He had been dazed by great treasure before his eyes and had been caught unawares! Knowing he had precious time to act, he swiftly grabbed a bone with a small flame the size of a candle burning on it. He placed it in a jade box and tossed it into his spatial pouch. He had just enough time to turn and face his opponent’s lunge.

  The bladed tip passed a hair’s breadth from his nose, but he had avoided the attack. He stumbled backwards and awkwardly twisted to not land on the yin flame. He rolled around it, placing the white flames in between him and the slasher. It was only then that he noticed. It wasn’t the original owner of the cave, the mutated slasher, but a regular one!

  Maybe it had followed him, but somehow it had stumbled onto the cave and entered for the same reasons as he had. Yet, unlike him, it hadn’t taken any precautions to cover its tracks. Even as it started to advance toward him, he heard an enraged roar not far away. Ren was starting to sweat. He could barely face one without preparations, let alone two. Not to mention the other was mutated! He needed to do something, but no ideas presented themselves. The urgency made him clench his teeth helplessly.

  The slasher had decided to take another swipe at him through the flame, not realizing how dangerous it was. Ren managed to easily avoid it, but the beast quickly learned of its folly when a small fragment of the flame stuck to its blade. It let out an earsplitting shriek of surprise and pain.

  This was it! A chance. Ren didn’t doubt himself and leapt into action. He reached into his pouch and retrieved a handful of one of Ling’s poisons. He threw it at his feet, the poisonous powder cloud enveloping him. Under its guise, he leapt back into one of the enormous piles of bones that surrounded them and hid.

  Even as he suppressed the poison slowly working its way through his skin, the mutated slasher beast made its rage known as it entered in a scramble of blades and limbs. It took but an instant to spot the thieving beast, who was even now waving around a flaming limb and was driven mad with anger.

  The two beasts clashed with vicious brutality, a mix of pain, anger, and even fear. The mutated slasher beast soon got the upper hand and ended up hacking its foe into pieces. Ren watched with bated breath as the mutated beast lifted the flaming limb and carefully placed it back onto the main fire. Then it looked around its cave. Not daring to move a muscle, he could only hope the poison would deter its sense of smell as planned. It was all he could think up in a pinch.

  The mutated beast seemed to slowly relax. It crouched and poked through the remains until it found the core and consumed it. Then after another nerve-wracking glance around its lair, it finally shuffled out.

  Ren stayed in position for a short while longer, afraid it would return. When it didn’t, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

  ‘That was too close! I can’t let myself get caught like that again!’

  Before leaving, Ren threw whichever piles of bones had the most traces of spirituality remaining into his spatial pouch. Since the beast had toiled hard, why not take advantage? After all, it was valuable nourishment for his little flame to recover. He made sure to hide his tracks and quickly vacated the area. After watching the ease with which it dismantled a regular slasher, he knew he had very little chance to defeat the mutated beast, even with a well-prepared trap formation. It must have been in the middle layers of the foundation realm.

  Once he found a safe hiding spot, he consumed the antidote for the poison. He then retrieved the jade box with the flame and threw in some of the best-quality bones for it to feed on. The pale white flame was mesmerizing to watch. He didn’t want to risk letting any trace of it escape to attract more trouble, so he quickly sealed it again and put it away. He was still giddy from the find! This tiny flame alone made all the dangers he had faced worth it twice over!

  With this, he would be able to make up for lacking a fire attribute spirit root and truly delve into the mysteries of alchemy. Yin attribute pills would see the most benefit, but other pills were also within reach. Even the weapons he could forge would be transformed if exposed to these flames. His fortunes had just changed drastically for the better. All that remained was to survive until the end of the trial.

  Ren continued to hunt for treasures in a different region of the mountains. He occasionally found some small natural treasures. One day, when he finally found another blood pool, he decided to take away as much as he could. He was no longer restricted by the amount he could carry. Granted the spatial pouch he had obtained wasn’t the best, it had enough space to serve his current needs. He fashioned large jars from the wood of nearby trees and started storing away the strange liquid.

  Mei Ling’s experiments had determined that it wasn’t dangerous and could serve to grow many spirit plants. Knowing she would like some, he made sure to keep a few jars for her. It took almost an entire day, but he finally drained the blood pool, which was astonishingly deep. He kept drawing out more and finding no end. When he eventually did scrape the bottom, he also found a large red crystal.

