《The Pathway》 -1 Authors Note No content 1 Primordial Origin A Prologue "Existence is beyond the power of words. To explain it, different terms may be used, but none of them is absolute. In the beginning of the universe, there were no words. Words later came out of the womb of matter. And whether a man dispassionately sees to the core of life or passionately sees the surface, the core and the surface are essentially the same. Words made them seem different, but words only express appearance. If name be needed, wonder names them both. From wonder into wonder, existence opens." - Dao of the pathway [Truth Of Existence]. At first there was the VOID. The true beginning. A single existence of temporal infinity. The temporal infinity of space or formless matter of infinitum energy. It was from this energy that the first two forms of creation were made. The ALPHERON and the OMINU. The ultimate Yin and Yang of existence. It was from the Alpheron that the primordial universe was formed. The Alpheron was the essence core, the source of life, of the universe. All universal energies originated from the essence core, It was the force that underlied everything that existed or happened. The Alpheron was the ultimate existence of order and harmony. A creative harmony that was the ultimate order of the universe. The immeasurable mighty force of the Alpheron was truly unifying, creative and harmonious. The true origin of life in the universe. Every existence in the universe was created from the essence of the Alpheron, the true source of life, thus, all things received their energy from the Alpheron in order to exist. Without the energy from Alpheron, an existence in the universe would cease to be. After the forming of the embryo of the primordal universe, the essence of the Alpheron began to expand the spacetime of the primordial universe in an intrinsic expansive way causing the scale of space itself to change. That act, made the primordial universe to evolve rapidly. Cosmos, galaxies and planets were formed. The created cosmos was made up of many galaxies and the galaxies were made up of countless numbers of planets. Despite the magnitude of its creation, the universe kept on expanding infinitely creating space for more galaxies and planets. The harmonious force of the Alpheron was evident in the fact that since it was an essence core, every other existence with perpetuity had a core. Then, the OMINU. The second essence core that was created from the infinitum energy of the void. The essence core of the Ominu was the life force of the primordial chaos. It was the source of life of all existence in primordial chaos. The Ominu core absorbed infinitum energy from the Void and refined it to form the chaos energy which was the vital energy of life in the primordial chaos. The primordial chaos was a spacetime of complete disorder, total disarray which was the exact opposite of the order and harmony of the universe. Like the universe, the primordial chaos was also infinite in its gradual expansion. Though they were different in every terms of existence, the primordial universe and the primordial chaos literally coexisted. Despite their differences, one could not exist without the other, hence, they were connected through the primordial holes. These holes were passages of total darkness made of infinitum energy, that joined the primordial universe to the primordial chaos. The primordial universe and primordial chaos were the homes of the primordials. The primordials. First of their kinds, these were powerful entities created from the energies of the essence cores during the spacetime expansions. They were divided into two groups according to their source of creation, they were the primordial divines and the primordial beasts. The primordial divines were creation of the universe from its essence energies. Entities of pure cosmic energies refined from the void infinitum energy. They were pure divine beings of immense powers seeing to the well-being of the universe in relations to the laws of creation. While on the other hand, the primordial beasts were created in the primordial chaos from the core essence of Ominu, the life force of chaos energy that was refined from the infinitum energy. These were powerful beasts at the pinnacle of existence in the chaos. These primordial entities were constantly at war against one another right from the time of creation which had led to many vicious battles being fought. The great wars. For billions of years after the creation, many great wars were fought between the primordials divines and primordial beasts. The primordial beasts desired the materials in the universe and many times they had invaded it. But their efforts were always thwarted and were continously pushed back. A number of primordials died. The divines suffered few losses but the beasts always suffered great losses whenever they entered the universe. The last great war, the war that led to the primordial beasts'' greatest loss, proved very costly and the remaining beasts were pushed back through the primordial holes into chaos. Finally, the divines created the cosmic wall seals and the gates were sealed. These gates were forever guarded by the Nefrims, the cosmic golems. Relative peace returned to the universe. Though the primordial beasts would occassionaly intrude, they were quickly rebuffed. Billions of years after the great wars, life took forms in the cosmos. Different living entities sprang to life in the worlds. Among them, were the immense sentients of nature. The primordial titans. The mighty titans. Powerful forces of nature that gained the kniwledge of awareness and they started to reason. They realized their existence and became sentients. Living entities that could materialized in the mortal forms. They evolved from various existence in the forms of rivers, seas, mountains and others. After the titans came the cosmic beasts. The cosmic beasts were different from the primordial beasts. The primordial were from chaos whereas, the cosmic beasts were creation of the universe. Animal creatures much more intelligent than mundane animals. They were capable of speaking in mortal languages, transforming into mortal forms and practicing cultivation. Creatures of sentience, great strength and power. They were into three categories, the divine beasts, sacred beasts and demonic beasts. The divine beasts were innate bloodline creatures. They grow stronger and more powerful over the course of time. The epitome of their powers was when they awakened their bloodline which could lead them directly to immortality. Despite all these, they couldn''t transform into any mortal forms, they remained forever in their animal forms. Whereas, the sacred beasts didn''t have innate bloodline but they were born with primal evanesce cores. The cores made them particularly strong and powerful from birth. They also had the benefits of being capable of cultivation. Although, their cultivation was quite slow due to their level of adaptation. And lastly, the demonic beasts. These were creatures born when an animal or plant absorbed cosmic spiritual energy over a long period of time and then gained spiritual awareness. It was after gaining sentience that they would form essence cores. Being creatures with demonic traits, their existence was based on their Karmic virtues. There were good karmic demons that protected and maintained the laws of creation. And there were many demons with bad karma due to the numerous sins they had committed over time. Then, millions of years after the cosmic beasts came the mundane animals. Although, some of them started to exhibit magical traits, they neither had nor gained sentience. They were never aware of their existence, they had no reasoning abilities. These were the magical beasts and their bodies contained great benefits to both mortals and immortals. Millions of years later. Mortals came into existence. They were created from the vital essence of life of the Alpheron, the Chi essence of life, according to the law of creation. Mortals were created on different planets, worlds of different sizes, divided into minor worlds and major worlds. Among the mortals, were the humans. The humans, mortals of high intelligence. Many mortal worlds belong to humans as well as many other worlds for other species too. For millions of years, mortals were living extremely difficult short lives. It was a circle of Short life, death and reincarnation. Mortals were reluctant to accept these forms of living. They started the search, the search for immortality. The ability to gain eternal life, the capacity to live forever. The cosmic divines seeing the mortals predicament decided to give mortals a chance to achieve the eternal life they had been craving. The answer? Immortality through cultivation. Cultivating Chi and practicing martial and mystical arts through the created methods. The first of the cosmic divines, the three pure ones; lord of primordial origin, lord of luminous treasure and lord of true way, decided to teach the ''Dao'' of the universe, the way, to mortals, The teaching, Dao produced Taiji; Taiji produced Yin and Yang; Yin and Yang produced Yin, Yang and Chi; was spread throughout the motal worlds. Luminous treasures from them were scattered all over the universe to aid mortals in their cultivation and other arts. Cosmic divines, the Adi-Buddhas, lord Buddha Bhavana and lord Buddha Bodhisattva, added the "Dharma" of the universe, the path. They taught the Eight-fold path and the Bodhisattva path. The enlightenment and awakening of