A few minutes later, the carriage arrived at Blossom City. Known for its red-light district, Lucas wasn't there for the brothels, instead, he was looking for a place to cultivate. His goal was to improve his cultivation technique and merge it with his mana.
At the gate, they showed their identification and were allowed into the city.
Sora turned to Lucas and asked, "So, what are you going to do now?"
Lucas gazed out the window, unsure of his plans. "I just came here to cultivate," he said. "I need a quiet place to focus."
Sora offered to help, but Lucas politely declined. "I appreciate it, but I prefer to be independent for a bit."
Sora sighed, feeling disappointed. She then took out a medallion from her pouch and handed it to Lucas. "If you ever have time to visit Cluster City, show this to the guards and they'll lead you to our mansion. You can't decline this offer."
Lucas accepted the medallion, looking at it for a moment. "Okay, I'll show it to the guards."
Sora beamed with excitement. "Good! Goodbye and see you soon!" she said, waving her hand as Lucas stepped out of the carriage.
The guards watched as Lucas disappeared from view, then mustered the courage to speak to the young lady.
"Young Lady Sora," one of the guards asked, "why didn't you inquire about finding a partner?"
Sora sighed heavily and rolled her eyes, her frustration clear. She looked at the guards with annoyance.
"Are you kidding me? Can't you feel the aura he gives off? Have your senses dulled to the point where you thought he was just a regular person?" she scolded.
The guards were momentarily taken aback by her sharp tone.
"What did you sense, Young Lady?" another guard asked, "Why did you choose not to ask about it?"
Sora furrowed her brow in thought. "He's not like anyone I've met before. He gives off a noble aura, but there's also something mixed in with it - some divine energy, perhaps. I'm not sure, but I think it's best to avoid asking him about it for now. He's too mysterious for me to understand," she explained, her words causing confusion among her servants.
The Su family had a unique cultivation technique that allowed them to sense different auras. Despite her lower cultivation base, Sora was still able to feel the mana, but she couldn't fully understand it and thus referred to it as divine energy.
***
As Lucas stepped out of the carriage, he closed his eyes and focused his attention on the wind, searching for a cultivator stop. Despite his weak connection with the wind element, his aptitude for it remained unchanged, allowing him to ask the wind for a vague description of the area. Although the wind could not speak, Lucas felt the geography of the surroundings, using the abnormalities in the wind flow to guide his way.
He headed towards a cultivator stop called Spiritual Station, not bothering with its odd name. As he entered the building, a female staff member greeted him with a warm smile.
"Welcome to Spiritual Station," she said.
Lucas was taken aback by the friendly reception, a refreshing change from the cold attitude he encountered in Saber City. He couldn't help but feel pleased that he had found a place where he wouldn't be discriminated against.
"How much for an hour?" Lucas asked, bringing himself back to reality.
"It's just 1 gold coin per hour," the staff replied. "How long would you like to rent our services?"
"65 hours," Lucas answered.
The staff raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised by Lucas's order. He didn't look like a wealthy person or someone who belonged to a prominent family. Nevertheless, she nodded and recorded his order, her smile never faltering.
As she handed him a key, she couldn't help but think to herself, 'I can't judge a person by their clothes. Who would have thought that this handsome man was just a commoner?'
Lucas, meanwhile, was already thinking ahead. With 65 coins left, he figured that he could survive without eating since cultivators only needed spiritual energy to sustain themselves. 'Perhaps I will use their services for a long time,' he thought to himself with a satisfied nod.
"Room 14, sir." She said, her voice tinged with a hint of professionalism.
Lucas gave a nod of acknowledgment and quickly made his way to the designated room. He settled into a lotus position and began the cultivation technique, focusing on checking his absorption body as he did so. To his surprise, he noticed a small amount of spiritual energy flowing into his core.
'What's happening here?' Lucas thought to himself. 'I've never seen this before. The dantian and the core are supposed to be separate pools, so why is Qi entering my core?'
He continued with his cultivation, observing his core closely. After a few moments, he saw the Qi entering his core, blending seamlessly with his mana. This new form of energy stunned him and he momentarily stopped his cultivation.
"Did I just witness the birth of a new type of energy?" he muttered to himself, confusion evident in his tone.
Lucas saw three distinct energies in his body, two from his core and one from his dantian. He wondered if he had made a mistake in his previous assumption that his mana would reject the Qi.
"I thought that my mana would be dominant, but it seems like they are giving birth to a new energy instead," he said, as he considered his options. "Should I unseal a portion of my core to try to multiply it?"
With this thought in mind, Lucas decided to continue with his cultivation. He unsealed a portion of his core and began absorbing spiritual energy from his surroundings. Half of the absorbed Qi went directly to his dantian, while the rest went to his core.
But, suddenly, Lucas noticed that his core was beginning to expand, creating a vacuum for the third energy.
"No, this isn't good," he exclaimed, his eyes widening in concern. "If my core becomes too concentrated, I'll explode."
Lucas quickly came up with a new plan. He realized that because his absorption body was located within his core, he couldn't control the spiritual energy that entered it. So, he decided to create another pool for the third energy, ensuring that it wouldn't cause any harm.
Lucas studied his dantian carefully, trying to figure out if merging his two pools of energy was possible. "If I try to merge my dantian and core instead… What will happen? Will I die if I do it?" he muttered to himself.
He had read about creating a new pool of energy in his previous world but had never attempted it in this one. "In my previous world, I tried enhancing my mana circuits by drilling through my body for a whole day," he remembered, "and it was painful."
Despite the risk, Lucas was determined to try. He knew that if he didn't, he would remain stuck in the lower stage of cultivation. He took a deep breath and made his decision. "Okay then, let's take this risk. I can recover my mana if I make it my first power choice. And my cultivation is just a stick in this world, so it won't become my first choice either."
Excited by the possibility of becoming the strongest creature again, Lucas started drilling a new circuit for his third energy. He placed his hands over his lower dantian, two fingers below his belly button, and began to concentrate his energy.
But as soon as he started, he felt piercing pain spread through his body. He gritted his teeth in agony, his face wrinkling in pain. Despite the discomfort, he continued to drill, determined to create a new pool of energy in his body.
Lucas was taking a huge risk, but it was a crucial turning point in his life in this world. If he failed, his third energy would cause him to implode in his core.
As he pushed himself harder, beads of sweat formed on his skin and ran down his defined muscles. He finally reached his upper body and focused all of his energy on creating a pool in his chest.
Days passed as he poured every ounce of himself into the task. Finally, it was done. His chest now housed a third type of energy, but the toll on his body was immense.
He was exhausted, his limbs trembling with fatigue and pain. Despite this, he couldn't help but smile as he gazed at his arms in disbelief. Just then, his body gave out and he collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily.
"I did it," he muttered, his voice weak, before slipping into unconsciousness.