The Fourth Stage - Chapter 6 preview (Patreon)

A week. Wu Ying had been able to acquire a week grace period before he was to speak with the Elders, present himself before them, justify any actions he might have taken and most of all, be judged whether he was suitable to be raised to the rank of Elder with all the responsibilities and rights it entailed.

During that week, Wu Ying spent additional time speaking with his parents, his friends and sister, showing Yang Mu around and otherwise soaking in alchemical baths to alleviate the symptoms of his damaged form. Liu Tsong was particularly enthused about the matter, taking copious notes to his reaction as she applied minor herbal alterations.

He even once – to great injury to his modesty – been visited by Elder Wei in the bath as the pair blithely spoke about the knowledge they were gaining treating him. That he had provided them the copious notes and Body Cleansing manuals he had purchased through his time in exchange for their aid was a matter neither party spoke of much.

Of course, no full course of treatment was devised as yet. His injuries were too numerous, too idiosyncratic for a quick fix. Like the Heavenly chi from enlightenment that had poured through him, the alchemical baths and the pills provided to him dealt with the minor lingering problems.

The major physical deviations, the misaligned meridians, the organs that were no longer properly functioning – all that would require further consideration and research before a treatment plan could be created. In the meantime, the goal was to bring Wu Ying back to as close to a peak form as possible.

On the day itself, Wu Ying smoothed down his robes once more, ensured they were properly tied and his long hair was tied off appropriately. Hairpins embedded in the hair ensured the majority would not get in the way, though the wind had a tendency to spoil his efforts at time. A reason why Wu Ying had requested the new – official – sect robes add a little more play with his sleeves and ribbons, so that the mischievous winds had something to play with.

Staring at himself in the simple – hah! Expensive was a better word – mirror, Wu Ying checked himself over once more. He had left the majority of his storage rings behind, only a pair adorning his fingers. The simple, inconspicuous golden ring that contained an entire world, his largest storage ring that contained gifts, samples and items he expected he would have to use as payment. His final ring – a toe ring hidden beneath the cloth shoes he wore – contained the equipment he would be loath to lose if he was forced to flee. Obviously, that included his cultivation manuals, the annotated Long family style text and the beginning scroll on the Wandering Dragon.

“You are nervous,” Fa Yuan said as she came into his room, a small smile gracing her face. Unlike his own dark green robes, hers were the traditional black robes of an Elder. Which brought up a question he’d been meaning to ask but never managed to.

“Why aren’t you higher yet?” Wu Ying said, gesturing at his sister. Then he winced, not having meant to be so blunt. Impediments in one’s journey to immortality were, by definition, quite personal. Bluntly asking her why she was incompetent…

The single arched eyebrow had him ducking his head in embarrassment. “Not everyone is in as much of a rush as you, Ah Ying.” Her voice growing quieter, she added. “You would do well to slow down as well. Look at what your explorations have done to you.”

Wu Ying winced. Rather than find a residence of his own, Wu Ying had chosen instead to stay with his Elder sister. After all, acquiring a residence would have required removing another cultivator from theirs if he did not want to take a location too small for his current level of cultivation. Yet, if he passed the exam, he would immediately be promoted, necessitating a move to a much larger location.

Yang Mu on the other hand, to her amusement, had been given quite a large residence halfway up the Elder portion of the mountain in the location meant for visiting elders. She had moved in to the residence on the second day, spreading herself out and spending her free time ascertaining the various needs of the Elders and the sect itself for her burgeoning merchant empire.

“It was necessary, Ah Yuan.”

“The last perhaps. But if you had taken more time in your exploration, spent a few more years layering your core, understanding the world…” her lips pursed. “Your immortal journey might be cut short even if you found that last wind you need.”

“I know.” One aspect of Body Cultivation was the way it turned the physical body into the immortal. In this case, the immortal wind. Yet, he had rejected that path once before, choosing instead to reform as a human and in doing so, injuring himself. He was not sure he could ever fully undertake that transformation nor the path to being both physical and immortal.