the mortal self to reach immortality. Luminous artifacts from them were also all over the universe. The roads were opened for mortals cultivating these techniqued to have eternal lives. That was due to the fact that the mortal body had a dantian. The center of oneself. By sensing the heavenly spiritual energy and absorbing the energy to form Chi, the life force, in the dantian, mortals were capable of improving health, increasing longevity and growing powerful. Mortals were able to achieve these through the circulation of Chi through their meridians. The cultivation of Chi in the dantian was the root of the immortality tree. Manuscripts were created. Scriptures and manuals containing detailed instructions on training in cultivation methods or mystical martial arts styles. Over the course of millions of years, many mortals had used these manuscripts to achieve immortality. These manuscripts became being regarded as extremely valuable treasures. Thus, they were secretly kept and well-guarded by clans, sects or schools and loose cultivators who were in possession of them. Treasures of magical and divine nature were created during creation of the universe and primordial chaos and located all over the universe and primordial chaos. Treasures of immense powers. And there were treasures forged by the cosmic divines too, placed all over the mortal worlds, which helped them in their cultivation. The path of cultivation was a hard, tedious and dangerous one. It required obtaining a Chi cultivation methods and other techniques for meditation, martial and mystical arts. More importantly were the availability of spiritual energy and resources for advancement. There were various stages of advancemet for a cultivator. The first stage was the Juchi, the gathering of Chi. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. The second stage was Lianchi, the refining of Chi. The third stage was the Ningchi, the condensing of Chi. The fourth stage was the Zhuji, the foundation establishment from the condensed Chi. The fifth stage was the Miechi, the evanesce core formation. The sixth stage was the Jindan, the golden core formation. The seventh stage was the Yuanying, the forging of the nascent soul. The eight stage was the quangtian stage, the hegemon soul. Immortal ascencion stage. The ninth stage was the Shenxian, the hegemon soul reaching godhood. The tenth stage was the Tianshang, the god soul becoming celestial. The eleventh stage was the Shensheng, celestial soul becoming cosmic divine. Every stage of advancement had further stages. From the first stage [Juchi] to the third stage [Ningchi], there were three further stages, the early stage, the middle stage and the late stage. From the fourth stage [Zhuji] to eight stage [quangtian], there were four further stages. The early stage, the middle stage, the late stage and the peak stage. For the heavenly plane, it was a different matter entirely. For the ninth stage [Shenxian], there were three initial stages. The lowgods, the highgods and the puregods. And four further stages of early, middle, late and peak stages. The tenth stage [Tianshang] had three stages. Lowcelestials, highcelestials and purecelestials. For the cosmic plane. The eleventh stage [Shensheng] had only one. The cosmic divines. Total universal emptiness. The essence of the Universe was Oneness. Harmony was the underlying nature of the Universe. Oneness, Unity and Harmony were the basic qualities that the Universe operated on. Those who know that were enlightened. The more one was able to understand oneness and creative harmony in all areas of life and situations, the more enlightened one was in viewing and interacting with reality. Cultivation was an act of defiance against the laws of creation. Mortals lived, died and reincarnated. That, was a mortal law of creation. For mortals to be immortals, was going against the natural order of creation. This also applied to sacred and demonic beasts that practiced cultivation. The wrath of creation was the heavenly tribulations. Every major steps into immortality brought heavenly tribulations. But surviving the tribulations meant immortality. 2 Reincarnation Reincarnation. The spacetime law of creation of the universe. This was the wheel of existence that was without limitation and continuity without a starting point. There was birth and there was death. There was issuing forth and there was entering in. Reincarnation was the samsara cycle of life, death, and rebirth, without beginning or end. This was simply the law of existence.. Reincarnation began when death ushered the departed souls into the light of Radia. Light of Radia, was one of the laws of creation that were part of the essence core of the primordial universe. All living entities in the universe were in subjectivity to the laws of reincarnation except the cosmic divines. Attaining the stage of a cosmic divine was the only true way or path of breaking free of reincarnation. The state of the complete emptiness of the soul and totally becoming one with the universe. In the universe, reincarnation took place in the Acheron Reincarnation Cosmic realm. Acheron Reincarnation realm is a dominion of bright lights of different colours, all in their beautifully radiant glory. This realm was one of the many cosmic realms located on the cosmic plane and the cosmic plane was one of the four planes in the universe. They were; the nether plane; the mortal plane; the heavenly plane and the cosmic plane. These planes were the creation of the Alpheron during the universal expansion. One important point was the locations of the cosmic realms. They were created in locations of importance regarding the order and harmony of the universe. The Acheron reincarnation realm was the first stop for departed souls. The realm where the fates, destiny and the time of souls were determined in regards to their reincarnation. These include the reincarnated forms and the destination of the souls. The forms the souls would take in their next lives which could be that of animals, humans, halflings, demigods, daemons, deities or celestials. Their destination, if it would be the nether plane, the mortal plane or the heavenly plane. And the moments of time in their lives. All of these were determined on the Acheron cosmic realm inside the Acheron palacium. The Acheron palacium . It was a grand landmark of space. A wonder of a place where both souls of mortals and immortals experienced reincarnation in the light of Radia. Souls. The gates of the palacium were made up of cloudstones and were incredibly massive. At the entrance of the gates were the Malecs, stone-living giants created by the universe from the primordial cloudstones. And right at the center of the palacium, were the three wheels of incarnation. The wheel of time. The wheel of fate. The wheel of destiny. These wheels were being spun by the Cordae, the three divinities. They were the cosmic divines assigned by creation to preside over the palacium and It would be their task to preside over the souls thereby preserving the laws of creation. To continuosly maintain the order and harmony of the universe involving incarnation. From the primordial time, they had been doing their given tasks accordingly. Welcoming the arriving souls and directing their paths toward the mirror of deeds at the center of the palacium and the light of Radia. Divine Arta, lady of time, was in charge of the wheel of time which determined the time period for the reincarnation of the departed souls. At the center of the wheel was a mirror, the divine myriads mirror that showed the past deeds of souls. Divine Asha, lady of fate, spun the wheel of fate to decide the inevitable mighty hands of creation on the lives of incarnated and reincarnated souls. At the center of the wheel was a large orb of pulsating fibres of yin yang lights that threaded the fates of incarnated souls. Divine Amra, lady of destiny, controlled the wheel of destiny that determined the forms and destination of souls based on their karmic merits according to the laws of creation. At the center of the wheel was a large golden bell. The bell of finality, the sound of which confirmed the certainty of a soul''s destiny. And on this particular day, the divines were busy carrying out their task as before. "Ah, the order and harmony of the universe were truly magnificent, the laws of creation bounded all." "Mhm. Even, we are bounded. Yes, I know we are not under any incarnation but we are still under the laws of creation. Are we not?" "Yes, we are. As long as we are still part of this universe." "At least, we don''t die like others. That''s comforting." "Hm. Though it''s true we don''t die, we still have consciousness that exists all over the universe. You two know what that means." "We can still go into limbo." "That''s right. Limbo of a billion years. And, another billion years to return to former state of existence." "Whereas, it takes a mortal a hundred years to reincarnate and an immortal a million years." "But we do keep our consciousness and awareness of events in the universe. Though, powerless." "It''s of little difference, bondage all the same.", "And for two billion years! The scale of balance of creation." "Come off it. You know time means nothing to us." "And moreover, we have a very good way of avoiding limbo. DON''T SLIP AND FALL." "Right." The three divinities conversed as they carried out their tasks. They wore the same signature robes. Jade white robes, crafted from rare primordial stones, Khepri bark spider silk and other materials. The