Chapter 75: "This is Not a Test."

  The three cultivators stopped at one of the cafes briefly to pick up lunch to-go and were out of Gatewash within the hour. Shae was surprised when they didn't go back into the canyon, but instead exited out onto the plateau above it.

  Guard Hon repeatedly checked his gear and glanced out at the mountains in the distance.

  Shae asked for a moment to start her Manifold Journey practice, the second last one in the set. While she would have preferred to have the document with her, she had reviewed it several times while stuck in the medical wagon. It was named Resist Anticipation, and similar to the last practice it was designed around an off-rhythm cycling pattern.

  She slowed her qi as much as she could, trying to get it to cycle slower than her breathing, like the technique specified. She found that her part-lightning qi moved far too fast for this practice. Even the thinner density variety that drifted along the surface of her qi planet moved too quickly. She gradually changed the ratio of her personal qi to neutral qi throughout her channels. Finally settling on having much more neutral qi; something close to a 1:5 ratio. Opening her eyes and stretching, she nodded to the others that she was ready.

  "We're going to move fast. I'm going to lead by about a square set of paces. You both should move as fast as you are comfortable with, I'll match my speed to yours." Long nodded to them and turned towards the mountains.

  Finally Hon broke and asked, "Master Long, uh, why are we up here? We were always told not to use this route."

  Shae raised a curious eyebrow.

  Long turned back and nodded at Hon. "That's correct, and in the future be sure to follow the normal canyon path unless an elder directs and leads you." He pointed back to the City Lord's courtyard. "You should have felt the increased qi density there, which was partly artificial. Out here it should feel thinner, but as we travel north it will increase, especially as we approach the mountains." He gestured forward again and began walking. "That is the main reason it's not recommended. From here, it is easy to misjudge the pressure and become overwhelmed without realizing it. Some spirit beasts inhabit the area, especially flying ones that act like vultures, preying upon other beasts that have fallen to the qi pressure."

  Initially, Shae couldn't understand not noticing that the qi pressure was too high, but gradually worked out the basic idea. Like that awful metaphor of a lobster being slowly boiled.

  Hon glanced at her and saw her nodding along to the explanation. "And we'll be fine? Will you deflect the later qi pressure, Master Long?"

  His voice sounded amused. "No, not at all. That's why I'll be so far ahead."

  Hon spared a nervous glance for Shae, but she didn't show any concern.

  "You also shouldn't have to protect Wise Shae, Cultivator Hon. You may consider your guard duty complete. Both of you have completed enough tempering, or have shown enough progress in qi slipping that you should do quite well. Still, we will return to the canyon route if either of you fall."

  Long looked back at Shae with a meaningful look in his eye, though his stony mask obscured why until he spoke. "This is not intended as a test, it is simply to hasten our return. Yet, if it helps you push past the final stretch you may consider it such. However, if you tire early, Wise Shae, please don't stretch yourself to exhaustion. The sect would prefer you to be awake and able upon arrival."

  She scrunched her forehead up at the last bit, then glanced at Hon. He did his best to ignore her. Hmm, related to the entrance test? "Understood, Master Long," she nodded.

  Long took a large stride that doubled the gap between them, then took another at the next breath.

  The pair of younger cultivators shared a glance and smirked. Taking the unspoken signal as a sprinters starting pistol, Shae leaned forwards and slammed her right leg's full strength into the ground. The sudden leap brought her within arm's reach of Long's back, then a pulse of his qi that she felt like a bucket of water on her forehead brought him a dozen paces farther ahead.

  She heard a chuckle from Hon behind her, then he was matching her stride in the next breath. She spent a small fraction of her focus to reinforce her left leg and stabilize her speed. Not something she could freely repeat, but she felt it was useful for this initial burst of movement.

  Much like the first time she learned, she scrambled to keep her feet under her, to recreate the rhythm of her odd loping run. The morning practice of qi gong leaps with Apollo had done much more to strengthen her left leg than she had expected. It wasn't enough to completely correct the difference in strength, but she found she had to compensate far less than before.

