Since a Protector was directly involved with the project, the spiritual cultivator thing must be something that could change the trajectory of the continent massively. Ava realized that she had underestimated its importance. No, she might still be underestimating it. There were probably more Protectors involved with this project.
Ava returned to the bed, sat on it, opened the small vial, and ingested the illusion potion without hesitation. She had no reason to doubt Barbara at all because if she wanted to harm her, she could have done it the first time.
As soon as Ava's eyes rolled, showing white, Barbara started the timer.
---
In the illusion, Ava stood in a vast, misty arena. Men, women, children, and old people surrounded her, their faces blank but eyes glinting with defiance. She clenched her fists and charged. Her whip-like kicks snapped through the air, sending a man crashing to the ground. A woman lunged, but Ava's punch crushed her chest, dropping her instantly. A child rushed forward, only to be knocked back by a spinning elbow. An old man swung a cane, but Ava's knee shattered it and his jaw.
However, to her surprise, they stood up again. The man she kicked rose, dusting off his clothes. The woman stood, ribs intact. The child bounced up, unharmed. The old man cracked his neck and attacked again. Ava's temper flared. She unleashed a barrage of sonic booms, each strike crushing bones and splitting skin. Bodies flew, but they stood again, faces unchanged.
As time passed, more people joined, pouring in from the mist. Dozens became hundreds, then thousands, all charging at her. Ava spun, her kicks and punches a blur, sonic booms shaking the arena. She snapped necks, shattered skulls, and crushed chests, but the crowd grew thicker. They swarmed, fists and feet slamming into her. She twisted, dodging and striking, but there were too many. A fist caught her jaw, a kick slammed her ribs, and countless hands grabbed her limbs. She roared, breaking free, but the mob overwhelmed her. Their blows crushed her bones, and she collapsed, life fading as they trampled her.
Everything reset. Ava stood in the arena again, the same crowd staring. She fought, they rose, more joined, and she died again. Over and over, the cycle repeated, each death more crushing, the crowd endless, her strength draining in the relentless loop.
---
Ava… wake up, Ava…
A feminine voice sounded in Ava's ears.
Huh? Ava opened her eyes and saw Barbara dangling a handkerchief above her face.
She woke up from the illusion and immediately recalled that she was taking a test.
"Barbara, how did I do?" she asked eagerly while pushing Barbara's hand away from her face. Can you use another clean handkerchief to do that? I can see your dried snot on it, she complained inwardly.
Barbara didn't say anything and just showed the timer in her hand.
"What? Over four hours?" She bolted upright, staring at the numbers. "So… I've got no talent?" Disappointment crashed over her like a wave.
"Yes, I had to wake you up myself. Sorry, Ava, it seems you have no talent to be a spiritual cultivator," Barbara said with a comforting tone while taking a seat on the bed beside her.
"Sigh… that also means I won't be able to learn spiritual touch and bring the spiritual vein back with me. No wonder my spiritual sense didn't improve much after so long," Ava lamented.
"Don't stress out about it, Ava. It was supposed to be rare. I also took the test and was deemed to have no talent for it, similar to you. Oh, right. Did you remember anything about your illusion?" Barbara asked.
"It was about… huh? Why can't I remember anything? What's going on? Barbara, why can't I remember?"
Barbara nodded. "That's totally normal. Don't worry about it. It happens to everyone with a few exceptions. Their reactions were all similar to yours when asked. Can't remember their illusions at all. Me included."
"Then what about the exceptions you mentioned?" Ava asked.
"The exceptions were all those who were tested to have top-grade talent. But interestingly enough, only five of the hundreds of top-grade talents we identified can remember their illusion to a certain extent. Beyond that, everything became blurry for them. And so far, these five people have shown greater progress than the rest of the top-grade talents," Barbara replied.
"Are you saying that those who can remember their illusion have greater talent than even top-grade?"
Barbara nodded. "Based on what we have observed so far, it is highly likely to be the case, but we still need conclusive evidence."
