Ancient Being Predecessor of the Primordial Era: An OP Mc LitRpg - Cultivation - Development, page 20
She didn’t notice when Jun stepped into the center of the courtyard. Her face pressed into her master's robes and shivering like a branch within a stormy day. Kneels clattering together.
The wind shifted. Shui peaked out from behind her ancestor. Her eyes were mesmerized by the dancing that overcame Jun. Techniques and things she had never done before. And she knew why. The spirit was imparting upon her guardian and best friend its enlightenment. Teaching her to use it most effectively.
Jun knew to follow and not attempt to fight it. Soaking as much as she could. At least before it ended and no second enlightenment would come except with great struggle.
“Don’t worry,” Yin Hu whispered to her. Patting her head. “I’ll get you a friend too. Perfect for you.”
She perked up.
A friend? Perfect for me?
Hu Shui couldn’t help the small smile that appeared on her face. She had only found terrifying spirits, but maybe there were cute ones too? Nice ones that would play with her? Dance with her? Prank Jun and help her escape without getting caught like usual?
She could imagine it. A spirit to replace all her lost friends. To fill the missing gap in her chest after they refused to play with her.
No one wanted to play tag with her anymore.
Chapter 40 - Shao Yating
Dong ZhenKang refused to leave his throne room. The furthest he would go remained his cultivation halls just a few doors down away from the Hu clan girls' home. Other than that, there was no reason he could be dragged out of his seat of power.
He needed the thrum of the ancient tree’s Qi lines coursing around him. Strengthening his limbs. Giving him a drunk man’s confidence. He feared he would crumble in terror like some vagrant dog otherwise.
That was not a position he would allow himself if he had a choice.
No! Sitting here for the next decade is a better alternative!
Dong ZhenKang jumped in his seat, startled, as another wave of unadulterated cosmic power swept at his Immortal Peak senses. Barely touching his spirit, but it made it tremble and recede into the depths of his body, further than ever before.
He knew why too. It was always the same situation for him lately. The same family. The same person that caused him all these headaches. Said Hu ancestor would remain as the greatest source of fear and unrelenting spiral of his self confidence.
The ancient monster was doing something. What that was, Dong ZhenKang prayed beyond any hope his theories and strong beliefs were wrong. To think someone like that would exist. Happen to enter his village of all places, not the village just a few days over, or maybe a large city.
No. The Hu girls needed to come here of all places. Ruin his plans and days.
Another wave of core crushing power reverberated in his bones. Dong ZhenKang cursed how far he had gone in the cultivation world. Had he been a weak Mortal tier cultivator. Or even a semi decent Spirit Gathering Realm grunt serving some demonic hidden power. Have just enough potential to be a member of some esoteric sect that practiced involuntary solitude.
Even a fucking virgin monk would be better than this!
A third wave made his hands tremble and shake. His Qi rushed back into his core to hide just like his spirit and power did. Not even calling upon his angry and ferocious Dao worked to quell the tremors. The same one that had been begging him to destroy the town was nowhere to be seen. A dog with its tail between its legs.
He’s fucking torturing them!
That could be the only answer to the clear threat the ancient thing was sending him as the strongest member of the Silver Mountain Gang. The only one that would see what he truly was. A sadistic monster that was torturing the Black Widow assassins for fun and maybe some information.
Dong ZhenKang was convinced that was the truth. Otherwise why would the Hu ancestor do something like this? Send waves of domain and Dao at him, playing with his cultivation like a cat plays with its food.
He could imagine the old man laughing heartily. His long beard and mustache jumping up and down with each shoulder shaking, belly slapping guffaw. Burning the Black Widows' meridians and melting their core from inside of them. Enjoying their screams of terror and abject suffering and agony.
The pressure exuded from the ancient being receded. Dong ZhenKang let out a breath. Relief flooded him. He couldn’t help the weak laugh that escaped him. The monster had finished torturing the Black Widows! Finally giving him reprieve.
