Chapter 491: Sixth Layer

Stella stood at the mouth of a cave filled with celestial fog, with a confused Diana standing beside her. Ash had told her to come here with Diana, saying he had a surprise to show them.

"Is that the Mystic Realm?" Diana questioned.

Stella slowly nodded. "Yeah, I think so? But wasn't it closed for another week or so?"

A chuckle reverberated through their minds as Anubis rose from the shadows before them. His eyes were golden flames, signifying he was acting as Ash's mouthpiece.

"What you two are looking at is the Eternal Realm," Ash informed them through the shadow lich as he gestured at the fog.

"Eternal Realm?" Stella said, tilting her head in confusion. Why was Ash being so mysterious? Couldn't he just tell them? As if sensing her growing frustration, he began to explain.

"After devouring so many corpses, I managed to improve the Mystic Realm. As the name suggests, it's now eternal, meaning it's always open and never disappears. Furthermore, the time dilation inside has increased significantly so long as there aren't too many people inside."

"What do you mean by too many people inside?"

"If only one person were to go inside, a month would equal 900 days."

Stella's eyes widened. "What?! 900 days? That's almost three whole years!" She exchanged a glance with Diana. "What if there are two of us inside?"

"It reduces by half, so a month out here would equal 450 days in there."

"That's still insane," Diana muttered. "I already thought the Mystic Realm was a ridiculous boon for our sect, but this is something else." She then paused, contemplating something. "Hold on, you said the time dilation halves each time. While this is amazing for boosting one or two people at a time, doesn't it hinder the rest of the sect's development?"

"A concern I initially shared as well," Ash agreed. "However, the reduction stops at thirty people being inside, meaning one day outside is one day inside. It doesn't decrease below that, meaning we could theoretically put thousands of people in there. There would just be no time dilation."

"Oh, that's not too bad," Diana nodded approvingly. "We could dedicate a month or two a year to powering up the weaker members of the sect. Wait, since it's always open, how does leaving work now?"

"I can manually pull people out myself, or you could eat a Mystic Realm Warp fruit to leave anytime. Mhm, I like the sound of your suggestion to dedicate a month to supporting the weaker members. I was worried that the Qi and dao insights I'll gain from it might be lower than sending in elites... but if I were to send in thousands, it might equal more."

"Qi and daos?" Stella asked, confused about what Ash was talking about.

The shadow lich glanced at her. "Yeah, another advantage of the Eternal Realm is that a small amount of the Qi and dao insights cultivators gain inside is mirrored to me."

Stella shook her head. "That's just unfair. You get the benefits of cultivating without doing anything."

"Quite fitting, isn't it?" Ash replied with a hint of smugness in his tone.

"I suppose it is," Stella said with a sigh. It really was a fitting way to cultivate for a slothful demonic tree. "So, did you bring us here to brag about the Eternal Realm?"

"Yes and no. As the two founding members of the sect and both being so close to ascending to the Nascent Soul Realm, I wanted you two to be the first to go inside."

Stella smiled, feeling warm inside at Ash's words. However, that happy feeling faded as she glanced at the Eternal Realm. "Errr, I don't want to go in there for over a year, though."

The shadow lich's golden flame eyes flashed with contemplation. "Why not a year? It's only a month out here."

Stella crossed her arms and paused for a moment as she organized her thoughts. "I've... ignored the time dilation until now, as the Mystic Realm used to only skip three weeks of real-world time, but the Eternal Realm is on another level. While it's only a month for you, if I'm in there for over four hundred days, you'll miss my birthday. That's not all. When I think about how much I've changed in the last year, I dare to imagine how much I'd change if I were in there all alone for over a year."

"Those are valid concerns," Ash said, the shadow lich rubbing his chin. He glanced between the Eternal Realm and Stella a few times before posing a question. "But I thought cultivators often spent decades alone in closed-door cultivation. How is this different?"

Diana was the one to answer. "No, most cultivators rarely spend that long in closed-door cultivation. What you're thinking of are sect Elders or Patriarchs who lock themselves away to cultivate because they have no other choice if they want to maintain their position, get stronger, or chase immortality. Over the years, they temper their patience, so spending a decade in a cave doesn't become as daunting."

"Huh. I never thought of that. In my opinion, all cultivators would eagerly seize the opportunity to cultivate for extended periods if it benefited them. But I suppose I wouldn't want to go in there and cultivate for that long, so why would either of you two?"

Stella nodded, glad Ash was getting their point of view. "Yeah, I'm not even two decades old yet. While my cultivation is way higher than someone my age should possess, I'm not patient enough to spend over a year alone with nothing to do but cultivate," Stella said, airing out her true thoughts, and then felt the need to apologize as she didn't want to come across as ungrateful or a brat. "I'm sorry. I feel like I'm turning down such a great gift from you—"

"No need to apologize, Stella. I fully understand your perspective." The shadow lich glanced at Diana, "Do you have the same thoughts?"

