The ape was crazy mad when he saw me a couple of barriers away from it. But I wasn't going to make it easy for him to kill me, if I opened the restrictions, he will grind me to minced meat.
I kept a close eye on the ape, there was another way for me to get around the ape, but I'll need to unlock way too many restrictions and some of them are too close to the main palace that I fear the massive Palace Restriction might outright annihilate me the moment I got closer.
The restrictions on the city were hard and difficult to understand for any regular person, even I would have had a hell of a time trying to figure them out if it was not for that incomplete piece of grass that allowed me to understand how these restrictions work. But the one on the main palace was on a whole other level. It's like these restrictions on the city were made by apprentices but the one on the palace was made by a world-renowned Formation Master.
Also, the most pressing matter was the feeling of rejection from this place. I'm beginning to feel hostility coming from this domain, also the rich Spiritual Qi here had become scars, and cultivators are heavily reliant on Spiritual Qi, without it they'll feel like a fish on dry land. Though I'm not affected, the rest of the cultivators here must be feeling suffocated.
Seeing the ape standing still, not willing to move or come at me as I wished. I decided that I'll have to provoke him. The ape was wounded, heavily so, and it knew that if it were to break these barriers it will incur even more damage on its own body, so it waited for me to come to him, but I'm not gonna do that.
I pulled my pipe and began smoking.
The thick Joyful Weed smoke began seeping on the ground and slowly made its way through the restrictions. The smoke was not an attack and was only smoke, so the barrier didn't block it or stop it. But that was more than I wanted. The seeping smoke made its way through the two barriers and arrived at the ape that slowly backed off.
The silver ape immediately made a Qi barrier around it to block the 'attack' but once the smoke made contact with his Qi barrier, the ape understood that it was on guard for nothing. That was his first mistake.
The second mistake was the ape removed his Qi barrier not to expedite more of his already dwindling Qi.
And the third mistake was the ape sniffed at the smoke to understand its nature. It only took one sniff for the ape to recoil from the stench, it knew it was not dangerous but the sensitive nose of the ape caused it to flinch away from the smoke.
I continued puffing more smoke in the direction of the ape, more of it that the whole area was filled with smoke, it was like a car smoke-box for the ape, as the smoke began to fill his vision.
No matter how high the ape's body was, getting assaulted with this much Joyful Weed will definitely lower its inhibitions, especially since the Joyful Weed's effect relaxed the muscles and calmed the mind. It was the best way to deal with a furious ape. And it only took half an hour before the ape slumped to the ground on its face with his ass pointed up.
"Well, that worked." I grinned then began working on the formations while taking continuous puffs of the Joyful Weed and sending it to the ape. I didn't want him to wake up or feel that anything was amiss, it would be best for the ape to remain in Happy High Dreamlands.
Once I took down the first barrier, I got closer to the ape and there was only one restriction separating us, I moved around waved my hands, and tried to wake the ape. I got scared for a moment when the ape pulled his face from the dirt and looked at me, but his eyes were glazed over, bloodshot and his nose was leaking while his mouth was salivating.
"Damn son, you're stoned." I said, and the ape replied, "Ahoo,"
I grinned as I unlocked the final barrier and literally had to vault over the ape to get to the other side where the oil lamp was.
Once I was inside the house, I made it upstairs where the lamp was, snuffing the flame was easy, and immediately I was back in my sea of Consciousness. The scenery was the same as before, a beautiful scholarly garden where Zhang Tian sat patiently waiting for me.
"Now for our final lesson." Zhang Tian said.
"Yes, I'm ready," I said as I sat in front of him.
"This is the most basic but most complicated question of all. And your answer will be how you'll survive your journey of cultivation." Zhang Tian said.
I nodded waiting for this question.
"Why do you Cultivate, Shen Bao." Zhang Tian said.
I thought for a moment, then said, "I'm plagued by the Bone and Body Grinding poison, but I know from our conversation that this is not such a great deal in your realm and you can cure it."
"So you're saying that you cultivate to survive? I know that the Bone and Body Grinding Poison is a deadly curse upon the body, and we do have a way to treat it. But once you're treated wouldn't that be the end of your path, is that how you wish to finish?" Zhang Tian said.
I shook my head, "At first when I was plagued with this curse, I thought that's was my objective. Then I was forced into a situation with the Primordial Dragon Serpent, then I thought that I needed to cultivate to survive that, but… those aren't what you want to hear. You want to know my goal and objective in cultivation right?" I asked.
"It's always enjoyable to debate and talk to smart people, you're right Shen Bao. That is what I wish to know, what is your goal?" Zhang Tian asked.
