I have to admit, my lover's beast is a truly amazing one. Wu-chan had one hell of a Guardian Beast under her command. That little baby's power was honestly mind-boggling when I experienced it myself.
To be able to forcefully or peacefully gouge out all of one's impurities, a truly terrifyingly priceless ability when it came to cultivation, and an ability that would be desired by many warriors.
I was absolutely certain that if she for whatever reason decided to join a sect in the future, this one single ability would turn her social status from a mere no-name pretty lady into the closest thing to a saintess, or the Young Mistress of the Clan/Sect in this world's terms.
Her situation, with this ability, would make her one of the most important people in the sect, if only for pragmatic reasons such as the sheer effectiveness of the Impurity Eater's ability.
Even as I was focusing on cultivating my Natura Aeterna Nirvana technique, while she did the same with her own cultivation technique, I could notice the difference as the childish beast exerted its influence.
My technique, given to me by the goddess that reincarnated me, was admittedly highly powerful when it came to purifying my own Qi, partly because it was made for plant beasts and people with high affinity for plant-type entities in general, which I am one of, and made for me in specific. My Qi would be the purest when it came to that.
Yet, even then, having impurities in one's Qi is admittedly an absolute fact, and it could be even stated to be an almost-fundamental rule for cultivators. When one absorbs Qi from the environment around them, their body changes the absorbed energy into the type suited for the cultivator in question, and that results in impurities. There are more to it, really, and the environment one cultivates in also plays an important role as well.
The more the environment or the area one cultivates in suits their skills and Qi, the higher the compatibility it is between the external and internal Qi energies, and the less impurities one could get. Which is why for me, cultivating in a forest, or close to it, makes it easier for me to progress, since my Qi likes nature and flora the most, and with my ability to recreate any plants or plant-type beasts I consume, that only enhanced that aspect.
Of course, training in a place that is directly opposing to one's skillset or inherent abilities would at best make the speed of their progress slow to a crawl, or give tons of impurities as well, at worst. An ice-themed cultivator won't really get much from training in a volcano, after all, unless they were specifically either training a unique skill or something.
And if someone tried to cultivate in an area where the Qi there is literally the antithesis of their powers, well, the only thing I could tell them is; "good luck, I guess?" I won't even be sure if I should applaud at their bravery, or facepalm at their stupidity. Which is why demons and demonic cultivators should not train in any area that is 'holy' or whatever, unless they are so high-leveled or have a unique physique, technique or a beast that doing so would not only not harm them, but even help them.
Well, it sounds complicated, but the general gist of it is this; most people would have impurities during their cultivation journey, whether it was due to some unique type of Qi interaction, them not paying attention, or even being unable to fully purge all impurities out of their system, or using pills and other items to cultivate, since these items having highly pure and potent Qi in them was extremely rare. Even I was not exempt from this, at my current level at least.
Which only highlights just how abnormal the Impurity Eater really is, since it could somehow extract some of the impurities that even I did not even notice were there, or didn't have time to purge or purify yet.
It was also a bit scary, honestly, the sheer ease it took them out of my and Wu-chan's bodies, as if the moment you are inside of its domain, it could find every hint of it, and feed on them without exception. True, I would be able to find the impurities in my body by my own given some time, but I would not be able to do that as thoroughly at my current level. And even more surprisingly, it was able to take them out relatively quickly, yet harmlessly.
There was a reason why one needed to focus and take their time to take away the impurities, after all, especially when one isn't as high-leveled. Impurities are hard to purge, and could be painful or even lethal if one expelled them without any care for the pacing. They are, after all, still a part of the person's Qi and body after all.
I personally never had to experience the feeling of my Qi being forcefully and quickly ripped out of me, but from what some novels I read before my reincarnation, expelling one's impurities too quickly and without taking care of the possible consequences, especially if there were a lot of impurities inside the body, would not only damage the power of the individual, probably forcefully downgrading their power by a stage or two, but even harm their potential and their bodies in the long run.
It could even result in permanant damage to the meridians and the dantian, in some of the worse cases, and now, this little beast, a mere Normal-ranked beast, is able to literally gouge out the impurities out of one's body, just like that, and with practically no side-effects.
