The things Seele handed over are genuine treasures that many cultivators would fight over. The techniques themselves contained articles of 'feats' and 'history' of their world of origin. They are more than enough to form an impression of the immortal cultivation worlds.
Cruel, bitter struggles, and defying fate.
The treasures we have would prompt other Void Refinement Realm cultivators to fight for it. I am not speaking on the scale of tens or hundreds, but thousands of them. Just imagine. Thousands of beings who could affect star sectors fighting over a treasure is enough to overturn the entire known universe. The notion of being able to skip one minor realm or to create a future guaranteed Void Refinement Realm expert is an enticing offer no matter what.
Fortunately, we are in the honkai world. Except for the flawedGods, we did not have to worry about anything else. There are no old ancestors scheming for power, nor there were people vying for a son of destiny's luck. It is the biggest reason why everyone could develop at a fast pace.
Aside from Seele and Veliona, the others reached varying successes over their auxiliary arts. Kiana and Bronya stepped on the threshold of eighth-grade formation masters, capable of setting up superimposed eighth-grade formations to resist external threats. It is our confidence in resisting these Aeons even after the imaginary barrier drops. Its consumption is just as ridiculous, requiring several eighth-grade spirit veins to function properly.
Once again, even one eighth-grade spirit vein would be an object of desire in a cultivation world. It is a long-term resource that could sustain a Dao Integration Realm expert, and at the same time, allow others from lower realms to benefit from it. Having so many eighth-grade spirit veins to the point supply exceeds demand is another cheat coming from the honkai world.
Other than these, there is also Sirin who's focusing on her attempt to enter the eighth-grade threshold for talisman-making. Once she succeeds, she would be able to create a seventh-grade talisman, Soul Forgetting Seal. It is a very special seventh-grade talisman that requires eighth-grade proficiency, with the sole purpose of resetting one's consumption of a specific pill. It disintegrates every single fate, destiny, and karma tied to oneself upon consuming the said pill.
For us, its main use is for the Realm Breaking Pill. As long as we can reset its consumption and pop in another one, we can skip another minor realm. Though this process is the same as Tao Gift absorption, with the breakthrough not being done in an instant, it cuts down the required breakthrough time by hundreds of times.
Everyone planned to take one at the middle stage of Void Refinement Realm to leap into the late stage in one go. Then, wait for Sirin to create the talisman to reach the peak stage, thereby completing the Void Refinement Realm.
We weren't able to pop pills like crazy back then, but it's different now.
My thoughts stopped drifting as I stared at the names listed on the screen. Kiana thoughtfully prepared this 'device' when I returned… which is now. It is an evolved form of a smartphone that can turn real and virtual at any time, with a signal reaching the entire solar system.
One of the apps I opened was tied to seclusion statuses. It was created by one of the more unknown immortal cultivators from the first generation of Earth's immortal cultivation era. Bronya later optimized it and supported its distribution through the Star Network managed by Prometheus.
Out of the thirty or so friends in my list, a quarter is in seclusion. The remaining three-fourths are active…
Active.
My eyes scanned the names one by one. I came across some that gave my heart a restless feeling. I am certain I would have to deal with the burdens I left them with four hundred years ago.
Just as I was about to chat with one of them, a buzzing sensation overtook my mind. Images flickered as my eyes saw through everything beyond the imaginary barrier. Distance is but a meager concept that can be skipped over in the face of my cultivation.
Then…
I met eyes with a beautiful witch.
*****
"Four hundred years."
The staggering crack in the surface of the mirror was the least of Herta's concern. The final image it showed was that of a great force sweeping through the entire universe. Mortals and Aeons alike succumbed to its power, becoming temporarily affected by the false memories he had implanted.
Such was the truth behind the absurd feat of rewriting the entire universe!
Crack-!
The cobweb-like cracks worsened upon the descent of another foreign power. In a fashion similar to Polka Kakamond's appearance, a white hand reached out of the broken mirror's surface. The hem of a daoist robe, one more ancient than the Xianzhou Alliance's style, emerged. It did not take long for Shi Tian to emerge out of the mirror. The white-blue outer robe he wore matched well with his countenance. Several silver accessories hung on his ears, wrist, and waist. The shoulder-length purple hair swayed ever so slightly, with his pale golden eyes staring back at her.
"For uncovering a puzzle I meticulously set up, within four years atop that, what kind of reward would you like, Miss Herta?"
Shi Tian's sophistries were instantly fought back by Herta.
"Spare me the formalities. I am curious as to how many solved it."
"How many, huh?"
He brought out a bronze coin before casually flipping it midair. Herta clearly saw the countless projections emanating from the coin, appearing in the form of shaking afterimages, as it fell to his palm. It felt as if it had combed through countless future possibilities in an instant, a feat unbecoming of an 'ordinary' square-holed bronze coin.
"Five, I suppose. Aeons are not exactly the types who could be read very clearly. It posed some trouble stalking them."
She raised her eyebrows as she asked:
"You can divine Aeons?"
"The Xianzhou Alliance's lack of influence to read the chessboard does not mean others cannot."
'Immortal cultivation…'
Herta's interest towards that elusive immortal cultivation deepened further.