The Blue Moon Tao Sect laid amidst clouds, and cranes. The air was fresh, and smelt of blooming flowers. Rivers roamed around the sixteen valleys, and nine peaks. Qi was so abundant it collected on leaves as dew, and small magical creatures could be seen sipping on them occasionally. Within the sect laid a vast expanse of regions, bamboo forests, to sprawling deserts. To occupy all this the sect was large, far larger than any mortal kingdom.
The sect had an ascending form, with places, and people of higher importance and strength being found as you searched higher and higher. Low below, stood a tall stone gate. Around it were red, and blue vines that wrapped around it tightly. Hanging above on the gate, was a jade signboard, that stated the name of the sect in neat calligraphy.
At the pillars of the sect were a dozen or so young men exploding with muscles, and strength wrapped in a plain white silk robe. Each movement of their tight figures caused a roar of thunder, and tigers. Yet these figures who could smash cities to shreds with ease were the laid lazily at the gate of the sect, and they yawned like a bunch of miscreants without any dignity at all to be seen.
Suddenly they saw a swooping yellow cloud swoosh past them, and the few who managed to catch sight of anything beyond a cold, and fast wind, hurriedly began scrambling, "Emergency! Emergency! Someone is invading the sect!"
A voice suddenly came and caused their heads to shake, "Silence! That is simply elder Jun Mujin! Can't you tell seeing as our sect barrier did not battle against him?"
A young man, with a stern face came closer to the stone gate. He held in his hand a peacock feather fan, and waved it loftily. He wore a purple robe, with white and blue streaks randomly assorted, and a blue colored crescent moon on his sleeves.
He then looked at the few who had seen the elder, and said casually, "You four good work! It seems you've made improvements. Perhaps soon you can become outer sect disciples."
The young men hurriedly bowed, "Thank you senior brother."
The young man nodded, and walked back into the sect. He soon reached another gate after the stone one, a copper one this time. It was much larger reaching such a height it could be mistaken for a small hill, and decorated with elaborate designs of warriors, and beasts like dragons and elephants.
The young man said, "That was close if it wasn't for senior brother I would have looked a fool like those servant disciples. Where would my face go then? Tsk, tsk, I messed up my pot of pills too! I wonder what elder Jun is so busy with that he came through the front door?"
A voice picked up with a sudden gust, "Those are not issues of yours, shut your mouth, and go back to your cave."
The young man tightened his pose, and saluted, "Yes senior brother Lan!"
He then turned into a beam and shot into a cave drawn near the bronze gate.
Within the sect, many eyes caught sight of a yellow cloud rushing quickly. Their heads turning alongside it, and their minds wrecked by months, and months of seclusion, and thus boredom suddenly perked with excitement.
Voices rose, and quickly even filled the outer sect elders ears, and without fail the inner sect elders ears too.
In the Blue moon sect, peace, and stability were like the sects mantra. Hardly ever did anything exciting or strange ever happen, and that had become a horrible thing for the large pot of disciples. Thus more often than not they left for missions, and thus whoever remained were either the powerful sort who needed long periods of seclusion for breakthroughs, the studious types who disdained action, or else the fearful. Yet for these three boredom was a common sickness.
Elders normally kept their heads high to the sky without a care to the worries of others, and now one rushed with such force across the sect, there was hardly the slow decorum expected.
Jun Mujin did not mind any of this, he quickly took Ye Weiqi to Elder Gu, the greatest healer, and alchemist of the sect.
Elder Gu lived on a humble hut, surrounded by a large garden, on one of the more separate peaks of the sixth mouth Gold Heart mount.
Jun Mujin jumped off the cloud, and dragged it carefully, for so delicate, and precious was the cargo.
He however without a care smashed open the door of the hut, and exclaimed loudly, "Old ghost Gu! Come here quickly I need your help! If you don't hurry, then I'll then little Ji about how you've been stealing sect funds to pay for your alchemy materials! I'll also beat your ass silly! That's two reasons, so hurry up!"
