Flowing with the wind, passing by the mortal world, a youth stood riding upon a golden sword that left a trail of golden specks of qi. The youth wore an ocean blue colored outfit, carved upon which are white, roiling clouds and flying cranes, with a translucent, shiny jade crown. With sharp eyebrows, clear eyes, thin lips, a V-shaped jaw, neither burly nor slim, a well-proportioned young man with the bearing of an immortal looked below at the lives of the mortals.
This is none other than li chen. He looked at the mortal realm flying through the nine heavens. He saw a burly man with broad shoulders pacing heavily outside a cottage filled with anxiety, with sweat dripping on his back, then a loud cry came from within the cottage. The burly man smiled as if a heavy burden had suddenly left his back.
He moved further as he saw a group of old men kneeling before a temple, praying for longevity. He never stopped flying. As he flew, he arrived at a new kingdom. He saw its people were suffering from plague, he moved further, and then he saw men sacrificing children to the idols in a ritual to relieve them from this plague.
After he flew some distance, he saw a funeral procession taking place. White clothes all over the place, paper money flying through the skies, burning with the cries of the relatives. He saw an old woman falling to her knees as she mourned her husband. He sighed, "Death and separation from the loved ones", he spoke as he continued.
At a distance, he saw a woman travelling with her loved one in a carriage. For some reason, he followed them. They stepped down as they came to the edge of the mountain. It was a beautiful view with a thousand mountains and 100 lakes. There was a willow tree by the edge by the side of the waterfall on the other side. It was truly a romantic place.
The man spoke with frevent gaze, "My wife, just ask for it, and I shall give you half of my kingdom."
The woman caught his hand as she took him to the edge with a beaming smile. The guards nearby tried to step forward, but were dismissed by the man. She spoke, her gaze now filled with disgust, anger and a hint of helplessness "What if I ask for your life?"- She pushed him as his legs slipped through the wet rocks. His eyes were filled with shock and fury as if asking her, "Why?"- He still doesn't know why she tried to kill him. She took a dagger from her clothing as she slit her neck, perishing with him.
This time, li chen was shaken, his eyes filled with surprise. He spoke with fear in his eyes, "Association with the despised". He stood there for a long time as if in a daze, his mind wandering somewhere.
He now moved as fast as he could, as if to escape this place. Before long, his wandering eyes caught a young boy with dirty rags covered with blood wounds all over, as fleas surrounded him. He climbed a pristine white wall as peeked inside. The young boy saw a fluffy white dog eating all types of meat in a porcelain bowl. The inner courtyard housed an open hall, and the boy saw young men and women listening to lectures by an imperial scholar. He then looked at the chubby old man with an overreaching belly. looking like a living Buddha. His body adorned with golden ornaments, filling his neck, his hands and his crown, looking like a god of wealth. The boy's eyes filled with intense desire and a despairing look, his heart unfulfilled. He brandished a knife as bursted from the wall, pointing his knife at the old man, but before he could reach any further, the scholar threw the inkstone. It pierced his skull before it broke apart, and the lifeless body fell.
"tch" li chen frowned, as he jolted awake from his stupor, 'Is this lucid dreaming?-, he thought.
He let his sword pierce through the clouds, his mind's wheel is turning at such a fast speed that it could light up a whole city. He wished to leave but was unable to; Suddenly, he felt the whole world go blank. He moved with light speed; it seemed as if stars streaked backwards, and the earth beneath him warped.
The scene changed as he saw himself bound by chains. There were four sky-reaching pillars with dragons coiling around. Four chains came from the pillars, binding his hands and feet. He lost his previous dignified, immortal stature. His clothes tattered, his long and untied hair fell on his back. His whole body ached from pain, though he could not totally feel it; he knew he was injured.
He saw the group of cultivators surrounding him looking at him with mockery, disgust and some with pleasure. An ordinary young man standing in front of him shouted, "Li chen born with heavenly spiritual roots. Not only did he not cultivate in accordance with the heavens, but he also partook in demonic activity, massacring mortals, feeding upon their blood, and killing fellow cultivators, reaping their souls to cultivate the heretic dao. As ordained by the heavens, overseen by the earth, legislated by the 7 sects and 9 families, we hereby pass the judgment of the dragon slaying whip."
The cultivators shouted one by one, "Kill him, slash him, let his blood fill the skies, use the soul slaying nails, use the body melting gu poison..."
Their shouts filled the sky as Li chen stood in a daze, expressionless. 'This is my domain, and here shouldn't I be the supreme, but how do I control my dream. With willpower, my thoughts...' Li chen closed his eyes as he tried to gain control of his dream, but no matter what, there seemed to be some shackles binding him. His mouth twitched; Fine — if he could not control this dream, then he would simply endure it to its end. 'Endurance is the greatest virtue-, he reminded himself.
Suddenly, he heard a voice in his mind. "li chen giving up already? How boring. No matter how talented you are, can you compare to me, a Dao child?. You reached golden core in 10 years, but I only took one year to reach nascent soul. Heaven and earth chasm lies between us. Do you know why you are dying today? Hahah.. cause this emperor took a liking to your fiancée, and also I just entered nascent soul. So, you can only be my stepping stone gloryfying my presence. With a heaven-defying treasure like nine heaven imperial sword, who in this little domain can stop me? The Nine Turn Dao Saint- you can blame yourself for not possessing such a treasure. enough said"
Li chen's heart remained motionless, but his outward gaze contained a trace of worry. What he was worried about was not the death that he was to face here, but the protagonist's words kept ringing in his mind. He sulked, 'Is my heart really that fickle? I did not know I wished for a golden finger this much? Is this what they call an inner demon'.
