Between the usual bouts of testing out Guan Zhenyan’s poison’s first hand, Sage delved into the Spirit Cultivation Technique that he’d been given. The main prerequisite was actually the step that Guan Zhenyan had already pushed him to previously. The formation of an island in the Spiritual Sea. The Spiritual Sea was the source of Spirit Power also known as mental energy, psionic power, psychic energy, or any number of other similar names. They only called it Spirit Power here, but the cultivation technique actually referenced a few other names and Sage made the connection, especially considering the things he’d already seen done with it, mainly Telepathy and Telekinesis. It was actually used quite often by Professions, but even the Holy Flame Sect didn’t have many cultivation methods for it.

They only ever used techniques that incorporated Spirit Power into their Qi techniques. Spirit Power was far more precise than Qi, and missing a volatile element. Since Spirit Power was far more stable and could interact with Qi, the Professions use it as a tool to guide their Qi. Much of their work involved very precise and calculated applications of Qi, so Spirit Power became a reinforcing agent. Instead of wasting many decades perfecting their control of the minute amount of Qi, they could spend a few months training their Spirit Power and using it as a tool to guide their Qi.

Spirit Cultivation on the other hand took Spirit Power as the base. As it was inherently less powerful than Qi, Spirit Cultivation aimed to increase power. Then, using their superior control and precision they could battle with Qi Cultivators in the manner of ‘brain vs brawn’. Speed and agility against brute force. From the few examples he had, Sage found that Spirit Cultivation mainly consisted of creating structures or buildings inside the Spiritual Sea. With the guide, Sage learned a bit more about the ever mysterious Spiritual Sea. Unlike Qi Cultivation that started with basically nothing in the dantian, there was always a large and roiling sea in the Spiritual Sea area. The ocean below was a reflection of the emotions, while the skies above related to thoughts. Even the most disciplined mind couldn’t ever fully and completely control their thoughts and emotions.

This is what led to the formation of an island in the Spiritual Sea. It was a solid ground that could be a foundation to stand upon even when faced with the most out of control emotions or insane ideas that came upon you. As Sage learned, it could be formed by having a true and real self identity, the ideal that could push a person forward against all odds. That unshakeable identity built a Mental Foundation within the Spiritual Sea. This foundation was only the beginning. Of the cultivation techniques he’d seen, all of them detailed the second step, the creation of a structure. Just like he’d heard of the concept of a ‘mental palace’, it seemed the differences between cultivation techniques had to do with the building and how it was created.

He’d heard that the method from the Holy Flame Sect created a ‘Library of the Mind’, while the method from the Timeless Master’s Library called itself ‘Immemorial Clock Tower’. Most surprisingly, the technique that Guan Zhenyan gave him actually built a labyrinth! It was named ‘Infinite Immaterial Seat’, and it constructed a castle with a maze-like interior. From the name, and conjecture, the Library of the Mind and the Mental Palace were techniques that were focused upon storing and recalling information. This Infinite Immaterial Seat on the other hand, as Guan Zhenyan told him, was specifically a Spirit Cultivation Technique intended for battle. He wasn’t sure how that made any sense, but he also didn’t really know anything about Spirit Cultivation so he could only follow the directions of the manual and start training.

The first step of the technique was the most difficult as it required reshaping one’s mental foundation. He wasn’t just building a structure on the island, he had to reform the island into a nice smooth shape. Once shaped, walls would be built, ones that perfectly aligned with the edges of the island, which meant that the only way onto the island would be through the entrances that the cultivator purposely created. The Infinite Immaterial Seat could be counted among the more powerful Spirit Cultivation methods specifically because of one attribute that Guan Zhenyan warned him about. The shape of the island. There was a direct correlation between the difficulty of this cultivation technique and the resulting power it would create. The more complex the shape of the island, and also the maze constructed within it, the more powerful the Infinite Immaterial Seat became. If it was just a simple square with a few dividing walls inside, it would become far easier to advance the technique to higher levels, but at the same time it would be of a far lower quality than it could be.

Sage started sketching out mazes on the ground, experimenting with box shapes and perpendicular wall patterns. Then he switched to a few circular mazes, finding the curving walls to be a bit more confusing to deal with.

Humans more easily differentiate straight lines and sharp edges. More organic shapes like curves and swirls make it more confusing.

He tried out a few more concepts, throwing down a seemingly random pile of curved slashes. It was a bit too random for him to even keep track of what he was doing, so he had to stop. For the Infinite Immaterial Seat, complexity was good, but he would also have to know the layout perfectly himself. He needed there to be order, but also in such a foreign way that others would be confused. Sage switched over to some insect based designs, trying an ant hill maze of tunnels, and then rows of hexagonal cells like a giant beehive.

Pretty good, but it could use something more. Oh… what if I try that?

On a whim, Sage drew out a diagram and examined it for a few moments. Certainly, he wasn’t the first person to try this, right? He was about to give it a try when he realized that reshaping the mental foundation was said to be strenuous and painful. It would be pretty foolish to start it without first checking with Guan Zhenyan.

“Sir. I have a question about the shape of the Infinite Immaterial Seat.”

“Is that so? I’ll add it to your tab, then. What is it?”

“What would happen if I build the maze into a Formation Array?”

There was silence from the mental link for a few moments, and Sage started to wonder if something was going on. Guan Zhenyan’s mental voice finally came back after nearly a solid minute of silence, “Ahem. I was checking my records. Seems that it’s been tried a few times, but it usually doesn’t end well. As I told you, the more complex the more powerful. An array is pretty much as complex as you can get, so the majority who try it get stuck and don’t advance any further. A few others tried to force it and they went braindead. Only a few super geniuses got anywhere with it. Just look at the later stages of the Infinite Immaterial Seat and you’ll see why.”

Sage thanked him for the advice and then did as he was told, looking into the later stages of the technique. For Spirit Cultivation, the entry level is a mental foundation, the first level a building, the second level a fortress, and the third level a tower. The second level reinforced and strengthened the initial building, the tougher the better. While the third level pushed it towards the sky, the taller the better. From an architectural standpoint, the stronger the base, the taller a building could be placed upon it. Perhaps there was a connection?

With the Infinite Immaterial Seat, specifically, the additional levels specifically called for taking the shape and maze from the first level and multiplying its difficulty. Usually, that would mean adding more walls and corridors. With Guan Zhenyan’s advice he realized he’d just dodged a bullet. For the Infinite Immaterial Seat, the best method would be to create the most complicated maze he could work with and then take two steps back. Then, with the two stages simpler maze, he would have a proper path for the future. Or at least, this seemed to be the most orthodox path. The most ambitious would do their best now and just trust that their future self would be able to create something better! A bit more conservative estimate would be to only take one step back, and leave the third level to a future self.

So… that means if I build the maze into an Array Formation, in the future I’d have to increase the complexity of the array? No wonder it’s so difficult for others to do.