Some 1500 years later.
Stories of the Age of Cultivation are mostly seen as myth, with little record of what Shiangli was like before its founding. Those who know have disappeared. Most have died, releasing their qi back into the world to propagate new life. Many would think this sad, but most cultivators of the era had to make the choice willingly and voluntarily, and all died peacefully and calmly, their spirits moving on to greater stages.
Others, like a certain mischievous fox, chose to devote themselves fully to the gods they worshiped. It’s said that the Prophetess Kaoru still sits at the base of the Throne of Life, bearing new souls for worlds uncounted alongside many of her daughters.
Others still roam the world, although one would have to look carefully into history to see their shadows. It’s said that there was a King in a desert nation on the Grand Trade Road who built a harem around two beautiful women from the east, and the tale is told that they never aged from the day they were taken in by a young and ambitious conqueror to the day they buried the last of their children by him.
That said, the secrets of cultivation have long been erased or forgotten, and many consider the events that led to the founding of Shangli to be good reason to keep them that way. Others object, and occasionally find a piece or two. But no one has ever done more than find a dao and pursue it, and any who claimed they were on the cusp of learning more… well, they quickly fade from all memory.
Me, I just tend to my shrine, in a park once said to be the location of an old village. Nothing out here anymore but rabbits, really. Two in particular are supposed to be worshiped as an ancient hero and the First Emperor, but mostly I see them as spoiled and annoying pets who mate endlessly.
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Honestly, I don’t believe in any of it. Just made-up stories to explain why so many people have rabbit ears or fox tails. Mystical kung-fu that turns you into an immortal superhuman? Animals turning into people? And why in oblivion does everyone insist on constantly having babies?
Honestly, it’s all garbage. And that pink rabbit giving me a look like she’s smirking at me just annoys me more. I don’t care if they think you’re some ancient hero, you’re just the same dumb rabbit they dragged me off to pet in first grade.
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The “dumb rabbit” merely smirks at her descendant who can’t see an ascendant staring her in the face. Yeah, Li and I are still around, keeping an eye on things. Figured I’d save Arawn the trouble of having to mess with this world anymore. Expert rank’s not as easy to reach as it was since we broke the elemental system, and anyone with the ambition to try is generally either easy to talk out of the attempt, or a bad enough person to quietly off. From there, Chiaki and the other living cultivators quietly erase and/or redirect any records. Makes life easier for us.
Bleh. By the time we could get back to living in the old village, there wasn’t an old village to come back to. But I knew that would happen, so I quietly had an Imperial Nature Reserve established over the valley, and a small shrine dedicated to those lost to the Imperial Rising War built over my old warren. I knew the actual purpose would be forgotten over time, but enshrining a couple of “sacred rabbits” is a nice cover, and makes sure Li and I are treated like spoiled pets. Our offspring are pure bunnies as well, no sentience at all in them, so I’m not at all concerned with them often being sold as pets or for meat. As was pointed out many times in my human years, I was never properly attached to my children.
Ah well. Time for my breakfast, then keeping Li in a mating-induced coma. Then I’ll flop for a nap. Nowhere to go, nothing to manage, no problems I can’t handle. And as much fun as fighting was… I’m happy to have let it go.
Eat, sleep, mate. Such is the Dao of the Bun.