I sat on the roof of a wooden building, constructed in the traditional style of the Celestial Jade Empire. It resembled an ancient Chinese pagoda, but was far simpler in construction and made from wood harvested on Million Flowers Celestial Peak.

  We had to ensure they didn’t interrupt the natural formations while gathering materials to start building homes and buildings for the Grasping Life Sect, but it was mostly the flowers which powered the formation so it wasn’t too difficult.

  I felt somewhat lost. The first half year of my life in this world had been chaotic and violent. However, since we’d arrived here things had been peaceful.

  My cultivation had stabilised at six-star Qi Gathering. The natural formation made the ambient spiritual energy rich and both Wang Ren and I had advanced in leaps and bounds where before we had to struggle for every step.

  There were five other buildings in the surroundings. Four were almost identical to my own house. They were the residences of Wang Ren, Teng Sheng, Xiao Cui, and Yu Chun and Du Wen respectively.

  They’d all tentatively agreed to become members of the Grasping Life Sect, despite none of them knowing any healing arts. I assured them they would have their place. After all, a sect needed more than a single type of cultivator to function.

  The final building was the grandest of them all, twice as large as the houses and adorned with some decorations and even a splash of colour from a type of tree that Teng Sheng had discovered with gorgeous scarlet coloured wood. This was the first ‘official’ building of the sect—which we’d decided to name The Grasping Life Palace.

  It felt appropriate to have somewhere to practice healing arts and to represent the sect. I exhaled, releasing a mist of energy back into the surroundings.

  I was glad that there was no pressing danger. The others deserved to live happily without deadly threats looming overhead. However, I felt stagnant.

  It had only been a few weeks since we’d arrived on Million Flowers Celestial Peak and I’d done my best to explore the mountain, but all I’d found was endless flowers and trees. There were a few beasts, but they were barely Middle stage spiritual beasts and ran the moment they sensed me.

  The constant danger I’d been thrown into had been draining, but at the same time it had forced me to advance. My healing arts, my cultivation, and my very soul had been pushed to their limits and every time I’d almost died I instead emerged stronger and wiser.

  I would need to seek out my own challenges. Push my healing arts to their limit and find ways to improve my cultivation without putting the others in danger. To that end, I planned to send Wang Ren to explore the local area to spread the news of the sect.

  After all, the best way for a healer to challenge themselves was to find patients with interesting and threatening afflictions. Aside from improving my own cultivation I also wanted to create a comprehensive set of healing arts that could be passed down to any member of the sect—even if they didn’t possess my Fivefold Medicine Forge Physique.

  Many things demanded my attention. Even with just six members—including myself—managing a sect was proving to be a headache. A walk would help clear my mind.

  I slipped off the roof of my house and touched lightly against the grass, making sure to avoid trampling any of the colourful flowers. Building the houses while ensuring we didn’t disturb the natural formation had been tricky, but Teng Sheng proved his former title of Young City Lord wasn’t unearned.

  His father had taught him well and he actually knew a lot about city planning and construction. We weren’t building a city—not yet at least—but even when deciding where the buildings of the sect would go he’d been a huge help.

  Along with myself and Wang Ren doing most of the heavy lifting, we’d build the five buildings that formed the Grasping Life Sect in only two weeks. Not only that, but we’d walked all the way to the base of the mountain and built a huge gate from stone and capped it with an enormous beam of the scarlet wood, where I inscribed the characters for ‘Grasping Life Sect’ using my medicinal qi and intent.

  I wanted the entrance to the sect to leave a lasting impression on the mind of any visitor. I needed those who travelled here for healing to know they had reached safety and for any who dared threaten us to know they faced an imposing challenge.

  As I was placing the final flourishes on the gate, Wang Ren suddenly drew his glaive and pivoted on his feet. “Don’t come closer! State your name and purpose,” he said with a cold edge in his voice.

  I didn’t turn until I’d carved the final flick of the third character. As I did so, I felt a ripple in the surrounding spiritual energy as my cultivation increased ever so slightly. An interesting phenomenon.

