Calculating Cultivation

“Vice Leader Qiang You,” I greeted my senior with a deep bow in his garden. It was time. After all this waiting, I was finally going to breakthrough. Either my life would be ending shortly, or I would be stepping onto a new and unexplored path in cultivation.

One part of me felt relieved it was time, another part of me felt incredibly worried. So much time had passed and this was it. I didn’t think my journey would lead me to this point, being in debt to an immortal, and the truth of cultivation society, embodied by the Forever City, but nonetheless I was here.

I had been doing research on breakthroughs and following up with my business. There had been some progress in both directions. But there had been major insights in either direction.

“Sit. The final preparations are being finished as we speak for your breakthrough,” he said. Since there was no question, I was silent before him. “I can sense your curiosity about what I have planned. While many others might choose to keep one such as yourself in ignorance, I will illuminate your mind instead. What do you think of that?” There was a teasing and mocking tone in Qiang You’s voice.

“You are generous Vice Leader Qiang You,” I said and bowed my head once more. It was just one more form of control he could layer upon me.

“I sense that you are displeased even if your words say otherwise. Nothing gave you away, it is just the nature of cultivators to hate being oppressed by a stronger cultivator. But that is the curse of those weaker.” Even his casual remarks cut through me. There was nothing hidden from this immortal. I had truly grabbed the tail of a tiger and was holding on for dear life.

“Your breakthrough will alter fate itself. A small pebble cast into the eddies of the Firmament, creating a nexus of chaos which will in turn draw threats and opportunity. It comes down to luck, the worst of all higher forces, but one I have studied extensively. When you hear that word, luck, what do you think?” Qiang You asked.

“Probability favoring one direction,” I answered, and he slowly nodded at that while stroking his beard.

“Probability is but an illusion. Luck is that illusion being stripped away.” Qiang You responded with a slight disgust in this tone. After that there was a long stretch of silence in which I dared not speak without invitation. “You think yourself clever, like all cultivators do. Then tell me, why has no one tread your path?”

The answer wasn’t resources. Anyone like Qiang You could marshal the resources that I had done with only a fraction of the effort. That was the power of the Forever City and the factions that resided here. My mind went back to my previous conversation. “Something or someone would stop such an event,” I replied.

“This city is not a battleground. It has existed for countless eons, by remaining discrete.” This place wasn’t a battleground? The tentacle monster? The countless fighting between factions? “The fights you have witnessed are but minor skirmishes that spill over. My original hope was to use you to pull the Forever City into a state of conflict. Cultivator Po has seen fit to stop such a thing. But now there is a new plan I have put togeather.”

My mind was spinning, why was I being told this? This was a plot against the Heavenly Alliance! To draw this city and the super organization in control of it into a war with another. How would my breakthrough even cause that?

“There are higher forces. Karma. Fate. Luck. Mere words cannot contain their full meaning and scope. But they hold value to cultivators like myself. Bringing conflict to the Forever City would have been devastating, but it would have created opportunities.” Qiang You shook his head. “Now that will no longer be the case. Speak.”

“Forgive me, but I don’t understand. Why would you want a conflict to occur? Isn’t stability and constant improvement the most important thing? And why would you tell me?” I asked all of that in a single breath.

“For weak minded fools raised up inside a faction. They are content, like sheep. While they get stronger slowly, that is but crumbs falling from the plates of those stronger. Stability becomes stagnation. The last time the entire Forever City was mobilized was eons ago. I tell you all this, since I can see the resentment within you. Your debt, the favors you owe. I should be the one to complain for how little I will be repaid,” Qiang You said while staring down at me. I didn’t dare speak up or offer an objection.

“After your breakthrough, you will be going on a journey. I have seen your attempts to raise funds to repay the debt you will owe me, but it would take far too long. Instead, if you survive, then you will undertake some tasks for me to repay the favors you owe. You will probably die horribly, but it will be the least you can do.” I honestly couldn’t tell if Qiang You liked me, hated me, or was just messing with me.

“Thank you senior,” I said and bowed my head while wondering where I would be sent and what I would have to do. At least that meant he thought I would survive my breakthrough. I would have to mentally sort through everything else he had told me later on. One thing I had learned was to never underestimate senior cultivators. One does that reach that age and power without an immense amount of cunning.

