Chapter 16: The Spark of Progress
The dantian region was located in the abdomen, a bit lower than the navel. That was the source of one's Shinsoo foundation. Just like the heart was the center of the blood system and pumped it through the veins, the dantian linked all the Shinsoo passageways in a complex manner.
During what amounted to not even half of a quarter of a second, Shin Sumi had felt something.
Shin Sumi's mind could do nothing but compare what she had felt to something she knew. The feeling she just experienced briefly was akin to a spark, a tiny spurt of energy that appeared out of nowhere, winked and disappeared.
Shin Sumi had read the Shinsoo Gathering Manual over a hundred times and knew the page by heart. But even so, she had no idea what had happened.
Little she knew that the spark she had felt was something every mortal with some talent would feel during puberty. It was the awakening of the dantian. Before her, there had been no case of such awakening appearing later on. After all, who would be stupid and rich enough to waste tons of valuable resources on a mortal with no talent?
But that is what happened. By forcefully using high grade spirit stones and determination, Shin Sumi had awoken her own talent.
Of course she ignored all of that. For her it had just been a tiny spark inside of her abdomen, but enough to light her hopes up in flames, blowing her anxiety away in smoke.
Shin Sumi sat there silently beside the pond, her mouth slightly ajar. "What was that?" she wondered.
A tickling sensation later, the little nut left her breasts and returned to her wrist, disappearing like a sentinel whose job was done.
All of a sudden, all the tension Shin Sumi had felt as well as her tiredness and mental stress seemed to rush to her brain. Flooded by everything, Shin Sumi barely had time to slip in the quiet waters of the pond before exhaustion overtook her as she fell into a deep slumber.
Outside of her courtyard, a figure hidden in the shadow of a tree stirred. A jade slip in the person's hand had flashed with a soft blue light once. Without a sound, the person disappeared into the forest returning to some place in the lower valley after three long weeks of waiting.
***
Shin Sumi woke up with the sun, although the neverending clouds still hid the astral body's full shine.
She stretched, shaking the water from her arms and legs, trying to remember what had happened.
"I was cultivating and then... A spark! I remember now!" she said out loud, finally clearing her head from the sleep induced blur. "I passed out from exhaustion... I need to be more careful when I cultivate next time. But at least I had some results this time!"
She was smiling happily. She still had no idea what the spark she had felt meant, but it couldn't have been something bad. It was progress!
For the past month and a half, everything around reminded her that she didn't have a place in the Immortal world with a non-existent talent. She hadn't believed it, trying her best to cultivate forcefully. And she was right.
Shin Sumi looked in her room for food before remembering that she didn't have any left. Opening her bag of holding, she found only a few low grade spirit stones, an unknown plant, the copper bell and other miscellaneous items.
She thought about Xiao Yue for a while, wondering where she was, and then Lan Hui. She had seen neither of the two in a while.
Shin Sumi left her courtyard, her belly rumbling and her mind preoccupied with the realization that she missed human contact. Cultivation was by definition a lonely process, but Shin Sumi was still a mortal. At fourteen years old she had made her first friends and now she wanted to see them.
Shin Sumi made her first stop at the Cultivation Ressources Pavilion. She had been in the Dark Sky Starry Sect for over a month and she was able to obtain her monthly stipend of four low grade spirit stones. Of course after finding the same two clerks as the last time. "Nobody else needs to know what color my robes are supposed to be" she reminded herself and the two red robed disciples in front of her.
She didn't feed the spirit stones to the nut. In Shin Sumi's mind, now that she had found a great source of income at the market, it was important to also carry normal spirit stones just in case. If for some reason she needed to pay for something at some point, she couldn't carelessly take out a precious high grade spirit stone that would make even the sect's Patriarch drool in envy.
Shin Sumi walked around the sect for a bit, picking up a few hundred more seeds and making inquiries about the whereabouts of her friends.
Lan Hui was known and liked by everyone so it was relatively easy to find his trace. Xiao Yue however was a different matter.
Shin Sumi went to the Quests Pavilion. She blended naturally in the crown that was always in front of the giant magic screen.
"Status points ranking" she read. The new month's list was displayed in big letters, magically changing whenever somebody on the list completed a new quest.
Of course Jun Qian was at the top of the list. He had over five thousand points. "Less than last month at the same time" commented Shin Sumi "but still twice as much as the second disciple."
Shin Sumi turned away from the crowd on the side of the building. There, she found smaller screens recalling the ranking of the last twelve months.
Again, Jun Qian was on the top of the ranking. Every ranking in fact, although Shin Sumi stayed focused on last month's.
Her eyes lingered for a bit on the name before following down the list. Jun Qian didn't matter to Shin Sumi. She had never had any interaction with him and truthfully she didn't have the right to be interested in someone as powerful as him.
No matter how much Shin Sumi read the list, she couldn't find Xiao Yue's name anywhere. A frown gave her a serious face and she wondered "Strange, the last time I saw her Yue told me she wanted to get on the monthly list..."