Diana nodded. "Similar. I think I could stay in there for half a year at most before I start to lose it. For me, it helps to know the world won't have moved on too much while I was gone. But like Stella, my patience hasn't been tempered over decades like Grand Elder Redclaw, for example. I'm sure he would happily spend years in the Eternal Realm if it meant he could reach the Monarch Realm."

"Hah, I bet he would love it. Ryker too. That kid loves cultivating," Stella said.

Diana's eyes widened. "Phew, I dare to imagine. Ryker is already a monster for his age... what would happen if he were left alone in there?"

"He would become a mighty pillar of the sect. I think that should be our goal moving forward—to raise up the pillars of the Ashfallen Sect via the Eternal Realm. With our eyes set on freeing the World Tree and contending with the Celestial Empire, what we need is a powerful group to contend with their Enforcers and Council members, starting with you two. I'm not asking you to go in there for years, but at least until you reach the Nascent Soul Realm. Is that acceptable?"

Stella nodded. "I'll stay in there for as long as I can or until you want someone to take my spot. Others in the sect should benefit from this too."

"How gracious of you," the shadow lich laughed. "Or are you secretly hoping I pull you out early?"

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Stella pouted and said nothing. I want to be more useful to Ash and the sect by getting stronger, but why does that mean I have to spend so long away from Ash and the others? I spent a year in the wilderness as a child, and I also spent years feeling abandoned. The last thing I want is to experience that loneliness again.

She just didn't want to say that out loud—the actual reason she couldn't spend so long in the Eternal Realm by herself was her inability to deal with loneliness.

"Come on, Stella. The less time we spend standing out here, the faster we can return," Diana said, taking the lead. The shadow lich stepped aside, gesturing for them to go inside.

Stella checked that she had her spatial rings on her, took a deep breath to calm herself, and strode forward. It's for power, this isn't a prison—okay, it feels a bit like I'm walking myself into a prison, but with benefits! Stay positive... The coldness of entering the celestial fog of the Eternal Realm washed over her, and she felt Diana vanish from her spatial senses.

She was alone.

"I hate this already," she muttered. It didn't help that her previous trips to the Mystic Realm rarely went smoothly. Crossing her arms, she glanced around at the shards floating by. None were really calling out to her.

I remember that the last time I visited, there were very few pocket realms emitting aether Qi. It's a rare affinity, after all. She randomly looked up, and her eyes widened. The fog seemed to expand upwards, which hadn't been the case before.

"Um," she said, looking around and remembering that Diana was gone. "Is this normal?" she asked the fog, but received no reply, as expected.

Glancing upwards again, she could vaguely sense a stack of rings that seemed to cut through the fog, as if acting as separators. Counting them, she noted there were nine.

"Nine rings, nine layers... are they representing the nine layers of creation?" Stella muttered, looking down to see if she could see hell. However, as with the Mystic Realm, the floor was gone, and she was standing there weightlessly. By simply willing it, she could float upwards through the celestial fog.

Pocket realm shards harmlessly passed her by as she rose. After passing the first separator, she felt a little pressure weighing down on her shoulders.

"I wonder how high I can go?" Stella mused as she kept rising. The pressure seemed to increase almost tenfold with each separator she passed, finally preventing her ascent past the sixth one. While gritting her teeth and straining due to the pressure, it felt like trying to move around under a ton of sand as she looked around.

"These must be pocket realms belonging to the Monarchs of the sixth layer of creation. Wait, I found one!" she said excitedly and began very slowly drifting over to a pocket realm emitting aether Qi. Peering into it, all she saw was a chaotic spatial storm. Not the best option she had seen, but she was curious how a pocket realm belonging to someone from the sixth layer would differ.

But first, precautions.

Bringing out a Mystic Realmwarp and a Void Protection fruit, she prepared herself for a possibly unpleasant experience. Of course, she only dared to reach out and grab the shard after eating the Void Protection fruit. The moment her fingers wrapped around the shard, she was pulled into the pocket realm.

Bracing for the spatial storm, she was confused when she heard voices and smelled... food? Opening her eyes, she found herself standing on the side of a street. Huh? All around her, people in oversized cloaks that seemed to float with them as they moved went about their daily lives. Did I grab the wrong one? No, wait. Overhead, like a dome, she could see the spatial storm she had gotten a glimpse of through the shard. This really was the right pocket realm, so where was the aether Qi?

"Is this a city?" she said, looking around in confusion like a lost child. Her gaze landed on silver rivers snaking through the sky with what appeared to be barges traveling down them. It was a baffling spectacle that she was enjoying until the air was suddenly punched out of her lungs, and her body spun as someone barged past so quickly that their form seemed to blur as they moved.

"Don't just stand there!" the cultivator, wreathed in spatial Qi, shouted over their shoulder at her with an annoyed expression. "Have some awareness!" they added, before blinking into the distance.

What the fuck? Stella stumbled backwards, wheezing. That hit hadn't been something trivial. She was a peak Star Core Realm cultivator, so for a knock like that to leave her winded, that man must have been in the Nascent Soul Realm or perhaps even a Monarch. That's when she noticed that it had consumed her void shield and still almost broke her ribs.