“So you’re just taking your time?” Wu Ying said, softly. Here, in her home, with him, she had relaxed her control of her aura a little. Hints from what his spiritual sense picked up and the wind spoke to him of indicated she had one of the largest and densest cores he had ever experienced.

“I am carefully reinforcing my core and ensuring that the Nascent Soul I have built is ready for its next step.”

“Very well.” Wu Ying sighed, running his hand down his robes one last time, drawing a smile from her. Realising he never answered her earlier comment, he added. “I just don’t believe that half the reason we’re having trouble is because other Elders do not want to give up their residences.”

“It has little to do with the residences themselves – in most cases – but the loss of face,” Fa Yuan said sternly. “You would be well cautioned not to underestimate how far our peers will go to save their dignity. For all too many of our peers, this is where they will end.”

“As a respected Elder?” Wu Ying cocked his head to the side. “Is that so bad?”

“Fool of a boy, is it enough for you?” He found himself shaking his head and she nodded. “Exactly. Most who ascend to Core Formation are not content to just be a Core Formation cultivator. Most burn with desire to be an immortal. But here, so many fall. Unable to step further. Resentment grows with each failure and those who ascend quickly…” The pointed look she offered him was clear who she meant. “Are resented even more.

“More. If this is all they can ever achieve, of course they will clutch it tighter. Clutch it till age and exhaustion takes it from them.”

“Elder Khoo, Elder Li, Master… they were not like that.”

“Of course not,” a sad smile on her lips then. “But they were picked for their roles because of their views. Except our Master, of course, and he was… well. He was different too.”

“Yes.” A long pause before he exhaled. “But whether they dislike me or not, there is little I can do, is there?”

“Being aware of the deeper tides in play is important. You should know that by now.” Fa Yuan’s lips compressed. “You cannot just run away from any trouble you cause, not this time.” Eyes narrowed a little, though he could see the glint of amusement in her eyes as she added. “You aren’t going to run, are you?”

“No, no, no.” Wu Ying waved his hands. “I would never do that.” Then grinning, he added. “I always ran after I took my fair share for the trouble caused. But I dare not anger Elder Khoo or Elder Wen, not in this way. Certainly not after seeing the external defences in place.”

“Impressive isn’t it?” Fa Yuan said with a little smile. “Elder Wang has only grown more skilled as time has passed.”

Wu Ying vaguely recalled the man from the start of his first expedition, so many years ago. Time had blurred faces and recollections, such that he could recall few details of the other. Looking back now, he could see how apprehensive and afraid he had been, even if he might have refused to fully acknowledge it. Youthful bravado could carry one quite far.

“So. Be mindful that many might want to refuse me a place because I might displace them. But surely there are others who desire me here. A Wandering Gatherer, a swordmaster, that is strength and reputation even the Verdant Green Waters would be foolish to lose.”

“Allies, aye. But the margins are smaller than you’d think,” she replied. “So be mindful of your manners. Do not give insult to those who do not offer it – and even then, be careful! Brashness and discourtesy could just as easily drive away allies.”

Wu Ying nodded. They’d spoken of all this before, but the last minute reminder he knew he deserved. Between his reputation, his past and he had to admit, his own impetuousness, he could not blame her for fearing his reaction.

Nor note, even as heavenly wind danced around him, reminding him of the essence of order, of the necessity of it, that he chaffed at such restrictions.

How much easier it had been, when he walked the wilderness alone, beholden to no one.

***

When they left, Fa Yuan led Wu Ying upwards, higher than he had ever been to before. They climbed, higher and higher, past the residential mansions that made up the Elder distract of the mountain, the three dozen buildings that had been built in the early stages of the sect’s founding to the innermost portion near the peak. As they climbed, Wu Ying could feel the swirl of chi around him grow denser, formations laid across multiple li concentrating the energy on this point. Even traces of heavenly chi, trickling upwards in its attempt to escape earthly confines were drawn here, such that those above benefited from the enlightenment of those below.

