"Guo, I would like to go hunting with you."
"Yingying, really?" Cao Yun had a moment of pause. "Do you want to practice your fighting?"
"Well, as an alchemist, I could encounter dangerous beasts when traveling for ingredients. It's only natural for me to want to protect myself. Usually, I simply do not have the time to train: mastering alchemy and advancing my cultivation just enough so it doesn't keep me away from craft is time-consuming already. But with you, I am fairly confident that I will be safe around any beasts. So I was wondering if we could combine our activities and share our specialties."
"I teach you how to fight demonic beasts and you teach me even more about alchemy. That sounds lovely." Cao Yun had a smile on his face, so did Feng Yingyue. "Wait, I've never seen you fight. What martial arts do you use?"
"My cultivation method is the simple 'Universal Law of Immortality'. I do not need anything fancy for alchemy. On the other hand, I inherited a strange martial art from my late mother. I will show you."
Feng Yingyue took out two daggers, the weapons she used as tools to gather ingredients. She began to dance with them. It was fascinating. Her charm was amplified, yet, there was an sense of danger in the air as if thousands of blades were hanging all around, ready to pierce through your body.
When she finally stopped, Cao Yun realized he was actually imagining thousands of blades around him. They were not real of course, but the moves of this martial art gave this impression.
"It is called 'Bladeless Eternity'. Supposedly, if you master this martial art, you could use anything as a blade. Even the air around you could be turned into blades to attack your opponents. Hence its name, you will fight bladeless because you will have an infinite number of blades all around you for all eternity. At least, that's what it says in the technique manual. To see the result, you would need to be able to manifest your Qi at the very least, so you need to be a Mortal Warrior, or even higher. This martial art emphasizes elegance and speed, to cut apart your enemies and avoid all their strikes. There are also some throwing techniques. It's really great for me, because I always need small knives and daggers for collecting ingredients, so I don't need a weapon besides my tools."
"I must admit, I'm really intrigued by this technique. It suits you, both in practicality and in elegance."
Feng Yingyue blushed and little with a small smirk. Both of them were kinda flirting with each other. They even started calling one another by their first name. Cao Yun was even calling her with a nickname.
For around two weeks now, they had been moving toward Yinmen city. They had a routine consisting of hunting, gathering alchemical ingredients, training with one another, advancing their cultivation and talking. Feng Yingyue had tried to talk about Cao Yun's family but she soon understood he did not want to expand upon the matter. She already found that his name was dubious. He had introduced himself as an itinerant cultivator but she had some trouble believing him on that point. If an itinerant cultivator had his strength and talent, he would probably choose to settle down. Indeed, he would be received with honor almost anywhere, giving him access to more resources, essentials to cultivation. She had long decided to not push him on this subject because she did not want to ruin their little talks.
They were slower than they thought. In fact, they should have already been halfway through their journey, but they had only crossed a quarter of the road back to Yinmen city. They just didn't mind.
-
Cao Yun and Feng Yingyue were progressing carefully through the woods. The alchemist was scanning the ground, the trees, the leaves, the branches, everything around her, to find traces of ingredients she could use. The hunter was doing the same to find traces of prey and danger.
Feng Yingyue stretched her arm before Cao Yun and stopped him. She then threw a dagger up a branch. A small head fell down on the ground and then, the body of a snake.
"A Venomous hydra plum. A 1-core Demonic Beast. It's very small, but as its name would suggest, it has a potent venom, almost lethal for any Mortal, and even early Mortal Warrior. Its name comes from the odor of the venom on the corpses of its victims."
"You're also very knowledgeable about demonic beasts?"
"Well, we also use their parts in alchemy."
"Great. Then you could help me, I believe I found tracks but I do not know the beast responsible. I thought they were from a lion-stag but it's strange and there's something else with it."
Cao Yun lead Feng Yingyue toward tracks in the mud.
"Indeed, it looks like a lion-stag, but it's at a higher level. If I'm not mistaken, it should be a High silver lion-stag, a Lion-stag that reached 2-core. And with it, the tracks remind me of an Eagle-headed wolf, also a 2-core demonic beast. I'm pretty sure, the wolf is tracking the lion-stag."
"Do these Eagle-headed wolves also hunt in packs?"
"Fortunately, no, they're very individualistic."
"Who do you think would win between the two?"
