Novels2Search

First Steps

Cultivation in the Qi Condensation Stage is pretty self explanatory in the broad strokes - it's called Qi Condensation because you're condensing Qi. If you think of Qi as a gas, then this is about condensing it into a liquid, a process generally referred to as 'refining', and ideally done with as many apertures as possible. In practice, most people have difficulty focusing on multiple apertures at once, myself included. Those who can manage more are considered 'talented', as it allows them to refine faster, and thus, progress faster.

My lack of talent hasn't stopped Cheng from insisting I spend more time meditating with him as of late. Cheng's own talent makes him well suited to cultivate (or better suited than I, at least), but that does not mean he is a teacher. He's trying his best though, and in between badgering me into meditating with him and trading pointers (by which I mean he kicks my ass and then tells me what I did wrong from the perspective a ten year old who is just naturally better at this than I am-), he also tries to help me decide on a Cultivation Method.

Or more accurately, he tries to decide on one for me.

In cultivation, there is one destination but many paths. It is said that all paths will lead to the Dao in the end, whether you start from a position of the Sword, from Fire, Light, Water, or something more esoteric like Will or Fate. The Heavenly Misty Peak Sect boasts a fairly broad selection of manuals and techniques, but the nature of the mountain we are on lends itself best to Wind and Water in broad strokes. It's the Heavenly Misty Peak for a reason.

Cheng himself practices a style he learned from a manual that called itself 'The Breath of Heaven', focused on refining Wind Qi and breathing techniques.

For my part, I have trained in the most basic styles, with the same manual available to all Outer Disciples - 'Gentle Mist Soul'. It's a very basic manual, lending itself to Mist Qi, but otherwise, the information within is mostly only really relevant up to Foundation Establishment. It's generally expected that one finds a better manual past that, although I'm told there is a… more complete version of the Gentle Mist Soul also available. But that too, must be earned.

Truth be told, Gentle Mist Soul does not really suit me - whilst I consider myself gentle, I have trouble with the mist part. It is a conclusion that Cheng comes to as well, but there is ever the question of what will. Manuals are not cheap, and so, the truly wise or clever Disciples will seek the tutelage of more experienced members of the sect - finding a master who can identify what will suit them and train them in it.

The others just kind of fumble in the dark, and if Heaven truly smiles upon them, a master will find them. Truthfully, that is more common than the former. No matter how talented the protege, it's no use if a person wholly unsuited to the Sword seeks out a master of it.

These are all questions and things I've thought of before and generally was content to ignore. I was quite happy to muddle along until such a time as the Gentle Mist Soul could not bring me any further. It's true that I would likely have to… give up my cultivation base and start over if I found a method that was suitable and sufficiently divorced from the Gentle Mist Soul, but honestly, that was a problem for future me.

Except Cheng was quite insistent that future me was current me, and I did not have the (emotional) strength to refuse him. It's very troublesome. Whenever he looks at me with those eyes of his and starts pouting and going on about how he can't possibly ascend to the Heavens without Lian-er, I crumble like a sandcastle faced with a tsunami.

"This would be so much easier if you helped, Lian-er," he grumbles, hands gently pressed to my head and stomach. He was attempting to get a feel for my Qi flow, try and judge from how I felt what would be best. It's an amateurish attempt at best. He may be talented, but there are limits to talent. "You feel no attraction to weapons?"

Weapon Cultivators were… frankly kind of scary? I know a few of the Elders were Sword Cultivators, and Elder Fan was infamous for being the kind of crazy to seek to master all weapons, even things that aren't really weapons. Even for Cultivators, but it's just… to be a Weapon Cultivator meant dedicating yourself to a weapon. And I mean dedicating. You had to live, breath, eat, shit, and sleep that weapon. They were people who saw and understood the world in terms of Weapons.

"I'm not a violent person, Senior Brother." Maybe I could take the path of the Staff… but no. I don't have that kind of mindset. If I were to cultivate with any weapon or tool, it would probably be a frying pan, or a spatula.

Or a feather duster, but then I'd feel like some sort of Maid Cultivator and the idea is ridiculous enough that I snort a little.

