Ch 22 – Newfound Knowledge

A few days later.

…

Inside a dark room, a sliver of sunlight barely illuminated its darkness. From that one single ray of light, one can see books and notes littered everywhere in a chaotic mess, with random scribblings written everywhere on pieces of paper.

On the fluffy white bed, Kaleido, with heterochromatic eyes and black and white hair, can be seen sitting with a pile of notes laid out in front of him. His eyes seem to be tired and exhausted as if he hadn't slept for a few days straight.

Letting out a yawn, Kaleido looks at the sliver of sunlight peeking from the window and said, "It's already morning?"

Confirming the time using his own senses that allow him to accurately guess the time, he stretches his arms around and plops down to his bed, his head resting on a pillow. Feeling his tired back relax upon making contact with the bed, he rubs his baggy eyes and fell into deep thought.

'There really is so much mystery regarding the path of Gu Cultivation.' Kaleido pressed on his temples, thinking further, 'From the Great Dao to refining Gu, Gu recipes, food, combining and reverse refining, there is so much to master and learn.'

Kaleido lets out a fatigued sigh, he continued, 'From what I gathered, I should be at either quasi-Master or Master in space path. This really is a shocking find, especially when I consider that this is perhaps due to the fact that I constantly see that "image" in my sleep and cultivation sessions. Does this mean that this "image" holds the profundities of space path, allowing me to unveil its mysteries directly and gain a higher attainment at a rapid rate?'

'Of course, my rapid speed can also be attributed to another shocking discovery.' Kaleido stretched his hand out, staring at his snow-white skin clad in black and white markings.

'To think that not only do I possibly have an extreme physique, but I have two of them!' Kaleido waved his hand, and a certain book landed in his hands.

Opening it, he flipped to a certain section and read it swiftly, "Ancient Desolate Moon and Cosmic Great Evolution, two of Ren Zu's children, and names of two different extreme physiques. People with the Ancient Desolate Moon physique are extremely talented in time path, while Cosmic Great Evolution extreme physique holders are extremely talented in space path."

Reading the passages of text, Kaleido paused and stared at his own body, feeling doubt and confusion, 'In the Legends of Ren Zu, Ancient Desolate Moon and Cosmic Great Evolution were two of Ren Zu's children, and all of humanity was derived from him and his children, allowing certain people to become an extreme physique holder. But…'

'But I didn't originate from Ren Zu, my body originated from another universe! So how come I potentially have not just one, but two different extreme physiques?!' Kaleido felt befuddled by this question and was stumped, unable to understand how this was even possible.

'Even if we ignore that, it said that a human can only have one extreme physique, but I have two! Does this attribute to my tremendous primeval essence regeneration rate? Having 100% aptitude does mean I have high primeval essence production, but from what I gathered, it shouldn't be this fast, even with Ancient Desolate Moon physique.' Kaleido rubbed his aching head and sighed.

Kaleido halted his thoughts, before his gaze then sharpened, 'But this is too much of a coincidence, Ancient Desolate Moon and Cosmic Great Evolution? Why were those two extreme physiques the ones I theoretically, no, the ones I do have? Space and Time, is this a mere coincidence, or is it the interference of a higher being?'

'Is the reason why I am here connected to my absurdly strong space path Gu? Is it connected to the sudden change in my body and the markings that appeared out of nowhere? Is it related to that strange "vision" that I constantly see in my dreams and while cultivating?' Kaleido felt that he was taking a step closer to the truth, but it was still clouded and hidden behind a vast sea of darkness.

But even if he was still far away from the truth, he was still happy to be a step closer to reaching his goal. No matter how small that step may be, progress was still progress.

'Slow and steady, I just need to be patient and I'll eventually achieve my goal as long as I work smart and hard.' Kaleido clenched his fist and felt hopeful after a long bout of darkness.

'Finally, I gained more info about my current information. With my Ancient Desolate Moon physique, it means that I am extremely talented in time path, this means that my worry about not being able to master time path is partially solved as I have enough talent for it. Though this does pose the question of which path should be my main path from now on?' Kaleido stared at another book that talked about Gu Master cultivation.

'Sigh, I don't have enough resources to even embark on time path for now, so I'll pick space path as my main path while time would be my side path, though this can easily change depending on what would happen in the future. If I were to gain the inheritance of an immortal in one of those paths…' Kaleido paused, continuing after a short while, 'Then that would most likely determine what path would become my main henceforth.'

Kaleido slowly stood up and felt his bones and body creak from sitting for too long. Grabbing his towel, he walked toward his shower and took off his white robe, dropped it down onto the ground lazily, and entered the shower.

'There is still one big mystery that I haven't solved, and that is the markings on my body. Not one single book talked about the markings on my body that amplifies the strength of my space path Gu. Something as mystical as this should definitely be far from simple.' Kaleido felt the droplets of water hit his face, and the fatigue and exhaustion seem to drip away just like the water.

