The Magistrate: Chapter 64

Chapter 64

Old Monsters

Peace Master So’s library was located in a hidden cave inside his valley. Every morning, Tobias entered the cave to read, and each afternoon, he would make notes, slowly piecing together an understanding of the core realm and what was required to reach it successfully and then progress further.

After his first week of study, Tobias realised that Peace Master So was correct, the Great Clans and sects had only given him core realm cultivation methods that were essentially trash. Each one was so poorly constructed that its owners had barely survived their tribulation, and very few had managed to make significant progress beyond.

By comparison, the cultivation methods of nascent soul realm cultivators were smooth and interconnected, displaying consistent dao concepts and patterns that built upon each other flawlessly. Peace Master So’s collection was the greatest surviving archive of the old world. He’d been lucky enough to be one of those immune to the miasma disease that had killed so many, and his dao had protected him from the monsters they became.

Many of these cultivation methods had been gifted to him by the dying heads of sects or hidden master, so that he could find someone to continue their legacy. Others had been plundered as he shamelessly pilfered the homes of the dead. The result was the most extensive collection of core and nascent realm manuals anywhere, and enough insights that Peace Master So felt he could successfully reach the sage realm.

The pride and joy of his collections were eighty-three sage realm cultivation methods. However, only sixteen of them were considered effective. The others had reached the sage realm and never progressed any further. They were the sage equivalent of trash, yet they offered valuable insights.

In the late Autumn, Tobias put away his notes and returned the manuals he’d been studying to the shelves to head for the glade where he’d chosen to cultivate his spiritual energy.

Splitting his time between study and cultivation had shown a beneficial effect he hadn’t expected. The speed at which his lower middle and upper dantian expanded had increased. The constant pressure appeared to have been too much for them. Peace Master So had never said anything, but Tobias suspected he’d known when he asked him to study.

Tobias raised the medallion Peace Master So had given him at the entrance to the cave and stepped through the barrier. The moment he was on the other side, he realised Peace Master So had guests. Powerful guests. Five nascent soul realm cultivators had entered the valley, and they were not from The Three Kingdoms.

Tobias had been around the disciples of all the sects and members of all the Great Clans. He knew how to recognise their cultivation methods in an instant. These were entirely foreign. He got the impression of spirit beasts from one, ink and talismans from another, but the other three were all a mystery.

Tobias cupped his hands behind his back and began wandering in their direction. Navigating etiquette in this situation was difficult. As Peace Master So’s guest, he should leave his host to attend to his other guest. However, as his Senior, he should send a servant to their servants to invite them to tea. But as a sage himself, he had the standing to address them directly and ignoring them could be considered rude, so he had to go and greet them.

Tobias could only trust that Peace Master So would give the appropriate explanation before he arrived, which was why he was moving at such a leisurely pace. His steps were even, and his head held high, as he came before the six nascent realm cultivators sitting under Peace Master So’s spirit willow.

Tobias cupped his hands and bowed. “Sage Knowledge greets his elders.”

The rugged female cultivator with wild white, bushy hair, sitting on the back of a purple tiger, folded her impressive arms, causing her muscles to bulge. She wore trousers and a vest made from nascent soul realm spirit beast hide, and her fingers and toes were tipped with claws. She was not an attractive woman, which was a rarity among cultivators and unheard of for someone in her realm.

She opened her mouth slightly and pressed her tongue between her sharpened teeth, cleaning them, before she turned and spat at the roots of the spirit willow. “Lung Shi greets the so-called sage.”

Tobias didn’t have the cultivation to address the insult, and Peace Master So didn’t come to his defence.

The woman with the snake-like white-scaled lower body who sat to her right did. “Has the great Lung Zhi fallen so far that she must bully her respected juniors?”

Lung Zhi sneered back at the woman. “His lack of aura does not mean he walks the true path, Bai Fang, and it does not mean he deserves the sage title.”

Tobias read a lot into the woman from her statement. She was powerful, but ignorant. A dangerous combination.

“Sage Peace recognised him,” Bai Fang replied. “That is all that should matter.”

“He’s not even a core realm cultivator. You don’t find that suspicious?”

Peace Master So smirked. “I would have recognised Senior sooner, but we had yet to meet.”

