Calculating Cultivation-Chapter 135: City Of Souls

After an hour of traveling at a crawl on Chicken, we broke through the cloud of dark gas and saw a large expanse of terrain in front of me. It was mostly small plants and bio-luminescent moss, but the view was massive. Behind us was the swirling clouds of gas. Gravity had completely shifted and stabilized. Our forward was the new down.

There was a sharp curve to this place. The large gases in this environment were being pushed away from what could be called a large planetary body. “The environment is stable, surprising,” Luo Lingtai said.

“See anything interesting, otherwise I am guessing we have to go around it. There is no way we flew long enough to reach the center of this place,” I replied.

“It is acting like a local node, that my tools picked up on. I will need to recalibrate them, but that won’t take long. We can land and rest,” she said.

“Got it, at least we don’t have to shout. See anything interesting down there. Maybe a settlement to get information from any locals,” I suggested.

“Over there,” she pointed near the edge of the world below us. There seemed to be some structures in that area. I adjusted our trajectory and began flying that way. There were people down there, while they had basic levels of cultivation, they were not a threat compared to Luo Lingtai and myself.

The buildings were made of stone, with glowing moss covering them. I flew towards the largest building in front of the main plaza. I also took the chance to remove my mask for a moment and sniff the air. I put my mask back on. “Air quality is quite poor,” I said.

“Nor surprising. This isn’t a properly crafted environment, and the people here have had time to adapt,” she replied. I landed in front of the largest building and got off Chicken.

“Hello, I am Cultivator Yuan Zhou of the Heavenly Alliance. We were hoping to speak to someone in charge and knowledgeable,” I called out. A young man exited the building flanked by numerous guards. There equipment was not comparable to mine. It wouldn’t be a complete massacre, but they would have a hard time resisting if things got violent.

“I am First. Leader of the City of Souls. For what purpose have you come outsider Yuan Zhou,” the young man asked me.

“To trade some supplies and to learn about this place. Do you know the reason or purpose behind this space?” I asked. First let out a long sigh.

“I will share what I know. Come and be welcome. Your companion and steed are welcome as well,” he replied. Luo Lingtai followed behind me while pushing Chicken above the ground. We weren’t going to let our ride out of sight. We couldn’t store it away in our spatial storage, so we needed to keep an eye on it no matter what.

There didn’t appear to be any kind of technology, but I noticed several formations used for lighting and to automatically open and close doors. We made our way to a large throne room. First walked up to a large ornate chair and sat down. Chairs were brought for Luo Lingtai and myself. We sat down, with Chicken right next to us, clearly in view.

There were no formations or arrays underneath us, or anything that looked like a trap. “This is the City of Souls, serving our eternal god until his rebirth, The Crystal Cultivator,” First declared. I didn’t say anything or ask a question and continued to listen. “Long ago, our ancestors came to this place and the Crystal Cultivator instructed us to construct this city and give him offerings until it was time for the great exodus.”

“What kind of offerings?” I asked.

“Souls. Once someone is too old and incapable, their soul is given to the Crystal Wizard who protects this land and its people,” First declared without shame or hesitation.

“You are only on a small part of this world, why not settle more areas?” I asked.

“There are dangerous beasts outside the city. We kill them up they come back. Only the city is safe due to our god and protector, the Crystal Cultivator. Food and drink will be provided, but I ask that you leave without causing trouble,” First said.

“Do you know that this place is a in a separate spatial space attached to the Firmament?” I asked.

“Yes. We occasionally get outsiders. But there is nothing of value here. A few have joined and shared their knowledge in the past. Most move on, looking for a way back to wherever they came from. It matters not,” First said.

“You aren’t going to try and sacrifice us?” I asked just to be sure. While it was possible First would lie, there was a chance I would be able to pick up on such a deception if he tried.

