Xu Long was pulled out of his cultivation when he felt the first rays of the sun shining on him, he didn’t feel Xu Xing on his lap as he normally would have well before the sun had actually broached the horizon.
“I guess I am still in trouble.” Getting up with a sigh, Xu Long scanned the area and found his furry companion at the very top of the tree that they had spent the rest of the night in, so he climbed up gingerly to join her. By the time that Xu Long was a couple of meters below Xu Xing he could no longer find branches that would support his weight so he stopped where he was and used the function of the blindfold so that he could scout out their surroundings.
“So…spotted anything yet?”
Looking up at Xu Xing he was expecting to be ignored, but she looked at him for a second then looked out to the southwest and yipped. Xu Long smiled, it appeared he had been forgiven, he then looked in the direction she indicated and saw that there was quite a large lake at the edge of the horizon. Judging by the height of the tree they were perched in it would probably take them most of the day to reach it.
“Given the distance and the fact that we almost certainly don’t want to be swimming in an unknown lake at night time we better make haste.”
Xu Long held out his hand for his companion and looked up at her, she clearly agreed, because she jumped into his hand immediately. He placed her into the front of his robe and then took one last look at his destination while scanning the nearby trees so he could orient himself in the right direction when he was on the ground before he turned the function of his blindfold off and made his way down.
Orienting himself to travel southwest as opposed to west was trivial and the lake was large enough that they weren’t going to miss it as long as he held a good line. In the end they made excellent time and arrived at the shore of the lake around midafternoon. Xu Long stood on the shore feeling the placid movements of the qi in the lake, it was very soothing and meditative just to watch it flow. His calm was short lived however, as his companion quickly squirmed out of his robes and trotted over to the water.
Smiling, Xu Long shook his head and then started to disrobe, he even decided to take his blindfold off and have a proper break for the rest of the afternoon. After his eyes had adjusted to the sun he took in the entirety of the lake, it was stunningly beautiful, the water was a clear turquoise and it lapped onto a sandy little beach that they had come upon. He looked over the lake trying to see the other shore, but he couldn’t make it out from ground height, so he looked to his left and right trying to figure out if the lake was fed from a river that ran through the forest or if there was a waterfall that ran down the wall of the Great Plateau, once again the lake was far too big for him to get any definitive answer.
As he was reveling in this temporary reprieve from the blindfold, Xu Long was contemplating whether they could head around the lake to the south in the hope that this lake was fed from there, it would be great to see the wall of the Great Plateau, and a waterfall that could feed this lake would certainly be a nice bonus. But the more he thought about it the more he knew that he couldn’t do it, he had already come more south than he should have to visit this lake, any further south and the whole point of this journey would become moot. He needed to head north again. It was amazing just how much being blindfolded so often and for such great stretches of time affected him, on the one hand it really made him appreciate scenic vistas like this lake, but it also meant that when he gave himself time without the blindfold it really eroded his will to keep pushing himself, how close he had come just now to heading south away from the spirit beasts of the forest just to find more scenic views.
Xu Long stood there contemplating the seemingly small dilemma that he just experienced and how it represented and was indicative of just how easy it was to stray from one's path, small moments like that which could add up over time felt much more dangerous to him than earth shaking events and momentous decisions. Maybe he was being too hard on himself, but this was the very start of his journey of cultivation, his first month even, this felt like a decision that could set the tone for his future cultivation and he wanted his choice to reflect his will to strive forward not his desire to look at beautiful scenery and satiate his curiosity, there would be time enough for that.
As he thought about all these heady concepts and finally came to his decision, it only solidified his will to grow stronger. He looked forward to the day that he felt he had extracted everything he could from wearing the blindfold for his swordsmanship, he imagined that by that time he would not have to worry about the Zhao Clan, if the look he saw in his mother’s eyes when she said she would deal with them was anything to go by. On that day he could remove his blindfold for good and behold all the beauty that the world had to offer at his own leisure, now though, he had work to do.