"What kind of person are you then, Hei Lian?" he grouses, "Lian-er says he's not violent, he's not righteous or wicked…"

"I'm a peaceful person at heart." Really I'm a 'go with the flow' kind of guy. "You know this, Senior Brother - I have no desire for conflict or quarrel."

"How does someone like you become a cultivator?"

It's a fair question. Before I became Hei Lian, I was… it's complicated to think about, really. There is a blurry line in my soul - the Hei Lian before me, and the Hei Lian that I am. I say I am a transmigrator, but honestly, I cannot say for certain that I am not just a reincarnator either. All I know is that I remember a life that was not this life, of being someone who was not Hei Lian.

Hei Lian was already a cultivator when I… woke up, so to speak. Perhaps it was Qi Deviation? Heavenly Tribulation? I cannot say, although the idea of a Heavenly Tribulation so early seems terrifyingly cruel. He had trained with a very basic manual, one that cannot even really be considered a proper 'method' - and yet, it had still set my parents back quite a bit. It was a basic set of breathing exercises, enough that I was able to enter Qi Condensation, and that was enough to earn my entry into the Heavenly Misty Peak.

"My ambitions are simpler, but I do not lack in them, Senior Brother," I admit, after a long moment of consideration. "I intend to live a long and healthy life - an Immortal life. I'd like to live in a nice house, with someone to call my partner. Fighting and bickering is not for me - I would rather spend my time cooking, and cleaning. But I am not hurried or rushed to reach the peak, when I can enjoy the view so greatly from here as well." I sigh dramatically, acting put upon, "Alas, my Senior Brother cannot wait and I must go with him it seems. Truly, the Heavens are cruel to a man."

He punches me hard on the shoulder, and I yelp in pain that's not feigned at all. "Perhaps there is a Cultivation Method suited for snails like you then."

I shrug, a smile playing on my lips. "Perhaps there is. I don't think I'd mind such a thing. I can have a little snail shell as a home wherever I go-ow, be gentle Senior Brother!"

"Shameless," Zhou Cheng scolds, "As my junior, Lian-er, you should act the part!"

A part of me wants to whine that he went and decided that all on his own, but I'm not so shameless. I'll admit I have… a tendency to disregard face. A holdover from who I used to be, but I'm also not a fool. I'm good at learning social rules, and honestly, I'd rather give too much face than not enough. Let them think me weak and easily pushed - and let me be weak and easily pushed.

Easier to bend with the push than break with the shove.

"Forgive me for failing to meet your standards, Senior Brother."

"Apology accepted," the brazen little shit says. "I think what we need to do is get Elder Liang to decide."

As one of the many boons one can use their points for, a Disciple can book a session with Elder Liang, who is charged with the Library Pavilion, and generally considered one of the best when it comes to identifying a student's best path as well as one of the better teachers in general. So prized is time under Elder Liang, that it is arguably one of the most expensive things available.

It could take an Outer Disciple years to buy ten minutes, but ten minutes could save you decades so it is arguably a price well paid.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

It's just not one I'm particularly willing to shell out for. "If Senior Brother wills it, I won't object, but I must confess I have no intention of using my points for something that is best decided by oneself. Elder Liang can no doubt guide me, but if I am to walk a path to Immortality, should it not be my own?"

His response was to jab me in the side. "Don't try to be wise, Lian-er," he admonishes, "It doesn't suit you."

What? I can't be wise? That hurts, Cheng. I ought to cultivate harder just so I can slap you upside the head some day without breaking my hand.

"I will just have to encourage Lian-er myself, it seems."

Don't look at me like that, Cheng. You're going to make me concerned.

"I have decided: you will join us on a hunt!"

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I wonder if Zhou Cheng is a protagonist - it's a strange little thought. An idle fancy. Truly, I do not know if such a thing as a 'protagonist' exists, and the implications of that would be concerning to say the least, but if they do, I must wonder if Cheng happens to be one.

