Hearing the progress of the event from his point of view did change things up.
For one, we both were at fault for letting it become as it did.
But primarily it was me that was the cause of everything that happened.
Still, as his tale came to an end I came to realize that I may indeed be the real cause of his Abilities disappearance.
Taping on my forehead and I summon the culprit in question.
The gray flame came out and showed its current nonexistent prowess.
It behaved as if it was being watched in a slow-motion caption video and aside from it being gray, in color, it currently did nothing.
Placing it into my right hand, I spoke. " Father, place your left hand over it. I want to see how it behaves. "
" Sure. " He replied and placed his left hand just above it and immediately a change in its behavior appeared.
It became more active and as his hand reached closer and closer, it started to reach out for his hand. When his hand hovered over the flame, the flame in return extended itself and touched him.
Next, it sort of pulled itself onto the hand and from there it started to become more proactive.
" Do you feel anything? " I ask my father.
" No, nothing. Which is weird. " He said and in the next second I felt his Divine Sense touch it and again nothing happened.
Nodding I flex my hand back to his hand and the flame and take back the flame with a bit of Will flexing. " Well, I think I know what is going on. "
" Before I say it I must say something. " I gazed him straight in the eyes and spoke with regret and relief intermixed into one. " First, Father, I must say that I am sorry as to what happened. Even if there are parts that are your fault, I am the main culprit in all this. And for that I am sorry. I am sorry for everything that happened but most of all I am sorry that you have lost the Ability, that you have cultivated for a long time. because of me. "
" I will accept the apology Jiao since I can feel your remorse at everything that happened. " I knew he was not done.
I could see it in his eyes that there was more that he wanted to say. " My forgiveness is one thing since you did not mean it. Me losing half my strength is a whole other thing. You better have a way for me to recover my Ability, and if not find a way to mitigate the loss that the Clan has suffered. At least to a degree, since I was at fault too for not recognizing sooner that I was suffering from an Inner Devil. "
" Thank you, father. " I said in the most honest way I knew. At the same time, I gave him a small bow as an afterthought to showcase it better.
" Back on the topic of your Ability. " I decided to explain the fire first. " I am sure you have seen the Flame of Life that burns Qi. This gray flame is an improvement on it, in some way, I think. By using the Rage that I had smoldering inside me and using it as fuel the flame changed its characteristics. It still burns stuff, only in exchange for strength, it becomes far more selective on who it will target. As you can see it is not burning the neutral Qi in the air like the normal one does, but it did react to you. "
" Alright, if that is the case, then there is something on or inside me that it's reacting to? " He threw me a questioning stare.
" Yes. " I admitted it. " You're right, father. When I dumped my Rage inside the Flame of Life, the target was very specific, that being the Jaded Devil. I guess that as the Jaded Devil had been burned to the ground, the Flame sought a new target. You and the Devil being connected was fact, but I did not know it could travel along that connection back to you. "
Filing that possibility in a corner of my mind I go on. "I guess that after it came to you, it burned down anything that had a connection to the Jaded Devil, that is why you have no problem touching it, even though it's reacting to you. "
" But does its reaction not then imply that I have something that is… Oh. " I saw his realization.
" Yes, Father. There is something that you possess that still tickles its fancy since it had gorged onto it. " I say to confirm his retaliation. " Intent, Authority, and Will may be the highest grades of food the Flame of Life may come across, but unlike Intent and Will, Authority is connected to something bigger than just the user. It is connected to Reality, or Dao if you want to say it like that. "
With that said I withdraw the gray flame back inside my head and speak of my conclusion. " Father you may have lost the Ability but the Authority on which it was based, must still be in there, somewhere. " I say as I point at his body. " Now, all you need to do is find it again. "
" Ah, that does bring me some relief. At least there is a way to recover it. " I could see the relief alongside the words that overcame him for a second or two. " Any idea of how to do that? Maybe you have some ingenious way instead of me relying on the life-risking danger to have it awaken again? "
" Well, after having conversed with myself for a bit, I did come upon a clue. " I said with hesitation. " Problem is it has to do with the Heavenly Jade Mantra. "
" So we are going back to that topic? " He scorned me, slightly. " Don't bother mentioning it. Even if the clue is there, I will not be giving it to you without an Oath. "
" Umm, about that, father. I… was thinking of making an Oath. " I say with confidence in my voice but anxiety in mind.
There was no reply for a bit as we stared at each other.
