Yip Jia was shocked. Her big brother looked like a shadow of his former self. Even back then, he had been weak and skinny, and she had known he was sick, but he had always been bigger than her, larger than life.
When she had peaked out from behind her parents to surprise him, she had expected that same big brother, with those same curious eyes so filled with life and wisdom. What she had seen instead challenged her preconceptions. Her big brother was now smaller than her, his skin a sickly white, a hunch to his thin bony shoulders that made it seem as though he was struggling to stand. His robes fell around him in a way that accentuated his thinness, his eyes gaunt and filled with a weariness that didn't seem so filled with life or curiosity anymore. When he had seen her, his reaction had seemed so sluggish, so effortful, as if his soul was trying to snap out of a slumber to be that some big brother she had once known. But something had immediately tried to drag him back into its hopeless, dreary depths. She had quickly moved forward to embrace him to hide her tears. A sense of loss pervaded her being. Perhaps there was a cure for this disease in the immortal city?
Her mother interrupted her thoughts.
"So tell me, is the great celestial city as wondrous as they say?" inquired Yip Bai, the matriarch of the Yip family, her voice laced with anticipation. The carriage rattled along towards their destination, bouncing over uneven terrain, as everyone leaned in closer to catch every word. Entrance to the city was a privilege reserved for cultivators alone, and as mere mortals, they had only heard tales of its grandeur. Only the Yip family patriarch had glimpsed the distant spires during his travels to trade in neighbouring villages.
Fighting the urge to continue staring at the shell of her older brother, she replied. "It defies all explanation. It is a marvel that must be seen to be believed," Yip Jia began, her voice innately carrying a sense of awe that captivated her audience.
Yip Chor's eyes widened, his heart quickening with each word that flowed from Yip Jia's lips. Amidst the rickety ruckus of the carriage, he strained to absorb every detail, hungering for a taste of the mystique surrounding the celestial city.
"In the city, every road is paved with smooth cobbled stones, and the buildings rise so high that they seem to defy gravity. In our humble village, we only have two houses that surpass two stories, but the tallest spire in the celestial city reaches unimaginable heights, stretching into the heavens! The city spans a vast expanse, so wide that it would take a mortal ten days to traverse from one end to the other. At its widest point, it sprawls across approximately 500 miles!" Yip Jia paused to take a breath, her eyes searching, wide with enthusiasm as she tried to communicate the scale of the world she had seen to her mortal family.
"The walled city is not all buildings though, it is actually an intricate tapestry of quarters, schools, residences and temples scattered amidst sprawling landscapes of rolling hills, verdant valleys, and lush forests," Yip Jia described, her words painting vivid images in the minds of her family.
"Wondrous indeed! The sheer scale of the city challenges the mind," Yip Jia's mother marvelled, her eyes reflecting a vastness she could only imagine.
"Yes, but for an immortal cultivator, the distance that spans the city can be crossed with great swiftness," Yip Jia revealed, her voice tinged with a hint of reverence.
"How quickly can they traverse such distances? Please, tell us more about the strength of these cultivators. Are the myths true? Can they leap over city walls and run as swiftly as the green falcon? Can a single punch from their mightiest warriors shatter a granite pillar? Can they... can they smash a city with a single palm!?!" Yip Chor interjected eagerly, his words slurring together as his weak tongue attempted to communicate his curiosity as it suddenly caught alight.
The world of immortal cultivators had ensnared Yip Chor's imagination from an early age. Countless hours were spent devouring information about these enigmatic and powerful beings. Despite most tales he stumbled on seeming steeped in exaggeration, they stretched the limits of his imagination. One account even spoke of a cultivator obliterating an entire city with a single palm strike, a notion he found preposterous—a palm was small, while a city was vast; how could one hand demolish such grandeur? Perhaps through multiple slaps over millennia?
Yip Jia was initially taken aback at the sudden curious, infectious energy that burst into the carriage. Experiencing it again after all these years, coming from her brother gave it a new context. It felt like the kind of manic and wild curiosity that you would never deny an answer to, on pain of death. It would be sated, or the world would be destroyed.
She remembered his favourite book and knew exactly what he was thinking. After all, before they had parted, he had requested that she bring back an answer to this particular piece of information. Indeed, his soul had not changed at all. "You are thinking about that book you would read to us... 'I Shall Steal the Heavens,' correct? While city-destroying palms and arrows that obliterate armies are truly fantastical, I have indeed witnessed extraordinary feats. Most of the disciples of my sect can employ the energy in their palms to immobilise an opponent without physical contact. I once saw a senior elder harness their chi to manipulate fire, controlling it with precision during a duel. I myself have honed my breathing techniques to influence the chi within me, granting me an otherworldly lightness. While leaping over a city wall remains beyond my capabilities, I can effortlessly soar over the gate of our courtyard with ease."
