Kai set the crystal cylinder inside the brass channel, fixing it with locking bands. He stepped back and looked at it. The white glow of Meilin’s signature energy purified everything it touched, leaving every surface flawless.
He needed to expand his laboratory. He’d collected all her successes. He labeled them with specific properties or a number, if nothing else. One sample stood out on the wall of white. The elemental ice energy she’d cultivated early on in her trials. It was the only blue energy sample.
Kai turned to look across the lab tables, reviewing the previous versions of the energy converter. Progressively smaller, each version required less spiritual energy. He returned to the current revision and opened the aperture on the intake, allowing a stream of primordial energy into the channel.
The prismatic golden stream flowed down the channel, entered the conversion chamber, and mixed with the refined energy. The key was adjusting the flow volume and percentage correctly. Too much primordial energy and the initial energy would lose its distinctive qualities and revert to its primordial nature.
That’s how I was able to absorb the tribulation lighting.
Too little energy and the conversion might spread back to the source, causing slowdowns or source contamination. When dialed in correctly, the result was that primordial energy ran through the conversion chamber, transformed into the desired form, and flowed out to be collected. Kai watched the white energy pool into the last crystal container.
He cut the flow when it neared the top and watched the last drain out. Once the source crystal container was unlocked and returned to the empty slot labeled “Meilin’s Energy,” Kai took the latest batch of converted energy and vanished from his lab, appearing with it inside his pagoda’s inner iris. He poured the white energy into the crystal container, finally filling it.
He’d calculated how much he needed to convert his soul tether in real-time and built a conversion chamber as a focal lens, on the inside of the pagoda, right before the inner iris. It was nearly identical to the smaller-scale versions in his lab. He sealed the crystal lens and slotted it into the focal aperture.
After double-checking everything, he rotated the thick-collared conversion lens into the stream. He watched as the energy streamed in prismatic gold and streamed out a purifying white.
He shifted his awareness, appearing in front of Meilin’s body. Breathing shallowly, her body lay atop a stone floor. He’d prepared the surface beforehand by carving channels and recesses for each ritual stage. His microns had completed the work of purifying and rebuilding her organic systems before he restarted her neurological processes and manually directed her life-supporting systems.
Next, he’d cleared her previous cultivation base. A glowing blue recess held the Iceheart Qi he’d utterly emptied from her core and every meridian. Her body refinement was still in place from the work of earlier refinements. She would have to repeat that realm from step one.
“I will establish her at the advanced Qi condensation stage, using the energy she refined.” Kai had relayed every step of the process to her father and Elder Leif, the one extra observer Kai had permitted. The two sat to the side, on a raised dais, and observed without comment, at least none Kai could detect.
Kai learned about Qi after reviewing the first half of his payment. He appreciated brevity.
That wasn’t the only difference between what he’d learned from the Celestial Temple and their understanding of the various stages of cultivation. At first, there seemed to be significant differences, but upon examination, the difference was one of describing the same things differently. The only exception was the Spirit Weapon Formation realm - the Celestial Temple didn’t seem to have that realm, or they hadn’t shared it with him.
He redirected his soul tether, now supplying purifying white energy. To Kai, it felt like a slow-burning fire that burned away every bad and tainted thing, leaving only the purest substances behind. If he had to guess at the underlying concept that animated this Qi, he would say purification.
He knelt near her head and cycled a purifying flame into his hands. The pure white Qi illuminated Meilin’s body, casting long shadows around her. With a thought, it leaped from his hand and entered her mouth. Kai didn’t need to encourage it much. It took to the task of purifying her meridians as though born to it.
The single flame moved through her meridians. Another joined it, and another. Soon a stream of white purifying flame filled her. In this way, Kai fed her a constant supply, filing her meridians. When her meridians filled, he set the Qi to create new meridians, expand the existing ones, and create a network of ever smaller minor meridians.
And with her throat and pelvic core conjunctions, he tested them for the presence of soul sockets, and finding them, further strengthened and reinforced the main surrounding meridians.
Kai watched how the Qi transformed the meridians as it worked through her system. He could see all the minor changes to every meridian's diameter, curvature, length, and path. These modifications aimed to create a system that reduced friction as the energy moved through.
