Chapter 7: On the Way Back

Chapter 7: On the Way Back

7

On the Way Back

I

Flying on a magical cloud was something Hao Zhen first experienced on his way to the Gentle Green Valley, and now that he was doing it again, the experience didnt feel any less amazing. If anything, now that he had his memories of his life as Amyas, riding on a tangible red cloud thousands of feet above the ground felt even more magical.The source of this content nov(el)bi((n))

The magical cloud was solid in a cushiony way, and Hao Zhen could feel it shifting and curving slightly under his weight whenever he moved. It reminded him of a mattressa very soft, incredibly comfortable one. Of course, the only reason he could even pay attention to the way the magical cloud felt was that he was a cultivator. This high in the sky, had he been a graysoul, hed have been too busy freezing to death to bother with anything else. Even as a cultivator, he still felt a little cold. Moreover, considering how fast they were moving, it was a good thing that there was some sort of invisible barrier around the magical cloud, or else theyd be swept up into the air by the wind.

Or at least, Hao Zhen thought that there was an invisible barrier of some kind around the cloud. He really couldnt think of any other explanation as to why he could remain sitting without any issues, his clothes and hair perfectly still, even though they were currently moving at what he believed to be hundreds of miles per hour.

Tian Jin was the one currently controlling the magical cloud. None of them had controlled a magical cloud before, but Tian Jin quickly got the hang of it, so they left it to him.

It had already been a while since they left the valley, but itd still take a bit over two days before they reached the sect. Thankfully, inside Ke Lis spatial ring was a jade slip with a map of the area around the sect, and after determining their position and in which direction the sect was, they had set off, taking to the skies.

Magical clouds needed a steady supply of spiritual power to fly, and just like they had done on their way to the valley, they were taking turns powering the magical cloud. Currently, Duo Lan was the one channeling spiritual power into the magical cloud while Tian Jin, who had taken the first turn, sat in meditation, recovering his spiritual stamina. Once Duo Lan started getting spiritually exhausted, Hao Zhen would take over.

Spiritual exhaustion was a concept Hao Zhen was still wrapping his head around. As far as he could tell, cultivators couldnt run out of spiritual power, as the spiritual energy comprising their crux never stopped emanating it. However, in order to control spiritual power, a cultivator had to rouse their soul using their mind, and much like a muscle, the soul couldnt be stressed continuously for a long period of time, requiring rest after a while. Consequently, a spiritually exhausted cultivator still had as much spiritual power as they always had, but they were unable to use it because their soul had run out of stamina.

What Hao Zhen found confusing was what, exactly, spiritual energy and spiritual power were. Spiritual energy was a substance, so it clearly wasnt energy in the sense used back on Earth, but he couldnt really describe it as matter, either. Spiritual power was even more confusing. It was something spiritual energy emanatedalmost like pressurewhich would imply it was some kind of force, yet it also behaved like a substance. Things only got more complicated when he thought about how besides spiritual energy, there was also spiritual matter, which was what souls were made of, and how just like spiritual energy emanated spiritual power, spiritual matter emanated spiritual aura.

Still, Hao Zhen didnt have the time to ponder that at the moment. Right now, he was much more concerned about his new spiritual skill.

Assimilating Ke Lis skill seed had been a fairly straightforward process. Following Tian Jins instructions, he had enveloped the skill seed with his spiritual power. The moment his spiritual power came into contact with the skill seed, it turned intangible, so when he then moved it into his chest, it entered his body unhindered. The next moment, almost instinctively, his spiritual power had pulled the skill seed into his soul, and in the blink of an eye, it was inside his crux. After entering his crux, the skill seed hadnt disappeared; instead, it remained floating inside it. Hao Zhen had then felt as if some connection had been established between him and the skill seed, and through it, he somehow knew all there was to know about Ethereal String Puppetryhow to use it, what it could do, and what its limitations were.

Spiritual skills were divided into six grades, the same way cultivation was, and each spiritual skill could have several forms, which were, essentially, versions and variations of the same spiritual skill, from what he understood. The higher the grade of a spiritual skill, the more forms it could have. Ke Lis skill seed was a red-grade skill seed, the lowest grade, so Hao Zhen only had access to the first form of Ethereal String Puppetry: One String Puppetry.

And now that he had assimilated the skill, Hao Zhen understood just what exactly Ke Li had done the previous night.

One String Puppetry gave the user the power to create an Ethereal String, which could be attached to virtually anyone or anything. The user would then be able to control whatever was attached to the Ethereal String through their thoughts. If the target was a living being, however, theyd be able to put up resistance, and the higher the level of the target, the harder it was to control them. Because of that, One String Puppetry worked best if the target was at a lower level than that user. In that case, unless the target had abnormally high willpower, the user would be able to perfectly control them without any problems. On the other hand, if the target was at the same level as the user, or at a higher level, the spiritual skill wouldnt be nearly as effective unless the target had been rendered unconscious, in which case they wouldnt be able to put up any resistance even if they were at a higher level.

