Xiao Chen

“Senior Brother, my arms hurt.” Xixi stomps her feet with a pout on her face. Her wide eyes instantly obtain a watery sheen as she blinks slowly at Xiao Chen. There are only three people on the private practice field which made her act out even more than she usually would.

“Xiao Chen, let’s take a break. It is not beneficial to increase the practice load too much all at once.” A slim young man strolls over with a genial smile on his face. His unusually pale complexion glows in the sun which is slowly sinking towards the horizon. There is only one character on the fan in his hands: Tian (Sky).

Xiao Chen nods towards the man, avoiding his silver eyes. “Senior Brother Qingtian is right. Xixi, let’s continue this lesson tomorrow.”

“Oh-oh…alright.” Xixi freezes for a second as her mind registers what happened. Putting away the speech she had prepared, a smile instantly sprouts on her face. “Thank you, Senior Brother! You’re the best! I promise to work extra hard tomorrow!”

The two watch as she speeds off as if she is scared Xiao Chen will change his mind. Qingtian taps his folded fan against his palm. “Are you feeling well? Have you run into issues with your practice?” He reaches out a palm towards Xiao Chen’s forehead.

Xiao Chen steps back and turns to leave. “I’m alright. Thanks for your concerns, second Senior Brother. If there’s nothing else, I’ll return to my residence and prepare for my breakthrough.”

“Wait.”

Xiao Chen stops and after a moment of silence, slowly turns around. “Is there a problem, Brother Qingtian?”

“Master called for you earlier…did he tell you or give you something? Perhaps something to help with your practice?”

Xiao Chen pulls out a scripture book and hands it over to Qingtian. “Master found the second part of the Otherworld Sutra. Is this what you’re asking about?”

Qingtian frowns as he flips through the pages. He hands it back to Xiao Chen and asks, “Was it the only thing? Did the Master not give you something as an anchor if he wanted you to continue your studies in the demonic way? Perhaps Master means to test your mental state, but it is still rather rash.”

He pulls a round item from his ring and hands it to Xiao Chen. “A meditation pearl I found from a cave during my last journey out of the sect. It’ll help you focus and act as an anchor for your mental state when you cultivate. However, you must not let your guard down even with it. The demonic ways may be more accepted now than in the past, but it remains dangerous.”

“Thank you, Senior brother. The path of cultivation was never meant to be a stable or safe one. However, I’ll use it well and not let you and Master down.”

****

In a small but tidy room, Xiao Chen sits on his bed with his eyes closed. A red mist hovered between his skin and the outside world. It slowly expands until it completely hides the small figure from view. When the mist settles and dissipates, there is only an empty room with a table and chair. On top of the table lies a couple of books and a brilliant white pearl.

“You’re back.”

Xiao Chen opens his eyes and smiles at the bunny in front of him. “Xiao Bai, do you miss me?”

The snow-white bunny snuggled against his palm. “There’s something off about that Senior brother of yours. It’s not worth the risk to use anything he gives you.”

“I know. Thank you for the warning. I’ll make sure to be more careful, but I don’t think he suspects anything as of yet.”

“Hmmp. Don’t let your guard down. He’s a crafty one.” Xiao Bai hops back onto the floor and starts cleaning her face. “You said you needed my opinion on something?”

Xiao Chen opens his hand and shows it to the bunny. Her nose twitches as she stares at the ordinary black stone resting in his palm. “A stone?”

{“Xiao Chen? Good. You’ve improved a lot in your practice.”

“Thanks to your teachings, Master He.” Xiao Chen raised his head, a curious look in his dark red eyes. “Is there a mission you wish to assign to this disciple?”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Elder He shook his head. “There’s no sect mission for the time being. I would let you focus solely on your breakthrough if there was nothing important I must give you.”

He pulled out a scripture from his ring and handed it over. “Your request for your contributions to the sect. I must ask again…Xiao Chen, are you certain you want to continue on the path of demonic cultivation? It is not too late to change your mind. Master will find a way to clear your cultivation without hurting your roots.”

Xiao Chen stared firmly into his teacher’s eyes. “I am certain. Thank you for your concerns, Master, but this is something I must do. Please forgive me for not accepting your arrangements.”

The older cultivator sighed. “I see. I should have known how stubborn you can be when your mind is made.” After a moment of hesitation, he pulled out an item and handed it over to his third disciple.

