I chugged down another mug of the red liquid. This was number 764. I made my way back out of the bar and began rotating my body as the stuff cut through my digestive track. Even after 763 previous mugs of the stuff, they were still hitting me hard.

The impact of the red liquid had reduced by half. I was able to process it in half the time. But it would still affect me. Also, the rate of improvement in my resistance and ability to process the red liquid was decreasing.

During my breaks, I had begun carefully disassembling Chicken in order to put it into spatial storage. Many of the formations and arrays were constantly active, that meant damaging them as little as possible so they turn off. I could then store them away to be taken out and repaired later.

While my body might become resistant to the red liquid, I didn’t hold out much hope for my equipment. Everything would have to be put into a small container that I could bring with me. I had tested out several of the materials I had with me in the ocean of blood before disassembling my vehicle.

The hull plating of my old vessel worked quite well and wasn’t impacted that much. While it wouldn’t last forever, combined with some basic internal arrays to push back against the red liquid and energy present in it, I would have a something I could bring my spatial storage in.

It would have to be small, which was why I was disassembling my vehicle. As for the spatial storage items, they were incredibly resilient. I didn’t know if that was an inherent property or they were designed to work with a wide range of energy, but they hadn’t broken down thankfully. Making spatial items was the domain of super organizations. Out of everything I had, these items had retained their value and strength the longest.

The usefulness of spatial items was probably why they were so durable. Every super organization and being with any kind of power would want one. They were just too useful, being able to carry around a lot of extra items. That knowledge would have spread out and trickled down based on demand. If I was just starting out as a cultivator and got to pick one item, I would pick a spatial item. A weapon might be a good choice, but super organizations would keep that knowledge compartmentalized and restricted.

But with spatial items, they were too useful. Everyone would be looking at working out how to make them and creating separate spatial areas seemed like a basic requirement for a super organization. Over time this kind of item would spread out and be iterated on quite a bit, since it was one of the few things that could be sold to everyone instead of directly selling energy. There was value added to the final product.

It also wasn’t that dangerous either. If Combat Cylinders or other weapons were sold, then those would be more easily tracked back and grudges would form. But no one would complain about spatial items. Since they would be in demand everywhere, then the knowledge of how to make them would spread out over time.

There were probably higher end versions, but those would be actual places where people lived, like the Forever City, Infinite Ring Complex, or even this Gu Container. It would just be a matter of scaling things up.

Even with the high demand, I had no doubt that some people would have safeguards or hide their storage items. Saint Jiazhi came to mind. She probably had a storage item, but it was concealed in a unique way, so even in death it couldn’t be discovered. While it was doubtful a super organization would think one of their immortals would be captured, it wouldn’t make sense to make multiple versions of storage items.

They could just make one type that was concealable and sell that to everyone in their super organization. There wasn’t much trade between super organizations and with spatial items being known by all the super organizations, they wouldn’t be a target of knowledge theft. They might be stolen off of individuals, but a super organization wouldn’t waste time trying to figure out the spatial items of another super organization.

It would be like a car company trying to figure out the precise manufacturing process of other car companies. While there might be something to steal, it wouldn’t normally be worth the effort and risk for only a small bit of knowledge that might not even be useful. Now if there was a paradigm shift in spatial storage, then super organizations would act.

But this was the Firmament, that had existed beyond memory and time. Something like spatial storage had probably been iterated on to death and then some. This Gu Container was a perfect example of the knowledge reaching an incredibly advanced level. The only variations were personal variations.

Like a wheel, you could only reinvent a wheel so many times. It might get more advanced, made with better materials, be hooked up to more impressive devices, but it was still a wheel. The same concept applied to storage items. Unless one was using a special manufacturing process or material, all the possible improvements had been squeezed out.

That was the depressing thing that I had faced at the start of my journey into cultivation, now it was slightly amusing. When super organizations existed for so long, time was just another variable to be taken into account, not some sort of deadline.

