The morning after my meeting with Guildmaster Sinclair. I sat on the roof of Sturm Hill Hall. Leroy, as usual, watched from a distance.
It was another perfect summer day, though it was hot since there wasn’t much of a breeze. As a cultivator, this amount of heat didn’t bother me. It was different for servants, who were all mortal. I had Mrs. Morrish, my housekeeper, make sure that everyone stayed hydrated and took breaks from the heat.
Despite the heat, mist continued to blanket the floor of Gloom Mist Forest. At this point, I didn’t know if it would ever go away. If the summer sun couldn’t burn it away, I wondered if anything could.
House Icefall’s caravan would leave for Rosewood City three days from today. In that time frame I needed to get as strong as possible, so we would have the best chance of success. My body cultivation was coming along well enough, and I had reached the second “realm”, but my best bet to become as strong as possible in the shortest amount of time was through spiritual cultivation.
If I just cultivated like normal, it would take me weeks to reach the second stage of Energy Condensation. Thankfully, I had ways to speed that up.
The four mana cores I received from the Inferno Wolves I killed rested on my lap. They were small red orbs that emitted a faint light, as if they glowed with vitality. In a way, they did. The amount of mana they contained was immense, especially the mana core from the Alpha Inferno Wolf. That one was a little bigger than the others.
I also had the five low-grade mana stones I received when I joined the Adventurers Guild. A part of me felt like it would be a waste to absorb them, since they wouldn’t give me all that much mana, but I didn’t have anything else to use them for. I had no magic items, yet, and I didn’t need them as currency. Coins and merits worked well enough in the Icefall Region.
With the amount of mana contained within the cores and the mana stones, I felt confident in my ability to reach the second small realm of the Energy Condensation stage. Maybe I would even reach the third small realm. Assuming mana cores and mana stone worked for spiritual cultivation. I was sure they did, but I wouldn’t know until I tried.
There was something I needed to keep an eye out for. Consuming mana cores, mana stones, and certain pills would boost my spiritual cultivation. However, they also had minute amounts of impurities in them. Not only did these impurities reduce the effectiveness of these items, but consuming too many at once could lead to an unstable cultivation base. If I wasn’t careful, these instabilities might cause deviations that I would have to take care of in order to progress.
Expelling these impurities from my body wasn’t a problem, as long as I was careful. It was the reduced effectiveness that annoyed me. Thankfully, I knew a trick that could help. All it required was my divine sense and some of my divine energy.
I picked up the Alpha Inferno Wolf mana core. It felt warm to the touch, and my skin tingled. A sweet aroma wafted up from the mana core; one that reminded me of chocolate and flowers.
Without further ado, I popped the mana core into my mouth. It melted when it touched my tongue. Mana flowed into my body, a stream of power. I circulated my cultivation base, and began to absorb this mana. As I did so, I also scanned the mana for impurities. For a regular Energy Condensation cultivator, this would be impossible. For me, a reincarnated Immortal, this was child’s play.
The impurities were microscopic in size. Even with my divine sense, it took a bit of effort to find them. When I did, I burned them away with my divine energy, refining the mana and making it more pure.
As I absorbed the purified mana, the pond of mana in my dantian grew bigger and bigger, as the stream of power fed into it. I felt my cultivation base rise higher and higher. Something inside me started to open up thanks to the influx of mana, and my body grew hotter as well.
It took hours to absorb all the mana. By the time I finished, sweat ran down my body, mixing with the impurities expelled from my mortal flesh. Despite that, I felt exhilarated.
While the Alpha Inferno Wolf mana core didn’t bring me to the second small realm of the Energy Condensation stage, I wasn’t that far off. It would only take one more core for me to break through.
Rather than rest and wash up, I popped the next mana core into my mouth and repeated the process. While the mana core from a regular Inferno Wolf wasn’t that much, it was more than enough. I broke through to the second realm, and felt an influx of power. It wasn’t as dramatic as when I formed my dantian or when I repaired my First Circle, but it was still a step forward.
By the time I finished, sweat drenched me and impurities coated me. Steam rose from my body. I must have looked like quite the sight. The sun hung high in the sky. It was noon. Lunchtime.
For a moment, I considered whether or not to take a break. When that moment passed, I shrugged and popped the next mana core into my mouth. Since I had already started, I might as well go all the way. There wasn’t any point in dilly-dallying.
Mana once again flowed into my body. By the time I finished with all the mana cores and the mana stones, I was about two-thirds of the way to the third small realm of the Energy Condensation stage.
Not a bad start.
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In the days leading up to the caravan’s departure, I spent most of my time either cultivating to build up my strength, or experimenting with the inks I purchased from the Adventurers Guild. It took a little while to figure out how to use them for my purposes, but when I did, they worked out beautifully.
The Ghostfire Ink in particular surprised me. I knew it was used in magic circles designed to seal spirits, but it also proved useful for my purposes. The seal I had in mind, the Hidden Lamp Seal, worked by hiding one’s cultivation base. Cultivators used it to look weaker than they actually were, or even to appear mortal.
