After delivering the information to Maha and getting a drink, Shui left for Silver City. As he would be going to Ashen Star City in about six months, he wanted to check out the source of the shadow heart pill before then. The pill he had would likely be of great aid to his cultivation, but he felt that he would need more to push him to the fourth level of the Earth Realm.
The journey from Cyrus to the Scorched Desert took him around three months excluding the time he spent making the breakthrough to True Earth Realm at Black Rocky Plains. If he didn't enter any towns and went at a fast pace, he believed he could make it to Silver City in around half the time, and considering the distance from there to Ashen Star City, he would still have over two months of free time if he planned wisely. It was a bit stressing since he had to be mindful of the time limit, but Shui still took the opportunity to train during his journey.
The prize he won during the fifth test was a jade lotus, which was the best resource for cultivating the nebula astral state soul. Each astral state of soul cultivation required one to focus on different aspects, and for the nebula astral state, it was enlightenment. Many who chose the path of soul cultivation would often lament it, but without multiple experiences of enlightenment, it was impossible to reach the peak of the nebula astral state.
It was incredibly hard to achieve enlightenment, but fortunately the jade lotus was able to artificially induce the state with its scent. After making camp a couple cales away from a river, Shui sat crossed leg with the jade lotus in his hands. Alia had secured a nice spot on the lotus to sleep and refused to move, so he had no choice but to leave her there. Shui focused on his sense of smell and strengthened it through the Perception chapter. He was nearly overwhelmed by the myriad of scents that struck him, including one that tickled his carnal desires, but he still managed to pick out the one he wanted. It was like mint in the way it cleared his mind, but there was complexity to it that intrigued him.
Shui soon sank into a blank state similar to the Still Heart state, and was brought to the center of a milky sea of stars. He immediately found himself immersed in this insurmountably beautiful scene. Every colour and shape that entered his vision made a strong impression on him. He wished he could explore this vast space forever, but his wonderful experience was abruptly cut short. The next thing he knew, he was back in reality with sunlight slipping through the trees to hit his eyes.
"How was your first trip?" Alia asked with a yawn.
"I knew there would be a disconnect with my perception of time, but I didn't think it would be this drastic."
"That's just how the astral space is I hear. So, did it help?"
At Alia's prompting, Shui checked his soul cultivation and found that he could feel his soul more vividly. The wall to the next star was as hard as always, but he believed that he would be able to breach it once he had accumulated enough.
"It did. The Array Lord sure was generous."
"Considering the amount of treasures in your possession, I can't help but think you're being sarcastic. Still, maybe I should have explored the place to see if there was anything useful for me."
When walking through the door to the palace of the inheritance, all participants were separated, but Alia was able to hide so well that she wasn't detected. This restricted her abilities, but her current powers would still suffice to overcome the spatial restrictions set by the Array Lord. Shui didn't doubt her since she had impressed him with her power on many occasions, but he had to wonder how strong she would be if she wasn't weakened.
"I don't think you need to regret anything since I can just ask Emily what she obtained after she's finished accepting the inheritance."
"Oh my! I can't believe you're so shameless."
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"You just suggested making that poor girl give you her treasures so that you can give them to me. I mean, I wouldn't refuse, but I can't say I'm impressed."
"What in the-"
Shui couldn't even come up with a proper response, so he decided to back down. He believed that the jade lotus would be of great help in bringing him to nebula four-star, but he couldn't afford to neglect the cultivation he already had.
Attaining nebula one-star soul expanded his senses, while reaching nebula two-star soul allowed him to use mental control. As for the benefit of having a nebula three-star soul, Shui was still unable to use it to its full extent. With his current soul cultivation, he was able to control the minds of others, but there were too many problems that limited his use of this ability.
The first problem was that if he didn't take advantage of his special eyes and divine aura, then using mind control on someone of similar cultivation was very time-consuming. Still, since mind control was even less inconspicuous compared to the Imaginary Blood Link, it could be useful, but such opportunities were rare.
The second problem was that even in the rare cases where mind control would be useful, Shui usually had a more effective means of achieving his objective. Due to these two problems, Shui had little practice with this ability. He thought it would be nice if he found an opportunity during his journey, but considered his chances to be slim.
Shui's journey continued without mishaps so he arrived in the five cities region on schedule. There were only a few more days before he reached Silver City, but on the way Shui saw a gathering of tents. He had never seen any before, but the sight reminded him of nomadic tribes, except for the type of people who walked around in this settlement. Merchants, mercenaries, workers, their occupations were different but they all had an air of confidence.
This was an outpost set up outside the territory of the chimera lord that was established a couple months ago. Everyone who went closer to Silver City, whether to hunt shadows or investigate the chimera lord, would stop here in order to resupply, gain information, among other things.
Shui had done his research so he knew what this place was, but it was still new to him. The underground guild had an informant here, but instead of going straight to them, Shui went to the Workers' Association. He didn't want to expose his presence yet, so he remained in disguise and fortunately his identity as 'Shin' was still safe to use here.