CC: Chapter 24 – New Status

The Sect Leader pulled out a piece of paper and began writing on it. “Do everything on this list. Then rest and no cultivation or Elder Healer Meihui will yell at me.” I had to hold back a grin that she would yell at the Sect Leader. “The Astral Soul Stabilizer will be ready in five days. Now leave that case, take the manual and claw with you in your spatial ring and get out my office disciple,” he said. I put the stuff away and I quickly took the piece of paper and quickly left his office.

Of course, he knew about the spatial ring. You don’t live for thousands of years being an idiot. Well at least I didn’t have to share the part about shoving it up my butt. I had left that portion of my story out. That would have been humiliating.

Update Robes
Update Sect Badge
Move To Disciple Room
Construct Soul Lantern
Prepare Cultivation Plan For Review
Prepare Report On Rank 6 Beasts
Prepare Report On Refined Beast Essence
Write Book About Travels
Write Book About Astral Plane Experience
Rest-No Cultivation

Sect Leader Jiang Fengge

I had actual homework. I should have expected that from the Sect Leader of this sect. It should be Crazy Scientist Sect and not the Cloudy Moon Sect. Well, the first thing to do was to get new robes and a sect badge.

I went to the administrative hall. I had only been here twice before, once when I had entered the sect and the second time when I left to visit Half Moon City for my sister’s wedding. I entered the hall and made my way to the clerk.

“I require new sect robes and a new sect badge, my status has been increased.” The inner disciple gave me a look and my robes, seeing that I was also an inner disciple. I then put the piece of paper with the Sect Leader’s signature down. “I am now the sect disciple,” which meant I was the personal disciple of the Sect Leader himself. Otherwise known as the sect mascot. I really hoped I wouldn’t be forced to wear a costume of some kind. That thought kept nagging at me.

“At once senior!” the disciple in question replied. “Your badge, I will transfer your contribution points to your new badge,” I nodded at this. I passed over my badge. Soon I was given a new one that was shiner and slightly bigger. It took a bit longer for the robes, but he came back with five sets of sect disciple robes for me. There were five clouds, the full symbol of the sect, on the disciple robes.

“You can also mark my room as cleared, room 320, by tomorrow. I will be clearing it out today,” I said.

“Yes senior, I will handle that for you,” the clerk replied.

“Thank you,” I said and left. After that I went to my old inner sect disciple apartment room. My badge gave me access to the room. I didn’t have much. I paused at the hilarious picture my sister had drawn as a kid showing our family. I carefully put that away and left the room emptied of my personal belongings.

I then made my way to the Sect Leader’s house. A sect member greeted me and showed me to my new room. I unpacked my personal belongings. I also got out the manual and the metal claw and set them on a table to study and look at in the future.

With that done I asked a member about a soul lantern and was told to go to the martial hall that was normally for members only. I went there and member greeted me. I explained why I was here and was shown to a room and left there.

Eventually Martial Elder Lei entered. “Junior greets Martial Elder Lei,” I said.

“Sit. You are getting a soul lantern. Normally this is reserved for members only who leave the sect for extended periods of time. It lets us know if you are alive and allows us to witness your final moments if you do die. It will also allow us to track you if you are captured.” Or run away, but I didn’t mention that.

“The cost to make them isn’t cheap, but the Sect Leader said to make one for you. In addition, you disgrace that sword with your fighting style. A week from now, you will come here daily and I will supervise your use of a blade. I will talk to the Sect Leader about this.”

“Thank you Martial Elder Lei,” I said with a head bow.

“If you are going to be running around and the Sect Leader investing into you, then you better not die easily. Now this is going to hurt, try not to scream. Hold out your arm.” I held it out and Martial Elder Lei pulled out a large metal contraption from a spatial ring and began strapping it onto my arm.

“This will draw out blood and slowly compress it. It will take about ten minutes. That blood will then be infused into a lantern. I get stuck with this job, since it is blacksmithing and there is no smithing hall. Now breathe,” he said, and I breathed. He pulled a lever and I had to bite back tears. The pain was immense.