Just as it ended, Lang Tu pushed the gates to his gathering hall open. Dramatically holding his hands out.
The slimy, fat, bald, filth sauntered in. Looking down his nose at the still messy hall, Dong ZhenKang had not had anyone clean yet. Dong ZhenKang had not wanted anyone to see him like this. Weak or in great fear. He had a persona to care for.
And Lang Tu was threatening it.
Dong ZhenKang felt bile rise to his throat. The anger at how incapable he was against the Hu ancestor boiling over. Lang Tu just so happened to be hateful and hateable enough that he no longer cared if the Spider Cult Valley stormed his town. Better dead on his feet than groveling on his throne against the Hu monster.
“Dong. Zhen. Kang,” Lang Tu kicked a broken leg of a chair out of his way. “Not watching your pretty thing today?”
The urge to puke the bile that rose to his throat was almost overwhelming, but not quite. Dong ZhenKang closed his eyes. Allowing the thrum of his core returning and Dao peeking its head out and urging him to kill a few hundred peasants slowly bring him balance. Equilibrium.
Only then could he reply without instantly killing the thing.
“Lang Tu.” He finally said.
The diminutive, rotund man waddled over to the window Dong ZhenKang commonly looked out of, spying on Hu Jun. He held the window sill and leaned over. Giggling to himself.
Dong ZhenKang frowned.
He knows something. Something important and is enjoying holding it over me. What does he know?
“You know,” Lang Tu could not contain himself. “They say they aren’t even from this province.”
Dong ZhenKang’s eyes narrowed dangerously.
Lang Tu licked his lips audibly. “They say,” he drawled. Tasting the words. “They say. They come from a certain family. A clan with a bounty on their heads. I wonder what the price on their desecrated corpse would be? Has to be something special to reach us this far out. Right?”
Dong ZhenKang moved. His core surged with wind, Dao shouting in ecstasy. He grabbed Lang Tu by the throat quicker than he could stop himself. Dong ZhenKang started to squeeze. Slowly taking Lang Tu’s life from him.
The fat thing scrambled and scratched and fought for its life. To no avail. Not enough heft to his Qi, Lang Tu was still in the gaseous stage. Not close enough in realms. And his Dao was weak and pitiful compared to Dong ZhenKang’s own.
He was a dead man.
Dong ZhenKang had survived greater tribulations. For a simple reason. He knew when to bend and when to be firm as Cold Singing Iron. This was the time to be stone, firm and cold. Unwavering in his actions as the mountain would be in a slight breeze.
Escape or defeating the Spider Cult Valley was a possibility. As small as the probability was, it was still in the realm of his accomplishments. Not defeating the Hu ancestor. That was beyond him.
Lang Tu began to turn purple. Hands wrapped around Dong ZhenKang’s wrists. Weakening with every passing second. Terror filled his eyes. Mouth miming the same words Dong ZhenKang refused to hear. What good would begging do for a dead man?
He saw the slimy filth gather all its Qi. A last attempt. It surged forward and—
“…Shao Yating!” Lang Tu shouted. Voice echoing throughout the entire empty manor.
Dong ZhenKang dropped him immediately. “W-what?”
Lang Tu smacked the ground hard. His prodigious weight did him no good in this situation. He grabbed his neck, taking long haggard breaths. Struggling to breathe after the damage Dong ZhenKang caused him. Lang Tu tried to scramble backwards, but he would not allow him a chance to escape.
“Speak or they will not find enough pieces of you to stitch back together.”
Lang Tu sobbed, raising his arms up to shield himself. “Shao Yating! Shao Yating! He’s coming to teach you a lesson! Him and his father-in-law!”
Dong ZhenKang paled. He turned away to hide the expression.
“That old bag is going to make his way here! The Dark Gate Palace is coming for you.”
Fuck. Fuck! Fuck! What the fuck do I do now?!
Shao Yating was the second son of the Spider Cult Valley’s patriarch. A young man of potential so great, an Elder of the hegemony of this entire province took him under their wing. Marrying him to their granddaughter and tying the Spider Cult Valley to the Dark Gate Palace. Fifty nine years old and having already broken into the Immortal Peak realm.
