Ascending Stages

Gu Erin was exhausted mentally and physically, he wanted to sleep, but had no time as he could already see the sky turning a lighter shade of blue. The questioning had been non-stop, and had at sometimes been repetitive and nonsensical. At one point Gu Erin had to hold himself back from screaming at the top of his lungs, when someone suggested they implement a democratic vote on how the camp should be run.

That particular person had been looked at with such derision and disappointment by so many people that it had shut him up. But, even now Gu Erin wanted to kill him. It was people like him who held onto old world standards that caused lives to be lost from their own stupidity. Thankfully, the whole night of drilling the same message into their minds that he was in charge and would not mistreat them, managed to get through.

Although some were still sour about the fact that he killed multiple people, but the news that they might have too as well really brought about some outcry. With some hope more would awaken to this new form of reality and take their cultivation more seriously.

Gu Erin himself was now sitting by the stream once again, the camp was bustling for breakfast, as some were already getting ready for their jobs within the town. While others dedicated themselves to cultivation, however the number was definitely low. This group was made up of the hunters and the aspiring cultivators, which was about eighty people.

Gu Erin would have liked it to have been at least half, but settled for this, once they obtained the sect formation order and claimed the mountain with the Earth Grade Spirit Vein, cultivation would be incredibly easy.

One had to know, staying within an area affected by the Earth Grade Spirit Vein was like absorbing Earth grade spirit stones constantly. Just one low grade spirit stone otherwise known as a mortal grade spirit stone was enough to push the common cultivator near the point of breaking through a stage.

As most if not all Realms were split up into the same stages one could accurately gage another's strength. Gu Erin had at first refined his blood a few times just to become an Entry Stage level Blood Transformation Realm warrior. Gu Erin was now a Stage 1 Blood Transformation Realm warrior after refining every part of him. His overall goal before the beast tide starts would be to reach the Peak of the Blood Transformation Realm.

Gu Erin had to keep himself from falling asleep, thankfully the near constant pain of cultivation was a very good aid to keep himself from doing so. One by one Gu Erin continued to cultivate, not even entering the stream as he was so deep into his meditation.

He felt like he was in a trance as even the pain started to fade from his mind, his body no longer feeling like it was being torn apart at the seams. He found with each circulation that his natural pathways and spirit root seemed to naturally correct him as he circulated his cultivation technique. Surprised Gu Erin didn't fight this natural correction and simply observed it closely, letting refinement fall to the back of his mind.

Little did Gu Erin know that his actions caused even the most dedicated cultivators to leave the camp for the day. Gu Erin wasn't even recognizable as a human, as one could barely see his face, and his body looked like a mass of impurities. Nobody could even tell if he was wearing a robe at the moment.

Thankfully nobody dared to disturb him, everybody liked their head on their shoulders. Gu Erin had ingrained the image of a ruthless ruler, who wouldn't even spare his own father, they dared not even approach him.

Gu Erin had long become nose blind to the atrocious smell of impurities, much to his luck his mind was focused internally. He was amazed as his cultivation technique only grew more efficient with each moment. When he had consciously been trying to make it more efficient, it seemed like he had only been getting in his own way.

Hours passed as Gu Erin resumed his refinement, with each minute the qi pulsed and contracted around Gu Erin like a beating heart as he kept drawing qi in, while pushing impurities out. Under that layer of thick impurities that had dried and hardened into a cocoon. Gu Erin's body changed.

His skin became rock hard while not a single blemish was visible. His muscles became more toned and prominent, his bones were far denser and sturdier. Gu Erin's blood flowed through him with such vitality that it moved enough qi around his body to be considered another form of qi circulation. His very nerves fired fast enough that he would even notice a slight change in air pressure. Gu Erin's mind… was mostly unchanged.

This did not mean it was improved; however, it was a field in which the human race was known for. While other races may specialize in their body refinement or their qi manipulation, the human race specialized in mental capacity and comprehension. Although this meant that most of their race was mediocre at best, it also meant that a key few of the human race had the potential to soar higher than any other.

Of course, the human race was not alone in this specialization, but they were the most prominent, from what Gu Erin gathered in his last life.

Gu Erin finally reached the Peak of the Blood Transformation Realm, if anyone was told in his past life that reaching the peak of this Realm in one go was possible they would have laughed in your face. However, Gu Erin had done it. He still had to breakthrough which required a tremendous amount of qi, but Gu Erin saved his breakthrough till they at least reached the outskirts of the mountain that held the Earth Grade Spirit Vein.

