Illusion

Somewhere in the Ling clan was the residence that the twins shared. The walls were made of dark, polished wood, intricately carved with scenes of nature and warriors in combat and the ceilings high and adorned with elegant chandeliers, casting a warm, golden glow throughout the room.

A large, ornate screen was placed in one corner of the room, depicting a beautiful lake. Above it floated a large island with snowy caps from which rivers turned into water falls that fell into the lake below. Lingyun was looking at his painting seemingly lost in thought as Lian served them tea. The fragrance seemed to bring him out of his thoughts and he accepted the small porcelain cup and took a sip

The garden outside was lush and full of life, with fragrant flowers, trees, and a koi pond. A stone path wound through the garden, leading to a small pavilion where one could sit and meditate.

"How do you get the time to train and take care of the garden?" Lingshi asked Lian as she took tea from her. She was gesturing at the flowers outside. The late evening sun shone through the trees in the garden and a soft wind blew into the room making some chimes ring softly. She couldn't help but sigh contentedly as she swallowed some more of the tea.

"One of the new techniques that I picked up actually requires me to train in this kind of environment." Song said in answer.

"Would you like a demonstration senior sister?" It was Lian who asked this time and she stood up.

"Please." Lingshi said.

Her brother also stood up and walked over some distance away from the table and sat on his heels. A zither appeared in front of him and he ran a hand over it gently. Lian was standing to his left with a fan in her hand. Linghua noticed that while he could see both of them their presence had disappeared.

They could all see Song's hands moving on the strings but strangely no music could be heard. Lian was moving also but it was as if she floated in the air for how silent her movement was. It was as if they had been transported somewhere else. Before them was a large green with a slight rise on which stood a lone tree.

The grass rippled as wind blew above it. The sound of chimes could be heard in the distance. Lingshi saw herself walking towards the tree. It looked like summer but there was not heat from the sun. Instead it was strangely comforting As she approached the tree she could hear the sound of the wind upon the leaves. She sat down below it and smiled.

There was a nice fragrance in the air that she couldn't place that tickled at her memory. Abruptly there was a tea set to her right and she poured some into a white cup and took a sip. A soft gentle feeling washed over her as she swallowed.

She didn't know how long she sat there but when she opened her eyes she was back in the room with the others and steam still showed on her cup. She thought she must have been gone for hours but for her tea to still be warm meant that it had not lasted long.

When she composed herself she clapped her hands gently appreciating the pair who were now seated in their original positions. She was not the only one clapping as her junior brothers were clapping as well.

When Lingyun had been transported to that place he had understood immediately what happened and would have broken free had he wanted but that would have been rude to the hosts.

"It seems you both have achieved Foundation Establishment." he said looking at the twins. Aside from Linghua everyone else looked at him in puzzlement.

"What's that?" Song asked and his sister looked at him waiting for the answer.

"Foundation establishment is the first realm in Soul Cultivation Arts, otherwise your illusory technique wouldn't have worked so well." he explained giving the details of what soul cultivation was and its peaks and limits to a surprised but increasingly eager trio.

Lingshi in showed particular interest in this since she had abandoned spiritual cultivation for body cultivation.

"... like how we could hear wind chimes and could also smell the faint aroma of the tea and the gentle wind that blew across the grassland. You were able to take things from the real world and manifest them into the illusion. That is an easy way to trap someone, by taking some thing they had experienced and using it for your technique..."

His explanation continued for a few more minutes before he said,"...with a powerful enough soul you can make someone believe they died in the illusion and kill them in truth and that is just scratching the surface, if you knew their fears ... anyway that is enough for now."

They wanted him to continue but he asked for a room, some parchment and some brushes and excused himself. He came back an hour later and handed three papers to Lingshi, Song and Lian.

"This should get you started on should cultivation,"

"Why aren't you giving him?" Lian asked as she gestured to Linghua.

"We are well on our way to the Pure Soul realm," he said nonchalantly. That was the second phase where your soul would begin to manifest form based on your cultivation, comprehension and other factors.

