Deiform Soma, Psyche Transformation, Energy Sublimation, Advanced Ascension and Gate Traversal. These stages were the five steps that had to be taken before one could break through to the Celestial Stage.
Prior to this latest explanation–or rather, before the second round had even begun–Theodore had long since given his lovers a cursory overview over them. After all, they should at the very least be familiar with the terminology. That way, if they came into contact with any related intel, they would be capable of making informed decisions and understanding what was going on.
As for the detailed realms? Those would naturally only be unveiled to them once they were practically around the corner. Overloading their inexperienced selves with too much information from the get-go would just make them needlessly worry about the future, sidetracking them. For a smoother cultivation journey, they should focus on the steps that lay immediately ahead, not those that were still years or decades away.
'Speaking of, I wonder how long it will take them to make it through the Holos Acclimation Stage and arrive at the Deiform Soma Stage. Qiao'er has been honing her Divine Will for three decades already, whilst Mei'er has only achieved the same realm a few years ago. Considering that, she might want to wait a little bit longer before breaking through. So although Qiao'er's progress from here on out should be a bit slower, she'll have a head start.'
Smirking slightly, he cleared his mind of these distracting thoughts. After a bit of cuddling, he had retreated to his cultivation chamber, intent on finally taking a step forward again himself. With non-negligible danger on the horizon, he should improve his strength as much as he possibly could during the remaining time.
'Chances are that I'll overshoot again and turn the threat into a harmless joke, but that's much preferable over being caught with my pants down.'
Closing his eyes and taking steady, deep, rhythmic breaths, he concentrated on his Numen. With his own Proficiency being much higher than anyone else at his realm, zeroing in on it and making it dance to his tune was not difficult–and neither was entering the Suffusion Realm.
Carefully, slowly and steadily, he spread his Divine Will out until it covered his entire being. A minute strain could be felt, but it was very minimal–barely even noticeable. Still, the process itself took multiple hours, as it couldn't be rushed.
Feeling himself break through as easily as breathing, Theodore was unmoved. Instead, he continued immediately. Throughout this whole stage, progress could solely be achieved whilst his entire being was being permeated by his Numen. Of course, some preferred to only enter this state while they were cultivating, but he would be keeping it up the entire time.
With his Divine Will not yet exhausted, he utilized every yet idle part of it to envelop his soul. It was a bit similar to how it had been surrounded by Energy whilst the Essence Cocoon had been in play–and exactly like back then, it was now being 'incubated'.
'And now, I wait.'
A part of his mind constantly occupied with maintaining this condition, he found himself rather 'bored', despite technically being busy cultivating. He had never been a fan of the Holos Acclimation Stage, as he couldn't speed up the process at all, no matter what he did. Fortunately, it wouldn't waste all too much of his time.
'I'm not held back by absurd Energy needs courtesy of my unprecedentedly vast Dantians, so I'll give it five days, at most.'
Fortunately, his Cultivation Polymath Talent would help him tide through this time of ennui at a respectable pace. But in the meantime, he could neither fully relax, nor completely focus on his cultivation. It was quite vexing.
'Let's see... That delegation from the Illyrian Union arrived earlier. I left the handling of that situation to Vigi and Lady Reese, and I haven't been informed of anything going awry.'
Spreading his perception throughout all of Pytho, he searched for any potentially interesting developments, or something of note. However, all that met his 'gaze' was exactly as he had expected.
With the Illyrians being under the influence of a carefully crafted illusion, it was remarkably simple for Cristyn to handle them. Even the distrustful few amongst the visiting party found nothing amiss, beginning to doubt that the Sybillan Republic was truly the origin of that strange ripple which they had observed. Perhaps, their instruments had simply made a mistake.
'It appears that she wants to preserve the status quo for now. It's a wise choice. After all, in due time, all of the surrounding civilizations will become my Students–whether they want to, or not. Therefore, there is no need for her to deliberately rock the boat.'
Nodding in approval, he once more tried to discover anything of interest, but came away with nothing except for disappointment. With Pytho having been cleansed not long ago, there were no troublemakers afoot, and the planned educational institutions were yet to be built.
Ultimately, Theodore chose to spend his time crafting some new Compound Array Disks for various purposes. His Subordinates could always need a few more of them, and a chunk of their current arsenal was already outdated in terms of the materials used for their creation.
A day flew by in peace and quiet, everyone busying themselves with their own matters. By now, based on his educated assumptions, he should have reached the limit of the Soul Dousing Realm–but he sensed that he could still go a lot further!
'Generally, the purpose of this stage is to get a foot into the door of being 'divine'. It's meant to be the beginning step... yet in my case, it seems to be a lot more. Obviously, I won't be able to make it all the way to the finish line. Still, I wonder how far I can go? And how will this change my eventual breakthrough to the Celestial Stage?'
