Darren Wind Dance lived in a grand house about two-thirds of the way up Mt. Wind Dance. While they had been constrained by the mountain’s natural features, the builders who had constructed the house had done their jobs well. It was a three story affair, built from wood and stone, surrounded by a chest high wall. In front of the house was a stone courtyard. The whole place almost rivaled Immortal Nova’s estate in beauty and opulence. Almost.
Though that was an unfair comparison. The builders had been mortal. It was hard for them to compete with an Immortal. With that in mind, the fact that they came close was impressive in and of itself. More than that, Darren’s house seemed to fit in with the natural rhythm of the mountain rather than clash against it. It was clearly an artificial structure, yet it seemed like a part of nature as well. Darian hadn’t noticed this before. Was this a result of his cultivation? He observed the house with new eyes, and found himself moved.
A stone pathway flanked by flowering trees led to a gate within the chest high wall. Their floral fragrance reached Darian’s nose. With his newly enhanced senses, he picked up details he hadn’t noticed before. Darian spent a few moments enjoying the sensation. The wind decided to pick up then, reminding Darian of how cold it could be this high up the mountain. It was still within his tolerance, but he wondered how his clan’s mortal servants dealt with it. The buildings themselves were warmed by formations, but the stone road wasn’t. Were the servants given magic items to help them? That made some sense, though Darian wondered if his clan would go through the trouble. It was hard to say. They didn’t mistreat their servants, but neither did they treat them as equals. His relationship with Stella was unusual, to say the least.
Darian walked along the stone pathway, his footsteps echoing a little in this place. He passed through the gate, walked across the courtyard, and approached the house itself. As he did so, a man emerged from the main entrance and bowed to him. It was Wyatt Corwin, his father’s manservant.
“Greetings, Young Master,” Wyatt said. Despite the polite expression on his face, Darian noticed the slight smile on his lips.
“Morning, Wyatt,” Darian said in a cheerful voice. “I’m here to see my father. Please take me to him.”
“Of course, Young Master,” Wyatt said. “Master Darren is in his study. Please follow me.”
Wyatt led Darian through the house. The moment they both entered, the temperature rose to a comfortable warmth. The house wasn’t as opulently decorated as Immortal Nova’s estate, though it wasn’t far behind. The walls were bare, though. There were no tapestries here. Darren Wind Dance’s study was located at the back of the grand house. It was a large, open space that gave one the feeling of warmth and comfort. Shelves containing books, scroll cases, and strange objects lined the walls. There were several pieces of leather furniture, as well as a large wooden desk that seemed to take up a third of the room. A plush rug covered the wooden floor.
The most eye-catching part of the study, however, was the wall-sized window that took up the back wall. It showed the garden that Darian’s father had grown and cultivated in his spare time. It was beautiful, and one could spend hours just looking at it. While Darian didn’t study gardening, and didn’t recognize most of the plants by sight, he knew that all of them were precious resources for cultivators. This high on the mountain, where the spirit energy was much thicker, they thrived.
The chest high wall marked the edge of the garden, with a small gate leading out. Beyond the wall was a thick copse of trees, which bordered a sheer cliff face.
Darren himself sat behind the desk. When he noticed Darian’s arrival, his face broke out with joy.
“Darian!” he said before Wyatt could even announce Darian’s presence. “Welcome! It’s good to see you.”
Darren picked up something that had been hidden behind the desk and stood up. It was a cane. With slow and careful steps, he walked around the desk. Darian studied his father, and his heart clenched. Like most members of Clan Wind Dance, Darren was tall and fair-skinned, with blonde hair and blue eyes. However, his body was thin, giving one the impression of fragility. That impression was an illusion. Even in his current condition, he was still stronger than any mortal or cultivator at a lower level than him. After all, Darren was in the Element Collection stage, the fourth stage of cultivation, and had been a peerless swordsman. This was also why he looked closer to his son’s age, despite being over a century old. When they reached a certain point, cultivators stopped aging, maintaining their looks for the rest of their lives, barring certain circumstances.
Darian also took this opportunity to study his father’s aura. It was much stronger than Lucius’ or Vera’s. There was a weight to it, a heaviness, that made it difficult to even look at him. Darian hadn’t noticed it before, back when he was mortal. Perhaps mortality had provided him with a buffer. Darren’s aura also emanated a feeling. It was the same feeling Darian had when he performed the Dancing Wind technique, but stronger. That was new. He would have to ask about that.
“Thank you, Wyatt,” Darren said. “You may go now.”
