The rays of the sun touched my skin, as I opened my eyes, breaking past the daze of meditation. I felt my circulating Qi settle down. There was a richer quality to the Qi that I couldn’t quite describe, as if the Qi within me contained more life than before.

I sensed the seed within my core. I’d been mildly concerned about the possibility that the miasma flower had taken root within my dantian, but the thoughts were soon mitigated as I cultivated.

The seed was a part of me, the result of what I was forming with my spirit herb garden. The roots and networks of Qi that I sensed around me, the culmination of these herbs and their essence, all led to the little seed in my core.

I didn’t understand what it was. It wasn’t my core solidifying, and it wasn’t me forming the second circle of my cultivation either. But whatever the seed was, it was still a part of me.

I could sense the trickles of Lunar Qi present in my core, remnants of whatever the flower had sent. My gaze drifted back to the lotus and I smiled as I saw Sheldon sleeping in the water besides the lotus, tucked comfortably into his shell. The lotus had lost its potent Lunar Qi as the sun rose above the horizon, but even during day time, I could sense the hints of Lunar Qi coming from the blooming spirit flower.

I shifted my attention to Labby, who was sleeping curled up beside me. Her body was slightly larger, her fur a lighter shade of grey, with a much more regal color than before. She could’ve been mistaken for a regular rat if one couldn’t sense her Qi before, but now, I doubt there would be anyone who wouldn’t be able to tell her identity.

I brushed Labby’s fur gently. I’d been able to sense when Labby had begun trying to break through to the second realm. I’d been able to sense her distress and her fear. A part of me had almost stopped my cultivation to try and help her even though I knew interfering would only make things worse.

In the end, she’d broken through stabilising her core and entering into the second realm. I could sense my bond, much stronger than before. I brushed Labby once more, before I tugged at her spirit. A gentle nudge, and pull, and she moved, before her body began to glow lightly. I watched, partly in fear and surprise, as her form broke down into Qi, and I felt her spirit fill up my dantian as she slept comfortably.

“My little floof girl really went ahead and broke through on her own didn’t she?” I muttered out loud. I could peek into her dreams if I focused, the Qi of the moon connected to dreams and night both. I laughed as I saw her riding a massive lotus spirit flower, standing tall and proud in a partly human form, as she wielded blades of crescent moon swords and lightning, while eating through a big basket of spirit herbs.

That was a Labby dream alright.

I got up from my seat near the pool of water. Walking out of the spirit herb garden in my room, I passed near my desk, noticing the jade slip present on it as a smile crept upon my face. Liuxiang had sent the Library Pass my way.

I picked up the jade slip, inspecting it lightly before I turned around. “I’ll be back in an hour. Make that few hours actually,” I told Sheldon, the little turtle opening his eyes a moment before going right back to sleep.

There were a lot of things I had to do, but right now, I couldn’t stop the smile creeping on my face as I rushed out of my room, and towards the library.

***

The path up to the library felt exceptionally long today as I made my way, a smile still plastered on my face even as I tried to keep my excitement in control. I was trying to hold back my expectations on what I may find on the second floor, in preparation for potential disappointment by some vague mystical bullshit, but it seemed to be a losing effort so far.

I walked in the library, my eyes vaguely glancing over where Elder Feng tended to be, I was momentarily surprised to see a different person present in the library right now, an older man in the 2nd realm. Meeting the man’s gaze, I bowed respectfully, showing my jade slip and handing it to them, as I turned towards the stairs leading up to the second floor. I took a breath, before I began to head up.

The second floor wasn’t particularly visually different from the first one, a normal person would struggle to tell the difference between the first one and this one. But to my senses, it felt like a completely different world. The Qi here was different, more potent, almost sharp, as if words tugged onto the Qi carrying themself out of the lines of books present here. If the library below was the layman’s version of the library, then this was the true cultivator’s library.

I walked in, looking around in awe and surprise as I walked through the many books, and often, jade slips present. I picked one up, and sent a Qi pulse in it, immediately recognising it as the Viridian Fang’s Water Arts, and the history of the founding clan of the technique.

I put the Jade Slate down, knowing that the technique wasn’t much use to me and I couldn’t more than peer lightly into it, without going down and asking to borrow it. As much as the jade slips and their ability to transmit information interested, making a magic computer from one was a far off dream for now.

I shifted my attention to the books instead, the things that I could freely read and browse through as I pleased. I walked around, picking books on any and all topics I found interesting, before one in particular caught my eye.

The Nature of Gu and Miasma.

I stared at the book for a moment, picking it out of the shelf. The book was heavy, even for me, a cultivator who could casually lift large rocks. The weight of the book wasn’t of physical origin, but originated from its Qi.

I paused at the thought, realising something. The books here contained Qi in them. It should’ve been obvious that they did, in fact, I knew that they already, yet somehow hadn’t ever realised the implication.

Why would something that hasn’t intentionally been set with a formation or saturated with Qi be so densely packed with Qi?

“The words of truth garner the attention of the world, disciple. The heavier the book, the more worth the Qi gives its contents.”

