Heaven's will...

  Baiyun sat sprawled outside the room like a cornered animal, his face covered in cold sweat.

  Inconceivable. The heavens represented the absolute pinnacle; heavenly will was something that most would never witness in their lives. Why had it appeared so abruptly, only to leave moments later? It had to do with his presence!

  "Baiyun?"

  Qinghe's voice snapped him out of his trance and he looked up, seeing her unchanging face and the concerned look of the innkeeper.

  "Are you feeling unwell?" the innkeeper asked.

  "Nothing... I was just startled." Baiyun said weakly.

  It was but a flimsy excuse; anyone could tell his reaction was too big for that to be true. He took a deep breath and stilled the turbid waters of his mind.

  Qinghe furrowed her eyebrows slightly as she forced a laugh.

  "Hah... look at you being frightened by such common phenomena." she said. "It's just a Heaven Stone."

  "A heaven stone?" Baiyun asked.

  To call this baffling was an understatement. How could the interference of heaven ever be common phenomena?

  He was just as clueless as the mortal innkeeper at this very moment, who also looked to her for an explanation.

  "Qinghe. Can I trouble you to explain to me what's going on? I'm afraid I'm clueless about cultivation."

  For a former elder to say that went beneath even self-deprecation... but at that moment, it felt fitting to say. Close to the time of his death in the past world, the 8th Heavens had been usurped by the 9th Heavens.

  With the new laws they imposed, it was only natural for Baiyun's common sense to be overturned. He had been far too complacent and should have further researched the changes during his time with the Light Spirit.

  Qinghe frowned at him as he stood up, trying his best to pretend nothing had happened.

  "Fine." she sighed. "I'll give you a quick briefing. Be grateful I'm not charging you for it."

  Baiyun's eyes twitched.

  ...

  The first heavenly law imposed was the law of karma.

  ~All shall be judged by the laws of karma.

  Do not kill. Do not harm. Do not pursue the demonic.

  All that rebel will be met with tribulation.

  But to those benevolent, the heavens bestow.~

  As Qinghe recited the very same cryptic wording of the 9th Heavens' commandment, Baiyun nodded solemnly as he recalled a scene from his past life.

  When the 9th Heavens imposed their laws, golden words engraved themselves into the fabric of the universe. The endless sea of glowing laws flooding the cosmos painted the dark canvas of space bright as day.

  From the most venerable to the lowest of the low, all life gazed above, their eyes blinded and overflowing with tears, unable to tear their gaze away from the words of heaven.

  Qinghe hadn't even been born back then, but it was something that Aoyang had witnessed first-hand in his past life and could never forget. No one could. He could still remember countless souls kowtowing endlessly as tears streamed from their eyes, unable to resist the power of the great above.

  Revisiting that memory was enough to make Baiyun tremble once more, but he held back the impulse and gestured for her to begin her explanation of the karmic law.

  ...

  When a cultivator attempted a major breakthrough, heaven's will would bestow judgement.

  Those with bad karma would face tribulation. Clouds would descend and strike them with black lightning that pierced all natural defences and artefacts, searing the meridians and inflicting pure agony; any region of the body struck would have its meridians fried, reducing talent permanently.

  If the karma was bad enough, the cultivator could be crippled on the spot or even directly killed.

  Baiyun's heart went cold. Bad karma... how exactly was that judged? He wanted to ask her to elaborate, but he let Qinghe continue her explanation first.

  ...

  Those with neutral karma would face a minor tribulation, a small cloud of lightning that only inflicted a strong bout of agony and served as a warning. There would be no meridian damage, but it would leave permanent scars.

  Neither of those examples fit the mole, who instead had good karma. Those deemed virtuous by the heavens would usually be rewarded with Heavenly Stones of varying grades. But on rare occasions, cultivators would receive unique boons tailored specifically for them.

  "It's not easy to find opportunities to breakthrough, so plenty of cultivators try to accumulate good karma before breaking into the Foundational stage. You might not have noticed, but it's the reason why I, Yingshi, Fei An and some others remain at the 9th stage of Qi Gathering for now." Qinghe said.

