“He killed a first-level Core Formation cultivator with a single strike of that club” - First added, boosting my reputation once more.
This time, the crowd took two steps back and started bowing. Finally, I could see they were giving me some respect.
“You’re messing with us!” - someone in the crowd protested indignantly.
I immediately walked over to him and placed my club on his shoulder. The heretic’s face twisted, and he dropped to his knees, then to all fours, then collapsed prone with his face in the dirt.
“You must show respect to a grandmaster alchemist” - I said coldly, eyeing the rebel like the lowly bug he was.
He couldn’t even respond because the weight of my club had forced every last bit of air from his lungs, and I could hear his spine making ominous cracking sounds.
“Lord Tan Ji Tao, we have no doubt of your omnipotence. Please forgive this unworthy disciple” - the ‘general’ quickly interceded, bowing low before me.
“All right, let him live for now” - I said, stowing my weapon behind my back. - “But pull a stunt like this again, and I’ll start punishing the guilty, the innocent, and everyone in between.”
I turned on my Malicious Gaze for a moment, and everybody dropped to their knees in unison. Now this was order.
“So, what’s going on here?” - I asked, fashioning a makeshift throne from the nearest boulder and seating myself upon it. The people around me watched in awe as I casually sliced the rock into chunks using Qi threads.
The “general” stepped forward and began his report:
“The Black Lotus Sect unexpectedly brought their entire younger generation to Geyser Valley. They waited until we’d sent half of our disciples inside; after that, their Elders pushed us aside and allowed their own forces to advance. As a result, almost half of our disciples couldn’t make it here at all, while their forces came through in full strength. Then they started hunting our disciples, preventing them from cultivating. We had no choice but to form one big unit. The main geyser will erupt in half an hour, so we need to decide who will leave this dimension and who will stay.”
I let my gaze sweep over the crowd and replayed my memory of the moment I’d observed the two armies. Among our own forces, there were plenty of weaker members who were just diverting our main strength by requiring constant protection.
“I think that this year, the ancient Qi dimension isn’t the right place for junior disciples” - I stated. - “So, I propose we send them all up top right now. Only those who truly believe they can break through to the Core Formation Stage or at least to the peak of the tenth level of Foundation Establishment should remain.”
The crowd immediately began whispering among themselves.
“Core Formation Stage? Even if five disciples manage to break through to that stage, that’d be a huge success!” - one of the senior disciples shouted.
“But today, I am with you” - I replied, - “so the odds of achieving it are higher than ever. Look at Ryu Dzu Bei, for instance he advanced with my help.”
First looked at me with mixed emotions. On the one hand, it was true; on the other hand, he’d used the Ice Crystal Pill I’d given him, and he knew I didn’t have another like it.
Everyone debated the idea, and pretty quickly they agreed to my proposal. Of course, the younger disciples objected, but nobody bothered to ask their opinion. So the disciples were rapidly split into two groups. Around a hundred Foundation Establishment disciples at the higher levels decided to stay, and the rest were ordered to prepare for evacuation.
“I’m leaving too” - Fourth announced, catching us off guard.
“Why?” - Fifth exclaimed.
“I’m not ready to break into the Core Formation Stage today.”
“That’s a good decision” - I chimed in.
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“What’s so good about it?” - Fifth now turned on me, irritated.
“It means he knows exactly what he wants and how he plans to achieve it” - I replied. - “He’s not relying on luck; he’s moving forward with a clear idea of what’s ahead of him.”
“What about us?” - Fifth asked helplessly, glancing around for support.
“You need a miracle to break through.”
Fifth nodded at my words.
“And you?” - he continued.
“I am that miracle” - I said, grinning. - “For me, this place is a treasure trove, all I have to do is enter and shovel in the gold.”
“I’m in” - Fifth declared, laughing. - “An extra shovel doesn’t hurt, right?”
“We’ll see” - I answered.
As the spiritual geyser’s eruption drew near, the atmosphere in the hall began to change. A giant spatial seal formed on the ceiling, sending down bursts of water that rained onto the cavern floor. Qi in the chamber started spinning in a circle, gradually turning into a spiral that funneled into an opening passageway. Finally, the portal stabilized, unleashing a colossal column of water. Yet just a few seconds later, all the surrounding Qi abruptly sped up and surged upward, sucking the water along with it.
