4逆天者之悲曲
Chapter Three – He Who Opposes Heaven
It was just after sunset, that Wu Ya reached the outskirts of the nearest city. He looked to the street lights that were just flickering on, preparing to light up the city for one more sorrowful summer night. Wu Ya grunted as he made his move forth once again, shuffling his feet against the cobblestones.
He had ran through day and noon, away from the cemetery, only stopping once to steal food and clothes from deserted ranches. It would have been stupid of him to be caught running around nude.
Wu Ya took in the city sight as he paved down the streets. Five centuries … he realized … had past … since he had last walked among men as one of their ranks. How much had changed? He had only whatever little knowledge of this new civilization that man had crafted with their hands …. which he obtained via the tiny eyes of the beasts he was reincarnated into.
Nostalgia … That was the word he should use to paint this moment in his heart …. he recalled at last.
Wu Ya felt the stubble at his chin. Yet, before he could indulge any further in the society of man, he had to seek out the answers to the many questions he had in mind.
There were too many.
For one, there's the issue of his cultivation as an immortal. Even though his memory of his past was vague, rusty after five centuries, he was definitely sure that he had at least surpassed the cultivation of Yuan Ying. With that, no longer would he need to consume food of any kind, and in addition, he would possess the power of flight.
Yet, he was reduced to wolfing down stolen bread rolls and running through the lands barefooted.
In other words, his current condition was pathetic, compared to whatever strength he could wield in the past. Wu Ya frowned as he drifted deep into thought. There were two explanations he could think of for this phenomenon.
One – with the destruction, that is, decomposing, of his previous body after his death five centuries past, this was a new body he was bestowed with. Or perhaps, not totally new, for he was very well sure that he was an immortal at current, even though his cultivation was reduced by at least four levels. That would mean he had retained a certain portion of his previous cultivation.
Two – Meng Po's five-flavoured tea of forgetfulness was meddled with. At this point, Wu Ya's eyebrows wrinkled into a tight knot as he gradually recalled that the soup had tasted different. Whatever it is, he did not think Meng Po would defy orders … unless … it was … King YanLuo who had decreed her to do so. This "soup" of Meng Po must have restored his memories, which might explain how he could recall over five centuries worth of events. Yet by Wu Ya's knowledge, no herbal tea, even if it is of heavenly origins, could combat two hundred incarnations' worth of five-flavoured tea of forgetfulness. Unless the dosage was insanely increased … but that would no doubt wrought drastic after-effects.
Wu Ya found the second explanation more plausible. This after-effect was most probably lethal … sufficient to kill a man millions of times over. Yet, his cultivation had saved his life … nullifying the deadly effects of the soup's dosage.
His long fringe was abruptly lighted up by neon lights, as he stepped before the entrance of a cheap inn. He pushed open the door and made his way to the counter. Wu Ya coughed lightly and tapped the surface of the counter to wake the sleeping lady.
"Urh … I'm sorry for dozing off … don't cut my salary ….oh … it's a customer …"
Wu Ya rolled his eyes. "A room for one. Three days."
"Right. That would be two hundred and fifty dollars." She mumbled, her speech slurred inaudibly, evident of her sleep earlier on. She retrieved a key from the drawer of the counter and placed it before Wu Ya.
"Dollars?" he frowned.
"Yea." Her eyes peered dangerously at Wu Ya, sizing him up. "Don't tell me you are too poor for that?"
"No, no. My dear lady, but could you please show me this currency you call …. dollar?"
"Weirdo." She mumbled as she retrieved a five-dollar note from the cashier. "This," she waved the note before Wu Ya. "is five dollars."
The immortal stared at the note for a few moments, before a smile crept across his face. "Oh, right. Two hundred and fifty dollars?"
"Yes … hurry. You are taking long." She complained and cast an unhappy look into Wu Ya's eyes.
Wu Ya caught her gaze and easily held it with his mind. "Listen."
She nodded. Wu Ya reached out his hand and caught hers across the counter. "I have just given you a thousand dollars. Take it … and give me the change."
"Yeesss …. a thousand dollars … change …"
"That's right." Wu Ya chuckled and released her hand. He then canceled his Shen Shi, leaving her to withdraw seven hundred and fifty dollars from the cashier for his change. Wu Ya pocketed the money, took the keys and made his way to the room.
Shen Shi, otherwise known as Sight of the Immortal, was an ability only an immortal who had attained the cultivation of Chu Qiao could wield. In pursuit of the Tao, immortals cultivated three basic elemental values – Jing, Qi and Shen. To illustrate this point, take a flame of fire.