"Most likely the Eagle-headed wolf. The reason why lion-stag are considered 1-core demonic beasts is because they almost never grow old enough to form a second core. And generally when one does, it's very old. On the contrary, Eagle-headed wolves can form a second core fairly easily, so it should still be young."
A demonic beast cultivated by absorbing the energy of its meals, whether plants, cultivators, or other beasts. This energy was then digested and condensed into a core. When enough energy was condensed, a new core would then be formed. And the formation of a core gave new characteristics to the beast, but unlike cultivators, they had not the intelligence to create methods to accelerate their natural cultivation. Hence, some species could be stuck at a specific rank because of their longevity.
"We should be cautious and observe their fight from afar. According to their state we'll intervene or not. It's always a good thing to be a little cautious."
Feng Yingyue acquiesced. She was not a fighter and even though she wanted practice, she did not want to risk her life if it was not necessary. Cao Yun on the other hand was the type to analyze before deciding his actions. Some times, it was important to act first, but if he could, he would first study the situation to formulate a correct plan of action.
They slowly made their way to where the beasts were fighting. Given the tracks in the mud and the state they were in, they should have been attacking each other for five minutes, no more. The Eagle-headed wolf was really self-explanatory, a big gray wolf with the head of an eagle, talons on its front paws and feathers in place of its tail. The High silver lion-stag was slightly bigger than a Crimson lion-stag, its mane was silver and its antlers were taller and more intricate.
They both seemed in a difficult situation, but the wolf had the advantage. Several marks of beaks were piercing the body of the lion-stag.
Cao Yun and Feng Yingyue observed the fight for several minutes. The two beasts were pure savagery, their fight crushed rocks and broke trees tens of meters away. Only by watching them fight to the death, the two cultivators got some insights into their martial arts. None of them had ever seen a 2-core demonic beast, let alone seeing two of them battling each other.
The Eagle-headed wolf was covered in blood, but so was the lion-stag. The main difference was that the blood covering the lion-stag was mostly its own, contrary to the wolf. The lion-stag took a couple of steps back, its eyes were clearly filled with fear, but also rage. It knew its death was coming but it wanted to take its enemy along. The Eagle-headed wolf was ready to end the fight. It was already salivating at the idea of having this beast as its meal.
"Yingying, before the Eagle-headed wolf deals the final blow, I will distract it. The High silver lion-stag is in a terrible shape. I'm confidant you can block it while I deal with the wolf. If it tries to run, let it go. You could not fight it if it was desperate. But I'm sure you can prevent it from ambushing me during my fight."
Cao Yun had carefully observed the fight and knew the right course of actions but he simply had no time to explain everything to his friend.
"What?!" Feng Yingyue's eyes were incredulous. She wasn't even a 2nd-grade Mortal and a High silver lion-stag was a 2-core demonic beast, able to rival a 6th-grade Mortal. Even injured, it was dangerous.
"Trust me! Just focus on evading!"
Before she could oppose this plan, Cao Yun was already standing before the wolf. Both beasts were surprised. The wolf quickly reacted and tried to slice the human with its talons. It was exhausted from the earlier fight and its speed was slower than usual. Cao Yun dodged and sent a kick toward its lower abdomen. He tried to follow with a palm but the beast's beak drew near him to bite his head off. Cao Yun rolled to the side and sent a palm to its flank. Cao Yun was halfway through the 3rd-grade of Mortal. If the wolf wasn't weakened, he would probably be dead right now.
On the other side, Feng Yingyue was standing right in front of the High silver lion-stag. The beast did not attack, contrary to the Eagle-headed wolf. It was way more injured and it knew this little human could not harm it in the slightest. It was staring at the fight between the other human and the wolf, ready to kill them both at the right opportunity. Feng Yingyue knew that she was not supposed to fight the lion-stag, but just hinder it if it tried to intervene. She was not sure of herself but was convinced that Cao Yun would not put her life in any real danger.
Very soon, the Eagle-headed wolf and Cao Yun had exchanged more than twenty strikes. The wolf was breathing loudly and one of its legs crumbled. A light flickered in the eye of the lion-stag. The dying beast arched its body ready to pounce on its prey. It could probably use the human to eliminate the wolf. Feng Yingyue drew her daggers and threw one toward the beast. It had disregarded her completely and was slow to react. The blade cut open its face as it was aiming for its left eye. The lion-stag turned its fierce gaze on the little human. It was enraged by this distraction. It tried to grab her but she evaded. It tried again, she evaded again. Feng Yingyue was not trying to fight, she was just evading the beast over and over again. And it was becoming mad, there was an insignificant insect before it and it could not kill her. It had lost too much blood and it was slower than this human.
