Cultivation throughout the void

"Salvation arks, the miracle given to all who inhabit the Vast tree realm, its speed is unquestionably superior to anything I've ever seen its defense impenetrable under a combined fire, while its attack better than any sects secret foundation, yet the vast universe considers it a fragile, and lackluster vessel. Have I lived my life in vain?"

-Thousand willow sect ancestor ~ Deity transformation

"Has everyone finished their preparations? Yes? Then it's time. Let us depart" A man in his thirties with dark golden hair announced.

He was Rubio Rivera current leader of the five family union and head of the Rubio family.

Yes, his family name was Rubio while his first name was Rivera, the Rubio family had an odd tradition of placing one's family name ahead of their given name.

When asked about why they do this they simply answered 'Family comes first right?'

This response irked many of the FFUs families, yes family was important but to strip away a spirit cultivators sense of individuality was akin to placing a chain on their dao hearts.

Most spirit cultivators saw family names as something that could be changed depending on the season. When the life expectancy of an individual can range anywhere from 1 year to a million years many changes are bound to happen.

From marriage, divorce, spousal death, remarriage, family disownment, familial name change, family name eradication, family splitting into multiple separate families, to the very basic end of an era, the amount of problems that one name can cause in the future are countless.

As ironic as it was, the five family union did not place family first.

They placed the needs of the union as a whole ahead of the individual family, a single family couldn't rule the union after all. If one even tried to do so, a civil war would break out.

The five great families may represent the union, but they didn't make up 1% of the entire unions population.

From the perspective of lower families the Rubio's acted more like a royal line rather then equals.

From the Rubio's perspective this was also true, they didn't believe themselves to be equal to the lower families.

The five great families were royals in all but name.

"Sir the Nordaine's have asked that the fleet be positioned at the edges of the passageway, they believe it will be beneficial to the union"

'Beneficial to the union' Rubio Rivera inwardly mocked, he knew the Nordaine's simply wanted to gather void path materials.

"Let us do that" the Nordaine's had already been weakened enough, it was better to give them this opportunity to calm the worries of the lesser houses under them.

'The Nordaine's may be weak on the surface but they still have a fleet of warships and countless spiritual artifacts that can aid us in the future, no reason to deny them this opportunity. Besides it is far better to have a predictable force under me then an unpredictable one'

The fleet of ships approached the entrance to the void river no bigger then the funnel of a mortal well, by now the ships had disappeared from outside view and upon approaching less then 1 km in distance from the void river entry the fleet of ships seemingly shrunk to sizes no larger then a mouse.

There was no discomfort upon entering the passageway and it was only until they fully entered into the void river that any sort of force was placed on them.

True to its name the river had a current that pulled the entering fleet by force, even if they wanted to change direction it would take more effort then it was worth.

From here on a new form of steering would be used, it would not be sails like those over water, it would be fins like the fish of the sea.

The void river was less of a river and more of a water tunnel in reality, whomever named them a river must have lived a different life.

"Madam the union leader has agreed to place the fleet at the edge of the river" the elder reported.

"Good. We only have six months, make sure not to waste them" Madame Nordaine sighed.

"I will make sure my children learn well during this time, my nieces and nephews aswell of course" the elder replied.

The void river was as named a void, a void devoid of any light far as one could see.

The only sort of guidance to be seen was the rivers current that glowed ever so subtlety, but this glow wasn't natural.

Outside of the rivers current one could only guess what went on.

"Lets make sure we don't get too close to the edge, the Nordaine's may be void path experts but we are not" Rubio Rivera marveled at the emptiness surrounding them.

"Its incredible, had we not been located safely inside our ships we wouldn't be able to see even a micron ahead" one of the secretaries said.

"On that note tell the Nordaine's to take the front of the pack, we don't want to run into something we notice to late"

<+== Void path inquiry ==+>

What is the void path?

Well that depends.

Some say it is the study of space, not as in outer space but space in particular.

Others say it's to understand nothingness.

The really fanatical will tell you it is the path of denial.

Whatever it may be, the void river, the edge of space, the hollow, the missing realm these are the holy lands of the void path.

