As I walked in, I could only hear my heart beating, louder and louder. When I finally got in the tomb, which took for what seem like an eternity, my eyes popped open. This was supposed to be a tomb? I clearly doesn’t even look like one. There was treasures all over the place. Swords, staffs, bows, books, pills, everything valuable in the world just seemed to be stored in this one area. Anyone who was a cultivator would be blinded by greed if they saw this sight. They’d immediately start stuffing everything here in their storage rings. This tomb belongs so my (dead) master, so it also belongs to me. Anything here, would basically be mine as long as I asked for it.

As if master read my mind, she proclaimed, “Since I can’t provide much for you, my first gift to you is everything here.”

I continued to stare at everything blankly. Who ever thought, that a person who couldn’t cultivate, would be able to obtain an immortal’s treasury with such ease? Don’t even think about normal cultivators, even immortals themselves would have much difficulty stealing another immortal’s treasures.

She continued speaking, “Go open the box in the middle of the room and eat it.”

There was many boxes in this room, none however, as flashy as the one in the middle in the room. I anxiously walked over and opened the box. While approaching the box, I could feel my fate about change with every step I took. The moment I opened the lid, a strong fragrance stormed out of the box and invaded the room. Without questioning what the pill was, I grabbed it and tossed it in my mouth.

Suddenly, I collapsed. My throat started hurting, then my heart, then the pain spread throughout my entire body. My bones starting breaking down, however, I was still alive. The pain was something I never experienced before, but I endured. I don’t know how long time passed. Eventually, I was able to breath again. The pain slowly subsided, and I was able to move again. What did I just eat? I wondered. I probably knew deep in my heart, however, what I just consumed. I probably knew before I even tried to consume it, probably knew since she offered me to be her disciple. I was just scared, just scared if it really didn’t happen. I tried to examine my entire body to see if anything was wrong. Nothing felt off. In fact, I felt better than I ever have.

Seeing how astonished I was, master said, “Now, you can finally start on the road of cultivation.”

If I could see master’s face, I’m sure she’d be smiling. Tears started falling out of my eyes. Finally. Finally, I’m able to cultivate. The heavens clearly have not forsaken me. All my emotions welled up and gathered into mini drops of water, falling continuously on the floor. I’ve lived a life, deemed as trash. Now, I can finally start on my path, and repay my debts! People will no longer look down on me, who used to be trash. The pain, hardship, everything that I endured so far my entire life, were all let out through the simple, yet deep action of crying. My entire life, not even once, have I cried, yet when I was given a chance for a new start, how could I have not be happy? Even when sister came to comfort me, I didn’t cry. Tears should be shed, not because of sadness, but because of happiness, relief and joy. All I wished for was to pursue happiness, that couldn’t be found anywhere. But I never thought that in the middle in the forest, that I would have a chance to step on the road of cultivating. I have only done so little for master, yet she has done so much for me.

After I stopped weeping and regained myself, she continued on, “Now, pick you can cultivation technique. You can pick from my most prized manuals: the Soul Absorbing Technique, the Helio Absorbing Technique, and the Moonlight Absorbing Technique. I personally crafted these three cultivation methods. With the Soul Absorbing Technique, you absorb the souls of the dead and those you have killed. Although you will be chased down by everyone else, you could reach the apex in no time. With the Helio Absorbing Technique, you can absorb the light of the sun and become the light of the world. Many sects would be thrilled to invest all their resources to raise your physique. With the Moonlight Absorbing Technique, you can absorb the moonlight and be one with the shadows. With the power of the moon, killing your enemies would go unnoticed and anyone in the Three Realms would be afraid if they knew that they were targeted. Now pick!”

Each technique had their own pros and cons. The Soul Absorbing Technique prioritized cultivating speed, while the Helio Absorbing Technique would make anyone in this world envious of me. The Moonlight Absorbing, however, was probably the best fit for me. I don’t want the whole world to notice me, especially my sister. If she found out that I was still alive, and even restored my meridians, she would for sure pour all her time into protecting me once again. Using this technique means that I would take a path of darkness, a path of solitude. But, that’s fine. I’ve been living my entire life alone, so continuing alone wouldn’t matter. And also, I’m not alone anymore. Master is here, here with me.

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“. . . I choose . . . the Moonlight Absorbing Technique!” I declared.

