It was the next morning. He woke up earlier than Jiansu and decided to cultivate as he basked in the morning glow. Half because it's a custom at this point, half because a certain daimon nagged at him.

  Hey, could he sense the type of prana I’m producing when I exhale—

  “Focus. Cultivate.” Bing Xin snapped.

  Sheesh. I was just being cautious.

  It goes without saying that his innocent questions and her snarky answers were said inside his head. He couldn’t speak of course. He’d be a fool to speak to the windowsill with Jiansu sleeping at his back.

  He calmly breathed and circulated his prana accordingly. His adept level of attainment wasn’t for show. He felt comfortable now. Yes, it was still strenuous and cumbersome, especially the cycle’s shift between winter and spring, but it was just something he had to put up with.

  Sweat beaded on his forehead and rolled to his nose. The morning gales howled and creaked the wooden window at its old hinges. He inhaled deeply. The rich ice prana of Mount Xuedou fueled him. He was a little worried about her plans and if cultivating here would be a good idea but she said it didn’t matter.

  Hey, can you explain the prana types again? I know you said that if you or the temple never came into my life I’d be endlessly killing to cultivate my Path. So what do they mean?

  He heard Bing Xin sigh before she replied, “I’ll start with death prana. There is no death without life, so you will never grow without taking the life of another. That’s because every being possesses some life prana within them — their lifeline if you’d suppose. Alone, it is difficult to cultivate, especially inside this temple devoid of death. That is why you only have smidgeons. However, this lack of death prana within you is another grace of luck because it’s how destructive it is — to yourself and your foes.”

  ...Is that why Withering Palm is so vile? That decay, I still haven’t gotten used to the smell and the sight of it. He frowned, remembering the Feng Clan cultivators.

  “Indeed. But death prana could never be alone, remember? That leads you into blood prana. This ties best with death prana. Where is such a place that blood would spill constantly? It would only happen in places of death or slaughter. It will always come with life and death, and think of blood prana as that binding between all your other prana states. But blood prana will also make your techniques more damaging to the living and less effective on non-living things.”

  Can’t see myself hitting walls or something. I’m okay with that–

  “Urk!” He croaked out. He messed up his prana flow and felt a little backlash.

  “Fool. Well, that backlash brings me to hell prana. For even daimons, their very essence is hell prana, destructive and chaotic by nature. It seeps into everything they touch, and its presence lingers even after they’re gone. That’s why your prana flow is unstable—it’s like trying to tame a wildfire. If you can master it, it will give you strength beyond measure, but if you let it slip, it will devour you from within. Ah, and think about what happens when you possess both hell and death prana inside yourself. Do be careful.”

  Dejiu gritted his teeth, massaging his chest with one hand where the backlash had struck. It felt bruised inside. Great.

  “If it’s destructive to even you, think about your foes! You’re bound to possess quite vicious techniques with those three prana types together.” She laughed.

  And how about ice? He asked. There’s still one missing after all.

  “Ice prana is rare in Hell, but in this temple, it thrives,” Bing Xin explained. “I will snip that part of you and use it for myself in due time. The stillness, clarity, and preservation of ice will be my foothold. Ah, I can’t wait to manifest myself into this realm.”

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  Dejiu nodded before he noticed her vocabulary. Snip!? Will it hurt?

  “...”

  Hey, reply damn it! I wanted to know if it’ll—OUCH! He grunted and tasted a little metallic tang in his mouth.

  He returned his focus to breathing and cultivation. Yep, before worrying about pain in the future, he should focus on preventing any more backlashes before he vomits piles of blood.

  Eventually, he finished another cycle of the Dark Flower cultivation method and sighed. “Hoo…”

  [Prana Core: Low Advanced]

  [Prana: 101/101]

  Andddd up one! Dejiu smiled before he heard some clothes rustling on the other end of the sleeping chamber. He turned and found Jiansu waking.

  “Cultivating again?” Jiansu asked between yawns.

  Wiping his brow with a sleeve, Dejiu replied, “I woke up early and found the time. I can’t slow down even after advancing.”

  “Good,” Jiansu stretched his arms and rolled his shoulders. “Stagnant water may seem calm, but it breeds rot. ”

  It was a good morning if his teacher was already talking in riddles.

