Inside the boundless expanse of colorful space, Zhou Zaizhi stood upon the floor of his internal sanctuary made of dark wood and green jade. He stepped outside the palace door and felt a wet sensation on his feet.
It was the Niwan Palace.
Right at this moment, Zhou Zaizhi had made contact with his see of consciousness for the first time.
He used his omnipotent spiritual sense, a combination of all his five senses into something new entirely, to scan above and below.
The space below was unfathomably deep. On the surface it was a clear blue sea, but if one dived deeper down, one would find it utterly dark without any light in there.
Above him, the black Sun loomed, hanging over his head like a scene of apocalypse day.
It was abnormal. A celestial anomaly that defied every law of physics he had ever seen or heard on Earth.
It was a perfect sphere of absolute darkness. Yet it pulsed with the heat of life, just like a beating heart. Zhou Zaizhi did not feel the hot feeling of burning, but the warmth of fire in the snow.
'According to the laws of optics, I shouldn't be able to see this,' Zhou Zaizhi thought, his analytical mind automatically running a diagnostic. 'If it was really a black Sun, then how could give off light? It should be the opposite. Yet here I am, seeing it with my own eyes. Spiritual sense, which is the evolution of all five senses could not detect it, but my eyes can? What is the logic behind it?.'
In the dream, that mysterious figure had handed it to him as if it were a common toy.
But here, in the waking reality of his soul, it felt like an unexploded nuclear warhead.
Zhou Zaizhi probed with all the methods he could think of. Whether it be scanning with spiritual senses, talking with it, or even sending a gigantic tidal wave that engulf the world crashing against it.
Yet, there was no reaction.
However, as he floated up and reached out with his hand, a strange sensation washed over him.
It was a "click." Like a bird coming back to its nest, like a person who has been away from home for so long only to come home and realize it was still the same lock.
'And I have the key,' he realized, his emerald eyes reflecting the void above. 'It's not foreign, merely dormant. It's… mine.'
With a surge of will, Zhou exerted his supreme authority.
Instantly refined!
Suddenly, the chaotic distortion in space stabilized. The darkness smoothed out into a polished black surface. The overwhelming pressure that had been leaking into his inner space vanished. He had regained total control.
As the Black Sun stabilized, the rest of his internal sky began to change.
Around the dark sun, six distinct points of light flared into existence. They were like distant brilliant stars, each vibrating with a unique frequency.
'Six stars...' Zhou observed.
Unlike the black Sun, these stars can be controlled and commanded at will, needing merely a single thought.
Instinctively, he knew what they were: his Six Divine Abilities. In this mental space, he could see them clearly. He reached out to one, a star that shone the brightest, and felt he could weave the very atmosphere into a tapestry.
A name instantly appeared in his mind.
'Living Water Nurturing the Origin… ugh!'
Just as Zhou Zaizhi was about to look at the second star, he felt a sharp pain in his head which caused him to close his eyes and clutch his head. The pain became worse and worse, he couldn't help but let out a bone chilling scream.
Then it abruptly disappeared.
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in a dark cave.
'I'm back… What was that? Why did it hurt so much and disappear just like that?'
Zhou Zaizhi thought in puzzlement. He was about to ponder and try to meditate again when he suddenly felt a deep pang of hunger.
It was a sense of gnawing, deep hunger.
It wasn't the same usual hunger he felt when he missed lunch. It was like that time he had gone four days with nothing but water and a piece of bread for each meal for four days because his boss delayed his salary.
'But what does a dragon eat? Can I even eat normal food like regular humans? I better probe this…'
Remembering the mannerisms he, or to be more precise, the original flood dragon had acted in the first dream, Zhou Zaizhi adjusted his facial expressions and manners.
'In the dream I vowed to not be cautious and investigate more actively… But now that I've confirmed this is not a dream, I can't be reckless. Who knows if there is a next life after this one? The fact that I can live again was just pure luck.'
The flood dragon let out a sigh. It then wore its usual slight frown, saying casually as it pushed the massive door opened:
"Song'er, where is my food?"
Zhou Zaizhi's massive silver-scaled form flowed out of the cave mouth.
Standing there, bathed in the early sunlight, was the ancient, majestic form of Tian Yisong.
The great Gingko tree froze on the spot as if shocked. Then its gold-flecked leaves rustled in a rhythmic, welcoming pattern, a deep vibration of respect that felt like a bow.
"Goodmorning, Master." Said the gingko tree.
A few paces away stood Wan Zhaolu. She was as pale as the mist, her feet rooted to the spot. Her hand was nowhere near her sword; she knew better.
To a Foundation Establishment cultivator, the aura Zhou was currently emitting wasn't just strong, it was suffocating. Like drowning in a great river, the pressure she felt was several times greater than when she almost drowned in her childhood playing by the river.
"Song'er," Zhou Zaizhi's voice rumbled, deeper and more resonant than before:
"Where is my food?" He repeated.
Hearing this for a second time, Tian Yisong was actually shocked inside.
'How long has it been since master has eaten something? Had I actually seen him eat anything? After reaching Foundation Establishment, a cultivator has no need for food anymore. We could sustain ourselves with just anything, even just breathing air or eating dirt can be transformed into energy. When master took me in, he was already a mighty Golden Core cultivator…'
As he pondered more, he seemed to remember something from a long, long time ago, 'Wait! I think there were a few times that the master ate something. It was when that Lord visited… And also when he hosted his friends on the mountain. I was but a sapling then, barely knew anything…'
Thoughts ran through Tian Yisong's mind like lightning. After just a short moment, he replied:
"Forgive me master, I shall bring the food to you at once." The Tree's voice echoed through the air, peaceful and steady.
Tian Yisong broke off one small branch and sent it down the mountain to find his master some food. In truth, he could have just used his Divine abilities to pick up some small demons or human cultivators and delivered them to the flood dragon just fine.
But he felt like it was not fair to those small cultivators.
To live their life and one day got picked by him to be food for his master like a divine decree, to lose their life for no rhythm nor reasons merely because they were unlucky to be picked, was truly unjust.
'At least this way, I can compensate for them somewhat.' That was the thought he had.
After only two minutes had passed, a giant wolf was brought up the mountain by a soft green light.
Zhou Zaizhi noticed that this time the gingko branch did not come back like back when he had ordered the tree to bring him the "medicinal ingredient" which was Wan Zhaolu.
'Speaking of Wan Zhaolu, I wonder what she thinks of this situation?'
Just as he had this thought, Zhou Zaizhi heard a sound of a woman talking beside his left ear.
'I can't breathe.'
?
'Every time "He" exhales, the air around me grows heavy, it's suffocating. Is this what a Peak Golden Core is like when they are in a bad mood? Without senior Changqing's protection, just standing near him alone is slowly killing me.'
??