“Come,” Qiang You said and stood up. I followed him out of the garden onto a vehicle. If the general use faction vehicle was nice, Qiang You’s personal transportation was the height of luxury. The chairs were impossibly comfortable and I couldn’t even feel the vehicle moving in the slightest. Even checking for forces, there was nothing. The hull of the vehicle blocked my sight.

“Senior, what exactly is going to happen when I breakthrough?” I asked. Qiang You sent me a glare and I felt like I was a moment from death. The pressure vanished as quickly as it came. I was hoping for information and a clear explanation.

“A massive conflict. You will focus on stabilizing your cultivation with what time will be given to you. As for what shows up during or after, I do not have enough luck to say.” I felt there were unspoken words here. That if it was too much trouble or risk, I would be left behind to be killed. That was more information than I was hoping for, but less explanation than I wanted.

It was tempting to ask another question, but I knew that I had already pushed Qiang You’s forbearance. Asking about stuff I would have no role in, would only annoy him. It was like rushing to the cockpit of an airplane, asking how the plane was flying, what the controls were, and everything else about what was happening. I would just have to take it on faith and my limited knowledge that I would make it safely through my breakthrough.

A few minutes after we had boarded Qiang You’s private vehicle we came to a stop. I followed him off the vehicle onto a cylinder ship. This was not like the lower floor, with lots of chairs for lesser cultivators. We were escorted to a fancy room that had the same level of comfort as the vehicle I had just been in. Qiang You gestured for me to sit, which I did.

Another older looking man entered, and I noted he had the symbol of the TripleX faction on his robes. He had a similar look to Qiang You. I quickly stood up and bowed deeply, and I noted Qiang You stand up and incline his head as well. This person was clearly a bigshot if Qiang You could be made to bow. A hand reached out gripping my hair and lifted up my head. It was the height of rudeness, but I was nothing but a bug to these cultivators. I didn’t object or fight the impossibly steely grip.

“So, this is your project.” I felt a wave of energy pass through me, and the old man sneered. “You weren’t joking when you said his cultivation was a mess.”

“Indeed Leader Han, it is a mess,” Qiang You said. I recognized that name. I had seen it written down in several places. This was the faction leader of TripleX.

“A clever idea to stir the pot, but far too shallow. If it had worked, the consequences would have been immense. Now you seek to go fishing,” Leader Han let go of my hair and I went back to bowing, not daring to lift my head without his permission.

“It was a long shot, but one I had high hopes for. As for the new plan, I have taken precautions, and we could get something useful. Also, you sense the hand of fate on this one,” Qiang You said. I had fate on me? I had no idea what that meant, but I listened carefully.

“It is only because you have succeeded in the past, that I am even willing to consider this and come along,” Leader Han said with a scoff.

“We all do what we must,” Qiang You replied and inclined his head. There was a lot of subtext that I was missing between the two based on their history, but I couldn’t ask for clarification.

“You may both sit,” Leader Han said, which was an insult to Qiang You by lowering him to be in the same command as me, degrading his status. I quickly sat back down on the chair I had been originally seated on.

“There is no reward without risk. The plateaus at the higher levels are not easily broken. If anyone could gather such power, then we would just sit around,” Qiang You challenged Leader Han with this statement.

“What I expect from someone who looks to shake the Heavenly Alliance and see what tumbles out. You are lucky you were only warned. The depths of power at the higher echelons are immense,” Leader Han said as he took his own seat across from Qiang You who I was seated next to.

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“But you don’t wish to stop me and will even see this though Leader Han. You might claim you don’t want to upset things, but you dislike where things stand,” Qiang You said in a challenging tone.

“Of course. Everyone does. No one truly wants a war, but it is better that the weak perish and the strong subjected to the crucible and refined.” Leader Han then looked at me. “Yuan Zhou, tell me, if you could gain immortality right now, without any risk, but not become stronger, would you?”

The moment I heard my name, I knew I wouldn’t get a simple question. There was no clear right answer. Saying I would pursue power but with risk, made it seem like I did not put value on my life, which was not true. But saying that I valued my life would be seen as cowardice and wanting to give up on what was about to happen.

This touched on what my goals were. I had started this path so long ago, that I was stuck on it. There was no way off without betraying the people who had placed their expectations upon me.

“Unfortunately, my path diverged from such a route and while I could have tried to make better choices in the past, I am here now, having come this far,” I replied hoping my answer would not offend by being too timid or meek.

