Chương 19: Wealth

Two days had passed, and the Martial Meridian Art had fulfilled its purpose, but the pain in the aftermath had been considerable. More concerningly, Jianyi could feel how his meridian channels were suffering from the cumulative stress of the multiple gate opening attempts. He wasn't sure whether the damage he dealt to himself could be healed by longer breaks between the attempts, but he was running out of time.

If he wanted to complete the meridian openings prior to the test, he would have to keep the current rhythm of two-week breaks. And that didn't even take into account whatever procedure was necessary to open the middle and upper dantian. Unfortunately, neither Elder Sun nor Minghao had talked about that last step. Either way, Jianyi was happy with his progress. The pain was unpleasant but bearable, and he slowly gained more confidence that it would all work out—it had to.

Minghao had told him about a new errand they would run. It required them to visit the central peak, the heart of the Fivefold Spear Sect.

"Minghao, is there a logic to who lives on which of the peaks?" Jianyi asked as they began the hike that would take them down to the outer sect, before they could cross to the central mountain, where they would have to climb again.

"Yes, and no, the central peak is the oldest one. It is also where the elders congregate if they come together. Some of the buildings there are unique or slightly larger than those on the other two peaks. For example, the central arena for sect-wide competitions is there, and it features an elder-only library with some of the most powerful technique scrolls.

"Maybe most importantly, the sect vault with the rare, epic, and legendary cards is there." Jianyi could not imagine the power and wealth lying in that vault. What would it take to get access? Minghao continued.

"So the central peak is important, but at the same time, the current Sect Patriarch is living on the eastern peak; he chose not to move when he was elevated, so now most elders just stay where they were initially allocated a home, independent of how senior they become." Jianyi enjoyed the trip and eagerly took in every detail of their journey, from the slightly different flowers nestled in the mountainside to the darker granite making up the buildings.

"In the future, you can do these trips on your own, but I am happy to show you around for your first time. As you know, Elder Sun is an alchemist, and his affinities—just like yours—make him exceptionally well-suited to create essences from cards. He is leaving the next steps of the process, creating pills and potions from the essences, to others. Today, we deliver a bunch of these essences to another elder who will use them with his disciples.

I told him many times that messengers could do this as well, but these essences are quite valuable, and he preferred me doing it. Now you can do it, which is excellent!" Minghao said with a smile and a clap on his back. Jianyi didn't mind at all. Not having seen much of the wider sect was one of the few downsides of living in the elder's compound, so the opportunity to see another peak was a wonderful opportunity in his book.

It turned out that if you couldn't fly, moving from one peak to another was quite the distance. But it was a brisk walk through the crisp morning air. Jianyi had again donned one of his new robes—the gray one this time—and enjoyed the time with Minghao regaling him with sect history and myths—the difference sometimes being vague. One of the most interesting stories was about the founding of the sect.

Instead of a single patriarch, it had been a group of friends who had come up together from a small town in the empire. They had been the first circle, each with one of the five affinities, and had collectively come up with the Fivefold Spear Art. It was said that no circle since had attained the same level of cohesion, despite there likely having been more powerful individuals who came up through the ranks since.

They passed through the paifangs of the outer and inner sect on the peak without problems, showing their medallions and explaining their business. The elder they visited had modified his compound from the standard central-courtyard design. It seemed that the private spaces were in a large building at the front, and behind it were four separate reinforced buildings within the compound walls.

"These are all workshops for his disciples. If one of them explodes, the others can continue as if nothing happened," Minghao whispered with a wink. They were greeted with a friendly welcome, and Minghao introduced Jianyi to pave the way for future deliveries. The elder wasn't around, but one of his disciples accepted the delivery and opened the beautiful wooden chest with all Wuxing symbols carved on the top. Within the chest were several layers of compartmented inlays, all padded with cotton and covered in silk.

Each compartment held a glass vial with a bulbous base containing liquids of varying colors. The liquids on the first layer were an earthy green, the next were a yellowish red, followed by peat brown, brilliant silver, and watery blue. What they had in common was a slight glow from within and a viscous consistency. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Ten uncommon essences from each element, as requested," Minghao said. Jianyi was shocked to the core. Fifty uncommon essences in total. That was an unimaginable fortune. He still didn't know how cards translated to silver or gold, but he was fairly sure the box held enough wealth to buy half of Shiqiu City. Maybe more. If he were Elder Sun, he would also not entrust this to a random messenger. Thinking about it, he would definitely not entrust it to himself either.

The disciple handed over five small leather boxes, each palm-sized and a few finger-widths deep. Minghao flipped open one of the covers, and Jianyi saw twelve green jade cards stacked into thin compartments covered in silk. The two thin golden strips enwrought in the jade marked them as uncommon cards. It seemed that Elder Sun received twelve uncommon cards for every ten essences he provided. Minghao pulled out one of the cards and took a look.

