Upon walking through, Li Ling was first met with the sight of a floating platform with which he stood upon, which was like a tiny island floating among the clouds.

The entire area was brightly lit, owing to the fact that the sun overhead shone down with a gentle grace, partly obscured by pristine white clouds, and looking down below, there was no expected abyss, but rather a flat layer of clouds that seemed as soft as cotton candy.

And in front of Li Ling, like a captivating sight, was a gigantic structure that floated in the air, made up of six landmasses that were each distinctly different.

At the top, the zero-degree angle, was a golden-white landmass that had eminent structures with a baroque-style architecture that looked like what man envisioned heaven to be.

At the top right, the forty-fifth-degree angle, was a landmass that had a very gothic style of architecture with plenty of pointy spires, as if a bunch of demons and vampires existed here.

At the bottom right, the one hundred and thirty-fifth-degree angle, was a landmass that was a verdant grassland with lush forests and flowing rivers, with countless creatures and critters happily subsisting within.

At the bottom, the one hundred and eightieth-degree angle, was a landmass that was split into three biomes. The rightmost side had an icy tundra, the middle part had sparse buildings in the Indo-Islamic style, and the leftmost side was a fiery wasteland with boiling lava rivers.

At the bottom left, the two hundred and twenty-fifth-degree angle, was a landmass that was gloomy in nature, locked in eternal darkness with flashes of lightning occasionally lighting up the Renaissance-style buildings that were dimly lit, shadowy figures walking past the windows.

At the top left, the three hundred and fifteenth-degree angle, was a landmass that was... normal. It had a normal sunny disposition, a mixture of different biomes, but mostly resembled an advanced cultivation city outside, but with fewer buildings.

For the first time in a long while, Li Ling was left awed. This was the kind of scene that only high-level concept art could try to replicate back on Earth, and even the extensively traveled Li Ling had not had the fortune to witness something this magical.

Seeing it in person, with his own two eyes, made him understand deeply that he was indeed in a fantasy world.

"Amazing, isn’t it? This sight is reserved for those in the later three ranks of mortal cultivation, a small glimpse of the majesty of the immortal world."

A voice suddenly sounded beside Li Ling, causing the young man to turn his head to regard the familiar figure of Zhen Xueren.

She still possessed her malevolently bewitching beauty, with her familiar short red hair styled into a curly bob, pale white skin that was partly flushed, and a slightly endowed figure that was not extreme but also not lacking.

"Senior Sister, you look charming as always," Li Ling immediately greeted with a pleasant smile.

Zhen Xueren chuckled and folded her arms as she glanced at Li Ling up and down. "I always knew you were something else when you assisted me back then, but no matter how high I overestimated you, it turns out I still underestimated you in the end."

Li Ling seemed dismissive. "Don’t worry about it, everyone alive in this world has no idea of my true depth. How can a creature that swims in a lake comprehend the power of a behemoth in the deep?"

Zhen Xueren was stunned by this, looking at Li Ling strangely. "At least, if not for anything, your arrogance is truly legendary."

Li Ling simply smiled, and Zhen Xueren decided not to press the issue. Rather, she simply manifested her river of scarlet blood and stepped forward.

"Junior Brother Li must be able to fly, right? Follow me to the sect’s Ancestral Hall," Zhen Xueren instructed while turning her head to glance at Li Ling with a faint smile.

Li Ling nodded and released his Asura Reaper Spear, stepping upon it as it took him into the air beside Zhen Xueren. Seeing this, the True Inheritor shot off into the distance, with Li Ling easily following behind her with his hands behind his back.

The two traveled like this while chatting about common things, eventually heading to the plane at the top, where the heavenly divine aura radiated over the rest of the nearby planes.

As Li Ling rapidly approached, the plane became larger in his eyes until it went from seeming as small as a random island at sea to the size of a large city. What was shocking was that this city had no ecosystem to speak of, no market nor economic areas, no industrial areas for manufacturing, no farmlands or resource production areas, nor any entertainment or social venues.

From left to right, top to bottom, it was a row of resplendent residential courtyards that were like city-states unto themselves, having internal markets, smaller residences, social, entertainment, and even industrial venues, possessing what the entire plane itself lacked.

Seeing Li Ling’s raised eyebrows, Zhen Xueren smiled knowingly. "Indeed, these are the residences of the True Inheritors. As you already have an idea, when ascending to a core disciple position, one must begin cultivating their own faction, becoming like a mini sect unto oneself, all to supplement the whole."

