After collecting the manual containing the sect cultivation technique and his stipend, He Yu went to the residence indicated by the jade token. By this point, he wasn’t surprised that it worked similarly to the token that had granted him entrance to the sect. By simply holding it, the knowledge of where he was supposed to go flowed into him.
The men’s residences lay off the main path, nestled against the mountain slopes and surrounded by carefully tended gardens. Cypress and red pine dotted the path and stood outside homes, and the sound of a waterfall came from somewhere close by. Now that He Yu wasn’t fighting against a phantom fear for his life, or swept up in his imagination, he sensed—for the first time—the abundant qi of the Shrouded Peaks.
That a sect would establish itself in a location dense with qi was obvious now that he was here. The difference between the Shrouded Peaks and the woods around Shulin was pronounced. It was tempting to sit down right there next to the path and cultivate his Qi Gathering technique. As deficient as the technique may be, it would certainly work far better here than it had back home.
He resisted the urge. The attendant at the manual pavilion had given him the White Mountain Cultivation manual without hesitation, and Zhang Lifen had told him it would be a far superior technique to the one he was using. He’d already resolved to begin cultivating the technique that very night. Besides, he had spirit stones now, too.
Although there was nobody visible on the path, he was no fool to sit on the flagstones and reveal wealth to any passerby. The stories all said that cultivators were notorious for fighting each other over the slightest amount of wealth. No, it was best to wait. Once he had settled in to his new home for the night, he could begin to cultivate, absorbing the additional qi from the spirit stones.
A giddy sense bubbled up inside him as the reality of his new life finally settled on him. He had truly stepped into the world of immortals. A real cultivator. Part of a real sect. How long before he could humble a pompous pretender like Dong Wei? How long before he could command power and respect like Zhang Lifen? True, his Way would be long and difficult. Even if the physical training would be arduous at first, Zhang Lifen had told him that would soon cease to matter. For the time being, all he had to do was endure and push himself to reach the Second Realm—the Foundation stage. Then he could set his sights higher.
So occupied with thoughts of both his present and his future, He Yu failed to notice the warm glow of lanterns coming from his new home as he entered the central courtyard. Unthinking, he slid aside the door to the main room and stepped inside. A young man, perhaps a year or two older than himself, sat near the center. He wore a sect uniform, and a jian lay across his lap.
Without looking up he said, “Yours is the west, and there’s a cultivation chamber to either side of the main hall.” He inclined his chin in the indicated direction, then he went back to scraping a whetstone across the straight edges of his sword.
“I’m sorry,” He Yu forced himself to say. “I thought this was supposed to be my residence.” He was a bit taken aback by the whole thing and caught off guard.
“It is. And I’m the one you get to share it with.” This time, the young man at least spared He Yu the briefest of glances. “You think there’s enough space on the mountain for every outer sect disciple to get their own home?” The young man scoffed. “You have to at least be in the inner sect to get an entire house to yourself.”
Actually, he had thought that he would have the house to himself. “Sorry,” he said again. “I am He Yu, by the way,” he offered, still standing in the doorway.
“Shut the door if you want to make small talk.” His housemate’s words weren’t exactly rude—just direct, and a little bit clipped.
“Sorry,” He Yu repeated as he shut the door behind him. He was still trying to find his feet in this conversation. Mentally he cursed himself for being so awkward and probably making a poor first impression.
“I am Li Heng,” his housemate said, still not looking up from sharpening his blade.
“He Yu.”
“You said that already.”
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“Oh, right. So,” he paused, searching for something to say, “you’re a disciple too?”
Li Heng sighed, set down his whetstone, and finally turned his full attention to He Yu. He had fine features and a self-assured expression. His uniform wasn’t quite the standard set of clothes He Yu had seen down in Xu Xiang. It was of noticeably higher quality, both in material and cut. His hair was gathered into a neat topknot and held in place by an ornate crown hairpin wrought from silver and inlaid with jade. Li Heng was obviously rich, which made He Yu all the more self-conscious under his attention. A slight pressure weighed down on He Yu for a moment before it was gone. Li Heng frowned. “You’re not even at the Foundation stage?”
