Long Wei landed in a forest of thick trees with glowing blue leaves and white spots littered across the bark. He appreciated the natural sounds of the forest way more than the bustling hubbub of sapient creatures. The swooshing din of the forest canopy swayed by the wind comforted him. Leaves crunched underneath his feet as he made his way through it, paying attention to the silent sounds.
At least that was what he called them. The chirping of crickets and the huff and puff of dreadful Vicious Beasts too scared to approach followed him. Silver light from the moon streamed over the forest, thrusting its version of cool beauty over the forest. Total opposite of its brother the sun.
He walked through the forest, not bothering to check the direction he went. He just wanted to get rid of some steam. A clearing came into view. Purple and blue glowing spirit medicine were strewn across the ground. Kneeling down, he snapped a stork of a bright pink herb and brought it to his nose. He exhaled. Sparkling silver water trickled down a stream, meandering through rocks. He followed the stream, assuming it met up with a larger river.
A smile graced his face when he came across a calm river that reflected the beautiful moon upon its surface. The gentle burble of the crystal clear river, spurred by a gentle breeze sounded fantastic. He chose a spot on the riverbank and sat down. An odd impetus struck his heart when he watched Dong Meirong's performance. It felt like jealousy at first, but he quickly realized it wasn't. The feeling was primal. It urged him to leap onto the stage and snap her neck before anyone could react. That wasn't him.
He closed his eyes and controlled his breathing pattern according to the Void Dragon Arts. Three dark magenta swirls formed. One above his head, another in front of his dantian and the other behind him. Spiritual force gushed out from the swirls, interlocking itself with the surrounding spirit qi. Spirit qi surged into the swirls. The spirit qi showed no ounce of rejection or protest in front of the superior absorption technique. Pure white strands formed in the atmosphere, creating a physical manifestation of qi, which was normally ethereal when absorbed.
Once the qi entered the swirls, Long Wei's Nascent Soul went into overdrive. Long Wei's Nascent Soul resided on the twelfth floor of his Heavenly Palace constructed in his Mindscape. The Mindscape was a cultivator's internal world given to them by the Heavenly Dao the moment they were born. Only sapient creatures had the privilege of having it. At birth, its relative size was small, about one square meter. But with each breakthrough in a cultivation realm, one's mindscape grew.
The True Foundation of a cultivator's mindscape must be set just as they break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm. All four pillars of cultivation must be refined to the utmost by then within the Qi Condensation Realm.
The Qi Condensation Realm is split into three minor realms. The Blood Forging Realm, which focuses on igniting the slumbering bloodline within one's blood, igniting their potential to cultivate and absorb qi. Meridian Awakening Stage, the pure strands of qi absorbed during the Blood Forging Realm are used to carve out and rouse the meridians gifted by the Dao into Activity. Mindscape Opening Realm, this is when one uses qi to break past the ethereal barrier stopping a cultivator from interacting with their mindscape.
Lastly is the Physique Refinement Realm. Here a cultivator tries creating a seamless network between the four aspects of his foundation, uniting them and then strengthening their bond. This process reveals one's nature-given Physique. Which is often the most suitable for their path of cultivation, but cultivators are capable of changing their Physique later down the line. Only that the process is almost impossible without the aid of powerful artefacts or supreme cultivators.
Foundation Establishment was stealing what Heaven's Owned and adding it to what you were given. After refining the four pillars of the foundation into one seamless network, a cultivator must find a way to externalise their internal network and combine it with the ethereal strands of the Heavenly Dao's diluted power, cementing their path. This process expands the Mindscape to the utmost limit. From the one-meter square size to thousands upon thousands of square meters. The greater the size, the greater the potential. Long Wei's mindscape was endless. He never had to bother refining its size as he broke through the Realms, he simply needed to strengthen its borders.
His Heavenly Palace was humongous. The base alone spread millions of millions of kilometres in all directions. Each floor was constructed using thick layers of purple Void Qi and red Phoenix Qi intermixed with Dao runes gifted by his natural Transcendent Dao Physique. His Nascent Soul sat crossed-legged on the highest floor of the Palace and controlled the gush of qi being absorbed by the three vortexes.
It was no different from him with a few minor differences. Instead of hands, it had purple-scaled claws. The rest was exactly like him. It spotted lustrous silky long hair, a pair of abysmal black eyes, a sharp nose, a pretty smile and a handsome angular face. It had a robust body underneath the black and gold robes. It directed the strands of qi it absorbed to a hilt floating in front of it. Large amounts of qi gushed towards the hilt, yet nothing changed. Not a single spark or reaction occurred. Thatfrustrated the nascent soul.
Leaves crunched. Long Wei shot his eyes open. In time to see a series of glowing pink petals imbued with spirit qi aimed at his heart. He pressed a palm into the floor beside him, vaulting his body to the left in an instant. The pink petals swooshed past the place he was an instant ago, leaving deep scars in the ground before slicing through the thick trees behind him.
A layer of silver shrouded his black pupils. The world around him changed to a silver hue. A burst of thick flaming black aura became visible in the far south, giving him the direction of his attacker. No other auras were present nearby, letting him know that the attacker was lonesome. Without missing a beat, he slammed his hands together. Twelve purple spears appeared from the void, washing away the silver hue that beautified the clearing. He released his palms. The twelve purple spears bolted towards the black aura. It ate the space between them in a second, destroying anything that lay in its path. Trees stood no chance against it.
He felt a burst of pure spirit qi almost as pure as his gush from his assailant. Three massive pink petals were constructed in the air just as his attack landed, blocking it. Massive amounts of qi exploded from the impact. Laying two thousand meters of the forest to waste. The river he so admired dried up in an instant. The spirit medicines that coloured the clearing in their beautiful colour turned to dust. Clouds upon clouds of dust shot into the atmosphere.
Long Wei landed gently, thrusting his hands behind his back gazing at the voluptuous figure that came to view, no longer hidden by the assortment of trees.
"Haven't your parents taught you that it's a bit rude to introduce yourself in such an uncouth manner, " said Long Wei
"You stole my spot. That alone is an action worth a thousand cuts, "the voice of a young lady came through.
Long Wei swiped his hand, generating a blast of wind that swept away the dust clouds that lingered in the atmosphere. He finally saw who it was. The words he prepared to chop her arrogance with never left his throat. Instead, his eyes ravished her hourglass figure. The lady wore pure white robes with an intricately designed blue shoulder pad shaped like a rose. Robes were often meant to be modest and reserved, symbolising a cultivator's superior mentality and separation from mortal desires. Only the purpose seemed lost with her. Her shape filled the robe at all the right angles, paired with a decent bust size that garnered the gazes of most males.
Long Wei found himself staring longer than he should have. So he coughed, hoping to clear up the awkward silence that fell between them. It didn't work.
"Ahem. I was not aware that this place was taken already," Long said, "Rather. I believe you owe compensation for interrupting my cultivation. "
"Hmph. "
The lady rolled her eyes. A little shock was present in her heart. She couldn't believe that the young man beside her dodged her special art at something akin to point-blank range. And simply blocking one of his casual attacks required her to use more than half of her spirit qi. She would have lost by the second exchange if he pressed on with the attack. Who was he?
"Why? "
"I told you already. "
"True."
Long Wei found a large stone in the scorched sand and sat on it. Par his thoughts wandering to her figure, he acknowledged the lady's strength. He could tell that their cultivation levels weren't that different, yet she managed to block a single attack from him. That was an impressive feat in its own right.
"You owe me compensation for ruining my spot. Hand it over, " the girl gestured with her hands, a small frown plastered across her face.
"Whats your name? "