Thanos woke to the sensation of being picked up by his mother for his feeding. He used that time to reflect on all he had learned from Turok and commit it to memory.

That was the best way to remember dreams, and even though these were far more vivid than a typical dream, he still wanted to retain any critical pieces of information.

The most important thing to deal with now was to work out what Turok referred to as 'his path'. He had to decide what kind of essence he wanted to use. He'd been a little concerned that he might remove specific paths from his future depending on his choice of essences, but the older man had assured him that that would not be the case.

When it came to different classifications of cultivators like a Beastmaster, they were not limited as much by the essences they chose to focus on and more by the skills and cultivation method.

He was slightly confused about the difference between a proper cultivation method and the one used to form his core, but he was told the two differed, and he couldn't use it past the point of core ignition. He would need to find a suitable cultivation method to match his core to begin cultivating.

He had even asked the elder if he knew any cultivation methods he could use, to which he got a big fat no as the wisp of soul didn't have any skills or cultivation techniques stored, just theoretical knowledge.

It was a shame, but wouldn't stop him from forging ahead.

There were a million and one unanswered questions, but Turok was the only person he could speak to currently, and the time spent in the dreamscape was limited. He might never get another chance now.

The other thing bothering him was the slow progress of his body. He knew his progress was fast for the average baby, but it was still tedious, and he was practically useless.

One piece of information the older man had confirmed brought him some encouragement. It was that he was ageing much faster. With some help from Turok, they estimated that he would grow around twenty per cent faster than back on Earth due to the permeation of essence in this world.

It wasn't having much effect now, but that would mean he would reach eighteen years of age back on Earth in only fifteen years here. It was a relief for him to find out that he wouldn't need to spend as long as he thought as a child.

Setting his attention back on his plans for the future, the obvious choice would be to pick the essences he knew he was most potent in, such as space and time. This method would allow him to maximise his gains by getting the best efficiency possible when cultivating.

The only problem was that he needed to find cultivation methods and techniques related to those essences. Sure, he could pick something more accessible, like one of the basic elements that would give him an easier time finding training manuals, but his latent talent in those areas was beyond abysmal.

It might be easier if he just chose just one of the pair. Time essence was more abundant locally and made logical sense, but it wasn't what he wanted to do. He was tired of just settling and floating along as the wind blew.

He wanted to create his wind and decide his fate in this new world. He wouldn't back down and go the easy route, deciding to forge a path he had chosen no matter the outcome.

He figured he had already died once; what more was there to lose? Couldn't he make his own if a cultivation manual and skills didn't exist? Cultivation methods and abilities had to start somewhere, and if his ancestors could create their own, then that's what he would do.

Turok had said that the laws of physics as he knew them back on Earth were the primary expressions of essence. He wouldn't call himself a genius in the sciences, but it had been a passion of his back in school. Couldn't he put his fancy education to use in this regard?

He had already discovered the root of essence, giving him far greater control over it. Couldn't he use this to study it and make a bespoke cultivation method to fit him?

The next step would be to form his core, and he did have the skill memorised to do so, but he needed to work out if that was the correct step for him.

What if he used his spare time to create a cultivation method to prove it was possible? If he could achieve this, he would feel more at ease deciding the type of core to build.

He knew he couldn't cultivate without a core but could still create and test a cultivation method.

The core acted like a battery storing the essence but did more than that. It also converted any essence pulled in, purifying it and either making it your own or converting one type of essence to another. You can then push this pure essence out to your body and enhance it.

He wondered if he could create a cultivation method that didn't rely on a core. While the essence was stored and converted, the conversion aspect was the primary function.

If he could cultivate, pulling in all the essence in the surroundings and converting it to time and space without a core, It would prove that his theory was correct and that he could create a cultivation method.

It would then allow him to pick whatever kind of core he desired, as all he would need was time and effort to create a matching cultivation technique, and time was something he had a lot of right now.

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He did what he needed to do as a baby for his parents before faking sleep, closing his eyes and turning his attention inward. He went into his core using his mind's eye as he put himself in the path of the flowing essence.

He observed it all for a while, seeing the various types mix and split apart as they twisted and turned.

The most crucial part of creating my cultivation method would be figuring out how to convert essence from one type to another.

If I can manage that, I should be able to apply that theory to suit my needs.

All this speculation wasn't just a random pipe dream and was born from a few offhand comments made by Turok as the duo went through practice.

Honing in on fire essence, he watched as it twisted through his essence channels. He noticed that it almost resembled the movement of flames as it travelled. Many of the essences were similar in that regard, he realised.