Xian Chen respectfully takes the item. It is small, hard, and cool to the touch. A stone?}

“Master said it was an item born of his lightning tribulation and should have cleansing abilities.”

“Is that all? It’s a good thing for your cultivation path but not exactly rare.” The bunny resumes her cleaning, making sure to get to her ears as well.

Xiao Chen traces the edges of the stone. “Something that would stump even a cultivator as powerful and knowledgeable as Master must not be something normal…” He flips it over into his other hand, but no instruction or indication of anything extraordinary appears on its surface.

There must be a triggering condition he hadn’t discovered yet. He’d even tried dripping his blood on it which resulted in no reactions. Puzzled, Xiao Chen could only find the sole being he trusted besides his master.

“Well, I don’t recognize it. Surely, your Master didn’t just toss you the item without any sort of instruction?”

Xiao Chen shrugs and replies, “He said not to show it to anybody else and that it’s a decent artifact against evil spirits that might come in handy for me.”

Xiao Bai stops grooming. “Don’t you have an evil spirit on hand?”

“No!” He stands up, startling the bunny who hops backward.

Her nose twitches faster as her hind leg thumps against the floor. “I’m sorry, I forgot.”

Xiao Chen inhales deeply and tries to calm his heartbeat. “It’s alright. It shouldn't be too difficult to get my hands on some after my breakthrough. Perhaps a change in scenery will be good for my mental state as well.” I just don’t know why he would not let me show it to anybody, not even his other disciples…and why me?

He shook his head. “Will you please keep an eye on me while I send in my conscious body? There shouldn’t be any danger or Master would have cautioned me but just in case…”

Xiao Bai straightens up, eager for the chance to make up for her mistake. “Of course. Don’t worry, I will pull you out at the first sign of trouble. I can also take over the connection to this space temporarily so your mind will be less burdened.”

With the weight off his shoulders, he clears his mind. A sliver of red spiritual energy snakes out of his body and proddes at the black stone. After discovering nothing unusual, it pushes against the hard surface and enters with ease.

Xiao Chen is falling. Instinctively, he tries to grasp at anything to stop his fall but nothing is within reach. The fall doesn’t take too long and he soon lands on solid ground. He pushes himself off what appears to be a dirt floor, yet it feels nothing like dirt.

Looking around him, the space appears wide with endless land stretching into the horizons of the clear blue sky. He picks a direction and starts walking.

Thump!

Xiao Chen rubs his forehead, eyes wide in confusion. Raising his other hand and slowly pushing it forward, it is soon stopped by the invisible wall he had run headfirst into earlier. What is this thing? Some sort of formation?

With his right hand still on the wall, he continues walking and turning when there is no way forward. Four corners. It’s a boxed area. Is this an independent realm? Independent realms are sect treasures, why would Master give it to him and not allow him to show it to anybody else?

Perplexed by his recent discovery, he started his way towards the center. If this is a true independent realm, the center should be the location of the core. There is nothing but a pebble at the center. A pebble so small and half buried in the ground, he missed it the first time as he walked over it.

Squatting down, he touches the pebble after sensing no aura from it. It feels like an ordinary pebble. Xiao Chen knew better than to trust the unassuming appearance of the pebble-shaped object. Even if this space is not an independent realm, any space that can hold living creatures even for a limited amount of time is a treasure even high-level cultivators will kill for. Anything naturally born in such spaces is far from ordinary.

I wonder if the time is different in this space. The urge to experiment and discover every use of an artifact reappears in his body, but he forces it back. Now is not the time.

Before he can actively leave the space, a pulling sensation arrives. Xiao Bai is calling him back to his body. He frowned. Did something happen?

Xiao Chen’s eyes snap open and meet with a pair of rabbit eyes very close to his face. “Are you alright? Why were you gone for so long?”

“Was I gone for a long time?”

“Probably around 2 hours. I waited because I didn’t sense any danger.”

“Interesting.” Xiao Chen didn’t feel like he was in there for more than 5 minutes, but it was something he could test for in the future. Unfortunately, it is confirmed time passes faster there than outside so it’s not a good space for daily cultivation. However, there are many other uses he can experiment with later. Xiao Chen bids goodbye to Xiao Bai and returns to the real world.

Now it is time to break through to the peak of the foundation-building realm. Everything else can wait until later.