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The spatial bubble around the Skyborne Bastion rippled as Stella pushed through with Maple in his squirrel form on her head. Maple was looking fuller of life than before. Fighting the Elder from the Azure Clan had taken much out of the eldritch squirrel, so Ashlock was glad to see he was back to his usual self.

"Can you send me back to Red Vine Peak now?" Stella asked as she rocked on her heels and looked rather excited. It would seem after a quick nap, Stella's fear of facing down a Monarch Realm Elder from a higher layer of creation had worn off, and her lust for power had returned.

"Sure, give me a second," Ashlock replied as he split his attention back to his main body on Red Vine Peak and conjured a portal via his roots connected through time and space, thanks to his new SSS grade {Skyborne Bastion} skill.

"Thanks!" Stella said as she walked through the portal.

Ashlock switched his view to Red Vine Peak and saw her teleport across the peak and step back into the Mystic Realm, all while having Maple sleeping on her head.

"Larry, you should head back as well," Ashlock said to the giant spider, and he also mentally commanded Sol to return as well. There were still threats lurking near his home, and he wanted them ready to defend it at the drop of a leaf.

"As you wish, my master," Larry said gruffly as he crawled through the portal with Sol following closely behind.

With nothing but Willow remaining on the bastion, Ashlock brought up his {Dimensional Overlap} skill menu and waited for it to update with Stella's new pocket realm.

"Mhm, as expected, the Azure Clan pocket realm has vanished from the free options since none of us are there anymore," Ashlock noted as he clicked through the other options and confirmed nothing had changed with Douglas or Kaida's pocket realms. Everything seemed to be going fine for them.

"I hope they haven't stumbled into some non-abandoned pocket realm like we did," Ashlock sighed. They had only survived an assault from the Azure Clan by the bark of his trunk due to Maple going all out and burning all the energy he had gathered from the feast and Ashlock unlocking his new SSS grade skill. Without either of those things, they would likely all be dead.

"We also would have died if Willow didn't have spatial affinity," Ashlock mused, "Another reason I want to leave this fire Qi pocket realm as soon as possible. The Bastion spatial Qi shield consumed more of my main body's Qi due to that fireball from the titan than the combined efforts of those higher-layer Azure Clan cultivators!"

This discovery further cemented Ashlock's idea of turning the groves back home into Bastions as well.

After another minute, a new option appeared at the top of the list in his {Dimensional Overlap} skill menu. Clicking on it, he confirmed that Stella had gone into a new pocket realm by re-entering the celestial fog.

[Spatial Qi Realm:

Description: Grand Spatial Array

Qi Level: Star Core 4th Stage

Environment: Peaceful

Monsters: None

Current Occupants: 2]

"Good choice, Stella! This pocket realm seems far more chill than the last one. Sadly, the spatial Qi in this one is lower than the last, so it won't benefit me as much as the last pocket realm." Ashlock mulled, "But with only a few hours left on my time here, that's not so bad. Ugh, but there are no monsters for me to kill for credits! But I do have over two thousand ready to be used, so I shouldn't be so greedy."

Dismissing his thoughts and selecting the [Free] button, Ashlock felt reality twist around him as the Bastion shifted dimensions. The beautiful feeling of spatial Qi washed over him as he surveyed the surroundings.

Down below, sitting crossed-legged on a floating island of lush purple grass covered in silvery runes that looked in disrepair, was Stella. Her eyes were closed, and her hair floated upwards as a spatial vortex was gathered from the surroundings and funneled into her.

"Alright, compared to the last place, this pocket realm looks abandoned," Ashlock concluded as he moved the Bastion to check out the rest of this pocket realm while also absorbing the abundant Qi all around. "The name Grand Spatial Array worried me, but I don't see any signs of life or civilization on any of the other floating islands in this place."

Much like the last spatial pocket realm, reality was all out of wack here, with the space bending and curving around the islands as if they had immense gravity like black holes, and there were random tears in the sky here and there.

But the lack of grotesque monsters with shifting limbs, titanic snakes lurking below an expanse, and a painfully out-of-place giant blue building that looked well cared for were all good signs to Ashlock.

"She should be far safer here..." Ashlock sighed as he couldn't even convince himself. The island's Qi gathering array did look abandoned, but maybe the owner was just lazy and didn't care for it. There were no certainties in this world, especially regarding the Mystic Realm.

"Should I leave her some more protection? I could bring Titus over as he will be strongest in this spatial realm. Would that be enough? Maybe I should also bring Sol over in case she gets injured while practicing her sword?" Ashlock decided that would be for the best, so he summoned a portal and told Titus and Sol to come through.

