59. Shaman Stage

'Lead them away and summon everyone to the Takita.'

'Yes chief,' everyone around chorused.

'This way,' the lead lady said. She heads toward the village and Tanji follows after taking Eun Ji's hand.

After taking some steps away, Eun Ji turns around to look at the chief. Her eyes widened at what she saw behind the chief. The hill they had passed to enter, was gone and what replaced it was a Great Wall that ran around the village.

"An illusion array," she thought. She finally understood what the huge structures were for. They were ladders meant to help climb the wall.

The lead lady led them through the village, amidst the continuous staring of the villagers. Eun Ji could hear muttering, but could not understand them.

After a while, they arrived at a hut. The lead lady bowed at them and said. 'This is where you will rest. As soon as every guardian is gathered, you'll be informed.'

'Thank you,' Tanji said to her and stepped in with Eun Ji.

The inside of the hut was as simple as one could imagine. It had only one bed that was made of stacked grasses covered by animal fur.

Tanji exhaled and Eun Ji turned to him. She had lots of questions but didn't know how to ask. For starters, he wasn't entitled to explain things or answer her questions. After all, they were strangers.

"You have questions I probably won't have time to answer. For now stay here and rest. I'll teach you a method to cultivate," Tanji says as he takes out a pouch bag.

"Okay."

"I'll step out in a while, so rest well while I'm gone."

"Wouldn't it be better if we stay together? Don't get me wrong, if a dispute arises, it would be better if the two of us are together."

Tanji looks at her. "Is she scared?" he thought.

"In a strange place, I prefer to be with someone I know than be alone."

"I understand. Here, heal up quickly."

Tanji hands her a few pills. After which he took some and sat down.

"Thank you," Eun Ji says and takes a seat. "Well, when I first came into this legacy cave, I thought it was impossible to cultivate this energy, who would have thought it was possible."

"It's not possible."

"What do you mean? There are several cultivators in this village."

"They aren't cultivators, they are mortals."

Eun Ji frowned at him and Tanji sighs. "None of them are cultivators. In order to survive, they've strengthened their bodies so much that it rivals that of cultivators."

Eun Ji didn't stop frowning at him. She understood what he meant but couldn't believe it. How did they strengthen their bodies so much that it rivaled a cultivator's body? What gruesome method did they use on their body?

As if reading her mind, Tanji says. "You've heard of the cleansing bath right?"

"Huh? No."

"Hmm, the method to cleanse the body of impurities that is excruciatingly painful."

"The one they say killed people? I thought that was just a folktale or something."

"It became a folktale because people actually died of it and because the materials to prepare it are quite hard to find so it is expensive. As a result people stop using and it became myth among the lower class families."

"I see, but what does that have to do with them."

"There's a deep pool in the village, that grows all kinds of materials beneath it. These materials are used in preparing the cleansing bath and bone strengthen pills. The deeper you go the higher the concentration. They have been strengthening their bodies this way with the belief that the pool was granted by Gamiga, their god. To them the deeper they go and the longer they last in there, the more power they receive from Gamiga."

"Oh, none of them died?"

"They've been doing it for several generations, of course many of them died. After all not everyone can bear the pain. But generations of doing it have made the average child of the village able to bear the pain to an extent."

"Okay, I wonder…"

'Lord Tanji, all the guardians have gathered at the Takita,' a voice came from outside.

'Alright,' Tanji replied and turned to Eun Ji. "Let's go."

Together they stepped out to meet a lady. She was the second lady they had met in front of the forest.

'This way,' she said and led the way through the village. To Eun Ji's surprise the village was empty. There was not a single person in it.

It wasn't until they stepped out of the village, from the west side, did she see the villagers. They were all gathered here.

'Clear way for the gamigarians,' the lady spoke as loud as possible. Like a spring split by a massive boulder, the villagers divided and created a path for them. At the end of the path stood the chief. Her eyes closed and her hands behind her back. Beside her was the lead lady from before.

The trio made their way through the scrutinizing gazes, murmurings and even pointing from children. In no time they reached the chief and Eun Ji saw it, the pool. It was more of a small lake than a pool.

'Everyone is here,' the chief said. 'I'm curious on how you would help me become a Shaman.'

Tanji smiled and took out a pouch bag. From it he brought out a jade bottle. The chief and the two ladies frowned at his actions.

'That bag, we have seen it before. You are not a gamigarian!' the chief roared. "You are from the outside world!"

Eun Ji furrowed her brows at the chief's words. She clearly understood the latter half of the chief's sentence. She turns to Tanji and then at the chief.

"You wanted to trick us, but you didn't succeed."