If you believe void to mean space, then here in the void river you will learn the meaning of space for there is nothing but space here.

If you want to learn the void path of emptiness then the missing realm is for you, should you find it.

For those fanatics however, the hollow is more fitting.

To follow the void path of space is to control both distance and scale. Most will follow this path, unlike the other paths it is far more fitting for the common spirit.

Should one seek only destruction the void path of emptiness is most fitting.

To seek the void path of denial is to seek insanity, one should never enter this path.

<+== Void path inquiry end ==+>

Six Months passed, news of the calamity's acceleration spread across the vast tree realm reaching even the furthest corners of the universe.

Spiritual continent lay barren stripped of all their surfaces leaving vast deserts behind, planets on the lower realm burned as wars raged like never before.

Spirits that lived on spirit continents had easy access to advanced cultivation resources, from medical herbs, spiritual ores, spiritual goods and most importantly advanced crafting techniques.

However spirits that lived on planets had far more limited options as the resources are limited and often of worse and sparser quality than those found on spirit continents, even the spiritual Qi on the planets they inhabited was of lower quality.

While these planets may be located in the spiritual universe, the spiritual energy of the universe was not evenly distributed across the universe causing many areas to be spiritual 'deserts'.

For them gathering even 1/10th of the materials need to craft an ark was near impossible, the only option available to them was flying ships.

To obtain the resources one needed to craft flying ships when everyone is trying to hoard as much resources for themselves as possible one can only pillage the resources of another.

Those that had already left their home planet found a sigh of relief briefly escape them followed by a quickened pace while those yet to leave rushed the final preparations for departure.

Any whom still had hope for the vast tree realms resurgence began to doubt themselves.

Planet - Ju, empire of Solstice.

"Brother please listen to me, we can't stay here!" A young woman grabbed the collar of a young man sitting down.

"The Hikpo family left last night and the day before the Upo family also chose to leave, there are even rumors that the imperial family has already left the planet! Why are you so insistent on staying?! Please join me and Jerrol, we have paid a mer-"

"Shut up! You can't keep doing this Jia! The Hikpo family only went to visit their relatives in the neighboring city, I spoke to their manors caretaker myself this morning! The Upo family had been summoned to the imperial city since last month it is only natural they went away. And how dare you slander the imperial families name! If they heard of this you would be executed!" The young man pushed the girl away, he did believe in the rumors going around.

"Brother it is not a lie! The Nara family heir told me himself that they along with all the major families of the empire plan to leave not just the empire or even the continent but the planet itself! The imperial family has fled befo-" a hand struck her face.

"SILENCE! Is this how you repay me after I raised you! Had our parents not died young they would be ashamed to hear such words! Stay away from the Nara family and if I see you with that son of a bitch Jerrol I will have him flogged to death!" The young man stood enraged.

On another part of the planet a grand event was taking place in the sect _Unbeatable spirit_, the event was a selection process where the grand master would choose the new leader of the sect among the many candidates.

"Who do you think it will be?"

"It has to be the peak master of the blackstone mountain, he is the strongest"

"What no way, the peak master of the silver hand is far stronger"

Above them a group of five old men stood on a stage, the aura of a nascent soul cultivator spread from each of them.

Each was a hero among their generation at some point in time, each of them standing tall and proud even in old age.

The youngest among them no less then eight hundred years old and a prodigy among prodigies, the oldest nearly two thousand years old held the respect of countless eyes.

Above them a group of elders carefully assessed even the slightest change in the air, one of the men standing on the stage would become the future leader of the sect so they had to choose correctly.

Above even these elders a single ancient looking old men sat on a basic wooden chair overseeing the events. He is the grand elder of the unbeatable spirit sect and a deity transformation cultivator of the middle stage, Rol varu age 8,251 years old.

The unbeatable spirit sect was on the verge of a civil war.

One faction believes the universe will soon come to an end and wish to leave with the best disciples of the sect, the other does not believe the universe will end and wishes to stay where they have always been since the sect's founding.

The grand elder did not care, he had lived long enough now that he no longer sought immortality.