Li Ling glanced down and saw that indeed, each courtyard had many figures bustling about, with cultivation bases ranging from the first realm to the sixth realm, with a mixture of old, young, and even sometimes non-human. Heck, there were even minor family courtyards and complexes where clans were established.

"What’s the point of this trifle? Is it necessary?" Li Ling asked bluntly, not understanding the value.

Zhen Xueren hummed. "I thought so too when I first became a core disciple. With my talent and potential, I could become a powerhouse onto my own, and by then, countless people would beg to work under my feet, so why waste my time with such side methods?"

Then, the ruby-eyed woman turned her face slightly towards Li Ling and gave him a side glance. "I don’t know how you cultivated to this level, and everyone has their own secrets, but for us without such special natures, there are four things required."

"Wealth, Land, Companions, and Techniques!" Li Ling answered without being prompted.

Zhen Xueren nodded with satisfaction. "Exactly. For each of these four, a cultivator must have all in order to smoothly ascend to higher realms and advance their Dao."

"However, people in the lower realms often misunderstand what these four pillars truly mean," Zhen Xueren continued, her scarlet river of blood slowing down to give them more time to chat.

"They think Wealth means spirit stones, Land means a cave abode, Companions mean having a few friends, lovers, servants, or Dao Companions, and Techniques mean whatever manual they can buy from a market stall or inherit from their clan." She smiled faintly, but there was a trace of ridicule in that smile.

"That understanding is not wrong, but it is shallow. It is the kind of understanding that belongs to Qi Refinement ants, Foundation Establishment insects, and Core Formation weaklings who have never truly looked beyond their own small pond."

Li Ling raised an eyebrow slightly, but did not interrupt.

After all, he already knew the basic meaning of the phrase. It was one of those famous cultivation sayings that existed in almost every xianxia world, so much so that even an Earthling like him had encountered it many times.

It was basically the cultivator version of saying that success required money, environment, networking, and education.

Simple, clear, and painfully true.

But judging by Zhen Xueren’s tone, what she wanted to explain was obviously the higher-level interpretation.

"Wealth is not just spirit stones," Zhen Xueren clarified calmly.

"Spirit stones are only the lowest and most liquid form of wealth, just like mortal copper coins. At the lower levels, they seem like everything because everything you need can be bought with them, like pills, artifacts, talismans, formations, servants, information, and even lives."

"However, the higher you go, the less useful raw currency becomes. A Nascent Soul cultivator can have ten billion low-grade spirit stones, but if he needs a treasure born only once every ten thousand years in a forbidden region controlled by a rival sect, what use are those stones? Can he eat them and break through?" Zhen Xueren stated with a mocking smile.

Li Ling chuckled. "He can hire people to die for him."

"He can for sure, but that itself is no longer simple wealth. That is influence, reputation, and manipulation being able to turn useless stones into useful outcomes," Zhen Xueren first agreed, then countered.

She then lifted one finger.

"So when we say Wealth, at the high level, we mean all resources that can be mobilized to support your Dao. Spirit stones, pills, treasures, raw materials, information, favors, slaves, bloodlines, inheritances, contracts, sect merits, political capital, even karmic debts. Anything that can be converted into progress is Wealth."

Li Ling’s eyes flickered slightly.

That was indeed a broader understanding, and more importantly, it matched his own experience.

Slaughter Points were Wealth in the purest form for him, because they could be converted directly into strength.

Spirit stones, on the other hand, were just a side currency used to accomplish other things.

Zhen Xueren lifted a second finger.

"Land is also not merely territory, as many fools think that owning a mountain peak, a spirit vein, or a city counts as Land. Again, not wrong, but shallow."

She gestured at the floating Divine Deva Plane beneath them, with its countless resplendent courtyards that were like kingdoms compressed into estates.

"Land means a stable foundation where your Dao can take root. A place where resources can be produced, people can be raised, laws can be arranged, formations can be established, and your will can be enforced without needing to ask another person for permission."

"At the lower level, this might be a cave abode. At the middle level, it might be a clan estate, a city, a market, a spirit mountain, or a minor realm. At the higher level, it becomes a blessed land, a grotto heaven, a sect domain, a world fragment, or eventually an immortal country."

She paused for a moment.

"Why do you think powerful cultivators build clans, sects, cities, and worlds instead of merely wandering alone with a sword? Is it because they are bored?"

