldron, he locked the herbs in place as the energy that he had injected to activate its special functions began to break down the organic material until several tiny piles of fine powder were all that remained. He concentrated on the miniscule deposits of medicinal dust and willed tiny streams from each to coalesce at the centre of the chamber, where a hand-sized sphere of powder gradually took shape before abruptly withdrawing in on itself like an imploding star. Bright flashes of red light were emitted from the ruby eyes of the demonic face that had been etched onto the cauldron’s coarse surface, and a soft scarlet glow momentarily flared up from the interior.

  “It’s done,” said Nolan with excitement. He quickly retrieved the product of his labour, a tiny green medicinal pellet marred by a single blotch of white the size of the tip of a pen. Although it was low grade, the pellet weighed half as much as the previous one, which indicated that he had compounded it with much more proficiency than his last attempt. “Hey Ian, eat this.”

  His friend caught the pellet without opening his eyes and thanked him.

  “That’ll speed up your cultivation speed by about five percent!”

  “You’re something else Nolan, really. Who would have known that you had so many secrets to you? So much time has passed and yet I can hardly believe where we are, that you brought us here. It feels like I’m in a dream.”

  “Imagine how I felt when I was stuck here for six months by myself.”

  “Does time really flow differently here than back home?”

  “You can’t make this shit up man, I swear. Don’t let me distract you though. If you put in work then I can see you reaching the third level within a few more weeks.”

  Ian commented on the amazing nature of the glade and more so the fountain within its central courtyard, before the strong-featured boy receded into a meditative silence.

  Only six weeks had passed and yet Ian had already made a breakthrough to the initial phase of the Integration stage’s second level, and he was days away from taking a small step forward into its middle phase. It had taken him a while to recover from the shock of waking up in such a strange place and then immediately being introduced to an ancient spirit that Nolan casually referred to as his teacher, though his disturbed expression eventually gave way to one of incredulous delight after he and the others were taken on a tour of the glade and given a lengthy explanation on all that had been discovered to date.

  Upon introducing Uncle Grey to the three newcomers, Sean had been extremely put off while Esteban had introduced himself to the old spirit with awe in his young, chestnut eyes. Ian, though tremendously surprised, was not put off by the existence of a remnant spirit, for he had heard tales of such existences all throughout his childhood.

  Nolan returned to compounding medicinal pellets in silence, an absence in his chest as he stared at an empty section of the fountain where Nyla had always preferred to sleep. This forlorn feeling interfered with his compounding process, so he eventually left the courtyard and found a discreet area of the glade where he meditated for a while in order to clear his mind.

  Once he had composed himself he began to run through the one hundred and ninety-eight stances of the Ancestral Body Technique, and committed to doing so for the next several days. He made sure to use his novice medicinal pellets, though there was a limit to how many times he could use them in a row. Since they were highly impure, any extended use might cause a rebound within his body such as the failing of organs, stiffness of muscles, or even permanent damage to his inner essence channels.

  The amount of Origin Energy that he could pull into his body increased with each new level of cultivation, and so too did the speed at which his dantian filtered it into inner essence. After transcending the Body Nourishment stage one’s physique would have strengthened enough to facilitate the growth of the inner essence channels within it, at least that was usually the case with common cultivators. Once an individual stepped into the Profound Entry stage, each breakthrough would nurture and reinforce their internal energy system in preparation for the heavy concentrations of internal energy that would proliferate throughout their body upon reaching the next stage. At that point their physique would have grown accustomed to accommodating inner essence to the point that this energy could be projected from their body and controlled at will despite lacking a direct connection to the dantian.

  Since Nolan could already project inner essence from his body, his breakthroughs served to strengthen his inner essence channels and increase both speed and fluidity of circulation. Plainly speaking he’d be able to manipulate his internal energies in a more natural manner.

  It took Nolan thirty of his homemade medicinal pellets and three long weeks to reach the third level of Profound Entry, at which point the amount of energy within his spiritual space increased by about fifty percent, the range of his awareness by about five percent and his overall strength by a similar margin. Including all of the time that he’d spent in the Divine Spirit Fountain over the past two months, he could now summon about eight of the discs of spiritual energy that he’d used to escape the explosion that defeated the armoured sloth, as opposed to the four that had all but drained him at the time.

  Uncle Grey proved very helpful in educating Sean and Esteban on the finer points of cultivation, for there were many principals and profound notions that one had to consider when interacting with the energies of the world. With Nolan’s instructions and the old spirit’s guidance, Sean was able to achieve activation of the twentieth stance, and Esteban the eighteenth. Evidently the Michigan man was reluctant to lose out to a nine-year-old boy, for he had doubled his efforts almost immediately after he and Nolan had joked about the kid outclassing him all those weeks ago.

  Neither of his ‘disciples’ had left the first level of Body Nourishment, though based upon the relative heaviness of their auras he was able to tell that they would reach the second level within two to three weeks. He was quite pleased with their progress, considering that they were only working with a fraction of the core cultivation method.

  Thanks to the fact that they had each developed a dantian, they were able to siphon energy from spirit stones to supplement their cultivations at a slightly quicker pace than their current training speed. Even so, it would be more beneficial in the long run for them to learn the technique through and through, so that they might train at the same pace as Nolan in the future without having to waste excessive amounts of money on stones and other resources.

  Once he reached Profound Entry’s third level he decided to temporarily shift his focus to mastering one of the several martial skills that he had accumulated since appearing on Venara. While he wanted to take full advantage of the boundless Origin Energy that filled his strange environment, he’d seen the destructive power of martial skills firsthand and thus deemed it an urgent necessity to equip himself with such techniques.

  Once he’d resolved to alter his training regime, Nolan asked Uncle Grey to accompany him to the secluded area on the eastern end of the field that he had taken a liking to in recent weeks. The transparent old man floated above him with lax limbs and an absentminded smile, contrasted by the pensive line of Nolan’s pursed lips as the two of them regarded a trio of thin books that he had laid out before him.

  From left to right sat a dark red notebook, an ornate booklet with gilded pages, and a simple, aged evergreen notebook. Two of these had belonged to the City Lord of Greenwall, the third to the blond-haired disciple of the Bloodhand Sect that had originally owned the Bone Sword.

  “It’s hard to believe I obtained these all in one day,” he muttered as he regarded the malicious scarlet light that emanated from the red book. Somebody had imprinted their aura upon the skill manual, likely to provide examples of the inner essence arrangements and circulations that were necessary in order to activate the skill. It was in such fresh condition that he judged its creation as relatively recent, a complete contrast to the corroded paper of the pine-coloured manual.

  “Hardly anything to be impressed about,” Uncle Grey yawned.

  “Why don’t you teach me some of your amazing techniques then?”

  “You don’t have enough inner essence to use them. The only things that I could teach someone at your level are the movement skill that I taught Nyla and the Profound Soul-splitting Technique, neither of which you have need for.”