  "How is karma judged exactly?" Baiyun asked nervously.

  "Just follow conventional morality and avoid demonic arts at all costs. It's really that simple." she showed her palms. "That said, I'm surprised the mole's karma was good enough for a Heaven Stone. It is merely of the lowest grade though..."

  Baiyun frowned.

  Just follow conventional morality? Could she be more vague than that? Even merely within the scope of his past planet, different countries and cultures had values that varied enough for war to be inevitable.

  Qinghe seemed to have guessed his thoughts from the look on his face.

  "Well, don't worry about it. There are books written by dedicated researchers who analyse karmic laws further, discovering all sorts of strange rules like factions and kin... But the research is still unclear at this stage and it's full of convoluted nonsense..." she sighed.

  Factions? Kin? Baiyun only became more baffled by her vague words.

  "There are books about it? Where-"

  Qinghe shushed him.

  "Don't worry about it, it's not like you can cultivate anyway. I was forced to study karmic laws by the elders and it's such a headache, filled with jargon and senseless laws right out of a lawyer's handbook. And the worst part is that most of it are unconfirmed theories!" Qinghe huffed.

  Baiyun was speechless.

  Well, he supposed it made sense that many theories weren't confirmed yet, given that the 9th Heaven's laws were only passed 108 years ago. To call the field young would be an understatement, and he could imagine many researchers turning their nose up haughtily and opting to study a more prestigious field.

  Qinghe continued her explanation, elaborating on another thing he had been very curious about.

  Heaven Stones were not mere decorations, they were vessels of heavenly qi that had the power to grant wishes. They were the only known way to recover heal scars left by tribulation. It was unclear what wishes were allowed, but those who held such stones could commune with them until a suitable wish was decided.

  The most common wishes were for improved talent, lifespan or enlightenment.

  Baiyun frowned. How absolutely bizarre... an effect as strange as a "wish" seemed almost akin to Dao Aberration, much like the martial arts of this world... But something else bothered him more.

  "What do you mean by enlightenment?" he asked.

  "If you're struggling to understand a field, heaven stones can directly impart knowledge." Qinghe said. "One elder of my clan decided to use this on a mortal houseplant and turned it into a novice at philosophical debate. It won't shut up so it was locked in a sealed room."

  ...

  Baiyun's eyes twitched. What a stupid way to waste something so precious.

  "There's a lot more heaven stones can do but I'm tired of explaining, unless you're willing to pay me." Qinghe held out a palm.

  He shook his head and declined her offer, then paced around the room with furrowed eyebrows. Truthfully, he felt like this was important knowledge and wanted to know more, but he was penniless...

  Qinghe and the innkeeper stared at him. First lunging out of the room suddenly, and now this... they wondered if he was okay.

  Many troubling thoughts entered Baiyun's mind as he paced about.

  A condition as specific as a major breakthrough likely implied even the heavens could not fully track the actions of every cultivator, instead relying on unavoidable moments to enforce checks. But even then, for a cultivator to be judged by heavenly will after a breakthrough implied the heavens could track history somehow.

  His abnormality as a reincarnator would immediately be discovered the moment he broke through! It was possible he'd be deemed an escaped soul and dragged back into the cycle of reincarnation to have his memory wiped.

  Baiyun's face paled again at that thought. At that point, it was difficult to even consider himself the same person. But it wasn't as if he could stagnate at Qi Gathering forever.

  The next new heavenly law was the Law of Death.

  ~All shall be bound by the laws of death.

  In death, to reincarnate anew.

  A chance that opens to those beneath.

  For only the heavens are eternal.~

  This law... Baiyun was painfully familiar with it.

  Immortality was lost to all but spirits, the lifespan of all chained by their cultivation. It led to the wife of his disciple Wu Ming to wither away and die, as she had already been gravely ill and could not withstand the new law.

  Wu Ming was sent into a spiral of depression, eventually succumbing to his inner demons and turning into a crazed murderer who went into a rampage. Aoyang tried to stop him but was beheaded.

  But for a cultivator with such mighty soul cultivation, the death of the physical body was not the end. Aoyang drew on the full might of his soul and prepared to continue the fight with Wu Ming, only for the chains of reincarnation to drag him away, resulting in his current incarnation as Baiyun.