“The old method was right from the heart, but this new device works on the arm, much safer.” My entire body began to ache. “It takes a minute part of your astral soul as well. But you should be used to that pain by now.” I wasn’t! I didn’t like pain, but I didn’t complain. Complaining wouldn’t change anything.

The one thing everyone hated in this society were complainers. Anyone who complained too much was viewed as mentally retarded. It didn’t make sense to me, but that was what the culture was like. If you didn’t like something, then work hard to fix it. Life was unfair, too bad and learn to suck it up.

“You can’t be spied on with a soul lantern. Once you become an elder it will break, since it is tied to your astral soul. A new one would have to be made then.” I nodded through the pain at this. “All done and it is a clean draw too, so I won’t have to do it again,” he said. That was a possibility!?

“You can check that off the Sect Leader’s to do list. He likes his lists. Make sure you follow it, or he will yell at you,” Martial Elder Lei said and left. I staggered from the room and returned to my room in the Sect Leader’s home.

I spent the rest of that day getting my notes about my cultivation in order and reviewing it, while also making sure it matched up with the motes I had aligned so far. There were no issues. I had studied it so much I could recreate it from memory.

The next day I sat down and began to write out a book on the astral plane and then my travels to get these tasks done as quickly as possible. That is one thing I learned from my time in college, better to just get everything done as quickly as possible and not rush last minute.

I spent the entire day carefully writing out a fifty-page paper on each experience. With the symbols used for writing instead of words, I would put each paper at about the length of a ten-page college essay. I figured that was good and they were detailed with as little fluff as possible. I went to the administrative hall, and they handled the binding of papers into books.

They promised to deliver them back to me within a day. With that done, I spent my second full day back going the elder’s library and researching physical cultivation, rank 6 beasts, and refined beast essence.

There was a lot less information on physical cultivation than there was on soul cultivation. But I quickly gained a better understanding of what needed to happen. I updated my cultivation plan with new secondary core drawings and notes on how I hoped to form my astral soul, while also creating suction vortex to draw in astral energy.

The real risk was not clearing enough space for my true soul to form correctly and the suction interfering with it. I wrote that all up. The third day I spent writing up a report on what I found out about rank 6 beasts.

They were clever, could transform, had skills, and a serious threat to any cultivator below the immortal stage. Any beast rank 5 and higher was a huge threat with all the abilities they had. The rank denoted their power and ability to use these innate skills more than anything else.

While humans had the advantage at the lower stages and ranks, the beasts had the advantage at the upper stages and ranks, but were rarer in terms of numbers compared to humans. I wrote about them as well, summarizing their abilities and how the best option would be to attack from a distance with a single powerful attack to take them out from stealth if possible.

The fourth day I spent researching and wrote up a report on refined beast essence. Basically, I would need a device similar to what was used to make the soul lantern, and then extract blood from a still living beast.

I adjusted parts of my report from the previous day about using a stealth attack to cripple a beast and then this new report discussed how to use such an essence extractor and the best location to do it, over the heart.

Once everything was done, I took the time to relax. I had an operation tomorrow. I made my way to the dining hall and noticed Gen. I could have food delivered, but I wanted to get out and about.

“Gen,” I said with a smile. He quickly stood up and his eyes went wide at my new robes.

“Junior greets Sect Disciple Yuan Zhou,” he said. There was silence as people looked over. I returned his bow with a head nod.

“May I?” and he nodded, and I took a seat.

“Sect disciple, I heard rumors, congratulations Yuan Zhou,” he said.

“Thanks. It wasn’t easy. I had to go to the astral plane.” I noticed Wen Xue coming over as well. That guy truly belonged in this mad scientist sect. “Wen Xue,” I greeted him first, giving him a lot of respect and he smiled as he greeted me back. I invited him to sit with us and I told them of my adventure.