“No. It is not worth the hassle or headache. Long ago the previous Firsts were more militant. While we have not forgotten our martial traditions to protect ourselves and kill the monsters outside our walls, it is not worth the hassle targeting outsiders. If you are strong enough to make your sacrifice worthwhile, then you are too strong to face,” First declared. That was a surprisingly enlightened response, but they had probably been burnt many times in the past in order to learn this lesson.

“Do you know what this place is, or what is at the center?” I asked.

“No. There are many guesses, but those are the domain of the Crystal Cultivator. Once he is strong enough he will decide what to do,” First said.

“You make it sound like he is sleeping or resting,” I said with a touch of nervousness.

“He sleeps beneath our city and will emerge if the threat is great enough. A guest room has been prepared, along with food and drink. If you require more, just ask and it will be provided. Once you have rested, you may continue on your journey,” First said. He clearly was telling us to move on.

“Thank you for your hospitality,” I replied. We were escorted to a guest room and food and drink were brought in. I didn’t dare touch the stuff and stuck with my goo and water. Luo Lingtai stuck with goo and water as well.

“So, what do you think?” I asked her.

“This place is a trap of some kind that is ruled by a demonic cultivator,” she replied.

“Do you think this Crystal Cultivator is even real and if there is anything worthwhile here?” I asked.

“Maybe and most likely no,” she said, and I let out a sigh.

“I am thinking the same thing. This place seems like small sect at best,” I said.

“Ah, now I get it,” she replied and gave me a small smile knowing she had figured out something before me. “This world comes from another space like your continent that a super organization was using. The spatial barrier separating it from the Firmament was clearly ripped away when it was tossed into this place. Unlike most created spaces, this one is spherical instead of flat, allowing it to survive being pulled into this space instead of ripped apart.”

“Well that means there is probably some equipment at the center of this world. Perhaps it could be repurposed to forcibly create an exit or something,” I said.

“That is probably where the Crystal Cultivator is hiding, deep underground at the core of this world. If we try to get there it will be a fight and the cultivator is probably an immortal. A weak one, but still an immortal,” she said.

That was indeed a concern. That was a fight we couldn’t win. “What about trying to breach into the Astral Plane or the Mechanical Layer. This location is stable enough. We could create a spike of energy,” I suggested.

“That shows how naïve or lucky you have been. Going upwards through reality, is incredibly difficult. Having more energy isn’t enough. It has to be structured in a specific way. It is easier to go down. And while there are naturally occurring exits from the Astral Plane back into the Firmament, they are hard to find. We also wouldn’t be able to fight against anything in the Astral Plane,” she replied.

“And there is the bigger risk,” I muttered.

“Indeed. I am glad you have not taken leave of your senses. I will not allow myself to be consumed Chaos. The energy level of this place is ridiculously high. Almost as high as the Astral Plane,” she said.

“It still shrinking?” I asked.

“Yes. It is slow, but it is shrinking. I also think there might be other effects. Like time dilation as well.”

“What makes you think that?” I asked. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

“Instinct. Based on how much should be pulled in, this place hasn’t been filled up with stuff. I am thinking about the path we observed and the information we got from the Xyon Front. Your idea about this being a weapon might not be wrong. Its range shouldn’t be that big across the Firmament with what it is pulling in,” she said.

“So, things are happening slower inside of here, compared to the outside. That wouldn’t change much, except it might make escaping more difficult. Then the question of what happens when more stuff is absorbed is even more important,” I said.

“If time is involved, the barrier around this space is even more powerful than I first thought. And this space won’t easily collapse. I had thought that once enough stuff and energy was pulled inside, it would break down or explode. But now, I am not sure,” Luo Lingtai said with a frown.

“The energy isn’t increasing, or is it?” I asked.

“I can’t tell. You sense anything?” she asked back.

“It fluctuates. It might have gone up a small amount or stayed the same on average, it is hard to tell,” I replied. “I know that when too much energy gathers, Chaos will show up. But in a space like this, would a star or something based on physics be able to form?”

