Yin had spent the last few days coming to terms with a brand new world. All her life, she had known the difference between mortals and cultivators.
Either you were blessed with Qi, or you weren't. Such was the nature of her world.
Yet now, that world was shattering, and Yin felt like she was trapped in a storm. She could feel Qi now. Or… Chi? She did not understand the difference. To her, all of it was the workings of the heavens and cultivators, not something a mortal like her should ever have to concern herself with.
Yet now, that energy flowed around her hands, and touched at her mind as an entire new sense that had awakened in her. The more she saw of this new world, the more her head felt like it was spinning. Tribulations had descended from the heavens, and as she had watched Lu Jie ascend into the skies like some sort of immortal elder, she had felt a fear in her heart.
What if the heavens knew? Knew that she had defied her fate, and tried to reach for things she wasn’t meant to have? Perhaps the tribulation had been meant for her. A punishment for daring to achieve a purpose grander than what was decreed for her.
She knew her thoughts were mere fear, yet no matter what she told herself she couldn’t quell the thoughts. With Lu Jie being unconscious, and the tribulation having left the villagers scared, Yin had pleaded with Yan Yun to keep her condition a secret. She felt guilty, hiding things, but the fear had grasped her heart. What if the Heavens sent a tribulation again?
As Yin wrestled with her own heart, she realized something even more terrifying.
It wasn’t just her. She wasn’t the only one.
Her brother had briefly mentioned feeling something when one of the cultivators had used their Qi, though he had not understood what that had been, or the origin of this feeling.
A few other villagers had mentioned similar things, of something changing in their perception. None were capable of sensing with the clarity she could, so they did not understand the gravity of just what it was they were sensing now.
As the third day passed, and Lu Jie woke at last, Yin had found herself unable to hold back anymore. Gathering a hold of her fears she had gone to Yan Yun, and found herself breaking down.
After consoling Yin, the two girls now sat on the floor, legs crossed, as they faced each other. Yin sniffed, feeling strange to be seated here.
“What you’re sensing is what a budding cultivator senses when they’re upon the cusp of breaking into the First realm,” Yan Yun said, instructing Yin.
Yin gave a nod, though the words only made her more afraid.
“When a cultivator reaches the foundation realm, the first thing they awaken is their spirit sense. This sense is the ability that defines the distinction between a mortal and a cultivator,” Yan Yun said, looking at Yin. “Though of course, that no longer seems to be true.”
Yin gulped. “I… I don’t understand. I have never… felt this sense. But now, all of a sudden, it’s there. All around me.”
“I don’t understand either. Truthfully, I think even Lu Jie does not know just how this happened. Whether it was the flash of the Divine Tree we saw awakening latent potential that was within you all this time, or something even more fundamental,” Yan Yun said.
“What should I do then?”
“First, gather yourself. Then, try to meditate upon this sense. What do you feel?” Yan Yun instructed.
Yin nodded, trying to calm her mind. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she focused. It took her a minute, thoughts interrupting her unsettled heart, but eventually, she found the calm she was looking for, as her breath settled into a rhythm. Now, she focused her attention on the new sense she had.
It was… like a blanket. No, no, it was a sensation she felt from outside herself, surrounding her like a blanket would. The Chi felt like she could touch it, and see it, all from the same sense. She could feel the shape and color of the Chi around her. It was ever changing, shifting and flowing all around her like the air she breathed in.
With that thought, she noticed the Chi flowing into her, with each breath she took in. It was a cycle, a breath in, a small pause, and a breath out. And in that cycle, the Chi would flow through her entire body, before making its way out.
Yin found herself sinking into this rhythm, her mind losing track of her fears as just the Chi began to move lazily through her.
“What you’re doing right now is cycling the Qi. Or Chi, in your case. That is the method with which a cultivator cultivates,” Yan Yun said.
Yin opened her eyes. “A-am I cultivating, then?” she asked, finding the notion ridiculous. Her? Cultivating? How could that even be?
“No, not quite. To cultivate, you must first form a core. A dantian that will hold the Chi you gather. Upon doing so, you will have become a cultivator of the First realm.”
“So… I’m not a cultivator then?” Yin asked, not sure if that made her any more relieved than before.
