Chapter 5: Great Elder Wan
Three days after the bloody incident swept across Zong Village, a shocking piece of news spread through the sect like an eruption of thunder through the sky.
Great Elder Wan had taken on a disciple! Who was this mysterious disciple exactly? The details were unclear to the general sect Elders and disciples, but it was rumoured that his new disciple was a six year old mortal child found in an outer sect village, the very same village which was recently destroyed by a violent demonic beast.
That a demonic beast had attacked Zong village, killing 87 mortals and even an inner sect disciple, was big news in the sect. Naturally this fabricated tale was far from the truth, but it was the story propagated by Great Elder Wan. Almost nobody would even think to doubt such an esteemed character.
However, the fact that Great Elder Wan was taking on a personal disciple was actually even bigger news! It should be known that Great Elder Wan joined the Heavenly Path Sect at a young age. The old man had been with the sect since childhood, growing from a mortal child to an aged Qi master, yet he had never taken on even a single disciple until now.
This led to many discussions breaking out amongst the disciples and Elders alike. What exactly was so special about this boy?
Unfortunately, nobody had even seen this rumoured disciple yet. He was still fast asleep, apparently extremely fatigued after fighting off the demonic beast.
Great Elder Wan was not required to explain his actions to anyone, but he chose to do so anyway in order to remove suspicion.
"He only has moderate talent, but he possesses a rare constitution which will improve the strength of his fleshly body alongside his cultivation. Most importantly, this child's heart is wilful enough that he dared to fight against a demonic beast as a mere mortal."
This was the excuse the Elder used to pacify the Great Elders and Sect Lord at the follow up meeting to the Zong village incident. Since there were no witnesses left to tell the tale, they could only accept his brief explanation. Nobody wanted to make an enemy of Great Elder Wan, so they wouldn't question him even if they did suspect that some of the points surrounding this matter were unusual.
If the incident resulting in the deaths of over one hundred disciples had occurred within the inner sect, things would be different, but it was merely the outer sect. It wasn't known to those within the outer sect, but it was no secret amongst the inner and core sect disciples and Elders that the outer sect members were not true sect members.
The Heavenly Path Sect actually treated its real members fairly well. At the very least, killing a fellow sect member was completely forbidden, the punishment being death in almost all cases. The only exceptions to this rule were in cases of self defence and accidental injury caused during sparing.
Those in the outer sect were basically pawns, they were tools used to harvest resources. They could only hope to ascend beyond their lowly positions if their talent, determination and luck were all at high enough levels. The outer sect served only two purposes: To use the kidnapped children for their labor, and to filter out the trash from those who showed potential.
Anyone with a low or moderate talent would begin in the outer sect, but only those able to survive until adulthood whilst cultivating into the Qi Gathering realm would be permitted entry into the true ranks of the sect.
Two days later, Yaan awoke from his rest. The first person he saw on waking up was Great Elder Wan. The Elder was painting silently besides the bed, but he paused on seeing that Yaan was awake. He smiled back at Yaan warmly, as if Yaan truly was his beloved pupil.
Yaan's eyes cautiously darted around the room. What he saw left him feeling somewhat shocked.
This room, so luxurious! He had never seen such a luxurious place before! He was lying on a soft mattress, adorned with silk covers and fluffy pillows. The carpet and paintings on the wall all matched the same red colour scheme, seeming to be emphasised by the stable candle light that shone through the hanging lantern. Oak desks and cupboards, a spacious room…just where exactly was he? He had never seen such luxury before!
"Do you like it? This will be your new home, Yaan."
He slowly turned towards the unfamiliar man and examined him carefully. From his expensive looking robe and well kept long black hair despite his apparent age, Yaan could easily tell that he was a powerful Qi master. Unlike the other Qi masters he had met in the past, this old man kept his aura completely restrained, giving him a withdrawn presence that made Yaan look at him uncertainly.
That said, whilst Great Elder Wan's aura was restrained to the level of a mortal's, his demeanour and gaze were far from ordinary.
"What happened exactly…why am I here?" Yaan asked carefully. No matter how much he tried to remember, it was all a blur. All he could recall was a hazy red dream, a nightmare where he became been a monster and killed everyone in sight for reasons he didn't quite understand.
"You lost control after absorbing too much slaughter energy and killed 88 people. Don't worry, I provided an appropriate cover story and also plan on keeping your Fiend Transformation technique a secret."
