Planet Spira, Anima galaxy, territory of the Spiritual Faction.

In the depths of the spiritual faction, was a deserted planet called Spira. A planet which, despite its lack of inhabitants and resources, was still considered an extremely valuable celestial object, which for the Spiritual faction, was of invaluable historic significance.

What made this planet so important, was the fact that it was alien to this dimension, and had entered the known universe from a tear between the then unknown spiritual plain, and the empty space.

The first person to discover this planet, an unregistered white rock that roamed an already mapped galaxy, was none other than the person who in the future would be called the Spiritual Emperor. In this planet, he had discovered a connection between the two dimensions, and thanks to it, he had been able to create a path of cultivation which could rival that of the mental factions, and the factions whose cultivation path revolved around the use of innate physical powers.

After embracing the powers of the spiritual plain, the Spiritual Emperor had been able to create new passages between the two dimensions by using his overly powerful connection to it, leaving the abandoned planet of Spira as a relic of old fit for the cultivation of spiritual essence. However, that was not the only way this planet was used.

Its belonging to a different dimension allowed the spiritual faction to control it similarly to how Daniel controlled his planet, making it a perfect space to conduct secret operations. One of these operations, was the imprisonment of the faction's enemies.

Hidden in the depths of this small planet, was a facility completely made out of ownerless spiritual essence, which was kept in place by multiple formations. These formations would forcibly convert the spiritual essence into the kind of mana required to create the facilities, and prevent them from falling apart.

In one of these facilities, usually occupied by captured outcasts of the spiritual faction and only a few guards, were now some of the big names of the spiritual faction. Each of them in the shape of dignified entities shrouded in white clouds, and covered by a brilliant glow which, if seen by an ignorant mortal, would cause them to be confused for deities.

All of these high ranking spiritual warriors were ascended spirits. Humans with immense magical power paired with a common mind, and a mortal body.

These otherwise busy entities would usually spend their time focusing on the secret plans of expansion of the spiritual faction, but now, they had been summoned for another reason. In front of them, right behind a common looking set of iron bars, was a young woman.

Around this woman's neck was a necklace formed by a green pearl attached to a simple thread. A necklace which anyone with a basic comprehension of mental power, would recognize as a mental formation which would cause its wearer to enter a state of permanent mental tiredness. A state of mind which could only be cured by a deep sleep.

Despite the clearly weaker cultivation of the young woman, her presence was a source of great interest for the spiritual warriors, who looked at her with confusion, while chatting with one another.

"How can this be possible?

" and

"how do we get the information out of her?

" were the two biggest topics of conversation, which were repeated over and over again due to the lack of a satisfactory response.

"I think it's time we wake her up. I don't know how long we have.

" Said one of the glowing figures with a high pitched and unpleasant voice which clearly belonged to a woman.

"Our agreements were to wait for the others to arrive. If we break them, we might be left out of whatever the others discover.

" responded a second feminine, yet pleasant and melodic voice.

To interrupt the conversation between the two, was the husky voice of an old man, which said,

"Leave her like this. If things go wrong, we still have the ground advantage.

"

The group of spiritual warriors observed the girl for various hours, and the more they looked at her, the more impressed they felt. Her body emanated a power which appeared to belong to each form of human essence at the same time. Essences that instead of hindering one another, were merged into one.

What was even more surprising, was the fact that this power, while not purely spiritual in nature, connected them to the spiritual plain just like theirs did. A connection which drew the purest form of essence from the spiritual plain, and that until now, could only be drawn by the members of the spiritual faction.

"If this power is what I think it is.. If we cannot obtain it, we will have to destroy it before it falls in the hands of the government.

" Said one of the spiritual warriors. An old man which carried a high level of prestige, and whose few words had caught the attention of each and every other spiritual warrior present.

What this old man said was exactly what his companions were thinking. Such a pure form of power was unmatched, and even despite their immense strength, they could feel that nobody at the same level of cultivation could match a being in possession of this power. Not when a single cultivator had the ability of three.

Between them, the mental factions, and the universal government, they were the ones that in case of a cooperation, would have the least amount of leverage at their disposal. After all, they were not the ones capable of reading minds, and while their control over the spiritual plain would allow them to affect the spirits of immortal cultivators, the government was truly too vast for them to challenge.

What they couldn't allow, was for the universal government alone to obtain Daniel's secret method of cultivation. This power was bound to change the fate of their civilization, and just like a weapon of mass destruction, was better destroyed than kept as a deterrent to maintain supremacy.

"Forget it. If all that is left for us is to trust in the fact that the others will not screw us over, we might as well start before they. We cannot fail the emperor once again.

" Said the woman with with the high pitched and unpleasant voice before floating through the iron bars, and in front of the unconscious young woman. She then pointed her index at the green pearl, and with a faint flick of her wrist, removed it from around her neck.

The moment the necklace was removed, the young woman began to move around. She was still sleeping, but now that her mind was not stopped from its normal activity, she had now started to dream.

