Cultivation is Creation

"I don't have much to offer," Astralis said, his expression downcast as he gestured at the fragments of dying light surrounding us. "This is a dying world, after all. Our resources are..."

I was about to respond when something strange happened.

Astralis turned his head slightly to the side, and his face transformed. The sorrow vanished, replaced by an impish grin. “But actually,” he whispered to himself. “I have access to countless treasures that would make Qi Condensation cultivators drool with envy!"

I blinked. That was... unexpected.

"Azure," I thought, "what just happened?"

Azure's laughter echoed in my mind. "Remember how I mentioned inner world spirits cannot lie? This is what happens when they try. They physically cannot maintain a deception – their nature forces them to immediately correct any falsehood, usually they’ll whisper or mutter the corrections."

Well, that was... interesting. I turned back to Astralis, who was still maintaining his sorrowful expression despite the stars in his hair twinkling with barely suppressed amusement.

"So," I said slowly, "you do have a lot to offer."

The stars in Astralis's hair actually flickered with surprise. "How did you—" He caught himself, then sighed with all the put-upon dignity an ancient divine messenger in the form of a young boy could muster. "Yes, fine, I do."

I was starting to see a pattern here.

"Is there really no way to store items in my inner world?" I asked, hoping its Civilization Realm master knew a method.

Astralis shook his head firmly. "It's a matter of cultivation level, and yours is too…low."

I waited for a whisper to follow, but none came. Interesting – so that, at least, was the truth. Still, there had to be something useful here. "What about breakthrough materials? Surely there must be something that could help advance my cultivation."

"Your spirit has already acquired the elements required for the breakthrough to the Elemental Realm," he replied, gesturing vaguely at the space around us. "That's the only thing you could have used in this realm."

I frowned. "It is strange that there are no other breakthrough materials...”

"You have to understand – cultivators require specific materials to develop their inner worlds. This is fundamentally different from how rouqin advance. Any resource that could have helped develop your inner world has already been consumed in the creation and maintenance of this realm."

I couldn't help but sigh. It really had been too good to be true. Although... "Azure, is he telling the truth about that?"

"Yes," Azure confirmed. "He really can’t lie but also think about it – this entire realm was created by a Civilization Realm cultivator. Any resources that could help develop an inner world would have been used in its construction or absorbed by the realm's fundamental structures over time."

Made sense. Still disappointing though.

"But," Astralis continued, a new light entering his eyes, "if you really want to, you could try annexing this world…"

My eyes widened at that suggestion. Unfortunately, my knowledge of inner worlds, while growing, still had significant gaps. I knew annexation was possible – Wei Lin had mentioned it once or twice in passing – but the requirements and process were complete mysteries to me.

Before I could get too excited about the possibility, however, Astralis turned his head again, that now-familiar mischievous look spreading across his features. "But little do you know," he whispered with barely contained glee, "trying to annex a world of this size will end up causing your own inner world to be absorbed! In that case, I'll take your life realm energy for free! Hahaha!"

I blinked. So that was the plan. Get me to attempt something far beyond my capabilities, then capitalize on my inevitable failure. At least he was straightforward about his schemes... in a roundabout sort of way.

"Azure," I thought, "what's your take on this?"

"Each inner world spirit has a different personality," Azure replied, clearly amused by the boy. "This one seems to be on the mischievous side."

"So, even with the World Tree Sutra, annexing this world would be..."

"Impossible at your current level," Azure confirmed. "Astralis knows far more than I do about these matters, and he seems quite confident we'd fail and be consumed ourselves."

I nodded slowly. It did make sense. Attempting to annex the inner world of a Civilization Realm cultivator while still in the Qi Condensation realm would be like... well, like trying to swallow an ocean with a teacup.

"Master, what exactly are you hoping to gain here?" Azure asked after a moment.

I considered the question carefully. "Once I return to the Two Sun's world, I'll be focusing on mastering the power of the blue sun. Since life realm energy is similar, gaining some comprehension of it here could be valuable. It might even help me create beings in my inner world sooner rather than later."

"A good idea," Azure mused. "And it would certainly be more practical than attempting to annex an entire world."

Turning back to Astralis, who was trying his best to hide the grin on his face, I asked, "What about life realm energy comprehension? Is there any way to—"

"You don't want to try annexing the world?" he interrupted, looking disappointed. "Are you sure? Because if you—"

Stolen story; please report.

"No," I said firmly. "About that life realm energy..."

He pouted – which was a strange expression to see on an immortal messenger – before sighing. "It is possible for me to transfer what remains of the Celestial Sovereign's understanding of life realm energy."

He opened his hand, revealing a crystal that looked like it had been through several wars. Cracks spider-webbed across its surface, and pieces were actively falling away even as we watched.

"This Comprehension Crystal is all that's left."

Then, right on cue, he turned his head and grinned. "But absorbing even this much comprehension will make you brain dead! Then I can take that life realm energy of yours! It's the perfect plan!"

I held back a sigh. Was he going to do this every time?

"Master, don’t worry," Azure assured me. "I can absorb the life realm comprehension and then transfer it to you in manageable amounts. He clearly doesn’t expect your inner world spirit to be quite so... advanced."

He was right. The typical inner world spirit at the Qi Condensation realm was barely sentient.

"What about other types of comprehension crystals?" I asked Astralis. "Surely there must be more..."

Astralis shook his head, and this time his expression remained steady. "The Master was very clear – I can only give one away as a reward to each person. As for the rest, they belong to the new master."

Now that was interesting. "And how does one become the new master?"

"There are different ways," Astralis explained, counting them off on his fingers. "First, if an inhabitant of this world reaches Tier 9, they automatically become the new master.”

Breaking through to Tier 9? Given the state of the world and its declining energy, that seemed... unlikely.