Li Ling smiled. "Because even a tiger needs a den, and even an emperor needs subjects to make his throne meaningful."

"Correct! Without Land, Wealth has no root. You may obtain resources today, but they will be consumed tomorrow. With Land, resources can be produced, stored, refined, defended, multiplied, and passed down," Zhen Xueren said with approval.

She then lifted a third finger.

"Companions are even more misunderstood, as most people think this refers to Dao Companions, friends, allies, or subordinates. Once again, not wrong, but incomplete."

Her red eyes narrowed slightly. "No, Companions are all beings whose existence can supplement your Dao."

She continued softly. "Some are servants who handle what you cannot be bothered to handle, some are disciples who inherit your path and spread your influence, some are allies who cover your weaknesses, some are lovers who share cultivation with you, some are children who carry your bloodline and karmic continuation, some are enemies who sharpen your blade, and some are even rivals who force your Dao Heart to remain fierce."

At this, Li Ling’s lips curled upward. "Enemies count as Companions now?"

"Of course. For righteous Dao fools, perhaps not. For us? Definitely. A good enemy can be more useful than a thousand loyal servants. A servant may polish your shoes, but an enemy can force you to break through before death arrives," Zhen Xueren said with a faint laugh.

Li Ling nodded slowly.

This he could agree with.

After all, Bai Yegui had done more to stimulate his combat awareness than most of the people he had killed combined, Bei Dongshi had forced him to reassess the Desolate Hell Hall’s power, and Bai Ruyi had forced him to think about the dangers of lying in the same bed with a venomous snake.

Even Jian Chen, that dead fellow, had contributed quite a lot by giving him wealth, Slaughter Points, and the lesson that Heaven’s Will was not above ’selling’ solutions to problems it helped create.

Indeed, good enemies were high-grade cultivation resources.

Zhen Xueren then lifted her fourth finger.

"As for Techniques, this is the most obvious and yet the easiest to misunderstand. A technique is not merely a manual, it is the bridge between what you are and what you can become."

Her tone became slightly more solemn.

"Cultivation techniques decide your foundation, Daoist Arts decide your methods, Refinement Arts decide your production capacity, Secret Arts decide your trump cards, Forbidden Arts decide whether you can overturn destiny at a price, and Inheritance Techniques decide whether your path ends at a wall or continues into the heavens."

She glanced at Li Ling.

"At Qi Refinement, any fool can pick up a Fireball Technique and feel like a Daoist master. At Foundation Establishment, they begin to realize that techniques have compatibility. At Core Formation, they realize that techniques decide the essence and quality of their core. At Nascent Soul, they realize that a wrong technique can twist their soul into something neither human nor ghost."

Her smile turned colder.

"And by Soul Formation and above, a technique is no longer something you practice, it becomes the skeleton of your Dao. Choose wrongly, and every step forward becomes a mistake. Choose correctly, and even walking slowly can take you farther than a genius."

Li Ling’s expression did not change, but his thoughts moved.

This was something he understood better than most, as the Infinite Slaughter System could push him forward, but even it did not ignore the limits of technique.

Back at Qi Refinement Perfection, he had been unable to enter Foundation Establishment because his technique had reached its limit.

In other words, even his system had to respect the road before it could carry him further.

For now, anyway.

Zhen Xueren lowered her hand and looked ahead at the grand courtyards stretching across the Divine Deva Plane.

"These four pillars support each other. Wealth without Land is unstable, Land without Companions is empty, Companions without Techniques are useless mouths to feed, and Techniques without Wealth are dreams written on paper."

She smiled.

"That is why every core disciple here must build a faction. Not because the sect wants us to play house, but because the sect is teaching us the first truth of immortal cultivation."

"And that is?" Li Ling asked with mild curiosity.

Zhen Xueren turned to him fully, her scarlet river of blood slowing down as the heavenly radiance from the Divine Deva Plane bathed her pale face.

"Immortality is not climbed alone."

She paused, then her smile became strangely meaningful.

"Or rather, those who climb alone must be so monstrous that they can personally replace Wealth, Land, Companions, and Techniques with their own existence."

Her eyes moved over Li Ling from head to toe.

"Junior Brother Li, perhaps you are such a monster and perhaps you are not. But even if you are, there is one thing you should remember."

Li Ling smiled. "Which is?"

Zhen Xueren’s red eyes gleamed. "A monster that builds an empire will always harvest more than a monster that hunts alone."