Chương 314: Breakthrough

I opened my eyes to find myself sitting cross-legged on my meditation mat, exactly as I'd left my body. My muscles felt stiff, the price of remaining motionless during my spiritual journey to the Starhaven Realm. A slow smile spread across my face as I stretched my arms above my head, feeling the satisfying pop of joints realigning.

"That," I murmured, "went surprisingly well."

"By your standards of 'well,' perhaps," Azure's voice echoed in my mind.

"You still depleted a significant portion of your soul essence." I glanced at my reserves: Soul Essence: 2000/2500. Not ideal, but not nearly as bad as previous excursions. It was nothing a little rest wouldn't solve.

"A small price to pay," I replied, rising to my feet and walking to the window. Outside, disciples moved about their morning routines, blissfully unaware of interdimensional negotiations and dying realms.

"The World Tree Origin Soil alone would have been worth four times the expenditure."

"Not to mention the Ethereal Link Technique and the Nexus coordinates," Azure agreed.

"Though I still maintain we shouldn't attempt a direct connection until you reach the Life Realm." I laughed softly.

"Trust me, I have no desire to end up like Liu Kai. His fate was warning enough." The memory of the broken cultivator in the Formation Guild's underground prison flashed through my mind.

"But having the knowledge gives us options. And options are precisely what we need right now." I moved to the small wooden table where I kept my few possessions and poured water from a clay pitcher into a basin. The cool water was refreshing against my face, washing away the lingering fatigue of spiritual travel.

"Han Renyi's advancement was impressive," I noted, recalling how much the young man had grown in just a year.

"From Tier 1 to Tier 3 in a year. Not bad for someone living in a dying world."

"His determination is admirable," Azure agreed.

"The Nine-Life Immortal Tree Technique suits him surprisingly well. I wasn't certain how well such a hybrid method would work in the Starhaven Realm's conditions." I nodded, drying my face with a rough cloth.

"And now, we focus on our own path forward."

"So, what's the plan now?" Azure asked.

"The tournament begins in ten days."

"It's time I made a breakthrough to the eighth stage of Qi Condensation," I smiled.

"I've been stuck at the seventh stage for what feels like an eternity."

"Your understanding of 'eternity' is charmingly limited," Azure remarked.

"Most cultivators spend months or even years at each stage."

"Most cultivators aren't walking between worlds or facing opponents with Beyond Heaven methods," I countered, sitting back down on my meditation mat.

"My qi cultivation is beginning to lag behind my sun energies. Both red and blue sun are just a whisper away from Rank 2, equivalent to the Elemental Realm. Yet my qi remains firmly anchored at Stage 7." I closed my eyes, contemplating the upcoming tournament. Wu Kangming would be there, no doubt eager for the opportunity to fight me publicly. The memory of our brief encounter still rankled—his cold eyes assessing me, the faint ghost of his sword master hovering behind him.

"The red and blue sun energies won't be much help in the tournament," I mused.

"I can hide the red sun with the Shroud Rune, but I'd prefer to rely primarily on qi techniques."

"A wise precaution," Azure agreed.

"While the Shroud Rune is effective, we can't be certain it would fool a cultivator above the Life Realm cultivator like the Sect Master. Higher-level cultivators often develop specialized perception techniques." I nodded.

"Exactly. Better to focus on qi cultivation and traditional battle prowess. Much less likely to attract the wrong kind of attention."

"Speaking of attention," Azure said, "we should consider finding a similar shrouding technique for the blue sun energy during our next visit to the Two Suns World."

"Noted, though it's not immediately necessary," I replied.

"My plan for the blue sun energy is to focus entirely on inner world development. Combat applications like painting can wait, I'm nowhere near the level where I could paint fast enough during battle anyway." I shifted my posture slightly.

"But to start, let's see what we're working with." Azure hummed in agreement, and my consciousness shifted inward, the physical world fading away as I projected my awareness into my inner world. The transformation was immediately apparent. When I had first distributed the World Tree Origin Soil across all four quadrants, I had observed the microscopic formations within it - perfect structures designed to nurture and develop life.

Now, those formations had activated, spreading throughout the soil and creating complex biological systems that had previously been absent. The Northwest mountains stood tall and proud, their slopes now covered with patches of vibrant moss that hadn't been there before. The deep valleys between them showed signs of fungi networks spreading beneath the surface, creating webs of nutrient exchange that would eventually support larger organisms.

In the Northeast garden quadrant, the specially prepared soil zones now teemed with microbial life. I could sense colonies of bacteria forming complex communities, breaking down minerals and generating the first traces of a genuine ecosystem. The hills that had once been barren now supported thin layers of primitive but functional greenery.

