We’ve gathered in the early morning on the grassy slopes of the Inner Sect, ready to listen to Elder Mo’s lecture on Essence.
It was a good thing that he explained every detail of it because even though I already knew about it, listening to a different set of explanations gave me some insight. We also learned the extraction technique, and that one was really similar to what I already knew.
Elder Mo said that the technique was good up Nascent Soul Realm, and as for Golden Core, we would need a different version. I didn’t even know there was a limit. However, thinking about it, the technique I was currently using did indeed appear insufficient for containing higher grades of Essence. Golden Essence was quite a large jump in power and purity from the Silver one.
The slight difference in interpretation of the nature of Essence from Elder Mo also allowed my brain to finally become one with it. The knowledge I mean. All these foreign concepts finally clicked in my brain and got locked in place as they should be.
The truth of the world. I have finally figured it out.
[It’s all a game.]
It was the best way I could describe Cultivation. A video game.
Think about it. Soul Essence is the XP that I use to level up with, and Body Essence is the material with which I build my body. It is the substance I use to increase my abilities and my stats. And how do I get both of them? Why, by killing, of course! The most logical way there is!
Ah, but then there are less risky ways to gain XP, slowly and consistently, and that is Cultivation. But I’m not one to just sit around for months on end. I have done enough of that in my previous life, glued to a computer screen for most of my youth. Now it was time for fun, excitement, for action!
Action that brings forth the excitement of battle, of conquest, of war!
Like a plague I shall cover the land, leaving my mark, killing, devouring, and consuming anything and everything, until I become a god! No, not a simple god, I’ll become The God! The mightiest being to have ever-!
“Hey, you alright? Your Aura is spiking...”
Long Dong’s words disrupted my thoughts and the sudden spike in dark, greedy thoughts disappeared like mist under a warm summer sun.
[Shit… What just happened? My mind suddenly went haywire.]
“Huh, that took a while.”
[What did?]
“Cultivation amplifies right?”
[Yes…?]
“Well, emotions get amplified too…”
[…Aw, fuck!] What a great way to find out, nearly losing myself in bloodlust. [And what am I supposed to do about it? Meditate to dampen my emotions?]
“That’s one way to work on it. Though some embrace the powerful emotions and use them to fuel their growth.”
[That’s one way to deal with it, I guess...]
“Yeah, or you could practice various techniques. Ice Heart, for example, can drastically dampen your emotions, but if you overdo it, you can stop feeling anything. Though, those that do that often lose the will to live.”
[Eh… I think I’ll keep my mind as it is for now, thank you. As long as I know these outbursts can happen, I’ll be able to prepare to deal with them.]
“Suit yourself. Ah, but you should still train Awakening Breath. You are close to completion, and it might help you regulate your emotions better when you completely master it.”
[Alright.]
I later found out that the Cultivators referred to these random emotional outbursts as Heart Demons. They were exceedingly dangerous if they happened at an important step in Cultivation, especially when crossing over to another Realm. At that point, the Soul was at its most vulnerable state, so much so that higher Realm Cultivators took all possible precautions to avoid distractions.
They would sometimes lock themselves in a room and surround it with a myriad of defensive and isolation Formations so that nobody could disrupt the delicate balance required when trying to advance.
At the low Realms below the Golden Core that wasn’t necessary as the Soul wasn’t yet strong enough to destroy itself if a critical mistake occurred. But I already knew that disrupting someone’s Cultivation was bad. The damn gong calling for us to gather just a day ago left me groggy for hours because of it. Luckily my Soul wasn’t damaged, but the feeling it brought was anything but pleasant.
Anyway, after the lesson was over we returned back to the base with the new knowledge still fresh in our minds. I saw most of the young Disciples had eyes opened wide in excitement, barely keeping their smiles in check. They could barely wait for the opportunity to consume some Essence.
Heck, Chity was barely able to contain himself and rushed home to try his new technique on some spare meat. We contribute a piece each to give him a better chance and gathered around him to observe.
Chity sat down and meditated for a few minutes to calm his racing mind and then focused his pitiful amount of Qi and began extracting the Black Essence. We all waited excitedly, but damn! He was so slow! Well, I shouldn’t mock him. He was still a Mortal, and it was his first time. I also needed quite a bit of practice before I could do these things quickly.
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After nearly an hour, the pile of meat completely turned to dust, and what he was left with was a pea-sized black sphere.
“Is that it?” Blade asked, looking at the Black Essence with suspicion. He agreed to stay with us for the time being, and some of his peers also moved further south to avoid the Beast Tide.
“Looks good to me.” Che chimed in.
“But it’s Black Essence… Isn’t that the lowest grade? You sure we can eat this?” Alyx asked, his experience as a healer telling him it probably shouldn’t be mindlessly consumed.
[You guys...]
“Oh, don’t be such a party pooper!” Chity grumbled and took the Essence Core in his hand. “Elder Mo said it’s fine, right? So why doubt him? As long as we don’t take more than one per week, there shouldn’t be any issue, so...” He then threw the Essence Core into his mouth and closed his eyes to meditate and absorb it.
“One Black Essence or two Gray ones, right?” Blade said, trying to remember Elder Mo’s exact words.
“Yes, or double that if you fast for a week.” Alyx added, and then remembered another option. “And you can double that still if you take Ginseng Purification Pill. But I don’t think it’s worth it. They are quite expensive.”
