Chapter 50: Chapter 50 - Ancient Tree Root.
Lei looked composed for a moment, then jumped towards Yao Nang and hugged her.
"We did this, sister!" He even approached master Taowei and kissed his forehead. He paid Tu Qiang no attention.
"Calm the fuck down, junior! We need to open it first. What if it's nothing valuable?"
"It can't be nothing valuable, master!"
"Well, it can be something that's not valuable to us in this particular situation!"
Lei picked the box up. It was protected by a fancy lock, but the box itself was made out of simple wood. Could just cut through it, right? Except he felt a strong aura emanate out of it.
"What's wrong, disciple?"
"It has a pretty potent aura. Think the lock must be trapped. Let me see. Wait, it's a lightning zap trap! " Lei sounded excited.
"What's there to be happy about?" Yao Nang was confused.
"Lightning zap trap is pretty strong, but it emanates no aura. It's a mini-formation on the lock, it's also sewn around the wood fibers in case you try and cut around the lock. Thus, the aura comes from the treasure! Let me go get my instruments." Lei jogged away like a happy child.
When the group returned to the hub, everyone but Murong Zhan was there. It was his time to be on duty.
"Master, you are back!" Wu Xiaoyun was elevated.
"Well, not fully. Having no core feels like having no cock. Whatever, we've brought something with us."
"The treasure's real?" Rui Ming became as agitated as Lei. His usually detached attitude was replaced with unusual warmth. "I believed in you, brother Lei!"
"Yes, I also believed in myself. Let me get it opened." He reached into his bag of holding and pulled a long metal wire out, along with some lockpick with a bone handle, then sat up near the campfire.
"Eh, it's harder without my main arm. Takes too much time... Done!" Lei only spent a few breaths opening the lock. He then opened the jewelry box and exposed its contents.
"By the gods? Is this real?" Tu Qiang was astonished.
The air vibrated from the heat emanated by the treasure.
"Vermillion bird's last feather! No way!" Xin pointed at it with his mouth open.
"Vermillion bird? Not fenghuang? Are you sure?" Lei was also excited.
"Yes, I am sure. This one is bigger, and the fiery radiance it emanates is more subtle and dignified."
"It's a very rare material... Could even be used for a rank three breakthrough, or as a foundation for a powerful artefact. Its potential is massive." Master Taowei couldn't believe his eyes either. "When was even the last time a Vermillion bird was seen, let alone died?"
"Who cares. Now we have the answer to a more pressing question." Lei put his arms together.
Master Taowei didn't get what he meant at first, but his face quickly changed when he did.
"No, Lei! This is stupid! That's like using a sledgehammer to bust a nut!" Master Taowei was shocked at his idea. "Boy, have you lost your mind?"
"Combine the Molten Heart technique, that you dislike so much, with rank one power and combat alchemy, and we have enough power to damage the iron mantis! That's how we win!"
"To burn the whole village to warm your hands in winter, that's what it is!" Master Taowei was even more irritated.
"Less idioms, more logic, master Taowei!" Now that they were both mortals, he didn't fear him. "If I use this material, I'll be able to skip the preparatory stage of my breakthrough and massively boost my chances. My bloodline gives me an advantage, all I need is to install the reinforcement materials and break through! Guys, I told you to trust me then, I am telling you now — it's the only way!"
"You dare talk to me this way, junior? We aren't wasting such a material for a Foundation stage breakthrough! That's the end of it! Did I make myself clear? Disciple Xin, can you use this material in alchemy?"
Of course. By Xin's estimations, he'd be able to make a ton of different things out of this feather. The shaft, the barbs — everything could be used for high quality alchemy.
His gaze met Lei's. The choice was obvious.
"No, the feather itself is like a formation. To remove the barbs from the shaft is to exhaust them. The barb itself is barely worth anything without the shaft." He quickly made up reasons as he went. "Frankly, the recipes I know won't be of use for us in combat." Except that blazing paste everyone could use as a weapon enhancement. And a fiery potency concoction that could be made out of its leftovers to temporarily elevate Lei to a higher combat potential. And a melting elixir that could be used to throw fiery flasks at enemies, strong enough to damage rank two entities.
Strategically speaking, both options looked equal, so Xin chose the one where his friend would benefit.
"Wu Xiaoyun, opinions?" Master Taowei squinted his eyes. He was obviously suspicious of Xin's judgement.
"In these past few days, I realised that Xin towers above me in the matters of alchemy, I have no reason to doubt what he just said. Sounds plausible."
Xin's heart jumped again.
"Shit... This can't be helped, can it? But Lei, why do you need a feather to break through in the first place?"
"The process takes several days normally, I am severely reducing the chance of success by forcing it. With this feather, on the other hand, I think it's almost a given that I'll succeed, probably with a high quality breakthrough as well. It's only natural that we sacrifice this treasure to obtain a stronger master in our ranks, whoever he is. It just happens to be me." Lei sounded cold and logical, with hints of humility. Very unusual of him, Xin thought.