The man rose to the skies as his golden whip expanded by a hundred zhang* like a coiling dragon with red thunder sizzling through the whip. It fell on his body with a thundering momentum. He felt his world spin and, as if his soul left his body. Like a serpent, it coiled around his body, covering every inch of his body. The spikes on the whip are embedded in his body. From the corner of his eye, he saw a young woman with dainty lips and a lewd posture wearing a revealing outfit sneer. He was shocked coming out of his daze, like the strike did not affect him. 'This is definitely a dream he would never engage with such a person, simply not his type, he thought, sighing, 'did he have a specific type?'-
The second strike landed as the cultivator's curses reached the heavens. They seemed more like demonic cultivators than he. Now, black mist rose from his body. It really did seem like he cultivated a heretic Dao. 'Why are the visuals so immersive? Do the people of this world dream this realistically? Anyways, seeing the smug face of that scum, anger rose within the usually calm Li chen. One of the few things he hated was arrogance; if he could, he would crush those arrogant faces to the ground, but he did not speak out. The third one landed as his body dissipated, his soul flew away, and his spirit scattered.
'It seems the dream has come to an end, li chen thought as he relaxed his muscles as if he had gone through an intensive exercise. To his surprise, he was thrown into another dream. He was standing in front of a huge stone, looking aroung he saw young people of his age lining behind him. 'Is it the past, when he was tested for spiritual roots?', he guessed.
"Hurry up, place your hand on the testing stone", spoke a woman by the side. 'Likely the one who tests his aptitude to check if he has an immortal fate, he thought as he placed his hand on the stone. 'He wished he could hide his heavenly spiritual roots like those protagonists, but alas, he was a greenhorn; he was destined to shine. 'The tallest tree is bound to face the fiercest wind, he thought, but to his surprise, there was no heavenly phenomenon, and even the wind remained still at this moment.
His thoughts raced as he was tossed aside by a fierce wind. He vaguely heard the cultivator say, 'No immortal seed, next'.
'No, this can't happen to me. Absolutely not, I can't remain a mortal in this life, too. My ambitions, my aspirations, my dreams...' he cried, collapsing on the ground. Time seemed to pass without him knowing. He saw a few who were selected, and the remaining long since left the platform. He seemed to have forgotten he was in a dream. He looked like a fool on the ground with a dishevelled posture. His hands resting on the ground, he looked at the sky as if asking the heavens, Should he remain a mortal his whole life?, He was unwilling.
'No wonder they go against the heavens. You want to bind my body with the word 'mortal'. Never going to happen- in this life, no matter the path, he will achieve longevity. So what if he becomes a devil head, that karma is on the heavens. Who told it to be partial, blessing some and blocking others' path to immortality?. Where did equality go?- What happened to justice?. Heavens, that which rules all beings Shouldn't it be fair?.
He failed to notice that he himself became arrogant, which he hated to the core. Where did his humbleness go? Where did his calm, demure and mature personality disappear?.
He travelled the mortal world on foot. Sometimes rowing a boat, sometimes driving a carriage. He looked at the suspected immortal caves, delved deep into the rivers cause he mistook something shiny for an immortal opportunity, threw his money at auctions to get said immortal inheritance. His rationality disappeared he completely looked like a different person.
Scenes flashed by; he is now an old man with saggy skin begging in an alms bowl. He got no immortal opportunity and lost all his money, stranded in a different kingdom with his age failing him, and his eyes no longer held that craziness from before. Clarity returned to his eyes; he seemed to have realised something as he closed his eyes peacefully.
He woke up, his hands trembling from the intensity of what he experienced. He slowly made his way towards the tea table. He saw a pot filled with hot water that had been left there by the maids. He took a clay teapot from the wooden display upon which it was placed. He opened the wooden box that was upon the table, and he took herbs and seasonings from the seven compartments, measuring the exact amount with a bamboo scoop. He poured scalding hot water into the teapot containing the herbs with an upward and downward motion.
He smelled the tea as he analysed the dream he had just had, 'The eight sufferings, his obsession with the golden finger, which he mistook for an inner demon, when his real inner demon is the terror of being ordinary, of being left behind, of mortality itself. All he wanted in his last life was to transcend mortality, to witness the vicissitudes of time, to see the passage of eras and to exist long enough to refine his understanding of everything. He wanted to quench his thirst for knowledge and gaze at the 'unknown'. He wanted to dissect this world to its bits, its most fundamental state. He will dish out every single thing about this world. It's laws, it's rules, as they say, 'Great Dao'.
That is why he wishes to cultivate, cultivate to understand, to live long enough to grasp the Dao.
As for his obsession with golden finger, he had his own advantages. His experience from the past life, his knowledge of the ways of humans. With the 8 arts, he refined his body and purified his soul. With a clear mind and unobstructed heart, with retrospection and self-inspection, understanding and refining himself over and over, his Dao heart will steady, ready to face the myriad tribulations.
He slowly pours himself tea as he rolls the cup around the perimeter. He takes a sip, savouring its flavour.
Outside, the palace was beginning to stir — distant footsteps, a bird's cry somewhere, the first grey light touching his window.
He was nine years old today.
He was forty-nine years old today.
He picked up his cup and drank.
Something within surges, as if the floodgates were opened, surging within the body. This was the essence qi he refined for almost 7 years through the eight arts - unknowingly. Possessing a huge amount of essence compared to his peers. He willed it, and it reached his legs. Opening the yongquan* acupoints on both legs. He entered the acupoint opening realm, marking his first step into cultivation.
1 zhang* = 3.3333 meters
yongquan* - acupoint at the bottom, located at the sole.