“It is hard to say. I am an affinity for force, but that doesn’t translate well into spatial disturbances,” I replied. This environment was not something that played nice with my force sense.

“Then it is unknown what could be facing us. We are still at the outer edge of this spatial enclosure. There is a lot more traveling to get to the center. The best option would be to repurpose this world and send it hurtling forwards,” Luo Lingtai just suggested something outrageous that took me a moment to process.

“It would smash anything in its path. The problem would be getting something this large moving in the right direction. Wait, since it is stable, it clearly has the ability to adjust its movement. The equipment underground,” I stated and Luo Lingtai nodded as I connected the dots.

“Exactly. Unlike Chicken here, we could progress much more rapidly. And it would act as a powerful weapon against whatever is at the center, revealing some capabilities of whatever is controlling this place and hopefully creating an opening,” she said.

“But that means dealing with this Crystal Cultivator. That isn’t going to be possible if they are an immortal. But it does make me wonder why these people don’t have more advanced cultivations. I know they are stuck at the first breakthrough, but this is a very high energy environment,” I replied.

“Another mystery of this place. I also think the immortal is weak or there is a problem with the energy of this place. If they had any strength, they would want to raise up more immortals. Have you tried to cultivate at all?” she asked me and I shook my head.

“This level of energy isn’t worth my time at my level,” I replied with a shake of my head.

“I suggest you don’t. Think back to Yang Zi and how quickly his body melted. Even in death, his implants should not have been that weak or just fail. Instead his very life existence was consumed, body, mind, and soul. The wind is unnaturally loud, it carries the scream of the dying and dammed,” Luo Lingtai said.

“I didn’t sense anything,” I replied with a frown.

“It is an educated guess.” That was the tricky part of dealing with smart people who had a lot of experience, they had their own ideas and opinions that needed to be taken seriously, but I lacked the confidence in following through on. Confronting an immortal cultivator was just asking for trouble.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

We had beaten Chicken, but the golem was slightly weaker than me. Even if we managed to get off a sneak attack, a cultivator would have danger sense and be able to react. “It comes down to taking out the immortal protecting this place. I don’t see how it is possible. The risk is too great,” I countered. Better a long life than a quick death. This City of Souls didn’t seem that bad. They weren’t that welcoming, but they weren’t hostile either. I had no intention of making things difficult for them and their hidden protector.

“What if this Crystal Cultivator is a myth, you could be able to sense them, right? Since I haven’t been able to pick up anything,” she said.

“And there could be some kind of stealth technology or formation. I know we are making progress, but it is no reason for us to lose our heads both metaphorically and literally,” I replied. Luo Lingtai let out a sigh.

“I guess you are right. I was just hoping to get answers and get out of here,” she said.

“Best not to escalate if we don’t have to. If this place exists, then there will be others,” I replied. The ground shook and there was a loud roar. A few seconds later a guard opened the door to our suite.

“Outsiders, a great monster is attacking. You are welcome to assist or wait out the battle,” the guard said.

“I guess we can take a look,” I replied. It would give us a better understanding of this place at least. We followed the guard, bringing Chicken along as well. The city walls had to be at least five stories tall and quite a thick. The monster’s head rose above them.

“Quite large,” I commented at the lizard monster slammed a clawed hand on top of the wall crushing several people.

“It’s all the energy from this place. Certain beasts use energy to enhance their body and size to dominate their environment,” Luo Lingtai responded.

“No wonder they are struggling against these things and have concentrated into this settlement.” I looked around, wondering if the Crystal Cultivator would make an appearance. The monster breathed out a jet of acid, melting several people and a section of the wall. Their screams echoed over the settlement. While they called this place a city, I had seen the Forever City in all its rotten glory. I might classify this as a village or a town if I was being generous.

Explosions, arrows, and various techniques struck the massive monster. They were doing damage, but it was like killing an elephant with a needle by poking it. It would take a lot of needle pokes to bring down the elephant.

