The noon sun had long reached the sky’s edge by the time he left the food hall.

The one called Tu made quick work of the beast that belonged to Hao, stopping to give instructions along the way.

Hao was taught parts of a beast, how to cut them, and even more philosophy from the man who spoke well of death.

His time in the Food Hall took all of his day, leaving when he got the chance.

Hao tried to attract little attention as he made his way down the mountain. Just one shelf down to the place he spent most of his time since arriving at the sect.

He got what he asked for and a little more from the food hall. There was no blood on Hao’s robes. It was expertly collected, jar after jar full.

Under Li Tuzai’s instruction, Hao had to drain an animal himself, a small animal, livestock raised in the sect.

A few of the man’s words played back in Hao’s head, haunting him as he walked to the tunnel he wished to stay in; at least for now.

Li Tuzai doubted Hao would be able to carry all the things he collected from the Demonic Beast.

But Hao stored them in the Spirit-holding bag on his chest.

Hao thought he could see the surprise on Tuzai’s face.

He could see I used blood essence, but not see the treasure. A thought that was slightly reassuring to Hao.

He held onto his chest as he walked past the Mining Hall, knowing it was something precious, an Immortal Artifact.

Now it seemed the bag was more secure than his body.

Hao was just as surprised; all the meat and jars of blood were whisked away by the bag.

He explored the bag when he was practicing taking the elder tokens in and out of the bag, but it had depths yet to be explored.

Things left behind by its previous owner; did she leave them here on purpose?

People took notice of Hao as he passed by the Mining Hall. he wore blue robes, and was well-cleaned and groomed.

He looked like them just days ago, covered in brown dust. It was gathering on him again as he walked past each cave mouth.

They bowed their heads as he passed. It left an unpleasant tickle on his palm; he couldn’t help but itch.

He ensured people could not guess his intention regarding going to the cave.

Instead of keeping his head lower, he asked around about Senior Ya.

It was a topic of genuine curiosity.

Receiving no news of his return, only the same response: “Hall Leader had business off the mountain.”

Once Hao thought enough people had seen him ask the questions, he grabbed a bucket of water from the well outside the mining hall and walked off.

He paced in two directions, stalling—waiting for the sun to fall sufficiently.

The people around the Mining Hall, mortals, could only handle the gradual cold so much.

I hope those two are going to be fine. Hao thought of Meiqi and Zhengqi.

Maybe I should have told them I would not return tonight.

Hao wandered from the trees of the forest to the grassy area near the servant’s hall.

The bucket of water Hao carried started to freeze.

When the lights of the Hall started to dim, he started his sprint back to the mining area.

He skipped along, his stamina never going low, practically hopping. Before the walk to the mine took half a day, that was his first time walking there.

His eyes were not capable of seeing during the Summer night, but the night had yet to fully arrive.

A small pinch of light was still scraping across the sky.

When that light disappears, it will plunge the world into darkness and cause a great roar of wind.

Hao did not have to worry about spilling the bucket. It grew one thick layer of ice, a sheet in the makeshift container.

He entered the cave just as the final streaks of the light disappeared.

The world fell to dark. Luckily, a tiny bit of light was caught by his improving eyes.

The amount of light was minuscule just enough to provide direction. Familiarity with the tunnel leading the rest of the way.

A stone wall, with small cracks, and large chunks of stone carefully placed in front.

A sliver of light beamed at Hao.

The thrumming of World Energy grew as he got closer.

The abundance of the World Energy could be felt as Hao’s body eagerly drank it.

Something Hao had no control over. He needed to go to the library to learn more about Reclamation and find techniques to help his cultivation.

But this takes priority.

Stone by stone, they clattered on the ground, his hands claws, digging away at the wall he placed.

More light shone through and, to Hao’s surprise, it was not the blue stone at the center of the little cave.

He squeezed through the way he had before, unwilling to fully open the tunnel to the world, leaving behind the bucket.

The source of light was the extra spirit stones he left in the cave.

Those he stored away with what he did not take to the Second Elder.

The things he left behind caught light from the stones on the ground. A few medicine bottles he only brought one through the trial, and burlaps shreds, bits of what was left of his old clothes.

The dark bronze grain was still on the ground, a material made from sweat; a green moss had started to grow on and around it.

Hao had little interest in anything but the spirit stone right now.

What is the meaning of this? His eyes flickered between the small spirit stones and the larger blue stone at the center of the room.

The treasure of the Cultivation world continued to stun. But this stone was far greater than even a bag that had its own space inside.

The spirit stones that were once blue like the ocean had a transparent white. Once they were dim, but now they were bright.

