Chapter 28: Fa Xiaolan!!!
I scooped it up after sensing it. The thing must have thought it was safe and allowed itself to relax when I was about to leave. But how could such a cheap trick fool me, the great Fa Xiaolan?
With a pull of will, it appeared in front of me, and promptly fell down on the pile of bags of holding. I grabbed it with my claws and pulled it up to eye level.
From the outside, it looked like a green bean. Its surface was smooth in places and rough in others, with some light reflecting off the top.
Upon sending my divine sense into it, the bean shuddered and seemed to beg for mercy.
It didn't seem to be able to talk, and only had the most basic of instincts, but for a seed to be like that, it intrigued me greatly.
What even are you…
Of course, it couldn't exactly reply to my question, but I could confidently say I'd never seen such a thing before.
Back into the bag of holding it goes then…
Instead of carrying fifteen bags of holding around, I decided that using Hei Tu's sole bag would be the best solution. I emptied out the rest of them and stuffed all of the items inside, then left the other bags to the side.
I didn't care much for them, since Hei Tu's bag wasn't even half full yet. Having multiple bags would just be a nuisance. Not like I can wear them anyway, the lesser the treasure volume, the lesser the rate of attraction for people to snatch away my treasure!
Alright, now onto the cores!
It was finally time for the biggest treasure of them all - The Vermillion Bird and Ice Crow Golden Cores. Unlike the tiger golden core I'd absorbed when that bug monster brought its corpse, these were the cores of mythical beasts.
Once a beast reached a high enough cultivation stage, their Beast Core would turn into a Golden Beast Core. However, the Golden Core realm can last from as little as a decade to a few centuries.
As far as I recall, Spirit Beasts had a difficult time breaking through to Nascent Soul, which is the realm I assumed Mother was in. I wasn't sure if rebirth was possible only after reaching the Nascent Soul Stage, but I assume doing it at any point before could hurt the soul.
With all that in mind, Golden Beast Cores were extremely valuable, and those of mythical beasts even more so.
And I had not only one, but two at my disposal. Who could have predicted that? I bet that whoever was Hei Tu's master spit out blood, hehehe.
I wobbled my way over to them and pressed upon both of them with my wings.
[Are you sure you want to absorb Vermillion Bird Golden Core and Ice Crow Golden Core?]
Ye- Wait what? 'Are you sure?' Not 'Would you like?'"
That made me pause. 'Are you sure?' Why did the wording change? Could there be more to these Golden Cores than I originally believed?
No.
I pressed upon the bag of holding with my claw and sent them inside. This matter required a deeper investigation.
But I felt quite bad… not being able to absorb them and get the benefit. However, what were short term benefits compared to long term? I will wait and investigate.
Besides, I could always absorb them later, so no harm done in not rushing to consume them.
With all of that done, it was time to return to the nest.
[Fa Xiaolan!!!]
Heavens, what, what is it?!
[I would advise you to dive inside the lake.]
Huh? What are you talking about?
[Dive inside the lake.]
Why?
[You'll find something of interest there.]
Huh? Fine, I guess. But I won't be able to fly after!
[...]
[You're a Phoenix.]
It made a good point. I was a Phoenix.
Without further hesitation, I placed the bag of holding down nearby and began swimming. I didn't even know I could swim, but I guess having such large wings helped quite a bit.
The density of the Qi inside the lake had decreased by a large amount, as it wasn't as viscous as before. It still felt rather strange, swimming in so much Qi, but it wasn't unpleasant.
I could barely see, however, and for a while all I could see was darkness.
Where am I going, exactly?
[To the bottom. I have a feeling you might like what's hidden there.]
Alright!
I didn't question why System was so ready to help. That was its job, after all. Though if it did the same thing with every Spirit Beast, wouldn't they be stronger overall?
It wasn't my place to care.
I swam deeper, not expecting the lake to be thatdeep. Soon, I saw a light, though. A faint, beautiful, alluring and shiny blue light. I picked up the pace and my feet touched the floor.
For a bird, I could hold my breathing quite well. My vision was good as well.
[Skill: Water Breathing(Novice) has been acquired]
I should have expected that…
After receiving that skill, it immediately became much easier to breathe. Go figure.
I squinted and saw the shape of the glowing object— A large, shiny, oval-shaped crystal. I felt a little hesitant to touch it at first, but considering how I wasn't a fish, I placed my claw upon it.
A freezing chill climbed up my leg almost instantly, and I instinctively reacted by activating Phoenix Fire. The warmth helped me get a grip, and I grabbed the crystal with both claws, then swam upward.
The way up was much more difficult than the way down, but I managed, and dragged the crystal out of the lake. It was about the size of, well, me, when I first hatched, but it definitely was much prettier.
I began inspecting it, but could tell immediately that the coolness didn't come from any sort of Yin Qi.