If this guy was not obedient and listened to Mei Wu's demand for it to slow down and to be nice, it wouldn't be as safe or harmless as it was, and instead, I would be dealing with a pain that would feel as if my own insides were ripped and forcefully expelled, sucked inside a black hole. This guy is practically a black hole that loves to feed on the impurites in others' bodies.
Honestly, a part of me wants to shake her and ask how she got such an absurd beast. I really was a bit baffled about its existence and its skillset. In the first place, even in the original Long Live Summons, there weren't many methods to fully purify and purge all impurities of one's body, and the ones that could were highly unique to either specific techniques or racial skills.
Like the protagonist's Innate technique, which was practically the 'strongest' Innate cultivation method, if I remember correctly, and the Nirvana Flames, which of course, he also had, and with them he could basically erase the impurities of himself and others, while also healing them so that they won't die from the purifying flames, and get even stronger.
Though since he mostly did dual cultivation with the ladies, and I stopped caring after reading nearly half the series, I wonder if one of the guys that befriended him died at any point? Eh, who cares about that right now. For all I know, this world might only be similar to the novel, if I recall my talk with the goddess correctly, but I'd rather it not be like that and I would prefer if that Yue Yang guy either didn't exist, or was only some random dude, with no ridiculous conspiracies revolving around him or anyone else involving the Heaven Realm in this reality. And I still don't even know where I am when it came to the timeline, ugh.
From what I can understand, with the current knowledge of Mei Wu, since Feng Qi Sha, Xue Tan Lang, and Yan Po Jun, the were not famous since she didn't know about them, especially since they were from the novel's descriptions "so famous that even random beggars knew about them," quotations and citations needed, my reality is one where they don't exist at all, which means it's a completely different reality, like there alternate universes, or that they don't exist yet, which meant I came to this world a decade or so before the so-called canon story begins, if Yue Yang even existed here and what I remember of his circumstances is true, that is.
But, that is for later to deal with. For now, I decided to focus once more and cultivate. The qi of nature was surrounding me, giving me a soft yet vibrant green glow, as I unlocked another of my meridians, the number now reaching a total fifty-five out of the 108 ones. Turns out that our first dual cultivation practice had unlocked ten of mine in one go. The Apoptosis Qi was truly terrifying as it degrated a lot of the impurities in these meridians that they were practically open, and I only needed to gently spread my own Qi to fully open them.
And to think that after the Impurity Eater finally vanishes when Mei Wu's time limit regarding its summoning period ends, we would then have another round of dual cultivation... Though we both intend to only focus on the training, and keep our hands to ourselves when we wake up at the morning. At least, that's the plan.
An hour then two passed, then nearly three. Almost unnoticed, as the flow of time continued as we cultivated, sitting right beside each other, until the Impurity Eater's time limit ended, and it disappeared in a flash of light that neither of us really saw, but instead we felt as its qi suddenly vanished, and we both opened our eyes, slowly moving our bodies from the equivalent to a cultivation-mode.
I gave a shuddering breath as I noticed the difference to how my Qi felt a lot purer than before. It was honestly amazing to feel this way, and even more so since with the giddy yet almost gentle speed Wu-chan's beast took them, the cultivation allowed us to basically keep our Qi at the same quantity, but now purer and almost denser than before.
It just felt marvelous!
"Wow! Just... I can't believe it..." Mei Wu spoke as she looked at her arms, inspecting her Qi, as a gleeful smile made itself clear on her face. "I can feel how much purer my energy is right now, and I still have difficulty imagining this is actually happening!"
I too wouldn't have believed it if I wasn't literally living the moment right now, indeed. I gave her a wide smile at that. "Yeah, good to see your baby is breaking the pseudo-absolute laws of Qi. Not even an Innate and we have one trump card that would make it practically impossible to have any impurities, especially when it grows in power and rank!"
Not even teasing her about her Guardian Beast made her feel flustered, she was just that excited, and I couldn't blame her at all for that. That guy woulde be extremely terrifying even if it only focused on taking away the impurities in one's system, and from the description that we read, it can also enhance the purity of one's Qi inside its domain, though it's probably not permanant and is mostly to be used for battle, I think.
"True, that would be extremely helpful and effective." she answered as her eyes looked up to mine.
