The Laws of Cultivation: Qi = MC^2

Book 2: Chapter 38: Chi senses

Yan Yun felt troubled. Ever since she had learned the damning truth of the very heavens, her spirit had been shaken. She paced around her room, unable to settle down. An order in death? A broken cycle? The words still did not feel real to her. But the heavy rumbling in her spirit told her that it was, that the words she had heard were the truth. A truth so great, they formed a fundamental aspect of the world she lived in.

But then, what did this mean? That the true path was to be a demonic cultivator? To accept miasma and death? It was an odd thought, and even now she could only feel revulsion at the vile sensation that Gu created within her.

“Why is Yan Yun so restless?” Leiyu asked from her spirit.

“Because my Path feels like it has been a lie,” Yan Yun said, taking a seat at her bed. “All of our Paths feel like a lie. Everything we have been taught is wrong. Everything everyone knows is wrong, the entire empire was established on a lie. How could I be fine after learning that?”

“You worry too much. Your path will remain your own. And the Path you have chosen before has not been a lie. Merely an alternative truth.”

Yan Yun got up from her bed, not content with the answer. All this time she’d been searching for a new meaning in her life. A reason to cultivate and a new Path to walk upon. But when asked to start anew, she had faltered. Even after she’d learned of the truth of the heavens, she felt hesitant to accept it and embark upon a new Path.

“Yan Yun, you told Leiyu that you were meditating upon a new Path. Have you found any insights? Say them out loud.”

Yan Yun frowned. Leiyu was acting calm when she was not, and it was a strange sensation to be more agitated than her spirit. “I did. I thought about many Paths. A Path of strength. A Path of protecting those near me. Living here, among mortals, I have come to be a part of their lives. And now… now I feel afraid of how fragile they are. I wish to protect them, to make sure those I care for do not come to harm. A Path of assistance. I wish to help Lu Jie on his Path, to support him in his ambitions and help his rise. It is… a grand Path that he walks upon, that much I can see now. And I wish to be a part of it.”

“Have any of those felt like Paths that you wish to cultivate for?” Leiyu asked.

Yan Yun hesitated. “They all feel like answers, but at the same time, they do not. Each one is a Path I could see myself embarking upon. All of it is something I desire,” Yan Yun replied.

Leiyu hummed, crackling as he manifested on her shoulder. He flapped his wings, before glancing at her. “Leiyu’s path is tied to Yan Yun’s. To reach the greatest heights there are, and rise to the very pinnacle. Do you know why Leiyu still remains with Yan Yun? Because there is great power hidden within you. Leiyu knows this. But he is being patient for Yan Yun to find her spark again.”

Yan Yun looked at Leiyu. “I can’t, Leiyu. Not anymore. You should’ve picked a new bond. Grandfather would’ve let you.”

Leiyu did not reply, simply looking at Yan Yun as she sat down upon her bed. A moment later, the bird glanced outside, before flying out to the window.

“Something is happening,” Leiyu said, lightning crackling around his feathers.

Yan Yun frowned, walking up to the window as well. She could not notice anything visible, but even with her weakened senses, she could feel the under-current going on within the area. The world seemed to have quieted down. Even the wind had died, the song of the birds now gone entirely. Nothing moved, all waiting with bated breath as they looked outside.

“What’s happening?” Yan Yun murmured.

“A… A divinity? But so weak.” Leiyu murmured.

Yan Yun turned around, quickly making her way outside her home.

Somewhere in the distance, something was growing. Yan Yun felt her spirit being drawn to it. Like roots that touched her soul. The grass swayed, growing taller, the birds chirped, the animals danced. Spirit beasts upon spirit beasts called out to the skies, their voices echoing throughout the world.

Yan Yun saw the villagers walk out as well. Even they felt what this was. Their eyes remained fixated to the distance, even as confusion and fear filled their mind.

Yan Yun continued to watch, as little motes of light began to rise. Particles moved, from the earth, from the grass, from the river, from the birds, from the trees, from the plants, and from her too. A little particle of light escaped her chest, floating into the air as it filled the skies with a grand sight, like a million stars swirling around. It moved and drifted with purpose, forming a swarm, before gathering in a singular location just beyond the forest.

As more and more light started to gather, Yan Yun began to see a silhouette appear in the distance. A vast tree of light rose into the skies, glowing with a silvery radiance. Each mote of light flowed into the tree, nourishing it, as the mirage hung upon the very skies.

Yan Yun saw the villagers fall to their knees, heads bowed against the earth in prayer and respect at the tree.

Its sight was… awe inspiring. Even Yan Yun felt a shiver of worship within her soul rise towards it.

The brilliant tree remained, as the last of the light motes gathered, before it flashed into a brilliant pillar of light. The heavens fractured, the sky cracking as the white light pierced the very world itself.

A moment later, Yan Yun felt the light spread outwards, rushing through the world. Within moments, she was swallowed within the pulse of energy, the world around her changing.

Everything felt… different. There was something more here now, something she could sense that she hadn’t been able to before. Yan Yun felt at the air, the earth, and everything around her. What should’ve been Qi contained in small amounts was now… something else.

Something that she’d just been told of, a greater source, more primal and at the heart of the tree within the sky.

Yan Yun stared at the world around her, brimming with Chi. A moment later, she heard the door behind her open as Yin rushed out.

“Sister Yun!” Yin called out, walking to Yan Yun.

“What’s wrong, Yin Yin?” Yan Yun asked.

“I…” Yin mumbled, hesitating, before she lifted a Qi crystal. “I was working on this, and then suddenly a bright light flashed and I felt the crystals… flow into me and…” Yin looked around.

She reached out her hand, and Yan Yun’s hand widened in surprise as the Chi of the world around her settled in Yin’s palm, resting there. A little mote of light, glowing with a silvery shine.

Yin looked up at Yan Yun, her expression was both afraid, yet somehow excited at the same time, as she uttered the next words. “I can… feel Qi now.”