A force as powerful as Spider Cult Valley should not have been capable of lording over so much territory and forces. Throwing their weight without consequences, but no one dared to band together and fight them as a unified force. Take what belonged to them.
If they did, the Dark Gate Palace would wipe them off the planet.
Dong ZhenKang had made it his life purpose to steer clear of such powerful individuals. At least until he was strong enough to protect himself. The righteous foundation of his core would be exposed by the powerful eyes of the Elder.
Everything he had done to hide it. All the political manipulations and wasted resources. Spending years building. Getting stronger. Doing everything and anything he needed to do no matter how evil it was. And now it was all going down the drain because of some backwater brat! On a fucking whim!
Lang Tu shot up to his feet and ran to the doorway. He stopped there and turned back towards Dong ZhenKang spitting on the floor. “He’ll be here in a month's time. Shao Yating was only passing by but heard the news about the Black Widows and your Hu girls. Harboring righteous sect members?”
Dong ZhenKang turned to him. His wind screaming inside him and attempting to wrestle control from him and kill Lang Tu.
“I hope you rot in hell, Dong ZhenKang.” Lang Tu reached into his robes and threw out the message scroll.
It clatter on the ground. Rolling slowly until it reached Dong ZhenKang’s feet. He watched it the entire time, unable to break his eyes from it. Inside that message was his death. An execution in all but name and writing.
He reached down and picked it up. Cracking it slightly. Hoping beyond hope that the slimy bastard was lying or over exaggerating.
Written by the Black Dragon of the Valley. Shadow Demon of the Dead.
Written by Shao Yating.
Chapter 41 - Koi Fish Stew! or Burger?
Yin Hu stood with his hands behind his back. Walking around Jun and Shui with a critical eye only an ancestor and master martial artist could have. The two snapped their attacks and sequenced their combos with perfection in mind. Worried he would reprimand them.
Jun was far more impressive than he could have imagined. Especially with her fear of strong people and big named individuals.
He could feel the Qi she imbued with every attack like goosebumps on his skin. Vibrating the very air. He couldn’t help but feel terrible for any idiot that thought they could fight her in any way. She would clobber them quickly.
As long as they don’t introduce themselves. Her new sword should help with that.
Jun threw a jab, right hook combo. Dancing in perfect angles, ducking and escaping. Countering right after with a cross, left hook, cross sequence that promised to rip heads and tear limbs. Loud whomps and whooshes and worse noise.
Shui kept up with Jun’s speed but not in the weight of her attacks. Her Qi was far weaker. At a much lower realm than the older girl. A bad comparison to make between them even if they started learning the techniques together.
Yin Hu smiled.
He could see his nukes developing. Growing in the path he had chosen for them. Progress. Change in a good way rather than the constant failure he tended to be met with ever since his arrival on this cultivation world. It made him satisfied.
Even if he spent a king’s ransom just to prepare them for D.E.Y.M.P and the development of their roots into satisfactory levels.
Their purity levels were supposedly abysmal. No where close to the ninety-three percent the Compendium required them to have for the next phase of the process. Yin Hu trusted the book and its numbers. It had not steered him wrong yet.
Both girls finished the intense sequence of combos. Posing with a final extended jab to show how impressive they were as disciples. Shoulders rising and falling as they took deep breaths. Sweaty even with the robes quickly cleaning them up.
Said robes did their job as soon as they paused in their poses. Drying them up. Giving them a flower scent. And freshening their senses and limbs for another round of training. Yin Hu was going to take advantage of it to prepare them.
“Again!” he shouted. Saying it for the fifth time already.
Jun and Shui snapped back into a guarded form. Bouncing on their feet.
Yin Hu started their new motto. Ripping what he could from earth that he remembered. “Float like a butterfly!”
“Float like a butterfly!” The girls shouted together.
“Sting like a bee!”
“Sting like a bee!”
