Calculating Cultivation

I watched as another Elder broke through. There was no tribulation. This was the seventh Elder and I was annoyed. Something intangible the Sect Leader had done had triggered a tribulation unlike the rest of these cultivators. That was incredibly annoying. I wanted an unlimited source of energy to call down and empower myself.

Now I was stuck with no tribulations, no source of energy, but what I could draw on myself from the Astral Plane. I turned around and left, since it was clear a tribulation was not going to happen, after I had set up everything. I was incredibly annoyed about the entire situation.

It was beyond aggravating. But there was nothing I could do about the entire situation. No easy source of energy for me to drain. The entire set up that had been done on the Sect Building was pointless. Either the conditions weren’t right, or the tribulation mechanism had some way of knowing I would be harnessing its energy.

I made my way back to my workshop, letting out a heavy sigh. It appeared my time in the Flame Sect was rapidly coming to a close. My counter cube had been downsized slightly, but even the latest iteration was still as large as a washing machine. At least it wasn’t the size of a compact car. Without being able to review other sources of knowledge, or a breakthrough, there wasn’t going to be any more improvements. At least it worked, disrupting the suppression of energy here in the Great World.

“Senior Yuan Zhou, please sit,” Sect Leader Flame greeted me with a bow as I entered his office and gestured to one of the chairs. I took my seat, and he sat down after me. One of the many small things these cultivators did to show me respect.

“I will be departing,” I stated bluntly. There was nothing of value left for me in the Flame Sect. At least not enough to keep me around. I had discovered all the secrets and information about the Great World from this location that I was able to. Now my only choices were to keep going Lifeward to the Great Desert or back Edgewards to try and help Yang Heng.

“Your presence has been most appreciated,” Sect Leader Flame said with a deep bow of his head. The level of strength the Flame Sect now had after my arrival had grown considerably. I could still crush them all with a few swings of my sword, but compared to the Flame Sect that existed before my arrival, their strength had soared massively.

Even more importantly, I had allowed the Sect Leader and elders of the Flame Sect to progress their cultivation with my knowledge. Without a box with a high enough energy density, breaking through would be much riskier.

“Your Flame Sect has been most accommodating to my requests. I have a few more I must make before I depart. A ship. The fastest one possible,” I said. I had planned this out a while ago.

“That can be arranged easily enough. I can order any shipyard to build your ship immediately, so it will be ready by the time you wish to leave. Do you want the ship prepared Lifewards or Edgewards?” he asked. That was the real question that I was still going back and forth on.

“Lifewards. I plan to journey to the Great Desert and see what awaits me there,” I replied after giving the decision one last moment of consideration. I did not want to backtrack. While I understood the necessity of travel, going back and forth pointlessly, would be beyond frustrating.

If I went back to Yang Heng and he wasn’t able to immediately solve all the current issues, or at least wake up, then I would have lost 20 years for nothing. While I could travel and focus on other things, that much time would be immensely frustrating if there was no payoff.

Also, cultivators were meant to be self-sufficient and solve our own problems. While I understood that as humans we had civilizations and cultivation knowledge built off what was done previously, I had also taken in the part of the culture that was about charting one’s own path. Cultivators that advanced and didn’t succumb to lethargy had to have a determined and independent streak. If we could handle a problem ourselves, we would prefer that option.

I had lived for so long as a cultivator, many of my memories felt quite distant. From my previous life on Earth, growing up on the continent, and even my early days of cultivation. I still remembered quite a bit, since they formed who I was, but the long periods of time I had been forced to endure had also shaped me.

Yang Heng was a safety net. One that I appreciated quite a bit once I had gotten to know the immortal, but the journey of a cultivator was one of struggle and determination. Going back to Yang Heng would be admitting that I had no other options to solve the crisis of being stuck here in the Great World. It was an option of last resort.

I could even imagine heading back and Yang Heng waking up but being heavily crippled in terms of his energy use. Stuck at the crash site of the hover craft. The problem was keeping energy in an area while traveling.

It might be possible on the ship with some testing to set up arrays around a specific area, centered on the counter cube. But such a formation was not something I would be able to carry. I could see it now, reaching Yang Heng, waking him up, he gives me some important information, and then goes back to sleep.

