Kindling, page 16
part #6 of Painting the Mists Series
“The advantage in morale is also obvious,” she continued. “We got in by following our hearts, and in turn, they taught us to be cold and manipulative. Our ability to rouse emotions is top notch. If we time things right, we could potentially turn uninvolved students and even teachers to our side.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to help, but I’m worried about lapsing back,” Lin Xiu said. “Their methods are persuasive and make you lose hope. You were able to draw us out this time, but what about next time?”
The other women nodded in agreement.
“That is the second reason I brought you all here,” Hong Xin said. “Currently, everyone practices the Frozen Heart Sutra.” She pulled a black book from her bag that chilled the air around it. “The sutra invades the heart and soul of the cultivator practicing it. An icy disposition is etched into one’s cultivation. After reaching perfection, it completely transforms the cultivator. At this point, I believe it’s irreversible without causing great damage to one’s heart realm.”
“It’s irreversible?” Lin Xiu asked sadly. “Can we at least stall the inevitable?”
“I only said it was irreversible upon reaching perfection,” Hong Xin said. “None of you have reached this realm.” She then summoned a tiny flame that floated above the book’s chilly aura. It shrank until it became a small red ball that kept its warmth tightly bound.
“Today, I will begin teaching you about heart kindling,” Hong Xin said. “I can’t show you the original scripture, nor can I show you the step-by-step method. What I can do, however, is share with you a story of a girl who lost everything only to find it again once after all hope had faded. I can tell you the story of a girl whose heart was broken but mended. Only those who have felt the chilling cold of loneliness and despair can truly kindle a person’s heart. You have all felt that chill, so I’m confident that you will succeed. The first step to kindling another heart is to kindle your own.”
As she spoke, the eight other women felt their confidence and joy increasing. Their heartbeats quickened, to the point that they thought they were doing vigorous exercise or meeting their first lover. It was at this moment that they truly felt the power of kindling.
They will be the flames that light up the Red Dust Pavilion, Hong Xin thought as she saw them desperately struggle for enlightenment. From these eight, the fire will spread and dispel every inch of cold that pervades this place. The Red Dust Pavilion will burn.
Hong Xin recast her glamour before soundlessly exiting the room in the dead of night. The floor creaked slightly as she misjudged her posture.
Calm down, Hong Xin, she told herself. Icy disposition, icy disposition.
Her posture gradually adjusted until finally, no more creaking could be heard. She headed to the teachers’ accommodations where she waited for two mistresses to finish what looked to be a long conversation.
“And the nerve of this student,” Mistress Yuan said. “She had the nerve to say that I was mistaken. I almost lost my cool before realizing that she was goading me. I made her kneel on broken glass for half a day as punishment.”
“We sometimes get pigheaded ones,” Mistress Shan said. “But they all learn in time. Let me tell you about a silly girl who…”
Hong Xin looked around nervously as the clock on the wall ticked. Only a quarter hour remained before the punctual Mistress Huang returned to take her key.
Should I do something to distract them? she thought.
At this moment, a familiar figure walked up beside the two women. It was the loathsome Mistress Meng. “Talking about pigheaded students, I see,” she said. “I had an especially difficult one this past year.”
“Is it that girl Hong Xin?” Mistress Shan said. “The one you had publicly flogged?”
“The very same,” Mistress Meng said. “In the first week of classes, she had the nerve to glare at me. But let me tell you, when I see fire in a girl, it excites me. I paid special attention to her, and within three months, she was my best student.”
“What did you do?” Mistress Yuan said. “I mean, aside from the public flogging.”
“Well, you know what they say—that warmth comes from within, right?” Mistress Meng said wickedly. “One day, I was so fed up with her that I decided to try something… experimental. I threw her in an icebox and forced her body temperature to drop quickly.”
“You can kill a student that way,” Mistress Yuan said, concerned. “Every seedling we have is a rare talent.”