“Fascinating. The astral plane sounds truly intriguing, but incredibly dangerous. Perhaps a future expedition to collect more materials,” Wen Xue said.

“A claw weapon. Now that is interesting. How would one even use something like that?” Gen asked.

“Lunging like a cat maybe?” I suggested. “Well, you can borrow it for a while if you want. I would be curious to hear your opinion if it is practical. I already have a sword.” I replied. I was keeping it strapped to my back at all times now.

“Thanks Yuan Zhou, cultivation is exhausting, I get so bored sometimes,” Gen said with a slight groan. Wen Xue rolled his eyes.

“Well you need to focus if you want to succeed. I am almost to the third stage. Just another two years and I should be there. No substitute for hard work,” Wen Xue said.

“True. The work never ends.” After the meal, I retrieved the weapon and went over towards Gen’s apartments.

“Friends with the Sect Disciple, heh Gen, try to get some benefits.”

“Guys it isn’t like that,” I heard Gen say and slowed down my approach towards his room. “But he is like a lost puppy and his cultivation is a mess. Truly the heavens favor anyone even fools.” I closed my eyes and turned around, a pain in my chest, and it wasn’t from cultivating. Jealousy was an ugly thing.

I put the clawed glove back on the table in my room and laid down on my bed. I had considered him a friend, but I had forgotten the truth of cultivation. It was a solitary journey, and everyone was jealous of others having greater success on this path than them. For failures could be laid at no one’s feet but the person themselves.

It reminded me of my time fighting academically to get top grades and be the best. The same snide comments and jealous looks when people thought I wasn’t listening or looking. It hurt more than I thought it would. I had tried hard to bury my feelings and focus on my cultivation, but I clearly hadn’t succeeded.

I lay there the rest of the day. The following day I was called to the Sect Master’s office early in the morning after breakfast. I brought everything with me that he had requested.

“Disciple greets Master,” I said after I entered.

“Sit,” the Sect Leader told me, and I sat. “Have you completed your tasks?” he asked.

“Yes Master. I spoke to Martial Elder Lei and the soul lantern should be completed in half a month at most. I have prepared both books. I have submitted one copy for the elder’s library and a personal copy for yourself.” I removed both books from my spatial ring and handed them over. He accepted them and set them to the side.

“I have also prepared my notes on my cultivation plan and reports on rank 6 beasts and refined beast essence,” I said and removed a stack of notes with a small summary on top. I set this on his deck and then I set the reports I had written up on his desk as well. He looked surprised at this.

“You wrote them up?” he asked.

“My cultivation plan was already written up, but I included a summary and my research on integrating a body type secondary core. The main issue was that I didn’t understand the full impacts at the fifth stage and beyond, and how they would interact. I listed out my speculations. The reports contain the summarized information I got from the books available in the elder’s library I was able to read,” I answered.

The Sect Master carefully picked up each report and flipped through them nodding. He then looked at the stack of my cultivation notes and then back at me. “I have physical models as well,” I replied.

“Go ahead, I need to understand this so we can decide where to put the Astral Soul Stabilizer,” he said. I began bringing out my models and doing a full presentation on how my cultivation worked. Half an hour later I was finished, and he was shifting through my notes.

“Truly Elder Li Fu was right to break out the casks of thousand year old spirit wine to make sense of this,” he muttered. “The channel structure, are you sure it is sound?” he asked me.

“Yes master. I have reviewed it over 20 times and can do it from memory,” I replied, and he nodded at that.

“I just don’t see any room to put the Astral Soul Stabilizer since everything appears to be packed in there,” he said.

“How big is the device?” I asked.

“It is about the length of my little finger. A good chunk of the astral shard was shaved off. You aren’t being short changed, but the Astral Soul Stabilizer needs to be a certain size. Too big and you won’t be able to align motes, your astral soul will be too stable.” I nodded at this. I suspected the elders were using the shavings for their own purposes and research. But I had no standing to complain or ask for a larger share since the Astral Soul Stabilizer was being made and put in me for free.

