Chapter 264 - Spirit

Spirit Realm, the preparatory stage before taking the first step into the mystical world of cultivation. This is where the body becomes a whole, and the power of the cultivator's mind and soul starts to develop.

The five Main or Fundamental meridians located in the arms, legs and the forehead, make up the most basic Qi circulation infrastructure. It is this infrastructure that is expanded and improved upon in every subsequent realm thereafter.

That is why it is of extreme importance that everything must happen smoothly, and most important of all, naturally.

Until all five meridians have been opened, the Qi circulation system can never be completely activated.

This leads to significant inefficiencies in its normal operations and a several-fold increase in the expenditure of Qi when using different abilities and attacks. That's the main difference between the Spirit realm and all preceding realms.

It is a difference in both quality AND quantity.

Currently, Hao Xuan's physique was going through its first 'true' evolution after being activated over a year ago now.

Constant cracking and popping noises came from the grey cocoon as his body realigned and adjusted itself according to its needs. There was nothing he could do here other than just endure the horrifying pain.

His skin split open like a sieve and all his blood came pouring out, filling up the inside of the cocoon. It mixed with the grey liquid and made its way back into Hao Xuan's body.

The first target was the heart.

The grey liquid attached itself to it like a fungus, slowly breaking down every single piece of cartilage, muscle, and cell therein.

His heart started increasing in size until it was about three times as large as a normal person's. Then it split into two.

Two hearts, one slightly larger than the other slowly took shape next to one another.

The veins started dividing themselves accordingly.

Following an unwritten law, they harmonized the blood circulation system so that half the blood went to one heart, and the rest to the other one.

All the organs started shifting on their own, his bones broke apart and joined back together repeatedly, constantly shifting to make space for the extra organ.

Everything from the veins and the blood cells within, to the skin and his hair, melted with the grey liquid, and new ones took their place. All the impurities that had been gathering inside his body were either expelled out or simply destroyed in the process.

At this moment what remained of Hao Xuan was just the brain, a spinal cord, a meridian system and a cocoon full of different liquids.

A nonsensical amount of vitality belonging to a beast of the Ether Realm acted as the energy source for all these changes.

The four High tier Low-Grade Spirit stones radiated dense Qi that further improved the quality of his body and meridians, barraging the walls of the last remaining Main meridian located in the forehead.

A green hue soon took over the previously grey cocoon as the process continued throughout the night.

This lasted for the next 6 days.

And while this body was being forcefully remodeled, his mind was floating in a virtual space, surrounded by a small black cloud.

The black cloud rotated continuously without any outside force. It spun around Hao Xuan's body doing lap after lap, changing in shape, size, and material.

Sometimes it would turn into fire, sometimes into ice. Sometimes it became invisible, sometimes it burned bright enough to put entire suns to shame.

Hao Xuan's body floated in this empty space, feeling the changes happening in the cloud.

"Do you understand yet?"

A deep voice echoed in the empty space.

Not a soul in sight but the voice came from every direction, like the sound of millions upon millions of people whispering in complete unison. Every now and then there would be a voice that stood out from the rest, but soon it was drowned out by the others.

Hao Xuan remained unaffected. He had gotten used to this 'scene' now.

"I told you to stop doing this," he replied calmly, without even opening his eyes.

"This is the only way I can reach this place."

"Then don't come here."

"You need my help boy! Now, tell me what you have gained so far so I can help. You shouldn't stay in this place for too long, it is not....safe..."

"Not safe?" Hao Xuan's brow furrowed in confusion.

"This is a virtual space, created by a computer. I am god here, how could it not be safe?"

The voices chuckled and continued in a derisive tone.

"This is a space, virtual or otherwise, as long as it exists, there are creatures and beings out there that can reach it. Nowhere is 'safe', even if you were an actual God!"

The voices, of course, could only belong to one person, to the one who had taken up residence in Hao Xuan's mind palace, Mr. Hyde.

3 days after Hao Xuan had been in here trying to understand the chaos energy, he arrived. Asking for updates and urging him to wrap things up as soon as possible.

"Now quickly, answer me. What is chaos for you?"

Hao Xuan's brow furrowed even further but there was nothing he could do. He wasn't able to keep Hyde out and after 3 days of constant bickering he was too tired to fight and finally gave in.

*Sigh*

"Fine. Chaos is...or rather, what I think it is...i-is everything. If it is older than all other energies, if it truly is the "Primordial Spark" that set everything in motion, then obviously it is the basis for everything we know. For our universes, for the Nine Worlds in the middle, the Ten heavens above, the Eight desolaces on the sides, and the Nine Hells below. IF it truly is what I think it is, then it literally is everything."

"....."

A short bout of silence followed after Hao Xuan gave his explanation.

"That is the "history" of the Chaos, or what some believe it to be. It is not based on facts or has any evidence to support these claims, and it certainly isn't the chaos itself. Look, look into that strand of chaos in front of you, open your mind and peer into it with your soul. Let it touch the chaos, feel its effects in your very being."

"M-My soul?!" Hao Xuan stammered.

"How can my soul be in a virtual space? I know my consciousness is, but those are two very different things."

"Tch, we don't have time for me to explain everything. Get ready, I'm going to force your soul out for a second, just 1 second, if you can endure it then you will have achieved something with your punny little life."

The door to Mr. Hyde's room in Hao Xuan's mind palace burst open. A hand reached outwards. Zhurong who was sleeping on the podium in the middle suddenly opened his eyes. He stood up and stared at the hand calmly. His eyes shining with a bright light.

"Relax, I just want to help him, this is for his own good," Hyde's voice came from inside the room.

Zhurong didn't back down but didn't move forward either, simply staring at the hand that kept stretching.

It reached the door in the middle, the one that had always been locked and pushed it open slightly, just a bit, just enough to peek inside. It stopped there and quickly retracted, going back to the room to the right.

"Wait wait, force my soul out?! That really doesn't sound too go-"

His voice once again echoed in Hao Xuan's ears as he was about to finish his sentence.

"I have opened the gate, now look, open your eyes and peer into the chaos!"

Almost by instinct or by a force of nature, something that Hao Xuan couldn't explain, his eyes opened on their own.

*Shnn~*

The black cloud stopped revolving and simply spun in one place.

His pupils dilated to the size of coins as the myriad secrets unfolded in front of his eyes.

The door to Hyde's room closed once again. He sat on his chair alone, drinking from a piping hot cup while talking to himself.

"Eyes are the windows to the souls, that's why yours are different. You _____________...."