Daily life of a cultivation judge



"That was better than I expected.." Yang Qing thought as he woke up and stretched his body after getting up.

"Who knew giving it a beating could be so therapeutic.." 

Yang Qing's gaze viciously drifted to the rotund body of feathers that had a smug contemptuous face slowly peeking out of it.

"A beating? With those gelly hands of yours? Now I understand why you're afraid of leaving the grounds. 

With weak skills like that, even I would be afraid to leave.." the celestial nesting weaver mockingly said as it preened its feathers.

"Just you wait.." Yang Qing viciously said as he made his way to his courtyard below.

Getting into a verbal bout with the weaver was a battle he couldn't win, and he didn't want to get triggered into another fight with it. It was too early in the day for that and he was also mildly afraid of what poison would come out of the celestial nesting weaver's mouth. 

It knew how to cut through him well with its words from the moment it was a young chick. He sometimes wondered who it learned it from, or if this was a common trait shared by all celestial nesting weavers.

"The less I think of that bird the better, especially with me going to the brook of clarity. Having it in my thoughts is just as dangerous as those memories.."

Yang Qing had a small breakfast and then went on to pour his qi into the tear-shaped blue stone that acted as a key to get to the location where the auspicious grove wood tree was located.

His transportation was just as smooth as it was the first time he was there, and the requiting blissful peak was just as serene and breathtaking as it was yesterday.

"Good morning senior.."

"Morning Yang Qing, you seem to be in good spirits today.." 

"Well, I managed to have a good night's sleep thanks to your waters, for that I am deeply grateful.." Yang Qing fawningly said with a smile on his face.

"Is that so, well, other than the rocks, there is nothing else of value I can offer you. I don't produce fruits either, sadly. But you could pick a bit of the water from the brook of clarity, it loses its spirit-cleansing effects the moment it leaves my vicinity, but it still has a bit of purity effect that could help with flavor. You could use it to boil rice, vegetables, or meat if you want.." 

Yang Qing was confused by the auspicious grove wood tree's reply before his look changed to one of embarrassment.

How did he know?

"Little Bohai came in yesterday to see me after we left. It was a pleasant conversation.." said the auspicious grove wood tree.

Yang Qing could detect a hint of teasing and amusement from its tone. His ears reddened even further from embarrassment as it seemed like the elder he so revered from the Judicial Review Committee had already sold him out.

But now that the cat was out of the bag and his ploy had already been seen through, there was only one thing he could do.

"As your junior, it would be wrong of me to refuse. I will shamelessly accept your offer, and if there's anything you need from me don't hesitate to ask, I will do it even if I have to go through rivers of fire or a mountain of blades..." Yang Qing righteously said.

"Would you now?" teasingly asked the Auspicious Grove Wood Tree

Yang Qing let out an awkward smile unsure of what to say. It seemed that Jia Bohai left nothing out in his 'pleasant conversation' with the auspicious grove wood tree.

"But if you do want to repay me, well there is something you could do for me.."

"What is it, senior?" Yang Qing said as he instantly perked up with a hint of nervousness hidden underneath.

"Don't worry, it's nothing complicated. I can feel your qi is quite unique, the effects of a unique cultivation art, no doubt, but your physique seems to amplify its effects even better... Fan Ru chose well when she passed that art to you..."

"You know about it the art?" Yang Qing eagerly asked.

The art itself was incomplete, and though it suited him perfectly, he had to make preparations for further ahead. It was a purple-grade art, and despite the skills he had and how much he enjoyed filling in the blanks when it came to cultivation arts, restoring a purple-grade art was a tall order.

He needed as much help as he could get and from the auspicious grove wood tree's words, it seemed like the saint-grade tree knew a thing or two about it.

"Fan Ru never told you about it?" 

"No, she just gave it to me, explained its name and features, and said the rest was up to me as she quickly left to research something..." said Yang Qing with a rueful smile.

"Sounds like her. Well, I don't know much about it other than the fact it belonged to a sect called the universal resonance light sect, a sect as old as the continent itself.

They created the art with the goal of creating an adaptable body, qi, and soul. With it, they could traverse anywhere with no worry at all about the attributes and intrinsic nature of the places they traveled to.

The art was so robust that someone in the core formation realm who cultivated it to the emergent stage could survive in the void for a few minutes thanks to the art.

It was an art meant to guarantee survival and adaptability in all areas and situations. A truly marvelous art, however, for as adaptable as it was, ironically it was stringent in its requirements of the user, few could ever cultivate it beyond the emergent stage.

But with your physique and aptitude, we may yet see what it looks like in natural sentience. Fan Ru may have come to the same thoughts, which was why she gave it to you.."

"She did? You think too highly of me,  but I will try my best, the only problem is what I have now is incomplete, and I'm uncertain of being able to fill in the missing parts, not unless there is a complete copy somewhere.." said Yang Qing with a sigh.

"Well it's not entirely impossible for some copy to exist but I feel the odds of that happening are slim to none. The cultivators of the Origin Universe Light Sect, were....well what's the right word, eccentric? No, Weird? No, I think unique individuals is the right word..."