Zhishi Wu felt his heart rate skyrocket, the image he had formed using Qi around him collapsed, he felt the presence of the beast to an even greater degree than he had before.
The cold bursts of air that brushed across him as the beast inhaled and exhaled, he could tell that the beast was purposefully holding back and yet it still suppressed him to the point where even the thought of resistance was crushed.
"Your soul is twisted. You reek of the river." the senior spoke in a casual tone.
"I do not know how to answer your question." Zhishi Wu responded
"You live even when your mind is being torn apart."
None of this made any sense to Zhishi Wu, he was not familiar with what fate implied in this world, nor was he in any pain from his mind being torn apart.
"Forget it, you are still too weak to know. The reason you went blind was because you used Qi to enhance your vision, for regular QI condensation cultivators it is perfectly fine."
The beast forcibly projected an image of two rocks within Zhishi Wu's mind.
"If the white rock is the eyes of a regular Qi condensation cultivator and a black rock is your eyes, the density represents the perception they have, the white rock is a quarter dense as the black rock."
Zhishi Wu had managed to calm his emotions and paid close attention to the example.
"Qi reinforcement would double the density of the rocks, the white rock would be perfectly fine just far more dense but the black rock would reach a density so great that it would collapse in on itself and form a singularity." The beast finished speaking and awaited Zhishi Wu's response.
"It was not the ruleset that changed rather, I had not looked far enough into the rule book and acted arbitrarily." Zhishi Wu dug his fingers into his palms and had a furious expression on his face.
"Damn it, how could I do something so stupid, this is not who I am!" he yelled at himself internally.
"When you reach foundation establishment and your spiritual sense develops the capacity for the density your eyes can endure will naturally increase."
The beast slowly started to withdraw, Zhishi Wu felt the presence fading slowly.
"Take care of the child on your shoulder."
"May I as-" Zhishi Wu attempted to ask a question but was immediately cut off.
"I have no more answers for you, what you need is something that is not taught but rather learned." the beast replied.
"After you achieve foundation establishment follow what beckons you. For that will determine your life and death." The beast said before vanishing completely.
As the beast faded Zhishi Wu felt some sort of force act upon his eyes and he opened them in response, he exhaled slowly and felt relieved to see that his vision had returned.
"What were the intentions of that senior?" he thought to himself as he turned around to see that the little snake on his shoulder had slithered away and was sitting beside the deflated carcasses of four spirit beasts.
"..."
…
Back at the battleground of Zhishi Wu and the bion the three disciples from yesterday had reappeared.
"Senior sister do you really think the senior from yesterday will reappear?" Roshini asked with a hopeful undertone
"We will wait here for the day, if he reappears then it is our blessing."
"If we are able to convince this senior to return to the sect won't we be able to pass the annual evaluation." Kun Faya chimed in.
Silence fell over the area for a moment as they all considered the possibility.
Unbeknownst to them Zhishi Wu was sitting not too far from them while hiding his presence.
"Right now I want to figure out what that senior meant."
He took a moment to recollect what the senior said and tried to make sense of it.
"He did say that after I reached foundation establishment I should follow what beckons me." This was incredibly vague and didn't help him much but it was his only lead.
He knew that to reach foundation establishment a special pill known as the soul foundation pill was required. If what these three sect disciples said was true and the intentions they had were pure this may be a good option to opt in to.
He dawned his serpent patterned mask and appeared in front of them almost instantly.
"Greetings great sage!" all of them said in unison and cupped their hands.
"Hmm." he responded casually.
"Senior my name is Pyari. I wanted to thank you for saving my life yesterday, I know this is probably worth nothing in your eyes but these are some spirit stones I have earned recently." she handed him a bag containing 10 spirit stones.
Zhishi Wu's eyes were wide under his mask, he had learned that spirit stones were vital to achieving breakthroughs within cultivation and now he had just gained 10.
"I guess I shouldn't be too happy, I almost lost my eyes in exchange." he thought to himself.
"It was nothing."
He waited for a moment.
"Then I will take my leave?" he could not make it seem like he was expecting something else.
"Wait!" Pyari called out fearing he would disappear.
