Jinshen stared at the old man that was still in the ridiculous pose in front of him—hands up in the air and the knees slightly bent sideways.
There was an awkward silence for a few moments, the Diamond Dao finally getting out of the pose as it looked at Jinshen.
"Well, lets start cultivating my boy. You are incredibly weak in the grand scheme of things, like a breadcrumb inside your stomach."
Jinshen's frowned—he was getting a bit frustrated by the random proverbs the man was throwing around.
"Alright, teach me."
The spirit pursed its lips—not responding immediately before it sighed deeply.
"Well, the strange machine has already given you the necessary information—I am of no use. Like a bird inside another bird."
Jinshen clenched his jaw before taking a deep breath—calming himself down before he silently nodded—sitting atop the boulder and getting into the position Xian uploaded into his mind.
It was a lotus position, but instead of his back being straight—it was bent backwards, his face facing the sky—his hands were resting on the boulder he was sitting on which he used to lift himself off the ground.
"You are like a rusty coin Jinshen Zhe. Having worth but no substance."
The spirit muttered, running a hand through its beard—its words caught Jinshen's attention.
"What do you mean? Substance? That's not necessary."
The spirit nodded, understanding Jinshen's statement—it floated closer to him.
It reached out—its ghostly hands adjusted Jinshen's sitting position.
Jinshen's back was now even more bent, like he was laying in the air— he was now also using his fingers instead of his whole hand to lift his body up from the boulder.
Jinshen was now feeling a big stretch in his already sore muscles. His face contorted slightly in pain.
"Well.. Mind explaining what you meant?"
The spirit smiled in satisfaction, floating away from Jinshen before speaking.
"Just like a coin, if it is rusted, it will lose some material from erosion, it'll become brittle and eventually turn to dust."
Jinshen pursed his lips—feeling the burn in his muscles from the stretch even though he hadn't began cultivating yet.
"The Heavenly Flesh and Blood scripture isn't just some cultivating technique,, its a possible way towards enlightenment."
The spirit's voice was much more ethereal now—it truly felt like the spirit of a great sage was talking to him instead of a senile old man.
The spirit continued as Jinshen's eyes closed—he felt something slowly move inside his body, through his Meridans and Dantians... Something heavy and disgusting.
Suddenly, his body tensed up as he immediately fell out of the sitting position. A slimy and disgusting liquid—one that was as black as ink came pouring out of his nose and eyes.
He vomited the same liquid out onto the ground—strangely, the grass absorbed it quite quickly.
Jinshen was left dazed on the ground, his eyes half open and his body barely functioning properly.
The spirit watched in silence—its expression stoic and distant.
"Ah, a user of Demonic Qi found the scripture, I suppose I don't mind. Righteous Qi isn't all righteous anyway."
Xian chuckled, its mocking voice coming through Jinshen's mind like a static radio.
Nah old man are ya doing drugs without me?
Jinshen struggled to stay awake but just before he could get even a moment of rest—his muscles cramped, pulling at his bones as it felt like a fire was spreading through his whole body.
The bones in his body crushed and twisted—lightning up in golden light under his skin as he let out a pained yell.
The spirit immediately raised a finger into the air—the sound of Jinshen's yell not reaching anyone. It took a deep breath, floating towards Jinshen and putting a glowing blue hand on the boy's head.
There was a sudden influx of Righteous Qi that flooded Jinshen's body, pushing its way through his Meridans and clearing his Qi pathways
"You're lucky Jinshen Zhe, if your body was not so compatible with Righteous Qi, it would have long been destroyed during this process. Because if you change your paths all of a sudden, it's like changing your mother, very painful and nearly impossible."
He paused narrowing his eyes before pushing even more Righteous QI into Jinshen's system
"You will need to restart. everything you've learned is useless, you're reborn now as a Righteous cultivativator. I'll save some of your strength but you'll be beginning at the Core Formation stage."
Jinshen slowly felt his body becoming weaker and weaker—but instead of feeling bad about it, he felt peace. Like he was being lifted up towards the warm, and welcoming sky.
He slowly opened his eyes—he wasn't in Yunxia's garden anymore, instead of he was floating in the vast, bright and golden sky.
The real world was below him, the moon far beneath his feet,
Jinshen's eyes had changed color—they were now a deep blue, he had grown slimmer, more fit. His body was covered by long flowy white cloths that bellowed in the wind. A halo of light was around his neck, one that reflected a near infinite array of colors, most unknown to man.
He felt relaxed, no Xian, no pressure to become strong. No nothing.
Jinshen had a large, lazy grin on his face—his pupils were dilated as he slowly turned towards the ground, looking down at his body down in Yunxia's garden.
He reached out towards his body, grabbing at it like a child—it felt so far yet so distant at the same time.
He could hear everything yet he couldn't, he was there as well as far away. He felt everything, from an ant crawling on the mountain carrying a large piece with its colony to a far away whale swimming in the water.
But yet. He was detached, above everything, love, anger, revenge it felt like nothing to him in this moment. He was truly free in this moment.
He slowly floated onto his back, spreading his body on the air like it was water.
His expression momentarily turned blank before returning to a relaxed smirk, one that dripped with confidence and knowledge—he once again reached out towards his body but this time, a barrier stopped him, one that rippled like water.
"The heavens bear the stars—this world shall bear my will for a thousand summer's. My will untouched by worldy damage."