The Southeast quadrant, which I had designated for platforms and future structures, remained mostly open space as intended, but the soil between the platforms now showed signs of biological activity. Small, strange insects had begun to form from the soil itself, tiny creatures no larger than grains of sand, but living nonetheless. Finally, in the Southwest quadrant with its meditation plateaus and practice fields, the formerly sterile ground now pulsed with a subtle rhythm of microscopic life.

At the center of it all stood the Genesis Seed, its roots penetrating deeper and spreading farther than before, drawing sustenance from the newly enriched soil. Above, the red and blue suns continued their eternal orbit, opposite each other, while the small baby star followed its own path between them, all three casting their unique light upon the growing world below.

"The World Tree Origin Soil has exceeded my expectations," I said, impressed by the transformation.

"Yes," Azure agreed, his presence manifesting beside me as a translucent blue figure.

"But while microorganisms are a crucial first step, they won't push your cultivation forward significantly on their own. You need more complex life forms, particularly plants with spiritual properties." I nodded, considering our options.

"Spiritual plants that can thrive despite the lack of a day/night cycle and the constant temperature of my inner world."

"Not to mention the unusual energy combinations from the three celestial bodies," Azure added, gesturing toward the orbiting suns. I turned my attention to the garden quadrant, where I had already designated spaces for different types of vegetation.

"I'm not confident in my ability to create Rank 2 spiritual plants yet. Kal demonstrated how to paint plants with elemental properties during our time at the Blue Sun Academy, but I think we should start with something more basic." If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"Rank 1 spiritual plants would be a logical first step," Azure agreed.

"And remember, if you were to paint plants or seeds outside your inner world, they wouldn't last longer than a few minutes without constant energy support."

"But here, with the World Tree Origin Soil," I continued, "basic creations should remain indefinitely as the soil nourishes them."

"It would be better to create seeds rather than fully-formed plants," Azure suggested.

"That way, they can grow naturally in the soil, developing stronger connections to your inner world. And if you ever needed to take them out for trading purposes, they wouldn't immediately disintegrate but would live a normal lifespan." I smiled, appreciating how well Azure understood my thinking.

"Exactly my plan. And thanks to attending those herbalism classes with Lin Mei when I first joined the sect, I have several species in mind, but do you have any suggestions?"

"I'd recommend starting with three particular species," Azure began.

"First, Moonlight Clover - it's hardy, thrives in unstable environments, and enhances qi circulation. Second, Azure Bellflower – it absorbs ambient spiritual energy and converts it to a form more easily assimilated by cultivators. Third, Shadow Fern, which helps stabilize spiritual fluctuations during cultivation breakthroughs."

"They sound perfect," I agreed.

"Now for the challenging part, painting them into existence." I positioned myself in the garden quadrant, standing on an elevated stone platform that gave me a good view of the prepared soil beds below. Unlike in the physical world, here I could directly manipulate the blue sun energy without tools. It was more difficult than using a paintbrush but far easier than it would be to use my hands outside my inner world.

As Azure projected images of the seeds before me, I extended my hands, drawing blue sun energy toward me. It flowed like luminous water, gathering between my palms in a pulsing sphere of azure light. Concentrating, I molded the energy into the precise shape of a Moonlight Clover seed, focusing on every detail from its silvery sheen to the microscopic structures within that would determine its growth pattern. The first attempt dissipated before fully forming, the energy losing cohesion as my concentration wavered.

"You're overthinking it," Azure observed.

"Remember what you learned from Thara and Kal. Technique matters, but intent matters more." I nodded, taking a deep breath. This time, rather than focusing solely on the physical details, I infused the energy with my understanding of what the Moonlight Clover represented, properties such as resilience, restoration, cyclical growth. The blue energy responded, swirling more harmoniously between my palms. When I released it, the energy coalesced into a perfect seed that drifted gently down to the soil bed below.

As it touched the earth, there was a tiny flash of blue light, and then the seed seemed to settle, becoming part of my inner world rather than a temporary construct.

"Well done," Azure congratulated.

"One down, twenty-nine to go," I replied with a smile. The process became easier with practice. Soon I was creating seeds in rapid succession, each one perfectly formed and vibrant with potential. I arranged them in neat rows across three distinct growing areas, ten seeds of each species. The work was draining. Continuously manipulating the blue sun energy with such precision required intense concentration.

By the time I planted the last Shadow Fern seed, my spiritual form was flickering as though it would dissolve at any moment.

"That should be sufficient," I said, stepping back to survey my work. Thirty seeds, now neatly planted in the enriched soil of my inner world.

"Now we wait. The blue sun energy should accelerate their growth significantly compared to the physical world."

"You've earned some rest," Azure noted, observing my fatigue with concern.

"This kind of creation takes a toll, especially in such quantity." I nodded in agreement.