“But a bad seed isn’t worth growing,” Mistress Meng said. “So I kept her there for three days and three nights. During that time, I discovered a light flickering in her foundation. Not only did it keep her warm, but it kept her heart from icing over.”
“You mean she’d worked heart kindling into her foundation?” Mistress Shan said, startled. “I didn’t think that was possible. I mean not since…”
“You should be careful of what you speak,” Mistress Meng said. “But yes, it was a similar case to that one. I used my own qi and the cold in the room to gradually make her kindling die down and frost over. I snuffed the flame of her heart out, and she’s been as cold as ice ever since. And surprisingly, her foundation has morphed into a perfect dousing foundation.”
“Amazing,” Mistress Shan said. “It’s no wonder that the headmistress made you the disciplinary elder.”
“You’d better remember it,” Mistress Meng said. “Now then, we should get out of here. We wouldn’t want to bump into her.”
“No, we would not,” Mistress Shan said. “In some ways, she’s worse than the headmistress.
“You’d better be careful about what you say,” Mistress Meng said dryly. “The last mistress who spoke ill of her still hasn’t recovered.”
The other two glanced around worriedly before departing. Then Mistress Meng walked over to the wooden box, took out a token, and left to teach her class.
Hong Xin heaved a sigh of relief as she saw that an incense time still remained. She carefully traced open the wooden box and replaced the token in the same order she’d found it. Finally, she crept out of the teachers’ area, dispelled her glamour, and began walking to her bedroom.
“Already done your cultivation for the day, I see?” a voice suddenly said from behind her.
Hong Xin gulped before turning around. “Greetings, Mistress Huang,” Hong Xin said, bowing. “The stars are very beautiful tonight. Have you had a chance to see them?”
“Yes, the stars extend across the moon like a small bridge,” Mistress Huang said. “These days have been rather chilly. It’s best to keep inside lest you catch a cold.”
“But we don’t feel the cold,” Hong Xin said.
“I didn’t mean physical cold, child,” Mistress Huang said, stepping closer.
Hong Xin felt a warmth surging from the depths of her core. She hurriedly froze it over, preventing any trace of heat from being exposed.
“Is there something you need?” Hong Xin asked.
“Nothing,” Mistress Huang said. “I’m just surprised to see that you’ve reached the first level of the Frozen Heart Sutra.”
The compliment welled up inside Hong Xin, threatening to burst the thick layer of ice protecting her core. She firmly contained the surge of joy.
“Many thanks for the compliment, Mistress,” Hong Xin said. “I’ll be sure to continue working hard.”
Mistress Huang frowned slightly before stepping back toward the teachers’ residence. “Off you go, then, child. I’ll make sure the headmistress knows of your success.”
“You’re too kind,” Hong Xin said, bowing. She waited a few moments for Mistress Huang to disappear. Then she returned to her residence and continued cultivating, ending her false session before returning to practice the flute. Snow fell as she played, further deepening the layer of ice on her heart and core.
That was far too close, she thought. I’ll need to give up a little warmth in favor of concealment. As she thought this, the red part of her core shrank by a quarter while the cold exterior took over the abandoned space. Her body temperature plunged in response, leaving her white skin feeling smooth and cold as marble.
It recovered moments later. As her body changed, so did her temperament. She was now cold and logical, a beauty with a heart of ice.
Chapter 15: Struggle
The light-blue glow of the barrier faded, revealing thousands of cultivators patiently waiting in a massive chamber. Its ceiling was transparent, revealing the nearby Jade Moon Planet’s exterior. Half its surface was covered in oceans while the other half contained lush forests, rich mountain ranges, and verdant plains that did not lose out to any mortal plane. This otherworldly paradise was only one quick jaunt away through one of the chamber’s ten teleportation arrays.
“That’s a lot more than five hundred cultivators,” Cha Ming noted as they entered the large hall.
Tens of thousands of humans were gathered near the teleportation arrays in informal groups—some had set up stalls while others were drinking. They stood in stark contrast to the few hundred cultivators sitting near a large circle, surrounding thirty massive puppets. These constructs were several times larger than the ones they’d faced before. And according to the runic fragments he’d seen previously, their techniques were much deadlier.