As for what sort of crystal it was, I couldn't tell, as I'd never seen such a thing before. Or I did and can't remember. Either way, I didn't know what it was. Which brought me to the question of why did System tell me to fetch it.
Before I could, though, I felt a disturbance, and stared at the Qi Lake.
The Qi Lake became… a normal Lake. Right before my very eyes, all of the Qi it held dissipated into the air, becoming one with the environment, and all that was left was normal water.
It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened.
Is this shiny rock that special? Besides its shininess I can't feel anything special from it… Oh well, into the bag it goes.
After storing it away safely, I started a tiny fire to dry off my feathers, and flew toward the nest. I landed at the base of the tree and hid it below a root, then went up.
Mother waited for me with the fresh carcass of a Spirit Beast, and I couldn't help but scream with happiness.
"Aah, I was really hungry." I chirped more than screamed, but screamed nonetheless.
Mother's face lit up upon seeing me arrive. "Little Flame, you're back! I was just about to come looking for you."
"Hehe, Mother doesn't need to worry." I said then sat down next to the carcass, my rather fluffy butt serving as a comfortable pillow.
The beast looked like some sort of bear, but much uglier and had more horns than I would have expected.
As usual, it died with a clean blow to the nape, and there were no signs of burning either. It seemed that Mother only hunted in the most efficient of ways, not wasting any energy.
When I saw mother start to rip the flesh off the animal and hand it over to me raw, I winced a little.
"Mother, can we cook it? I think humans put the meat over the fire to make it taste better."
"Cook?" She turned to look at me, her phoenix… like eyes sending a shiver down my spine. "Little Flame, we do not cook the meat. How could we waste our noble fire in such a way? That's the job of a much lesser flame, one I am unwilling to create."
She ripped a leg, blood gushing out of the severed arteries. "Besides, cooking it removes the properties that give us strength. The fire burns away the Qi stored within the flesh, not to mention the fat and everything else. Do you think mother grew to be so beautiful by cookingmeat? No! It took your mother a lot of rebirths just to get her feathers right, a lot of skill points have been used. Do you think it's easy?"
I… had never seen mother so pissed off before. It seemed that the prospect of using our fire to cook meat angered her more than if we tried to cultivate. I couldn't blame her, I felt exactly the same about my Nirvanic Flames.
After all, I'd spent so much time and effort to get them, then train through multiple lifetimes-
"Ach-" A sudden headache hit me like a star, and I had to grab my head to suffer the skull-splitting pain.
Fuck, why does remembering hurt so much?!
[Host is too weak.]
Heavens be damned, I get it!
"Little Flame!" Mother called out and dropped the meat, hurrying off to hug me and use her healing techniques. "Little Flame, what's wrong? Tell mother!"
"Mother… it's- It's nothing. I just had a sudden headache. I must be really hungry, and tired."
She nodded and gently placed her wing upon my feat, patting me and focusing her Qi in that area. I closed my eyes with contentment at the feeling, enjoying every minute of it.
The headache faded away, and I let out a light yawn.
"Aah~ Mother, let's eat. I don't mind raw meat at all."
"That's great, Little Flame." She smiled, at least, I think she did, and dragged me over with her to the bear corpse.
"I also brought you some worms."
***
After Mother went to sleep, I figured it was about time for me to check all the notifications.
[About time indeed.]
Give me a break… I rolled my eyes, though I didn't actually mind System's snarkiness. I willed, and my vision got flooded with the strange text in that same instant.
[Congratulations! Evolution Sucessful!]
[[Phoenix Chick] has evolved into [Elemental Phoenix].]
[Beast Core has been successfully formed.]
[Achievement: First Time? - Unlocked]
[Water Affinity has been unlocked.]
[Water Affinity remains dormant due to negative affinity.]
[Current Water Affinity: -150%]
[Skill: Phoenix Reflex(Novice) has been acquired.]
[Skill: Ember Step(Novice) has been acquired.]
[Skill: Elemental Wave(Novice) has been acquired.]
[Skill: Precise Flame Control(Novice) has been acquired.]
[You have slain Bai Di Wei, [Cultivator] Lvl 7]
[You have slain Ling Shen, [Cultivator] Lvl 5]
[You have slain Li Fang Zhen, [Cultivator] Lvl 9]
[You have slain Hei Tu Yang, [Cultivator] Lvl 15]
[You have slain Mao Wei, [Cultivator] Lvl 5]
[You have slain Hen Ming, [Cultivator] Lvl 8]
[You have slain Long Shen, [Cultivator] Lvl 12]
[You have slain Ling Sha, [Cultivator Lvl] 7]
[XP Acquired] x8
[You have Leveled Up]
[Elemental Phoenix Lvl 10 has become Elemental Phoenix Lvl 11.]
