Lind was unsure what he had expected inside the shop. The Ruins had clearly been larger inside than they seemed outside the distortions but the buildings with trials were not like that. They were, however, full of formations and sometimes trials that had survived the breakdown of the Inheritance the Ruins supposedly came from.
When Lind had seen the elegant formation that was so similar to those powerful places, he had expected the outward wooden shop to be a lie and revealed to be a large space tucked away or a temple-like structure as he had found in the Ruins. Instead, it was exactly as advertised.
A moderate space was open in front of him with wooden floors and counters. The edges had frayed while the counters looked beyond well worn. The shelving behind the counters, however, was neatly organized herbs, cores, and other materials an alchemist might need to make pills but there was no sign of a cauldron space. It might be on the floor above but Lind's Eyes revealed formations everywhere.
There was no sign of illusions, but Lind knew a thief might as well find a cliff to jump off as they would have a greater chance of learning to fly than steal from this shop. Lind was so engrossed in what he was looking at that he missed a key oddity missing from the shop.
Most stalls or shops he had been to in this world had at least an inclination of the cost of items. The exception being auctions or rogue cultivators looking to trade. A wide range of knowledge would help with the latter but the pricing could vary wildly from shop to shop. Quality was a huge variance for any item put up for sale.
A low quality grade 1 herb was able to be bought with silver to some gold based on rarity, but in the same grade at the peak of grade 1 would require low quality soul stones. Thus Lind had an advantage with his Eyes to easily see it anytime he wanted but a cultivator would feel it over time as they resonated with their Qi.
The shelves here, however, were completely hidden and no prices listed. Lind stepped forward as the wood creaked under his feet. It was only then that he realized he was alone. The voice that had spoken earlier had no source, yet Lind felt like he was being watched. He continued to move closer and tried to decipher the formations stopping his Eyes from working.
"How do these work?" Lind refrained from poking the arrays, but a headache was forming in his mind so Lind canceled his Eyes. The feeling of pain faded but the sensation of being watched did not fade at all. Lind swept his robes back and returned to the center of the empty floor space.
"Junior greets–" Lind had cupped his hands but he barely spoke before the air moved fiercely in the shop floor and he was forced to close his eyes. The quality of Qi felt strange. It was familiar as the Qi he had cultivated in the capital, but there was something more powerful just barely at the edge of his ability to detect. As the room settled, Lind opened his eyes and nearly fell over backward.
A being that looked human was before him, but even without his Eyes, he felt a fierceness to it as the form solidified. Flowing dark hair surrounded a square jawed face as color came into it to look gentle but Lind felt cold sweat on his back. Some instinct was blaring in Lind's body that this being was not like the other beings he had met in the Ruins.
What was this thing?
"Apologies, young man, it has been a very long time since I have manifested a form." Lind felt all the pressure from before lift at last and noticed he was on the floor panting. He felt as if he had sprinted from the Frey Clan to the capital without stopping. His entire body was under strain, yet a wondrous feeling was occurring in his elements.
The tempering finally broke through to mid-Tier 6 as if it was nothing. The experience just now was equal to the months of work he had already done with the staff technique since he got it. The man before him was dressed in fine silk lined with golden thread that was starkly visible on the black robes. An intricate red dragon encircled the main body while green claws made the sleeves seem alive.
The man's eyes looked immaterial and Lind had trouble even glancing at them on his periphery. He seemed very hale, but Lind knew cultivators aged very slowly.
"W-what are you? You are not like the Ruin spirits I met before." A flash of surprise crossed the man's face as he advanced on Lind. The feeling of being laid bare was not pleasant to Lind but there was little he could do about it.
"I see. Soul Eyes and Soul Touch have broken through to World Eyes and World Touch. You have been diligent!" Satisfaction was clear on the powerful figure's face. Lind felt a chill in his soul all of a sudden. His emerald flame exploded outward in his dantian and finally the feeling of being nearly crushed vanished.
Lind was still on the floor, but his body was finally back under his control as he looked up into the stunned face of the shop owner. Lind slowly stood up and cultivated a bit to stabilize his elements.
"Fascinating! So it is true that 6 elementals have a 7th piece of their dantians! Truly fascinating!" The man swept back and sat in a chair Lind would swear to any God someone chose was not there previously. It did match the level of deterioration of the wood inside the shop. "It has been many millennia since I felt someone of interest here. Ah, but before I leap to business."
A jade slip suddenly appeared on the counter near Lind and flashed a projection into the air. It was a recording of Lind in the street only a few moments ago making his broth. Lind noticed something odd instantly. Instead of a simple playback, Lind saw Qi flowing through his body into the cauldron and then transformed inside as if the Qi obediently obeyed his every whim.
What was shocking is Lind had never seen any of that! His Eyes were practically a habit at this point and were very helpful to see how herbs essence was doing inside a cauldron without risk, but the recording was like nothing he had ever seen!
"You are likely wondering why you can't see this little show. I will tell you a secret you may have missed in all these years." Lind turned towards the seated man and noticed something odd. It was just like before when the air moved. He could see the flow of very familiar Qi being cultivated, but there was a feeling of something else just beyond his vision.
"What is this feeling?" Lind saw a smile grace the man's face.
