Chapter 14 - 14: Yang Yore Grounds
In the Scarlet Solaris Mountain, a large double-doored gate was embedded into its existence. This door was grand, golden, and gave off a strong, forceful aura.
Standing beside it was a male, nearly seven feet in height, and looked like they were made of muscles. His arm was larger than a grown man’s thigh, while his legs were thick and powerful. As he stood there, he revealed a dense and powerful yang aura.
He was dressed in casual sweatpants and no shirt. His feet were bare, but his toenails were painted black. There was a thick display of veins protruding beneath his skin. With bead-like eyes and a bald head so shining and waxed that it reflected the sun’s rays, he could intimidate the toughest of warriors.
Wei Wuyin flew to this gate with his crane. He jumped off and landed right in front of this man. His eyes were calm and indifferent, but a powerful aura quietly stirred within his body.
A pair of beady eyes met a pair of silver eyes. A spark was ignited!
Without a word, the beef of a male exploded forth with a kick. The rock beneath his feet cracked and splattered everywhere. With a heaving roar, he launched his large, nearly basketball sized fist, towards Wei Wuyin. A trace of qi flowing through his body.
Wei Wuyin clenched his fist, a thin silver qi emerging around his fist. He shot it forward to meet that giant fist.
Bang!
A cataclysmic explosive sound erupted. The surrounding ground looked like it was ripped off and sent behind them. The middle ground seemed to have been impacted as nothing but a myriad of cracks was there.
A figure flew backwards like a cannonball. That large figure smashed into the side of the mountain, causing a roaring tremble of the area.
Wei Wuyin walked forward, massaging his neck with a icy-cold smile on his face.
"Gahh!" A breathy exclamation sounded before the humanoid beast of muscle escaped from the surface of the mountain. A heavy thud echoed as he touched the ground.
The beady-eyed male looked up with surprise clear in his gaze, "You’ve birthed metal qi?! You’ve given form to qi?!?!" A very gentle and soft voice sounded, like a small-sized boy who’d yet to go through puberty. It originated from the beady-eyed man.
"Wei Si, didn’t I tell you to stop being so aggressive? The only reason you’re a guard here is because of your huge body being a good meat shield, haha." Wei Wuyin laughed freely, his icy-cold smile replaced with a jubilant one.
"Come, come give your cousin a proper hug," Wei Wuyin gestured with his hands for Wei Si to come.
This oaf of a man was Wei Si’s cousin. He was the son of his father’s little brother and was five years younger. He was the guardian of the Yang Yore Fields, and only received the position because of Wei Wuyin’s recommendation.
His cultivation base was only at the First Stage of Qi Condensation, Qi Creation, but he was born with a divine strength that made him as physically strong as someone who birthed elements and tempered their bodies with them. This is why he was given this position. However, his unique body had its issues.
Because of this physique, he needed an enormous amount of yang energy and his food intake was incredibly high. There was also an issue with his qi cultivation, so the sect gave him this special position and the status of an inner disciple.
The Yang Yore Fields emitted dense yang energy everyday, so it fit his needs. If not for those factors, he could’ve tried to become a core disciple. Despite that, he was still a part of Wei Wuyin’s faction.
Wei Si gave a dumb smile, losing any intimidating aura, and rushed up with wide arms. As he wrapped those thick arms around Wei Wuyin, he was shocked to find that he couldn’t squeeze this cousin of his like when they were younger.
Wei Wuyin knew his intent, so he squeezed in return. A panicked series of squealing happened.
"I give! I give!" Wei Si felt his bones nearly break from Wei Wuyin’s hug.
Wei Wuyin let go and confidently smiled, looking at this younger cousin of his up and down. "You’ve grown."
Wei Si chuckled in embarrassment, "Yo-you too." Then, as if he had just thought of something, "When did you reach the fourth phase?"
"During my mission," he casually replied.
"Oh? I heard there was a rumor you’ve reached the fourth phase, but I thought it was fake because I knew you were only in the second phase." Wei Si was confused by this matter, knowing how difficult cultivation was. Despite Wei Wuyin being talented, to take three years to ascend from the second to fourth phase was definitely some sort of record.
"The person who started that rumor blessed me," he laughingly said. However, his expression changed slightly as he thought of something. A formless pressure once more descended on his shoulders.
"Anyways, I’m going to be in the Yang Yore Fields for six months," he handed a badge to Wei Si. Wei Si was shocked for a moment, then smacked his forehead.
