“The catch is,” Song’s voice was weak, barely above a whisper, but could be heard all the more for that, “some journies, once started, can not be easily ended.”
She glanced at the small metal plate, a symbol of her silent resolution, leaning on the ever-reliable Bao for support. She gathered strength as her gaze fell back on the boy with captivating golden eyes. "How could those who have tasted your strength and drunk deeply of your gifts so easily abandon you? Should we become addicted to you, to your deeper wisdom, and your hidden knowledge? Could we ever willingly leave?”
The other cultivators around them seemed taken aback by Song’s profound insight, their silence affirming the weight of her words.
She laughed weakly. “You would enslave us with kindness and sincerity, and such bonds would be stronger than any a tyrant could ensorcell us with.” Her voice was quiet but firm. The others seemed shocked by her words, or perhaps that she used words at all; she couldn’t tell. They know I would not lie.
“Even so, I would be bound. Only do not abandon us to your enemies. For those that can not hurt you may find us your weakness.”
Kai listened to her plea, his expression unreadable. Song thought she saw a glimpse of distaste and frustration in his face but couldn’t be sure.
“I would not bind you. I’ve given no conditions nor demanded any allegiance. This world, not all are like this,” Kai shook his head. “With every gift being a potential curse and every friendly overture a hidden scheme.” He paused a long time. “Would that I could bind you to protect you from this, but I don’t have that power.”
"Count me in," Bao expressed her agreement with a nod.
Yunfie was quick to chime in, "I'm on board too!"
Ai seemed uncertain, her hesitation prompting Kai's golden eyes to fixate on her. Finally, he broke the silence.
"Regarding my adversaries," Kai addressed the group, shifting the focus. "We will dedicate a few days to perfecting your cultivations. Once we've done that, for safety, you should go ahead. I will furnish you with ample spirit stones to aid in refining your bodies. Once I've settled everything here, I'll catch up and guide you through your first heavenly tribulation. Then you can decide if you wish to proceed."
Song observed Ai closely, watching as she considered Kai's proposition. After a pause, she gave her approval.
"I can commit to that," Ai declared, nodding her assent.
"Excellent," Kai replied, rising to his feet and clasping his hands behind his back. "So, who would like to go first?"
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Kai looked over to Bao and considered the best approach to her issue. The tall, black-haired cultivator, she sat opposite him in a private area he created inside the larger chamber. Cultivators could be strange, not wanting others to know their secrets, so he fashioned a private room and left it to them if they wanted to invite others.
Bao was the first to volunteer and entered alone.
“Do you know what kind of physique you have?” he began. The room’s walls were made of his motes and emulated the rock of the ceiling and floor. Near the high ceiling, motes hovered, illuminating the space.
“We have a story about ancestors possessing a noble bloodline, but such things are considered a myth. Every noble family claims such things; most are just made-up stories.”
“In your case, maybe not. I can see the color of your soul; it’s different than your cultivated energy. Give me a drop of your blood, and I’ll confirm it.”
Bao frowned but did as he asked. A dagger appeared in her hand from nowhere; she pricked her thumb and extracted some blood. Kai took the drop and focused on her genetic markers.
“And no one in your family has any bloodline traits or innate physique?” He did a complete scan of her genome, mapping it for study later.
“We all have a high affinity for various natural energies, but none have an innate physique.”
“Well, you certainly have atypical components. Hard to tell what, though,” Kai templed his fingers over his brow.
He watched her face scrunch up in thought, then clarified like a light going off. She didn’t immediately share her thoughts, but after a moment, she spoke again. “Could a spirit fruit give you an innate physique?”
“A spirit fruit?” Kai’s brow raised. “I doubt a fruit could do this to you, but I’m not an expert on spirit fruits.”
“I’ve heard they can unlock latent bloodlines sometimes,” Bao offered.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“And you ate a spirit fruit?”
“When I was a child, it nearly killed me,” she confessed.
“Do you know what kind?”
Bao shook her head and didn’t share more about it. Kai suspected there was a story there, but she wasn’t ready to tell it if there was.
“Well, in any case, to prevent any problems as you progress, you’ll need to use the precise spiritual energy compatible with your physique.”
“How do I do that?”
“Right, let me explain the process we’ll use here. Your body has seven major meridian junctions where cores can be formed. You should have at least one natural affinity at one of those locations. That will be the location where you will cultivate your primary core. I’ll go one by one and expose those nodes to just a whisper of primordial energy and see if we can’t get a reaction.”
“A reaction?” she frowned.
“The primordial energy may naturally convert if your affinity is strong enough. That’s what I’m hoping.”
“Is it safe?”
“Your existing energy is life-based, right. Does that give you faster healing abilities?”
She nodded.
“Then it should be fine, but there may be some pain.”
Boa settled herself, assuming a meditative posture. While she was preparing, Kai remembered his first encounter with her. He hid behind a column at the Celestial Temple as she and Ai walked by.
His first impression of her was she carried herself like a noble. Her posture was perfect, her face a collection of contours that seemed elevated above the likes of more ordinary women. Her high cheekbones and bright eyes with deep emerald green pools invited life's challenges; she expected she could handle them all. But her personality was different than her initial appearance suggested.
She was lively and eager and spoke with simplicity and sincerity he appreciated. She was a warrior in a refined noble lady's body. You could tell in the strength of her frame and how she moved that she hadn’t been sheltered or protected and had overcome adversity and come out stronger for it.
When she was ready, she nodded again. Kai summoned a wisp of energy, the mildest of his power, directly from his soul tether. The size of a tiny seed, it hovered in front of him.
“We will start in the location of your root core and work our way up,” Kai sent the primordial seed into her lower pelvic region and fixed it in position with his will. It hovered there, idly, doing nothing.
“Does it hurt?” he asked.
“It’s hot and uncomfortable, but it doesn’t hurt.” Her eyes were closed as she spoke. Kai waited a minute before continuing up.
“You’re doing well. I’ll move onto the abdominal core,” Kai monitored her reaction at each node, looking for something. In this way, he went through every core, but it wasn’t until he reached her crown core that he found what he sought.
At the crown of Bao’s head, the golden energy transformed into a deep green. This emerald green energy was cool and rich, like the shadows in a deep forest, and felt like ancient growth. Kai summoned another seed size wisp of his power and added it to the green, converting it as well. He repeated this process until he cultivated enough sense of the energy he could control it.
He pulled the newly created energy from her crown node and had it hover between them.
“Noble Bao, meet the energy of your innate physique,” the green was somehow both radiant and soothing to look upon,
“I feel it. It feels strong, ancient,” Bao opened her eyes. Kai noticed how close her eye color matched the energy.
“That was the hard part. Now we have to replace all your current cultivation with this energy, improve your meridians, and heal the damage we just caused,” Kai explained.
“Oh, is that all?” She smiled. She knew how long it took her to cultivate this much so far.
They got started.
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The inner chamber wall parted, spilling golden light over the three cultivators waiting in the outer chamber. Bao stood at the entrance, leaning against the wall. She stepped forward, stumbled, and caught herself.
Song was there in an instant.
“Are you okay?” she whispered, a touch of anxiety in her voice. She held her friend up as she walked.
“It feels amazing,” she reached for the wall before leaning against it, “he replaced all my energy and widened my meridians. This energy feels much better than what I’m used to.” Bao slid down the wall. “I think I”m going to sleep now.”
Bao closed her eyes, a smile on her face.
Kai stood in the doorway. “Who’s next?”