Silver sat on a flat plain, hidden from the surround trees. Many small animals scampering around him, unaware that he was just sitting there.

During this past month, Silver made progress with Blacky's array and found it could do just more than gather qi. He only found two usable functions. The current one allowed him to create a type of illusion barrier to keep people from noticing him.

Combined with this illusion array, he added another function to isolate himself from the world. Sadly, it could only isolate the surrounding 2 meters. The illusion array could spread out to a 5 meter radius.

Ever since he use the [Chaotic Void Skill], he was making rapid progress in terms of cultivation. This skill was made for a world like the [Ethereal Expanse]. Within a day of cultivating, he broke through the second stage of the Essence Realm.

The [Essence Realm] was exactly like the [External Realm] of the [Constellation World]. Both of them use nine levels but for him, it will always be ten. The key difference was the structure of the world. Instead of using [Heaven and Earth Qi] they used [Astral Essence]. This type of essence can be found in the [Ethereal Expanse], including the [Void Qi].

After two weeks, he had already broke through the [Essence Realm]* and reached early-stage of the [Axis Realm]*. Once you create your Sea of Essence, you'll be able to reach the [Axis Realm] with ease. Not only that, his body went through a qualitative change, immediately transforming his mortal constitution into a true void constitution.

Sadly, he didn't know that his since his original body already transforming, he wouldn't need to go through the previous hassle all over again.

Of course, Blacky would never tell him this. The wonder of cultivations is basically finding your own path of power through an endless mystery. Just the elation of reaching new heights will make one feel more formidable.

At the third week into cultivating, Silver reached the [Terra Realm]* once he condensed his Sea of Essence into a small sphere. This was the start of creating the Star Core, allowing him to break through to the [Primal Source Realm]*.

This was the final week for him to reach [Primal Source Realm] since the chief approved of Silver tagging along with the four divine marked children. By doing this, he would ensure a decent survivability rate and if need be, he could attract the ancient sects of the North Star Kingdom.

Blacky had been vague about this world since he came here. Luckily, he had ample experience in solving his own problems. Even with or without the cat, he could pull through on his own.

Within the final phase of condensing his Sea of Essence, Silver revolved the essence slowly into his stable core. He cautiously inspected it for any abnormalities during this process. If he screwed up, there was chance to start over or he would explode from the excess of unstable essence.

In the center of his shrinking sea, the core begun shining as it grew. This was the final step! As the Star Core becomes complete, it'll reach a moment of instability. One wrong move from him, even a hair's width, he might die.

A deep violet light landed within the core, immediately swallowing up the final lingering essences. The Star Core begun expanding once more. This time around, Silver concentrated all his energy to ensure his core wouldn't become unstable.

Slight ripples emanated from the Star Core as it continuously expanded. Waves of energy coursed through Silver's body, reaching all the way to the star mark on his forehead. Soon, the light began fading along with the influx of energy.

Silver felt nervous, staring at the empty core that was full of vitality seconds ago.

"Honglonglong…"

An eye, black like the abyss and filled with stars like the night sky, appeared on his forehead. The Star Core suddenly shone in a blinding, deep violet light within his body, rotating at an tremendous speed. Streams of [Void Qi] flowed through his meridians and into the focal point on his forehead.

Slowly opening his eyes, Silver felt he was above all beings. A powerful entity that wipe existence with just a swipe of the palm. His aura was truly overbearing! Even the barrier could barely contain his extraordinary change.

"Finally… early-stage of the [Primal Source Realm]," Silver revealed a look of excitement.

"Just like [Constellation World], I've reached something similar to that of [King's Realm]. Luck is on my side, this star mark allowed my body to become a void body once I broke through to the [Axis Realm]."

Anyone under the [Primal Source Realm] would be instantly defeated by him. He could even contend against those ordinary cultivators in the mid-stage [Primal Source Realm].

...

At his final day of training, Silver used his [Wolf Beneath The Wool] skill to hide his cultivation to early-stage [Axis Realm]. It always best to stay cautious, keeping many hidden trump cards. The element of surprise was something he learned in his years of battling powerhouses that underestimated him.

He inhaled a deep breath and exhaled gently. It was time to head back to Windfall Village. Luckily, his parents knew he was out training everyday and he kept his cultivation low to make it seem he was progressing steadily. If word got out that he already reached [Primal Source Realm] he would definitely garner a lot of unwanted attention.

