Volume III
Silence of the Sages
Chapter 141
Shock and Awe (I)
It was about a month into our journey, and on a particularly cold day (as they've been getting cooler by the week), that it happened at last--the first domino fell.
Wan Lan broke through.
We hadn't actually made much physical progress, all things considered, over the past thirty days or so. In part it was because I had them all focus on cultivating far more, and in part because it was essentially only possible to travel midday. The weather turned wildly over the course of a week, with mornings and nights (well, even evenings, to be honest) turning extremely cold.
We'd bunk inside the tent--a great insulator, if I may say so myself--eternally grateful to Old Zemin for having gifted it to me.
I'm not quite sure how we'd endure without it. I mean, we wouldn't have frozen to death or anything like that (at least, the kids wouldn't have), but it certainly wouldn't have been nearly as pleasant as it had been.
Anyway, today was a bit different--while the kids stayed inside, Long Tao and I accompanied Wan Lan outside to break through. He drew up some concealing array or something, plucked her at the center of it, and I handed over about 300 mid-grade Spirit Stones as well as a rose-like herb that smelled like grapes.
I didn't actually need to be instructed about this, strangely enough, as I recall reading about it during my binge of the history books. There'd occasionally be information about cultivation in them, and I remember the book mentioning that those who chew on this type of herb--called Redrose Grass--whilst breaking through into the Foundation Establishment have a higher chance of remaining calm.
Thus, we stayed to her side, acting as Dharma Protectors, while she sat down cross-legged, closed her eyes, and started the process.
It's a fascinating experience, I gotta say, and the first time I've been privy to it. Motes of Qi slowly begin to converge in a whirlpool-like shape, swirling around her like a maelstrom as she slowly takes them in and begins purifying them.
Internally, there are probably a thousand different things happening, though I didn't try and take a peek.
"Will she be fine...?" I mumbled to myself, actually, as I'd kind of forgotten that Long Tao was there.
"She'll be fine," he said with full confidence. "If someone like her failed to break through, then few would ever have managed to do it in the world's history."
I glanced over at the old monster.
He's been mostly quiet the past month, cultivating and actually reaching the peak of Foundation Establishment, though he hasn't shown any signs of breaking through.
Even if this was a joyous day, I knew for a fact that I'd get barely any rewards from Wan Lan breaking through--she'd only become my 'Disciple' just shy of two months ago and was already on the cusp of breaking through. Honestly, if I just get a few points, I'd be happy with it.
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The entire process lasted nine hours.
I honestly thought it'd be like, I don't know, an hour or two, tops? That's how long it took Long Tao to break in the Antechamber, though I guess that was special circumstances.
Visually, barely anything changed in all the hours--motes of Qi continued to swirl, though she did, bit by bit, begin to float. A small mist of vapor formed beneath her, almost like a cloud, slowly pushing her up.
Kids would occasionally peek out to check if she was fine, but for the most part it was just Long Tao and me, standing and sitting around in silence. I tried striking up a conversation a few times, though the rebuffing silence was too much to do it any more.
[--one of your Disciples has successfully broken through into the Foundation Establishment Realm]
[Wan Lan has managed to form quasi-Void Foundation, embossed with Demonic Qi]
[Breakthrough's successful nature has immediately propelled her into the middle of the Foundation Establishment]
[Disciple's talent has evolved: low-Heaven -> peak-Heaven]
[Disciple's nature strengthens; Wan Lan has unlocked a new trait, 'Heartless']
[Heartless (Common) -- feels no empathy toward anyone but those close to them]
[...]
[Due to the nature of the breakthroughand the Disciple's cultivation method, rewards have been reduced]
[--anomaly detected. A great reason as to why the breakthrough was so successful is Host's Heart-Stitching Art. Partial increase in rewards]
[...]
[Rewards]
[Reward 1: 500 Creation Points -> Deducted to 200 because Host's method was not used]
[Reward 2: You may spend up to 1,000 Creation Points (-> deducted to 500) creating an art with Demonic Vessel Physique & Dreadline Bloodline restrictions; it cannot be a Cultivation Method and can only be used once. Expires in 360 days]
[Reward 3: Body Purification +20% (-> deducted to 10%); 55% -> 65%]
[Reward 4: Host gains improved understanding of a random art; Spirit Stone Augmentation, Minor Understanding -> Intermediate]
[Reward 5: Demonic Crystal (1 use)]
[Reward 6: An ancient recipe for Gold Pill is taught to Host. You may either search for ingredients in the world or do special tasks related to it to receive them as rewards]
[...]
[New Quest Generated: Restoration of the Gold Pill]
[Restoration of the Gold Pill: legends say that the greatest creation of Alchemy Spire--among thousands of them--has always been their Gold Pill. They only ever produced three a year and only ever sold one. It is said that Emperors uplifted worlds to gather enough wealth, and yet it still was not enough. Nothing is known about the pill's effects, however, as none ever divulged it.]
[Part 1: Seek Alchemist Yuan within the Alchemy Pavilion on the Nirvana Frontier Island and ask him about the legend of the Gold Pill]
[Reward: 10x Dael Flowers]
[...]
[Demonic Crystal (Rare) -- can rapidly suck up and hide Demonic Qi and any traces of Demonic Energy within a 20-mile radius. It disintegrates upon use, taking the Qi and energy with it]
[...]
[Keep raising your Disciples, Host, and unlock more things! Good luck!]
Alright.
That was far more than I expected there to be. As I said, I'd have been content with, like, 100 points or something, but as it turns out, the system was feeling particularly kind today.
Luckily, the Demonic Crystal did not just materialize in front of me for Long Tao to see it but instead appeared inside my main spatial ring.
As for the quest... yeah, I'll shelve it to the side. There are precisely 999 ingredients (no joke), and some of them sound like things I should not be touching--such as 'Phoenix Feather'. No, thank you.
Maybe some day in the distant future when I have an army of Emperors and Empresses running around. For now, though, it's shelved to the back.
The reward that makes me the happiest, actually, is the body purification. Closer and closer I'm getting to the point where this body will be normal. Not amazing, not spectacular, but just freakin' normal.
"Congratulations, Wan'er," I said with a smile as the young woman stood up, Qi blasting off of her as she struggled to contain the signs of breakthrough.
"Thank you, Master," she said with a slight bow. "Here are the Spirit Stones I haven't used." She tried handing over a satchel where I estimated there were still around 80 stones left, give or take.
"Just keep it," I shrugged it off. "Once you've run out, let me know and I'll hand you more. Come on, forget about that. We need to celebrate. Long Tao here has been learning how to cook for the past month, and since he is yet to beat me in chess, I believe he owes us all a dinner tonight. What say you?"
If looks could kill...
Well, I'd have been dead the first day I arrived in this world, on account of all Elders looking at me like I've murdered their families.
Now, though? It's not so bad. It's just this old monster and nobody else. Yeah. Just this old monster...