Bright as the source stone, the first stone Hao found, which caused him trouble and gave him opportunity.

Hao gulped, more times than he could count. Unsure whether to laugh or cry.

Before the glorious blue stone drank water, specifically his sweat, he brought the bucket of water with him for a test.

But now Hao dared even less to open the cave to the world.

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He started a second tunnel; one a few paces away from the original hole, from which cold air flowed.

To the side of the cave, a curved path to crawl through, bending around the original tunnel he dug over months.

The stone broke easily now, his body stronger again. His Breakthrough to the second stage Reclamation had an obvious effect.

He wondered how much of the change was from the beast’s blood essence.

Once the tunnel was finished, a quick dig, before the wind stopped, he brought the bucket with him. It was big enough for just one person to crawl through.

The bucket still had a layer of ice; he was going to break with his hands, against his better judgment.

If he broke the bucket and the water spilled on the ground, it would do little for his test.

He was given a more precise tool today. When he was told to puncture the livestock, he was to drain blood.

Hao pushed the knife down into the ice. The tip slid through with ease.

Water bubbles along the knife’s edge, and he could not help but think of the little creature.

Hao was uncomfortable with the act back in the Food hall, then Senior Li Tuzai repeated his philosophies towards death. Then told Hao that it died of natural causes.

Hao shook his head, lifting the bucket, bringing back his focus.

He stepped closer to the stone, preparing to pour water over it.

PssHH! Hao heard the sound of the ocean crashing on the shore.

No water fell from the bucket as he poured, just a small amount of black mist. A trace of world energy came flowing forth as the mist touched the blue stone. The noise followed the sound of dry sand finding water for the first time, a subtle crackling.

A little disappointed, to say the least, he placed the bucket down, going back to the spirit stones on the ground.

He had heard talk of what a spirit stone was, just a container holding world energy harshly condensed with traces of water energy from the world itself.

As for the Source Stone, he had a guess he thought was certain. It had no color because it was purer, with little to no water energy inside. That was not all; he could not feel the power from a Source Stone like he could a spirit stone.

Hao looked down at the spirit stones, once a murky blue, now a prismatic white.

Is this some type of Drinking-Stone? It gives World Energy in exchange for water. That didn’t seem right to Hao; there had to be more to it than this. He looked from the stone on the pedestal to the rest of things on the floor.

He saw the moss growing around the grain of dark bronze sand, which added more questions. Nothing similar was created this time.

Are these like source stones now? Hao reached down to the spirit stones on the ground.

One spirit stone was just in Hao’s hand when a sudden surge of world energy flowed into him; It was nearly overwhelming.

It was overwhelming, like suddenly being a cloud.

It slowly flowed through his body, a refreshing feeling harmonious in warmth and cold.

Hao flipped his hand over the stone clattering on the ground — it turned inert.

Now it was just a slightly transparent gray stone. Hao was getting an understanding as to why people in the lower stages of Reclamation were encouraged to leave the mine.

He sat down in a meditative position. There was little room to move, but he needed to help the World Energy flow.

The energy reached a calm collecting at the center of gravity near his belly button.

He opened his eyes, starting to covet the Drinking-Stone even more.

Hao took a breath; he needed one. His head was swimming. First, he stored everything he could in the Spirit-holding bag.

The knife and bucket, the rest was junk, strands of burlap; only half of it was here, the other half with the Second Elder. Leftover food pills—he thought it better to throw them in a fire.

He didn’t touch the white spirit stones, trying hard to store a few in the spirit-hold bag without touching them.

The storage of stuff was good practice too. The easiest way was tapping his chest while holding the thing he wanted to store; the item would disappear into the bag on his chest.

He kicked the stones he could take in around the room for light.

Taking out a jar of beast blood, he was curious, itching for another test.

They were contaminated and had no use, according to Li Tuzai; he knew better than Hao. he had a certain passion for blood it seemed.

Hao opened the lid of the jar.

Already close to the Drinking-Stone, the moment the jar opened, the mist began to rise out.

It was more than before, and Hao was watching closely as it happened.

The mist was multicolored when leaving the jar. The closer it got to the Drinking-Stone, the more the colors broke apart.

The mist of dark blue, the same as before, kept heading toward the Drinking-Stone.

Two mists broke off, trailing around as if searching for somewhere to go.

A white and a gold. The gold stopped, it appeared lost, then solidified into a dirty gold bead that fell to the ground.

The white mist explored the room, it touched the inert spirit stone on the ground. The Spirit stone regained its iridescent glow.

It turned to strands spinning around the room. A few touched Hao; they were World Energy.

