Sage had just made the declaration to the open air, waiting to see if there was any response. Met with silence, he wondered if he’d overestimated Guan Zhenyan’s capabilities. He made his statement again, and this time he felt a mental reply.

“So you said. I’m waiting for your list of demands. From your history, this is where you ask for conditions, right?”

Even without feeling Guan Zhenyan’s Spirit Sense upon him, he figured it was likely the man was still able to keep a watch on him by some method or another. His guess had turned out to be correct, “No, I have no conditions. I’m already completely at your mercy. Anything I ask for now would only be to make myself feel better, there’s no way you’d agree to an agreement of mutual destruction. Even if I ask for Oaths, you will either have a loophole or refuse to make them. I may not understand how, but you did something to help me advance.”

He had thought long on the issue. If Guan Zhenyan had insidious plans for him, Sage felt that at most he’d make the man suffer a loss. He had no chance to do any real damage. On the other hand, he could choose to build some goodwill between them by giving Guan Zhenyan his trust. He was going to gamble in the hopes that the man was just eccentric and not aiming to discard him like a test subject. Sage chose to grasp for hope among the many things Guan Zhenyan said, focusing upon the benefits of ‘disciple’ and not the implication of ‘test subject’. He was still so worn down from the years on the run, he was easily swayed to the easier path rather than to grit his teeth to suffer because of mistrust.

If it had been clear that Guan Zhenyan was against him, he would steel his mind and struggle until the end. Perhaps the trap was simply set too well, but as he still felt hopeful he had chosen to surrender. Guan Zhenyan had strength so great he couldn’t even gauge it correctly, and the methods he’d seen him use were overwhelming.

A cloud of smoke burst out from nowhere and when it cleared, Guan Zhenyan was standing only a few feet away from the large jaws of the chained serpent. No longer muzzled, Sage pictured biting the man in half for only an instant before he dismissed the idea. Guan Zhenyan smiled, as if he knew exactly what Sage might have been thinking. He also didn’t seem threatened in the least. He wore multiple layers of gauze-like silk underneath a beat up woolen robe, though from the way he walked it seemed like a suit of invincible armor. After a couple steps, he reached out and tapped the tip of his bronze pipe onto the tip of Sage’s nose. The gesture tapped a bit of ash right into his nostril and forced a sneeze out of him.

Even with the rude gesture, Sage stuck to his choice and he bowed his head. The long neck curling to let him push his forehead into the ground. His long body reared up a bit to create his own semblance of a kowtow, “Please accept me as your Disciple.”

Clang!

The bronze pipe thumped against Sage’s forehead, letting out the sound of metal knocking against stone. Despite the soft swing and the seeming weakness of its materials, Guan Zhenyan’s strike sent a wave of pain through Sage’s body. For a moment it felt like his nerves were on fire, and then just as quickly the sensation was gone.

“Nice try. Even those little Sects have steps their new recruits climb to compete for the honor of becoming the personal disciples of their ‘strongest’ members. No, you’ll start out as my test subject. If you can survive long enough, maybe you’ll get a promotion.”

Despite the harsh words, Guan Zhenyan was smiling. He snapped his fingers, and then the many locks holding the chains to Sage’s large body instantly clicked open. With a little bit of shuffling and shimmying, he slithered his way out of confinement while Guan Zhenyan waited patiently. Then he took out a little pill bottle and tossed it over, “Swallow that and then we’ll establish a mind link.”

Upending the bottle, a small red sphere fell onto his tongue. He’d already decided to take the dive, so he didn’t hesitate. He took the red pill. It felt like a ball of energy traveling down his throat and into his stomach. It moved towards his Dantian and this was the time when most pills would dissolve and their energy would saturate the body. Surprisingly, the pill did not disperse. It dissolved, but only from a solid into an energy form. The energy passed into his dantian and slowly floated towards his Inner World.

“What a simple World Core. I sense so many Heavenly Materials, yet it still looks so simple.”

Sage heard Guan Zhenyan’s voice in his head once again, and he realized the little ‘pill’ was carrying, or was at least linked to, Guan Zhenyan’s consciousness. The little ball of light flew to the Inner World and did a few revolutions of the planet before sinking into the ground. A few moments later it reached the core, bumping up against the shield around the true core of his being. It was the place that housed the little sapling that had sprouted from the Seed of Life, and also where his soul was now housed. The pill bumped into the wall and Sage realized this was the moment of truth. Without his consent Guan Zhenyan couldn’t pass the barrier. With force, the man could probably destroy the whole thing, but that would have terrible consequences upon Sage. Even if he survived he would be likely to lose his cultivation entirely and if his soul were destroyed he’d become nothing more than a lifeless husk.

It was the last test of his conviction. Sage took a deep breath and then let the ball of glowing light penetrate to the very core of his being. It passed through the glowing wall and slowly flew over to each of the Heavenly Materials. The core of each were also orbiting around the little sapling and now Guan Zhenyan had the chance to inspect them all. When Sage was unconscious, anyone at the same level as him could send their Qi into his body to inspect his physical condition, and his meridians. That of course included the dantian, which then displayed their cultivation method. So, Guan Zhenyan had been able to completely appraise his body and find out about the Seed of Life, but only now did he truly know what materials Sage had collected.

The little ball of light took it’s time to examine each of them, even noticing that Sage hadn’t even subdued the Black Enhydros yet. Sage had never been sure of how much time he had to rest, nor how long it would take to assimilate, so he never dared to take the risk. After the review of the Heavenly Materials, the ball of light went over to the small sapling and took a good look. Even if Guan Zhenyan had seen diagrams and read materials on it, this was his first time seeing one up close. Any other person who had sprouted a Seed of Life would never allow someone into the very core of their being so this was a very rare opportunity. Guan Zhenyan studied the three leaves for a while and even he gained a bit from the experience.

Finally, he seemed pleased with his inspections and the glowing pill moved to Sage’s soul. The ghostly figure was seated cross-legged beneath the ‘small’ tree. It looked barely developed, but its size was immense. Sage’s soul looked like a tiny fairy in front of a very bare sapling. When the ball of light touched his soul, he felt Guan Zhenyan’s presence. It was a familiar feeling, similar to when Guan Zhenyan spoke directly into his mind. Only now it was all encompassing. Before, he was only dipping his toe into the water to check the temperature. Now, it was like he dove straight in. Sage felt like he had a passenger in his mind. The mind was driven by the soul, and with the pill creating the connection, Guan Zhenyan had full access to everything Sage did.

“Perfect. Now we can begin.”