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2.16 - Old Guo Provides Direction
🕑 Added 2024-01-25 23:00:04 +0000 UTCAfter a month or so, He Yu was pushing up against the boundary of the late Second Realm. These results were far beyond his expectations, given that he’d only just reached middle Foundation. It shouldn’t have surprised him, on further thought.
He’d been in near-constant combat or training since leaving the sect. He’d been feasting on awakened beast meat and absorbing the qi from the cores they collected. He couldn’t even begin to calculate the equivalent amount of spirit stones for all the resources he’d consumed in these past months. A training opportunity, indeed.
As he settled in to cultivate for the evening, approaching footsteps interrupted him. He Yu stood and bowed over a salute.
“Come with me, boy,” Old Guo said.
He Yu hurried to follow the old cultivator as he turned and headed towards the lake shore. Old Guo had returned a week prior with Li Heng in tow and had since secluded himself inside his hut, instructing the disciples to continue their training as they had been. After seeing the change in his housemate upon his return, it was hard for He Yu to contain the buzzing of excitement at the prospect of whatever Old Guo had in store for him.
They walked along the shore of the lake for some time, Old Guo saying nothing, and He Yu not daring to break the silence himself. Once they’d reached the far side Old Guo held up a hand, calling for a halt. He turned then and spent far too long boring into He Yu with his gaze.
“You have benefited greatly in such a short time,” he said.
“This one thanks you for your instruction, Honored Elder,” He Yu said, giving another salute to the old cultivator.
“I take it you already know the benefits of remaining at the peak of a realm?”
He Yu nodded. Tan Xiaoling had remained at the peak of the Second Realm for as long as he’d known her, and she was by far the strongest of the disciples who had joined the sect at the same time He Yu did. If the rumors were to be believed, Zhang Lifen had spent over a decade at the peak of Golden Core, reinforcing her cultivation in preparation for her own breakthrough to Nascent Soul.
“I expect all three of you to reach peak Foundation within another month at most,” Old Guo said. He Yu had to choke back his shock. “It would be advisable to remain there, and reinforce your cultivation until you return to the Shrouded Peaks Sect and can avail yourself of the resources you’ll have access to there.”
The idea of remaining at the peak of foundation as Tan Xiaoling had was certainly a thrilling one, but there was just one problem.
“Pardon my ignorance,” He Yu said, “but what about King Hao?” Their first encounter with the Third Realm bandit king hadn’t left any doubt as to his strength, and He Yu was certain that they didn’t have a chance of beating him unless all three of them advanced.
“Tell me of your first encounter with the Ox King,” Old Guo said.
He Yu recounted the fight. How the bandit leader had simply overpowered them with his Third Realm strength. How he’d not even needed to use proper techniques to disrupt their attacks. How he’d easily kept pace as they tried to run.
“Just so,” Old Guo said. “Hao Niu may be early Third Realm, but his cultivation base is poorly formed. Make no mistake, it will be a hard-fought battle when you face him again. It will require all three of you to be at your best, and you may fall to him regardless. But you have proper arts, while he does not. That is your edge.”
It was then that He Yu remembered the red-tinged shadow that had enveloped King Hao when he’d defended himself against Li Heng’s attack. When he mentioned it to Old Guo, the old cultivator looked troubled. He was silent for long moments after.
When he finally spoke again, it was a question, and not one that He Yu had expected. “What do you know of the art you cultivate?”
“Very little,” He Yu admitted. “I know the Cloud Emperor’s Heavenly Palace was gifted to me by Elder Cai Weizhe, who inherited the art from its creator. The Elder said it would carry me to the heights of cultivation. Beyond that, I know little.”
“Is that all?”
He Yu hesitated at that. All the searching he’d done had revealed precious little about the art. Or Elder Cai, now that he thought on it. What few snatches he’d heard sounded like they belonged to a grand legend. “Well, the only other thing is just a few mentions of what sounds like a legend. Elder Cai used the art to seal away something called the—”
Old Guo cut him off with a sharp gesture. “It is best not to speak of some things unless.”
“Why not?” He Yu demanded before he could think to stop himself. It had always been a bad habit of his, and he’d been lucky that his mentor at the sect was such a permissive sort. As soon as the words had left his mouth, Old Guo’s expression told him he’d made a mistake.
“Do you think you—a mere child of the Foundation stage—know better than I, Old Guo?”
