Deep inside his spiritual sea, John took in the growth. The core of everything was still the Tree of Darkness, but it was no longer just a single tree. Instead there were many, each about half the size his first tree had been at its peak.

Those trees were rooted in nutritious soil, the compost of fallen leaves. This earth was now split into numerous islands scattered throughout his spiritual sea.

His air totem wasn’t anything special in terms of conjuring powerful winds or lightning, but it was tied to air itself, and the various components within that were required for plants to grow. Proper photosynthesis needed a bit of oxygen to kickstart things along with carbon dioxide which the plants then turned into carbon that built them up, and sufficient oxygen to sustain their other needs without relying on outside contribution.

Obviously things in his spiritual sea did not follow the exact same rules, but the important part was that what humans considered an impurity they had to expel was the main thing that trees took in. Those rules it followed, even if there wasn’t a particular set of chemical elements that were interacting in a place without physical components.

Water filled the space in between the islands, the messy and impure sort of water that made up the ocean. And yet it was those very impurities that allowed all sorts of ocean life to thrive. Within the water there was a semblance of life. More the idea of fish than actual creatures.

The same was true elsewhere. Those things not part of his actual totems were more like vague representations- birds that flew through the skies and animals that lived on the ground and in the trees as well as insects and bacteria that broke down the fallen leaves of the trees.

The final and most recent component was a sun, nearly invisible and insubstantial except for the ‘heat’ it provided, promoting the various processes below. Given the rules of the spiritual sea, it didn’t truly create light though one would expect that of flames. Instead, they were ethereal, leaving the world in a sort of shadow that the trees of darkness found sufficient to perform their own ‘photosynthesis’ without much in the way of real light.

All the actual light there was only involved a very small and carefully contained packet of the light element. Without a totem and with how it would naturally react with his darkness infused spiritual energy, John was very careful with how much he took in. He was working on his control so he could eventually bind to a proper totem from the deepest layers of the sea of spiritual totems.

John’s totems were fifth rank, as they had all advanced before his breakthrough attempt except for the Ethereal Flames which had been what he bound to which started at that level. They were growing stronger, though he imagined he’d need to properly be in the Ascending Soul Phase for them to see rapid growth. After which… was there nowhere further for him to grow?

Certainly, there were no deeper layers of the sea of spiritual totems, as they vaguely matched up with the Phases of cultivation. Unless there was something beyond the Exalted Soul Phase, and people had simply not been able to delve beyond the sixth layer.

But John didn’t think that it mattered whether there was another layer. If it existed, he would reach it… or not. But if it didn’t, there were still differences between totems of the same level. It wasn’t as if his totems suddenly improved all at once upon reaching a new tier. So he could still advance them to the peak of the sixth tier if nothing else.

Even as he was still stabilizing his cultivation in the early Consolidated Soul Phase he felt his total amount of stored spiritual energy was nearly equivalent to his previous peak, though his output of spiritual energy of any one element was lower. But considering he had full use of a fifth element now, he wasn’t far behind his previous strongest point. And all it had taken was decades of recovery.

This was certainly not the most optimal step forward, but at least now he was confident he would become stronger than he had previously been. His possibility of reaching the Ascending Soul Phase was something he’d have to consider more carefully when he got closer. It was possible he’d permanently ruined his prospects. That would be regrettable, but given the state he’d been in he wouldn’t be surprised. He’s already been lucky not to die.

Ultimately, his own personal cultivation was not the most important thing in the world. He was already stronger than the vast majority of people he was aware of. And unless Yustina was extremely incorrect about her previous life in Aglor, it was also unlikely that anywhere else had an assumption that people would reach the Consolidated Soul Phase or the Ascending Soul Phase. The latter half of the cultivation Phases took more than just dedication. There was a factor of luck regarding location of birth, talent, and various other things.

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Now that disciples of the Six Elements Crossroads had started reaching the Soul Expansion Phase, many had three elements. In short, that meant it was quite valuable for them to go out on almost any excursion with John, visiting different sects to train with different styles and still be able to draw upon the local elements for themselves. Or occasionally to learn to deal with the single core element they didn’t yet have.

Though of course, there were also those practicing allied cycles- who would have completed that effort at the Soul Expansion Phase and would then most likely begin to double up on elements- or those practicing single or dual elements. They had every sort in the sect, which was one of the main draws.

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The next destination on John’s list was the Glass Hills, a place he’d been aware of for quite some time but never visited in person. The intent of the trip was to draw them into the defensive alliance of the greater region, or at least improve relations with several sects and clans in the area through an exchange of pointers. The reasonable sort where nobody got seriously injured, and since the tournament wasn’t all that long ago people should have some of their aggression out of their systems.

