Vindicator’s Wrath - Chapter 23

Seeing as Hong Wu had finally reached the fourth layer of Qi Condensation, Yan passed on the Combustion Configuration Technique for Hong Wu to practice. This body strengthening technique was something Hong Wu eagerly wanted to try. Hong Wu always had a weak constitution, and traces of her draining imprisonment still haunted her, exposing an atrophied look. As someone who always appeared sickly and frail, having a healthy, robust body enticed Hong Wu greatly.

Yan was also excited for Hong Wu to reach the fourth layer of Qi Condensation. Yan had tried for over a month to make progress in forming a Combustion Configuration to no avail. Yan’s hope was that the two of them could use the Combustion Configuration as a hidden trump card. The longer the two could keep their true strength a secret, the less prepared their opponents in the upcoming Young Dragons Competition would be to face the two of them. This secrecy was a double edged sword though. Yan had no one to consult with when it came to her issues with cultivating the technique. Now that Hong Wu was able to practice the technique properly, they would finally be able to work together on decoding the proper method for making progress in this body cultivation technique.

Closing her eyes, Hong Wu extended divine sense beyond her body for the first time. This sixth sense allowed Hong Wu to observe things in a level of detail she never thought possible. The minute movements of each blade of grass within a meter of her person were as clear as day. Hong Wu was keenly aware of the air around her and the wind that carried it. She could even see into the earth below her and all the different microorganisms tunneling through the dirt. ‘This is practically omniscience of my direct surroundings! Amazing! No wonder it is called divine sense. It truly feels like borrowing the eyes of a god!’

After recovering from her shock, Hong Wu directed her divine sense towards the Combustion Configuration jade slip in her hands. As Hong Wu read more and more she began to furrow her brows. ‘No wonder Yan has been having so much trouble with this technique. It is practically the exact opposite of the Coldmist Breathing Technique.’

As Hong Wu carefully parsed through all the contents of the jade slip. Images of a cultivator sitting in a contorted position appeared in her mind’s eye. The cultivator balanced on the toes of their right foot squatting low to the ground with their left foot placed on their right thigh in an awkward, modified lotus position. The cultivator’s hands went back and forth between two complicated signs, one when breathing in, the other when breathing out.

Continuing with her examination of the slip, Hong Wu found a description of the process. With each breath in the cultivator would breathe in torrid yang spiritual qi and sear their own flesh in the process. As the cultivator breathed out they would expel impurities stored in the body, reshaping the muscles with the hot yang spiritual qi. This technique was broken down into four stages: Scorched Bones, Muscle Ignition, Burning Blood, and Complete Combustion.

As one continued to cultivate the body technique, their strength would jump exponentially with each stage. First was Scorched Bones, where cultivators would refine their skeletal structure to enhance the body’s overall defensive ability, but more importantly, to cope with the explosive power of the later phases. At Muscle Ignition cultivators reshaped their muscles completely into a dense network of fibers that gave great power and protection. This stage also worked to remove the limiters present in normal people to allow extreme bursts of strength. Burning Blood boiled the person’s blood bringing forth even more intense heat and power and reshaping the cardiovascular system into a nexus resembling magma flows. The technique culminated at a Complete Combustion, where a cultivator would be able to surround themselves in a wreath of flame as they fought with explosive, ferocious power.

‘Truly an amazing technique! But it is seems like it comes in direct conflict with the Coldmist Breathing Technique that focuses on freezing yin spiritual qi. Is it even possible to cultivate the two simultaneously?’

Setting this question aside for now, Hong Wu turned to the second jade slip, Initiate Apothecary.

Yan had become very efficient with the Flying Sword Technique, so both girls agreed that she would keep that slip for now. The Flying Sword Technique was useless without a flying sword. Seeing as Yan found the bag of holding and had the most practice with the magical tool, she kept both. The Initiate Apothecary jade slip on the other hand held no interest for Yan and was easily handed off to Hong Wu along with the medicinal cauldron.

If Hong Wu was honest with herself, she was not quite interested in alchemy either. After all, it was more or less useless for her. Taking the pills did little for her cultivation, and she could not sell them in accordance with sect rules thanks to Old Sun. She could sell them under-the-table to Hu Huan, but that came with its own set of problems. Sect rules required Hu Huan to sell everything at a fixed market price, and Hu Huan would do nothing without the promise of profit. Hong Wu would have to sell to him well below market value for Hu Huan to be able to resell them. This was unacceptable, primarily because the expenses that came with becoming an alchemist.

Hong Wu focused all her attention on the Initiate Apothecary jade slip. Channeling her divine sense into the jade slip, Hong Wu took a cursory glance at the information held within. She was immediately inundated with a flood of information. Judging from what she already knew, one word came to mind, ‘Expensive!’

Almost every recipe required at least one main ingredient that was highly valued in the market. ‘The Three Petal Lily is crucial to concocting Qi Drawing Pills, but each stalk the costs one merit point. Not to mention the other ingredients. I would be bankrupt buying just enough materials to make ten attempts! The Aromatic Stone Flower for the Meriden Opening incense is just as expensive!’

That wasn’t the only issue either. Alchemy was not easy. Initiate Apothecary hinted that failure was to be expected when first learning alchemy. Hong Wu did not know it yet, but it was common for alchemists to fail hundreds, if not thousands of times before their first successful product. The amount of resources consumed to train a new alchemist were frightening. Many a bright-eyed youth fresh to the cultivation world had dreams of forging legendary pills, becoming well respected, in-demand, rich grandmasters, only to bankrupt themselves and fall hopelessly in debt.

On top of these problems, a critical part of creating things with alchemy was a strong flame. The Initiate Apothecary jade slip suggested beginners use earth fire, something most sects had access to. Eons of practice had allowed cultivators to master the elements and harness their power. Earth fire was simply fire energy drawn and collected from the planet’s mantle through naturally forming volcanic veins. Heishan had such a volcanic vein pumping the earth’s lifeblood throughout its structure. The Black Mountain Sect had channeled these veins to one location in the sect, the Hall of Craftsmen. There, disciples of the sect could rent a forging room, complete with access to a continuous flame of earth fire easily controlled by the mechanisms present in the room. For ten merit points sect disciples could spend one day within one of these rooms. Without a proper means of accumulating merit points, attempting alchemy was only a fool’s hope.

Though she felt alchemy was out of reach for her for now, Hong Wu found one valuable thing inside the Initiate Apothecary jade slip, a list of hundreds of materials. Each material was presented in great detail. Along with an image of the ingredient was a description of the item, its uses, the types of environments it was normally found, and similar items that were commonly mistaken as the item in question.

Hong Wu slowly poured over each and every entry with interest. Wandering through the forest she would often wonder if she was walking past valuable resources. After an hour of examination, she realized there were three plants she passed by regularly that could be used in making medicines. ‘This information is a goldmine! If Yan and I can collect some of these plants during our sweeps of the mountainside then maybe we can make a small profit. I might even be able to practice alchemy without having to worry about buying ingredients.’

Hong Wu continued to examine the new information closely, taking great care to make note of any plants she had seen before on her hikes through the surrounding area. Tomorrow Hong Wu would begin foraging for a new kind of treasure altogether; one that would hopefully give her a new means of growth.

In cultivation novels the means of immortal cultivation are all pretty standard, but the body cultivation techniques are always varied and interesting. One of the things I am most proud of in this series is the Combustion Configuration for this exact reason. Every writer wants to be unique.

I have a feeling the next chapter is the defining chapter that will either turn people off to the rest of the novel, or suck them in.

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think in the comments.