Finding the library was easy.
In fact, it is quite distinctive. It was the only octagonal pagoda-type building in the town.
It had only three floors. The first floor contained records of all kinds. From the accounts of some seniors in their travels to some biographies.
It was on the second floor that I found what I sought. Cultivation manuals and other stuff belonging to that category.
Unlike what I had imagined in my mind, and as I had expected, it was nothing like a library back on Earth. Yes, there were shelves with books but this looked more like a private little library of someone on the richer side back on Earth.
I am unsure if this is all that had been gathered over the centuries this institution was alive, or if there was some store elsewhere, but there isn't much there, to be honest.
‘ At least not when I compare it to libraries, back on Earth. ‘
Anyway, expectations of size aside, what I wanted was in the books, but that was a whole other fiasco that I stumbled upon.
The first randomly picked book on the shelf that was categorized Combat Arts was Eagle Nail Reaper if my translation was correct. It took me some time to figure it out. It was a technique where you use your Qi and coat your fingers and use them to slash your opponent.
In my mind, it wasn't anything special so I picked the second book. That one contained the name Fist of the Bear. A simple name for a fist where you coated your fist with Qi and punched stuff.
And so they went, fist this, fist that, punch of this kind, punch of that kind, kick like this or that. The only reason they could not be grouped into the same category is the root and Mantra requirements to display said techniques.
No matter how one tries to diversify techniques, there are only so many motions of the human body that could be exploited, hence it was the roots and Mantras that decided where what went.
The problem that I saw, and wonder about is why they had not compounded such things into one manual where you display all of those actions but just add the type of Qi used.
Maybe there was more to it, as I only skimmed the surface of the written stuff, aside from the awful long names they used.
Ditching the techniques on the second floor I made my way to the third floor. It was there that Mantras were placed.
Once on it, it was easy to notice that the number of shelves was reduced drastically and that they were separated into 5 parts.
Aside from the sign saying which shelf contained which type, I noticed that the shelves were not that full. They had books, but there was space to place more.
‘ I wonder if there is a standard as to what is acceptable to be placed here. ‘
Closing on the shelf with the sign for Earth I read the titles on the books. “ Verdant Earth of the South, hmm. ” Taking it I opened the first page. “ Second-grade Mantra of Earth and Fire roots. ” After that, I started reading it.
The premise was simple. You need Fire and Earth roots to even attempt it. Then you need to follow a very vague manual on root channels so that one's Qi would embody the elements it needs. Alongside that, there were small paragraphs that took me a few seconds to recognize for what they were, poetry.
Poetry was something I had not yet attempted to even think about. Past life or this one, one thing I sucked at was naming stuff and remembering names in general. After that was connecting words for sequencing for songs and such stuff.
It took me all but a few minutes and a bad grade in school to realize the fact that all my music studies would be abysmal. I could and I did enjoy people singing and listening to such stuff, it just wasn't in my mind to invent it.
That was one of the reasons why I went the techno route. ‘ Umm, that and games. Lots and lots of computer games. ‘
My inner musings aside, I read the manual deeper. It went on explaining stuff about earth and fire or better said the Sun and how it affects the earth it shines upon. How they influenced each other, but one thing that didn't change was the flowery language.
It contained musings about Qi and its transformations.
One example is the Qi of the Sun or Yang Qi delivering Yang energy, aka Heat, to the Yin Earth, aka cold earth, to become Yang Earth. Yang Earth was a type of earth that was much better in catalyzing the growth of plants and if one is able to acquire Qi of that type and cultivate it with the right manual, one can acquire the aspects of the boundlessness of the Earth and its representative strength in one's body, is what the manual says as it was a Body Mantra.
Reading a bit more and finding nothing interesting at first glance aside from mentioning a few plants and treasures that could be used to expand one’s cultivation, I place it back on the shelf and switch my target to water.
There again I picked up a second-grade Mantra and as far as I knew, that was the max level of Mantra grade that I would be able to read about.