"Little Sister, you possess remarkable talents!" Yip Chor exclaimed, his words infused with genuine admiration. His mother, father, and grandfather joined in, their voices resonating with respect.
"These abilities are not uncommon in Qilin," Yip Jia modestly replied, her gaze filled with a hint of pride. "Yet what truly astonishes me is a tale I heard of an ancient Ancestor who transcended the limits of our mortal world, harnessing energy to hover in the air!"
Yip Chor's mouth fell agape, his gaunt eyes widening in awe. The concept of a human defying gravity and taking flight seemed utterly fantastical and unbelievable. It was here that the Yip patriarch nodded sagely, recalling seeing this unbelievable sight during his youth.
"Yes, this is true. In my younger days, while selling goods in the northern village, I once glimpsed a tiny man floating in the air, traversing great distances with ease. It would indeed not be far-fetched for such a cultivator to soar across the vast breadth of Qilin city in a matter of hours," the Yip patriarch confirmed, his words carrying the weight of personal experience.
"Indeed, I have heard similar accounts from my peers," Yip Jia chimed in, her eyes shimmering with excitement. "Moreover, the celestial city harbours treasures that enable even swifter travel. One particular senior elder refined a remarkable Dao treasure known as the Door of Voyage. Resembling an ordinary door, it hovers in the air when one stands upon it, whisking them away to their destination in an astonishingly brief period."
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"Tell us more about these treasures, Little Sister Jia!" Yip Chor implored, his enthusiasm barely contained. The nervousness that had plagued him earlier in the day had been replaced by an insatiable thirst for knowledge. "Have you brought any treasures to share with us??"
Yip Jia bashfully smiled, her eyes glimmering with a mixture of delight and regret. "Forgive me, Big Brother Chor, in the world of cultivation, each cultivator holds a single Dao treasure close to our hearts and is intricately tied to our journeys. I am still in the Qi Condensation stage, so I have yet to refine my personal Dao treasure..."
"What is Qi Condensation? What are the levels? How do you become an immortal?!?", Yip Chor's wild curiosity burst forth again interrupting his sister mid-speech and earning him glares from his elders. His sister did not mind, however, in response, she answered.
"Qi Condensation is the first stage of an immortals cultivation journey. It involves using certain mantras and movements to channel the chi energy that exists in all living creatures through one's meridians. Using the natural energy of heaven and earth, a cultivator then brings as much Chi together as possible into their Dantian, where an inner sea is formed. Once the sea is formed, the cultivator moves to the next stage of their cultivation -- the Treasure manifestation stage. In this stage, the cultivator can begin refining their Dao treasure. At the peak of cultivation stand the Treasure Lords. These are the ruling class of the celestial city. They are cultivators who have refined a Dao treasure to evolve. I'm not so clear on how powerful they are though... they are usually in seclusion. In my sect, the sect of the Water Phoenix, we have three Treasure Lords, such is our strength!!!"
Yip Chor nodded thoughtfully in admiration, his understanding deepening. While the intricacies of the cultivation world remained somewhat elusive, he grasped the fundamental concepts. His attention then turned to another pressing matter—the fate of his brothers within the celestial city.
"What about Lixin and Quinfan? How do they fare? Are they also members of the Sect of the Water Phoenix?" Yip Bin, Yip Chor's father, gently inquired. The last seven years had passed without news of his sons, ever since they successfully passed the entrance examination and embarked on their journey to the celestial city.
A fleeting shadow crossed Yip Jia's face before she mustered a smile, masking the deeper emotions within. "Lixin and Quinfan have ventured down a different path. They belong to a small sect known as the Rising Sun. Their cultivation path not only focuses on refining treasures but also on refining their bodies as treasures themselves. While other sects, such as the Sect of the Burning Body and the Battling Dragons also engage in refining the body as a treasure, the Rising Sun sect sets itself apart by dedicating time to mastering external treasure refinement and body refinement together. Refining two Dao treasures must not be underestimated! A Treasure Lord reaches that stage after countless years and as a result of refining their single Dao treasure to evolve. A body cultivator Treasure Lord arrives at that stage by refining their body to evolve. To refine the body as a treasure AND an external treasure as well is just greedy!
"Training two Treasures simultaneously? Surely, such a pursuit is detrimental to their future!" the Yip patriarch interjected with genuine concern etched across his face.