  “Congratulations, friend! A magnificent inscription. I must confess I travelled to this part of the world before but have never heard of your sect. I mean no harm. I am simply a wandering cultivator by the name of Jing Ma,” the man who had taken us by surprise called out.

  I turned to face him and raised a hand. Wang Ren straightened up and relaxed his posture, but he kept a firm grip on his glaive. Even though the man claimed to have good intentions, it was better to be safe than sorry.

  “Well met, Brother Jing. My name is Zhao Dan, the sect leader. This is Wang Ren and Teng Sheng. I am not surprised you’ve never heard of our Grasping Life Sect,” I replied with a warm smile and a soft chuckle. “We only founded it a couple of weeks ago.”

  “A new sect! How exciting. It is rare that new shoots appear in this stale empire. I had planned to visit the mountain peak, but I wouldn’t dare intrude if you have claimed it as your own.”

  “Nonsense, I would be delighted to welcome you as our guest, Brother Jing. Come, come,” I said with a wave.

  Wang Ren threw me a sideways glance, but I simply shrugged it off. Refusing this man wasn’t an option.

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  While he was putting on a friendly face, I had sensed his cultivation. He was far beyond us both—either a half-step or perhaps Early stage Foundation Building master.

  Given that he seemed to hold no bad intentions, welcoming him as a guest was a wiser decision than turning him away. Why anger a wandering tiger when you could feed it instead?

  Teng Sheng seemed nervous but as was often the case when the boy was around powerful cultivators, he had nothing but admiration in his eyes as he stared at Jing Ma. With a final appreciative glance at my carving over the gate, I began to ascend the mountain with the others in tow.

  “So, Brother Jing,” I began. “What brings you to Million Flowers Celestial Peak?”

  “Is that the name of this mountain? A truly fitting title,” he replied, drinking in the vibrant carpet of flowers that littered the mountainside all the way to the peak. “To tell the truth, I have no real goals. I was once a member of an organisation but I felt too restricted. Now, I prefer to wander the world and discover the beauty it holds in its far flung corners.”

  I nodded. That was as good a reason as any to travel. It was why many people spent their lives as nomads on Earth. There was simply so much to see that even a single lifetime wasn’t enough.

  Even with my extended lifespan, I doubted I would ever be able to visit every part of my new world, let alone the Celestial Jade Empire. A man such as Jing Ma would have plenty of interesting stories to tell, so I was glad to welcome him as a guest.

  Besides, this was a perfect opportunity to start spreading the news of our sect’s founding. A wanderer could travel through nearby villages, towns, and cities and let people know there was a place of healing they could visit if they were in need.

  As we reached the peak, the five buildings came into view. The man’s gaze drank them in. Despite our humble efforts at construction, he wasn’t dismissive. In fact, when he saw the Grasping Life Palace he even raised a brow and commented, “Impressive work!”

  “You will have to forgive us for our humble welcome,” I announced as we reached the palace, “We’ve only been here a short while and barely had time to settle in ourselves.”

  “No need to apologise, Sect Leader Zhao. I am used to humble accommodations when travelling. All I need is a roof over my head,” he chuckled. “Sometimes, I don’t even bother with that. Sleeping under the stars is a uniquely magical experience.”

  I could agree with that. The night sky in this world was magnificent. An endless blanket of stars in every direction that glittered like a million flames. The moon here was a giant glistening disc that shimmered in a cerulean hue.

  Unlike the moon back on Earth, it had a smooth surface without damage. The first time I saw it I’d almost fallen to the ground in shock. “Indeed,” I agreed.

  “I’ll find little Cui to help you get settled in, Brother Jing,” I told him.

  Wang Ren waited with the man while I did as I’d said. He was throwing suspicious glances at our visitor every now and then. I chuckled. He was always so protective—a model Senior Brother.