“Yes, Master Darren,” the manservant said. “I shall have refreshments sent in.”
Once Wyatt left, Darren put his hand on Darian’s shoulder and squeezed it, before letting go.
“Come, sit down,” Darren said, making his way around the desk again. “How have you been doing my son? You haven’t visited in a while.”
“Do you have to phrase it like that?” Darian said as he sat down. “You make me sound like a poor excuse of a son.”
Nevermind that he had said something similar himself not too long ago.
“It’s been a month since your last visit,” Darren said, giving Darian a sardonic look. “A month! I’m only a short walk away, and yet you’re content to let your father languish away in misery.”
Darian made a point to look around the luxurious study.
“Yes. Clearly you’ve suffered greatly.”
The two looked at each for several seconds, before they burst out into laughter. At that moment, one of Darren’s servants walked in with a tray of refreshments. This only made the father and son duo laugh harder. The servant maintained a calm composure as she placed the tray on the desk, before retreating from the room. There were two cups filled with hot tea, as well as a plate of various finger foods. The smell made Darian’s stomach growl. Each of them took a cup of tea and started eating. For the next several minutes, neither of them said a word.
“It is good to see you again, son,” Darren said after they finished.
Darian nodded, before looking at his father’s figure and his mood dimmed.
“How are you doing father?” he asked in a quiet voice. “Your condition hasn’t worsened, has it?”
Darren shook his head and smiled.
“You don’t have to look so downcast. I’m on the mend, and getting stronger every day. It won’t be too long until I’ve fully recovered.”
Years ago, while Darian’s father had been out adventuring in the world, he had suffered an attack that left him injured in body and soul. Specifically, the attack had damaged his father’s meridians. For most cultivators, an injury like that was a crippling blow. Damaged meridians meant they couldn’t cultivate, halting their progress along the path towards immortality. Thankfully, Clan Wind Dance had managed to obtain a rare kind of medicine pill that could heal Darren’s meridians. The process took decades, however, and Darren still had another ten years or so left.
For someone at the Element Collection stage, that was a small price to pay, since their lifespan could be measured in centuries. For Darian, it felt like forever. At least his father could walk now. Back when he was a child, he remembered how his father had been bedridden, barely able to move.
“Now then,” Darren said. “What can I do for you? Why did you want to see me?”
“Can’t I just want to spend time with my father?” Darren asked, scoffing. Inside, he did feel a little guilty. He would have to visit his father more often.
“No, not this time,” Darren said, shaking his head. His expression turned serious. “My intuition is telling me that you’ve come here with a purpose. It’s something important.”
Darian swallowed. Now that the moment had arrived, he was nervous. There was no rhyme or reason for it. After all, his father loved him and wanted the best for him. Why would revealing the truth make him nervous? He guessed it was the same reason why he didn’t want to tell Lucius and Vera the truth. He wanted to keep it all to himself. Still, he wouldn’t let that stop him. His father deserved better. If nothing else, he needed his father’s help and guidance.
With some reluctance, Darian removed the necklace. The moment he did, his father narrowed his eyes and leaned forward. Darren’s aura also grew sharper, as if it were a blade. A chill ran down Darian’s spine, though he sensed no danger or threat from Darren. In that moment, Darian glimpsed at the swordsman his father had been before the injury, and would be once again after he had recovered.
“What did you just do?” Darren asked, his voice calm and steady despite the change in his aura.
Darian told his father everything, starting with his encounter with Zayne in Valeheart and ending with him meeting his friends in the Silverwood.
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“Astra gave this to me before I left,” Darian said, holding up the necklace. “It hides my cultivation from anyone at the Golden Core stage and below.”
Darren rubbed his chin in thought, looking at the necklace in Darian’s hands.
“It does more than that. If you hadn’t shown me that necklace, I wouldn’t have noticed it. Even now, my eyes have a hard time focusing on it. It’s as if it’s trying to hide from my sight.”
Darian blinked in surprise at that, before thinking back on it. That did make sense. He had worn the necklace in front of Lucius and Vera, but neither of them had commented on it. Neither had Zayne. Stella had, however. Was it because she was a mortal? That had to be it. Astra said that it hid one’s cultivation level, and only cultivator’s could sense auras.
After a moment, Darren smiled, though it contained a hint of melancholy.
“My son is a cultivator now,” he said. “I knew this day would come, but now that it has, I can’t help but feel sorrow.”
“Why?” Darian blurted out. He thought his father would be happy for him. Why was he sad?