He's not untalented, and he's got a merry little band of companions. However, in saying all of that, Zhou Cheng is an Inner Disciple. I cannot help but feel that if he were truly a protagonist, he'd either be an Outer Disciple so he could climb from nothing, or a Core Disciple, because he was already powerful. Having been an Inner Disciple his entire time here at the Sect feels… too middle of the road.

Nonetheless, he has comrades he's taking on this hunt alongside me. Or more accurately, he is taking me alongside them. They regard me as the curiousity I am, and reactions range from surprise, confusion, straight to disdain.

"Cheng, you cannot be serious," a beautiful young girl laments, glaring at me as though I were a disgusting slug she found in the bouquet of flowers her beloved had just gifted her, souring the romance. She has the robes of an Inner Disciple, and I can only assume she will grow into one of those icy jade fairies stories are so fond of. "This fatty cannot possibly be of any help. He is only at the Third Step." She certainly has the attitude of one.

"Lian-er is not meant to be of help, Kong," Cheng counters calmly, "He is here to be helped."

"For what reason? There is nothing that stands out about him." The next to criticise me is the oldest member of Zhou Cheng's little group - he seems like he might be sixteen to seventeen, broadly built, with the beginnings of a moustache forming. From his Qi, he is just a few Steps ahead of the others.

I let out a self-depreciating laugh, still kneeling before them. "Senior Brother Zhou shows me much kindness - alas, my only talent is in cooking."

The Fairy narrows her eyes, seeming more considerate. "Cooking… an alchemist then?"

Figures she'd immediately leap to that. I have a little experience with alchemy, but I never really seriously pursued it. The explosions are… off putting.

"Regardless of what he has and has not, Hei Lian will come with us on this hunt in order to grow stronger," Cheng declares. He is not the strongest of the small group, but he is without a doubt the most talented - in terms of growth, he has grown the fastest of all of us, it is clear. Everyone here defers to him for that reason, even Big Brother Broad Shoulders, who could probably snap him in half.

"If it pleases Senior Sister, then please think of this humble servant as bait for monsters."

"Hmph. At least you know your place."

The final member of the little group, a boy who looks like he's just a bit younger than Zhou Cheng himself just smirks. "As long as you can keep up." Unlike the others, he is still in Qi Condensation. Unlike me, he is at the very peak of it.

Ah, so cold. I put them aside in my mind, turning my focus onto Cheng.

"I have enough supplies to last us a week in the Forests," he declares simply, "That should be ample time to find useful resources. We'll head to the usual area. Lian-er, just stick with me!"

It's not like I had any inclination to do otherwise from the get go - but I oblige him, following a few steps behind as we head to the compound gates.

The Heavenly Misty Peaks Sect was built on… the Heavenly Misty Peak. Shocking, I know. One of the founders - I assumed it was them at least - had very neatly cut half of the peak off. Vertically, not horizontally. If I looked to the north, I would see nothing but a vast, towering cliff face, dotted with buildings and a few elevators. The higher you go, the purer and more powerful the Qi - so Inner Disciples are allowed to stay in the Lower Ring, where a great deal of the facilities also were, and Core Disciples in the Middle Ring. The Elders dwell in the Upper Ring and it's said that there's a residence at the very absolute peak for the Sect Master.

But where we are headed is the gates on the outside of the Earth Ring, where the Outer Disciples and mortal servants live. There are two ways up into the sect compound - the first is to take the long, winding path that wraps around the mountain several times over. On foot, it can take you days, and the path is not particularly wide. Supposedly this is to test any that come to the sect, but pretty much the only people who use it are people who get rejected from the other tests. If you climb up on your own power, you'll be allowed to become an Outer Disciple, no other questions asked, no other tests given.

That is not how I - or anyone else I know - got here.

We took the elevator. They're well protected and guarded, and the primary way of getting up and down. Sure, we have plenty of ways to store large amounts of goods like qiankun pouches and spatial rings, but nobody actually likes going up and down the mountain, no matter how much it can be called 'training', and even most of the Elder's can't just fly.

