The chamber I was led to seemed more like a hospital room than anything else. Machines for monitoring my meridian channels and Dantian, the smell of antiseptic, a bed with rails and straps, and a tray where tools were displayed. Tools that looked more like instruments of torture than anything else.

No one had ever explained the process of fusing gem with the body, all that I had been told was that the process would allow the gem I selected to become part of and stabilize the boundary that protected my inner soul world and Dantian. An array formation would be inscribed and made a part of the very matrix of the latices and crystallized formations that comprised the gem as it was reformed and positioned.

I'd assumed a formation was used, something that would make the gem intangible and allow it to be restructured and made a part of me. But from the tools provided, it looked more like surgery was required, that an incision would be made to allow the Elder to manipulate the gem and gain physical access to my meridian system.

Waiting for any surgical procedure is difficult. Fears of the unknown, horror stories of death from botched procedures. The longer I had to wait the more I began to fret. I had gotten to the point I thought about leaving when a team finally entered the room. They had arrived before I started panicking or hyper-ventilating, barely.

I wondered if there were enough experts so that each new inductee was under-going this procedure at the same time, or if people would have to wait their turn. If waiting was required, I thanked Genesis for nudging me to the front of the line.

"Relax, Jayden," Tarrah said soothingly as the others began bustling around the room. "The procedure is more finicky than anything else.

"Elder Wol is an Array Master, Elder Dalis is a Herbalist that has specialized in medicines, and Elder Tinlie has performed this procedure countless times. You are in good hands," she said introducing each member of the team and explaining their function. Only Elder Tinlie paid any attention to the introduction, the others bustling about the cramped confines of the room making sure everything was prepared and in order.

"Tarrah's correct," the Elder agreed, "what we are going to do takes precision and finesse, but it is not dangerous if you have been trained. We will create two small incisions, an opening in your lower stomach, at the site of your Dantian, another on your forehead the site of your soul realm.

"Once the incisions have been made, Elder Wol will use a formation array to breakdown the gem you have selected into its composite parts, stabilizing and preserving the gem's crystalline matrix and structure. I will rebuild the gem, creating a shell, an impermeable barrier that will be tempered and etched with an inscription that will allow the crystal matrix to resonate and attach with your soul realm and Dantian.

"The gems will draw a small amount of Qi continuously, making it impossible to shatter your Dantian and soul realm while those crystal lattices exist. Any damage those areas might sustain resonate with the gems. If the worse happens and the gems themselves are shattered, the array that Elder Wol has created will fuse each link, gathering the disparate pieces of shattered gem and piecing them back together.

"In over the ten thousand years since this method was developed there has never been a case where a Cultivator was crippled because the Dantian or soul realm was destroyed. Gems have been shattered, Dantians and soul realms damaged, but the Array that will be inscribed has never failed in restoring viability to those organs and re-creating the crystal shield.

"We need you to disrobe, Novice," the alchemist informed me as the hospital table was wheeled over and into easy reach. I shrugged out of my robe, I had swapped out my Hanfu soon after entering the room. I wasn't concerned about nudity or body image, or who might see as I disrobed. Elves didn't have the same taboos as I'd had indoctrinated into on Earth, issues of body image or dysmorphia simply didn't exist. This careless disregard for propriety or modesty was strangely liberating.

Once I was laying down again, comfortable as I could get without a pillow, the Elder began inserting silver acupuncture needles in a pattern around my belly button. I wouldn't be able to see the pattern he created on my head when he moved to that area, but the one on my stomach was geometric. His placement of the needles calculated, his actions were smooth and assured.

I was able to discern the pattern he was creating. He was creating shapes and forms that represented the water and air affinities I had awoken. The shapes interlocked to create a fusion of energy that would help me to concentrate Qi when cultivating. There was no way to fill in or color the geometric shapes he was creating, not without the use of ink or a lot more needles than he was employing, but the pattern was strangely reminiscent of a Tibetan mandala.

As he finished the Alchemist that had been grinding pills and herbs in a pestle sprinkled the ingredients liberally making sure to get an even spread that included all the needles that had been placed. He had my close my eyes at this point and a cloth was placed over my face so that they could repeat their actions on my forehead.

I would not be able to see what they were doing from that point on, but I could hear. Most of the conversation had to do with requests for items. I never felt the incisions that were made, I could only assume they had made them when they asked for the gem that I had chosen.

I had vacillated between the Diamond and Ruby my parents had purchased. I knew intellectually that the Diamond was rated a slightly better gem and to cut and polish it was also considered harder. But there was an imperfection, a slight blemish in the Diamond that I was afraid would translate and be reproduced during the procedure.

The ruby on the other hand was pristine and perfect. The difference in hardness was negligible, so I decided to go with the pristine gemstone over the flawed. I opened my hand, the gem resting on my palm, offering it to whoever was tasked with receiving it.

I'm not sure what they did, but after an examination that was much more thorough than the amateur examination I had used when deciding, I heard words of approval. "Good choice," one of the Elders informed me. "The size is adequate, the color and clarity astonishing sharp, and the cut and polishing were performed by a skilled craftsman."

The next part wasn't exactly painful, more disconcerting. As the array was activated with the ruby firmly fixed in position, the formation master began the tedious process of breaking the gem down piece by piece and inserting those pieces into the surgical sites. The sound of the gem being destroyed had me clenching my teeth, forcing myself to remain still and endure the dichotomy.

As more and more of the stone began to encase and surrounded my Dantian and soul realm, I became aware of the process. My inner eye opened, and I was able to turn inwards and watch the process as more and more of the barrier was constructed. Eventually, I began to nudge the gem sections as the Elder placed them, helping the array to fill in the gaps, sealing any breaches I found, without disturbing the flow of Qi between meridians, channels, Dantian, and Soul Realm.

I was completely focused on my inner world, marveling as my soul realm began to coalesce and form a sea of Qi, slowing filling, waves of condensed Qi lapping at the walls that the ruby protected, and I had enabled. The Dantian began cycling the small amount of stored energy that I had accumulated simply by breathing and eating over the past few days.

There was no real pattern or thought behind the flow or how it cycled, that would have to wait until I selected a cultivation technique and decided if I wanted to focus on Dharmic spells or Martial techniques. But the difference was amazing, and my Qi perception expanded exponentially.

All Cultivators learned a bit of Dharmic and Martial techniques, but the most powerful, the ones that broke through to the highest realms, specialized choosing one over the other. I wanted to discuss my options with Tarrah, but if what I had learned rang true, that Pill formation required Dharmic spells and energies, energies to power cauldrons, then I thought it best to walk the path of Dharmic master.