  Dejiu grabbed a clean robe from the edge of his cot and slipped it on. The fabric was coarse against his skin, yet comforting in its familiarity. Morning prayer waits for no one. After that, he grabbed the red prayer bead bracelet he messily left on the ground before his ordeal with the Pillar and put it on his right wrist—ah, he can’t.

  He frowned and put it on his left wrist. A shame. It felt uncomfortable.

  “How would I get a remnant or something to regrow my hand?” Dejiu asked as he fiddled with the bracelet.

  “Someone in this temple probably has one… but obviously—”

  “It’s helpless that someone would help me.” Dejiu filled in for Jiansu. “Yep. Expected as much. So do I just leave it to luck and kill enough daimons or something?”

  Jiansu nodded sadly. It was natural for someone like Dejiu to hold the temple in low regard after everything. With the temple definitely possessing some sort of means to recover his missing hand, but not doing so on top of that? It was sad. Sad and disappointing. Any other monk would’ve been privy to these resources even without an accomplishment. It’s a missing hand for the Genesis Vernable’s sake!

  “That or achieve something great and specifically request for it. Perhaps you’ll be given an audience to Elder Kaiyuan. Ah, sorry, I meant Third Arhat Kaiyuan. He holds most of the remnants available to be exchanged. A keeper of sorts. Oh, I forgot — do you know how remnants are transferred between people?”

  “The Seekers Accord does most of the work, right?” Dejiu asked as they stepped into the cold stone corridor, their footsteps echoing softly.

  “Yes. You’ll be prompted when you make contact with someone and you will it to happen. Third Arhat Kaiyuan deals with most of these remnants, obviously excluding the personal and potent remnants of the other Arhats and the Abbot. He’s bound to possess something capable of healing you, especially with how low your cultivation stage is — a potent remnant wouldn’t be needed.”

  Leaving the White Blossom Monastery, Dejiu headed for the prayer halls for Junior Monks. Jiansu went to the one for his respective role. The faint sound of chanting echoed in the distance, guiding them to their respective destinations. Looks like their morning chatter took a little too long.

  “I shouldn’t have any duties today. There’s been no Pillarshards assigned to my cohort. Meet up where we trained yesterday after breakfast.” Jiansu said and waved Dejiu off.

  Dejiu nodded.

  It didn’t take long for him to reach his prayer hall — once again headed by Senior Monk Liang, the geezer. He headed inside and went to his favorite spot near the entrance. Quick ins and outs. Just like using Withering Palm!

  He laughed a little to himself before he kowtowed and followed the ritual with the rows of Junior Monks. His lips moved with the chant, but his thoughts wandered.

  He had much to do.

  Recover enough before the next soul-strengthening cut from Bing Xin. Train his Wilted Stem and Withering Palm to Adept level attainment. Continue using Wilted Stem to raise his base strength too. Raise his cultivation quickly. Hopefully sell his bracers if he can or perhaps trade them in for Hell Shards. Train his basic footwork and martial arts. Ah, and learn about the Warrior Monk exam.

  It was racking his head just thinking about it all!

  “Don’t forget my plans. I will have to teach you part of the forger and instiller techniques once you’re able to sense your soulspace.” Bing Xin scoffed.

  That too. But everything led him to the Seventh Hell. He’ll gain strength faster that way too. He needed to return to his Pillarshard, Talonfall. It’ll only benefit him doing so.

  “Discipline and unity. Our Path of Enlightened Winter requires that much from you all. Dismissed. Attend to your duties before the afternoon’s training session.” Senior Monk Liang announced, bringing Dejiu back to the present.

  Dejiu sighed. Discipline and unity. The words felt hollow after what he’d seen beyond the Pillarshard. Out there, it wasn’t unity that kept you alive — it was power. Yet here, they spoke as if those principles alone could shield them from the horrors of Hell’s spawn.

  He got up and filed outside of the prayer hall like usual. It was the benefit of staying so close to the entrance. He didn’t have to file along in a long line and deal with someone like Xue Fan talking—

  “Junior Brother, Dejiu!” A snarky voice addressed him from behind.

  His face twitched. You idiot. Spoke too soon.