I just loved how beautiful that smile was, and a part of me, remembering the Xie clan, couldn't help but feel spiteful, vindictive and a bit self-centered about it all.
'Ha! A bunch of trashes that aren't worthy of her, it was I who got to see this sweet side of her, unlike that gloomy and hollow one you were so used to!' I thought, insulting Xie Li in my heart even further. Shame that I couldn't drag his soul to infuriate him even more, and probably break him into a mindless pet.
... Wait, where did that thought come from? Oh, great, my Alraune instincts are showing themselves again. They're getting a bit annoying to handle since I evolved, though it's when I think of the Xie clan and how it harmed my love that it was starting to rise blatantly and I would feel the urge to wipe them from existence. I could control my predator instincts when it came to interacting to Mei Wu just fine though.
Okay, let's put these pesky yet very tempting thoughts under the rug for now. Don't worry, if I manage to get outside or end up dragged into battle, I will let you run wild for a bit.
Now that that particular and quick episode of controlling my instincts had ended, I found myself smiling a bit too happily. It's time for our dual cultivation session, now that the night had fallen~!
Hmm, might make sure that the nectar 'door' is thick enough this time though. After all, I would be pissed if another bee ended up ruining our romantic/spiritual time together...
"Ai'er, why are you feeling murderous?" Mei Wu looked at me strangely, as if I was thinking of something outrageous, which of course, I was not. I was the epitome of niceness and gentleness at the moment!
"Don't worry, Wu-chan. I'm totally not upset about that Protector Bee that ruined our fun when we had our first dual cultivation session."
She looked at me, unamused. "Why can't I believe you?"
"... Are we going to chat all night or dual cultivate?"
"I find your quick changing of the subject concerning..." she only replied, even as I could feel her getting flustered about the subject. Not that I was much better.
At least I stopped her from pondering about my desire to inflict violence on that one bee that dared to stop us back then from going all the way, even if that was arguably the correct choice. For now.
Well, this trip didn't turn out to be neither as exciting nor as relaxing as she hoped, Xie Zu thought with no amusement on her face.
Being a mere Level 1 [Apprentice] even one who was close to breaking through to that of a Level 2 [Braveman], she wasn't exactly thrilled by how the mission of going in the forest with Elder Xie Yao and three other [Apprentices] at the moment, but honestly, she couldn't really find it in herself to truly argue loudly about the situation.
At first, she was rather glad for being given this opportunity. After all, who wouldn't love to go on a mission with an elder of the clan, even if only for bragging about it? Plus, it was also a chance to get a beast or two! She did already have a couple of the contract scrolls and crystals, though they were highly expensive. It took nearly a few gold coins, where a single coin could sustain a mortal family for months if carefully spent, but she did get them!
She was really excited for the opportunities she could get here, not to mention that if she met Xie Li and was one of the few that saved and helped him, this would help in making him notice her, and she might get some of the benefits of being associated with him. Money, fame, power against other members and disciples, all of these would be accessible to her if she helped save him and he decided to reward her, and if he did not, well, it was a prestige to join the elders in a mission to save or discover the wherabouts of the Xie Clan's Young Master.
Either way, she wins something from the mission.
At least, that's what she thought when she got chosen for the mission. Now though, she couldn't find it as enjoyable as she expected.
The atmosphere in the forest was just plain irritating in her opinion. Sure, the smell of the nature was refreshing, but the forest was just too thick for her liking, and the amount of vines and insects that were practically everywhere when she and the group entered the forest was maddening. She just wasn't used to dealing with these problems back in the city, and she didn't really go to such a setting when she had to go for missions to deal with the occasional bandit or mortal criminal. It didn't help that her level wasn't high enough not to need some of the luxuries and common things she was used to for so long. She so missed baths and toilets, and more, an opinion she was sure was shared by her fellow disciples.
And if that wasn't enough, there were simply no good enough beasts to make a contract with. Nothing but trashy plant beasts, or weak Normal-rank Level 2 beasts at most. Maybe it was because they had to quickly go to search for Xie Li, his lackey Xie Yu and that disgusting bitch Mei Wu, but damn it! She expected to at least see some Level 3 or 4 beasts, and if lucky, even a Bronze-ranked one to attempt contracting them!