  With the new Law of Death, the heavens considered the death of the physical body final. Possession and the vast majority of soul arts were instantly rendered invalid. He could not simply roam the world as a soul like the cultivators of the past!

  Baiyun did not know how long the lifespan of a Qi Gatherer was, but he doubted it was much longer than 100 years. He clenched his fists. How could he accept living only as long as a mayfly? There was no negotiation, he needed to cultivate back to his old heights.

  But... was all he could do to breakthrough to the Elixir Condensation stage and hope for the best? To march forward helplessly and pray for the mercy of the heavens? The thought of leaving his fate to something as uncertain as a dice roll... to call it dreadful was an understatement.

  Cold sweat began to trickle down his face again, and suddenly, he almost wished he hadn't known of such a thing. If there really was no other option, perhaps it was best for him to breakthrough without a worry in his heart, without knowing there could be a guillotine above.

  Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

  The once calm waters of his mind turned turbulent with crashing waves as worry and anxiety gnawed away at him. He tried to calm himself down, but for the first time in thousands of years, his meditative art failed.

  "Baiyun. Are you okay?" Qinghe asked.

  Her words snapped him back into reality, briefly pulling him away from the whirlpool he had been about to sink into. Perhaps it was mere wishful thinking, but her unchanging face looked tinged with slight concern.

  "N-nothing. I was just deep in thought." Baiyun took a deep breath.

  He had never done a particularly good job of keeping his abnormalities hidden... but even by his standards, this was too much. This was not the time to worry about such things, no matter how grave it was. He had all the time in the world to drown in it later once he was alone.

  Baiyun shook his head at the self-depreciating thought as he walked to the World Cauldron and gestured for Qinghe to open it. He did still have the qi rod she passed him for prodding at the artefact brazier, but this cauldron was owned by her and only responded to her qi.

  "Wait, one moment..." she mumbled.

  He and the innkeeper watched as Qinghe reached into her bag awkwardly. With metallic clattering and the sound of objects tumbling within, she pulled out a full suit of armour and put it on. She seemed quite accustomed with the bulky armour, fully donning it in just 30 seconds.

  The suit was simple yet imposing, the armour hiding her lady-like silhouette and fully covering her face. It lacked a visor, but a mirage gem embedded on the helmet's forehead allowed her to see regardless. Qinghe now looked like a valiant soldier ready to march into a battlefield at any moment.

  The two onlookers stared at her in silence.

  "What? This armour is fully airtight and perfect for hiding from the mole." her muffled voice grumbled.

  "Why didn't you put it on during the centipede hunt?" Baiyun asked.

  "It's stuffy."

  No further explanation was needed.

  Qinghe's armoured footsteps clattered on the floor tiles as she reached for a node on the cauldron. A slow grinding echoed as the pavilion rose into air on stilts and revealed the World chamber beneath.

  "Kr?"

  Inside, the mole stared upwards in surprise as it dangled from one of the environmental pillars, unwilling to touch the puddle of impurity drug muck at the bottom.

  "Urgh. What a foul stench!" the innkeeper gagged.

  Baiyun who could withstand even the Vital Heart brew was unaffected, while Qinghe had lost her sense of smell within her armour. The innkeeper cursed loudly before fleeing the kitchen.

  "I really hope this doesn't leave a stain." Qinghe mumbled.

  But Baiyun was barely listening, his eyes trained on the Heaven Stone within the cauldron that shimmered brilliant gold.

  It was a small grey stone covered in intricate engravings that appeared opaque; yet golden light seeped through its entirety and gave it an unnatural translucence. The light had a strange profundity to it that seemed to whisper something he was on the cusp of hearing, as if grand secrets would be revealed were he to listen a little closer.

  Baiyun was transfixed for a moment before quickly shaking himself out of it. He had a feeling following that temptation would only lead to a futile spiral that would slowly drive one insane.

  Strangest of all however was the air of familiarity that surrounded it.

  It was not because of his reincarnation and how he suffered heaven's chains. No, it felt warm and comforting, like the embrace of a parent he had never known.

