Chapter 19 – The First Challenge

Converting the 50 spirit stones into contribution points was almost too hard to bear. It was a significant portion of his wealth and the single largest amount he had spent at one time. Buying spirit seeds hurt less because he knew he had a decent chance to gain something. This time he would be throwing so much money at a manual that he had no idea would be useful or not.

On the walk to the Hall of Scripture, in his mind, he went over the description that he had read and reread many times since he had first laid eyes on it. The Causality of Karma had simply stated,

“All under the heavens are one. The world and the self. Karma is the thread that binds and the flame that burns. Action is rooted in cause.”

While it sounded sufficiently mystical and vague, Ren had read many such descriptions as he sorted through the hundreds of techniques and manuals. Cultivators had an unfortunate tendency to be ostentatious and put on airs, and it was reflected in the cultivation methods and techniques they created.

Normally Ren wouldn’t have paid it any attention but for the feeling that the jade slip gave him. When he held it, he could almost feel the weight of countless years pressing down on him. It could have crushed him but for the sense of patience that tempered it. Between that and what stood out in this description, the reference to karma, Ren had been intrigued.

Karma was one of those esoteric forces nobody really understood with any clarity. Messing with such things left people unfortunately stuck in a bottleneck. Either unable to comprehend more or advance in any meaningful sense in their power. Or worse, you touched on something beyond your ability and died without even knowing why.

Despite his trepidation, he had resolved to obtain it. He convinced himself that he didn’t need to practice it, only to read it. Yet, for his enlightenment to be triggered by it, he instinctually knew it was important. He greeted Elder Yun Peng, who habitually ignored him. Strangely, the constancy of the elder’s behavior settled him somewhat.

When Ren brought back the jade slip and somberly set it down on the table alongside his identification jade, the elder made a copy without looking up. Ren accepted them both back and went to return the original to its place. Distractedly he wondered what pervy book the elder was reading today. With his head full of tumultuous thoughts, Ren didn’t notice the elder looking at him with a piercing gaze as he left.

Back in his courtyard, Ren finished caring for the plants currently growing amidst the formations and fed the little tortoises. He didn’t want any distractions when he finally delved into his purchase. He meditated to center himself before he began. He carefully directed his qi into the jade slip and let the information within wash over him.

The Causality of Karma was a mess of cultivation methods and techniques. It was also incomplete. As he absorbed more, Ren revised that. It wasn’t incomplete; it had parts of it ripped out and was left with gaping holes in sections. As he delved further into it, he understood why someone had butchered it so badly.

It was a technique found on a deceased demonic monk. Little was known about the monk save that the corrupted monk had been involved in the destruction of the Bei Kingdom. The cultivators who had slain him had happened upon him when he had been gravely injured and even then lost a few companions before they finally took him down.

It warned that the only reason the technique hadn’t been destroyed and instead had been added to the Hall of Scripture was that it had been approved by the elders. They had concluded that the technique hadn’t been demonic initially and had been changed by the monk, not the other way around. The revised version was worth adding to their collection.

Ren was a little relieved that it wasn’t a forbidden text, yet he couldn’t deny his frustration that he only had bits and pieces left to work with. Moving past the history and the warnings, he started learning the method itself.

Ren didn’t know how long had passed when he finally opened his eyes. He stretched to work out the kinks in his body from sitting so long and left his meditation platform to realize the sun was setting. Almost by habit, he started building a fire and preparing his dinner. The routine helped settle his thoughts.

Slowly, from the depths of his mind, grew excitement. It was feasible. This could work in tandem with his path. There would still be a lot of problems, but he felt the challenges were worth it. If he overcame them, he could advance by leaps and bounds. He would be the carp that leaped over the dragon gate and transform his ordinary fate into something exceptional.

He still had a lot to read through and ponder on, but from the little he had understood so far, the methods spoke of a Seed of Intention. By acting with intention, he could build strengthened connections of karma. It mentioned a lot about the threads of Karma and about flames and embers, but he concluded it to mean that these connections could either drag him down or pull him up.

If the connections were positive and he earned karmic merit, then some of that power would be reflected back to him. There was no mention of how many bonds one could make, so it was easy to imagine that over time, his power could grow exponentially. Yet there was the flaw and, he suspected, the reason why the monk had been corrupted. If the effects of his intended actions earned him karmic sin, his power wouldn’t just be crippled; it may even facilitate a transformation into a devil.

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Despite the terrifying consequences it hinted at, Ren was optimistic. He would have to study a lot more to understand what exactly created karmic merit or sin, but he felt his path of creating things to elevate the world he would eventually leave behind was surely a positive action. If he ensured the quality of bonds he created and the “Inheritors” he chose were of pure intent, the karmic debt the bonds reflected back to him would be positive.