It had taken months of travel, but I was at one of the cities the Flame Sect controlled. Fu Shirong was next to me looking about as well. Thankfully I had been able to charter a carriage to make the trip from a coastal city to this one. I looked up at the building that represented the Flame Sects control and administration of the city. Ten stories tall, far taller than the other nearby buildings. I didn’t sense anyone with energy. An attendant immediately came over. “I am Cultivator Yuan Zhou of the Heavenly Alliance and I have come for directions to the Flame Sect to speak with the Sect Master,” I imperiously declared. The attendant got a lot more nervous at that. “And what stage of cultivation are you?” “Above the Nascent Soul stage,” I replied calmly while the attendant’s eyes went even wider than their already wide natural state. “How long until someone can come speak with me, or I can head to the Flame Sect directly.” “Esteemed cultivator, allow me to send word. The Flame Sect will immediately dispatch someone to the city to meet with you.” “And how long will this take? While I don’t mind waiting a few days, anything longer and I will be quite annoyed,” I replied. “I will stress urgency, but I cannot say for certain. At least three days, at most seven esteemed cultivator,” the attendant replied. “Annoying. I will wait then.” I went over to where there were some chairs against the wall and sat down. “You can go find a room and do whatever,” I waved off Fu Shirong. “I realized a fundamental truth about this place. The cultivators here are so far below me that it isn’t even funny,” I replied. I was not about to explain how his entire life was part of a grand experiment to create a unique kind of cultivator. There were other explanations, but this place was built, and that meant everything on a macro scale was designed in some way to have a specific purpose. “Really? You are already insanely strong from what I have seen. The gap is even bigger?” he asked. “It is a difference in starting points and the cultivation systems that we use. The cultivators here, use the cultivation system of the Great World. I use the cultivation system of the Heavenly Alliance. I didn’t realize how far apart our starting points were until just now. I knew before, but I had an epiphany.” Fu Shirong knew that I came from outside the Great World, which was why I wanted information on the cultivation used here. “Could I learn your cultivation?” he asked. “Like I said before. There are not enough resources, and the fundamental nature of reality would not allow my cultivation system to work properly here. Even if I wished to, there would be nothing I could do. Better to see how cultivation works in the Great World first,” I said, and Fu Shirong let out a sigh. I knew he had tagged along with me in hopes of becoming a cultivator. The sects were incredibly insular and rarely accepted outsiders. I was his best hope to become an immortal and step on the path of cultivation. No one could alter reality and how it was layered. Even things that broke the rules could not break that rule. Energy could bend it, allowing travel, but couldn’t break it. Reality was layered like a cake and that wasn’t about to change any time soon. Infinitely sized layers in all directions with bubbles of reality, but still layers. Creating bubbles of separate reality Great World, was a way for a being or a super-organization to play god. Since time was infinite, it was just a matter of creating a system that would produce the desired outcome eventually. Even if it took trillions upon trillions of years, the only risk was external influence disrupting things. One had to way the chance of achieving one’s goal versus something external interfering with the process. The odds of someone like me coming to the Great World were beyond small. So small, that it wasn’t even worth calculating anymore. You needed a cultivator who had managed their first breakthrough but not their second, not get recruited by the Heavenly Alliance, and somehow make it all the way out here in a craft capable of transversing the distance while avoiding things that would have killed me. While each step on my journey was just building off of the previous one, at this point, it had compounded massively to create this unlikely situation. Where a being that could draw on energy, but wasn’t energy based could survive in this bubble. Yang Heng calling this place a trap, took on new meaning in light of these discoveries as well. The draining of any energy, would make it hard for an energy based immortal cultivator to function. There was no need for an elaborate defense, when anything that used energy would suffer greatly. I had no doubt that the massive ring would do something to beings or organizations with a more technological bent. In a war between technology and energy, neither one was superior to the other, they both had their own strengths and weaknesses. But this place clearly was at the top of the energy manipulation spectrum based on the large ring and the energy suppressive environment. To target such a place with technology, it would have to be on the level of a replicator. I had run into replicators