There was also Duo Lan. Hao Zhen didnt know what exactly was the deal with her. If it hadnt been for Tian Jin, hed have probably assumed that she was the one with protagonist status, in light of what her life had been like since she had entered the Outer Court.

If his theory was correct and Tian Jin was a protagonist of some sort, then Hao Zhen reckoned that he was supposed to be a minor character. Duo Lans role, on the other hand, wasnt as clear. She could be a rival, a love interest, or even another protagonist. After all, even if cultivation novels usually only had a single protagonist, it didnt mean that the same would apply to this world.

Hao Zhen groaned in dismay. There were just too many questions, too many unknowns, and virtually zero answers. Coming to the conclusion that agonizing over the situation wasnt doing him any favors, he decided to do something productive and start cultivating instead. Now that he had his memories of his life as Amyas Auclair, he understood much better just how essential power was to cultivators, so he persevered.

Hao Zhen took out the three cultivation method jade slips from Ke Lis spatial ring and went through them one by one. Soon, however, he came to the conclusion that trying to comprehend them would be a waste of time. Itd take too long. Maybe if he had a week, hed be able to memorize enough of one of them to use it as his cultivation method, but theyd only be in his possession for two more days. Theyd be turning Ke Lis spatial ring in after returning to the sect, and since he was unsure whether the elders would know what cultivation methods Ke Li was supposed to have, he had already decided that it would be better not to take any risks and leave them all inside the ring. Unlike the jade slip containing Du Qings instructions, which there was no way the elders could know about, the sect most likely kept track of jade slips with cultivation methods.

With a sigh, Hao Zhen returned the jade slips to the spatial ring and simply focused on reciting the incantation of the Blazing Light Method, the cultivation method given to all outer disciples when they joined the sect. He then felt a connection form between himself and the spiritual power being emanated by his crux. Keeping the mental chant going, Hao Zhen used his spiritual power to pull ambient spiritual energythe ownerless magical energy that permeated the worldinto his soul, assimilating it into his crux. Because of how sparse ambient spiritual energy was, however, this was perhaps the most inefficient form of cultivation. If he had spiritual stones, this would be a different story, but he had already used up his monthly allotment. He wasnt talented enough to get his hands on more, either, having only barely managed to pass the entrance examinations.

Talent. Hao Zhen furrowed his brow.

Cultivators could potentially live for thousands of years and become powerful enough to split mountains in half by simply swinging their sword, but to reach that level, you needed talent. And talent was something that Hao Zhen was rather deficient in if the last two months were any indication. He was still stuck at the first level of the Red Spiritual Realm, and would remain stuck there for quite a while. On the other hand, Duo Lan and Tian Jin, who had entered the sect together with him, had long since broken through to the second level.

Hao Zhen had read cultivation novels in which the protagonist was someone from Earth who had transmigrated into a world much like the one he was now in. In all those novels, the protagonist always got some sort of special power or ability that allowed them to quickly rise to prominence. In his case, however, he had nothingno special power, no talent, and no background.

Thinking of that, Hao Zhen couldnt help but chuckle wryly.

Overall, he was a pretty darn unfortunate transmigrator, no matter how he looked at it.

II

Over the next day, they took turns channeling their spiritual power into the magical cloud, and even though they had one less person to help power the magical artifact, between the three of them they managed to make it work. They spent most of their time in silence, either resting to recover their spiritual stamina or cultivating, though they ended up having to limit their cultivation time because cultivation also used up spiritual stamina. Or at least Hao Zhen had to do so. As Tian Jin and Duo Lan were both second-level redsouls, they had twice as much spiritual stamina, so they werent as affected.

It was on the morning of the second day that Tian Jin broke the silence. We should be arriving at the sect in a couple of hours.

Hao Zhen, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened his eyes to look at Tian Jin, then stared off into the distance. Hearing Tian Jins words, he felt a pit in his stomach. In just a couple of hours, theyd need to report Ke Lis death to the elders of the sect, and whether theyd be able to get away with their lie would be revealed. If they didnt Hao Zhen shook his head. Worrying about that any further would do him no good.

About five hours later, Tian Jin pointed out the Blazing Light Mountains in the distancethe mountain range in which the Blazing Light Sect lay. Shortly afterward, Tian Jin started slowing down the magical clouds, and only a few moments later, Hao Zhen caught sight of the Blazing Light Sect: tens of thousands of buildings sprawled throughout the mountain range, roughly divided into three areas, which he assumed were the three courts of the sect: the Outer Court, the Inner Court, and the Core Court.

They had arrived.