Time to get mug 785. Perhaps a mug and a half. If my rate of adaptation was slowing down, then I needed to increase my intake. I could handle more red liquid. It would be miserable, but I needed to speed up not slow down.

I got a couple of glances when drinking a mug and a half, but once again the beings around the table in the bar didn’t say or do anything. I went back to get more red liquid when my body had mostly processed it. I didn’t wait for my body to process the entire amount.

Even if it hurt and my insides felt terrible, I had enough experience to have a better understanding of where my limits were. I needed to keep pushing up against those limits, no matter how miserable. I stopped counting. The only thing that mattered was my resistance to the red liquid.

I walked back into the bar to refill and there was a new face. A short being, a dwarf, but with six tentacles instead of arms on a bipedal body. The head was flat and smushed with no facial hair and no nose. There was a device covering the things mouth.

“Who are you?” the thing spun and demanded of me, which was incredibly rude. I ignored it and made my way to the tap to drink more red liquid. I didn’t want to get involved with any drama that might come up here. “I am speaking to you!” A tentacle was pointed at me.

I drank the red liquid in the mug and refilled the mug two more times. I was up to three at once now. Once I had all three mugs, I left the bar and made my way to the back courtyard to rotate my body. I did this outside so I wouldn’t distract the rest of the beings sitting around. The thing followed me.

“What are you doing?” it demanded. I ignored it. The thing had probably made a bad impression on the beings at the table. The fact that Long and Josh hadn’t spoken up showed that they didn’t want to deal with this thing in any way. I was going to copy them and not say anything, since it didn’t understand basic respect towards others.

It also wasn’t powerful and was by far the weakest being on this small island. It clearly didn’t understand this. The combination of weakness and lack of respect was a huge turn off. “Why are you ignoring me?!” Responding would only invite drama and headaches I didn’t want to deal with. I kept going from a standing position to a handstand as the red liquid moved back and forth inside of body.

Progress was slow, but it was progress. That was all I desired. My danger sense twinged and I stepped to the side as a stone was thrown at me by the thing. It had gone from being annoying to being a threat. “I won’t be ignored!”

That was one thing I liked about cultivator culture. It was clearly understood where one stood in any situation. If you were weaker, you bowed your head and were extremely polite to your seniors. If you were the same strength then you could talk and look for weaknesses in the other party in case a fight broke out, but that would rarely happen. If you were stronger then you could do what you wanted, only having to take into account the backing of the other party.

This misshapen tentacle dwarf didn’t come from such a culture. The beings here had taken a clear stance on avoiding conflicts wherever possible, in order not to disrupt their waiting. This thing didn’t understand it was weak and attacked a being stronger than itself. A thrown might not seem like much, but it was a clear sign of disrespect and an attack.

I made my way back into the bar and the thing followed behind me. I took my seat at the table. “The thing there threw a stone at me. I understand fighting is not allowed,” I said. This got a reaction from all the beings sitting as they all turned to look at the thing which froze in place as it was approaching the table.

“That is a violation of our only rule. No fighting in this neutral area. It can either choose to leave on its own, or we will kill it,” Long coldly said.

“No one is speaking to me. Why won’t you just tell me what this place is?” the thing asked while whining. It was painful to watch something so ignorant speak. I thought I wasn’t good with social interactions, but this thing just proved there was always someone or something worse out there in the Firmament with its very existence.

“You insulted us. You didn’t share anything useful to encourage others to share or confirm your information. You are weak. Any objections?” Long asked. No one spoke up for the thing. I wasn’t about to defend something that had attacked me.

“I object! I object to-“ The thing was speaking and then it was gone. The nearest cloaked figure at the table had moved and surrounded the thing in a single moment and then moved back to its original position. That had been quick and unexpected. Everyone else at the table didn’t say anything. I guess it was first come, first served.

Or it was more like acting to get some benefits before anyone else acted. This wasn’t a group of friends or even nominal allies. They were powerful beings sitting around a table with only a single rule, no fighting. Just to get such a rule was probably a herculean task. Any other form of cooperation would be impossible to achieve.

