Chapter 144 - On the trail.

Xin woke up battered, his spine aching, nose snotty and throat sore. He'd slept in a small hollow, camouflaged by a few bushes. His two plaids served as bedspread and blanket, and his backpack as a pillow. Though he had a small tent attached to his gear, setting it would make it harder to stay concealed, not to mention the danger of being trapped inside if he were attacked. Instead, he spread the tent out beneath him as another layer of insulation. 

His sleep was fragmented, and every half-hour he'd jump up startled by a distant sound, an insect crawling on his body, or his own gnawing anxiety. Still, he was alive, and that was what mattered most.

After rubbing the sleep from his eyes and stretching his aching body, Xin chewed on a piece of wild rye nomad bread, dried into a cracker, followed by a few bites of dried meat, then washed it all down with two small sips of wine to chase away the morning chill. Winter was steadily creeping up, and it was evident not just in the weather, but also in the forest's hues becoming funeral-bleak. 

Xin cleaned and packed his equipment, then continued his search. A cloud of doubt loomed over him — if he made just one error in his judgements and assumptions, his search would be fruitless. Nevertheless, at this point in time, he could only commit fully to his current plan, as anything else would mean Erdeni's and his son's death.

It's weird how well I feel I know the demoness now. Hard to tell if we're enemies or old buddies. I know her early life — she wasn't born a cultivator, just stumbled onto a chance and sunk her teeth into it. I know her middle years — talentless, yet determined and diligent, she had to survive a great deal to reach the Condensation stage.

Not from her first try, that I am sure. Reaching the Condensation stage was significantly harder than reaching rank one, so that's where the cultivation journey ended for most people. It required talent, a great deal of resources, a decent bloodline (or a special body, as in the yaoguai case), vast amounts of knowledge and a powerful spirit. If one lacked in one of these areas, they'd have to compensate by exceeding in others, or they'd be forever bottlenecked.

The demoness' solution to her shortcomings? Blood path. Lack of alchemy finesse? Blood path. Limited resources? Blood path. Lack of xiandao mastery and wood path comprehension? Blood path. The price? Likely a hundred mortal lives, perhaps even more.

Yet no one stopped her. What was her bounty, a hundred thirty spirit stones? A bit more than one for every soul slain and tortured. She probably spent decades committing atrocities, yes the strong of the world had "better things to do"? Disgusting. 

She did all this, and what for? Longevity? I doubt her life expectancy increased with cultivation. Yes, her core is giving her fifteen years of lifespan, yet the blood path often wears down the organs and meridians. She likely went even. Wealth? She's hiding in a forest filled with monstrous creatures with nothing to show for it. She'd do better as a trade company clerk or a secretary, it's far easier to master a trade than reach the Condensation stage.

Happiness? What a joke, Xin scoffed. Fulfillment, perhaps?

Yes. That makes more sense. Whatever the hardships that she survived, they conditioned her to trust no one, stay away from society and value her own liberty above all else. Becoming a demon was probably intoxicating for someone like her. An illusion of freedom, an illusion of meaning. In her mind, she's not a monster — the world is, and she's just fighting against it for survival.

She must imagine herself free, yet nothing is further from the truth. She's bound by her own pain and lies, and she chooses to give in to the delusions they spawn. A lifelong self-flagellation, likely wrapped into a grand narrative, yet utterly pointless. Bound by these invisible chains, she can't leave and become an alchemist in a small city somewhere far away. Not because she wouldn't make enough money to feed her core — she would, she's just conditioned to keep doing what she's currently doing. To think that humans consider themselves above animals…

Xin sighed and stood up. The search plan was rather simple. Sneak around the area, scan for the signs of hunting activity or material collection, then deduce her current location. Ambush, attack, kill. Loot, escape. Relax.

***

Two days later. 

Xin left the depths of the Yellow Pine forest once again, then took a breather near a small waterfall. The forest's qi was too dense to replenish his own when he spent it, but at least it wasn't strong enough to drain his own reserves.

When Tu Qiang, who was rank one, ventured into this forest, his earth path nature was exposed by the wood qi drain, countering his element, and that was the reason he was so affected. Xin, on the other hand, was of wood and metal path natures — his metal element countered the wood element, and his wood element bonded with it naturally. Still, it was hard for him to exist within the forest's depths. 

He drank some fresh water from a crystal clean spring, cold yet unspeakably tasty — when a man is truly thirsty, no drink can match the simplicity and elegance of water. He sat up on his now worn out and dirty plaid, cross-legged, and meditated, absorbing the qi from the outside world.

Clarity of mind, stillness of soul… Clarity of mind, stillness of soul…

He repeated Rui Ming's favourite mantra a hundred times, and by the end of it, it felt shackling, rather than liberating. What's the point of existing if your mind is clear and your soul is still? If that's something virtuous, then a house cat is a Bodhisattva, and an eggplant is a Buddha.