robes were truly majestic, a sight to behold. Each of the three Cordae was a divine with legendary powers. And, when they combined their powers to form the Divine Cosmic Wheel, they would become a universal force of nature. The many great wars they had fought alongside the other primordials were evidences of their powers. They were carrying out their works when they felt Karmic connections. They looked at the souls waiting for reincarnation and discovered that the connection was coming from two newly arrived souls. The rainbow halo sorrounding the two souls was radiating brightly. "Oh, those are Celestial merits." "Yes, they are. And surely, the universe rejoices at their impending rebirths." Lady Asha spread her arms as she smiled widely and easily. "You have my welcome." "How beautiful for souls with good merits after the sadness of death." Lady Amra smiled bitterly, her glance shifting between the two souls. "How beautiful." "The balance of natural laws. Merits and sins. Good and bad. Order and chaos. But, not the same. Can never be the same." Lady Arta slowly shook her head with a furrowed brow and she slowly turned to her sisters. "The more heavenly souls are, the stronger the pillars of the universe." "Agreed." "True words, Arta. True words." The divine cordae continued their work as they remotely watched the two souls until it was their turn to stand before the mirror. The other two divine cordae directed their gazes towards the mirror and watched with great interest as divine Asha spun the wheel of time for their past lives which started to appear in streaks on the myriads mirror. The divine myriads mirror. A primordial treasure of creation. It stored all the deeds of souls before their death. But, it only revealed the deeds of a soul, only the scenes where the soul accrued good karmic virtues or bad karmic virtues, when the soul stood before it. Souls with good deeds and Karmic virtues were bounded to be reincarnated in the light of Radia as mortals, demigods[asuras], deities or celestials. Souls with bad deeds and karmic sins were bounded for reincarnation as animals, halflings, wraiths, fiends or daemons. Merits accrued by departed souls meant that they were bounded by the laws of karma. "Okay. We all know reincarnation is a big effect of the laws of karma." "That, we do." "And that, laws of karma are a part of the laws of the universe." "Yes, they are." The Cordae were staring keenly at the Myriads Mirror. The past karmic deeds of the human souls in front of them, mother and child were being replayed on the mirror. [The mother was a mortal and her name was Eloise Yin. She had been born in one of the mortal worlds, Earth, a world of six continents ruled by a human emperor. She came from the Red eagle clan, living in the fountain-spring village on the Aksan continent. Her clan was the smallest in the village. Her family lived on the outskirts of the village. Her parents were mortals, they had given birth to her after they had passed their prime. They had to wait for a long time before they had her. She had been their miracle..... She had worked on the pig farm in the morning and the chicken farm in the evening. It was on one of such evenings that she had been attacked by reavers, creatures of the nether region. A rare portal had opened on her farm. A portal that connected to the nether region. It was simply an unfortunate situation. War had been raging on between the reavers and fiend factions in the nether region when the portal had been opened. An unstable portal that was opened randomly. It was really unjust. The odds were unfair. But fought she did. Holding a short sword, her son tied to her back, she had fought like a berserker. She had fought tooth and nail, but she had knewn it was a loosing battle. She had prayed to the gods she knew and didn''t know. It was at this moment that the crystal she had was triggered. The karmic merits that were stored in the crystal had been transfered to the mother and child.] "Awww, they were mortals before. A mother and child for what it takes." "It was a sad story. But, they had a mixed fate." "Yes, the crystal. And moreso, to activate it. It was a good moment of time from a very bad fate." "A celestial''s merits assured a reincarnation in the mortal or dimensional worlds, as a demigod." "Or in the heavenly realms as a full deity or even as a celestial." "Though it is really rare for a celestial to pass on full accrued merits, it happens." "Can we see their past lives, Arta? I''m really curious?" Lady Asha tilted her head slightly with her eyes, crinkling. "These mortal souls really piqued my interest too. Arta?" "What if it piques your interest? What do you want me to do about it? Lady Arta asked as she spread her arms, sideways. "The two of you know that it will need the Cosmic Pith Fetter seal to do that. Which I have none. Even if I have, I won''t be using it to see their past lives when they are already here." Seeing their determined looks, she shrugged. "Okay. If any of you have one then you can." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. "I have one right here. Though, it was meant for something else, we can use it." Amra flicked her hand and a seal appeared in her hand. A cosmic treasure, crafted from cosmic essence crystal, obsidian crystal from the void, yin yang spirit leaves and a ray of Radia''s light. She gave the seal to Arta. Arta performed the seal formation hand''s movement and activated it. Then, they all shifted their attention back to the mirror and watched it keenly. [At the age of nine, she had lost her mother. Her mother''s death was sudden, no sign of sickness. It was a massive blow to the family, but on they had gone. One year later, at the age of ten, her had father suffered total paralysis. He had been bed-ridden. As the only member of her family that could work, she had to work extremely hard on their farm. Daily, she had collected and sold chicken eggs from the their farm to cater for herself and her father. She had done this for the following six years. In one of those six years, while she had been working on her family farm, she had found a sapphire crystal. Her very own treasure, first of a kind for her. She had used a string to craft a necklace of sapphire blue crystal. Happiness out of madness. Five years later, her father had died. She had been twenty years of age, she had decided to get married for her family line to continue. At that time, only two members remained of her clan. Eloise and her niece, Scarlett. Scarlett had died the following year. The last of her clan. She had married at the age of twenty. Her husband, a good man, had a pig farm. They had been tending the two farms. Their hardwork had started to be fruitful. Then, the husband had died, when she was five months pregnant. She had given birth to a son and called him Haider. It had been difficult for her raising him alone, but she had been extremely happy. The second person of her clan, aside herself, alive. And he was her son, her family line would continue. Happiness in a world of sadness. She had been working hard on one of the farms when they were attacked leading to her death and that of her son] The three divinities percolated on the information as they focused on the two souls. "Well, laws of karma are laws of creation." "And, fate and reincarnation are parts of its effects." "All souls are bounded by them until they attain total emptiness. Only complete oneness with creation, can free a soul." "We divines are also bounded by the laws of creation." "Yes, we are." "Karmic merits of reincarnation bound souls, must be assigned according to the laws." "Amra, In accord with the laws of karma and their karmic merits, you know you can reincarnate them in the same world." "Yes I know. It is the least I can do for them. Just a thought. Should I make them be together as mother and son?" "We think you should, Amra." "And, Arta. Don''t you think it will be better to delay the reincarnation of the son until the mother is of age to give birth to him?" "I think you are right, Asha. That I will do." "And a reincarnation in a mortal world as an Asura for the mother will be more safer and more fortuitous." "It surely will, Asha." "What about the son?" "Amra, I think you can reincarnate him as a mortal but with his half of the merits. Or what do you think Asha?." "Yes, with the blessings of the universe because of the merits, he will be able to gain enlightenement more easier, temper his heart earlier and gain more insight from the view of a mortal." "Indeed, his path will be more beneficial to him." Lady Amra stretched out her hands and turned the wheel of destiny. "To their karmic merits, I, Divine Amra, will give each of them a moment of destiny in their next lives. You will be born in the world of Lorra with the blessings of heavens." "To their karmic merits, I Divine Arta, will give each one of them a moment of time in their next lives." Lady Arta spun the wheel of time. "To their karmic merits, I, Divine Asha, will also give each one of them a moment of fate in their next lives." The wheel of fate started spinning. All the three wheels for the souls of the mother and son were spinning very fast at that point. "You will be born as an Asura. Your destiny will be protected until you become a full Asura. After that, your destiny will be in your own hands and the hands of the universe." "You will be preserved from all for a period of time until when you become a full Asura." "Your fate will be held until you become a full Asura, Afterwards, your fate will be in the hands of the universe but with the cosmic blessings." They shifted their views and focused on the soul of the son. "After a period of time, you will be reincarnated into the world of Lorra as a mortal but with a boon in your destiny." "Your soul has been bounded in time to your mother, you will be together with her." "On the account of the merits on you, you will be born with the blessings of the universe on your fate." When they were through, they ushered the soul of the mother into the light of Radia. The divine myriads mirror flashed brightly. The Orb released fibre lights that encircled the souls. And the golden bell of destiny sounded. They started humming to themselves. "Luminous cosmic-breezes, touching you soft, Like as fingers when skillfully, Wakening harp-strings. Pure retained, Like unopened blossoms, Flowering ever, Joyful their souls." 