Zhishi Wu halted and looked directly at her, a smirk underneath his mask.
"I would like to invite senior to visit the Raging Thunder Sect." All three of them bowed their heads, they held absolutely no trace of arrogance.
"Since you made such a sincere offer I shall accept."
He would not have made this decision if he had not seen the way the sect's disciples care for each other and the unreserved attitude they possess.
"We are forever grateful for this grace." they all exclaimed.
…
They were moving through the forest at a brisk pace, leaping from tree to tree gracefully, if they continued at this speed it would only take them a day to arrive at the sect a distance of around 23000 kilometers from the mountain.
"I have been secluded in the mountains for a long time, tell me about your sect." Zhishi Wu asked Pyari.
"The sect was established around 300 years ago by our sect master who had managed to achieve the ethereal core stage within this wasteland, you will meet him when we get to the sect."
Zhishi Wu was surprised, he knew that cultivators could extend their life spans but this was the first time where he had heard of it first hand, a 300-year-old individual, that was far more than he had lived.
"Maybe I'm far more a child than I thought." He considered internally.
"The sect has a 2 foundation establishment elders, 50 Qi condensation disciples and 134 body tempering prospects."
The numbers surprised Zhishi Wu, he had heard of the famous sects in the north having 1000's of disciples, he connected some dots and remembered that this was the wasteland, it was ridden with danger.
Even as they had been talking they had encountered a Qi condensation beast which was quickly slain by Roshini. Zhishi Wu considered giving the body to the little snake but it was sound asleep after it had devoured those 4 spirit beasts from yesterday.
"Why don't you tell me about yourself?" Zhishi Wu had taken on the identity of a sage and sages were inquisitive by nature so asking these types of questions wasn't out of the norm.
"I don't have much of a story to tell respected senior." She had a very brief moment where a pained expression appeared on her face.
"Perhaps my juniors have something worth speaking about, they deserve a break from clearing the path." She sped up and talked to Kun Faya who slowly fell back towards Zhishi Wu.
"I have heard that the senior is interested in our stories."
"It is as you say, how should I address you?"
"Please feel free to call me junior Faya, it is what the elders call me."
"Very well, junior Faya what can you tell me about your life."
The conversation paused for a moment as another beast appeared. This time Zhishi Wu observed the fight and he found the distinction between the way he utilized Qi and the way they did.
The Qi control they possessed was still very elementary, both Roshini and Kun Faya were utilizing Qi over the entirety of their body spreading it thin and thus lowering the potency on individual body parts.
Pyari had managed to make the Qi focus on upper or lower body depending on what part of her body she was using. Meanwhile, Zhishi Wu had already reached the level in which he could focus Qi onto a single finger of his easily.
"Perhaps it has something to do with perception." he pondered as another beast fell.
Kun Faya fell back after the encounter ended and responded to Zhishi Wu's request.
"Although it is not pleasant to recollect, I have a past in which I slaughtered innocent people."
Zhishi Wu focused on his words and he could barely even feel his feet moving.
"Originally I was born into a bandit group within this wasteland, when I was old enough to walk I killed my first person. I was taught that the only way through the world was violence, kill and take was all that mattered."
Zhishi Wu was surprised, looking at Kun Faya's appearance he seemed to be a level headed person that would try to talk things out when possible.
"It wasn't until I turned 9 that my bandit group was intercepted by the Raging Thunder sect."
Zhsihi Wu could imagine how powerless he must have felt in that situation, after all he had been in that same situation before, powerless before a cultivator.
"There was a senior brother from the sect who approached me, instinctively I took the dagger I had and drove it through his stomach."
A cultivator getting stabbed by a child, it didn't seem very likely.
"I was ecstatic when I stabbed him, I had managed to wound a mighty cultivator, a smile dawned across my face but it quickly vanished as I felt a warm feeling behind me and a strange sound on my right shoulder."
This scene had started to show Zhishi Wu the true nature of the Raging Thunder sect.
"The senior brother I had stabbed had embraced me with a hug and was crying on my shoulder."
Zhishi Wu felt an incredibly sharp pain in his heart that only lasted a moment and felt a sense of envy, although he himself was not aware that it existed.