To him the universe was already over, not a single person of the sect knew his true name, not a single person on the continent even remembered how long he had lived with every spirit being he ever cared for having died long before.

Today would be the day he ascends beyond the planets boundaries regardless of the outcome, he may not be able to travel space unassisted but a flying ship was enough.

After paying respect the elders competing for the sect leaders seat flew to the air and started to fight.

The fight was intense, with the elders splitting into three factions against each other.

Two elder fought to leave, two elders to stay and one still deciding whom to join.

A massive golden fist narrowly missed it's target, a sword strike countered narrowly missing the neck of one elder.

Wisps appeared to cover the sky as they exploded the surroundings blocking the visions of those below.

A scream echoed in the air, followed by a large bang as the wind blew and shards of glass rained down.

The disciples below spectating this event ran for cover as they marveled at the sky.

"Truly calling the rain!"

"The sky is thundering from their fists, one day I want to do the same!"

"The legends are true, cultivation is the way!"

The elders watching from below raised their palms in unison creating a barrier to block the incoming attacks.

"Grand elder please put a stop to this! At this rate the foundation of the sect will be shaken beyond repair!" One of the elders pleaded.

The grand elder did not move, the outcome he sought to bring about had yet to manifest.

Above the battle kept going as treasures and spells flew increasingly getting stronger, the mountains quaked the trees swayed and fell the rivers split.

In the end the outcome was clear.

"Elder Hon, you have proven today that all your years of life have not been in waste. After today there will be no doubt as to who is to lead the _Unbeatable Spirit sect_ from here until the day you should choose to" the grand elder began his congratulatory speech.

Elder Hon, a nascent soul cultivator aged nearly two thousand years had won.

Below the elder stood blood staining his brow, he had fought for two hours against what he deemed to be a lie.

The sect would not abandon it's history all based on the words of foreign beings.

A calm returned to the sect, the new sect leader celebrated his victory that he and his supporters had fought so hard to achieve.

The defeated elders knelt on the ground unable to accept the outcome.

"Elder Rook, elder Solus, you both have gone against the will of the sect. For that you would normally be executed but instead I will offer you a choice. You will either be banished along with your disciples to the outer edges of the sect to regain your honor through combat" the grand elder continued to speak.

"Or... You can join me on my final journey into the stars" the crowd below went silent.

"Grand elder what do you mean?" Elder Hon was taken aback, did the grand elder also believe in the lies? Had he truly lost it in old age?

"I've lived for a very long time, my cultivation has been stagnant for four thousand years, my lifespan is nearing the end. I must now do what many others before me have done, I will ascend to the heavens!" The grand elder slowly spoke.

The crowd gasped.

"I thought one only ascended when they broke beyond deity transformation?"

"Does this mean that not all the heroes in legend ascended into immortals?"

"This is, this can't be..."

"What of the sects ancestors, two of them ascended to the heavens. One of them even came back during our time of need"

"Thats right ancestor Luun appeared five thousand years ago!"

"But thats only in the stories we hear, the records of the sect aren't so clear. The only person alive who knows the truth is..."

"The grand elder..."

With the crowd falling into a clamor the grand elder quelled their thoughts.

"Do not worry young ones, ancestor Luun truly did descend back then. His might is something I will never forget, even now three thousand years after the fact"

With this the crowd calmed down a little.

"I am not as talented as the ancestors, I cannot ascended the heavens reborn as a god. But my yearning to see the beyond has never died. Now as my end nears I will see heaven for what it truly is" The grand elder said calmly.

Complex feelings pervaded the now sect leader Hon, should he be happy for the grand master? Sad? Disappointed? Or angry?

The two defeated sect elders looked at each other, they had no intention of staying in sect if banished to the outer zones.

"I WILL FOLLOW THE GRAND MASTER!" the first said.

"I will follow" the second considered for an moment but did not see another option.

While they both wanted to leave the planet but their reasons for doing so had been different.

"Then in one month we will meet here again, we will set off into the heavens!" The grand elder left on this note.