  Her Manifold Journey practice was immediately thrown out of rhythm, but this one didn't require her to completely stop to continue it. She took a dozen slow, intentional breaths to establish her running pace to what she thought she could maintain. Then took another dozen incorporating the Resist Anticipation practice.

  A few more breaths passed while she ensured she was comfortable, then she glanced at Hon.

  He glanced back right after, sharing a smirk and a respectful nod in her direction.

  She looked ahead to see Long at his predicted distance. Then she pursed her lips when Hon looked away. He's doing that thing adults do when they are pretending to be impressed by a kid's progress. She took a breath and focused on her senses. And he's not even using any qi.

  Another breath or two, followed by a forced slow breath to try to clear her mind. I'm not trying to impress him, am I? I certainly don't need to.

  With her senses turned inwards, she adjusted her qi practice and monitored the strain on her left leg from the repeated reinforcement. I definitely have better things to focus on.

  Two hours after they began, Long slowed to fall back to them and halted the group at the edge of a canyon.

  "We'll need to cross here." Long gestured with an open palm.

  Hon raised an eyebrow and Shae smirked. "Is there a bridge, or are you flying us across, Master Long?"

  Hon's eyes flashed wide at the question.

  Long nodded and tapped the hilt of his sword. "At this pace we'll have to bypass several canyons to avoid detours that could each add hours to our travel time."

  Up to that point, their path had been mostly straight. It only drifted east once to avoid a winding canyon. The terrain was mostly clear of obstacles. Though it was more uneven near the canyon edges. Shae had been forced to slow to navigate those areas, but the delay was brief.

  She frowned and shrugged. "I can maybe go a little faster, but I'm not sure I'll last as long."

  "I'll take you across first, then take the time to assess your reserves and the condition of your channels."

  "Ah, right. I'll do that."

  There was an awkward moment deciding how best to carry Shae across. She agreed to a princess carry after Long refused to let her stand on the sword. He said that it was difficult enough for a single person to balance on it. Because of that, she was unable to see the depth of the canyon.

  Once on the other side she dropped into a lotus pose and began meditating. She didn't hear Long leave or return, not that there was much to hear.

  To test her channels, she slowly forced a large cloud of denser qi through them. Carefully feeling for sensitive locations. She was surprised to find only two locations, and healed them with divine qi from her recent enlightenment.

  A brief observation of her surroundings with her qi senses told her Long hadn't returned yet.

  She quickly returned qi to the larger of the two locations, soaking it into her flesh in an attempt to cleanse the location. The denser qi felt distinctly different. Not simply more painful, it amplified all the sensations associated with cleansing. While she had not taken note of them before, the sensation of each drop off impurities crawling or if her skin was suddenly distinct enough to feel.

  She shuddered several times during the first attempt and exited meditation when it was complete.

  Long was there, frowning at her. "Wise Shae, did you really think we had time for that?"

  The putrid scent hit her nose and even touched the senses on her forehead, nearly overwhelming her with disgust. "Uuagh, sorry." She tipped herself sideways, sprawling across the ground and getting her nose away from her left leg. "Thought, you weren't back yet."

  "Don't trust your senses in dense qi environments. Cultivators leak less of their own qi, so they can't be found so easily."

  She blinked at the ground. "Uh, sorry again, Master Long."

  "Tsk. It wasn't such a long wait. I assume you had a reason?"

  "Yes, Master Long. It was one of only two spots in my leg that were sore after the run. I hoped cleansing would let me last longer." She finally lifted herself up from the ground, and sighed in relief. The distance and breeze was now enough to keep the stench away from her.

  "Hmm." He nods. "And you'll be able to compare the results the next time we stop. A reasonable choice, Wise Shae."

  She decided to bite her tongue and not explain that she only cleansed once because the first felt so weird.