“Good! I will imprint the technique within your mind, and whether you are able to comprehend it or not . . . is up to your abilities! Train in the Moonlight Absorbing Technique, and find me here when you breakthrough into the Qi Condensation Realm.”

All of a sudden, I felt tons of information following into my head. The entire technique, imprinted in my mind. If the world was to find out . . . well, I’m sure they would also rushing to extract this information out of me. After master imprinted all this information onto me, her presence vanished. Who knows what she’s doing? She probably has to recover the energy that she lost, since she is a dead person with only a soul left. What is the Qi Condensation Realm master was talking about?

I looked the the first section of the technique. Moonlight Absorbing: “While bathing under the moonlight, try to absorb the Moon Qi. Trying to make contact with Moon Qi is one of the hardest Qis to ever absorb. Only the most talents, could try to understand the profoundness of Moon Qi. After you make first contact, meditate continuously until the moon for a whole moon cycle. Only then, will you break into the first realm of cultivating.”

This looks really hard. With a frown on my face, I wonder if master actually thought I would be able to comprehend her personal technique. I walked outside, only to find that it was already night. Well, if I don’t try, I’ll never succeed. I sat outside the cave, and attempted to meditate. Within the time it took to brew tea, I felt a weird energy at the tips of my energy. Is this Moon Qi? I

tried to absorb, what I thought was Moon Qi, into my body. Immediately, I concentrated gathering the Moon Qi into my body. First, the Moon Qi started to accumulate in (what I think is) my dantain. Slowly, it spread through to my heart, then to the legs and arms, and eventually through the rest of my body. The sensation that I felt, could not be described as painful. In fact, as the Moon Qi spread through my entire body, I felt a refreshing sensation. A feeling that was quite similar to when I enter a warm bath and relax my body after a whole hard day of work, but even better.

I stopped cultivating and opened my eyes, only to find someone unexpected in front of me. The man that master killed . . . was alive, standing in front of me. I instantly stood up on instinct, reading to run away.

“Do not look so afraid my disciple,” Master told me, “ I am only using this mere cultivator’s body to communicate with you.” Looking at my confused face, he continued on, “I practice a forbidden necromancy technique, however, I can only use his body, and his cultivation cannot increase no matter what. Having a human form, finally enables me to go out from that cave I have been trapped in for ages.”

I don’t really care for master’s reason for controlling the dead cultivator’s body. What interested me more? It was obviously the technique that master used. With those few words, however, master gave away lots of information. How could someone practicing such a technique go unchecked? This must of been the reason for master to be chased down, and forced master into a soul state. He was an immortal realm cultivator! Only another person of the apex had the ability to leave master in such a state.

“Do you know how long you were in meditation?” master asked me, suddenly breaking my train of thought.

I shaked my head, signaling the fact that I didn’t know how long I stayed cultivating.

“You were were cultivating for one moon cycle!” master claimed.

With eyes widened with shock, I only looked at master with disbelief. Staying in cultivation for that long is simply NOT possible. What about food and water? How did I stay alive this long without eating or drinking? This was totally inconceivable. Although cultivators were able to forego food after the Advanced Stage, it was hard for one to ignore the hunger that stays with them. During this entire time, how did I not notice any hunger? In fact, I don't feel any hunger even now.

Just as if master could read my mind, he answered the questions I had, "When cultivators cultivate before the Ethereal Palace Realm, they usually only cultivate only a few hours or half a day at most. This is not because their bodies cannot handle it, but due to the fact that they don't have enough soul power to keep on cultivating. You, however, are different! You were born with the Heartless Mind State. People born with this state are one in a million, and sometimes not seen for several generations. People with this gift can cultivate without distraction, such as eating or drinking. In fact, your body is still hiding many secrets. It's no wonder you were born crippled. The heavens would have never allowed for a person to be born under the nine mountains.”

Again, what are these realms master keeps talking about? The Qi Condensation Realm? The Ethereal Palace Realm? I don't know how many times I've been shocked, but I swear this will be the last time I will be. Born with the Heartless Mind State? How was that even possible? Was the heavens playing me? They left me crippled because of my body. Why did the heavens even give me these gifts, if they were going to leave me crippled? What’s more is that I still have secrets left uncovered.

“Go eat and wash yourself, I will give you my first lesson after,” master told me.