  Sensing it had something to do with the blood pool, he couldn’t leave it behind. He used his sword to leverage it out. The crystal was larger than his head and emanated from strange qi that he didn’t recognize. He tossed it into the last jar he had filled and put it in his pouch with the others.

  The next few days continued in a similar manner with one difference. The red haze was getting thicker. Something was changing, but since he didn’t know what it could mean, Ren carried on with his exploration. His days were filled with dangerous hunts, beast cores, and occasionally a natural treasure. He occasionally had to flee a fight if a nearby slasher beast detected the combat and was drawn in.

  He also saw other cultivators every now and then. For the most part, everyone mutually decided to keep their distance. But on one occasion, he was forced to defend himself from a Celestial Instrument sect disciple trying to use him to escape a pursuing beast. He managed to avoid being the bait this time but couldn’t help but be annoyed.

  ‘These damn weaklings! Don’t they have another tactic than to drag bystanders into their conflicts?’

  These incidents just made him more wary of other cultivators. He did his best to stay away, if only to avoid tempting someone during a slaughter trial. So it came as a shock when he entered a hidden cave and found himself face-to-face with a bald young cultivator. They both froze at the sight.

  Ren quickly glanced around the cave and saw a metallic ore vein on the walls. As for the cultivator, he clearly belonged to the Golden Light Monastery, judging by his shaved head and the robes he wore. Unlike most other monks, he was extremely well muscled. He was shorter than Bao Hua but somehow more dense with his broad frame.

  Unwilling to initiate combat against another human unprovoked, he quickly spoke up.

  “You clearly found the cave first, fellow Daoist. I seek no claim to the treasure.” Ren was half expecting the situation to devolve into a fight anyway, but he had to at least make an effort. The crucial problem was that no one could trust such words from a stranger under these circumstances.

  To most anyone, it looked like Ren was backing away, only to later try and hunt them down, bring backup, or any number of such nefarious schemes. There was no such thing as a free meal.

  “You don’t want any of this lunar silver?” The monk asked, clearly doubting his words.

  ‘He didn’t attack right away!’ Ren jumped at the chance to settle this amicably.

  “Our sects are allies, and I don’t want to pick a fight. But if you could answer some questions for me in exchange, I can consider us even.”

  Ren refrained from mentioning that he lacked the tools to mine the ore vein. He would have walked away anyway, but this way he would gain some information, and the other could feel relaxed if they felt it was a deal and not unknown intentions.

  After a few breaths of time, the monk slowly nodded.

  “Very well, I accept. But please wait near the far side of the cave while I harvest the ore.”

  There was clearly very little trust, but Ren was glad that they both had at least made an attempt. He moved to one side and waited patiently. The young monk nodded and turned around to face the vein. Then to Ren’s utter amazement, he started punching the wall with his bare knuckles! The cave boomed with each clash as the wall around the vein started to crack and crumble!

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  This was the strangest way to mine that Ren had ever seen. The monk must be following the body enhancement path because even after repeated strikes, his knuckles showed no sign of bleeding. Afraid that the sounds would attract unwanted attention, Ren called out.

  “I’m placing a silencing formation. Some beast might come to find out what’s making all this noise.”

  “That’s how I hunt, but if that’s what you want, please go ahead, fellow Daoist.”

  Taken aback by another novel approach to hunting, Ren nevertheless placed a formation to keep the sounds from escaping. Then seeing how mining could take a while, he started building a simple wood fire and took out some rations and the last of the piranha fish to cook. If this was to be his first friendly interaction with the member of another sect, then Ren wasn't going to be found wanting as a host.

  As he spiced and roasted the fish, he didn’t notice the booming sounds slow down. When he looked up, the monk was watching with an open mouth, clearly drooling in anticipation.

  “Please join me for a meal. There’s no need our conversation has to be held on empty stomachs. My name is Zhao Ren." Then to show there was nothing wrong with the food, he took a bite from the fish.

  “Amitabha. Then, I won’t refuse. You may call me Subo.”

  Then the young monk sat down right away. He also brought out some rations to share. Ren was pleased by how the exchange was going. Both of them had shown trust and politeness, and neither had been too suspecting to sour relations. He had proposed the exchange as a way to diffuse the earlier situation and spare himself unnecessary combat, but he was rapidly growing more interested in the friendly monk.