The weakest disciples from the Black Lotus Sect charged toward the center of the hall first. Some ran in panic, others retreated more orderly in groups. I waited until a couple dozen people had already passed through the portal, then launched my fireballs into the crowd. Instantly, they scattered to the sides or retreated. That left open space, and our disciples rushed forward in a tight formation without any panic or confusion and in just a few minutes, most of our “army” disappeared into the portal.
Our elite hundred men remained, and the Black Lotus Sect’s disciples again tried to approach the geyser, only to be greeted by more fireballs. Some attempted to force their way through, and the water swept their charred remains upward. Their group was clinging to the vain hope that our “mega-cultivator” would soon leave through the geyser as well, opening a path. But ten minutes later, those hopes vanished along with the geyser itself.
“Retreat” - I ordered, satisfied that the majority of the enemy’s forces remained behind with us.
The thing was, though, that the enemy’s “army” mostly consisted of junior disciples who needed protection, whereas our force was made up entirely of strong fighters. Technically, we could have cut down more than half of them right then and there, but that wasn’t my objective, at least not yet.
All one hundred of us flew off, leaving the bewildered enemy behind. A couple of spies tried to follow, but as soon as they lost themselves in the maze of passages, my fireballs came whizzing at them. They were made with ordinary Qi, but the moment the spies caught sight of them, they fled at top speed.
Shaking off our tail, we headed straight for the First Chamber. They would find us eventually, but not right away. Before that happened, I needed time to pull off a cunning little trick.
Right now, I was planning to help my allies break through to the next stage. And no, it wasn’t out of some burst of altruism. All of these disciples would know exactly whom they owed for their advancement, and they would be sure to tell their parents and mentors. In other words, I’d gain some clout with the sect’s core membership. Most importantly, I planned to use these hundred disciples as “samples” for observing the process of forming a core during the transition to the Core Formation Stage. I’d missed the moment of First’s “ascension” but this time I intended to make up for it and gather statistics from a hundred test subjects.
Of course, to carry out this crucial research, I first had to solve the issue of giving my charges access to the First Chamber. Since local cultivators were afraid of water, the only way to make them swim was to grant them the ability to breathe underwater.
While we were following First, I spent time studying the jade slips I’d found in the Leaky Caverns. In one of them, I came across an alchemical technique that allowed me to imbue a pill with Qi that possessed special qualities. A prime example of such Qi was the energy I got from the dragon. The concept was straightforward: herbs are used in pill-making because they carry unique Qi. The Spiritual Alchemy technique described in the jade slip let me manipulate such special Qi without mixing it into my own internal Qi.
In addition to explaining the technique, the jade slip also detailed common types of “special Qi.” As it happened, among my spoils was a stone containing the Qi of a water dragon. One of the properties of this Qi was the ability to breathe underwater. Admittedly, I felt some serious pangs of greed at the thought of using such a precious energy on others rather than myself. So, I decided to make a pill that had similar properties but would only use a tiny drop of the water dragon’s Qi. That should be enough to grant a temporary ability to breathe underwater, which was precisely what I needed.
I picked a suitable nook in the cave and ordered everyone to stand guard outside while I got busy practicing alchemy. To keep anyone from guessing what I was doing, I placed a Heavenly Shield at the entrance. This barrier guaranteed that no one could spy on me.
The water dragon Qi stone posed another problem: once I “unsealed” it, I’d have to use all of its energy immediately. Therefore, I also wanted to create a pill just for myself, one that contained the dragon’s Qi plus some basic herbs to ease the “processing” of that energy. Even that felt insufficient, so I decided to add the energy from one more stone. I identified it as “star Qi” which, according to its description, enhanced the qualities of any other Qi without possessing its own.
Having prepared the necessary herbs, I began concocting the pills. I needed to make one hundred pills of one kind and one pill of another kind, an undertaking that required intense concentration. The process took almost half an hour, but in the end, everything went smoothly, yielding exactly the results I’d been hoping for.