Chapter 7 - Rui Bloodstar
Yaan’s breakthrough quickly spread out by word of mouth, becoming big news in the core sect. He was just a 7 year old child and had been cultivating for less than 2 months, yet he actually succeeded in breaking through to the Qi Gathering realm already!
This was unprecedented. It should be known that using the sect’s standard cultivation technique, ‘Heaven’s Beginning’, the technique that most disciples cultivated, it would require someone with moderate talent at least 10 years to breakthrough into the first stage. Even a high talent like Elia would need to spend a minimum of one year, and that was only applicable for the upper end high talents. Those with low talent made up the majority of the outer sect and could spend 50 years cultivating, yet there would still only be a 50% chance of them ever reaching the first stage of cultivation in their lifetimes.
Anyone who previously doubted Yaan’s qualification to stay in the core sect was now forced to swallow their doubts. It was normal that some people had doubted him, since the only mortals permitted to enter the core sect directly were usually those with extreme talent, of which there were currently none.
When people remembered that Great Elder Wan had mentioned that his disciple possessed a special constitution, some people speculated that this may be the explanation behind his success. Others thought that might have discovered a heavenly technique, but this rumour was quickly dispelled. If a mortal child found such a technique, would they really be allowed to keep it for themselves? The answer was a very certain ‘no’.
Another 2 months flew by like the cold winter winds.
It stood to reason that the upper mountain should become quite chilly during the winter months, yet for some reason, this place stayed more temperate than the villages below.
“Ah, little Yaan! Are you here to collect your month’s resources?” A man smiled gently on seeing a young child enter the hall. This man was the Elder in charge of the core disciple’s quota of resources. He was old and had withered white hair, a man with a mild temperament who enjoyed seeing the most talented disciples flourish.
Towards Yaan, the youngest disciple of the core sect, he always smiled amicably. Yaan was just a child, yet he acted so politely and always cultivated diligently. Compared to most of the young sect members, his demeanour was far superior, something that didn’t go unnoticed by the core sect Elders and Great Elders. He had slowly developed this habit over the past few months, allowing him to create a good reputation for himself, without actually growing close to anyone.
Yaan wasn’t yet aware that he was doing this subconsciously as a form of self preservation.
“Yes, I’ll have to trouble you, Elder Ton Lu.” Yaan smiled politely.
“No trouble at all, it’s this old mans job after all. Let’s see, at the Qi Gathering realm you are to receive 10 Rank 1 Gathering Acceleration pills. Here you go.”
“Many thanks Elder.” Yaan received the bag, then bowed before leaving.
“What a good child!” Elder Ton stroked his grey beard and nodded appreciatively as Yaan disappeared form view.
Yaan returned to his home outside of the main sect area after walking for a mile and a half. It was common for the core disciples to live some distance away from the central bustling zone, as most Qi masters preferred to train in a peaceful environment without any external disturbances. The closest building to Yaan’s small home was actually his teacher’s, who lived a quarter mile away in a small temple.
This peaceful atmosphere usually filled one with a feeling of joy and serenity, but for Yaan, the knowledge that people were suffering in the outer sect further down this mountain always lingered on his mind.
He could only try to ignore this fact and concentrate on himself.
He hadn’t been sitting by idly in the past 2 months; Yaan cultivated diligently everyday. He finally learned the Heaven’s Beginning cultivation technique, something that he could actually use now, after ascending to the Qi Gathering realm. When he was just a mortal, the Fiend Foundation prevented him from utilising traditional techniques, but this limitation disappeared after he broke through and became an actual fiend.
Right, he could no longer be considered human. He was a true fiend, a member of the demonic races. The only discernible difference in terms of appearance was the change in the colour of his eyes, from hazel brown to a faint red. His hair had also become slightly darker, fading closer to black than previously.
His body gained some healthy weight, now that he was able to eat properly everyday. His muscles were toned and firm, whilst his body fat recovered to a level that no longer endangered his health.
These changes weren’t considered strange by anybody aside from Yaan and Great Elder Wan. Children naturally changed as they grew older so people wouldn’t grow suspicious, though this still wasn’t enough for Great Elder Wan. For this reason, he cast a concealment spell on Yaan’s body that hid the colouration in his eyes, and also disguised the remnant of slaughter aura that continued to linger around his body.
As a demonic race being, Yaan’s aura possessed subtle differences compared to humans. Great Elder Wan was worried that the Sect Lord might notice this difference. Luckily the aura wouldn’t become too noticeable until much later on, but he couldn’t be too careful with this ‘beloved disciple’ of his. Until Yaan learned to properly hide away his aura, this concealment method was necessary.