Just as in the last book, more of the same appeared. Different elements but it fundamentally went about it the same way. It contained a rough diagram of the roots and trough which organs and in which manner it should be channeled to cultivate the Mantra.
“ I had a feeling it would be like this, when the old man explained it, still. ” Alongside the physical training I had been going through, there were also the teachings of the old man.
He was quite adamant to teach properly, so he thought with lots of details.
With his teachings, I came to realize that the Qi roots were very, very sensitive to the biological state of the body. Better said the roots were very sensitive to the chemical composition of the physical body and their influence on the psyche of the mind.
When one cultivates, let's say a water-based Mantra, there is a very big chance that before one attains a Sea of Qi or Dantian as it's called, the blood and kidneys would affect the Mantra that is cultivated the most, and as one’s cultivation grows the Qi in return affects the blood and kidneys the most.
In a Qi saturated body the organs, due to their composition and the chemicals they contain, start to influence the Qi, and that in return changes the element that Qi represents. Of course, the opposite can happen too with Qi of a different element influencing the organs and their functions.
With a Mantra, a Cultivator introduces a foreign element and concept. That element and concept change the body's chemical composition in return and the influence of it upon the body, creating beings with different parameters than those that do not cultivate.
All of that sounds logical. In fact, it is so logical that it's easy to see why my original named it Balance, instead of Qi or something similar.
The Balance between Thought and Reality.
Placing the book back I check out the other manuals. After spending a few hours on that, I made my way downstairs where Tao Fang awaited me. The guards didn't let her enter with me and the most I could argue with them was to let her stay on the first floor so that at least she didn't stand as she waited for me.
Once she saw me, she stood up immediately, and with hopeful eyes, she awaited an answer.
Shaking my head left and right I had her follow me outside and back to Gao Junjie’s residence.
Minutes later I initiated the much-needed conversation. “ Fang, I have looked upon the Mantras that were there, and I must say that I am disappointed. At least a bit. ” In my mind, I could imagine how my answer sounded in her head. “ Before you wallow in despair, let me explain. Most of the Mantras there were Body Mantras and the few Spirit Mantras that were there, how do I say this without shaming this unofficial sect? Inadequate, I think is the best term I can think of. ”
“ How so, miss? ” She asked me.
Glancing at her I saw curiosity. “ It's simple really. This is a place focusing on Body cultivation, not Spirit cultivation. The Spirit Mantras were of a lower quality compared to Body Mantras. The problem is, I was planning on teaching you a Spirit Mantra and I will stick with that, probably. ”
“ Yes, miss. “ Said, Tao Fang but with some hesitation, she laid out her thoughts. “ Miss, from your tone, I understand that you are not satisfied with the quality, but I will be happy to cultivate it. ”
Shaking my head I denied such an option. “ NO, that will not do. You, Tao Fang, are my servant. That means you belong to me. With that being the case I won't accept you cultivating anything mediocre. I will visit that pagoda every day from now on and I will read as much as possible before making my decision on what you will cultivate. In the worst case, that I can not find or make a Mantra that is just suited for you, we will have you practice what I practice. So don't worry about it, Understood? ”
“ Yes, miss. ” She said but on her face had a hard time defining its emotions. It switched from happy to content to optimistic and similar.
With that declared, we made our way to the temporary home, which was Gao’s residence.
…
Days passed as I continued my morning routine and my noon visits to the Library.
Having read everything on the third floor, I switched to the second and the techniques.
Once I was done with those I switched to the first floor where some biographies and the accounts of the older generations and what they had experienced.
Some had written down their adventures into the Wilds, some of their missions, and how their results had impacted them personally.
Some of them had attempted writing explanations of the Dao.
It was when reading those that some of my musings were confirmed and the Mantra that I would be trying to make, at least the beginnings of one.
Having read enough, I called on the old healer to participate in this endeavor. Currently, we were inside my own bedroom. It was getting colder and colder, and it would take little for snow to start.
Tao Fang was on my bed with crossed legs, often seen when meditating in the movies and everything else. Have no idea if it is like that here, though.
