Body Cultivation Hurts - Chapter 12

It was time for heat tempering. There was more than one location Nathan had in mind. The southern gate was known as the Great Plains on the first floor, but if you went far enough south then you’d run into a desert. In some places it got more than 130 degrees F in the afternoon. The distance made it his second choice.

Instead, he once again headed to the northern gate after the sun had just begun rising. He had plenty of water, snacks, some minor healing pills, and most importantly for his heat tempering, an herbal pipe.

The purple lotus he purchased to smoke during his cultivation didn’t have any health benefits in itself. There was no real healthy form of smoking. With his physique, he could simply fight off the toxins without effect. That didn’t mean the herb had no use. There were actually two major ones. The first was the most obvious. Breathing in excess hot smoke, a process no sane human being would participate in, would help temper his lungs. Secondly, the purple lotus could induce a dream state. This state wasn’t something he was aiming for, but something he wanted to build immunity toward.

Once he was running in the hilly country before reaching the mountainous region, he departed from the path he’d taken to the underground ice qi falls and headed northeast. Like the desert of the southern gate, his heading would take some time to reach. It was about half the distance which had been its redeeming factor.

If he hadn’t already lived one life in the tower, there’s no way he would’ve dared what he was about to do. Going up to the top of an unknown volcano was not for the faint of heart. Thankfully, he remembered a hot spring near its base. It was too hot to bathe in, but the heat radiated against the cliff face, and the poisonous fumes had no way to pool in the area to become dangerous.

Finding this one was easier than the first, but how special it was wasn’t as obvious. It was at the base of the mountain between a cliff and the edge of a forest. There was no waterfall, but it pooled up from underground. The steam radiated off the water’s surface at near boil. The extreme heat dissuaded most creatures that even tended to live in such climates, except for one giant salamander that was the size of an adult Komodo Dragon. It was nearly ten feet long and three hundred pounds if he had to guess. Maybe a little heavier considering the thickness of its tail.

It looked like clearing out the boss monster guarding this place would be up to him this time. Once again, he wished he’d bought a high-powered rifle for convenience’s sake. He removed his pack holding gallons water and leaned it against a tree. There really wasn’t much fist tempering he’d be able to do on such a monster, and wrestling around with it wouldn’t help him gain anything. A quick kill would be the best approach, so he patted the knife on his belt and ran at the creature.

Nathan rounded this approach as he took in the lazy way the thing picked up its head. It was resting, curled up on the shore, so he chose to flank it.

He’d fought Komodo Dragons, gaters, crocks, and wyrms in the past. He wasn’t sure if this thing would be aggressive or more defensively minded, but as he neared, the thing rose up, posturing with its tail held high in front of it like a shield and hid in a crouch behind it.

Seeing this, he ran right at its hidden maw.

Once in range, the tail retreated, and a maw lunged at him, threating to bite him in half.

Dancing to the side, he leaped on its back. Its long neck made his target difficult since he’d slid down to rest on its midsection. Patting the thing in the side, he mumbled, “Sorry, buddy.”

He didn’t need to see the giant tail swinging around to smack him off its back. With his feet digging into its ribs, he frog-jumped.

Soaring toward its head, he saw one beady black eye glaring at him from its sideward glance. It looked like it was about to swing its mouth around to catch him but was already committed to the swing of its tail. Thankfully it wasn’t flexible enough to spin its head around at the same time. That just meant it watched as he landed on the back of its neck with his knife unsheathed. Using his momentum, he plunged the blade into the base of its skull.

He was looking for something like the kill-spot on the back of an alligator’s head. He couldn’t say for sure if all lizards had one, but this one’s anatomy looked promising.

The blade sank in up to the crossguard. With a twist, he pulled it out. Instead of the creature slumping over, its body started spasming violently back and forth. The worst part was that its tail didn’t slow. He cringed. This was going to hurt.

The man-size appendage caught him just below the hip and sent him flying off its side. He was thrown wide of the hot springs, so he let himself land before rolling and pushing himself up onto his good leg.

