I underestimated Lan Xiaohui. The way she spoke of her history made think of soone who planned on having an easy life. However, the way she wields and uses techniques she had just learned depicts her background in a different light. I am sure, once upon a ti, she took great pride in the attainnt of her martial arts.
Cultivators and demonic beasts are not equal, at the sa Qi cultivation level. Demonic beasts prioritized cultivating their bodies, but cultivators had an advantage that demonic beasts could never possess: martial arts.
It is natural that the most intelligent creature that can leverage Qi in a proper manner would beco the apex predator. Though it is still unlikely that a cultivator, even with martial arts, can overco the realm boundary.
For a normal cultivator, at least.
Lan Xiaohui still has the attainnt of soone who was once in the Foundation Establishnt realm. That experience and knowledge does not simply disappear. And it is clear to now that she had spent her years practicing martial arts. She wasnt a useless wall ornant, even with the prospect of marrying the heir of a sect.
Would it be enough to defeat a demonic beast in the Foundation Establishnt realm? Unlikely. But at the very least, I no longer have to worry that my legs will roll over and die if they run into such a demonic beast.
With one motion, she killed a demonic beast that surely had a profound body cultivation, and was in the later stages of her own Qi realm. Whether it was because of profound martial arts training, or great battle talent or both it still took only one strike. More than that, the energy she produced by injecting her Qi through was pure and powerful, and it even contained traces of sword Qi.
As a weapon, I am certain that what designates as a Divine grade Heavenly Treasure has to do with my conductivity. In order for cultivators to practice higher level martial arts, they need to input their own Qi into a dium a sword, in my case and how much of this energy the dium can store and release is limited by its conductivity.
At least that is my working theory so far. Perhaps if I learned so Forging, I would be able to deduce more.
The trek along the river is mostly uneventful. We do not co across any demonic beasts, nor any more resources. It makes sense in so ways. Demonic beasts also need to eat and drink, and a river is a popular hotspot. It makes sense that the resources here have been depleted, and it makes sense that we do not co across any, because if demonic beasts cultivate, then they need to eat and drink only once a week.
Eventually, Lan Xiaohui turns away from the river, and heads deeper into the forest. The ground becos more uneven, it is strewn with large rocks and then, later, boulders. By the ti the sun begins to set, she is walking through a hilly region that terminates in a sheer, tall cliff.
This place is both distant from the river and the forest. There are no resources here, except for the occasional berry bush or plant.
It doesnt take long for us to find one of these caves she had ntioned. Its entrance is wide, but narrows into a shaft that is wide enough for two or three people to pass through side by side. It takes but one glance to realize that this cave was not ford by natural processes but has likely been created by a cultivator in the past.
The shaft terminates in a large, oval chamber.
Lan Xiaohui chuckles. One would think that with all the stories, every cave would contain hidden treasure of inconceivable origin, or abundant Qi, she says, sitting down in the center of the chamber. But this one has neither.
Here, her voice echoes slightly and sounds a bit deeper.
She deposits across her lap and stares at , her thumb idly follows the contours of the four words inscribed on my black jade.
I had hoped that the formation that focuses the Qi in this place would not be able to affect the dragon veins, but it seems I was wrong.
I release my sea of consciousness and allow it to penetrate through the walls. I am curious if this place even has such a thing as dragon veins.
All I sense is rocks, at first, but deeper inside the walls, I do sense ores with abundant spiritual energy of various types. It is unlikely that I can extract them with my internal storage, but it might be worth trying.
I will rest here tonight, and then continue onwards tomorrow, she says, and lies down on her side. I feel like I am at the brink of understanding sothing important. When I killed that wolf today, I felt it.
The way she speaks is different from before. She is always refined and elegant, and there is never a doubt in her convictions. But this ti, I can tell that there is a lot of doubt.
When I kill the Black Tiger, when, not if, I truly wont be able to walk the sa path as the others. All my friends and family will join sects, but as a demonic cultivator, all I will have is myself and you to rely on.
I am not aware of the world beyond this forest, or even beyond my perception radius. I do not understand the politics or the hierarchies of the civilized world if there even is one. But it seems obvious to that sects did not always exist, and that soone created them. Did that soone not initially walk this demonic path, too?
Also what benefit can a sect offer that the path of a lonely sword cannot? Camaraderie? There is no need for such. Manuals? I have those.
That is all you need, I tell her. It is also the truth. One who seeks the path of immortality ultimately does so for themselves. Unless it is to use them and discard them when they are no longer useful, one does not need others.
Perhaps this cos from her mammal nature, and her need for community and socializing. I do not have such concerns.
Lan Xiaohui looks thoughtful, as if she has more to say, but I can all but read her surface thoughts with my improved consciousness. Regrets will be plentiful, that is a given. But they cannot erode the Dao Heart.
I allow my Essence to exert its force through my body, and to diffuse through my Heavenly Jade Core. Within the principles of the [Heartless Blood Lily], I channel this energy through my vessel and produce a faint sword energy that contains my sword Qi. These sparkles of black and red, glimring white and gold, infuse the air and hover towards the ceiling where it glimrs like a blood red night sky.
Lan Xiaohui stares at this sword energy, her eyes wide and attentive. She understands my aning and what I desire from her. Before she falls asleep, she attempts to produce the sa kind of sword energy, with the sa kind of sword Qi, and though she falls short, she makes good progress.
This expenditure of energy is not just to reassure Lan Xiaohui, but also part of an experint that I have been aning to perform for a long ti.
If I can gain physical access to my arrays, via my sword Qi, then there is no telling how much I could optimize my existence.
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