Cultivation is Creation-Chapter 175: Developing A Technique

The thing about traveling with a group of cultivators is that it's never quite what you expect. In novels, it's usually depicted as either completely silent meditation or non-stop profound discussions about the dao. The reality, as I was discovering, involved a lot more complaining about bugs.

"I swear," Chu Feng muttered, swatting at what appeared to be a spirit mosquito, "these things are getting worse every year. Who even needs beast waves when these little demons exist?"

"Stop wasting energy," Su Yue advised, though I noticed she was discretely maintaining a thin barrier of heated air around herself. "We need to conserve qi for what's ahead."

She had a point. While we were making good time along the mountain path, traveling at a high speed was still draining. The last thing we needed was to arrive at the village already tired.

It was times like this that I would want to try get some cultivation practice in, but the bumpy terrain required too much attention, and I needed to conserve energy for what we would find. However, that didn't mean everyone had to be idle.

In my inner world, Yggy was hard at work. The little vine had been practicing connecting to my various runes, something we hadn't dared attempt back in the Starhaven Realm since I constantly needed to use the red sun’s energy, whether it was for battling or bluffing.

"No, no," Azure's voice echoed in my mind as another of Yggy's attempts fizzled out. "You're trying to force a connection. The runes are like... think of them as doors. You don't break down a door to get through it: you find the right key."

Yggy made a gesture that somehow managed to convey both frustration and determination.

"Maybe try starting with something simple," I suggested silently. "The Fundamental Rune is basically designed to work with red sun energy. Since that's what you're made of..."

Yggy perked up at this suggestion, its tendrils weaving into a more organized pattern. This time, when it reached for the connection, there was less of that forceful pushing and more of a... resonance? It was hard to describe, but it felt right.

"Much better," Azure approved. "The energy flow is much more stable now. Though we should probably wait until we're somewhere safer before trying anything more advanced."

He had a point. The last thing we needed was Yggy accidentally triggering an explosive seed rune while we were trying to move stealthily. For now, it was enough for the vine to familiarise itself with the runes.

"Tell us about your family," Sue Yue said, interrupting my thoughts. "What's it like having normal parents? Most of us came from cultivation clans: it's hard to imagine growing up without all the pressure and politics."

I considered how to answer that. The original Ke Yin's memories painted a picture of a simple but happy life: a father who taught patience through the art of tailoring, a mother who could make even plain congee taste like a feast...

"It was... normal," I said finally. "No grand expectations, no ancient legacies to live up to. Just... life."

"Sounds nice," Su Yue said softly.

"It was." And maybe that was the most genuine thing I'd said all day. Whatever else might be complicated about this situation, the original Ke Yin's parents had been good people who loved their son. They deserved to be protected.

"What can you tell us about the village?" Chu Feng asked, glancing back at me.

"There's a stream that runs through the center of the village," I replied, piecing together fragments of memory. "The water's full of these tiny fish that glow at night. The local children like to catch them in jars and..."

I trailed off, realizing I wasn't sure if that last part was actually true or just something I'd invented to fill in the gaps.

"You seem hesitant to talk about your village," Liu Chang murmured, speaking up for the first time in a while.

"It's... complicated," I admitted. "I haven't been back since joining the sect."

"Ah." His tone held understanding. "The distance between mortal and cultivator can be hard to bridge."

He wasn't wrong, though not in the way he probably meant. The real distance wasn't between mortal and cultivator, but between the person they thought their son was and whoever: whatever: I actually was.

"What made you want to become a cultivator?" Sue Yue asked.

Another tricky question. The original Ke Yin had been discovered by one of the sect’s scouts who noticed his spiritual sensitivity. But the details of why the original accepted the offer were kinda fuzzy.

"Curiosity, mostly," I said. "I always felt there was something more out there, something beyond the ordinary world. When I got the chance to pursue it..." I shrugged, letting them fill in the blanks themselves.

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“What about all of you?” I asked, before they got the chance to ask me another question. “Where are you from?"

"Capital City," Liu Chang answered. "Though I haven't been back in years. Too busy with sect duties."

"White Sky City," Su Yue said. "It’s near the border between the Eastern and Northern Continents.”

We all turned to Chu Feng, who seemed startled by the attention. "Oh, uh, nowhere special. Just another village."

"Which village?" I asked.

"It's... you wouldn't have heard of it. Very small." Chu Feng waved his hand vaguely. "But enough about that, what kind of defenses does your village have? Walls? Watchtowers? Any good hiding spots?"

I gave him a curious look, but the others seemed to have expected that answer. The subject change wasn’t subtle at all, and the questions seemed oddly specific, though I supposed someone with his apparent combat experience would think about such things.

"Standard village defenses," I replied carefully. "Wooden walls, a few guard towers. Nothing that would stop a real beast wave."

"What about escape routes?" he pressed. "Underground cellars? Cave systems nearby?"