Flame Tongue Technique Uncommon 2x Fire A thin tongue of flame lashes outward, bursting on impact. Jianyi understood why cultivators took on a craft to finance their path. The wealth created seemed enormous. In fairness, he didn't know how difficult it was to create the essences, but he suspected that it was a good business either way.

"Do you want to see one of our workshops?" the friendly disciple asked Jianyi. He nodded eagerly with a slight bow.

"I would be very grateful, senior sister!" The woman, perhaps ten years Jianyi's senior, laughed and winked at Minghao.

"I had heard rumors that Elder Sun had taken a student after a long time. If people had known that politeness was a key requirement, more would have tried." Minghao patted him on the back.

"We are trying to make him less polite but have failed so far." The workshop was a large open room with a seemingly endless number of interesting objects stored in cabinets and on tables that ringed the walls. Tools, mortars, flasks—dozens, if not hundreds, of jade boxes—and many things for which Jianyi had no words lined the shelves and filled the tables.

At the center of the bustling room stood a large black cauldron over a furnace that was covered by a large exhaust that seemed to lead nowhere—likely facilitated by a formation. Several more, much smaller cauldrons stood on tables, and disciples worked with them, adding ingredients stored in jade boxes, stirring, filling liquids into vials. The by-now familiar silver inlays indicating formations covered the room even beyond the exhaust.

"Come, I think Lin is working on a potion—you can see how the essence is added." They walked over to a table but stood at a respectful distance. The disciple had already added several other ingredients—mostly herbs—to the cauldron, heating it by pressing her hand against the formations Jianyi now noticed etched into the metal. A pleasant minty smell rose out of the cauldron in the form of white smoke, making it all the way to Jianyi.

The disciple unstopped a vial with what must have been a wood essence—the rarity Jianyi could not tell—and poured it into the cauldron. To Jianyi's surprise, as the liquid left the vial, it disappeared. Or at least it seemed so, and he looked at Minghao and the disciple, showing them around, in confusion. She answered his unasked question.

"Essence isn't truly a liquid—it's qi given form. When it leaves the vial, it's up to the alchemist to grasp it and feed it to whatever purpose you need it for." Jianyi nodded in wonder. Meanwhile, it seemed that the essence had an impact. The white smoke first turned green, then stopped, and the cauldron seemingly began vibrating.

As Jianyi started to get nervous, the alchemist working on the potion removed her hand from the cauldron and, with a swift and practiced motion, filled the liquid into three vials that stood ready and sealed them off.

"Incredible!" Jianyi exclaimed.

"What does it do?" The alchemist, who so far had been too focused to notice them, turned around.

"These are growth potions for valuable herbs." Jianyi thanked all involved for the tour, and they left soon after. It had definitely been a memorable experience and given him lots to think about for his own path.

A few days later, Jianyi entered the courtyard early—and for the first time, he saw Elder Sun wield his spear. In truth, Jianyi saw little—Elder Sun moved so fast that his eyes could not follow. But he got a sense—a feeling for the enormous danger the elder represented. It was a feeling that crept deep into his spirit. A feeling of futility. A feeling of despair… Abruptly, the feeling ended, and Jianyi came to himself. He noticed that his whole body was shaking and drenched in sweat.

He stood open-mouthed, staring at the elder who had stopped mid-movement.

"I am sorry, Jianyi, that was not supposed to happen. I usually train when you are asleep, but time got away from me." Jianyi took a steadying breath and bowed.

"No need to apologize, teacher. May I ask what that feeling was?"

"That was my aura leaking, I have to admit to my shame. It shouldn't happen, but when I give it my all, even after all these centuries, it becomes hard to keep it fully under control. It is nothing you need to concern yourself with for the foreseeable future." Minghao joined them in the courtyard, and Elder Sun looked at him.

"How is Jianyi's training coming along, Minghao?" Minghao smiled, a flicker of pride in his eyes.

"We are finishing Unyielding Wall today and will move to Circling Sky tomorrow. Not once has he complained, even when still hurting from the gate opening. I am used to much worse from older men and women who should know better. He also absorbs guidance like a sponge—always grateful, never resentful." Jianyi blushed at the praise.

"He has talent. If he continues to train hard, he can be among the best of his peers, but it will take time to catch up to those with more training." Elder Sun nodded, as if the praise was in line with his expectations.

"How about you accelerate the training a bit by including breathing into the Circling Sky?" Minghao frowned in thought. Jianyi did not know what they were talking about. He had always tried to apply what he knew of breathing techniques and felt that he had never been too winded, even at the end of their sessions. Minghao nodded slowly.

"I think he can process it. Do we need to rush?" The elder took a moment to respond.

"It might not be strictly necessary, but life could become… interesting at any moment. I hope it doesn't, but it is important for Jianyi to be prepared for whatever comes."

"Then that's what we will do," Minghao replied. Elder Sun turned to him.

"Jianyi, listen carefully. Breathing is a fundamental concept of cultivation. It is how we measure time during fights and how we activate cards." Jianyi focused on every word the elder said.