Xu Long’s daydreaming was cut short by the yip he received from the happily swimming Xu Xing, he snapped out of it and realized that he had just been standing on the shore naked, looking out over the scenery. He picked up his clothes and blindfold and walked with them into the lake, sure, they had his mothers fancy self cleaning formations on them which would certainly get the job done, in time, but he decided it better to help them along. He was scrubbing himself in the lake anyway since he didn’t have a self cleaning function, though he did get the impression from the fact that he never saw or even heard of Old Wu or his mother bathing that such a thing was possible with higher realms of cultivation.
The two of them were finished scrubbing themselves and Xu Long’s clothes after the first half an hour but they stayed in the water for a solid couple of hours. The rest and respite was certainly welcome after the monotony of the previous week followed by their brush with death the night before. As they both lay on a relatively flat rock, soaking up the last rays of the sun that would be below the tree line in an hour or so, Xu Long had to coax himself out of this tranquil moment lest he never want to get back up again. He groaned as he forced himself up and put on his pants and robe, when he was going to put on his blindfold he noticed Xu Xing looking at him incredulously for disturbing the moment they were just having.
“Sorry Xiao Xing, but we need to get moving again.”
He placed his blindfold back over his eyes, his will set, and determination radiated out of his very being. Xu Xing must have felt something of his mood and she jumped into his outstretched hand without a ounce of protest, after Xu Long had placed her in the front of his robes, he materialized his sword from his bracelet and reattached it to his hip before he set off to the north following the shore of the lake, eager to continue his journey and face what the forest threw at him.
Just as he was about to take off, he felt something off to his left, and given Old Wu’s assurances when he set out on this journey it could only be one thing. He turned his head in the general direction that he felt the anomaly.
“What are you doing here old man?”
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He heard a slight chuckle. “You are getting better kid, it used to take quite a bit more before you picked up on my presence.”
Old Wu then walked out of the forest that skirted the lake shore and came before the pair of traveling companions. After looking them over for a second, he sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger.
“Truth be told, I am at a bit of a loss with you kid. Taking out the Earth Boar so easily was one thing, then you walked right into the middle of the domain of a Vine Bear and demolished it with little effort, but last night’s ridiculousness was the sign that it was time to call it a day. This journey was supposed to push you and test your metal against impossible, or at the very least difficult odds, but I cannot in good conscience pit you against anything in this forest stronger than a Shadow Cat with your level of cultivation and the training you have received.
“So congratulations kid, you have passed your forest survival training.”
Xu Long froze for a second in confusion. “Just like that? It has barely been a week…Hang on, you sent those spirit beasts after me?”
That question seemed to cheer Old Wu up, he was a little frustrated at how easily Xu Long had excelled in his forest survival training course, that he may or may not have been regretting hyping up too much to the kid. He laughed boisterously.
“You didn’t think it strange that each spirit beast you encountered was progressively stronger than the last?”
As soon as he heard Old Wu’s answer he was kicking himself, it was as clear as day, if the old man had the ability to ensure that he didn’t run into any other cultivators, then selecting and setting up his spirit beast encounters was trivial. Not to mention how obvious the progression of spirit beasts was now that it had been pointed out to him.
Feeling more than a little embarrassed, Xu Long decided to put the blame on his real nemesis during this journey. “Clearly the persistent stomach pains have clouded my thoughts.”
Old Wu laughed at that one. “Sure, kid. Let’s go with that.”
Wanting very much to change the subject, Xu Long asked. “So what now?”
Old Wu just shrugged. “That is up to you kid, you can head to Tianyun City at your own speed and I will just accompany you rather than hiding my presence and watching from afar, or I can just take you straight to Tianyun City now and you can spend the rest of the two months until enrollment checking out the city and cultivating at an inn that I frequent.”
That was a pretty easy choice to make but he wanted to check on something first. “How long do you think it will take us to reach Tianyun City at my speed?”
“Without the cautiousness you were displaying, not unwarranted when you are traversing a place like the Endless Forest alone, probably about a month.”
Xu Long smiled. “Let’s do that then, I’d prefer to get there on my own two feet, plus I’d like to see more of the forest, not to mention that still leaves me enough time to check out the city when we arrive.”