To me personally it looked quite uncomfortable and I never used such a pose. All I did was sit down and concentrate and boom I am meditating.
The old man was beside me as he observed us. “ Fang, listen to me closely. I have not yet sorted out everything in detail, and it can wait for later. What can't wait for later is for you to start cultivating. ” I declared to her. “ Tell me this, Fang. What do you think is the number one cause of people not cultivating at all? ”
It took her a few seconds to reply. “ Mantra? ” She questioned but I denied it. “ No, Mantra is there for efficiency and a path upon which to walk on, nothing more. ”
Seeing her eager face, I explained it to her. “ The reason why not everybody cultivates is that they can not perceive what they need to perceive to cultivate. As long as they can perceive Qi, people will cultivate it in one way or the other. It may be inefficient but they can cultivate and as they progress, no matter how slow, no matter if they will plateau in some way, they will gain experience as they do that. When that experience is handed down to others it's often called a Mantra. ”
“ Oh. Understood. ” She nodded with understanding, at least I hoped she did.
“ Good, that being the case, now we need to make you aware of such things. ” I said to her.
“ I had a few discussions with Gao Junjie and how they do this here and I have come to the conclusion that I can offer you two ways to do this. The slow way, where you will be engaging in physical and mental discipline to acquire the stillness of Mind to enter a meditative state, or the quick way where I will help you. ” As I said that and she understood my meaning, she glanced at the old man.
She could infer that she had a choice but as I had brought this Elder of Healing she knew I wanted her to take the second choice.
“ I… I will take your help, miss. ” Tao Fang said with hesitation.
“ Good, before we begin, let me explain a few things. ” I said. “ What you will be going through will be a tough mental challenge, but if you can overcome it you will be ahead of others in this regard. Still, that is for the future, what is important now is that what you're about to experience will change you and your perception of things. ” I declared to her. “ I will quit the technical points of how this works but remember these words, I AM TAO FANG no matter what happens. ”
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“ Understood? ” With even more hesitation she nodded.
“Well, let us begin. Close your eyes and steady your breath. ” She did and I left her like that for a bit before touching her forehead.
Despite this being the first time I had done it, as I had experienced it myself in that Dream. that I had the first moment I had arrived on this World, I knew what to do.
With a delicate touch, I touched her brain with Life Essence and slightly pushed on her forehead, only for her to fall on the bed with her back.
“ So will you tell me now what you did? ” I heard the old man behind me.
“ I will. ” I said to him as I sat beside Tao Fang and faced him. “ In simple words, I disconnected her from the body. ”
“ That sounds terrible when these old man's ears hear it. I want more details? ” He said with doubt in his voice.
“ I meant what I said and while it sounds terrible in your ears, the fact is all I did is replicate the natural behavior of our bodies with a tiny twist to it, of course. Otherwise, there was no point in doing it at all. ” Again I stated, without giving him a straight answer.
Over these few months, we knew each other, we often did this to make our situation a bit more enjoyable instead of just him dictating to me his knowledge. Of course, so did I to him, although it was in a lesser fashion, as I didn't want to repeat Gao Junjie’s situation. At least without enough investment in return.
He gave my statement a thought. “ So some kind of natural meditative state of the mind? Oh, are you saying she's dreaming? ”
With a smile, I nodded. “ Yes, currently she is dreaming. Remember that moment a few months ago when you heard my explanations on Souls? ” Seeing his nod as I knew he did, cultivators had remarkable memories after all.
“ Remember when I said that the Limited Construct of Reality is You. ” Again he nodded. “ What do you think happens to that You, when no more information from the outside enters? ”
“ I dream? ” He answered. “ Yes, we dream, old man. That is not the point. The point is, how and why do dreams appear? ” There I stopped and let him ponder for a bit.
Looking at Tao Fang for a few moments I stare at him again. “ My original’s Dao is related to Dreams, so he is quite knowledgeable about them. ” With that said, I noticed his eyebrow rise in wonder.
