[Same as part 1]
Hello, dear readers! here's chapter 130 part 2! Slight warning, this chapter is relatively Lore heavy so the dialogues are a bit long. Still it gives you some more insights into the story's World background.
This week: Not much happened. I guess I can mention that the last few advance chapters have been getting longer(Around 5100-5200 words long). Also, I'm still 'only' at 12 advance chapters available, though I'll try to add another one this week.We'll see how it goes.
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Bright Star City, Bright Star Island, Flowing Stars Archipelago, Earth
Omniscient P.O.V.
Seeing their confusion, the woman explained. "Actually, every store like that is manned by at least a Peak Core Formation cultivator, and more often than not, someone at the Void Seed Rank. The shop itself is also a special Artifact. So, destroying it isn't as easy as it seems. Especially knowing that shop's backer, even if you knew that the shop's employees are 'only' peripheral members, would you dare take the risk of offending that Tier 6 Force? Most people would not. After all, the chance that someone working there is related to a true member is not zero, and injuring or killing that person would mean offending a high-level cultivator from a Tier 6 Power. And for what? Some Spirit Stones or clothing materials? Totally not worth it! At least that's what normal people think, because it did happen once. The story is a bit long, so I'll just sum it up."
Taking a deep breath, she started her tale. "A long time ago, a few Peak Void Seed cultivators from a certain Low Tier 5 Force went and killed every member working in one of the Conglomerate's shops. The thing was, the store manager at the time was actually a direct descendant of a Peak Void Sapling female cultivator who had been sent there by the latter to temper her Will to break through to the Void Seed Rank. When that female cultivator learned about the death of her descendant, she, and with a dozen others at the Late Void Sapling level, found those Peak Void Seed cultivators and crippled them before letting them watch as they exterminated everyone above the Chi Gathering Rank from the Power they came from. Once that was done, they tortured those Void Seed cultivators for an entire year before obliterating them into dust, body and soul. That was how a Low Tier 5 Force disappeared from the face of this World, all because of a few cultivators' recklessness. Well, recklessness might not be the right term since, from what I heard, those people were pretty much trash with human skin. If true, they truly deserved to be killed."
Seeing the curious looks on their faces, she added with a strange expression. "I won't go into details, because it makes me want to vomit every time I think about it, but just to give you a hint: those people were men, and every employee in that shop was incredibly beautiful. In the end, those women didn't die peacefully. You can fill in the blank yourself. That's also why that Peak Void Sapling woman wanted to make an example of that particular Force, by the way. Although a bit bloody, it's also the best way to deter those with malicious thoughts."
Listening to the older woman's tale, the Mikhailovs were both speechless and disgusted, with Demian's brow furrowing as he commented. "Seems like no matter where you go, you'll find that kind of trash. Honestly, I can't really fault that female Elder because I might have done the same thing if I were in the same situation."
Shaking his head at the idea that those horrible things could happen to the women he loved so much if his strength was insufficient, it was one more reason for him to grow his strength quickly, though he was aware that his current progress was already much faster than most, and with his Perks doing their magic, no matter if it was cultivation speed or bottleneck, none of them would be a concern for him, or the girls after bonding with him.
After having firmed his resolve even further, he decided to lighten the mood by commenting jokingly, the playful smile on his face a weapon of mass seduction, powerful enough to catch any woman's attention if not their heart. "So if I sum up: No talking to strangers with a strong background, and especially no making enemies of said strangers. Well, that sounds pretty much like business as usual, doesn't it?"
His light-hearted words immediately melted away the previously solemn atmosphere, bringing amused grins on the women's faces, with the two unbounded female Mikhailovs having their hearts skip a beat and minds slightly distracted when they saw the young man's grin.
As for Sera, she commented without showing any outward sign of 'suffering' from the charm attack. "Now that you put it that way, it's true that it doesn't change much for us. No matter if it's Void Seed, Void Sapling, or Transcending Tribulation cultivators, to us, it's all the same. At least, for now."
With a thoughtful look on her face, Ling retorted. "You're not exactly wrong. But depending on the situation, Void Seed can be manageable as long as Sergei or I are by your side. But yeah, just cultivate quietly until you break through a few ranks, and you should be fine even if you offend those people."
If it were anyone else but those four, she would not be as confident of them reaching that kind of height in cultivation.
However, she had the feeling that in not too long, those four would not only catch up to her cultivation level but even overtake her to reach heights she could only dream of reaching.
Was it her intuition or merely a hope?
She could not tell, but she did not need to, as she only needed to wait to receive that answer.
Time would clear every doubt.
In the meantime, the older woman said. "Alright, now that you've been warned, let's go in, shall we?"
With many thoughts traversing their minds, the group finally went to the clothing shop's door, admiring briefly the craftsmanship used to create it.
From a quick glance, the building seemed to be a harmonious entanglement of massive trees with the branches and leaves used as a roof, while the trunks and several massive roots entangled together to form the shop's walls, the latter being almost entirely covered by leafy vines and beautiful white flowers.
Interestingly, every time a light breeze caressed either the leaves or petals, colored particles were released, golden from the former and white from the latter, swaying in the air alongside each other in a mesmerizing dance that one could admire for hours without feeling tired of it.
However, none of the group was in the mood to spend hours watching the show outside the shop, so Ling grabbed the petal-shaped handle on the leaf-shaped wooden double door, the latter blending surprisingly well with the natural architecture, before pulling the door open and entering the building with the eight others in tow.
Once inside, the group was immediately met with an interior that seemed much bigger than the store's outside appearance would have led them to believe, though none of the four Mikhailovs were exactly surprised.