3 A Reena In Time The passage of time was like a brisk wind. It flew over us but left only its shadow behind. Before its prescence was realized, it had already gone. It felt like it was just yesterday, but, five hundred years had gone by since the wheels of reincarnation were turned. A young woman, was sitting in a lotus position in a cultivation chamber that was located inside a cave. This was a place she called her home. It was located inside a knoll [a small hill]. This knoll was located at the outskirt of Skyspring village. A large village in the southern province of Ankhora. Ankhora was one of the three continents in this world called Lorra. She was using the ancient Astral primal technique to circulate the Chi in her body. The astral primal technique was a rare primordial cultivation technique and very difficult to cultivate. The technique absorbed two different types of cosmic energies into the body. These were the heavenly spiritual energy and the stygian energy. The heavenly energy is the energy needed to form and to replenish Chi in the body. It was necessary for cultivation advancement. On the other hand, the stygian energy was the sparse dark energy that caused the acceleration of the expansion of the universe. The astral primal technique combined these two energies, to expand the dantian and the meridians in the body. Then, these energies would form a large amount of highly condensed Chi in the dantian. This technique was excrutiatingly painful on the meridians and the dantian. It also made breathing extremely hard when practicing it. But, there were great benefits derived from it. The meridians would be greatly enlarged making the Chi flowed freely and in large amount. While the dantian would be bigger and stored more Chi energy. The best thing about this technique? Its breathing and meditation methods were similar to the rhythms of the universe. It was a true treasure of her family. Though, not many cultivators would embark on its journey. This woman was Reena, an Asura[demigod]. She was born five hundred years ago, as a matter of reincarnation, in a village known as White-Fountain. A village on the other side of the world. On the continent of Xuanpu. Planet Lorra was a major mortal world of the humans. A world of three monarchies. Lorra! There were three continents or mornachies on this planet. Ankhora, Xuanpu and Yimachi. Each of these continent was ruled by a monarch [A mornach was an immortal of the hegemon soul who had achieved immortal ascension but failed to ascend to the heavenly realm to become a god]. Why? It was due to the common knowledge that every cultivator had come to acquire. If an immortal ascended to the heavenly realm, neither the immortal''s main body nor avatar would be able to come back to the mortal world. The laws of creation that protected the fabric of the mortal planes from being destroyed. Only a god''s image could be sent back to the mortal world due to its limited power. These monarchs, didn''t want their physical bodies and nascent souls to part with the mortal worlds. For some, it was due to their families while some prefered their ruling powers in mortal worlds. But, in accord with the laws of the universe, an immortal without ascension would forever be at the quangtian stage of the hegemon soul. The stage preceding the transformation into a god. Planet Lorra! Each of its continent was divided into four provinces. The northern, the southern, the eastern and the western provinces. Each of these province was under the control of a marquis or a marquess. Every province had many cities that were controlled by city lords. Reena was a young beautiful pregnant lady when her parents moved here with her. They had bought this land from the owner, a young man who had been eager to move to the city. The bargained price had been very steep. It had cost them more than half of their ancestral money. Nonetheless, they loved the quiet location and the vast land. This property they bought had large areas of land. This would be ideal for the farming of millet and the rearing of animals. Furthermore, it was located outside the village area which made it more perfect. They, being farmers, had settled in perfectly. They had divided the land into four parts of two large parts and two smaller parts. The two large parts are for farming the millets and the rearing of goats. One of the smaller parts was designated as the practice area for martial and mystical arts. The second smaller part was where the pond was. Her father was Aodh Amynthas. He was a swordman from the Eagleblade clan and a second stage golden core. While her mother was Euanthe Amynthas, a first stage golden core, from the Phoenix clan. She was also known as the flaming claws. They had been unaware of the cultivation chamber located under the knoll. Until, her father made the discovery when he was creating underground storage in the building. The cultivation chamber had been secretely carved out from the rich deposit of emerald green jadeite and emerald blue nephrite that were located under the knoll. The walls of the cave were all emerald green jadeite while the large area at the center was all emerald blue neprite. There was a clear and peaceful stream of water flowing through it. The circular sides of the floor, were of white marbles and attached to the cave''s ceiling were red rubies. This was a marvel of a cave. A wondrous immortal cave that could only be a heavenly blessing. Since her pregnancy had manifested, Reena had been absorbing vast amount of energy. The spiritual and stygian energies that were continually trapped inside the cave. She was also consuming large amount of Chi which was in the form of blue crystallines. These blue crystallines were edible transparent rocks formed on the surface of the emerald blue nephrite. This was due to the crystallization of vast amount of highly dense spiritual energy with streams of water and the emerald blue nephrite. These were materials that occupied a very wide area at the center of the cave. The effect of one blue crystalline in the dantian, could last from several weeks to few months. A number of these powerful crystallines had been formed over the course of hundreds of millions of years that the cave had stayed hidden. The inside of the cave was littered with these crystallines when it was discovered. They had spent an amount of time mining these crystals secretely and created a safe storage room for them underground. But a handful of these crystals were left on the floor of the cave to create a serene atmosphere. Reena''s advancement in cultivation had abounded in leaps. She had advanced from the Jindan stage to the nascent soul stage within one hundred years. At the young age of five hundred. The avatar of the nascent soul she formed was the mini replica of herself. An avatar in white feathered armour and flaming wings. Having been born with the divine evasion power, she had grown into a full Asura[demigod] that could survive on her own. "Mastery of the mind. Order and harmony within oneself. Only by this can one''s conscious awareness be free to understand the laws and nature of the universe and become harmonized with the universe." Reena put a blue crystalline in her mouth and closed it with a crunch as strong Chi energy stormed her dantian. She commenced the circulation of the Chi energy from her dantian through her meridians and back into her dantian. She didn''t stop but continued her breathing exercise and meditation using the astral primal technique. "Understanding true mortal self is the beginning of understanding the true nature of our universe." After cultivating for some time, she exited the chamber taking one blue crystalline with her. She went to the training area to practice her Phoenix Inferno mystical art with her sword, Navaris. An ancestral heirloom of her mother''s family. The feather blade was crafted from the single tail feather of a primordial phoenix at the heart of the Eternal Rest. Due to her rapid advancement and development, her mother had decided to give her the heirloom. She could only be a genius to do that. Therefore, the sword would be safe in her hand and properly used. She was slowly swinging the feather blade. Her martial art was already at the Yinhu[Silver tiger] level, where she could call herself a young master. Her swordmanship was still at the expert level. And, she knew she had a long way to go before reaching the legend level. She had to become a master and then a grandmaster before becoming a legend. Though, not much of a difference and she was at a bottleneck, her joy was in her mystical arts. She was at the fourth stage of the Phoenix Inferno tecnique. "Both mind and body must