“Are there physical effects from it?” I asked.

“Vibrations when you cultivate that will translate lightly to that part of your body.” I nodded at this answer and considered my cultivation layout.

“Just above the groin, would be the best place. Since it needs to be near the center of my body, but I don’t want it vibrating in my head. Also, the channels in that area are light. If you angle it just so, then it will be in one of the few empty spaces in my body but relatively close to my core structure. I also haven’t started building them yet either,” I replied. Shifting the channels slightly was a bit tricky, but something I could work out.

The Sect Leader nodded at this. “That is doable. Your notes will be returned later. Come.” He got up and I followed him out of his office. I followed him to an underground room that was well lit. Elder Li Fu and Elder Healer Meihui were both there as well. I greeted them. I saw the carrying case sitting on a wide table. I was told to disrobe and remove my under shirt. I was just in underwear now.

I laid down on the table. “You need to be awake for this. It will hurt immensely. Grab onto the grips on either side of the table and bite down on this,” Elder Li Fu said and I nodded, putting in the piece of thick leather in my mouth and laying down on the table.

“I will be holding you down.” He put his hands on my rib cage and I was looking up at his chest area. “Elder Meihui?” he asked.

“All set. Alright Yuan Zhou, your physical body and astral soul will be cut open at the same time and then the Sect Leader will ensure the Astral Soul Stabilizer is placed in the correct spot. I will be controlling the bleeding and ensuring the physical area heals properly. The Sect Leader will ensure that your astral soul is healed. Don’t try to get up until we say.”

“While this is happening. You need to keep your motes away from that area. They will want to bleed out of you, since your astral soul is being cut. Do not let that happen.” I grunted an acknowledgement and closed my eyes. “Alright, let’s get this over with, ready Jiang Fengge?” she asked the Sect Leader.

“I will follow your lead. Tell me when I can implant the Astral Soul Stabilizer.” I had already moved my non-aligned motes away from that area. The cut, hurt, oh it hurt so much. I felt weak as my motes were being pulled towards the cut.

They were saying stuff, but I couldn’t focus on that. It was all I could do to not pass out. I had to hold my motes back. I had to. It couldn’t all be for nothing. Slowly the pain lessened, and I felt the hands of Elder Li Fu come off my torso.

“Yuan Zhou, are you awake?” I heard Elder Healer Meihui ask me as he removed the piece of leather from my mouth.

“Yes,” I said shakily.

“I want you to align 12 motes now. Can you do that?” she asked me.

“Yes.” I focused and forced the motes to align. She placed a hand on my head and chest. There was no new pain, and it only took 20 minutes. “Done,” I said.

“Minor tremors in his astral soul. He is limited to 12 motes per session for a month. After that he can increase it until he feels pain. Remarkably sturdy soul,” she said.

“I suspect it was all those motes present for so long. His age is an obvious indication of the body astral soul alignment. Since his astral soul was stifled by taking in so many at a young age, so too was his body. It was always unclear, but I would say he confirms this,” Sect Leader Jiang Fengge replied. Of course the Sect Leader was also a mad scientist at heart.

“The physical healing will take a while. But I was able to reroute all the blood vessels and seal everything back up, but the flesh will be tender and sore for a while. So, no pushing that Astral Soul Stabilizer beyond what I told you since the vibrations could harm you,” she said.

“Yes, elder,” I replied exhaustedly. After that I had to dress myself back up and slowly make my way back up to my room. There was no blood, but my lower abdomen was all bruised and hurt. I collapsed in my bed and fell asleep.

The next day I got up, got cleaned up, and then had a large breakfast, feeling much better. I then began to cultivate 12 motes every 20 minutes. That was a rate of a mote of just under 2 minutes. I had already cultivated 90,000 motes, which meant I had about another 1,700,000 to go.