  Then again, we’d decided his role in the sect would be as a protector. He was skilled in the martial path, but held little talent for anything else. A medicine sect would need powerful guardians, so it was fitting to have my oldest friend as the first.

  Xiao Cui had been experimenting with some herbs she’d foraged in the forest. There were a few that we both recognised as they also grew near Three River City, but many new varieties as well.

  She no longer had as large a customer base and had been forced to abandon her business as we fled the city, but she still had a passion for herbalism. I wasn’t sure what she was trying to create, but her brow glistened with sweat—she’d been working hard.

  “Little Cui, we have a guest. I’d like you to help him settle in,” I told her, startling her from a fugue.

  “Hmm!? Oh, master! A guest? What is he like? Of course I will do as you say,” she replied, leaping to her feet.

  She threw longing gazes back at her experiment as we left the house, making me chuckle. She was every bit as devoted to her passions as I was.

  ****

  That evening I decided to go for a stroll under the stars. I’d been inspired by Jing Ma’s talk of the night sky. He’d even told me of a distant corner of the empire where he’d supposedly witnessed the sky lit up in flames—a phenomenon that could only be seen once a century if one was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time.

  It reminded me that besides the magic of cultivation and spiritual energy, there were mundane wonders that had a magic of their own. I was deeper into the forest than I’d ever gone before. It sprawled down the back side of the mountain, which ended in a steep cliff that no mortal could possibly climb.

  When I reached the cliff, I sat down on the ledge with my legs swinging over the side. A few rocks tumbled down and clattered against the stone, startling some nearby birds.

  I chuckled as I watched them escape into the skies. The moon was almost full tonight, hanging in the air like a serene pond breaking the glittering blanket of stars.

  I was struggling with my healing arts. Not my personal techniques—those were as potent as ever—but rather how I would create a comprehensive set of techniques and cultivation methods that would allow any cultivator to become a skilled healer.

  The problem came down to how I was supposed to separate the parts of my techniques that were rooted in pure healing and medicine and the parts that were borne from my Fivefold Medicine Forge Physique. Thus far all I’d managed to glean was that medicinal energy existed in nature and wasn’t only a product of my refined organs and healing techniques.

  How was I supposed to create a method that allowed others to cultivate medicinal qi? In the first place, I barely understood the principles behind traditional cultivation as I’d not been performing it myself since my spirit roots were shattered.

  I found myself reading through Zhao Dan’s notes endlessly in the hope I would stumble upon some random insights. However, it was futile. I grew frustrated and knowing that I was making little progress I decided to keep walking.

  As I stood up to return to the sect, something caught my eye. Around halfway down the cliff, there was a small opening that led into the mountains—a cave.

  I hadn’t seen any entrances to the inside of the mountain anywhere, so this was a first. Curiosity tugged at my mind. Before I knew it, I was clambering down the cliff face towards the cave.

  It didn’t take me too long to reach it. For a mortal it was impossible to traverse a cliff this steep, but with my cultivation base it was a simple affair. The opening was small, barely wide enough to fit a single person.

  I managed to squeeze inside. After a few metres it started to widen and it was more comfortable to stand. There wasn’t much light and the moonbeams grew distant the further I travelled.

  The cave seemed to go on forever, twisting and winding as I went deeper into the heart of Million Flowers Celestial Peak. Suddenly, a golden light appeared in the distance, around a bend.

  I quickened my pace until I reached the corner. When I rounded it, I gasped in shock. A huge cave, coated in shimmering golden crystals greeted me.

  More than the sheer beauty of the sight, what I felt in my spiritual senses was even more dazzling. The spiritual energy above ground was rich, but in the cave it was so thick it almost suffocated me.

  Were these crystals… spirit stones!? Unbelievable. To think that Grandpa Guan had been hiding such a treasure trove and simply left it to rot all this time.

  What drew my attention the most wasn’t even the endless spirit stones that coated the walls, but the completely plain stalactite that descended from the centre of the cave roof. This stone spike seemed entirely ordinary at a glance, but what was inside was another matter entirely. I was stunned.