" What about your conviction of not compromising your mental health? I thought that was more important to you than the Power you would receive from it? " Father asked me, with a puzzling look centered on me.
" It is, but me gaining strength is secondary to you regaining yours. " I say with conviction. " Only if I am to make this Oath I want you to allow me to use it differently instead of cultivating it directly. "
" Hmm, that will depend on the Oath and your intent regarding the Mantra in question. " He said after considering the proposal. " But I am willing to compromise to a degree. "
" Hmm, if it's gonna be a compromise, how about we make this a Contract, then? " I ask.
" Go on, I am listening. " He replied.
Nodding, I touched my forehead and retrieved a small piece of Auril, and had it hover above my right hand. " Before we can talk about the Contract, there is something I have to do. "
" That being? "
" I need my Ability back since mine was destroyed too. " I said while focusing on the Life Essence stored inside me. " Lucky, I am smart, so I kept a backup of stored Life Essence just in case something might happen. "
Pulling on that stored Life Essence from my head I pull out another thing. As I was doing all this, my father's Divine Sense was observing and this time he recognized the thing that I pulled out. It was Jade Intent.
" And since I am making a new one, I might as well give it a few upgrades. "
With the three components in place, I used Life Essence to grow the Auril and had it split. One half went back inside my head for safekeeping. The other was infused with Jade Intent, which I also split and kept half for later purposes, and made to grow back again.
This time the cost increased but I was fine with it. I still had my Internal LE Construct as extra juice if needed.
Once the Jade Infused Auril was big enough, I had it separated into thirteen equal-sized chunks.
The first chunk stayed the same size and would become the innermost last layer. On it, I added another 4 more layers.
This would make this Ability have a fifth gear and a definitive improvement to its four geared predecessor.
Once I had layered them all correctly, it was time to make the holes needed for it. Over the poles, small holes appeared so I used two pieces of Jade Infused Auril and had them become the hollow rods that would expel the Life Essence and Mana, just like the last one had.
They pierced the poles right down to the last and smallest layer and stayed there with only a teeny tiny gap between the layers and the poles alongside tiny so that they could receive the maintenance after it all started.
Giving it a little test run, I found no mistakes and went for the next part.
Making best use of the matryoshka design I placed tiny holes through which Qi would be funneled inside right into the last layer. Placing a few more holes in the rods alongside the poles that connected to the layers that they passed through it was time for the upgrade.
Aside from the innate upgrade that the Jade intent would bring and the extra layer, I picked up another Jade Infused Auril that I had left aside and had it become another layer that covers everything only in this one I placed very few holes.
Yet even those were plugged next as I used more Jade Infused Auril to become 3 rings around the construct. One was placed horizontally around the ball construct and the other two were placed diagonally so it looked more like a planet with extra rings instead of one like Saturn.
Next, I had the rings turn into tubes that interconnected with each other in key places and were connected with the outer layer of the ball construct.
That done, I added another two hollow rods that connected to the rings themselves.
These rods looked more like exhaust pipes for cars instead of intake valves but I had that part shaped so that it would easier to connect to the lungs that my phantom Ability will possess, in the future.
The last thing I added was a cover for the hollow rods on the poles. I even made them look like electrical sockets on which I can plug whatever I want.
Done with the initial construction, I showcase it to my father.
" I don't know if you knew what my Ability looked like before. " I said. " But this is an improvement to the last one that I had. "
" So, you're creating your Ability? " He questioned. " I must say that your way of doing this is something I have not seen before. "
" Yes, and I am not done. " I replied in return. " What you see is just the base of the house that I have built. Now I need to define what each room does and how everything should function inside. "
There I stopped as something came to me. " One more thing. I… hope that nothing happens this time but as I am doing this I will explain to you Life Essence at its most simple. "
" At its most simple, Life is about our Thoughts and the Will to extend our existence as much as possible and under any circumstances. " I explained to him. " Everything else that you see, hear, taste, smell and touch is but a side effect of that need. "
" You say that everything in Nature is a side effect. " He repeated his understanding of my words. " Meaning that all creatures and plants alongside everything else are secondary, us humans included? "
" Yes, the physical side of Life is the side effect. " I confirmed and added. " That body you have is but a bag of flash that your consciousness is wearing to stave off its existence for just a bit longer. It's why everything that lives has a survival instinct to live. "
" Alright, I can get behind that. Spirit over Everything. Now, how about Life Essence? What is that? " He asked.