“You’ll understand when you’re older,” Darren said, shaking his head. “I can’t explain it to you right now. Regardless, I am happy for you. I know how long you’ve waited for this moment.”
Darian thought about pushing his father for answers, but decided against it. He knew from experience that it wouldn’t work. Darren Wind Dance was a man good at keeping secrets.
“I have waited a long time for this,” Darian said instead. “And now that I have, I would like your help. I need a place to train while also keeping my cultivation a secret. I can’t do that at my house. Sooner or later, someone will notice.”
The necklace hid his cultivation level, but it wouldn’t hide him drawing upon spirit energy. An astute cultivator would notice the changes in the environment. He could train in the secret realm, but that was about a day’s journey away on foot. He had checked last night. He would have to stay there for several days at a time to make the trip worth it. In the meantime, he needed a place closer to home.
“Have you thought about asking Lucius or Vera for help?” Darren asked. “They’re closer to your stage, so they should have resources more suitable for you, including places to train.”
Darian shook his head.
“They’re already at the Energy Gathering stage, so I don’t know if asking them for help would be that beneficial. I’m just barely in the Foundation Establishment stage. More than that, you can provide me with more guidance than they can. You’re at the Element Collection stage after all. There’s so much I still don’t know.”
Darren’s eyes narrowed at his son’s answer.
“You don’t want to tell them.” It wasn’t a question.
Darian hesitated before answering. He settled on telling the truth.
“No, I don’t.”
“Why not?”
Darian gritted his teeth.
“Will you help me or not?”
Darren studied him for several long moments, before shaking his head.
“It’s not a good idea to keep secrets like this from your friends and loved ones,” Darren said. “Sooner or later, they will find out. When that happens, remember that I tried to warn you.”
“Oh, in that case, what’s my mother’s name?” Darian said, narrowing his eyes at his father. “Since we’re on the topic of sharing secrets.”
A beat of silence passed.
“That’s different,” Darren said in a quiet voice.
“Not from where I’m sitting.”
Darren’s refusal to talk about Darian’s mother had been, and still was, the biggest point of contention between the two of them. Neither side had been willing to budge on the matter. Silence stretched between them. It lasted for several moments.
“I will help you,” Darren said, bringing the conversation back on track. “You’re my son. Of course I will. However, as your father, I advise you to at least tell Lucius and Vera. The longer you keep this hidden, the worse it will be when they find out the truth.”
“I will keep that in mind,” Darian said.
And he would. It didn’t mean that he would listen, however. Darren seemed to realize this, because he sighed at his son’s obstinance.
“Suit yourself,” Darren said. “If you need an area to train in, you can use my immortal cave. It has several defensive formations, as well formations to preserve privacy. It should be perfect for your purposes. I can also give you a portion of my monthly stipend. It’s not like I can use it in my current condition.”
As part of their monthly stipend, each member of the clan received resources for cultivation as well as spirit stones. Spirit stones were crystallized spirit energy, and they were used as the currency of the cultivation world. Their value depended on their size and the quality of their energy. Cultivators could use them to increase or restore their energy, to power magic items or formations, and more.
The amount of resources and spirit stones each clan member received depended on their contribution to the clan as well as their cultivation level. The minimum one could receive was a single Spirit Energy Pill as well as a single low-grade spirit stone, which is close to what Darian got. In the beginning Darian had hoarded his spirit stones, but when it became clear that he wouldn’t be able to use anything he could buy with them any time soon, he began trading them in for silver. After a while, the clan gave him silver instead of spirit stones. It was a short-sighted move on his part, Darian admitted. At least he had kept the Spirit Energy Pills. Those would be useful.
Speaking of pills…
“Is it possible I could get…” What did Astra call them? “…Body Tempering Pills?”
Darian didn’t know what those were, but he guessed they were useful for cultivation somehow. After he asked his question, however, Darren paused.
“Where did you hear about those?” he asked.
“From Astra,” Darian said, frowning. “She used them to help me open my Heart Aperture. Why do you ask?”
“It seems this cultivation technique you’re using, The Nine Gates of Destruction, focuses on body refinement rather than energy refinement. Or perhaps it does both.”
Darian’s frown deepened.
“There’s a difference?”
From what he knew, cultivation focused on the body as well as the mind and soul.
“Yes,” Darren said. “All cultivation techniques temper and refine the body to one degree or another, but most focus on energy refinement after leaving the Foundation Establishment stage. Techniques that focus on body refinement take the opposite route. They use Body Tempering Pills the same way other cultivators use Spirit Energy Pills, except they restore physical stamina instead. There are techniques that focus on both. These are more powerful, more difficult to advance in. Our clan’s Dancing Wind technique is one that focuses on both, though it leans more more heavily towards energy refinement. We usually don’t need Body Tempering Pills as a result.”
