The enlightened beast, Guan Jin, stared down at me for a moment that stretched into eternity after I asked whether another member of my sect could consume the Golden Millenium Dew instead of myself. I gulped.
It hissed softly.
“I don’t ss-see why not,” it replied, making my shoulders drop as I sighed in relief.
Then, they straightened immediately as it continued.
“What do you mean by ‘your sect’?”
“Well, Grandpa Guan gave us this mountain to live on and I have founded a new sect—the Grasping Life Sect. My aim is to create a novel set of healing arts and raise the first ever medicine sect in the Celestial Jade Empire,” I explained.
“Healing artsss? This is… curiousss. I am interested to see how you achieve your goal. Bring your junior,” Guan Jin hissed.
I could’ve sworn I saw a flash of amusement in its eyes. My heart had almost skipped a beat there, but with the beast’s approval of the sect’s existence and letting one of the juniors use the treasure, I was satisfied.
Actually, this outcome was even better than I could’ve hoped. Not only did we survive through what was a lethal encounter with a stronger cultivator, but we’d gained a powerful guardian beast.
I wouldn’t make any excessive requests of Guan Jin, but I imagined it wouldn’t take kindly to anyone else invading Million Flowers Celestial Peak. If another attack took place, it might come to our aid.
“Thank you for your approval, Senior Jin,” I said with a bow. “I will be back shortly with my disciple.”
****
I left the cavern and raced back up to the mountain peak. Walking through the forest and towards the grasping life palace I could only sigh; dozens of flowers had been trampled by the invaders.
The spiritual energy in the air still felt thick, but the erratic shifts and irregularities that I noticed upon our arrival had grown in number. Would I need to learn how to construct formations as well as all my other projects in order to maintain the state of Million Flowers Celestial Peak?
It took me a while to find the others. Thankfully Wang Ren had taken them down to the base of the mountain rather than remaining in the sect.
If the snake had lost the battle and Jing Ma escaped, he may have sought them out to finish what he started. Instead, fate had reversed and now we were once again in a position of strength.
“Sect Leader! You’re alive,” Wang Ren exclaimed when he spotted me approaching. “What happened?”
I briefly explained how Jing Ma was slaughtered by Senior Guan Jin and that the serpent was acquainted with Grandpa Guan. Wang Ren found himself chuckling at the irony of the situation.
“So, it just offered the treasure freely? That seems a little…”
“I know. However, I trust the serpent,” I replied. “It’s not like we have a choice in the matter. If you saw the way it brushed off Jing Ma’s techniques after shedding its old skin you would understand that isn’t an existence we can contend with.”
“I suppose you’re right. I would’ve preferred if it simply returned to the depths of the mountain and left us alone, but this is still better than dying,” he said, gazing into the night sky. “Are you sure about this? She could die.”
“I am. With me there, Xiao Cui won’t be in danger. The greatest loss would only be losing the treasure,” I explained. “Perhaps I am throwing away gains that you or I could claim in order to unravel mysteries that may not even exist. Even so, I have to try. Do you trust me, Prime Guardian Wang?”
His eyes widened a little at my use of his proper title. For once I hadn’t called him Senior Brother, but this was only a short reprieve—I would be back to my devious ways soon enough.
“With my life.”
“Good. Things will only get busier, if a little less chaotic. Would you be able to handle the situation with the local forces? If we can make friends with the Golden Leaf Consortium it will open avenues to access resources and sell our spirit stones.”
“The spirit stones? Are you sure about that?”
“Maybe not right away. Let’s establish ourselves first.”
“Agreed. I will take the rest of them back up to the peak and then head out. It should only take a few days, but I don’t know what to expect with this sudden change.”
“Trust your judgement,” I told him, clapping him on the shoulder.
“Little Cui, come with me,” I shouted out to my disciple.
While I had been talking with Wang Ren she’d been waiting nervously to the side. She skipped over and stared up at me with expectant eyes.
“Yes, Master?”
I could see she had a thousand questions on the tip of her tongue about the battle, but to my surprise she kept herself restrained. It seemed as though my disciple was growing up-
“Did you slap that silly snake?”
