"Well, shit," I muttered. I flopped on my back, feeling the sunshine and the cool wind of the late autumn wind. It's been a week and I'm so close to the Pillar stage, its jabbing me in the back. No matter how much I press, contort, or make a face that makes me look like I'm having the mother of all constipation, I can't get the weave to stay in a cohesive form.

I focused on my core and growled in frustration. Even my magic is stalling. Sure my spells have stopping power, but they're basic, simple. Asha assured me that the disparity of rank would weaken the effect of my attacks on more powerful enemies. It was the largest reason why we have to wait before attacking the matriarch.

I stood with a flourish and walked off the edge of the apartment roof. It was nearly three times the height of the Home Depot. It was exhilarating, one of my favorite hobbies was diving off this roof. I cancelled my momentum ten feet before splattering on the ground and landed lightly before returning from my blood step. I tightened my robe and headed to where Asha would be. Around this time, she would be teaching combat lessons near the garden.

A few minutes later, I found her yelling like a bona fide drill instructor at some poor teenager. I sat and watched, waiting for her to finish. Once the teen corrected his spear stance, she left her group and came up to me. She cocked a brow at my grumpy expression. "What's got you all cranky?" she asked.

"I'm stuck."

"Stuck?"

I stood and crossed my arms before clarifying, "I can't get the mana to stay in it's weave."

I glared at her shit eating grin and she laughed, "Sorry, it's just that all you're doing is weaving mana?"

"Yeah?" I leaned on a chain link fence, narrowing my eyes.

"You're on the cusp of becoming a true cultivator. Basically crossing over the probation period and onto the first step of mastery. This is the point that separates the wheat from the chaff. If you were still human and stopped here, your longevity would be to the point where you would live until about one hundred and fifty and you would look middle aged until about one hundred. No accomplished cultivator takes anyone under silver seriously. However, once you join the big boys your longevity shoots up to five hundred." She leaned along side me as she began her conversation.

"So, what does that have to do with my inability to form a Pillar?" I asked.

"Simple dummy, you're still thinking like a mortal. You need to pull inspiration from the Dao," she grinned.

Eliara's voice called out from our left, "What are you two talking about?" She approached us, smiling. A smear of dirt on her cheek. She had been helping out in the garden.

I waved to her as Asha replied, "He's finally trying to form a Pillar."

Her eyes widened, "Really? Congratulations!" She clapped, bouncing slightly in excitement.

"Thank you," I smiled.

"I was just telling him about the Dao aspect."

I raised a hand, "You two already formed Pillars, right? What's this about Dao aspects?"

The both nodded and Asha nocked her thumb to herself, "I chose the aspects of the Tanuki, Kitsune, Dream, and Corporeality for my Pillars. I formed these Pillars before I became a Vampire and got lucky that I prefer Illusions over seduction like most Succubi. Most paths walked by the Succubi don't mesh well with being a Vampire."

"Path? Wait, you choose a Dao aspect?" I was barely following.

Eliara took up the mantle, "It's complicated. Yes and no. You choose the Dao as much as the Dao chooses you. The path to the heavens is what we call the cultivations. It is the culmination of everything you are and will be."

"So, its all preordained? Fate, destiny, and all that? Freedom of choice doesn't matter?" I snorted.

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Asha poked my shoulder, "Yes, fate is real. Cultivation is the weapon to fight against fate. Only the weak have their fate solidified. It was my fate to live and die as a succubus. Then I met a crazy Lich who blasted himself into another world and turned me into a blood drinking badass."

"Pretty sure you were always a badass," I retorted.

"Damn straight. Back on topic. Dao aspects," Asha laughed.

"Right. How are Dao aspects different than the Dao?"

Asha nodded, "As you know, the Dao is the collection of universal truths. The Dao is everything and everything is the Dao." Eliara explained. "However, the Dao can be broken down and added together. If you want to get technical, the Dao of Blood you formed your Foundation out of is a Dao aspect. For your Pillars, you must break that aspect down into smaller aspects to refine and focus your Foundation into Pillars."