  Long looked down at her leg and flashed a frown. "Tsk. We may need to stop and let you wash, however." Then turned and set off with another of his extended qi steps.

  "Uhh, where?" Shae looked out at the barren taiga plateau.

  Hon smirked and answered, "The main canyon has a river in it, remember?"

  She silently mouthed, "Ah!"

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  "If your next question is why, it's because some spirit beasts track and hunt anything leaking impurities."

  Another silent "Oh!" showed up on her face and she blinked once before rushing to catch up to Hon.

  Another hour and change passed before they slowed for the next canyon. Shae had pushed slightly harder knowing her leg could handle it, yet was paying for it by breathing twice as hard.

  "Another crossing." Long announced. "Check your channels, Wise Shae. Cleanse that second point if it seems reasonable. I'll take you down into the canyon after, to wash."

  She nodded while gasping for breath.

  "Starting to feel the qi density?" He asked with an eyebrow slightly raised.

  She wobbled a hand. "Just pushed harder. I'll be fine." Inhaling deeply, she adds, "Master Long."

  "Very well."

  He stiffly jumped on his sword and hovered above Cultivator Hon, who grabbed the sword from below and was lifted into the air.

  "What?" Shae called after them. "I didn't know that was an option!" She huffed at their backs and dropped into meditation. Her heavy breathing slowed her descent into meditation, but she didn't need the full isolation to check her channels.

  Unsurprisingly, the cleansed channel wasn't as sore as the uncleansed one, and that was worse for the wear than the last time they stopped. She first wafted divine qi at it to heal, then cleansed it. Using her hairpins to speed up the cleansing would have been nice, yet she didn't have her notes to locate the appropriate acupoint.

  While she waited for the cleansing to complete, she chose to draw in neutral qi and cycle it with her own. She even mixed it into the cleansing. The strong sensations seemed to ease when she did, so she made a mental note to do the same in the future.

  Though it likely took less than a quarter hour, she felt refreshed when she finally left meditation. Leaning forwards in a stretch, she got up without checking her surroundings first. "Oh! You're still here? Err back?" She tilted her head at Guard Hon.

  He replied with a smirk, "Heavenly Shae, it should be: you're still here, Senior."

  "Ah." She covered her face and bowed quickly.

  "There was a small development," Master Long said. "A couple spirit beasts in our path."

  "Oh? Dangerous ones? Did you kill them?"

  He turned a flat glare on her. "Not everything needs to be killed, oh Heavenly Shae." He pointed at Hon. "They were weak enough that your former guard would have been fine, but we like to avoid conflict without reason. If we killed every spirit beast we saw then none would be able to grow stronger. And those that bond with beasts wouldn't be able to find companions."

  "Ah! That's good to hear, actually." She bowed to him. "What next, Master Long?"

  "Cultivator Hon will scout along the canyon edge while I bring you down to the river. Then we'll catch up once you're done and cross at that point. Hopefully avoiding the more beasts. Cleaning your impurities away should also reduce the chance of further incidents."

  Shae nodded.

  Hon bowed to Long then nodded to Shae. "I'll head out then," he said and took off at a run.

  Shae frowned at his back and pointed the other direction. "I was expecting him to go that way."

  Long drew his sword and set it floating in the air. "The canyon winds and splits more the other way. This way only has some hills, ah, and we will be going more uphill soon, so be sure to pace yourself appropriately."

  She pursed her lips sideways.

  "Did you want to try hanging?" He asked as he hopped onto his flying sword.

  "Ah! Yes!"

  "Good, that will be easier for me. However, there is something of a downdraft so I'll give you a short chance to back out once we start." He floated up over her.

  She felt the downdraft immediately. It wasn't wind, like she expected, but qi pressure. Reaching up to grab the hilt, her right arm tingled slightly, but it was her forehead that gave her the most trouble.

  The sensation of sticking your head out a car window on the highway would be a good comparison to what she felt across her forehead. Though it was the feeling of qi rushing past, not air.