The environment here was pristine, concentrated to a degree that would have made a younger Wu Ying astounded. The clouds from the Dragon’s Breath technique continued to rotate high above, leaving the mountain range overcast but also guiding the energy of the surroundings towards him.

Up here, he felt his chi stores visibly increasing, filling his dantian and meridians, forcing him to refine them further to empower the core within. Soon enough, they departed the grounds set aside for the Elders to a forbidden land, a location he had never once been invited to.

The portion set apart for the core disciples. Famed, rumored, almost never seen, the core disciples of the sect were those who could trace lineage to the original founders, who were plucked from obscurity to be invited within and taught the secret techniques of their patriach. So important were they, that even during the war, not a single core disciple had been dispatched. Only in the defense of the sect would they act, and in so doing, showcase the full strength of the sect.

Or so the rumors said.

“All this, for a dozen students?” Wu Ying could not help the fact that his disapproval leaked into his voice as he spoke.

The inner complex for the core cultivators was expansive and luxurious. Buildings were made of expansive, flawless marble; edged with lustrous jade and gold and further reinforced by careful tending of the landscaping. Spiritual herbs lay in abundance, used not for their properties but for their beauty and to intensify the chi environment. Even with his minimal knowledge of formations, Wu Ying could tell that the shrubbery, the outdoor furniture and massive statues and positioning of the buildings were all artfully chosen to ensure the most pristine of flows of chi.

In so doing, Wu Ying could pick out the threads of each element with ease, could strain the wind chi coursing through the surroundings into his aura with minimal effort. It was clear to him that water and wood chi was predominant in the surroundings along with traces of wind and earth chi. Fire chi was nearly non-existent high above here. But for those who soaked in such energy in such bountiful levels, that even living in such an environment would help purify a body, enacting a gentle form of Body Cultivation.

For someone who had trained in that form of cultivation, he could feel it benefiting him immediately. Even as, he idly noted, the very act of cleansing him left behind impurtiies in the air that the formation was forced to breakdown.

“A dozen disciples, the Guardians, the Sect Head, the Patriach and a few Core Elders.” Fa Yuan confirmed. “And whatever hidden or reclusive Elders who might have been gifted a cultivation cave and who still survive.”

How could one forget the retired, closed door cultivators at the end of their lives? The hidden strength of any sect with deep roots like the Verdant Green Waters. Only the Sect Head and the Patriarch would know the true numbers, Wu Ying assumed. Perhaps the Guardians, though the Guardians were, of course, the first line of defense.

No, these retired cultivators were the final defense. They would act only when necessary, for many were at the end of their very long lives. Eking out existence by conserving energy, deep within the throes of meditation and cultivation in search of that elusive last glimpse of enlightenment that might stretch their existence out another year, another decade.

Not to ascend. Or so rarely, they might as well be a phoenixes’ feather. For those who took such a path had no confidence their souls and bodies could withstand the Heavenly Tribulation that awaited those who dared that final step.

“If they took a few cultivators from the outer sect, let them stay here for even a month…” he trailed off, imagination running wild.

“Even our presence here strains the formation and environment,” Fa Yuan said. “Investing such energy on indivdiauls who might – at best – be borderline cases for true extension? It would bankrupt the sect all too quickly.”

“Yet they can afford it now?”

“Because many of those who are Core cultivators come from families who help fund the running of the formation,” she replied. Then, she added, cutting him off before he could speak. “Even when their own prodigies are not present.”

Wu Ying winced. He did not have a clear understanding of the expense, but he knew that it likely beggared his own – not inconsiderable – fortune. Perhaps he could afford to pay for the cost of a single individual to come above, but to do so not just for a few years or decades, but for centuries?

He could feel the laughter of the heavens in the wind that brushed his hair.

“Enough. We’re here,” Fa Yuan said, cutting his reeling thoughts off. “’Ware your words and your thoughts from now on.”

A stadium half the size of the massive building that sat amidst the inner sect location towards the base of the mountain stood before them. Still massive, easily a half dozen rice fields in length, with multiple tiers of seating. Even without stretching his aura outwards, he could sense their presence.

The Elders that would judge him this day.