" To stave off one's end Life needs energy. " I replied. " No matter what kind, without energy Life dies. But there is a problem. Anything our physical bodies consume only feeds the physical side of Life but it does nothing for our Will, well almost nothing. "
" And Life Essence is what Will feeds on? " He asked me.
" In a manner of speaking. " Confirming it for him I go on. " Life Essence is the best food to grow one's consciousness. There is a lot more theory behind how it all works but that is the answer, yes. "
" Hmm. " With that said he went silent for a second as I looked at him. " But why is this the first time I am hearing of something like Life Essence? I mean I heard that you refer to Life Essence as Yin but how do you see something negative as the core of Life? "
" Negative? " What does he mean by negative? " Oh. Father, Yin Qi, and Yin are different things. Yin and Yang by themselves have no properties and only when they combine do they create Qi. It is also only then that the positive and negative comes into existence when Qi is involved. "
" Look at this construct in my hand. " I said and pointed at the thing that hovered over my right hand. " Auril is Life Essence that was given form. Even after it was given form, does it have any properties? "
His Divine Sense was still on it, so he had to shake his head at that.
" That is the benefit of Life Essence. It has no properties. It's just energy. " I said. " Auril, on the other hand, is Life Essence given form so it becomes energy and material. It is that that brought us here today. "
At this, he showed confusion. " Father, Life Essence may have gotten a form but it still retains the no properties part, hence it can very easily absorb stuff and change itself. When the Authority that you possess came upon the steep mountains that is your Will and could not do anything about it, it chose to instead jump into the river that had suddenly appeared beside the mountain. Essentially said, the Authority chose the path of least resistance, and that event happened. "
" I see, that is an apt description. " I heard him say. " I was wondering how it was even possible. Tell me one more thing. Can Qi and Life Essence coexist in one body? "
" No. " I flat out refused. " Your energy slot on the State of Existence is already taken. "
" State of Existence? What is that? " He asked me.
" You know it, by a different term. " I said. " State of Existence describes the five basic states of Creation. They go from the bottom to the top. At the bottom respectively sits the State of Solids where the element of Earth belongs. Above it is the State of Fluids where the element of Water belongs to. Above that is the State of Gasses to which the element of Air belongs. Above that is the State of Energy where the element of Fire belongs and at the top of everything is the State of Thought or Will where the element of Life belongs to. "
" I was told that only when all five are integrated into one existence, that one truly can achieve Transcendence or Immortality in a Cultivators case. "
As I was saying that wonder appeared in my father's eyes. His gaze grew cloudy with every word I said.
I could even imagine what his mind was figuring out.
The relationship between the elements of Qi that he was familiar with, the reasons that Jade Qi behaved as it did with the elements in question. And finally, why I brought forth the possibility that the Heavenly Jade Mantra might be a Supreme Grade Mantra since it should have roots in all five elements.
Except that instead of the Wood element that they had used for the element that represented Life, which was just the physical side of Life, the thing they had been missing all this time was the connection, which was the Authority, to the Divine Sense that was created when Will was combined with Qi.
Seeing my father enjoy his epiphany I had no choice but to sigh in my mind. ' I frankly hate this. I can't even show off my knowledge without triggering people. That is so not fair? '
Clap
With positive surprise, I jerked as the sound echoed in the tiny room.
As it brought me out of my thoughts I saw father had his right hand on his chest.
He trembled for a second before he focused his gaze on me.
After exhaling once he spoke. " You genuinely do cause strange events to happen when somebody asks about Life Essence. "
" Did you just interrupt your own epiphany? " I asked, a bit flabbergasted.
" Yes, I have. Now let's continue our conversation. " He nonchalantly said to me.
" Umm, are you sure? Why not relax for a second. Maybe you will enter it again? " I questioned him.
" I will open my mind for epiphanies later, once we are done here. There will be no problem. Don't worry. " He said with no hesitation.
Scratching my head a bit at the causal Power flexing he just did, I was without a retort.
" Umm, I'm not sure that's how epiphanies work. Let me ask again, are you sure? We can continue our talk later. " I ask him again, just to be sure.
" It is fine. Go on. "
Shrugging my shoulders at him, I went on even. " Umm, where was I? Ah yes, the exclusivity of Powers. As Qi contains both Life Essence and Mana, it excludes both Powers in their natural form. In a similar state, there are requirements needed to eh… cultivate Life Essence. "
" Oh. Those beings? " He asked me, still not showing any remorse about breaking his epiphany.