"I'll return to the physical world for now. I could use some actual sleep." With that, I withdrew my consciousness from my inner world, the garden scene fading as my awareness returned to my physical body. Opening my eyes, I found myself once again sitting cross-legged on my meditation mat in my small quarters. The position of the sun outside my window suggested several hours had passed while I worked within my inner world. Fatigue washed over me, a deep weariness that went beyond physical exhaustion.

Creating life, even simple plant life, required more than just energy and technique, it demanded something of the creator's essence which explained why Lightweavers didn't spam creations one after another. I didn't fight the exhaustion but embraced it, recognizing it as the natural cost of progress. Without bothering to undress, I shifted from my meditation mat to my sleeping pallet and closed my eyes. Sleep claimed me almost instantly, my consciousness drifting into peaceful darkness.

I'm not sure how long I slept before Azure's voice roused me from my slumber.

"Master!" His voice was urgent, excited.

"You need to see this!" I stirred reluctantly, my mind still foggy with sleep.

"What is it?" I mumbled, forcing my eyes open.

"Your inner world," Azure replied.

"You need to check it immediately." Something in his tone cut through my grogginess. I sat up, shaking off the last vestiges of sleep, and closed my eyes to project my consciousness back into my inner world. What I saw took my breath away. The garden quadrant had transformed completely. Where I had planted thirty small seeds just hours before, there now stood thirty fully bloomed spiritual plants, each radiating subtle energy that harmonized with my inner world.

The Moonlight Clovers had grown into elegant clusters, their silver-white petals glowing with a soft, pearlescent light that reminded me of moonbeams filtering through mist. They stood about knee-high, their stems a deep midnight blue that contrasted beautifully with their luminous blooms. The Azure Bellflowers had grown taller, reaching almost to my waist. Their bell-shaped blooms hung in graceful cascades of blue that shifted and shimmered as if capturing the very essence of qi from the outside world.

As I watched, one of the flowers trembled slightly and released a tiny mote of qi that drifted upward before dissipating. Most impressive were the Shadow Ferns, which had grown into expansive plants with fronds that seemed to absorb and refract light simultaneously. Their deep green leaves were veined with lines of darkest purple, and they seemed to bend space slightly around them, creating pockets of deeper shadow beneath their spreading fronds.

"This is... incredible," I whispered, walking between the rows of plants.

"I expected growth, but not this rapid or complete."

"It's the combination of factors," Azure explained, appearing beside me.

"The World Tree Origin Soil provided the perfect growing medium, your blue sun energy accelerated their development, and the Genesis Seed itself likely influenced their growth patterns. These aren't just ordinary Rank 1 spiritual plants, they've been enhanced by your inner world's unique conditions." I reached out to touch one of the Azure Bellflowers, feeling its silken petal against my fingertip.

It resonated with my touch, releasing another small mote of qi that spiraled around my hand before being absorbed into my spiritual form. A tiny surge of energy traveled up my arm, insignificant on its own but promising in its implication.

"They're already cycling energy," I noted with satisfaction.

"Creating a sustainable system."

"And they're interacting with each other as well," Azure pointed out, gesturing to where the root systems of different plants had begun to intertwine beneath the soil.

"The fungal networks from the World Tree Origin Soil are facilitating communication and resource sharing between species." As I moved through the garden, inspecting each plant more closely, I became aware of a familiar sensation building within me. It started as a subtle pressure at the center of my inner world, a gathering tension that slowly spread outwards. There was no pain, just an increasing sense of fullness, as if my inner world was being stretched gently.

"Azure," I said, my voice steady despite the excitement building within me.

"I think—""Yes," he confirmed, his own voice reflecting my anticipation.

"The addition of these living energy cycles to your inner world has triggered a breakthrough. Your qi cultivation is responding to the enrichment of your inner world." I took a deep breath, centering myself as the pressure continued to build. This wasn't my first breakthrough, but each advancement in cultivation came with its own unique experience, its own challenges and revelations. The feeling intensified, spiritual energy churning through my inner world with increasing speed.

The plants around me seemed to respond to my state, their glow brightening and dimming in rhythm with the energy flows within me. The Moonlight Clovers pulsed with silvery light, the Azure Bellflowers released streams of tiny luminous motes, and the Shadow Ferns swayed though there was no wind. The Genesis Seed at the center of my inner world began to resonate, its massive form humming with power as its roots pulsed with golden light beneath the soil.

The red and blue suns overhead seemed to slow in their orbits, their light intensifying as they responded to the changes within my inner world. I closed my eyes, focusing inward on the gathering energy. This was it, the threshold between the seventh and eighth stages of Qi Condensation. After what had felt like an eternity of stagnation, I was finally advancing. The pressure reached its peak, energy straining against the limitations of my current cultivation level.

I stood perfectly still, neither resisting nor forcing the process, simply allowing it to unfold naturally. There was a moment of perfect tension, as if the entire world held its breath... And then, breakthrough.