"Right! You placed second in the Core Disciple Competition. I can’t believe Tao Gui, He Long, Mei Mei, Qu Gui, and Shu Yang all suffered this year, with three dead, one recovering, and one crippled." He emotionally sighed.
The Nine Core Disciples of this generation were extraordinary but with twist and turns, they suffered immense calamities. The sect would later hold a formal selection ceremony to pick four new core disciples. That selection will definitely be filled with bloodshed and plots.
Wei Wuyin had no intention of swimming through such crap. Instead, he gave orders to anyone in his faction to be careful and that Elder Ji will help as much as he could if they needed it. His generosity was tremendous, but in fact, it didn’t cost him anything to have Elder Ji, who already stated allegiance, help them.
He left Su Mei with the recruitment of new disciples and the vetting process. He wanted to give her more responsibilities, and with the void of four faction leaders, and the dissolution of Mei Mei’s faction, she can show her potential.
He didn’t care if he obtained more members for his faction. The strength of an army can only do so much in the cultivation world. A single Godlord could level the entirety of the Scarlet Solaris Mountain as long as the Ancestral Elder didn’t act, so he didn’t care much for group strength.
It was convenient and what he already had was more than enough to meet his needs.
"I’m entering," Wei Wuyin informed. He walked past Wei Si and touched the doors. However, when he did, he felt Wei Si’s meaty hands grip his shoulder.
"What?" He didn’t want to waste too much time.
"...Lady Yan Zhu has entered." Wei Si had a fearful expression on his face as he responded.
Wei Wuyin frowned. Yan Zhu? How did she get in? According to his knowledge, the cost for a single hour was immense.
"How long?" He didn’t mind waiting a few hours to avoid any conflict. Yan Zhu may not be his match, but he respected the publicly recognized number one disciple of the sect.
"...this..." Wei Si’s expression turned awkward.
"How long?" Wei Wuyin asked again, his voice deeper.
"Six...months."
"..."
"..."
The silence was stifling. Wei Wuyin was frowning deeply, his mind in thought. Then, he recalled his three violet-colored lightning stones that were like thirty elemental stones. His eyebrow twitched.
Someone had given them rewards beyond what was publicly described. Could it be due to the three deaths? He knew that the Scarlet Solaris Mountain was shrouded by Scarlet Qi, an aggressive qi that geared towards yang energy, that’s why there’s no yin equivalent on the mountain.
"Using yang to nourish yin. She’s trying to tackle the fourth phase of Qi Condensation...this method is...risky." As he thought of this, his frown turned deeper. If Yan Zhu was currently in the Yang Yore Fields, her body would be heavily influenced by the yang energy, causing her to go into a constant state of heat.
Even Wei Wuyin would find it difficult to offset the yin energy if he cultivated in an area of yin. He would find himself experiencing all sorts of changes. This was why he was willing to wait a few hours despite no number of members restrictions being officially placed.
Wei Si had stopped him for this reason as well.
"She gave you orders not to allow anyone to pass?" Wei Wuyin asked. Wei Si silently nodded.
Wei Wuyin sighed. He took a minute to think. If it was anyone else, telling them that Yan Zhu was cultivating would have them just back off, to avoid offending someone monstrously powerful. However, some may be wanting to take advantage of her current state.
Wei Si was his cousin so he didn’t lie. Perhaps if Wei Wuyin was weaker, Wei Si would’ve halted him despite being his subordinate without saying anything. However, with Wei Wuyin being stronger than him, it left Wei Si in a bad position, so he had to tell the truth.
"I understand, but I have to cultivate. I can’t give her six months. Don’t worry, she can’t do anything to me, and I don’t intend to do anything to her." After reassuring Wei Si, Wei Wuyin walked in.
The gate opened and he was washed by the dense aura of yang. His heart pumped heavily and his blood felt like it was boiling. As he walked in, his keen senses heard sounds of heavy breathing.
He facepalmed and bit his lips. That was the sound of moaning.
He looked around. This Yang Yore Fields was just a cavern carved out of this location, a myriad of formations were inscribed on the walls that filtered out the scarlet qi specifically for yang energy and kept it sealed. This would build up the yang energy within.
The reason it was given the title of ’fields’ was because of the ground. He saw wisps of golden strands that looked like unharvested barley. The strands were thick, visible, and swayed from left to right as if a wind was pushing it.
It truly resembled a well-maintained barley field. He breathed in, the strands of yang energy flowed into his body. It entered his meridians and were filtered until it became refined yang energy which entered his dantian.
With a thought, the qi within him acted like hands that gripped the refined yang energies and dragged them into his Heart of Qi. Like a farm waste shredder, all of it was turned into bits and became a part of his Heart of Qi.
