The brief silence let Ren parse the information he had just been given if only on a surface level. The question about intent influencing Karma had been answered extremely cryptically. Essentially, he was told that the natural law of Karma wouldn’t have much meaning without living beings, so living beings had a degree of influence over it. The part about the origins of the universe would need a lot more time to comprehend.
Even his concerns for Yu Ran had come with an admonition, but the elder did give him an avenue to pursue there as well. But the more he thought about it, the more suspicious it was that the elder had expressly told him to trust only Elder Ding. Did that mean the other elders accompanying them on this journey were untrustworthy? More concerns that could wait till later.
Finally, Ren thought about all he had learned today and asked the 3rd question.
“Elder Yun, can you tell me more about the origins of the Azure Mountain Sect?” Ren inquired about the Heavenly Sword Sect’s parent sect. He had already been caught unawares once. He wanted to make sure that there wasn’t a grandfather sect standing behind the Azure Mountains with an even more complicated history. More than that, he was curious about this almighty sect on the slim chance that he might one day visit it.
Strangely no sooner had he asked his question, Ren felt an odd fluctuation around him. A quick scan of his body revealed nothing new, and the elder was inscrutable as ever, giving not a hint of qi. Even as he wondered what that sensation was, the elder who had leaned back into his seat began to speak.
“An excellent question! But young Ren, you overestimate me. I don’t hold all the answers. The world is vast and filled with an ancient history of factions and feuds. I’m not all-knowing. Just a speck that’s lived for a few centuries, whereas the Azure Mountains have ruled for unknown millennia. Their incredible origins are the subject of much study, but there is one thing I can say for sure. The root of their power is tied to the divine artifact, ‘The Celestial’s Sword’. You’d have to see it for yourself to even begin to understand its power! While its profound origins remain a mystery, it is a fact that it fell from a higher dimension.”
As exhausted as Ren was by numerous revelations of the day, this made him sit up in awe. Hadn’t he studied all those astrology and astronomy that spoke of such unbelievable theories? Of higher dimensions stacked like plates, each one filled with countless immortals belonging to various species? He certainly couldn’t accept the book's ravings back then! It was the last thing he expected to hear from the elder today.
Elder Yun only paused briefly before continuing. “The mountains where it fell became the home of the Azure Mountains Sect. Or perhaps it was the fall that created the mountains around it! Such is its power that the possibility can’t be denied. It immediately became the center of a vast conflict over the right to control that territory. The primitive tribes back then naturally didn’t keep detailed records, so much of that period is shrouded in conflicting stories handed down by word of mouth.
The eventual victors must have gleaned enough from the divine artifact that they swiftly expanded to control the entire region and firmly established their rule. Since then, the sect has stood the test of time. Through countless conflicts and challenges, the Azure mountains, once a pure sword sect, learned in the pursuit of power that all disciplines have their worth. Now they stand uncontested at the upper echelons of powerhouses of the central regions.”
Ren listened with a hint of reverence at the storied past of the Azure Mountains. The tale was exactly like those epics he grew up hearing of. About cultivators who defied the odds and established themselves as the peak of their generation, gathering treasures and renown. While he had eventually grown disillusioned, those stories were still intricately tied to his childhood memories, the foundation of his youthful desires to be a cultivator!
His heart couldn’t help but beat with excitement at the prospect of one day visiting the sect and seeing the divine artifact with his own eyes. The Celestial’s Sword! How indomitable it must be to have supported an entire civilization?! What did that say about the one who forged such a divine artifact? Or was it one of those weapons nurtured into its peak state by its owner? What adventures did a celestial champion like that have? Did he merely lose his sword, or was he slain? Could such an invincible existence even be slain?
Zhao Ren could feel his mental exhaustion evaporating as it was replaced by a fire. He had always thought that cultivating immortality had been an aspiration, not an achievable goal. Where mortals who lived for a few decades looked up at those like Elder Yun, who lived for centuries, and called them immortal. But that very same elder called himself a speck. Ren’s horizons were being broadened at an incredible pace today.
The young master of the past might have ignorantly proclaimed he would match those deeds and become a true immortal. The meek young man with a shattered ego from before he began cultivation might have shaken his head at the futility of even dreaming of such heights. The Zhao Ren of today, with his hard-earned self-confidence, had a different reaction than he would have had in the past.
‘What will be, will be. I just need to advance step by step. All journeys have an end, but since I can’t see the end of mine just yet, couldn't it possibly be such an illustrious end? Let’s just keep pursuing my dao, and who knows, one day I might leave behind a legacy like this. A legacy that determines the direction of an era!’
Ren’s response to this barrage of new information was tempered patience. So lost in his thoughts was he that he didn’t see the almost proud look on the elder’s face. A look that slowly morphed to one of regret at a missed opportunity.
PoV Change:
Unbeknownst to the young man sitting before him, Yun Peng was wishing he had encountered this strange and talented seedling just a few decades earlier. He was lamenting internally how he lacked the time to properly nurture a true disciple. His closing disciple had been accepted nearly 50 years ago now, and he hadn’t been half as suited to the path of karma as young Ren. That torch had already been exhausted.
Yun Peng wasn’t too conflicted. He had already given his word that he would act as rearguard while the rest of the sect evacuated its most promising talents. He was particularly suited to redirecting heavenly wrath away from the many disciples that would be abandoned. Their karma with the Heavenly Sword Sect needed to be completely severed thus, or even he couldn’t protect them from the lightning that would descend.