“I wonder why they haven’t started plundering the moon stones,” Yu Wen said as they approached the center.
The outer circle contained dozens of small piles of one hundred or so jade rocks, while the middle area contained ten mid-sized piles of about a thousand each. The inner circle contained three piles of ten thousand moon stones each, an astronomical amount compared to what they’d obtained thus far.
“It’s not because they don’t want to but because they can’t,” Zhang Fei said, shaking his head. “Although they’ve acquired enough cultivators to challenge the puppets, there are still too many cultivators casually lurking about. Since the time limit for crossing the bridge is one year, they’re waiting until the end to plunder the remaining moon stones. This way, they can casually chase out the remaining cultivators before advancing.”
“But what are all these cultivators doing?” Cha Ming said, surveying those near the teleportation gates. Most of them had less than twenty moon stones.
“They’re trading,” Mu Qianlin said. “Each influence will send a large amount of resources with their strongest members. They’ll trade these resources with miscellaneous cultivators who haven’t gathered enough moon stones to trade for anything. Each group will bid for the moon stones before sending the cultivators on their way. With any luck, they’ll manage to get some extra herb-gathering quotas or even some techniques or treasures.”
“Fair enough,” Cha Ming said. He looked out toward the few hundred cultivators near the central circle and spotted Song Min, who looked at him in surprise. She waved and flew over with Han Jiling from the Alabaster Group.
“I thought you’d already left the bridge along with the others,” Song Ming said as they landed. “But that’s good. Our group of fifty is lacking members. If you participate, it’s possible for us to earn an additional half share of the moon stones. That could be anywhere between five and ten moon stones once everything is said and done.”
“My apologies,” Cha Ming said, shaking his head. “I’ve already made an agreement with these four companions. We won’t inconvenience you.”
Due to their large number of moon stones, Song Min couldn’t accurately determine their individual strength. Meanwhile, Cha Ming could tell that she and Han Jiling had each collected a hundred or so moon stones.
“A half share would be doing you a favor,” Han Jiling said, staring at him coldly. “You wouldn’t be able to obtain so many without Song Min’s connections and recommendations. In the end, your actions not only make you lose out but the Alabaster Group as a whole.”
“I understand your concerns,” Cha Ming said. “I think we’ll be able to obtain a harvest with the five of us. This will naturally benefit the Alabaster Group.”
“There’s no need to press him,” Song Min said. “If he’s agreed to join these people, then so be it.” She then headed back toward the fifty-man group along with Han Jiling.
“I don’t like her,” Yu Wen said as they sat in an empty area. “I can tell that while the older man is fuming, she’s actually happy that you didn’t accept. She only invited you out of courtesy.
“So you can read minds now?” Cha Ming said, chuckling.
“Would you believe me if I said I could?” Yu Wen said, smiling sweetly.
Their three companions rolled their eyes. They’d grown used to such banter after almost a year of traveling.
Cha Ming didn’t respond. He looked over to a group at the opposite end of the circle. There, Huxian, a small jade rabbit, and several dozen peak-core-formation demons were waiting lazily. Unlike the human participants, whose moon stones were more equally distributed. Cha Ming discovered only a few moon stones on each of the dozen beasts. Huxian and the rabbit, on the other hand, had accumulated thousands.
Just how many moon stones did you swallow? Cha Ming sent to Huxian.
I don’t know, maybe five thousand? Huxian replied. Xiao Bai and I kept getting attacked by cultivators, so we kept their things and sent them packing. That aside, those tasty puppets seemed to contain a lot of moon stones.
Is Xiao Bai that jade rabbit beside you? Cha Ming asked.
Yep, and she’s very fierce, Huxian sent back. I don’t mean to brag, but we can probably demolish half the cultivators in this room without breaking a sweat. Godbeasts are already quite fierce compared to cultivators, but now that we’re almost three times stronger? We’re basically wolves in a flock of sheep.