He raised his brow. He might have missed the million subtle changes if he had not been acutely observing the transformation. Now complete, Kai marveled at the precise and perfectly laid meridians and the white energy that seemed contented for now.
He filled three repositories with Meilin’s Qi before cutting the supply and remotely deactivating the conversion lens, returning his soul tether to its normal state.
“It’s time.” Kai stood and moved over to the seated observers.
“To refine this, she has been cultivating many years. Expect disorientation and confusion. All will be well in time.” Kai motioned for them to approach. “The final step, her soul. When she is returned, hold her firm. Do not allow her to move lest my spiritual instruments do undue harm.”
“It will be as you say,” Xiangyu replied, stepping to his sleeping daughter.
Kai nodded, then shifted his awareness to his soul space. His feet touched down on the wood-timbered floor of the cultivation cabin. He pulled his robe about him, noting that it was perfectly white instead of the usual blue. Is that the effect of the purifying energy?
Meiling was waiting for him as he had instructed. She knelt on the deck and looked out over the water for the last time.
“I’ve refined your meridians, advanced your cultivation to the peak of qi condensation, and provided you enough energy to advance. I leave the rest to you,” he greeted her. “Are you ready?”
“I thought I would be,” she looked up. “These years have been peaceful. I feel safe here.”
Kai moved to sit next to her and look out over the world.
“It’s not bad, but no sleep is a real problem. You would eventually go insane here.”
Meiling moved her hair from her face and looked over to Kai.
“You’re here. You’re not insane.”
“I sleep.” Kai laughed. He’d found out the hard way how important sleep was. “I have a theory that integrating one’s inner self can make sleep unnecessary, but I haven’t tried it yet.”
“Inner self?”
“You know, the things you think or desire, but maybe don’t tell anyone else or admit to yourself. Dreams are how those inner aspects express themselves.”
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
“This one will think on such things,” she turned back and bowed her head.
“Your father is waiting,” Kai held his hand, “Shall we go?”
Meiling reached for his hand, pulling back at the last moment before finally laying her hand in his. Kai shifted his awareness, pulling her along with him.
Meilin’s soul found her place, slipping quickly into her body. With that, Kai felt his tensions release. He’d been carrying the anxiety of failure like a heavy load upon his shoulders. He had a high degree of confidence in getting her physical body operating again. One of the benefits of the energy she cultivated before was how it slowed her cellular degeneration after her death. However, he had little experience with souls and had no confidence that the changes to her body would be welcome by the soul.
She opened her eyes and looked around.
“Meilin,” her father calmed her, “stay still for a moment.”
Kai recalled his microns. They retreated into a golden coin before Kai retrieved it. “It is done.”
“Meilin, is it you?” her father released her grip on her shoulders and looked down at her.
Kai pulled back, retreating to the dais, and knelt. His job was complete, and he was exhausted and relieved. Her father had gotten what he wanted and was now judging the quality of the work.
Kai understood he’d lost his leverage. His position was vulnerable. If the patriarch intended him harm, now would be the time he would demonstrate it. So despite the exhaustion, he remained on high alert.
He watched Meilin stand and begin to move. Her father’s tension left him in small measures as the two talked. Elder Leif spent a moment conducting his own exam; he was the clan’s physician and had treated Meilin all her life.
Kai watched the elder shake his head repeatedly throughout the exam. That wasn’t what Kai wanted to see, but he waited and watched. After some moments, the two left Meilin and returned. They requested a private conversation, and seeing no reason to deny them, they retreated, allowing Meilin to cultivate.
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“Well, that wasn’t very productive,” Relay growled. The high-end bestiary didn’t have an extensive collection of beasts to inspect, they had a few familiar beasts, but all expensive spirit beasts had to be ordered. The business relied on their delivery service for less dangerous breeds; they acted as an information broker for more hazardous varieties, allowing cultivators to find and hunt them.
At least they had a book of beasts with pictures and descriptions. He’d managed to capture that information so Kai could review it later. When he asked why they didn’t have a ferrox listed, the look on the clerk's face was priceless. She had to ask her manager, who apologized profusely for the oversight and assured them that a ferrox would be added to the next revision.
Relay was generous with them about his new ‘breed’ so they could get the details correct. Discovering a new kind of spirit beast was a lifetime accomplishment for most beast handlers. He’d casually handed it to them.
