Lin Feng approached Ben on the foremost deck of the spirit vessel. He was standing against the railing staring off in the direction they were traveling. Terra sat on a small deck just behind and above him staring off in a different direction.

Ben had just finished teaching Terra about withdrawing her aura and hiding her presence. She was now able to appear like any other peasant girl.

Ben was meditating on the profundities of the pillars. He had a connection with one pillar through his Heart Core, that was already a quarter of the work. He would have to familiarize himself with one of the other three flame types.

“Master, your arm… will it not heal? Is there anything I can do to help?” Lin Feng asked.

“When I defeated that fire spirit it cursed my arm. I'll need to find and defeat what caused the injury to begin with. You can’t help me with that task, I fear you aren’t strong enough.” He told him.

A minute of silence passed as each of the three thought their separate thoughts.

“Master. I have a question regarding my cultivation.” Lin Feng said.

“Speak.”

“I’ve been feeling lately, since the battle, that I’ve been filling up. It’s like my soul is getting larger, but my body isn’t keeping pace. I feel like I’m being squeezed.” Lin Feng admitted.

A minute passed while Ben looked off into the distance.

“Remember back on Earth there were stories about astral projection? I researched metaphysics in depth. I had the chance to study dozens of individuals that claimed to be able to leave their physical body. After hundreds of hours of rigid testing, I found out an astonishing truth.

“It was nothing supernatural, but it was amazing anyways.

“They were able to memorize everything down to the smallest rock in every location they had been to for the last month. They had subconsciously recorded everything they saw in their subconscious. When they were ‘projecting’ they could use other sensory information, mostly sound and vibrations, to rewrite that mental map.

“A normal person shouldn’t be able to detect a person through two solid walls. There was noise interference, so how did they determine that there was a police officer walking by just then? They were right about his weight, height, haircut, and expression, but he didn’t have a mustache.

“They sure as hell didn’t have the cultivation to actually remove their soul from their body, maybe you do, so what was it?

“I concluded that they subconsciously guessed, policemen do have a certain way of walking, don’t they? The human body can detect incredibly minute vibrations through the cilia of the inner ear. The rest of the work is done with the subconscious brain.

“Is that supernatural?” Ben finished.

Another minute passed with Ben and Terra looking ahead while Lin Feng thought about what he had said.

“Thank you master. I think I see what I have to do now. The Dao of Soul is more complicated than I thought.” Lin Feng gave a small bow to his master.

“Will you have to travel to a different plane to heal your arm? Just like Earth?” He continued.

“Maybe.” Ben answered.

“So you could use someone who can use real astral projection?” Lin Feng asked hopefully.

“The plane of existence there is higher than our own. Your powerful soul here is only a wisp over there.” Ben sighed.

Suddenly a ring on his finger started vibrating and letting of a dull glow.

‘Oh, another aberration?’ Alice whispered in his head.

Ben turned around and looked at but Terra and Lin Feng.

“We're taking a detour.” He announced.

Terra stared into the distance, her attention fixed on the horizon. Lin Feng nodded.

The spirit vessel turned to the south, the same direction Terra had been staring in.

Grassland gave way to forest. Forest gave way to green foothills. Foothills rose to mountain ranges covered in massive old growth trees.

They had entered the Primeval Forest.

---

Deep in the Primeval Forest were massive sections that humans didn't dare enter. Beast Kings ruled the earth and dominated the skies unhindered by human cultivators.

Small groups of weak practitioners could pass unnoticed by the forest overlords, but they would be surrounded by lethal dangers. Occasionally someone would have a fortunate encounter, but most ended up in something's stomach.

More powerful Cultivators would be noticed the second they released their aura. The fierce beasts would then band together to force the intruder out.

The whole hidden beast world was gossiping about something at this moment. The delicate balance of power among the emperors of beasts was tipping.

The Emperor of the Skies had made the decision adopt a disciple and teach his inheritance to the promising young beast that had just awakened her ancient Bloodline. The Sky Emperor had two choices, adopt her and pass on his inheritance, or kill her before she gathered enough power and influence to challenge him.

The magnificent creature that ruled over all flying beasts was passing on his knowledge, cultivation techniques, duties and allegiances.

‘The world below is flat and boring. The sky above is filled with Qi and natural treasures of all types.’

A huge azure Crane larger than any airliner floated on a thermal updraft miles above the ground. It was invisible to the naked eye from below, but it dominated a whole section of sky with it’s intimidating presence.

Only if one looked closely would they see a small black speck flying next to the larger bird.