before arriving here. Could they have been forced to change course by this place? That could be possible. As for us getting through the defenses, we were in a tiny hovercraft that used energy and was based on human cultivators using it. If someone came to check on this place, they would use something similar most likely. And what small craft would risk angering a large super-organization that didn’t fear death. Individuals who were desperate, like myself and Yang Heng. Beings like the Ek would have turned around and headed in the opposite direction the moment they caught sight of this place. Those beings who were weak, understood their weakness and cowered away in places that were overlooked by others. Time passed as I waited for a response from the Flame Sect. Day after day passed, but I was content to wait for now. Once it hit a week, I was annoyed, but would continue to wait. Ten days had passed by the time I finally got a response. Cultivator Ling came to my room along with two other cultivators. He was clearly subordinate to one of them who was stronger and had a nicer robe. I didn’t even bother to get up. Fu Shirong stood off to the side and behind me, while I lounged in my chair sipping wine. The cultivators frowned since I clearly made no move to rise or greet them. Since they had disrespected me, I would return that disrespect in kind. “I am Vice Leader Tan of the Nascent Soul realm.” I my guess appeared to be on point. They were two bottlenecks beneath me. “I am Cultivator Yuan Zhou of the Heavenly Alliance. I have come here to look over the cultivation methodologies of your Flame Sect and to see a nexus for myself.” “And if we decline?” the Vice Leader asked. “Do you think you have a chance against me? I am asking nicely since I don’t like violence, but I am far above you. Cultivator Ling must have explained that,” I countered. “I cannot see through your cultivation. While unlikely it could be a trick of some kind,” Vice Leader Tan replied. I moved and was quickly behind the Flame Sect cultivators with my sword drawn. They struggled to keep up with me as they spun around. “That should be enough proof that I am not lying,” I replied. The Vice Leader let out a sigh. “Junior greets senior,” he said and bowed deeply along with his two subordinates. That was more like it. “Senior greets junior,” I replied and inclined my head slightly while putting away my sword. They straightened back up. “A carriage has been made ready for you and your disciple. The Flame Sect will receive you with honors,” Vice Leader Tan replied. That was the nice thing about cultivation culture if you were strong. People bowed their heads if you had the necessary power. No one wanted to get involved in pointless fighting. “Perhaps you can accompany me and we can discuss various topics,” I suggested to Vice Leader Tan. He smiled a bit at that and the tension left the room. “I would be honored to receive advice from an esteemed cultivator such as yourself. Please, follow me,” he said. Fu Shirong and I followed him out of the hotel and onto a carriage that had been made ready. A shame there were no flying tools that were available. “I will be generous, a question for a question, you may go first. If I don’t wish to answer I will say so, and you can ask again,” I said once we had sat down. “Thank you senior. I would ask how you managed to breakthrough the Nascent Soul realm to the Soul Enlightenment Realm?” So that was the name of their next stage. “Our starting points and available resources are quite different. I started at the Soul Enlightenment Realm as you refer to it.” The shock on the man’s face was immense. Even Fu Shirong appeared to be shocked as well. He knew I was strong and my background, but it was really hitting home for him at the moment. “I suspect that the goal of the bottleneck is to actually create a soul based on the names. A soul based on energy, which you can further build your cultivation off of,” I said and the Vice Leader quickly nodded. “That is indeed the case,” he said. While there might be many systems and paths, cultivation was still cultivation. The bottlenecks were the same across every being that cultivated. While some might have an easier time than others, they would not change. For the mortals of the continent, having souls and being able to cultivate was a clear sign of how abundant resources and energy were. While they might not cultivate that far, the base level of the cultivation culture was much higher than this place. If someone started a cultivation society in the Astral Plane, how far would they be able to go? Was there a fourth bottleneck for immortals? Yang Heng had not mentioned something like that, but I had never thought to ask. “I would guess that the energy in your body would have to be high enough to cross some kind of threshold.” The Vice Leader nodded slowly at this. “As for what that amount is, I cannot say. That is one of the many things I plan to look up while visiting the Flame Sect, how cultivation is done at the lower stages. As for my question, what is the history of the Great World and the Great Desert?” “Myths and legends. Some elder cultivators will make a pilgrimage towards the