Darian stared and realized that there was more he needed to learn than he first thought. He hadn’t even known that there were different kinds of cultivation. His decision to come to his father for help had been the right one. He couldn’t always rely on Astra, since she couldn’t come to Mt. Wind Dance and she would only be able to help him outside of it.
“Hmm,” Darren continued, tapping his chin. “I might be able to get you some Body Tempering Pills, though it won’t be easy. People will ask questions.” He paused for a moment, then snapped his fingers. “I know! I can say I’m conducting an experiment to try and speed up my recovery. Actually, I might do that anyway. I hadn’t thought of using Body Tempering Pills. Maybe I should make my own.” He lost himself in thought for a moment, before smiling at Darian. “It seems we’ll both benefit from this meeting.”
Darian returned the smile. While he hadn’t intended to help his father, something he hadn’t thought he could do, he was glad nonetheless.
“Here.” Darren opened one of the desk’s drawers and tossed it to Darian. It looked like some kind of stone token. It was a round flat stone with no adornment, but Darian could faintly sense his father’s aura in it. “You’ll need this to enter my immortal cave. The entrance is past the garden and beyond the trees. You can’t miss it.”
“Thank you, Father,” Darian said. “I appreciate your help. I won’t forget it.”
“No need to thank me,” Darren said, shaking his head. “This will give me something to do. I’ve been idle for far too long. You head to my immortal cave to train. I have some arrangements to make.”
Darian nodded and left his father’s study. Seeing his father acting this lively lifted his heart. Sometimes his father fell into a listless state that could last for weeks. When that happened, Darren ignored the world around him, responding to nothing, seemingly more dead than alive. He ate and slept, but otherwise did nothing. He had been like that for the past few weeks, which was why Darian hadn’t visited as much. It hurt his heart to see his father like that.
No one knew what caused these episodes. They occurred at random. Physically and mentally, Darren was fine. It also wasn’t the work of an inner demon, which was a serious threat to cultivators at any stage. Darian speculated that it was the medicine his father had taken to heal his meridians, and that these episodes were part of the healing process. This did nothing to ease the pain in his heart when they happened, even if he was right.
Darian soon exited the grand house through a back entrance and found himself in the garden. The cold enveloped him again, though it wasn’t as bad as before since the day was warming up. A mix of floral and herbal scents reached his nose, which Darian found pleasing. He also noticed, as he walked through the garden, that these plants had auras, or something akin to them. They were weak, however, so he was only able to sense those closest to him. Like cultivators, the auras of these plants had a “feel” to them. One kind of plant had a spicy but invigorating aura. Another had a bitter but refreshing aura. He guessed these auras hinted at the plants’ function.
After passing through the garden and going past the copse of trees, Darian found a stone door carved into the cliff face on the other side. A formation had been carved into the door. As soon as Darian drew close enough, the formation glowed with bluish-white light. To his surprise, the door didn’t open. Instead, it grew transparent and he could see right through it. Was that how he was supposed to enter? Curious, but cautious, Darian approached the door and poked at it with his finger. His finger went right through the transparent, or rather incorporeal, door. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and his heart thrummed with excitement. He hadn’t realized formations could do something like this.
The more Darian saw of the world of cultivation, the more he wanted to explore it. There were so many strange and interesting things to see.
Darian went through the door. The moment he did, it turned solid again. He didn’t panic, however. Even if he somehow got trapped here, he had faith in his father. The cave was larger than he had expected. It was as large as the training courtyard back at Immortal Nova’s estate, though the ceiling only rose a few feet above Darian’s head. Those who practiced the Dancing Wind technique needed a lot of space to move around in while they cultivated, and so did those going through the stances of the Fists of the Mortal Flame. This place was perfect for both. The spirit energy in the cave was also very thick, which made it even better. Darian felt like he was swimming in it. Crystals embedded in the walls glowed with a gentle blue light, which was more than enough for Darian.
There was also a small spring of water at the far right corner of the cave. It flowed out of an opening in the wall and gathered into a small pool. Darian guessed that there must be some kind of drainage, otherwise the spring would overflow. The spirit energy in and around the spring was thicker than around the rest of the cave.
“This place is perfect for cultivation,” a familiar female voice said from his right.
“Yes, it is,” Darian said, filled with glee. Then he froze.
He looked to his right to find Astra sitting on the floor next to him.