  Baiyun had resolved himself to be cautious earlier, yet before he realised it, his hand had already reached for the Heaven Stone. He widened his eyes and tried to stop himself. If the heavenly will within detected him and busted his cover, it could spell his doom!

  But his hands passed through the golden stone as if it were water spilling through his fingers. His divine thread fared no better; all it sensed was thin air where the stone was. It was as if the Heaven Stone was an otherworldly object that did not belong in this plane, only sight able to confirm its existence.

  "You can't touch a heaven stone that belongs to someone else," Qinghe said to the side, her voice echoing within the armour. "And even if the owner forgets to pick it up or loses it, heaven stones will follow them mysteriously and reappear when they least expect it."

  Baiyun's heart went cold as he snapped out of the state the stone sent him into. Even with his mastery of soul arts far beyond this mortal world, a heaven stone of the lowest grade was able to mesmerise him to such an extent!

  And the sheer abnormality of the stone was just as terrifying. It was already bad enough that it did not behave like a real object, yet it appeared to be alive and could even teleport and follow the owner without traces? Baiyun had spent little time in his past life reading fiction, but he felt it was straight out of horror!

  "Krr!"

  The mole angrily slapped Baiyun's hand away and picked up the heaven stone in its mouth, swallowing it instantly.

  Baiyun: ...

  Was the mole's only reaction to someone touching its belongings to eat them? Maybe it would even swallow the herb pouch whole if he tried to touch it without permission.

  "Qinghe, are there books documenting heavenly stones? I'd like to learn more," he said.

  Faced with this unknown horror, Baiyun wanted to know more.

  "...why is it every time I mention something new you immediately want textbooks about it?" she huffed. "Be grateful you don't have an overbearing clan forcing you to learn useless trivia! You can focus on alchemy all you want!"

  Baiyun was rendered speechless yet again.

  "And this time, I really can't give you any books on it no matter how much you pay." Qinghe continued. "Research on heaven stones is tightly safeguarded by elders. Every clan in our sect demands their disciples to cooperate with them on heavenly stone research, even demanding them to ask for specific wishes sometimes!"

  Baiyun nodded. He was no stranger to the overbearing demands elders had for disciples.

  A clatter came from within the cauldron and the mole lunged high into the air, flying out of the cauldron between them and interrupting their discussion. It braced itself as it shot towards the ground, landing on all-fours with a thud and sliding across the stone tiles.

  It sniffed the room vigilantly, as if sensing its worst enemy had been present in this room moments ago. Qinghe, the nemesis in disguise squatted down and picked it up. It began to squirm angrily at the cold hard embrace of metal.

  Baiyun shook his head. Even after its breakthrough into Foundation, this poor spirit beast was still so helpless and pitiful.

  "Pass it to me," he said.

  Qinghe nodded and dropped it into his hands. Somehow, he had a feeling she was brazenly smiling under her helmet now that her face was hidden.

  As it handed in Baiyun's grasp, the mole seemed quite excited. It began to squeak to him as it waved its claws. He didn't understand most of it, but it seemed like the little creature was bragging shamelessly.

  Hah... if it wasn't for his efforts, it would have failed, so why was it so proud? Baiyun didn't understand the thoughts of the little creature, but it still brought him a moment of comfort.

  He didn't wait for it to finish venting its excitement and cut to the chase with soulsense.

  "Our deal is complete. You will be under my contract now," he said.

  "Hrr." the mole huffed as it crossed its claws.

  Baiyun's eyes twitched. Not a single trace of gratitude for helping it breakthrough? This scheming little creature planned to reap the benefits without paying!

  "Flop over onto your back!" he commanded.

  "Krrr?!"

  The mole let out a confused squeak as its body involuntarily rolled over. Baiyun tickled it in the stomach for a few moments and it howled in anger.

  With a warcry, it flipped back onto its legs and slashed at his hands... only for the attacks to glance off skin harmlessly.

  How? The mole was shocked. Even if it wasn't a strong fighter, it was still a bona-fide Foundational cultivator now; mortal flesh should be like paper before its claws! It squeaked in frustration, unable to understand why.