be cultivated to understand true self. The rhythm of a sword and the motion of fire. They nourish the body and soul, yet, they can also be destructive. It takes a true self discovery to bring out the constructiveness of a sword and the protectiveness of fire. Intent of the heart determines the nature of a martial and mystical arts. Peace is needed, yes, inner peace, in order to be one with nature." She thrusted her sword forward and flaming ribbons spread out from it. They covered the training area in spirals without burning anything. The spirals of the flaming ribbons, was truly, a beautiful scene to behold. "Art is nature and nature is art. " Aodh looked slightly concerned at his daughter as he walked up to the training area. "Gently Reena, you know you are seven months pregnant. You have been practicing your sword arts and meditation for hours everyday since you became pregnant. Don''t you think you should take it easy a little bit?" Reena smiled as she stopped to look at her father. "Father. I''m being very careful. It''s just a little practice. Besides, you remember what the physician said to me about exercising regularly? The more I practice, the more healthier the baby will be." "Yes, you are right. I''m just worried about the fire arts. Can you focus on sword art for now?" "Okay father." "Alright then, let me join you for some practice." They started moving their swords in a perfect rhythym. "Understanding the laws of nature and the principles of sword arts." "To attain perfection, the heart of a sword and force of a blade must become one." "A heart of Dao. It''s really difficult Reena but for you, it''s only a matter of time." "Father! You flatter me too much." Reena smiled appreciatively at his father. Her parents had been very supportive of her right from her birth. What a wonderful parents she had. She couldn''t have wished it any other way. She was perfectly happy with her life. They continued practicing for a period of time before her father waved her down. "Reena, let''s stop the practice for the afternoon. Let''s go inside. You need to have a nourishing meal and a rest. Your mother is preparing the yellow coloured mountain goat. As a rare and magical animal, it will surely nourish your body and the baby further." "Father, with all this magical animals, by the time I give birth, I would''ve turned to a magical animal." "That would be a sight to behold, Reena. A magical phoenix flying through the sky with wings of inferno. A magical sight indeed." Reena''s mind wandered off to the image of her nascent soul. A mini avatar of herself with feathered armor and flaming wings. A flaming bird? She laughed dismissing it from her mind and her father laughed too. They left the practice ground and headed towards the direction of the cave. Inside the cave, they sat round a wooden table at the center of the living chamber with pots of steaming goat meat on it. Reena savoured the meat with her eyes closed. "Oh mother! This is truly amazing. I never knew animal meat can be this tasty. Thank you mother and you too, father." "This is a rarity, Reena. The quality of the energy in the meat will strengthen the bones in your body and nourish your blood. Even the baby will benefit from it. That''s why you need to eat a lot of it." "Eh? Father, do you want the baby to have goat horns and goat hooves?" They all exploded in laughter. An hour later. Euanthe left for the market to sell some of the goat milk from the farm leaving Aodh and Reena in the living chamber. Minutes after Euanthe left, Aodh went into his room and changed into his farming attire. He turned to Reena as he was passing the living area. "Reena, I will be in the farm if you need me." "Okay father." He left the cave and headed towards the farming area of the land. On his way, he glanced back at his daughter apprehensively. After all, she was their only daughter. He remembered his daughter''s husband, Huan Longwei. He had died when a portal had opened in their village and an army of fiends had passed through the portal from the nether plane and attacked them. They had managed to vanquish them, but many of the villagers had died. It was a sudden attack. Many of the villagers were just foundation stage and evanescent core cultivators. Only two elders of nascent souls, were present at that time. Their family had left the village after that. To raise a child without a father would have been very difficult for any mother. Hence, he had decided to try his best to ease the burden as much as he could. The good thing? Reena, was pregnant! He remembered when he had gone to the Sunset-Hills village in the northern province. He was there to look for a senior alchemist named Tau. An immortal cultivator of the peak stage golden core. In order to buy the Heavens Spring spirit pill. Alchemist Tau had lived for over five million years which was a reasonable years of experience. Not minding that, golden core cultivators had a lifespan of hundred million years. He had seen all forms of life on planet Lorra. Thus, he had decided to ascend to the heavenly world. So, he had chosen to live a simple life to practice. He would focus on his alchemy and cultivate in seclusion, in-order to reach the Nascent soul stage for his immortal ascension. "Welcome to my humble home, fellow Daoist. I am Tau but I believe you already knew that." Said alchemist Tau, as he looked jovially at Aodh. "Greetings Daoist Tau. My name is Aodh, from the Skydome city in the southern province here on Ankhor continent." "Long way from home. What bring you all the way to my place, fellow Daoist Aodh?" "Thank you alchemist Tau. I have heard about your pills, the wonders of your pills. So, I came to see if I can buy the Rainbow Womb spirit pill for my wife. I heard it''s especially good for the unborn baby. I will be very grateful if it''s available for me to buy." Aodh had sought assurances from the alchemist. "Hm, the spirit pill. Yes, it''s really good for a baby in the womb. The pill only contained the refined essence life energy from some sources. Although, I have to admit, the materials were very rare and a little difficult to gather. But once consumed, the essence energy in the pill will combine with the womb nourishments to form the cloud of life around the baby." "It naturally flows through the meridians of the baby. But, I need to tell you this, the effectiveness of the pill depends on the child. On, how much of the essence energy the child can absorb. While the womb nourishments is left to the mother. So, the outcome is not on me." He uttered as he stared keenly at Aodh. "I can tell you that the pill is safe and works accordingly. And yes, I do have one. Only three were ever made on this planet and two of those were made by my father before his ascension. One was sold but the outcome of it was not that effective. The result and the materials needed made my father to abandon it." "When I came across some of the needed materials, I decided to give it a go. I searched for the other materials for hundreds of thousands of years. I also had to use some alternative materials but the effect should be the same. Still, if you want to buy it, it will cost you fifty thousand high grade spirit stones." "Uh?" Aodh had been caught off-guard with the price before gathering himself together. "Okay, I will take it." It was very costly but he had taken it. Remembering the effect on his daughter after she had taken the pill, had brought joy to his heart. He happily continued his walk to the farm. In the village market, Euanthe saw a road antique merchant and branched to check. She was looking for something nice but cheap. "Greetings, Nu Shi. Do you want to take a look at my collections? Maybe, you can find something fancy that can catch your eyes? I have all collections of antiques. Magical, decorative, talismans, seals, I have them all." Euanthe went through the collections and saw a small white crystal pagoda. This was something he could give Reena''s child when the child grew up. It looked beautiful as a gift for a child. "I would like to get this little crystal pagoda. How much will it cost?" "Oh, the gate of seven realms of fortune. This is the best, Nu Shi, and there''s a myth about it too. This is a gate that leads to seven ancient realms with all forms of treasures. You see the layers of the pagoda, Nu Shi? They are layers of treasures. Even just having it can bring you good fortunes." "And why are you not keeping it for yourself, if it has all sort of treasures?" "Ah, fate, Nu Shi. Fate. Me and the pagoda were not fated to be together. But you Nu Shi, you are fated to have it. Destiny is on your side." for visiting. "Haha, very funny. You merchants have ways with words. How much is it anyways?" "Nu Shi, with a heart full of sorrow, I will take five thousand pure grade spirit stones from you." "Eh? Five thousand high grades? Well, I don''t have that amount but I can give you one thousand high grade stones." "Make it two thousand then and it will be." "Okay, two thousand it is." Euanthe paid the money and left the market with the pagoda in her spatial sac. Their quiet life in the cave went on without disturbances. Two months later, Reena gave birth to a boy and named him Jufeng. Reincarnation completed. 