“You must be faster. More accurate. Use your Qi more efficiently. The smallest amount of energy should be enough to defeat your foe! Anything you waste is to your own detriment!”
The girls started their combos from the beginning. Starting with a simple one, two jab and cross and growing more complex with every following one. They had taken his lessons to heart and found enlightenment in the many boxing scrolls he had provided them.
Jun did good to make up imaginary things for them to use. Finding cultivation bullshit in between the basic and very simplistic lines of the scrolls. Supposedly, following in his footsteps and his world shaking punches.
He dutifully ignored her eccentricities.
The girl was odd. So was Shui in her own weird way, but that was alright. Let them develop their own personalities and quirks. Hopefully it would only grow to tie them together even more fully than before as their guiding source and master.
Yin Hu made them finish two more sets before allowing them to rest.
Ever since they finished their body contamination removal process and purification, they had been far more impressive physically. It was a shocking difference he had not expected to visibly see. Gradual growth had been the idea. Not immediate change he could quantify with his eyes alone.
They were faster, lighter on their feet, strikes much more ferocious and louder. That alone would be enough to scare most opponents.
More importantly, that meant no more stank. No more disgusting sludge that ruined his days and made everything smell terrible. The last one had been stuck in his nostrils with a single whiff of it when he wanted to check on them. Both girls had been too silent. Instead of the usual bantering they did during the baths and letting the black sludge be taken out of every single pore on their body.
Yin Hu fell prey to their machinations and suffered for the next few days unable to smell anything at all other than the stank in his nostrils. It clung to him like death. Others couldn’t smell it or they would have been running away from him in large stampedes.
D.L.S.C.B.C.P.P. had done its job. Just as the Compendium said it would.
Now they needed to purify, widen, and strengthen their meridians for the rush of Qi and power that would be their new Spiritual Roots. The Compendium was clear in its assessment of excruciating death and torturous destruction if they did not make sure to fit the basic requirements needed for their meridians and core.
He had no plans of killing the two girls. No. He needed them alive and very healthy to do all the protection while he enjoyed himself to the fullest. Even if he kept getting stronger and could one day beat the ancient monsters. There had to be a sequence of events! Levels before they reached his awesomeness, not like this broken town.
At least it rectified itself with the Spider Jade Beauties he eliminated not too long ago. Mobs and grunts that gradually grew in power until he finally fought the level boss. Not directly teleport to them in the very first encounter like he almost had done.
Progress. Not teleportation.
“Sit.” Yin Hu said as he found his own cushion to rest on. “There is more we must accomplish.”
The girls dropped to their knees in relief when he ended their practice session. They rushed to get to their spots. Before he changed his mind and had them do more combo practices at full speed. Racing each other and laughing.
“I win this time!” Jun shouted, throwing her hands up triumphantly.
Hu Shui crash landed on her cushion a second later. She attempted to dive head first. A last ditch attempt to beat the older girl and reach her cushion first. It had not gone well. She grunted, wincing as she got up with a face full of dust and dirt.
“No fair! You cheated!” Shui righted herself up on her own cushion.
Jun shrugged. “You started it. I only finished what you began.”
“But, Jun!—”
Yin Hu cleared his throat. He had been rereading the Compendium thoroughly for anything he missed. Once sure he had gotten everything he quieted them down to listen. Allowing them a few moments of banter and sisterly interactions.
Or was it disciplely interactions?
Unlike the rest of what they had done so far, this one didn’t require as much bathing and showering. Salves or medicines. No, it required them to leave the entire town and into the forest or a cave. Practice weird techniques detailed in the Compendium to simulate the amount of Qi the girls would feel when their potential and Spiritual Roots were developed into the minimum level.
Weird cultivation poses and movie Kung Fu monk practices. Almost like a dancer’s version of Tai chi.
Yin Hu wanted to doubt the veracity of what he was reading, but decided against it. The Compendium had been perfect so far. He would not question it until it broke its, so far, excellent track record. Plus, he had no clue what to do without it.
