Treebeard woke up to the smell of smoke and ash. It had been a while since he had camped outside, though the current situation wasn’t comparable with the disciples sleeping inside a hut, the faint odor of the spent wood was the same. Childhood memories from over a thousand years ago resurfaced. He was called something else back then, but only his nickname survived the test of time.
The weather was neither cold, nor hot, Treebeard discovered. Air felt soothing instead of suffocating. Surrounding spiritual energy seemed to have increased considerably, not just in quantity, but also in quality. If a regular person wasn’t overwhelmed by such a difference, then it meant that someone put great care into collecting and refining spiritual energy.
Young master, master, Han De, Long De; many names, many titles. The only constant was the endless surprises. Treebeard was sure that their master was involved, despite seemingly not knowing anything about Dao of formations and arrays. As expected, Treebeard thought. If their master were to advance five major realms one day, would that even be surprising anymore?
Treebeard stood up and straightened his back, feeling the natural circulation of spiritual energy in his once-broken body. Meridians that were shattered, roots that were burnt away, even the organs that were damaged to the point of almost rotting away, they were all whole again. With a deep breath, Treebeard felt the pure spiritual energy spread within, bringing relief like no other, like autumn rain falling on dry lands.
On the side, Liang Cuifen too woke up. Her pale cheeks now had a healthy rosy shade, her eyes looked sharper, and even her breathing felt more stable. This girl was born to cultivate, Treebeard thought. A mere day seemed to have stirred her talent, and given an icy intensity to the air around her. Treebeard nodded with a smile at her curious gaze and stepped outside.
The dense fog of pure spiritual energy emanated a golden glow as the morning light scorched everything in its path. Relief came from the long shadows, protecting the last remains of the morning dew, and allowing Treebeard to see a man sitting by the river. Clad in pure white robes, contrasting with his long black hair cascading down his back, a sense of power radiated afar. Despite the figure’s stillness, Treebeard could feel an invisible pressure, an elegance that defied reality itself. Yet the sight of a bucket beside, and a primitive fishing rod held by those impeccable hands, cast a sense of wrongness over Treebeard’s heart.
A deity trying to experience the mundane at the end of time, trying to grasp the essence of the long-lost, bizarre nature of mortality.
“… What lies before the veil of immortality will only fade into insignificance like a wisp of smoke.” Yu Xian’s muttering let Treebeard become aware of the young boy’s existence. Covered with leaves still, the boy’s eyes were locked on to their master, then meeting Treebeard’s gaze shortly after.
Peculiar. That one word came to Treebeard’s mind. The boy’s feet were swollen, his body was shivering, and the mist from his breath unnaturally swirled and twisted.
Their unspoken staring contest came to an end with Ning Bi storming out of the earthen hut. As she stood in the dense morning mist, her eyes had an unsettling red glow, slowly subsiding as she stared at the figure of her master.
Ning Bi closed her eyes and everything was laid bare.
Her master was fishing. With a rod. Sitting beside a bucket.
“Come. Join me.” Her master’s voice echoed. Ning Bi’s pupils shook as she clenched her fist; but her hesitation didn’t last long, and she started walking, each step bringing her closer to a dream that she had long forgotten.
Another simple stool appeared from thin air, along with a similar rod and a bucket. Ning Bi silently took the bamboo rod, unconsciously fiddled with it as if she had the muscle memory. Alongside, her master was serenely watching the river, lost in thought. As the two shared a rare moment of peace, Ning Bi couldn’t help herself from sneaking a few glances, and finally got caught by her master’s subtle smile. She realized she was holding her breath for reasons she could not understand.
“Sit. These fish are a bit… unruly…” Her master faced the water once again, his eyes looking at the peculiar fish, not minding that they seemed uninterested in getting fished.
Ning Bi sat down and swung the bamboo rod with familiar movements, despite not having any experience with fishing. For a while, neither of them spoke. Simply watching the morning sunrise, listening to the song of the river, was enough.
Soon, other disciples approached, with Yao Qing in front. Ning Bi’s bucket was empty, and neither of them was getting any bites, Yao Qing noticed. Though neither of them was getting looks of disdain from the fish either, so perhaps this was an improvement compared to yesterday!