No one trusted anyone else and anything more complicated would favor specific individuals over others. That was why the cloaked being had acted. It knew that no one would complain and could only regret not getting benefits for themselves.

“Problem solved,” Josh said with a light chuckle.

“Indeed. The weak ones who show up are the worst. You seem to making some progress,” Long directed his observation towards me.

“It is slow. Any advice or knowledge you would be willing to share?” I asked.

“Others have tried what you are doing in the past. But we have no confirmation if they made it all the way through the red liquid,” Long replied with a shrug. “Like I told you earlier, drinking is a way to resolve disputes about who is stronger.”

I stopped myself from rolling my eyes. These beings were vultures waiting for others to misstep to pick over the bodies of others. Long spoke like they were some kind of nobility and grand insight to what he was telling me.

“Of course. Thank you, for your consideration,” I replied and got up from the table. I went back to the crystal mugs and filled up on the red liquid again. I then went back outside like before. The arrival of the thing broke up the monotony, but it wasn’t something I was too concerned over.

If one the beings here tried to attack me, I would be able to react in time and defend myself. I might not win, but it would get messy and risk this entire place. That was why one should always understand who was stronger and be polite.

While I wasn’t overly polite to these beings, I wasn’t rude either, shouting and demanding things. If kept asking questions without anything in return, that would annoy them. While they might be patient for a bit, I was sure that Long had explained the rules to the thing before it came out to bother me. Throwing a stone, who would even do that?

To make it this far and survive, that thing had probably been some kind of escaped lab creature. It looked mish mashed togeather I could see it being some kind of favored pet or something for its bored master to beat up or torture.

Just as I finished going through the next round of red liquid, I heard a shout from the bar. I hesitated, about getting pulled into more drama, but I wouldn’t be the focus. I also needed more red liquid. I made my way back over.

Stolen story; please report.

“AHHHHHH!” The being that had consumed the thing under its cloak before was rolling and twisting on the ground while letting out an inhuman scream. Everyone had gotten up and moved away from the being. They glanced at me when I entered, but went back to starting at their fellow table sitter who was suffering.

That was the risk of acting first. You might get a tasty meal, but you might also get something that was poison. The risk was on you. Everyone else would wait to profit from a misstep in this weird table culture that had formed.

“Well, looks like that thing didn’t go down cleanly,” I stated, as I watched the being continue to scream and suffer. It was hard to make out anything worthwhile since the dark cloak was concealing their body.

“What they get for being greedy. But also the risk of this place,” Josh replied calmly.

“That’s the risk of demonic consumption. You eat something that might try and come back up. A chimera like that, is clearly bad news,” Long stated. I was tempted to ask why a chimera was bad news, but that would be an annoying question if I didn’t think about the answer first.

A chimera was a created creature from other creatures. A chimera wouldn’t have a natural soul or body. It would be a mish mash that were grafted togeather. That meant that it was created by a higher power. And it was probably trapped. It seemed like the Saint wasn’t the only thing being sent into the Gu Container on purpose.

That thing was probably a consumption booby trap. It had been created to be annoying, ugly, and consumed by a demonic cultivator. I felt a shiver go up my spine in fear. Demonic cultivation had more pitfalls than I had initially assumed, especially at the higher level. I guess the Gu Container had pissed some powerful people and super organizations off. Since they wouldn’t risk entering themselves, they would toss things inside with the hope of disrupting the process.

“You think it would work? Should we toss it off the edge?” I asked.

“It is a good idea. But ultimately flawed for a simple reason. Power. A regenerative parasitic soul might be a bit clever, but it whomever created it clearly has no concept of the scale of the demonic cultivator running this place,” Long answered.

“It can’t overcome such a weak being. This place would crush and refine everything. The demonic cultivator would not make such a mistake. Consumption comes with huge risks, but a Gu is designed to process and purge everything. That is its inherit strength,” Josh added.

