Cultivation Through Artifacts

"I'm... Sorry. Can I help you with something?" asked Khal, his voice holding a bit of confusion and suspicion.

Maybe he didn't use his Heaven's Eyes to feel his surroundings, but that fact didn't mean his perception was bad either. In fact, the higher one gets in their Cultivation Stage the sharper their senses would become, so Khal's awareness could be said was quite great.

Thus, seeing as an old lady that didn't look stronger than a Third Stage Cultivator approached him without any warning made Khal feel an indescribable sense of danger he didn't feel in his entire life.

Not even Rubie, a true Beast was capable of detecting the lady's approach if it wasn't for him turning around! Hell, she could have cut his throat from behind without him knowing who killed him!

"Oh? Me? Haha, it seems I scared you a bit. Sorry, sorry." chuckled the old lady in a cracked voice, her eyes gleaming with a mysterious light.

"No, that's not what I meant..." said Khal with a nonchalant face, hiding the fact he was truly scared. 

Especially if he looked straight into the old lady's eyes. The longer he stared into them the more he felt that the individual before him was not an old woman but a thousand years old powerful expert!

Obviously, the old lady noticed Khal's brief change of behavior but strangely did nothing. Instead, she continued to smile while her gaze gradually shifted onto his right wrist, "That bracelet... Where did you obtain it?"

Khal was surprised by the sudden question as he did not expect it, hence could do nothing but glance at the bracelet and remain silent for a while.

"I... Got it from an old man several years ago in the past. He gave it to me as a gift but for what reason, he never told me." exclaimed Khal hesitantly as he lifted his eyes.

"I see... So that's how it is..." nodded the old woman mildly and locked her gaze with Khal's.

However, immediately as she did, cold sweat covered Khal's back in a flash, locking his whole being in one place!

Right now, Khal knew for sure that if he decided to run now he will certainly die no question about it!

And this feeling of dread only grew stronger on him as he watched the old lady put her hand inside her robe and pull something out with slow motion!

Even Rubie seemed anxious even though she always looked and acted strong before anyone, let it be a being that was one or two Cultivation Stage above hers!

"I need to do something!" thought Khal as a drop of sweat fell off his forehead onto the ground below.

But to his great surprise, just as he was about to escape, something unexpected happened he would have never believed it would.

"Here, take this." the old lady pulled out a ring from below her robe and extended it toward Khal.

The ring was silvery in color with a tiny black pebble embedded into its top; except that, the ring looked nothing special.

Khal glanced at the ring and frowned. It seemed the pebble was not a Power Core nor an Ember Core as no voice appeared in his head as a notification.

"What is this? And why do you give me this?" asked Khal slowly, seemingly suspicious why the old lady wanted to give him that ring.

"It is a Spatial Ring." replied the old woman while not answering why she wanted to give Khal the ring.

Khal was still a bit skeptical about what he should do, but in the end, still took it away.

"Perfect." nodded the old lady with a smile and continued, "As I said, that is a Spatial Ring but you must not look into it. Only when Thousand Life Tournament ends you are allowed to take whatever lies inside it."

"What happens if I do take the thing inside it?" asked Khal, but the next second he regretted to ask that question.

Like a cold breeze on a cold winter night, the old woman's smile vanished while her body suddenly began to leak suffocating presence together with a bit of killing intent.

Right now, the fragile-looking old lady could nowhere to be seen, but a strong expert who was shockingly on Ninth Cultivation Stage!

No, her Cultivation Presence was even above that... Above the Ninth, the Final Cultivation Stage!

"H-how can this even be? She is way above a Celestial Ruler in presence alone! How can she be this strong?!"

Khal froze up in a flash, not daring to move even an inch. The title of Celestial Ruler was only given to those who reached the Ninth Cultivation Stage and were qualified to step into the Second Realm!

The Ninth Cultivation Stage was the Final Stage in the First Realm and no other Stage should exist after it. Yet, right now before Khal, a human being who looked no less than 90 years old was emitting a presence that was stronger than those on the Ninth Stage!

She felt twice as powerful as Master Adam! This was complete madness!

"Just who is she..." thought Khal with widened eyes while cold sweat flowed down his back slowly.

The old lady noticing Khal's pale complexion smiled and retracted her presence and killing intent, causing her to turn back into her original 'fragile' disguise.

"I hope I don't need to tell you what will happen if you decide to take the item in that ring before the tournament ends." said the woman and waved her hand.

At that very moment, all the people around Khal began to move once again, filling the surroundings with loud shouts and yells once again.

Wait... Again?

Suddenly Khal realized that the time around him was frozen until this very moment, and only started to flow again once the old lady waved her hand!

"This? How?" asked Khal as he titled his gaze at the old woman but she was nowhere to be seen.

She vanished into thin air as though she didn't exist at all!

Pondering for a while, Khal lowered his gaze at the ring in his hand and thought, "So it was not just a hallucination..."

-

After deciding to put the ring away and not wear it on his finger as he didn't want to risk his life for unnecessary danger, Khal walked back to the hotel.

Entering through the main door, Khal asked for his room and the woman in the reception gave him a key with the number '111' on it.

"One hundred and eleven... Quite an easy room number to remember." thought Khal as he went to the first floor and looked for his room door.

Sometime later he did find it successfully and without hesitation he opened it.

However, when he pushed the door open, the sight that waited for him was nothing he expected to be.

Huge and infinite amount of trees as far as one could see, shining sun above in the clear blue sky, emerald green grass with different shaped and colored flowers below, and flying butterflies in the air. The entirety of the room was exactly what others should call a Paradise!

"This works exactly as my V.I.P Key back in Moon Academy," said Khal, seemingly surprised as he stepped inside.