Cultivation System: Elder Edition

Chapter 316

Truths and Lies (II)

[--Anomaly detected]

[...]

[You have detected a trace of Dao Law of the Soul, one of the Ancient Laws. Through endless eons of time, Dao Laws have scattered and assimilated into the machinations of the world itself, unwieldable by any one person. They obey nothing and no one, remaining eternally elusive. Here and there, however, people come in contact with them, ever so briefly, remaking their mortal coil unto the image of Dao--and thus, an Emperor is born. The trace you discovered is precisely from when a mortal commenced the ritual to ascend to Divine Imperium. The mortal was one of the Abyssal Sages, the titular Soul Sage. It is uncertain whether he succeeded or failed]

[... new quest generated: Trace of Dao]

[Trace of Dao (???) -- head toward the Cave of Immanence, located in the deep Void Gorge within the Heavenly Void Range. Perhaps there is more to be discovered there]

[There is no time limit, though Dao Laws become increasingly unstable the longer they reside within the mortal membrane]

[Reward: hint on the truth behind the Heavens]

... huh.

It was unexpected, in many ways. But I couldn't even quite focus on that because I had to pull back the 'dogs' that started to stab that old man repeatedly. Well, the man had already died--he died the moment my Qi touched that trace, his soul annihilated. What they were stabbing was a rapidly decaying corpse that turned to ashes within ten seconds.

"Master, are you alright?!"

"Quick, summon the alchemist! Feed him a divine pellet!"

"I'm fine, I'm fine." I stood up, dusting myself off. It didn't hurt, but the sensation was... unique. I can't even really begin to put it into words, as it's sort of like love--I imagine everyone who felt it would have experienced it differently. Or, at least, interpreted it.

The best way I can put it... it felt like an itch on my soul. And the quest, I imagine, is how I can scratch it.

But the most curious part of it all was that it was one of the 'Abyssal Sages'. I've noticed it before, but this confirmed it: the system seems to know things not merely of the past, but also of the present. As though it's an all-seeing eye observing the world, and I'm its conduit for arbitration.

"What happened?" Wan Lan asked.

"Oh, not much. We were eating some nice food, and he suddenly bloated up so much that his fart sent me straight into the wall, like a cannonball."

"..."

"..."

"..."

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"I was just about to make a breakthrough in the healing art..." said Xi Zhao.

"Ugh, and my fist arts were just about to reach the next mastery," said Dai Xiu.

"Master... aah," that was Wan Lan.

"He farted? How come it doesn't smell?" Xing Feng said. "Any time I fart, it smells! Or any time Senior Sisters fart--"

"--hey, shush your mouth! When have we ever f-farted, little brat?!"

As they all left, I wondered what to do with the broken door and, more importantly, the pissed-off old woman that would hang it all on my neck.

Haah.

There are... quite a few things happening, all at once, and I'm beginning to have a bit of a headache.

The Sages are one thing, but, honestly, I never took them that seriously; I always put my faith in Long Tao, in that his aggravating them on purpose meant that they weren't a particularly strong power. However, now I have proof that at least one of them had either become an Emperor, or was strong enough to actually attempt it.

... it means they're not a simple group, not in any real way. Whatever they are, I have a sneaking feeling that we've only seen just small parts of their flowers, not even good ones, but ones that had waned and were about to fall off. Even in this city, their outcast Sage is the most powerful person I've ever seen in this world. And, once again, I'm putting my faith in Long Tao, as he doesn't seem that worried about it.

But his perspective of things is vastly different than mine--he'd likely killed hundreds of Emperors and Empresses in his life, so, to him, anything below that was likely seen as child's play. But... is it really?

And beyond the Sages, there are still the Holy Lands.

The more I learn about them, the less I know about them... somehow.

The secret realm opening is looming above us, too, and I, once more, have a gut feeling that... it won't be that simple.

Then there's that fucking pipe leaning in the corner that wasn't there four minutes ago. The thing that costs a billion points to see. The thing that I'm 'protecting'.

And the thing that's, for some reason, haunting me.

I've noticed it more and more, as it seems to have stopped trying to hide itself that well at some point. And yet, despite that, nobody else has noticed it. Not even Long Tao, not even when it was right there in the room with us as a fucking cauldron for pill making.

That means it's one of two things: it either has the ability to hide from the world, and for some reason it chose to show itself to me... or the system's ability to see it has somehow made it interested in me, as it thinks I can see it.

Regardless, I was even tempted to just break the veil a few times, but I held back; there's quite literally nothing short of the thing making me some sort of a god immediately that I'd gain out of interacting with it. All I can think of is that it'd bring about a billion new troubles, and my tiny little brain has no space for any more of them.

And so, I left it.

Three days passed by rather quickly, with none of the kids leaving the house, choosing instead to devote every ounce of their time to gaining initial mastery in the Surging Spirit Art in preparation for the competition. I left on a quick stroll once a day, though by the second day, there were barely any people diving into the lake and even fewer fighting. It seems that everyone who's stayed turned their attention entirely to the competition that's to come.

By the end, only Wan Lan and, somewhat shockingly, Light reached the initial mastery. Dai Xiu and Xi Zhao were a bit off, while Rayce couldn't study it (obviously), and I chose not to give it to Xing Feng yet, as he was just barely grappling with cultivation at the moment.

Ah, right, Lao Shun bragged he got it yesterday and was shellshocked into silence when he saw Wan Lan and Light gain it today. I think I saw him drawing circles on the ground and mumbling about injustice or something?

The bell rang out, thrice at that, loud and sonorous, shaking the ground ever so slightly and announcing the start of the competition.