Into the Two-Sided Cultivation World

One of the most famous principles of the cultivation world was this: every stage divides into five ranks.

It applied to talismans as well.

Lowest-grade. Low-grade. Mid-grade. High-grade. Peak-grade.

Anyone could grasp by instinct that lowest-grade sat at the bottom and peak-grade at the top. But what actually separated one talisman of the same type from another? What made a lowest-grade Might Talisman different from a low-grade Might Talisman?

“Materials, the creator’s skill, the method…”

A brush loaded with ordinary ink whispered across paper. Beautiful, fluid lines breathed life into the talisman.

“Honestly, the method matters most.”

Nain set aside the talisman that rose glowing with a warm green light.

The Talisman Dao Introductory Art recorded only three methods of creation. Every one of them was lowest-grade, and their names were just as unimpressive: Might Talisman, Fire Bullet Talisman, Condensation Talisman. That was only natural. The art itself was the absolute foundation of foundations—the addition and subtraction of the talisman world.

A talisman’s grade was fixed from the moment of its birth. No matter how superb the materials, even if a Qi Condensation talisman master crafted a Might Talisman, so long as they followed the creation method of the Talisman Dao Introductory Art the result could never climb past lowest-grade.

By the same logic, if Nain wished to leap a rank, she needed to master the art that contained the proper method. Yet right now she was producing low-grade Might Talismans. It was a miracle on the same level as a child teaching herself calculus using nothing but addition and subtraction.

“Whoa!”

Admiring the talismans spread before her, Nain opened her status window.

Combined with the ones from the previous day, she had crafted a total of twenty low-grade Might Talismans. Her realm had advanced another step as a result. Ten talismans had taken her only twenty minutes.

“I’m insane… I’m actually insane…!”

Nain pressed a hand to her own chest. The steady thump of her heart, pumping blood through her body, traveled into her fingertips. Even without concentrating she could feel the character for Talisman branded into the center of her heart like a seal.

“It’s producing Talisman Dao spiritual power on its own…!”

Pitch-black spiritual power condensed naturally inside her heart. Where pure spiritual power should have resided, Talisman Dao spiritual power was being born instead.

Talisman masters and talisman cultivators could only raise their realm by crafting talismans. To them, talismans were both the path of advancement and their livelihood. No matter how greedily they stuffed themselves with spiritual energy, without creating talismans they could not digest a single drop of it.

Yet Nain could sit still, absorb spiritual energy, and advance. Her heart was automatically refining the exact Talisman Dao spiritual power she needed.

“Is this… what real talent feels like…?”

She let herself sink into the sweet, luxurious ease of talent. The corners of her mouth loosened into a foolish grin. She cradled the left side of her chest as if holding something precious.

Then she checked her status again.

“Ten percent left. So…”

Twenty more low-grade talismans. That was all. Then she would shatter the wall of the Severing Longevity Stage and break through into the Qi Refinement Stage—the lofty realm she had only ever dreamed of.

But my balance is zero.

She still had paper and materials for drawing talismans, yet she had no spirit stones left to power the Qi-Gathering Formation. The Talisman Dao spiritual power automatically refined by her heart was one thing; the absorption rate of her Five Spiritual Roots was nowhere near enough to produce the volume needed for actual talisman work.

She needed money.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Nain gathered the twenty low-grade Might Talismans and headed for the living room.

“Government procurement price for one low-grade Might Talisman is three hundred credits, so…”

She ticked numbers off on her fingers. Sell them first for six thousand credits, pour every credit into lowest-grade spirit stones, then use those stones to craft more talismans…

“Breaking into Qi Refinement should be easy.”

Heehee. Smiling brightly, she approached the machine tucked into one corner of the living room.

There sat a heavy silver-gray capsule—a full-immersion virtual reality device. The pinnacle of technology fusing cultivation arts with science, it went far beyond simple brainwave connection and perfectly synchronized a cultivator’s very spiritual consciousness with the network.

Nain held the terminal on her wrist against the outer panel.

Hiss—!

With the sound of compressed air escaping, the smooth, streamlined hatch rose gently open. Soft cushioning lined the interior. With practiced ease she lay down inside.