[Skill Points Acquired]
[You have Leveled Up]
[Elemental Phoenix Lvl 11 has become Elemental Phoenix Lvl 12.]
[Skill Points Acquired]
[Achievement: Bloodthirsty - Unlocked]
[Achievement: Cultivator's Bane - Unlocked]
[Achievement: Ruthless - Unlocked]
[Skill: Heaven's Protection has reached the (Beginner) rank!]
[Skill: Tail Whip has reached the (Beginner) rank!]
[Skill: Peck has reached the (Beginner) rank!]
[Skill: Nirvanic Flames has reached the (Intermediate) rank!]
[Skill: Phoenix Fire has reached the (Intermediate) rank!]
[Skill: Evasion has reached the (Expert) rank!]
[Skill: Dragonbone Tempering has reached the (Beginner) rank!]
[Skill: Flame Dragons has reached the (Beginner) rank!]
Chapter 29: Tiny Blood Lord
Well, those were a lot more notifications than I'd expected. It took me a good few minutes to go through all of them on top of understanding them all. In the order that system fed them to me…
My evolution was, of course, a success. My class had changed altogether, and I could only assume some of my stats have changed. Actually…
Can you show me the stat description for the new class?
[Of course. ^_^]
[Elemental Phoenix]
[+20 Strength; +15 Dexterity; +20 Perception; +50 Charisma; +30 Intelligence]
Going off of that information, I'd gained ten stat points in strength and perception, five in dexterity, twenty in intelligence and a whole thirty more charisma. Great… even morecharisma.
If I had a skill that scaled off of Charisma I bet I could kill someone just from looking at them.
The thought was funny- not that it hadn't happened before, but that was more out of fear. Would a fear-inducing stare be considered some sort of charisma? That was a question I had to get to the bottom of.
Aside from that and my physical changes, the thing that intrigued me the most was the notification about the Beast Core. I hadn't expected to get one, seeing as I didn't have one when I was born, but the stupid jade serpent price had. He was only level three!
Someone clearly played favorites to snakes…
Putting aside those useless thoughts, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, focusing inward. The Beast Core of the other beasts I'd killed had always been next to the heart, so naturally that's where I looked.
However, I couldn't feel anything there.
Strange.
I decided to look in my dantian, and lo and behold… It was floating on top of my Qi Sea. It was almost golden in color, with tiny embers of fire dancing on its surface. The color changed every so often, but didn't stray far from the orange tinge.
A Beast Core…
I'd never experienced having one before. Looking at it felt a little strange, and knowing that it had somehow become more ethereal than it already would have been, left me deep in thought.
This was the beginning of a Spirit Beast's journey. Once their beast core formed, they would gain even more amazing abilities than before. Maybe that was the reason I'd gotten four bloodline skills after evolving.
The way Spirit Beasts worked was still foreign to me… but being one- Well, it wasn't so bad.
I really wanted to figure out how this Beast Core worked, but I still had a lot of things I've yet to actually check. Achievements to claim, skills to inspect!
Speaking of skills. I figured out that my next element would be water, however… why didn't I consider I'd have close to zero affinity with water? Well, I expected ZERO not NEGATIVE ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY. Not to mention it says it's a percentile? How does that even work?
[Elemental Affinity showcases how familiar and compatible you are with an element. For example, your affinity with fire would be something like five hundred percent… and it keeps increasing.]
Why did you pause?
[I didn't.]
[Moving on—]
Hey!
[Moving on! The percentage means how much of that element you understand, and also how efficient the techniques of that element would be. However, unlike… normal percentages, having one hundred percent affinity with the element doesn't necessarily mean you've fully understood or even mastered it.]
Isn't that… needlessly confusing?
[N-No…]
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. This situation made me feel a little helpless, but at least the explanation made some semblance of sense.
Now… How do I check my elemental affinities?
[Elemental Affinity]
[Fire: 500%]
[Water: -150%]
I guess that's how…
Seeing my Fire Affinity at five hundred percent filled me with pride. After all, neither of my main fire skills had advanced to the maximum mastery rank. If any of them ever reach that point— which they will — I wouldn't expect anything short of amazing to happen.
With that being said, I had four more bloodline skills to inspect. Four- free- skills!
My feathers stood on end just thinking about it. All the skill points I didn't have to spend, not to mention they're Bloodline Skills!
I didn't use Phoenix Fire as much as Nirvanic Flames, but that didn't mean Bloodline Skills should be thrown away!
Without hesitating, I opened the Bloodline Skills window and began reading the skill descriptions.
[Skill: Phoenix Fire(Intermediate)]
[The instinctual fire of any Phoenix, the strongest most versatile fire in all of the Tianxu Continent is at your beck and call. As a bloodline skill, it will continuously grow and evolve alongside you. The strength of the skill depends on your INT, STR and target resistance.]