I jumped, turning around in a hurry as I saw a smiling moon spirit floating behind me, shimmering with a pleasant white glow.

“I see the child has taken her first step. We think you are already aware of her wishes, even if you chose not to mull over them. The path of the moon is one of dreams and the night. Of many faces carried within one. Try to not let your spirit get lost in its mirth, she would need a guiding hand.”

The spirit said, and I bowed my head deeply in respect.

“I’ll be there when she needs me. Thank you for your guidance,” I said, still keeping my head bowed.

“We’ll leave you alone, disciple, we are satisfied after seeing the child's choice. The crescent will guide her well.”

I sensed the spirit vanish as I raised my head, and I sensed the still asleep Labby within my dantian. I could gain vague impressions of her childish dreams, and her desires, yet within them, I also sensed her worries, and her growing understanding as her world expanded. She was growing, and growing fast, and I didn’t feel ready to guide her just yet. I sensed a shift in Labby’s Qi as she shared her senses with me momentarily from her dreams, and I almost smelled spirit herbs, as if I was buried under a hill of them.

I shook my head, smiling. Maybe I’ll be enough after all.

“We need to check your transformation to Qi to zap into my dantian thing as well. This is totally breaking a lot of biology and physics,” I said out loud, as I headed to a nearby section with small tables on the floor. I set my stack down, sitting crossed legged as I opened the books.

“Alright, time to dig in,” I said, feeling this is probably how Labby felt when she got to eat her fill of spirit pills. I laughed at the thought as I opened the first book, and began to devour its contents.

Bliss.

***

Gu. Poison. Death. There were many names for the vile energy that plagued the deeper caverns of our world, riddled with twisted creatures and demons that threatened the great Azure-jade empire.

Yet, as blasphemous as it may be. This scholar had tried to look at Gu from a stance not mired in the notions of good or evil. Gu is the nature of death, the nature of corruption. Yet, this scholar believes, even Gu is ultimately a part of the cycle of Qi.

The energies of death, may they be harnessed by barbarians in twisted blood rituals or by demons still contribute to the greater cycle of heaven themselves. For life is incomplete without death, the cycle stuck in its place without an end.

At great risk, this scholar writes these words. To deny death, and its manifestations is to deny life, and as such, the very heavens themselves.

I let out a deep breath, feeling my Qi pulsing in my core, following my slightly increased heartbeat, as I felt an intense weight present in the words. A little reading ahead informed me the author had been executed centuries ago, and it took a long time before his works were recognised. Something I’d seen back home as well. A true shame.

The sun was going down, as I set my little pack of books aside. I’d lost track of time, almost in a similar trance like when I’d been cultivating, and perhaps, as equally empowering. I’d learnt about the history of Qi, the way cultivation itself had evolved. Having descended from greater spirits, and mythical beasts, onto spirit beasts and then adapted by humans at last.

Even after that, it was not until the eventual foundation of the Azure-Jade empire, the longest-lasting empire in history, that cultivation found the opportunity to finally become solidified. Each step and path, there for people willing to know. The foundation of the seven Celestial peaks by the Jade emperor a few millennia ago was the last largest revolution cultivation had seen.

There was already science here. One filled with mystique, and vague conceptual knowledge that combined both spirituality and theology into the understanding of the world. I wasn’t confident enough to say that their approach was wrong, but it had been arrogance to think I was creating something new.

The Science of Cultivation was already present. All it needed was a nudge into a more logical and structured approach, and I saw no reason why I couldn’t be one of the people to try and do this.

It was a shame though, that I found little in regards to my cultivation method. But in all honesty, I was a lot more excited by that prospect, and the potential for discovery.

I glanced across the library, taking it all in. This much information, and it was likely just a tiny fraction of what would be available to inner sect disciples, or larger sects. The emperor and the imperial family likely held a prized possession of knowledge as well. If I wanted to escape the world of cultivation, I would have to leave all of this behind. All this knowledge and information that I could likely use to progress and learn even more, and speed up my understanding of the world even further.

Could I really do it? Should I? Were my fears truly warranted? I had no means outside my meagre fighting abilities to protect myself, and I had no way to ensure I could keep doing as I wanted without catching the wrong eye.

So far, I’d preferred to try and run away from my problems, escape their clutches and never come into their sight. Avoidance was the best defense, or something like that. But if I really wanted to keep going, then I needed to be strong enough to be able to stand against cultivators and even organisations like the Alchemy Halls. It’d be foolish to try and think I could do it from martial prowess. I wasn’t some dumb cultivation protagonist with a hidden bloodline or secret martial techniques inherited that would allow me to rise unparalleled in this world. But what I did have was knowledge, and I could use it to allow myself more freedom. At least, enough to protect myself.

The realisation was like swallowing a bitter pill that refused to travel down my throat. Unpleasant, was an understatement. I closed the books at the table, getting up as I quickly placed them back in their position, still thinking over things as I took my library pass and began to head back.

If I truly wanted to establish myself, then the first step was to graduate as an apprentice alchemist.

It was time to visit the Old Man again.