A handsome young man only suffered by large dark circles around his eyes. His gray hair all over in a mess, and he was hunched strangely over a pill cauldron. In his hands were a red colored bull skull, and a ginseng root with a baby face on it. Elder Gu stared back in shock, he hadn't felt so shocked since he was young. The ginseng with a face originally was crying loudly, and it too stood shocked.
The cauldron began to rumble, and started shaking up and down. A blast of fire burped out, and splashed into Elder Gu's face. His skin though was still fine, like porcelain without an issue, though his clothes were another matter. Not to mention the ginseng, and skull had turned into ash, and flew with a cold wind.
Elder Gu blinked repeatedly, staring at Jun Mujin, and then at his naked body.
He suddenly said, "Oi, Jun Mujin, do you want to die? I'll seriously kill you bastard!"
Jun Mujin said, "Tsk, tsk, look at you! Did you sell away your clothes you damn fool!"
Elder Gu grabbed ahold of Jun Mujin, and said, "Do you know how hard it was to get that ginseng? I had to throw away my pride, and beg that old bastard Fang Shipeng!"
Jun Mujin snickered, "Throw away pride? Since when did you have pride You damn rogue bastard? You are the one who bragged you could sell anything for the pursuit of alchemy."
Elder Gu said, "A man can say one thing, but to do it is a whole different matter. I bowed my head to Fang Shipeng, and only after he laughed like a dog for a hundred rounds did I get ahold of it."
Jun Mujin smacked him, "Fang Shipeng is out on a mission bastard. You most likely stole it, what is all this bullshit?"
Jun Mujin then said, "Nevertheless now I need your help."
Elder Gu laughed, "Help you? Never!"
He turned around and sat down.
Jun Mujin smiled, and pat Elder Gu on the shoulder, "Gu Liha, don't you remember Fang Shipeng's temperament. He hates one thing most of all wasting, and worse you waste a treasure of his that you stole. What do you think he will do when he finds out? He'll kick you out, you'll be kaput, over, done. Sure you can join some other sect, or a divine union, but how long will they keep the legendary 9 fails, 1 success blunder? You're fate is forever tied with the sect, and who oversees that fate? Fang Shipeng is the forty fifth patriarchs favorite disciple, and the current sect leaders master. One word and you're done."
Elder Gu gulped, "You're a demon! You probably knew this whole time!"
Jun Mujin asked with a wicked smile, "Hm, I did. You got a problem?"
Elder Gu wrapped his body around Jun Mujin's leg, and rubbed it, saying coquettishly, "No! No problem big bro! I'll do anything for you!"
Jun Mujin gently pat Elder Gu's head, and said, "Good dog."
Jun Mujin thought, "I feel wicked, and wrong, but at least it's against this bastard Gu Liha. He cons, and robs without a care, he's worse that a bandit. Taking advantage of him isn't the worst, especially since he's robbed me a dozen times in the past."
Jun Mujin shook his head, and then pulled in the yellow cloud, and said, "I want you to heal this child, until there is not a single issue. Then I want you to make him some medicinal baths to strengthen his bones, and cleanse his marrow. He will become my disciple soon, and I want the best. So clean out your cupboards, and put in everything, okay!"
Gu Liha felt his face turn pale, at the thought of the loss, but still nodded with cold sweat rushing down his head, "Sure boss!"
Gu Liha finally put on a loose, and cheap robe. He walked over to the cloud, and saw Ye Weiqi sat on it. He said, "Ho, which bastard would dare to touch Jun elder's disciple like this?"
Jun Mujin said, "This is a mortal child I picked up. A rogue immortal had destroyed a small human settlement, and I happened to pass by after sensing the commotion. He was the only survivor."
Gu Liha looked at Jun Mujin, "Elder Jun you mean to say you have done all this for a random mortal? Sure his fate is poor, but which mortal fate is good? Why would you go so far?"
Jun Mujin asked, "This child has a heaven root. A bit of it's potential was used up to keep him alive, and so you must make sure to heal it so that it does not suffer further."
Gu Liha said loudly, "Heavenly grade root! Wow, no wonder you'd pull out everything to enlist my help."