That thought made me hesitate. If had information, that could be a huge game changer. He was incredibly knowledgeable. He might be able to use what I had gathered about the nexus crystals and counter cubes to come up with something better. But the big word there was ‘might’.

In the end the obvious answer to being stuck here would be the correct answer, the Great Desert. The heat and other obstacles would make it all but impossible for mortals to cross, creating a secure location for cultivators. A natural defense to anyone who went to investigate. That possibility seemed incredibly likely.

If a cultivator kept their body going and possessed enough control to survive, then the environment would naturally self-select cultivators. That kind of self-selection process would mean less work for whomever was running this place. I doubted they would want to come down here themselves if at all possible, just like the continent I grew up on.

I had a guess, that the big sects closer to the Great Desert would send their cultivators into the Great Desert once they got strong enough, furthering the process of self-selection. Similar to how sects on the continent sent people to the controlling faction in the Forever City. A pipeline of useful individuals to use how the people in charge of the processes saw fit to dispose of.

That was my ticket out of this place and rescuing Yang Heng. I needed to find that pipeline and make contact with someone, who could then put me in contact with someone of actual importance. The Flame Sect, was a trash sect.

The opinion on the Flame Sect wasn’t even my opinion. They existed at the edge of their civilization. The number of members they had was quite small due to the lower population in this portion of the Great World. Cultivation society was like a pyramid. You needed a larger base to have a higher top point.

While there were exceptions and cultivation was done on an individual basis, on a societal level, the size of the base population mattered. A place like the Forever City had a massive base from the continents and the city itself.

The only reason the Great World here paled in comparison was the lack of metal and the lower starting point. I looked at Sect leader Flame and considered his cultivation. He had been trying to make progress, but he had not succeeded in a meaningful manner yet. The smaller one had to control energy, the harder it became.

At a certain point the difficulty just skyrocketed, and became too much. Like tearing a piece of paper in half. One could do it quite a bit, but eventually it would be hard with one’s fingers. Even with tools, there were be a certain point where a piece of paper could be ripped in half but the difficulty skyrocketed. Everything would be simple up to a certain point, there was a small portion that could be improved, and then the difficulty went off the charts. That was the same problem one had with focusing on cultivation on a microscopic scale.

“That is a long journey to make to the Great Desert. I will make the arrangements to have a ship prepared. What about your counter cubes, will you be taking all of them?” Sect Leader Flame asked me. I could sense the greed coming off of him.

“I will take their weight in bars and coinage,” I said. There was no point in me taking my prototypes beyond the most recent one. As for the knowledge of how to make the arrays they would need to copy the nexus crystal, they were welcome to it. It would be hard for them to copy the intricate work I had done, but I suspected they would give it a go in an attempt to create artificial nexus points.

It would strengthen the Flame Sect for ages to come. The amount of power they would generate from being able to create additional sects would be immense. My influence would see their cultivation culture change and ripple out, throughout the Great World.

If I ever returned this direction, the number of sects would be much higher. There would be more cultivators out doing missions and fighting. Especially once they reached the point the Sect Leader had. With a clear path and a way to breakthrough, a lot of cultivators would reach that point and then become stuck.

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Some would be like the Sect Leader looking for more ways forward, but some would take up other tasks. As the number of cultivators increased, they would spread out much more. In fact there might even be cultivation families that would arise as the cultivator density increased.

The Flame Empire would probably become more belligerent as their overall combat power increased as the number of cultivators went up. In time the arrays I had made would spread out and iterations on the technique would be done. I had no doubt that the sects would look for other mediums besides metal to carve the arrays into.

Growing a specific type of wood, or concrete plates would be attempted. The Flame Sect had not started such research yet, clearly waiting until I left. It would be too rude to so blatantly use what I was developing and trying to change it while I was present. Once I left, I was out of sight and out of mind. They would be going over every scrap I left behind, like vultures.

I had no problem with that, but they would pay. I could see from the slight grimace on the Sect Leader’s face, the amount of money they would have to shell out would be quite a bit. But they could afford to pay since they had become quite rich off of me.

“I will make sure the money is secured and delivered directly to your ship. Do you have a timeframe on when you wish to depart senior?” Sect Leader Flame asked me.