As another example, water seemed to flow in contrast to Earth, which resembled a scattering of rocks flying through the air.

Time essence seemed to look like fine purple dust and, unlike the other essences, seemed to flow in a straight line without deviation.

On the other hand, space looked like a dark blue ball of gas that darted from one place to the next in a series of fast hops.

Could these be concepts related to the essences themselves?

He felt like he might be on to something with this line of thought. When he looked at the fire essence, he couldn't discern much apart from feeling it as a burning flame.

Time essence was different in that he got a sense of immutability as it moved like it would be unchanging and ceaseless. When he focused on it, other underlying feelings came to him. Many of them were vague and seemingly out of reach, but the other was a feeling of ageless brilliance.

It reminded him of when he would think of the Big Bang in his younger years, his mind trying to imagine the universe condensing into a single mass. Wondering what came before it and the whole existential magnificence those thoughts provoked.

After seeing and feeling these concepts, he knew immediately that this was one way a person became stronger. If you could understand the essences you control on a deeper level, then it was evident that your power would increase.

He toyed with the idea of spending his time researching the time and space essences for deeper truths but eventually decided against it. Even though he had a lot of time, he felt he shouldn't waste it to pursue some intellectual curiosities.

Laying a foundation as early as possible was much more critical, so he knew to balance between that and study. Pulling away from those concepts, he looked again at the essences nearby. He was trying to figure out what would be the best way to go about transforming one to another.

It could be something to do with the root of essence again, as they all seem to have a commonality, but Turok had said even he hadn't been able to grasp its intricacies, and he had more knowledge than me.

A more reasoned and logical approach was needed if he genuinely wanted to get some results.

Can essence be converted from one type to another?

He already knew the answer was yes, as Turok has explained that was how cultivation methods worked. It was possible, but it was all done via the core, so he needed to figure out a way to do it without relying on it.

Looking at the essences moving through his core, he noticed they were all over the place. They all seemed to move in distinct ways, but none ever interacted. Even though it initially looked like chaos, he started to realise there was a type of order involved.

Time essence, for example, would flow on in a straight line, unimpeded by the others who got out of its way. To him, it looked like there was a type of hierarchy among them.

Ideas about the types of experiments he could perform came to him as he watched. The first one he came up with was taking control of one kind of essence and forcefully merging into the path of another. After all, they would be mixed in a core, so perhaps that was the first step.

Steadying himself, he took hold of the water essence, pulling a section away from the flowing blue stream. He then forced a slither of aqua water essence over and into the purple-flowing dust, watching in anticipation as the two collided.

He wasn't disappointed as he felt a surge of energy expand outwards from the explosion of the interconnecting streams. Afterwards, he watched as a dark grey-coloured essence produced by the collision bled off into the surroundings and flowed along with the rest of the essences.

He watched it force its way through all the other essence streams, seeming to eat through them as it moved, uncaring about what was in front of it.

The dark essence reduced as it clashed with others before it eventually fizzled into nothingness. The only feeling it gave off was ruin and destruction, so he decided to call it destruction essence for now.

Whilst he did generate a new type of essence he had not seen before, he wasn't all that bothered by it compared to the result from the experiment. He felt like some of the water essence did convert when exposed to time but that he had no way to measure it, which was problematic.

What if I do it again but forcibly merge all the water essence into the time stream this time?

The two streams collided with a bang, and he instantly regretted his decision. The core area became a furious maelstrom of colliding essences that eventually stabilised as it was all obliterated by destruction essence that finally fizzled out.

The flow returned to a harmonious one shortly after as he panted, feeling a sharp pain just above his navel. He felt like if this were a science experiment in the real, he would have no eyebrows and a burnt face.

It seems that isn't the correct way to convert essence.

The experiment was a slight success. He noted that time essence flow had increased at the expense of water essence. The only issue was that it came with such a significant downside that unless he decided to cultivate destruction essence, it wasn't a feasible method.

He considered destruction essence briefly, but he felt that it would come with many downsides or everyone would be cultivating it. He had seen how easy it was to produce internally, but no one in the village seemed to use it.

For a second, he wondered what would happen if he forcibly condensed all the essences flowing through him into a single one, but he quickly scrapped that idea. He wasn't going to attempt something so crazy right now.

As he wondered what his next steps should be, he realised he had forgotten his willpower. He was using it in a limited fashion to manipulate essence by forcing them together, but he felt he had overlooked something.

Cultivation was only possible once a person unlocked their will. That meant willpower should be the solution to converting essence; all he needed to do now was find the technique.