The Eternal Nexus Ascension activated, and Runar's entire existence shifted into a new paradigm.
But before he began the actual cultivation process, his enhanced mind caught a critical problem.
Wait. The time dilation in the Infinite Qi Realm is 1:10,000 now. If I spend even a few hours inside, that's... tens of thousands of hours. Days. Potentially a week or more of cultivation.
His parents would definitely check on him before then. His mother came to his nursery every few hours in the night, and if she found an empty crib or—worse—him in the middle of a cultivation breakthrough, everything would be exposed.
I need a placeholder. Something to cover for me while I'm in the realm.
His runic knowledge provided the answer immediately: Runic Clone Construct.
It wouldn't be a true clone—those required advanced techniques he didn't have yet. But he could create a runic construct that would simulate his presence. A false body lying in the crib, breathing normally, moving occasionally, even responding to touch with appropriate baby reflexes.
Runar entered the Comprehension Space for thirty seconds of real-time (approximately eight hours subjective) and designed the construct.
The runes were intricate—illusion runes for appearance, sound runes for breathing, touch runes for physical sensation, behavioral runes for random baby movements. He wove them together into a coherent whole, powered by a small amount of qi that would sustain it for twelve hours minimum.
When he exited the Comprehension Space, he activated the construct.
A perfect copy of his baby body materialized in the crib beside him, already "sleeping" peacefully. The illusion was flawless—his runic eyes could barely tell the difference, and he'd created it.
That should last until tomorrow morning. More than enough time.
Now, finally, he could begin.
System, activate Infinite Qi Realm. I'm ready to cultivate.
[ACTIVATING INFINITE QI REALM...]
[TIME DILATION: 1:10,000]
[ENTRY GRANTED]
Reality, Space and Time twisted.
Runar found himself standing in an impossible space.
The Infinite Qi Realm stretched endlessly in all directions—a vast, luminous void filled with pure, unfiltered qi. It appeared as golden mist at his current position, but he could see layers extending deeper into the distance, each one glowing more brilliantly than the last.
The near layer: pale gold, relatively thin
The middle layer: rich gold, noticeably denser
The deep layer: blazing gold, so concentrated it looked almost solid
The abyss layer: white-gold, pure enough to be dangerous to normal cultivators
And I can access all of it, Runar realized, looking down at his baby body. Even here, in this mental-spiritual space, he maintained his physical form. The deeper I go, the purer the qi. The faster I'll cultivate.
But first, he needed to prepare the resources.
System, withdraw the cultivation pills.
[WITHDRAWING:]
World Qi Pills x100 Balance Qi Pills x1,000 Star Qi Pills x500
The pills materialized in neat organized piles floating beside him, each one radiating tremendous power. The World Qi Pills especially—Divine-grade treasures that glowed with the compressed essence of entire worlds.
If any other cultivator saw me about to eat these like candy, they'd either kill me out of jealousy or cry at the waste.
World Qi Pills were meant to be used sparingly, one at a time, with weeks of meditation between doses to properly absorb their power. Taking multiple pills simultaneously was considered suicidally reckless—the energy influx would simply explode a normal cultivator's body.
But Runar had a Low Supreme-grade physique specifically designed to refine any energy with 99.9% efficiency.
Let's begin.
He sat cross-legged in the golden mist, the Eternal Nexus Ascension technique active and ready. He could feel its runic structure throughout his entire body—waiting, prepared, eager to guide him through the transformation.
First stage of Stardust Awakening: Open the initial meridians and begin drawing in cosmic energy.
Runar grabbed a World Qi Pill and swallowed it whole.
The effect was instantaneous and catastrophic.
PAIN.
Absolute, all-consuming, reality-shattering PAIN.
The pill dissolved in his stomach, releasing energy equivalent to ten thousand normal pills in a single explosive burst. That energy slammed into his infant body with the force of a collapsing star.
