<.....>
An intensely bright light enveloped me, making me inadvertently close my eyes shut as tightly as I could— but even that wasn't enough to effectively block off the white light that shone with intense luminosity. Its dazzling brightness couldn't even be compared to the sun when you gaze directly at it at noontime.
The flashing lights hinted at a few snippets of my life as it flashed directly before my eyes. It was quite ironic since I lived through all of them and yet it looked like it was someone else's life when I watched. The longer it went, the more I realized that my life was quite the melancholy one since it only revolved around cultivating my elements. Every day was nothing but practice and although I found pleasure in it, now that I'm watching it, it was a bit dreary.
No friends, no love life, and not much social interaction whatsoever.
What an untimely way to die I guess...
Wait... I died, right? I'm really already overcome by death, right?
As probing questions erupted and swirled in my mind, the bright light that surrounded me shone more intensely. By now, I could see a strong white light penetrating through my eyelids even with my eyes completely shut. I lightly groaned in pain as the light stung me. In all my years of living, I've never heard of such a bright place but I have the vaguest of ideas about it. If the myths were true, then I'm probably inside my head, spending the last precious seconds of my life before I turn into a mindless rabid human that feeds off of human flesh and brains, I guess.
Somehow, the white light that encapsulated me felt so tranquil and relieving. I wanted it to last forever, I mean, stay like this forever even when I'm long dead. With this, I probably wouldn't bother anyone even when I turn and no one would think of killing me.
<.....>
"That voice again?" I complained as I shouted at the top of my lungs. "What is this time? I'm trying to enjoy a momentary peace here. And just so you know, I think I'm already dead. I can't wake up even if you tell me to do so."
<.....>
As the voice spoke for a second time, I felt like it sounded familiar but I can't grasp the identity of the person behind it. For some reason, it felt near. My inner cultivation was telling me that the voice came from a different dimension and I'm convinced by it. After turning into a rabid human, I'm confident that my cultivation was crippled to an irrevocable state. And yet here I was, sensing some sort of fluctuating energy in my body.
Am I really dead? For sure, I died, right? I asked myself once again but there was no way of confirming it.
Well, except one... I think.
Disregarding the illumination surrounding me, I focused deep into my body as I slowly breathed in and out. If I were in the mind, then I wouldn't have been literally breathing but the feeling was there. I continued doing it until I felt that minuscule amount of Qi gathering around my navel area. For some reason, I still have life energy even though I'm already dead. That's strange.
"Is this experience a part of being dead? Or my body just wanted to remind me of the time when I first ascended to the Spirit Realm, Qi Condensation Stage?
Well, it's plausible that I'm just having flashbacks since the only thing I ever did back when I was alive was to cultivate. And somehow, nostalgia is coming back to me as I reminisce about the past once again.
"Anyways, let's give it a try. There's no harm in trying since I'm already dead."
The Qi swam from the tips of my fingers, from the top of my head, and then towards the condensing goo of Qi that resided just where my navel is. It was tedious work since I couldn't afford to lose concentration but being inside a superbly-lit space helped me focus more. Compared to caves, the space where I was in is a place of unquantifiable solace and there were no distractions.
Compared to when I cultivated for the first time, I gathered enough Qi for a breakthrough with half the time. I was amazed by how fast I had gotten and although I wouldn't be able to enjoy it because I'm already dead, it was still a great accomplishment for me.
... ...
I didn't know just how much time had passed inside the space where I was in now, but I was steadily gathering Qi around me. Just like in real life, there would be times when gathering Qi would take so long while there would be times when you gathered it so fast it would just take all your concentration to keep it stable. It came as a surprise since it really replicated the way I cultivated when I was alive.
It probably took a few months or even years but I don't know how much I spent in that space in my mind. I lost track of time and by now, I gathered a relatively large amount of Qi to breakthrough.
Beads of sweat trickled on my forehead as I continuously kept my focus. I've never gathered so much Qi in all my life and furthermore, I was still in the Mortal Realm of Unawakened. But now, I'm confident that it was the optimal time for a breakthrough.
When it comes to cultivation, someone who's got latent talent or superfluous knowledge about certain cultivation skills would almost always have a leg up on a situation. Meaning to say, if a cultivator went back to the Mortal Realm, he could cultivate faster than those in the same realm, just because he had the experience and the knowledge to do it.
In my free time in the past, I've read a lot of transmigration novels, and most of the time, those who underwent a reset would become too powerful. I wouldn't refute that because it's true and also, it's common knowledge. It's like a pro gamer going back to level one on a certain game. If he was pitted against a beginner, of course, he would beat that player a thousand times over.
That's why, when I began cultivating in my mind, I didn't rush my breakthrough. The longer you cultivate, the more successful your breakthrough will be. And it should be mentioned that advancing from the Mortal Realm to the Spirit Realm is also called advancing from Unawakened to Awakened Realm. That's because advancing to the Spirit Realm would grant you a random element. If you rushed it, you might not awaken an element and that would be very disappointing. Imagine all your hard work boils down to that breakthrough and that breakthrough just had to dissipate into thin air. That's no less disappointing as it is frustrating.
Although I'm experienced enough and I could rush through my breakthrough, I don't want to awaken a useless element. When I was alive, I awakened half of all the known elements and that's because I spent more than a decade in the Mortal Realm. And then, I just whizzed past through the other Realms since I was strong enough and my cultivation was so advanced compared to other cultivators.
Honestly, why do I keep talking to myself?
Well, it's not like I have anyone to talk to. I guess it's one of the side effects after spending a long time in a space with no one else with you.
The Qi condensing near my navel was beginning to harden like a core. It was as big as a yoga ball and it took all my concentration and 'will' to just keep it together. One wrong move and I could feel myself exploding. If I were to get distracted at such a crucial time, I don't think I'd continue living in this space.
I clenched my teeth and hoped that I would be able to condense my Qi successfully. Little by little, I focused on the center of my condensing Qi and gathered it there, like how a black-hole gathers everything in its center.
"Almost there!" I pushed myself. I could feel my Qi running rampant all over my body but I didn't lose concentration. I continued gathering them in the center of my Qi, not minding the intense pain I felt.
I'm already dead but I could feel blood escaping my mouth as I finally condensed my ball of Qi into the size of a basketball.
But that wasn't enough. In order to make a breakthrough, I have to condense it even more until it's the size of a ping-pong ball.
Feeling my veins popping all over my body and my blood flowing through it like a rushing stream, I continued my cultivation. I was reaching the most important section of my breakthrough.
I can't fail here!
The basketball-sized ball of Qi condensed into a volleyball size, and then to baseball size, and then to a tennis ball sized one.
Just a little more!
The space where I was in was already bright enough but it got even brighter as I successfully condensed my Qi into a ping-pong-ball-sized one. I was elated! I never knew it was impossible to control such huge amounts of Qi in the Mortal Realm but now, I did it.
It was an achievement worth recording in the history of mankind.
If only I wasn't dead.
I sighed as I felt something ping in my head.