Most of all he stopped because the necessary amount of qi to push out the last stage's impurities was insufficient, the qi in the area was noticeably thinner than the morning due to how much Gu Erin had soaked up. The last and most prominent reason why Gu Erin stopped was that he could tell he had been cultivating for too long. He did not want to limit his last bit of time before the beast tide started.

When Gu Erin opened his eyes he was confused, no he had tried to open his eyes, but something was stopping him. In fact, he couldn't move his body at all. Gu Erin was at first startled, before he jerked reflexively. He felt the cage holding him shift slightly, and only then a bit of understanding dawned in his mind.

With a push of his muscles the hardened cocoon of impurities around him cracked once again releasing the pungent odor. Gu Erin internally cringed at the shouts of disgust and mild panic that spread like lightning. Without any further prompting, Gu Erin jumped into the stream. He didn't even bother trying to salvage the robe, as it resembled sludge more than fabric.

Gu Erin did his best to scrub off all of the gunk that were impurities, he was disgusted that this amount was within his body. Standing up he noticed that the area was very much cleared of all inhabitants as they were al on the far side of the camp. He noticed it was nightfall, and the hunting party had obviously been successful as he saw more than one beast roasting on a fire.

Hopefully they had collected more beast cores, as Gu Erin's final preparation required more than a dozen of them. Even if they were the lowest grade they would still be useful. The others of the camp eyed him with dissatisfaction. He understood how they felt, he had caught a whiff of what was held in under that hardened layer of impurities, and he had to say, it made death smell pleasant.

Gu Erin instead of leaving the stream immediately sent out his jade token to Kei Jiahao. 'Could I get a robe?'

Gu Erin could see the man slightly jump as he watched his jade token reach him, Kei Jiahao didn't wait long as he arranged a robe for him. Thankfully expelling impurities wasn't common in the higher realms unless you consumed too many powders, elixirs, or pills. If one didn't get rid of the built-up impurities they might block your pathways and cause major problems with your cultivation.

In some rare cases Gu Erin had heard of impurities being ignited in one's pathways after an immense build up. That person had become a cripple that couldn't recover their cultivation no matter how hard they tried.

With some time, the campsite calmed down after the huge outburst, and more than one person had to do a double take at Gu Erin once he left the stream. He was no longer the frail young man from before. Instead, he looked like someone who had been dedicated to training their body for all their life. Some might say that he had cheated his way to such a physique through cultivation. However, if they knew how much pain it took to get there they would simply nod.

There is a price to pay for progress, pain and suffering was the common currency to such things. Many had started to feel slight hesitation from the pain of cultivation. However, now that they saw the handsome young man before them who could have easily been a model or celebrity on Earth. They found a new motivation. Especially the women of the group. Who didn't wan to look young and beautiful?

***

In A Place Where Time And Space Had No Control Over –

Chaos smiled, the heavens finally agreeing to the price it would take to get his inheritor's new tutor into Heaven's Mercy. Although he would suffer limitations, he wouldn't mind them. Such a small realm, although eternal was not competitive enough to interest him. However, it was the best equivalent to a retirement one could get. The only way for a native or immigrant cultivator to truly die in Heaven's Mercy was to be killed by a newly inducted after all.

And how could a God Monarch die to ants while he could quite literally kill all life within Heaven's Mercy with a mere thought.

***

In A Different Camp Outside Haymire –

"How many have we gathered today?" A young man asked his subordinate.

The subordinate looked over the papers, an expensive commodity, yet something he could afford with so many people serving him.

The man double checked, "another hundred, give or take a few, but unrest has been rising due to the lack of food. And half the water supply has been polluted due to that other camp."

The youth kept back the snarl that wanted to form on his face. That camp had been nothing but a thorn in his side. Thankfully they had been growing their numbers in preparation to force them out.

"Have you figured out how many people That woman has?' he asked, the youth was not sure which camp he hated more. The one that was poisoning one of the streams that ran near his camp. Or the camp with that stupid officer who was his main competitor.

"They've grown their numbers, the number is higher than ours, and it seems they've already started putting up walls." His subordinate answered, taking a step back. The last subordinate who reported to the young master had been beaten black and blue when he delivered bad news.

The youth gritted his teeth. "tomorrow, get our men ready for tomorrow, we'll attack them before they finish they're walls. We'll clean up that other camp afterwards." The young master growled.

He, Ty Langshan would not allow anyone to stand higher than him.