Yin Hu stood in the center of the valley they were in. Large hills rolled up and down around them, creating a crevice where they had situated their camp for the rest of the day and night as well. Zhong Da and his wife were busying themselves by putting up their tent and starting a proper campfire. He, on the other hand, kept his arms folded behind him as he watched his three disciples practice his boxing lessons as a group.
“Os!”
“Os!”
“Os!
Each strike came in perfect unison and in sync with the disciple next to them. Lining up from the tallest, Jun, to the shortest, Rong in his little kid form.
Yin Hu could already see the traces of his dream coming true.
If he closed his eyes he could imagine a thousand sect members doing the same exercise together, their unified voice shaking the very mountain they were established on. A show of power and prestige that would make the surrounding clans and forces bow before them–
Err..ErrrorRor
ErroroR…
System Malfunction Detected…
System Recalibration…
Recalibration Failed…
System Power Reset– EroorrRor
Universal Parameters exceed System Parameters…
Power Reset prevented...
Error….
Usually, he would be ecstatic to watch them take the randomness that he spouted and turn it into something special.
The world reacted to their every punch. Though he could not sense the Qi that they made vibrate and shift within the supposed ether, there were other signs he could pinpoint. The way Wu Xui startled with every punch thrown–her oversensitivity to the esoteric energies was obvious– and the way the foot of high grass shifted and tilted with every strike were the two biggest indicators.
Yet he knew, based upon what Rong had said, not even just a day ago, that they were in dangerous territory.
Rong’s words had been clear.
They were approaching the corpse of the First Calamity. The area where the gathered forces of this entire cultivation realm had come together and killed the behemoth monster that threatened their existence. If Yin's speculations were correct, that large white orb they had been moving towards had always been the First Calamity the whole time. They didn’t know that’s what it had been the whole time.
But there was more.
Not only did his system start going as crazy, giving the same exact message every time, as when he had entered the clearing previously, the girls themselves had started sensing the Void Qi and struggling to push forward as they got closer to the white orb.
Err..ErrrorRor
ErroroR…
System Malfunction Detected…
…
It seemed to affect the world around them. Creating some sort of invisible barrier that made the very air difficult to breathe the closer they got. Even Rong, Zhong Da, and his wife, Wu Xui, had started sensing the change within the air as it had begun to affect them as well. All three needed to activate their cultivation in order to fight off its effects. Thankfully, Hu Rong had been an instrumental part in teaching Jun and Shui how to deal with the change in the atmosphere around them.
That included practicing their fighting techniques as a group in order to make themselves more comfortable with the energies.
Worst was the fact that they couldn't cultivate in the area at all, lest they risked tainting their core and spirit with Void Qi. Rong and Zhong Da had agreed, without a shadow of doubt, that having anything of that nature within their meridians would cause catastrophic harm. It was a foreign energy, not of this world, and did not suit anyone or anything that lived within this cultivation realm.
Rong gave Yin Hu a knowing look then, but otherwise said nothing else on the matter.
Yin Hu had no clue what that was about.
Even Zhong Da found the interaction a strange one, commenting on it a few times, trying to figure out what had just happened. Rong nor Yin Hu had been forthcoming with any other information. Mostly because he had no clue either what that was supposed to mean. While Rong seemed to grow increasingly secretive the more Zhong Da pressed him for information.
To add onto everything that had already happened, Yin Hu had to delay the purification process he had established for Rong. They would have to commit to it once they got out of this area and passed the corpse of the First Calamity. The issue was that their speed had slowed down considerably. They were moving at a turtle's pace, trying their best to make progress without overburdening the girls' cultivations with the continuously growing pressure of Void Qi.
Yin Hu had to stop the group every once in a while just for Jun and Shui to get comfortable with the stress on their cores.
“Os!” his three disciples shouted together. “Os! Os!”
…
System Power Reset– EroorrRor
Universal Parameters exceed System Parameters…
Power Reset prevented...
