Calculating Cultivation

“Explain why implants are counter to cultivation,” Yang Heng said. The immortal cultivator had apparently been amused, probably annoyed, that he was questioning me to make sure I understood the concepts he had explained. Right now, we were covering alternatives to cultivation since I was concerned I wouldn’t get enough energy to reach the second breakthrough.

“I can think of two reasons. The first is that they are tools. Most tools cannot gain cultivation. Once they are made, their foundation is set. Any tool that can grow is incredibly dangerous, since to grow would require intelligence. Anything with intelligence would never willingly give up power. And if they are constrained that would lead to inherit risks,” I explained.

“The second reason is that one’s body would be compromised along with one’s soul. Integrating stuff into one’s cultivation is fine, but separate tools that remain static might give a short term boost, but will ultimately create a hard cap compared to one’s body,” I finished answering.

“Your understanding is improving. Another important factor to consider is something that we have only touched on, but the further away you move from your current body, the greater the risks to your soul. Being too malleable comes with inherent risks. So even if cultivators could integrate tools or change their body, the seams and cracks would remain in their cultivation,” Yang Heng explained.

“No easy shortcuts out here,” I replied with a sigh. I was becoming more and more worried the longer we traveled and there was nothing useful. My ideas about trading were rapidly becoming more unrealistic by the day.

“That was why the Forever City was created, but for independent cultivators like yourself to get this far, normally you would be located by the Heavenly Alliance, before you were sent some place like this,” he replied. It was annoying that everything would have proceeded smoothly if I had just remained in the Forever City.

But there was no going back at the moment. Even Yang Heng confirmed that the outposts would remain closed no matter what, until there were enough resources for cultivators to come out and collect them or they were attacked. And if attacked, the response would be massive and disproportionate. He was in the same boat, or hover craft as me.

The key difference was that he had an endless amount of time, while I was on a clock. How long I had to live was an unsure thing. The unique aspects of my cultivation, the lack of energy, my age, and other factors played a role in how long I would live for.

There were the occasional sources of energy we came across as well that Yang Heng kindly turned into crystals I could slow absorb. “What are some of the other super-organizations out there in the Firmament?” I asked.

“Things change constantly. Since spatial points aren’t fixed. Normally they are put into categories based on how they use energy. Sentient beings who use a regulated and personal approach to energy are cultivators. There are offshoots of the Forever City out there. Cultivators who thought there would be a better path,” he replied.

“And similar super-organizations are friendly to each other?” I asked.

“There are no allies or friends. But everyone has their own territory. Unlike the Mechanical Layer, it is easier to use energy to keep territories separated, or smashing into each other too much.”

“The continents are a buffer?” I asked.

“Indeed. Like farms surrounding a castle. We can afford to lose them and rebuild them later on. The beasts make for good guard dogs and a way to filter energy.”

“But there was only one beast immortal? How is that a farm?” I asked.

“Is there, or are they killed and the pressure that created one, makes another? I can’t say exactly how the faction running the continent you come from did things, but that is often the case.”

“And the rest of it, is just a distraction, the same with the other factions in the Forever City,” I replied with a slight frown.

“Foot soldiers and outpost commanders. The varied cultivation styles you grew up with, allow us to determine the best techniques against an enemy force. And the truly serious threats are spotted well in advance. Replicators are the absolute worst. A devouring wave that spreads out from their origin point, creating an expanding wave in all directions, consuming all in their path.”

“Like an artificial intelligence?” I asked.

“Or some kind of organic creature. They all fall into the same category. Then you have Ancients, singular beings like Dragons who can harness energy naturally or through a unique method. Artificers who focus solely on tools and equipment for cultivation. There are other categories, but they aren’t a concern unless you are a civilization.”

“Because they would easily defeat both of us and can’t be bothered as long as we don’t bother them,” I replied and Yang Heng nodded.

“Any purely energy based lifeforms are the ones you need to be truly weary of. For they are the most dangerous.”

“Don’t cultivators look to move their body from the physical to energy based as the second breakthrough in cultivation?” I asked.

“Yes. And my warning stands. Fighting such beings is incredibly difficult. While not so much here on the Mechanical Layer, in the Firmament or the Astral Plane, the power we can wield is immense. There are very few functional civilizations out there that aren’t cultivators. That shows that the strength of our method of using energy is the strongest, but the fact it is also stable. What is a common theme that we have come across while traveling?”

I considered the question carefully. “Either groups are strong and isolated, or weak, or destroyed,” I replied.

“Different methods of using energy are incompatible with each other. And while it is an unlimited resource, there is a finite amount that can be used. Creating a stable society in such turbulence is not easy. I know you dislike the Forever City, but it has stood as a bastion of civilization for a long time.”