“Power decides everything,” NX said. All the other beings were silent. The door to the bar opened and a pressure settled on everyone. I quickly followed everyone else and stepped out of the way.

“Disturbing my meditation, what is this racket,” a young teenage boy asked. He was an immortal and another reminder that appearance didn’t mean much for beings of power.

“A parasitic regenerative soul was consumed by the being on the floor,” Long quickly replied.

“Annoying,” the immortal said and went over. He picked the screaming being up by its cloak. He then carried it outside and everyone followed as he tossed it over the edge. “Now I am going back to meditating my way out of this place. Don’t disturb me or else.” The immortal left to one of the other buildings and I let out a sigh of relief as the pressure disappeared. I went to look over the edge like everyone else.

The being had sunk into the red liquid and its screams were quickly cut off. “Well, that was the best outcome,” Long muttered and we made our way back to the table inside the bar.

“You think the immortal can meditate his way out of this place?” I asked.

“Who knows. If you are strong enough, you can get a building of your own to wait in. But the table is where the action happens,” Long said. He clearly didn’t want to share any more information but wouldn’t be rude by dismissing me. Once again, I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes. This place was a boring tomb. I guess compared to the rest of the Gu Container it was the height of entertainment. I went over to get another round of red liquid.

At least it was a good lesson on consumption. Consuming the wrong thing could be deadly. I did have to admit it was a good way to target demonic cultivators. Put a juicy bait in front of them, and let them eat the target. I had almost screwed up with the Saint and didn’t really think about other more deadly traps. If I had consumed the thing, I would be dying and tossed off the island.

No wonder everyone was quiet unless it was important. The buildings that were like stone tombs seemed a lot more dangerous now, since an immortal had come out of one. If I could consume everyone on this island, I would probably break through to being an immortal myself. It was a tempting idea, but a completely impossible one.

Everyone was watching everyone, which was what made this place so safe against such schemes. It was just a passing thought I quickly discarded after the most recent show. A shame that no one wanted to talk about past events, but that was useful knowledge. Everyone wanted others to misstep and die. The table had gone from 17, not counting me, to 16.

I took a slight nap in the courtyard when I got tired, never truly relaxing my guard and continued with drinking the red liquid. My body was getting better at handling the stuff, but it was a slow and torturous improvement.

Just as I finished handling the latest batch of seven mugs, I noticed a new arrival flying through the sky. A dragonoid or lizard being of some kind. It was bipedal, two arms, two legs, and two wings. I made my way back inside and took a seat at the table to be present for this round of drama. Consuming red liquid was incredibly boring and I curious if I would learn anything.

While I might not have become a full table person by sitting around the entire time, I was adopting the mindset of a table person. Being passive in the face of drama caused by others waiting to see what advantages I could get. It was so low risk and easy, that it was hard to turn away from such an action.

The winged dragonoid entered the bar. “Greetings. Name is Hissk. I was told that by that caretaker this is the place to share information and talk about this place,” it said.

Long introduced himself first, followed by Josh as Hissk sat sideways on a chair, since its tail would have bumped into the back. What followed was similar to my arrival. Hissk gave information and was given information in turn. There was nothing new, but it was nice to have confirmation of knowledge I already had.

The conversation soon went the way of all conversations at the table, a quiet death. I got up once it was over and made my way to drink several more mugs of the red liquid. “May Hissk ask what you are doing?” Hissk asked. This is how you act as someone with manners, not throwing stones.

“Drinking the red liquid to become immune to it. I would start with a small sip first and then got to the back courtyard, so you don’t make a mess,” I said as I went back out of the bar. Hissk soon followed me looking quite disturbed. It then removed pieces of armor and clothing, before expelling stuff that had been present in its digestive tract. It wasn’t a pleasant smell. Hissk quickly put everything into a spatial device, embarrassed like I had been.

Hissk then came back over, while looking at me flip from standing upright to standing on my hands. “Clever,” he said.

