番茄乐园

Mira sat in the cave, looking into the air with a blank look on her face, her mind spinning as it imprinted the image of that miniature black hole.

"So, what\'d you think? The Darkness element is pretty amazing, right?" The Guardian asked, to which Mira subconsciously nodded.

"Well, with enough control and understanding, you can also do that! What I showed you was within your range of capabilities."

Mira\'s eyes widened slightly, but her expression was still blank. She couldn\'t get the image of that black hole sucking up all the light and matter in the cave as if it were a vacuum cleaner!

\'I… I didn\'t even realize you could use the elements in such a way.\' Mira closed her eyes and pictured her other elements and how they interacted with the world.

All this while, she\'s been using her Qi and affinities to create things like ice spears or fireballs, but that one example opened up a whole new world for her! She\'d still use fireballs, but understanding what fire is and how it affects the world can bring it to another level of power.

"That\'s right! The elements, not just darkness, all work together to create the world. If you can understand how they do that, I can guarantee that you\'ll be invincible among those in the same Realm as you."  The Guardian explained, and although Mira felt excited about the prospect of doing that, a bitter smile appeared on her face.

\'Easier said than done.\'

The Guardian couldn\'t agree more, "Yes, it is quite the tall task, but it\'s worth it. Especially if you start now, in the Mortal Realm."

Mira\'s ears perked up at his last statement, "So, does that mean that understanding the elements is part of the cultivation system in the Immortal Realm?" Mira couldn\'t help but be curious.

She\'s heard of the Immortal Realm numerous times but hasn\'t learned anything about it other than that it\'s filled with immortals. The rest of her knowledge was either superficial or guesses. However, that didn\'t bother her as her journey in the Mortal Realm was already long enough.

She\'d never make it through the Mortal Realm if she spent all her time focusing on a goal that might take hundreds or even thousands of years to reach.

The Guardian hesitated for a moment but still decided to answer as with Mira\'s talent and drive, this little bit of knowledge wouldn\'t slow her down.

"Yes and no. The Immortal Realm is incredibly complicated. However, just know that one\'s understanding of the world separates the dregs, the canon fodder, from the truly powerful people." The Guardian explained, but Mira wasn\'t done asking questions! No, now that she\'s gotten someone who will actually answer her, how can she let this opportunity pass?!

\'I always hear how complicated the Immortal Realm is, but is it really like that, or do you old farts just like to be mysterious for no reason?\'

The Guardian\'s lips twitched, and he felt a headache coming on, but he still answered her anyways. It\'s not like the Immortal Realm was some sort of taboo, after all.

Thus, he ignored Mira\'s provocation and answered, "The Immortal Realm can be as complicated or as simple as you want it to be. Unlike the Mortal Realm, which has a more defined cultivation system, the Immortal Realm\'s path to power is broader. However, that\'s not to say the Mortal cultivation system isn\'t important, as it is, more than you can imagine."

Mira nodded thoughtfully, but she didn\'t need to be a genius to understand how vital the Mortal Cultivation Realms are.

\'That\'s all well and good, but you didn\'t explain how it\'s complicated, nor what the Immortal Realm is actually like!\' Mira began to feel a little impatient. Although she was curious, she didn\'t have all day to sit here and have this discussion.

The Guardian just sighed, and instead of answering, he asked, "Do you remember the life you lived on planet Earth?"

Mira nodded. How could she not remember it? Every life she lived is still vivid in her memory.

"The way people on Earth tried to understand the universe was through math and science, right?" He asked, to which Mira nodded again.

"The Immortal Realm is similar. It\'s like a massive Universe crawling with life, and similar to how people on Earth comprehended the world through math and science, the people in the Immortal Realm do it through the elements."

By this point, Mira didn\'t think it sounded so complicated, but the Guardian wasn\'t finished talking.

"However, what if the math and science people learned on Earth were all subjective? For example, what if 2+2 didn\'t equal 4? What if it equaled five? Ten? One? And none of those answers were wrong, depending on the scenario. How complicated would the world be if that were the case?"

Mira went silent, but the answer was obvious.