“Arrogant. Unbridled arrogance to offer such an explanation. To think you have chosen better than your seniors. I see what you mean Qiang You, this one’s spirit is unbridled, perhaps the blessing of fate?” Leader Han turned back towards Qiang you. I felt my heart fall at those comments. I had given the wrong answer.

“I suspect so too. At first, I thought it was cultivation remnant, but even the arranged meeting with that demonic cultivator failed to produce anything interesting,” Qiang You said. The fact he could say something so casually in front of me, showed how little I meant. I was a plaything of these elites. They would toss me to the sharks, if they thought the sharks would give them some entertainment.

Back when I had been a rich young master, I had never given any thought to the debt slaves working for me. I had thought I was doing them a favor. I had helped them, but it was degrading. Just like I was being degraded now. I had no ability to speak up or object.

While I had no doubt these cultivators wouldn’t kill be for a minor offense, I would lose value in their eyes. I was a product, not a person. A tool to be wielded in whatever scheme they had cooked up, not a person with hopes and thoughts.

It was degrading and horrible to be in such a position. But that was cultivation society at its core. The weak had no ability to object. The strong could do whatever they wanted. The weak looked to become strong and the strong exploited the weak.

“And you upset him,” Leader Han chuckled. I hadn’t shown any emotion on my face and didn’t react to his comment. He was using a technique or cold reading me. Either was a possibility with someone who was so old and powerful. I still had on my equipment and observation blockers.

“When he came to beg me for my help, he knew the consequences. Now we shall go fishing and see what comes up,” Qiang You said. Clearly I was going to be used as bait to get some kind of monster these two would benefit from. A fish on a hook.

“The only reason I am going with you,” Leader Han replied. There was a soft chime. “And this is our stop.” That had been incredibly fast, but they had probably arranged for us to be the first stop on this cylinder ship. Both of the senior cultivators stood up and I stood up as well. We left the cylinder ship and made our way to a rocky platform. The cylinder ship left, leaving us in darkness. Qiang You held up his hand, creating a source of light.

There was just blackness off the edge of this chunk of rock. We made our way to the center of the circular piece of rock as the cylinder ship left. That was it. There was no sun, no other light source. Just a patch of rock in the middle of darkness. The air was clean and breathable for some weird reason. “Getting back will be a pain,” Leader Han muttered.

“Indeed,” Qiang You said and waved his hand that wasn’t glowing. Three patches of ground rose up and became smooth. The dust and smaller pieces of rock were pushed to the side. Various symbols were imprinted on two of the platforms, while the third one in the center was left blank.

“An interesting derivation. These sections,” Leader Han pointed out portions of the circle and Qiang You nodded.

“To stop detection on multiple paths, backwards and forwards,” Qiang You said.

“Inventive. But you always did like the rare and esoteric,” Leader Han said. They both stepped up on their respective platforms and Qiang You waved to me to stand on the blank platform. I noticed the various symbols on their platforms were glowing. I stepped forward and onto the third stone platform.

Qiang You pulled out a large square rod and pointed it in multiple directions into the blackness all around the circular stone landscape. “Senior, what are we doing here?” I asked hesitantly. Leader Han let out a chuckle while Qiang You spared me a glance before waving the square rod in his hand about. I had no idea what kind of functionality it had.

“You will breakthrough here. A small bubble of existence, instead of the Astral Plane directly. Leader Han has graciously offered to slow the passage of time for you while you breakthrough,” Qiang You said. My eyes went wide at that as I looked at Leader Han. He just chuckled slightly as he stared at me.

That wasn’t part of the plan. But there was no way I could object or say anything. I didn’t fully understand everything that would be happening. And even if I did know, there was nothing I could do. I had to place my trust into Qiang You and Leader Han without hesitation. That was my only chance of surviving.

“I would focus on completing your breakthrough as quickly as possible. Once you breakthrough, things will get chaotic,” he said with a smile that gave off a sense of unease. “How go the preparations?”

“It will take a little bit longer to sever any possible connection,” Qiang You said.

“Double check. I will not have some other person snatch away our hard work,” Leader Han replied.

“All clear, for now. Anything left is beyond me and hiding,” Qiang You said and dropped his hand that was giving off light. Now all that was left were the soft blue glowing symbols around the two immortals.

“Good. Now for the main act. Break through whenever you are ready,” Leader Han said while turning to face me.

“Now seniors?” I looked at Qiang You.