  Baiyun shook his head at the mole's naivety. If contracts could be broken by simply refusing, who would bother with them? Contracts were set in stone once the conditions were fulfilled, and he had included a clause that prevented the mole from harming him.

  The moment the mole broke into the Foundational stage, it had entered his command.

  Naturally, there were ways to break contracts, but with the immensity of his soul, it was safe to say his contracts were invincible here. Not even the strongest cultivators of a mortal world had a soul a thousandth of his might!

  Qinghe watched the exchange speechlessly from the side as the mole seethed.

  "...are you sure you tamed the thing? I'm not sure Fei An will be convinced." she asked with crossed arms.

  Baiyun got the feeling she was frowning beneath but he only shrugged and forced a smile.

  "It's just playing," he said. "If it really wanted to hurt me, it would at least scratch my skin, wouldn't it?"

  "Well..." Qinghe leaned towards the mole and squinted despite the lack of eye-holes. "I suppose you do have a point there."

  But Baiyun understood her doubt. Even if its swipes were harmless, the mole looked completely furious and seemed to be attacking with its full might. It was easy to feel the little thing truly was that pathetic.

  "Why did you go through the trouble of raising its cultivation anyway?" Qinghe asked. "Even if it's willing to listen to you now, it will only become more prideful and difficult to tame once it realises you're falling behind."

  She crossed her armoured hands as she stood.

  Baiyun got the feeling she had certain intentions and felt annoyed for a moment before sighing. He had seen enough of this tactic in his past life.

  "Qinghe... You're subtly trying to convince me to sell it to you, aren't you?" he said.

  "Eh?" Qinghe was caught off guard. "Well..."

  It seemed she didn't expect him to catch on so quickly.

  "Well, it's the most sensible choice, isn't it?" Qinghe said defensively. "Even if you want to keep it, how will you keep it safe? What can you do if someone in the sect stole it from you? It's not like the elders would enact justice for you."

  Baiyun nodded slowly, acknowledging that they were all great points. But now that it came to this, he would simply take advantage of his physical age and play into the persona of a wilful child.

  "Well, I'm still keeping it." he huffed. "Besides, the mole hates you anyway!"

  "Whose fault is that? Urgh, I forget your age sometimes." Qinghe shook her head and groaned. "Whatever, do as you please."

  She turned away for a moment, then turned back.

  "Hmph. Since you guessed my intentions earlier, I'll guess yours this time. You're so confident my master will take you in that you plan to use his backing to keep the mole safe. Am I right?"

  Qinghe's smugness could be felt beneath her helmet as she nodded and looked at him expectantly.

  ...

  It was a good guess, but she was entirely off the mark. Figuring out his intentions would require her to know he was a reincarnator.

  "Yeah, sure." Baiyun said.

  "Huh? That's not it? What are you planning then?" Qinghe jolted.

  "Nothing. Go to bed and rest, you've pushed yourself too far."

  Baiyun fled from the kitchen and returned to his room with the confused mole in hand, ignoring her protests. He listened as her reluctant footsteps passed through the hallway, followed by the sound of a door shutting.

  Hah... It wasn't as if he could tell her his actual plans anyway.

  Her worries were unfounded. Even if the mole was stolen, he could sense its location with his contract. Given how it's value stemmed from horticulture skills, no thief would be stupid enough to kill it.

  Baiyun checked on the mole, whose anger seemed to have fizzled out by now. But it still huffed at him and refused to listen to anything he said, jumping into the cauldron and slamming the lid shut.

  Now that it was contracted to him however, he could sense its condition easily. He checked in on the mole, still curious about the Heaven Stone. As he could only observed it with sight, he had no idea what happened after the mole swallowed it.

  But he had a feeling the Heaven Stone fully existed to the mole. He borrowed the sight of its qi sense for a moment and observed the inside of its body; within its dantian laid the golden stone.

  How strange... he furrowed his eyebrows.

  Baiyun took a deep breath and finally managed to fully calm himself. It was best for him not to agonise over the "heavenly issue" until he had ways to come with a more concrete plan. Mulling over unsolvable problems endlessly was a recipe for inner demons.