Jing would be the heat and purity of this flame. Increasing one's Jing heats up the fire and removes its impurities. Qi could be considered the size of this flame. The larger one's Qi, the stronger and larger the flame. Now, Shen, would be how one would control and master this flame, flickering it to one's will.
An immortal raises his cultivation via garnering the energy of the universe and channeling it into his Dan Tian, an area within the body, three finger width above the navel. It is naturally impossible for one to produce and store strength equivalent to an immortal via bodily metabolism processes. An immortal, with one finger, could even a mountain. Such strength is not generated by his body alone, but from the energy he has harnessed from the world about him.
This energy, stored in the Dan Tian, is akin to the flame of fire. The stronger an immortal's Jing, Qi and Shen, the higher his cultivation.
Shen Shi is merely the extrusion of the Shen ( out of the body ), within him, which has strengthened to the point that it is now ( in Wu Ya's case ), a hundred thousand times of a mortal's Shen. As such, Wu Ya could easily override the victim's body and maneuver it to his content.
All Wu Ya had done with the lady by the counter, was to have her picture him handing her a thousand dollars.
In fact, only when one has attained the cultivation of Chu Qiao, can his Shen be strong enough to generate a Shen Shi beyond his body. An immortal of cultivation beneath Chu Qiao could only generate a Shen Shi limited to his own body. This minute Shen Shi is used to observe the changes in one's Dan Tian, in order to keep track of one's progress in his cultivation, as well as to aid in it. These immortals would have to maintain bodily contact with others, if they wish to extend this Shen Shi beyond their bodies into others.
Five centuries past, Wu Ya had long attained Fen Sheng, a cultivation one level ahead and beyond Chu Qiao. His Shen Shi would easily cover the radius of ten cities. In short, his Shen Shi functioned like a radar of a submarine, scanning through cities, keeping track of each and every being within his Shen Shi's reach.
Wu Ya ascended the stairs and reached the door of his room. He swiftly unlocked the door and entered, removing his coat and hanging it behind the door. He drew open the curtains, allowing the moonlight to light up the room.
Wu Ya sat himself on the bed. He sighed. If his reasoning was correct, then the Meng Po "soup" that was meddled with had not only restored two hundred incarnations' worth of memories, but also throw him back into his old body. With his cultivation of beyond Yuan Ying, as long as his soul was intact, the body can be restored into its optimum state.
He rubbed his chin, as he sank deep into thought. This would happen right before the after-effects of the soup's dosage took place. The re-growth of an entire body would have had required huge amounts of Jing and Qi. Once he had restored his body, he was thrown into a state of semi-consciousness, where his life hanged upon its edges on a very slim thread. To save his life, his already depleted Jing and Qi were utilized to nullify the deadly effects of the herbal soup.
The cultivation of an immortal is the combination of a balance between Jing, Qi and Shen. Whatever Jing and Qi he had left, was definitely insufficient to maintain his cultivation of Chu Qiao. That would explain the sudden retreat of his cultivation over four levels past Pi Gu.
Nevertheless, he had retained his Shen. It was almost untouched by the after-effects of Meng Po's soup and the restoring of his body from rotting bones. It was a miracle. Wu Ya closed his eyes and initiated Shen Shi within his Dan Tian to evaluate his current cultivation.
Deep within the sea of Qiin the Dan Tian, there was a golden core of solidified Qi, on which a lotus bud had emerged from. These were the signs of Kai Guan.
His cultivation had fallen via six levels.
A long, deep sigh of defeat was heard amidst the silence of the night. Wu Ya flopped onto the mattress and dozed off into sleep.
"You are the elite of your time! The cream of the crop! Each and every one of you, have through countless toils and hardship, risen to the top of the pugilistic world. And all of you have gathered here for one sole reason."
It was a vast hall, spacious yet simplistic. At one end of the hall, opposite from its entrance, was a wooden throne, one which sat an old man. And in the middle of the hall, were a hundred odd men. Regardless of their age, built, wealth or family origins, each one of them knelt respectfully before the throne.
The old man was addressing these men. He continued on. "To reign supreme over the pugilistic world, all of you here have surpassed the extremes of your body's allowances, stretching your potential to the fullest. I do not doubt the combat prowess of anyone of you present in the hall today. Yet, mortals have a limit as well. I trust that many of you here, have been unable to increase your body's capacity for Qi for quite a while now."