A deep gong sound echoed across the settlement. I felt a surge of energy. A cultivator that was above me, but not yet an immortal rose up from behind the largest structure wielding a flying sword as he flew through the sky. The sword appeared to be a single crystal.

“See, I was right,” Luo Lingtai pointed out.

“You were. We would have a solid chance at least,” I replied as we watched this Crystal Cultivator fly right at the monster and stab his sword into the beast’s head. There was a bright flash and the brilliant sword turned to dust while the monster was left with a hole in its head. The people cheered for their god and leader.

The Crystal Cultivator drifted back down to the ground and looked over at us. After talking to a couple of the guards and the First, he made his way over. “Greetings fellow cultivators, I am Cheng of the Crystal Concave.”

“Yuan Zhou of the Heavenly Alliance.”

“Luo Lingtai of the Xyon Front.” Cheng’s gaze snapped to her at the mention of the Xyon Front.

“Has the esteemed Xyon Front found a way to rescue us?” Cheng asked.

“Unfortunately, no. We were just passing by to the center of this place and were hoping to talk with you,” she said. Cheng let out a sigh and seemed to droop a bit.

“Come on. I might as well give you the story, since you both are skilled cultivators who are from the Firmament,” he replied. We followed him to the back of the largest building to a garden. We sat down at a table with Chicken still behind us while servants served us tea. After serving us, we were left alone.

“Impressive shielding you have around the garden,” I stated to start the conversation.

“It keeps away prying eyes. It is rare to meet someone willing to talk. It has been a long time since I saw another cultivator,” Cheng said.

“What exactly is this place?” I asked.

“Now that is a question for the ages. Even my immortal master didn’t know and he hasn’t returned since he set off,” Cheng said.

“You must have been here a long time,” I replied.

“I am the assistant caretaker for this world. Once we were pulled into this place, my immortal master set off to sort out what had happened. Unfortunately he has not returned and is most likely dead,” Cheng replied.

“You stay here?” I asked.

“Unlike you with your mode of transportation, I can’t leave so easily. And where would I go? How would I know where to go? Not like there is anything out there but dark clouds,” he gestured at the dark sky of swirling blackness. The light from the plants and formations didn’t reach that high up, but with our level of cultivation, it was possible to make out the swirling dark gasses overhead even in the incredibly dim light.

“What about moving this entire place?” Luo Lingtai asked.

“My master considered that. Unfortunately, if we move then the stable area around this place will break apart, dooming everyone. All I can do is wait. And where would we even go?” He clearly didn’t have a method to pinpoint the center of this place unlike Luo Lingtai. She hadn’t shared her method with me and I hadn’t asked her.

We each had personal items and didn’t ask each other about the others items. If she died or I died, the other person wouldn’t hesitate to steal everything the corpse still had on them. In any other situation there might have been more concern about betrayal, but even this Cheng understood we were all in an unfavorable situation.

“How long ago did your master leave? This place seems to have been going on for quite a while,” I said. There were multiple generations of lower level cultivators.

“About two centuries. The original people weren’t that good at cultivation and the ambient energy was quite low. Now, it is everywhere and the cultivators have gotten stronger,” he replied.

“Not enough to get past the First Bottleneck,” I replied, and Cheng shrugged.

“The energy isn’t that dense, and our resources are limited. Sure, the monsters might look impressive, but for plants and other such treasures it takes time and none were here beforehand,” he replied with a shake of his head. “Since my master hasn’t returned, I am afraid things are headed in a bad direction.”

“You have no way to communicate with him?” Luo Lingtai asked. While we were asking a lot of personal questions, it was best if we all understood each other. Survival was more important than scrambling for benefits we couldn’t make use of. If it had been another situation, then I had no doubt Cheng would have tried to kill both of us without hesitation. Life and death situations really encouraged cultivators to work togeather.