“ I was surprised just as you are. Of all the fucking things he could do and chase after, he chose Dreams. ” Shaking my head I sighed for a bit and went on. “ When our bodies receive no outside stimulus, our bodies naturally start to simulate the outside world from the memories we already have. It's a defense mechanism of every creature that has enough mental prowess. How much is required I have no idea, but my best guess is that without any Power involved, anything above insects could belong to that category. ”
“ While fascinating that is, it does not tell me as to why you called me here for this. ” I could see he wanted me to explain more, but he held back and switched topics.
“ While you can't help Tao Fang if anything goes wrong, just your presence indicates that she is in good hands and that will help her. ” I explained. “ When I sent her into that dream state, I disabled that innate feature of the mind to simulate the outside world. ”
“ Oh, that does indeed sound terrible. ” While I could not detect any change in his voice, it did not mean there was none. “ Is she aware? ” He asked me and I nodded.
“ Even when we dream we are aware, only without anything simulated we can't delude ourselves anymore of the truth of our own existence. ” I told him.
“I guess that it's similar to a meditative state for you, right? ” When he nodded I added more to it. “ This is similar only on a much more extreme level. Since she had no awareness of herself before, it will appear to her that she is stuck in pure darkness with only her own thoughts as company. “
“ Are you sure about this? She should be very scared right now? ” Worried the old man.
“ Oh, I am counting on that. “ I replied. “ But if she remembers my advice she will recognize herself and that is what I need from her. ”
“ Sigh. So what is your ultimate goal in all this? ” He asked me.
“ There is no Mantra here that fits her and her roots of five colors will just hold her back. ” Turning away from him and staring at her, I consider my inner timer.
Nodding that there is still time before it was time to wake her, I continue relaying my thoughts to the old man. “ If my theory is right, I can help her with the root problem. What I can't do, however, is design a Mantra for her. I can push her in the right direction but it has to be her that makes it, as only her personal experience will define the Mantra that is her. ”
“ What is your theory and what if it does not work? ” Asked the old man.
Starting at him, I reply. “ Even if it doesn't work, this is still a good way to skip all the tedious mental discipline part but I am confident that it will. As for what it is? Hehe, you'll see. ”
Ignoring him, I considered my inner timer, and soon it would reach 15 minutes. When it did I placed my left hand on her forehead and undid my previous action yet not completely.
Observing her for a second I saw nothing wrong for now and initiated the next part.
In the Dream of the Void, she had no form for herself, but when the Dream ends that would be different as with a thought I made the Will that was Tao Fang, or consciousness for the uneducated, aware of the body it inhabited.
Almost like touch, it was, and I knew that was enough. She would explore the sensations and like a guiding light, they would guide her to the light.
Removing my hand from her, I stood up and stood beside the old to wait for her.
It took a bit longer than I had imagined at first, but she did come too.
When she opened her eyes all she did was stare at the wooden ceiling. I left her like that for a while before making a sound.
COUGH
Immediately her eyes snapped at us. Her fingers twitched, her torso inflated much more than before, her legs twitched and she slowly pulled herself into a sitting position.
“ Welcome back, Tao Fang. ” With a smile, I spoke. “ How was it? ”
It took her a second to remember that she could speak. I knew as I had experienced it myself.
“ I… How long? ” She asked.
“ Fifteen minutes. ” Immediately her eyes open in disbelief.
“ That can't be true? ” Still in disbelief, she cried out. Glancing at the old man beside me, I threw him a look.
“ It is the truth, I am afraid. How long did it feel like? ” I could feel the old man wanted to know that. Well… not desperately but he was interested in the fact.
“ It… it felt like forever. In that darkness, I couldn't do anything. It just kept going and going. Like a never-ending nightmare, it kept going. When I finally could not stand it anymore a memory appeared to me. Like a spark, it blew through me and I started to remember stuff. ” Replied Tao Fang.
‘ I am sure it did, I did dial up the temporal compression of that dream. Funny how Dreams always felt like they went on for a long time. ‘
“ Good, now let us strike while the iron is hot, otherwise we will have to repeat this. ” I declared. “ With the fresh feeling of finding yourself, I want you to enter yourself and seek yourself without my help. ” Confused with my instructions I just motioned for her to do it.