" The first is that only mortals can cultivate it. And even that is under the prerequisite that no other type of Power is present to interfere with its appearance. " I explained. " If there is then Life Essence will just be subsumed into that Power in the same way Qi does, only less efficient. "
With that done I stopped my explanation about Life Essence.
" Go on? Why did you stop? " My father questioned.
" Well, that is the simplified version. " I answered. " Without dipping my knowledge pool into Planar Theories of Creation, Bio-Life Dynamics Theory, and Mind over Matter alongside a hefty dose of Quantum physics, that is all I can tell you. "
" Hmph, some of those words were said in that foreign tongue to hinder me, but I get the gist. " My father admitted and pointed at the construct that was still there waiting for the finishing touches.
" Finish that and let's go over your Contract. " He demanded of me.
I nodded but as a bonus, I began explaining to him how parts of the Ability works. It went on from the basic properties of gasses and the fluid movements they use caused by differential pressures exhibited by the environment and the inherent hate that Nature has over vacuums.
Slap
That's when another slap interrupted me and he motioned for me to continue.
After that was some more knowledge of gravity exhibited by mass and the inherent function of the Singularity that I was envisioning as the heart of all this.
Slap
After I had ignored that sound, I finished up defining how everything would flow together into one.
I tapped my forehead and pulled out the gray flame. I tried to change the flame back into a normal Flame of Life but I was unable to withdraw the emotions invested in its change.
I left it back to smolder inside me and took out another kindling.
As it came out I had no choice but to think of the flame in general. ' One kindling became a gray flame and this one will become the heart of my Ability. That leaves me with only one to find a way to make more of them, without having it tied to me, inherently. I will leave that problem for the future Me. '
Once the Flame was in the center of the construct and I distributed its inner workings I initiated the first real test. I spun all the layers at the same time and the intake valves on the outside started to pull in Qi like a vacuum cleaner.
Seeing it work nominally I had each inner layer spin faster than the one before it and when the last layer reached its peak, the Construct started to glow purple as the Life Essence and Mana that were spewed out mingled together without fusing.
The Jade Intent infused into the construct added more potency than I imagined it would and the little upgrade with the rings and vacuum suction design only helped more.
All this accumulated into a beautiful galaxy-like effect with a purple corona around the center that was sucked into the hollow rods at the poles.
Done with it I saw my father staring at the center of it. I knew his Divine Sense was useless the deeper it penetrated as it too was consumed, but the stunning visual effect still brought forth satisfaction to be looked upon.
Seeing everything working I placed it behind in the same vertical way its predecessor stood.
With a mental click, I gave it a name.
Singularity Energy Generator Augment - Jade version.
Or SEGA - J when shortened.
Again The Will of the Universe settled on me and my father.
Unlike last time, this time he was not involved and he only observed. The Will examined my construct and plucked every bit of knowledge I had regarding it.
Approving and giving it a few finishing touches, it left after deepening the connection between me and the Ability.
I enjoyed it and its convenience. So I pulled out the Auril I stored inside my head and after a good feeding, I split it again. One was saved inside me and the other became something else.
It became a phantom similar to the last one that I used only this one had a different form.
" You molded it to your liking this time? " Asked father, puzzled by the change, probably.
" I have learned my lesson. " I replied. " No matter how it connected me with my memories of my past life, it's still just a remnant. It is time I embrace the future. Before the Jaded Devil, I had declared that in this Life I am Yu Jiao and it will stay that way. "
" Hearing those words brings me more joy than I thought it would. " I heard my father say but for a second I saw a smile on his face.
Strangely it brought a smile to me too, but only briefly.
After that, I pulled out the stored Jade Intent and put it into my phantom.
With a thought, it fused into the skin of the phantom and I tested it out for a bit before satisfying myself and reverting it into its base state.
Finally reaching the end, I separated a bit of Auril from the phantom and had it float in front of me. The next second I had it transform into a scroll of about an a4 paper size.
On it envisioned the needed wording that I wanted and below that, I left two places upon which two signatures would be placed.
Once I was done I had the scroll become visible to fathers eyes and showed it to him. " What do you think? "
There wasn't much on it.
It fundamentally said that I, Yu Jiao, will not disclose the contents of the Heavenly Jade Mantra to anybody without the explicit approval of Yu Liwei, my father.
Another thing that I added was that I would be allowed to use the Mantra as inspiration in my experiments.
To not make it one-sided, I added a clause that said that I had to inform my father of said experiment and the details of said experiment.
" Hmph. What about any discoveries regarding the Heavenly Jade Mantra during your… experiments? " He asked me after reading the contract.