The ladies beside them drew out their weapon and so did a few others among the crowd. Eun Ji reached for her weapon but Tanji held her hand and the jade bottle fell from his hand.

"I am from the outside world but I am also a messenger. Allow me to prove it by helping you reach the shaman stage."

"We would no longer be deceived. Kill them!"

At her words, the ladies made an attempt toward them. Tanji stretched his free hand and blue flames burst out from it to the sky. Startled, the ladies retreated.

"You would forfeit your only opportunity to become a shaman. What if the champion doesn't come on time? What happens then?"

"You…"

"Chief," a voice interrupted. It was the voice of the huge man from before. "Permit me to speak."

The chief turns to him, he was down on one knee with his head bowed down. She furrowed her brows and nods.

"Speak."

"If he wasn't a messenger, he wouldn't have known about the prophecy. You were there at the gate, when he replied us with the prophecy. A normal outsider wouldn't know about the prophecy to the extent of correcting us."

The chief remained silent as he continued. "Even your great eye saw no deceit in him."

She turns to Tanji who still had flames coming out of his hand. "Who are you?" Her right eye opens wide and her dark red eyeball stares at him intently.

"Why are you using that eye again? I barely escaped it last time," Tanji thought and sighed.

"I am Tan, son of Zhang and a friend of Cha Chaila. I came ahead of him, to increase your strength and help ease his task of facing the great tide."

The chief's eye closed and Tanji continues. "I am a messenger of Gamiga."

"A friend of Cha Chaila," the chief muttered. "There was no lie in that."

She sighs and said. "If you are unable to help me reach the shaman stage I will lock you up until Cha Chaila comes to confirm your words."

"And if I'm able to?" Tanji asked as the flame gushing out of his hand ceased. He released Eun Ji and crossed his arm over his chest and glared at her.

"We would acknowledge you as a messenger."

"Very well." Tanji bends and picks up the jade bottle. After which he tossed it at her. "Pour the water into your mouth but do not swallow it."

The chief caught the bottle and frowned at him. "After that enter Takita. When you reach the limit of what you can bare, then swallow a bit. Continue this process until you reach the shaman stage or until the water in your mouth finishes."

"That's all?"

"Yes, that's all you have to do."

The chief opens the bottle and pours its content into her mouth. She hands the bottle over to the lady beside her and dives into the lake.

Tanji turns to Eun Ji. "Seat, let me teach you the method of cultivating here."

"Huh? Okay." She finally lets go of her weapon and sat down. Tanji sat beside her and exhaled.

…

'She's coming out,' one of the ladies beside Tanji announced and Tanji turned to the pool.

Almost immediately, the chief surfaced from it. Her body was soaking wet and her hair was dripping water. Even with that her eyes were closed.

Tanji got up to his feet and she went down on her right knee. Her head parallel to the ground, her left hand on her left thigh and her right hand stretched to the ground, fist closed.

"This lowly one greets the messenger of Gamiga. Forgive me for my blasphemy. We all will follow you until Cha Chaila comes."

At her words everyone of the villagers got down on one knee and bowed. Together they chorused loudly.

'We greet the gamigarians.'

Tanji looked at her with a flabbergasted expression on his face. "You reached the Shaman stage already?" he asked and thought. "It's barely been two hours."

"I told you lord Tan, I was already at the peak of the king stage."

"Hmm, I see. The sun will begin to set soon, we should get down to business."

"As you wish."

"You summoned everyone in your village already. Are they all guardians?"

"Yes, exactly two hundred and forty five."

"You know your people well."

"A leader who doesn't know exactly how many subjects he or she has, can not fully utilize them."

"I see. How many kings are there?"

"Twenty-eight kings. Sixteen who recently reached the king stage, ten old ones and two at the peak."

"Those are equivalent to the third, fourth and fifth stage of the core formation realm respectively," Tanji thought.

"How many on the priest stage?"

"One hundred and twenty nine. Twenty-five at the peak. Thirty-two old ones and seventy two newly promoted."

"Respectively the second and first stage of the core formation realm and the ninth stage of the foundation realm."

"Sorry?" the chief tilts her head at Tanji's words.

"Never mind," Tanji says as he realizes he spoke out. "The remaining eighty plus are at the apprentice and newborn stage, right?"

"Yes, sixty two are at the apprentice stage and twenty six are at the newborn stage."

"With this force we can survive the first wave of the great tide, but we would suffer losses and we won't be able to prepare for the second wave," Tanji thought. "They need to increase their strength, but how do they do that in two weeks?"

He turns to the people behind him. "First things first, those two peak kings need to reach the shaman stage," he thought.