"All of you here, are on a quest. A quest to seek immortality, to seek greater power. You are not contented, unsatisfied with dying, with leaving only such a minute legacy behind."
"It has been the rule of the pugilistic world for quite some time now – that only those who deserve to know, would learn of the existence of this mystical world of Xiu Zhen … of cultivating and seeking immortality. Those who do not deserve this information, will never hear of us. As such, it must be a pleasure of mine to receive you elites in my hall today. Welcome."
"Jing, Qi and Shen are the three elemental values that we Xiu Zhen Zhe emphasize on and cultivate. Yet, that itself is insufficient. Luck … my friends, is the most important of them all. A thousand over pugilistic masters have received word that Mount Kunlun is recruiting Xiu Zhen Zhe. Yet only a hundred odd of you have turned up. Why?"
"Luck … is the key to arriving at Mount Kunlun. Those who are not destined to find the route up to Mount Kunlun's peak, will never ascend these lands. I repeat, never. In one's path to immortality, he shall encounter countless and innumerable toils and challenges. Most of them …. my friends … require luck … to make it out alive."
The old man pushed himself off from the throne and paced his way before the hundred men. "Xiu Zhen is the miracle this universe has given us. To break away from Hong Chen, to surpass our mortal limits, to satisfy our thirst for immortality."
"Five stages of cultivation, in total, twelve levels. Zhu Ji, Xuan Zhao, Kai Guan, Rong He, Pi Gu, Xing Dong, Ling Ji, Yuan Ying, Chu Qiao, Fen Shen, He Ti and finally, Da Cheng. When one has attained a cultivation of Da Cheng, can one finally claim that he is, at last, a deity. One will then rise to the heavenly realms and be accepted among the heavenly ranks."
"Being in my hall today, does not mean that I will recruit you, or accept you into my clan as my disciple. But I will impart to you the basic knowledge of our world of Xiu Zhen, for it is knowledge that you rightfully earn and do deserve."
"The first stage of cultivation is Zhu Ji Lian Ji ( 筑基炼己 ), whereby one removes imperfections of his existence, discards his mortality and approaches our world – the world of immortals. This is the basic stage of cultivation, when one prepares himself for cultivation. Zhu Ji Lian Ji comprises of the first three levels of cultivation – Zhu Ji, Xuan Zhao and Kai Guang. "
"The first level – Zhu Ji （筑基）. It is the basic level of cultivation, and to speak the truth, all of you here can easily ascend into this level if proper guidance is issued. The basic requirements for Zhu Ji, is that one has accumulated the maximum, and reached the limit of the amount of Qi one's Dan Tian can store. But do note that your Qi, that of the pugilist and mortal, is different from ours. Zhu Ji, my friends, is the converting of mortal Qi into that of the immortal's. When even a single strand of immortal Qi has been congregated in your Dan Tian, congratulations, you are now – an immortal. Yet, all of your mortal Qi has to be converted into immortal Qi, then can one ascend to the second level."
"The second level – Xuan Zhao (旋照) is whereby one liquefies this immortal Qi within his Dan Tian. To do so, he must gather the universal energies within his body and continue to push his Dan Tian to its limits, whereby it can no longer contain anymore of the gaseous Qi. Only then would the first strand of liquefied Qi form. Compared to gaseous Qi, this Qi is highly concentrated and of greater density."
"The third level – Kai Guan (开光) is whereby one solidifies his immortal Qi into the golden elixir which is the basis of cultivation – Jin Dan. The golden core is formed in the Dan Tian and about it will revolve a sea of liquefied Qi which is constantly solidifying onto the surface of the golden exilir, hence increasing its size."
"The second stage of cultivation is known as Lian Jing Hua Qi (炼精化气). It is the stage of purifying one's immortal Qi. The process of purification is in other words, the cultivating of Jing. This stage comprises of Rong He, Pi Gu, Xing Dong."
"The fourth level – Rong He ( 融合 ) is attained when the roots of a lotus seed first appears within the golden elixir in the Dan Tian. This lotus is symbolical of one's cultivation of Jing."
"The fifth level – Pi Gu ( 辟谷 ) is reached upon the budding of the lotus in one's Dan Tian. At this point, one need no longer consume human food. In fact, consumption of human food would interfere and hinder one's cultivation of Jing. This is due to the food consumed being of the Hong Chen and mortal realm, hence containing impurities which would tarnish one's Jing."
