Unseen Cultivator

Heavenly Lightning, with its endless colors, could not be mistaken for anything else. Descending from on high, it slammed down with unbridled fury and brightness such that none within Mother's Gift could fail to notice its descent. Mortals turned away from that violent blast, seeking to avert their eyes from a world to which they could never belong. The members of the Celestial Origin Sect turned toward it, seeking to observe those grave trials, and to bear witness to the moments of greatest danger, and greatest triumph, in their long lives.

Qing Liao saw that lightning from deep within the heart of the bamboo forest. From the moment the first bolts fell he turned north. Though he had not the eyes of a grand elder, able to discern the varied stages of tribulations by the spectra of the bolts from above, he knew that this tribulation, on this day, could only have been evoked by a single cultivator. His heart pounded in his chest as the lightning fell, filled with terrible fear, and he gathered up his belongings and hurried to race across Mother's Gift to the far northwest of the realm.

Though the sect's road network made the journey a swift one, it still took a full day for a cultivator in the second layer of the vitality annealing realm to cover the over three hundred kilometers he needed to cross. He could run all that time without any stops beyond brief pauses for water, but even with the Stellar Flash Steps to support his motion, each stride covered only so much ground. This made his arrival a late one, far too delayed to do anything more than acknowledge the aftermath. Great trials heavenly tribulations might be, but they were swift. The wrath of the heavens would be overcome, or not, in mere moments. It was not something long delayed.

He would arrive long after all was done, and only then learn if Su Yi had succeeded or perished. The matter was decided even as he had barely taken the first steps. A few minutes of lightning from on high, and then silence.

Liao did not race to the distant mountains of the northwest alone. From the moment the first bolt of lightning struck, eight streaks of light raced across the sky. Those grand elders not closed off from the world, blessed with nigh-incalculable speed, could arrive in time to glimpse the final conclusion of the terrible ordeal.

Could have, but did not. Their paths concluded with a descent to earth just beyond the horizon as each offered their respect to the moment and the effort of the cultivator who dared take this irrevocable step. The would be elder must face the privations and suffering sent down to scourge them alone, and there was no need to voyeuristically indulge in their pain. Only when matters came to an end would they act, mourning or healing as the needs of the moment demanded.

Others followed behind those blast-swift streaks of light that carved the sky. Some ran, leaving dust clouds in their wake. Others flew, if at a slower pace. A mixture of senior disciples and young elders, the friends and admirers of Su Yi. A numerous group, for not only was the doll-like cultivator a true beauty, she was a personable and generous representative of the formation pavilion and a true heir to the teachings of the Celestial Mother with a sterling reputation throughout the sect. There would be no shortage of those who wished to offer her congratulations upon reaching the next realm, and should she fail and be lost, the grief of that defeat would lay low the whole sect for a time.

Slower than these others, and with a greater distance to cross, Liao knew he would likely be the last to arrive. This was, in some ways, greatly to his benefit. First, he was able to learn the happy news while still early on his way. Flying across Mother's Gift with speed and grace, the Grand Elders returned to their towers after little more than an hour in the mountains, and the gongs rang in the joyful announcement that the Celestial Origin Sect had acquired a new elder for all to hear.

Su Yi lived. Such knowledge swelled Liao's heart with pure joy. He had feared the worst, as almost any wise cultivator did. The odds of death, however useless there were said to be, were far higher than those of advancement. For years he'd not dared to speculate as to what his friend's fate might be. He had few enough he could grant that label, a matter of both inclination and decree, and would hate to lose any of them, but this one especially.

The sect's newest elder did not immediately return to the grounds, letting the grand elders go on ahead instead. Her cultivation, as yet unstable, precluded any such dramatic display. Instead, the remote mountaintop Su Yi had chosen as her cultivation chamber received more visitors in a single day than it had in the entire twenty-five hundred year history of the hidden land.

Liao suspected Su Yi found this amusing.

The tribulation occurred in mid-morning. It would not be until dawn of the next day that Liao made his way up the slope at last, having traded in the bamboo surroundings of the south for a conifer forest he still found more familiar and welcoming. The once remote peak now possessed a narrow trail reaching up the steep slopes, a path forged by the actions of disciples inclined to perform the act of bushwhacking by leading with their weapons. Disdaining this crude approach, Liao made his way up erratically, jumping from rock to root to fallen log and more. His soft footfalls, cloaked in rabbit fur boot soles, left no imprints and made no sound. The animals failed to notice his passing, and the forest did not stir as he moved.

A state that did not hold for the cultivator who waited at the top.

It was a lesson in the limits of cultivator stealth, that encounter. He felt Su Yi's qi, now significantly more potent and with newly layered complexity but still unmistakably her unique signature, long before he could see or hear her. No doubt she, with vastly superior reserves and senses through her advancement to the spirit tempering realm, was aware of him even before he stepped onto the mountain. She might not know precisely where he moved, qi sense struggled to achieve precision over distance, but he could never hide from her insight.

Only against demons did that capability serve. Thankfully, Qing Liao struggled to imagine an instance where he would need to deceive anyone else. He had one enemy only, the same as every other human alive.

