Sharang’s martial artists had barely scratched the surface of what was possible with Qi energy.
They lacked the knowledge, resources, and historical depth to truly unlock the full potential of their cultivation.
‘The same goes for Acarnis,’ Aksai thought. ‘They’re better off than Sharang, with their Aether cultivation, but even they are still lagging behind the Spirit cultivators.’
Acarnis, with its Aether-run formations and artifacts, had developed a much more advanced system of Aether-based cultivation than Sharang. But even then, they were still quite a few steps behind the Spirit cultivators that were plundering their world.
Aksai couldn’t blame the people of Acarnis for their struggle—they were doing the best they could with the knowledge and resources they had. But without a history stretching back millions of years, like Dadangar, they were always going to be playing catch-up.
Or was Acarnis still hiding its strength to fool the otherworldly invaders? Even though the invaders had established a foothold in Acarnis, they were yet to shake the world’s foundation.
Acarnis had started to fight back by converging under one umbrella– Acarnis World Government. It had stopped its internal conflicts. The only trouble it received was from the rebels within its own society.
Frankly speaking, Aksai couldn’t be too sure when it came to Acarnis. He couldn’t tell who had a definite upper hand in the long run? But one thing was for sure– the Spirit cultivators were the ones who had taken the initiative to invade these less powerful worlds.
The more Aksai thought about it, the more he realized that it wasn’t about superiority or inferiority between the different paths of cultivation. Qi energy, Aether essence, Spirit essence—they were all different manifestations of the same universal truths.
What mattered was how long a civilization had been refining those truths, how deeply they had delved into their cultivation techniques, and how much knowledge they had accumulated over time.
‘Time,’ Aksai mused, ‘is the real deciding factor.’
Dadangar, with its millions of years of Spirit cultivation, had unlocked secrets that worlds like Sharang and Acarnis couldn’t even dream of. And yet, Aksai knew that it wasn’t impossible for those worlds to catch up, given enough time and resources.
They just needed the right knowledge, the right tools, and the determination to see their paths through.
As Aksai came to this conclusion, he glanced at Haitin, who was still talking about Heretic Dao techniques, oblivious to Aksai’s inner musings. Aksai nodded along, offering the occasional comment or question, but his mind was elsewhere, processing the implications of what he had learned.
Haitin’s casual remarks about the Spirit cultivators’ ability to plunder other worlds had opened Aksai’s eyes to a much broader reality.
Aksai had always known that Spirit cultivation was powerful, but now he understood the true extent of that power—not because it was inherently superior, but because it was old, refined, and backed by countless years of experience.
‘Why would Spirit cultivators in the 5th and 6th realms go to worlds that offer them no obvious benefits? What do they lack at their levels? Are they really plunderers or simply explorers?
I doubt they need the same things that Foundation Building, Core Formation, or Nascent Soul realm cultivators seek. We are like ants in their eyes. Maybe even lower lifeforms than ants.
There must be something other than cultivation resources that these powerhouses need—something beyond my current understanding. In the first place, I don’t think Spirit cultivators in the 5th and 6th realms would go to such worlds casually.
Not to mention, the World Wills of those worlds wouldn’t allow such powerful beings to invade them easily under normal circumstances. Even if the foundation of these less powerful worlds is shallow, the World Wills themselves shouldn’t be easy to bully.
Furthermore, Sharang-like worlds are one thing, but worlds like Acarnis are more mysterious. They seem easy to exploit on the surface, but there are many things in Acarnis that haven’t come to light yet. Through my clone, I know things that the so-called invaders of that world are dying to uncover.
So… is the invasion by these less powerful Spirit cultivators just a probing tactic? Or are they merely acting as minions?
The corrupted druids must have deeper connections. Initially, I thought they belonged to some higher-tier world because of the intent-based Spirit cultivation techniques they practiced. After all, the Dadangar Subcontinent didn’t have such techniques.
But I may have judged them too early. Or maybe I was respawned in the beginner’s village in the gaming term? I don’t have the right to complain because I was given a fresh start. But I could have definitely used a better starting point even while I was in the same place? A background like Haitin’s,’ Aksai sighed to himself once again.
He had countless thoughts floating in his head as he listened to the young demonic lord’s elementary theories on Heretic Dao. In his mind, however, he was completely immersed in the thoughts of otherworldly invasions.
‘Alright. The corrupted druids indeed have a deeper background than what I could possibly imagine in my current state. However, shouldn’t they be much different than those 6h Spirit realm monsters.
Perhaps that’s why the invasions are carried out by weaker Spirit cultivators, while the true monsters sit back and watch? They simply open the path while their subordinates lead the charge in invading these worlds.
Could this be like the migration of an ant colony—merely a stepping stone to expand Spirit cultivation’s influence? But what do the Spirit cultivators gain other than resources they don’t even value much?
And doesn’t this mean that my trespassing into these worlds places me in the same position as those monsters, even though I don’t have a cultivation base to back it? Even if they aren’t literally present, do they have the ability to detect me?
This… this is rather dangerous. I’ll need to be more cautious when I return to Sharang and Acarnis.
The more Aksai thought about it, the more he realized how little he truly knew. He sighed as he reflected on his visits to other worlds. Perhaps he was the only one in Dadangar who could explore other worlds with the same capability as the 6th realm powerhouses.
However, it was a dangerous endeavor. He would need to be more guarded than ever when leaving the Dadangar Subcontinent in the future.
Even with this understanding, Aksai decided he would revisit those two worlds. With a new outlook and deeper knowledge, he might uncover more and gain even greater benefits than before.
Once I’m done with my hunt for the Aether beast here, it’ll be time to revisit Sharang.’
Aksai thought to himself, his fists clenched in determination.