Now he felt downright embarrassed. “That’s correct,” he admitted.
Li Heng shook his head. “What are they thinking, letting in a commoner with no cultivation to speak of,” he said to himself. He returned his attention to He Yu. “At least you’ll be gone soon. Probably for the best, all things considered.”
The elation he’d felt earlier from finally arriving at the sect came crashing down around him. The reality of Zhang Lifen’s words finally sank in, as well. This was going to be hard. Perhaps the hardest thing he’d ever done in his life. He Yu reached into his pocket, where he’d stashed his two low-grade stones. As he ran a thumb across one, the crackling qi coursed up his arm, causing a slight shiver.
“You said there’s a cultivation room to either side?” he asked.
Li Heng gave an affirmative nod. Even He Yu could see that the conversation was over. So he shouldered his pack once more and made his way to his room. It was a small affair, but cozy in its own way. A bed, a chest for his belongings, and a small writing desk were the only furnishings to speak of, other than a small metal cylinder etched with formation characters in the corner furthest from the door. A brief inspection showed it was a scripted heater—a welcome addition given the chill created by the mountain’s cloak of mist. Atop the chest were several folded sets of clothes, no doubt his uniforms. Not bothering to unpack, He Yu set his things down next to the desk. He placed one of his two spirit stones inside his pack. Along with the jade slip containing the sect cultivation technique, he took the other stone and headed to the cultivation room on his side of the house.
Sitting in the lotus position, he sent a trickle of qi into the jade slip, and the knowledge of the technique flowed into him. The sect cultivation technique was immediately recognizable as more efficient than his old technique. The slip directed him to cycle his qi in a way similar to what he was used to, but the most noticeable difference was how he was to direct qi to his extremities. While he didn’t have a solid grounding in cultivation theory, he could at least recognize what this cultivation technique would provide. In addition to preparing him to fully cleanse and open his meridians, it would also send qi to his muscles and bones in much the same way that the basic body enforcement technique he’d learned from his father had. Further, the emphasis on compacting the qi he absorbed before cycling it to the rest of his body would increase both the capacity and density of his spiritual center. He Yu set his excitement aside along with the jade slip containing the sect cultivation technique. He could marvel at it all he wanted later. With the spirit stone gently cupped in his palms, he closed his eyes and slowed his breathing in accordance with the technique. Immediately, he felt the difference.
Here on the mountain, the qi was far more dense than it had been back home. Each breath drew in a tremendous amount—nearly as much as an entire afternoon of cultivating in the woods outside Shulin. When he cycled the qi to his dantian in accordance with the cultivation technique, it crackled with an intensity that almost caused him to lose the technique. When he sent his qi from his dantian along his meridians into his extremities, he saw the technique in a new way. While the differences between the White Mountain technique and the Qi Gathering technique he’d been using were small at first glance, they amounted to a technique that was far more refined and elegant than the one he’d been using. Qi flowed more easily into and through him. Even without the bounty of qi on the sect mountain, cultivating this technique alone would have sped up his advancement considerably.
At the edges of his perception, a faint tingling in his palms tugged at his awareness. The spirit stone. It was a source of concentrated qi—more than he’d ever sensed in one place before. And it was only a low-grade stone. Without having to really try, he drew in the qi from the stone along with his next breath. The energy surged into him, swirled inside his dantian, and revitalized his body and spirit. An awareness came over him then—and he understood how this cultivation technique was preparing him for something greater. The White Mountain Body Art, and the White Mountain Soul Art.
He stood at the foot of a mountain, and insights flowed into him from the slopes above. The path to the peak was long and fraught with obstacles, both hidden and not. Somewhere along that path stood Sha Xiang. At some point, he would have to contend with the grudge she surely bore him, but she remained far above him still. More important was the first leg of his Way. It would bring him to the barrier between the First and Second Realms. A barrier that he must reach, and break through, within six months. The spirit stone in his hands crumbled to dust, its qi fully absorbed and cycled to his dantian. He Yu gave it no notice—he continued to cultivate, and contemplated the path before him.