<+== Intermission ==+>

An individual is singular, they only have to care for themselves and likewise have little to rely on.

A group, team or party is a collective of individuals working together. When the group cannot work as one it can lead to a devastating outcome.

A family is one who shares bonds or blood, they will care more for each other than those not deemed family, legacy will often be their downfall.

A clan can be a group of families working as one, they care for each other but often times the collective tends to be deemed more important then the individual leaving no room for growth.

A kingdom or empire is a place that many organizations can take root in and grow, but it will bind and stifle you. A country may seem different without kings but the end result is the same.

A sect is a place where many individuals regardless of affiliation gather under a new banner away from the ties that bind them but it has many forms and never lasts.

These are many paths in life, what you choose to do can either define you as an individual or as a whole.

<+== Intermission End ==+>

~ West-most eastern quadrant - Fall fatu/Toõki Râ spiritual continent - humanities furthest outpost.

A spiritual land inhabited primarily by human spirits but it's ownership was still contested among the nearby spirit species, it was also the furthest point where humans are still considered the dominant species in some form.

Beyond this spiritual continent humanities actions held little to no impact on the rest of the universe where encountering one of your own kind could become one's life long dream.

As humanities furthest most outpost the inhabitants of this particular spiritual continent are more then experienced enough to listen to the warnings coming from the core of the human realm to evacuate as soon as humanly possible.

From the east the many sects and clans of a thousand nations stopped all feuds and in less then a week a hundred-thousand vessel's took to space, the south's endless warzone went quite overnight as hoards of alien races retreated not caring to advance any further leaving even the most veteran of fighters in shock, to the north the empires, kingdoms and nations of man and alien flooded the skies with vessels of such magnitude that the skies shook while the barren lands in the west filled with sand suddenly became an oasis of light that blazed toward the sky.

It was a total abandonment of the spiritual continent, by now every being knew of the impending doom the Vast tree universe faced whether they believed it or not.

Most that could undergo the journey into the stars did so with few chosing to remain ignorant of what was to come.

The war of calamity had raged for over 100 years, the amount of godly beings to fall in battle never to return had shocked the vast majority of the universe.

At least those that sent their best to fight, the rest never noted the difference.

"Father are you certain we are making the right decision? With the void martial sects departure we have taken vast swaths of land, but the more we take over the less confident I become as I see nothing remain of what once was" looking over a vast cratered desert a young man asked his father.

"Do not fear, the void martial sect is truly gone. Even if some of their sect members remain what can they hope to achieve" the young mans father comforted him.

"Father that is not what I'm saying, the void martial sect had been warning us for ages now of some impending calamity, even neighboring sects have disappeared without a trace leaving nothing but wandering cultivators and mortals left behind" the younger man paused here unsure of how to say the next words.

"What if... They are truly right? What if it will all end soon? What if we-"

"Enough. The void martial sect simply faced it's own calamity bringing everyone that followed down with them. The land will eventually recover, we will not falter. Not now" the father was not willing to entertain such thoughts, how can the universe simply end over night? It was unacceptable, no. It was impossible! Did people really believe all of this?

He had lived for 317 years travelling across the vast deserts of the west and seen the vastness of it all, he had travelled to the northern empires advanced nations and seen the star's through giant mirrors that made him feel so very small, even now he had yet to see the thousand nations to the south with their multitude of renowned sects.

One day he even wished to partake in the war for humanities right to rule over all in the fall fatu continent! The southern war must be won for humanity!

"Now let's go, we still have many places to take control of" pushing any doubts aside the father took his son on another conquest.

The young man wanted to speak his mind but felt his voice go unheard, he followed his father filled with doubts.

Above the lands far beyond the sky among the glittering stars of space a giant hand beyond imagination closed around the spiritual continent of fall fatu/Toõki Râ.

The passengers onboard the many vessels that had already taken flight looked on in horror as the hand crushed the spiritual continent that had been their homeland.

'This should make a nice gift for my niece, she needs a consistent source of energy to continue cultivating from now on'

The hand closed tightly releasing vast amounts of spiritual light comparable to a stars final moment only to open a second later holding a pendant carved with images of flowing clouds and stone mountains piercing the sky.

