Gaslighting, The Cultivator Way

Floating Cloud City Outskirts

A normal day for Xia Qinyue would normally involve waking up from her nightly cultivation. To then cultivate in her room before leaving her house to her secret pond to cultivate more. ( Seeing a pattern here?)

It worked for her as she could ignore the problems in her life, an innate feeling of loss from the disappearance of her mother, her father a man in grief, closing down, and her brother's lack of talent, seemingly separating the two.

It was a never-ending void of problems, and to top it all off, she was to be married to a talentless nobody, due to a promise from her family members before she was even born.

And even though she had been contacted by one of the fairies from the Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace to join their sect.

She felt lost, simply drifting from one point to another, and as the years go by, she felt somehow getting further and further from her goal of finding her mother.

But today there was something different. It was as if the universe was telling her that something was going to be different today and as she returned to the pond, her secret place, she found someone there, a very tall man, seemingly taking in the scenery.

As if sensing she was there all along, the man simply said "This is a beautiful place. Stillwater has always calmed me whenever I felt lost, and I am getting a lot of confusion from you".

The man continues. "I sense a lot of hate and anger, and confusion from you. You hate your lack of strength, you are angry over your circumstance, and you are confused about where to go next".

But before the man is able to continue, Qinyue simply yells out "What do you know about me?!"

She then proceeded to swing her sword at the man in anger with the man proceeding to catch her, swing with one finger, and then grabbed it.

" You know it's OK to ask for help. It's OK to open up to others when you're feeling lost. You may not know how they respond, but you'll know how you stand with them". The man proceeds to say while staring into her eyes as if he sees right through her.

"But instead, you are throwing yourself into cultivation to cope with the loss of the lack of purpose you hold in your life, which is understandable". Emilio says.

"But know this, all those that have fallen are not lost; they just need someone to give them a hand". Emilio says while letting her sword go.

"Who are you? I know almost everyone in this city, and you are not one of them" with the man simply, chuckling in amusement while saying, "Well, you could say I'm out of this world". Emilio says while having a dumb grin on his face.

The girl then analyzes what the man just said and comes to one logical conclusion: "You are from the realm of the gods. Please do you know where my mother is?". The girl asks in a quick manner.

"I do know where she is, but here's the question: what will you do about it? Most of the realms within those star realms hold cultivators that, at their lowest, are as high as Tyrant Profound, which will take you years to reach this rate".

"Also, the truth may be harder to hear than you know". The man says while looking towards the sky and pointing upwards.

The girl then gets on her knees and reaches her hands towards him, shakingly while saying, "Teach me."

The man laughs while saying "Girl, you do not know my purpose for being here nor my name yet, you are asking me to teach. You certainly have the guts".

The girl proceeds to get back on her feet and bow while introducing herself. " This one's name is Xia Qinyue venerable senior",

The man then reveals his name to be Emilio Reese, while singing under his breath. "Woman, you just tried to swing a sword at me, and now you're asking for me to teach you". The man then says while looking off in the distance."Women".

But then the man just reaches his hand towards her and picks her up off the ground with one swift movement, with the girl yelping in surprise as the man proceeds to dust her off.

"I'm trying to end all these pointless doubts, my new disciple. You need not doubt me nor bow to me. While I may be your teacher, I am also the man that shall be overseeing your development. And the first rule is to while you may refer to me as master. You shall never see yourself as lesser in value, even if not in skill or strength".

"My development"? Xia says, confused.

"Yes as while, it is important to remain studious and cultivate, one must also understand themselves, and understand that all things require a balance in order to function. How have you lived your life these past couple of years?".

Qinyue then proceeds to give her version of her daily routine with the man just frowning at her while shaking his head.

" My Disciple. While I admire your determination, you are killing yourself because, while one must cultivate to grow stronger, one must also cultivate oneself to grow better. As well as understand the importance of maintaining one's bonds with others as we are social creatures".

"But I have a purpose, I need to find my mother, so I must become strong". Qinyue says exasperated.

"But would your mother want you to be killing yourself, crippling your potential and future? How would your brother and father feel knowing that they could do nothing for you while you struggled?". Emilio noted.

This thought seems to cause the girl to pause and reconsider her actions since her mother's disappearance. She has done nothing for her family. While they were not estranged, they seem to have drifted apart.

Emilio then proceeds to ask "Now, imagine that you lost every one of them without so much as a goodbye for a mother that left you, that did not even send you a letter, nor know how she's doing out of fear? At the same time, you have everything you need right here".

Xia Qinyue seemingly goes through multiple emotions at once, she has done her family dishonor when they needed her. She lacks the skills to openly and honestly tell her feelings, and while her father supported her and her brother, she did not give them the same respect.

Then at that moment, Emilio places his hand on her shoulder. "And so, in this moment, my disciple, why do you seek power to reach some unattainable goal out of a desire to learn why or to safeguard what you have right now?".

Xia Qinyue then with a determined look, simply looks directly into her master's eyes and states power. "I want to protect my family; I need to protect them, for they are all I have left". Emilio then smiled while saying.

" Then you have already succeeded in the first lesson, my disciple understands that power comes from a need, not a desire, or at least not entirely, and to be honest, the next step will simply be understanding and looking towards the future you see yourself in when you reach your goal". Emilio then continues

"But before we begin, and before I begin to show you the secrets of the universe, we will have to deal with a certain stalker". Emilio says while grinning.

As Emilia looks off into the distance and sees a black-haired woman that looks startled and begins to retreat, but not before a hand reaches and grasps her shoulder.

"My, my, what do we have here? I did not know that the fairies of the Immortal Cloud Frozen Palace or secret voyeurs now identify themselves before I have to force you". But then a portal opens beneath them and takes them to another location.