‘There are three regions in the sky. You’ve only ever flown through the lower region. If you had gone any higher you would have been killed by the great cranes and eagles that live in the True Sky. They never touch the ground except to breed, and even then they only roost in the tallest peaks or on floating islands.’ The larger bird spoke to the smaller.

‘The sky has its own regions. From lowest to highest we call them the Lower Sky, True Sky and Heavenly Sky.

‘The Lower Sky would be anything that is near the ground. This includes all but the highest mountains. There are peaks that jut out a dozen kilometers into the sky, so the Lower Sky is anything below that point.

‘The True Sky is where our armies and the stronger birds fly. Qi at this altitude is easier to cultivate than it is on the ground. The stronger storms occur here and there are many phenomena that we can take advantage of.

‘There are the world's tallest peaks, floating islands, dragons, phoenixes, great currents, pocket realms, eternal storms and other amazing things.

‘The True Sky is for the Immortals. I am able to venture there with the protection of the flock of the Immortal eagles and cranes.

‘Past the True Sky is the highest sky. There lives everyone with true power. Up there are the real dangers, invaders from other realms, foreign gods, natural catastrophes and many more dangerous forces of the void.

‘The job of the Emperor of the Sky is to defend this patch of Lower Sky. A year ago there was an attack from the abyss. I was lucky that it was only a scout that was easily killed.

‘The True Sky is dangerous enough that it is rarely visited. Qi builds up there and is ready for the taking if you are willing to accept the risk, but the dangers are rarely worth it until you suffer your tribulation.

‘You have only been alive for a few decades. Most birds who fly in the True Sky have been alive for a few hundred years. I will help you to join us in just a few years.

‘You will then replace me as-’ The Crane stopped it’s lecture.

‘Huh? What’s that?’

A point low on the horizon slowly grew discernable. It was a ship from the humans that was coming straight for the two.

Normally the Emperor of the Skies would send his forces to assault any human vessel that appeared, but this one was clearly from one of the larger factions. They were rarely used except in times of war as they needed a large energy source to function.

The humans had come in force, it would be better if they were directly addressed.

The Emperor of the Skies waited and watched the spirit vessel come closer.

‘I would normally destroy any human that dared climb this high in the sky, let alone do it here in our forest, however, look at the size of that airship, it is clear that this is no small expedition.

‘Come and watch me negotiate with them, you may learn something.’

The ship slowly came closer, then stopped.

The whole vessel was massive, the size of a small city, yet every window and deck was empty save one. There on the foremost deck were three figures, one old man with a crippled arm and two children.

“What? Who dares send such weakings to deal with the king of the skies? You must be carrying valuable goods if you are using such a priceless treasure like that ship. If you turn over you ship and hand me your spatial ring, I may let you leave here alive.” The Crane screeched.

“Oh, it’s just a bird. I thought there would be something interesting here. Oh, what’s that?” The figure in the middle spoke.

The three humans didn’t pay any attention to the crane, they looked closely at the smaller crow.

The crow circled around the head of the crane as it eyed the large airship.

The crane released it’s sky covering aura. It was filled with clear blue qi and stormy patches of grey. The power of a Heavenly Connection being bore down on the three figures.

Contrary to its expectations, the older figure made no attempt to protect the two youngsters. He let the children take the full force of the cranes spiritual pressure.

Lin Feng was forced down to one knee. He moved himself into his meditating position and started circulating his cultivation technique under the enormous pressure. His soul began resisting the more powerful force and rapidly grew more dense.

Terra ignored the aura altogether. She stood like a stone under the press of the sea. In truth, she was immune to attacks like these due to her constitution and bloodline.

Ben, not to be outdone, began releasing his own aura in stages.

First, clouds of mist shrouded him, they hid his true cultivation from view. Then he activated his new demonic core and his other cores at the same time.

A hazy image of a figure resolved itself behind Ben. It was cloaked in deep red flames and had a sharp saber in it’s single hand. One eye was the color of cloud, the other was metallic blue with a electric sheen.

The two auras clashed. The cranes aura was near the peak of the Heavenly Connection realm, he was at the peak of power for this plane and would be experiencing his tribulation in the near future. His power flooded over Bens, threatening to smother it.

Ben’s aura retreated for a moment, then the cloudy eye of the avatar began shining. It began drawing in Qi from the surrounding sky to strengthen itself against the oppressive Qi from the crane.

The two aura’s wavered against each other. Through this clash each opponent learned about the other. When someone releases the inner aura they essentially show their power, Dao and emotions to the world. Their type of killing intent is easily discernible.

An assassin and a barbarian warlord will have very different killing intents. One is cold and sharp, the other is loud and angry.

The crane’s killing intent was purely one of violated territory. It saw this as an invasion, but was still willing to talk.