“You are a budding cultivator, who has not taken their first steps yet. I’m here to guide you through those first steps,” Yan Yun said. “When I had awakened my senses, my grandfather had taught me how to gather the Qi within my core.”
Yin watched a wave of feelings pass over Yan Yun’s face as she remembered an old memory.
“He had sat me on his lap, as he taught about what it meant to be a cultivator,” Yan Yun said, smiling bitterly. Taking a breath, she closed her eyes, before proceeding. “Cultivation is the gathering of energy. A path towards the Heavens, for the purpose of achieving the ultimate pinnacle. That of immortality,” Yan Yun said, looking at Yin. “As Cultivators, it is our burden and responsibility to act befitting our station, power and destiny. We are greater than the mortal shell we are born in, and we represent an order above that of life and death itself. Thus, it is our duty to guide and protect those beneath us.”
Yin listened to her words, feeling a strange feeling swirl in her chest.
“That was what he taught me,” Yan Yun said. “But the truth is something else.”
“Cultivation… is not the path towards the Heavens. Neither is its purpose to achieve immortality. It is the purpose for which we walk our Paths, gathering energy in our spirits and bodies to better embody our ideals. It is neither a chase, nor a race, but a journey everyone must walk upon.”
Yin listened to Yan Yun’s words. Was… that truly the truth? Could she also walk upon a Path of her own?
“The first step you must take is called foundation. When you meditate, focus your Chi into your spirit, and gather it.”
Yin began to focus on her senses, letting herself sink back in meditation once more. The Chi swirled all around her, flowing in and out with each breath she took, and Yin focused upon that cycle. The energy was ethereal, and she could see it, like wisps that flowed around, beyond the physical boundaries of the world. She reached out, trying to gather them within her.
The Chi swirled, and stirred, responding to her as she tried to gather it. But it did not stay. The Chi would flow in, and Yin would try to hold onto it, yet every attempt it could slip like sand flowing within her fingers.
It felt like holding onto air with her palms, and the more she struggled, the more restless the Chi grew, and the harder it was to collect it.
“I… can’t do it,” Yin said, opening her eyes. “It’s refusing to stay.”
“The first is not always easy. Some can do it without even realizing it, while others struggle for weeks. To ease the process, try and think about why you would cultivate. Give the Chi a purpose to follow, don’t pull it, let it come to you instead. Without a purpose, it will simply wander away like air,” Yan Yun said.
Yin nodded hesitantly, taking a breath. She looked at Yan Yun as a thought came to her. “I-if I may ask… what is your purpose?”
Yan Yun froze at the words. “I…” she trailed off. “I used to have one. A purpose for cultivating. It was… it was to make my grandfather proud. But now… I no longer have one. It is why I do not have a Path to follow any longer,” Yan Yun said, her words echoing with pain.
Yin looked at the girl, and she stood up from where she sat, moving next to Yan Yun, as she embraced the girl.
Yan Yun looked at Yin with wide eyes, but she didn’t resist the embrace.
“Thank you, Yin.”
“We are sisters,” Yin said. “I… I would like to be able to help you.”
Yan Yun smiled, giving a nod.
“You should focus on your own Path for now,” Yan Yun said, and Yin separated from the girl, taking a cross legged position once more.
Breathing deeply, Yin closed her eyes. A purpose. A Path she would like to follow upon. Yin thought of what purpose she would like to live with. What meaning was there to her life?
She thought for a long while, but found herself coming up short. All this time, she had lived without any direction.
But she could change that now. She could pick a Path for herself. And she knew just what she wanted.
Yin focused on the Chi, on this ethereal magic that permeated this world. It felt so… unreal, a thing she could not have ever imagined being able to touch upon. Now she reached out to it, and whispered her purpose.
“To protect my grandfather's legacy.”
Yin felt the Chi stir at her words, responding to her will. She took in a breath, and the Chi flowed with it, filling her.
Something formed, a small tiny ethereal ring. She could not truly sense it yet, but she knew it was there, in her spirit, a representation of her Path.
The world shivered around her, Chi flowing outwards in a pulse. Yin felt the Chi coalesce as it solidified near her abdomen, and she felt herself take a step onto her path.
The very first step.
As she opened her eyes, she looked upon the world with a new sight altogether. That of a cultivator.