As Yaan thought about his teacher, he sighed to himself. Slowly, as time passed by and their relationship developed, he came to develop a deeper trust in this teacher of his. Since taking him in, Great Elder Wan showed him only affection and care. Yaan was sure that he probably had some schemes of his own by adopting someone like Yaan as his disciple, but he managed to convince himself that Great Elder Wan wouldn’t do anything to harm him seriously.
Rather than doubting his teacher, the reason for Yaan feeling a sense of melancholy right now was because his current actions were in opposition to his teacher’s wishes. Great Elder Wan wanted Yaan to cultivate using the methods of the fiend, by killing and refining the slaughter aura into Yuan Qi. This was the biggest advantage of the fiend race; they could overcome the boundary of ‘talent’ by cultivating with this extremely demonic method.
To cultivate the body, they simply needed to consume resources, something that couldn’t be sustained indefinitely with Qi refining or else impurities would gather in the Yuan Qi. When a Qi master’s Yuan Qi was impure, breaking through the realms would become more difficult and more dangerous.
However, Yaan refused to kill anymore people needlessly when he could simply use the Heaven’s Beginning technique like everyone else. Progress was slow this way, but he truly didn’t wish to kill when there was an alternative.
Because of this insistence, his progress had somewhat stagnated. He sat at the Initial Qi Gathering realm, still solidifying his foundation as he crawled his way towards the early stage.
Yaan sat on his bed and closed his eyes, steadying his breathing and sensing the spiritual energy in the surroundings according to the method outlined in the Heaven’s Beginning technique. His own Yuan Qi resonated with the spiritual energy in the room, causing an image of white mist to appear in his mind’s eye.
This was the energy that naturally pervaded the air. Heavenly Path Mountain was situated on an underground spirit vein, so the spiritual energy density was naturally higher here compared to elsewhere. The core sect was located at the peak of the mountain where the energy density was at its highest, providing the most optimum conditions for the talented disciples and experienced Elders.
Gulp.
Yaan swallowed one of the pills he picked up earlier, the Rank 1 Qi gathering acceleration pill. This pill increased the rate that he could absorb and refine spiritual energy by 5 fold for a period of 6 hours, making it a coveted medicine that could save anyone much time.
To receive ten of these pills for free every month, this was a crucial benefit that came with his status as a core disciple.
Yaan proceeded to usher his Yuan Qi onto the surface of his abdomen, creating a spiral of energy. The spiral interacted with the spiritual energy outside of his body, slowly drawing it into his dantian. The energy was refined within his dantian and converted into his own personal Yuan Qi, increasing the quantity of Yuan Qi that he could access permanently.
This was the Heaven’s Beginning technique. A simple but effective technique that was sometimes called the foundation of the Heavenly Path Sect.
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A young boy sat on his bed silently in the lotus position, not moving for a full 5 hours. This scene would stun any mortal parent, as they knew that this sort of patience could never be seen in a young child.
Yaan would always cultivate for the full 6 hour duration of the pill’s effect. Today however, his plan’s were unexpectedly interrupted.
Vrmm…
“Hmm?” Yaan opened his eyes in confusion as he felt an unexpected buzzing sensation around his hand. He glanced down casually, only to see the ever silent black stone ring on his finger glowing mystically as it vibrated.
“Huh?!” Yaan leapt up, now completely forgetting about his cultivation and the pill’s remaining effect.
This event was obviously much more important than some common pill! The stone ring had remained dormant ever since the mysterious woman transferred the Fiend Transformation into his mind. Now that it was once again glowing with those stunning symbols, Yaan couldn’t help but feel excited!
As the symbols brightened further, Yaan felt the Yuan Qi being forcefully drained from his body. He didn’t worry, instead choosing to pour his Yuan Qi into the ring proactively.
Whoosh!
“So you succeeded. Not bad.”
“Ah!” Yaan let out a sharp cry. It was her! The beauty who provided him with the Fiend Transformation technique, she had appeared before him once more!
Ignoring Yaan’s stunned exclamation, she began to examine him carefully. As she saw past his body and into his soul, she paused, nearly frowning.
‘A slave seal? I suspect that he doesn’t know it himself, since it’s still dormant. Hmm, it’s best not to mention this for now, since a child will definitely fail to act properly in front of the one who placed this seal.’ The woman quickly assessed the situation with a calm heart. She didn’t show anything on the surface, maintaining her indifferent expression.
She decided to question him for now.