If I cultivated 16 hours per day on average, that would mean 175,200 motes per year, or just 10 years. If I could go even faster in a month that time would come down even more.

I was called to the Sect Leader’s office five days after the operation and took my seat across from his desk. I noticed another elder in the room, the one who had spoken up at the meeting about my idea of doing a body type core. I greeted them both.

“How is your cultivation?” he asked.

“It is going very smoothly. The pain has disappeared, and I can align 12 motes in 20 minutes no problem,” I replied. He nodded at that.

“Good. I am glad the Astral Soul Stabilizer worked. It is not easy to craft something like that. I will also say that your research skills are excellent. I was concerned that they would be lacking, but you are quite diligent. This is Elder Liu Chen. He specializes in divergent cultivation techniques and esoteric knowledge within the sect,” Sect Leader Jiang Fengge introduced the man.

“Indeed. I had heard about you, but looking at your notes and research, I am quite impressed. Why did you go with a quad core in your own words?” He asked.

“With the scope of my cultivation, a single large core would have been impractical with that many channels. The best option was the multi-core. Four cores would be the most stable formation across my astral soul due to their triangular nature, the braces between them, and for the detonation process,” I answered. He nodded at that.

“Good, you actually understand why a four core method is used instead of another structure. Now you are considering a secondary physical core and are wondering about the issues in the fifth stage and beyond?”

“Yes, Elder Liu Chen,” I answered.

“Well, if you get the beast essence, it will work into the fourth stage. Beyond that it is tricky to say. I have reviewed your research and conducted my own. No one has done such a thing. The simple fact is that even in the Imperial Sect, your cultivation plan is at least three times more complex than their most promising disciple. Not just in terms of number of motes, but sheer complexity. Your choices are all excellent and I have no issue with them. Even if it is a nightmare and the resources consumed will be horrendous.” Elder Liu Chen said this with a grin and I felt a shudder of fear go through me.

“A six-fold valve structure is the best with a triangular valve. And you have found a drilling method. Ingenious. It will require perfectly channels and meridians with the number of valves to use techniques. But I have recently developed a new valve methodology,” he pulled out a long wooden strip from a spatial ring with grooves cut into it.

“The curves away from the center, will slow down anything going the other way, while not impeding the direction from the other side. Watch,” he said and waved his hands. Water appeared and flowed through the wooden structure easily one way. Then he switched it around and it splashed everywhere and slowed down.

He made a mess of the Sect Leader’s floor, but the Sect Leader didn’t say anything. “After reviewing your cultivation plan. I think it should use three six-fold valves and then the Liu Valve design. Impede the energy leaving and allow it to enter easily.” He handed me the wooden model.

“How would it work in three dimensions in a triangular channel. Also, this side loops would be impossible to carve out in time,” I pointed out.

“Oh, that isn’t a problem. You just need to get the legendary rank 7 material, null metal. With some clever forging and also another rank 7 material, a focusing gem. Well, the carving process for your channels will be simplified once we make a Displacement Channel Carver. This sect could really use one to try out more esoteric valve designs, like this Liu Valve design. I have already made a three-dimensional model with your initial channel design in mind.” He pulled out another wooden model and handed it to me. It separated in half.

“Wait, you want these side channels to be off the main triangular main channel. Like curled leaves. They will go through the wall structures and their small nature is impossible to carve out. Then with three six fold valves as well, it will be perfect and better resist the pressure stresses. Put the valves at the weakest strength near your meridians and then the Liu Valve design the rest of the way.”

“The side channels will have to be quite small, to not impact the other side channels. Wouldn’t this compromise the overall integrity of my cultivation structure and the motes needed?” I asked.

“Your valve designs will have more than enough motes. Just use the seven valves’ motes instead. You can do two full rotations of the Liu valve design per valve we remove. So that would only be fourteen rotations, or forty-two curled leave side channels. Just use six motes per, and create a tube structure looping about. Even if it is small, it will redirect the pressure back to your cores and allow for easier technique usage.”