"I suppose that makes sense," I said, "If I think about adding another Dao of the same strength or higher to my Foundation, I feel bloated and a foreboding sensation. So you strengthen your soul with parts of the Foundation Dao to pull more power from it. The Pillars add support for stronger Dao down the line."

Eliara clapped, "Got it in one, Victor!"

I continued, "And you use mana to guide and bind the Dao. I've been thinking, is mana the only form of energy in the world? That void energy doesn't really feel like mana."

She shook her head, "There are many paths to power. Mana is the purest form of mana. Mages cultivate mana, Body Cultivators cultivate Ki, Paladins cultivate faith, etcetera. Think of the Dao as a universe spanning filter made up of infinite aspects. Before you cultivate the Dao, you act as the filter. It's extremely inefficient and cause impurities to build up. Every person and race has affinities that allow different types of mana to flow more easily. For example, I have a high wind and shadow affinity while Asha has high illusion and ice affinities. Though, I'm not sure how to categorize that void energy either."

Asha added, "Once you are free of most of your impurities, you can begin to sense the Dao. Less interference in your body. You reach out into the heavens and feel for the Dao that most fits your path."

I nodded, "Okay, so how do I pull aspects from my Blood Foundation? Is it the same as before? I immerse myself in the Dao and search for aspects of Blood?"

Asha chuckled, "Eh, kinda. You need to meditate on your Foundation, Blood, in your case. You mentally break down blood into different components."

"This is getting complicated. So, what? Break it down into hemoglobin, plasma, water, cells, etcetera?" I grumbled.

Eliara let out a chiming laugh, "This is only the tip of the spear, Victor. No, you must break down the concept of Blood itself. Find why Blood resonates with you. Not every aspect of Blood suits you, even if most do."

"So how do I do this, exactly?"

"That's the hardest part. A lot of cultivators can spend years, if not decades getting hung up on the broad strokes of their Dao, not realizing that an aspect was looking them in the face. If you choose one that doesn't match your path, then you are practically stuck with it. A lot of young and dumb cultivators choose a shitty Dao aspect simply because it sound cool or imposing." A smirk crawled on her face, "I once knew a young necromancer that Maxwell took on as an apprentice. He was a silly fool. He formed a Foundation of Death, hence why he took the kid on. He showed promise, but ended up forming his first Pillar with the aspect of Annihilation. It was a feeble connection, Maxwell was furious since he wasted a Dao treasure on the kid that said an aspect of Decay was the best choice. He forced the kid to tear out the Pillar as punishment and he ended up crippling himself," said Asha. "Remember how difficult it is for others to sense mana?"

I nodded, "Yeah, it was pretty easy for me."

"That's due to a number of factors, the foremost being a magical race. However, it is extremely difficult to sense the Dao. Think of humidity. You can feel it easily when its all around you and if you focus hard, you might be able to sense it when the air's more dry. However, trying to sense Dao is much harder it is like trying to detect the individual H2O molecules in a desert. Sure, it might still surround you, but its nigh impossible to detect them without special equipment, hence why you needed a pill. What makes forming Pillars so difficult is not only do you sense your Dao, but the Dao around you which can become a distraction."

"Damn. What do I do?"

Asha and Eliara shared a look and Eliara replied, "We need to take a trip to Mythra'Vheen. There, we can not only get you another pill, but access to a cultivation room. If you remember, there was an inscription that helped you sense the Dao?" Upon seeing my nod she continued, "Well it does more than that. It can also isolate you from outside Dao, allowing you to focus on your own Dao. What's great is that this will be you final act as a true mortal."

I gave her a confused look, "I'm not a mortal, I'm a Vampire. Plus I already formed my Foundation, yeah?"

Both of them giggled and Asha said, "You are still mortal Victor. It's not like the movies, Vampires are long living, yes, even more so than Elves so long as they have access to blood, but they are still mortals. When you formed your Foundation you took one foot off the mortal realm. You merely grasped the Dao by making your Foundation, forming your Pillars truly binds you to the Dao and the Dao to you."

"What's this pill?"

"Pillar Formation pill. That's what it's called, but alchemists like to call it fancy names. It sells better that way. We can leave as soon as you're ready."

I grinned at my friends and replied, "Let's go get me a Pillar."