Chapter 24: Cold (Part 5)

Year 11, Day 27

Amidst the trees, in pale white

Freeze was more than just her connection to her brother, and although she and her brother didn't talk much to others besides themselves and Father, she knows she is more than just the twin sister of Frost. They are connected in a soul deep way, but they are also separate in another way. With a single thought and intention, Freeze knew her brother would also help her, and together they gathered their own separate but united Ice Qi, Frost gathered and concentrated the Qi while Freeze prepared the attack- In a swift explosion of cold, a large area of about 56 meters in a cold cone that froze and turned about 33 ants into ice statues. [Better] A single word echoed through their minds- Father did something to all their siblings that now Freeze and Frost can feel them the same way they feel and know each other, but in a more superficial way.

Unlike their connection, their siblings actually need to use words and images to communicate, while Freeze and Frost do it so easily that not even words are needed, a simple intent or emotion spoke more than a thousand words for both of them. They both wanted to do better, be in complete and concrete synchrony! This was the effect of their ability [Twinlepathy], their souls were deeply connected in a way that they could understand and know the thoughts of the other one quickly and easily. It was almost like their souls were one entity and two separate entities at the same time! 

[Better] - Once again, they needed to get better. Father would grant them the best Qi he could make, but they were the ones who had to put in the effort to actually increase their Cultivation together. Freeze this time helped Frost with the Qi gathering part, she shaped the intent behind her actions and Frost easily understood them, also doing the same she was doing and pulling the Ice Qi in a single thin line of long and flat snowflakes in a row. Together, they shot forward each snowflake in a burst, making them all extremely cold projectiles at the speed just short of breaking the sound barrier- Such a feeble thing could be easily broken by a cultivator anyway. Each small snowflake froze an ant completely at the touch, but the cold did not stop at a single ant, but instead spread out like roaring flames of white moonlight, consuming the ants and turning them into frozen statues of corpses.

"...More." Freeze said, making Frost stop for a second. He soon understood and nodded along to her idea - They were pranksters, why not prank the ants too? With their face cold and expressionless but their minds full of warm mischievous thoughts, they found an opening to one of the tunnels that led into the underground, where the many ants came out of. They floated, their bodies turned semi-ethereal as they willed their bodies to turn into snow that was moved through by their will. 

Frost was more than just his connection to his sister, and although he and his sister didn't talk much to others besides themselves and Father, he knows he is more than just the twin brother of Freeze. They share many likes and dislikes, sure, but they also share many odd opposite thoughts and expressions of emotions. While Freeze would deal with anger in a quick way, Frost would wait and turn that anger into a cold and calculated revenge… which is why they are going down the tunnel, both to "prank" these ants and to kill them all. Their bodies, he and his sister, blended almost perfectly to the darkness, thanks to them both using their Dark Qi. 

The way it works is that to use different Qis, you need to either have the affinity (cultivation root) for said Qi, or learn how to use it even without having cultivated it. (Root can do that, since he can turn any Qi into any Qi)

Dark Qi was cold, but unlike Yin Qi, it would grow stronger in the dark away from sunlight. Frost and Freeze knew that the moment they were born, like the many things they knew! Their siblings' names, their own name, the name of the sun, moon, stars, and smaller and more general things like the names of elements of nature, concepts, and even what numbers and time were. They knew who their Father was, and what they were, and they knew they were loved by their Father for he gave them the gift of living alongside him. 

They were part of a good family… Which is why they were enraged, deeply enraged when these ants appeared. 

[Zero - Flash Freeze] 

In a wave of coldness, soft frost started to spread out in the tunnel, making it very slippery. In fact, while Freeze and Frost watched in laughing delight, the ants tried to walk and failed, falling and hitting the ground one after the other. This caused a domino effect, with how the slippery ice made the tunnel almost impossible to walk, the ants started to slide down back to the beginning of the tunnel due to it having an upward angle, which made the tunnel into a slide. The twins shared an expressionless look and in their minds giggled before both sliding down the dark tunnel, using it to increase their speed - Ice Qi gathered around their bodies making a thick spearheaded barrier while at the same time using the Qi to push them faster and faster down the tunnel, soon getting a good speed- They were so fast that when they hit a few ants that were trying to climb back up, the ants turned into red dust and vanished. 