The first on the list was the Abiodun clan, in the northern center of the Glass Hills. But before even reaching the Glass Hills, they had to pass through the Green Sands of the Sunfields. John chose the latter option, since that was less time spent in desert sands. And while the Glass Hills were certainly not as scaldingly hot as the Green Sands, they were still difficult to travel through with frequent lightning storms.

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Since they were passing through, John and the rest made a visit to the Golden Tomb Guardians. John had been around to see Cuah’arn once or twice since her advancement, but he still found it impressive. The guardian beast was also much more visible before, displaying her full glory in and around the sect. If the Golden Tomb Guardians had been interested in conquest, with her power they could have easily managed to take over most of the Sunfields.

Of course, if they were that sort then Cuah’arn as she was wouldn’t get along with them. She had her own principles, and was uninterested in pointless conquest. Though frankly, John thought it was a terrible idea anyway. They couldn’t actually manage such a large area from a single sect, and it would only stifle the growth of different styles if they truly expanded to fill it all.

The point wasn’t that they would but that they could. Just like in the Black Peaks, an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator could draw many others underneath their banner- willing or not. They were hardly invincible, after all. That had been proven several times in the last couple of decades.

Training with light was… difficult, even with all of the advice and insights John had received. It was still uncomfortable to simply be around it. John found himself constantly protecting himself as if he was under assault… and he had the feeling that was part of his issue. He couldn’t be afraid of the power, if he was to truly make it a part of him. And even if his fear wasn’t overt, it was still something that affected him.

It was natural, of course. It even made sense, as combining light and darkness was not an easy task. Viriato was a surprising exception, and Nik and Melanthina worked very hard to maintain their balance. Not that Viriato had ever claimed it was easy. It was simply that he’d made a rash choice as a younger man and been fortunate enough to survive.

With two nearly fatal cultivation mishaps under his belt- or perhaps one nearly fatal and one actually fatal experience- John thought he would end up with fair judgment about whether he could accomplish the task, but that was still a world away. He had all of the Consolidated Soul Phase to rebuild, and then he had to surpass the Ascending Soul Phase to a Phase he wasn’t even sure had living cultivators worldwide- and that was with their great lifespans taken into account.

They were just that rare, barely more than whispers of the distant past. Though he had to admit that his knowledge of global affairs at the current time was limited. The scope of the local region simply wasn’t that great. Maybe a tenth of the available landmass, by his estimation. It could be less or more though.

Cuah’arn also attempted to guide John. “You managed light quite well, when you removed Ciaritzal’s claw from within me.”

“Most of that was you protecting me, you might recall,” John said. Though if he thought back to his actual memories… “Mostly, it was that I was devoid of darkness from my path to reach you. And the point isn’t for me to give up darkness to replace it with the light element, but to have both. Insulating them from each other with allied element works to an extent, but I can’t be constantly focused on that. It needs to be as natural as breathing.”

“I would actually provide a counterpoint. You can be focused on preventing mutual destruction for centuries, if you need to. But I will admit it is neither pleasant nor productive.”

John nodded. That was basically what she had been doing as she rested after her battle with Ciaritzal- long in the past, when he had been under the control of the Society of Midnight. The Golden Tomb Guardians- or rather, their founders who started the sect based around her- had then taken up residence, augmenting their spiritual energy with her own- and vice versa. It was much the same as the Tenebach clan had been doing with Ciaritzal, though he’d been separate from the clan itself for most of that time.

That had been a sensible choice at the time, a newly freed spiritual beast with clear danger. But over generations, it has just become accepted as the norm instead of considering whether it was the best option. Then, of course, few clan head had more than a business relationship with the spirit beast. Ciaritzal had given to them with the blessings, then taken from the older generations as payment. But now that the clan had grown and his shards had been reclaimed, both were able to grow mutually. Melanthina had successfully performed blessing ceremonies without permanent drains on anyone’s cultivation, providing a valuable early boost to Tenebach clan cultivators.

“Even having seen examples of balance between light and darkness, I find it difficult to replicate even in the short term,” John admitted to Cuah’arn.

“I have little I can say. I am born of light, and it comes to me naturally- truly naturally, unlike the talent of humans.” She spread her wings, though John could only detect it as a shift in the width of her brightness. His eyes weren’t able to focus on her. “It is only natural for me to clash with darkness, except as I needed to hold off to avoid the consequences of annihilating that claw. It was never about balance. But as for the control of light, I think I have one piece of advice. Light naturally flows out of you, while darkness is naturally carried into you. Perhaps this insight will be useful to you. But if not, you will find understanding in something else entirely.”

John nodded. The words definitely promised some ideas, but he couldn’t say if they would pan out. What he found the most helpful was her confidence in him. She spoke of him reaching the understanding as a sure thing, rather than a possibility. Even if she didn’t quite mean it that way, he appreciated it.