“Thank you.”

“Will you mind if Hissk copy you?” he asked.

“Do what you wish. I am not your master,” I replied and Hissk nodded at this statement. I soon had a companion that began copying me.

After a length of time in silence with us rotating our bodies, I spoke up. “I am Yuan Zhou, a cultivator,” I said.

“Hissk, just Hissk. A hunter or warrior of the Hunt,” Hissk replied. That was probably some super organization that I didn’t care about. “If we cross through the liquid, we should form team.”

“You are quite confident. But how would this team work?” I asked.

“No attack each other, travel togeather, that is it.”

“No defending each other?” I asked.

“We don’t defend each other. We are not packmates. Only team.” I could respect such a mindset. It wouldn’t be a burden to team up in this way either. There was no obligation to protect the other person, only to not attack them. That did raise the issue of being weakened and attacked, but there were advantages to travelling with a group.

Hissk looked like he was built for fighting with thick muscles and scales, but appearances were lies. The only thing that mattered was energy. I didn’t know how strong Hissk was, but I would guess that he was on par with me. He also liked being proactive unlike the other table people. He also knew how to be polite and have a conversation.

“A team. No attacking each other and traveling togeather. It will take time though to adapt to the red liquid. I have drunk quite a bit, but the process is slow. And I am not completely immune,” I explained.

“A test of endurance. Hissk has endured many such trials. The first was battling and defeating my 99 siblings in the pits. Many more trials have followed. This is just another one. Hissk will become supreme being one day,” he said, giving me an insight into this strange creature.

“It hasn’t been an easy path for me either. Cultivation is troublesome. At the first stages it was so complex, now the requirements have increased. In the red liquid there are giant worms. No one has seen them and they don’t come near the surface,” I added.

“Worms. Disgusting creatures. Hissk will slay them,” he replied.

“I just wanted you to prepare yourself. Also we need to think of a way to travel through the liquid quickly. I have come up with a way to store my personal items. If you have a spatial item or a weapon, it won’t be able to be used in the red liquid even if your body adapts,” I explained the challenges.

“Ah, Hissk now understands. A great challenge. My storage will be stored in my body and I can travel with my wings. Form a spatial bubble around Hissk,” the draconoid replied. That was annoying that he had a technique like that. “Hissk will carry you.”

“Really? I would think that you wouldn’t do something like that?” I asked.

“Only survival matters. Yuan Zhou has shared important information. Team works togeather. But you should have own method,” Hissk said. I nodded at this while doing a handstand.

“I have some ideas using arrays. It would be incredibly dangerous, but it could work to travel quickly.” I would use up a lot of the metal I had with me, but I would go zooming through the liquid.

“Knowledge is important. Sword of the mind. The stupid are prey,” Hissk declared as he flipped over to a handstand. While I didn’t trust Hissk, he was growing on me with his straightforward nature. It was refreshing compared to everything else on this tiny rock island.

But that kind of culture would become quite strong, using constant battles and breeding. The strongest draconoid would become like Hissk. If he had innate spatial abilities, then he would be an incredibly versatile combatant. I could just imagine a pack of draconoids flying through the Firmament to attack a vessel or a super organization.

While it was surprising Hissk was weaker than an immortal, he might have a very high level of combat ability. The more I thought about it, the more likely this seemed. While he might be a brute, he wasn’t stupid. He clearly saw that I knew things he didn’t and a team up would create more opportunities for him.

It made me wonder more about Hissk’s life growing up. While I was making a lot of guesses and assumptions, it was an amusing way to help pass the time. Once we adapted enough to test the red liquid below us, we could work on our teamwork.

The fact he was willing to let me ride him, was either the biggest trap, or a clear sign that Hissk was far more formidable mentally than most beings I had met. He didn’t care about pride or face, but about winning no matter what. If carrying me on his back gave him an increased chance of surviving in this place he wouldn’t hesitate.