Following my command, she closed her eyes and this time completely ignored any meditative stance. It took a few seconds but I did notice her breath turning shallower.
“ Imagine that, spending 15 minutes only for it to feel like an eternity. An interesting fact, is it not? ” I asked the old man and he agreed by sighing.
This time I waited for a few minutes as my servant got used to the feelings she was experiencing.
It's not every day one gets to explore one's insides. It was for this reason that I left some Life Essence inside her and even attuned it a bit to her to ease the process.
With a tiny thought, I materialized a finger of my phantom on her forehead and used it to transmit my message all while at the same time using it to observe her insides.
This was currently my only way to probe things from afar.
As my probe touched her Will, she panicked. “ Tao Fang, calm down. It's me. ” I transmitted, through the probe, to her.
Once she calmed down from that, I had her follow my probe. “ Good, now send your thoughts to this. ” With that, she became aware of her roots. I could feel the amazement radiate from her Will.
“ Good, now follow that and explore your body. ” I said to her and left her like that for a bit. “ She's exploring her roots right now. Any reason why you're not using Divine Sense on her? ”
“ While I am interested in this, it's best I don't interfere for now. ” He replied. “ After all, this moment belongs to both of you. ”
I just nodded and went back to observing my servant. As she explored her roots, she first began slowly but after a few moments, she went full-on.
I had placed her attention on a single lane leading from her brain to the spine, where the equivalent of a root highway existed.
While I couldn't examine her Will and her thoughts directly for fear of repercussions right now, I could imagine how her awareness expanded like a flower that bloomed only on a much faster time scale.
Almost like fast-forwarding a video on Youtube. ‘ Sigh, I soooo miss that thing. ‘
Shaking my reverie from the moment, I went back to observe her.
As her awareness hit the highway and started blooming all over her body I knew we were coming to the last part. It was here that the first moment of my theory came.
After all my learning from the old healer and the reading from that Library, I came to two conclusions. I had the ability to rapidly make someone aware of their roots and I had the treasure that could be consumed to initiate a change in someone's roots.
All that I needed was a link to combine those two.
“ Tao Fang, listen to me closely. ” I state in a grave voice. “ Right now you are using part of my own Power that I had left in your body. With it, you have realized your own thoughts and you have explored your own roots. It's perfectly fine if you want to continue with my Power, but what do you think of a Path just for you? It will be hard as you will have to explore it on your own. The main part will depend on you but I can help you from the side. Do you want to try it? ”
It took a second for her to consider it but when I felt her transmitting her agreement because she's not yet figured out how to transmit her words, I continued my explanation.
“ Good. Tell me this, have you heard of the term Vital Yin? ”
Again it took her a bit to remember it but this time I felt a slight embarrassment from her. “ I see, you do. Well, forget what everybody told you and listen to me. You may have been told that Vital Yin is your virginity or it had to do something with it, well it's not completely bogus but forget that part for now. ”
Stopping for a second for her to realize my intent, I went on. “ Listen, ever since you were a baby, your body has been absorbing Qi from the Air. It may have been in very small amounts but it's there. That Qi affects your body just as your body affects your Qi, so when you grow up slowly they both influence each other. Like that, they stay in balance but when the first signs of your sexual characteristics appeared, in other words, your body started to exhibit its girly parts, that innate Qi in your body that was there before experienced a new change. The change is complicated to explain right now. All you need to know is that the Qi of a girl becomes Vital Yin Qi and for the boys Vital Yang Qi. ”
Once again I stopped for her benefit. That done, I continue. “ That said. The amount of Qi is still the same, and it's very minuscule but what we need is enough. The problem is that Vital Yin Qi is scattered all over your whole body and you won't be able to perceive it. It is that change that we will address. ” I told her.