The floating woman did not bother with trying to wake the girl up with conventional methods, and instead, focused on her power. Once able to get a hold of the young woman's spiritual-like essence, she began to manipulate it into forcing her to feel the deepest forms of fear, desperation, and vulnerability.

These feelings quickly changed the dream she was living into the most horrid of nightmares, which in a matter of seconds, wake her up violently from her sleep.

Still exhausted by the effect of the mental formation, the young woman screamed with panic before immediately realizing that what she had gone through, was just a dream. However, her feelings were not calming down. Her heart palpitated as her spirit clouded her judgement, forcing her brain into ignore any attempt at logical thinking, and soon enough, she began to have a panic attack.

In between drawn breaths, the young woman quickly realized what was happening, and what the source of this spiritual attack was. The spiritual entities that stood in front of her were forcing her into a weakened state of mind, and she already knew why.

"Young woman. Your are only fearful of us because your dirty conscience is tarnishing your spirit.

" Said the spiritual warrior before slowly floating closer to the captive woman. Her tone, while unpleasant, felt caring, and in the eyes of an inexperienced cultivator, it would seem that she wanted to extend her help. This narrative was supported by her next words,

"Your connection to the spiritual plain is part of you, and this will never end, unless you get rid of what is troubling your spirit. Do you have something to get off your chest?

"

The other spiritual warriors did not oppose to the woman's actions. After all, they had limited options, and before cutting bridge with their captive, they had taken the habit to attempt the peaceful resolution. However, their holy appearance was dramatically opposed by their vicious intentions, which were led by greed, just like that of everybody else.

"I-ugh.. I am a good p.. Person. I will not b-be cheated by you..

" Said the young woman while struggling to breath in, and holding her chest in fear.

The most powerful stages of spiritual cultivation were a mystery for most of the universe, and the sighting of one of these individuals, would usually confuse those who witnessed them. Their appearance was impeccable, and they would initially portray themselves as benevolent beings. This had allowed for many of their interrogation to end up successfully thanks to the misconception that, instead of being malevolent kidnappers, they were there to help in a moment of need.

Unfortunately, there was a group of people with whom these methods were useless, and these people were mental cultivators.

Capable to maintain a calm mind, mental cultivators would not allow for the feelings formed in the spirit, to dictate their actions. In fact, the resistance of spiritual attacks was one of the ways mental cultivators used to refine their mental power, and an example of this, was Aeron.

Currently, the young woman was included in the realm of mental warriors.

Slightly surprised by the mental fortitude of such a relatively weak cultivator, the woman's attitude changed completely. The benevolent smile on her face turned into a look of indifference, and her voice became as cold as the bottom of the sea.

"I will ask you a question. Lie, and I will find a way to rip your spirit out, and drag it back into the spiritual plain.

" She said before quietly landing on the ground.

"Are you in possession of the tri-cultivation method?

" She asked, revealing the name which the members of the universal government had given to the path of true immortality created by Daniel.

"No.

" Responded the young woman.

Unbeknownst to her, while she had responded, her spirit had revealed to her questioner whether she was telling the truth, or lying. That was one of the powers of spiritual cultivators. A power which allowed for a powerful spiritual entity to see the changes in another person's spirit, and read in it the emotional changes, as well as pry into that person's honesty.

The young woman had not lied, so when she answered, her spiritual-like power remained calm, unperturbed about the menacing presence of spirits of a much higher level than her own.

"Is the Outcast the only one in possession of this power?

"

"No.

" said the young woman. The attack on her spirit was too much for her mind to withstand, and forced her to be unable to hold her tongue. Once again, she did not lie.

After finally seeing the hope of obtaining what they were looking for, the female spiritual warrior increased the pressure by a hundred times for a few seconds, only to bring it back to a reasonable level right after. She then said,

"This is nothing compared to what you will feel if you don't tell the truth. Explain to me the method to obtain this power.

"

What the young woman was feeling was beyond traumatic, and if she could have, she would have chosen to have all of her limbs cut off before having to face this torture. At a loss of words, she was barely able to mutter,

"I-I c-can't..

"

"Fine. You have asked for this.

" Said the female spiritual warrior before starting to increase the pressure once again, but she then stopped abruptly. She and the other spiritual warriors looked towards the sky, where they had felt the arrival of multiple people.

"You did not plan to break her before we managed to get her, did you?

" Asked a voice that entered the weak minds of the spiritual warriors by going through their immensely powerful spiritual essence. A voice which soon continued by saying,

"Her memories have been removed. If you continue like this, this whole operation will be a waste of time.

"

As the disembodied voice finished speaking, in the skies right above the building appeared ten individuals. Five of them in possession of powerful immortal essence, and five men whose faces were covered by mask formed out of solidified mental power.

The voice belonged to one of the five mental warriors, who continued by saying,

"We will take it from here.

"