Ben’s killing intent was a directionless judgement of fact. Everything died sooner or later. There are people dying all the time, would you foolishly join their number?

While Ben’s aura was only partly Heavenly Connection, it could still resist against the Peak Heavenly Connection crane. The cranes aggression turned to interest when faced with three such interesting individuals.

Both Ben and the crane lowered their metaphorical hackles and looked towards the other with interest, if not respect.

“How many types of Qi do you cultivate? Five in total?” The crane was quite interested in the multiple strange types of Qi Ben used.

“So far.” Ben shrugged.

“Do you know where you are going to go wrong? Each energy will take longer and longer to cultivate. If you survive your tribulation and form your own Immortal Soul that will be the highest realm you can achieve.” The bird mildly noted.

“I’m still not done creating cores, I have four more I need to create.” Ben admitted.

“What a strange cultivation method. Cultivators pick just one Dao, two at the most. Nine Daos? Where are you going to get the materials and Qi to cultivate nine separate energy centers?” The crane asked.

“The materials I’m gathering from the continent below. My trade routes now take priority for anyone selling cultivation resources. Qi I can generate myself when I need it. I have nearly unlimited Mist Qi, Pure Qi and Fire Qi.” He answered.

“Unlimited Qi? That doesn’t exist anywhere. Qi has to come from somewhere, it comes from the sun, moon or oceans, but its a closed system. If I draw Qi from a source, that source will have a smaller pool of Qi available later, this is a natural law.”

“You are right. Conservation of energy is something we all have to deal with. I am creating more energy at the cost of mass.”

“Like a fire making heat from wood? What happens when you run out of trees?”

“Yes, but I use seawater, and very small amounts of it.”

“Burning water. Then what’s stopping you from flooding an area in Qi and creating your own little piece of heaven?”

“Time and effort. I’m busy with other things.”

“Why should I believe you? Unlimited sources of Qi have always been a madman's dream. Every clan and sect have projects for gathering Qi, how many greatly succeed, and then only at great cost?”

“That’s not a problem. I don’t need to convince you of anything, I know myself how well it works. Even now my reactor is enriching my mountain enough that its overflowing into the area. We could go take a look if you like.”

“Perhaps I will. An official invitation to the human lands is quite rare. Why are you here, by the way?”

“I came to investigate an awakened bloodline. It seems to be coming from that crow. What kind a creature are you, little one?”

“Why do you ask?” The crane grew wary when Ben asked this question.

“That’s why I came here. I detected something with a strong potential bloodline hoping I could awaken and train it. Knowing that she is under your protection, I only ask out of curiosity and mutual benefit.” Ben said neutrally.

The Azure Crane thought about this for a moment.

“She has a bloodline of the Divine Beasts, the Three Legged Crow. I’ve taken her in to be my successor. She will be the Empress of the Sky.” The crane decided that the information couldn’t hurt, there was little chance of danger from this man.

“She would be white or red if she had the original bloodline. She's a variant?” Ben noted.

“Black sun three legged crow. How do you know so much about bloodlines?” He hadn’t expected Ben to know that detail.

“I'm a specialist in detecting and awakening bloodlines and constitutions. Both my disciples are unique in this regard.” Ben gestured to his right and left.

“I can tell. For them to resist my aura without your assistance is unheard of. The boy has titanic soul power. What's so special about the girl?” The crane inquired in turn.

“Go ahead and show him, Terra “

Her aura burst forth and shoved aside the other two auras. A woman in blue clothes appeared in hazy outline. Chains hung from her limbs, but didn't detract from her grace and charm.

“Fallen God Bloodline! By the Heavenly Sky! How did a divine rank bloodline appear in this little world? And such purity, is she a direct descendant? How can the Heavenly Clans allow such a thing?” The crane was honestly shocked.

“Heavenly Clans?” Ben asked.

“Clans in the higher realms. Her bloodline is from one of them. If they detect that a descendant has awoken her bloodline, sooner or later they will send someone to investigate.”

“I’m running out of time then. How about coming over to my side? I can improve your bloodlines, I’ll only ask that you throw your lot in with me. I’m going to start invading and pillaging my way through other worlds, I could use a strong ally.”

“Improve my bloodline?

“I’m sorry I can’t join you and adventure like I did in my own youth, I have a responsibility to uphold. There is this stretch of sky to guard and a successor to train.” The crane nodded at the small crow.

“There was much debate regarding who would be my disciple. The other candidate had higher potential than this one, but wasn’t suitable as a guardian. I can send her with you if you unlock my students bloodline.”

“Tell me more…”

---

A little time later a deal was made and Ben performed the awakening on the crow. It was much the same for any creature that he worked on, painful and embarrassing.

