He led them all the way down the spiral built around the column of stone and out to the docks near where they'd first arrived. There, he ushered them onto a boat just large enough for the five of them, with a lantern that gave off an orange glow affixed to the front of the boat.

Kazzak gestured with a flick of his claws and the boat moved through the blood as though of its own accord. It was smooth, with an easy pace, and eerily silent apart from the soft ripples of blood lapping against the boat and those they left in their wake. The island shrank from view as they traveled deeper into the enormous cavern.

Jie kept her spirit sense active and focused on sensing any blood elementals as best she could. She noticed a couple, but they soon moved away. She suspected it was because of Kazzak's strength. His aura was reigned in, so it didn't crush them, but he wasn't trying to hide his cultivation.

"I don't detect anyone within earshot now. We can finally speak freely," Kazzak said, "so, allow me to finally say thank you for sparing my son's life." He inclined his head in a very slight bow.

"Thank you for not just killing us and for arguing in our favor... at least until your wife tried to use us to get at you," Jie said with her own slight, thankful bow.

Kazzak nodded. "Ahrk! That woman brings nothing but misery," he spat.

"Why did you marry her?" Jie asked.

His feathers rippled with what looked like anger. "I had no choice," Kazzak said bitterly, "She was the flock leader and she wanted me. Not that I was against it at first. It was only later that I learned how vicious she truly is."

"Oh... I'm sorry," Jie said.

Kazzak waved his hand as though brushing aside both the topic and her concern.

"It is what it is," he said, "I must admit, I'm most fascinated by your qi. Where do you hail from? Is your cultivation style common in your homeland? I'm something of a traveler, so perhaps I could visit?"

"It's not common, but as for the rest, I cannot say. I'm sure as a flock leader, you understand that some things are not for me to share?" Jie said.

Kazzak nodded. "Awrk. I mean no harm, but I fully understand. Protecting one's home is a great duty that too many disregard. Though... I am curious... what made you come here? Your qi gives me the sense that your home is far superior," he said.

"I actually prefer it here," Jie said, "my home isn't perfect either. And while there are many things I hate here... I also feel more in control of my fate. It's more dangerous, but freedom feels amazing."

"Perhaps you were an arak in a previous life," Kazzak said, "I understand the pain of being denied the freedom to fly as you wish. It's an insidious pain is it not? Like a poison that eats at your very soul as it tries to make you believe that it never really meant that much to you in the first place..."

He trailed off and stared into the dark cavern, lost in thought.

They traveled on in silence for a long while before he seemed to come back to himself.

"Would it be alright if I asked you something about cultivation?" Jie asked.

Kazzak laughed. "I would be happy if you asked for a reward for sparing my son! But I don't think you're the type to do so. Ask away," he said.

"Well... that makes me want to ask two questions actually," Jie said.

Kazzak motioned for her to continue.

"Well... it's just that I feel like I should've broken through into the middle dantian by now... but I just... can't. I was told that a conflict inside me is stopping me, but I don't know what to do about it. How did you break through? Is it always so hard?" Jie asked.

"Ah. My son has asked similar questions," Kazzak said, "I struggled twice to break into the middle dantian. Once before when I walked the path of blood. And a second time when I walked the path of sunfire."

"You walked two paths?" Jie asked, "How did you do that?"

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Kazzak winced. "Yes," he said as he stroked a wicked scar on his abdomen, "though it was not by design, I assure you. My lovely wife shattered my dantian and I lost my entire cultivation. Everything I'd worked so hard to build. Thankfully it wasn't as bad as it could've been, and the healers were able to repair my dantian enough to cultivate again."

"What? Why did she do that?" Jie asked.

Kazzak shrugged. "A bad day, I presume," he said with a wave of his hand as though the answer was irrelevant to him, "anyway... both times I found myself stuck and unable to break through to the middle dantian. What I realized is that cultivation is about more than just gathering energy. It's... I suppose you could say it's a process of transforming yourself.

"Energy is only a single part of the puzzle. And that's part of what makes breaking through to the middle dantian so tricky. Every person is unique. And the ways in which you transform... the insights you gather... they will be different even than those struggling with the very same issues. In my case, they were different for each of my paths."