[Skill: Phoenix Reflex(Novice)]
[Some people say that the Phoenix had a sixth sense. Those people weren't wrong. While a bloodline skill, this passive skill allows you to get a better sense of your environment, detect dangers and sense invisible opponents, amongst other things. The strength of this skill depends on your INT, and PER, as well as the enemy's stats. This skill can evolve.]
Heavens! An evolving Bloodline Skill! This is… and it's so good! What the hell?!
I couldn't believe my eyes. A skill that gave me a sixth… or seventh sense. A skill that complimented my Divine Sense and my experience as a cultivator— a skill that would give me a higher chance at survival.
For free!
Completely for free!
I jumped up and flapped my wings instinctively as happiness coursed through my veins. If the first skill was that good, then I couldn't imagine the rest!
[Skill: Ember Step(Novice)]
[Take a single step for a distance that scales with the skill mastery. Upon arriving at the target destination, create a path of fire that burns everything it touches. The damage of the fire depends on your INT and Fire Affinity, as well as Phoenix Fire mastery. The effects may be nullified or lessened by target resistance.]
Huh-
I was speechless for a moment. Wasn't this a similar dodging skill I've read in the shop? Except, it's way better? It definitely had other scaling options and Fire Affinity wasn't even mentioned in that shop skill.
Oh, so this is how it must feel to be rich. I couldn't believe I had to skimp out on skill points when I could get these for free just by evolving… Oh~ How awful a life cultivators have, when Spirit Beasts don't need to struggle and vie for resources to advance.
Wait-
Those panthers-
They were lounging around all day, leeching Qi, and they didn't even give me one skill?
"Motherfucke-"
Flames of anger escaped my body, lighting the nest ablaze. By the time I'd noticed them, it was too late.
"Little Flame, keep it down or go to sleep!" Mother warned sternly while still half asleep, tucking her wings in tighter and placing her head in between for more comfort.
"Sorry…" I whispered and took a deep breath, calming down and extinguishing the flames at the same time.
It was hard to tone down my excitement. So many strong skills given out… maybe I should pursue evolution more…
[Skill: Elemental Wave(Novice)]
[Create a torrent of elemental waves with you as the center. Deals damage to any target hit by the wave gets afflicted with a debuff and weakens them to the used element. The strength and duration of the debuff depends on the skill mastery, your INT and target resistance.]
I expected it to do something else due to its name, but inflicting a weakness on the enemy… Does that mean they're more vulnerable to the element?
[Yes.]
What if they were already vulnerable?
[It's multiplicative.]
What?
[It… they become more vulnerable by a certain amount.]
Ah! So what happens if I use this skill multiple times in a row?
[...]
[They become more vulnerable. But there's a threshold you can't break past without using other or stronger skills.]
Right… What is the threshold?
[It depends on the skill.]
What?! Why doesn't it say so in the description then?! Are you scared of numbers?! How am I supposed to know otherwise?
[...]
[You could experiment.]
[Are you becoming more bird brained?]
Your mother!
[Skill: Precise Flame Control(Novice)]
[A skill that grants the user even finer control over flames. The flames most compatible are the innate flames of a Phoenix, and the farther away you go from that source, the less effective this skill is. The skill allows the user to modify the shape, substance, density, heat and a variety of other properties of the fire they control. This skill has no scaling. Versatility depends on skill mastery.]
Well, I didn't know what to make of this one. It promoted using Phoenix Fire more often, but didn't discourage from using other types of fire. However, I didn't see what it gave me that I couldn't do before.
The only way to find out would be to experiment…
Somehow I could tell System was getting pretty smug.
***
After the excitement of the skills had faded, it was finally time to look at the other notifications. Besides the ones telling me what random cultivator I killed, the leveling up and skill rank up— which I was really impressed by —the only thing left were the three achievements.
Achievements
[First Blood (Rewards Claimed)]
[I found it on the ground! (Rewards Claimed)
[I am a Spirit Beast! (Rewards Claimed)
[De-Evolve (Rewards Claimed)]
[Tiny Lord Slayer (Rewards Claimed)]
[Species Destroyer (Rewards Claimed)]
[First Time? (Rewards Unclaimed)
[Bloodthirsty (Rewards Unclaimed)]
[Cultivator's Bane (Rewards Unclaimed)]
[Ruthless (Rewards Unclaimed)]
The last three sounded and looked interesting. And… very violent. I didn't know I would gain such a reputation just by defending myself…
Oh well.
Claim!
[Achievement: First Time? has been claimed.]
[No possible rewards]
[Achievement: Bloodthirsty has been claimed.]
[+5 Strength; +5 Dexterity; +5 Perception; -5 Charisma]
[Title: Tiny Blood Lord has been awarded.]