“Unless you are at the bottom,” I countered.

“People are allowed to live and then die. And even the poorest in the Forever City can get implants to live on. They will have to work, but nothing is free in life. And you yourself have shown mobility is possible,” Yang Heng replied.

“Out of trillions of cultivators, only a handful have gotten this far on their own,” I countered.

“It isn’t easy, but it is possible. Other societies would cut off all routes of progression for their lesser members. The Heavenly Alliance is named as such, since it is one of the nicest places in the Firmament to live,” Yang Heng replied.

It was hard to process that information and how disconnected it felt from reality. But I also couldn’t refute Yang Heng’s claims either. The Forever City was a toxic hell, but even a toxic hell was still a place people could survive. In the inner and middle layers, there was a high degree of safety as well. While life was cheap, the immortals running the place weren’t heavy handed. They got their way, but they didn’t oppress everyone around them constantly.

I had been given chances. While I had to seize them and risk my life, there had been a path forward for my advancement. I couldn’t deny that. If there had been no travel to the Forever City, if everyone arriving was forced to serve a faction, and countless other small things weren’t in place, then I would have failed a long time ago.

The fact that the Heavenly Alliance did not grip their fist tightly and let a couple grains of sand slip through their fingers was their argument they were better than most other super-organizations. “Which groups are better?” I asked.

“I wouldn’t say better, just different. Any that come to mind are other cultivation based societies,” Yang Heng answered. I nodded and then noticed that a source of energy had been detected. I altered course to head towards it.

“Hopefully something useful, my last crystal is almost out,” I replied. “Doesn’t look like any known faction.”

“I would not count on the sensors and information you received too much. Things are always changing. Only the Forever City is constant,” he said while giving me a small smile. “You might dislike the struggles you faced, but I will point out how great the place is. In time you will become convinced that the Forever City is a beacon of stability across the Firmament. Now I am going to rest until we get closer.”

That was the sign Yang Heng was going to not be talking anymore or answering questions. We had discussed a lot while traveling togeather. The worst part was, I couldn’t reject his arguments, since getting this far required me to go to the Forever City. To get past the first breakthrough in my cultivation would not have been possible otherwise.

I asked about getting past the second breakthrough on my own, and he said it had never happened to his knowledge. The amount of energy was too much. That raised the question of how the Forever City even began. Yang Heng just smiled at that and said such things were lost to time. Also there was a good chance that the city was founded by a cultivator from the Forever City.

That concept made my head hurt, but with enough energy cause and effect, or causality would be broken. That was what energy allowed a person to do at is very heart. Everything else was just a way of controlling this process, or altering reality in specific ways.

Cultivation did not strengthen the muscles or body, but it told reality that those changes had been made, overwriting what was true and what wasn’t true. The concept was incredibly hard to conceptualize. The best metaphor I could relate it to, was the Theory of Relativity, where everything was moving the same speed in relation to light and only direction and time changed, not velocity.

If a person moved their arm, their arm was only changing directions and the flow of time was altering to make different portions of the arm move more quickly than other portions. This made absolutely no sense when a person thought about their muscles and training. One did not go to the gym to increase their temporal manipulation powers.

The same was true with cultivation. One looked at all of it, and would say that the energy was increasing the power of one’s body. But in terms of what was really happening on a deeper level, was that reality was being altered. Energy might be used in a variety of ways and have different outcomes, but the core of it was altering reality. To get one plus one equals something else instead of two.

I then asked why cultivators weren’t God. The answer came down to leveraging enough energy without losing control. A being with perfect control could accomplish anything with the smallest fraction of energy. But realistically this wasn’t possible. It was a joke among high level cultivators that if one ever reached this point, their body would disperse into energy itself, sublimating into nothingness.

It had never happened according to Yang Heng, since such heights were impossible to reach. Too much energy was dangerous. The higher one climbed, the greater the risks. For the dangers of Chaos were massive. How do you even defend against a creature that can attack you in the past and erase your existence? How would that even work as a timeline? Were there multiple timelines?

Those kind of questions were ones that even he didn’t have an answer to. The people who handled such issues were above him and there was danger in even knowing the answer. Some threats would lock onto thoughts about themselves, creating a beacon of energy so they could target whoever was thinking about them.

After several more days of traveling, there was a large mismatched structure in front of us that I could see through a break in the swirling gases. It was drifting along, there were lights, and other smaller craft moving around the large structure.

I almost jumped when Yang Heng leaned in next to me to look out at the structure. He could be very quiet when he wanted to be. “Interesting. It’s a world ship, but the beings have begun the process of developing a cultivation system from what I can sense.”

“So not trash?” I asked.