'The most precious treasure's on the land have already been taken away, but the most valuable of all was left behind. In the end this small spiritual continent striped of it's surface was seen as nothing more then waste, such a shame, such short sighted creatures' the massive hand retracted and just as quickly disappeared.

Natural light couldn't keep up with the hand movements let alone the massive being it was attached to, from the perspective of onlookers the hand simply vanished as any light that landed upon it was simply too slow to keep track of it making it seem like the hand existed for only a brief moment before disappearing.

"Sir the sensors indicated something was there at some point, but we couldn't... We don't know what it was" the navigator of one of the flying vessel's reported.

"What is there to wonder about? Someone very powerful came and went. Thats all" the vessel's captain remarked.

'Had that hand not been within a few hundred-thousand kms of us, we wouldn't have ever known it was there! I thought it would be fine to just rely on the light sensors of the mortal world to get by for now but to think we almost died without knowing it'

"Activate the spiritual guidance systems, scan for any irregularities in the surrounding space in intervals of 5 seconds. Oh and bring any seer's we might have on board to the bridge, we must not take any chances on this trip"

"Yes captain!"

'This ship is about five kms long, 1.93 kms wide, its light sensors can detect any light movement for fifty thousand kms within a margin of error of 3 cms, yet that hand that appeared briefly only appeared because it had to slow down to grab an entire continent on the go! This is... This is...'

"Captain? Captain!?"

Unable to cope with his sudden realization the captain of the space vessel shattered spiritually, his mind wandered for a moment before his eyes lost their light.

<+== Spirit half-breeds ==+>

Are spirit cultivators and cultivators from the physical realm the same?

One could say that they are the same.

One was born as a spirit in the spiritual realm, the other only became a spirit after dying in the physical realm.

While their origins may differ the end result is the same.

There is no distinction to be made from a spirit born in the physical realm to that of the spiritual realm, their chances at being able to cultivate or reincarnate are the same.

Even if a spirit dies in the spiritual realm it can be reborn in the physical realm just the same.

The only time there is a distinction between a spirit and cultivator from the physical realm is the the case of half-breeds.

As mentioned before only the dead can become spirits and therefore only the 'dead' can cultivate.

However it is not impossible for a living being to be stuck in-between both worlds.

When a spirit and mortal intermingle the possibility of a half-breed being born isn't zero.

These half-breeds while rare have a soul of no lesser scale then that of a spirit that has been released of its mortal bindings, this causes their soul to be too big for the physical body that contains them.

A spirit does not have this problem, it has a body and soul of equal proportions.

A spirit cultivator is naturally able to gather the spiritual Qi surrounding it like breathing air, a half-breed on the other hand must actively pull the surrounding Qi towards oneself.

This distinction is rather minor in the long run as both are capable of similar displays of power, height would be the only real difference.

The average height of a spirit cultivator of human origin was 226cms (7'5) irregardless of gender with no real limit to height, while the height of a half-breed will never be bigger than 280cms (9ft) cms with the average height being 177cms (5'10).

While they can at times be taller then spirits their bodies suffer because of it.

The bodies of the living weren't designed to be perfect fits for their souls and as such no matter how tall or short a half-breed was their soul would never have a perfect vessel, at least until one undergoes body reformation.

This is also why not all cultivation techniques worked the same for everyone, they weren't designed as a one size fits all kind of deal.

Every soul is meant to be unique.

<+== Spirit half-breeds end ==+>

~Eastern quadrant, Heaven shifting sector~

A man in his thirties appeared to be walking in the void he did not seem to be moving at first yet every single step he took the stars shifted locations, each step a new sky, each step a new galaxy.

This man was the last remaining God of the vast tree universe, his name was - Haven - 80 billion years he had travelled the vast tree universe seeing the changes of time and the wonders of life.

From the innumerable objects to exists during the vast tree universe's existence he was behind it all. While he may not have designed every aspect of life and creation he most certainly provided the most fundamental force, motion.