Not long after, they obtained a new, tiny companion. It flew aboard and was only noticed by Ben and the crane at first. It was a speckled grey Wren the size of a chickens egg. It landed on Terra’s shoulder and watched the other humans with intelligent interest.

Ben decided to ignore it for now and continued talking with the Crane.

“You have an idea for healing my arm? I told you it’s cursed.”

“Refine it like we do our natural weapons. I’ve refined my beak, when I take human form it turns into my bonded weapon, a spear.”

“How does it work?”

“You can only do this with a part of your own body. Much like body refining, you send Qi into your arm and forge it with mental and spiritual will…” The crane went into great detail regarding his own creation of his bonded weapon.

“About the curse. If you are fine with a less than perfect limb, the curse can be refined into the arm. It won’t be pretty or have the ability to channel pure Yang Qi, but it will have all the strength of a refined natural weapon.”

“Thank you for the information. I think this will be useful in healing my arm.” Before the crane could say any more, Ben asked a pivotal question.

“You mentioned the Heavenly Skies earlier. What did you mean by that?” Ben inquired.

“It’s an open secret that only those at the Heavenly Connection Realm know. Have you thought about how to travel to other worlds?”

“Yes. I’ve been to other worlds. I know of three ways to do it, flight, spatial rift or ascension.”

“You are better informed for your kind. Most only know of portals and tribulation. Have you flown to other worlds?” The crane was quite interested.

“Yes, but it was from one dead world to another. We used simple vessels that burned fuel. There were none of the dangers you are familiar with.”

“What you did was one step below flight. It’s different for the higher tiers of worlds. I’ll explain.

“Every point in existence shares the same Heavenly Sky. That is where you can find the highest of the worlds, the Nine Empyrean Heavens. Only the gods themselves can ascent so high. That’s the Heavenly skies.

“One step down is the True Sky. A place for the strongest birds and flying things. There are Dragons and Phoenixes that inhabit this area and carve out territories. We great soaring birds are able to make a place there by flying in large flocks.

“Below that is where we are now, the Lower Sky.”

“There’s a physical barrier between the three skies?” Ben asked.

“There is a physical barrier between the first two skies. Mostly it separates the immortals from the mortals. If anything survives their tribulation, they ascend to a higher world or are thrown out into the True Sky.

“There is no barrier to the Heavenly Sky, or perhaps there is, it’s impossible to say.” The crane explained.

“Could I send a probe up there to gather data?” Ben asked.

“No, if it survived passage through the barrier, the other birds would destroy it on accident, or it would be hit by the roil storms, or a void abomination would devour it.” The bird warned.

“What if it was armored?”

“How strong? It would need to withstand a casual attack from me to survive for any length of time.”

“I haven’t been able to build a Nascent Soul drone yet. I’ll come and find you when I do. On a different note, the world is a sphere, correct?”

“Mostly. There are pocket realms and empty spots. There are borders so dangerous that you would need to be an Immortal to cross them, those mostly end up counting as separate realms.”

“There are barriers high enough even you can’t fly over them?”

“No, I am well acquainted with the Dao of Soaring. With it I can ascend into the True Sky and travel like a Immortal, even though I am one step away from forming my Immortal Soul. The Dao of Soaring is different from the Dao of Flight, it has been very useful for my stewardship. I can pass over stormwalls with ease.”

“So this world is just a collection of large island clusters separated by impassable ocean?”

“Pretty much, except for one place. There is a large landmass on the other side of the world that can be called a continent. There is a mountain range there that passes throung the barrier into the True Sky.

“There are other basic facts regarding the higher and lower realms you’re ignorant about as well. Did you know that you aren’t too far away from the True Sky right now? Come hop on my back and I’ll take you there now, your disciples can’t come, they wouldn’t be able to survive there.”

“How long will it take? I can’t leave my charges undefended.”

“Don’t worry, members of my flock are guarding them. I can assure you of their safety.”

---

Ben flew on the back of the Heavenly Connection Azure Crane as it ascended into the sky. In a space of five minutes they climbed so high that the continent below them had become an island. Ben only now was able to see the curvature of the horizon.

Up above him, Ben became aware of a ceiling. He saw no difference in the air, but he came to the understanding that there was a barrier there. They got closer and Ben saw a shimmering layer of air wavering just overhead.

A huge bubble that enclosed the world, a border that held the Qi and air below.

“Here we are. This is the peak of the Lower Sky. I can take you above it, but only attempt it if you have someone like me who has a special flight ability. Only Eagles, Cranes, air elementals and other unique creatures can fly here safely.”