I wanted to use it to hide my cultivation base, while revealing my First Circle. That way, when other wizards glanced at my aura, they would just notice that I had Circles of magic.
At least, that was the idea.
The trouble wasn’t in hiding my cultivation base. The Ghostfire Ink worked well for that. The trouble was that using this particular seal hid both my cultivation base and my Circles. Since I had already revealed my First Circle, hiding it again would just arouse more suspicion.
I had already attracted too much attention with my actions, though that couldn’t be helped. There was no need to invite even more trouble.
That meant I had to adjust the Hidden Lamp Seal so that it just hid my cultivation base. It took me two bottles of the Ghostfire Ink, and numerous tests, before I got it right. Leroy was a great help in this, since it was difficult for me to determine what my aura looked like from my side of things.
In the end, I drew the modified Hidden Lamp Seal over my dantian region with the Ghostfire Ink, which then sank into my skin. It looked like a tattoo. As long as I didn’t go shirtless, no one would see it.
There were two downsides to using the Ghostfire Ink for the Hidden Lamp Seal. The first was that it wouldn’t last long. A month at most. Not because the Ghostfire Ink wasn’t suited to this kind of thing, but because I was too weak. That was why I wanted the Spiritblood Ink, to make up for my low cultivation base.
The second downside was that while the seal hid my cultivation base from wizards at the Third Circle or below, it wouldn’t do much against wizards of the Fourth Circle and above. Their spirit sense was too developed. Again, this wasn’t the ink’s fault, it was mine.
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Once I grew stronger, both of these problems would go away. For now, I needed to get my hands on some Spiritblood Ink.
I also spent the days leading up to the caravan’s departure to work on a particular kind of magic item I hadn’t given much thought before.
Talismans.
Talismans were limited use magic items created by inscribing magic symbols on special paper using magic ink. There were all kinds of talismans, too numerous to count, and using them could increase one’s versatility.
I once knew a cultivator who used nothing but talismans, and even used them as an integral part of his cultivation. Unfortunately, he died before he could achieve immortality. His legacy lived on, however, in the sect he founded. What was it called again? The Myriad Talisman Sect? I think that was it.
Beforehand, I had lumped talismans in with other magical items, in that I needed to learn more about how magical crafting worked in Lumina before I could make anything. However, when I went to purchase the inks from the Adventurers Guild, it occurred to me that talismans weren’t really a thing on Lumina.
There were plenty of magic items, magic circles, and even constructs that used paper and ink. But no one used talismans, at least not as I thought of them. Since that was the case, I figured I’d just buy some Mana Ink to see if I couldn’t use it to make talismans.
Mana Ink was the cheapest and most common kind of magic ink. It was versatile, making it useful for almost everything, but it wasn’t particularly good at any one thing. That made it perfect for experimenting with talismans.
And it was perfect. I just made some strips of talisman paper, drew the right symbols on them, and imbued them with my mana. That was it. The talismans I created worked as intended. There was no need to make adjustments or for further experimentation. I could just use Mana Ink to create talismans without any problem.
It was so easy that I berated myself for not trying it earlier. For some reason, I thought it would be more difficult. That made me wonder if learning magical crafting wouldn’t be as complicated as I made it out to be. As long as I knew the properties of the materials involved, I should be fine.
That said, the talismans I made with Mana Ink weren’t that powerful. Part of it was the ink itself. Mana Ink was weak, as far as these things went, which was part of the reason why it was so cheap and common. Part of it was me. Again, my cultivation base was too low. I also didn’t specialize in talismans. Part of it was the paper. I didn’t have access to special paper, so I used whatever I had on hand.
That said, the talismans made this way were decent. If nothing else, they were useful to me while I was in the Energy Condensation stage. Once I went beyond that, or when I restored my Second Circle, I would need to find better materials to work with.
In preparation for the upcoming trip, I made several different kinds of talismans.
I experimented with Ghostfire Ink to create a few talismans. As to be expected, it was useful in making sealing-type talismans. That was it. All attempts to create other kinds of talismans failed.
That said, since Ghostfire Ink was more powerful than Mana Ink, the sealing-type talismans I made with them were more powerful as a result.
Hmm, I needed a name for them. Ghostfire Sealing Talismans? That worked.
Anyway, I could use a Ghostfire Sealing Talisman to lock down a being’s ability to use mana. Against wizards, spirits, and magic creatures, this was invaluable. How long the seal lasted depended on how powerful my opponent was. Against a being on the same level, it could last for at least a minute. In a fight, a minute without being able to use mana was forever.
The Ghostfire Sealing Talismans were less effective against opponents more powerful than me. I tried one out against Leroy, and the seal only lasted for a second. Still, a second could change everything in a fight. In the end, I made six Ghostfire Sealing Talismans. I gave half to Leroy, after I showed him how to use them, and kept the other three for myself.