Those with limitless potential would be received well into powerful sects but it will also attract envious and jealous individuals and groups. These type of groups were the ones you had to avoid the most, especially if you didn't have any backings.

However, you would still receive such treatment in the sects too. If such individuals and groups feel threaten, they would use any means to get rid of you. The path of cultivation is quite cruel.

Standing up from his lotus position, he disperse the barriers he put up and left the dense forest. It was time to head home and pack up to embark on his journey to Wok City.

…

The following day.

A group of 5 silhouettes stood nearby the entrance of Windfall Village waiting. All 5 knew each other very well since childhood. Four of them, excluding Silver, had trained to the late-stage of [Axis Realm]. Thus, it allowed Silver to somewhat mingle with them in terms of cultivation status.

Sounds could be heard from Fey Luden munching on his large drumstick and light snoring coming from Fu Wonton. After waiting for a small period of time, he decided to lay under a tree and took a nap. Long Zhen stood next to the munching fatty, simply training his spear technique his father given him.

Those two could be considered best friends since birth and always stayed in each other's company.

Yan Li sat on a rock near a small pond besides the village gates. What she was thinking, staring off into space was something no one bothered about. Silver, as a child, was the wildcard of the village. Everywhere he went, before regaining his memories, he would pull pranks on everybody.

They were quite harmless and most of the children got along with his antics.

From the corner of his eyes, Silver could see an old man walking up to the gates carrying a small bag on his left hand.

"I see everyone has gathered to the front gate," the old man spoke in a rough tone. He took a moment to look at every person, furrowing his brows once he saw Fu Wonton asleep.

Grabbing a item out of the small bag, he chucked it at the sleeping kid's head.

"Can't I get some sleep, old man!" exclaimed Fu Wonton rubbing his head from the pain. He grabbed the item that landed by his side to inspect it carefully.

"Throwing a priceless treasure at my head. Can't you wake me up normally?"

This old man was naturally Fu Wonton's father, Fu Arus.

"Hmph. Such daring words to your father!" retorted Fu Arus. This was a normal occurrence within their village. Fu Wonton would ditch his chores, finding a place to nap at. His father, Chief of Windfall Village, would always find him and wack his head with something he find on the side.

The priceless treasure mentioned from Fu Wonton was actually a storage ring. In a village like this, the storage ring would be considered a treasure but Fu Arus was actually handing them each a ring.

"These are storage rings. Just like the name, you can store any items that aren't living into it. You'll see these low-tier storage ring everywhere. They hold 5 cubic meters, shrinking the item down to fit within the space. Food and water can be kept in there and would never rot and stale, so it's very useful to have when you're traveling."

"So I can put 5 cubic meters worth of food into this?" questioned Fey Luden.

"Yes, you will be able to put that much food into it..."

"Can store powerful treasures too?" asked Yan Li with interest.

"Yes, as long as it can shrink and fit in the 5 cubic meters space. Most powerful treasures, that aren't bound to us, can be stored with the right amount of space. Of course, there are some that cannot be stored but those are rare cases."

Yan Li showed a very thoughtful smile, but Fu Arus could tell what she was thinking.

"Don't think about purchasing a high-tier storage ring. Only someone powerful and significant amount of resources would be able to afford it."

"Then I'll marry someone as such!"

Fu Arus furrowed his brows for a split second, unwilling to bicker with the little girl.

'So young but full of grand schemes. She'll definitely reach the apex..'thought Fu Arus as he studied the 5 before him.

"Alright, store your items and let's go. It will take us about three days to reach Wok City, so make sure you have enough rations to last you to the city. If not, we can always hunt some beasts along the way."

And so, the group finally embarked on their journey.

-

[Essence Realm]* -> [External Realm]

[Axis Realm]* -> [Internal Realm]

[Terra Realm]* -> [Origin Realm]

[Primal Source Realm]* -> [King Realm]

:::

>The [Ethereal Expanse] is a lot more simple than [Constellation World] in terms of cultivation. There are nine levels in [Essence Realm] and [Axis Realm]. Afterwards, the higher one will go through 3 stages which would be explained later in the novel. I will add a separate page relating to [Ethereal Realm]'s cultivation.