Chapter 120 - Riverfall Village

I spoke so many things, put on the good guy attitude, didn't ask where they were taking me even though they kidnapped me, and remained respectful from the start. Why? My target had been the old man all along. This was what I was waiting for.

''This junior humbly accepts.'' I immediately got on my knees. Now the old man couldn't go back on his words even if he wanted to. How easy, I finally got a clan's backing. I should have done it way earlier but I just didn't have the chance to meet a cultivator.

''Stand up, stand up. There's is no need to do this.'' I stood up as soon as he said this.

We alighted the carriage and the women congratulated me. Fu Qiai seemed a little surprised as we had just met and Elder Xuang had already taken me in as his disciple.

With this, I could be considered a member of the Fu clan. As a Peak Qi gathering cultivator, this new master of mine was very influential in the Fu clan.

I looked around and found ourselves in the wilderness. There was greenery all around and I could only see a small outline of the city far away. That carriage was really fast. We were so far away in such a short time.

''Looks like I'm your really senior sister now,'' said Tanya, coming beside me.

''Where are we?'' I asked. This place seemed nowhere but I could guess that people of the Fu clan lived around here. Maybe there was a settlement nearby.

I was correct as Tanya replied to me a moment later. ''Just a little further away from here is our village.''

Village? Such a wealthy clan lived in a village? I didn't believe it. Following our master, we reached a place, a rather beautiful place.

Straight north of Xuahour city, there were hills. Although Tanya said a little further away, we travelled tens of miles before reaching this ''village.''

It was a beautiful valley!

There really was a village down there but it was way more luxurious than what I had imagined. The houses were made up of Lotus Fragrance Woods, an expensive material by this world's standards.

There was a waterfall running down from the eastern hill which streamed through the village's heart. I could see people drawing water from there with my enhanced sights.

We entered the valley and a few cultivators immediately came at the entrance.

''We greet Elder Xuang!''

''Welcome back young miss!''

They echoed at once. These were early rank Qi gathering cultivators. The guards of Fu Clan were mostly Meridian Opening practitioners but the arrival of an elder had to be attended with cultivators.

I felt a different air the moment we entered the valley. It was fresh and there was… an abundance of Qi in the surroundings.

'There must be a spirit vein nearby,' I thought as I looked around.

''Who is he, elder?'' One of the cultivators asked. I was a new face here.

Master Xuang smiled and said, ''I will introduce my new disciple at the annual clan meetings.''

I nearly forgot this world's New Year was five days away, with the start of spring. It was the most important day.

The cultivators sized me up with their eyes. I didn't look ordinary. Anyone chosen by Elder Xuang couldn't be an ordinary practitioner.

''Zui Fan is my name. It is inspiring to meet you, seniors.'' I introduced myself, giving an appropriate bow.

I had already given my name to my new master and senior sister Tanya. The cultivators also introduced themselves and we started walking again. 

The name of this village was Riverfall village because the people who first resided here thought that a river had fallen from the sky when looking at the waterfall.

Fu Qiai went to meet her mother and the cultivators left after showing us in. The atmosphere here was peaceful and the clan members all had amiable smiles on their faces. The moment the others left, Master Xuang waved his hands and a gust blew our clothes. The next second, we were flying.

As our bodies flew towards one of the hills near the waterfall, Tanya said, ''I haven't learned this skill yet or I would also be able to fly.''

''How many days has it been since you broke through, senior sister?'' I asked.

''Four,'' Tanya replied.

Four days and she still hadn't consolidated her cultivation. It seemed her body hadn't adapted to the interaction with Qi yet.

There were various types of Qi in this world. The most common type would be the Yuan Qi which was divided into five elements: wood, water, fire, wind, and earth. Then there were special attributes of Qi such as Yin-Yang.

Light and darkness attributes came under Yin-Yang. For my condition, I only focused on Yang Qi. However, I could channel light Qi, fire Qi or any positive energy through my Yang meridians. For Yin, a cultivator could channel dark Qi, ice Qi or any negative energy.

