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Rachel exhaled and leaned back in her seat. She had no idea how long she had been chipping away at the elders’ and ancestors’ authorities; it felt like a hundred years had passed. With the removal of Elder Blossom due to a history of receiving bribes, however, Rachel was finally done!
[It’s been a tough journey, but it’s only because it was tough that it was worth doing. I’m proud of what you’ve done in the name of justice, young social justice warrior.]
[Mission: A Clean Sect Completed]
[Reward: Extinct plants required for the perfected Moon Lotus Cultivation Technique]
Rachel played around with her pointed piece of chalk. It was finally time to find out if the illusionary attacker was actually a god of sorts as it claimed to be. She climbed out of her seat and crouched down, placing the flat end of the pointed chalk on the ground. In one motion, she drew a large circle, and a flash of light appeared. When the light vanished, the chalk dust was gone, and all that was left behind were ten jade cases. They varied in size, and using her spiritual energy, she checked on their contents without opening them. One plant occupied each jade case; as for whether or not they could do what the perfected Moon Lotus Cultivation Technique claimed they could, that was still up for debate.
With a wave of her hand, Rachel stored the jade cases into her interspacial ring. Increasing her strength was quite important; however, it would take a while, close to several years, for her to advance in seclusion. There were only a few more days before Kid Vremya’s jail sentence was over, and she wanted to be there when it happened. She took a seat and thought about her advancement. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted it to happen. With that in mind, she climbed to her feet. No one would mind if she released Kid Vremya a few days early because of his good behavior. The child never complained, not even once. He sat inside his cave on the cliff, didn’t ask for any spirit stones, and he didn’t even eat any food—which, admittedly, was a bit concerning at first.
Rachel pressed on a formation drawn on her wall. It was a way to notify the elders with ease. “I’m going to release Vremya now.” After speaking into the formation, she took her hand away, not caring to see if any elder would reply. Icy wings grew out of her robe, and she leapt out the window, flying towards Icy Wind Cliff. When she arrived in front of Kid Vremya’s cave, there was already someone there: Azalea. Of course, Rachel didn’t know Azalea’s name. There were too many people in the sect, and even cultivators had limited memories. It was better to not remember everyone in case important information needed to be stored later on.
“Sect Leader,” Azalea said, her eyes widening. She cupped her hands in front of her chest. “Are you here to see Junior Vremya?”
Rachel’s gaze traveled up and down Azalea’s body. Even if Rachel weren’t an expert at the soul-seed stage, she could easily tell what Azalea’s cultivation was at thanks to the token hanging from the woman’s waist. Azalea was an inner disciple, and most inner disciples were at the foundation-establishment stage. Disciples who formed their golden cores usually took an exam to become a core disciple. Only those who thought like Kid Vremya would wait and hang around in a lower bracket. Just thinking about the conversation she had had with Kid Vremya nearly a century ago made Rachel’s expression darken. “Yes, I’m letting him out a little early.”
“No need for that,” a gruff voice said from within the cave.
Rachel turned her head, glancing at the entrance to the prison. Although it was a prison, there weren’t any metal bars keeping the prisoners inside. Instead, the prisoner’s arms and legs were bound by formations which severely limited their movement. Inside of the cave, there was an elderly man who looked to be on the verge of death. His bones were practically sticking through his skin, and his hair was wispy, long, and white. Rachel frowned. “You didn’t break through?”
“I have three more days of vitality left in me,” Kid Vremya, who could no longer be referred to as a kid, said. “I’ll break through during the last five minutes of my life.”
“Just break through now!” Azalea said, stomping her foot. She glared at Grandpa Vremya before turning towards Rachel. “Can you convince him to not play games with his life? What if an accident happens during his promotion, and he dies because of a miscalculation?”
“If he dies, he dies,” Rachel said. “I never expected him to truly follow through with his words, and I think it’s very commendable that he has. Even if he dies, he lived the life he wanted, and you should celebrate that during his funeral. Since it seems like you’re so attached to him, we can cut off some of his hair, maybe even get a mold of his face, and gift you a lifelike bust after he passes away.”
“I don’t want something like that,” Azalea said, her expression darkening. She didn’t know why she cared so much about Grandpa Vremya. All he ever gave her was a burden of responsibility, lots of worry, and an anxiety attack. He did give her a technique to survive without eating, but that had happened so long ago that it practically didn’t count anymore.
“Stop talking as if I’m going to die,” Grandpa Vremya said. “You’ll ruin my concentration.”
Rachel frowned. “Is it possible to stop a breakthrough after it begins? I noticed you were entering the foundation-establishment stage during the competition. How many times have you failed?”
“It isn’t possible to stop without failing or breaking through,” Grandpa Vremya said. “I haven’t failed. I’ve been continuously forming my foundation for the last century.”
“Without eating, sleeping, or resting?” Rachel asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes,” Grandpa Vremya said. “Even when people try to distract me by talking to me like you’re doing right now, I’m still gathering spiritual energy.”
“Are you even human anymore?” Rachel asked. Could she maintain her concentration continuously for a hundred years straight? How strong was Grandpa Vremya’s willpower that he didn’t even relax for a single moment? If what he was saying was true, then this breakthrough to foundation establishment would likely be the greatest one anyone had ever witnessed throughout all of history.
Azalea rolled her eyes. “You don’t actually believe him, do you?” she asked. It wasn’t too long ago that she had experienced the shift from qi condensation to foundation establishment. It was like walking on a tightrope, any lapse in concentration would’ve caused her to fail, and she barely passed with the help of a pill. As far as she knew, Grandpa Vremya never consumed any pills or food because he claimed they’d make his body impure. If he really was doing what he claimed to be doing, then … wasn’t he a monster?
Rachel took a deep look at Grandpa Vremya. “The amount of energy inside of him is equivalent to having a golden core. I believe him.”
“Something like that is possible?” a shocked voice asked from behind the two women. Some of the elders had arrived. “It’s a very simple technique but extremely difficult for anyone to replicate.”
Rachel frowned and waved her hand. An opaque barrier appeared in front of the cave, blocking Grandpa Vremya from view. “No one shall disturb him.” She took a seat in front of the barrier and crossed her legs, ignoring the cold wind blowing against her body.
The elders exchanged helpless glances with one another. Wasn’t the sect leader’s message the reason they had chosen to come to this isolated region in the first place? However, none of them had any thoughts of complaining, not after the ruthless purge that had occurred over the past century. If it weren’t for the fact they had subdued the Sun Cactus Sect and Ten Faces Sect all those years ago, their Moon Lotus Sect might have been overthrown by a stronger power. Some of the elders couldn’t help but wonder if the sect leader had planned it all in advance. If she did…, then they’d all rather be with her than against her.
Azalea took a seat next to Rachel and closed her eyes, but she was too worried to enter a deep state of cultivation. Rachel frowned upon seeing Azalea’s trembling eyelids. “You haven’t severed your emotions yet? It’ll be difficult to get any stronger if you don’t.”
Azalea sighed internally. Did emotions really get in the way of cultivation? Why was everyone telling her to get rid of them? “Thank you for the guidance, Sect Leader.” Although she expressed her gratitude for the advice, Azalea had no intentions of following it. If the men from the Sun Cactus Sect could grow stronger through their burning passion, there was no reason she couldn’t either. Maybe her parents had signed her up for the wrong sect? They thought it’d be better in the Moon Lotus Sect because there wouldn’t be any men, but little did they know…. Azalea held back her sigh. Cultivating was too difficult with a muddled mind. Instead, she’d practice her formation techniques. When Grandpa Vremya came out of his cave, she’d finally be the one teaching him something.