ALL NOVEL 27: Trust (I)
Back at the Sect, I picked Kexin from the exclusive residence area on the northern side of the Outer Sect. It was a special area prepared for disciples of the Elders or for people who could pay 80 spirit stones per month to live there. It had a set of servants to take care of meals and cleaning along with access to a small room built into a Formation array building for meditation. However, that place wasn’t suitable for her to start things off.
We stood in front of a solid rockface in the mountain range on the southern side of the Outer Sect. The black leaves of the willowed ash trees here were so dark that they absorbed all moonlight, the only source of light for her was the luminous stone lamp in my hand. When my token touched the rockface, the ground trembled, and the gathered dirt slid off revealing an iron double door that opened inwards. A dark, cold tunnel, wide enough for only two people stretched deep inside the mountain with no end in sight.
“Master, where are we going?” Kexin’s voice was the only sound aside from the crunching leaves beneath her feet.
“The Moon Garden.” I said taking a step inside the tunnel as she followed.
“The Moon Garden? It exists?” Kexin’s words made me sigh.
“Those rumors still haven’t died down, huh.”
“The Moon Garden is a place of legend, right? It is one of the seven wonderous sights of the Azure Sky Sect, one that the least amount of people have seen!” Kexin's interest was understandable in that place.
Not her alone, every woman in the Sect wants to visit that Garden, even inner sect disciples.
“Master, are we really going there?” Her eyes were shining brighter than the lamp.
“It is the best place to start cultivation for Wood-type spiritual roots, I started cultivating there too.” That place had been around before the establishment of Azure Sky Sect.
“I know about that, that is why it is so famous.” Kexin smiled, her enthusiasm increasing with every step.
However, reaching the sight wasn’t that easy. After the initial two hundred, the tunnel would split into two every twenty steps moving upwards or downwards simultaneously, almost like an ant’s hill on a different level. One wrong turn could lead a person to get lost for months, as these tunnels stretched under the entire perimeter of the Sect leading to multiple locations including trap areas and dead ends.
Because of that, we had tried to shut down the rumors about Moon Garden which sat in the middle of this system, however, the more we tried the worse it became, and then someone went and ran their mouth. To this day even Inner Sect disciples try to find that place, let alone Outer Sect Disciples who are closer to it.
“But I read in a book that the Moon Garden was in the Northen foggy plains, hidden in a formation.” Kexin muttered, her words echoing off the earthen walls.
“That’s to misdirect the crowd.” We had to do some damage control that led to making a fake Moon Garden in a safe place. Of course, that place wasn’t as good as the place my Master created, even for an imitation it was of low quality.
After an hour of walking on flattened dirt and navigating through these endless forks, the end was in sight. The soft light entered through the opening, a mellow scent of flowers replaced the musky and ferric scent of the soil. In the cavern soft light came down, a path led through the bed of translucent flowers reflecting the moonlight coming from the wide opening above, in the middle of the cavern was a knee-deep pond, the water was clear shimmering in a mysterious purple hue.
“Oh…” Kexin exclaimed at the sight in front.
This was a place rich in natural Qi, the area trapped the pure Yin Qi from the Moon resulted in the special mirror flowers that only bloomed after the sunset. The natural Yin Qi here melded with the air and even the water in the pond, the more breaths I drew the more the pit in my stomach grew.
A resonance, huh? These conditions were perfect for me even now. But it wasn’t the time to be hasty, it was Kexin’s day to shine.
“You seemed zoned out.” I turned to look at the wide-eyed Kexin.
“No… it’s just… it feels weird here…”
The unsureness in her voice was understandable. After all, the fish was about to enter the water for the first time, its instinct was already screaming to jump right in.
“Have you memorized the first chapter of the Cultivation Method and the introductory chapter I wrote?” I asked walking down the path leading to the pond.
“Y-Yes.” Her tone turned poignant. “Master, would it really take me a year to enter the first stage of Qi Gathering?”
“Hmm, that is the normal speed for everyone.” I said setting my foot on the pond’s surface, sending a subtle ripple across it as I stepped forward. “Of course, it will be different for you.”
“…Master, do you enjoy teasing people?” She asked.
“Why do you think so?”
“...Master didn’t deny it at all.” Kexin sighed.