"You two stay out of Stella's way while she cultivates but protect her life through any means necessary if required and listen to any instructions she has for you," Ashlock instructed, "Do I make myself clear?"

The Ents couldn't talk, but they both seemed to understand.

Ashlock appreciated the lingering human intellect left in the Ents and sent them on their way. The two Ents jumped down from the Bastion and took up either side of the floating island, guarding Stella like sentinels.

"I'm not being an overprotective Dad, am I?" Ashlock pondered but actually started thinking he hadn't done enough and should put up even more protection. "One more Ent should do it... I have my void tendrils with {Consuming Abyss}, so is there a need for Khaos? Mhm, but she is my best trump card, and Stella does have Maple at her side."

Eventually, he let out a long sigh and decided to send Zeus. Larry would struggle to be in a spatial Qi realm for a month straight as he would need to burn his cultivation to stay there, and Khaos was far too valuable for him to use as a mere guard, especially with Maple here.

"If Nox returns, Khaos will be my best way to kill her, so best to keep her at my side," Ashlock concluded.

Zeus came through a portal under Ashlock's command, and after being given the same instructions as the other two, the Ent, which looked like a marble statue, took up guard on the northern side of the island. A lazy storm system gathered overhead as if waiting on standby to be unleashed at a moment's notice.

"Okay, now I feel better," Ashlock chuckled. "What do you think, Willow? Will she be safe with this?"

Willow seemed jealous of his parenting antics toward Stella.

"Relax. We will return to Red Vine Peak together soon, and I will be stuck with just you for an entire week," Ashlock lamented. The two continued to talk as they orbited around the island and cultivated for many hours together.

"You know, Willow, I'm rather curious how much my cultivation will soar once my fractured soul reunites with my body. What do you think?"

Willow seemed sad at the mention of them separating. "Don't feel sad. You remind me of my darn dog that I had to leave home every day before work. What's work? Don't worry about it..."

Ashlock found it rather amusing having someone to talk to all the time without feeling bad due to needing to use {Abyssal Whispers}, but it would be even better if Willow could speak.

"Now I know how Stella must have felt all those years with me being a mute." Ashlock laughed, "Although I must admit it has its endearing side to it, but certainly not ideal."

After running out of topics to tell his offspring, Ashlock grew bored of mindlessly absorbing the ambient spatial Qi like some type of sponge. "It feels like a day has passed, and Stella is still diligently cultivating."

Bringing up his system, Ashlock checked how much time he had till sundown in the real world.

[Time till sundown 1:05]

"Mhm, only an hour left outside, so around 4 hours in here. Not much point sticking around to absorb Qi below my cultivation realm for such a short amount of time," Ashlock felt the itch of adventure back in his bark, so he summoned his menu and decided to visit Kaida.

[Ink Qi Realm:

Description: Hatchery of the Midnight Inkwing

Qi Level: Soul Fire 3rd Stage

Environment: Peaceful

Monsters: None

Current Occupants: 1]

He felt rather silly now surrounding Stella with his strongest guards when she was in a realm on the same level of danger as Kaida's, and he got nothing. But to be fair, after the events of the Azure Clan, he refused to trust any of these spatial pocket realms.

"Alright, Stella. I will see you in a week," Ashlock said to nobody but himself and Willow, as he didn't want to disturb her, "Time to go visit my favorite ink snake and see what shenanigans he is up to."

After pressing the [Free] button, reality warped again, and he reappeared above a literal black ocean that spread out in all directions until the grey horizon. The ink ocean was tranquil, without a wave in sight.

[Kaida has consumed the flesh of a divine being]

"Eh?" Ashlock looked at the system message that appeared in his vision in total confusion, "He's done what now?"

Ashlock glanced around in all directions but couldn't see Kaida anywhere. The only thing of note was a large shadow on the northern horizon, so Ashlock directed the Bastion to begin moving at full speed in that direction.

***

[Time till sundown 0:19]

After a few hours of flying, Ashlock found an island of grey rock that jutted out of the ink ocean. It resembled an iceberg with steep cliff faces. Weirdly, a waterfall of ink cascaded down the side of the island onto black ostrich-sized eggs that had been carefully placed by something into nooks and crevices.

"I think I found why this pocket realm is called the Hatchery of the Midnight Inkwing..." Ashlock grew concerned as he floated the Bastion around the island, searching for Kaida. If there was a place where divine flesh could be lying around, it would be here unless there were other islands elsewhere.