\'It wouldn\'t just be complicated, but chaotic and catastrophic!\'

She couldn\'t even begin to imagine the consequences if such a situation was real.

"You can think of the Immortal Realm like that. There are countless \'correct\' answers to a single question. It all just depends on your path forward and your understanding of the world." The Guardian said.

"..."

Mira stared into the air with a look that said, \'You expect me to believe that nonsense? Really?\'

The Guardian knew exactly what she was thinking and shrugged, "It\'s up to you whether you believe it or not, but it\'s the truth. The Immortal Realm is complicated. You\'ll understand if you ever reach it."

Mira sat there, feeling skeptical about the Guardian\'s words. On the one hand, it was impossible for her to believe that in the Immortal Realm, 2+2 could equal whatever number you want it to be, but on the other hand, the Guardian had no reason to lie.

However, while she was feeling conflicted, there was one question that arose in the back of her mind:

\'Is there a correct answer? Is there a correct way to see and comprehend the world?\'

Surprisingly, the Guardian answered, "...Yes. Yes, there is. However, it\'s not as simple as knowing that 2+2=4. To reach that result, you must answer a whole slew of equations correctly before you can even think about seeing the world as it\'s supposed to be…."

The Guardian paused to let all that information soak in, then a few seconds later, he said excitedly, "That being the case, you should start now, when things are easy!"

Mira didn\'t even have time to question him again as another small black hole appeared before her!

"Now, show me what you learned! If you can survive this black hole by yourself, we\'ll move on to the next exercise!" The Guardian chuckled before going silent.

Feeling the skin on her body slowly peeling off from the gravitational pull of the black hole, Mira\'s expression warped!

\'Fuck! That dirty bastard! I don\'t even know how he made this black hole. How am I supposed to counter it?\'

Another chuckle reached her mind, but she ignored it and began searching for a solution. She didn\'t have time to waste; with every second she wasted, another layer of skin fell off.

Taking a deep breath, Mira stabilized her mind and stared at where she assumed the black hole to be. Although the cave was in complete darkness, she could still feel the gravitational pull from the black hole.

\'Black holes, while being infinitely dense, still run on energy. Once they run out of that, then they\'ll eventually dissipate.\'

Now that she knew the \'how\', it was time to put it into action.

Thus, she sat down and closed her eyes, then began cultivating!

Everything in this world runs on Qi as its source of energy, and this black hole is no different! Therefore, if she can absorb all the Qi from her surroundings, then the black hole won\'t be able to sustain itself. At least, that was Mira\'s theory.

However, the only problem was that she was at the Peak of the Core Formation Realm and couldn\'t store any more Qi. She could try to increase her Core\'s density, but that was easier said than done.

So, she made the only logical move and sent all the excess Qi in her meridians to Elenei, who was undergoing Nirvana in her Soul Sea!

*Swoosh!*

A Qi vortex appeared above Mira\'s head as she sucked in everything in the surrounding area and shoved it into her Soul Sea.

She and the black hole fought for dominance on who could absorb Qi faster, but defeating the combined efforts of a unique 9-tailed fox with special meridians and a Phoenix undergoing Nirvana isn\'t a simple feat.

Within a few hours, the black hole had shrunk to a size no bigger than a thumb, and Mira no longer felt her body ripping apart.

Opening her eyes, Mira reached out and crushed the tiny black hole until all the energy within it dissipated.

"Phew… I did it." Mira released a small smile, which immediately faded upon hearing the Guardian\'s words.

"Congratulations on passing the test. You successfully wasted 3 hours on a task that should\'ve only taken you a few minutes!"

\'What? But I successfully countered it!\'

"Yes, you did, but you didn\'t need to go through all that! You and that black hole were even in strength. You could\'ve just attacked it!"

"..."

Mira\'s expression became awkward as she didn\'t even think about that.

Coughing slightly, Mira said, \'Ahem! Anyways, I passed your little test. So, let\'s move on.\'

"Yes, we don\'t have time to waste. Especially not 3 hours."

A vein bulged in Mira\'s head as she could imagine the Guardian staring at her with a shit-eating grin.

\'It\'s going to be a long week.\'