He Yu bowed his head, “No, Honored Elder. Please forgive this one’s indiscretion.”
“Is that all you know?” he asked sharply.
He Yu swallowed the growing lump in his throat. He felt as though this was dangerous territory, and he had no desire to venture further. However, the obvious expectation of an answer left him with no choice.
“It’s all I can say with any certainty, Honored Elder,” he said. “There are certain other things this one’s mentor has spoken of, though.”
“Tell me.”
He Yu recounted his talk with Zhang Lifen after his duel with Sha Xiang. How Zhang Lifen had made some vague allusions, mentioning a “she” and saying that great powers were stirring. As he spoke, he risked a glance up at Old Guo.
The old cultivator had always looked old, but in the way that immortals do. He was bald, and his eyebrows and beard were white like fresh snow, but he’d always had an ageless quality to him. Certainly in those times where he’d stripped off his outer robe, he’d revealed the physique of a much younger man in peak physical condition. Now, he simply looked tired.
“It would have fallen to one of the younger generations eventually,” Old Guo murmured to himself. “Follow me, and listen carefully,” he said, returning to his normal, iron-hard demeanor.
As he fell in behind Old Guo once again, He Yu wrestled with his warring excitement and apprehension. Was he finally going to learn something of the legend of Elder Cai?
“The Cloud Emperor’s Heavenly Palace is an art that adapts itself to the natural affinities of those who cultivate it while adding a heaven aspect. For you, this means you cultivate water, wind, and heaven. The Shrouded Peaks Sect’s arts primarily cultivate earth, metal, and mountain aspects. Do you see the problem for you?”
He Yu indicated that he did. Already the conflict between the aspects of his arts was clear. He couldn’t use his movement technique, the Sky Dragon’s Flight, while he was enforcing himself with the physical techniques of the White Mountain Body Art.
Zhang Lifen had instructed him to focus on cultivating the Cloud Emperor’s Peerless Judgment rather than the White Mountain Soul Art, so he couldn’t say whether he’d experience a similar conflict with his spiritual cultivation. He suspected that he would.
“There are two basic strategies that cultivators adopt when selecting their arts,” Old Guo began. “The first, and the most common, is to specialize. Selecting arts that match or support one’s natural affinity allows for easier growth while cultivating a variety of aspects allows for greater flexibility. However, specialization can lead to difficulties in dealing with challenges that the aspects of one’s qi are unsuited for, while a cultivator who spreads themselves out will be hampered by the conflicting aspects of their own spirit.”
“What do you suggest?” He Yu asked, figuring that if Old Guo was going to lecture him on cultivation theory, he might as well get as much out of it as he could.
The old cultivator turned to him, a slight crinkle appearing at the corners of his eyes. “You’re wise to ask. I, for one, have spent a thousand years cultivating wood aspected arts. Now I find myself stuck at a bottleneck. I may reach the late Soul Refining stage in time. Surely you’ve sensed the abundant qi of the lake and the surrounding forest. Even so, should I manage to achieve the peak of the Sixth Realm, I fear that I’ll be unable to break through to Divine Body Attainment before even my lifespan runs out.”
He Yu remained quiet for some time. He knew that immortals would continue to age, and should they take too long to advance they would eventually die. He’d never really thought about the practicalities of it, and what that meant for his own future, though. A thousand years and Old Guo had only reached the middle Soul Refining stage.
“Your friends are already set upon their paths,” Old Guo said, interrupting He Yu’s thoughts. “Yan Shirong cultivates shadow. He will likely need to add another aspect or two eventually. Li Heng cultivates lunar and water qi. As he progresses with his family art his qi will take on a sword aspect as well.”
He’d never heard of a sword aspect, but He Yu assumed it would be a subtype of metal. “Pardon, but it seems like you’re suggesting that I specialize as well,” he said.
Rather than provide a direct answer, Old Guo said, “There is an old temple in the mountains to the east. It was ruined long before I arrived in this region and lies just outside the sect lands. It shouldn’t take you more than a few days to reach it. Perhaps you’ll find something useful there.”
He Yu could barely contain his excitement as Old Guo turned and left him standing by the lake shore. An ancient ruined temple that had existed for maybe hundreds of years? He couldn’t even begin to imagine what sorts of treasures it may hold. It was something out of a legend. He didn’t even need to think it over—he’d leave in the morning.