The Guards are Outer Disciples for the most part, with one or two Inner Disciples. It's not a popular posting, but it does pay well in terms of points - if only because one must at least be in Foundation Establishment to take a position up here. Most of the Outer Disciples present are the ones who have made their peace with being in their position for the rest of their lives - a wise enough decision, even if few people are willing to reach it.

Cheng announces us. "Inner Disciple Zhou Cheng, Inner Disciple Kong Meiling, Inner Disciple Song Ren, Inner Disciple Shan Guojin, and Outer Disciple Hei Lian leaving on a hunting trip. We expect to return within two weeks."

The Guards glance over at us, but don't really say anything as they open the gate. Really, they're more window dressing for the most part. The Formations and Barriers do most of the actual protecting and screening, but one of them takes our details down. I'm not sure if they'll actually launch a search party or something if we're gone for longer, but you know.

The elevator itself is an impressive thing, a large stone platform that thrums with Qi. If my senses were better, I might be able to pick out what it's doing, but all I can tell is that it makes the platform lighter, and guides it up and down in set motions.

The platform moves fast as well, and some other function of it keeps me from flying off of it as it descends. The same function that presumably keeps me - and others - from being pulped when it goes back up, hurtling back and forth at absurd speeds to cross absurd distances.

I don't know how tall the Heavenly Misty Peak is, but it is tall. I've heard someone claim it's a hundred li, but that seems ridiculous, even for worlds like this.

Then again, as we hurtle down, maybe not that ridiculous.

"Lian-er, this is your first time so I'll let you know what we're hunting - around this area, we're usually looking at Howling Ghost Wolves, Rainbow Iris Peacocks, or Icefang Serpents. There might be Spirit Grass as well, or Ghost Trees."

Howling Ghost Wolves, Rainbow Iris Peacocks, Icefang Serpents… all dangerous beasts, but nothing particularly out there. They were things Outer Disciples were expected to be able to fight in small groups, so with a trio of Inner Disciples, we should be fine? Well, everyone else was in Foundation Establishment aside from myself and the youngest.

"There might be other creatures of course," Cheng continues, "But those are the main ones to look out for. So long as you stick with me, it should be fine."

"I'll be relying on Senior Brother once more," I said genially, trying not to let my nerves show. I hadn't been in the Forest since… since ever, really. I was recruited from the nearest city, where I used to live, and we came over in one of the sect's flying wagons.

It was called the Forest of Wandering Phantoms, and it was the kind of thing that came straight out of a fae realm, full of mist, trickster spirits, and all sorts of things that were trying to deceive you. From what I remember of the beasts on his little list, most of them were blessedly straightforward. The Howling Ghost Wolves had a howl that sounded like tortured spirits, and it was known to paralyse mortals with fear - even I, a weakling in the Qi Condensation Stage, should be fine.

Rainbow Iris Peacocks were dazzling illusionists, who used tricks of the light that ranged from illusions to just blinding you, and had all the viciousness of regular poultry augmented by cultivation. And Icefang Serpents were… well, snakes. They had a literal chilling bite. Straightforward enough. Nothing really mysterious about them, beyond the usual 'surprise it's a snake!' kind of thing.

"Standard precautions apply," Shan interjects, "No wandering after voices even if you think you recognise them or if they're calling for help. Don't touch anything if you don't know what it is."

"If we get separated, we'll identify each other by pass phrase," Zhou Cheng continues, "Mine will be Heavenly Wind. Kong will be Icy Fairy." That got him a small derisive snort from the Icy Fairy in question. "Shan will be Great Mountain. Song is Rising Sun. And Lian-er is Rice Cake."

There's a small burst of laughs at my 'code name' - even the elevator operator snorts - but I laugh with them. If I were twelve at heart, that might've crushed me, but frankly, I'm okay with it.

Finally though, the elevator came to a stop. There was a small clearing set up to welcome guests and screen them, and we passed through without much fanfare at all save for a few nods.

And then we were off. Everyone took off in a sprint, and I followed them, silently glad that at least in this life, I'd learned how to run without getting side stitches constantly.

The Forest of Wandering Phantoms… it was something I never really intended to have to face if I had any say. But so long as I hugged Zhou Cheng's thighs, I should be safe.

Right?