  For now, he would calm himself down by enjoying the textbooks. But he sighed as he turned to his bag, remembering something. Despite trying to slow his pace and "savour" the alchemy textbooks as long as he could, he was still down to the last volume in such a short time. Tomorrow, he would have to ask Qinghe for more.

  Baiyun stared at the pillow on his bed for a moment. While his soul did not need sleep, with how busy he had been the past few days, it certainly had been a while since he let it sleep. He decided to tuck the last textbook beneath the pillow as he laid down.

  Like this, he could read with his soul while his body slept.

  It had been a while since he had done that. Despite even years being short to someone as old as him, it felt strangely nostalgic.

  Night passed in an instant as he devoured the final textbook, the warm glow of dawn slipping through his windows.

  Baiyun opened his eyes and got up, immediately rushing to his desk and writing the next recipe furiously for the next few minutes. With the papers in hand, he left his room to bother Qinghe again. He knocked on her door and listened to her grumble, before they trudged back into the wilderness and set up the workshop again.

  Qinghe sat down to read the new recipe. This time, as she did not pass out, they had an hour long talk as they discussed the intricacies of the recipe, as well as contingencies if anything went wrong. Baiyun nodded in approval as he listened, surprised by how much she had learnt her experience the past day.

  He took out the ingredients and displayed it before her.

  Black Earth, Crystal Spring Water, Earth Corrosion Elixir, Rockskin Ginger, Crimson Truffle, Strength Ginseng, Amethyst, White Quartz.

  There was something a little strange about the clump of Black Earth, but Qinghe didn't seem to notice as the material innately blocked qi sense. Baiyun had crushed a Rotting Wood pill and mixed it in to bolster its effect.

  "Let's do this." Qinghe said.

  Baiyun nodded, and the two of them got to work tending to the cauldron. Well, or rather Qinghe alone, as all he could do was sit around and spectate.

  As he was now aware of her limits, the new recipe took that into account. She was no longer stressed to the point of having to take focus pills midway.

  The morning run rose into afternoon heights as she toiled and sweated for hours.

  Until finally... a rumble came from within the cauldron and the two of them watched with bated breath.

  Badum!

  A pure black liquid exploded and splattered all over the cauldron before reforming itself. It bubbled for a moment before settling at the cauldrons bottom, its void-like body filled with mesmerising specks that shimmered like stars in the night sky.

  Black Earth Body Forging Elixir, success!

  Qinghe stared at it with shining eyes, her hands grasping the edges of the cauldron tightly.

  "I can't believe it... we made a high grade elixir! A high grade one!" she said, her voice trembling.

  Baiyun smiled.

  "It's all thanks to your efforts," he said.

  Qinghe couldn't calm down and began to walk around the room in circles.

  Aside from cultivation grade, a medicine's potency was also affected by its refinement quality. While high grade medicines were far from the peak, most alchemists would have to practise for months with a recipe to achieve such standards.

  Yet with his insight...

  Qinghe took a deep breath before reaching into her bag, before tossing him a large box.

  "Here. A gift."

  Baiyun's breath hastened before he even opened it. He could sense the treasure of alchemy textbooks within with divine thread, covering intermediate-level concepts from this world!

  At his frenzied appearance, Qinghe could not help but let a laugh leak out for a second, before suppressing it.

  "I'm only lending them to you by the way. Remember to return them in good condition." she said.

  Why did she say it was a gift then? But Baiyun shook off that useless thought.

  "I will. Thank you." he spoke with the deepest gratitude.

  If it wasn't for his linger pride as an elder, he might even have bowed. Even despite her tendencies, he had gained so much from their interactions. He really could not thank her enough.

  The two of them packed up and began to head back. Baiyun was unable to contain his anticipation and walked rather quickly, to the point where Qinghe had to break into a small jog to keep up.

  But when they reached the inn, a small crowd was gathered outside. Baiyun let out a sigh, immediately realising his plans to read peacefully would be interrupted.

  Ying Shi had returned.

  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wpptymuEUXsiVwlIKtaD2iuFX3LdbUBgdoP8ggUEM68/edit?usp=sharing