“Good choice, kid. So do you want to see the falls that you were about to deny yourself in your relentless pursuit of progress?”
Looking at the old man incredulously. “Do you want to explain to me how you do that in a way that would make me believe that you can’t actually read my mind?”
Old Wu laughed and gave a heavy pat to Xu Long’s back. “Relax kid, your mind is your own, there is no such thing as mind readers, however…hmm how should I put this…at my realm of cultivation there are things about a person that become as easy to read as facial expressions, which by the way are comically easy for someone like myself to read as well. The particular one that most helps in allowing us to read cultivators of the lower realms, and mortals obviously, is your emotions that radiate out from your spirit unconsciously. Couple that with the fact that I have known you since you were six years old and am very familiar with both the way you think and any infinitesimal body or facial tics that you may or may not possess.”
“Thanks…that was both comforting and terrifying in equal measure.”
“Don’t mention it, kid. Happy to help. Also you should know I wasn’t criticizing your choice, there is a reason that I only appeared to you once it became clear that you were headed north. Just because there was actually nothing for you to gain by continuing your journey as you were doesn’t make your choice any less impactful, you had no way of knowing that, always remember your will is foundational to absolutely everything to do with cultivation.
“Anyway, enough about all that, let’s get on our way.”
The following month of travel through the shallow raches of the Endless Forest were both leisurely and fascinating. Xu Long’s hunger pains dissipated at around the two week mark, as Old Wu said they would, which lifted quite the malaise from his general demeanor and allowed him to enjoy the following weeks far more. They made excellent time whilst also stopping at various scenic locations of Old Wu’s choosing, this was mainly facilitated by Old Wu helping Xu Long improve his qi usage efficiency which greatly aided with his ability to maintain higher speeds during long distance running. Not to mention the fact that Xu Long could concentrate on things like qi efficiency and keeping a solid pace because he wasn’t on high alert for spirit beasts and keeping constant track of the sun and moss on the trees while blindfolded. They would also generally keep on the move until the stars were well and truly out and Xu Xing could comfortably cultivate, then they would get on the move again in the early pre-dawn when the stars started to wain.
The traveling at far better speeds and far more leisurely with the occasional stops to take in scenic vistas and natural wonders was enjoyable, sure, but the part that Xu Long enjoyed the most was their daily sparring, they obviously couldn’t spar for hours on end like usual, but a few hours each night was more than enough to satiate Xu Long, who had been without his favorite past time basically since he started cultivating.
As they started to approach closer to Tianyun City, Old Wu diverted their course to the south, directly to the wall of the Great Plateau. When the wall came into view he informed Xu Long so that he could activate his blindfold to have a look, Xu Long was shocked, but he would later realize that his shock was premature as it would become clear just how far away they were when it first came into view.
After they had traveled another half a day they finally made it to the base of the wall. When Xu Long activated his blindfold to have a look he was surprised at just how dark it was in the shadow of the behemoth cliff face, his surprise was soon forgotten though as he looked up at the near vertical span of rock in front of him that appeared to stretch up into the heavens, he was in awe, it was breathtakingly monumental.
“Pretty spectacular, right?”
Xu Long, who couldn’t keep his eyes off the spectacle in front of him, nodded in acknowledgement. “Words hardly do it justice, I can see why it is named the Great Plateau.”
Old Wu smiled at him and then placed a hand on his shoulder. “Are you ready kid?”
Xu Long finally tore his attention away from the cliff face in front of him and looked towards Old Wu and nodded. While the method of transport was the same one that he was very familiar with, the process seemed quite a bit faster, and Xu Long realized that previously Old Wu had slowed it down so that he could get a better understanding of what was happening, in fact this speeded up version was very likely to also be slowed down compared to what the old man is capable of. Regardless, Xu Long felt himself enveloped with what he now associated as lightning qi and subsequently found himself hurtling through the air as they traveled straight up the cliff face. The whole thing was over before he could blink, the next thing Xu Long knew he could hear Old Wu saying.
“Welcome to the Great Plateau, kid.”