Every cell screamed. His meridians, still mostly closed and undeveloped, suddenly had cosmic-level qi trying to force its way through them. It felt like his entire body was being torn apart from the inside, each atom trying to escape in different directions.
His soul—still forming, still crystallizing—felt the strain too. The spiritual pressure was immense, crushing, like an ocean trying to compress into a teacup.
This is—this is too much—I'm going to—
NO.
Runar's will hardened. He'd designed this technique himself. He knew it was safe. The pain was part of the process—the body, soul, and qi cultivation all activating simultaneously, all transforming at once.
Push through. The technique will handle it. Just. Keep. Going.
The Eternal Nexus Ascension activated fully.
The runic structures embedded throughout his body—the triangular stability runes, the circular pressure runes, the hexagonal efficiency runes—all lit up simultaneously. They began their work, guiding the chaotic energy, shaping it, directing it.
His first meridian ripped open.
Not gently, not gradually—it tore itself into existence under the pressure of all that qi, the runic reinforcements forming instantly to prevent complete destruction. Then the second meridian. The third.
The pain was indescribable. It felt like having his entire circulatory system replaced with molten metal while still conscious. Every nerve was on fire. His baby body convulsed involuntarily.
But beneath the agony, something else was happening.
The qi was being refined. His Supreme-grade physique was working at full capacity, taking the raw World Qi and purifying it, converting it into his own true qi. The HDCM was optimizing his comprehension of the process in real-time, making micro-adjustments to improve efficiency.
His 108 minor meridians began opening in rapid succession. Ten at a time. Twenty. The runic reinforcements were forming simultaneously, the hexagonal efficiency runes expanding the meridians from the inside, the circular pressure runes pulling from the outside, the triangular stability runes maintaining structure.
More. I need more energy.
Even through the pain, Runar grabbed another World Qi Pill and swallowed it.
The energy doubled. The pain doubled. His vision went white.
But his meridians continued opening. Thirty. Forty. Fifty.
The 12 Organ Meridians activated next. These were different—connected directly to his lungs, stomach, heart, kidneys, liver, and other vital organs. Opening them felt like surgery without anesthesia, each one sending fresh waves of agony through his system.
But as they opened, he felt something else too.
His organs were being refined. The qi flowing through the newly-opened organ meridians was breaking down impurities at the cellular level, rebuilding his infant organs into something stronger, purer, more efficient.
The 8 Extraordinary Vessels came next. These were deeper, more fundamental—the Conception Vessel running down his front, the Governing Vessel up his spine, the Penetrating Vessel connecting them, the Girdle Vessel wrapping around his waist, and the four Linking and Heel vessels providing additional pathways.
Opening all eight simultaneously was like having his entire body restructured at once. The pain reached a crescendo—absolute, total, overwhelming.
Runar's consciousness nearly shattered.
But then—
BREAKTHROUGH.
The first stage of Stardust Awakening shattered.
And everything changed.
SUBLIMATION.
That was the only word for it. Pure, absolute, transcendent sublimation.
The pain didn't just stop—it inverted. Suddenly every cell in his body was singing with joy, with euphoria, with pleasure so intense it bordered on religious experience.
It felt like being in his mother's womb again—safe, warm, protected, perfectly content. It felt like every hidden fatigue he'd carried from his previous life and this one simply dissolved, leaving him more rested than he'd ever been. It felt like sex, like enlightenment, like coming home after a long journey.
His cells were rejoicing.
The meridians, now fully open and reinforced, pulsed with golden light. Pure qi flowed through them like rivers of liquid starlight, encountering zero resistance, zero waste. The runic structures hummed with satisfaction, working exactly as designed.
His organs, refined by the organ meridians, operated at peak efficiency. His heart beat stronger. His lungs processed air and qi simultaneously. His liver filtered impurities with supernatural effectiveness.
And his blood—he could feel it changing. The impurities were being expelled through his skin as black, tar-like substance. The hemoglobin was crystallizing into something purer. A faint golden tint was beginning to appear.
This is... incredible. This is what cultivation really feels like.
