Thin Line Between Instinct and Paranoia III

Cultivators can go starved for seven days and would still be fine. Kle In felt that his master may come a bit latter or may show up tomorrow so he chose to meditate. He wanted to have a taste of the wine, but he decided to have his master look at it first to avoid unexpected outcomes.

Kle In was at a trance and unaware how much time passed when he heard footsteps approaching the door. He felt it was his master so stayed in the lotus position. He wanted to purposely get caught to show how diligent he is.

"Cough"

Kle In slowly opened his eyes and got to his feet upon seeing his master accompanied with a man with a white beard.

"Master. I have been waiting for you." Kle In greeted.

"It is good to see a hardworking disciple. This is elder Chung Har'an and he has come to help you integrate with a new flame. Come meditate here so we will not waste his time."

Kle In has remembered when Elder Ulvar introduced the essence flame to his dantian so he thought the process should be the same this time. He sat on an empty space in front of the two and started circulating his Qi.

"If you feel pain or discomfort, endure it for now so we could avoid any mishaps. Just relax and do not resist if you feel something is invading your dantian."

Kle In's eyes were closed but he still nodded in agreement. After a minute, he could feel something crawled up on to his navel then into his dantian. It felt like a tentacle is wrapping him from the insides he wished it will be over soon. He continued to circulate his Qi when he realized he could not seem to access his Human Class Rock Apur Essence Flame then hee heard another instruction.

"I will now introduce a new Essence Flame to your dantian. Do not resist."

Similar to the first time he integrated with a flame, he felt a warm mass of body entered his dantian however it seem to stay as a ball of flame and is not spreading to his meridians.

"Eat this pill and drink this before we continue".

Kle In opened his eyes and placed the pill in his mouth and swallowed it and drank the glass of water. There was a sweet aftertaste. He is aware they are still in the process of fusing the new flame to him so he closed his eyes and started meditating again.

He felt light and comfortable shortly. He still continued to circulate his Qi but the feeling of wanting to sleep became irresistible he felt like he floated then lost consciousness.

"The medicine took effect. Do we leave now, Elder?", asked Dal In.

"No, you leave as planned. I found another candidate on my way here. If I am lucky, we will have another sacrifice. Make sure your long distance communication talisman works before leaving."

The two continued to talk unaware of an ant transmitting unnoticeable signals to a nearby room within the same inn. It was none other than Mii Eit. His original intention was to befriend an expert but who would have thought that this would lead him to something far better. He saw and heard the entire scene.

Only a fool would think that this is unrelated to the mysterious disappearances of Alchemy apprentices that started a century ago. Their sect master still believes that is the Blood Moon Sect's doing but everything was dropped when the royal family intervened. To this day, many cultivators remain clueless as to what the sect was up to.

Mii Eit soaked himself in a bath tub while a beautiful woman poured wine on his glass. His initial thought was to report it to their sect but upon thinking, he probably will only get meager rewards. There are at least nine Late Core Formation Experts within their sect all competing for a breakthrough pill. As a Mid Core Formation, he understood that he will probably will not have his chance in this lifetime.

If he reports this to the royal family, he might not be rewarded with a break through pill but at least the rewards will be better. On the other hand, if he continuously follow these pawns, though risky, he might have a chance winning the grand price.

After careful consideration, he got out from the tub. His priority now is to plant a more effective tracking seal on both the boy and his so-called master. If this pursuit turns dangerous, he would just need to retreat and sell the information to a generous buyer.