The strands coiled around the Drinking-Stone until the last of the blue mist disappeared.

Then it ran in a flood, the white mist ran free in the path of least resistance.

The World Energy in the room became slightly stronger as it rushed through the cracks in the tunnel, seeping into the stone and assimilating with air.

Hao tried to take it in but had no control of the pace at which his body absorbed it.

He put the jar away, its inside now crusted with flaky red gunk.

The yellow bead next, it did not react to his hand; he kept it in his palm as he placed his other hand over the Drinking-Stone.

He wanted to try to claim it, the way he claimed the bag; if he couldn’t, at least he could keep it in the bag.

If no one is able to sense the bag… Now that this stone is uncovered, it’s only a matter of time until someone else finds it.

Hao held his finger over the stone. He began to breathe and concentrate, pushing the world energy currently in abundance in his body to the tip of his finger.

Blood coalesced and, expecting it this time, Hao felt a little woozy.

A drop of blood, with a golden reflective surface, fell from his index finger.

How much World Energy would I get from collecting the water in the ocean? Hao thought. A twin thought popped up alongside it.

The Drinking-Stone rising towards the sun before crashing down, a great wave dragging millions to the ocean.

The blood stayed in the air.

Hao woke up to the situation. He wondered why he would ever think of taking the stone to the ocean after seeing what he saw.

Why did I want the stone so badly anyway? It’s a great treasure, I want it, but…

The world began to shake; the mountain vibrating.

Hao covered his head, dust shaking loose from the ceiling, coating his head.

It’s not the mountain. It’s the stone!

The stone was rapidly moving, vibrating on its pedestal, the drop of blood essence floating above still as a picture.

The Stone absorbed a tiny amount of blue mist. The other colors followed.

A massive amount of the white mist exploded from the drop of blood essence, starting to spin around the stone.

The droplet started to solidify, a golden drop floating in the air, a transparent shine.

Hao tried to catch the drop, but the vibrations became worse.

His skin started to crawl. Then just like five rings of the bone-shaking bell, his bones rattled, his skeleton feeling soft.

The golden drop hit the floor. Hao could only watch.

It lost his interest quickly as the white mist around the blue Drinking-Stone turned into a needle-like spear and shot at him.

The spear ripped through his belly, leaving no hole. It stayed inside him.

Having a pain in its league as it joined the spear joined the vibrations of the stone, tormenting his organs.

He heard the stone of glass breaking, and the room fell to darkness.

The spirit stone had broken, shattered, something Hao thought impossible.

Then he remembered the words of the Elders, ‘Anything of a spirit strength near the mine could destroy it.’

“It was not spiritual strength itself but the Drinking-Stone hiding in the mine.”

Hao ignored the pain of the spear, taking out more spirit stones; old and new, they shattered one by one as they came out of the bag.

The World Energy flowed into him, combating the spear.

Hao never noticed the gold bead in his hand from the beast’s blood melted into his skin.

The vibrations were getting weaker, his organs no longer shaking, his brain no longer bouncing in his head, his eyes now still in their sockets.

The World Energy shot into him was still moving around, tearing him apart inside.

Hao fell forward in the dark, the Drinking-Stone right in front of him no longer moving. He tapped his chest, and it was sucked into the spirit-holding bag.

He collapsed to the ground, his face in fresh dust. No longer able to wince from the pain, fighting off the urge to yell and scream.

The spear continued traveling through his viscera like it was a needle trying to stitch something together inside his body.

Blood leaked from his mouth and nose. He was passing out as his mind drifted to the knife he used to puncture ice before he went mad for the stone; was I already mad for the stone?

The creature he was told to drain of blood was a land animal called a rabbit.

It was Hao’s first time seeing the creature, his second time seeing a furred-covered animal he was unfamiliar with.

There was no value in its blood, but Hao had to drain it anyway. He was hesitant at first, prompting Li Tuzai to give another philosophy lesson; Hao ignored most of it but accepted the fact it died from natural causes.

“Its body could bring benefits to nature with its death. Life is equal to death until life means something more. The same applies to death; don’t deny its death could have great meaning.” Senior Tuzai said.

Most of his words made Hao’s stomach twist, whether they were true or not.

Hao pierced the small creature with the knife he was given. The blood ran from the little creature.

“Well, this one had a full life. She had hundreds of siblings. Lived a long life for a rabbit, had well over one hundred offspring herself.” Senior Tuzai said, standing at Hao’s side as blood ran down his fingers into a vial.

“If I had to kill that little creature myself now—If it means I would survive. I…” Hao lost consciousness, seeing a dark, deeper than any summer night.