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Chapter 29 - Heretical Cultivation
🕑 Added 2024-09-27 16:26:05 +0000 UTC62nd of Season of Earth, 56th year of the 32nd cycle
As it turned out, Sect Master Blackfist knew a lot about cultivation and elemental theory. And his opinion could be described in a single polite sentence - the ruling elemental theory was nonsense.
Four elements theory, even with yin and yang variants which upped the number to twelve elements, was nowhere near enough to explain the world and natural phenomena. According to Blackfist, lightning was not a mix of air, fire, and water, despite being hot and flowing through the air. The man claimed lightning was pure energy free of matter, which Newt could accept, but even energy needed to have an elemental nature. For example, the heat generated by the technique combining Magmin Flames and Magmin Scales was fire-attributed.
Lightning also needed an attribute.
“Lightning can give birth to fire, that is why its nature is predominantly air, with a seed of fire. I don’t know why water, though,” Newt said.
“They added water because it flows like a current,” Blackfist said, but did not argue further. “Wood is another element that I find nonsensical. Why is it yang earth? Why make it an element in the first place? Whoever came up with the concept did not believe men and beasts were an element, but plants are. They are not inanimate objects. Some of them can even move and communicate.”
While the sect master’s mood appeared on the border between amused and annoyed, and he obviously had strong opinions on the subject, Newt never considered the matter. He just accepted the theory his father had taught him and moved on.
“And what do you think about cultivation forms?” Newt tried to steer the conversation in the direction he was interested in.
“I think they are also nonsense.” The sect master calmed. “The first realm is made to draw energy from the world and build a solid foundation for the rest, but why does it need to be a building or object which forces the cultivator to work it manually to draw the extra energy?
“From what I have read, all the recommended forms have only two things in common. They require active use, and they produce movement to draw the energy into the realm through the spirit root, probably by creating a void at the source, which siphons outside energy.
“I am certain there is a way to achieve the same result through passive forms, ones which do not require the hypothetical cultivator’s active attention. There has to be a way, but I am having trouble finding it.”
Newt’s heart raced. Sect Master Blackfist was searching for a way to recreate his cultivation technique from scratch, completely disregarding tradition. Did that mean his view on elements was also valid? Newt did not know, and another question bothered him.
Should I tell him?
“You know something,” the perceptive sect master said before Newt reached a decision.
“I—” Newt still hesitated, but Blackfist did not care for his excuses.
“I have shared the knowledge I have gathered and advised you without asking for anything in return. My knowledge came at a huge cost in library access and a lifetime of experience. If you know something, please tell me. I was about to tell you something else once I finished explaining my ideas on cultivation forms for the first realm.”
“What did you want to say?” Newt tried to change the subject, but his attempt was clumsy. Still, the sect master humored him.
“I will shatter my cultivation and start over from the peak of the first realm.”
Newt gaped at the madman. “You can do that?”
“Yes,” Blackfist nodded. “It is dangerous, and I would never recommend it to others. Based on what I have read, I have a fifty percent chance of dying outright, another twenty percent of crippling myself permanently. And even if I survive and preserve a healthy foundation, odds are my mind will snap and I remain a vegetable.”
Newt wanted to say something when he realized his mouth was hanging open.
“You are insane. Why?” he said after a pause.
“Because my foundation is poor, and my future is extremely boring and limited if things remain the way they are.”
“But your odds are miserable!” Newt could not help but shout. “Is it really worth risking your life?”
The black-haired man took a sip of his tea and stared at Newt before speaking. “Is this cramped life worth keeping, when an opportunity for cosmic power exists within arm’s reach, waiting for the bold to seize it?”
Blackfist sighed despondently, “If only I knew how to gather spiritual energy passively.”
He shot Newt a meaningful glance, and the youth lowered his gaze.
“Do you know what are these?” Newt traced the glyphs from his realm, deciding he would give clues to the sect master, if he could solve that mystery for him.
“Spiritual runes, glyphs of power which appear naturally under certain conditions, empowered by the heavens and earth. We use them for forging, alchemy, and other crafts when we wish to add certain attributes to our creations. But I fail to see what connection they have with drawing energy.” Blackfist once more graced Newt with his meaningful gaze, and the youth surrendered.
“What if we used natural features instead of man-made objects to draw energy into our realm?”
Blackfist’s brows furrowed, his eyes rapidly shifting from confusion to contemplation to realization.
“You mean cultivating something like a spring into the first realm. It has to be elevated, otherwise it would become a stagnant puddle, so a mountain spring to keep the water flowing.” The sect master lowered his cup and stared at the ceiling. “But once it hits the lowest level, the water would just pool along the edge of the realm barrier and in time it would once more become a shallow puddle. No, the mountain needs to keep growing to keep the water from covering everything. It can even constantly pressure the realm barrier, contributing to its expansion.
“Yes,” he beamed a smile and looked back at Newt. “You truly are a genius. You use fire and earth, you are not using a water spring, but a volcano; that keeps the mountain growing taller as your realm expands.”
What are you? Newt once more had a feeling he was conversing with a monster rather than a human. And he thinks I am a genius?
“Ah, I see,” the sect master said while tapping a nail against the table. “You use spiritual runes to empower your abilities, but simply writing earth and fire is a subpar option despite being functional. There are much better runes for you to use. Like, Strength, Endurance, Resilience, Empowerment, there are thousands of different nuances which can achieve specific tasks and purposes you require if aligned properly. All you need is extensive education, years spent reading books and hoarding knowledge.”
“You won’t harm me?” Newt asked, feeling rightfully afraid.
“Amiability, my young friend!” Blackfist grinned. “My path is already paying dividends! I have a proposal for you. I will place my life in your hands. You will protect me as I disperse my cultivation and reform my realm. That will take a dozen weeks. In return I will do the following. I will arrange for you to fight Hardsteel in the finals so you can try to resolve your heart demon. I will give you a suggested realm blueprint designed to cater to your specific needs and desires once you share them. And I will provide you with enough cultivation resources to reach the peak of the second realm. I could even protect you as you cultivate it, assuming you trust me enough to expose your back to me.”
Blackfist stared into Newt’s eyes with a madman’s ferocity and fanaticism, none of which Newt could understand.
“What if you fail to dissipate your realm? What if you die or go insane?”
“I never met a man who starts a plan with ‘After I die…’ or ‘Once I go insane…’?” Blackfist shrugged. “But if it happens, you can keep all my belongings. You will have enough resources to reach the third or fourth stage of the third realm. I do not believe you will lose out if I fail to reform my cultivation.”
“Why do you trust me that much? What if I covet your belongings and kill you while you are in seclusion?”
“For one, I have been keeping an eye on you from the moment I learned of your circumstances. My sect’s intelligence network has gathered information about you ever since you took over as the patriarch of your clan. You are suffering from a guilty conscience from slaying a man who sold your parents into slavery and threw you into a hole to dig for scraps and die a miserable death. I do not see that person stealing a few pills, especially when the alternative reward is enhancing your power and increasing your chances of reaching a high realm.”
Newt gulped. Blackfist was right. Newt was no thief, and what the sect master offered was more than enough to compensate him for a few months of his time. But something did not add up. Newt could feel it, but failed to put his finger on it.
Blackfist shook him out of his contemplation with a simple question. “What do you know about the second type of spirit roots, the one called the third eye?”
