The little light guided the way as dust stuffed Hao’s nose. The cave he knew was in front of him one stone he took from it his guide in the dark.

Before its mouth, the brown land was strewn with pickaxes, a few he may have used. He knew both the pickaxes and the cave too well.

Hao ensured no one was looking, an action of caution rather than necessity. Even he, a cultivator, was shivering in the summer night’s cold, waiting for daylights’ approach.

He dashed in, finding the tunnel and crawling through the narrow space of his own making. The wind of that day helped him seal any gaps that led to the small, round hovel of a cave.

Only a small side tunnel remained, which was also sealed by another thing of his own making: a makeshift door made from rock chiseled by his fingers. It took a few stones and many attempts. What he was left with was a fragile lid that was thin but light. It did its job well enough, with little air pushing through its edges.

The tiny cavern had turned into an air-tight chamber as he had a plan; An idea he considered bright and was grinning ear to ear at the thought of a try.

Don’t prove me a fool, Hao thought.

He tried a little longer to perfect the room, giving himself time until the night passed.

The wind began outside and lasted long, telling him his time was up, the sun had started its rise.

There was a rumble from the rush of the air outside traveling through the mine, shaking the cave above. Small amounts of air traveled down the tunnel, pushing through tiny gaps Hao missed if they could be found.

The wind did not brush but crushed against stone, searching for a place to go.

Hao’s ears popped as he sat in a meditative position.

He started to clear his mind of the countless distractions that followed him when he walked through the day and night.

His ears popped again, every time a gust traveled down the tunnel.

Easy to ignore; it was easy to forget the world around him. It was the mind that was hard to clear—Pop!

He had long prepared and was certain he was ready.

Hao became a sheet of paper, black on one side, and white on the other, his eyes white pools with a black island in the center or vice versa.

He closed his eyes as he reached up, tapping on the Spirit-Holding bag bound to his chest.

World Energy flooded from the neck of the bag, filling the cave with a thick mist.

It was much more than Hao expected, less than he hoped, but he could not dwell. He breathed it in, as it was trapped in the cave this time.

Some escaped, a bit seeped into the surrounding stone itself, and some floating away tried to follow the air, but the obstacles blocked their way.

Hao pulled it in, a sensation of new channels unknown to him opening on and in his skin and flesh. The World Energy flowed in faster as the channels formed.

It was painless, a burrowing sensation almost comfortable, like a massage on his bones and deeper.

The sensation of the “Vital Essence” traveling to his Dantian, the spot below his belly button, which was empty. Only a drop or two making its way to his unformed False Core.

His cultivation reached its end.

Hao was a little disappointed, but not surprised. He had nothing to help him facilitate his breakthrough. He would have to work hard from now on.

Last time it was after a technique breakthrough, do I need another strong technique to practice? The Water Breaking Fist only goes through the physical body portion of Reclamation. Hao thought, trying to map out his cultivation, watching the last bit of World Energy fade into the caverns surrounding walls.

Hao was right; he could go through reclamation with what he is currently doing, but it would seem comically slow compared to meditations alongside a proper cultivation technique.

A joke compared to a person with a master, techniques, and medicines to help them along the journey.

He no longer had any treasure to rely on for quick success. Only the Drinking-Stone for world energy and bags for convenience.

Hao checked the bag, thinking of it, curious about the result of letting the World Energy from it.

The moment he put his mind inside it, he could feel a collision.

Without the World Energy inside the bag, things were floating around freely, hitting each other as there was much more inside than before.

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Jars clinked, and loose dirt began to clump. The separate patches of dirt that had plants gathered, turning to fields.

The berries, the first plant he put in there, were closest to the center, starting to collect objects in its dirt. The gold beads from using the Drinking-Stone were the worst. Hao started taking the drop-shaped crystals out first as they scattered.

Hao could only interact with one thing at a time. The best solution, the way to slow things down, was to add world energy again. The bag seems unable to take world energy from outside itself, only having some created inside.

He juggled open jars of blood in and out of the bag, hoping to land one near the drinking-stone that was isolated at one of the walls.

World Energy was slowly filling the bag before he even got the first jar open. Hao ignored it, barely able to notice.

He was growing tired quickly but managed to land a jar near the stone. The problem was the lid was still on. He tried and succeeded in taking just the lid out of the bag.

The stone left the jar empty. The blood was relatively fresh, so the golden stone spun into space as world energy swirled around.

Things slowed down as World Energy filled the isolated space.

Hao used what little control he had inside to push things around. He was taking larger things in and out till they were together and separated from other objects.

He had to get the meat away from the dirt again.

The world’s energy grew without the Drinking-Stone as he ‘organized’ the space. A process that was more exhausting than running around collecting herbs.

Hao felt the flow of world energy coming from the plants all closer together than Hao wanted them. They seemed to both absorb and make World Energy. Hao wished he could see so he could know.

To see, Hao pulled out the plant that seemed to give off the most. Surprisingly, it was one of the dying plants he had just found. Now strong as it could be, its roots gripping onto dirt like it was a tentacle. Inside the dirt, the root just touched a golden bead. The black on its leaves a vibrant green replacing it.