With a thought pointed at her womb. “ That is your womb, where babies are created and it's the single greatest organ that is influenced by Vital Yin Qi and the other way around. I can't help you directly with this as it has to be you that does it, but what I want you is to gather your attention to your womb and have it do what it's meant to do. ”
Stopping there for her to come to terms with what I meant I say my last advice. “ Here is one last piece of advice. Remember when you pleasure yourself? ” Again I felt some small embarrassment from her. “ Yes, that moment. I will help you physically this time. Once I start I want you to use your newfound perception and focus on your roots and try to order them to pull on the Qi scattered in your body and have it gather in the roots of your womb. If that succeeds we will begin the next part. ”
“ Prepare yourself. ” I said to her and faced the old man. “ Could you leave us for a bit, oh, and don't use your Divine Sense. I will know if you do. ”
“ Didn't you say that you will show me? Why do I need to leave now? ” He asked, a bit puzzled.
“ Ah, well you will see the aftermath if it succeeds. ” Shrugging my shoulders, I said to him.
We faced each other for a few seconds. He agreed and left my bedroom.
Just to be sure I deployed my phantom and had it stand guard. That done, I reached Tao Fang and disrobed her, and slowly helped her, gently.
As I gently rubbed her between the legs, I nudged her on her task. I went slow at first then ramped it up, bit by bit. As the show went on, I noticed the change.
Her roots became more tangible, was my best guess without directly sensing it.
Thanks to her body generating lots and lots of estrogens, if my memory serves right, the Qi that gained the Vital Yin aspect of Qi from the estrogen chemical started gathering in the womb.
Of course, I didn't notice the minuscule amount of Qi the roots pulled towards it but the gathering at the womb was much easier to notice.
More and more gathered and soon my little servant climaxed and just in case the Qi didn't scatter from it back into the body, I held it in the womb with my Will.
Done with the physical reaction I nudged her perception towards the gathered Qi and had her take care of it.
Once she had it in her metaphysical hands, I felt her joy and desire. “ Good, now that it's there it's time we went for the last part and the most important part. It's here that we will see if it works or not. ”
From inside me, I pulled out a tiny bit of Auril and from it, I tried to remove my imprint as much as possible. Sadly one little fact was that once it had my imprint on it, there was no way to remove it, only weaken it. It's for that reason my original created the Flame of Life.
He told me that once Auril came into existence there was no way to transform it back into Life Essence and he didn't want the mass use of Auril users to pollute the Earth.
My inner musing aside, I placed that tiny bit of Auril into that tiny mass of Qi. “ Can you feel that tiny little thing in the middle of the gathered Qi? “ Feeling her metaphysical nod, I went on. “ Good, I want you to grind your Qi on that. I am a bit unsure as to what will happen. There are two possibilities. One, it will just vanish and the Qi will stay the same and the second will be that the two can interact once my imprint is gone. Go ahead and try it. ”
Immediately she tried it. Being unfamiliar with this process, it took her a while. Once she was successful I lost any feeling from that tiny little ball of Auril. “ I can't feel it anymore, has it vanished or is it still there? ”
Receiving happiness was confirmation enough. “ Good, can you store your Qi in it? ” With a metaphysical nod, she answered. “ Good, good, now, here is the last request. Can you use that tiny little thing on your roots? Try to see if you can make it enact some change on the nearest part of your roots? ”
This time I felt it too. The change was minuscule but it was there. “ I knew it would work. Here is more of the stuff and try to refine it and have the roots around your womb accept the change too. Do it until all your Qi is consumed. ”
With that said I supplied a much larger amount of Auril. From my calculations, it was enough for the roots around the womb. As there was more Auril it was harder to refine it to her imprint but with time I saw the changes happen.
Only once the Qi that had been gathered was consumed did I examine the roots much closer and the change was much more apparent.
“ Hahaha, Vital Yin Qi Roots. ” Laughing for a few moments from joy, I shared the discovery with Tao Fang. “ The first change was enacted and soon you will have Heavenly Roots, with the spare talent for anything else you can imagine. ”
Feeling her disbelief at my wording I had my awareness leave her body all while laughing inside my mind.
‘ Haahhaahhahahah, I love it when I can cheat. ‘