While those left behind would still have a path open to them to cultivate, it was unlikely that these mountains could continue to serve as their haven. It would hurt to see these beautiful mountains Yun Peng had come to see as his home be destroyed, but the ties of the sect to this land were too convoluted to unravel. He had instead leaned into these ties to redirect more of the damage away from the disciples and towards the mountains. This was the last thing he could do for them. Better to act while he could instead of fading quietly into death a few years from now.
‘This final stand should be a glorious sublimation of Karma! In the past, the mere sight of it might have allowed me to light a soul lamp and ascend to the nascent soul realm. Aah, it’s too late to cry over missed opportunities. I still have this one chance left where I might yet gain enough merit to ensure my next life is a luxurious and peaceful one. Perhaps the Kings of the Underworld will look kindly upon me for it.’ Yun Peng mused to himself.
He was glad the lad wouldn’t be around to see the end of the sect. As a budding Karmic cultivator, he might injure himself by directly witnessing such profound loss. On the other hand, this destruction also came with an unprecedented opportunity. Young Ren could soar much higher in the Azure Mountains than he ever could here in this qi desert.
As unhappy as he was to not be able to teach young Ren, he had to concede that his interference might be more harmful. The path the young man was already walking was not one Yun Peng could have ever imagined. It was better to leave the unusual thinker to his own devices.
The Azure Mountains weren’t without danger, but Yun Peng refused to tilt the scales any further in the lads’ favor than he already had. Whatever fate awaited the young cultivator would have to be shaped by his own hands for it to have any meaning. Still, something told him that this oddball would be able to shoulder the risks.
Many burdensome binding threads were already dissolving inside his dantian with today’s resolution. Even the one tied to the one sitting before him had been weakened significantly. It was actually a good thing, as this way the backlash would also be reduced when it inevitably snapped. He had done all that could be done.
Yun Peng, the 7th Elder of the Heavenly Sword Sect, the Sword of Judgement, felt incomparably light as he sent young Ren, who was still lost in thought, on his way.
PoV Change:
The flight home was a blur and not just because of how fast Ren was flying. The clamor of thoughts had gotten so deafening that he had retreated into silence. Like a pot with a hole, the pressing concerns all leaked out of his head until naught remained but exhaustion. He simply returned to his abode and fell asleep.
It was a fitful rest, and he woke the next morning bleary-eyed and numb. Stepping outside, the mountain peak mirrored his mindset as a dark storm cloud covered the skies. A thin drizzle of rain soaked him within moments and chilled him to his bones. Through sheer habit, Ren walked about his mountain completing chores. The whole time, not a single thought entered his mind.
The familiar motions slowly blew away the fog in his head. He absentmindedly noticed the wet clothes sticking to his skin, his messy hair plastered across his face, and his shoes filled with mud from the field. It would take but an instant to wipe it all away with a working of qi, but the physical discomfort actually helped him awaken.
It was then that he truly saw. All around Ren, vibrant life shone brilliantly on his mountain. From the trees and plants refreshed by the rain to the various creatures scurrying about that called this place their home. The flows of qi he had shaped using the mountain-spanning formation reflected that brilliance in his senses.
All this he had achieved with his own hands. He had carved a place for himself amidst nature and harmonized with his surroundings. Life that carried on regardless of what he had learned yesterday, no matter how much it shattered his beliefs. Ren started detecting the sense of phantom weight that, according to his past experience, highlighted the significance of a moment. He didn’t force it and let it flow naturally as he walked about his home of many years.
He glanced at the mostly empty fields with only qi gathering realm plants sown. Plants that, without his tortoises to defend them against pests, would most assuredly die. But their lives had meaning, though he couldn’t harvest them. Through their lives and even in their eventual deaths, they would fertilize his fields, preparing it for new growth.
He looked at the carp in the spirit spring. They had long since ceased providing value in purifying the spring, but as they grew fat on the rich qi, they became nourishing meals. The carp laid eggs and multiplied even as he regulated their numbers. He normally paid them no attention, but today, Ren was reminiscing about his early days on the mountain.
He had invested so much of his rewards from the inheritance trial into this place. Those early days of scrounging and saving every spirit stone until his fields were planted and his reputation as a talented herb grower was earned. Until he grew into the cultivator he was today. Just as he had given his all to nurture the mountain, it had repaid all his effort with an unending bounty.
‘How odd. Why does it feel like farewell?’ Even as he identified his feelings, the moment’s importance only grew more prominent.
As he continued his walk, his eyes fell on the ghost face tree as a cloud of the Corpse Silk Moths took flight. But before his very eyes, many dropped in height, struggling to flap their wings until they fell to the ground, dead. He knew he should be concerned, but something about it felt as natural as the sunset.
When he got closer, he saw the branches of the tree were covered in the eggs of the moths. He had triggered their reproductive cycle a while back, so maybe some of the moths were exhausted to death because his technique had been too forceful? But his instinct told him that wasn’t right.
“It was just their time.” He affirmed with unfounded certainty.
The half-formed thoughts and theories from his months of study and idle musings suddenly crystallized.
“The cycle of Life and Death. A transformation. Just like my mountain and just like me. Reborn.”
And just like that, the illusory weight of the moment disappeared, and an epiphany inexplicably descended.