“Training will begin today.” Their master’s voice, carrying an unquestionable certainty, caught Yao Qing off-guard. “Traditional wisdom advises to focus our efforts on to a single aspect, to pursue it, to perfect it; for to spread oneself too thin, is to invite chaos.” Their master paused for a moment and looked at the sky. “Our sect does not care for such thoughts. We shall invite chaos instead.”
Yao Qing heard the gentle rustle from Yu Xian’s clothes. The boy’s eyes were snapped at their master, shining with strange light.
“My disciples shall learn every aspect of cultivation. Qi. Body. Soul.” Their master’s voice was crisp and sharp. Yao Qing realized that he planned this from the start; perhaps all the way back, when they were inside the Starfall Mountain sect. Pieces were falling into place in real time, and Yao Qing was there only to witness it.
“Before we start, eat.” Their master pointed at the bucket beside, with fish mindlessly bumping into its walls and each other. Yao Qing suddenly understood why the fish in the river didn’t dare show disdain; none of them wished to turn into mindless husks.
Ning Bi stood up and bowed, then spoke slowly, as if she was treasuring every word. “Yes, teacher.”
Yu Xian blankly stared at Ning Bi, then at Jin Shu, then at Yao Qing, and Treebeard. Why weren’t they saying anything, or at least showing some surprise? Wasn’t teaching both Qi and Body cultivation a fool's errand? However, other disciples didn’t seem to have unfavorable opinions. Liang Cuifen, he could understand, but were others really so ignorant?
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After a brief moment of struggle, calmness returned to Yu Xian’s eyes. What did he have to be afraid of? His worry wasn’t for himself, but for others. But Yu Xian couldn’t dwell on these thoughts any longer; he could not help those who could not see.
While Ning Bi carried the bucket, Han De stood up. With a flick of his sleeve, a roaring fire started, and strange metal utensils surrounded the fire pit. Without any hesitation, Ning Bi grabbed a knife from the rack and started preparing. The fish themselves did not struggle; even while their organs were being gutted, they tried to keep up with the same rhythm to flap their fins. It was then, Yu Xian realized something was wrong with those fish.
“It is said that to achieve true success in cultivation, one must let go of their secular attachments. If one fails to let go of their emotions and desires, their balance would be broken, giving birth to a heart demon. Therefore, impurities are to be avoided; temptations are to be run away from.” Han De shook his head, gauging the mood of his disciples as best he could. “To be afraid of mere food or warmth of others… Is that how we cultivate our hearts?”
Han De observed how his disciples reacted to the rhetorical question. Liang Cuifen didn’t react, which was good. Ning Bi seemed to be deep in thought, and the three remaining were expressionless. ‘So far so good.’
“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” Said Han De, paying special attention to his voice to sound neither profound, nor superficial. Yu Xian’s eyes suddenly lost focus, Treebeard fell into deep thought; even Yao Qing seemed to be silently contemplating. Han De silently gave himself a thumbs-up for that quote. ‘I don’t know where I heard that one from, but thank you, whoever you are or were.’
“You will start from the basics.” Han De gave some time to his disciples to focus on his words once again. “You will start from the very food you eat. Because you are what you eat. Your bodies break, repair, and regenerate every moment of every day. Body cultivation begins with that.” Han De nonchalantly grabbed a skewer from thin air and used Qi to pin a cleaned fish on its end. “Plants and animals are more similar to a human’s body than you’d think. We are mostly made of the same materials; same building blocks that mortals call Protein, same minerals that you can find in water, earth, stone, and air.”
The fish on Han De’s skewer started sizzling, melted fat slowly dripping into to fire, releasing smoke and a peculiar aroma that made Han De’s mouth water. Unfortunate that he didn’t use charcoal or wood for the fire — this was his first time cooking with a fire fueled by his own Qi; the smell seemed off, but the experience was similar to barbecuing, all things considered. His disciples too, mimicked him and started cooking their own fish.
“Even a mortal body has ways to get rid of impurities.” Han De continued. “The word itself is meaningless: impurities. Anything can be impurity. And impurities themselves can be beneficial. Body cultivation is about selecting those impurities, enhancing them, remaking them, replacing them.” Han De was slightly surprised at his own words, because they made perfect sense. There were a number of mythical “Weak” level body cultivation scriptures in his brain, to the point that he could make a good argument that he knew what he was talking about!