  She hesitated to grip the sword. Mostly because she almost felt sick from the onslaught of sensations. Even though it was mainly neutral qi and Long's qi, there were still drops of other types mixed in, especially the base elements. She felt each, like a grain of sand flicked at her.

  "Are you alright?"

  "Hmm. Mostly- ugh, Bleh. It just feels really weird." She slapped her left hand over her forehead and grabbed the sword.

  "Hmm?" Long hesitated to leave.

  She gently put all her weight onto her right arm and tucked her feet under her.

  The flying tool pulled her up slightly. The downdraft strengthening and releasing more of Long's water aspected qi pressure.

  She grunted and let her legs relax, then forced a few heavy breaths out. Long drifted them closer to the edge and her eyes drifted down the side of the canyon. Unlike Gatewash, the sides were more consistently vertical. Few ledges and platforms jutted out to allow for easy construction, and those that did were smaller and irregular.

  She gulped and thought, where's the bottom? Then she forcefully blinked and brought her eyeline up to the opposite canyon edge. Just look straight, not down.

  Long slowed near the edge. "Ready?"

  Once more, she forced a breath. "Yes."

  The world lurched forwards and down. Her stomach jumped into her ribcage and her tense arm muscles almost pulled her up into the sword blade. Instead she got halfway up and froze in panic.

  Two heartbeats and an eternity later some gravity returned and her stomach dropped into a more comfortable position. "Uu-aaa-gh." She shuddered then tensed as she started swinging slightly.

  She felt Long shift their descent to counter her movement and she relaxed slightly. Her left hand tensed immediately after wisps of qi slipped past to graze her forehead. Her eyes flicked down the side of the canyon and back up, but again she didn't see the bottom.

  Breathe. She defocused her eyes and counted her rapid heartbeat to distract herself.

  The sound and smells of water arrived before she caught a glance of the river. Long slowed their descent further and Shae had to focus on her grip. She tensed further as they approached the fast moving water. She almost spoke up before she saw a bucket drop past her. The thin rope attached to it quickly went taught at an increasing angle as the bucket was dragged downstream.

  She felt the sword dip as Long pulled the bucket up. Then she gasped in surprise as she was dropped waist deep into the water. The rushing water soaked through her clothes before she could cry out. The bucket flew up past her while she recovered, then they rose out of the water. "Long!" She shouted.

  "Hmm?" She almost missed his voice over the river, "Did you think you weren't going to get wet?"

  "Gah!" She gasped again as the sword yanked her sideways towards the canyon wall.

  At this lower point in the canyon the rushing river had eroded away the walls as it cut the canyon deeper. This had produced uneven alcoves and outcroppings along the walls. Shae could see that most were a uniform height as water had eroded through the weaker layers of sedimentary rock faster. Long set them down in one such alcove that seemed flatter and deeper than those across the river.

  She huffed while looking down at her clothes, then again at Long.

  "It was more efficient than grabbing another bucket to do the same thing." He shrugged.

  She huffed again and waved at him to turn around before beginning to remove her outer robes. The water was cold, yet she was surprised to find the sudden shock had banished some of her fatigue. "Don't you have a whole bathtub?"

  Long had turned around and was very preoccupied with investigating the eroded walls. "Well yes, but then we'd have to clean it out again. We are working with a schedule. That and Apollo didn't return it."

  "Really? And she didn't give you my backpack? Weird. What was left of the spirit beast, and who got the parts? I need one of my arrows back."

  He didn't turn around, but pulsed her with his qi pressure instead.

  "Uh, sorry, Master Long." She stopped washing to bow, hesitating because he was facing away, then bowed anyway. One of the things Elder Ghon had taught her during his etiquette lessons was that cultivators with divine sense could have a general understanding of their surroundings, even if they were not focusing directly with their divine sense.

  She continued, "If it's appropriate to ask, Master Long. Could I know what happened to the beast corpse?"