“Still, lucky him.” Blade said quietly, looking at Chity. “I wish I could gain strength from just eating a small black pill.”
[Wish granted!] I said with a smile and offered him a small cherry-sized Black Essence Core. It was at least three times the volume of what Chity took. There was a limit of two Gray Essence Cores per week, or three Silver ones if you wanted to avoid any bad side effects from the impurities, and I was taking how many each day? I had to stop that reckless consumption immediately before I did any permanent damage to my body.
No wonder I was aging at lightning speed in the Before when I was eating one Black Essence Core every day, for months straight. I was never going to consume one of those again, and I was already considering abandoning the Gray ones too. Might as well give them away to my friends who had nothing and collect some good karma.
“Oh, what? Where did you get that?” Blade asked, shocked.
[It’s a secret.] I winked. [Actually, I have one for each of us, if you want it. A small celebration of our friendship, if you will.] I offered to the two others.
Blade squinted his eyes for just a moment and then snatched the tiny sphere and tossed it in his mouth in one swift move, afraid I would change my mind.
“Thanks for the meal!” He quickly said and then closed his eyes, entering a meditative state.
“Well, it doesn’t hurt to try one, right?” Alyx asked and slowly observed the Essence Core in his palm for a bit, before also tossing it in his mouth.
Che also took it and gave a smile before closing his eyes. “Thanks, I owe you one.”
[Don’t mention it.]
They all closed their eyes, and I remained alone beside a crackling fire. I slowly closed my eyes as well and began Cultivating Awakening Breath. I was so close to completely changing my Aura. Only a few more times and it would be nearly indistinguishable from the old ghost’s.
I also decided to fast for a few days and stop consuming Essence so the impurities could naturally exit my body. I knew of the natural process of autophagy that kicked into high gear during prolonged periods of fasting, where the body would recycle old and damaged cells and detoxify the flesh at a much faster rate than normal.
When there was no food coming in, the body was forced to become more efficient to survive, and with all the free time gained from not constantly digesting food, it had time to clean the house.
Too bad I was pretty lean already, so I couldn’t fast for long. Maybe that’s why the rest of the older cultivators weren’t as shredded as I expected at first, having a decent layer of fat under their skin. They still looked ripped, don’t get me wrong, but not competition ready by bodybuilding standards. They leaned more towards strongmen type of body, at least those that focused on strength and combat.
Those that took a different route, like Alyx with his herbs and Alchemy, were much more in the normal athletic healthy human range, with a smaller stature. Only just above two meters and relatively lean. Basically tiny in comparison.
I Cultivated for some time, and then went to sleep, leaving the guys outside to finish their absorption. They were careful and slow with the technique, but that’s because they were new and didn’t yet know what they were doing. With time and repetition, they would become lightning-fast, just like me.
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On the third day, we learned all about the beasts and monsters we could expect to meet. We also went over the various characteristics we could take advantage of by setting up traps, and learned how to avoid them altogether.
The Inner Disciples were listening to the lecture intently, while most of the Outer Disciples had their eyes glazed over as the things the Elder was saying meant nothing to them.
Most of them never had to fight with their life on the line, not to mention the majority didn’t even pick a combat profession in the first place. Elder Mo might just as well be talking about quantum mechanics to a bunch of apes, the information retention was probably the same.
Not me though, I listened to the full 10+ hour lecture without losing a single word. Heck, I even wrote down nearly half of it. I couldn’t afford to lose out on such a treasure trove of information and real-world experiences, especially considering Elder Mo already survived four Beast Tides if his words were to be believed. He knew what was coming, and also knew what to do. And after listening to him, so did I.
Every Beast Tide was a natural cleansing agent that would weed out the weak while allowing the strong and brave to advance at lightning speed. Those that had the guts to grab fate by the balls and squeeze, were those that would eventually climb to the top. Or die horribly. Either one of those. Because toying with fate was the same as toying with a dragon. And dragons were well known for their power, boundless arrogance, and a particularly short fuse.
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On the fourth day, we learned about Formations. Actually, just one of them. The Elder explained the basics of Formations and Runes but didn’t go into too much detail. Actually, the fourth day was mostly meant for Inner Disciples since the Formation required a minimum of Nascent Soul Realm to create and operate, and so only a few Outer Disciples showed up.
Obviously, I was one of them, with a new notebook in hand. The previous one was already full.
There was talk about the Spectral Harvest Array that was meant to trap and contain a Soul after the owner dies. Various containment Runes then have to be carved into the core of the beast so that the Soul can be bound back to the Dantian (Only works on Golden Core and above) and be safely brought back to the Sect where it can be refined to remove the memories and consciousness and prepare it for consumption. Pure Soul Essence. The original Elixir of Cultivation.
I already heard murmurs of the Senior Disciples, debating how they could take down a Golden Core beast and take its Soul. Maybe those at the high end of the Nascent Soul Realm had a chance of doing that, but most others would only serve as bait or a snack to some wild beast.
I was quite glad I could just stay back and let them do all the work. Since the Nascent Soul Beasts didn’t yet form their Dantian, I was more than happy to clean up after them and slurp up all those lost Souls. It was going to be a fine feast for me.
[Gieheeheehee!] I rubbed my hands together like a scummy merchant doing business.
Ops… Did I say that out loud?