18. Exchanging Gifts

Xueling quickly got over her bashfulness once she realized Gray had no care she was on his back. He ran through the pitch-black tunnel like a charging bull. She couldn't tell where they were going or how he managed to avoid running into walls. She had to hold on for dear life as she descended into the unknown abyss.

After what seemed like an eternity of going downwards, Gray finally slowed down. An inexplicably light appeared, not the reddish-orange glow from a fire but a pale-yellow light that seemed out of this world.

"What is that?" She exclaimed, seeing the glowing lake.

"That's my treasure!" He replied

He took them to the edge of the water and let her down. She sat down on the rocks and stared speechless at the pulsing yellow light beneath the surface. There was a blurry object down below that was the source of the light. She couldn't figure out what it was because a powerful force surrounded the lake and blocked her probing senses.

The air within the cavern was thick with spiritual energy that made her feel warm and secure. This only happened in the most sacred cultivation grounds and she never expected this from a random hole in the ground.

"I've never heard of something like this. It's amazing… How did you find it?" She asked.

"Heh… I don't know either…" He chuckled, "I dug that tunnel while in a trance. I think… it's the treasure that brought me here. It wanted me to find it. The reason I am so strong is because of it."

"Wow…"

Feeling suddenly inspired, she sat in her meditation position and started to chant softly. Spiritual energy from the surrounding surged into her body like a tidal wave, filling her with vigor and vitality.

Gray sat beside her in confusion, not sure what she was doing. He wanted to stay something but didn't want to distract her so he remained silent. He waited patiently until she finally opened her eyes.

"Gray… It's amazing! The energy within this cave is helping my wounds heal and it even helped my cultivation!" She gushed. "It's better than anything I've ever experienced!"

The smile on her face was so gorgeous, it almost made his heart stop. He was so stunned by her beauty at that moment that he forgot to speak.

She didn't wait for his response and immediately returned to her meditation, obviously eager to capture as much of this opportunity as possible.

He eventually processed her words and couldn't help but feel pleased. Seeing her happy and smile like that was simply amazing. The yellow gem seemed to be very useful to her from her words. He suddenly had a thought, maybe he should give the gem to her? The gem was nice to look at but he didn't need it. If it could help his future wife, then he was more than willing!

Xueling was knocked out of her meditation when a hard object dropped into her open palm. She opened her eyes and stared in shock at the massive gem that could barely fit into her palm. It pulsed a majestic yellow light, with smooth facets and a sparkling semi-transparent body.

There was an endless source of energy within that wanted to break free and completely engulf her. It was vast as the ocean. It was as powerful as the whole world. All the treasures she owned combined could not compare to this single gem. She had never, in her life, held something so profound, so heavenly…

"What… this… what?" She spluttered. "This gem?"

"It's yours." He said simply.

"No… I can't…" She tried to push the gem back into his hands but he pushed it back.

Gray grinned, "I gave it to you so no takebacks. I know you want it so don't worry about it!"

"…"

She wanted to argue but what could she say? It was true that she desired this gem. It was beyond special; it was a heavenly treasure. But how could she take it from him when he didn't understand its true value? She felt incredibly conflicted. She didn't want to cheat him but she knew that she would be able to use the gem to its full potential. It was indeed a waste to leave it in this mountain cave…

After some time, she managed to organize her thoughts and come to a decision. "Gray?"

"Yeah?"

"I accept your gift. Words cannot describe my gratitude." She said solemnly, "Therefore, I will also give you a gift in return. I was originally planning on bestowing you a good but ordinary cultivation art. But now, I have decided. I will give you the highest secret art of my sect. It is the most precious thing that I own besides my life."

"… What?"

She sighed and rolled her eyes, "I am going to teach you powerful cultivation art!"

"Oh, you could have just said that!" He said excitedly.

"…"

She realized that it was going to be a difficult endeavor, teaching cultivation to a complete novice and uneducated peasant. She still chose to do it out of a sense of duty and righteousness. He saved her life and he also gifted her a heavenly treasure. This was the only way she could repay him... or she could just marry him…

"Gray, listen closely!"

"Yes, fairy sister!"

"First, let me teach you about the world…"

The world they lived in was vast and endless. Humans that lived in this world all had the ability to cultivate. Cultivation gave humans enhanced strength, enhanced speed, control over elements, other special abilities, and even increased lifespan. A person's cultivation could be increased steadily and the strongest cultivators could even fly.

Cultivators could perform these feats due to the existence of something called spiritual energy. Spiritual energy was a mysterious energy that permeated everything in this world. Every living being, every speck of sand, every ray of sunlight, every leaf on a tree, everything in the whole world contained spiritual energy. Spiritual energy was the source of all the phenomena of the world related to cultivation. Powerful cultivation directly correlated to an abundance of spiritual energy.

The amount of spiritual energy within an object varied a great deal. Ordinary humans only had a small amount of spiritual energy that was negligible and useless. However, many things in the world naturally gathered spiritual energy by themselves. Rare species of plants and herbs, powerful beasts, valuable ores, and minerals; these all had a chance of naturally building up a massive amount of spiritual energy and turning into a treasure.

Over tens of thousands of years, humans learned how to cultivate from all kinds of spiritual treasures. Many different cultivation methods were discovered through a myriad of fortunate encounters. These methods were then passed down through the generations and eventually spread throughout the human world.

Humans formed clans, sects, and other organizations to pass cultivation techniques to their descendants, disciples, or others that were deemed worthy. While the most powerful cultivation techniques were closely guarded secrets, information and knowledge gradually leaked out over time.

These days, commoners all knew about cultivation and had access to some form of cultivation technique. These techniques were the trashiest of the trash but still allowed people a taste of the cultivation world.

"Things like Flame Palm fall into this category." Xueling said, "But they are useless because they give you no hope of advancing to higher realms of cultivation."

"Realms?"

"Yes…"