7 - Blood

The River silen started its course in glacial mountains of Stormy region right beside the Rising Wind Mountains and extended its reach to all over the continent.

By the time the duo had arrived at the village the sun was already setting and the streets were comparatively less noisy.

Xuan Wen rented a room from an inn and settled on the bed as he started to meditate, while Wu Xing remained quiet in his small space.

There was an unsettling worry within him, one that he knew not to ignore. When people progressed as far he did they starting receiving signs from the universe as if the ambient Qi itself wanted to convey something. Wu Xing couldn't help but forrow his brows in his deep contemplation.

°°°

The morning came and Xuan Wen went out to prepare for his first hunt. He packed some supplies and headed towards the Nightshade forest.

The tall trees gave of a fresh clean air, the sunlight reflected on the vibrant leaves seemed shone with vigor and Xuan Wen inhaled a deep breath. "Today is a good day to hunt."

With a sword at his hip and the satchel atteched to his back, Xuan Wen stored forward with caution and forbearance. His footsteps made soft noises on the yellow grass that squirmed and receded back into the ground.

Xuan Wen paid no attention to it and instead eyes the thick foliage with sharp eyes. "Senior, any advice for me."

The voice didn't came for sometime that Xuan Wen thought that it wasn't in the mood to communicate until he suddenly heard it.

–"Just remain cautious and alert, as even so far in the outskirts there is a possibility of some monstrous beast wandering out."

Xuan Wen nodded his head and leapt onto a tree to get a high vintage point. From high up the forest seemed to streched forver to horizon and beyond, a group of flying beasts was circling far deeper over the hill and Xuan Wen ducked to avoid being seen. The birds did have some pretty sharp sight.

After a brief look, he found a small clearing not far from a gushing river, no doubt there would be some creatures there to drink water.

He swiftly made his way over and saw what looked to be a very beefy wolf over a meter tall laying lazing in the river bank.

"Tch, I should've bought a bow and some arrows with me, well no point in dwelling over some ideal thoughts." Xuan Wen first took out some rusty power and smeared it over his blade, then sprinkles some water and watched it spread and coat his sword in reddish hue.

Xuan Wen didn't charge at the beast directly, he needed a distraction. Since the wolf was awake and licking it's paws, he couldn't make any obvious movements.

He thought for a moment before picking up some gravel and climbing the tree and then the flung it down at the ground.

In no time the wolf was up and aware, its nostrils inhaling for whatever scent it could find and it did; of delicious prey.

The wolf moved with graceful gait and sniffed at the rocks and then it felt it. Wasting no the wolf as if it had eyes on its head moved out of the way of the blade with swift dodge.

"For a second I thought I had you, but I guess it was presumptuous of me to assume so." Xuan Wen held his sword in his right hand, a trickle of blood dotted its edge.

The wolf snarled, it pristine cobalt blue coat was now sporting a wound near its ear. It pulled its muscles taut, its hind legs bent and pounced.

"[One Will]"

The wolf landed on the empty ground, its prey having dodged its charge and it turned with lightning fast reflexes as its claws met the sharp edge of the blade. Despite its awkward position the beast held its ground, showing that it had more strength than the punny human before it.

The human lept back and the wolf took its time position itself and charged. The human was ready, meeting each swipe of its claw with a deft blow, and the wolf realise it; the human was weak. And it was getting tired with each blow.

The wolf ducked under the blade which sliced the top of its ear but it also left the human defenceless. A flaw. An opportunity and the moment it saw it, it lept with its jaw wide open, ready to tear the human to shreds. But then it happened.

First it was the muscles, they spasmed and grew stiff and the human taking the opportunity dodged the deathly blow.

"That was close, good thing the paralyzing powder worked."

The wolf didn't understand what the human was saying but it knew that whatever was happening to it was the work of this human. It stopped, caution and ferociousness replaced with a tendril of fear and then the human lunged.

The wolf retaliated but it's now clumsy movements proved a fatal flaw. Wounds began to appear over it and it let out a whimper of pain.

The sword grew wide in its vision and its sight drowned in eternal darkness. It was dead.

"Fuuu... that was close, I almost died there." Xuan Wen drew ragged breaths feeling his heart pounding in both excitement and fear. He was lucky that paralysis had kicked in the last possible second, otherwise he might not have come out of this battle unscathed; he might have even died.

All in all the fight had ended in his favour and he wasted no time in collecting the blood of the beast. Good thing he had some waterskins with him; they were larger than regular ones and were easy equip.

Xuan Wen stabbed at its throat, attached a straw and drew the blood in the waterskin.

By the end was able to get something around 8shengs of blood with some of it wasted on the floor.

After that he left the clearing to avoid running into any beast and made his way back to the inn.

Inside his room...

–"That...was a mess, how did you even learn to fight like that? Your movements were clumsy, you survived mostly thanks to luck."

"Well, I wasn't given some specialized training senior, whatever I know, I learned it myself."

–"Nonetheless, you need do start honing your skills from today onwards. The fight with the wolf could have gone easier and I advise not to use [One Will] as often; the accumulated mental fatigue can prove to be fatal in precarious situation."

Xuan Wen nodded his head in agreement. He was fully aware that today's fight had been won through 'luck'; if the paralysis powder hadn't kicked in the last possible second, he would have lost a chuck of his abdomen today along with his life.

But using [One Will] against an opponent like that did prove to be beneficial considering that he managed to gain some insights. It was a truly wonderful technique in his opinion.

The basic principle was to use Qi as a thread like connection and connect it together like web. Since he wasn't fully proficient he couldn't react to fast stimuli, but once he trained his muscles to perform specific motions to a specific stimuli, he would have near instantaneous reaction.

That night Xuan Wen used a Sheng of blood to cultivate in the Cauldron with the help of the spirit. He could vividly feel his progress as his Meridians connect to his muscles and skin, sucking worldly Qi through the pores of his skin.

After that he slept soundly.

Wu Xing felt his soul strengthen ever so slowly and that made him sigh. Not having a body was proving detrimental in this situation. It was good thing that he was a little stronger than before otherwise he might have needed to start searching for his next exploit.

Wu Xing sighed, this was getting harder than he thought. He needed to start making preparations starting tomorrow. There were a number of ways things could and will go wrong, so he needed some contingency plans.

Wu Xing stroked his soul chin and thought deep and hard.

The next day the duo went to hunting again.

From the Cauldron Wu Xing passed his words to Xuan Wen who was practicing a set of basic sword forms.

–"Boy, I need you to start searching for some fox kin beasts and give me their blood. If you managed to bring 100 Shengs worth of blood, I would teach you a set of sword arts."

Xuan Wen stopped and frowning, he asked, "Why Fox kin senior, you said species didn't matter, or does the fox provide extra benefits?"

Wu Xing who had already thought of an excuse started explaining with patience.

–"This is not about that boy. As you can see and already know, the Cauldron is not in the best condition. I need the fox kin blood to start repairing it, and possibly even upgrade its refining process. This would only benefit you so you better start culling some Foxes."

Xuan Wen nodded thoughtfully and eventually consented to its words. They didn't find a single beast that day.