"Sister Shin!" A voice interrupter her thoughts. She turned around to find who was calling to her.
Lan Hui was standing a meter away from her. He bowed rapidly, to which Shin Sumi replied by bowing too.
An honest smile covered his face, and his eyes were excited and maybe a bit... relieved. Keeping a formal speech while they were in the midst of the crowd, he said "Please come take a walk with me. I want to talk to you about some matter."
Nodding affirmatively, Shin Sumi tucked her hands in her sleeves and followed her red robed friend.
In the distance, Chu Erlong and her three followers were watching the Quests Pavilion. Two of the three red robed girls were chatting about cultivation, boys, and sometimes both, as always. Only Chu Erlong and the girl surnamed Liu were looking at Lan Hui and Shin Sumi.
The Liu girl, unlike Chu Erlong, had trouble hiding her malicious intent. Her eyes were circled by a dark shade the color of a tea infusion, as if she hadn't slept in a long time.
***
In the woods to the east side of the lower valley.
The trees were bristling with an imperceptible wind. Their leaves were projecting round spots on the stone ground. The dance of the dark and light shapes under Shin Sumi and Lan Hui's feet made the ground seem to move. Shin Sumi was lost in thoughts, looking at the rays of light filtered by the canopy, briefly catching particles of dust. Everything seemed suspended into the air, motionless, giving the forest an underwater feeling.
After walking some distance, Lan Hui turned to face Shin Sumi. He was genuinely happy to see Shin Sumi again after these long few weeks and he didn't bother trying to hide this fact.
"Sister Shin, I am glad you are okay. I heard that you went to the western training grounds a few times?"
Shin Sumi replied "Yes I completed a few low level quests. Mostly collecting spirit plants. I didn't know that the quests system existed! If Xiao Yue hadn't told me before I wouldn't have known for a long time."
Lan Hui nodded, understanding her words "Most people tend to prefer quiet and lonely environments to cultivate. Considering your special talent, it's no wonder you don't tend to go out a lot."
Shin Sumi smiled on the inside. Lan Hui had just voiced exactly what she had wanted him to think. High talented disciples were a strange bunch. That much she knew thanks to Xiao Yue's explanations.
Some promising individuals took pride in their talent and used it to gain followers and fame. It was the case of the number one Honorary Disciple in the Dark Sky Starry Sect, Jun Qian. Others were more quiet and enigmatic.
Shin Sumi was trying to count how many disciples wearing robes with a color different than red she had seen or met. There was supposed to be about a thousand such people in the lower valley but Shin Sumi had barely seen enough to use all her fingers.
Lan Hui brought her back from her mental calculations when he raised an eyebrow, seemingly realizing something. "Sister Shin, did you say Xiao Yue?"
Shin Sumi leveled her gaze with Lan Hui's. Was that important? Why did he look concerned all of a sudden? She nodded when he asked her confirmation about the person, quickly describing the petite orange-robed girl.
"You became friends with Xiao Yue?!" continued Lan Hui, mouth open in disbelief. Shin Sumi frowned for a second, asking for explanations.
Shin Sumi's mouth became stuck in an 'O' shape expression while he elucidated the situation.
Xiao Yue was someone everybody knew, she was special in her own way which meant in her case that she was very particular with people. Lan Hui was surprised but relieved that they had become friends and even sworn sisters.
Indeed, the orange-robed disciple was talented and beautiful and ever since her arrival in the sect, many people had tried to befriend her and even follow her. Boys and girls, although mostly boys. Not once had they been successful.
The reason behind it was Xiao Yue's ability to judge people and read their inner thoughts like a book. But for other disciples she just seemed strange and unaccessible.
She was quite the mystery, not the best but definitely full of talent. She had placed on the top hundred of the status points ranking a few times but had always refused any compliments or friendship.
Lan Hui seemed almost jealous of Shin Sumi for being able to befriend her so easily, although he was mostly happy for her. He kept telling Shin Sumi she was lucky and that Xiao Yue was a good person.
A jade slip vibrated in his bag of holding. Lan Hui and Shin Sumi had talked for almost an hour now and he had some business to attend to on behalf of the Affairs Pavilion. Lan Hui departed but not before reminding Shin Sumi to be wary of Elder Zhu's actions.
As if she needed the reminder. Shin Sumi walked around the sect alone, wondering what the scary Elder would do next to try and steal her talent. He was one of the reasons she had worked so hard on her cultivation recently.
Chills ran along her spine at the thought of the countless disciples Elder Zhu may have tricked in the past to complete his technique for talent-stealing.
"I have to keep cultivating. Until I reach at least Liquid Realm and move out of the lower valley, I'll never be safe here."
That was sufficient to reignite the spark of determination in Shin Sumi's eyes as she started once again to make preparations for a trip to the dark chasm.
She chose another few quests about spirit plants she remembered having seen inside the mysterious ravine. "Easy job," she thought "if I continue selling plants at the market, I don't really need the quests. From now on I will keep the rewards as they are, not upgrading them with the little nut's ability."