“You must understand that I will research it anyways, but I’ll be careful with my attempts.” Ben told him.

“Just stay away personally, send one of those drones you told me about.”

“I’ll do that. How do we pass through the barrier?”

In answer, the crane further spread it’s giant wings. A clear, light aura covered the bird and enclosed Ben as well.

The wings tipped slightly and the bird dove upwards with the greatest ease. Ben and the Crane hit the layer of air and he felt like they had entered a storm. He lost all sense of direction as he was buffeted on all sides by gusts of wind.

Ben had seen people who were bruised by hurricane force winds. Even with his strengthened body he was experiencing that bruising now.

A second later they burst through the air layer like a submarine breaking through the ocean surface. Air scattered in a burst, leaving a vacuum behind.

The perfect unearthly clarity. The silence of the vacuum. The pure distant stars.

‘Ben, we just entered space. If we act quickly we can absorb some special Qi using the principles of the void flame. Hurry, I’m modifying your skin right now to resist the vacuum.’ Alice told him excitedly.

‘It’s true, this is a complete vacuum. There is still Qi, but no air particles. The upper atmosphere is condensed to one thin layer just below us.’ Ben noted.

“Brother crane, can I try something quickly? It won’t kill me if you remove your protection for a second?” He asked the crane.

“Not kill, but it may blind and cripple.”

“That’s what I thought. I’ll be right back, keep an eye on my body please. I know how to keep myself safe for a few seconds.”

‘Temporary sealing complete. Skin has been thickened and reinforced by Blood Qi. Nanobots are sealing all orifices. Short term exposure acceptable.’ Alice told him.

He closed his eyes, kicked off gently and floated into space.

The layer of protective Qi was stripped away. The ambient pressure dropped and he felt his skin being pulled in every direction. If not for his body refining, he would have popped like a overcooked sausage.

One side of his body heated up and the other began freezing, the Blood Qi absorbed this change in temperature and circulated it around his body, averaging out his body temperature.

‘Searching for unique energies. Interesting environment, there is less Qi, but no matter to inhibit it’s passing. More circulation of Qi and less impurities. It’s perfect for cultivation.’ Alice said.

‘There are some unique kinds of Qi up here. Spatial Qi, Astral Qi, Void Qi, a kind of formless Qi that takes up empty space and others. Much of this Qi can be used to form a core along with the void flame.’

The crane watched in astonishment, it looked like Ben was resisting the ravages of space with his physical body alone. Only a true Immortal body could do such a thing.

The ambient Qi converged on Ben. Stars dimmed, the sun’s light weakened and the emptiness of space fluctuated. The background fabric of reality shifted and twisted.

A regional phenomenon began spreading out that drew all nearby Qi for kilometers in every direction.

Two more figures appeared in the sky, a horned rabbit and a young boy. Nubbins started absorbing Lunar Qi and looked around curiously. Brother Jian gazed at the distant stars, bathing in their light. The rabbit had no problem with the environment and neither did the spirit body of the sword.

‘Those two are refining Astral Qi and Lunar Qi. We’re gathering Spatial Qi, Void Qi, and Astral Qi. Arrange it with the principles of void flame and gather it into a new core.’ Alice said.

The gathering Qi flickered like stars and flowed like rainbow colored nebulae.

Ben drew in the surrounding energy and formed it into a embryo of a new core placed next to his collarbone, high on his chest. It wouldn’t do anything for now, but would passively grow over time.

When he compared it to his other cores, the Void Flame Core was tiny, barely even a spark. It circulated it’s thread of power through a tiny spider web of meridians.

‘This may end up being a useless core. It isn't connected to my major meridians or arteries. It's kind of an arbitrary spot for a energy core. Maybe that's why it condensed so quickly.’ He thought.

Ben thought about his recent gain for a minute longer. A wing tapped his shoulder, pulling him from his revelry.

He looked back at the crane, who was waving his wings and trying to get his attention.

The boy and rabbit disappeared into one of his rings. He maneuvered in the direction of the crane, lightly coming to rest on it's back. The light blue aura welcomed him back and he could breathe freely again.

“What the hell did you do? Why don't you just send out an invitation to get robbed? If we don't leave now we'll have immortal realm monsters asking us all kind of interesting and invasive questions.”

“Fine, I got what I came for anyways.”

The crane dipped downwards and slipped through the wall of wind. Normality returned. Qi circulated more slowly, but there was more of it.

“Whatever you did disturbed Qi in a large area. Everything for kilometers will feel the abnormality and come investigate. Even now they will be able to see us and launch an attack from above. I’ll be fine, but you are in great danger. We should split up now and you should find a place to hide.” The blue crane told him.