[Achievement: Cultivator's Bane has been claimed.]
[+7 Strength; +7 Dexterity; +7 Perception]
[Achievement: Ruthless has been claimed.]
[+1 Strength; +5 Dexterity; +5 Perception; -5 Charisma]
A title? Forget the stats, what does that title do?
[Titles are selectable and wearable social statues that you can activate and deactivate at will. Once a title is equipped, you cannot remove or change it for twenty four hours.]
[Each title has a different effect and are as rare as Phoenix feathers and Qilin horns.]
How rare are Phoenix feathers, really.
[I admit that was the wrong metaphor to use.]
So then, do I just call out… titles?
[Titles]
[Tiny Blood Lord]
[Granted after murdering humans in quick succession. The number of humans killed must exceed a dozen, or must be done within an extremely short amount of time. This title can evolve into [Blood Lord]; [Large Blood Lord]; [Murderous Blood Lord] and [Asura Blood Lord]]
[Effects: When the title is equipped, it emits a murderous aura that can only be felt by humans. The higher the amount of humans killed, the stronger the aura. Human cultivation rank and level have an effect on the intensity and growth.]
[When the murderous aura is being emitted, the wearer gains 25% more damage to humanoids and also takes 10% less damage from humanoids.]
[+20 Strength; +10 Dexterity; +5 Perception]
Eh… I get rewarded for killing humans? That's awesome! But equipping it right now might not be the best idea… Well, I bet Mother has it as well. Then again she must also have other, more amazing titles.
Thinking about Mother, I turned to look at her sleeping figure. The beautiful feathers decorating her body danced with a dim light, though the warmth she exuded invited me to join in.
[Equip Title?]
Eh, might as well. If I were to meet any humans I'll have a slight edge over them. And the stats were very nice to have.
Yes!
[Title: Tiny Blood Lord equipped.]
"Aaah~" I yawned, exhausted and content with all that I've gained. The only things left to do was consolidate my foundation, get familiar with all the new skills and get stronger.
For the moment though, I waddled over to her and snuck in between her wing and her body, the soothing embrace making me relax. I'd forgotten the last time I had such a nice feeling of safety, and I wanted to protect it no matter what.
Mother sensed me tucking in with her and made some more space for me. I'd grown a little since my evolution, so the small nest she made for us to sleep in had gotten a little cramped.
I let out a satisfied coo and closed my eyes, getting ready to fall asleep.
It was then that I heard the familiar buzzing sound; one that never arrived without bad news.
Chapter 30: Koi Fish
Mother woke up as soon as the buzzing arrived, and she looked at the arriving figure with a scornful expression.
"What do you want, Ichel? The moon is barely halfway through the starry sky!"
"It's bad news, bad news, your Lordship!"
"What bad news, what happened, what's so urgent?"
"The local forest lord got into a fight with humans and it seems like they destroyed each other. We've found corpses of both around their territory."
I flinched a little upon hearing the news, both because it was the first time I'd actually heard the thing's voice and also because I was the one who destroyed both of them. At that moment I could only hope he doesn't mention the pile of bags of holding right next to said territory.
"That?" Mother gave me a glance with the tail of her eye. "What about it? What does it have to do with me?"
"Lordship, the humans that died were somewhat important figures to the five sects. I am afraid they won't let go of this matter."
"Five Sects? Hmph!" Mother scoffed, raising her head. "What do I care about these humans? You promised this territory was far away from their issues. I had to move my Vital Nest once already, do you want me to move again? You should know how much energy it takes to do that!"
"Your Lordship, I'm just trying to look out for you. You are strong, but the humans have the advantage in numbers, and some are even at your level-"
When the bug guy said that, Mother's feathers flamed to life as she stood up, anger evident in her voice. "You dare insinuate that a mere human can compare to me? I am the Lord of the Thousand Li Forest and Myriad foot mountain! I moved because I worried for my daughter's life, but don't you think that was because I am weak!"
Even I took a step back as flames shot out of the top of her wings, tracing them with a flaming lane that lit up the night sky.
Ichel's buzzing sped up as he lowered his head in obedience. "My apologies, your Lordship, this one doesn't dare, doesn't dare. However I hope you can take my words into consideration and be on the look out for any cultivators in this mere Kong Lin Forest."
After saying that, the bug left; mother's blazing figure remained as the sole focus in the picturesque landscape.
She turned, our eyes locking mid air, a complicated expression strewn across her face. Without saying anything, I could tell that even she was worried.
"Little Flame, mother doesn't blame you for what you did." She began, walking toward me with large steps. "However, you're far too young to attract the attention of five human sects." Mother paused and sighed. "Ichel was right, they have humans that may be on par with me. To speak the truth, Mother has not managed to advance in a few centuries. I can't break into the spiritual stage no matter how hard I try."