"Chu Feng," Su Yue's voice held a warning note. "You're making it sound like we're planning a raid instead of a defense."

He had the grace to look embarrassed. "I just like to be prepared! Remember what happened at River Fork."

An uncomfortable silence fell over the group. I got the distinct impression I was missing something important.

"What happened at River Fork?" I asked carefully.

The three of them exchanged glances before Su Yue sighed. "It was supposed to be a standard defense mission. Small village, manageable beast wave, nothing we hadn't handled before. But..."

"But we got cocky," Chu Feng finished. "Thought we had everything under control. Didn't bother checking all the escape routes, didn't verify the village's defensive capabilities. Just assumed everything would work out fine."

"It didn't," Liu Chang said quietly. "The wave was stronger than expected. Came from multiple directions instead of the predicted path. We had to fall back to the village, but some of the buildings we'd planned to use as shelters weren't structurally sound enough..."

"Chu Feng got hurt," Su Yue added. "Badly. A stage eight beast caught him off guard, tore right through his defenses. And then during the evacuation, he just... disappeared."

"I told you; I found a cave to hide in," Chu Feng protested, but something in his voice sounded off. "Just needed some time to recover."

"For three days?" Su Yue challenged. "With injuries that should have killed you? Without leaving any trace for tracking formations to find?"

"I got lucky."

"You got something," she muttered. "We still don't know what actually happened."

I listened to their back-and-forth with growing interest. On one hand, their concern seemed genuine: there was real worry in Su Yue's voice when she talked about thinking Chu Feng had died. But on the other hand...

Well, let's just say that in my experience (which admittedly came mostly from reading too many cultivation novels), people who mysteriously survived certain death usually had some sort of secret technique or hidden power-up.

"Maybe he really did just get lucky," Azure offered, though he didn't sound convinced either.

"Maybe," I thought back. "Or maybe there's more to our nervous friend than meets the eye."

"Speaking of which," Azure changed the subject, "I've finished analyzing those Three-Leaf Clover techniques. I think I can help you develop something similar using qi instead of roqui. It won't be as potent as a well established technique, but..."

"But it might be enough to make a difference," I finished. "Especially against lower-stage beasts."

That was the thing about beast waves: while the high-stage beasts were obviously dangerous, it was often the sheer number of weaker ones that actually caused the most problems. They'd wear you down, force you to waste energy on basic defenses, until eventually you'd make a mistake against something you should have been able to handle easily.

"The basic principle is simple," Azure continued. "Instead of trying to directly affect stronger beasts, we create an area of spiritually-charged pollen that naturally seeks out and clings to anything with active qi circulation. The pollen itself isn't powerful enough to do much to higher-stage beings, but lower-stage beasts should find it... disorienting."

"Like spiritual catnip?"

"More like spiritual hay fever," Azure corrected. "But yes, the concept is similar. The key is making it subtle enough that stronger beasts won't immediately notice and destroy it, while still being effective against weaker ones."

It was an interesting approach. Most combat techniques focused on direct damage or clear effects, but something like this... it was almost like formation theory applied to battle techniques. Creating an environment that favored you rather than trying to overwhelm the enemy directly.

"How long would it take to develop?"

"With your current understanding of the Primordial Wood Arts and the information from the Three-Leaf Clover techniques? I estimate we could have a working version ready by the time we reach the village. It won't be perfect, but..."

"But perfect is the enemy of good enough," I finished. "Especially when we're on a deadline."

"Indeed. Shall we begin?"

I nodded mentally, then realized I'd been silent for several minutes while lost in internal conversation. The others had continued their own discussion about past missions, with Su Yue currently describing what sounded like an especially chaotic encounter with a group of spirit bears.

"...and then Chu Feng decided that the best way to deal with them was to create a tornado."

"It worked!" he protested.

"It worked on the bears," Liu Chang agreed. "It also worked on three houses, two merchant carts, and someone's prized spirit herb garden."

"I paid for the damages!"

"That's not the point," Su Yue sighed. "The point is that sometimes the flashy solution isn't the best solution."

I listened to their banter with half an ear while Azure began walking me through the theoretical framework for our new technique. It was interesting to see how they interacted: there was clearly real friendship there, but also an undercurrent of... something. Concern? Suspicion? It was hard to pin down.

“Master, are you worried about the mission, or still thinking about Chu Feng's mysterious survival?"

"Both?" I admitted silently. "Something feels off about this whole situation. Beast waves don't just happen randomly: something has to drive the beasts to move in such large numbers. And Chu Feng..."

"It could be nothing," Azure replied. "Could just be trauma from his last beast wave experience making him extra cautious."

He had a point. But was I reading too much into things? After all, I was hardly one to judge someone for hiding secrets, given my own situation.

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"Focus on what we can control," I decided. "Let's work on this pollen technique. If Chu Feng turns out to be hiding some secret technique or hidden master, well... wouldn't be the strangest thing I've seen in this world."

"True enough," Azure agreed.