"Papa, you are correct in your worries. When we initially joined our respective schools, I was accepted into the most prestigious external chi cultivation sect in Qilin, while Lixin and Quinfan were admitted to the Rising Sun sect—a middling sect, I believed at the time. I couldn't help but feel sorry that they hadn't been accepted into my school or the esteemed Battling Dragons, which focuses on body cultivation. However, my concerns were unfounded. In the recent Battling Games, a competition gathering the finest disciples from each sect, Lixin and Quinfan emerged victorious in every aspect, their names and the glory of the Rising Sun sect soaring ever higher," Yip Jia revealed, her voice filled with a mixture of pride and latent shock. No one in Qilin had an explanation for how they were so successful, her brothers were an enigma, even to her elders.
"Are you implying that my sons are the most powerful cultivators of their generation in the celestial city?" Yip Bin burst out with unrestrained excitement, the anticipation palpable as the rest of the family leaned forward, eagerly awaiting Yip Jia's response.
"Yes, they stand as the peak of power among Qilin's younger generation. Before I departed the city, I heard rumours that they had triumphed over the first disciple of my sect," Yip Jia conveyed, withholding the grim details of that battle as she grappled with the violence and transformations that had taken hold of her younger brothers.
The atmosphere crackled with anticipation, and the significance of Yip Chor's brothers' accomplishments sank in. The celestial city housed the most formidable cultivators, yet Lixin and Quinfan had ascended to the pinnacle of their generation. The implications of their prowess resonated deeply, igniting sparks of inspiration and awe within Yip Chor's soul.
Yip Chor, his eyes shining with a newfound fervour, couldn't contain his excitement any longer. "Sister Jia, what was it like to witness the Battling Games? Did you see Lixin and Quinfan in action? Were their opponents truly formidable?"
Yip Jia's smile widened, her eyes glimmering with memories of the electrifying battles. "Oh, Big Brother Chor, the Battling Games was a spectacle unlike any other. The air crackled with anticipation as disciples from various sects clashed in fierce combat. I watched with bated breath as Lixin's fists moved like lightning, his strikes precise and devastating. His opponents couldn't withstand the sheer force of his attacks. He is truly a master of body cultivation."
"Wow, that's incredible!" Yip Chor exclaimed, a mixture of awe and pride filling his voice. "And what about Quinfan? How did he fare?"
A hint of admiration laced Yip Jia's words as she spoke of her younger brother's performance. "Quinfan's battle style was as chaotic as a raging bull but as accurate as an arrow. His control over his chi is truly remarkable. I believe in this aspect, he surpasses me. I witnessed him manipulate his chi without the amplification of a treasure, bending whatever element was thrown at him... fire, water, air, earth... it didn't matter, he bent them to his will and forced each of his opponents to surrender within the first few blows. No one understood how he did it..." Yip Jia trailed off as the shock of her brother's genius shook her to the core, as it did the entire battling games.
Yip Jia recalled how embarrassed the disciples of her Sect of the Water Pheonix were when their distinctive method of controlling water was surpassed by the strength of Quinfan's execution.
Yip Bai, their mother, interjected with a mixture of joy and concern. "My dear sons, to think you have surpassed everyone to reach the peak. I couldn't be prouder, but I worry about the dangers you all face daily. Are the celestial city and these battles not fraught with danger?"
Yip Jia's expression softened, a touch of somberness entering her gaze. "Mother, you are right to be concerned. The celestial city is a realm of both glory and danger. These battles are not without risks, and one must always be vigilant. But it is precisely through these trials that cultivators forge their strength and resilience. It is a path we have chosen, one that tests our limits and shapes our destinies."
Yip Chor's curiosity got the better of him as he leaned closer, his voice laced with a mix of intrigue and trepidation. "Sister Jia, have you ever faced life-threatening situations in your cultivation journey?"
A fleeting shadow crossed Yip Jia's features, a reminder of the perils she had encountered. She took a moment to collect her thoughts before responding, her voice steady but tinged with the weight of experience. "Yes, Big Brother Chor, I have faced my share of life-threatening moments. The cultivation path is not without its trials and sacrifices. There were battles where victory seemed uncertain, where the line between life and death blurred. But it is during those moments of adversity that one discovers their true strength and resolve. It is a path of growth, but it demands unwavering determination." Yip Jia spoke this with a double meaning, and Yip Chor picked up on it. She was trying to inspire him. Warmth filled his heart.
The carriage rattled on, but the conversation within carried an air of wonder. The celestial city beckoned with its vastness and mysteries, and the tales of Yip Jia and the Yip Twins had ignited a fire of inadequacy but also curiosity within Yip Chor's heart. That old desire to embark on a cultivation journey of his own burned brighter than ever before, mingling with a profound respect for the risks and sacrifices a journey like this would require.