5 Coming Of Age I "Martial arts." Aodh clasped his arms behind his body. His gaze was fixed on his grandson who standing in front of him, bare-chested and with a look of absolute seriousness on his face. He knew the effort and energy that martial arts required. Total tranquility and control of the inner aggression, pain and even fear, were needed by a cultivator to be a true martial artist. This was the reason why the Dao martial arts principles, placed great importance on complete tranquility and control. Emotions and reactions were major problems facing a martial artist. That was why martial arts had been regarded as a mental sparring competition with the inner opponent. Once a martial artist was able to control the emotions and reactions in a rational way during combat, the opposition''s variant attacks would be much more easier to face. The Dao principles of the martial arts included moral ways. These moral ways showed these principles as a way of life for all martial artists. "These are guides you must follow when you are preparing for combat and during combat. They have been arranged in systems that will make it much more easier to learn. Jufeng, you must know one important thing about martial art. All these systems, although they made it easier, martial arts still demanded complete control and focus." Aodh observed the state of his grandson keenly before nodding. "In combat they will let you understand and determine how to take full advantage of any situation, when it''s necessary. And they will also help you to avoid inflicting harm on yourself and others when practicing. " Aodh raised three fingers up before dropping his hand to his side. "There are three Dao martial arts principles. Any martial artist who has not trained in all of these three principles is not considered as a complete or true martial artist." With his fingers, one after the other, Aodh indicated the numbers. "They are spiritual principle, mental principle and physical principle." "Although they are divided into basics, forms, weapons, stances, meditation, Chi and applications, they must be learned together." "For you to be a true martial artist, your body must learn the physicality while your soul must learn the mental and spiritual aspects of it. Martial arts must flow freely without you being conscious of it. A true heart of martial art, a true heart of Dao." "That''s the level I want you to reach, Jufeng." Aodh who was walking towards one side of the training ground, turned sharply. "Back to the basics." He stared at his grandson who was readjusting himself to stand firmer and be more focused. "The basics are the beginning steps and very important part of any martial training. You cannot progress to the more advanced stages without them." "They will enhance your upper body, lower body and core strength. In turn, these enhancement will help you to improve your punching power, kicking power and others." Aodh walked up to his grandson and put a hand on his shoulder. "You will start with the basics." Jufeng nodded vigorously, his eyes on his grandfather who looked at him with an easy smile and continued. "You have great strenght in your body, we will start by gradually bringing out your true strength. You will be using the general trueworld bodyweight technique. And today, we will focus on your upper body strength training since it will help your upper body to generate stronger punches and grappling power." "Let''s start." Aodh taught Jufeng the trueworld bodyweight technique. He started his grandson on his body mass as the source of weight before gradually increasing the weight by adding external masses of stones to his body weight. "This will strengthen the muscles in your chest, shoulders, back and arms." Jufeng continued the training of his upper body strength without resting. His strength was unbelievable for such a young age. Aodh added twice the stone mass for his grandson''s age level, but he kept on practicing the technique without stopping. "His strength is rather high for his age, so much strength. By the time...." Aodh trailed off smiling as he nodded his head in acknowledgement. All their past efforts were coming to fruition. It had been costly and time consuming but worth every bit of it. After training for four hours Aodh stopped him and gave him one Bloodroot medicinal pill. Since he had not started sensing and gathering Chi, the blue crystalline would not be ideal for him and could even damage his dantian. The energy from the medicinal pill flowed through his body, replenishing and strengthening his body. He felt like he could carry the world on his head since his exhausted body had been fully restored. "Grandpa, my body! I don''t feel tired anymore." "Hehehe, let''s continue your training for a bit more time then." After training for another two hours, Aodh gestured for him to stop. "We''ll stop here for today and we''ll continue tomorrow. For daily balance, you need to train with your grandmother and mother." "Okay, grandpa. Thank you." Cupping his hands in respect as he bowed to his waist. Aodh smiled and nodded. He was happy with his grandson frame of mind. If a mind was on the right path then cultivation would be easier and faster. They made their way to the cave, where Euanthe and Reena were preparing the goat milk for sale at the market. After resting, Euanthe took Jufeng to the pool side since it was her turn to train her grandson. The pool was in a peaceful state and its area was quiet too. She did a quick spun and smiled brightly. All forms of nature are wonderful. Looking at her grandson, she gleamed happily. "Mystical arts are essence fundamentals. Do you know what that means, Jufeng? It means without essence, there would be no mystical arts. " "Essence is the ultimate nature of any existing entity. Simply, it''s your life-force and you cannot exist without it. Since you cannot practice mystical arts without your Chi essence, I will tell you more about it." "Due to the laws of creation regarding reincarnation, mortal soul is always in a limbo. Because of this, the essence energy is scattered all over the body and because of this, it continuously leaked out of the body into the surrounding." "The only way to stop this essence leakage and the short existence of the mortal body was to gather this essence together in a place in your body called dantian. This will also gradually bring the soul out of limbo into manifestation." Euanthe, who had been gesturing with her hands, pointed a finger at her grandson. "There is Chi in your body, Jufeng, but it''s not organized. This is because you are still a mortal and not a cultivator. But now that you have started the path of cultivation, you will soon be able to gather your Chi into your dantian." "A step into knowing the power of essence and you will be able to form a nascent soul. In the world of cultivation, cultivators strive to form a nascent soul which was the true stage of immortality. Unless, somebody or something kills you. " "Now, Jufeng, I will explain to you how Chi essence which is your life-force, connects to mystical arts. There are elements in our Chi essence and these elements are used to produce mystical arts." "Although, we manifest different types of these elements, there are four basic elements from which others stemmed out. These four are the primary states of matter. Do you know what the four elements are, Jufeng?" "Fire, air, terra and water." Came the quick answer. "Good." "Fire is igneous in nature." "Air is gaseous in form." "Terra[soil] has nature that''s solid." "And Water which is in liquid state." Euanthe observed her grandson as she contemplated. "The life-force is made up of these elements. Since the life-force connects the soul to the body, the body and soul shared these elements. But because of the law of reincarnation, the mortal soul is only connected to the life-force by few threads and the life-force is scattered all over the body." "But with cultivation, the life-force can be gathered and the soul brought out of limbo making the life-force, the body and the soul become one." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. Euanthe spread her hands to encompass her sorrounding. "Look around you my grandson. Everything in the universe is composed of the four elements in varying proportions and amounts. I tell you this Jufeng, elements are the basic constituents of all matter. Everything." She placed her hand on Jufeng''s shoulder and smiled gently. "Even your body is composed of the four elements." "These four elements formed the foundation of the Dao conception of the universe." Euanthe tapped gently on the floor with her foot. "At the center of our world is the terra, as the planet we live on, the ground and support beneath our feet. Because of terra''s great heaviness and density, all things gravitate towards it. Running over and around the soil is Water, in the form of lakes, rivers, and oceans. Water nourishes the terra, giving it Life. Over the spheres of soil and Water is the sphere of Air, the atmosphere in which we live, move and have our being. Air''s essence is exchange, contact and movement. All living things need Air to breathe." "And finally" Euanthe turned her palm upward and a tongue of fire manifested. "Fire lights up the Sun, the moon and the stars in the celestial firmament. Fire has brilliance and spirit and it symbolizes the Life Force within us. The mortal body, your body, is made up of the four elements in varying proportions. Some elements are more dominant in our bodies than others." "For some cultivators, it can be one element that''s more dominant than the rest while in others, it could be more than one dominant elements. All souls are in affinity to the elements. The Chi energy and elemental energies in the dantian formed the essence fundamentals. These are the fundamentals that transform the state of the soul into