Liam was hiding behind the trees and boulders, and since he was at a higher ground, he could watch everything while lying down.
'Who's that old man? He looks like someone important.'
Liam watched as the guards put the carriage on the ground and surrounded the well. Then, they pulled the dead bodies from the well and placed them in front of the old man.
The old man touched the bodies with his hands, and an ominous aura surrounded him.
Although their bodies seemed dead, they were alive. The guards hadn't killed most of the hostages who were announced dead. They had used an advanced pressure point block technique that would turn them into a dead state.
As soon as the old man touched those bodies, the bodies seemed to have lost their mass and colors. Their hair would turn grey and their skin would tighten around their bones.
Once the old man was done, they piled up the bodies.
The guards then picked up the carriage and took the old man in the direction he came from. Everyone left except the Iron fang and the Thunder palm.
They discussed something and nodded. Then, the Iron fang jumped in the air and crushed the piled up bodies.
One would expect the blood and organs to spread all over the place, but nothing happened. It was as though a dried leaf was crushed.
The Iron fang turned the corpse into a cube made from bones, and Thunder palm electrocuted it. His attack was so powerful that only the ashes were left behind.
Liam felt so disgusted after watching that he puked.
'Can I still regenerate after that?'
[...]
'System?'
[Do you even know what happened?]
'Well, the old man did something to them and then they crushed and burned the bodies.'
[That old man used a forbidden technique and devoured the life force of the living beings.]
"....!"
[If you get caught by that old man, even your immortality won't save you from dying.]
'What?! How's that possible?! That doesn't make sense.'
[That is why I called it a forbidden technique. It's an ancient method of cultivation that has been lost for thousands of years. The chances of someone re-inventing it are slim.]
'Killing someone so brutality to get strong? What kind of psycho invented such a cultivation method?' Liam had seen many bizarre things in life. He knew people could kill each other in order to survive, but not in such a way.
[The method is known as the Essence Absorption Technique. The founder of this method invented it to help his disciples from dying because of QI overload. He used it to suck the Qi and stabilize it.]
'You know everything, huh?'
[...] The system stayed quiet.
'So dying is not an option anymore. Well, I guess I have no choice but to—'
Liam had not activated his dantian, that could help him cultivate and do other things. He couldn't sense using his Qi. However, he knew someone was standing behind him.
"What are you doing here?" the voice asked in a demanding tone.
'Iron fang and Thunder palm are at the well, so who's this? A guard? No, a guard can't emit such pressure. It has to be one of the commanders or someone stronger than them.'
Liam turned around and saw Stone Ox. He was carrying a body on his shoulder.
Stone Ox grabbed Liam by the neck and asked once again, "What are you doing here?"
"I…" Stone Ox's grip was so tight that Liam struggled to speak. "I… came here to… shit."
"What?" Stone Ox raised his brow.
Of course, he wouldn't believe such a lame lie. However, when his nose caught a stinking smell, he loosened his grip on Liam's neck.
"The guard told me to come here."
Stone Ox caught the sight of Iron fang and Thunder Palm at the well. He wasn't convinced by Liam and considered killing him.
'Is he telling the truth? I do smell shit, but… no, it doesn't matter whether he is telling the truth or not. Isn't this the kid that Crimson shadow traded for twenty hostages with Iron Fang? In that case, I cannot kill him. But I can't let him go either!' Stone Ox thought to himself.
"What's wrong, Stone Ox?" a voice asked as lightning appeared beside Stone Ox.
It was Thunder palm.
"Well, well. Isn't this the special kid? What's he doing here?"
'Oh shit, this is bad! They will kill me at this rate! The skill is still in cooldown.'
"He was taking a shit, apparently."
Thunder Palm looked at Liam and smirked. He saw Liam as nothing but a toy.
"Should I kill him in your stead?" Thunder Palm asked Stone Ox.
"Why would I let you kill my prey?" Stone Ox turned to Thunder Palm.
"You are afraid of Crimson Shadow. I know you will not kill this kid. However, I am different." Thunder palm scoffed with a smug look on his face. He was confident in his words.
"He hasn't cultivated his dantian yet. If he fails, he will be killed anyway. It doesn't matter if he has learned the truth." Stone Ox threw Liam on the ground and said, "Run away. Soon enough, I will kill you with my hands!"
Liam got up and went back to the open chambers, where the other hostages were completing the same task.
SIGH!
Liam touched his neck and muttered, "That Ox's grip was so strong! Had he applied only a little of more force, my neck would have snapped."
[That is cultivation. He controlled his strength according to your body.]
Liam found a place to sit and leaned his back on the boulder. He sat in a lotus position and closed his eyes.
Equilibrium.
The balance.
Every natural thing in the universe was equally balanced. That balance is referred to as equilibrium.
A human body was a catalyst of equilibrium. Their actions could alter the balance on either side. Which is why the Dao of cultivation was established.
One's cultivation technique could change the way the person would think and act. It was the way of life.
While the cultivation techniques were divided into various factions, its Dao was adopted and integrated into their roots.
Orthodox, Unorthodox, and demonic cult.
It didn't matter which cultivation technique one would practice; it was equally strong in the end. What mattered was the cultivator.
Activating dantian didn't require adopting a cultivation technique, what was needed was equilibrium.
That was what the system had told Liam.
[You must clear your mind and become one with the soul in your body.]
Eventually, after a few hours of trying, Liam had succeeded to activate his dantian.
DING!
[Quest has been completed!]
[Obtained 1RP!]
[Obtained 1000XP!]
[Congratulations! XP mechanism has been activated!]