“Tell me everything that you have experienced from when I disappeared until now.”
She had been unconscious from the moment that she transmitted the Fiend Transformation technique until today, when Yaan’s Yuan Qi reached a high enough level for her to absorb it and recover her energy slightly. She didn’t know what he had experienced since they last met. Honestly, she was surprised, it was unexpected that an unsupported child could cultivate the Fiend Transformation technique.
Yaan narrated the events without hesitation, trying not to miss out a single detail. She listened silently, not showing a single trace of emotion from start to finish.
When Yaan finally finished recounting his experiences since their last meeting, the room fell into silence. Yaan waited patiently, until she finally brought something up that made him flinch.
She wouldn’t mention the slave seal, but she would certainly bring up the topic of Yaan cultivating using an orthodox technique.
“Why are you using this below average technique? The Fiend Transformation is the most beneficial technique of the fiend race, it will boost your cultivation speed dramatically.”
“I…I don’t want to kill needlessly.” Yaan replied with an embarrassed stutter.
‘A child is a child after all.’ She sighed internally.
“This is part of the cultivation world. As a member of the demonic races, it is destined for you to walk the demonic path. In fact, simply becoming a fiend successfully proves that your heart possesses the innate quality of a demonic cultivator.”
“Demonic path? Demonic cultivator?” Yaan asked uncertainly, he had not heard these terms before.
She didn’t show any impatience, instead explaining everything to Yaan properly.
“In this world, cultivators can walk either the demonic or righteous path. This sect you describe is certainly a righteous sect, held together by a sense of camaraderie whilst they practice orthodox methods. The demonic path is the opposite. Demonic cultivators are unapologetically selfish and will do whatever it takes to achieve their own desires. As for how the various demonic races link in…they are named as such owing to the fact that all demonic race beings possess a natural disposition towards the demonic path.”
Yaan listened closely, his expression darkening towards the end.
“You’re saying that I am an evil person, and that this sect is good? I don’t believe it!” He refuted as a feeling of rage welled up in his heart, refusing to accept this sect was good!
“Did I say anything about good and evil? In the first place, those are childish concepts that only those righteous cultivators cling to so desperately.”
“I am a child though…” Yaan mumbled, still not fully believing her. Wasn’t it just common sense that there were good and evil people in this world…?
“Indeed. But you are a demon before you are a child, the sooner you embrace your true nature the better. Anyway, perhaps you will change your mind after I provide you with the missing details to the transformation.”
“So there really is more?” Yaan perked up. He knew that some details had been omitted, but he was uncertain regarding the importance of this information. As Yaan thought of something though, he showed a hesitant expression.
“Ah, will you need to rest again?”
“No, I’ve recovered enough to transfer this without issue.” The woman spoke as she stepped forwards elegantly, her long black hair swaying in an impossibly elegant manner. She gently tapped the tip of her index finger between the centre of Yaan’s brows, creating a ripple of white light to spread out across his forehead for a few inches, before turning back and sinking inwards.
Yaan once again felt stunned as a stream of knowledge flowed directly into his mind. Aside from this woman, he had never met anyone capable of transferring knowledge in this way, not even his teacher!
“Hah…so it was like this.” Yaan exhaled, a strange glimmer in his eyes. There were no new methods exactly, but he now understood something.
If he accumulated Yuan Qi by refining slaughter aura, his cultivation speed would be far, far greater than he had previously imagined.
“If you continue to cultivate that useless technique, you will be lucky to ever reach the True Yuan Qi realm.” She stated plainly. “If you wish to achieve revenge, you must cultivate like a fiend.”
Yaan’s face screwed up into a deep frown.
“But…there’s still a chance that I could reach the True Yuan Qi realm…”
“If you wish to cultivate for a minimum of 50 more years, then yes. But even then, you will not be able to defeat this ‘Elder Sun’. Besides, do you wish for him to live peacefully for the next few decades? By the time you catch up to him, he might have died from old age.”
Every point she made cut deep, forcing Yaan to face the reality that he had been avoiding until now. Seeing him falter, she decided to kick him whilst he was down.
“What is it that you truly desire? If it is revenge, then is your resolve so weak that you will give up on avenging your family just to spare some half dead people who are destined to die anyway?”
Yaan stood there silently, not facing the mysterious woman. He stood still for a full ten minutes, not caring at all as the effect of the medicinal pill gradually wore off.
“What is your name?” When he finally spoke, he didn’t move, nor did he look at the mysterious beauty.
The woman wasn’t expecting this question, but she replied anyway without hesitation.