A slightly stronger yang aura emerged in his Heart of Qi. "This place is far better than I ever thought!" Wei Wuyin couldn’t help but grow excited. As a man, it was far easier to process yang energy than women and the effects only benefited his natural body.
He could feel his innate yang absorb the surrounding yang energy without his will as well. With this, various aspects of himself would be improved.
This was his first time stepping here, as it was usually restricted as a luxury for Inner Elders and Core Elders, those at the Third and Fourth Phase. Now that he had six months to cultivate here as he wished, he felt certain that ascending to the Fifth Phase was incredibly likely.
"Aaahhh!" Suddenly, a very loud exclamation sounded and the heavy breathing subsided. It seemed that someone had reached their climax. Chuckling softly to himself, he went to find an area far away from the moans.
He had no wish to offend someone for no reason, and his natural curiosity wasn’t that strong. There wasn’t really much to be curious about.
In a lotus position, he started breathing exercises as his Heart of Qi circulated, pulling in more strands of yang energy. He processed all the bits he pulled in and absorbed them thoroughly. After several hours, he felt adjusted to the aura of the fields.
After eating a little bit of prepared rations for the six month long seclusion, he took out the violet-colored lightning stones. "I’ll birth lightning qi first and foremost. If I use the yang energy to help subdue the lightning energy, it’ll be much easier to absorb it into my Heart of Qi."
Lightning was a naturally aggressive element, but violet-colored lightning contained an affinity with yang energy. This was why he didn’t just absorb them, but waited to arrive here.
Just as he took out a box with a single violet-colored stone, the moans from earlier continued. "Wow, she’s that devoted." Wei Wuyin was shocked that she had already restarted her cultivation and finished it so soon, it had only been a few hours.
With her body constantly absorbing yang energies, she would be in a state of arousal every time. To alleviate that state and concentrate on cultivation, she would need to satisfy herself beforehand.
"..." His mind wandered for a bit, a hint of temptation eating away at his heart. He sighed deeply. He’ll need to find a partner after these six months are finished. Those moans were just far too stimulating.
He refocused and removed the stone from the box, his qi enshrouded his hand as he grabbed the stone. The stone’s energy was volatile and violent, before he could even absorb it, it had already responded to the yang energy in the surroundings and the energy of his body as it abruptly flowed into him.
"What?!" Shocked, he panicked. The energy numbed his entire arm in a split second, and the entire right side of his body felt like it was being electrified. He clenched his teeth, traces of violet electricity surging through his body and even flashing through his silver eyes.
He executed his spiritual spell, Iron Core Eyes, as he analyzed the stone with his spiritual sense with haste. He could see that his body was acting as a lightning rod to its energy.
"Metal qi?!" He cried internally before he realized his vision had turned violet-colored as if he was seeing the world in the ultraviolet spectrum. A wave of panic surged in his mind as he nearly lost himself.
A flicker of coolness flowed from his mind, calming his emotions. He felt a wave of calmness. "My mind’s eye?" As he felt calm and his emotions were suppressed, he realized his mind’s eye had aided in it.
"Right!" As if someone had told him what to do, he agreed. With a wave, he brought out the scarlet qi stone. With the lightning stone in one hand and the scarlet qi stone in the other, he started to draw in both of their energies.
He then drummed up his own innate yang energies to direct both energies to clash. With their battle, his body felt like it was going to explode, but it had direction and thus was less destructive. He was pitting two beasts together instead of handling one.
With each smashing clash, bits of lightning energy and scarlet qi escaped from the main source. He drew in the surrounding yang energy, refined it, mixed it in with the three forms of energy, and sent them to his Heart of Qi to be crushed and absorbed.
Soon, a delicate yet explosive balance was reached. After several hours, Wei Wuyin felt the scarlet qi be rapidly absorbed by the refined yin, yang, water, earth, fire, and wind energies and strengthened them with miraculous means.
"Scarlet Qi truly is a blessing!" As he recalled his mind’s eye, he couldn’t help but congratulate himself for swift thinking. He hadn’t realized it before, but this clone of his mind held the ability to access his other mind’s memories without the influence of emotions. That’s why he felt a wave of calmness. His primary mind had gone haywire with fear of the unknown, but his cloned mind was like a machine working methodically.
It had found out a path of survival.
As he was thinking about his next actions, the wild moaning once more echoed in the fields. He turned his head to look and smiled.
"If I can keep this up, in six months I can ascend!" He felt more confident than ever. He hurriedly went back into his cultivation state, keeping the continuous balance.