Beastmaster of the Ages

"You said everything changed, but how?" Tianming asked.

"It's common knowledge that the xenomemory space has no concept of distance. A journey between any two points in that space can take an arbitrarily short or long time, and the time taken also changes with each journey. Sometimes, it only takes one step to cross a distance between stars.

"The divine wondersky race, however, used a truly marvelous method to construct wondersky realms and allow the caeli of cultivators to retain lucidity within through the use of heavenly locus formations. As such, they no longer senselessly wander in the xenomemory space, but rather go straight into the wondersky realm.

"Lastly, they brought their various legacies, techniques, and even some caeli of their race into the wondersky realm to improve the cultivation efficiency of the disciples within. In fact, battles can be simulated inside the wondersky realm even if the combatants are vast distances away in the real world. They also won't end up permanently hurt through battles within and can benefit from the experience they gained too," the wondersky fairy answered.

"There's even caeli of seniors here?"

"Of course. That's the main purpose of the wondersky realm. More than half of the caeli of the seniors of Violetglory Star are located within Violetglory Pagoda inside the realm. That's the core location for Violetglory Disciples to cultivate in."

Tianming found it too wondrous. The divine moonrace kept the caeli of their ancestors within various divine moon halls. However, more than half of the ancestor caeli of Violetglory Star went straight to the wondersky realm. Not to mention, in caeli form, traveling vast distances was no longer an issue due to the unique nature of the space. It's said that when one's cultivation was high enough, they would even be able to travel to wondersky realms of other star worlds to compete with or learn from the people there.

Cultivation had been nearly perfectly integrated into the world of dreams. Even with the slight differences present in the dreamscape, it was still a huge bonus. After all, what were the odds of finding a nova source in the real world and interacting with people from other star worlds? Not to mention, contact usually meant conflict.

"So, this wondersky realm, or should I say, perpetual wondersky world... how is it even constructed in the xenomemory space?" Tianming pressed.

"The central focus of fundamental cosmic forces such as nova sources can tear open portals between the real world and the xenomemory space. Portals like that can allow a flesh and blood person to enter the xenomemory space along with their caelum, vita, and terra. However, it's incredibly dangerous to attempt that. Xenofiends exist within the xenomemory space to erase any 'real people' that wandered into the space.

"From that alone, it's obvious that the construction of a wondersky realm is a humongous undertaking. But once successful, one's home star world would be able to link up with the entirety of the astralscape of order. Everyone stands to mutually benefit and make progress together. Worlds with a weaker cultivation base won't suffer too badly and would be able to catch up as a result. That's why the divine wondersky race has rendered upon a great service unto the world." The wondersky fairy never failed to remind them how impressive its creators were.

"Xenofiends that wipe out real people? Doesn't that mean people who are exiled inside will face certain death?"

"Of course. The world is balanced according to implicit laws. The xenomemory space is a world for caeli, and not a place where normal people can stay. Being exiled there is akin to a death sentence. It's the way of the universe for the physical body to remain in corporeal reality while the caelum explores ethereal reality."

"Is there any way to save real people that wandered into the xenomemory space?"

"It's possible through the use of dimensional rope and a blood sample. That's also a method used in the construction of wondersky realms. However, such a course of action isn't recommended. The moment the xenofiends find out, both rescuer and the rescued would die. Essentially, they're the administrators of the xenomemory space."

The dimensional rope appeared to be possessed only by Sovereign Xi as far as Tianming was aware. It seemed that he wouldn't be able to escape her at the end of the day. Tianming had learned quite a lot about the origin and nature of the wondersky realm. Its most amazing aspect seemed to be its connectivity across vast distances. The astralscape of order was endlessly huge, and stars could be seen wherever the eye could look. However, the distances between them were terrifying, to say the least. Yet the xenomemory space, where distance as a concept was fuzzy at best, could be used to link those star worlds together.

"Violetglory Disciple Lin Feng, where do you want to cultivate today? You are currently a first-level disciple, so there are only ten lands of legacy available to you."

"How do I raise my level?"

"Through cultivation growth and challenges."

"Then take me to Perplexity Island again."

"Apologies. It has only been a day since you last challenged an ancient idol. The earliest you can go there is nine days from now."

"Then I want to visit Violetglory Pagoda where the caeli are," Tianming said.

"No problem. However, note that while Violetglory Pagoda is open to all, regardless of level, there are nine floors in total and you may only access the first. Not to mention, you'll have to pass a challenge."

