Chapter 26: Chapter 26

Lan Xiaohui exactingly collects the mature Yin-Yang Grass, and in the process, I learn about some of her upbringing.

I found it somewhat uncharacteristic of her — as a spoiled princess — to possess the knowledge to replant vegetation in order to obtain more of it.

It turns out that Lan Xiaohui, and her Lan family, has a fascination in a ritual called the tea ceremony. As such, Lan Xiaohui had an interest in the tea leaves and the adjacent culture of growing plants — flowers for the most part. In fact, when Lan Xiaohui asked for the Auspicious Farming Method, it was not only in order to plant the Yin-Yang Grass, but also to reminisce on the times when her life had much greater stability than it does now.

Perhaps, she thought, it would help her overcome the bottleneck.

It seems that she has an affinity towards this sort of work, because, surely, she is aware that she can activate my internal storage array and let all of these herbs be sucked in.

Another change I notice is that she no longer bothers to hide her somewhat exposed body. Perhaps she realizes I have no interest in her obviously mammal constitution. Though, I still fail to understand why she even holds on to the dress in the first place. In this place, there is no such concept of modesty and no entity, municipal or local, to enforce it. In fact, freedom and flexibility could be considered to be of great advantage when faced with a pack of demonic creatures harboring an objective to make someone else’s carbon molecules their own.

Still, the clothes of the dead cultivator reside in my internal storage, likely because she anticipates that one day she will need them, even if they are meant to be worn by a male member of her species.

It is fairly optimistic for someone who intends to challenge demonic creatures many times her strength — keeping clothes for wearing them on a later occasion.

She anticipates success. All I anticipate is being fed.

Once she stores the last piece of Yin-Yang Grass in my internal storage, bringing up the total to 30 handfuls, she sighs and opens her palm, turning it skywards.

A faint sword Qi emerges from the center of her palm, glittering like sparkling snow. She smiles, aware of her extreme accomplishment, but at the same time, aware of its lack of power.

“The sword Qi I felt back then was not strong, like my uncle’s, but mine is even weaker,” she says. “Even grass and trees can produce this kind of thing, stronger than mine. Is there even a point to me cultivating?”

What Lan Xiaohui fails to understand, but is vividly clear to me, is that a cultivator is different from grass or trees. Grass or trees will never form powerful sword Qi.

For an object to truly cultivate sword Qi, it would have to bathe in the Qi of Heaven and Earth, and be aware of the Dao of Sword, for thousands of years. What happened back then was not sudden enlightenment, but is surely one of the factors that determined me to be a Divine grade treasure.

Simply put, it is based on what I provisionally call conductivity. My Essence and vessel are capable of magnifying and encouraging the Intent and convictions of one’s Dao. Whereas other vessels and objects might resist or reject such Qi pathways, I do not. In the hands of a mortal, I may just be a very sharp sword that devours all life; but in the hands of a powerful cultivator, I do not know what is impossible.

“Reaching the Foundation realm is not an easy matter for either of us,” I tell her, distantly. I do not want my [Tyranny] to discourage her. I have formed somewhat of an understanding how to operate my sea of consciousness. I can divide it, or manage its flow. Even such a thing as [Tyranny] is but like a river that feeds into my sea. If I separate that flow, and use as little consciousness as possible, I can communicate without intimidating.

“Then what would you suggest?” she asks, looking into the distance.

“Improve your consciousness,” I tell her. “Gain battle experience to sharpen your Dao.”

She lowers her head, eyes set on the ground. She is silent for a long moment. “You want me to improve my sword Qi?”

That is exactly what I want her to do. Or, rather, it is a benefit of what I want her to do.

“I do not see how,” she says. “A strong sword Qi requires a deep cultivation. But if you say that a stronger consciousness and battle experience can make up for that, then I have no reason not to believe you.”

There are perhaps many reasons not to believe me. After all, I am also in the Qi Refining realm, but able to produce strong sword Qi. Much of this strength comes from my advanced consciousness, and the inherent grade of that consciousness. It is not something that Lan Xiaohui can replicate.

However, there are factors beyond consciousness and the profoundness of one’s Dao that can make two otherwise identical entities stand apart. One of them, certainly, is battle experience.

I touch the storage array with my consciousness and the two remaining soul fruits fall out from nothingness, and drop into Lan Xiaohui’s hands.

“Feed these items to me,” I tell her.

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She seems confused at first, likely because she does not understand that for me these have a different effect. But she does not question it.

She presses one of the fruits to my black jade core. “Like this?”

I touch the fruit with my consciousness, but nothing happens. I think about eating it. Still nothing happens.

“Am I doing it right?” she asks. “How do you eat?”

I wonder the same thing. Clearly, there is a mechanism here that allows me to expel my internal blood and impurities, even though physically I possess neither of those things. If my blade were to snap in half now, no liquid would come out.

I think of that aperture through which I breathe in the Qi of Heaven and Earth. I focus myself on opening it.

Suddenly, the soul fruit shrivels away and disappears.

[ Soul fruit consumed: +4000 SP ]

So that is how that works. I wonder if this process happens automatically when I feed.

Lan Xiaohui wears a concerned expression. “Are you sure you want the other one too?”

At first I wonder if she is planning on using another one, and that this is the root cause of her concern, but the more I think about it, the more I feel that she is worried about my well-being. I don’t know what this fruit does for her, but to me, it is just soul points.

“Yes.”

[ Soul fruit consumed: +4000 SP ]

There is no reason for me to hesitate here. If this is where she intends to make her death ground, and either die or become worthy of new life, then I will assist her.

I immediately find what I am looking for.

[ Exchanged 7,500 Soul Points to obtain: Heartless Blood Lily Sword Manual (Manual - Heaven) ]

The manual I learn is an external cultivation martial art, specific to the sword. To me, it appeared as just External Sword Manual, but it turned out to be exactly what I wanted. I knew this would happen. Perhaps, it is an effect of my improved Dao of Meta.

I learn this external art at a mastery of 100%, automatically, and by way of so, I also learn that I am capable of thus teaching it to Lan Xiaohui.

I open my aperture once more, and through it, I force a condensation of sword Qi, my Essence and a part of my sea of consciousness. What appears in her hand, now devoid of soul fruit, is a faintly glimmering orb of gold, white, blue and red.

“What is this…?” she asks, suspicious, but intrigued at the same time.

She closes her eyes, not even waiting for my reply, and the orb disperses into gold and white streamers that disappear into her palm.

Her lips quirk into a smile, as her eyes open. “Heartless Blood Lily. It is so beautiful.”

Beautiful, perhaps. I am not a good judge of charm and appearance. But I know that what makes this blood lily grow is death, and I also long to be fed.

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