“My name is Rui Bloodstar.”
“Fine, Rui. You win.” Yaan slowly looked up at the woman who’s origin was still a mystery. As she saw the look in his eyes, she felt a sense of satisfaction.
She had pushed him towards the darkness with her sharp and properly considered words, urging him to embrace the demonic way, and now…
That cold, ruthless look, it was exactly what she had been hoping to see. It should have taken him years to reach this point according to her initial estimations, but it seemed that she had undervalued this child.
A natural demon indeed.
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Great Elder Wan glanced down at this disciple of his with a mixture of glee and confusion. It was true that this was exactly what he had been hoping to see, but why the rapid change of heart?
Yaan had previously been so adamant about his unwillingness to harm innocents. So, why was he now suddenly determined to kill as many people as necessary to advance his cultivation speed?
The Elder was happy, but didn’t understand it at all. Still, he wouldn’t say anything to discourage Yaan now.
“Remember Yaan, you still need to be aware of the slaughter aura. It should be an order of magnitude easier to resist compared to when you were a mortal, but the danger is still there.”
Yaan nodded silently.
After speaking with Rui for some time, he decided to visit the execution chamber once again. Rui disappeared within the stone ring, though she could still communicate with him using a method she called ‘spirit sense’. Using this spirit sense, she was able to transmit her thoughts directly into his mind. Yaan was unable to use this technique, so he could not reply to her.
This was yet again another technique that he was certain his teacher could not use. Yaan was becoming increasingly aware that this woman was someone incredible, a person far beyond any of the Qi masters in the Heavenly Path Sect!
Rui could also watch the scene twenty feet around the ring using some methods. It didn’t take her long to deduce that Great Elder Wan was responsible for placing the dormant slave seal on Yaan’s soul.
‘Yaan appears to trust this man. He is using the guise of a teacher-student relationship to nurture a demon…so that’s it, he wishes to refine a demonic puppet to assist with his breakthrough into the Origin Soul realm.’
If Great Elder Wan were to know that someone had seen through his schemes so easily, he would certainly be shocked and afraid. It was fortunate for Yaan that his teacher held no suspicions towards the ordinary looking ring on his finger. He just assumed that it was cheap trinket from his mortal family, since it had sloppy looking craftsmanship.
Rui considered telling Yaan the truth, but decided against it. That said, she couldn’t just leave things as they were. Once Yaan entered the execution chamber, Rui broke her silence.
“You shouldn’t be so trusting of people, Yaan. Remember that in this world, everyone has their own schemes, nobody is generous for free.”
“…I know.” Contrary to her expectations, Yaan agreed. He sighed ruefully and shook his head. He knew that it was impossible for his teacher’s kindness to stem solely from the generosity in his heart, but he didn’t want to think of this amicable man as someone deceitful. Despite all that he had been through, Yaan still held onto the faint hope that there was at least some human decency in this world. He just hoped that Great Elder Wan’s plans were nothing malicious.
“Anyway, are you saying that you have your own schemes with me?” Yaan changed the subject and asked Rui curiously, speaking out loud as he walked across to the bloody sword that he hadn’t seen for two months now. The prisoner looked at him in confusion and began talking, but Yaan ignored the man’s desperate ramblings.
“Of course I do. I need you to become powerful enough to assist with my recovery.”
Yaan blinked, not expecting her to admit this so freely. Compared to those people who put on a righteous facade, he thought that Rui’s straight forwards nature was actually quite refreshing.
Well, she probably wasn’t telling him the entire truth, even now. He didn’t bother asking anymore, knowing that she would only reveal what she wanted him to know.
Chi!
“…For someone so resistant to killing, you are surprisingly ruthless.”
Seeing Yaan execute this man with such a clean and decisive swing, she was actually a bit surprised. The blood splattered across the stone wall messily. Some even splashed onto Yaan’s right hand and arm, yet he barely even showed any reaction. It was extremely rare for a child to be this calm when killing, even if that child was a fiend.
Yaan chuckled bitterly at her comment. He had indeed become more ruthless compared to the past. Perhaps killing so many people was gradually numbing him to the atrocities he was committing. Perhaps he didn’t feel too bad about it since these people were destined to die either way. Perhaps becoming a fiend was slowly changing him. Or perhaps, this was a side of him that had always existed, but it was only now being revealed…
He tried not to think about it too much, instead reminding himself again of his goal: revenge. As the hatred he felt towards Elder Sun continued to stew toxically within his heart, ingraining itself deeply into his mind and soul as time flew by, Yaan felt that doing this much was nothing.