  "It was rather thoroughly destroyed, and so the bulk was donated to the city for food. Even pulverised parts are nutritious when it's from a beast at that stage. Apollo did grab a few of the larger pieces, and refused to allow me to collect any." She heard some emotion in his tone, exasperation more than anger, if she had to name it. "What are you looking for, specifically?"

  "One of my acupuncture spiritual tools. I wrapped it around an arrow head and charged it with lightning before shooting it."

  "Let's see, I think I remember that. Lung-five, yes? That was a rather effective shot, if I recall correctly. Though, I had attributed it more towards the falling rock." He raised a hand to his face. With his back turned she couldn't see the exact gesture. "Well done, Wise Shae."

  "Uh, thank you, Master Long," she said awkwardly as she scrubbed impurities from her flesh and clothing. Long had added a rough sponge to the bucket. An oily substance that acted like soap was soaked into the sponge which stopped the impurities from sticking to it or her again. "I asked Gua- Cultivator Hon to look for the arrows but he couldn't find any."

  "Mhmm. I think Apollo gathered those as well. She was rather busy after getting you to safety."

  Shae paused, "Right, she fired a lot of her own arrows, probably wanted those back. Hmm. Master Long, can you confirm she got it's right arm, with the lung-five point?"

  Long had leaned forward and was running his hand along the wall. "... Amazing what natural water pressure can accomplish." He mumbled.

  She cleared her throat loudly.

  "Ah!" He almost turned around reflexively, then snapped back to cough directly away from her. "Yes. Yes, I believe she took both arms. They were less destroyed and had some intact armor plates on them, plus its natural claws. Potentially valuable materials, to the right cultivator."

  She sighed. "That's good to hear." She cast off a handful of black slime that had built up in the bucket. "Also, that's not from water pressure, Master Long. It's from erosion. Even peasant farmers understand that from having to irrigate their fields."

  "Tsk. Only if you want to be pedantic. It's still water pressure: the weight of an entire river moving past, pressing into the rock and finding its weak points."

  She scowled. "Sure, there's some pressure involved-"

  "And the rock is exposed to the bottom of the river first as it cuts through the land." He interrupted her and rushed across the alcove to look out at the river and dramatically swing a hand out at it. "All this water pressing into the earth and cutting its way through."

  She sighed. "Right. You would frame it that way. How about waterfalls?"

  "Ahh, waterfalls!" He said wistfully and leaned back while looking up. "Such wondrous things." He stretched out both hands and inhaled deeply.

  Shae felt his qi move in a rush before she saw anything. When she did see movement, she didn't quite understand it. The river's surface moved in a way that it just shouldn't.

  Like someone sloshing water in a pot, the surface rocked away from them, then back, rising up to splash into their alcove. Its rushing was in step with Long's gestures and he pushed it back across. All that turned out to simply be preparation. The river continued to tilt further and further away from them until it flowed up the far canyon wall with repeated upward gestures from Long.

  Finally, he held the pose, his arms high and palms up. It had been enough to move most of the river up the canyon wall and out of sight. He exhaled and flipped his palms down. Like a curtain of blue and white, the water poured down the far wall.

  Shae gasped out a word that was lost to the noise of an enormous cultivator-made waterfall.

  Long hadn't simply thrown the water at the wall, however. He continued to hold his arms high and Shae felt his qi still moving. She could tell he was slowing the river's fall. This wasn't some simple splash, but a careful flow designed to stretch out the duration of the several-li-wide waterfall.

  "Whaa~ so beautiful," she mumbled, her words completely lost to the constant noise.

  A few breaths later, with his effort no longer required, Long sat and watched the final streams of water cascade down the canyon wall.

  The pair remained there, just watching, for much longer.

  Shae was spared having to say anything specific as Long folded into a lotus pose to meditate. She silently turned back to her bucket and sponge to finish her task.

  Woo! Final leg of the journey!

  One more canyon running chapter then the real (*easy) test begins!

  Thanks for reading!