Newcomer in the Forest

Chapter 24

Newcomer in the Forest

Yue was terrified--no, rather, she was mortified. 

Throughout her life, she'd experienced plenty of awful and painful things--she'd had a hole gouged open in the side of her chest when she was just thirteen, barely surviving. She was forced to fight a Black-Flame Tiger to death when she was only sixteen, nearly losing her left leg in the process. 

However, no matter how deep in the wells of her memory she reached, she could not find another moment in her life where she was more terrified than now. 

She couldn't quite remember what happened, but she did recall being affronted by some cultivators on her way to the Nameless Forest to retrieve her grandfather's body. A fight broke out shortly after, and though she remembered winning, she did receive injuries, forcing her to run to the forest at a much faster rate. However, it seemed like she was also poisoned without having even realized it--she must have entered the forest at some point and passed out, and by the time she came to... she found herself here of all places.

The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was a strange-looking, six-armed monkey who was looking at her curiously. Startled, she braced back only to hit something soft and bounce off of it; glancing back over her shoulder, she saw that it was a bear cub the size of a large dog who was, also, looking at her curiously. 

A quick look-around told her that it wasn't just those two--there were dozens of animals all around her, all looking at her. Furthermore, there were six mud huts around her, and another strange building just off to the side, and a burned-out campfire at the center. It was clear that a person either lived here, or used to live here--most-likely the latter, as the animals consumed him... just as they would consume her.

But as her mind began to slowly wake up from its stupor, she began to pick on a few oddities; none of these animals were quite... ordinary, as it were. And they were not Demonic Beasts either, for the express reason that she was very much still alive. Demonic Beasts, even if they had base level of intellect, were still animals at their cores--they could not go against their base instinct to devour something, especially a Cultivator as that would enhance their own strength.

The true terror, the bone-boring one, came when she recognized one of the animals--it was the white, house cat sized panther lying in front of one of the mud huts, seemingly asleep. She'd seen it before--no, rather, she'd seen its image depicted in a codex before. Namely, a codex called 'Known Spiritual Beasts and Their Assumed Characteristics'. It was written by the Venerable Soul some two hundred years ago, and it was one of her most prized possessions (or, well, was until her father took it from her to give as a gift to some random Elder from some random Sect), and one which she read over a thousand times at least.

There was no doubt in her mind that the white panther was the ferocious, legendary 'Spirit of the Winter Unlived'. The myth went, four thousand years ago or so, the First Men settled a mountain in the summer. However, when the winter came, they were extremely ill-prepared; just on the brink of dying, a friendly beast came to visit them in the night and guided them to a system of caves in the mountain before it disappeared. In reverence, the First Men built a statue in its likeness and worshipped it every night for 77 years, causing the birth of the Spirit. Every once in a while, it would manifest itself for the travelers in dire need of help, guiding them through the blizzards and storms into safety.

Naturally, as with most other myths, it was just a story, with the only truth being that the Spirit itself most-likely already existed at the point of the myth itself being conceived. However, that was entirely besides the point--

That panther, just lying there and dozing off without a care in the world, was a Spirit Beast. It was as though a bolt of lightning surged through Yue's entire body, and she found herself abuzz with newfound horror as her eyes slowly gleaned past the panther and toward the rest of the animals. Though she couldn't recognize the vast majority of them, some, just like the panther, invoked memories deep-seated, amplifying the fear within her.

The strange, red-eyed owl perched atop one of the trees, with a glistening beak and a look within those eyes that seemed to contain the wisdom of the world, was, according to the book at least, the Spirit of the Ancient Wisdom Forgotten by Man. 

The lizard lazily sunbathing by one of the huts, with its tail ablaze with flames, was the Burning Salamander, the Spirit of the First Fire. According to the legends, the First Men were gifted the First Fire by that very creature, or at least the agnate of one. 

And the last one that she recognized was also the most terrifying--sitting between a pair of trees, playing with a tiny, black panther, there was a mule-sized tiger. It had two playful, dancing tails, fur as black as obsidian, and a pair of scarlet-red eyes that seemed to be burning. 

According to Venerable Soul, that was G'athun, the Spirit of Primordial Chaos. As it were, though they were called the First Men, the myths suppose that they truly were merely descendants of the mythical figures of the past. And in that Age Before the Age, there was a war that tore the world asunder, destroying nearly all vestiges of creation. And because the war seemed to have no end, as men and beasts and spirits and apparitions continued to kill one another, one of the four of the oldest Spirits awoke from its slumber and forcibly ended the war by taking back the vast, rich Qi gifted to the world. 

Immortals soon began to vanish from the world, unable to sustain themselves off of the pitiful amounts of remnant Qi, and before long, the war ended and, with it, the Immortal Age. 

The Spirit who stepped in was, supposedly, precisely G'athun, the Spirit of Primordial Chaos. 

Whether that tiger there truly was who Yue thought it was... most-likely not. However, if it had similar appearance, then it at least meant it had some connection to the original Spirit. And that... that was more than terrifying enough. 

