Chapter [B3] 3 — Meeting

Chapter [B3] 3 — Meeting

I followed behind Qiao Ying making my way towards the chamber where the formation had been prepared for this scrying. I had been quite surprised to learn about the existence of long range communication like this, but in hindsight it shouldn’t have been too much of a surprise. Given the kinds of various mystic arts that existed it wasn’t a big stretch to imagine cultivators being capable of projecting their images across large distances.

The thought only made me more excited and hopeful about what could be done in this world. What was possible if these resources and abilities were not limited to just a fraction of humanity. I was already on my Path to making the world this way. And naturally, those in power are not going to be happy about my actions.

After we arrived at a chamber I wasn’t familiar with, Qiao Ying stepped to the side. I stepped forward pushing the gates open, which opened with a slight creak.

Inside I saw a small pool of water set within a circular section made of stone. I could see the lines of Qi running around, creating the formation art. Briefly the thought came in my mind whether the same could be replicated with Chi or if the different energies would react differently within the formation.

The bad part about having access to a brand-new kind of energy was the fact that nobody knew how much could be done with it. Putting the thought aside, I walked into the chamber. Zhang followed behind me.

“Please establish a connection with this formation. When you do, the scrying art will activate, connecting you to the Patriarch,” Qiao Ying instructed me.

“Will Lord Zhou be attending as well?” I asked.

“Lord Zhou has some tasks to see to, but I will be here representing him. He has left the matters of the sect to you,” Qiao Ying replied smoothly.

That made sense, but part of me also wondered if this was a test. To see if I could handle the sect on my own, or if someone else would perhaps be more suitable to take my place.

“Alright, let’s start,” I said, sending a pulse of Chi into the pool of water. As I did, the formation arts lit up glowing with a silvery sheen as the still body of water began to form ripples within it. “Please hold the connection,” Qiao Ying told me.

I didn’t reply, simply focus on the stream of Chi flowing into the body of water. After a minute of shaking, the waters surged, rising upwards to roughly be as tall as I was. A moment later a person’s figure formed from the water, as the Patriarch now stood in front of me. The man was just about what I had expected, he looked to be in his fifties, with a few strands of white running through his long black hair as he wore pristine robes and stood tall and proud, with the arrogance that came with a stature like his. Qiao Ying bowed his head, I did not. Instead, I gave a nod of respect and acknowledgement.

“We had heard the rumors, but to think you really were just a child,” the man said, his eyes looking me up and down as if trying to seek for something.

“As the saying goes, revere not the elder by years alone, but whose visage betrays not the ages they've known,” I replied, smiling to myself for having read a few more books in the little free time I had found.

The Patriarch snorted, Lu Jie noted the barest hints of a smile upon the man’s stern face. “We see that you possess sufficient amounts of arrogance. A quality befitting a young cultivator, and one with talent such as yours. Unlike the old fool Yan, we are not so blind to miss the things you represent. But remember boy, a young dragon though you may be, you step in a world filled with dragons older than yourself. It would do you well to learn humility, and gain allies. Even dragons do not live all on their own.”

I nodded, not cutting back the Patriarch’s words this time.

“Is that perhaps the purpose of this meeting? Talks of alliances?” I asked, looking at the Patriarch with a raised eyebrow.

“Patriarch, if you were to get this many pills made for your cultivators, how long would it take you?” I asked.

The man looked confused. “Roughly a day, perhaps half a day of the disciples were talented.”

I nodded, closing the pouch. “It takes my mortal alchemist, a single day, to make ten times as much.”

The man looked at me in disbelief, before his eyes went back down to my pouch.

“There is an untold amount of potential waiting to be extracted within these mortals. The very moment one chooses to remove the blindfold from their vision, one can see just how much can be gained.”

The Patriarch heeded my words, before a smile came upon his face. “We see why you gained Lord Zhou’s support, child. Indeed, you have gained our intrigue.”

I almost let a smile slip, but the man continued.

“But this is not enough. You must prove what you have said. The divine tree sect shall become a branch sect upon the seventh peak. But the position you hold within it is only granted to you temporarily. If you can show that you are truly worthy of leading, we will allow you to keep what you have gained.”

I returned a brief nod. I had expected something more or less like this.

“For now, you may use the resources of the sect,” the man said, as part of the water flowed out, forming characters that would unlock the vault. I glanced sideways, as Qiao Ying hastily recorded them on a piece of parchment.

“Do not disappoint us,” the man said, as the water fell back down into its pool, with a splash.

I sighed, feeling the tension finally vanish from my body. Glancing sideways, I saw Qiao Ying clutching the pieces of parchment with the characters. “Well done, sir. With this, we have gained the support of the Patriarch.”

“Thank you,” I replied. “Although I don’t quite feel very happy just yet. There’s still a lot left to be done.”

The boy nodded. “I’ll be doing as much as I can to support you in your path.”

I gave Qiao Ying a nod, dismissing him to let him get to work, allocating and recording the resources we had finally managed to secure from the sect. Trying not to collapse into a puddle, I thought over what I had to do next, before remembering something.

I looked at Zhang. “Where the heck is the old man?”