Whatever. Xin stood up and cracked his hands. Enough meditation, time to put my hypotheses to test.

***

Later that day, Xin found himself scaling an ancient yellow pine tree, twenty times his height. Wood qi infused his limbs, making the climb far easier than it should have been. Still, the risk was undeniable, especially with one of his arms' meridians recently torn and not fully healed, hindering his qi flow and control. If someone spotted him from the ground, descending quickly would be no simple task, even having prepared a long rope just in case.

The chilling early winter wind whistled in his ears, penetrating the cloth padding of his underarmour and biting into his flesh, and the treetop itself shook, bending left and right with every gust of wind. From this elevated location, Xin could see quite far — the forest looked like an almost monotonous gathering of trees of all sizes, mostly yellow pines, stretching to the horizon, only occasionally broken down by a small lake, a hill or green glade. Around a third of the trees were covered in parasitic plants, and there was no sign of the ethereal golden glow this place was famous for in the past. It's not supposed to be that bleak, even in winter… Xin knew it wasn't the time and place to think about this, yet he couldn't help but grieve.

Master, I think it's time to use my powers.

Thanks for reminding me, Baihu. Let's do this.

Celestial Vigil. Xin felt quite small again, dissolving in the outside world, his sense of self miniscule compared to the feelings flowing into his consciousness. He saw streams of qi, earth and heaven, rapidly move around, flicker and change colours. His own body, on the contrary, looked like the most mundane thing in existence, thanks to the forest's qi drain, especially his wrist with the damaged meridians. 

Whatever, I need to focus. Where would the spirit leaves be? This forest ought to have some glades with these, otherwise the demoness wouldn't settle here. Well, what if she didn't have a choice of where to settle? Shit, I need to stop doubting myself. I am getting closer, I know this.

Xin outlined a list of conditions for the appearance of a spirit leaf glade once again:

A small, open area, surrounded by trees from all sides.

Qi dense soil, ideally part of a natural ley line.

A healthy, yet not overwhelming flow of heavenly qi.

And, finally — a source of water nearby, be it an underground spring or a river.

With that in mind, his eyes scanned the horizon, tracing the qi flows he saw through Celestial Vigil, until his gaze caught on several promising landmarks.

***

Later that evening.

The sun had already dipped low, yet Xin's search for the spirit leaves was largely fruitless. At first, he found an old dead oak, choked into drying up by the nearby pines, and harvested the qi active toxic moss growing on it. An hour later, he narrowly avoided a grab of a carnivorous vine plant, then quickly dispatched it with one Woodcutter's Downswing of his sword, severing it in half. As it turned out, it protected a small colony of psychedelic mushrooms growing underneath. Useless for now, but can be sold for a decent price. Still, no spirit leaves.

Xin sighed. One more location remained — an open glade beside a tall hill, with a river flowing on the opposite side. This glade could only house spirit leaves if it was right atop of an underground stream, which was unlikely, but it was still worth checking out. Xin shuddered as he heard a cry of an eagle in the distance, swallowed his saliva and spread the bushes leading into this open area.

Oh. Xin didn't need Celestial Vigil to feel the disturbance in the heaven qi. His regular attunement was more than enough. A chilling sensation spread through his body, goosebumps standing up on his arms. This reminded him of the lake he used to enjoy with Erdeni, yet here this sensation was enhanced sevenfold. His heart beating, Xin rushed to investigate.

Oh. It's just a circle of celandine plants. Wait, no. Nothing grows inside, and the plants are situated rather symmetrically! The whole thing is manmade!

Xin carefully investigated the area, then stepped into the circle to look closer.

No, no spirit leaves. Unless?

Xin activated his Celestial Vigil just in case. As soon as he did, he felt the subtle vibrations of the earth underneath, and the whole place felt like it was humming a gentle tune, sounding like the wood path segment of his breakthrough music. Fascinating.

Xin knew now, but he still dug into the cold, solid soil with his bare hands, just to be sure. He found several spirit leaf seeds, unhatched!

Xin felt overwhelmed with the hunter's thrill. This told him so much!

Someone… Fuck, not someone, the demoness herself, she came here and plucked the previous leaves, then planted the seeds! She also made this celandine plant circle to soak it in the spirit leaf emanations, creating a symbiotic formation! This way, by the spring, she'd have a colony of qi active, spirit healing celandine! And, given that the seeds are still intact, I know that it happened after she returned from fighting me!

That's it. She's preparing for the next spring, yet she'll never live to see it.

Xin's and Baihu's spirits soared up in unison, their righteous spirits entwined!