a mystical one." Euanthe shook her head and sighed. "Your grandmother is still in the evanesce core stage and I have a long way to go before i can form a true soul. I know my element affinity is fire and I can draw on its power but not as a true soul. Your mother already formed her nascent soul maybe she can show you what it looks like." "But today." Euanthe touched her grandson on the head and chest. "I will teach you the serenity of the soul. Although, your soul is in limbo, you are still connected to it by few threads. I want you to realize that although our universe appears to be ever reaching, ever expanding, out of reach, and ever so far, we are cosmically connected. Thus, this connection has an impact on the very reason that we are who we are." "Serenading the soul will put it in a state of peace. With this calmness, comes enlightenment of the soul. The first step is for your soul to realise that it''s in limbo. Then, to gradually come out of it and that''s the reason for all these training we are giving you." "I will teach you the soul pith technique now and then the soul serenade technique later. It''s simple but very effective. These techniques are different from the astral foetal breathing technique. Unlike astral foetal used for cultivating meditation, these ones are used for the mystical arts. The elements. Our ancestors have all used to good results. Let me show you how it work." Euanthe showed the technique to Jufeng who quickly sat down and started practicing it. Euanthe watched him as if it was a dream. She remembered the time she thought she would never had a child much less a grand child. And her daughter was even a god, a demigod, but a god nonetheless. A full immortal. She vividly recalled the nascent soul that her daughter had shown them. A white feathered amour and flaming wings. Phoenix wings? It was a sight. She was joyfully beaming with teary eyes. How could she not be happy? From hopelessness to one filled with great potentials, it was definitely a source of happiness. A grandmother! And her grandson was growing really fast and strong. Surely, this must be the heavens. Or, how could you explain all these? Heavens did favoured her. Lost in thoughts, it was evening before she realized the time had swiftly passed by. Though Jufeng was still practicing, she decided it was time to leave. They still had the following day and many days ahead. Leaving the area, they arrived at the cave to see Aodh returning with jars of fresh milk from the farm. They all gathered in the main chamber. It was the day Jufeng started his long road of cultivation, hence, his mother made a special food for them. Roasted yellow-green spirit grass spiced deer and millet coated in the honey of the cloud honeygourd bee. These went along with goat milk in its variants and they ate to their satisfaction. It was truly a good day for one of their own had started cultivation. It would be hard and dangerous but surely a thing for celebration. And after the meal, they raised the drink to Jufeng''s. "Mother, can I come with you?" "Don''t be impatient, Jufeng. Do you think I forgot about you?" Looking at her son''s face, she patted him on his shoulder and smiled. "Follow me." They went inside the cultivation chamber, sitting in lotus positions facing each other, Reena took out a bottled elixir and gave it to his son. "Take a little drink out of it. It will help sooth your veins." After taking back the bottle from Jufeng, Reena continued. "Cultivation is the way for a soul to reach eternity, without natural death. The path for a soul to be free of reincarnation. Immortality is the reason why we all practice cultivation. I can assure you that cultivation is a true way. For generations, our family has been keeping the Sapphire Sky manuscript safely secured. It has techniques for cultivation method, martial and mystical arts." "The astral primal technique in the manuscript is a great advantage to us, although, it''s extremely painful when practicing it. You can''t even imagine the pain and the advantages it brings. You need to feel and see it for yourself to understand." Reena observed her son and her heart was filled with compassion. The road ahead for her son who was just starting cultivation, would be very difficult. She had been fortunate to be born on the path of a demigod. She would do her best to make it a little easier for him. "Before we start, I want you to remember that martial arts, mystical arts and immortal cultivation can be used to compliment one another. True cultivators use their Chi essence from cultivation to perform their mystical arts." "And in turn, they use mystical arts to provide the power of elementals for their martial arts. Mystical arts deal with the life-force by bringing out the elemental energies hidden in it. Hence, a true cultivator will know the three aspects." "Let''s start. Since you are already familiar with the fetal breathing method from the womb, let''s begin with you sensing the Chi energy in your body." Reena glanced at her son and started talking in a quiet tone. "Close your eyes, now, start breathing the way i showed you." Jufeng shut his eyes and started using the astral fetal breathing technique. Like all embryos, he had been using the fetal breathing method when he was in the womb. This was a welcomed continuation which was much appreciated. "As you continue to breathe, you will feel a sensation in your body, like energy. Let me know when you feel it." Few hours later. "Now that you can sense the Chi in your body, just let the energy flow in your body. Jufeng continued to train diligently at a steady pace for the following three years. He was growing up fast in strength and power. His physique was not getting bigger like the first four years after his birth, but for an eight year old, he was quite big. In martial arts, he had reached the Yinying level of the silver eagle. He had finished learning the basics and was almost done with the stances. In the mystical arts, he discovered that he had traces of element energy but couldn''t determine them yet. In immortal cultivation, he was at the middle stage of Juchi, the gathering of Chi. The Astral primal technique was gradually and unceasingly enlarging his dantian and meridians. The blue crystalline he was consuming kept on supplying his dantian with Chi energy that was circulated through the meridians. The heart of his path of cultivation. 6 Coming Of Age II Jufeng had just reached the martial arts'' Yinying stage. This was the silver eagle level of the martial arts. He had just finished learning the stances from his grandfather. Although, he still had a long way to go in his martial arts training. But for now, he would be moving on to swordmanship to have a balance. He walked up to his grandfather, who was checking the defensive arrays that were protecting the caves. He looked grown as he walked, due to his physique which resembled that of a twelve year old. He was over five feet tall with bones as strong as a cave bear and skin as thick as a bark hide. His eyes'', nose''s and ears'' senses were also growing keener as he trained. He was already at the practicing area doing some body exercises when his grandpa arrived. "Good morning grandpa." "Jufeng, good morning to you too. I guess that means you are ready for your morning training." "Yes grandpa, I even woke up ealier today to prepare." "Mhm. I can see that. Then, let''s begin." Aodh produced a sword-shaped wooden stick and gave it to him. "Swordsmanship means the abilities of a martial artist to use the sword properly." Aodh materialised his sword, Skyfire. It was a beautiful white sword made from white nephrite with the core of a white wyvern. He glanced at Jufeng as he performed a few rhythmic swings. "True words, sword is a weapon of blade. It can look beautiful and delicate, but, in the hand of a swordman, it''s a deadly weapon. This is the reason why a martial artist must be mentally and spiritually prepared. Proper training must be taken by a cultivator to be a true swordman." "Know this Jufeng, it takes a true swordsman to know when to draw a sword and when not to. You do not draw your sword for every little arguments and issues. You draw your sword when it''s absolutely necessary and you are left with no other alternative." Aodh stared at his grandson with his brows furrowed tightly. "Jufeng, which one is easier, to destroy or to make?" "To destroy something is easier, grandpa." "Yes, it is easier to destroy. But to make? It can take forever. This is where the nature of a heart comes in. How can a violent and easy to anger heart understand the true nature of the universe? It takes a calm and patient heart." "Let''s start. I will need your extra focus and seriousness." His eyes on his grandson with unyielding stare. "The basic defense moves involve blocking and stepping." Aodh started displaying the moves and guided Jufeng on the proper moves. "Defense Moves. This move is voiding. It''s a defensive move used to step either forward, backward, or sideways, out of the sword''s attack range like this." Aodh moved according to the steps. Moving his feet back and forth, he checked to see if his grandson followed. "Moving to stepping. If your back foot passes your front foot in a passing step, it''s a burst. If your front foot passes your back foot in a passing step, it''s a lunge." Aodh put himself in different positions as he directed his grandson into the proper positions. "Stances. The ox ward is a stance. You put the left foot forward with the sword held close to your face and