It just felt so vexing! There are many chances, yet it felt like she could catch none of them! Neither to shrug off the monotony in a pleasant way, nor to help herself grow stronger!
After eating the breakfast consisting of some fruits and carefully cooked meat, she found herself along with the other disciples facing the serious-looking Elder Xie Yao and the smiling, almost-teasing look of Elder Xie Xiu, and she just felt as if the female elder's presence was a bit unfair.
'Oh, sure, come here to help us, or just make this trip longer than it needs to be.' she thought about the smiling elder. Normally, she wouldn't feel so disappointed towards the elder, and in fact would think of her as a bit of a role model, but honestly, she was just not ready to deal with the stress of the mission, and seeing the Elder Xie Xiu standing there, not a hair out of place, as pretty and composed as ever, clothes not even having a spec of dust on them, it just irked her.
"We have found the entrance to a hive of Worker Bees. Today, we will strike in a couple of hours." the voice of Elder Xie Yao, despite being almost as low as a whisper, was like thunder, instantly catching her attention and she immediately stood up straighter as the other three Xie members dit.
Immediately, she understood his words, and she nodded along with her fellows as one. She couldn't really ignore the many Worker Bees that flew around. They were hardly subtle, after all, though a part of it was that of course, a forest would be filled with insect-type beasts as well.
A hive though meant that a Bronze-ranked, and even Silver-ranked beasts are also there. She didn't even dare think about a Gold-ranked beast being around, since they were so rare in the continent that it was better to search in the Tong Tian Tower for one, and because she did not want to think of being forced to deal with one.
She will just let the elders do the work and deal with them if they existed.
"It's almost definitely a large hive, and it could have hundreds of beasts." the voice of Elder Xie Xiu felt almost gentle with how soft she spoke, but Xie Zu couldn't hide the shiver that crawled down her spine at the casual talk that was extremely serious.
Hundreds of beasts? Just how casually can one say such things!? Most Level 1 [Apprentices] would probably be able to deal with hundreds of mortals with some difficulty, but hundreds of beasts?
Even the weaker beasts were impossible to defeat in large quantities for people at her level. Even the trashy plant-type beasts, and the really weak Worker Bees, that are only Normal-ranked Level 1 or 2 existences would be able to annihilate her and the other three with no exception.
And that's at the lowest estimation. If these were Bronze-ranked or higher-leveled, then the four [Apprentices] wouldn't even need to fight.
"It was honestly hard to discover. Whoever beast or entity that hid it was really clever and competent, but sadly, they exposed themselves a bit too much." the elder continued, looking serious, a sight that truly terrified them as Elder Xie Yao kept his stern expression "But, make sure to watch out. We still don't know what would happen. Be ready to escape if it got even the slightest bit dangerous."
"But, elder... why do we need to fight? Can't we call and wait for backup to come first?" Xie Zu turned her eyes to the man standing besides her, Xie Gu. He was usually very confident, but now he looked very nervous. Not that she can blame him.
"Because," Elder Xie Yao took his turn to answer, his eyes as sharp as a hawk, "if waiting for more days could spell the death of our comrades, children and sibilings of the clan, then that would be a great shame and loss for us." his presence alone seemed to demand obedience as he talked, "And even if it was already too late, we would at least get access to all the honey the Worker Bees are making, or if there was a dangerous threat, then we at least fought and survived to warn the clans and other influencial parties about it. Even if none of us escaped death, our absence would be a proof of the danger, and the next party would hopefully be more prepared."
The world seemed to stay silent as he finished, and Xie Zu felt how even gulping seemed so hard when he was so serious.
"For now, take it easy and check your supplies and weapons." Elder Xie Xiu advised, "and if I and this old geezer demand that you escape, you must just do that, is this clear?"
Xie Zu really hoped that this trip would be worth it. She really hoped so.
Glendios
Phew! Finally, we will probably get to write a fight in this story... Admittedly, I liked what I was writing so far but... long story short:
Me when I read a cultivation novel where almost every chapter has some fight or search for treasure, with little to no emotional or character progression: "I'll try to do better, maybe?"
Also, me when I write a cultivation story but I seem to like writing about emotions and all that and only make an actual fight in the first ten chapters and only keep adding emotions and stuff: "I think I might be burning my candle a little too slow?"