I did spend some time instructing Leroy on cultivation, and answering any questions he had, especially after I caught him studying the wooden dummy I had cut in half. Ever since he saw the benefits that came with spiritual cultivation, he took to it with even more enthusiasm. He reminded me a little of the disciples I taught back on Spirit Earth, when Celestial Thunder was still mortal.
While it would take Leroy some time to form his dantian and reach the first realm of the Energy Condensation stage, I estimated that it wouldn’t take him more than a month and a half. Since he was a Second Circle wizard, his mana control was superb compared to most beginner cultivators.
As for body cultivation, he decided to wait until he formed his dantian before giving it a try. I didn’t blame him. Spirit energy body cultivation, or mana body cultivation rather, required large amounts of mana and having his own internal supply would help him with that.
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There was one thing that occurred during those three days that caught me off guard. The day before the caravan was set to depart, a courier arrived at Sturm Hill Hall bearing letters from my parents. At first I panicked, afraid that my parents had caught on to what I had been doing, and had summoned me back to Sturm Manor.
Leroy agreed to keep my secrets, but he still sent reports about me back to my parents. I still didn’t know if he used a communication crystal or relied on messengers for these reports. Regardless, even if he kept my cultivation and reincarnation a secret, the contents of his reports might have worried my parents, depending on what he told them.
However, my worries were unfounded. The letters were simply my parents reaching out and keeping in touch with me. When I read them, I immediately felt like a complete asshole. I had been so busy with adventuring, cultivation, and everything else, that I hadn’t considered keeping in touch with my family. Shame burned in my gut at how unfilial I had been.
The letters were a reminder that despite what I had done, my parents still loved me and were concerned for me. And how had I repaid that love and concern? By lying to my parents, keeping secrets from them, and ignoring them until now.
After I received the letters, I dropped everything to go read them in my quarters.
The letter from my father was short and to the point. In summary, he hoped that I was doing well, and that I was using the time I spent in Sturm Hill Hall to reflect on my actions. There was nothing about him, my mother, or how everyone else was doing. Despite the letter’s curt nature, I could feel my father’s love and worry in his words.
The letter from my mother was longer and more detailed. She told me about how she and my father were doing, as well as the rest of the family. Her words worried me. While she tried to downplay it, reading between the lines, I knew that my family still suffered because of my actions.
I had shamed the family, and several people had cut ties with us. Not everyone, thank the ancestors for that, but enough that it would be a while before we recovered from this. If we ever did.
My sister, Kaylee, suffered in particular. All her friends had abandoned her, turning her into a social pariah like me. There was one bright spot, however. According to my mother, Kaylee had made a new friend from a powerful House, though she didn’t tell me who this friend was. Regardless, I was grateful that someone had stood by my sister during all this when I couldn’t. I would have to thank whoever it was.
There wasn’t a letter from Kaylee. That hit me like a punch in the gut, though I knew I deserved it. It wasn’t like I had sent her a letter either. Despite the way we parted, and her lack of communication so far, Kaylee and I were close. Rather, we had been. I didn’t know what we were now.
That was one of the few things I liked about myself as Lord Gabriel. I had been an arrogant ass who deserved a beating, but I loved my parents and doted on Kaylee and Roland. Before the duel with the Otherworlder, Kaylee and I were as thick as thieves. She had also looked up to me, and I had worked hard to live up to her expectations.
I figured that was why Kaylee had been upset with me, and still was by the looks of , after what happened. When the people we looked up to disappointed us, it hurt all the more. It would be a long while before Kaylee forgave me. Even when she did, things would be different between us. I hoped it ended up being for the better.
Reading these letters reminded me of why I was in the Icefall Region in the first place. Yes, it was for my cultivation. I wouldn’t deny that. However, it was also to help restore my family’s fortunes. I fucked up, and I needed to fix that fuck up. Cultivation was the key to this. I just needed to convince my parents of that.
That didn’t stop me from longing for home. I missed my family. I missed my father and his strong presence. I missed my mother, and her warmth. I missed my siblings. My longing was so intense, it bordered on pain.
Heh. Some reincarnated Immortal I was, yearning for the comforts of home like a child. Yet, in the end, even Immortals were still human. That fundamental part of my nature hadn’t changed. If the people I knew back on Spirit Earth could see me now, they would be flabbergasted.
As Celestial Thunder, I had always been a cold and distant figure. I only let a select few people get close to me. One was my former best friend, the one who stabbed me in the back. May he rot in hell.
Another was my foster daughter, Flameclaw. I hoped she was doing well. I don’t know how much time had passed since I died as Immortal Celestial Thunder, but given that she was a spirit beast, I figured she was still alive.
I hoped she was still alive.
After reading each of the letters a few times, I sat down to write a few letters of my own. One for each member of my family, even Roland. He couldn’t read yet, but someone could read it out to him. Imagining his reaction put a smile on my face.
That was how I spent the rest of the night.