“Higher quality trash, but still trash. They are in the civilizational phase of attempting to convert to a purely energy based civilization. Their power source is quite strong and they have managed to create a very small but renewable source of energy. While unlikely to the extreme, they might have a path down to the Firmament,” he replied.

“So, a polite visit?” I asked.

“I could defeat them, but they would drag me down into death. Any path they might have would be wrecked in such a fight. They won’t share such a thing either. If they are friendly, I don’t mind visiting, but there will be nothing worthwhile here,” he replied. I nodded and pressed the communicator.

“Hello. This is Yuan Zhou, from the Heavenly Alliance,” I sent out. I repeated the message a second time after a minute. A response then came through.

“Greetings, Yuan Zhou, from the Heavenly Alliance. This is the Eternal Ark of the Chosen. You may visit to exchange knowledge and goods.” I set the hover craft forward since Yang Heng had no objections. I followed the instructions and we reached an opening in the massive structure. The closer I got it appeared like multiple ships, planets, and other structures had been smashed togeather.

Once we landed, I turned the communicator off. I then began to put on my protective gear. “Be careful.” I looked at Yang Heng. “Deities are incredibly dangerous.”

“Any form of energy manipulation?” I asked.

“From a distance it might look like cultivation, but it is much different. A singular or small group of beings act as a nexus for energy to distribute it as needed to their followers. Their followers in turn work on the tasks these gods ask them to do.”

“And this is the case here?” I asked.

“There is one larger energy source, and several smaller ones. Once we got closer, I could sense other life here as well.” I nodded at this and we left the Hover Craft. I was shocked by what I saw, but kept moving to clear the exit way since Yang Heng let me go first.

These beings looked like sixed legged dogs with beaks and blue scales. I noted they had clothing and equipment. So they had some civilization obviously and weren’t feral. I counted five of these creatures. “Greetings, I am Yuan Zhou of the Heavenly Alliance,” I said with a slight bow of my head.

“Greetings, Yuan Zhou of the Heavenly Alliance,” the lead creature was moving its beak, but thankfully the words translated. “I am Nexi of the Chosen of the Eternal Ark. What is the purpose of your visit?”

“I was looking to trade and ask if you have a path to the Firmament?” I thought it was better to be direct and see their response. It wasn’t like snooping around would do much that good that Yang Heng’s senses wouldn’t pick up.

“We are searching for such a path ourselves, hearing of its riches. For now we must make do with what we have and continue to remain hopeful that one day the Great Seeker will show us the way.” Yang Heng was right, this place with these weird six legged creatures were religious and probably towards their leaders. It was disconcerting to see such a non-human creature communicating with me.

“Do you have-“ Before I could continue speak, I felt the pressure of energy. The five creatures exploded in a shower of blue blood and scales.

“Cute. Hiding out here, like this,” Yang Heng said while he shook out his hand.

“What…what is it?” I asked nervously.

“This place, these things, we are trapped Yuan Zhou. Prepare yourself. I will have to ration my energy usage.”

“But you didn’t notice?” I asked.

“I never expected an energy based lifeform to hide in the Mechanical Layer. It took me a moment to realize, but we are inside a bubble of reality, the conforms to the outside of this structure. That was why I couldn’t detect it at first. These things aren’t even alive. Whatever is here and controlling them, would do the same to us.”

“We could have tried talking,” I protested.

“And sink further into the illusion of this bubble. That cannot be allowed to happen.” He began walking and then paused to turn and look at me. “You don’t agree?”

“We could have tried to leave. Now, we have to fight,” I was very upset about being put into this position. We might have been able to trade information and supplies, but Yang Heng instantly resorted to violence. The corpses were nothing but exploded smears upon the metal floor.

“You are being influenced. It is subtle. Clear your mind Yuan Zhou, focus upon your cultivation. Push away external influences. This place is a trap, a very well concealed trap. If I use my energy to reveal what is truly happening, you would claim that I am the one to deceive you. See past the material, see the flow of energy through this place. Sense the forces at work,” he explained while staring at me.

Was he really telling the truth? I focused and there was some small amount of energy lingering about in the air. But it could just be exhaust or from the corpses. “There is some energy in the air, but I can’t tell anything beyond that.”

“I have not lied to you or concealed information. Do you trust me?” he asked. If he wanted to kill me, he could do that at any time. There was no need for him to ask me that question, unless he really was serious.

“Yes,” I replied and he walked over.

“I am going to share, my sight with you. You will feel a pressure. You can resist, but it should clear up your vision.” He placed a hand on my head and I felt like my head as going to explode. After a few seconds he took his hand away and everything was hazy.

The corpses looked like bundles of threads and watery. The structure itself had a malleable appearance to it, with veins of power running through the structure like the entire place was alive. “Is this place alive?” I asked.