He then stroked his beard, "Still it's strange. I've heard recently a large number of geniuses have been appearing all across the 81 Dao domains. Even recently didn't the great starry river sect boast about getting two twin disciples with Heaven Grade roots too? I doubt any generation would have such a share of talents."
Jun Mujin shook his head, "Have you forgotten the time so easily? Soon it will be Elder Guang Kangzi of the Ten purity mountain's ascension date, the Dao law's are starting to become unstable, and the essence of Heaven is flowing down into our world. Gifts are being presented to the human race for our merit. It would only make sense."
Gu Lihua nodded, "I see. Still to catch ahold of some gold, you are lucky too elder Jun."
Jun Mujin shook his head, "Luck for me, and misfortune for this young boy. It's a shame to speak the word, don't mention in front of the boy."
Gu Lihua sighed, and then took our a needle case, and began to poke the acupoints of Ye Weiqi. He said after taking his wrist, "I've ensured the stability of the heavenly root by moving the energies of the sixteen life points into the root. I will now begin to cleanse his wounds, and cure his skin."
He pulled out a balm and began to paste it all over Ye Weiqi's body, and after a moment, scrapped the balm off. Pale white fire began to glow in his hands, and burn the balm. Colors of all sorts began to burst in the white color, and Gu Lihua began to scribble something on some paper.
He then went over the paper, and said, "This child's origin qi has been polluted with the residual energies of a Nether void dragon, the blood of the nether void dragon, and some kind of demonic flame."
Jun Mujin asked, "How much? Will it greatly affect his practice ability?"
Gu Lihua shook his head, "Of course not, the Heaven root is only slightly stained. It's simply that I am thinking instead of rushing to cure him, this could instead be a good opportunity to make up for the gap caused by his polluted origin qi. If I spend some time, I could allow these powers to fill the boys six meridians. If he's unlucky he'll get a few years of cultivation, and if he's lucky he'll get a gift from the dragon blood, perhaps even a great physique, and a demonic flame."
Jun Mujin asked, "What is the issue?"
Gu Lihua pointed at the crimson burn marks, "These things won't heal. He'll have terrible days where the remnant energy burns at his very marrow, because I have to slowly very slowly only remove the energies from his origin qi, thus he'll be buffered by the leakage of energies. Slowly though that energy will coalesce within his body, filling his deepest recesses, and permanently bind to him. At that point he'd be able to gain all the powers of these misfortunes."
Jun Mujin shook his head, "No. Not only is this demonic flame a lesser order one, this dragon is only an accessory member of the dragon clan. The benefits are cheap, and worthless. It's not worth the suffering."
Gu Lihua complained, "Elder Jun it's merely a few years of pain. How can you expect him to reach any worthwhile heights if he's scared of a little pain? Of course the demonic flame is not much, but it will help him obtain stronger flames later, not to mention amongst rookies at his age already having a demonic flame would only increase his value. Not to mention while the dragon blood's purity is worthless, it's still a few thousand jin of strength. Even a bit of skin is worth it when starting out."
Jun Mujin said, "It is not the physical pain I am worried about. His mind. Seeing this scars that keep him from looking human, remembering his family, and friends, it will surely turn him twisted and cruel. I will not see a child turn wicked for a few paltry gains."
Gu Lihua sighed, "Well I can understand what you are saying. Yet consider the child himself. He will want power, facing such a situation, how could he allow his weakness. I am sure anything, and everything he'd be willing to clutch onto. How about we ask his opinion?"
Jun Mujin finally accepted, and said, "You're right."
Gu Lihua, and then poked a few acupuncture needles into Ye Weiqi's body, and fed him a few medicinal pills. He then laid his hands onto Ye Weiqi's back.
Quickly the dark glow around Ye Weiqi's body disappeared, and soon his tightened eyes opened.
However, what surprised the two was that what first escaped his lips was not something of grief, or pain, but rather silence. Empty pale eyes that stared off into the distance without any strength.
He asked quietly, "My parents are dead? All those people are dead? Only I am alive? Only I remain?"
Gu Lihua rubbed his forehead, and took a drag out of his smoke pipe, and said, "Unfortunately yes."