The results of his early Energy Vein Incorporation had been fading into the background for a long time. Ever since he had got access to his Divine Will three cultivation stages before he had been supposed to, nothing else especially of note in that regard had made itself known. Finally, it was time for it to step into the limelight yet again.
The simplest and most straightforward benefit of being 'more divine' than his peers was that the chasm between all prior stages and the Celestial Stage would be easier to bridge. Standard Attributes alone had a hard time achieving this, but it wasn't impossible–at least when it came to the Celestial Stage.
Beyond that, there would come a point where even the most gifted amongst Supreme Pillar heirs would find it unachievable to contend with those at higher stages solely by relying on their Standard Attributes.
There was a natural divide in the hierarchy of life between the Gate Traversal Stage and the Celestial Stage. Yet, there was also an equally drastic change following soon after–one that separated regular 'divine' beings from those with true potential.
'If I'm not wrong, then even that gap should not pose too much of a challenge for me in the future. Still, that's a matter for the third round–I won't have to worry about it at the moment.'
Unfortunately, confrontations between the strongest of Supreme Pillar heirs were not just a numbers game. Those at higher cultivation realms or stages wouldn't necessarily win. Much more important were their Talents, as well as all of the trump cards that they hid in their sleeves. However, when facing the regular cannon fodder all around, these relatively mundane advantages would suffice.
'For now, let's see how far I can go.'
Another two days came and went. By now, the Iulian Empire's ships had begun to surround the Lesser Void Guarding Array, displaying their military might out in the open. But other than earning themselves a fleeting glance from Theodore, they were completely ignored. After all, they had not yet crossed the line and attacked, ergo they weren't worthy of much of his attention.
Finally, after triple the time than he had initially anticipated, his days in the Soul Dousing Realm were over. Scrutinizing his soul closely and analysing its current state, he soon came to the startling realization that he was barely a breath away from being truly and fully 'divine'–at least in this aspect.
This genuinely took him by surprise. After all, there was a whole other cultivation stage–Psyche Transformation–which would focus on elevating his soul to greater heights. The Advanced Ascension Stage would also reinforce it significantly again!
'There is absolutely no way that my soul won't end up becoming 'divine' before I get to the Celestial Stage. Following this trend, I can surmise that my body and Energy will experience the same development as well. In other words, in all but cultivation stage, I will become 'divine' during this round.'
With that in mind, he began to check his Energy Vein collection. Although Cheong Suhyeon, Vigdis, Navya and Kjartan had begun their own Energy Vein Incorporation over the past century, due to having plundered so many worlds, he still had a lot of them at hand.
'It's not enough, though. I'm about... halfway there. If I'm fortunate and just one more significant elevation of my three aspects will transform them into truly 'divine' ones, then starting from the peak of the Energy Sublimation Stage, I can put the next phase of my Energy Vein Incorporation-related plans into practice.'
It was highly unlikely that he would magically come into the possession of the remaining fifty percent by the time that he made it there, so it looked like he would have to be stuck at that point for a while. Still, it shouldn't take all too long.
If he consolidated the populations of the civilizations that he would conquer into a few less worlds than they originally inhabited, he could still harvest a lot. Considering the vastly higher Energy concentration resulting from far more numerous veins being present, it should at most take a few years. And, at that point, he would already be 'divine', therefore he wouldn't exactly be 'weak'.
'If I want the best possible foundation, then I cannot be hasty and settle for an inferior option.'
Right as he had finished charting his future path and was about to proceed onward to the Core Connection Realm, his surveillance measures caught sight of a relatively small, yet extremely quick Voidfaring Vessel. It wasn't exactly on course towards Pytho, but it would be passing by rather closely.
When compared to what the Illyrian Union, the Iulian Empire and the Pontifical State of Tzyion had in store, this ship was manifold faster than their greatest creations. Clearly, the technology behind it was far more advanced.
Any unknown force travelling through what was practically Theodore's back garden would naturally attract his attention. But what truly alarmed him were the two facts that he could determine relatively quickly.
Firstly, this vessel contained a ridiculous amount of Energy Veins–enough for multiple Celestial Stage experts to live a comfortable life in perpetuity. And secondly, there were two cultivators of that level currently aboard.
'If it was before I laid down my Array and broke through, I would need to tread very carefully here. But now, I'm actually kind of tempted to exercise a little...'
Admittedly, other than getting some capable 'sparring partners', he also wanted to obtain those Energy Veins. Though, it would be even better if he could find out where these people came from, as back home, they surely had quite the collection for him to come and graciously take off their hands.
Informing his inner circle of the actions that he was about to take, he told them to stand back and let him handle this. Then, he made use of his Lesser Void Guarding Array's various functions to teleport close to the ship, forcefully halting it in 'place' via the same formation.
"Stop right there! Excuse the rude reception, friends, but this is my territory. You can't just come and go without paying a toll."
With a gentle, welcoming smile on his lips, he calmly awaited the passersby's response to his abrupt interception.