aimed towards the upper regions of your opponent''s body." "Another stance is the the plow ward. This one, you put your right foot forward and place the sword near your knees, with the blade aimed at your opponent''s chest." "And the third one, is the the fool ward. For this one, you put your left foot forward with the sword aimed towards the ground in front of your left foot." Aodh slowly changed his posture so that Jufeng would grasp it. "Now attack moves. The first one is the high blow. A vertical blow against the opponent''s head." "The second is the wrath blow. You swing the sword from above, and diagonally aimed towards the opponent''s ear." "The third one is the middle blow. This you do horizontally, either from left to right or right to left." "The fourth one is low blow. Swinging the sword from below, and aimed towards the opponent''s arms." "The fifth one is the overhead thrust. A move in which you jab the opponent with the sword, single-handedly." Aodh continued to show Jufeng all the sword moves. They were so immersed in training that they didn''t notice the flight of time. It was already eight hours ago when they started. Aodh stopped the training and they left the practice area. On their way back to the cave, Aodh side-glanced his grandson. "Physical training develops bodily strength and health. It will surely provide you with hardness and toughness of physique, greater mobility and agility." "You will have wider opportunities for activity, the ability to perform what you do and the capacity to survive and thrive in a crisis. Truly, every man should be physically strong." Minutes later, Jufeng went to the pool area. He sat down on a mat beside the pool, eyes closed, feeling his inner peace as he waited for his grandma. "As long as humans have lived on this planet, we have relied on water to nourish and replenish our systems physically." Jufeng sharply turned his head to the source of the voice to the sight of his grandma. He heaved a sigh of relief, he didn''t know when she arrived. "But it also provide mental and emotional benefits as well. It is a natural progression that we feel so at peace when we are near to water. It is part of who we are." "The sound and sight of water is not only soothing but can directly affect your mood and environment. The sight of a pleasant water feature can also be a source of healing and relaxing." Euanthe indicated the pond with a nod. "These energies are released from water by the power of nature and found in high concentrations virtually anywhere water flows. We absorb these energies with each breath we take." "When you are around a pond, the air will affect your mood and heighten your ability to concentrate, clean the air and promote a sense of tranquility and inner peace." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. Euanthe produced a mat and sat down opposite his son. "Spiritual training develops the health and strength of the soul, increasing its ability to delay gratification and deny lower impulses in favor of higher ones, conquer weaknesses and temptations, make weighty decisions with dexterous wisdom, and, willingly serve other people." Euanthe moved her hand to form the shape of a human as she was speaking. "Your character is built in the course of your soul spiritual training, inner confrontation." "Character is a set of dispositions, desires, and habits that are slowly engraved during the struggle against your own weakness. You become more disciplined, considerate, and loving through a thousand small acts of self-control, sharing, service, friendship, and refined enjoyment." "If you make disciplined, caring choices, you are slowly engraving certain tendencies into your mind. You are making it more likely that you will desire the right things and execute the right actions." "If you make selfish, cruel, or disorganized choices, then you are slowly turning the soul inside yourself into something that is fragmented. You can do harm to your soul with nothing more than ignoble thoughts, even if you are not harming anyone else." "But if you do behave with habitual self-discipline, you will become constant and dependable." "Which brings us to Karma." With compassionate eyes, she observed her grandson. "Do you know what karma is, Jufeng?" "Good and bad?" "Close." Euanthe nooded with a bright smile. "It''s the principle behind the good and bad things we do or say. Everything you do now will have effect on your life in the future." "Law of karma is a law of creation. It affects everybody in the universe. Good karma will bring good effects and bad karma will bring bad effects. We cannot escape it." "That''s why having a proper frame of mind will help in cultivating good karma. Remember that every thing you do, good or bad, you will face the consequences in the future." Euanthe pointing to the fish in the pond, said. "Look at the fish in the pond. Do you see the way they move about in the water peacefully? It''s in their mind to do that since they were born. Now they do that as part of their living." Euanthe smiled reassuringly at her grandson. "Everything you put in your mind from young age, will continue to grow there if you continue to nurture it. A seed will germinate and grow if properly nurtured." "Free your mind as before, let your mind be at peace. Then start the soul pith technique." Jufeng closed his eyes. He freed his mind of any distractions. Just like the peaceful pond, he felt his mind at peace. He started practicing the soul pith technique. He had discovered that his soul was getting more and more stronger. This was happening whenever he practiced this technique followed by the astral fetal breathing technique. The two techniques were from the same manuscripts, no wonder they complimented each other. The more stronger his soul, the more clearer he was seeing the universe. He continued to practice, sparse threads of positive energies continued to stream into his soul. Gradually, he was lost in meditation. He saw himself being sorrounded by a faint white light and flickers of lightning. The astral sphere. After he regained his awareness, he told his grandma about his experience. "Your astral sphere. Those are your elements energies. Light element energy and lightning element energy. There are four primary elements as you are aware of but these four have many other secondary elements." "For instance, Ice is a secondary element of water and lightning is a secondary element of air. In your case Jufeng, you have lightning and light, which means that you can use light but not fire, because you need heat and light to make fire." "But, your affinity is not attuned to heat, so you can only use the light. Same thing with lightning, you can use lightning even if you can''t conjure the mystic power of air. Light and lightning are really great energies. I''m really proud of you." "But no fire grandma." "Yes, no fire. But you have two affinities, that''s a blessing. None of us has two affinities, not to mention lightning. It means you are special, very special. And it''s not the affinity you have that matters, it''s your heart that does. Now, lighten up and appreciate the gifts." "Okay, grandma. Thank you." Jufeng nodded his head and smiled at his grandma. Oh, how he wanted to be able to make ribbons of fire or fire birds like his mother. He would have prefered fire to a thousand other elements. But light and lightning it is. He had to make do with them. And he had two. He was lucky indeed. His smile brightened. They left the pond area enjoying the gift of nature as they slowly walked. Euanthe told him she wanted to check the farms, so he decided to follow her. They collected some goat milk and went back to the cave. Inside the cave, Aodh was in the small book chamber, going through some manuscripts. Euanthe and Reena were discussing about the upcoming village event. Seeing that everyone was occupied, he quietly left for the cultivation chamber. He sat down and started to practice the astral primal technique. His meridians were wide and his dantian was extremely large. The heavenly spiritual energy was always needed in large quantity to advance in cultivation stages. Cultivators looked for places rich in heavenly spiritual energy to cultivate. It helps in supplying the needed energy. But he had the blue crystallines. Crystals containing pure refined chi that could replenish an exhausted dantian at a go and the stored energy could last for weeks. His dantian was so large, but was still absorbing the crystals'' energy continuosly. The amount of Chi in his dantian was ridiculously high. He only needed his connection to his elements energy to keep getting stronger. As he connected to his affinities, he would be able to advance in stages. His mother found him in the cultivation chamber just as he was breaking through to the Chi refining stage, the Lianchi stage, some minutes later. "Congratulations son, It was about time. You are now at the Chi refining stage." Reena sat down in front of her son, gently staring at him. "As you refine the Chi in your body, you can continue to gather Chi into your dantian. We are still gathering Chi into our dantian also. My soul''s avatar is still benefitting from the Chi I''m still gathering. So, you can continue with your Chi gathering." "Okay mother." "Tomorrow, there will be antique sellers and buyers displaying their goods in the market place. I want you to come with me." "Yes mother, I have not been to the market place for some time. Thank you mother." They continued to cultivate together. His mind was on the antique goods.