“Thank you elder, I will consider this design while I look at getting those materials for your Displacement Channel Carver,” I replied.

“Oh, you won’t find them. But just trying to build them will be quite enlightening.” I looked at the Sect Leader who had an impassive face. “But that is nothing compared to what I really wanted to talk about.” The elder seemed to get even more excited as he spoke.

“As a theoretical exercise you couldn’t have done any better with your limited knowledge. But this idea of dual cultivation is…bold. Incredibly bold. I almost feel young again thinking about it!” The Sect Master gave a light cough. “Ah, yes, excuse me. But the issue in the fifth stage and later on is an understandable concern.”

“I have considered many theoretical frameworks and all the literature. The biggest risk is not giving enough time for your true soul to fully form and allow for maximum stability. No one has ever done a quad core like yours successfully. But if we continue to apply your model of maximum cultivation without regard for difficulty or cost, then you will need at least 100,000 drops per core in the fourth stage to ensure that everything goes smoothly for the fifth.”

“Personally, I believe 120,000 drops is the optimal number, but no one has gone beyond 100,000 drops that is known. Still, that would be the best number to allow for 100% soul stabilization. Your cores with their buttressing and your interior triangular architecture help quite a bit. Your core designs could support such pressure, maybe. With the Liu Valve Design they will for sure based on my theoretical analysis. Since the pressure will push back on itself. The exact boosts of the Astral Soul Stabilizer and refined beast essence together are unknown due to their extreme rarity. Still, it should be possible.”

“As for the secondary core. You would need around 50,000 drops. With only a single icosahedron core, and no baffling. The pressure will be immense, but it should hold. That would be the best. In my opinion to form a suction vortex while not compromising your true soul stabilization. Though I would estimate you would only be able to get to fifty percent suction at most, this would allow the construction of pillars and their attunement much easier for your soul cultivation in the later stages.” The Sect Leader gave a light cough at that and the elder kept going before I could ask any questions.

“As for the conduits you would need for body cultivation, they could also be built. Maybe. I am unsure about this. We would need to consult with an elder in the body path for advice. When the time comes, I might have a contact or two we could use. They would be quite interested in such a cultivation.”

“Finally.” I noticed that Elder Liu Chen glanced over at the Sect Leader nervously who sighed slightly. “While the Sect Leader thinks it is foolish, I couldn’t help myself. I think we should also consider the Mind Cultivation method as well.”

“Mind Cultivation?” I asked. I had never heard of this path of cultivation.

“Very rare and very rarely done. It involves aligning motes with the motes outside your body, then dispersing a core to attune yourself to the energy of the heavens and earth. The hardest part of such a cultivation method is that it requires a high core density and dispersal. Also aligning motes in this fashion is not something that can happen normally, except in rare circumstances with individuals with the right constitution.”

“Now the explosions of your outer cores would allow your inner core to implode more easily. But you have constructed a baffle mechanism for each of your four main cores, which is truly inspired! Creating two inner core shell layers for your four cores, you were probably planning to keep this empty?”

“Yes, to allow some leeway as I condensed my cores, since the core can expand, hit the next buttress core, and that would help contain the immense pressure,” I replied.

“I propose you change the following channels to align with motes themselves and then have the outer two shells align with this third method of cultivation, mind cultivation. This would still allow one shell between your extra baffle cores to act as a buffer. As your cores increase in density they will push up against the outer structures aligned with mind, and the drops contained in a hollow sphere for mind cultivation. This will be quite interesting. It is normally pointless with a regular core, but with the mind cultivation path, it has a high chance of creating Astral cores where your main cores used to be, harmonizing with various Daos. A core encasement has never been done! For triple cultivation! Four Astral cores!” The Sect Leader coughed and the elder calmed down a bit.