Error….
He watched them work on the very basics to make sure Rong got it down pat, a simple one/two jab and cross before ducking and weaving to get out of the way of any counter attack. It was an awkward movement for the powerful spirit to commit to, as it was more used for animalistic movements. Getting on all fours and lunging with claws out, maw of sharp teeth and spikes all over its body was more natural to it than what he was teaching it now.
Yin Hu had to figure out how to incorporate its strengths into limiting the wide and unnecessarily flowery movements and techniques.
Even if it had an issue with spinning before an attack or opening itself wide open when it tried to claw at its foes. All unnecessary fluff that made its techniques less efficient, less violent, and worse yet, it made them open for devastating counterattacks. All things he needed to figure out how to limit and prevent from happening before they encountered someone who could fight them on even footing.
“Os!”
Wu Xui rushed into her tent after Zhong Da had finally finished setting it up.
Yin Hu felt for the poor woman. Always struggling with her strokes and fainting spells and yet she was still dedicated enough to the craft and cultivation that she had reached the same level as Zhong Da had. Reaching the Immortal Peak and with a Liquid Stage Core was an achievement that could not be discounted for anyone much less a person so affected by so many disadvantages they had to work through.
He felt bits of motivation and shame that the girls weren’t as disciplined as Wu Xui.
It was like seeing a paraplegic drive themselves to college, work to pay off debts and classes, and finally graduate with a Ph.D while the rest struggled to get out with a bachelor's degree. It hit something deep in the chest and hurt something fierce. This was an ancient pain that he had forgotten, one he did not want to resurface, alas, he had no control over it.
Hence, making sure all three of his disciples worked on their techniques for an hour earlier than usual. Plus, their usual cultivation time turned into weapon arts and sparring time without any breaks in between because they couldn’t meditate at all with all the Void Qi in the air around them. Mostly against each other because Zhong Da was currently healing from an injury.
Yin Hu had his doubts about how hurt the man actually was, though he wasn't about to test how truthful he was on this matter.
It didn't seem appropriate.
More so now that they were only a day away from reaching the large white orb that filled the night sky. I needed everyone to be locked in and prepared for the worst-case scenario at all times. Having anything to distract them seemed like a recipe for disaster. And that included Zhong Da trying to dodge his sparring responsibilities with the girls and aiding in their development indirectly.
Rong didn’t seem capable of holding back at all in any fight.
Another thing Yin Hu would need to teach the Spirit in the long process of developing him into a perfect nuke that wasn’t liable to sputter out and explode on them the second he released it to destroy a target. Efficiency, control, precision, accuracy, and knowing how to hold back and not show the extent of your abilities to anyone except in life and death battles were all items on his long list of lessons.
He even prepared a dozen reasons why for each point.
Yin Hu was more prepared this time around than what he had been with Hu Jun and Hu Shui.
That had been a test in both his patience and ability to impromptu everything from nothing and hoping that the girls took what he said at face value without digging any deeper than necessary. He was lucky it had worked so well.
Err..ErrrorRor
ErroroR…
System Malfunction Detected…
System Recalibration…
Recalibration Failed…
System Power Reset– EroorrRor
Universal Parameters exceed System Parameters…
Power Reset prevented...
Error….
Now all he hoped was that their approach towards the FirstCalamity’s grave did not make his system go caput. He needed access to the rice bag and that connection it had to the system. How? Yin Hu wasn’t quite sure, nor was he going to test it out. Seemed like the perfect way to ruin all the limited advantages he did have in one fell swoop by being too nosy and digging where he shouldn’t.
Yin Hu had his doubts about the trajectory they were taking and whether he should or shouldn’t figure out why his system was reacting to the First Calamity that way. Not that he was going to retreat now. The path forward had been set into motion. There was no going back anymore.
He would figure this out and hope for the best.
Regardless of what ancient truth or lack of truth he found there.