"Soul Touch is rarely combined with Soul Eyes in a single cultivator, but you learn if one is born with either to collect the other if possible by treasure or luck." The man suddenly stopped cultivating but Lind felt the flow of 'something' still moving he could not see. "Body builds the altar that Soul opens the door upon to one day use the World to forge the Sky until the chains can be shattered."
The odd words seemed to resonate within Lind. His mind latched onto it and a missing piece of the puzzle of cultivation finally fell into place. It had been the question frustrating him for his entire cultivation journey. Why were foundation and elements cultivated separately?
"My Qi. I can't see the Qi of the foundation I extract from the elements I temper with." A wide smile was now on the man in the chair. He clapped in joy as he stood up and nearly shook Lind's teeth loose.
"Well done! It usually takes years for someone to understand. Cultivation is about defiance. We defy our lot in the grand scheme by the only path heaven left open to us." The man dragged Lind behind the counter to a comfortable room that had a small fire burning and a tea set already steaming with a pleasant scent coming from the pot.
"Body Refining is clearing the meridians either intentionally or partially until the elements can flow and harmonize within the dantian." Lind was now paying rapt attention even though he knew this part of the journey. "None can know what elements they will incorporate until it is done, but 6 elementals like you are rare. No one knows the why, but the potential was always there."
The man sat Lind on a comfortable cushioned pale green chair and poured the tea. Unless LInd was mistaken, it was an herbal tea but the quality of Qi on it was through the roof! Was it safe to drink this?!
"Once the harmony occurs, the dantian goes through the transformation critical to all cultivators. If one studies well and comprehended the elements, a core will form until the dantian can hold no more." Lind felt this was off, but he could not put a finger on why. He simply watched as the man in the black robe sipped his tea looking into the fire.
"Regardless, the cores are ranked in the higher realms, but they can be upgraded regardless of quality at the beginning, it is just very difficult." The bottomless eyes seemed to absorb all the light in the room and the voice became mesmerizing to LInd. "Eventually, the cores will blossom into fonts that will reforge the dantian into a physical form from pure energy. Thus the Sand, Stone, Iron, Gold, and Diamond Tier names are not merely decorative."
Lind had not known that! The tiers themselves were already a bit gray to him, but he could tell if someone was stronger or weaker easily and a peak Soul Realm looked full to his Eyes when he was allowed to check. World Realms were impenetrable to his vision, thus Lind had never seen their dantians.
"Finally, the first tribulation is faced at the peak of the World Realm to ascend into the skies. You will likely not face it, but it is still helpful to know. Heaven can be jealous of our talents!" Lind had read up on this in the Academy library. Heavenly tribulations were required between the World Realm and Sky Realm, but they were there from Iron Tier to Gold and Gold to Diamond as well. The confused look on his face must have made it easy to see Lind's question.
"Those tribulations of the World Realm are more beneficial than risky. If one is a fool, they rush it, but if one is wise, they will last as long as they can." Lind noted this but a profound feeling filled the room as the man continued his words.
"The skycore is formed in the realm tribulation. All your comprehensions, impurities, heart demons, and so forth will be addressed in a single day. I highly recommend taking care of any heart demons before you try to ascend." Lind was stunned to see more tea being pored as he did not recall drinking his first cup, or was it his second?
"Sky Realm is a liberating feeling. You can fly if there is enough Qi but the World will become lost to you as you advance. The Qi inside the core will always try to escape if you descend without protection." Lind had heard of this as well. The Darkmoor King was a tier 1 Sky Realm. Tier 1 was the highest cultivation that could remain in the mortal world outside the Floating Isles. To advance higher, a cultivator had to go to the Floating Isles or die at that first tier.
"Finally, after the long struggle, a cultivator will face their Mortal Tribulation. The final step to leave behind mortality. It is far too soon to know about that even if you were not a 6 elemental, but all of this journey is 2 parts in parallel working to become 1." The tea was gone and Lind realized he could not fully remember all he had just been told.
It was important! He could feel it, but it was as if his mind could not retain the information. A sad grin was on the man's face now across from Lind.
"That is why I said it is too soon. You can't keep it at all yet, but if the time comes, it will be important. Just remember, a cultivator nurtures their elements alongside themselves. Though they are 2, they are also 1." Lind felt a massive headache assault his mind as the room spun before he found himself looking up from the floor of the entrance area of the shop.
"Now, that is out of the way, introductions." The grinning face vanished as a solemn air filled the shop as Lind finally stood up on his shaky legs. "I am the Immortal Will of Younger Twin." Lind waited but no other words came out.
"Am I not qualified to know your name, senior?" Lind felt parched and weak but he asked the question he wanted to know. A smirk flashed but Lind was not sure if it was real or not.
"My name is for my complete self, this is only a piece left behind in places to find a candidate for my Inheritance. Despite being a 6 elemental, you are a good seedling for being an elixir master. Report here tomorrow after your duties are discharged at the Academy without fail." Lind barely registered the words before he suddenly found himself outside in the street again.
It felt like hours had passed but when Lind turned around he realized it was the same instant he entered. The scorch mark on the street was still fresh, the prostitutes were just closing their doors. The sun and sky had not changed positions at all. Space was not affected by those formations, but time clearly was.
Lind felt weak and took a few moments to stabilize himself before heading back to the Core Dorms. He had a lot to digest yet much of it was foggy in his head. One thing he remembered though, the feeling of an Immortal Will was burned into his mind forever after this day.