Su Yi waited atop the little mountaintop, patient and serene. The summit, once wooded, was now clear, a very new development. Scared stones and a thin layer of ash marked where the fury of the tribulation had scoured all other life from its space. The rocks upon which the cultivator had seated herself to endure that barrage were now glassy and strange, transformed by the power of that exotic lightning into bizarre crystalline forms unlike anything Liao had ever seen.

Members of the blacksmith's pavilion would come and mine away that substance later, dividing it among the rest of the sect. Such material possessed inestimable value in the production of talismans and other artifacts. That they had not arrived already to carry out this duty was simply a matter of respect. It would not do to appear immediately to take advantage of the fall in the event the tribulation went ill.

Su Yi had chosen to move away from that circle of metamorphosed stones. She sat instead on a low rock in the shade of the nearest surviving tree.

Liao's heart soared upon laying eyes on her. Worry that he'd been unwilling to acknowledge properly for years drained away unvoiced. He supposed the day would come when he lost a friend upon this journey, but he was not ready to face that crossing, not when he'd not yet reached thirty.

The newest elder of the Celestial Origin Sect wore a pale white robe with a blue belt and hair ribbon. It was a simple silk garment, lacking in adornments. There was nothing else to her costume, no powders, rouge, or jewelry, leaving her face completely bare for the first time in Liao's experience. This simplicity applied vulnerability to her image, and made her seem strangely youthful, a facet hardly needed by a woman in her late third century who never looked older than twenty-five. Beneath the surface, this vulnerability revealed an absolute and true reflection. Her cultivation, though far greater than it had been before, danced about unsettled and untamed. Strong though she was, with the fully united body and mind that marked entry into the spirit tempering realm, she was not yet ready to fight or even flee.

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Little wonder that she had moved no more than a handful of steps in the entire day. Her skin bore marks still, fading only slowly, from the impact of potent healing pills. The normally flawless state of her surface was shadowy and marred, hinting at the hideous damage that must have burned her black and left her at the very edge of death.

Tribulations could kill even the successful, if faced alone and without allies.

"I was wondering when you'd arrive," Su Yi turned her head as Liao slid into the open from the edge of the burned treeline. She grinned lightly, amused but tired. "Everyone else has come and gone hours since." Nighttime visitations were, of course, not impediments to elders and senior disciples.

"It was a long way," Liao replied, admitting to one half of the explanation behind his tardiness. "I am glad to see you are well." He moved to within several steps, as close as he dared. Unwilling to sit, he remained standing on the bare stone. "Congratulations, elder."

"Don't you start with that," Su Yi gave him a fearsome, though false, scowl. "You're the only person in the whole sect who doesn't have to operate by the same rules as everyone else. If you do it anyway, well, that's just boring." Whatever insights she'd acquired due to her breakthrough, they apparently included a new extension of casual relaxation. Contentment radiated out from her, a mirror to the accomplishment of her new status.

Rather than offer a reply, Liao found himself pondering those words. It was true, in some sense, that he stood outside some of the sects rules and traditions. Not all of them, nor even any of the important ones, but there were certain protocols he had most assuredly bypassed. The woman before him now was living evidence of that. With her breakthrough he no longer had any associates within the sect who were not among the ranks of the elders.

It was more than a little disconcerting.

"It seems we both look different," the sect's newest elder noted. "Wandering around in the forest suit you," she looked him up and down, eyes sparkling with coquettish amusement. "Though maybe you should compromise your principles a little and allow for a proper razor. Whatever stone or shell you're using isn't quite up to the task. You're at serious risk of growing a very real mustache."

Somehow, resisting the urge to run his tongue over his upper lip was, at that moment, almost impossibly difficult. "And, ah, a mustache would be bad?" Many cultivators in the sect, especially male elders, sported such facial hair. Liao had seriously considered following that path, giving his difficulties shaving.

"On you, yes, very bad," Su Yi, amazingly, giggled. "You're far too young to acquire the aspect of a rugged mountain hermit. It would be ridiculously pretentious. Dashing young archer is a better look for you."

Dashing anything seemed like an exaggeration. Reaching the vitality annealing realm had refined his appearance significantly, but not to anything above average. He was fit and sleekly muscled, but was neither a handsome waifish creature nor a tall and broad powerhouse. This left him well outside either group of the sect's romantically successful male cultivators.

Though such success was relative and compared to that of mortals, meager. Romance among the sect's membership was a mysterious and strange thing, befitting the characteristics of a group controlled by twelve immortal sisters, all unattached. Dao companions were rare, and even fleeting relationships between cultivators remained uncommon. Su Yi, well-known as an enticing beauty, personally stood outside of such entanglement. She had been pursued by many for over a century, but nothing, so far as Liao knew, had ever come of such efforts. Most cultivators, male and female alike, satisfied their physical urges through the companionship of mortal servants instead.

"I'll consider a shaving solution," he mumbled, unsure how seriously he ought to take the remark.