That was the kind of mentality I had only recently reached with my foray into demonic cultivation and consumption. It was easy to say one would do anything, but another thing to actually do anything in order to survive. That one statement gave me a much deeper insight into Hissk as a being than anything else.

As long as I offered more advantages than disadvantages, he would be a good teammate. The moment my value crossed a line, I would be tossed aside as a corpse or eaten. While he had a scary face and big teeth, appearances were deceiving. Young women were secretly old grannies, old men could be young children compared to me.

Having wings would be nice. I wasn’t so sure about being a lizard person, but unrestrained flight would be quite useful, especially if spatial manipulation came with it. Hissk could probably combine his spatial manipulation with his attacks. That kind of attack would be very annoying and difficult to block. There was also a strong possibility he was using his body as a spatial storage device.

I just had my cultivator body. While it was far superior to base humans and lower ranked cultivators, compared to a being like Hissk, it was sub-par. His race might be the result of careful breeding and scientific advancement, which wouldn’t surprise me. Having an army of dragonoids under my command wouldn’t be a bad thing.

No wonder why stronger individuals created super organizations. Those that they created would act as buffers and resource collectors. Clearly the super organization that Hissk was a part of used a tactic similar to the Heavenly Alliance. Quantity at the start and then look for quality among the survivors.

I should probably focus my mind on the arrays I would need to figure out. I had a vague idea of what I needed, but they would need much more careful crafting. I would only have limited tests as well, since the arrays would quickly melt the metal plates they were made on.

But the idea was to create a spatial bubble around myself and draw in energy from the red liquid to power the array. It would melt quickly, but the more I drank of the horrible stuff, the more I was coming to understand the limitations and nuances of this contaminated energy. I would need to actively push my own energy into the array to keep it stable for as long as possible. It wasn’t just my body that was slowly being tempered by the red liquid, my energy was also being tempered.

The key point I needed to reach was where I could hold the red liquid inside of body, without it causing trouble, by remaining in one spot. Basically being able to digest the stuff with my cultivation and energy. Unfortunately, I would reach the point of having to drink too much so that the red liquid would completely fill me up.

But I had no idea how thick this ocean of blood actually was. I had no doubt it would be very thick to create an effective barrier as possible. That was what I would do if I was the demonic cultivator. I would need to think about future things it could do. What would be the most annoying thing to find after crossing through the ocean of blood?

A void of nothing seemed to obvious and too easy for someone at my level or stronger. Gas, liquid, and then something solid. There would be some kind of solid barrier that one would have to tunnel through. There would be dangerous things hidden inside the solid barrier like the worms in the liquid. Whatever was there would repair the tunnels, ensuring a passage for others wasn’t left behind.

That was something else we would need to think about. Spatial arrays struggled with actual objects like solid matter. Liquid could be worked around, by creating a bubble and moving that bubble through the liquid. But solid matter would be different. Another thing I would have to think on and bring up with Hissk.

If we encountered a solid barrier, we didn’t want to wait around in the liquid. Also, there was the issue of having to breathe. I would need to inscribe something inside my mouth for translation and breathing. This would be incredibly annoying and take up even more time. That was the advantage of implants. Unfortunately, there was no other option, since preparation was needed before we departed. I wouldn’t be able to do anything in the red liquid that I hadn’t prepared for ahead of time.

At least Hissk didn’t complain or talk too much. While I didn’t mind some conversation, I could only deal with such things in small amounts before becoming exhausted. My social muscles had become atrophied over the centuries. Having two people would help prepare for anything unexpected. Hissk might have a solution where I would fail and vice versa. The fact he seemed competent, capable, and had a good mentality were key.

And if Hissk ever fell below a certain value, he would also make a good meal. When traveling to dangerous areas, it was important to bring emergency rations. He might be a teammate, but that didn’t mean things couldn’t change if he was heavily wounded or was incompetent. While some might decry my mentality, I knew Hissk was thinking the exact same thing in his own way.