It was even possible to control the death Qi for a Yin cultivator. That was why people having special attributes were more powerful and rare than other cultivators.

It appeared the Fu clan specialized in wind Qi. Most of its clan members had a signature of wind Qi in them. A cultivator such as Fu Xuang could keep himself afloat manipulating the Yuan Qi of the surroundings but he especially preferred his own Wind Qi to fly.

In a few minutes, we landed near a large bamboo cottage. From here, I could clearly see the full map of this beautiful village laid below. We were standing on a hill.

''As my disciple, you are now automatically a member of the Fu clan. You will be staying here from now on.'' Master Xuang glanced at me and said.

''If you need anything, just ask your senior sister. Tanya, show him around. This old man has some work to do.'' He ordered and flew towards another hill.

Fu Tanya was a woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties. She had common black hair, brown eyes, and had a round face featuring a small nose and sharp eyebrows. As a fairly mature woman, I thought that she would look older considering she was Fu Qiai's aunt.

But after becoming a cultivator, her lifespan had increased and she had regained her fading youth. It made sense why she seemed older than Fu Qiai but still had a youthful body of rather exaggerated proportions. It was hard not to notice those curves and watermelons.

I asked her real age right after the master left and she was neither angered nor saddened like older women typically would be.

''39,'' She said. This wasn't that old. If I am to be honest, by this world's standards, Fu Tanya could even be called a child. Her lifespan was 300 years now, so 39 was nothing.

A practitioner would have their lifespan increased by around 200 years after they advance to Qi gathering. With every minor rank, a Qi gathering cultivator would be able to live another 100 years. So a peak Qi gathering cultivator like Master Xuang could live past thousand years.

He looked old so I was sure that he was more than 200 years old already. Clans like Fu clan, Wang clan, Hidden Dragon clan appeared 400 years ago, so in a sense, he was an old monster.

''You thought your senior sister is an old hag?'' Tanya nudged me by her elbow. She considered me as a typical boy in his late teens. If only she knew that I was, counting the age of the previous Zuifan, much much older than any cultivator in this world…

''No, I just wanted to affirm that senior Tanya is indeed a talented practitioner. You reached Qi gathering in just 39 years, that is not easy.''

Of course, the usual flattery. It was like a default option when I spoke now. Tanya's impression of me had already reached a +1000% even though we only met today.

She showed me around this hill very enthusiastically. 

''Here, the training area full of bamboo shoots.''

''There, master's cultivation platform! It has a formation to collect the surrounding Yuan Qi. Do you see that? Those are spirit stones.''

''That's the alchemy room, and there is an archive of master's books. On the other side is senior brother Haisong's room. He is master's first disciple.''

Fu Tanya stopped after mentioning senior Haisong. She had already shown me all over this hill which was the property of Master Xuang himself. She told me that his first disciple was not so lucky and despite already being seventy years old, he was still stuck in the second rank of Qi gathering.

''So where is he now?'' I asked.

''Brother Haisong rarely stays in the clan these days. He goes out to hunt demon beasts almost daily. Even after being a disciple of an Elder, being an untalented cultivator weighs down on him.'' Senior Tanya sighed. ''Even I have only seen senior brother Haisong only a couple of times.''

After that, she brought me inside a room of the cottage. This cottage had many rooms, larger than those of Immortal Wine Hotel. There was no bed inside, however, the floor was covered by an expensive golden mat. I looked up and found a different type of lamp hanging on the bamboo ceiling, one that was fueled not by oil but by spirit stones instead.

The wall to the left side was… wait, that was no wall but a white curtain instead. This room had a wall missing! I swept the curtain to the side and suddenly thought that it wasn't that bad.

A mesmerizing view lay ahead. It was a valley village dyed by the setting sunlight.

''This is your room from today,'' Senior Tanya came behind me and said.