"How does that work?"

"Cultivators entering the pagoda at the same time will be randomly matched to you. The two of you will fight and only the winner gets to enter. The loser may attempt another challenge for entry ten days later. For each day you cultivate there, you must accept one challenge from a disciple of the same rank that's come to cultivate as well. Each successful challenge will earn you the right to remain for another day. In other words, to stay inside for ten days, you'll have to defeat ten cultivators in a row. If the challenge is accepted and lost, however, the cultivator may make a new challenge on the eleventh day following initial entry into the pagoda."

In other words, ten days counted as one full round, and those that wished to remain there for a long stretch would be forced to fight and win against one person each day. Without a winning streak, one wouldn't be able to stay in for long.

"Why are the conditions so strict? Are those caeli really precious?" Tianming asked.

"Of course. There are few available to be shared between everyone, so access is limited to those who continually improve themselves. This is a basic custom in cultivation, especially when there's no possibility of injury from the fights here. Each and every battle will increase one's combat experience."

"I see. Alright, take me there, then!" Having spent a few days finding his bearings, he was finally ready to officially cultivate as an ascendant. While he had lost access to the Huiyue Clan's divine moon hall, he could now access the legacy caeli of the Violetglory Star, which had to be superior in many ways.

"How can I get even more privileged access to the pagoda?"

"Ascendants are only allowed access to the first two levels, with the requirement of the second level being Heptaglory Sky. However, if one fails a challenge, one will be forced back to the first level for retraining." It was almost akin to a struggle.

"Is the criteria based on cultivation level or actual demonstrated ability?"

"It's based on demonstrated combat ability, the only metric with any real weight in the world of caeli. It's in everyone's best interest to show all of their abilities at the moment of registration. It's only a loss not to."

Tianming hadn't allowed himself to be completely registered. That means it shouldn't be a problem for me to add three more of my godswords. I'm not actually a Violetglory Disciple anyway, and nobody knows where I really am.

The fairy turned into a circle of light and the three stepped into it together. The next instant, they traversed the distance to their destination. Back when Tianming had to travel from the Shiyu Compound to the divine moon hall, it took him seven whole minutes!

Following a bright flash, he heard chatter coming from ahead. He looked up in awe at the pagoda that pierced the clouds, showered in starlight and brimming with luxury. This was the most majestic building Tianming had ever seen. It was easily a thousand times larger than the divine moon realm. This was one of the key legacy lands of Violetglory Star!

Naturally, he was only witnessing it through the eyes of his caelum. The pagoda wasn't really a building, but rather a formation of the perpetual wondersky world. Even so, the caeli he was seeing were all real ones no different from those he had seen before. Back then, he had to use his vita to attract caeli to him, but now he was using his own caelum for the same purpose. His caelum was made from the very same stuff, after all. After death, all that was left of the caelum was energy.

"Those you can see here only belong to the first level. There's many more above. The first level alone has around three thousand regions, each filled with enough caeli to rival the stars in the night sky."

This was the legacy of a world that had a nova source like Orderia. Tianming hadn't even gone there yet, but here he was. He didn't even need to queue up.

"Lin Feng, do you want to enter the pagoda and start the challenge?"

"I do!"

"Alright. Registration complete. No matter how many days you last inside, you can reenter ten days later."

Feiling and Lin Xiaoxiao also wanted to give it a try. After confirmation, they, and countless other Violetglory Disciples, disappeared with a bright flash. Tianming wasn't transported to the inside of the pagoda. Instead, he appeared within a spherical formation with a diameter of a hundred thousand meters, enough for a battle to take place!

"Congratulations. You're the first to enter this battlefield and have obtained the right to set the parameters. What kind of environment do you desire?" said an emotionless voice.

"I would like to fight on the sea."

The formation began changing as water flooded in from all directions, filling the lower half of the formation. This reminded him of the Realm War with Heaven's Sanctum way back. Though both were illusory formations, this one was many times larger.

"Truly wondrous!" Even now, his awe still hadn't subsided. "So this was the race that replaced us sky plunderers as the hegemons of the astralscape of order, huh?" He almost felt convinced that they deserved that honor.

Once the sea had fully formed, the voice spoke, "Please prepare yourself. Your opponent, Long Qingyun, will enter the battlefield soon. Defeating your enemy will grant you a day on the first level of the pagoda."

Tianming focused his attention, intent on making as much progress as he could.