Realm Travel

< Notice: Chapter's are under repositioning>

The Realm Walker's Gambit

I found two cultivation worlds to chose from. Each offering its own path to power, its own trials to overcome. My thoughts drifted through the possibilities of the worlds before taking this step.

Martial Peak had always fascinated me ~ the sheer scope of its cultivation system, the endless journeys through realms that stretched beyond mortal comprehension. But therein lay the problem. Time.

The cultivation process in that world demanded millennia even, just to reach meaningful power levels. My usage of the LoHP was also limited there and the advanced techniques required, needs venturing into places of higher realms where there are beings more powerful than me and my only defense would be creation energy when I need to start from number one.

The Tiny World of Tales of Demons and Gods was a paradise. Here, souls were birthed directly into the material plane, their mortal vessels perfectly suited to contain that ethereal essence. The world's fundamental laws operated on this principle ~ since the soul was easily perceivable, the ancient cultivators had bypassed the traditional dantian refinement of life essence, instead beginning their journey with the more accessible soul force.

These laws favored soul growth magnificently, right up until the Heavenly Fate Realm, where the concept of physical form had to be sublimated into pure spirit by absorbing the power of heaven itself. The ultimate would be union in the Martial Ancestor Realm, where body and spirit became one.

The benefits were undeniable ~ early strength gains, enhanced life structure, power that could manifest quickly. But the glaring weakness made me this travel.

The lifespans in these higher realms were ridiculously short by cultivation standards. Even calling Nie Li an old man had been more joke than truth ~ in real cultivation worlds, practitioners often cultivated for millions of years. He was merely five hundred years old when he reached something equivalent to deity transformation in his past life. A child by true cultivator standards.

What I truly needed was to unlock the transformation of refined body essence into Qi, and then transform that Qi to elevate the Spirit. Not just refine Spirit and use it to augment physical form like a crutch.

My purpose crystallized in my mind ~ increase strength, accumulate knowledge about cultivation, and return to the TDG world as soon as possible. Beyond that, the prospect of exploring different realms as a visitor within the universe held its own appeal. Perhaps one day I could bring Ning'er with me on such journeys. But not now. Without sufficient strength, what meaning could adventure possibly hold?

Luo Zheng's world offered something unique ~ my entry point would be within a Saint's inner universe. The Immortal Palace represented a treasure trove of knowledge and growth opportunities. That single factor tipped the scales of my decision.

Of course, there were risks. Being inside an inner universe of saints meant that gods and heavenly venerates could calculate destiny and fate with frightening precision. If I shared this world's luck through my interactions, they would notice. But according to the gifts I received from the one who called absolute creator, while they might be able to annoy me, they couldn't pose a genuine threat to my life.

As these thoughts swirled through my consciousness, a voice resonated within my mind, clear and absolute:

"Since you have used your realm travel abilities, the limitations on creation energy are removed. It will grow with your power level and you can use it as you wish to absorb and translate energy, create constructs outside, but not control any other energy with it. You can switch the shielding to just you or the sub world you are in.

It will be available after you try to go through the process of advancing. What's the point in making you omnipotent from start? Furthermore, beings in different worlds can't enter other worlds with you. They however could exist within your scope.

This will be last time my voice will be heard. You will receive new abilities set at certain life level or if your subconscious need arise"

The god's consideration touched me. My creation energy manipulation radius expanded to encompass a full mile now. Though this meant Yu Yan and Shen Xiu would be confined to existing within my inner space.

The portal materialized in a deserted area, suspended in air but still within the minor world of Luo Zheng's birthplace. The moment my foot crossed the threshold, my body underwent a dramatic transformation, adapting to the new world's reality and will. My control over laws vanished completely, and I plummeted toward the ground.

Confusion flashed through me for an instant due to sudden loss of strength before training took over. I channeled a simple soul force technique, gliding through the air with desperate grace before managing a controlled landing that still carved a small crater in the earth.

Minutes passed before I could move properly again. The law energy from my previous world had translated into smaller layers that I could observe directly within this universe's structure. Sensing laws of Heaven, and LoHP, new information about energy manipulation and body cultivation flooded my mind.

From earlier universe's knowledge base, cross-referencing with cultivation realm information I know from story, the LoHP revealed my true power level. My raw power from the Heavenly Second Fate translated to late stages of the Virtual Disaster Realm. But I lacked even a drop of genuine energy or gang energy, making me appear as nothing more than someone at the peak of body refinement layer.

After regaining my bearings, I walked out and began asking directions. Language wasn't difficult to understand. Took a moment with LoHP feeding directly to my memories. Finding the Luo Mansion was also not difficult ~ the family's reputation preceded them in this area.

I had specifically chosen a time point shortly before Zheng would absorb the ancient refinement technique. Converging my soul power to appear ordinary proved simple enough, though the bright colors of my previous world's clothing made me stand out like a beacon.

Standing outside the Luo Mansion, I noticed several people had taken note of my presence. Shifting into void form, I flew around the mansion's perimeter, studying its layout and defenses. After ten minutes of careful observation, I found my target ~ Luo Zheng sat reading by candlelight, absorbed in a book his father had given him.

I could have completed my task from a mile away, but curiosity compelled me closer. I wanted to see him properly while also obtaining his bloodline information. The poor young man had no idea what kinds of difficulties his father had arranged for him, all in the name of building resilience.