“There is too much interference for such things. You can pinpoint the center or navigate in that mess?” he asked while gesturing at the sky.

“It is complicated, using a compact range finder. Good for scanning locations quickly to get an estimate of their size, but we can’t communicate outside this space either,” Luo Lingtai explained, not giving away any details on how her equipment worked.

“Could I go with you?” Cheng asked. “I know it is a big request, but I don’t want to stay here waiting for death. The monsters on this world are getting stronger, while the cultivators aren’t keeping up.” He was stronger than both Luo Lingtai and myself, but he clearly had less capabilities. I glanced over at Chicken. It would be a much tighter fit with three people, but having another cultivator would be useful in case we needed to take turns flying.

“Anything besides your combat skills you would bring to our team?” Luo Lingtai asked bluntly.

“I am quite good at fighting. Stronger than either of you by the looks of it,” he replied with a touch of a threat.

“Your master was an immortal. If he failed, then this trip isn’t going to require strength, but other skills. What about formations and arrays?” Luo Lingtai asked.

“Don’t underestimate combat skill. I don’t just depend on my cultivation, I have a range of techniques I can use,” Cheng countered and then they both looked at me to resolve this issue. I was personally split on Cheng. I didn’t know his background or the background of his super organization. Luo Lingtai had reasons for working with me beyond escaping this place.

But if we ran into his master or other threats, then he would be useful. Having a larger group wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing, since we were all trapped in this spatial enclosure. While I wouldn’t expect him to give his life for mine, fighting something like Chicken would have been much easier with another person. Especially if that person was a close-range fighter.

“What about other people who came through in the past?” I asked. That was something that needed to be resolved.

“Either too weak or too strong. If they were strong, I hid and they moved on, trying to find a way back to the Firmament. If they were too weak, then it was simply a matter of taking whatever they had of value,” Cheng responded while looking right at me. He was no saint, that was clear. “You are the first people who are willing to talk and have a similar level of strength compared to me. Also, you are clearly competent. I refuse to die here.”

At least that was the sentiment we all shared. Each of us refused to die here. I considered the size and handling of Chicken. It would need to be reworked slightly to accommodate three people, but the weight wouldn’t matter. It was more about maintaining one’s position on the vehicle while it was moving. Three people would be pushing it to the limit.

“With how many beings and other things that are getting pulled into this space, it is better to have more combat power rather than less. It is highly likely that other beings and immortals are heading towards the center of this place as well. With a larger group we would deter attacks. While we would have to rework Chicken here, it is just a small amount of time,” I said.

“Chicken?” Cheng asked.

“Don’t ask. He likes to call that flying brick, Chicken,” Luo Lingtai said with a slight sigh, accepting that Cheng would be joining us.

“I fight primarily with a sword and Luo Lingtai here has a range attack. You use crystals?” I asked.

“It is the focus of my cultivation. They are quite useful for gathering energy and then releasing it in a massive burst. Good against more powerful targets, like the monsters around here. I will have to make some arrangements before we depart. Most of the people will have to retreat underground. It would be great if this place could be saved,” he said with a remorseful tone.

I knew he wasn’t sad about the lives being lost, but by how his super organization would respond. Losing this place was going to look bad no matter what the explanation was. Cultivators cared less about the process and more about the final results. At least he could shift the blame to his master, or there might be other considerations I didn’t know about.

Regardless they didn’t concern me and weren’t a big deal unless we managed to escape. Once that happened we could worry about next steps after that. I had a feeling that escaping this place was going to be very difficult since we had confirmation that an immortal had failed. Well, he might have run away and not returned, that was possible as well.

But the fact that this place still existed did not bode well with everything else I had learned about this place. At least with the Great World, it was meant as a place people could live. It clearly was designed to support life in some way. This place on the other hand was completely inhospitable.