While this cat-and-mouse game was happening, Cao Yun delivered the final blow to the exhausted wolf. He then started to watch Feng Yingyue. He was right. He had killed many lion-stags and knew how this one would react. It was blinded by rage and could not see the big picture. It had not realized that the wolf was dead and that two humans were against it. If the lion-stag had fled, it would have had a chance, but Cao Yun knew it would be stubborn.
"Yingying, try to attack. I'm here to help you no matter what happens."
Hearing his voice, she knew the Eagle-headed wolf was dead. She became fearless and shifted her martial art from evading to slicing. She was able to get three hits in before her life was in real danger. Cao Yun intervened then and put the lion-stag down. It was way too weak after its earlier fight and this frustrating chase. Nonetheless, Feng Yingyue had earned a lot of experience in her 'Bladeless Eternal'. Her motion was more refined and even with so few slices, her attack got a little bit better.
Cao Yun began cutting open the beasts to get their cores and Feng Yingyue tried to help.
"What are you doing? Let me do it. You, focus on your insights. If you lose the sensations you just felt, it will be a shame."
"Of course! Thank you, Guo."
She retrieved the dagger she had thrown at the very start of the confrontation and walked away to perform her technique and meditate on what she gained. Cao Yun was way more skillful than he was initially at getting the cores out of the beasts' bodies. They were both 2-core demonic beast, therefore they both had two cores. When he was done, so was Feng Yingyue.
"It's incredible. I did not think I could progress that much with such a short fight. And I did not even really fight."
"Of course, applying your art in real-life situations is the best way to improve it when you're stuck. Even with a partner, you get used to the sensation and you can lose yourself in the routine. In real-life, every fight is different and you will always discover new things." Cao Yun then handed Feng Yingyue one 2-core. "This core is yours. It will be useful when you break through to 3rd-grade Mortal."
"Guo! But I'm still a long way from this grade. You should keep it. After all, you killed both the beasts."
"Without you, this lion-stag would have killed me as I was fighting the wolf. And I never trained with 2-core, but I'm pretty sure each one could help me cultivate for at least a month. I'm convinced the three 2-cores will allow me to break through in the next 2 to 3 months at most, so I won't need the four of them. Even if you don't take, I wont use it."
"Then, I will not be impolite."
Feng Yingyue took the 2-core from Cao Yun's hand. Both their hands touched each other longer than needed.
During the evening, Cao Yun tried to absorb the Qi from one of the 2-core and realized he was mistaken. The 2-cores were not just bigger, they were even more dense and rich in Qi than the 1-cores he was using. In other words, his estimations were too conservative. In 2 months, he was fairly confidant he would have tempered his Lower Dantian enough to break through to 4th-grade Mortal.
Once your Lower Dantian was strengthened, the next steps consisted in tempering the meridians, the channels through which the Qi circulated throughout the body. There were three kinds of meridians, the 8 extraordinary vessels, the 12 standard meridians and countless small capillary-like vessels expanding in the entire body. The 8 extraordinary vessels were the most important meridians, able to stock Qi and of main importance in cultivation. The 12 standard meridians were linking them to the organs and had thus an important part in the functions of the body.
After the tempering of the Lower Dantian, Cao Yun would then temper the 8 extraordinary vessels and finally the 12 standard meridians. The tempering phase of the Foundation, the first realm of cultivation, would then be over. He would be halfway through the Mortal rank.
They resumed their journey and changed their routine. Feng Yingyue was now always fighting alongside Cao Yun. They were beginning to be able to understand each other without talking or even looking at one another. Finally they reached the halfway point of their travel. The fighting experience had allowed Feng Yingyue to break through to 2nd-grade Mortal.
She then began the tempering of her bones and marrow. She knew of pills to help her in this endeavor. Moreover, Cao Yun was here to help her. He could not send Qi in her body but he was able to use the vibration of his strikes to stress her bones and speed up the process. He also performed massages to help the flow of Qi to the deepest part of her marrow. It was very intimate but neither Cao Yun nor Feng Yingyue ever found it inappropriate.
One night, as they were both meditating, Feng Yingyue and Cao Yun were alarmed by a screech. It sounded like a dying bird, but it reverberated throughout the entire forest. They looked toward the sky and saw the silhouette of a bird falling in the distance.