I bet they were above the Monarch Realm then. That realization terrified her. There were only a few known Monarch Realm existences on her layer of creation, yet that had seemed like a random passerby.

"What is this place?" she hissed, nursing her bruised stomach and retreating from the sidewalk. That's when she saw out of the corner of her eye another blurred person barreling towards her. She tried to get out of the way, but they struck her square on before she could even attempt to aether step out of the way. The impact was brutal. The two of them were sent flying and landed in a crumbled mess against what Stella assumed was a shop entrance, leaving a massive crack in the wall.

Her head was spinning as a blurry figure came into view, standing over her.

"Are you the drop point?"

"I'm sorry—" she began to apologize, but then grew confused. "Drop point?" Her vision cleared as she blinked. A man with wiry black hair and sharp eyes squinted at her. Like everyone else, he wore a robe that was many sizes too big, obscuring everything except his head.

"You're a mortal? I didn't know there were any around here." His face got closer as he leaned in and analyzed her. "Wait, if you are a mortal, how are you alive after that hit?"

Stella tilted her head but then remembered she was wearing her Phantom Veil Amulet, which disguised her as a mortal.

"I'm not a mortal," she said cautiously and manifested some aether Qi soul flames. "I can use aether Qi."

That had apparently been a mistake. Whether it was admitting she wasn't a mortal or showing off her aether Qi, the man's reaction was far more than she had expected. He went from suspicious to eyes wide and mouth slack, as if he were staring at a mystical creature.

"You're one of the white flames," he said in total disbelief.

"Um..." Stella trailed off, not wanting to admit she had no idea what that meant. This was all very confusing, and she just wanted to get her bearings. Unfortunately, life had other plans. The doorway to the shop they had just crashed into swung open, and an enraged shopkeeper emerged. Dark purple spatial flames roared to life across his oversized cloak, making it flutter around him angrily.

The black-haired man grabbed her wrist and pulled her up. "We've got to go."

That much Stella could figure, but to where? She turned to ask him that question, only to find him gone. She was standing there alone on the street, facing the shopkeeper.

"Was this you?!" he roared, pointing to the crack.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Stella said flatly, giving him a blank stare. Sadly, feigning innocence wasn't going to fly.

The shopkeeper snorted. "Likely story. You can tell it to the Tessellate Council."

Stella had no idea who the hell the Tessellate Council was, but she didn't want to find out. Not wanting to show another person her apparently amazing white flames, she simply began running down the street with all her might. The shopkeeper caught up to her in a flash. It was utterly bizarre, feeling so mundane with her peak Star Core Realm cultivation. The man was about to tackle her to the ground when a blur appeared from an alley and grabbed her.

It was the black haired man from before. He dragged her into the alley, and they kept running. No matter what Stella did, he seemed to blur at her side and move faster. He pulled back and stared at her.

"Why aren't you using the distance glyphs to speed yourself up?"

"I have no idea what that is," Stella said. Tired of being confused and hoping for more answers, she admitted, "I'm not from here."

He came to an abrupt stop.

"What did you just say?"

Stella paused a few steps ahead, looking back at him and ready for a fight. "I said, I'm not from here."

The man shook his head. "That's not possible—this place is a spatial prison built by the Tessellate family. Nobody gets in and out."

Stella shrugged. "Well, I arrived here a minute ago. So either you bring me up to speed," her spatial ring flashed, and her sword manifested in her hand, "or I'm going to kill you for knowing too much about me already."

Just to let him know she was serious, she unleashed her killing intent, and his face paled.

Despite it not going her way so far, this place seemed perfect. While chaotic, she would prefer exploring a city filled with people than being trapped for a year, alone in some distorted dimension or spatial storm.

The problem was, she clearly needed a guide. If nobody came in and out of this prison as the man claimed, then they wouldn't exactly be open to outsiders, and Stella really didn't want a repeat of the Azure clan incident if she could avoid it.

But if people had to die, she wasn't one to hold back.

The man gathered himself after the hint of her bloodlust, smiled, and held out his hand. "The name's Kael. Member of the Rift Born and a part-time courier."

She took the offered hand and shook it, glad that blood didn't have to be spilled.

"Stella," she smiled, offering no other information. However, she grew worried as she saw a shadow quickly gaining on them down the alley. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Kael. But shouldn't we be running?"

Kael looked over his shoulder and clicked his tongue. "This is going to be annoying."

The storekeeper had yet to give up.

"Should we kill him?" Stella whispered, shrouding her voice in Qi.

Kael looked at her strangely. "Is that your solution to every problem?"

Stella thought for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, pretty much."

"Well, that's not going to fly here. Remember what I said? This place is a prison. If you dare to kill people, it means you don't fear the Tessellate Council."

Stella sighed and sheathed her weapon. "Fine, I'll deal with this another way. If violence won't work, then fear will have to do."

"What do you mean?"

"Just watch," Stella said, smiling as she activated her earrings and her eyes turned into swirling abysses.