Su Yi heard this, of course. One could not mutter under one's breath in the presence of an elder without understanding that they would comprehend every word. "You could do that," she shrugged lightly. The gentle roll of her shoulders, only imperfectly hidden by the poorly fitted robe provided by the grand elders – one necessarily emerged from a tribulation completely naked – had a powerful impact on Liao's ability to focus. "Or you could take a break from living in the wild and try to advance what you've discovered using proper tools."

Her deep eyes, incredibly sharp-sighted, looked him over. "That is a very nice bowcase. I'll need a new spear now that I'm in the spirit tempering realm. That weapon will come from the vaults." The Celestial Origin Sect had a thorough stockpile of potent qi-infused weapons, the spoils of the demon war. In the case of something common, such as a spear, taking out a suitable piece as a loan was far more economical than commissioning a new creation. "But I'll need a new sheath. I'd like you to make it. Not pigskin though, not my style. Deer, I think."

Those words stopped Liao dead in his tracks. His whole body froze. It was not a matter of flirtation. Su Yi had laid out this request abruptly, but using completely serious and professional tones. Friendship was, he imagined, a significant part of her motive, but he realized that it went beyond that, far beyond.

The request, having been made according to typical verbiage, was real, and that meant Su Yi would pay for everything necessary to see it to completion. Sect law prohibited uncompensated gifts from the output of a cultivator's primary artistic dao. As an elder she could afford such expenditures, of course, but not in a frivolous fashion. If she commissioned a spear sheath from him, it was something she intended to use. Hiding such a thing away in a chest made no sense, and Su Yi was perhaps the most eminently sensible person Liao had ever met.

Without saying anything out loud, he interrogated the reasons she might have beyond a gift to a friend. Kindness, the regard of an elder towards a favored junior, was surely some part of it. Genuine regard, as much as that was possible across the boundaries of age and cultivation, hopefully played an even greater role. Neither of these things were, by themselves, enough. Once he pulled them aside, Liao was left with nothing but to consider the offer genuine. She legitimately desired his services. A spear required a sheath, and since the weapon would not be her own, the covering was Su Yi's best opportunity to personalize it. Picking a work from the vault, if it were possible at all, for works in leather did not endure the ages in the manner of metals, would lack such properties. A spear was seen sheathed far more often than otherwise, making this item a key to presentation. For one who cared greatly for her image, and Su Yi surely did, this was no small thing.

He wondered, briefly, why she would ask him and not another, only to recognize a moment later that the pool of potential leatherworkers was distinctly limited. Elder Yu Yong was superior at the craft, of course, by far the best hand in the sect at working hide and skin, but he was old and dying, his final years dedicated toward the production of the masterworks that would be his legacy. There would be no requests put to those hands.

Out of all the others in the Textiles Pavilion there were numerous senior disciples who could be said, simply by dint of experience, to have greater proficiency with the material than Liao, but their approach to the use of leather was distinctly ancillary, not favored. Their daos did not lean towards such manufacturing, and they would put little of themselves into such a production.

Artists in the Armory Pavilion could produce a suitable sheath, of course, but it would inevitably emphasize function over presentation. The expression on Su Yi's face when she asked suggested that was not her intent.

Slowly, it dawned on the young cultivator that his arts might well be those best suited to fulfill this request out of all the members of the sect.

"It may take some time," he kept his offer cautious, still clouded by deep uncertainty. "I have not practiced with deer as much as other hides, there are limits on the taking of those animals." There had to be. The wild regions of Mother's Gift were not vast, and the herd that they sustained was of modest size at best. If unrestrained, the people would hunt them to the last. Liao's father had complained about that quota more than once, even though he, like all hunter's recognized the principle.

"I'm an elder now, hurrying is for other people," Su Yi smiled. Genuine amusement returned to her eyes.

That sounded promising, but one final worry held Liao back. "I, ah, don't know if I can match your style," he hedged, feeling rather pathetic as he forced out the words. "Everything I make is very..." He paused, trying to find an excuse that did not sound childish. "Restrained."

"That doesn't matter," Su Yi responded brightly. She rose to her feet slowly and stared out at a point somewhere behind the younger cultivator's head. "I want Sayaana to do the design. I have ideas for her. I will send a letter over shortly."

"That's..." Liao stumbled, completely flummoxed. Sayaana appeared beside him suddenly. The green-skinned remnant soul bore an expression that shared his puzzlement. Somehow, the immortal had also been caught completely unprepared by this request.

"You two are supposed to work together, correct?" Su Yi continued brightly. "That includes expressing the dao through creation. Besides, why wouldn't you take advantage of that perspective? An entirely new style, one with no ties to the sect's legacy. You could make a fortune."

"When I said I liked her," Sayaana smirked and leaned back delicately. "I never realized she'd be this dangerous." The remnant soul tapped her foot a single time. "I accept." She announced, and it was no mere joke. Liao could feel the commitment from her qi. It left him terrified.

"Now," Su Yi abruptly changed topics. "I think I've sat here long enough. I can manage a walk, so please escort me back to the city."

"Yes elder." There was no better response to such a blatant ploy.

Su Yi laughed brightly. Barely a day into her new status, and she'd already completed her first elder's scheme.