Yaan sat up straight suddenly, then grimaced as he clutched his arm. He now realised that his clothes had been removed and bandages were wrapped around various parts of his body.
"Don't push yourself right now, you need to rest some more." The Elder said gently, lightly placing one hand on Yaan's shoulder and carefully pushing him back down.
"You, how do you know about the Fiend Transformation, and what nonsense are you talking about me killing 88 people?!" Yaan exclaimed, forgetting that he was talking to an unfamiliar Qi master of unknown strength for a moment. When he realised that he had spoken out of place, he raised his guard and prepared himself to flee in case the situation escalated. Yaan's heartbeat rapidly accelerated and he broke out in cold sweat, knowing but refusing to acknowledge that he had no chance of escaping from this old man.
Contrary to his expectations, the Elder just laughed lightly.
"It's a technique I have witnessed once before, so naturally I recognised it. As for the killing of the mortals from the outer sect, I suppose your memory is a bit hazy, since you lost control over your bloodlust."
Yaan became silent, observing this eloquent man closely. If you judged this man from his face and demeanour, he truly appeared to be a gentle person with no ill will towards him. Yaan wasn't the naive child he had once been though, he would definitely doubt this person, especially given that he was hiding something important from his own sect.
"I see that you have your doubts." Great Elder Wan shrugged helplessly. "I understand that you have been through a lot, but you should know that I am your ally. In fact, I have already announced to the sect that I will be taking you on as my personal disciple."
Hearing this, Yaan's eyes went round. The personal disciple of a sect Elder?! Just what was going on exactly, what was this old man's motive…?
"The Fiend Transformation is a technique that left a deep impression on me when I saw it in the past, hence I did my research and learned some things later on. It is a technique that can turn one into a true fiend, a race with the ability to surpass the concept of 'talent'. Naturally I must gain such a disciple with a bright future for myself." He laughed and rubbed his nose, as if embarrassed by his own greed.
Yaan still felt suspicious, but he calmed down slightly as he realised that at the very least, this person didn't intend to harm him right now. Seeing the tension leave his body, Great Elder Wan felt satisfied.
'This child must have been through a lot, to be so suspicious and doubtful towards me. I suppose it's to be expected that a fiend candidate is nothing normal though.' He thought to himself.
He did feel some understanding towards Yaan and how he felt, but that didn't mean he would change his actions. As someone who had lived for over 100 years and cultivated for over 90 of those, he had seen too much for his heart to soften just from the struggles of a single mortal child.
For the following three days, Yaan rested in bed as suggested by Great Elder Wan. He was brought three cooked meals a day, and also instructed to consume two medicinal pills twice each day, once in the morning and once in the evening. One of these pills was supposed to recover his body, the other to heal his mind. He had fallen into insanity after gathering slaughter aura too quickly, which could leave some potential issues if not treated quickly. Luckily, Great Elder Wan was able to supply Yaan with everything he needed to make a full recovery in just a few short days.
During this time, he was often visited not only by the servants who brought him the food and medicines, but also by Great Elder Wan himself. Great Elder Wan would sit and explain things to Yaan, both regarding cultivation and the Heavenly Path Sect. Yaan came to understand that the Elder was really telling the truth when he claimed that he had announced to the sect that he was taking Yaan as a disciple.
Sometimes, the Elder would just stay besides him and silently paint. His skill in painting was excellent, even Yaan's inexperienced eyes could tell that much. On more than one occasion, Yaan became entranced whilst watching him. He painted the scenery outside of this room, he painted Yaan and himself, and sometimes, he just painted abstract thoughts that flashed through his mind. Whenever he painted, Great Elder Wan's aura seems to become truly tranquil and at ease.
Yaan still couldn't fully trust this man nor understand his true goal, but he was now certain that this Elder wouldn't harm him any time soon. It seemed like he was trying to have Yaan integrate into the sect, there would be no need for this if Yaan were to die in the near future.
The fact that he was teaching Yaan about cultivation solidified this conclusion. By the time he recovered from his injuries, Yaan had learned all about the most important inner workings of the sect. He understood now that the outer sect members were trial members at best and forced labor at worst, but the remainder of the sect was extremely united and unified.
Great Elder Wan quickly noticed that Yaan held onto some hesitation towards Qi masters in general. After doing some simple background research, he quickly discovered that Yaan's entire family were massacred senselessly by an Elder of the inner sect. He knew that this child was likely holding onto a grudge because of this, warping his perception of the cultivation world.