Ye Weiqi tightened his grip on the sheet, "Why me? Why would God waste his time on someone like me, someone without dreams, or a future, why on me alone?"
Gu Lihua explained, "Because you are more precious than them. You have a heaven root, you are a person destined for the sky, and they mortals doomed to look on alone. There would obviously be things you can easily have, and they can only lose. Life is the most fickle of all gifts, lost so easily to weather, and sickness. That is why you lived, because you were able to starve off death a little better than the rest, because you are better."
Ye Weiqi asked, "A Heaven root you say? Is that worth more than friendship, and love? Those who were not fortuitous were they worth more or less than me? They had laughter amongst one another, and secrets under the moon, they lived much brighter than I. Yet you say their lives by saying I am more important. Is that truly how cheap the world sees worth?"
Gu Lihua sighed, and said, "In the end what do you wish to say with all of this? If you feel so cheaply about being able to live, willing to scoff at the gifts offered to you, why don't you just jump off a cliff and die. You're chatter is causing my ears to itch, I hate people who can only complain, blind of their own fortunes."
Ye Weiqi shook his head, "No I am not complaining, I am just wondering truly the worth of living. I am thankful to be living. To think, and wonder about these things, something my family cannot do, it is a gift. It just feels so heavy this life, that I cannot help but ask questions, because I feel I cannot make a single mistake anymore. My life is now the one that survived, I cannot miss a single step. It's exhausting just thinking about it, how hard and fierce I must live to make their deaths, and my life correct."
Ye Weiqi struggled his body up, and said, "You must be an immortal to be able to save me."
He tried to bow, but Gu Lihua stopped him and said, "I am not taking disciples, outside is the person you are looking for. The person who wants a disciple, and your savior."
He then shouted, "Elder Jun the boy is awake."
Jun Mujin entered, and saw Ye Weiqi. Ye Weiqi struggled under Elder Jun's intense gaze, and averted his eyes, and lowered his head.
Ye Weiqi asked, "May I take you as my master, so that I may learn immortal magic, so that I can live gloriously, so I can fulfill this life's expectations?"
Jun Mujin nodded, "I can help make you reach your potential. If that is what you wish."
Ye Weiqi kowtowed, and announced, "Disciple greets master."
Jun Mujin nodded, and smiled, "Hm. Now stand up quickly, there is something to discuss with you."
Ye Weiqi stood up, and focused attentively as if every word from Jun Mujin was important, "First before anything else, we must discuss your treatments. You were infected with a demonic flame, and dragons blood during your accident. These energies have bonded to you already, but are easy enough for experts at our levels to remove. It is only that Elder Gu had recommended, keeping these energies in your body, because with some effort for a couple years or so you'd earn a few gifts from these powers. Of course they aren't much, but they aren't enough to throw away either, especially for your level."
Gu Lihua commented from the side which smoking, "Normally these things are kept out of hands from the younger generation to not stunt their growth by messing with their origin qi, but in your case they are already causing your origin qi to become polluted. In short you are already losing in the race, you might as well try to pull back as much as possible."
Ye Weiqi nodded, and Jun Mujin continued, "However your burn marks will remain, and you will face much pain for a few years. I cannot make this decision for you."
Ye Weiqi's face turned pale at the thought of more pain, but forcefully said, "I'll do it!"
Jun Mujin frowned, and said, "Don't be rash, you don't understand how horrible the pain would be. It'd be enough to make you want to die, it's at your very marrow, it'll hurt worse than death. Not to mention this scar. Do not be rash, do not think about the gains, simply think of your own security."
Ye Weiqi face twisted in thought, and indecision, but then he turned to look at Gu Lihua, and saw his curious eyes. He remembered his words from before, making the most of this life, that was what he promised himself, and so he shouted loudly, "Please master!"
Jun Mujin shook his head, and said, "Fine, then I suppose that is all we can do today. Come let's go home."
Jun Mujin walked forward, and again a gentle wind flew and caught onto Ye Weiqi and laid him onto the yellow cloud.
The two then flew off into the distance.
Gu Lihua smoked his pipe, and looked on with a strange thought. He waved his hand and with a swift wind a book came into his hand, he read it with curiosity.