Even if Huang Cixi had been able to see her own sea of consciousness, she would have missed it. But deep below the surface of the ocean, the Insight Writings that she had formed were slowly morphing. In her Chamber of Ultimate Truth something was also happening. All the knowledge she had just gathered was slowly turning into strange characters or symbols. They weren't Insight Writings yet but they were gradually evolving in that direction.
Insight Writings were formed by the comprehension of a cultivator. So it was not possible to create them unless the cultivator really understood the meaning behind them, even if it was just at an instinctive level. Right now, Huang Cixi's mind was slowly building up this comprehension. With this Chamber of Ultimate Truth, her mind would naturally try to make connections and find patterns, analogies with everything she already knew. But she was still missing a few key pieces to make sense of everything.
Among the symbols that were being refined, a majority had been influenced by the very few words of Ancestral Matriarch Huang Baifeng. There was really something extraordinary hidden in her texts. Huang Cixi could have probably reached a higher stage in her martial arts and even her blood cultivation if she had been able to read the original documents. But like everything else, the Forsaken Dao Era was poor in past knowledge. So much had been lost to the ages.
But this reignited her desire. She had to ask Matriarch Huang Yufeng. She had to get her permission. There was a place she absolutely needed to go.
Despite her high mind cultivation, Huang Cixi still spent almost all day browsing through the books just to memorize them. That was how big the library was. Just by looking at the pages of a book, she could remember it, but she still had to browse through all the pages and watch them attentively first. No matter how fast she browsed through the library, it took her more than twenty hours. Thankfully her cultivation was high enough that she did not require food, water or sleep every single day. In fact, she even felt invigorated by the end of the process. She felt a bit light-headed but in a good way, as though she had acquired a great knowledge she was now digesting. And this feeling brought some kind of excitement in her. Cultivation was not really her thing, this was a means to an end. What she really loved was politics and getting the power and influence to change things according to her views. Still, this didn't mean that she was insensitive to the joys of the cultivation, and its benefits.
Finally, she left the private library and before she could walk back to the Phoenix Hall, she met with Matriarch Huang Yufeng. The old woman had been waiting all this time. In fact, she had been spying on Huang Cixi the entire time. The speed at which she had read all the books suggested that her mind cultivation was almost on par with a Spirit Warrior. Of course, some late Mortals or Mortal Warriors could memorize things extremely fast as well, but most of the time, those were alchemists or array formation masters. They were the elite who already had an incredible mind. However, it still took them some time to perfectly memorize every single word and they couldn't just digest her entire library in a day. There were almost fifteen thousand years worth of knowledge in her library, and some bits and pieces about the previous eras as well.
The mind cultivation of Huang Cixi was incredible. Obviously, any late or even middle Spirit Warrior could do the same faster than she had. But for a late Mortal, having a mind comparable to an early Spirit Warrior meant that either she had been blessed with an incredible mind at birth, or that she had found a mystical mind cultivation method. However, Matriarch Huang Yufeng was proper enough not to pry too much. Moreover, Huang Cixi had a real chance of becoming the next matriarch. Deep down, the current matriarch was still unsure of her decision. But more and more, she was favoring the youngest of the two candidates.
"This junior thanks the matriarch. Despite your generosity, I only scratched the surface of your library. Please, excuse my lack of knowledge."
"Your results should not be obvious right now. But with time, you will truly become a phoenix among men. I even have the feeling that my 'glorious' achievements will be nothing compared to yours. Your name will make mine fade into history."
"No, Matriarch. I am just an insignificant junior. How could I ever compare with you? You will surely reach the Sage realm and eclipse all of our achievements."
Matriarch Huang Yufeng answered with a quiet chuckle.
"I do hope that I'll reach this realm one day. But I fear that it will be in a next life..." With the deep melancholy she saw in the old woman's eyes, Huang Cixi could not bring herself to flatter her anymore. "Anyway. I had things I wanted to discuss with you. As you've been born in a side branch, I am ashamed that I do not know you enough. Unfortunately, our Huang family has become too big and too widely spread. Even with my lifespan, I couldn't possibly know all of our members. What a pity to have missed such an individual..."
Indeed, the Huang family had tens of side branches. And this was a family that was rather peculiar in the fact that most women stayed within and men married outside. For the majority of the families, the opposite was true. As such, they grew even bigger. But the Huang family was very careful with their bloodline. If they hadn't been, the blood essence within their veins could have completely disappeared by now. Moreover, the tragedies of the past had taught mankind that they should try and reduce the number of children. That was especially true for old monsters who could live for thousands of years.
Even the women could still give birth after hundreds or thousands of years. Thanks to their cultivation, their Jing, their vital essence, was much stronger than the one of mortals. Hence, they could still produce children no matter their age. But if these old monsters did produce children every now and then, the world would be submerged by young nobles. The Hongchen Kingdom could not extend indefinitely, especially with the demons at their borders. And the past had shown that the family feuds could become even uglier than the threat of the demons. Children killing their brothers, their sisters or even their parents was something no one wanted to experience at such a large scale anymore.
The matriarch lead Huang Cixi into a wide courtyard. It was still a bit smaller than the Dawning Sun pavilion, that was meant to receive visitors and to hold ceremonies. But for a private courtyard, this was huge. It could have housed a few mortal families. Both women walked to the middle of the courtyard and took place under a small pavilion floating on an artificial river.
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Under the pavilion, there was only a small table and two seats. And on the table were two wine cups.
"Huang Cixi, let's drink and talk together me. I sincerely wish to know more about you. Do not think of me as the matriarch but talk as though you were with your own grandmother."