"Mother, what are you saying?"
She looked in the distance, toward the forest we'd left. "I'm saying mother will have some trouble killing them."
"Mother-"
"Don't worry, Little Flame." She flapped her wings and said with a confident, arrogant tone. "These human trash can't do anything to me. Come? Let them come! Mother will take care of all of them. I am older than their entire nine generation's agespan combined, they think they can kill me? Mother has a few tricks up her sleeve!"
That reassured me more than it should have. Mother walked back on the nest and I scuttled over, tucking myself in her warm feathers and went back to sleep.
***
When morning arrived, Mother was still sleeping, but the sun had woken me up. I plopped out of mother's warm embrace and stretched my wings. Looking left and right, I nodded to myself, impressed by their beauty, despite the ethereal, ghost-like hint they took on.
It gave them a sense of uniqueness. That didn't mean I couldn't make it go away with a simple thought.
Besides that, it was obvious that I'd grown some during the night. My feathers seemed sturdier, their length ever so slightly longer, and I felt a little taller.
Closing my wings, I walked toward the edge of the nest and admired the view. The sun had yet not fully risen, and the dark sky began to shift to a faint purple.
Yin and Yang mixed together, creating the perfect harmony of heaven and earth. I took a deep breath and absorbed the last breath of Yin using the Ghost Qi Technique, and my body naturally absorbed the first breath of Yang.
For a moment, my body was in perfect harmony.
Then, I released the breath, and the sky shifted to orange, the sun appearing beyond the horizon.
I released the breath and the chill from the Ghost Qi Technique left along with it. Despite my nature as a yang creature, my body became deathly cold during specific times of day.
During sunrise and sunset.
It wasn't particularly pleasant, but it wasn't something I couldn't deal with either. However, I feared that my cultivation wouldn't be able to advance any further. The Ghost Qi Technique was truly too evil.
The way I saw it, I either had to remember or learn another technique that suited me better, or modify the Ghost Qi Technique so it didn't have such ugly side effects.
I couldn't for the life of me figure out why the only cultivation technique I was allowed to remember was this accursed thing! My feathers stood on their end and fire unintentionally covered a small area surrounding me.
It was the Phoenix Fire, and not the Nirvanic Flames. It seemed that whenever I got angry one took precedence over the other in terms of burning down the nest.
Sigh.
Were the heavens pulling a prank on me?
I jumped down from the edge and spread my wings, feeling the freedom of a Phoenix soaring above the heavens. The forest turned into a blur below my feet, and the landscape became nothing more than a flat surface for me to look at.
My goal was to find a peaceful spot to sit down at and maybe hunt. I spotted a river not that far away from me, and glided down, looking for a nice landing spot. Soon, a tiny cliff that stood right above the river entered my sight.
The grass bent under my weight as I stepped over it, and walked to the edge of the cliff, sitting down on my fluffy butt and enjoying the cool breeze.
I didn't have the time or energy to do a thorough inventory of System last night, but a new day and a good sleep gave me all that I needed to stare at a flooded wall of text.
"System, show me myself, stats and skills."
Details
[Name: Fa Xiaolan]
[Race: Phoenix]
[Class: Elemental Phoenix]
[Level: 12]
[Hit Points: 2906]
[Equipped Titles: Tiny Blood Lord]
[Bloodlines: Phoenix]
[Cultivation: Qi Condensation VII]
[Qi: 5309]
Stats
[Strength: 273]
[Dexterity: 231]
[Perception: 242]
[Charisma: 170]
[Intelligence: 207]
[Skill Points: 20]
Active Skills
[Peck: Beginner]
[Nirvanic Flames: Intermediate]
[Iron Claws: Beginner]
[Strengthened Constitution: Beginner]
[Stealth[Lesser]: Beginner]
[Tail Whip: Beginner]
[Lord's Call: Novice]
[Side Step: Intermediate]
[Myriad Qi Needle: Beginner]
[Shadow Cloak: Beginner]
[Heaven's Protection: Novice]
[Dragon Flames: Beginner]
Passive Skills
[Evasion: Expert]
[Poison Resistance[Greater]: Novice]
[Dragonbone Tempering: Beginner]
[Pain Tolerance: Intermediate]
Bloodline Skills
[Phoenix Fire: Intermediate]
[Phoenix Reflex: Novice]
[Ember Step: Novice]
[Ellemental Wave: Novice]
[Precise Flame Control: Novice]
It felt good, seeing my stats being so high and so many skills were available at my beck and call.
But, what was that Dormant Core thing? Was it my beast core? Why would it be dormant then?
Ah, I really should look into it later.
I couldn't really tell if the Dragonbone Tempering skill really did anything, but besides getting hit, I had no sure way of verifying. But how could I even test that?