I have to admit, my lover's beast is a truly amazing one. Wu-chan had one hell of a Guardian Beast under her command. That little baby's power was honestly mind-boggling when I experienced it myself.
To be able to forcefully or peacefully gouge out all of one's impurities, a truly terrifyingly priceless ability when it came to cultivation, and an ability that would be desired by many warriors.
I was absolutely certain that if she for whatever reason decided to join a sect in the future, this one single ability would turn her social status from a mere no-name pretty lady into the closest thing to a saintess, or the Young Mistress of the Clan/Sect in this world's terms.
Her situation, with this ability, would make her one of the most important people in the sect, if only for pragmatic reasons such as the sheer effectiveness of the Impurity Eater's ability.
Even as I was focusing on cultivating my Natura Aeterna Nirvana technique, while she did the same with her own cultivation technique, I could notice the difference as the childish beast exerted its influence.
My technique, given to me by the goddess that reincarnated me, was admittedly highly powerful when it came to purifying my own Qi, partly because it was made for plant beasts and people with high affinity for plant-type entities in general, which I am one of, and made for me in specific. My Qi would be the purest when it came to that.
Yet, even then, having impurities in one's Qi is admittedly an absolute fact, and it could be even stated to be an almost-fundamental rule for cultivators. When one absorbs Qi from the environment around them, their body changes the absorbed energy into the type suited for the cultivator in question, and that results in impurities. There are more to it, really, and the environment one cultivates in also plays an important role as well.
The more the environment or the area one cultivates in suits their skills and Qi, the higher the compatibility it is between the external and internal Qi energies, and the less impurities one could get. Which is why for me, cultivating in a forest, or close to it, makes it easier for me to progress, since my Qi likes nature and flora the most, and with my ability to recreate any plants or plant-type beasts I consume, that only enhanced that aspect.
Of course, training in a place that is directly opposing to one's skillset or inherent abilities would at best make the speed of their progress slow to a crawl, or give tons of impurities as well, at worst. An ice-themed cultivator won't really get much from training in a volcano, after all, unless they were specifically either training a unique skill or something.
And if someone tried to cultivate in an area where the Qi there is literally the antithesis of their powers, well, the only thing I could tell them is; "good luck, I guess?" I won't even be sure if I should applaud at their bravery, or facepalm at their stupidity. Which is why demons and demonic cultivators should not train in any area that is 'holy' or whatever, unless they are so high-leveled or have a unique physique, technique or a beast that doing so would not only not harm them, but even help them.
Well, it sounds complicated, but the general gist of it is this; most people would have impurities during their cultivation journey, whether it was due to some unique type of Qi interaction, them not paying attention, or even being unable to fully purge all impurities out of their system, or using pills and other items to cultivate, since these items having highly pure and potent Qi in them was extremely rare. Even I was not exempt from this, at my current level at least.
Which only highlights just how abnormal the Impurity Eater really is, since it could somehow extract some of the impurities that even I did not even notice were there, or didn't have time to purge or purify yet.
It was also a bit scary, honestly, the sheer ease it took them out of my and Wu-chan's bodies, as if the moment you are inside of its domain, it could find every hint of it, and feed on them without exception. True, I would be able to find the impurities in my body by my own given some time, but I would not be able to do that as thoroughly at my current level. And even more surprisingly, it was able to take them out relatively quickly, yet harmlessly.
There was a reason why one needed to focus and take their time to take away the impurities, after all, especially when one isn't as high-leveled. Impurities are hard to purge, and could be painful or even lethal if one expelled them without any care for the pacing. They are, after all, still a part of the person's Qi and body after all.
I personally never had to experience the feeling of my Qi being forcefully and quickly ripped out of me, but from what some novels I read before my reincarnation, expelling one's impurities too quickly and without taking care of the possible consequences, especially if there were a lot of impurities inside the body, would not only damage the power of the individual, probably forcefully downgrading their power by a stage or two, but even harm their potential and their bodies in the long run.
It could even result in permanant damage to the meridians and the dantian, in some of the worse cases, and now, this little beast, a mere Normal-ranked beast, is able to literally gouge out the impurities out of one's body, just like that, and with practically no side-effects.