“In a sense. It is a bubble of reality separate from the rest of the Mechanical Layer empowered by the energy at its heart. The corpses are being absorbed into the structure itself. It is slow, but it is occurring. Even our energy is being affected, as we are being smothered by the thinnest sheets of energy. Cloaking our minds, vision, and thoughts.”

“When did this start happening?” I asked.

“It started far away. Which is why I didn’t detect anything at first. I am skilled, but not invincible. Unless you are highly trained and sensitive to such things, it would be near impossible to notice, blending in with the background. Now that we are here, look at the metal door we came through. It has sealed itself into becoming part of the wall of this place. We have been moved away from the outside, deeper into the structure.” How?! I didn’t notice that, but Yang Heng was correct from what little I could tell.

“I could escape, but what then? In situations like this, the best option is to crush whatever is creating the affect, killing it.” I quickly got out my gun and my sword. I hadn’t used them in a while. I held one in each hand.

“If this place can move, won’t it stop us?” I asked.

“No. Since I am creating a small bubble around both of us. The hover craft will be fine as well. We are the real targets, for our souls. Whatever is controlling this place will want us to draw out more energy for itself.” That did not sound good. “Follow me, cover my back. I will have to exert myself and we have a long walk ahead of us.”

“How far?” I asked as Yang Heng moved towards the door to this chamber.

“Far, but not that far. We are near the source of energy, but there will be many barriers in our way. Close so it can process us and not escape, but not close enough to create a danger to it.”

“And what is it?” I asked.

“No idea. Such things are common though and one of the many dangers you must look out for.” Yang Heng gestured and the metal door peeled apart in either direction. The sounds of gunshots rang out, but Yang Heng stopped the projectiles in mid-air and gestured once more, killing the creatures who had been shooting weapons at us.

I checked behind and above us, nothing thankfully. I would keep looking to make sure I did my job. “I will have to exert myself. There will be no time for talk as we advance. Stay close.” The metal corridors were lit with a soft blue light and were soon coated with the creatures’ blood.

Yang Heng did not slow down for anything. Obstructions were ripped away, creatures crushed, and our advance through this place did not slow for one second. Twice, I fired my gun as a creature tried to sneak up behind us. The larger groups Yang Heng detected and killed quickly by himself.

Hour after hour, we made our way through endless metal corridors, varying length, size, and width until we came to another doorway. There were signs on the wall, but I could not read them. Yang Heng seemed to know where he was going so I didn’t question him. The more we advanced, the more my vision began to go back the way it was before.

Maybe Yang Heng was manipulating me? These creatures had been willing to talk at first. Now we were killing them relentlessly.

“Yuan Zhou, focus your mind,” Yang Heng said without turning around. I winced at his recrimination.

This place was influencing me. No matter what I had to trust in my senior. I saw a small child like dog creature approaching from the rear when I checked behind us. “Too obvious,” I muttered and fired my gun. It was blown apart. I made sure to hurry after Yang Heng. If I lost him in this place, there was no way I would find my way back even if the path didn’t change.

“We are getting close. Ready yourself for more intense combat. I will take the brunt of the attack, you handle whatever I miss,” Yang Heng said.

“Got it,” I replied, while making sure my gun was loaded and checking around once more. We came to a larger set of doors and they were ripped open with a single gesture. Instead of peeling like they normally did, they compacted slightly and floated forward.

“Kill the intruders!” the shout of one of the creatures from the next room was translated. I heard more weapons firing and impacting the floating metal doors. A group of creatures was rushing around the side to flank our position after we advanced through the doorway.

Yang Heng gestured and four of the five creatures exploded. I fired my gun, killing the last one he had missed. I could tell he was struggling at the moment. The metal doors suddenly went flying forward and I heard several creatures cry out. A group rushed in from behind just as I finished reloading. I killed two with the gun, but there were another three.

I hated fighting, but we couldn’t stop now. I cut down one easily with my sword and retreated as the other two tried to leap on me. Yang Heng turned and gestured, exploding the two remaining creatures. I looked around and the front of the room was complete and utter carnage. He killed everything in the short time I had only killed a couple of these creatures.

“They are not alive. They only parody life. There is only one thing truly alive here, whatever is at the heart of this place. Do not concern yourself with their fates. See, that is the head from one of them in the hanger. They are constantly being recreated and sent against us.”

“Got it,” I said even though I couldn’t tell one beak from another of these sex legged dog creatures. I reloaded my gun once more as I continued to follow Yang Heng past the killing field to another set of large doors.

“Time to break in and deal with the thing that is behind all of this. Ready yourself Yuan Zhou,” he said and I nodded.