By now, she regretted ever fancying the trip to the Nameless Forest, thinking that it would be better for her than it was for thousands before her. Here, her cultivation meant even less than it did on the outside. At least, in the Lower Ashlands, someone at the Early Core Formation Stage could become an Elder of some Tier II Sect and live a decent life. In the Nameless Forest? She was a stray twig, ready to be snapped in half by any one random animal just taking a saunter between the trees.

Just as she was about to give up on life, she heard approaching footsteps, and her heart leapt into her throat once again. Glancing to the side, she saw a man walking up to the clearing; he seemed to be in his mid to late thirties, and wasn't of particularly handsome appearance. His hair and beard were both black and unkempt, and his robes were tattered and awkwardly patched up. 

The faint feeling of hope that she'd be rescued faded quickly as she realized that the man was merely at Qi Condensation Realm. 

"Eh?" the man exclaimed softly. "Guys, did you do that to her?"

To Yue's shock, what followed his question was something she wouldn't have concocted even in her wildest dream--the monkey and the owl jumped and flew over to him, hooting and cooing, broadly gesturing with their appendages. 

"Ah!" the man exclaimed once again. "You found her wounded and brought her here? Good job!"

His eyes then shifted over to her and she noticed a strange phenomenon--the look in the eyes of the animals changed as their gazes found him. They softened and grew warmer.

The man coughed awkwardly as he caught her gawking at him before walking into one of the huts for a moment, leaving with a jug of some rather sweet-scented liquid. He walked up to her rather carefully, as though she were a stray kitten, and handed the jug over. 

"Here," he said. "Drink. It'll make you feel better."

Yue took the jug absentmindedly, still trying to process what she was seeing, and took a sip without even shielding herself with Qi in case it was poison. By the time she realized what she'd done, it was too late--the sweet, fruity liquid had passed through her throat and lit her entire body on fire. Just as she thought she was done, she realized it was having the opposite effect of what she feared would happen--rather than destroying her, the liquid was revitalizing her. 

She found her Qi being purified at an alarming rate, and even inspected her meridians being widened. Even if it was an excruciating experience, she grit her teeth and endured, realizing that this was something that 'never' happened. 

One of the most fundamental pieces of knowledge when it came to cultivation was that the meridians could not be expanded after one ascended to Foundation Realm, and that Qi purification was once-in-a-lifetime experience. However, she was experiencing both in vastly exaggerated qualities, and at the same time no less. Whatever that liquid was... it ought to be dubbed the Immortal Elixir, at the very least.

Though, even if in comparison it was just a minor effect, it also healed all of her wounds--external and internal alike--leaving her more refreshed than she'd ever been in her life.

She didn't know how much time had passed before she opened her eyes, but by the time she did, it had darkened and there was a burning fire going strong in front of her. The man sat on the side, stirring something in a pair of pots above the flames, while the animals congregated all around. She finally understood it--why they hung around here, and why they looked at the man they did. If he fed them things like that on the daily basis, she'd be ecstatic to be here as well. 

"You okay?" he must have noticed her opened her eyes and asked. 

"Yes. Thank you very much, Senior," she quickly bowed, pressing her forehead onto the ground. It was the sort of favor that very few people on the entire Ashlands could grant, let alone within the Lower Ashlands. And yet, she--a decidable nobody--received it. 

"Don't worry about it," he said through the crackling of the flame. "You must be Yue."

"E-eh?!!" Yue exclaimed in shock as the man stood up, facing her with a smile. 

"Your grandfather warned me you might come," he said. "And try and take him away."

"You--you, you met him?" she asked, her voice quivering with a combination of rage and sorrow. 

"Briefly," the man said. "He seemed lovely, if overcome with regrets." 

"... I always knew he'd come here," Yue said, hanging her head low and biting her lip. "I even managed to sneak some tracing powder on him, but he must have discovered it. That night, the way he spoke... it broke my heart. And it broke further when I realized that he would have rather come here to die, in this strange land, than with his family by his side."

"Men are compelled by strange things," he said. "Especially as we feel the death draw near." 

"--where, where is he?" Yue dared ask; by now, her confidence in retrieving her grandfather had bottomed out. But... she still had to try. 

"Here," startled, she looked up to see a shadow cast upon her--the man stood above her, extending his arm and holding a wooden plate of boiled vegetables. She took it, unconsciously, and watched him walk back. "He... is resting." 

"You... were with him?" 

"Until the end."

"..."

"It was beyond selfish of him to come here," the man said, sitting down by the flame, the dancing tendrils casting an odd shadow on his face, hiding his expression. "To run away from his family, chasing ghosts he should have buried a long time ago. But... I understand him. No matter the battle, some regrets are impossible to forgive. Even if the world blesses us with that forgiveness, we carry them internally like the wounds whose scabs we keep scratching, making sure they never fully heal. You should rest for a bit," he said, turning his back toward her. "I will take you to him tomorrow."

Yue fell silent, words caught up in her throat. Ultimately, she bowed toward him once again and found a small patch of forest uninhabited by any of the animals, sitting cross-legged and meditating. She'd only now realized she had broken through to the Mid Core Formation Realm, something she thought she'd have to work a decade for. 

Who was he?

That was the question hanging over her head... but the question she dared not ask.