“You know you just gave them all the data they need to hunt you with, right?” Bao shook her head. “You told them your elements and your weaknesses. It’s like you’re trying to get killed.”
“Did I?” the golden ferrox laughed.
“You gave them bad information?” Ai pouted. The team had finally agreed to go along with the scheme, but she still didn’t like it.
“A golden fox with dream and illusion affinity,” he laughed. That was about as far from his natural affinity as he could imagine.
They walked back through the city, heading to the Lotus Pavillon. He’d agreed to go with them to sell their ores, so that was next up. He scanned the rooftops and shadowy alleyways, expecting a thief to take the bait.
He was disappointed when they reached the pavilion with no disruption. “Guess it was too much to expect they would make a move in the middle of the day. I’m going to sleep. Wake me if you need me.”
The Lunar Temple cultivators entered the Lotus Pavilion as Relay began work analyzing the compendium of beasts.
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Kai sat in the Blooming Lotus position, alone inside a carved recess cut into the mountain face. The peaceful sound of water pouring down one wall relaxed him. The water pooled beyond the meditation pad and was drained away through sluices cut at just the right height.
After meeting with the patriarch and elder and hearing their proposal, he asked for some time to consider it. He asked for an isolated location he could cultivate without the risk of harming others.
That was an odd request by their looks, but at least they took him seriously. He’d been escorted deep into the mountain to a chamber they used to shelter their disciples during heavenly tribulations. That was perfect because, based on what Kai had planned, he might need it.
He turned his sight on his meridians and cores. After watching the perfecting power of Meilin’s energy, he wondered what the effect might have on his own meridians. He emptied one of his cores, the one below his heart core.
Had he not repeatedly practiced pressing his energy out into this body, he might have been unable to do so. To another cultivator, degrading an advanced core might have looked insane, but Kai had six others.
Once the energy in his core was nearly depleted, he felt it shudder and collapse, the qi losing its liquid quality and becoming gaseous again. The resultant core felt empty and weak. Kai immediately began refilling it, his soul tether supplying a steady stream of purifying white qi.
Ever since his crown and pelvic cores changed colors, he wondered if they would change his energy type, but they hadn’t. The color reflected the nature of the socket, but the energy was still his primordial golden energy. It seemed to him as though they were hinting at how to fully unlock them, but he didn’t know what kind of energy he needed, only the color, which wasn’t enough of a clue to guess the underlying concept.
But now that he had access to another energy type, he could try cultivating a new core and test the interactions of multiple energy types.
He pushed more and more of the purifying qi into his core, rotating it. Once there was more white qi, the golden core began to be slowly refined, the original energy taking on the semblance of the new until it was entirely transformed. With a final push, he felt the white core pulse through his body, a slight tremble compared to an advanced core.
He began experimenting, first by cycling the purifying qi through his meridians. The energy felt like hot tea pouring through him, but it transformed his meridians. The natural variations in his meridians, the changes in diameter, thickness, or the quality of the internal texture that channeled the energy were all refined and perfected.
That was all expected. Now the important experiments could begin. He cycled a small amount of the white and golden energy together. His theory was that certain concepts were compatible while others were not. His golden qi had a certain symmetric quality to it. Beyond its balanced quality, he wasn’t sure what idea animated it. The purifying white flame seemed to have a perfecting quality. The two concepts seemed complementary.
He cycled them together without difficulty. After some time, the warmth faded from his meridians, and the ease of cycling increased. There was a noticeable improvement in the efficiency. He cycled the white energy back to his core.
“Well,” he looked around the room. “There are no manuals for something like this.” A cultivator would have to have two energy types, and even then, would they advance one to the peak core stage before refining with the other? He didn’t think so. He stood and began disrobing. His robe came off, then his armor. When all he wore was the golden necklace, he stepped down into the cold mountain water. The cold water felt refreshing and drove any exhaustion from his mind.
He waded out into the deeper pool and submerged himself. He’d already refined his body twice, once with the energy from his initial core and once with the energy from his advanced core.
Now, with access to this purifying flame, he intended to perfect his body. He idly wondered if anyone had ever tried this before. He shrugged.
Let’s try it and see what happens.