After thinking about his half-brother, he also thought of something he had noticed during the party. He had noticed that Jason wasn't the only cheerful person in the family.
Many people in the party were cheerful. They always had a smile on their face. They were like Jason and the patriarch that he had met. Rarely do they look sad.
He thought to himself, "It should be a side effect of the force diagrams that they use. The force diagram makes them bright and sunny. It is probably why that patriarch was producing all that light."
He was brought out of his thoughts by a question from his mother. She was looking at him.
She said, "You didn't hear what I just said, did you? What are you thinking about?"
He replied, "I was thinking about why a lot of the members of the Dyson family are always cheerful and why that patriarch was producing light."
She replied, "That's because of the technique that they practice."
He asked with some fear, "So the technique influences people that much? Doesn't that mean that techniques change who we are?"
She snorted at his question. "You are right, but you are wrong to think of it like that. Techniques do cause some changes, but that is the same for other matters related to cultivation."
"Look at an ordinary human and then look at yourself. You will discover a lot of changes between the two of you, whether in terms of physical capabilities or mentality."
"The changes are mild at the first mortal coil, but they will widen as you continue to grow stronger and transcend. You will shed some of the things that make you human and ascend to a high state of existence. That's what it means to cultivate."
"Prepare yourself to change. As for emotional changes, they are not as external as you think they are. This is similar to the changes in the character and behavior of humans because of their experiences. It is a natural occurrence that comes from within. It is not forced or imposed on you."
"For example, when you got the force diagram, didn't you see the warnings of the side effects? When you saw it, did you willingly go ahead to comprehend the force diagram, or did someone force you?"
He thought about it and replied, "No one forced me."
She nodded. "Exactly. No one can force you. Even if someone had forced you to look at the force diagram, that doesn't mean that you would comprehend the force diagram and change. You had to be willing to comprehend what was in the force diagram and willing to use what you learned to change your existence."
"That is what it means to cultivate and transcend. It means to change. It means to become more. You will shed your weaknesses and gain strength that is normally beyond your capabilities. It is reasonable that your emotions and state of mind will change."
He thought about what she said for a while. While he didn't completely agree that emotional changes were harmless, he could accept that it was reasonable.
She seemed to have seen through his thoughts. She rolled her eyes and said, "I am not saying that the changes will be harmless. All I am saying is that they are inevitable."
"At first, the changes are emotional. Next, they will be mental. Soon they will be physical. Then, there will be changes in life span too. As you grow stronger and imbibe more external things into your body, it is inevitable that you will change."
He nodded in understanding and said, "I understand. Change is a natural process. For example, the changes that appear when someone at the tenth transformation of the first mortal coil uses blood essence to transcend the first mortal coil and reach the second mortal."
She clapped and said, "Exactly. It is very difficult for humans to reach the second mortal coil. It is possible for someone at the tenth transformation of the first mortal coil to reach the second mortal coil on their own, but it will take a lot of time to accumulate the vitality that they need, and they might be injured during the process, which will cause them to fail."
"This is why those who want to transcend the first mortal coil use the blood essence harvested from another living thing to assist them. That is just the start. Along the way, as one transcends more mortal coils, they have to imbibe more powerful external objects and materials to assist them. That alone is going to lead to some changes."
He sighed and said, "I guess that is a worthy price to pay for power."
She nodded in agreement. "Indeed it is. Besides, we don't have any other choice if we want safe and swift transcension. So it is more like it is the most effective price to pay for power."
"What is a shame is that many people don't have the opportunity to pay that price. Many people want to live longer, but they can't because they don't have the opportunity to pay the price.
He pointed out, "According to Jason, the price of changes is not the only price to pay. Apparently, there is going to be the price of danger and risk."
She sneered and said, "Was he lamenting when he told you this? I bet he was. These wussy kids of the family who have never faced any struggle always act dramatic when they find out that not everyone is willing to give them everything they ask for free of charge."
"They don't know that the resources that they enjoyed in the family weren't free in the first place. Many people suffered and gave up their lives to acquire those resources. And many people, who those resources used to belong to, died so that the Dyson family could gain them."
"Or did he think the resources fell down from the sky into their family? Did he think the resources were just out there on the ground ownerless and waiting for the Dyson family to harvest them? What a fool."