"Ah, there you are," Ashlock almost missed Kaida due to the black scales that camouflaged him. The large snake looked like edamame as his body bulged due to what Ashlock assumed were multiple undigested eggs in his stomach.

"Hey, Kaida. Wake up." Ashlock shouted to the snake below, but Kaida seemed happily asleep, perhaps in a food coma. "Well, shit, what should I do now?"

Ashlock didn't have much time left in the Mystic Realm, and although this pocket realm was apparently peaceful with no monsters, he didn't want to leave Kaida in such a vulnerable state right after consuming the eggs of a divine beast.

"I should take him back to Red Vine Peak just to be sure, but it would be a shame to stunt his cultivation by taking him away from all this ink," Ashlock pondered and then had an idea.

Lowering the Bastion into the ink ocean, Ashlock allowed the ink to flow over the stone ship's sides and create a small lake of Qi-filled ink around Willow since there was a depression in the rock.

"Yes, I know it feels weird, just bear with it for now," Ashlock reassured Willow as the Amethyst Bastion Core pulsed with power and the ship rose from the ocean with ink streaming down its side.

Now, back above the grey island, Ashlock used telekinesis to carefully pick up Kaida and bring him aboard the ship. He then lowered Kaida into the ink lake with his head resting on the side as if he were at a spa.

"Now, should I take these eggs? Kaida has already eaten a few, so whoever these belong to will already be enraged." Ashlock weighed the pros and cons. Realistically, he doubted whoever laid these eggs would have a way to track them across dimensions, especially if he hid them in his inventory or something.

"I'll leave a few just to distract the mother," Ashlock used telekinesis to lift eight eggs and placed them in the ink lake with Kaida while leaving a few behind.

With everything secured onboard and minutes remaining on {Progeny Dominion}, Ashlock split his focus and conjured a massive portal that led back to Red Vine Peak.

"Goodbye adventures," Ashlock sighed as he floated the Bastion through the giant portal that manifested over the ink ocean.

"Back home already," Ashlock muttered as he looked at the setting sun over the distant mountains. Wasting no time, he maneuvered the Bastion to hover on the east side of the wilderness near his spatial affinity trees so it would be out of direct sight from both Darklight City and the White Stone Palace.

A moment later, Ashlock felt his fractured soul that had been floating within Willow's Star Core forcefully return through the ethereal roots and merge back with his soul. A rush of power overcame him, and he didn't even notice the system message informing him that his link to the Bastion had ceased as his cultivation soared.

The euphoria lasted a while, and once it faded, Ashlock hastily opened his system menu.

[Demonic Demi-Divine Tree (Age: 9)]

[Star Core: 7th Stage]

[Soul Type: Amethyst (Spatial)]

"Wow, I went up two entire stages at once," Ashlock knew he had been somewhat close to ascending to the 6th stage, but the Qi he absorbed in the Mystic Realm had pushed him over the edge and then up another stage. "Not too far from the Nascent Soul Realm now! One or two more Mystic Realm visits should do it."

Feeling the cold of night settling on his leaves, Ashlock was relieved to see the Bastion quietly float a few meters from the mountain peak on the east side.

"Willow, can you hear me?" Ashlock asked, and he felt a feeling of agreement through their ethereal link. "Can you move the Bastion backward by a meter?"

Ashlock felt a wave of spatial Qi far below his as his Star Core offspring lit up with spatial flames like a beacon. The Bastion then slowly drifted backward a meter and then stopped.

"Okay, Willow can still control the Bastion without a fractured part of my soul, but I didn't feel any pull on my Star Core, so did the Qi to power the Bastion's Core come from Willow?" Ashlock wondered but was feeling too tired to experiment with the Bastion right now.

"Larry, guard Kaida in the ink pool while he sleeps," Ashlock said with a yawn as he allowed sleep to overcome him. It had been a long day.

***

The following morning, Ashlock awoke to the chirps of birds. It was nice to feel the solid ground around his roots and be completely still apart from the rustling of his leaves in the wind.

"Flying around is fun, but this mountain peak is my home," Ashlock relished in the beautiful morning, but he was interrupted by a visitor.

It was Kaida who slowly slithered across the mountain. The bulge in his stomach was gone, meaning those eggs containing some divine beasts's unhatched children had been consumed...

Briefly checking on the Bastion that was still floating, he saw the eggs were still there.

A small cry brought Ashlock's attention back to his trunk, and he saw Kaida had rammed his head into his trunk.

[Kaida has accumulated enough Qi to evolve to B grade]

[New evolution option(s) have been added due to consumption of divine flesh]

[Ebonflow Serpent Sovereign {Kaida} wishes to evolve]