Lung Zhi raised her hand and pointed at Peace Master So. “See, this is what I’m talking about. The boy is being foolish again.”

Bai Fang flicked her tail. “Are you truly that envious just because someone a fifth your age is going to reach the sage realm before you?”

“I care not for his foolish path. I care that I must treat an infant as an equal because a sage finds it amusing.”

The elderly-looking man in a raggy robe, who was sitting on a large gold coin that floated in the air, suddenly stroked his beard. “Let us make a bet.”

Tobias felt the overwhelming power of the man’s dao wash over him. It infused every fibre of his being, binding him to the man and Lung Zhi. Whatever happened next, Tobias would not be able to stop it. The overwhelming urge to gamble and take risks had taken hold of him.

Tobias grinned. “What are we betting?” His words were almost frantic.

The elderly cultivator returned his grin. “A betting man would know betting comes after we establish the game, Sage Knowledge. The game is simple. Lung Zhi doubts your credibility as a sage. You must offer the cultivation insights that make her eat her words.”

Peace Master So continued to smirk. “Her path lies in body cultivation, Senior. She doesn’t stand a chance.”

“You willing to bet on that?” asked one of the other cultivators.

The handsome cultivator’s black hair fell to his shoulders in a wild mane, framing a silver robe that was clearly a nascent soul realm treasure. His body carried more muscle than a cultivator typically would, along with dozens of additional treasures, giving the impression of a walking treasury.

“Certainly, Yin Hao,” Peace Master So replied. “Should Senior fail to win, I’ll double the reward for your assistance. Should he succeed, you give him some of your luck.”

A pill bottle appeared in Yin Hao’s hand. “I crafted this pill from the luck of a fateful encounter. The conversation prevented a war. His homeland is at war, so it will be more valuable to him.”

“But not to me, and I’m the one making the bet.”

Two more bottles appeared. “I crafted this pill from the lucky discovery of a sage realm spirit herb by a nascent soul realm cultivator. This other pill was crafted from a beggar boy finding a gold coin, which paid for his apprenticeship and allowed him to change his fate.”

Peace Master So made a keep-it-going motion with his hand.

Another bottle appeared. “This one came from a battle between two core realm cultivators when an unknown flaw in one’s sword decided the fate of the battle.”

“No dao partners?”

Yin Hao sighed. “You were right. If you don’t have a dao partner in this life, that sort of luck becomes a curse. I’ve stopped collecting it and destroyed all I had. The luck of the right words and the right time leading to a happy marriage is much safer.”

“Do you have any on you?”

Another bottle appeared in his hand.

“That’s enough.”

“You're certain? I’ve never met a sage who wanted to get married.”

“Senior is not like other sages as you will soon learn.”

The cultivator on the floating gold coin turned to Tobias. “What would you like to bet, Sage Knowledge?”

“My sage title.”

He turned to Lung Zhi. “The sage bets his greatest treasure. How do you respond?”

“His greatest treasure is undeserved, but I'll bet my body cultivation knowledge.”

“Would anyone else like to place a bet?”

Tobias turned to Yin Hao, overwhelmed by the urge to gamble recklessly. “I bet you everything I own and am owed.”

Yin Hao glanced at Peace Master So. “How much is that?”

Peace Master So shrugged. “He’s the patriarch of a small third-tier clan, but he also has a cultivation academy that is likely as valuable as another second-tier clan. Each of his works is worth more than a nascent soul realm treasure.”

Yin Hao blanched. “Is he from one of the hidden families?”

“No. He’s acquired all that in his short existence. He was born a serf.”

Yin Hao stared at Tobias. “He did all that after only experiencing three minor, lucky encounters of little value. I’ve seen mortals with more luck than him.”

“Are you going to accept the bet?”

A bottle appeared in his hand. “A golden nascent soul realm lucky clover pill. The clover was picked right before it attempted to ascend to the sage realm, and the pill was crafted by the alchemist master Shi Yu. It will greatly improve his chances of surviving his ascensions into the core realm and nascent soul realm. It’s not worth as much as what he’s offering, but it's far more useful. Do you accept?”

Tobias didn’t care about what he was betting. He just wanted to bet. “That’s more than enough.”