The cushion reshaped itself to every curve of her body, cradling her snugly. Fine stimulation traveled along her nape and spine. The chip implanted at the base of her skull resonated faintly with the spiritual power within her body.

A pale blue hologram bloomed on the inner surface of the hatch covering her eyes. Nain closed her eyes comfortably and murmured,

“Connect.”

Whiiiiir—!

As the device hummed to life, her consciousness sank deep.

Fwaaaah…!

“Haaah…”

The light that had filled her vision vanished. Dizziness and nausea washed over her. Nain yanked her hood low and carefully lifted her head.

“No matter how many times I see it, I never get used to this view…”

It was overwhelming. Not a world beyond a hologram screen, but perfect virtual reality with every sense and the spirit itself synchronized.

Across the sky, streams of data—zeros and ones—mingled with spiritual energy and flowed like a milky way. Beneath them, enormous palace halls crowned with traditional tiled roofs floated weightlessly, defying gravity. Neon signs woven of pure hologram light painted the air in dazzling colors.

Trails of flying swords sliced through the air, tangled with delivery drones. Down on the streets, avatars with carefully concealed identities hurried past one another—sword cultivators fitted with sparking prosthetic arms, cultivators who had reduced their forms to flickering pixels to evade tracking, small merchants wearing grotesque beast masks and calling out to customers.

Not a single person walked around showing their real face.

“Ugh…”

Nain pulled her hood down even tighter. Bright sunlight. Countless people. Conditions more than sufficient to trigger every shut-in instinct she possessed.

Still… maybe because it isn’t reality, it’s not that bad.

In the real world, the mere thought of going outside would have choked her breath and set her body trembling. Here in virtual reality her heart still pounded, but as long as she avoided people’s eyes she could endure it reasonably well.

“Okay… stay invisible, sell the talismans quietly at the Appraisal Bureau, and get out.”

This place was called the Two-Sided Cultivation World—the location where, along with Earth itself, the greatest number of cultivators were active. In a sense, it was another reality entirely.

Still half-frightened, Nain glanced around, then slowly set her feet toward the government’s Appraisal Bureau.

Tick.

The clock hanging from the ceiling marked the hour. It was six in the morning.

“…Hup!”

The mild air of dawn filled her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lungs. The moment her foot struck the ground, sand from the training ground sprayed outward ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and a tyrannical aura punched straight through the space. The sword in her grip unleashed a chilling blade qi.

Thuk, KRAANG—!

Shrring.

With a cutting sound, a steel plate dozens of meters across was cleanly sliced apart. The girl looking down at the sight casually shook free the lightning still clinging to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her blade.

The severed plate rose in silent lightning and vanished without a sound.

Clap, clap, clap.

“You’re improving by the day, Junior Sister Decia.”

Whoosh.

Decia turned her sharp yellow eyes toward the young man who had stepped out behind her. Her eyes narrowed slightly.

Black hair tousled carelessly by the dawn wind. Beneath it, dark eyes shone deep and clear as pitch. Even through the thin training clothes, a mountain-like chest and thick arms corded with muscle made their presence known. A long sword rested casually in a hand thick with calluses. It was a body tempered by advanced physical arts into pure, rugged strength.

“Don’t glare like that. You’ll make me self-conscious.”

“…I wasn’t particularly glaring.”

A good-natured, thoroughly mischievous smile hung on his lips. At a glance he looked like nothing more than an easygoing young man, but Decia knew better. She knew exactly what happened when this senior brother—who usually wandered around spouting nonsense and laughing emptily—actually gripped a sword in earnest.

“I take it the results came in, Senior Brother Im?”

Im Mugang nodded.

“Your leave has been approved. More importantly, what wind blew you into wanting to go outside? My junior sister who normally knows nothing but training?”

“Mother asked me to handle something.”

Thud.

With that, Decia left the training ground without another word. Watching her depart without the slightest hesitation, Im Mugang scratched his head alone on the grounds.

“Hmm. Strange, really. Still being influenced by her parents at this age. Because she’s still a teenager, maybe?”

He muttered under his breath, shook his head, and—with a flash of chilling sword light—vanished from the training ground in an instant.