“Idiot disciple, of course not,” I snorted. “That ‘silly snake’ could squash all of us with a strong sneeze. Don’t insult it.”
“Why does it matter, it can’t hear me,” she giggled.
I smirked and pulled her up the mountain. “Not yet.”
Not giving her a chance to escape, I clutched her arm and lifted her up before racing towards the mountain peak and back through the forest. When she realised where we were headed I saw the growing dread in her expression.
“Don’t worry. The snake is a friend of the elder who owns this mountain, the grandpa who sold us the clinic. He won’t hurt you.”
“Oh. But why are you taking me back there if the battle is over? Won’t we be safe on the mountain, then?” she asked.
“Yes, you would be. I’ll explain everything, just be patient.”
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
We descended the cliff face with ease and entered the cavern once more. Guan Jin’s body was no longer coiled around the cavern and he had returned to the depths from which he came, but his head was resting beside the pool of Golden Millenium Dew.
“Senior, I have brought my disciple,” I said as we entered, putting Xiao Cui down and gently pushing her towards the serpent. “Xiao Cui, pay your respects.”
She threw a nervous glance back at me but I simply nodded with a comforting smile on my face. There was nothing for her to fear, but it was important to follow propriety when dealing with powerful cultivators and beasts.
She cleared her throat. “This Xiao Cui greets Senior Snake,” she said with a bow, clasping her hands in a martial salute.
Where the hell did she learn that? I never taught her… Maybe Wang Ren had been giving lessons on that sort of thing—he was obsessed with the importance of hierarchy and respect.
Guan Jin let out a satisfied hiss, though I swore I saw a flash of amusement in his eyes. He appraised Xiao Cui for a moment, before nodding his assent.
I approached the pool of dew, ushering little Cui along. When she saw the pool of glowing golden liquid she gasped and crouched down to get a closer look.
Even though she couldn’t sense the sheer quantity of spiritual energy locked inside the natural treasure, it was still beautiful to mortal eyes. There was only one step left.
“Senior Jin, is there a particular method to absorbing the Golden Millenium Dew? Or can she simply drink it as if it were tea?” I asked.
The last thing I wanted was to waste the potential effects of the potent treasure because I didn’t know the correct method to refine it. I thought of the Ten Ascensions Lily. I had eaten it without a second thought, when there might be a better way to utilise the energy such as refining a pill or elixir.
Then again, I didn’t have the freedom to experiment back then. I was surrounded by enemies eager to reap my life and claim it for themselves. Little Cui didn’t need to worry about such things when it came to this particular treasure.
“Methods? I’m not quite sure. I think in this regard I am the wrong person—or beast—to ask. Whether spiritual, awakened, or enlightened, beasts can consume natural treasures with our bodies and directly devour the energy to improve our cores and cultivation,” the serpent explained. “Clearly, that won’t be possible for your disciple, especially as she is mortal,” he added with a strange tone.
I knew it was out of the ordinary for a cultivator to take a mortal disciple, especially one who didn’t even possess enough spirit roots to eventually cultivate. However, what I was initially passing down to her weren’t only cultivation methods, but the codes and methods to heal people—in her case, mortals.
However, hearing that the Golden Millenium Dew could increase the quantity of spirit roots gave me hope that I could possibly help Xiao Cui gain the ability to cultivate. It was a fool’s hope perhaps, but if I never tried I would regret it forever.
Looking at it from the perspective of a researcher, I also believed that witnessing the process would allow me to understand the nature of spirit roots and spiritual energy far more than I currently did.
That understanding might lead to incredible discoveries with potential to improve my own healing techniques or other avenues of research. With the main threats hanging over my head defeated or a thousand li away, I wanted to devote all of my attention to research and healing.
Xiao Cui turned to me with a worried look painted on her face. I understood her hesitation. What she was about to do was something that had never happened before on this continent.
After all, what cultivator would waste a precious treasure on a mortal without the potential to cultivate rather than using it for themselves? No sane cultivator, at least.
I tousled her hair and knelt down beside her. “Don’t worry about a thing, my dear disciple. I won’t let any harm come to you,” I assured her. “The worst that can happen is that nothing changes. But if this works…”
I let the unsaid implications hang in the air. I hadn’t explicitly told little Cui what I wanted to achieve, but even she could understand what the outcome of consuming a natural treasure might be for one such as herself.