It did not grow rapidly from what Hao could tell but seemed revitalized.

Hao pulled the golden beads away, unsure if anything happened to the crystal. He put the white-rooted herb back in the bag, aiming it for the clump of dirt, now a field of herbs, flowers, and berry bushes.

With the golden crystal in hand, and seeing the herb that was dying revitalized, he had another new thing he was eager to try.

He took a berry bush out of the bag, inspecting its growth. There were a few tiny purple beans on its outer edges. The berries were small and misshapen compared to the ones he would usually pick.

Perhaps a side effect of growing side the bag… h

Hao dug around the dirt to find the roots. Lightly, he touched the golden bead to the woody tendril.

It happened quickly. In front of his eyes, the plant changed, reacting like it could think.

Its root twitched, fattening where the bead touched. Its leaves open up, unfolding like it was preparing for the brightest sun; A vibrant green.

Hao was stunned, watching. This must be because it is a mortal bush.

The berries turned spherical and plump, falling from their stems. More grew fat and bright and again they fell. It was quick, a process before the eyes that all had missed throughout their lives. A normal thing that seemed divine.

Hao felt the berry. It was full of tiny seeds, and tasting it left him wondering if it was a trap. Sweeter, firmer with a pop, utterly satisfying, with a tartness that dared him to take a second to quench his thirst.

Hao put the bush away, and the berries it shed with it.

He kept only the bead of golden out in his hand. It had tiny pecks like needle marks on its surface. Slightly rougher when he rolled it in his fingers.

Hao still only had guesses, the same guesses as when he heard that the dried blood was more than just flaking blood but dried blood with vitality removed. The golden crystals had something to do with vitality, and in a significant way.

One more day of herbs, Hao smiled.

Not only did he discover this use of the golden crystals, but he was noticing something else. The plants in the bag were naturally and slowly giving a small amount of World Energy. A process that should have been obvious; But could now be something special when talking about immortal herbs and immortal objects.

If these plants can grow inside the bag, would World Energy constantly replenish in the bag?

Far more benefits would be gained if such a thought could work.

Hao made his way out of the cave. It was easier to get out than in. A bit more morning light warmed the ground. Winds were still blustering, the worst of it had passed.

Most of the servants of the mining hall remained in their cabins.

Why get tortured by the world even more? Being pushed by the wind is only a reminder of one’s powerlessness.

There were a few places he could go now to find more herbs, the places he wished to explore were now exhausted of their supply for years to come.

One place was up the mountain, the place with the most dense World Energy, but populated they would have long been picked clean. Any that were growing would be danced around by competition, racing others to pick a plant leading to a fight that took longer than walking off to find another.

The people would keep an eye on him too, he would have to return the favor.

I need to get Sect Points, not create a big legion of enemies.

More than anything Hao wanted to stay out of the line of sight of those he felt were untrustworthy, which was most of the Sect and all those not part of it. Anything that moved and breathed and even most plants that didn’t.

So instead of going up, Hao went down, more places unexplored to him, and many others that lacked the courage to go to an area on the mountain, further from the sect.

I could go further, down the slopes and to the towns below, drink and sing and dance and work and find love. Now I have more bonds here, those who rely on me, and smile when they see me… Hao let his day and task start with a weighty question; it served as boots to hold him to the ground.

Both sounded pleasant, but one gave him purpose and challenge.

The path down was easy on a person.

Stairs were carved into the mountain where slopes were steep. When the footholds were gone, the slope was reaching a calmer bend.

Eventually, the stone of the wall turned to dirt, soft and moist from the night’s dew melting with the morning wind.

Plants, saplings, weeds, and all manner of green jutted out from the mountain. Even more lively and abundant as he reached the next shelf below.

The moment Hao stepped on the almost flat ground, he was welcomed by the sensation of grass, grown half wild. Soft on his feet.

On the Island, he knew mud. In the forest, he learned twigs and leaves. At the mine, and on the Sect’s walking paths, he learned stones.

The soft sensation on his silk—shooed feet was welcome even if a little cold and wet from the new morning dew.

Ahead there was another path, not too far away, steps leading down further.

To Hao’s sides, the flat part went wider, stretching in the distance, two places new and unknown; Forests of different trees from the ones he came to know. They grew strong on either side.

Before he could process and decide he was given another surprise, more life. An animal; Above, one shelf up, it seemed only human life existed; the only other creature he saw was prey in tests.

The creature passed by in front of him, coming from the right. It was the land animal called rabbit darting across the path, from the forest to his right, going to the one on the left.

With Hao’s speed, eyes, and ears, he could have followed it. But he wore a smile and let it be.

He turned right, the opposite direction the rabbit was going, the direction he usually went when going to a forest. He stuck close to the mountain slope, a slight cliff, where the last few stairs were carved.

TunG!—The world rumbled from the front and behind.

Hao had only one concern as he walked forward, turning to run into the forest.

Was that a beast or a person?