After all, at that point, having a Void-Expended building interior had pretty much become the norm for them, something that would have been impossible to imagine just a few months prior.
Truly a perfect example of how adaptable the human mind could be.
That aside, the interior did fit the exterior's forest vibe, with white lotus lanterns floating in the air in each of the clearing-like rooms visible from the entrance, their brightness similar to what one could find on a late summer afternoon when standing below a great tree.
In other words, it was a shadowy, warm light that had a relaxing effect on one's mood, making the shopping experience much more pleasant for the clients.
As for the clearings themselves, each displayed different types of clothes on wooden faceless mannequins, whether it was dresses, skirts, tops, jackets, hats, etc.
What caught Demian's attention, however, was that the parts being covered with clothes were extremely life-like, while the rest of their bodies could barely be considered humanoid-shaped, slightly similar to those stick figures Demian had been very familiar with in his previous life.
If it were just that, then it would at most be a bit strange to have a dedicated mannequin for each type of clothing.
No, what was truly interesting, or should Demian say, magical, was the fact that, at one point, a woman who seemed to be one of the store's employees, accompanied by a female client, used her Mana to activate some kind of formation he could not discern the details of, which materialized a blouse on the wooden 'dummy' standing in front of them, the latter having only a skirt on previously.
As the piece of clothing appeared on its upper body, the stick-like upper body turned into a lifelike female one, perfectly mirroring the female client's own.
It was not just the upper body, though, as the mannequin's lower body and head part also experienced some changes until, from top to bottom, its body matched the client's own perfectly, even to the skin tone.
Well, maybe not perfectly, since the dummy's facial features were still a bit rough compared to the female client's, and the latter's striking dark-green hair was also nowhere to be seen on the dummy's head.
Was it deliberate, or was it a genuine 'flaw' in the design?
Demian was not sure, but no matter what, it still felt incredibly magical, renewing his understanding of cultivators' ingenuity.
It was not to say that his current lack of technical knowledge was an oddity at his current level, since learning a professional skill was extremely demanding, not only on someone's affinity but also on their resources.
Theory and practice went hand in hand, and though the former did not cost much, the latter was a money pit, and thus, not everyone would even start to learn one.
Most people focused on cultivation and combat skills, as they were actually the former was the foundation for everything else, while the latter was the easiest, though not the safest, way to accumulate resources in the cultivation world.
Back to Demian. Looking at that dummy strangely reminded him of his past life.
For a long time, until his death, he had been following the trend while admiring those who chose to be and act differently from anyone else, the risk-takers, ones who decided to embrace what fulfilled them instead of what maintained them.
They were artists, craftsmen, etc. They followed their heart to bring incredible things into the world, things that brought emotions, that spoke to the Heart, and brought new ideas and thoughts.
Every one of them had not only taken incredible risks in a system that demanded obedience and conformity from its members, but also had almost inhuman levels of dedication to their Art, growing despite the surrounding hostile environment.
Passion, dedication, and belief.
Those were the hallmarks of a true Artist and something that used to be both a source of envy and despair for the young man.
Seeing all those people shine like bright suns and flying progressively higher, while he instead felt as if he was sinking hopelessly deeper.
Was he truly unworthy of that light?
Couldn't he also shine like a sun, or was he destined to sink into darkness and die unnoticed by the world?
Was there no meaning to our existence?
A mere cosmic dust arrogantly thinking that it mattered in the endless universe?
How laughable indeed.
But then...
Was it the truth?
Was his own birth truly a random chance?
If it were before being reincarnated into his life and regaining his past life's memories, he may have wavered, his mind filled with doubts.
But now...
Now, with three overpowered Perks guaranteeing a smooth progress in cultivation and three incredible women willing to love him and stay by his side for as long as they all lived, how could he doubt?
How could he doubt that every being has its own meaning for its existence?
From the most insignificant pebble to the most colossal star, he was now convinced that everything was there for a reason.
Of course, his current level of cultivation made it impossible for him to know what that meaning was for everything in existence, but that did not matter.
As a Mortal sage once said, 'Imagination is both the most indestructible cage and the most powerful liberating force in the universe. The only difference between the two is one's state of mind.'
If a Mortal could reach such understanding, what about Demian, who was able to directly comprehend the universal Laws and manipulate the Elements as if they were the extension of his body?
If that was not enough, how about knowing that in the future, he would be able to traverse the Void freely before transcending mortality to achieve Immortality, and even travel to other worlds with his wives by his side?
Knowing all that, could he truly doubt his own worth?
Or even the fact that his existence had meaning?
Could he truly leave the darkness to shine like a bright Sun like those before him?
Having accepted that, there was one question that came to mind: What was that meaning exactly?
Was it universal, or was it different for each person?
Well, he was not sure, though the stronger he grew, the more he listened to his own Heart, not for any other reason than it seemed to have all the answers he was looking for.
Though vague, the whispers were growing clearer as time passed and a few realizations appeared in his mind.
'Through living, one experiences Hardship. Through Hardships, one experiences Growth. Through Growth, one experiences Transcendence. And through Transcendence, one creates one's own Life Meaning. Meaning can not be given by others but can only be found by oneself. The Heart always speaks, and only by listening to its directions could one find the right way.'
It sounded a bit mystical, but it was his genuine comprehension after everything he experienced, and in a way was his personal interpretation of the famous Taoist precept that said: 'The Dao is formless and cannot be taught, only experienced. Those who seek it shall not find it, and those who live it shall be enlightened.'
As all those comprehensions flooded his mind, imprinting themselves deep inside his consciousness, Demian's eyelids fluttered closed as a hint of change appeared in his previously calm Aura.