Chapter 164

  Eternal Range (VI)

  Before the night was over, I promised myself I'd make a rather specific art.

  Okay, I need to back up a bit.

  In my one year in this world, I learned many, many things, but one stood above them all: modern comforts are... dearly missed. It's not just about controlling body temperature--I actually figured out how to do that, marginally, but you still feel the temperature... it's just that your body isn't particularly bothered by it.

  Mentally, though, it matters to me. We've luckily never been in a place with high humidity, but I suspect if we ever do, I will loathe it.

  It wasn't just the temperature, as I said. It was a slew of things.

  While I can use Qi to 'clean' my clothes and even my body to an extent, it's very... dull. Like taking a bath in dry sand. There's no scent to it, no freshness, and my clothes... well, they feel rather rough. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm bitching and moaning about rather irrelevant things contained in a world where people die just because they looked at someone wrong that one time, but they add up. And why should I suffer them when I can do away with them?

  Plus, we're headed to a massive mountain range where, I figure, there's gonna be eight miles of snow piled up, with temperatures well below zero. Even if the tent can insulate us, we can't move whilst inside of it. So, I wanted to make another utility art, a supplementary part to the 'Art of Survival' that I intended to name 'Art of Surviving'.

  None of the parts of it would be particularly valuable on their own (or, at least, shouldn't), but taken together, they should make living here slightly more bearable.

  Yes, I can't replace soft, silken blankets, or a nice, cushioned sofa, or an AC-controlled apartment in the middle of summer, or always-cool drinks, or a small dozen other things, but I can get damn near close. Besides, it's always been my plan to, eventually, create a modern compound.

  I'll find the most amazing formation masters and give them my ideas and see if they can make a modern-ish mansion. It's a bit pathetic, yes, to dream of something like that, but it's not even just for me. Leave the world a better place than you found it and all, no?

  ... okay, it's mostly for me.

  It's odd, honestly, just how used I got to certain things that I never once thought about on Earth. Perfect plumbing and ready access to hot water are the obvious ones, but there are so many more.

  Music, for instance, is a big one for me--whenever I could, I used to plug my ears and blast a random playlist on my phone. And it was available all the time, every day, whenever I wanted. Here? I think I've heard music played like six times in total, as it's considered an 'event' more so than a luxury, even.

  Another one is that nights here are dark.

  Like, dark. As in, you literally cannot see a damn thing past two feet. Honestly, even if I use Qi to lightly enhance my eyesight, I can, at best, make out edges of things within ten feet or so. I imagine that the cultivators with higher realms and better control of Qi are far more capable, but the truth remains that the world here is dark.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  Even in a relatively small town where I grew up, there were lamp posts everywhere, and most shops would keep their outside lights on throughout the night. There were some dark parts with little to no light, but that's about it. This world, though?

  Pitch black.

  Every night.

  Everywhere.

  Honestly, I just hope that it won't be expensive; who knows if all those modern comforts would be considered 'alien magic' here--but no, they shouldn't. I'm fairly certain at least one of the 'layers', or whatever they're called, would have most of them. It's just that I can't wait that long.

  But that wasn't all.

  I actually also want to make an art for myself--well, not an art, but more a cultivation method. I did actually try cultivating more seriously during the journey over, but I noticed a few things--the method Lu Qi was taught was simply incompatible with this trash body, even now. It required too fine of a control of Qi, the kind that I just couldn't replicate. I watched Xi Zhao cultivate to try and study the 'principle', but it was impossible; while I could just barely guide one strand of Qi slowly and carefully through the meridians, he literally just seemed to yank as much as he could and shoot it all at the speed of freakin' light.

  If I tried doing that?

  Yeah.

  I'd just straight-up die.

  While I can't actually break my cultivation and start anew, I can change the method itself. It will mean that I'll have to restructure my meridians slightly, and possibly a few other things, but at this point it's a necessity.

  So, as the kids started to snore and Long Tao left for some reason (he does that occasionally; as for what he does... I dare not ask), I pulled up the creation window and got down to business.

  I tested one very important thing first--does the system allow opposites to be part of the same art... and, as it turns out, it actually does.

  As such, I added the ability to press my palm against a surface and heat it up or cool it down relatively quickly. It only took 10 points, combined, as it would literally take me touching someone for over ten seconds for them to even feel the heat.

  I also added a simple 'air burst' notion, which is an upgraded version of just using Qi to dry and dry-clean the clothes. In addition, I also added a 'Softening' concept to it, which is usually added as a supplementary part of a fist or palm or even leg technique, where the blow 'softens' the outermost layer of skin to inflict more damage. In my case, however, I'll just use it as a quasi-softener.

  For the last two parts, I added the ability to induce very, very, very minute vibrations, either with my finger or an object. Though this world likely does have toothbrushes, I've yet to see the evidence of it. Most people's teeth, even those of cultivators, weren't exactly in good health, but, honestly, even if they were, brushing teeth was a personal ritual that I did every morning even if it did nothing. I'd put some water and an occasional minty-scented herb on the tip of my finger and just rub the living shit out of my teeth and gums. This would just turn my finger into a vibrating toothbrush instead.

  Lastly, I added a small concept of 'Purification'. Even though I don't suffer from any allergies here (nor do the kids, seemingly), you never know. Besides, it's a passive effect--it might even block a strange, scentless poison here or there.

  It all ended up costing precisely 100 points, and after inspecting it one last time, I clicked the big 'CONFIRM' button, prompting the creation. After remembering to actually name the damned thing, for a change.

  [Congratulations, Host, on creating the 'Art of Surviving' Special Art]

  [...]

  [Art of Surviving]

  [Type: Special Art]

  [Rank: mid-Mortal Tier]

  [... anomaly detected]

  [Due to potential hidden effects of the art, Rank adjusted]

  [Rank: low-Heaven Tier]

  [Host Comprehension: ??? (due to a number of art's effects stemming from Host's own knowledge)]

  [...]

  [A seemingly ordinary and wasteful art that sounds far more suited for mortal living than the pursuit of the Heavens, it hides within it the essence of everyday life. All things must sustain themselves, as they must endure the weathering of seasons and the wear and tear of time. Within those confines, the seemingly pointless art offers a strange reprieve and might yet hide secrets otherwise unseen...]

  [...]

  [Creation Points Value: 100/100]

  [Comprehension Difficulty: Easy & Prodigious]

  [...]

  [Creation Bonus: +3% Body Purification Progress, +1 use to a random item in your possession with limited uses]

  [... +1 use of Tortoise Mirror (2 uses remaining)]

  [Host Body Purification Progress: 78% -> 81%]

  [...]