“All our preparations are done. Breakthrough now,” Qiang You said clearly indicating he would tolerate no further questions. There was another moment of hesitation, but I had come this far and couldn’t back down now. I unequipped my gear and put it away in my spatial ring. The air on this small patch of land in the middle of darkness was somehow breathable.

I took a deep breath and tried to calm my mind. Neither of the senior cultivators said anything while I steadied my nerves here at the last moment. I had studied for this moment for a long time. The hardships I had endured had been immense and would only get worse going forward.

The first step was breaking the barrier on my mind core shells. To tie my body and soul togeather. The boundary on the outside shattered. The energy in the mind cores had the concept of force tied to them. It was engrained in every aspect. As the energy leaked out, I focused on forcing my body and soul to remain linked.

The energy released from the mind core shells flooded my body. Most of it was dispersed and lost, but some remained and settled down. Linking my body and soul togeather in a way that it hadn’t before.

“Such waste,” Leader Han muttered, but I didn’t focus on him. I had to keep my focus on the energy that was spreading out and dissipating inside of my body. As the energy decreased, my soul cores pushed outwards and then broke.

“Ahhh!” I screamed as my cultivation shattered. All the motes, channels, and meridians were pushed beyond the boundaries of my physical body by the four explosions inside of my soul. My body core in the center of those explosions was compressed inwards.

At that moment everything seemed to slow down, while I was in agony. Leader Han had a single hand pointed at me. I could see a bubble of energy form around me. I couldn’t move, and the agony I was in was immense.

The first thing to focus on was drawing the energy from my body core detonation, into my new organ. The pain I was feeling only increased. This was beyond a flesh wound, it felt like my body was being ripped apart at the very seams. I had to focus. Everything was happening in slow motion. Without everything slowing down, I would have had no time to react to do everything I needed to complete.

I didn’t like pain or suffering, but I had endured hardships for this long, I could endure a bit more as I felt the implanted organ inside me shifting and growing. Qiang You and Leader Han were talking, but I couldn’t pay attention to them at the moment as I focused on trying to direct the maelstrom of energy within me.

It was like trying to fly a kite in a hurricane. I had some control, but the overwhelming amount of energy in my cores was making it vary difficult to direct. As the secondary body core exploded I had to focus on drawing back my soul. I could feel it being pushed outwards. The very foundation that I had carved my cultivation into was being pushed outwards.

Letting go would be too easy. From what I had read, the problem had been not enough force, I had too much. It was hard to focus on what was me. I was everything around me. I looked down at the two immortals who had come for this.

My physical body was breaking apart. I was losing focus. It was a struggle to draw myself back togeather. I needed to focus on myself, pulling my soul back togeather. The boost from the mind cores and the organ gave me an anchor, a center to focus on as my soul slowly came back togeather.

Then there was the third thing during my breakthrough I needed to focus on. Creating the foundation for purifying the energy I drew in. I had studied long and hard in preparation for this, diving into the extensive information the TripleX faction had collected.

I created cylinders from the remnants of my internal cultivation structure. Four of them, each pointed towards the center, where my organ crossed between my soul and my body. I just needed the base structure in place, the internal mechanisms could come later. I just needed to have the foundation there to work off of.

Even with the extra time that I had, it was a struggle. Portions of energy and pieces of my cultivation flew away, and I couldn’t sense them anymore. Time stretched out as I kept trying to pull myself back togeather. Every fiber of my body and mind were screaming in protest.

My soul was slowly pulled back togeather. The pieces I wasn’t able to keep a mental hold of had dispersed outwards. There had been a lot of waste, but I had not been able to do more. I had given everything I had and held nothing back.

I could feel the steady pulse of the organ linking my body and soul. I could feel every portion of it. In my physical body it was a large lump of energy saturated flesh, pulsing with my heartbeat, unleashing energy into my physical body in a small trickle. For my astral soul, it was the center of my cultivation. What felt weird was that I could feel my soul in a way I couldn’t before. Previously it had been a nebulous feeling. Now, I could feel each and every contour with extreme precision.

The gaps and cracks left from trying to bring it back togeather were present as well. Energy seeping into my soul. The cylinder constructs built around the organ to purify the energy sent to my physical body. But the organ was present and overlapping both aspects of myself, which was giving me a headache. The overlaps were close, but there were minute differences. Like two similar pictures slightly offset from each other.

The world spun and shrunk. My entire body felt like it was on fire, and I was being slowly roasted. Time slowly sped back up. Just as I began to get my panic under control, I felt something grab onto my soul and my fear skyrocketed.