But he wasn't done. This was only the first stage.
More. I need more qi. More pills. Deeper into the realm.
Runar stood, his baby body moving with newfound strength despite its size. The golden mist around him was already being drawn into his meridians in a constant whirlpool—qi from thousands of miles away, attracted by his Supreme-grade physique and heaven-defying technique.
But it wasn't enough. Not nearly enough.
He began walking deeper into the Infinite Qi Realm.
The mist grew denser. Richer. Purer. The pale gold became rich gold, then blazing gold. With each step, the ambient qi concentration increased exponentially.
Any normal cultivator would have stopped long ago, unable to handle the pressure. But Runar's technique thrived on it.
He grabbed a handful of World Qi Pills—five at once—and swallowed them all together.
The energy explosion was titanic.
But his physique handled it. His meridians, now reinforced and expanded, channeled the massive influx. His 365 acupoints activated, beginning their enlarge-compress cycles, storing and refining the qi into true qi that bore his personal imprint.
Second stage breakthrough.
Third stage breakthrough.
The transformations came rapidly, each one bringing fresh waves of that sublime sublimation feeling. His body was being rebuilt from the ground up—not just opening pathways, but fundamentally improving every aspect of his physical existence.
His blood vessels were being enhanced with runic structures now. The hexagonal filters were forming, purifying his qi with every circulation. His blood was flowing faster, carrying nutrients and qi to every cell with perfect efficiency.
The cellular refinement process began. Destroy and heal. Break down and rebuild. Each cell in his body undergoing millions of micro-cycles of death and rebirth, emerging stronger every time.
His brain was being enhanced. The neurons were multiplying, forming new connections. The runic structures were embedding themselves into the neural tissue, making his thoughts faster, clearer, more powerful.
His spiritual sea was expanding. His soul was crystallizing, the amorphous energy taking on structure and solidity. His mind was deepening, new layers of consciousness opening up.
Fourth stage. Fifth stage.
Runar lost himself in the cultivation. Time became meaningless. All that existed was the cycle: absorb qi, refine qi, circulate qi, breakthrough, sublimate, repeat.
He was eating pills like candy now—World Qi Pills, Balance Pills to stabilize the foundation, Star Qi Pills for supplementary cosmic energy. He'd go through dozens at a time, his Supreme-grade physique processing them all simultaneously.
If any cultivators could see this, they would weep. Each World Qi Pill was worth a fortune. Using them this wastefully was almost sacrilegious.
But for Runar, it was necessary. The Eternal Nexus Ascension required massive energy input to establish its foundation properly. All three cultivation paths advancing simultaneously, all the runic structures forming and strengthening, all the physiological changes happening at once—it was like building a city in days instead of years.
He went deeper still into the Infinite Qi Realm.
The white-gold layer. Here, the qi was so pure it was almost dangerous, so concentrated that it felt solid. Normal cultivators couldn't survive here—the pressure would crush their foundations.
Runar thrived.
The qi whirlpool around him had grown to encompass thousands of miles. From above, it would look like a golden tornado, with him at the calm center, devouring everything.
Sixth stage. Seventh stage. Eighth stage.
Each breakthrough came with that sublime feeling, but also with profound understanding. He was beginning to comprehend qi itself. Not just use it, but understand it at a fundamental level.
The HDCM was working overtime, processing insights at thousands of times normal speed. Combined with the Comprehension Space's thousand-times boost when he needed to analyze something, he was learning faster than should be possible.
Ninth stage.
The penultimate stage of Stardust Awakening. His foundation was incredibly solid now—far beyond what any normal cultivator achieved at this realm. Every meridian was wide and reinforced. Every acupoint was a perfect refinement chamber. Every cell was optimized. His blood was half-golden. His organs glowed faintly with spiritual energy. His soul was one-third crystallized.
One more. The tenth stage. The normal limit.
He prepared for the breakthrough, gathering energy for the final push—
And then he felt it.
The wall.