It didn’t escape my notice that Cheng was probably weaker than he should be due to breathing in unfiltered air. Sure this place provided some protection, but there was very little light and gasses most likely mixed to a minor degree in the space around this world. Those toxic dark gases were leaching into everything here.

If I was Cheng and had medical issues I wouldn’t reveal them either. While he appeared healthy and I couldn’t detect anything wrong, I felt fairly confident in my guess. There was no other reason for him to want to leave unless this place was dying. While it would be a struggle, he could eventually reach immortality by drawing in all the resources towards himself.

There was clearly some kind of corrupting influence with all the energy that existed in this enclosure. He had been too easy going and too desperate to get away from here and escape. The fact that no one else had broken through the First Bottleneck was also a concern. Even if resources were limited, I would have expected more breakthroughs.

Everyone here was like a lobster in a pot that was slowly being brought to a boil. If the lobster was tossed directly into a boiling pot it would resist far more than if it were placed and the temperature increased. This entire place made me think of this metaphor. Everyone was trapped in a giant spatial pot and the water temperature was slowly increasing.

Either from problems with the ambient energy, or with this space getting smaller. It was a big pot, but still a pot. Unlike a pot though, there were two key areas instead of one. In a pot you just had an edge that kept everything inside. That was the same here. But unlike my cooking metaphor, the heat source was at the center of this place instead of somewhere else.

Luo Lingtai had agreed with me, that the only location this space could be sustained and controlled from was the center. While the Great World had a ring structure, that was to stabilize going between layers of Reality. This place didn’t seem to be present, anywhere except for the Firmament.

It was a shame we couldn’t take this entire world and fly it towards our destination. Before we left I would have to ask to see the control mechanisms. I had always been curious about how places like this were set up after learning that my home continent was built by cultivators. Perhaps there would be valuable things we could take as well or repurpose.

Also, there was the chance to salvage key components. If we could do that, then it might make our time after we escaped easier. With Cheng on our side, he would be interested in this as well. It was a shame that everyone here was going to die, but they were simply too weak and unlucky. While I didn’t wish for their deaths, it was impossible to save everyone.

I had learned this hard lesson long ago and the Great World had hardened my heart even more. I could understand the mindset of senior cultivators a bit better. It wasn’t that they wanted to look down on those weaker, but it was too much of a hassle. After so many times of losing people, anyone would start to become numb. It wasn’t being bloodthirsty but becoming indifferent.

Far more people had died in the Great World when the Infinite Ring Complex was pulled down into Chaos. Trillions upon trillions of lives had been lost. There was just no capacity to worry or care, since it was just a number. While I remembered the people I had met and traveled with, there was nothing I could have done.

That was the sin of weakness. If one was weak, they had no right to complain or to change major things. I could barely keep myself alive and this place was only going to get worse. A hostile mechanical golem, a dying world, and inhospitable space for life. If this was just what was at the outer edge of this space, then it was only going to get much worse the closer we got to the center.

Just more weight for my decision to bring Cheng along. Luo Lingtai didn’t have enough experience with these kinds of situations, but this had been most of my life. Getting thrown into dangerous environments and this was by far the most dangerous. The least dangerous thing would be around my level just to be able to survive.

Another reason to bring Cheng, since the environment would naturally select for beings to get stronger. Once we got out, he would try and betray us without a doubt, or if he could escape and leave us behind, he would. But until that point, he would work with us, and we would help protect each other. Since he was saying his strength was combat, he could take the lead in any future fights, shouldering that risk as a front-line combatant instead of me. I didn’t like fighting, there were too many risks. I preferred to carefully think about situations before becoming caught up in them.

The Great World was part of a super structure designed to draw up lots of energy. No one built something like this without being focused on energy in some way. Energy and matter and everything else nearby were being pulled in and the energy of this place was being affected. Perhaps some high level cultivation technique for an immortal? Create enough of a buffer zone defense to keep out anyone who was curious. Making the trek to the center after crashing would take a while, even with Chicken.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