Shin Sumi still needed low grade spirit stones to pay for normal things like pills and food and artefacts from the market. In turn the marked will provide her with a lot of high grade spirit stones if business was as good as the first time. The quests were just an excuse to get out of the lower valley and into the training grounds.
Shin Sumi was smart and her plan was perfect but she was still naive. Not too long ago she had been the prized daughter of East Seaside village mayor. Now that she was half a step into the Immortal world, she still lacked instinct and skill. She didn't notice Chu Erlong's follower, the girl surnamed Liu spying on her from a distance.
***
"Aiiie! What is going on? Why are you so agitated today?" asked Shin Sumi out loud. If anyone was around it was seem like she was talking to an invisible ghost. She was in fact talking to her little grey ball that strangely resembled a nut.
The nut had bitten her a few times today, prompting her to turn left and right again and again in the midst of the jungle. Incomprehension and a little bit of anger could be seen in the sharp lines of Shin Sumi's brows and lips. "Why is it acting so strange today?" Shin Sumi wondered.
The nut was sentient to a degree but incapable of speech, or anything more than biting really. Its only way of cummunicating was through harder of softer bites that would leave a tiny circular imprint on Shin Sumi's otherwise flawless white skin.
Shin Sumi was deeply annoyed but she wasn't stupid. She knew the nut had a reason to act this way. Thus she followed the directions, although she knew the way to the dark chasm pretty well by now.
What she didn't know was that Chu Erlong's follower had been tracing her steps ever since the western gates of the lower valley. Thankfully the nut's efforts were paying off and soon Shin Sumi shook off her pursuiver unknowingly. The girl named Liu that had been assigned to following Shin Sumi everywhere for the past month stomped the jungle floor angrily with her foot, scaring off a number of insects from their homes.
When she arrived at the chasm, Shin Sumi climbed down the stone face quickly and efficiently. She wanted to plant the seeds immediately but there were still a few hours left before the nut finished refining the hundreds of dried and tiny conical buds.
There was no rushing in cultivation, as Shin Sumi knew, but she still had things she could do before planting the seeds. Exploring around the chasm, she searched for Blood Lilies, one of her quests objectives.
As the name implied Blood Lilies were deep red, and the petals even looked like drops of blood about to fall from the flower. Shin Sumi wasn't aware of the spirit plant's uses but she remembered clearly the tear shaped petals from an earlier trip to the chasm.
She rapidly stuffed her bag of holding with about three times the required amount to complete the quest and went back to the waterfall.
"There is still time" she said, and decided to relax and enjoy a bath in the pool at the foot of the waterfall.
Shin Sumi was now used to the snakes and the strange lighting to the place. She didn't look twice at the source of the hissing noises while she disrobed and jumped in the water. The copper bell protected her at every moment. Had the Liu girl been able to follow her up until now and had the mysterious darkness of the chasm not dulled her senses, she would have been so shocked that she would have fallen unconscious on the spot.
Who would have thought that this red robed newcomer girl that nobody knew was peacefully enjoying a bath surrounded by thousands of snakes capable of killing a mortal in seconds, in the most dangerous and scary location in the entire Dark Sky Starry Sect.
Shin Sumi closed her eyes for a while and dozed off, her body still taking the toll from the consecutive weeks of intense cultivation.
When she woke up, she knew instantly that the time was right to plant the seeds. She acted with precision and efficiency, of course after she dried and dressed herself.
Because she had felt the spark inside her dantian right before running out of high grade spirit stones, she still had a few left that she used to make the plants grow faster.
The idea came to her when she remembered the exotic assortiment of flowers that had grown during her first bath with a high grade spirit stone. Her entire stack of seeds had been affected. The only problem she encountered though, was that in the chasm, the snakes would attack and gobble up every thing that had an ounce of Shinsoo inside.
Be it object, animal, cultivator or treasure, the snakes would burrow out of the ground and open their jaws wide in excitement. She had even seen them almost fight for a used spirit stone before. The only thing apparently capable of distracting the snakes was the copper bell. Another exception seemed to be the plants growing around the place, which they ignored, probably full of the same Yin Shinsoo as the snakes.
Shin Sumi thought deeply, her chin resting on her closed fist. She said "It wouldn't be good to leave a spirit stone laying around. The snakes would eat it immediately. Can I protect it with something?" she continued, looking around. Her eyes soon set on a white object with a twisted shape.
"The bones! They are left untouched. Maybe I can protect a spirit stone with bones so that the snakes won't reach it."
Shin Sumi was weighing the pros and cons of all the ideas that popped into her mind. She was sitting silently in the middle of her little field, a spirit stone shining with pale light between her knees.
She was lost in thoughts for such a long time that her body subconsciously started to breath in and out with the pattern described in the Shinsoo Gathering Manual. Shin Sumi had spent three weeks doing only that, and now her muscle memory naturally started cultivating while she was thinking.
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