The moment he said those words, the excitement and fever left him, and he came crashing down to reality.

Tobias swallowed, horrified by what he’d just done, but didn’t dare utter a word of complaint. Peace Master So was still smirking, and Tobias felt he understood the sage well enough to know he would not have allowed this to happen if he had been concerned about it.

Lung Zhi turned and spat again. “Now we will see what this so-called sage can teach the greatest living body cultivator.”

Tobias summoned a copy of The Weary Disciple Cultivation Manual, stepped forward, and presented it to Lung Zhi. The purple tiger opened one eye briefly before going back to sleep. Lung Zhi snatched the cultivation manual out of his hand and began reading, flipping a page every second.

She wasn’t even ten pages in before she said. “I knew I was right. How did you prove that? Oh, that’s how you proved that.” A few pages later. “It affects energy meridians. No. That doesn’t make sense.” A page later. “Well, that does make sense.” Several pages after that. “This assumption is wrong, but it’s so close to the truth that I’d still say it’s right.”

Yin Hao groaned with every comment, and Peace Master So’s smirk grew.

Lung Zhi snapped the manuscript closed. “Why does this stop at the peak of the foundation realm, Sage Knowledge? Your insights were just starting to become useful. Where is the next manual?”

Tobias bowed. “There is no next manual. Cloud Sect’s elders were not willing to assist me when it came to studying the core realm. I lacked material to draw conclusions from.”

Lung Zhi waved her hand, and five chests appeared on the ground between them. “There is your material. Now go and find my answers. I’ll come and check on your progress in a century, and don’t lose those manuals. Many of them are my only copies.”

Tobias stared at the chests and then glanced at his storage ring, realising he didn’t have a place to put them.

Peace Master So flicked his hand, and they disappeared into his storage ring. He vanished and then reappeared. “I’ve placed them with my collection for safekeeping.” He turned Yin Hao. “I believe you lost a bet.”

Yin Hao groaned. “I’m never betting against a sage with no luck again.” He tossed one bottle to Tobias and the other five to Peace Master So, before turning back to Tobias. “You don’t have a storage ring that can preserve that pill, and it’s two thousand years old, so go find somewhere to consume it and cultivate.”

Tobias stood there, shocked for a fraction of a second. He knew that some storage rings were better than others, but he’d never encountered one that could store pills indefinitely. Once he was over his shock, Tobias cupped his hands around the bottle and bowed.

The five nascent soul realm cultivators returned the bow to the same degree.

***

Tobias had never consumed a pill that did nothing but release chi. As the chi raged through his energy meridian network, creating spiritual energy, nothing about him physically changed. He gained no insights. Sensed no dao. Gained no additional strength or transformations. It was just a stampede of chi. And it went on for days, only ending halfway through Peace Master So’s ascension.

Tobias struggled to make his way through the violent storm of rampaging chi that saturated the valley, as First Disciple Chi opened the barrier around Peace Master So’s spirit willow. The first disciple had already reestablished his foundation and let Tobias watch as he formed his core. He wasn’t as powerful as he had once been, but it wouldn’t take him long. Long being based on the way cultivators measure time.

Peace Master So’s disciples cupped their hands as the barrier closed behind Tobias and bowed. “We greet Sage Knowledge.”

Tobias cupped his hands and inclined his head. Tobias had only met two of Peace Master So’s disciples. The rest had been tucked away in the valley, cultivating in the new, enriched environment to prevent toxicity.

Magistrate Chi bowed back, far more muscular than in the past. He’d been practicing The Weary Disciple body cultivation method to fill his time. Without the proper equipment, it was quite slow.

Tobias turned to First Disciple Chi. “Have the Khans arrived?”

“They arrived yesterday, Sage Knowledge.”

“Should I be concerned?”

“They are no threat, so long as my master’s guests remain.”

“You’re certain?”

“You do not understand the dao of peace do you, Sage Knowledge?”

Tobias shook his head. “Despite my many conversations, understanding dao still eludes me.”  

“Allow me to attempt to enlighten you. Peace comes in many forms. There is the peace of a home. The peace of long friendship. The peace that comes after and proceeds war. And there is the peace that comes from the threat of destruction. Alone, my master’s dao would not be enough to keep the khans at bay. However, with his guests in attendance willing to defend him, if necessary, his dao of peace has more influence over the khans, preventing them from raising a hand against him.”

