Hou summoned Yue and Araxis at the same time. His soul had been strengthened and so could hold all three awake if they each had an impaired thinking. However the impaired thinking could be remedied with longer thinking.
"This is the start of the first 3 way conference after joining the Nine Clouds Sovereign Sect temporarily, may it commence!" Hou spoke with some grandeur and started the 'conference'
The first to talk was Araxis,
"This is peculiar. The world is completely different, this must be a much further future than I thought. In my version of this world, there was nothing this close to magic."
"And same here, when I was active, the cultivation method I taught you was pretty much the norm. I can only say that a lot of time must have passed" Yue gave his opinion.
Hou took in both of their responses,
"You both agree, this new cultivation is very similar to magic? But it might be my inexperience but it might be...dare I say? Better."
Yue and Araxis both were silent for a moment until Araxis spoke,
"While perhaps not refined, I do think this might have a higher potential than magic. It combines magic and cultivation in a way that negates the downsides. It should be fast like cultivation but have the power and freedom of magic. I can't say yet but it's highly likely to be much more useful than each. However traditional magic and cultivation might still have their uses. The new does not need necessarily replace the old..."
"As Araxis has pointed out, just like magic did not replace cultivation for you, this improved cultivation might be the same. However it will be confusing to explain all these terms so let's call our traditional cultivation 'spirit arts' or 'spirit arts cultivation'. Let's wait until we learn more to make any conclusions. There may yet be downsides like it was said you use mental energy instead of qi, that might become a downside I cannot say."
"This cultivation does intrigue me though... Other than spirit stones it seems completely feasible in my world. Spirit arts weren't useful to me since these type of spirits did not exist, I made them with laws in your world. But cultivation....cultivation might become the new status quo in my world too."
"Araxis, Master, you both seem quite interested in cultivation. I shall make sure not to disappoint you and learn diligently despite my teacher."
"Oh don't worry about disappointing us. I'm sure you'll be fine, you are my disciple after all" Yue said with a tinge of smugness.
"But before I finish our little conference I've got a question. What am I doing? I know I've joined the None Clouds Sovereign Sect but now that I've become a real member bound by the rules. How am I supposed to free my people and even myself?
"That's a hard question to answer but right now I only have one suggestion. To learn and get stronger! Put aside all hate, really connect with your teacher and learn. Once you become strong enough you might be able to challenge Nine Clouds Purple Miasma for the lands or ask for them. Right now you don't have the liberty of perfect freedom, become stronger!" Yue gave Hou and inspirational speech and once again reinvigorated his passion.
Throughout every challenge Hou has had, there's always been one outcome. He needs to become stronger. However, everytime he becomes distracted with other plans.
This time Hou decided. He truly would forget everything, he would truly focus on growing stronger. Only when he became unparalleled in this world would he be free!
***
Nine Clouds Purple Miasma sat in one of his many rooms. He was not the sole leader of the sect. He was high up, he was an elder of the Nine Clouds Sovereign Sect. However, he was weaker than the others, his main strength was his cunning and the resources he had in the lands below.
A dead person's inner world contained many laws (in the form of spirit wills) and could strengthen the soul. It was a precious resource that Nine Clouds was slowly farming.
He couldn't directly find the inner world and take the wills so he let them leave themselves, given to humans, plants and animals. Then he just copied that technique and waited. It had been thousands of years already. He had already taken most of the spirit wills, the continent becomes almost fully under his control, monsters searching everywhere for new spirit wills.
Only false wills were sent out from the inner world which were of little use, only temporary laws. However, when combined it slowly narrowed the coordinate's of that spirit will.
Without an alive inner world, the spirits were stationary and through the false wills, Nine Clouds Purple Miasma could find them and take them out.
Trying to destroy and enter the inner world without the specific coordinates would simply destroy it.
It was a slow process but slowly he gained many many spirits wills which he used to do the same as his enemy. Using false spirit wills to make slaves and hosts. Over time he had gained all bit a few dozen spirit wills. Soon he would absorb them and become a much stronger cultivator.
However, now those few remaining will had gone! One day he felt a strong disturbance in the lands he controlled. This happened before, if one singular creature absorbed too much of either his own or the sun cultivators it becomes a cataclysm.
These beings start to impact the barrier containing the continent and Nine Clouds Purple Miasma needs to go down and take care of them.
However, when he went down to get them this time. All he found was a small rock and the dead inner world he was farming gone! He could tell it was another cultivator, and within he could sense the wills he was farming.
He immediately questioned the cultivator, not being too disrespectful in case they were a disciple of a powerful sect. But they were a nobody, a native person if the lands. And they used the traditional outdated cultivation!
Even with the outdated cultivation though he had taken his final spirit wills! He was tempted to kill them, but then he had an idea.
He could make use of them and grow and grow his side's strength, if he had a powerful cultivator by his side, his status would rise!
And so, Nine Clouds had taken him in as a disciple.
***
The next day, Nine Clouds Purple Miasma visited Hou again. He would begin his journey of cultivation truly today. None Clouds Purple Miasma was ready to impart all of his teachings onto the boy, he was ready to really take him in as a disciple!
"So Nine Clouds Hou, what did you feel? Anything different with the spirit stone?"