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Near the end of book 2!
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The sun hung low in the western sky, casting long, orange streaks across the winding trail that cut through the hills. The tribe behind him had long since faded into the distance, and now, Cai Feiyin traveled alone, his pace relaxed yet deliberate, the fire gauntlet clinking faintly on his wrist with each step. To the Crimson Fire Tribe, it symbolized an alliance: mutual protection, respect, and trust.
The exchange had come only after the alliance was forged; after Feiyin had proven himself in the fire duel and negotiated terms accepted by the tribe. As a final gesture of trust, sealed after the fire duel and the successful negotiation of terms, he and Turok had exchanged the very creations they forged during the duel. Turok offered the gauntlet of volcanic iron while Feiyin gave the bracelet he had crafted in turn.
But that thought quickly bled into another- more somber, more pressing.
He needed allies and strength, but both needed time.
His mind drifted.
So far, they had secured key alliances, first with the Greenwood Kingdom of the elves, and now with the Crimson Fire Tribe, a lineage of red demons. It was a strong start, but not enough. Those loyal to their interests were growing, but slowly. Far too slowly. With the Saint Spirit Sect beginning to mobilize under the newly awakened Sect Master, the sands in the hourglass had begun to fall faster.
Feiyin's fingers curled as he walked, infusing fire essence qi into the gauntlet and watching it glow with heat.
He needed strength. Now.
His thoughts turned to the Sect Master, the man whose very presence had left Elders anxious and Deacons speaking in whispers. A cultivator of the Ninth Phase, long since injured. No ordinary wound could have kept such a figure inactive for years. The mere fact that his recovery demanded the blood of thousands already hinted at the scale of the damage.
Feiyin's brow furrowed.
To even reach the Ninth Phase, a cultivator had to pass through the forging of a cultivation spirit, an autonomous core shaped in the Eight Phase by merging a solidified nexus with a portion of one's soul within the dantian, which would then be molded according to the cultivation path desired. This spirit would then refine essence into high-quality essence qi on its own and serve as a conduit for powerful techniques. But that was only possible after one had first refined their essence qi though Yin and Yang energies and then combining both in the Sixth Phase to reach essence qi permanence, paving the way for liquefaction in the Seventh.
Such a cultivation spirit became the true heart of a cultivator's power, a miniature portrait of the self and the path of cultivation envisioned, forged of essence qi and soul. To harm it was to cut into the very core of one's being. And if the Sect Master's injury had lingered for this long, it likely meant his cultivation spirit had been damaged. A wound of that nature was almost impossible to heal, which could explain why he required such vast quantities of essence and blood.
It was no wonder the Sect had begun to move so aggressively. The cost of restoring such a spirit… was staggering.
As for himself, he could already stand against cultivators beneath the Seventh Phase with the foundation he had accumulated: perfect tempering, all 108 meridians opened, qi nexuses spinning at their fastest speed, all 361 acupoints activated, and all five elemental nexuses infused. Not to mention, his saber and musical intents- both at the awakened stage- lent him strength few in his cultivation phase could match.
But against that?
Not yet.
But soon.
Among his current allies, only Lysendria, the queen of the Greenwood Kingdom, and Zod, the chief of the Crimson Fire Tribe stood at the Seventh Phase, having already condensed their essence qi into liquid form, while their subordinates largely counted as Sixth Phase cultivators and below.
This marked a significant strategic gain. Even the branch leaders of the Saint Spirit Sect remained at the Sixth Phase- something that now seemed deliberate, a calculated move by the Sect Master. His current strength, diminished and wounded, had likely regressed to the Eighth Phase. Against desperate opponents at the Seventh Phase, particularly in a group, this posed real danger, suggesting a reason for his caution and the measured pace of the Sect's escalation.
His steps slowed as he sat upon a large stone beside the trail, gaze lifting to the softening sky.
He closed his eyes.
Inside him, three nexuses pulsed with life, each a cyclone of essence qi spinning at astonishing speed and radiating five streaks of color. These were the fruits of painstaking harmonization and elemental infusion of the past few months.
And yet, despite their power, he felt it.
An incompleteness.
Not within his body, but within the nexuses themselves.
They spun with perfect balance and rhythm, but still carried a sense of missing something, as though space remained… waiting. For what? A sixth element? A seventh?
"Do I stop here… or keep pushing?"
He murmured the words aloud, lips barely moving.
Each element had come with its own insights. Fire brought passion and destruction. Water brought adaptability and clarity. Earth, grounding. Wood, growth. Metal, resilience. Yet he hadn't mastered them- not entirely. To wield them all in perfect concert required more than integration, it required harmony. Fusion. The way a conductor leads a symphony- not just playing instruments in turn, but blending them into a single sound.
And yet…
Time.
He needed time. But time wasn't a luxury they had.
The Sect's plans were accelerating. With each month, the risk of open war loomed larger, which would greatly increase the risk of the Sect Master making an appearance to speed up his recovery. If Feiyin advanced to the Yin Refining Phase, he felt he could rapidly increase his strength.
But stepping forward now meant closing a door.
He could always return to elemental study- but not like now. The malleability of the Qi Condensation realm allowed a cultivator to nurture their foundation freely. To add more elements now would mean greater versatility and a broader foundation… but also slower progression.
He ran a hand over his chest.
Each nexus glowed faintly within him. Each one perfect. Each one whole… but still hungry. Each a cyclone of essence qi in one of his three dantians, spinning at incredible speeds, five streaks of elemental light dancing within.
Yet it wasn't just hunger.
And he had a suspicion why.
In the depths of his nightly visualizations, when his mind wandered into that peculiar dreamscape; where the Eight sat in silence amidst the grey nexus, where countless orbs like miniature worlds shimmered across a boundless void- he'd often felt a strange pull. Tonight, his focus was drawn more than ever to those swirling spheres.
Each orb radiated a different hue, a different rhythm. Myriad colors shimmered across their surfaces; some blazing like suns, others glowing with subtle inner light. As he watched, something clicked within him.
A revelation.
Worlds, he realized, needed their base components to be whole.
The elements.
That was the missing link- the foundation upon which a world, and perhaps a cultivator, could be truly complete. And suddenly, it made sense. The incompleteness in his nexuses. The lingering sense that his path remained half-walked.
He stared up at the darkening sky.
"To complete all eight elements, what a beautiful song it would be… If I don't complete them, I might lose something."
He didn't know what form that opportunity would take, but he felt it down to his bones. A kind of recognition. The world acknowledging a creation shaped in its full image- balanced, elemental, whole. And such recognition, instinct told him, could perhaps birth something transcendent.
It could perhaps even help him refine a rune.
Something few alchemists could even hope for.
A rare opportunity. One that only the fully prepared might grasp.
He didn't know what exactly waited at the end of that path- but the feeling was rooted in his soul.
If he pushed forward to the Yin Refining Phase now, it would be fast, easy even. With his foundation, his body and qi would adapt almost instantly. He felt that he cold quickly leap through both yin and yang refining and even reach the sixth phase. The benefits were obvious.
But his path… had never been about what was easy.
It had always been about completeness. Perfection. A foundation that no storm could shake.
He would give himself until winter.
If by the time frost painted the valley white he had not mastered the remaining three elements- Ice, Wind, and Lightning- then he would step forward without regret.
But until then…
He would push.
He would seek.
And if his path could be completed, he would stand at the threshold of Yin Refining not just prepared, but whole.
Feiyin opened his eyes.
The stars were beginning to bloom across the sky, scattered diamonds in an ocean of indigo.
He raised his hand, and the fire gauntlet shimmered faintly in response.
He turned toward the capital.
And began walking again.