It was not correct to claim that only he was responsible for creation, for there were other universe's beyond the borders of this one with a God if their own no less then he was and a role no less important.

He was currently on the way to meet the last of the heaven defying ascended that resided in the vast tree realm and the last of the great protectors currently active.

As he traveled through the stars sightseeing lesser beings flee he arrived at a small planet, the planet was vibrant and full of life but no cities would be found here only small villages and simple homes.

This planet had no cultivators residing within, which was certainly unusual as this planet was filled with a terrifying amount of spiritual Qi so much so that the entire planets sky was covered in a thick mist ocean that gave off spiritual light like that of a flaming sun.

"Young child Lerim, i've come to pay a visit" God haven spoke.

His voice resounded throughout the void seemingly ethereal, yet no one but the intended target could hear him.

The planet opened up a small part of the cloud covered sky and made a path into the planet, God haven saw and proceeded into the planet.

"I am already several million years old, and powerful enough to be your equal and yet you still call me a child... You truly are an irritating God" A voice sounded from the planet.

The voice that spoke came from another man sitting down by the name of Lerim, he was the last heaven defying cultivator and de-facto leader of the vast tree realm after all others had fallen.

"I've watched you since you were born, and its been less then 2 million years since you ascended to my 'level' what are you if not a child before my eyes?" God Haven spoke

"A bird old enough to leave the nest" Lerim said jokingly.

God Haven only gave a slight smile, he had indeed watched Sir Lerim throughout his entire life but the same could be said for all living beings in the vast tree universe regardless if they were beast or man but of course this did not mean he liked everyone equally, if that was true cultivators reaching the final stage would not be called heaven defying cultivators, devils would not be considered evil upon commiting murder, and the mind of many a scholar would not have been driven mad trying to find the meaning of life.

Only by breaking away from the Dao will one be allowed to call themselves free from the cycle of reincarnation and truly grasp their own fate.

It was also notable to say that those who reached the heaven defying stage had once fought with the gods of old to the point of nearly causing the realm to collapse both angering and scaring the gods, but those days had long passed and gods were considered a thing of legends as most saw cultivators as gods in todays world. Were the gods of old dead? No. But as long as they had no body to inhabit their actions had become severely limited.

Lerim was born in a time of 'peace', in a time where gods were no more, and cultivators reign supreme but this only made his path to ascension so much more muddy as he had to find his own reason to go beyond heavens reach.

In his case it wasn't oppression from a god that caused his misery but one of the ascended that broke free from heaven.

To him, people like him were the most terrifying beings of them all, for a god was predictable as they acted in tune with their nature but one free of all retrains had nothing to lose or gain.

If they acted against you it was always in malice, if they helped you in some way an ulterior motive was always at play and if you just happen to meet one by accident they call it 'fate' even when they have freed themselves of it.

Lerim looked at God Haven "You seem to be getting stronger, it seems that the destruction of the universe may not be a bad thing for you lord Haven. I fear soon I will be unable to entertain you"

"It may or might not be a good thing, it won't only be me getting stronger from the fall of our realm. Certain sleeping old ones might awake soon and other beings born from the destruction of our realm which won't be inferior to you in power will suddenly appear. Now we are even receiving inter realm visitors many of which are waiting for us to leave the realms protection" God haven spoke without remorse over the loss of the universe, as long as it lasted it wasn't eternal.

"So in the chaos of defeat all those past losers are taking this time to make a comeback while the bottom feeders pay us a visit haha!" Lerim only casually remarked

"Come sit down Lord haven, I prepared one of my favorite wines and found some interesting foods on this planet for us to eat" Lerim invited God haven

"This planet used to be inhabited by that child Hamel, you sure didn't waste time collecting the treasures of your fallen kin" God haven finally had a bit of emotion in his voice

"If I don't who will? The barriers protecting all the various heaven born treasures aren't breachable by the vast majority of forces across the realm, that's not even mentioning how many treasures will be lost because of how hidden they are, just the amount I collected cant even acount for 5% of the vast treasures left by the others" Lerim defended his case.