If this guy was not obedient and listened to Mei Wu's demand for it to slow down and to be nice, it wouldn't be as safe or harmless as it was, and instead, I would be dealing with a pain that would feel as if my own insides were ripped and forcefully expelled, sucked inside a black hole. This guy is practically a black hole that loves to feed on the impurites in others' bodies.
Honestly, a part of me wants to shake her and ask how she got such an absurd beast. I really was a bit baffled about its existence and its skillset. In the first place, even in the original Long Live Summons, there weren't many methods to fully purify and purge all impurities of one's body, and the ones that could were highly unique to either specific techniques or racial skills.
Like the protagonist's Innate technique, which was practically the 'strongest' Innate cultivation method, if I remember correctly, and the Nirvana Flames, which of course, he also had, and with them he could basically erase the impurities of himself and others, while also healing them so that they won't die from the purifying flames, and get even stronger.
Though since he mostly did dual cultivation with the ladies, and I stopped caring after reading nearly half the series, I wonder if one of the guys that befriended him died at any point? Eh, who cares about that right now. For all I know, this world might only be similar to the novel, if I recall my talk with the goddess correctly, but I'd rather it not be like that and I would prefer if that Yue Yang guy either didn't exist, or was only some random dude, with no ridiculous conspiracies revolving around him or anyone else involving the Heaven Realm in this reality. And I still don't even know where I am when it came to the timeline, ugh.
From what I can understand, with the current knowledge of Mei Wu, since Feng Qi Sha, Xue Tan Lang, and Yan Po Jun, the were not famous since she didn't know about them, especially since they were from the novel's descriptions "so famous that even random beggars knew about them," quotations and citations needed, my reality is one where they don't exist at all, which means it's a completely different reality, like there alternate universes, or that they don't exist yet, which meant I came to this world a decade or so before the so-called canon story begins, if Yue Yang even existed here and what I remember of his circumstances is true, that is.
But, that is for later to deal with. For now, I decided to focus once more and cultivate. The qi of nature was surrounding me, giving me a soft yet vibrant green glow, as I unlocked another of my meridians, the number now reaching a total fifty-five out of the 108 ones. Turns out that our first dual cultivation practice had unlocked ten of mine in one go. The Apoptosis Qi was truly terrifying as it degrated a lot of the impurities in these meridians that they were practically open, and I only needed to gently spread my own Qi to fully open them.
And to think that after the Impurity Eater finally vanishes when Mei Wu's time limit regarding its summoning period ends, we would then have another round of dual cultivation... Though we both intend to only focus on the training, and keep our hands to ourselves when we wake up at the morning. At least, that's the plan.
An hour then two passed, then nearly three. Almost unnoticed, as the flow of time continued as we cultivated, sitting right beside each other, until the Impurity Eater's time limit ended, and it disappeared in a flash of light that neither of us really saw, but instead we felt as its qi suddenly vanished, and we both opened our eyes, slowly moving our bodies from the equivalent to a cultivation-mode.
I gave a shuddering breath as I noticed the difference to how my Qi felt a lot purer than before. It was honestly amazing to feel this way, and even more so since with the giddy yet almost gentle speed Wu-chan's beast took them, the cultivation allowed us to basically keep our Qi at the same quantity, but now purer and almost denser than before.
It just felt marvelous!
"Wow! Just... I can't believe it..." Mei Wu spoke as she looked at her arms, inspecting her Qi, as a gleeful smile made itself clear on her face. "I can feel how much purer my energy is right now, and I still have difficulty imagining this is actually happening!"
I too wouldn't have believed it if I wasn't literally living the moment right now, indeed. I gave her a wide smile at that. "Yeah, good to see your baby is breaking the pseudo-absolute laws of Qi. Not even an Innate and we have one trump card that would make it practically impossible to have any impurities, especially when it grows in power and rank!"
Not even teasing her about her Guardian Beast made her feel flustered, she was just that excited, and I couldn't blame her at all for that. That guy woulde be extremely terrifying even if it only focused on taking away the impurities in one's system, and from the description that we read, it can also enhance the purity of one's Qi inside its domain, though it's probably not permanant and is mostly to be used for battle, I think.
"True, that would be extremely helpful and effective." she answered as her eyes looked up to mine.