Master Taowei gazed into Lei's eyes for a few long moments.
"So be it." He nodded. "Make your preparations, I'll go and recuperate, too. Sadly, I can't break through that fast, but I'll fight anyway. Any questions?"
No one answered.
"Hey, Xin. I'll show you that room with a root that I told you about. Follow me." Lei said. Xin nodded and followed.
They went through a series of twisted corridors, and emerged in an average sized room, half the size of their hub. Its floor was covered in crystals and ore bumps, there were small herbs and moss growing around, and on the ceiling, Xin could see a tip of a giant tree root, emanating a powerful aura.
"Can you imagine how big and ancient that tree is?" Lei asked.
"If you can tap into this energy, your breakthrough will be enhanced even more. Think we need to cut a part of this root off and use it as charcoal." Xin focused on the task.
"Won't it fight back?"
"It's a very potent tree, in terms of qi, but I doubt it has any protective mechanisms for this scenario. I need to think of how we could milk its juices."
"Ha, Xin. Relentless. Many would be afraid to desecrate such a tree, aren't you?"
"I'm neither afraid nor ashamed of doing this. It's just a plant and we need it to survive, so we take it. That's how hunters think."
"Right. Is anything else in this room useful to you?"
"Yes, and I have a counter question — how did you find this room in these twisted tunnels, and on your first try? These tunnels aren't as linear as those where we found the feather."
"Are you implying something, or just asking?"
"Just asking." For now. Xin felt like he might start implying something very soon.
"Fine. I got lucky. I felt the urge to explore, took a gamble on the tunnels being safe, hugged the right wall and went forward for some time, then noticed the tunnels coalesce, so I explored some more and found this room . And the feather thing, I explained my logic already. Found some markings, I was the only one with proper dark vision. Refused to back down, my intuition screamed at me to keep going. This, and a bit of luck, I guess."
"Hmmm. One could say that you had a prerequisite knowledge of this cave, but I am willing to accept this explanation."
"Hey, fuck off! I am as lost and confused as everyone else here, doing my best! Listen, being lucky is a skill, you know what I mean?"
"Think so. Elaborate."
"Well, everyone has luck. Fate, karma, these words intervine, it's not my job to untangle this mess. But listen. The things we call good or bad luck are usually not random at all. When something we don't like happens for the reasons we refuse to acknowledge, we pretend that it happened by pure chance. And when something random happens, we try to attribute it to something concrete. And you know what that means?
"Human minds are inherently flawed, and we need to cultivate our thinking methods to counteract it?"
"Yes, but I wanted to phrase it differently. Being lucky is a skill, and it involves seeing opportunities, seizing them, but also fighting demons in your head."
"Such as?" Xin understood what Lei meant, as he thought a lot about this topic himself, but he still felt the need to steer his friend with leading questions.
"Well, there will always be whispers in your head, some useful, some harmful. 'I am lucky', 'I am unlucky', shit like that. But there is also 'I am in control' when you aren't, and 'I am not in control' when you are. You've got to attune to these, every passion you have needs to be mastered. If you don't realise it exists, it will control you, if you unravel and face it — you are half-way through controlling it yourself."
"Right, even your anxieties can be helpful, if they are kept from overwhelming you. Most negative feelings have their time in place, I think chasing positivity is retarded. But we were talking about luck."
"Right. Luck is not so simple, humans are naturally bad at judging chances and predicting, our minds are lazy and prone to fallacies, and our egos are fragile and lead to wishful thinking. The world is not black and white, take me, for example — am I lucky?
"Hard to tell. It's all relative."
"Right. But most people who know me already formed an opinion on my luck, right? I am a son of a whore. Unlucky. But she also cared for me deeply, and she and my father gave me a double bloodline. Decent, huh? I was one of the most talented fighters in every martial arts school I attended in Clay nest. Lucky? Yes and no. I am gifted, this part is pure luck.
But the way I conducted myself channelled this talent well. That's no luck. I also had the right people to develop my talents around, and I was given a job that allowed me to finance my training. Lucky. And I am also lucky that I am not in prison or dead right now. Still, how many people were given a better hand and threw it all away?"
"Yeah, I get it." Xin found Lei's thoughts quite chaotic. "Everyone is given a different hand, but it's all about how you play it. It's a simple idea, except your mindset is steered in a certain direction by life's circumstances. The same person that became successful could also have their spirits crushed if a few things in their life happened a bit differently. But your argument feels like it's not just about luck, but also nature and nurture. Maybe even free will?"
"I think people will hate me for what I am about to do." Lei suddenly became detached, staring at a wall, and didn't engage Xin's argument any further. "I had it handed to me, they'll say. Master Taowei wants to redeem this treasure, it's worth hundreds of contribution points, but my existence denies him this, so he'll be angry at me.
Other disciples will envy me, too. Truth is, it wasn't just luck. I was the only person in our group who'd be able to find this treasure. No one else had the background for it. The only luck is that I am the only person here whose elemental type this treasure matches. Still, I doubled my chances of finding a fitting treasure by not purging my dual bloodline."