"The sixth level of cultivation – Xing Dong (心动) is attained at the point where the lotus bud separates from one's soul and begins to have its own heartbeat. Cultivation will now, from this point onwards, double its normal rate, since an immortal with a cultivation of Xing Dong is equivalent to cultivating twice at once – his own cultivating and that of the lotus."
"The third stage of cultivation is known as Lian Jing Hua Qi (炼气化神). At this stage, the immortal cultivates his Qi once more. He is now capable of taking in vast portions of Qi due to the evolution of his body. Lian Jing Hua Qi comprises of the stages – Ling Ji and Yuan Ying."
"At the seventh level – Ling Ji (灵寂 ), the heartbeat of the lotus stabilizes and the strength of the immortal experiences a huge surge and a vast improvement."
"At the eighth level – Yuan Ying (元婴), the lotus flower bears fruit – Yuan Ying, a humanoid-shaped entity living within the immortal's Dan Tian. The more developed the Yuan Ying, the more advanced the immortal's cultivation. With the cultivation of Yuan Ying, the immortal now has the ability of flight. In addition, as long as the Yuan Ying is not destroyed, the immortal can revive his body. In short, when the flesh and blood of the immortal is torn apart, the immortal can choose to latch his soul onto the Yuan Ying and escape to a safe environment to reconstruct another body."
"The fourth stage of cultivation is Lian Shen Hua Xu ( 炼神还虚 ), comprising of Chu Qiao, Fen Shen and He Ti. This is the stage of emphasis on cultivating one's Shen."
"The ninth level – Chu Qiao ( 出窍 ) is attained when the eyes of the Yuan Ying open. This signifies the completion of the Yuan Ying's soul. Hence, the immortal's Shen advances by leaps and bounds. The immortal can now extrude his Shen Shi out of his body without bodily contact with any others."
"The tenth level – Fen Shen ( 分神) is the advancement of one's Shen Shi to the point whereby the immortal's soul can leave his body and roam the world as far as his Shen Shi can reach."
"The eleventh level – He Ti (合体 ) is accomplished when one's soul merges with that of his Yuan Ying within his Dan Tian. At this point, the immortal has attained true immortality, and as long as the universe exists, he lives. In other words, he has the lifespan akin to that of the universe."
"The fifth and last stage Lian Xu He Dao ( 炼虚合道 ) comprises only of one last level – Da Cheng (大乘 ). This stage concludes the route of immortality for the immortal. He only has to wait for the heavenly realm to summon him to its gates. In the mean time, he congregates as much universal energy as he can to perfect his cultivation."
The hundred odd men all had their mouth drooped agape. It was a sudden shock, a revelation for them in other words. A whole new world beyond that of the pugilistic Jiang Hu had just opened its gates to them. What more could they ask for?
The old man took in the sight of the men's astonishment and chuckled softly. Mortals … were mortals. His gaze swept through the crowd and one man caught his attention.
This man was not held in a trance like the others, but it was apparent that he was deep in thought. Focused … was what the old man thought of his appearance. He instinctively released his Shen Shi into the mortal and caught hold onto his name.
Han.
One word. Simple, yet intent.
The old man rested his hands lightly above his staff and drew his gaze off the intense look on Han's face. He turned to the crowd once more.
"Now, for the moment all of you have been waiting for …. the recruitment test that I have prepared for you."
Author's Notes:
Now, don't go killing me for this. Serious, i find this chapter stupid and boring as well. If you think I had fun writing this, my answer is a definite no. But this is a rather important chapter for you readers. Before i can begin on the fun, you have to know what i'm writing about, right? And think of all the translating I had to do for you guys . Well, a normal online Chinese fantasy novel would very well skip this chapter since most of its readers had read stories of these genre previously and understand the terminologies used fairy well. For those who were new to this genre, they were left to pick it up along the way ( like how i was when i first begun reading Chinese fantasy ).
But this is an english online novel! Besides myself, I don't think anyone of you had read of this genre before. It's a whole new genre that I am going to introduce here in Fictionpress - 玄幻。
Anyway, trust me, from now on ... things are gonna be interesting.
But first ... I have to study for my tests . Procastination is poison for the mind - a wise saying by ME.
By the way, the last part of this chapter is a flashback - so you don't get confused. Thanks for reading up till here so far. Also a reminder, read my works with 1/2 page width ( there's the option on the upper right corner ). My paragraphing is weird since I have a habit of short paragraphs to emphasize on certain stuff.
Lastly, should i shift this to fantasy genre?