While they had intended to rest as they waited for the meeting in a few days Lingshi and the twins went to cultivate the new Soul arts they had received. It was as if a fire had been lit under them when they had how far along Linghua and Lingyun had progressed.

And so they found themselves sparring. There was a practice room in the residence that was never used since the twins style did not lean in offensive weapons like swords. Two days passed by quickly and messengers arrived informing them of the meeting time and place.

Imagine a towering mountain peak shrouded in roiling clouds and winds so strong that special formations were needed to safeguard the people who went there. That was where the meeting was to be held. Unlike the previous one this was not just a meeting to give out information this was also meant to test the disciples as well as eliminate those whose strength was lacking. Those would go back to the clan grounds to continue their cultivation. This place was called the Storm Peak.

To reach the Storm Peak, one had to traverse a treacherous path, winding up the steep mountainside. The path was lined with ancient trees and moss-covered rocks, and the air was thick with the scent of pine and mountain herbs. The formations allowed the strength of the storms to buffet the incline such that one had to use their expertise to make their way up.

This was all part of the test and as one was ascended higher, with the clouds were rolling in and obscuring the peak from view, the greater the pressure they felt.

Finally, on reaching the summit the disciples would find a large open space was awaiting. The Storm Peak was looming above, its jagged edges piercing through the clouds. Surrounded by mist, the air was cool and invigorating and the spiritual energy was denser here than many other places. The cream of the crop would be allowed to cultivate here for a week before moving on.

The message had not said where they would be moving on to only that all disciples had to make their way to the top of the Storm Peak for the meeting.

The group of five had easily made their way to nearly the top when the pressure begun to bear on them. Lingshi was the only one who was unaffected although the pressure was only slight on Lingyun. Lingshi was alright too but he kept eyeing the clouds uneasily. The twins were struggling in the climb but they held on and climbed steadily. They had arrived later than other disciples since Lingyun and his brother had to wait for the rest to finish their cultivation before leaving.

On the way up they met other disciples who were unable to continue the climb and nearly two-thirds had been eliminated from the competition at the top. Elders in boats were taking them aboard and carrying those who failed to the peak for the meeting even though they wouldn't participate in the competition. This was not to say that the clan strength had not increased in fact the Storm Peak was the exclusive cultivation and rite area for clan elders. That so many disciples had made it this far showed how much the clan strength had increased.

As they neared the top Lingyun noticed that something was not right with his brother and Xiaoya delved into this body and said that the Storm Peak itself was rousing the curse.

Suddenly Linghua seemed to convulse and he fell to his knees groaning. Yellow lightning begun to spark around him and when he opened his eyes he growled angrily at the clouds at the top of the peak. He jumped up towards them and seemed to catch them. They turned from rolling clouds into thunder clouds and thunder crashed as yellow lightning streaked across the sky to the clouds in nearby peaks.

Everycloud that was touched was pulled towards the storm that was taking the the form of a hurricane. The pressure exerted on the the disciples who were climbing begun to increase steadily.

Lingyun ran the rest of the way towards the peak with Lingshi at his heels.

"What's happening to him?" she asked.

"The curse, has called him to take control of the storm here, Its like the storm within him was pissed off at the storm that was pressuring him on his way up, he must be properly pissed." he said casually

"Aren't you worried?" she asked puzzled.

"Why would I be, this is an opportunity for him, he might make a breakthrough today if he is lucky." he said a hint of excitement in his voice.

Lingshi stared at him long and hard before sighing and looking up at the sky.

The elders had bee waiting for everyone to arrive when something yellow shot up into the clouds above and then everything became chaotic. Lightning flashed pink, violet, blue, yellow and continued this way for a long time.

"Are we under attack?" one elder echoed the Matriach's question.

"What was that yellow thing?" Another asked but his voice was muted by the loud crash of thunder.

Lingman who was watching all this could sense a familiar aura in the sky above but he had no time to check deeply as they received word that the strength exerted on the disciples was increasing and the elders sprung into action to bolster the formation to not only decrease the pressure but protect those who had already arrived at the peak.