I just loved how beautiful that smile was, and a part of me, remembering the Xie clan, couldn't help but feel spiteful, vindictive and a bit self-centered about it all.
'Ha! A bunch of trashes that aren't worthy of her, it was I who got to see this sweet side of her, unlike that gloomy and hollow one you were so used to!' I thought, insulting Xie Li in my heart even further. Shame that I couldn't drag his soul to infuriate him even more, and probably break him into a mindless pet.
... Wait, where did that thought come from? Oh, great, my Alraune instincts are showing themselves again. They're getting a bit annoying to handle since I evolved, though it's when I think of the Xie clan and how it harmed my love that it was starting to rise blatantly and I would feel the urge to wipe them from existence. I could control my predator instincts when it came to interacting to Mei Wu just fine though.
Okay, let's put these pesky yet very tempting thoughts under the rug for now. Don't worry, if I manage to get outside or end up dragged into battle, I will let you run wild for a bit.
Now that that particular and quick episode of controlling my instincts had ended, I found myself smiling a bit too happily. It's time for our dual cultivation session, now that the night had fallen~!
Hmm, might make sure that the nectar 'door' is thick enough this time though. After all, I would be pissed if another bee ended up ruining our romantic/spiritual time together...
"Ai'er, why are you feeling murderous?" Mei Wu looked at me strangely, as if I was thinking of something outrageous, which of course, I was not. I was the epitome of niceness and gentleness at the moment!
"Don't worry, Wu-chan. I'm totally not upset about that Protector Bee that ruined our fun when we had our first dual cultivation session."
She looked at me, unamused. "Why can't I believe you?"
"... Are we going to chat all night or dual cultivate?"
"I find your quick changing of the subject concerning..." she only replied, even as I could feel her getting flustered about the subject. Not that I was much better.
At least I stopped her from pondering about my desire to inflict violence on that one bee that dared to stop us back then from going all the way, even if that was arguably the correct choice. For now.
Well, this trip didn't turn out to be neither as exciting nor as relaxing as she hoped, Xie Zu thought with no amusement on her face.
Being a mere Level 1 [Apprentice] even one who was close to breaking through to that of a Level 2 [Braveman], she wasn't exactly thrilled by how the mission of going in the forest with Elder Xie Yao and three other [Apprentices] at the moment, but honestly, she couldn't really find it in herself to truly argue loudly about the situation.
At first, she was rather glad for being given this opportunity. After all, who wouldn't love to go on a mission with an elder of the clan, even if only for bragging about it? Plus, it was also a chance to get a beast or two! She did already have a couple of the contract scrolls and crystals, though they were highly expensive. It took nearly a few gold coins, where a single coin could sustain a mortal family for months if carefully spent, but she did get them!
She was really excited for the opportunities she could get here, not to mention that if she met Xie Li and was one of the few that saved and helped him, this would help in making him notice her, and she might get some of the benefits of being associated with him. Money, fame, power against other members and disciples, all of these would be accessible to her if she helped save him and he decided to reward her, and if he did not, well, it was a prestige to join the elders in a mission to save or discover the wherabouts of the Xie Clan's Young Master.
Either way, she wins something from the mission.
At least, that's what she thought when she got chosen for the mission. Now though, she couldn't find it as enjoyable as she expected.
The atmosphere in the forest was just plain irritating in her opinion. Sure, the smell of the nature was refreshing, but the forest was just too thick for her liking, and the amount of vines and insects that were practically everywhere when she and the group entered the forest was maddening. She just wasn't used to dealing with these problems back in the city, and she didn't really go to such a setting when she had to go for missions to deal with the occasional bandit or mortal criminal. It didn't help that her level wasn't high enough not to need some of the luxuries and common things she was used to for so long. She so missed baths and toilets, and more, an opinion she was sure was shared by her fellow disciples.
And if that wasn't enough, there were simply no good enough beasts to make a contract with. Nothing but trashy plant beasts, or weak Normal-rank Level 2 beasts at most. Maybe it was because they had to quickly go to search for Xie Li, his lackey Xie Yu and that disgusting bitch Mei Wu, but damn it! She expected to at least see some Level 3 or 4 beasts, and if lucky, even a Bronze-ranked one to attempt contracting them!