  Only then did a thought strike him. “Wait!”

  Subo tensed immediately and looked up with a bit of fish halfway to his open mouth.

  Ren continued quickly, “I forgot, but aren’t monks supposed to abstain from meat?”

  The monk quickly relaxed and laughed.

  “That’s it? Yes, it’s true, but I can’t bring myself to stop.”

  Then he proceeded to pop in the morsel and enjoy it with a blissful look.

  Once he had swallowed, he opened his eyes and chuckled at Ren’s puzzled face.

  “I am a little unusual compared to my brother monks. In the village where I grew up, meat was a rare luxury enjoyed only once or twice a year. When I joined the Golden Light Sect and found out they prohibited it, I couldn’t bear it. I used to sneak into the mountains and hunt in the rich forests there. It’s delicious meat we’re talking about! How could I not?”

  Ren couldn’t believe it would be that easy to break such a core tenet of the sect. “Surely someone discovered you?”

  “Haha yes. When Master found me, I thought I would be beaten and thrown out. But the senior monks aren’t that sort. He invited me to a debate instead. Turns out the differences are solved by these things called dao discussions. There are a lot of open lessons and debates usually, but a dao discussion is a little rarer.”

  Ren, despite possessing a lot of worldly knowledge, didn’t know the ways of cultivators of other sects. The vast distances between kingdoms invariably brought up differences in cultures, but even so, he found it incredibly difficult to accept such a strange approach.

  “Really? In the Heavenly Sword sect, we were pretty much left to our own fate after an introductory class. I believe it’s a way to foster independence and motivate oneself.”

  “So what happened at the dao discussion?”

  Subo continued, “We shared our opinions. Master was very convincing. Do you know of heart cultivation? Those with a high attainment in heart cultivation have amazing willpower and confidence. But he saw that my doubts didn’t let him sway me to his cause, and I was talking about how it wasn’t immoral because all animals have to feed on something. We humans are but intelligent animals. Just then I had an epiphany. Have you ever had one of those? It’s a very special feeling.”

  Food and the comfortable warmth of the fire seemed to have loosened up the Subo’s tongue. He was starting to approach topics that were usually kept guarded secrets.

  Ren decided to reciprocate. “I have actually. It felt like the mysteries of the universe were laid bare before my eyes. I felt safe and strong. As though the problems holding me down had been erased.”

  Subo’s eyes widened in excitement. “Yes! That’s exactly it! Wahaha! So you were like me then, Daoist Ren!” His smile was charming in its sincerity.

  “After that, Master accepted me as a disciple and took me to his abode. He even let me continue eating meat so long as I didn’t do so amongst fellow monks.”

  Ren was a little confused at the disproportionate reaction of Subo’s master. “He accepted you just for having an epiphany?”

  Subo looked a little offended. “What do you mean ‘just’?" Don’t you know how rare it is? Master says only those blessed by the dao and by providence attain them! And even then they can’t be forced!”

  Not knowing how to explain that he had already had two in as many years, Ren just quietly nodded. His thoughts were in turmoil. He had no idea that it was such a big deal. After all, even mortals had heard of such things. He had seen Bao Hua have one after they had forged the Tortoise Defender. Even Mei Ling had once described experiencing something very similar. Naturally, he had thought they were common.

  Unsure if I should expound further, Ren changed the topic. “How is life at the monastery? I don’t mean to pry; I just mean the day-to-day events.”

  Subo didn’t mind, and they started talking about how life at their respective homes was. Subo showed a rare curiosity that questioned everything. His indulgent master encouraged it and let him make up his own mind. It seemed to work to Subo’s benefit, and he enjoyed his life at the monastery. Ren thought bemusedly how starkly different from a pious monk Subo sounded, between his choice to eat meat and the questions he asked about the women at the Heavenly Sword Sect.

  But it wasn’t that strange when he realized that they were very close in age. Ren shared details about his own life. The tournament, fighting the beast, waves, and growing herbs. And just to satisfy the eager monk, he mentioned the famous beauties of the outer sect. He almost asked why he chose to become a monk but realized that was likely due to the distances involved. To travel from the territories of the Golden Light Monastery to the Heavenly Sword Sect would take many years for a mortal. For those with spirit roots, there was usually no choice but to join the local hegemon.