Cha Ming paled. Please don’t kill all of them. Not unless they attack you.
Sure thing, Huxian sent. But we’ve only had a single group of humans steer clear of us yet. It’s discrimination, I tell you. Speciesism at its finest.
Cha Ming sighed and prepared himself mentally for the impending carnage. He only hoped that the cultivators had the presence of mind to crumble their tokens and escape while they still had the chance.
“I just got in touch with a friend of mine,” Cha Ming said to Yu Wen and the other three. “We should have no issue capturing moon stones, but we’ll have to negotiate splitting them after the fact.
“You too?” Yu Wen said. “I bet you my friend is fiercer.”
“We’ll have to see,” Cha Ming said. He highly doubted that her friend could be stronger than a Godbeast.
“The both of you seem so confident,” Zhang Fei said. “Unfortunately, all three of our sects have already moved on. We’ll have to trouble your friends if any issues come up. It isn’t unheard of for people to rob each other during the final melee.”
“Noted,” Cha Ming said. They sat down and waited. Little by little, the main area emptied out. The traders gradually left the premises, leaving only five hundred or so cultivators to fight over the central prize. Time trickled by, and soon only half an hour remained before the bridge’s closing. Finally, a gong sounded. The many cultivators and a minority of demonic beasts floated in the air and prepared to tackle the deadly puppets.
“Charge!” an impressive cultivator at the front said. He wore a set of resplendent golden armor and wielded a powerful white sword. The power it emanated reminded Cha Ming of Lu Tianhao.
Is that a transcendent treasure? he thought.
Thousands of cultivators rushed to the guards, who swiftly struck out at them. Their every strike bore the charm of runic fragments, and judging by the power they delivered, it was impossible for anyone to contest them head on.
Seeing the golden-armored man and affiliated groups rush toward the center, Cha Ming’s group kept to the outskirts. While the larger groups were busy dealing with the medium-sized piles, they would aim to secure as many small ones as possible.
Cha Ming ducked plumes of fire and shards of ice as he closed in on an outer platform. As he approached the guardian puppet, he felt an extreme constriction. A fifteen-stroke runic fragment appeared around the guardian. Cha Ming’s staff was a blur as he fought back with several fragment techniques.
Seeing the guardian being repulsed, various cultivators rushed in. Cha Ming snorted and sent out 1,080 Dao sigils to form a runic fragment formation. They halted in their tracks while Cha Ming swept in and conveniently captured a pile of a hundred jade rocks.
“He’s just one person!” a cultivator shouted. “Get him!”
Instantly, a small group of people threw out a dozen techniques toward him. Cha Ming didn’t dodge. Instead, he gathered his Dao sigils around him and shrank the formation. The guardian puppet also reactivated and began attacking everyone at random.
“You want to kill me?” Cha Ming said. “Fine, if that’s how you want to play, but don’t blame me for being merciless.” He had already evaluated these cultivators—one was a devil while eleven were normal cultivators. However, he loathed these despicable people, those who would kill others for their possessions. Competition was one thing, but murder was unforgiveable.
Dozens of techniques bounced and exploded off Cha Ming’s protective formation. Just as the twelve cultivators were reveling in their success, a large staff reached out from the cloud of smoke surrounding Cha Ming and struck four of them, killing them instantly. A gray horizontal line traveled toward them as Cha Ming executed Splitting Heaven and Earth. He then followed up with several staff strikes, and gray light rushed down toward the floor, causing it to glow.
Cha Ming rushed out of the cloud of smoke and rapidly executed ten more runic techniques that crashed into the cultivators, who fell to the floor, wounded. Some of them rapidly crumbled their tokens and were whisked away from the Bridge of Stars, barely avoiding Cha Ming’s expanding Dao sigils. Hundreds of moon stones floated out to Cha Ming, bringing his total count to 1,400.
His strength was now over double that of a peak-core-formation cultivator. He shook his head at their folly and rushed toward the next pile.