"At first, we started on the wrong foot, perhaps a difference in existence, me being from what you call a lower realm, a backwatered planet with no cultivation resource, while you belonged to a plane far higher and greater than what I'm from, this difference in statue caused me to dislike you and have a bad first impression."
"That's hurtful, but you're right."
I held my hand, "If I were to keep a rigid mind, I would have left not caring about your existence, but I decided to help and I am thankful for everything you did to point my differences, I also understand your view and your arrogance, it is deserved especially since I saw your power. So I will not hold it against you and will not miss-trust you and I will reveal my goals to you, it is the least I could do for someone I could consider a teacher." I replied.
"Then, why do you cultivate?" Zhang Tian said.
"I don't cultivate to reach the peak, for I have no reason to be the mightiest, I don't cultivate to be strong enough to protect those around me, for those who were around me, stabbed me in the back, my closest kin. I don't cultivate to become a tyrant, oppress the weak, or become a saint and help the world. I cultivate for the most selfish of reasons, I cultivate for me, for myself, and I. I cultivate because I want to know what's at the end of this path, I cultivate not to make my name known to all in the Vast Expanse, not to make a legacy I cultivate because my thirst for knowledge, my insatiable sense of adventure, and my will to go through any and all challenges is my motor, it's my drive and it's my will to continue forward no matter the odds.
I'm the most selfish of all, I cultivate just because I want to cultivate."
Zhang Tian had a wide proud smile on his face, "Such a greedy and selfish way off though, but I'm impressed beyond impressed. For no one had spoken of cultivation as you have done. For many cultivate immortality, power, and dominion. But I know you didn't speak lies, for even with one eye, that eye was clear of deceit.
Shen Bao, your goal, though you called it selfish, is the purest of forms. You do not want to be detained by this world and want to seek the end, it's a goal that I as a scholar find mist impressive, and I wish if I had someone with such a mind as a friend." Zhang Tian said.
"Friend? Aren't we friends already old man, we talked together, drank tea together, debated together and we're not trying to kill each other. I think friends, we've been that a long time ago now." I said, smiling.
"Hah!" the man laughed then looked at me, "Then so be it, Shen Bao, you're hereby my friend, and let heaven witness this. For I shall not betray a friend no matter what."
"Then as heaven be my witness, I Shen Bao shall never betray my friend Zhang Tian as long as he remains true." I replied, and the heavens obliged and witnessed our vow.
"I have nothing more to teach you Shen Bao, I had hoped to find lacking in your objective but you surprised me with an already firm belief, no wonder you made it here where many had failed and were sent away."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Oh, you're the only one left in this Lesser Celestial Prison. Everyone Else was forced away.
"But it hasn't been that much time." I said.
"Ah, I have failed to explain something, this city, is on a different time-line. Master Rain the maker of this very city and its formations is a magnificent expert in the Laws of Time and Space, I say his laws of Space almost equate those of the Poison God in his prime. But his laws of Time are also magnificent. He made it so time flows differently, though we only spent more than a couple of days, it's been months outside this city."
"Oh, right then. That makes a bit more sense. So, I believe with all Six lamps gone, you can entrust me with that message." I said." Yes, but before that, I hesitated at first, but I think you're more than worthy now. I'll leave you with a map to a certain building, go there, you'll find some items that you will definitely like." Zhang Tian said.
Zhang Tian touched my forehead then the image of the entirety of the city was imprinted on my mind, with every formation, every restriction and even the massive formation of the palace.
The details on this mental map were so extreme that even the restrictions were there, every piece of grass, but the mass of this info dump was so much on my mind that I almost collapsed.
"I apologize for shoving so much in your mind while your cultivation level isn't high enough, but worry not, I sealed the majority of this information, once you reach higher cultivation level, you'll be able to see the whole city, even how the Palace formation is inscribed, you'll have a good deal of material to study later, but the most important thing for you is to find the house I marked in that map." Zhang Tian said and this time he was the first to leave my Sea of Consciousness.
I began by following the map on my mind, also with the already inputted information of the inscriptions, I found it far easier to navigate the city and unlock the restrictions on them. it took me half a day to arrive where Zhang Tian marked though, and I found a small hut, compared to many of the amazing buildings, villas, and small palaces around the whole inscribed city, this hut was in great contrast against it. it looked so out of the picture like a sore thumb, but seeing the dilapidated state of this hut, no one would even think that it hosted anything special.
Unlike the rest of the city, this hut had no restrictions on it, and when I entered it I only found a small bed, a table, and a stool. There was a small rag underneath the stool and it's where Zhang Tian pointed.
I removed the rag and found a trapdoor. There was an inscription on it that I did quick work on and unlocked the trapdoor revealing a long staircase leading down.
"Let's see what awaits us here then shall we."