Getting hit in the same way, by the same attack at two very different points in time… might as well tell me to go look for Phoenix feathers- Oh, right.
I giggled and pulled a looser one out with my beak, then held it in my claw. I did have Phoenix feathers. If a human were to see this floating down the river, I wonder what would they say? How would they react?
Would it be considered the fortune of their lifetime? Or would they throw it away because I haven't fully matured yet?
Either way, who cared? I threw it anyway. The nest was full of them.
I didn't think about it further, and instead began pondering over ways I could get stronger. Raising my cultivation base was out of the question. Despite my original thoughts, the Ghost Qi Technique scared me deeply. Its effects at condensing Qi were amazing, but beyond that, I didn't know what would happen.
If only I could find-
Achoo!
A sudden, soft sneeze pulled me out of my thoughts, and I looked around, then behind, and finally below.
In the river below, a rather fat koi fish with black and orange spots fought against the current, swimming with my feather in its mouth.
I stared at it for a moment, then it spotted me, and its eyes widened before giving me a pleading look.
"What? You want me to help you?"
It nodded frantically, though it didn't let go of the feather.
I considered the matter for a second. Helping the fish go upstream would not give me any benefits, but I would reap good karma.
However, wasn't there a myth about the fish leaping over the dragon gate, becoming a dragon? If I were to help the fish, would that not destroy its path?
I shrugged, it wasn't for me to consider.
Jumping off my feet, I flapped my wings and took the skies, quickly scanning for a lake. After finding one nearby, I dove down and grabbed the koi fish with my claws, then headed toward the lake.
It dropped in with a sharp plop sound, and swam around happily with my feather in its mouth.
"Thank you, oh mighty Fire Bird. I didn't know what would have happened if you hadn't saved me." It spoke with a soft voice after placing the feather between itself and the edge of the lake, making sure it didn't float away.
"Fire Bird?" That brought a giggle out of me. Who would have guessed a mere koi fish would dare call the mighty Phoenix a 'fire bird'. "Why are you so obsessed with my feather?" I asked, trying to sate my curiosity.
"Lord Fire Bird, how could I let go of such a beautiful feather? The moment I saw it, I jumped out of my hiding spot and grabbed it. However, how could I know that the river would be so strong this morning? I didn't have the strength to go back to my hiding spot. That's when Lord Fire Bird saved me. This little one will be forever grateful."
The fish spoke with a surprising eloquence, and its soft voice made me think it was a girl.
I sat down and decided to converse a little more. Talking to the fish wasn't so bad. After all, the only beasts I've spoken to so far were the snakes and mother. I didn't think normal beasts would be able to talk.
"Little Fish, who were you hiding from?"
"A turtle. A really bad, big and mean turtle!" The koi fish shuddered when she mentioned the turtle, and I found that a little amusing.
I chuckled, "What is a turtle doing in a river?"
"Chasing me, for the most part. Oh, Lord Fire Bird, you don't know how much that turtle has wronged me! First, it entered my pond. And it was a beautiful pond. So many lotuses and pink flowers, plenty of insects for me to eat and also some spiritual plants. There were some funny stones at the bottom too. When I touched them I suddenly got a little faster, and then a lot, lot faster! The insects I had trouble catching couldn't escape me anymore. It was a good life.
"But then… but then…" Her voice shook as she recounted to me the story, and I couldn't help but feel suspicious of the 'funny stones' she spoke of. Were they the same kind of stones as the ones I found at the bottom of the Qi Lake?
"Then, the turtle came! And I thought I could swim faster than him, but I couldn't! And then I had to jump high, very, very high! I landed right around the river, and I only managed to survive after slipping inside. But the turtle didn't relent, and chased me even inside the river.
"Lord Fire Bird, then I swam up as much as I could, but I got tired. I was very tired, and then I found a tiny opening at the bottom of the river, and I hid there for three days and three nights. Three! Oh I got so hungry, but I didn't know if the turtle was still there."
"And then you saw my feather and you thought it was food?" I giggled. Listening to this little fish tell the story of how she survived a strategy was interesting.
"Heavens no, Lord Fire Bird. But something told me that I had to have it. Something deep, deep within my soul told me that if I had it, good things would happen. And I was right! Lord Fire Bird saved me and brought me to this nice place. It's not as nice as my old lake, but it's much quieter!"
It was then that the tiniest of growling escaped the fish's stomach. She sank to the bottom of the lake, biting down on the feather and lowering her head in embarrassment. "Lord Fire Bird… this… This little one is ashamed."
"Hahaha!" I let out a hearty laughter and stood on my feet. "Wait here, as a reward for telling me a good story, I'll feed you something nice."
I then took to the skies, using my magnanimous words to hide the fact that I was also starving. It didn't take me a long time to find and kill a boar. I used the technique mother liked so much, and tried to hit its nape with my beak.
