Chapter 50 - Soul of Fire and Beast Flames

Ao Wen sat for several moments pondering. Qi Yue had given her several keys to use to unlock herself but she still had to find the door to walk through.

She wanted to say 'Dragon' but she didn't think she was there yet. Maybe in time, when she was back to her own life and could explore her dragon core, she'd be able to cultivate the word 'Dragon's, but for now, it felt too far away.

She immediately eliminated 'Alchemy.' For her, Alchemy was becoming important but it didn't come close to defining her. Similarly, she discarded 'Warrior.' The Ao Wen of several months ago might have been comfortable with it but as she'd expected, she wasn't the same Ao Wen anymore. She had grown in both expected and unexpected ways. She wasn't so simple anymore.

'Myriad' felt like a vast word, incomprehensibly heavy with meaning. She wondered if her strange existence was an attempt to cultivate such an expansive word. Even if it was, like 'Dragon', it was far too distant.

'Rage' had resonated with her but it was far too limiting. She wanted to claim 'Courage' but honestly felt that she was only accomplishing the unification of 'Foolish' she 'Stubborn', then passing the result off as bravery.

'Fire' was the word she'd started her request with. Looking at the Flames of Desire that Qi Yue conjured, she certainly felt that they spoke to her. When she thought of Feng Xi, her heart and even her body burned with several kinds of heat. Her heart also burned with fury when she fought the Rage Queen in the Thundercloud Forest. Fire meant many things to her. Fire meant mother's baking ovens and cook stove. Fire meant her alchemy flames and the many steps of purification and refinement to turn something ordinary into something extraordinary.

"Fire," Ao Wen finally said. "Fire encompasses many of the things that make me who I am. Not just alchemy flames," she said, conjuring her azure flames. "These are part of me but not nearly enough to define me. Fire encompasses the rage that burns within me when I see my loved ones suffering, but it's also the warm flame that's perfect for snuggling under blankets with those same loved ones. Fire changes constantly, growing the more you fuel it and diminishing when it's starved. Fire isn't simple," she said, waving her hand and dispelling the flames. "And neither am I."

"Now that," Qi Yue said with a radiant smile on her lush lips. "Is the answer of a Mystic who knows themselves. Congratulations on taking the first step, Little Yu! Now," she said demurely. "Are you ready for the next step or is that enough for one day?"

"You can't stop me after bringing me to this point," Ao Wen said with a pout. "If I'm pent up thinking about cultivation I won't be able to focus tonight when I'm cooking dessert, I might burn the custard!"

"Only you would use Alchemy flames to cook desserts," Qi Yue conceded. "And since you're spoiling us with treats, I suppose I should spoil you with one as well," she said, pulling out a black silk fan and a well-worn cultivation manual.

"Flame Wind Fan Dance?" Ao Wen asked in confusion. "Is this an Artist manual?"

"Hardly," Qi Yue snorted. "Your Soul Flame begins as the smallest of embers. You need to fan the flames of your soul to unleash the fires within. This method lets you both fan your inner flames and draw them outward to set the world ablaze. Well, that last bit is an exaggeration. It'll take you all the way to the end of the second stage but no matter how hard you flap a fan, that kind of technique will never let you make the jump from Wandering to Awakened. By the time you make it that far, I'm sure you'll have found a method that calls to you more. You will have to learn to dance though," Qi Yue said with a smile. "I'm looking forward to teaching you!"

Two months later the journey was nearing its end. Six months of traveling with the party of the Medical Saintess had completely transformed Ao Wen. Little trace could be seen of the sickly and malnourished orphan she had been when she woke in this life. In the place of that orphan stood a proud young woman with her feet planted firmly on the road of cultivation. Her once hastily cropped hair had been left deliberately shorter than shoulder length for practical reasons but her hair now danced on an unseen breeze, lifted by the flaming wind of her soul. Wearing the robes of a core disciple no longer felt presumptuous to her and she'd settled into the hierarchy of the camp smoothly over the past several months.

Most importantly, she'd settled into the family Saintess Cong Houzi had adopted her into. Everyone had been delighted when Ao Wen added herself to the cooking rotation, turning out several of her mother's signature baked goods and a few of Granny Jun's as well.

Two days before they arrived at the Eastern Palace that held the teleportation for formation that would take them to the main sect, Cong Houzi paid Ao Wen a visit with a gift.

"How's my daughter feeling now that we're almost home?" the True Dragon asked with a toothy smile. "Nervous?"

"A little," Ao Wen said. "Only because it's unfamiliar. I'm not charging into battle, it isn't a fresh plague outbreak, and no one is going to try to devour me and feast on my flesh. None of my loved ones are hurt, dying, or missing," she said with only a slight quiver in her voice. "I've faced worse than a formal reception ceremony and a few days of banquets."

"I like that you have perspective my little Daiyu," Cong Houzi said gently. "But be mindful that your perspective doesn't blind you to other threats and stresses. I think you wear your trauma as though it were armor, using past hurts to immunize yourself against fresh ones. That armor can inflict wounds of its own you know," she counseled.

Ao Wen opened her mouth to reply and then closed it as she perceived a kernel of truth in what the old dragon said. "I think you're right," she said. "I'll be aware of it," she promised. She didn't promise to change, she wasn't sure yet how she would change even if she wanted to. She could make herself conscious of it though, and then she could figure out what to do.

"Good girl. I came today with something special for you. Take a look," she said, holding out a crystal sphere that contained an orange-crimson flame.

"You brought me a piece of your flame to study?" Ao Wen asked, excitement sending her leaping to her feet as she stared at the flame.

"No, I brought you a wisp of my Flame Essence. I'll teach you how to absorb it the way you'd absorb a Beast Flame," she said.

Ao Wen nearly dropped the crystal sphere in shock. She didn't know what it took to create this wisp of Flame Essence but traditionally a Beast Flame could only be obtained by refining the Beast Core of a spirit beast with unique flame energy. This gift, it was too much!

"Mother, I can't. Please, take back your flame. I can't have you hurt yourself for something I don't need," Ao Wen pleaded. She'd already received so much, how could she take even more?

"Silly thing," Cong Houzi said with a laugh and a twinkle in her eye. "I'm sharing this with you. I lose very little. Before you protest, you should know what 'very little' means. For a True Dragon of my strength to give this to a human like you is little different from a mother cutting off her hair to make a wig for her daughter. The hair grows back and cutting it off doesn't hurt at all. Daiyu, you said once that you felt a kinship with me," her voice becoming thick with emotion as her eyes turned misty. "I feel it with you just the same. But you have no dragon core, no dragon blood, no dragon soul, and no dragon flame. With this," she said, gesturing to the flame essence, "while we share no blood, we'd share a dragon flame. I want to have that bond with you, so please, accept this gift from me," she said, her voice asking but clearly accepting only one answer.

"If it truly doesn't hurt Mother," Ao Wen said with a teary smile. "How can this daughter refuse?"

"That's better," her mother replied. "You should also understand that this flame pairs somewhat well with your Eight Trigrams flame control art. I won't say it's ideal, but you'll gain flexibility with this. You have to balance the orange and crimson components separately, one is suited for destroying impurities as nothing can resist being consumed by dragon flame. The other is best for enhancing melding as a dragon flame is also a forging flame. The combination of those with your azure flames will allow you to manage some concoctions above your nominal grade. I expect you'll collect other beast flames in time, but I hope you find mine to be among your most helpful."

"It's a flame that binds us together, of course it's the most helpful! If I can't always shelter under Mother's wings, I can always be warmed by her love."

"As it should be, now, listen closely…"