“As soon as my ship is completed,” I replied. If I was going to leave, there was no point in waiting around much longer. I would use the remaining time to develop arrays to contain the energy around the ship, hopefully allowing me to work in a higher energy environment even while traveling.

“And what about your personal disciple?” That was a good question, and one I already knew the answer to.

“He will be coming with me, since he wishes to travel,” I replied, and Sect Leader Flame nodded. He was tying up loose ends with my departure. If I had asked, he would have supported Fu Shirong no matter what after everything I had done for the Flame Sect. That wouldn’t even be a question. Most likely the Sect Leader himself would have taken him on as a personal disciple if he didn’t depart with me.

That way if I ever returned, he would have not met a bad end and I wouldn’t have bad feelings towards the Flame Sect. That was the consideration these cultivators had to make. I could easily return one day, and if they tarnished my legacy I could take revenge.

While it was highly unlikely, and I wasn’t interested in that sort of thing, it was always better to be polite when you were the weaker party in such a situation.

“A shame there wasn’t another tribulation. I would have been interested to see how you fully harnessed it,” he said. While these people could try and use the set-up I had put in place, they didn’t have enough energy and would probably explode or melt. Without knowing the exact mechanics beyond such an event, it was pointless for me to stay any longer hoping one would happen.

“It is a shame, but since another one has not happened, it is pointless for me to keep waiting around,” I replied.

“There is one final matter. Some individuals from the Flame Sect would like to make the trip with you.” Now that was surprising.

“The trip is going to take hundreds of years? It would push their ability to survive and their cultivation to the limit. Even then I will not guarantee their safety,” I stated.

“That is fine. Most will probably not live to reach the Great Desert, but it is something they wish to attempt. There is no better option than your ship,” the Sect Leader said.

“My ship. I was planning to hire a mortal crew as I traveled. Unless they want to actually work the ship and handle other issues while traveling?” I asked.

“They would answer to you as their senior.” I did not have the title of elder or ancestor, since I wasn’t part of their Flame Sect. I was a guest. That meant I was a senior. If I was an immortal, then I could have used that title. But that would have been the height of arrogance if I used such a title.

I was above them in cultivation, but not at the rank of immortal. That meant I was a senior. Since even the Sect Leader referred to me with this title, that indicated how far it went. I was senior to their most senior cultivators. Still, it would have been nice to have a more interesting sounding title.

It would be no problem for me to join the Flame Sect. With how much I helped them, I was already an honorary member if there was such a thing. I didn’t want to for the simple reason was that they were weak and if I joined, I would be put in charge, another thing that I didn’t want. It would also sour relations between the upper portions of the Flame Sect and myself, specifically the Sect Leader.

Also, the organizations one joined as a cultivator reflected back onto them and their backing. To join a lower organization than my last one would be a step backwards in terms of status. Since there were no specific benefits beyond a different title from joining, there was no point.

“If they come along, they will work, making sure the ship runs smoothly and quickly. Also protecting the ship itself,” I replied. Having more minions was never a bad thing. If they were going to come along I would put them to work like Fu Shirong. They would make sure we were going in the right direction as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Having minions to handle the tedious and annoying parts of traveling through the Great World would be quite useful. Getting supplies, making sure there are sailors, arranging to travel through canals, and making sure I wasn’t bothered. That was a nice thing about being a cultivator, if it was a problem money could solve then it wasn’t really a problem.

“I will make sure to pass that along and make arrangements,” Sect Leader Flame replied. “I also want to say thank you. For both myself and the Flame Sect. Without your presence, I would not have been able to advance, and we would have remained stagnant.”

“It was a minor thing, since I was able to learn a great deal while staying here,” I replied politely. After that the conversation quickly wrapped up and I returned to my apartment.

I didn’t have anything personal sitting around. Everything was stored away. I would need to get more metal plates before I left. A lot of blank ones to work on and to tinker with while traveling. There were some detailed medical diagrams I would have the Flame Sect copy as well before my departure. While I had a great memory that had only improved with my cultivation, having visual aids was useful.

While traveling I would continue to work on utilizing my energy at a smaller scale in a more efficient manner. That would be what I would focus on for my cultivation for the next couple hundred years. It would be a long trip and it would be good to have something to occupy my time.