"Look, I don't mind, but why are you explaining all this?"
"Because I want to share my worldview with someone who gets it?"
"Because you don't want to be hated for your success?" Xin saw through his excuse. Was his habit of wasting money also intentional self-sabotage?
"Kind of? But I also feel like they can all go fuck themselves. Is it weird? I need to get this shit off my mind if I'm to break through." He sighed.
"You'll be fine. I'll help you create a plan. Let me examine the room first."
"Sure. We've wasted enough time chatting."
Xin examined the root hanging from the ceiling, and poked it with his knife. It didn't react at all. The root felt firm to the touch, and it would require quite an effort to chop off. Not a big deal, I've got an anti-wood technique.
Xin then approached the crystals and ore bumps splattered around the floor. They certainly looked unusual.
"What are you thinking about?" Lei asked.
"I am trying to understand how this particular set of resources came to be. Can help me identify them."
"Any thoughts?"
Xin touched the crystal with his hand. Limestone, and a crystal beneath. Covered in some moss, as well. Warm to the touch. Weird. The ore looked like a small bulging of stones with ingrown metal raisins.
"Think I got it." Xin approached the root again and lifted its point up. "See this?"
"Looks like a sealed hole. Like a worm's mouth?"
"Worm's mouth and anus are essentially the same thing. This root expunges the excess qi into this cave, which created these materials scattered around. That's why they are only present in this room. That's my hypothesis."
"Can we use them somehow?"
"Well, the ore doesn't feel qi active, but these limestone covered crystals might hold some power. Need to break them down and test their properties. These white mushrooms should be toxic, but I can't turn them into a combat-ready poison."
"Why?"
"Time and equipment. I am not spending all this time on poisons, our opponents are either woodpath or lack proper bloodstream. I should spend my efforts elsewhere."
"So, the only thing you could use are these crystals?"
"Well, let me examine them. Anyway, this room is a great place for a breakthrough, once I deal with the root."
Lei tried to understand what Xin was doing. The alchemist took out some sort of wood path paste out of his bag, coated his dagger in it and added some liquid. Hiss. The dagger emanated a bit of steam, and the paste started boiling.
"Won't you ruin your dagger?"
"Got an attacking wood path method? I can only weave the vines. And I've got a spare knife."
"I see. Seems worth it."
Xin started sawing at the crystal's foundation like it was a tree. He kept sawing, until he saw a small crack, and he rubbed the paste from his blade into it.
"Now we wait a bit." Xin said.
In thirty breaths, Xin started sawing again, and the crystal broke. A small drop of hot, orange liquid fell on the floor, nearly burning a hole in Xin's shoe.
"Shit." Xin swore, and pointed the bottom of the crystal upwards. It stopped leaking.
"Wow. Is this lava?"
"No, lava isn't so pure. Think it's an elemental liquid."
"What's that?"
"It's a liquid form of a material elementals consist of. Crystals and limestone formed around it, as fire feeds the earth. It stopped growing when it gathered enough material to seal the heat."
"Why didn't the crystals become qi active then?"
"I don't know. Maybe there was enough energy to attract the stones, but not enough to make a qualitative breakthrough? Or maybe it needs more time. It's my first time seeing this material up close."
"It's that rare?"
"Well, it's used for rank two fire path dao shard refinement. Rare enough, I'd say." Xin could see Lei's eyes glow up in the dark.
"Hehehe. Maybe we aren't so fucked, after all. How do we not waste this opportunity?"
"Well, let me think... Seems like it's the same situation as with the feather. The only thing I could make out of it is a paste to coat the arrows in. The liquid won't last long enough after being exposed to air, it creates a chain reaction that dries it up. Every crystal harvested needs to be used in the span of an hour or so..."
"Unless?"
"There is no 'unless' in this sort of circumstances. Remember, I am not in our lab. All I could do is sacrifice a cauldron and make a buffer for the liquid, so it lasts a bit longer. We'd have to use firewood and some water for it, but the water doesn't have to be clean, so that sulphuric puddle will do."
"So, you'll make a cauldron filled with isolation materials to prevent it from being melted, then keep the liquid heated while isolating it from the air? And this will give us a cool rank two paste to coat our weapons in?"
"I said arrows specifically, because the mundane mortal-level weapons will be ruined by it."
"Hey, I don't mind sacrificing my saber if it means winning. What about you?"
"My glaive? Fuck it, I'll be shooting anyway, and I've got Resonance Palms, Yao Nang should probably use it."
"The body on that girl! Have you seen her mine?"
"I prefer more feminine women."
"Like Xiaoyun?"
"I said more feminine."
"Rude. And brother, you've got no taste. She's quite interesting looking, and caught the feels for you. Her peacock friend died, how about you console her?"
"I respect her, actually. I just don't see her this way. Stop bothering me with this shit. Let's cut the crystals and go back."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone