"Congratulations, as a temporarily outer disciple of Deepstok sect you have gained monthly allowances of 100 Merit points (MP) and 10 spirit stones."

<Allowances are distributed accordingly: outer Disciples receive 100 MP and 10 spirit stones per month, Inner disciples receive 500 MP and 50 spirit stones per month, Core disciples receive 1000 MP and 100 spirit stones per month. You can earn additional merit points upon completing missions or trading them with fellow disciples.>

"What is a spirit stone?" Kiesh asked, curious to understand the mysterious crystals . Another pop-up greeted him, informing him about the workings of spirit stones.

["Spirit stones can be used to harness spirituality to burn away the shackles of mortality from the human body by utilizing certain cultivation techniques,"] the pop-up explained.

[Basic cultivation techniques gained.]

"Wait, wait, wait, you're going too fast. Give me a moment to absorb these info dumps."

[Further notifications from the gift section are muted for the time being.]

"I can do this too," Kiesh said to himself, flabbergasted by the capability of Maya's spell, which was like a universal systems operation on a large scale, overseeing various categories to properly manage without mixing things up. He wondered what the next thing he would unlock.

"That aside, let me practice cultivation."

"Hehe, I can progress fast and become a figure of admiration on Earth. I will be the one to save them… hmm, what was that integration of Earth into Maya lok thing …"

"When that time comes, I will be the one to provide resources to Earthlings."

Kiesh imagined himself walking on the red carpet, surrounded by a series of beautiful girls waving and winking towards him. A horde of news reporters fought with each other just to ask him a single question.

"Ah, but there are people other than me who are from Earth. I have to gather techniques before them so I can become a tycoon."

[Ding]

Before he could dream more, a translucent screen originating from the sect category popped out.

[All new disciples need to report to the nearest branch and complete their assessment.]

Seeing the screen, Kiesh sighed and stopped for a moment to think about his further action. Sure, he wanted to cultivate and collect lots of techniques and information, but this sudden thing is an obstacle in his path.

After taking a deep breath, he said, "Nah, I'll go after cultivation. After all, I am excited to practice an art that was only mentioned in fiction."

He closed his eyes and remembered the basic cultivation techniques provided in the gift category. He willed for the spirit stones to appear.

Some glimmering crystalline oval-shaped stones materialized in the thin air, floating all around him, hovering rapidly like planet around the sun.

His personal profile not only contained [status], [map], [gifts], [techniques], and [sect] categories, but after he claimed his gift, there was an inventory thing that was also present. And again, that was also connected to Maya's spell.

"How fascinating! Maya is almost like the internet, but on a larger scale of the cosmos and more advanced. Here, people can use it to send messages connected to the workplace,

 I will not be shocked if this can even transport people… maybe that's why the integration of Earth is taking so much time. Installing all of these features in a new planet would definitely be time-consuming, hah!"

Kiesh chuckled when he remembered the naivety of his fellow Earthlings, how they thought Maya was an infection that pulled them back to a foreign land, but in reality, it was just the next stage of evolution presented by the cosmos.

Although he still did not know what Maya is.

Is it artificial intelligence? Created by some advanced civilization that controls various types of energy, made to govern people without any unfairness.

Is it the consciousness of the universe that was awakened from slumber and now is again calming over its lost control?

Drifting away in thought, Kiesh started to practice the basic breathing techniques provided by the sect. 

The surrounding floating spirit stones started to transform into small glimmering particles, surging toward Kiesh himself. After a moment, they began to absorb into his body, reaching all the way to his abdomen. There, he felt dark black ropes with murky substance surrounding an orb-like thing.

According to the techniques he had gained, Kiesh needed to burn these rope-like things and free the trapped core using spirituality. If he was successful, his cultivation base would form. In fact, burning away these ethereal fibers and revealing the core is a step in forming a base.

He exactly did that. Those black rope-like things began to burn like hair at a rapid speed. In the next breath, most of the rope fibers in his abdomen were burned away, freeing an orb-like thing.

This was the first step in the cultivation and condensing of spirituality. Kiesh's focus was drawn above his abdomen. There, he witnessed the remaining ropes still trapping another core…

*Cough*

Kiesh coughed.

And opened his eyes, only to be greeted by Maya's spell.

["Congratulations, you have successfully built your base."]

[Spiritual Condensed dantian formed.]

[Cultivation base: Spiritual root stage 1.]

"Congratulations, more constitution-specific effects are unlocked."

[Every conquered has the mantle of their Feast; you should also have some.]

[Conquered heart slot added in status layout.]

[Conquered domain slot added in status layout.]

*Note: these slots are specific nature of your constitution.

["Burning away the mortality is the way to become an Immortal, but as we free our spiritual root, we begin to understand how precious it is to be mortal," by the great demon sage.]