“The only thing you would need to get is a celestial Dao fragment to allow all your motes to harmonize with the energy of heaven and earth. That way you can connect the motes from this mind cultivation method to you’re the rest of your motes for your middle core layer. I estimate only 20,000 drops for those outer shells encasements will be perfect. That would be the best option,” I had not cultivated any of those channels yet.

“Thank you Elder Liu Chen, that was quite informative. I will need to discuss this with my disciple.”

“Of course, of course Sect Leader. Just you watch, a triple cultivation method, why each of the four cores would develop their own Dao concept. It would be a masterwork, I say, masterwork.” The elder then left and the Sect Leader sighed.

“What do you know of drops?” the Sect Leader asked.

“That 1,000 is what most cultivators reached to become elders, and 10,000 drops is considered impressive,” I replied.

“For a single core. I reached 8,000 myself. With one core. It is called the great bottleneck for a reason. I did the math what it would cost just to get resources for all those drops out of curiosity, using the earth element as the benchmark, since I have no good idea what energy the other methods would use.”

“With 4 soul cores at 120,000 drops each, 1 body core with 50,000 drops, and 4 mind core shell encasements with 20,000 drops each. That is 610,000 drops. Not counting the value of having 610 almost guaranteed elders instead of just one very powerful one, the price would be everything.”

“The entire sect?” I asked and he shook his head slowly and looked at me like I was a stupid idiot.

“The wealth of the entire continent actually. While there is no such thing as an immortal or rank 9 spirit stone, that has a value assigned. I used the value of level 8 spirit stones. Each one is technically worth 10,000,000 rank 1 spirt stones in terms of energy. A single drop costs about 1,000 rank 1 spirit stones. So, with a level 8 spirit core, you could technically get 10,000 drops. There are issues in transference, but let’s keep the math simple to help you understand why you are such a pig.” I winced at that.

“You would need 61 such beast spirit cores. Let me repeat that number 61. All sects, cultivators, and mortals would have to fight the beasts as they battled us. Immortals would get involved and it would be the end of the third age.” The Sect Leader explained all of this calmly. I slowly nodded at this. That was quite a bit, and everything clearly meant as a literal description of the wealth I needed to progress my cultivation successfully.

“Getting an astral shard is not impossible. If I was willing to spend at least 5 years, I could retrieve such an object myself. I could get level 6 refined beast essence in about 3 years being careful and at great risk, but I could do it. But to get a celestial Dao fragment is pure luck. Not even for 61 rank 8 cores would a sect or cultivator ever trade over such a treasure unless they were a truly desperate cultivator trying to get past the fourth stage.”

“Then to use it on you, would be…it would be putting clothes on a pig. Let me finish.” I closed my mouth slowly. “The Dao is the understanding of concepts and the basis for the eighth stage and the step before immortality. It is a rank 8 treasure.”

“I do not know of anything less than that would work for the elder’s idea, and I told him not to mention it but he argued he had done the research and I do not wish to offend Liu Chen and lose his incredible insight into cultivation techniques.”

“But if you came across a celestial Dao fragment, even I would cough blood in rage and frustration. I would cry to the heavens themselves at the unfairness of the world.” There was silence after that it stretched on and finally the Sect Leader spoke once more.

“I will not stop you or take it from you. But understand, that if you come across such a thing, it would be your ticket to getting past the fourth stage. For it could be sold to the Imperial Sect and they would pay the beast cores you need to get that rank 8 beast cores for such a treasure.”

“I can see your mind thinking, how can I get one. If I had that answer, then I would not be sitting here explaining this to you. No true cultivator would share such knowledge or leave such a treasure unused.”

“I understand Master,” I replied.

“Good. Because I can tell your mind is already contemplating this. I will not tell you to stop, but I will insist you don’t slow down your cultivation. You can leave the motes that would be used for Mind Cultivation until the very end, but once there you must keep going. You need every scrap of time you can get for the fourth stage of Core Formation. Understand?”

“Yes, master,” I replied.

“Good. Now we are going to discuss what do about the drops and how not to ruin this sect and the continent in the process.”