Great Desert once their health begins to decline or they can advance no more. It is said that human civilization was birthed in the Great Desert eons ago and we have spread Edgewards ever since.” I listened intently as Vice Leader Tan continued. “It is said that the greatest of cultivators exist in some Great Sect that stands above all others at the center of the Great World. But I cannot speak to such things. Our Flame Sect is a branch from the Roaring Mountain Sect that broke off over five thousand years ago once a nexus point was found. Beyond that there are myths and legends, but they speak more like a fairy tail than an actual story.” “Annoying, very annoying,” I said with a sigh. Well it looked like my trip to the Great Desert was just delayed, not cancelled. “Since you asked, this Heavenly Alliance, must not be Lifewards, could you have come from Edgewards, another Great World?” the Vice Leader asked. “I am from beyond the Great World. The Heavenly Alliance is a super-organization and the immortals in charge are as much beyond me, as I am beyond you. I was stranded here by accident and have spent quite a bit of time traveling from the Edge of the Great World, only recently running into civilization and discovering there are other cultivators here. Hence my curiosity about your cultivation system.” “I…I am afraid to ask, but what lies beyond the Soul Enlightenment realm?” Vice Leader Tan asked nervously. “You must construct your cultivation inside your soul with the next bottleneck, being to open a path to the Astral Plane to continuously draw in energy. The bottleneck after that is to transition from your physical body to a body composed of energy. Beyond that, I could not say, but there are higher order powers involved, like fate, karma and other such concepts.” “I am but a frog in the well,” the Vice Leader muttered. “Centuries of cultivation, and I am stuck.” I didn’t say anything. That was the problem with the truth. It would either motivate you more, or destroy your motivation. While knowing the path ahead was important, with how long a journey it would be, it was despair inducing. I didn’t want to say anything, but I had been in the same position so long ago, asking for answers. If I had known how much of a hassle everything would have been, I might not have taken the path of cultivation. Here before me was someone who had spent a tremendous amount of time and they weren’t even at my starting point. While they would have an advantage once they got past this precursor bottleneck, it would still be a long journey. Just based on the questions, even if one of these people did break through, they would not have the resources or ability to progress further in an optimal manner. It would make sense if this was a feeder ground for a super-organization like the Heavenly Alliance. If someone breaks through, take them and train them up. Perhaps they needed to progress further or reach this Great Sect in the Great Desert. The naming convention of this place was not that impressive. At least the Forever City had a name that just slapped you in the face and made you take notice. If anything, this place should be called Ripple World, instead of the Great World, with how the changes in the terrain were like giant ripples extending from the center of this bubble. There were more questions than ever the more I learned, but I would be capable of getting answers unlike Vice Leader Tan. He was stuck with his current situation with no way to change things. While he could look to me for guidance, I didn’t have the resources of willingness to help him out. I would chat with him, but it would just be depressing as he quickly found out. While I might dislike the Forever City and the Heavenly Alliance, it had provided me a place to grow my cultivation and progress. If I had been born in this Great World, I doubted I would have gotten anywhere. Even with my knowledge and reincarnation, I was only so skilled. While that might have given me a boost at the start, cultivation was open to everyone on the continent. Here cultivation was limited to the sects due to this nexus. I was more interested than ever in seeing it. I had no more questions that couldn’t be answered in person and Vice Leader Tan was ruminating over what I had told him. I suspected he might give up in the near future. While it wouldn’t be anything dramatic, he would live his life instead of focusing on his cultivation. The gap he had to cross to become an immortal cultivator was beyond the difference of Heaven and Earth. It was so massive as to be impossible. That was why there had to be something at the center of this world and I was even more interested in what one of these nexus points represented. If they could be found, then perhaps I could figure out how to protect my own energy. I also felt a bit guilty. If I had carried Yang Heng with me from the crash sight, then I could have stuffed him into a nexus and he would most likely recover to some degree. If he had his power back, I had no doubt it would have been easy to escape this situation. But dragging my immortal senior through the wilderness and into risky situations did not seem like a good idea at the time.