Entering the Flame Tower

Jack then continued "The balm and the incense stick are strong in Yin energy, while the flame is strong in Yang energy, therefore these should help us to cultivate more smoothly, that is to say, less pain and yielding the same results, at least that's what Damian and I have worked on for the past month"

The other three brothers bickered a bit about being left in the dark regarding the balm and incense stick, but it was truly an experiment for the last month, Damian had been using his time helping with the construction of the Flame Tower to test the balms, pills, potions, and incense sticks Jack provided him with, at least they found that an incense stick made by Moonlight Grass and water ginseng, coupled with a balm made of dark moss and moon touched bark, were perfect to add a tinge of Yin energy to the chaotic Yang energy of the Flame making it tamer.

The concept had been explained by Jack to Damian in the previous month. The Yin-Yang cycle was one of the eight great principles of Alchemy. where there was an unbalance of these energies, chaotic phenomena occurred. In the case of the flame being pure Yang there was an unbalance of Yin, making the Qi chaotic. However, if a bit of Yin was added to the Qi absorbed the Yang would try to feed on the Yin, burning away the impurities the sticks and balm may have in the process. All alchemy products had a level of impurities, that's why they should not be overused, especially the ones to increase your cultivation level.

Yet they had found a way to circumvent the impurities, as the pure Yang energy of the flame would consume them, cleansing them, thus elevating the Yin to a higher level of purity, which in turn be absorbed by the flame, nurturing the Yang, balancing out the chaotic nature of the flame Qi.

During the test Damian had previously done, he had noticed a negligible decrease in the purity of the Flame, far less than 1 percent, while the chaotic nature of the flame was at least halved. In this manner, his brothers would get double the results with half the effort, allowing them to get closer to the flame more easily. They had yet to know how the golden core would be affected when it went through its baptism by fire. But according to Jack the effect should be the same or nearly the same, they could still increase their cultivation level quite swiftly.

After they had explained the theory and the experiments, Jack continued: "The balm should be put on the soles, hands, forehead, and below the belly button. The incense stick should be lighter in front of you to use the medicinal effect of the incense in your Qi barrier".

Once the explanation ended they each took off their shoes and put them in their storage bags, they then proceeded to apply the balm on the soles, forehead, hands, and below the belly button as instructed by Jack.

Once they finished, they began to walk at their own pace, Jurgen was the first to stop at ten steps, he then sat in a meditative position put the incense stick in front of him, and began to meditate, the surprise he felt for the quality and quantity of the Qi left him astonished. Jurgen's surprise was due to the difficulty of cycling the Qi inside his channels and Dantian, especially, since this was with its chaotic nature halved.

Jurgen could feel, that the pureness and the vastness of the Qi would allow him in a single day to progress in his cultivation what he could advance one or two months on the outside.

Soon, similar scenes were playing with Rodrick and Caleb, they were able to advance twenty-five steps. There were a total of seventy steps to the ladder upstairs. Jack for his part was at the sixth layer, therefore he was able to advance up to the fifty-nine step, for this first time he had indeed done quite well, At this part of the floor the corridor was nearly at the end of the first chamber of the cave, no doubt this was due to Jack top tier Qi control, as well, as the balm.

Jack then sat and began cultivating. Damian observed his brothers reminiscing of the old simpler days, and fearful of the distant future. He knew right now, the city was at peace, however, beast waves, as well, as internal strife, and wars with other clans were a palpable scenario they would have to face at least once. Rodrick and Caleb weren't truly interested in cultivating to become strong, after all, with their spirit root they should have reached at least the middle stages of the Golden Core realm, They only cultivated because of Damian and Jack's constant bickering.

Jack did cultivate diligently and was quite strong, but a great deal of his attention was directed towards Alchemy, therefore slowing down his cultivation. Jurgen did want to be strong because he wanted to explore and adventure, the only reason he hadn't done so yet, was because he had been forbidden by Jack and Damian to leave the city.

He did like to test out his abilities against classmates and other cultivators, but he was quite reckless, and they knew that if they allowed him outside he would just go to find a strong opponent. Damian hoped that once Jurgen grew up a bit, he would be more level-headed.

Damian wanted to grow strong because of himself, but also to protect his brothers. In this world, all could be subject to danger, that's why he wanted his brothers to be able to fend for themselves. The same could be said about his clan in general, most of them were pacifist at heart. The council was well aware of this situation, and that's why they wanted to motivate classmates to cultivate, otherwise, the other clans would in time surpass them and overthrow them. They understood that the relative pace of the city was maintained because they were strong.

Damian stopped himself from delving into his anxiety and fears and went up to the four floors. The four floors were thought for each cultivation realm, however, it was not restricted for cultivators to go up to the next floor. It was more, like a safety net for the cultivators, they could go up as long as their cultivation and determination allowed them.

Once on the fourth floor of the Flame Tower, Damian went up to the flame and put the incense between himself and the flame. He then began to cultivate pulling on the connection that existed between himself and the flame. He truly marveled at the efficacy of the incense sticks and the balm, even with the connection he had with the flame the Qi still was quite chaotic, but now the Qi flowed into him quite easily. At this rate, he should be able to reach Nascent Soul in less than a year.