"That will not a problem, you are underestimating those of the younger generations. Many of the older kids have left inheritances for their race and kin while others have left their wealth in hard to see places at first sight but most of the time they lay in plain sight. Most if not all of these treasures have been loaded onto those 'Salvation Arks' you designed actively sneeking into various Arks and vessels on their own" God Haven retorted.

Lerim did not talk back, he knew that compared to this God he did not have enough experience as old as he was. He was also the youngest of the heaven defying to rise to power and couldn't be compared to those that had fallen and indeed the treasures he had obtained were only from those that did not have connections to the outside world.

Even the planet he stood on was fighting him to be set free as it seemed to have already chosen its next owner, possibly even seeking the reborn Hamel wherever he may be.

God haven smiled "Do not underestimate the spirituality of our realm child we have not survived by luck but by the ceaseless preparations set up by those who live in it. If we had not encountered one of the 10 great calamities of existence we would not be in such dire straights, all past troubles in the realm have built our great Vast tree realm into one of the most powerful forces in this current period of time, our power is comparable to any great realm out there. After all not even a fifth of you heaven defying cultivators born to our realm were present to defend it and every God had mostly been dormant. It will be no problem for us to establish a new realm elsewhere given some time"

Lerim did not say anything but he knew that this God was overly optimistic about their plight, while most heaven defying cultivators were indeed not in the vast tree universe this did not mean that they would come to defend it or even give assistance in the future. .

It would be much more likely for them to assail them out of pure boredom rather than helping them.

When a being that has nothing to do for 10 billion years suddenly see's new entertainment before them, will they offer to help for no reason? Unlikely.

After all the older generations of heaven defying cultivators fought the heavens to break free from the universe's control while newer generations like Lerim that reaped the rewards from their fight saw it as their home not a prison.

Lerim just kept silent about this fact, it was better to have an optimistic God than a pessimistic one.

<+== Echo's of past ==+>

Heavenly Maya fought valiantly against the foreign beast, launching attack after attack the beast bled blue as rain-like projectiles spawned from the darkness of space.

With every passing hour heavenly Maya became weaker, slower and more deranged.

The less control she had over her mind the more difficult it became to plan attacks and defend, every passing moment she lost some control over her own Qi.

A skill she practiced for a thousand years millions of times became dull with only a fraction of its original might.

Losing sight of the target she could only increase the radius of her attacks indiscriminately.

Cubes of unknown make slammed into her armor launching her side to side as she struggled to pinpoint their exact location.

"This is irritating"

In a flash she accurately struck at each cube with the final attacks landing in the void, she couldn't accurately aim anymore but through an onslaught of attack the chances increased of hitting the target.

From afar the beast drowned in its own blood as the sword light cut through the gullet of the beast, it roared once as it's flesh mended itself anew.

"...This is going to be a bad day"

With the beasts seemingly instant recovery skill heavenly Maya was pressed to deal some real damage.

Her attacks should not be so easy to heal, each swing of her blade held the power of heavens laws themselves, for such wounds to heal instantly was tantamount to spitting on heaven.

She wasn't at the edge of her rope yet but given she can't find a way to deal with the beast before the days end the mental attacks she has received could be life threatening.

'Should I find a way to stop it's mental attacks first?'

The beast changed size growing into a titanic creature that slammed it leg down on heavenly Maya and just as quickly returning to it's original size.

'Body manipulation too?' narrowly dodging the blow heavenly Maya stopped the chase taking a few leaps as space bent giving her some time to recover.

'Extremity Qi pill, it should provide me with just enough Qi for that skill' she took a pill from her storage ring eating it directly.

Heavenly Maya concentrated her mind.

Space expanded and contracted.

An energy wave of Qi struck the edge of the universe creating a hole that expanded space beyond the universe's borders tens of billions of light years across.

The beast couldn't escape on time getting hit dead center melting the thick hide and flesh on the left side completely, it tried to heal but this time the wound was there to stay.

Heavenly Maya coughed up blood as the skill she just used overwhelmed her spirit body.

'It can't get hurt by the universe barrier and recovers from most damage, but it can be injured with dao attacks huh'

"The worst kind of battles"