“But we also have a special provision,” he continued. “If someone shows the potential to reach Tier 9, I can administer a test. Pass it, and they become the new master right away."

My thoughts briefly turned to Han Renyi - with his talent, determination, and the gains from my influence, could he potentially qualify for that special test? It was worth keeping in mind.

"Second, someone could get revenge for the Sovereign."

I held back a sigh, that condition not only would require power that is likely at the sixth major realm of cultivation but would require knowing what happened to the creator of this realm in the first place, something Astralis couldn't or wouldn't explain.

"And lastly," his eyes gleamed, "by annexing this world! You know, maybe you should give that a try after all..."

I ignored that last suggestion, and decided to see what else I could get from this world. "What about cultivation techniques?" I asked. "Surely there must be some records left behind..."

"Those are also reserved for the new master," Astralis replied firmly, unfortunately there was no mischievous follow-up whisper.

That wasn't as much of a problem as he might think - after all, I could always acquire techniques directly from the sects themselves. They might not be as profound as what the Celestial Sovereign left behind, but they would serve my purposes well enough – adding to Azure’s growing database.

"Before we proceed with the comprehension crystal,” I said. “I need to know – will lending my life realm energy be harmful to me in any way?"

Astralis paused for a moment then shook his head. "If you were a normal life realm cultivator, you would naturally recover it. But if you have a limited capacity..." He trailed off meaningfully.

I thought about the blue sun in my inner world. Its capacity was indeed limited, but it also had the ability to recover energy over time. That should be enough.

"What's the actual process?"

"The Starhaven Realm has three trees known as realm stabilizing trees," Astralis explained. "Feeding them life realm energy will help them recover and do their job. You might recognize one of them – the Three Leaf Clover Sect's Ancestor's Tree."

I nodded slowly. That explained why that tree had felt so strange, why it had responded so strongly to my presence. It wasn't just any sacred tree – it was one of the fundamental pillars holding this world together.

"The crystal?" I asked, holding out my hand.

Astralis placed the cracking crystal in my palm with what looked suspiciously like barely suppressed glee. I had a feeling he was still hoping it would somehow overwhelm me, but with Azure's help, this should be manageable.

I studied the crystal thoughtfully. "I still feel that Life Realm comprehension alone isn't enough..."

"Oh?" Astralis raised an eyebrow, and his expression turned sly. "Well, what else could you possibly want? You're welcome to stay here forever, you know. Provide life realm energy to stabilize the world, live like a king among the rouqin..." He spread his arms wide, encompassing the crystalline space around us. "I could arrange quite a comfortable existence for you."

I shook my head slowly, my eyes drifting to the view of the realm that shimmered in the fragments around us. "This is the Starhaven Realm, isn't it?"

"Yes, but—"

"So, this realm specializes in star cultivation methods..."

"I already told you," Astralis cut in sharply, "you can't have access to the Master's cultivation methods!"

I couldn't help but smile. "I don't want his cultivation method."

"Then what—"

"I want one of the stars for my inner world."

The stars in Astralis's hair actually stuttered in their twinkling, like a crowd of people all gasping at once. His mouth opened and closed several times before he managed to speak.

"That's... that's..." He seemed to be struggling to find words. "You can't just... I mean... they're not..."

"This world was constructed using breakthrough materials," I continued. "And those stars are part of that construction. They're essentially concentrated breakthrough materials in their purest form."

"But... but..." Astralis was practically sputtering now. Then, predictably, he turned his head and whispered, "Actually, trading a single star for life realm energy would be an incredibly fair deal, especially since most of them are dying anyway..."

He caught himself and spun back to face me, but it was too late. I'd heard the whisper, and more importantly, I'd seen the calculation in his eyes. He wanted my life realm energy badly enough that he was willing to consider it.

"Impossible!" he declared grandly. Then, in a whisper: "Though maybe one of the smaller ones wouldn't hurt..."

"The smallest one you can spare," I offered reasonably.

"Absolutely not!" Then, turning: "The third star in the Western constellation is already half-dead anyway..."

This went on for several more minutes, with Astralis alternating between adamant refusals and whispered considerations of which star he could most easily part with. Finally, he seemed to reach some sort of internal compromise.

"Fine," he said, managing to look both annoyed and pleased at the same time. "One star. The smallest one I can find. And you'll provide life realm energy to all three trees?"

I nodded. "As long as it doesn't harm me."

He waved his hand, and suddenly we could see the night sky of the Starhaven Realm spread out above us. With another gesture, one of the tiniest stars – barely visible among its brighter siblings – detached itself from its constellation and floated down toward us.

It was beautiful up close. No larger than a marble. I could feel the power radiating from it – not overwhelming, but pure and concentrated in a way that made my inner world resonate in response.

Astralis held it out to me with obvious reluctance. "Be careful with it," he said, and for once there was no mischief in his voice, he clearly didn’t want his helper blowing up before I was of any help to him. "It may be one of the smallest, but it's still a star."

I took it carefully, cradling the tiny light in my palm. I already had two suns in my inner world. The World Tree Sutra should be able to handle a baby star, I channeled my cultivation method, feeling its power reach out to the star.

The star pulsed once, twice, and then began to sink into my palm, merging with my inner world in a way that felt both natural and inevitable. I could feel it settling into place, finding its own orbit alongside my red and blue suns.

Finding out how an extra star at the Qi Condensation Realm could affect my cultivation could wait, now it was time to absorb the life realm comprehension crystal.

I closed my eyes and extended my spiritual sense toward the crystal. The moment I made contact, I felt... something. A vast, ancient understanding that made my comprehension of life energy feel like a child playing with sticks in the mud.

This was going to be interesting.

The crystal pulsed once, and then everything changed.