Chapter 17- A Tree to Fill The Sky

Brother Fu kept a small courtyard in one of the back corners of the Temple. It was cozy, with raked gravel surrounded by short, wide canopied trees, a tiny pond and a bird bath. The house itself was unpainted wood, weathered by sun and rain and topped with the same black tiles every other building in the temple used. It had just two rooms, from what Tian could see.

The main room had a small bookshelf, a little table, and a few cushions on the floor. The only decoration was a picture of a Crane leaping out of a pond and flying into the heavens. There seemed to be nothing else. It was all the luxury its owner desired.

The two sat on cushions in the main room, and Tian listened attentively.

“I promised you a prize if you could light up the crystal when you took your aptitude test. And here it is.” Brother Fu patted a small booklet, the spine stitched together, and the covers made out of thick paper. “Our Ancient Crane Monastery has a few core texts that belong to the orthodox lineage of… you don’t know what I am talking about.”

“No, Brother Fu.”

“We have a lot of cultivation methods, a few that we really approve of, but not all of them are good for everyone.”

Tian nodded.

“The one I picked out for you is a less popular one, but still considered orthodox- that is, still recognized as part of the essential traditions of the and I have lost you again.”

“Yes, Senior Brother Fu.”

“It’s a good one.” Brother Fu smiled softly as he stroked his beard. “This is important, so just remember what I’m saying even if you don’t understand it right now.”

“Yes, Brother Fu.”

“Your first step towards immortality is to enter the earthly realm through the mortal gate. Basically, you were a mortal, now you are starting to become something else. Not really an immortal, but expect to be called that. You are cultivating immortality, you see?”

Tian nodded.

“The Earthly Realm is the broad cultivation realm everyone in the Outer Court, which is made up of the various town temples and convents, are in. We cultivate vital energy, which strengthens the body as well as other useful things. But everybody is a little different, and different people favor different elements. You therefore need a cultivation art that suits you.”

“That makes sense.”

“That makes sense Senior Brother. The complication is this- Cultivating vital energy never stops being important, even when you become a Heavenly Person Realm Cultivator. You would need a qi cultivating art that works well with your vital energy cultivating art. One of the reasons sects like our Ancient Crane Monastery exist is because we have very well established legacies of cultivation arts. Arts suitable for all sorts of people, at every stage of their development.

“So this is an art that is good for me and has a good next… thing?”

“Yes, exactly. Can you read it?”

“I don’t know, Senior Brother Fu.” His little hands opened the booklet Brother Fu handed him, the stumps of bitten away fingers pressing the thick paper flat.

Advent of Spring- Five Seasons First Law

The tree knows the sun and the moon, the earth and the heavens, and the changing of the seasons. It is of the wood element, rooted in earth, filled with water, reaching for fire and sharpened by gold. All elements can be found within it.

Within you is the tree, you are the tree, you are becoming the tree, the tree that connects the earth and the heavens, the mortal and the immortal, growing in accordance with nature. The tree digs mightily through the earth and reaches effortlessly for the sky. The winds and rain only strengthen the tree, the tree does not fear them.

The tree grows in primordial chaos, bringing order and blessings to the world. Sap does not remain still in the tree, so let your breath be ceaseless as well. The tree is the seed sprouting, the branches spreading, the first leaf accepting the heaven’s blessings. Above all, remember that a tree is Wood and Wood is the transformation of yin Water into yang growth!

“Brother Fu?”

“Yes, Junior?”

“I think the person who wrote this was kicked in the head. Brother Fu, are you alright? Are you choking, Brother Fu?”

Senior Brother Fu banged on the floor, causing his teapot and cups to pop up. He viciously poured himself a cup and slammed it back without the faintest hint of immortal detachment. It took a second, slower cup to steady him enough to look at Tian.

“Boy, I dare you to say that around some of the other Senior Brothers. An Inner Sect disciple might just slap you dead on the spot. I might just slap you dead on the spot! Kicked in the head? Kicked in the head?!”

“I… don’t know what I said that was wrong. He says I’m a tree, and that there is a tree growing in me. There isn’t though. I would know. I don’t have leaves. Or roots. See- I have most of my toes.” He lifted a foot, only to have it shoved back down again.

“Metaphors just don’t reach you, huh?” Brother Fu didn’t quite snarl.

“Metaphors are lies, right? I think I remember- they are lies people tell to make a point.”

That one was a three-cup job, with a refill of the leaves and the water, heated with a firm slap.

“You know, I am now fully convinced you were educated by bums in the jungle. I knew you were feral, but the jungle-bum thing was still a question. Lies? LIES?! Metaphors point to the truth! They are meant to help you see the truth.”

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“But they aren’t the truth themselves, right Brother Fu? And if they aren’t the truth, then aren’t they lies?” Tian tilted his head, blinking.

Brother Fu gave him a hard look, then glared down into his roughly glazed tea cup. “Tea leaves in the shape of clouds, trouble is certain. Naturally, naturally. Ancestors give me strength.” He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and then refocused on Tian.

“The author of the Advent of Spring- who was the venerable Myriad Blessings Child and the first disciple of the Ancient Crane herself, by the way- did not believe that the readers of the cultivation art were trees. He did not expect an actual tree to grow in you. He did not expect your blood to be replaced by sap, that you would sprout roots, or have your skin turn into bark.”

Tian started to ask a question, and was ruthlessly ignored.

“What he did expect was a bit of imagination. He expected the reader to take the tree as a model and grow. He wanted people who cultivated his art to reach for the truth beyond the physical and the mundane. Encouraging them to engage with the art and study one of the core forces of the universe, so that they would have an easier time cultivating the wisp of immortality they would need to reach the Heavenly Person stage. Not to mention all the other benefits this art provides you.”