It just felt so vexing! There are many chances, yet it felt like she could catch none of them! Neither to shrug off the monotony in a pleasant way, nor to help herself grow stronger!
After eating the breakfast consisting of some fruits and carefully cooked meat, she found herself along with the other disciples facing the serious-looking Elder Xie Yao and the smiling, almost-teasing look of Elder Xie Xiu, and she just felt as if the female elder's presence was a bit unfair.
'Oh, sure, come here to help us, or just make this trip longer than it needs to be.' she thought about the smiling elder. Normally, she wouldn't feel so disappointed towards the elder, and in fact would think of her as a bit of a role model, but honestly, she was just not ready to deal with the stress of the mission, and seeing the Elder Xie Xiu standing there, not a hair out of place, as pretty and composed as ever, clothes not even having a spec of dust on them, it just irked her.
"We have found the entrance to a hive of Worker Bees. Today, we will strike in a couple of hours." the voice of Elder Xie Yao, despite being almost as low as a whisper, was like thunder, instantly catching her attention and she immediately stood up straighter as the other three Xie members dit.
Immediately, she understood his words, and she nodded along with her fellows as one. She couldn't really ignore the many Worker Bees that flew around. They were hardly subtle, after all, though a part of it was that of course, a forest would be filled with insect-type beasts as well.
A hive though meant that a Bronze-ranked, and even Silver-ranked beasts are also there. She didn't even dare think about a Gold-ranked beast being around, since they were so rare in the continent that it was better to search in the Tong Tian Tower for one, and because she did not want to think of being forced to deal with one.
She will just let the elders do the work and deal with them if they existed.
"It's almost definitely a large hive, and it could have hundreds of beasts." the voice of Elder Xie Xiu felt almost gentle with how soft she spoke, but Xie Zu couldn't hide the shiver that crawled down her spine at the casual talk that was extremely serious.
Hundreds of beasts? Just how casually can one say such things!? Most Level 1 [Apprentices] would probably be able to deal with hundreds of mortals with some difficulty, but hundreds of beasts?
Even the weaker beasts were impossible to defeat in large quantities for people at her level. Even the trashy plant-type beasts, and the really weak Worker Bees, that are only Normal-ranked Level 1 or 2 existences would be able to annihilate her and the other three with no exception.
And that's at the lowest estimation. If these were Bronze-ranked or higher-leveled, then the four [Apprentices] wouldn't even need to fight.
"It was honestly hard to discover. Whoever beast or entity that hid it was really clever and competent, but sadly, they exposed themselves a bit too much." the elder continued, looking serious, a sight that truly terrified them as Elder Xie Yao kept his stern expression "But, make sure to watch out. We still don't know what would happen. Be ready to escape if it got even the slightest bit dangerous."
"But, elder... why do we need to fight? Can't we call and wait for backup to come first?" Xie Zu turned her eyes to the man standing besides her, Xie Gu. He was usually very confident, but now he looked very nervous. Not that she can blame him.
"Because," Elder Xie Yao took his turn to answer, his eyes as sharp as a hawk, "if waiting for more days could spell the death of our comrades, children and sibilings of the clan, then that would be a great shame and loss for us." his presence alone seemed to demand obedience as he talked, "And even if it was already too late, we would at least get access to all the honey the Worker Bees are making, or if there was a dangerous threat, then we at least fought and survived to warn the clans and other influencial parties about it. Even if none of us escaped death, our absence would be a proof of the danger, and the next party would hopefully be more prepared."
The world seemed to stay silent as he finished, and Xie Zu felt how even gulping seemed so hard when he was so serious.
"For now, take it easy and check your supplies and weapons." Elder Xie Xiu advised, "and if I and this old geezer demand that you escape, you must just do that, is this clear?"
Xie Zu really hoped that this trip would be worth it. She really hoped so.
Glendios
Phew! Finally, we will probably get to write a fight in this story... Admittedly, I liked what I was writing so far but... long story short:
Me when I read a cultivation novel where almost every chapter has some fight or search for treasure, with little to no emotional or character progression: "I'll try to do better, maybe?"
Also, me when I write a cultivation story but I seem to like writing about emotions and all that and only make an actual fight in the first ten chapters and only keep adding emotions and stuff: "I think I might be burning my candle a little too slow?"
