Ankit nodded once. "Yes, It's harmless now. You can play with it."
Sanya's eyes sparkled. She had started reading cultivation novels lately—tales of immortals who sealed mountains in bottles, trapped dragons in gourds, or folded oceans into sleeves. Those beings were terrifyingly powerful… but they were fiction. Her brother had just done it in real life.
She grinned as Rudra, recovering his courage, padded over and began batting the pearl playfully with his paws—shaking it vigorously. Inside, the miniature shark tumbled helplessly, growing visibly nauseous and irritated.
Sanya stifled a laugh. If Rudra ever realized the "cute" toy he was tormenting was the same monster that had terrified him moments ago… his reaction would be priceless.
She decided to keep quiet for now and simply enjoy the show.
Ankit watched the scene with quiet amusement. The shark had been child's play—Stage 1 Substage 5 equivalent, raw power but no refined intent. A simple spatial compression had reduced it to pocket size without resistance.
Their journey continued deeper.
They encountered beasts of every scale: serpents longer than trains, jellyfish the size of stadiums with tentacles trailing essence lightning, schools of swordfish mutated into living blade storms. Some dwarfed the shark in sheer mass; others were smaller but pulsed with denser, more refined essence flows.
Yet none surpassed the shark raw stage. It marked the current oceanic ceiling—Stage 1 peak.
Rudra's fear gradually faded. After the tenth colossal shadow swam past without incident, He relaxed and forgot about previous accident. His horizons had expanded; size alone no longer terrified him.
Ankit collected samples along the way—essence-rich corals, mutated pearls, deep-sea minerals. One herb in particular caught his attention: a translucent blue lotus growing near an origin point vent, its petals saturated with extremely pure water essence. Even peak Stage 3 human cultivators would find it valuable for alchemy—perfect for water-attribute pills or healing elixirs.
They explored only the Indian Ocean sector—three origin points mapped, dozens of powerful beasts catalogued, resources harvested.
Ankit decided the exploration had yielded enough for one day. With a subtle shift of intent, he compressed the return journey—no scenic detours this time. He uses his full speed-40000 km/hr.
And in the next heartbeat, they stood on the familiar grass of the fortress garden, warm evening air replacing the chill pressure of the depths. The transition was seamless, instantaneous.
Sanya staggered slightly, blinking rapidly. One moment the endless ocean pressed around them, vibrant mutated life swirling in every direction; the next, the quiet garden under a twilight sky.
She pinched her arm hard—once, twice. Felt the sharp sting. Not a dream.
Her gaze dropped to Rudra, who was happily batting the shark pearl between his paws. Inside, the tiny 5 cm leviathan tumbled again, glaring impotently. The pearl was real. The ocean memories—colossal beasts, glowing vents, the impossible herb now stored in Ankit's ring—were real.
It wasn't a dream.
It was just her brother being… her brother.
Sanya exhaled slowly, a mix of awe and excitement settling over her. "Brother… that was like teleporting."
Ankit ruffled her hair gently. "Close enough. Full speed this time."
They stepped through into familiar evening light.
Sanya clutched the shark pearl excitedly (Ankit had gifted it to her with a mild spatial seal—indestructible and escape-proof). Rudra trotted beside her, occasionally nipping at the pearl to make the tiny shark spin.
Ankit ruffled both their heads.
"I'm heading into seclusion now," he said softly. "Time to resume cultivation."
____
March 5, 2020 – Dark Haven Fortress, Ankit's sealed chamber.
The door sealed behind him with a soft ripple of space. Silence fell, absolute and comforting.
Ankit sat in meditation position on a simple stone platform, breathing slow and rhythmic. His mind, already tempered to perfect clarity, reviewed the path ahead with calm precision.
In the ancient Indian mythology system he had studied—texts like the Yoga Sutras, tantric treatises, and modern interpretations—the seven chakras formed a clear sequence. After throat core came the third eye, and finally, the crown.
He would follow that order.
The Third Eye Core is the seat of light, the inner illumination that pierces illusion, reveals truth, and symbolizes the awakened individual soul. Its nature is pure light essence: a refined fusion of light element and the world's ambient Essence Flow.