As his mind felt refreshed by the cooling sensation of the water cleaning away the dirt on his body, he continued with a clearer mind, 'But it is strange that the markings on my body affect Gu. If Gu are traces of the Great Dao, does this mean that the markings can theoretically affect "dao"? This would explain my ability to enter space cave as it entails that I am controlling the dao of space to let me enter space cave.'

'Though reading Legends of Ren Zu gave me the true identity of Space Cave. With my access to Space Door, I can theoretically go anywhere in this world as long as I have enough information. Maybe in the future, I would be able to go to other Secluded Domains of Heaven and Earth through Space Door. Perhaps I'll be able to even enter the Door of Life and Death and find Dang Hun Mountain, Luo Po Valley, and Bewitching Lake to train my soul.' Kaleido's thoughts turned wild and were only able to calm them down after a long while.

While his newfound understanding gave birth to vaster darkness, it also shone new light on his situation, especially on his advantages and talents that he could take advantage of. Now that he knows more of the secrets of Space Cave, he knew that his survivability rose to an unprecedented scale.

No one else in the world of Gu has ever entered Space Cave and opened Space Door, meaning in theory, he can just hide forever in Space Cave. But that plan was set for failure with the existence of those unknown existences living within Space Cave.

Fortunately, Space Door still gave Kaleido the ability to teleport anywhere he want in split seconds, from one continent to another without breaking a drop of sweat in the process. In terms of escaping abilities, he was a great expert capable of escaping any danger as long as he can open Space Door and teleport away from danger.

This means that as long as he was fast enough, he can teleport at a moment's notice thousands of kilometers away. Coupled with his tremendous thinking speed to the point that time seems to have stopped, then his safety was more than assured already.

'Phew, perhaps even if I were to face Grand Qi Ancestor, the greatest qi path expert in all of human history, I would be able to escape from him! There should be nothing in this world capable of stopping the omnipresent Space Door.' Kaleido smiled in slight joy from this newfound discovery and walked out of the shower, putting on a new pair of clothes in the process.

Walking towards the entrance of his room, he walks briskly down the stairs and arrives on the first floor of the room. There, he turned and arrived at the gym of the hotel he was in and walked in as usual.

'If my attainment in space path is master, then this would really make me a monster among geniuses! In just a month, I went from having zero attainment to a master! Only someone who has undergone years or decades to train a single path would reach master attainment! Ha! I wonder what would happen now that my space path is akin to "art" just like what the book said.' Kaleido chuckled while resting and continued his intense workout session.

After two hours, he walks out of the gym and grabbed breakfast along the way. Returning to his room with bread stuff in his mouth, he enters his bathroom once more to shower away his sweat.

Like clockwork, he walks out of the bathroom and put on his white robe, returns to his bed, pushes away the messy notes and books into a corner, and sits in a lotus position. There, Kaleido takes a deep breath and felt the air fill his stomach and lungs, and as he exhaled, a relaxing sensation spread throughout his body.

Inhale, exhale. The only sound Kaleido could hear at the moment was his soft breathing. His chest and belly heaved up and down from each breath, intensifying Kaleido's relaxation and clearing his mind from any distractions.

Inhale, exhale. He continued without pause. As the whole room descended into complete silence, Kaleido loudly exhaled turbid air and his aura surged, causing gusts to scatter his notes down the bed and onto the ground.

'In the world of Gu, Rank 1 is the very start of a Gu Master's journey in cultivation. Rank 2 is the equivalent of being an adult in Gu Master cultivation. Rank 3 are the elders of clans, with enough strength to roam the Central Continent unhindered. Rank 4 are strong enough to establish their own clans, and are just a realm below the peak of the mortal realm. Rank 5 Gu Masters are the very peak of the mortal realm, and have strength capable of curb-stomping Rank 4 Gu Masters.' Kaleido recalled in clear detail.

'While I am far from reaching the peak of the mortal realm, I am instead capable of advancing to Rank 2!' Kaleido shouted in his mind and controlled his primeval essence.

Like a surging storm, the primeval essence inside his aperture rose like a raging river to charge and attack his aperture walls. With his immense primeval essence production rate, he can endlessly attack his primeval aperture walls and replenish it at a faster rate, meaning he has endless primeval essence to use and destroy his aperture walls!

'For a Gu Master to advance to another rank, they have to destroy their aperture walls! With my nigh-endless primeval essence, it is only an inevitability before my aperture walls break down!' Kaleido continuously attack his aperture walls, and quickly, cracks and fissures appeared in rapid succession.

Finally, at the final juncture, an illusory sound of glass breaking appeared in his ears, and the aperture walls broke down.

AN: This chapter has 2025 words.

It should be obvious what those markings are if you read far enough into Reverend Insanity, it should also make you realize how absurdly overpowered Kaleido is with those markings.

And also, it should be pretty clear as to who Grand Qi Ancestor is. The founder of Qi Path, the greatest human Rank 8 immortal in qi path, and bla bla bla.

I told you, I'm gonna repaint this entire world's canvas and shine infinite possibilities into it.

If you like the story, be sure to save it to library, give power stones, and comment your thoughts.

(January 7, 2023 – 408th day of writing)