Tobias considered the explanation.

First Disciple Chi was suggesting that dao could be enhanced by circumstances. The circumstances here being a violent confrontation that might lead to the deaths of several khans. This threat of death encouraged them to choose peace over death, thereby giving his master’s dao greater influence.

None of his conversations with Peace Master So had suggested that intent and actions could influence the strength of dao. None of the manuals he’d read had suggested this either, but if it were true…then the strength of one’s dao was intrinsically linked to one’s actions and environment.

If a cultivator did not live out their dao and surround themselves with their dao, then they could not bind that dao to their cultivation as effectively.

And that meant.

Cultivators were not the dao they pursued.

That one thought cemented Tobias’s understanding of dao.

Cultivators who pursued a dao path into the core realm pursued change. The change was within themselves. They were not harnessing dao, like the way they harnessed chi. They were changing themselves to become something else.

Core realm cultivation was not only about acquiring something new but also about giving something up. It was an exchange of individuality for power. An effective core realm method was one that understood how to make this exchange efficiently. It was a method that combined actions and the environment to nurture a slow, deliberate transformation. A transformation that occurred both to the cultivator and to the nascent soul growing within their core. Both were necessary, but each was approached in a different way.   

This was the piece Tobias had been missing.

It was the role that dao played in core realm cultivation on the path to immortality. It was the understanding that dao was not consistent like chi, but something that was in flux, changing depending on actions and the environment. It was why complementary techniques, spells, and body cultivation were so important. It wasn’t that it increased their receptiveness to the dao, which it did, it was that it turned them into the living incarnation of their dao, strengthening the dao’s influence over them.

This insight gave Tobias the direction he needed to go to begin his search for understanding. It also gave him insights into why some cultivators could not start the compression necessary to establish their core.

Spiritual energy wasn’t the issue.

The influence of too many conflicting daos was.

Tobias snapped out of his trance-like state and turned to First Disciple Chi and bowed. “Thank you for your explanation.”

First Disciple Chi had moved to join the other four core realm disciples while Tobias was thinking. They were all staring at Tobias, a mixture of shock and awe on their faces.

First Disciple Chi swallowed. “This one wishes to understand what he has just witnessed, Sage Knowledge. This one has never seen a cultivator change their dao so quickly.”

“You shouldn’t be able to comprehend my dao.”

“This one cannot. This one can only comprehend that a change has occurred and its significance. This one does not understand what he has seen.”

Yin Hao’s voice and presence filled the area. “Sage Knowledge underwent enlightenment without the heaven’s assistance, First Disciple Chi. It is something only a sage is capable of and is said to improve their talent. Now that I’ve witnessed the effects of such an enlightenment, I can tell that your master has done this once.”

“Was this my first?” Tobias asked.

“This was your third.”

Tobias cupped his hands and bowed. “How may I repay you for this knowledge?”

“Allow me to collect the enlightenment dao you’ve created to enhance Peace Master So’s ascension.”

“You may take it.”

First Disciple Chi also cupped his hands and bowed. “First Disciple Chi also wishes to know how he can repay you for your gift of knowledge.”

“You owe me no debt, First Disciple Chi. My answer was for Sage Knowledge’s benefit, not yours. You were just the instrument by which I gave it.”

First Disciple Chi bowed again before rushing over to discuss the matter with his fellow disciples. There were no walls between them, which was something Tobias had never seen. Usually, disciples differentiated themselves based on their cultivation, but that did not seem to be the case here.

Tobias walked over to Magistrate Chi and took a seat on a soft mossy spot, inviting him to join him. The man’s standing was so low here that if no one remembered to include him, all he could do was stand silently at the back. This wasn’t an issue with his cultivation, but it was boring.

Tobias tilted his head to watch the storm raging above. “We have been here much longer than I intended. I must apologise for this.”

“There is no need to apologise, Patriarch. I no longer fear losing my wife because of your kindness. If I must wait here for the next decade so that I may spend the decades after by her side, then I will not regret it.”

Tobias smiled. “That is a beautiful way of looking at it.”

“My brother might have had some influence on my outlook. The local fishing is also exceptional.”