" Those I will naturally deliver to the Clan. " I replied. " I am only considering the Contract to show you that I will not misuse the Mantra by telling anybody about it and on the off chance that I am captured by somebody and they try to pry it out of my memories. Sad chance of that happening against me but I have a feeling that is one of the reasons you are asking for an Oath? Is it not? "
" You are not wrong. " He said. " I was told, Great Grandfather Yu Tian had one son, which would make him my Great Uncle, that had died in one such situation. Before that, the Oath was simple not to tell anybody without approval. Similar Oaths have been done by every Clan, but it was only after that Great Uncle of mine was captured and had killed himself to protect the Mantra that the Oath was strengthened. "
" Wait, I remember Elder He telling me about some battle between him and the ancestry of the Empire. Was that the reason? " I ask him.
" There were many reasons but that was the key one. " He answered. " After an exhausting battle, the Empire lost a few Ancestors. Yu Tian was tired of fighting them and they knew they could not kill him so they made a deal with him. They would stay mostly out of conflict with each other on a larger scale and the Yu Clan would not interfere with the politics of the Empire on a larger scale. After that, there was friction between us regularly, but nothing major. "
" But my existence has tipped the balance and there is no way of righting it without a sacrifice on their part? Which they will refuse? " I spoke a suggestion, which I knew was more than a suggestion and so did he when he nodded.
" Alright, I will agree to these terms, but how will this Contract work? " He asked.
" Hmm, since you're asking that, that means you're fine with the terms of it? " He nodded when I asked. " Place a finger on this part here. "
Once he placed it on the right part I placed mine on the left and I made an announcement.
Contract
In a similar fashion that happened just a few moments before, the Will of the Universe descended.
It bound us and examined the contract.
The next second I felt myself being bound to it and I was sure the same happened to my father.
Once that magnificent Will retreated the Contract turned into a small ball that separated into two and vanished into both our heads.
" That was different. " My father said. " Indeed different compared to an Oath. Just from the sensation, I can tell that it will tell me if there was a breach of it. I know the Contract said nothing of it, but what if you break it? "
" You will know about it but there are no consequences since we have not agreed upon them. " I said. " There is one thing that still works. Try feeling it out much closer. "
Moments after he closed his eyes as he introspected himself and the influence of the contract he opened them with a bit of bewilderment. " I can feel a slight pull on my thoughts. As if I am guided in a certain direction? "
" Yes, the Contract works in both the direct and indirect ways. " I answered with a bit of pride in it.
My original spent quite some time perfecting this in case he had to make Oaths of any kind. " The direct way would be the punishment in case the Contract was broken. The results vary per contract and its terms. The indirect is a passive thing and works by influencing targets on not breaking it in the first place. Right now you only feel a slight nudge into giving me the Mantra but if enough time has passed that would change, and as more time passes more and more the nudge will grow into a compulsion. "
Just as I felt his gaze harden I added more. " Oh, one more thing. Since the Contract we signed was between equals I am beholden to the same thing. "
" Ha, fine. " He said and in his right hand appeared a small thin finger-sized Jade strip, I guess.
He placed it on his forehead and it stayed there for a few moments before he presented me with it.
I took it since I had a feeling what it was, but for a simple reason, I had ignored it by now.
Especially since I had not seen them in the Fighting Arts Library, only paper books.
" I have put all that you need to know inside. " He said. " Once you have read and memorized it, I will destroy it. Before that is done you will not leave this room. Is that clear? "
Nodding I placed the thing on my forehead just like he did. Only I used Life Essence to touch it instead of Qi.
Inside I found a small fountain of knowledge.
Spirit and Fighting Arts that were best suited for the Mantra.
Qi pathways and the theory behind them used by the Mantra.
And the most important of all there was the Mantra with its verses and how they functioned, from Qi gathering to Foundation Establishment, to Core Creation to Soul Creation and finally Soul Transformation.
' Wait, something is wrong here? '
" Why is the Mantra only up to Spirit Transformation? " I was puzzled by that very fact. " Did you not say that Yu Tian received this Inheritance from an Immortal? "
" He did, according to his notes. " Father answered. " As for why it stops there? If you can find him you can ask him yourself. The only thing he left in his note was to search for him once one of us reaches Spirit Transformation, as at that point we would have to leave this region of land anyway and travel closer to the Eternal Forest. "
" Ah. " Was all I said in response.
' Good thing I don't have to rely on the Mantra, as I have an idea where this plot leads to. '