"Qi masters often view mortal lives as grass, because mortal lives are so fragile and short lived. However, the real reason that Qi masters distance themselves from mortals, is because cutting ties to the mortal world is a tried and true method for advancing further in later stages of cultivation. Because of this distance, many Qi masters come to disdain mortal life."
Great Elder Wan explained this carefully, trying to portray these ideas in a way that Yaan could understand and accept. He also presented this information in a way that made himself out to be someone who understood Yaan's misgivings, hence deepening Yaan's trust in him.
Three days was only a short period of time to a Qi master, but it was enough for Yaan to learn the basics. Firstly, he learned of the cultivation realms, or at least the four realms that had been achieved by those within the Heavenly Path Sect.
Qi Gathering, True Yuan Qi, Qi Temple, Spirit Core. These were the first four cultivation realms for human Qi masters. Like the Sect Lord, Great Elder Wan was at the Peak Spirit Core realm.
The Qi Gathering realm could be roughly split into initial, early, middle, late and peak stages. However, these were not actual realms, but more like checkmarks that were used to signify one's progression through the realm. The initial stage meant that a person had just recently entered the realm, whilst the early stage signified the realm foundation settling and solidifying. The middle stage was the midway point, where a Qi master possessed half of the necessary Yuan Qi between their current realm and the next. Likewise, the late stage was the point of progression three quarters the way through the realm, whilst the peak stage signified that one's Yuan Qi had reached the maximum level possible for their realm.
Yaan also learned that there were multiple paths in the world of cultivation. Spirit beasts and demonic beasts followed a different system of strength compared to humans, one where they naturally evolved without the use of techniques.
In the beasts' system, each cultivation realm was signified by a numerical rank, though this was obviously just something designated by human Qi masters. For example, a Rank 1 beast was roughly equal to a Qi Gathering realm person, whilst a Rank 2 beast was equal to a True Yuan Qi realm Qi master. This was only a rough correlation though, the actual combat ability couldn't be measured so simply without fighting one another.
The boundaries between realms existed as universal constants, barriers that all beings would need to overcome as they sought to progress their strength. Beasts were able to do this naturally, but humans could not, resulting in the creation of cultivation techniques that allowed them to step onto the path of cultivation.
Yaan was already faintly aware of this, but the Elder confirmed his suspicion that his path was somewhat unique. Now that his body had developed the Fiend Foundation, any chance to follow the orthodox cultivation methods was no longer possible.
It seemed like members of the fiend race were required to cultivate both their bodies and their energy. To break through each cultivation realm, he would need to push his body and Yuan Qi to the peak of the equivalent realm, then break past the boundary in with both his Yuan Qi and physical body simultaneously.
In terms of body cultivation, the fiend bodies were described by the star system. A '1-Star' body was equivalent to Rank 1, the 2-Star realm was equal to Rank 2 for beasts and the True Yuan Qi realm for Qi masters, and so on. The levels of strength also seemed to be roughly similar.
Not only this, but it would be impossible for Yaan to ever reach the Spirit Core realm. The demonic races did not form a Spirit Core, but a Demon Core. Great Elder Wan didn't bother explaining any further than this for now, saying that this was still too far off for Yaan to worry about.
In these three days, Yaan only felt truly uncomfortable at one point.
"Yaan, how exactly did you come to develop the Fiend Foundation? Do you still possess a hard copy of the Fiend Transformation technique?"
He knew that he couldn't lie under the Elder's piercing gaze or else he would be seen through immediately, this was an instinctual feeling of Yaan's. In the end, in order to avoid suspicion, he decided to tell the truth, whilst carefully omitting some troublesome details.
"I met a mysterious woman in the dark forest. I was really hungry and had just eaten a baby demonic beast fish, but its energy poisoned my body. The woman forcefully put the technique into my mind, then when I opened my eyes, she was gone."
Great Elder Wan meticulously examined Yaan's expression, body language and other cues to see if he was lying, but decided that this should be the truth. Perhaps he was skimming over some details, but he wouldn't push any further. If that strange woman really did just disappear, then there was no way for him to gain the technique for himself anyway.