The creature tossed its head and tail back and forth violently. He feared it would soon recover. It was stronger than he first suspected, but then its tail smacked it upside the head. The violent writhing didn’t stop so he breathed a sigh of relief as he backed up and scanned the edge of the water to make sure there wasn’t anything he’d missed waiting in ambush.

It finally stopped moving a few minutes later.

Nathan was reluctant but swallowed a recovery pill for his leg to heal faster. He needed to be ready for a fight. It wasn’t uncommon for other predators to rush in when a boss monster was finished off. Most of them grew by eating creatures so it was only natural for them to yearn over a high-level carcass.

He stood there next to the corpse and considered what to do with it. He felt the sweat building on his brow and the heat from the hot springs that rebounded off the far wall. It wouldn’t be safe for him to take a seat and meditate, but sitting and closing one’s eyes weren’t necessary for cultivation at this level. Instead, he followed the edge of the steaming pool until he reached the outer part of the cliff face. He stood far enough away from the water so as not to breathe in any fumes, but the heat was already starting to cook him.

Leaning up against the wall, he removed his pipe, added the herbs, and lit it. He took in a deep puff before holding it.

When he felt the heat of the smoke pain his lungs, he held it for a few seconds longer before releasing his breath. He coughed and choked at the same time. Only then did he start his breathing technique. Almost immediately he felt his vision cloud. Remaining standing in this situation was probably for the best. With the heat of the smoke in his lungs on the inside, and the hot springs on the outside, his body would undergo the heat tempering at a more thorough and rapid pace. Fighting off the dream state the blue lotus could cause would only be a bonus benefit.

At the same time, he needed to keep his eyes on his surroundings. Keeping his back against the wall, away from the edge of the water and the dense forest, he was in the best position to defend himself. It was why he only took a single puff. He didn’t want his mind to be too far gone in case something decided to attack.

There were more benefits than just building up immunity to mind altering drugs the blue lotus would grant him. It would also help him fortify his mind, and more importantly, it would help him build some preliminary defense against soul attacks.

Yuma Takao’s soul attacks wouldn’t start out powerful. Instead of harming the soul, she’d only be able to dull it. In many ways, it was like hitting someone upside the head just enough to give them a minor concussion and the headache that follows. There would be some confusion and their reactions would slow.

With her on his mind, Nathan decided he’d send her information about the different herbs she could smoke when he contacted her next. Not only would smoking help her build immunity, but also strengthen her soul attacks. It wasn’t because it improved her qi or the attacks themselves. The benefits came from experiencing the dream state and better understanding it. He would also send her clan some details about plants like the ginseng he’d found. He’d disguise it as a desire to pass on helpful general information but customize it for her family. The time would come when he’d likely need to rely on them, so he’d build up some good will. He spent some time writing it up and sent several different pieces of info that should be helpful to them.

There were other parties he wanted to touch base with early on if he could. Individuals and organizations that would grow into peak existences in the tower. He hadn’t had the chance to spend much time thinking of who he wanted to associate with, so now was a good time.

Taking a nice pull on his pipe, he held it in until it hurt and then released the white smoke in a column almost expecting a bloody midst as his lungs felt on fire. Dullness encroached on his senses, but the next breath of fresh air filled his lungs with qi once again, clearing his mind.

There were other ways to make use of the herbs, but smoking was the fastest way to get the active ingredients into his system—even faster than injecting it into his blood stream. The safest way was to ingest it, but he’d need to go through far more of the herb to get the same effect, and it would have to be fresh. He decided he’d mention to Yuma the different ways of ingestion since he wasn’t sure he could envision her smoking a pipe.

It had only been ten minutes when he had to take off his pack and shirt. He sat his rations further away from the heat. Sweat was rolling off him already. Pulling a water bottle to his mouth, he sipped.

After the initial excitement, he found himself cultivating alone. It was still early in the day, and he expected something to brave into the clearing to begin snacking on his giant salamander kill eventually.

For the first few hours, he had a peaceful time of it, practicing his breathing technique, puffing on his pipe, and taking sips to remain hydrated. It was late morning when something finally joined him.