I Cultivate in a Government Office

Seeing this, Yang Wenqing was overjoyed. Then, the space of clarity he had just condensed shattered.

He wasn't discouraged, however. Instead, he burst out laughing. In that moment, he felt the joy of a true genius. But he quickly stifled his laughter and whispered, "Still, I can't compare to them. Those geniuses with innate talent can cultivate the first six refinements all at once."

Then, he calmed himself and tried to condense the space of clarity a second time. It went smoothly again—impossibly so. There was none of the stabbing pain, dizziness, or sense of difficulty that the records warned might occur.

However, this newly formed Sea of Consciousness was only the size of a thumb, and his perception only extended about two meters around him. Anything beyond that was a blur. This was already considered decent compared to the one-meter range recorded for a newly opened Sea of Consciousness, but it was still a far cry from the hundred-meter range one achieved at the completion of the Sixth Refinement.

Yang Wenqing understood. The Golden Core's aid was for condensation and stabilization, but expanding its size would still require him to follow the orthodox methods of the Nine Refining Secret Skill's Sixth Refinement, tempering and growing it slowly, step by step.

Even so, gaining a basic Divine Sense ahead of schedule was a delightful surprise.

With a mere thought, his Divine Sense spread out like an invisible ripple. It not only revealed the paths of dust motes in the Quiet Chamber and the flow of the faint glow of Spiritual Qi with perfect clarity, but in the instant it pierced through the surface of physical reality, it touched upon an entirely different plane—

a world that overlapped the material one, yet was filled with profound mysteries: the Inspiration World.

Through the lens of his Divine Sense, the once-serene Quiet Chamber was now veiled in a hazy shimmer. This was the underlying Spiritual Attribute that composed and stabilized physical matter. The air of the Inspiration World was filled with countless motes of inspirational light, as fine as dust, flickering in and out of existence to some ineffable rhythm.

However, this was not a peaceful and serene world.

As these motes of inspiration flowed, an indistinct, decadent music and unintelligible whispers flooded Yang Wenqing's senses like background noise.

These were not real sounds, but chaotic fragments of information carried by inspiration itself, or perhaps the lingering echoes of powerful wills. For a Cultivator who had just opened their Sea of Consciousness, they could easily cause interference or even mental pollution.

Yang Wenqing was prepared for this. The texts and common cultivation knowledge from the Police Academy mentioned that "inspirational noise" was an inevitable part of first opening one's Divine Sense. He immediately cast a Purifying Heart Spell. A cool, serene intent arose from his Sea of Consciousness, warding off the chaotic noise and whispers.

According to his current understanding, all the physical laws of the real world, the flow of Spiritual Qi, and even the casting of Magic and Divine Powers were all fundamentally supported and subtly influenced by the Inspiration World.

Overall, the Inspiration World needed to maintain a state of dynamic equilibrium. If a localized area of inspiration was impacted by powerful Magic, it could trigger anomalies in the Spiritual Qi of the corresponding physical area, and even incite a Spiritual Qi eruption.

For this very reason, although certain evil cultivation methods could extract Spiritual Attribute from the flesh, blood, and intense emotions of living beings for cultivation or spellcasting, such acts were met with the harshest crackdowns and restrictions by the mainstream Cultivation Realm and official authorities.

This was not only because of its cruelty, but also because the mass slaughter of living beings and the wanton disruption of the balance of inspiration could easily lead to a regional collapse or contamination of inspiration. This would trigger uncontrollable disasters that would ultimately backfire on all Cultivators.

As for Cultivators themselves, having been tempered by Spiritual Qi, the inspiration contained within their flesh and consciousness is highly purified and stamped with their unique personal imprint, making it strongly exclusive and unique.

Forcibly extracting and refining another Cultivator's Spiritual Attribute was not only highly inefficient but also incredibly perilous. The fragments of the original owner's consciousness and their cultivation imprints would linger within the Spiritual Attribute, acting like the most tenacious poison or curse to contaminate the refiner's own consciousness. With the slightest misstep, they could be overthrown by the foreign will.

Therefore, unless they were a demonic cultivator who was truly desperate, few Cultivators would attempt such a suicidal act.

But reality was often unpredictable. While maintaining the stability of the Spiritual Attribute was ideal, things rarely went as one wished. Conflict and imbalance were the norm.

When conflicts of interest became irreconcilable, when disputes over one's cultivation path became a matter of life and death, or when certain taboos were violated, large-scale wars between Cultivators would inevitably erupt.

In the long history of the Central Continent, there were clear records of no fewer than a hundred large-scale wars between Cultivators. These wars often lasted for decades, even centuries, and their brutality far surpassed that of any mortal conflict.

Each of these great wars wreaked horrific destruction upon the Inspiration World in the conflict zone. They often left behind chaotic regions that took decades, or even centuries, to heal, turning them into forbidden zones for common people and low-level Cultivators alike.

'Even now, though the Central Continent seems mostly at peace, small- and medium-scale conflicts between Cultivators, and even localized wars, have never truly ceased. Isn't there a war on Wanxuan's Northern Border right now?'

'This is the cruel complexity of reality. Peace and order are the vision the mainstream strives for, but the very nature of power dictates that conflict will always exist.'

Yang Wenqing shook his head, reining in his wandering thoughts. As he withdrew his Divine Sense, the cacophony and shimmering light of the Inspiration World receded like the tide, and the physical Quiet Chamber became clear and silent once more. A faint sense of fatigue emanated from the thumb-sized space of clarity within the Sea of Consciousness at the center of his brow, but it remained stable.

This breakthrough had not only taken him past the Fourth Refinement and solidified his foundation for the Fifth Refinement, but had also unexpectedly opened the door to the Sixth Refinement ahead of schedule, allowing him to glimpse another layer of reality. At this moment, he was filled with satisfaction.