Thump. Thump. Thump.

It was the sound of something knocking against the side of a tree with a uniform rhythm. Continuing unabated for a few hours, there was suddenly a change. The thump was followed by a crack. Leaves rustled, large tree branches swaying and susurrating. Then came a low creaking and a loud crash and whoomph of air.

Sage stood next to the fallen tree, breathing hard and covered with sweat. His hands were covered in scrapes and abrasions, dried and fresh blood alike. He wasn’t wearing any armor, instead wearing simple training clothing. Baggy trousers and a sleeveless shirt with a long back and front that was similar to a tabard. They looked like they might have been white, but they were too dirt and bloodstained now to really tell. He took out a small calabash gourd and removed the cork, letting it hang by a string to take a drink. Then he put it away and started walking. Huge trees, each dozens of feet tall, surrounded him. The undergrowth was sparse, making for an easy walk. After a few minutes he walked up to a large pool of water. It was fed by a waterfall, one which he walked into.

Ahhh!

If you could deal with the initial shock of the cold water and the force slamming down on you, a waterfall was a pretty enjoyable place to shower. Especially after you remodel the base of it with some big flat rocks for walking on. The round rocks that the fall’s naturally shapes are far too slippery for walking on. After washing away the majority of the mess he walked through the waterfall and into the cave hidden behind it. The cave hadn’t existed when he first found the waterfall, but Sage enjoyed that cliche too much to not make it happen. He had set out on a training mission, leaving ‘Horde Home’ and letting the Jade Horde do as they saw fit.

Black Saber had not enjoyed getting promoted to the leader of the Jade Horde, but Sage didn’t really care. After getting controlled and then taken down by Sage, Black Saber was in a strange place mentally. Sage denied the request and instead promoted him. He’d told him, “You could leave and go on a journey to strengthen your heart and deepen your resolve. That would be a waste of your time and talent. Don’t run from it, use it. We’re far from being the strongest, and we’re only one wrong move away from complete destruction. I need you to guide them. Keep a low profile and don’t let the Jade Horde get caught up in any more messes.”

Sage had already wasted far too much time and so he gave Black Saber near complete authority to do whatever he wished, including choosing his own replacement in the Seven Stars. The others had an easy enough job, they were just leading mercenary groups to gain experience and earn money. Poor Black Saber was stuck with leading them all and trying to keep them all out of trouble. The man had led a bandit group for many years in the past, so Sage felt confident he could do it again. It was quite possible his advice and order would hinder Black Saber’s future cultivation, but then again the pressure might cause him to flourish. Only time would tell.

Once inside the waterfall cave, Sage changed his clothing and sat down to cultivate. As he drew upon the energy of the world around him, his starved dantian greedily swallowed it up. More and more energy was rapidly pulled into his body. It was a form of training that Sage found in the Timeless Master’s library, Ebb and Flow. In the morning he rapidly spent the entirety of his Qi, overdrawing upon his reserves till his dantian was sore. He would use only a single technique, performing it over and over again using far too much energy each time, till his Qi Pores felt raw. Then, completely robbed of energy he sealed his Qi Pores and spent the rest of the day working his physical body. Afterwards, with his body straining, he returned to his cave abode and unsealed his Qi Pores.

This training was harsh, but it was to the benefit of many different things at once. The rapid expenditure of energy helped to strengthen his Qi channels, exposing them to violent Qi usage. Using a single technique at an almost unsafe level of power similarly helped widen his Qi Pores. With enough training the unsafe level of power would eventually become comfortable. Once his Qi Pores were sealed they could no longer be used to pull energy into his meridians. Starving for energy, his body had to rely only on the small trickle of energy that filtered through his flesh.

It was the perfect time for physical training. His meridians thirsted for energy and drew harder upon the world around him. His aura expanded like a galaxy of its own and drew power in, drawing it through his skin and muscle to reach the meridians and Qi channels within his body. As it passed through his body, his flesh was cleansed. Those sore and tired cells drank in the energy inundating them and strengthened themselves. It was like resistance training for his Qi system, and a tonic for his physical form. When he recovered too much of his Qi he would activate the Timeless Eyes and train with them until he was out again, all the while never interrupting his physical training.

Now, he was sitting cross legged, body unsealed and in the center of an energy gathering array. He had a single basketball sized Spirit Crystal that stored energy all day and when he returned in the evening he would pull from it as rapidly as possible. Like a starving man gorging himself. It was the opposite state of the rest of the day, being completely filled with Qi and letting his body have as much as it wanted to. The constant flux back and forth from energy starved to energy bloated was another form of training. The training method was quite dangerous and required many precious herbs and remedies as supplements. In Sage’s case, the healing ability he’d gained from the Fat Grass Worm mitigated the need. It wasn’t as effective on healing his meridians and Qi system as it was on his fleshly body, but the Fat Grass Worm could be cut into a dozen pieces and grow a dozen new bodies. Its ability could just about heal any damage to the body if given enough time. It couldn’t restore his memories or repair his soul, but even so it was still a cheat.

How could anyone that knows the Insect Immortal Index resist merging with bugs to gain their powers?

Even without the Human Seal, he felt like there might be a village somewhere just filled with chimera like bugs. Surely there might be other creatures like the Silver Liberator Butterfly that would make a place like that thrive. Putting aside the silly dream, Sage focused upon his training. After flooding his body with Qi he’d eat a huge meal and then spend a few hours in the Universe Ring. King and Ruanfu were his training partners. At first, King taught them how he used Cosmic Traction. Of course, he was most experienced using it in his bird form.

With that in mind, all three of them spent these evenings in experimentation. Sage brought out hand to hand techniques from the Timeless Master’s library and they all tried to combine them with Cosmic Traction. Their goal was to develop techniques that could be used both in their human and true forms with equal results. Sage didn’t have wings, and King didn’t have a flexible serpentine body. In that regard, Ruanfu became their main test dummy.