Void Refinement Realm.
The seventh realm of immortal cultivation.
From the sixth realm onwards, every major realm signifies a massive change to the immortal cultivator themselves. It is no longer simple spiritual qi ingestion and physical power.
The Divine Transformation Realm, for instance, introduces the concept of "weights" in one's "existence", the so-called "status" that dictates how huge one could affect dimensions. It is the 'divinity' granted at this level, hence its name.
The Void Refinement Realm is similar. Stepping onto this realm meant the elevation of one's "status", moving closer and closer towards the True Immortal Realm.
The process of upgrading one's "status" does not merely rely on spiritual qi, but on special requirements.
For this realm, it is the cutting of one's karma, isolating themselves from the karmic debts borne by the world—becoming a bonafide karma-less being whose existence could not be divined by others with lower "status".
Hum-!
Ripples started spreading from Shi Tian's position. The gentle vibrations ensued until they were blocked off by the compound formations. Without them, the spatial ripples would have affected the imaginary barrier at the edge of the solar system, reducing its effective lifespan.
Shi Tian sat still as spiritual qi continued to be absorbed in his body. The breakthrough required tons of it, and fortunately, everyone wasn't idle when it came to converting spirit veins.
He sat still in the void, attracting spiritual qi for a total of fifteen years. His entire being glowed with a soft white light; the divinity entrenched deeply within his existence as a form of "status" becoming more active. The Dao existing within the spiritual qi turned into supplements that elevated his "status" upward.
The result of these actions were evident.
Crack-!
An invisible threshold was breached.The boundary between body, mind, and soul fell into a blur. Shi Tian's body glowed more intensely as cracks appeared throughout.
He instantly took this opportunity. The "blurred" boundaries caused his divine mind to mix with his body and soul. It gradually turned from a separate 'aspect' into a 'combined' one.
The further his progress went, the more the cracks were mended. The fluctuations coming from Shi Tian grew stronger, with his true body earning far more strength than before.
Another fifteen years had passed.
As soon as he opened his eyes, he was greeted by a brand new world.
'So strange… yet it feels just as natural.'
Shi Tian could sense his entire body perfectly. It felt as if that, with one thought, he could merge into the world itself. He could move from the physical plane into an idealistic plane, turning into an entity made of nothing but concepts. His jade flesh and golden blood follows suit.
'There shouldn't be a delay before…'
He experimented more with his current capabilities.
With a thought, an apple appeared atop his palm. The seemingly perfect 'creation' made from his divine thoughts were riddled by holes now that he re-examined it.
Shi Tian redid the creation of an apple. Nothing changed visibly on the surface. Only that there is "unpredictability" added onto it. It could evolve out of the nigh-infinitesimal possibilities it possessed.
It signified that the apple is capable of having a "future"; that it could evolve into another variant of apple, or a spiritual fruit capable of cultivating immortality.
A creation that merely follows one's will is not a 'creation', but a puppet. Only those that could evolve within the vast unpredictabilities bestowed upon them has a right to be called creation.
'It's not perfect yet.' He mused. 'So this is the Dao.'
A sense of rejection came after a while, snapping him out of his endless thoughts. Overwhelming power filled his entire being. The familiar sensation of stepping into the Void Refinement Realm did not overwhelm Shi Tian.
Sensing the rejection once again, he knew what was up.
'Cutting off one's karma.'
It is a necessary step to fully elevate one's "status". His current "status" is not the real Void Refinement Realm. It is more apt to say that Shi Tian is a half-step Void Refinement Realm now.
If this process wasn't done, the "status" he possesses now would fall back to the Divine Transformation Realm, or worse, suffer backlash that would make it more difficult to break through.
However, it is Shi Tian who is breaking through.
The ultimate-grade spirit root alone eased the process, not to mention his entire experience with the Aeon of Nihility, the equivalent of Nothingness Dao, IX.
The moment he wished to see it, faint lines appeared in Shi Tian's eyes.
'Xinhai Heart Sutra.'
He remembered the time his mental cultivation technique, Xinhai Heart Sutra, broke through. Shi Tian had an enlightenment of the world's true nature, that every single person affects its turns.
The sight of karmic lines before him embodies the exact same principle, but on a larger scale.
Like a tangled ball of yarn, the karmic lines on the solar system alone are endless. From intelligent lives down to the speck of dust, everything contributes to the grand cycle of the world—to the samsara it undergoes itself to.
Amidst them all, Shi Tian saw a network of karmic lines exclusive to himself. The sea of lines disappeared, leaving it behind.
'My karma…'
Each line represented a person closest to him—those who are directly affected by him.
Out of them, twenty lines shone prominently. Their bright red color distinguished them from the rest in this 'local network'.
Despite being connected to him, they existed on a different plane. A different server, per se. These two servers (i.e., networks) of connections remained close to him.
Now, it is Shi Tian's choice that will decide what will happen next.
For the cutting of karma, there are two choices.
One is to thoroughly cut one's karma with the world. It is an irreversible act susceptible to backlash when attempted to undo. By cutting off one's karma with others, they would disappear from their 'lives', becoming a forgotten existence. It is the easiest to pull off, but none could truly push through.
If one severs everything, then what would be the meaning of their Dao? Of their immortality?
Only those with the most self-centered hearts could withstand this test.
The other method is to embrace the karmic lines connected to oneself while isolating the rest. The cultivator creates a brand new 'network' where they store their karmic lines with others. Since it is on a different 'network', it achieves the purpose of severing one's karma from the world, becoming a karma-less being.
It is inherently harder to pull off than the first one as it involves the 'creation' of something anew.
One advocates Void is Emptiness; the other Emptiness is Void.
'Becoming a lone existence… is unacceptable.'
His choice was set from the beginning.