"Must be nice… having great talent," Ava mumbled, her voice low. "I don't have a spirit root… no talent for spiritual cultivation either… all I can do is painful body cultivation every day… but the path is short. Body cultivators are small in numbers, and those who tread this path are usually not the type to have brilliant minds. So when we reach the limit, we don't know how to break that limit and progress further. That's why, even though the history of body and Qi cultivation goes way back together, only Qi cultivation had consistent breakthroughs, kept advancing forward," Ava felt somewhat dispirited by the lack of light at the end of the tunnel for body cultivation.
Barbara stayed quiet, her usual chatter gone. Although she had no talent for spiritual cultivation, she had a top-grade spirit root, making her cultivation life smooth. So she couldn't really relate and empathize with Ava's hardship. But she definitely felt pity for her.
Body cultivation had been around for as long as Qi cultivation, but it was true that its progression wasn't as much. After all, the strongest body cultivator ever achieved so far was to be able to fight toe-to-toe with a peak Nascent Soul. On the other hand, Qi cultivators could still go way stronger than that: Soul Formation, Soul Transformation.
To add salt to the wound, there was even a realm beyond Soul Transformation that was kept secret from the public for now because nobody in the Cloud Continent had reached that level yet. If this information were made public, body cultivators would feel more devastated. The difference between the two cultivation systems was staggering. Not to mention, even the newly developed Spiritual Cultivation System had far better potential, as proven by Demoness Cocolia in the past. Body cultivation was indeed neglected by many.
After a few minutes of silence, an idea came to her mind. Since they would be stuck here, possibly for a long time, why not help Ava accomplish her goal? When Ava cultivated her body under the influence of the spiritual vein, she would observe and collect data on how her body interacted with it and later derive a suitable continuation for her body cultivation method and maybe for all of them!
"Ava!" Barbara jumped up, eyes bright. "Quit moping. Let's go back to the mine!"
"What do you want to do there?" Ava asked. Since Barbara suddenly acted energetic, she must have something in mind.
"What else?" Barbara said, hands on her hips, grinning wide. "I'll use my energy research skills to help your body cultivation. You can't take the spiritual vein home, so we'll study it here. You cultivate, I'll analyze how your body handles it, gather data, and figure out a new way forward for you and maybe for all body cultivators! You said body cultivators don't have the brilliant mind to push further? I'll be that brilliant mind!" She pointed at herself, brimming with confidence.
The sudden decision made Ava somewhat speechless.
"How about it, Ava? Are you up for this challenge? There will be a lot of experiments, and you will have to endure a lot of pain as well in the process. If you're willing, I will do my best! That's a promise!"
Ava blinked in disbelief. "Are you serious?" She didn't expect Barbara to volunteer to do this. They had just met, after all.
"Why not? Since we are trapped here, we need to do our best to survive! And becoming stronger is the best way to survive. But I'm only a frail researcher, I have no talent in combat, so I need a strong bodyguard like you in this place. The stronger, the better. Anyway, this is also a great project for me if we manage to return. Body cultivators all over the Cloud Continent will remember my contribution in the future. Hehe."
Ava smiled. "You're a nice girl. I'm sure you will marry a great man in the future."
"Really? My brother always said I wouldn't get married because I rarely met other people, doing research and stuff, as if he weren't in the same situation. Hmph, let's prove him wrong."
"Ava, what kind of man do you think is suitable for me? Should I approach a man I'm interested in first, or should I give hints and wait for him to approach me?" Barbara asked, bubbly.
Ava was speechless. Oh no. She shouldn't have said anything. The conversation had derailed again, barreling straight into Barbara's marriage fantasies.
Countless conversations later, Ava and the naive chatterbox went back to the top-grade spirit stone mine to begin preparing for their new project. First, they had to dig a bigger and deeper hole than Ava initially planned so that they both could be around the spiritual vein comfortably.