"So, what were the insights that helped you break through? Jie asked.

Kazzak shook his head. "The worst thing I could ever do to you is answer that question. At best it would be useless to you, and at worst it would be useful. If you advance with my insights, then your cultivation will be a shadow of what it could be. Like an echo of mine rather than what it truly should be. Does this make sense? It's a personal journey. The answers. The insights. The advancement. They must be yours," he said, "I can see that's not what you wanted to hear... but it's the truth. Still... I think that I can offer you some general advice."

"Please," Jie said.

"It's a personal journey. That means that some will advance through to the middle dantian with no trouble at all. I think this is because they have whatever it was they needed to do so already. Others like myself... struggle for years and years and seem to get nowhere," Kazzak said, "I've thought about how to advance to the middle dantian for more years than I'd like and read more texts on it than I care to admit... but I think the biggest realization I had was when it dawned on me that if I was looking and not finding anything... then perhaps the answer lay where I least wanted to look."

"Where did you least want to look?" Jie asked.

Kazzak held his clawed hand over his chest.

"Your heart?" Jie asked.

"Isn't that the place we all least want to look?" Kazzak asked, "Even yourself. You ask me how I advanced, and that's understandable. Smart even. To learn from others who've been where you wish to go. There's great wisdom in this. But... it also shows that you're still looking outward for an answer. The question and the answer are both inside you. That's how it was for me at least. And, before you ask, I will not tell you. Partly as a favor to you with what I said about insights... but partly because it is for me and me alone. It touched on the deepest parts of myself after all."

"So, I look inside myself... in my heart at the things I least want to think about... and then I'll break through?" Jie asked.

Kazzak laughed. "I hope that it proves to be so easy for you. It wasn't for me. It took countless hours. And many days filled with a feeling of despair, thinking I would never break through. But... eventually, I did. And, for me, there was no big insight like some people have. I didn't just sit down and suddenly have it all come right... for me... I think it was just making a little bit of progress each day. Like moving a mountain with a spoon. And one day... I moved the last spoonful I needed... and I broke through," he said, "I advanced much more rapidly after that. Awrk. Bottlenecks are incredibly frustrating."

I don't have time to take years to do this... Ming is counting on me... the universe is counting on me... Jie thought.

"I can tell you're impatient to advance. Try not to worry about it. Your path may be easier than mine. We are, as I have said, all very different. And I think that the main key is to know what to look for in yourself. But everyone's advancement is different. You must walk your own path," Kazzak said.

"Thank you," Jie said, "I think I know what might be holding me back... I just don't know how to move beyond it."

"Work on it a little every day, and if you can, see if you can understand why the blockage is there. What its cause is and how it came to be. The best advice I can give you is to be utterly honest with yourself in the deepest way possible," Kazzak said, "try not to obsess over it though. With some things in cultivation, less is more. Now, what was your second question?"

"Why don't you hate us?" Jie asked.

Kazzak blinked. "Hate you?" he asked, stunned.

"Everyone I've met cares so much about face. I thought that even if I spared your son, you might still be furious with us for costing you face by beating him," Jie said.

Kazzak laughed. "Perhaps I have lost some face. But I have my son. Only a fool lets pettiness get in the way of gratitude. Besides, I haven't lost as much face as you might think. You have phenomenal strength. So much so that I think you would defeat even someone at the first or maybe second star of the Elementalist rank if they weren't too gifted. There was no shame in his loss to you. You gave my flock a spectacular battle with explosions that shook our seats while your friends held off Vrethka's priestesses. Each of which was higher ranked.

"It was a good fight. And some have been saying I dote on my son. If anything, your fight may have gained me face as a fair flock leader. And the way you slapped Vrethka in the face with your words in front of the entire arena? Awrk! It was all I could do not to laugh in her sadistic face! And, in the end, face matters very little. I hold my position only because nobody is strong enough to take it from me and the elders are too intoxicated to work together. I plan on keeping it that way," he said, "so do not fear. I will not harm you. Besides, one day our paths may cross again. I hope that you'll remember I tried to help you if that day comes. Does that answer your question?"

"It does," Jie said, "thank you."