Yaan didn't actually know the technique for the Fiend Transformation itself. This technique was forcefully imprinted into his mind and then circulated through his body, so he did technically 'know' it, but he didn't understand it in any tangible way that would allow him to transmit it to others. All he really knew were the details surrounding the ascension to the Qi Gathering realm and 1-Star realm.
Finally, after three days of rest, Yaan had fully recovered. He dressed himself in the robes provided by Great Elder Wan, pausing for a moment in surprise as he felt the unfamiliar smooth feeling of the lavish silk, sliding across his pale skin. The robes were a crimson red in colour with a character that apparently meant 'Wan' on the chest, signifying his status as a personal disciple of the Great Elder. These were not the robes of the outer or inner sect disciples, but of the core sect disciples.
Core sect disciples were all special in that they were personal disciples of the Great Elders or other high ranking Elders who resided in the core area of the mountain. Usually, core disciples would have a minimum cultivation of the True Yuan Qi realm, with some rare cases in the Qi Gathering realm. Yaan though could be considered an unusual case, since his new 'master' was actually not only a Great Elder, but also the Vice Sect Lord, the second strongest member of the sect.
Nobody would argue with Great Elder Wan. If he said that a mortal could enter the core sect, then that was that.
Yaan ignored the stares of the curious core sect disciples as he walked around the place, instead feeling breathless whilst taking in the beauty of everything. He realised that his world view was simply too narrow, he could never have imagined that scenery so magnificent could exist in this cruel world.
The core sect was situated on the upper three miles of the Heavenly Path Mountain. The mountain was nine miles tall in total, though it encompassed a steady incline and stretched out for tens of miles across the base. It might seem like the lower sect members were privy to more space, but the truth was that the core sect held very few permanent residents.
There were only 12 Great Elders and 32 Elders who lived here year round. The number of disciples also added up to no more than 200. Compared to the hundreds of Elders and tens of thousands of inner sect disciples, this really wasn't much at all.
The area Yaan passed through just now was like something out of a dream. The occasional quaint wooden building could be seen, jotted in along with small temples besides thin streams that flowed with clear spring water. Flowers like lotus and chrysanthemum blossomed throughout the year around these waters, as rare species of colourful birds sang happily in the blissful ambient atmosphere.
Yaan looked down as he crossed a small bridge to pass over yet another downwards flowing stream. Through the exquisitely crafted wood, he saw bright koi fish playfully splashing in the waters.
Whilst watching his wondrous expression as he walked beneath the tunnel of cherry blossom trees, Great Elder Wan chuckled with an amused expression.
"I don't suppose you've seen anything like this before?"
"No, nothing even comes close. So this is the top of Heavenly Path Mountain. I had always wondered, but this…there are colours here that I have never even seen before, so how could I possibly have imagined such a thing?"
Yaan's comment actually made the wisened Elder pause for a moment in thought. He pondered over Yaan's words and realised that this child had made quite the thought provoking comment without even meaning to. He decided to let it slip, then continued to lead the way whilst observing Yaan secretly.
His past few days spent with Yaan served two purposes. The first was to learn more about Yaan, allowing him to better understand this child and help him to assimilate the boy into the sect's system, gaining his trust and obedience.
The second, was to discover what it was that Yaan desired more than anything else. Every Qi master would arduously cultivate with a clear goal in mind. In most cases, those who only went through the motions mindlessly would never achieve anything. He wanted to confirm that Yaan would be able to cultivate diligently and with sincere motivation.
When he discovered Yaan's burning desire for revenge, the Elder felt conflicted. On one hand, killing an Elder of the sect was a massive taboo, one that could never be forgiven, no matter the circumstance. On the other hand though, the desire to obtain revenge against a far superior enemy was certainly a powerful source of motivation.
In the end, he told Yaan that revenge was possible, but could only be achieved safely if he reached the Demon Core realm. Whilst this was technically true, Yaan would never be able to achieve his revenge after reaching this realm, owing to Great Elder Wan's own plans. Despite getting to know Yaan somewhat, he still planned to refine the boy into a puppet to assist him in his breakthrough to the Origin Soul realm.
To reach the Origin Soul realm, he would happily sacrifice a single boy.
Of course, Yaan was oblivious to this malicious scheme. A fire ignited within his heart after learning that he might truly have a chance to obtain revenge. The revenge that he dreamt of day and night, the revenge that he always felt was just that; a dream. Now, Yaan began to see it as a possibility, something that he could really have the chance to obtain!
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