“You seem more at ease now, that’s good.” Before she had this cautiousness around her, her sharpness and understanding were strong points to me as well as her quick judgment based on what was good for her and the ones around her. Even now she was trying to check things, as my treatment of her, reflected Wang Yang’s treatment.
“A Master is on the same pedestal as parents for a disciple, so I hoped that it wouldn’t be a problem.” She said.
“It is good that you understand that early on.” I smiled stretching my hand towards her. “That's why, don’t act surprised when you get punished for your mistakes.”
“I won’t.” She took my hand and walked into the pond.
The purple moss glimmered through the water, it was slippery but Kexin maintained her balance well with my support. We came to a stop in the middle of the pond, I had her sit down there the water coming up to her chest.
“How long should it take me to reach the first stage, Master?” She asked again, obviously wanting to accomplish it faster than I’d say.
“One day.”
Her neck snapped towards my direction, her green eyes filled with surprise. “H-How?”
“By cheating of course.” I smiled.
A zither appeared in my hands as I sat down on the pond’s surface, crafted from rare jade wood it was one of the last works of a mortal master craftsman, its surface shimmered with a soft luminescence, reflecting the moonlight like the rippling water. Plucking the strings with my long fingers, soft music resonated in the cavern with a clarity that echoed through the valleys, within a few seconds it harmonized with the whispers of the floral wind and quiet waters.
“Don’t get enchanted that easily now.” I tapped on Kexin’s shoulder to bring the light back to her eyes.
“A-Ah, what… what happened?” She sweated even when submerged in cold water. “I felt like… my soul left the body.”
“That’s because you were seduced by the melody of the Soul Stirring Zither. If you can keep your wits about you while listening, it will boost your focus by 300%.” I smiled facing her intense eyes, this kid understood things quick.
“How can I do that?” Her eyes looked resolute; however, the next part was important.
“At your level you can’t, the lowest realm where someone had pulled that off was the 4th Pillar of Foundation Establishment, and that only happened because the spiritual root came to his aid.”
“…” Kexin looked at me with a pout.
“Don’t worry, I didn’t show this to you just to look cool. If some conditions meet, you can achieve the same feat right this instant.”
“What conditions?”
To help her I would need her to not resist my Qi inside her, it would protect her mind from the Soul Stirring Zither and create a pseudo-success that will increase her focus. But that alone wouldn’t be enough for her, that’s why I’ll need to help her connect the meridians and guide her with my insights about the spiritual root subtly. In that moment she will be the most vulnerable than ever before.
“How much do you trust me, Kexin?”
That trust will be the bridge that helps her cross the vast rift between her and the talents running ahead at full speed.
“That’s a weird question.” She smiled for some reason. “I already told Master, you are on the same level as my parents. Does that answer the question?”
“Alright then, I’ll be sure to not let you down.” My left hand touched her cold and wet back.
Kexin winced a little, but her innate Qi didn’t react when my Qi entered through her pathways. Her mental strength was impressive as not even a ripple appeared inside her meridians. With my fingers, I tapped on the zither’s body three times, and the previous melody flowed again. This time Kexin’s eyes were clear, my refined Qi kept her mind in place as the benefits of the music stayed with her.
“Start.” I said.
She immediately closed her eyes, her mouth opened wide as she exhaled all the air from her lungs. Then, with a single deep breath her lungs filled with the thick Wood and Yin Qi of the area, not only that the Water and Earth Qi also came in at the perfect rate to create an optimal blend. Many Wood-type cultivators sought this place because it had everything a Wood-type spiritual root would need, not only was there water and earth both elements that are helpful to wood, but the main attraction was the flowers.
Eternal Boundary Flowers. These flowers only bloomed during nighttime and would die when the rays of the sun reached them, however, every night they would bloom again as if resurrected. There wasn’t a need to replant them or care for them, these flowers would keep dying and reviving each day till someone uprooted them.
What made them special was the Vital Yin and Wood Qi they emitted every time they bloomed. The Qi emitted from blooming flowers had its worth in gold for wood-type spiritual roots as it would help them strengthen their base, and these flowers did this every day thus boosting the speed of cultivation too.
With my Qi as the pathlighter, Kexin connected the meridians starting at the Lung Meridian, with twists and turns the Qi finally arrived at the Mind Realm Gate. As a sign of her trust, my Qi had no problem entering and guiding her, and as a reward, I had a special gift for her.