  They had finished eating by then, but their curiosity hadn’t been sated. They talked long into the night. About their lives before and after becoming cultivators. Ren shared stories about Bao Hua and Mei Ling and about growing up as a young master. They also got to talking about how cultivation systems seemed so different. Monks never used swords, even when facing demonic cultivators. They followed paths of body and heart cultivation. They often used chants to reach into and strike at the doubts in one’s heart, which was devastating for those following demonic practices.

  Ren was envious about how much the senior monks actually taught their juniors. Meanwhile, he had to earn points just to enter a class. He took this chance to engage him in discussions where he had little knowledge. Ever since he had been reading about karma, he wanted to know more about the concept of Samsara, which was occasionally mentioned as related. Subo told Ren about what little he knew.

  “The abbot once gave a lecture on life and mentioned Samsara. I think he called it the wheel of life, where one is born, lives, and dies only to be reborn based on the actions they took. On their karma."

  Ren was disappointed but wasn’t surprised at the superficial explanation because these topics were naturally not for beginners. But to his surprise, Subo continued.

  “The way he spoke, it sounded like Samsara was something bad. Doesn’t it sound bad? Being stuck in a cycle, constantly repeating life without end?”

  That was something to think about. Ren tried putting it in context with what he had read in the Causality of Karma and couldn’t help but agree. In fact, breaking away from such karma to escape the cycle could be interpreted as a goal. Or to put it another way, Samsara was an illusory prison, and Karma was the judge. Ren made a note of this approach to meditate on later. It was certainly worth pursuing.

  Then despite the lateness of the day, they began talking about their experiences so far in the inheritance trial. Turns out they had both encountered the demonic machinations of the Hidden Sea Sect.

  “Hah! You can bet our elders will be taking their pound of flesh from the Celestial Instruments Sect for their blunder!”

  Puzzled, Ren asked why. Subo explained that this was how the leadership exchanged benefits to compensate for mistakes. It shocked Ren at how much sense that made. It felt like an illusion had been shattered in his mind. The elders weren’t as mystical as they had once appeared to him when he first entered the sect. They might be more powerful, but they were also human. Sure, they looked after juniors and defended the mortals, but they weren’t paragons of morality. They were probably doing it in exchange for resources to cultivate or even for more recruits. Also a certain perverted elder came to mind. This was exactly how his own family handled business. All of a sudden, Ren didn’t want to continue this part of the conversation any more.

  Instead, he brought up the matter of the treasures he had found. He offered to exchange for anything Subo might find interesting. Subo readily approved. After some discussion, he took three seeds from the lotus he had found with Mei Ling. She had taken some because she felt it resonated with her cultivation manual. Ren gave half of what remained to Subo, leaving him with three seeds for himself.

  From Subo’s collection, he received a chunk of lunar silver and a large patch of dark red lichen. Apparently it fed on flesh. He had some ideas churning in his mind already about how he could use it. He also came to another decision. Subo was an extremely interesting guy with a virtuous disposition. He hadn’t meant for their meeting to go the way it had. This encounter could be considered fated, and Ren wanted to take the leap and make it a true karmic connection.

  It was extremely easy to form the seed of intent. He valued the genuine connection they had formed and based it on wanting to learn more about each other. The seed bloomed almost instantly, just like it had with Aifei. The strand of karma he had formed in his dantian easily reinforced the connection with the seed.

  By then the sky outside was brightening with the light of dawn.

  ‘Wait. It’s light outside?!’ Ren got up with a start and raced to the cave’s entrance. Indeed, the red haze that usually covered the skies were clearing up! Subo had followed him, and both watched the changes above quietly. Ren felt fear twisting his gut. Then they exchanged glances and decided to race up the mountain to see where the red clouds seemed to be drifting inwards.

  A short while later, the clouds were almost white, and when they crested the ridge, they saw why. At the very center of the realm, the clouds had condensed to form one humongous red drop of blood. It teetered as it was just about to fall. Far in the distance below them was a single mountain with a large basin at the top, almost as if it waited to catch the drop of blood when it fell.

  A voice reeking of frenzied hate rang out.

  “Blood begets blood. Let the Ancient witness this offering!”

  And the air was abruptly filled with the berserk howls from thousands of manic beasts.

  Ren had no idea what had prompted it, but clearly the trial was coming to a close.