While his sister had perhaps enjoyed a somewhat easier path, this boy seemed destined to encounter trouble wherever he went. Then again, he could be just a variant of his true self in 13th layer perfect world or one in the making.

When he was fully occupied with his reading, I materialized before him in void form . Several drops of blood from his heart carrying its essence where copied directly. He experienced nothing. I then copied the book and vanished from the room entirely.

This was time of the critical moments when the true Gods outside would be watching his first steps into cultivation. But I remained shielded from their perception, just as promised.

The creation energy required consumed slightly more than what I had needed to copy the demon refining pot ~ understandable, considering it contained an a divine fire from God's domain with that couldron,10 genuine dragons sealed souls higher than my strength. But its conversion procedure were still not making much sense to me. Enveloping the blood drops with heavenly energy and applying preservation techniques, I returned to the market outside in void form.

I could have visited Qing Yun Sect and obtained basic knowledge from the Sky Book Pavilion, but considering the entire repository of knowledge within the Immortal Mansion, such a detour seemed pointless. However, I in the end, I still needed to obtain Luo Yan's bloodline and physique information.

Being in Heavenly Fate Realm, it was impossible for the people or arrays at Qing Yun Sect to detect my void form. I copied their books with methodical precision before slowly making my way to Purgatory Mountain.

Luo Yan had been falsely imprisoned under the pretense of "training" ~ a cruel approach, but protection from Cui Xie, the East Heretic King, who sought her for a demonic cultivation technique. The formation boundary was more sophisticated than most, but nothing that my LoHP couldn't analyze for weaknesses.

I tore an opening and found Luo Yan deep in meditation, her guardian nearby. Using my soul ability, I mind-manipulated the guardian to leave for a while, then approached her directly. Looking at her closely, I was amazed by how similar she appeared to Ye Ziyun. Her hair was slightly less vibrant, but everything else remained nearly identical except for her golden eye color.

Sensing someone's presence, she opened her eyes and immediately became defensive. My short amazement cost me my visibility.

"No worries. I wasn't sent here by anyone," I said, keeping my voice calm and appearing non-threatening.

"Who are you then? What do you want by appearing here?" Her voice carried the sharp edge of someone who had learned not to trust strangers.

"Name's Tao. Nobody special. What I need? Well, nothing much ~ just a few drops of your blood." Let me see her reaction.

"So you were sent by the heretic king after all, Tao!" She immediately launched a technique, sending genuine energy toward me that simply bounced off my refined body like water off stone.

"No, I don't relate to whoever that is...I know your brother. I just want a few drops of your blood, that's all. I'll be on my way afterward. Just keep this as a secret between us."

"You know my brother? Is he okay?" Her attitude shifted completely, suspicion melting into desperate hope.

"Yes, he's fine. In fact, he's on his way here in a few weeks, perhaps."

"Can you help him? I can feel your profound soul fluctuation ~ many realms above me ~ from when you defended yourself just now. Can you defeat the one who wants me? I'll be in your debt."

I shook my head slowly. "No. Your fate is arranged by certain people I don't want to annoy right now, however powerful I am now. Don't worry ~ it will be alright, maybe in a few years."

The shielding ability my wish had granted limited higher entities direct involvement in anything related to me. I could indeed bring her back and might even try to kill Cui Xie if possible, not right now but after a little cultivation, but the powers watching flow of fate from above didn't appreciate chaos. Everything has to work in certain ways before the result blooms.

What if Cui Xie came and vented his anger on Qing Yun Sect before Luo Zheng arrived, significantly altering his fate? What if Cui Xie's people later came to investigate what happened, killing this sect and the city? I couldn't risk that immediately ~ not with my current power level.

It would require too much effort currently using creation energy to guarantee a kill. Then what if Luo Zheng became disheartened by the fact that tracing his sister led nowhere before I made them meet? The story claimed she was his guide, but that didn't particularly happen in the actual narrative.

I needed to gain strength first. They wanted preplanned fate? Fine. Considering that I would eventually be meeting them, I didn't want to appear as a disturbing element.

"You don't bring me any benefit. Why would I give you my blood? And most importantly Why you want it?" she asked, her practical nature asserting itself.

"Well, isn't the news of your brother enough?"

She considered this for a moment. "Yes. And what do you plan to do with my blood?"

"Your brother Luo Zheng was treated as a slave in your own mansion. Until recently, he is forcefully rescued from there, but only to fall into another trap. Due to his ability, he escaped again, killing his captor. I sensed him. He is on his way to Qing Yun Sect. He'll soon participate in the entrance test, and whatever your cousin has been telling you all these years was false.

As for the use, I can promise you that I'll only be using blood to study the bloodline. I'll be staying here with you for some time, and you can watch me doing whatever with it." I mixed a bit of future knowledge to the news.

There was a huge possibility that the Immortal Mansion would respond to the presence of a destined character like Zheng, so there was no point in going there a year early.

"With your power, you could have done it forcefully. Why not do that?" she asked, studying me with those golden eyes.

"Well, I just thought of not doing that. May be you can consider myself not an enemy to you or your brother, so we'll be meeting in the future sometime."

I had already obtained her brother's blood ~ I couldn't argue with that hotheaded young man anyway and risk altering the main character's path. But with her, a conversation seemed the wiser approach for any future contact.

Soon, I would have what I needed to understand this world's unique cultivation system, and then... then the real journey for dantian cultivation could begin.