“What kind of impurities can help?” Yu Xian asked. Body cultivation was an afterthought for the god-king in his “previous” life; almost entirely reliant on resources that could make anyone in existence shudder, just to slightly advance the realm of his body. Knowledge, he had of course, though he was curious what Han De would say to a Qi Condensation disciple.
The question made Han De smile. “When you leave meat outside it rots. When you leave milk outside it curdles. Rice left inside water may turn to vinegar, or wine. These transformations are not the heavens’ laws, but the work of tiny creatures that are invisible to the naked eye. Some of them are beneficial; and they exist within your gut right now, by the billions. A mortal cannot digest anything other than rice otherwise.
“For a cultivator, certain minerals that would otherwise kill a mortal, can replace or restructure flesh and bones.” Old techniques from various Xianxia came to Han De’s mind. “Iron skin, jade bones, golden marrows, unbreakable tendons; various names, various scriptures. Bones hard as steel can be a source of pride for a cultivator, but a death sentence to a mortal. Impurities are relative.”
Han De took the fish off the fire to let it cool down first. Biting it directly was also an option; his body couldn’t be burnt by such low heat anyway. But Han De didn’t even think of that due to his natural aversion to pain. Was there a point in taking such a risk, especially when he was with his disciples?
Meanwhile, Yu Xian nodded. Though he felt that the nature of knowledge was different, somehow more structured, it was still similar to what he knew. And with that, came some surprise, as it seemed that Han De wasn’t holding back. Much of these concepts would go over the heads of regular Qi Condensation disciples. Even Core Formation disciples such as Jin Shu shouldn’t be able to see those so-called tiny organisms with their eyes. But Han De didn’t care, it seemed.
Yu Xian absentmindedly watched Han De bring the skewer to his lips. The tender flesh of the fish glistened in the sunlight. Han De -with elegance that even surprised Yu Xian- took a small bite, his lips enveloping the succulent flesh, relishing the drops of melted fat dripping down. As he savored the tiny morsel, gently chewed it with meticulous care, it was as if the morning sun grew brighter, emphasizing the bottomless depths of his dark eyes, inviting everyone to explore the mystery within.
Not just Yu Xian, but all six disciples were staring at their master. Han De noticed it a moment later. “Eat,” he said, already being too conscious of his manners due to being in Profound Teacher A mode, undivided attention of not one but six disciples on top of that, was simply too much.
The spell was suddenly broken, leaving Yu Xian at a loss for words. Treebeard silently grabbed his own skewer, not minding whether it was still raw. Liang Cuifen continued to stare with a slight blush, and only came to herself after receiving a skewer from a smiling Ning Bi; the girl with red eyes smiled and nodded, though the meaning behind her actions escaped the embarrassed Liang Cuifen. Yao Qing merely sat down while waiting. And only Jin Shu continued watching, her eyes seemingly afraid to even miss a moment.
Han De felt that his muscles were tensing up due to a certain pair of emerald eyes. Bites became ordeals, even moving his arm felt as if it had the weight of the world on it. And more importantly: close-up inspection of his facade? Han De couldn’t afford to take that risk! Five bites were enough! In fact he felt regret not leaving after the third!
The skewer disappeared, seemingly, but it was just under an illusory invisibility spell; after which Han De secretly put it inside his storage ring; all to make the illusion of disappearing skewer a reality. A Nascent Soul master could use the power of space, but Han De felt that his sanity wasn’t in tatters as of yet to try such lunacy of his own volition.
What was left was an exit, and a small mission to set the mood. Han De chose the Profound Master C version on the spot, though he reduced the difficulty in consideration of Treebeard and Liang Cuifen.
“When you are done, come to the pavilion.” Said Han De, and used his Through the Starlight scripture to the fullest to give the appearance of teleportation.
“Hmmm?” Jin Shu rapidly blinked, her eyes seeking that otherworldly sight. “What happened?” She questioned, turning to Yao Qing, then Ning Bi, finding the latter humming with a mysterious smile.
Jin Shu looked around; she could understand Liang Cuifen’s blush, but Yu Xian’s beet-red face caught her by surprise.