It took me a few tries, but I finally managed using my Peck skill. Using Strengthened Constitution, I picked up the fresh corpse and flew back toward the lake, where the little fish waited for me.
"Lord Fire Bird… this… I can't eat all of this." The koi fish said, but I ignored its misunderstanding.
"Which part do you want?" I asked as I began chopping off bits of the flesh using Iron Claws.
"Ehh, I don't know. I've only eaten insects and plants, I've never tasted such a big animal."
Then you get the belly and the innards.
After chopping it up in nice pieces, I threw the innards I didn't want, like intestines and kidneys, alongside the fat belly meat. I hadn't considered how such a small thing would eat those, but imagine my surprise when she used a Skill to break the meat into smaller pieces.
It looked like a sort of underwater air slash, or rather, air beam. Water beam?
"Little fish, what is that?"
"Lord Fire Bird! I discovered I can shoot out bubbles very fast if I focus, and this has helped me hunt a lot of insects. Unfortunately, even that didn't stop the turtle from chasing me…" The little fish complained, but took energetic bites from the meat. "Oh Lord Fire Bird, this is amazing! This little one has never eaten anything so tasty before!"
I smiled, though mostly with my eyes. It wasn't like my beak could bend like human lips could. "Eat then, eat all you can." For some reason, seeing the little fish enjoy the food made me really happy.
Of course, I also ate as much as I could, and by the time we were both done with the carcass, only the skin remained on its bones, and also the brain.
Splitting its skull open revealed the slimy delicacy, and I saw the little fish look at it with a desiring expression from the corner of my eyes.
"Heh," I snorted lightly and threw it in the lake. It wasn't like eating it would give me any more benefits. My body was already pretty tough and the small amount of nutrients from a normal beast would not help my growth.
"Thank you, Lord Fire Bird!" The little fish did a few loops around the sinking brain and shot a couple of water beams at it, breaking it into tiny bite sized pieces that it then devoured.
I couldn't believe my eyes, but that little fish was actually quite gluttonous. It ate the entire thing in less than three breaths of time, and it even burped after!
"Lord Fire Bird, this one thanks you for the care, and for the feather. Lord Fire Bird, I pledge my allegiance to you!" The little fish jumped out of the water and onto the ground, flopping onto her belly and bowing her head.
"This…" I didn't quite know how to react at that moment… to think I would get a fish subordinate… The heavens truly played games with me.
***
I didn't sit around for much longer. After leaving the fish, and promising I would come back every so often to feed it, I went in search of her lake. That turtle probably claimed ownership of the lake, but I wanted to confirm my theory.
It took me an hour of flying downstream to find the lake she was talking about. It was situated in a rather remote area of the forest, and after seeing just how far away the river was from the lake, I could tell that she underestimated herself.
The river was approximately one hundred and fifty feet away from the lake, meaning she must have jumped really high and basically flown over the forest, then surviving the fall before sliding into the river.
I had to give her credit, she was a tough fish. I suspect she didn't tell me the whole truth, but maybe she didn't know what she'd done either. That little fish seemed too innocent to lie.
There was a chance she used a large bubble to attenuate her fall or even surrounded herself with it, thus giving her the ability to float. Such a thing sounded difficult, much more difficult than a simple bubble shot.
Perhaps she was worth taking under my wing? Such a talented Spirit Beast would definitely go far— becoming a dragon wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility— and she could help me get more water affinity.
Ellemental Affinity
[Fire: 500%]
[Water: -150%]
I know, you didn't have to remind me.
I rolled my eyes, almost unable to believe System's gall. Whatever— I wouldn't be in the negatives for very long, not if the little fish helped me.
With that thought in mind, I advanced toward the lake. Without knowing just how strong that turtle was, I wouldn't be as daring as to literally dive into it. I landed a good distance away from it and activated both of my stealth skills.
I wouldn't be able to stay like that for long, so I hurried with big steps and listened carefully.
Taking a whiff of the air didn't tell me anything. A Phenix's sense of smell wasn't as strong as a wolf, fox or other land animals. Our vision though, well it seemed to be much better. That was normal, considering we had to hunt from way high above.
That allowed me to see that the turtle the little fish was terrified off wasn't exactly swimming in the lake, nor was it exactly moving. I doubted it was alive, in fact, as its carapace had been smashed to bits and the head had been severed.
I couldn't say the scene shocked me, but I did find it weird. Approaching carefully, I heard voices. They didn't seem to belong to spirit beasts, but I couldn't be sure if they were human either.
Had they discovered the special properties of the stones?
That was a hard question to get an answer to. But why else would they be here?
I creeped closer through the bushes, making sure to not bend the grass as I stepped and approached, and finally got a clear view of the scene.