“I won’t force you into anything you aren’t comfortable with, but this could change your life forever, Xiao Cui. So, will you do it?”
“Yes, Master. I will do it,” she replied, nodding resolutely with a steely determination written across her youthful features.
She was a little older than the usual disciples that sects would take, but I was sure that wasn’t a problem. With me as her master, whatever issues Xiao Cui encountered I would research into oblivion and shatter with knowledge.
Without any real method, I deduced that the simplest was likely the best. Perhaps we’d be losing a little of its efficacy, but the treasure wouldn’t last forever.
I didn’t have the freedom to go off and experiment with other methods right now. Only a single drop would be produced every thousand years…
Xiao Cui was ready, but when she reached her hands out to scoop up the dew, Guan Jin let out a slithery snort. I watched his qi reach out and coalesce the dew back into a droplet and raise it to her lips.
She gave me a final look before swallowing it. The moment I saw it enter her body, I was fully focused.
I wasn’t sure how spiritual energy with a gold affinity would behave, but my main priority was to ensure Xiao Cui wasn’t injured. Natural treasures usually guided the one who consumed them to utilise their energy with at least a modicum of efficiency, so I would allow her to act without my assistance unless something went really wrong.
The dewdrop remained intact even as it travelled down her gullet. It didn’t immediately burst and spread its energy throughout her body, as some natural treasures did.
That didn’t surprise me given its expected effects. However, I was curious to see how it would interact with her spirit roots.
I doubted that Xiao Cui possessed gold affinity spirit roots, but as I had no idea how to test for such a thing, it was entirely possible. The drop splashed into her stomach, but still didn’t dissipate.
In fact, it seemed to phase through the wall of her stomach as though it wasn’t there. It continued directly to a point just behind and below—her spirit roots.
I preemptively placed a hand against the small of her back, ready to use my healing technique the moment anything went awry. My eyes were strained as I didn’t want to miss a thing.
Seeing through her spirit roots was difficult. I’d always been extraordinarily perceptive of energies since the day I arrived in this world, but trying to peer at her spirit roots gave me a throbbing headache.
All I saw was a misty globule hovering inside her body, connected and yet separate. The moment the drop of golden liquid splashed against them, it was as the veil had been lifted on the heavens themselves.
The dewdrop exploded into a shimmering mist of gold, but it was contained within the area of the spirit roots. The mist seemed to part, revealing a spiderweb construction of pulsing vein-like threads.
I immediately noticed three things.
The web seemed to stretch endlessly, despite Xiao Cui having no talent for cultivation.
Most of the threads were lifeless and dull, cracked and broken. That was presumably the answer to the first mystery.
Of the few threads that pulsed faintly, most were a faint blue, resembling the ‘standard’ qi I’d seen many times before. However, a couple of them were tinted a lighter blue, approaching white.
Xiao Cui suddenly cried out in pain and tipped forwards. I grabbed hold of her shoulder to keep her upright, eyes racing across her body to figure out what had gone wrong.
However, there were no internal or external injuries. It had to be whatever was happening to her spirit roots, yet not much had happened as far as I could tell.
The dewdrop had burst into a mist that was settling over the web. I immediately saw an issue—likely the reason that it was more effective on cultivators possessing gold affinity roots.
The mist was drawn towards her ‘active’ spirit roots, but when it touched them, it simply vanished without causing any changes. A spark of gold and white caught my attention.
One of the droplets of mist had touched an inactive spirit root that connected directly to one of the blue-white roots. Before my eyes, I watched as the smaller cracks started to mend and the root weakly pulsed a single time.
What the hell? Had the dew just awakened a dead spirit root? I didn’t even have a foundational level of knowledge that would allow me to understand this process, so I could only watch helplessly.
Xiao Cui’s face was strained as the process unfolded. I didn’t believe she had much control over the energy of the Golden Millenium Dew, but as the seconds stretched onwards, the mist began to condense and less of it faded into the void that surrounded her spirit roots.
Everything seemed to be going well. All I could do now was watch and if anything went wrong, step in to assist.