I had considered making a sensing array to try and find more nexus crystals that weren’t claimed, but there was no point. Even if I found one, they wouldn’t have much use except being more compact than my counter cube. Since I was traveling by ship, that wasn’t a huge concern. And if I wasn’t traveling by ship, I wouldn’t be able to contain the energy anyways, so there was no point in downsizing anymore.

At least the solid block of metal that was the counter cube, would be small enough not to break through a wooden hull due to its sheer weight. Or cause the ship to become unbalanced. With all the metal I would be taking with me, there would be weight concerns, but I didn’t plan to make more metal while traveling.

Also, there was no point in engaging in any kind of trade either. I would be carrying metal to pay my way forward as quickly as possible, and I wouldn’t be carrying goods to load or unload beyond food and drink. Speed would be the key word that I would impart to the cultivators that would be traveling with me. I didn’t want to stop and have to wait around.

There shouldn’t be a delay for a ship of cultivators. A single ship of cultivators was not a threat to a sect. While I would be a threat, the cultivators of the Great World weren’t used to someone so far above them. Having a group of cultivators on a trip to the Great Desert or the Edge, while rare, was not unheard of.

Since we had the status and the money to back it up, we would get priority wherever we went. This would be important while passing through the long canals that connected the various bodies of water. The traffic was regulated and there were waiting lists as ships wanted to pass through rather than having to unload their cargo and ship it across land. We would be able to cut to the front of every single line without delay, so we wouldn’t have to waste time. For having so much time, it was still a precious resource, since I wasn’t an immortal yet.

“Master,” Fu Shirong greeted me when he returned. I had been sitting around for quite a while thinking about various things. I should have been working, but I allowed myself a moment of respite while the ship and the rest of the arrangements were being prepared.

“We are departing soon, very soon,” I said.

“Really?” I could tell Fu Shirong was excited by the prospect.

“To the Great Desert. Arrangements are being made and once the ship is about to be completed, we will depart. It should only take a couple more days before the Sect Leader sends word,” I explained.

“I will make sure I am ready whenever you give the word,” he replied. He was too impatient still, but I could understand not wanting to sit around and cultivate all day. Traveling and adventuring to get stronger in a quicker manner was something that brought me joy. It was dangerous, and I also hated going around due to the danger, but surviving the excitement and speeding up my cultivation was what made me happy.

“That is good. There will be other cultivators with us. You can sort out the hierarchy between all of you while ensuring travel goes quickly and smoothly,” I said.

“Other cultivators want to travel?” Fu Shirong asked.

“My guess is a few of the elders and possibly cultivators like yourself who have a sense of adventure,” I replied. There were always a few. That was why I was getting only a handful of cultivators. They wanted to do something before they aged and died. Going on a trip with me was something that felt valuable to them, even though they would probably all die before we even got close to the Great Desert.

This place was just that large and immense. It was honestly crazy how big the Great World actually was. If I didn’t even know any better, I would believe existence was a single white star in the sky and the world was flat. In the end it was just a very large well for the frogs living in the bottom of it.

I needed to focus on my cultivation as much as possible. While I hadn’t felt like I was getting older, it was hard to say. Any aging would happen over a long period of time. I knew my body incredibly well, but sensing age impacting me would be hard. And the amount of energy I was keeping inside my body was also another factor as well.

With other cultivators along they could handle the fighting for the most part. That would save energy, the same with being on a ship, so I didn’t have to use energy to fuel my movement. Every scrap of energy mattered here in the Great World. If I wanted any chance of survival, I needed to avoid combat as much as possible.

The fights before had been something I was caught up in, that I should have avoided. It had been foolish of me to fight mortals and cut them down. Going forward I would have to have the cultivators traveling with me fight such battles, if possible, while avoiding using my energy.

I had planned to find another minion once Fu Shirong got older, but with multiple cultivators coming along, I could hopefully arrange for my ship to act as a small floating sect. Even if another cultivator grew jealous, killing them would be much easier than killing a bunch of mortals. It was moving about and sending out cutting waves of energy that really tanked my reserves. Killing one person was a lot easier than killing a thousand.

It sounded weird that mortals were more of a threat than cultivators, but it took about the same effort to kill both and there were a lot more mortals.

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