The Sunfire Pagoda was the training location of choice for the majority of the Sect. Besides special resources and pills, it was definitely the fastest way to improve. The Sunfire Pagoda had ninety-nine floors, which were divided into eleven different types of training. For each of the eleven types of training there were nine floors, each one increasing in intensity to roughly correspond with a Cultivators rank. The first levels of each were suitable for a normal person, the second levels for a rank 1 Cultivator and so on. Sage had heard that the Sect Leader was currently rank 7, which meant that the last eleven floors of the Sunfire Pagoda probably haven’t been used in quite a long time.

The first and second type of training were heat and cold tempering. These floors were either hot, or cold and suitable for body strengthening. Next was tempests of wind, meant to train balance and agility as the Cultivator attempted to keep their balance and maneuver in the harsh conditions. The fourth and fifth floors were more body tempering, but far fiercer than the first and second. The fourth floor was filled with random lightning strikes, while the fifth had a greater than normal gravity. The sixth was a perilous mountain climb, to train grip strength and mental state. The next was a huge lake, which could be used to train the lungs and to withstand the pressure of the depths. The eighth floor was the ‘Sky of Blades’, a multitude of metal blades flew about randomly, obstacles to train dodging ability and reaction times. The ninth floor had self-repairing puppets, one of the most popular floors, a place to practice techniques and get battle experience. The tenth floor was the most unusual, as it was merely an intense pressure. Not physical, but a pressure upon the mind and spirit. It could help train spirit sense or improve spirit power.

The eleventh floor, and the last of the eleven types of training, was where Sage spent most of his time. Just as the tenth floor was a place to train the mind and spirit, the eleventh was a place to train Qi. While on this floor, a Cultivator would feel as if their dantian had sprung a leak. Qi was constantly drained from all those on the floor. The usual training consisted of cycling the Qi Cultivation technique, attempting to resist the draining of their own energy. It was essentially a resistance training for Qi Cultivation. Sage wasn’t just here to train, his true purpose was testing. It was hard to measure the meager increases in cultivation in normal situations. On the other hand, with the great draining force it was much easier to track the decrease of the energy he already had.

Sage was using the eleventh training type to test his ideas on the source of spiritual roots. He would track his rate of decrease while resisting the draining aura, then try his newest idea and compare the new rate of decrease. It was far from being a smooth process, but Sage wasn’t one to give up easily. At the same time, he was also able to use the time for his training. With the returns from the business he was able to afford a few hours a week in the Sunfire Pagoda and he made the best use of them.

With the help of the Sunfire Pagoda, Sage advanced far more rapidly than in the past. He’d advanced through almost four full stages in the last few years and here he was finally at the peak of rank 3.

Hah. Level 40. Never thought I’d make it here.

He’d already finished testing his latest idea, a certain type of spirit plant had been ground into powder and spread along different parts of his body. He was testing whether the spiritual roots were related to one body part or another so he alternated between boosting and suppressing different zones with various materials. With the test already complete he was now just standing as still as a statue with his aura extended to the maximum. Fighting the constant drain of his energy by circulating Connecting Heaven and Earth at its maximum speed.

Rank 4. Foundation Building. The second major hurdle in the life of a Cultivator. The first was taking the first step through the door and sensing the energy of the heaven and earth to first become a Cultivator. After that, the first three ranks were all about the accumulation and transformation of energy. This second barrier was a fundamental change that had to be dealt with. Instead of merely compressing, refining, and building more energy, the fourth rank was a milestone transformation.

Rank 5 was famously known as Core Building, the time when the Cultivator forms a ‘golden core’ within their dantian and the soul moves from the mind and into the core. Formation Building was about creating a solid and perfect base to form the core with. There was easily hundreds of different methods that the foundation, and the core, could be formed. Each method had its own pros and cons, along with leading to dozens of different types of cores. The so-called ‘golden core’ is actually just the most orthodox of cores that could be formed. The most common and most accepted end result. Since even the ‘golden core’ had dozens of methods of forming it, it was no wonder there was no singular and set route for Foundation Building.

At the very peak of rank 3, Sage had to start the process of laying a foundation for the the inner core at which point his cultivation would rise to the next rank. Connecting Heaven and Earth, like most Qi Cultivation Techniques, detailed its own unique method of building a foundation. Sage had also learned from the many books in the Timeless Master’s library that this was also one of the most important steps for a Cultivator. It was said a strong and stable foundation paved the way for future growth, while a weak foundation would stunt growth and limit future achievement. Of course, this usually was in reference to solid and genuine training without taking shortcuts, but in this case it was also literal.

Sage followed the prescribed pathways, circulating Qi through his body, one revolution after another. The speed continued to build, at which point Sage was surprised to find that things were progressing without his further help. His body seeming to rebel against the draining force of the room and joining forces with his aura. Sage’s aura had already been morphed into the shape of a tree’s crown and roots, helping him to resist the pull of the training level. The power flowed in from above and below, his aura acting as an extension of the internal pathways in his body. Connecting Heaven and Earth was many times faster than every other cultivation technique Sage had ever seen. By integrating an aura technique into his meridians he was able to forcibly draw upon far more energy than he should have.

It wasn’t without its weaknesses, utilizing aura as it did, there was certainly methods to attack the aura of another person. At the same time, it merely meant that he had to be more careful when restoring his energy while in combat. It wasn’t much of a drawback when compared to how much faster he could collect power. That said, it provided much less of an advantage after the fourth rank since that was when energy accumulation was only a side concern. Sage had to concentrate, pushing all these side concerns to the side and focusing all of his attention at the energy circulating within his body. As it was drawn in, he cycled it through his meridians, transforming it to match the huge sea of energy within his dantian.

Within the spiritual sea, there was storms and clouds, dark waters and light, all reflecting his state of mind and emotions. Contrary to that, within his dantian was a massive sea of calm green liquid energy. In the center of the sea was a giant waterfall, the newly refined energy joining the huge sea already within him. The next step was the most important, and the barrier that separated him from the next rank. He had to transform the sea of energy into a foundation for his future golden core. According to Connecting Heaven and Earth he had to coalesce a seed of energy and get it to sprout. The roots would extend down into his spiritual sea and grow into a sapling. Once it reached that point he would have officially stepped into the fourth rank. As he advanced through rank four the tree would grow larger until it finally grew a single fruit, that fruit would then be the basis of his future golden core.

With enough energy gathered, he started the slow process of transforming it into a small seed. The formation of the seed included countless tiny symbols, many of which Sage recognized as array symbols and many more that were completely foreign to him. Whoever invented this cultivation technique was certainly far beyond his understanding. Very slowly the tiny seed began to take shape, layer after layer of it formed from thousands of tiny interlocking symbols. The final layer finally took shape, completing an intricate whole and starting to rapidly draw in energy of its own volition. The sea of energy in his dantian was rapidly being absorbed, shrinking at a visible rate to feed the appetite of the tiny seed. It took on a life of its own, absorbing huge amounts of energy without any further impetus on his part.

Suddenly, Sage felt something unusual. He felt his spiritual sea tremor and nearly interrupt his concentration. Before he could investigate what was going on, he felt something familiar yet unusual charging through his body.

What’s going on!?