"Then, pardon my rudeness."
Huang Cixi bowed respectfully but not as low as before. Then, she took the cup of wine and drank a bit of it. This liquor was incredible. For mortals, this would be called a nectar of the gods. The effects were very negligible, both because of her Qi cultivation and her mind cultivation as well. But it still helped her relax, sensation amplified by the atmosphere of the pavilion as much as the attitude of the matriarch. All of a sudden, she really looked like a doting old grandmother who wanted to know more about her granddaughter.
Quite frankly, the real family links between Matriarch Huang Yufeng and Huang Cixi were difficult to precisely make out. Indeed, the only children the matriarch had ever given birth to had been dead for hundreds of years by now. Sadly, they had been stuck in the early stages of the Spirit Warrior realm and their lifespan was too short for their mother to die before them. She was 2,000 years old right now and her children had been born before she turned a hundred. As such, it was difficult to create a complete family tree of every member of the Huang family. Moreover, the story around her children was rather obscure as she didn't like talking about it. Apart from the older generation, almost no one even knew their names.
But with her old age, the matriarch considered all the young generation as her grandchildren, and the elders as her children.
For several more hours, the two women discussed and Huang Cixi opened up more and more. So did the matriarch. They talked about her family, her brothers, her father. Matriarch Huang Yufeng expressed her condolences, albeit too late by her own admission. Then, they really talked about anything, philosophy, martial arts, art in general. At some point, the matriarch even touched upon the subject of romance but she saw that the young woman was committed to her ambitions. Finally, they talked about what had happened in the Wubei Sect. The matriarch did not try to force anything out of Huang Cixi.
When she didn't want to talk about something, she simply shifted the conversation. For example, she spent a lot of time on her feelings and sensations during the consumption of the Life Boiling Cradle pill rather than talking about the boy she had served.
But during the entire conversation, they never talked about politics, especially not within the Huang family.
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Finally, it was time to end their talk. And Huang Cixi had to ask away.
"Matriarch, may I be bold? There is something I wish to request from you."
"Go ahead, I won't mind. Ask what's on your mind."
"I would like to cultivate in the sacred grounds."
The matriarch was expecting a crazy request. But she wasn't ready for this. Usually, the sacred grounds were reserved to late Mortal Warriors before their tribulation into the Spirit Warrior realm. This place was the most holy sanctuary for the Huang family. According to the legend, that was the place where Ancestral Matriarch Huang Baifeng had received the blood essence of the True Fiery Fenghuang, the very same blood that was flowing in their veins today. Not only had it a great significance for the Huang family, it also had extraordinary effects on cultivation.
"You did say that you were going to be bold... You should know that the sacred grounds are slowly diminishing. And there is nothing we can do to replenish their glory. You're not even a Mortal Warrior, you will most likely only receive a tiny fraction of benefits. But I guess that you took my protests into consideration. What do you offer for it?"
"Matriarch, I know that you've been impressed by my mind cultivation. Unfortunately, I cannot gift it to either you or the family. This was given to me and I can't do with it as I may. However, I did gain some inspiration thanks to it. My Pure Golden Dantian allowed my blood cultivation to soar faster than before. That, no one can mimic, but through the method I use for my mind, I also discovered a way to improve the 'Nine Chambers of Life Fire'."
Just as she was speaking, Huang Cixi gave a manual to the matriarch. After experimenting, she had found ways to manipulate her True Fiery Drops just like she was using the Five Agents. By using the blood within to draw specific characters related to her Hun, she had been able to activate the blood essence within her even more. The results of all her own experimentations were written in this small manual.
The matriarch quickly read through it and began to ponder over her request.
"How much do you think this can improve our blood cultivation?"
"I am not certain, but I would say that it can speed it up by 5%."
For a Spirit Warrior, 5% was equivalent to the lifespan of a mortal. Just reading the manual, the matriarch saw herself finally condensing the ninth True Fiery Drop she had been yearning for thanks to both the contents of this and the pills Huang Si had offered to her. Not only could this help her, but unlike the pills, this manual could also help all the members of the Huang family. One had to already have formed at least one True Fiery Drop to then use it. But it could increase the rate at which the blood essence would be improved by this single drop. Moreover, Huang Cixi's estimation was based on only two True Fiery Drops. If she had more, it could maybe be faster.
"Matriarch, the sacred grounds will run out eventually. I do admit that their effect is better than my manual. However, my manual will help us all for all time. So long as our blood survives, the method will not change."
The old woman closed the manual and pondered some more.
"I do admit that you are right. But the sacred grounds are just too precious. You said it yourself, your manual will only help us so long as our blood survives. Generation after generation, finding pure blood among our younger generation becomes harder and harder despite all our efforts." Huang Cixi sensed that a huge demand was going to be made. "I will accept your request if you accept mine. Before you turn 100, you must give us an heir."
This was indeed a huge demand but not that surprising. After all, Huang Cixi had one of the purest blood possible. Preserving the blood essence of the True Fiery Fenghuang was of utmost importance. One way or another, the family would have pressured her into bearing at least one child. And that would be the absolute minimum.
"Matriarch, do you have a father in mind?"
"No, I will let you choose as long as his blood is suited with yours. I do not ask you to marry anyone, just bear one child before you turn 100. And if you find no suitable partner, I will provide one of my own choosing when the time comes. As long as you agree to this, I will allow you in the sacred grounds. In fact, I will even allow you to go back there once you face the tribulation of the Mortal Warrior realm. What say you?"