The ice front did turn red eventually, but as they were nearing the end of the tunnel, their thick spear managed to pierce through and even squash a large gathering of ants. It was like red glitter was thrown in the air, the dark cavern was completely engulfed in large quantities of Demonic Qi from the death of a few thousand ants at the same time.

Well, they shouldn't have been on the way if they didn't want to die! 

Now… Time to deal with this rest point while their siblings deal with the other ones.

Beneath a thick canopy, near the Center.

Zhu Tei held his hand right above his stomach, there was a pale white glow on his hand for a split moment before it faded. "And… done." He smiled as between his fingertips was a small pale red pill. He had received a book from the Great Ancestor, the book talked about the basics of the immortal art of alchemy and pill making, while also giving a few recipes for pill making. One of them is the pill on his hands - the Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill was a pill that, as the name suggested, cleansed the bone marrow of the body from impurities! Impurities are bad for the body, and although among cultivators many cultivate to elevate their souls to try and rid themselves of their mortal bodies, most cultivators have physical bodies. 

And their bodies can still have an impact on their Cultivation. Cultivators don't need anything but Qi to sustain themselves once they reach a high realm of Cultivation, but Zhu Tei who himself is at the Qi Gathering realm at the cusp of the 4th stage into the 5th one, still very much needs food and water. And these things have impurities in them, which is why he has to cleanse himself from said impurities to further increase the speed of his cultivation and the purity of his body. According to the [Alchemy for Dummies] book, the first things to cleanse on the body are the bones, blood, muscles, and then the skin. If you do it in this order, your body will be purified more easily! "Well, here goes nothing." He held the pill that he made with the instructions of the book- To make pills one need to know how to use Fire Qi or have a way to increase the temperature of the cauldron to a high degree. 

Thankfully, he knew a Fire Qi Cultivator. Little Yan Zhun was able to use his Qi and help his big brother on making pills, and as a reward, he also received one. Zhu Tei pressed his finger against his cheek where a small scar rested, given by his once thought little sister in cultivation that grew too arrogant. He put the pill on his mouth and swiftly swallowed it- Immediately it tasted like fire! His tongue felt almost like it was burning for a moment as the pill went down and reached his stomach, quickly being consumed by his mortal body- A few moments after the consumption of the pill, Zhu Tei felt his bones start to itch, feeling like a thousand ants were crawling inside his bones. Immediately he opened his mouth to scream, but from the pores of his skin and his open mouth, this black sludge started to spray out. It was like a river of black had suddenly been born inside his body, because after 30 whole seconds of vomiting, he took a deep breath as his body began to feel…

Light. 

"...this stinks." And it really did, it stank worse than any shit he had ever taken in his whole life! It was so bad he almost vomited again, but his tongue could still taste the black sludge on his mouth. His face went pale as he began to heave, his bones cracking and an immeasurable amount of pain shocking through his entire skeleton. First it was his fingers, then his hands, then his arms, his torso, his skull and neck, his shoulders and knees, his leg and feet, his whole fucking spine. It hurt like his bones were all breaking at the same time and healing faster than he could react, but in fact his bones were being cleansed. He, who lived long 17 years of consuming impurities to survive, had all of it expelled from his whole body at once. 

The pill worked. 

But it worked too well. All his bones were damaged, not broken anymore, thanks to Root himself healing his sect's only Spirit Cultivator. He did not ask if the boy was alright, he did, however, lecture him and praised him at the same time: "All your bones broke due to the sheer strength at which your pill worked. If used properly, it can be a killing weapon, so from now on, do not test them yourself." He thought it was a good enough praise and lecture, soon he left the boy to his painful body while also sending one of the mortals to clean the floor. How? He simply willed one of his lesser children to bump against the wind chimes of the building where they lived.

Root was grooming a whole family of mortals to become a family of butlers and maids for his sect, which was working wonderfully. They were paid by having the richest life they ever could around these parts, by having a large home and good food daily. They were taught the rules to follow while Root also took all his knowledge about butlers and maids he had and shoved it into their minds with his [Root of Knowledge] skill, making them the best butlers and maids he could realistically have here. He did his best effort to also compile knowledge about a few cultures he wanted his kingdom and sect to follow the footsteps of, to be an example of art, etiquette, and music. 

But that's for the future, right now?

Right now he had children to guide and help- more specifically, Lumin. His whole body blazed a bright red coloration as the air fizzled and shifted with the sheer heat of his form.

He was going supernova.