"Mortality Transcendence guide." murmured Ash under his nose while holding a red ancient looking book.
Ash flipped it to page 1 and started reading silently.
"An eternal dream, hiding in an eternal illusion. Ye, who seeks to break the shackles of destiny, and ye, who seeks a life of eternity, goes against Nature's rules and denies the precious gift of death..."
"Free of thought and free of obstacles, as if one has been just born. Lose thyself and feel the essense in the air. Feel it and accept it in thy body, as it travels trough thy meridians in and out..."
On page 11 was shown a diagram of the male body and on page 12- the female one. On them, there were 108 meridians, all in different locations on the diagrams.
After memorising the meridian's positioning, Ash flipped to the next page and saw a complicated description on how different meridians worked, the opening process and how to connect each meridian, making a web of energy tunnels.
"This is... Easier than I thought.It also explains why she was butt naked. " said to himself Ash as he blushed a bit after reading the 'Mortal Transcendence guide'.
Knowing what he had to do, Ash undressed himself and sat cross legged on the bed with his back on the wall.
Closing his eyes, Ash got rid of his thoughts and imagined the diagram from page 11 of the 'Mortality Transcendence guude'.
Before one started cultivating, one had to be in a good shape first, or the excess fat would compromise his cultivation by blocking the essense from outside to enter one's body.
Lucky for him, Ash was in shape and in the past year when he started training, he had gained a bit of muscle, thus he needn't worry about it.
Trying to feel the essense of Nature, Ash lost sense of time as seconds turned to minutes and minutes to hours.
...
"He hasn't come out of his room for 5 hours already." said Bai Ling to her father with a surprised look.
When she first started cultivating 2 years ago, Bai Ling couldn't cultivate for more than 5 hours a day, adding the fact that she needed breaks for every 2 hours of cultivation.
Most children who started cultivating couldn't go for even half an hour without a break, so Bai Ling was considered a genious among her generation.
Not only does cultivation need a clear mind, but also demanded that the cultivator was in a state of extreme focus.
For 12-16 year old kids that was hardly achievable even in the cultivation world.
"..." Bai Cheng was speechless.
When he sensed this kid's blood flow being continuos like a river and the fact that Ash had no spiritual roots, core, some kind of body type or bloodline, he got a bit disappointed.
The only reason he gave Ash a chance was, because the cristal sensor, that worked perfectly fine on other mortals and cultivators- didn't on that kid.
Bai Cheng secretly gave Ash 1 year to become a transcended, as human cultivators had to start cultivating from mortals, and depending on their spiritual roots, they could take from 6 months to 2 years to become transcended. Breaking the chains of the body.
On the other hand phoenixes were born with high talent, as transcended and special 'Eternal Fire' bodies. Their bloodline helped them elevate to a higher realms faster.
That is, untill they reach the 9th heavenly tribulation. The next step requiered a bloodline tribulation which was extremely dangerous- meaning that less than 30% of phoenixes survive it, transforming into a golden crow with three legs. Not to mention that one needed to fill certain age requirements, because the transformation took innormous amounts of vitality.
"That kid already could sense Nature essense after the 3rd hour and now he can even absorb it." Bai Cheng widened his eyes in amazement.
Maybe Ash wa a cultivation genious, he thought while holding a cup of tea and started drinking.
Seeing her father ignoring her, Bai Ling stood up and started walking to her room again. Bai Cheng was obviously daydreaming again and she wanted to see how Ash has been doing.
Maybe he was too shy to ask for help on the first day. Little did she know though...
" Pfffff... Cough, cough..."
"Are you ok dear? What happened?" Bai Juan stood up imediately to help Bai Cheng as she saw him spit tea all over the table.
On the other hand Bai Ling jumped on the spot and turned her head to see what was happening. "What happened?" she repeated after her mother with confusion written on her face.
....
Ash sat on the bed cross legged, absorbig Nature essense.
The room was quiet as the essense moved slowly from every corner of the room to him. The window was slightly opened.
As the Nature essense was being absorbed, Ash managed to unlock his first meridian.
Sensing the change in his body, Ash stood up, went to the center of the room and, as described in the 'Mortal Transcendence guide', he positioned his body in the Wu Chi stane.
It was time for him to build the first energy tunnel to his Dantian.
Nature essense was being absorbed so fast from his opened meridian, it almost made a small tornado in the room.
The slightly opened window was now acting like a vacuum cleaner for Nature essense.
'Boom'
It fully opened and Nature essense started circulating in the room.
'Bam', 'Bam'
Things from all over the room started falling from the force of the moving essense.
Pain. Ash frowned as a tear fell from his eyes. Nature essense was being absorbed extremely fast and the energy tunnel was slowly being built in Ash's body, making the connection Danian-meridian.
'Caching'
The connection has been made.
Ash opened his eyes and fell to the ground. He didnt have enough energy to move even his fingers as his newly opened meridian needed it to cleanse itself.
...
"Ling... Cough, cough... I think you should go help Ash." after some coughing, Bai Cheng turned to Bai Ling.
"That kid's talent is monstrous! The moment he started cultivating, he actualy opened a meridian..." he thought. "Is this the so called cultivation prodigy described in legends?"
....
A girl with a slim figure, black eyes and fiery red hair, going past her shoulders, stood right next to an opened door.
She looked appealing, although undeveloped and her eyes were wide opened as she looked the messy room with a naked body lying on the ground, lifeless.
"Did he die or something?" Bai Ling thought as she moved closer to Ash.
Ash was lying listless on the ground with closed eyes and his head, turned to one side.
He was sleeping like.... a baby.
Sitting next to him, Bai Ling watched him as he breathed in and out.
"He looks kind of cute I guess..." she thought, as her hand reached his face and flipped his blue hair to one side.
Her fingers moved from Ash's face to his neck, before reaching his chest and finaly she took her hand back.
Smiling gently, Bai Ling picked the quilt from the bed and just as she was about to cover him, a blush appeared on her face.