Chapter 49 - Cultivating the Soul

A month had passed since Ao Wen had become Cong Houzi's adopted daughter and broke through to become a Novice Scholar. During that time, life in the camp had changed drastically for her. She now wore significantly more refined robes, befitting the status of a direct disciple of a Grand Elder and she'd come to learn much more about the organization of the Sacred Flame Celestial Temple. She had known that most sects had multiple tiers of disciples and elders but she only now realized just how vaunted of an identity a Grand Elder or Medical Saintess truly was as well as just how sizable the sect truly was.

All across this mortal realm, there were few major cities in which the Sacred Flame Celestial Temple didn't maintain some level of presence, frequently in the form of chapter houses. In her own Salt Flats City, the Sacred Flame Salt Flats Orphanage had been one of three chapter houses of the Sacred Flame Celestial Temple. There had also been a Sacred Flame Medicine Hall in one of the more prosperous districts of the city, led by an Independent Alchemist of the Outer Sect, and there had been the Sacred Flame Inquisition, a group of Iniates overseen by an Outer Sect Soldier who dedicated themselves to fighting against Yin Fiends. These chapter houses weren't seen as true parts of the sect. At most, the person who led a chapterhouse would be a former outer disciple of the sect who retired to the chapterhouse when it became clear that their cultivation would progress no further. All told, chapter houses numbered in the thousands. Ao Wen had been one of many tens or hundreds of thousands of Initiates who might one day have the opportunity to join the sect.

The sect truly began at the Outer Court. Outer Court branches of the sect could only be found in a dozen places across the realm, though each one boasted between five and ten thousand outer court disciples. Most cultivators began and ended their cultivation journey in the outer court where they studied the common foundations of cultivation and the open chapters of the sect's cultivation techniques. Disciples who demonstrated they could learn and progress quickly could be promoted to the Inner Court. The outer court branches frequently had a small number of Inner Court disciples, but most Inner Court disciples moved to one of the Four Palaces of Sacred Flames. Those palaces occupied large territories adjacent to the actual heart of the sect and held not only Inner Disciples but also the Four Armies of Sacred Flames, the sect's personal military force for fighting Yin Fiends and other forms of evil across the realm. Those armies were vast, comprised of half a million mortal warriors, fifty thousand initiates drawn from all over the sect, and over ten thousand second, third, and even fourth-stage cultivators, led by a seventh-stage Martial General with a number of fifth and sixth stage elders from the outer court and inner court serving as officers.

None of this, however, touched on the world of the actual Sacred Flame Celestial Temple, the real core of the sect. Only the most extraordinary of disciples could become a Core Disciple of the actual Celestial Temple. These extraordinary disciples were one in ten thousand talents and only seemed numerous because of the millions of disciples that passed through the Outer Court's gates at one time or another. To be an Elder in the Outer Court required reaching the fifth stage in at least one cultivation method. For the Inner Court, one had to reach the Sixth stage in at least two cultivation methods. So it followed that Elders of the Celestial Temple had reached the Seventh Stage in three cultivation methods. To be a Grand Elder of the sect, however, required reaching the Eith Stage in one out of those three cultivation systems.

As a Medical Saintess, Cong Houzi was not only a mighty Lord Alchemist, nearly standing at the pinnacle of mortal alchemy, but she was also a Veiled Mystic and a Martial General. It wasn't until Qi Yue explained all of this that she realized just what kind of existence her adoptive mother was! She'd thought it completely unreasonable that such a person would be wandering the countryside tending to issues one city at a time but that's when Qi Yue gave Ao Wen her second major shock - Within the entire sect, there were only ten alchemists who could reverse Yin Fiend Transformation. The ability to do so and the creation of the method to do so was what had earned Cong Houzi the title of Medical Saintess. The other nine who could replicate that feat to some extent or another were all her direct disciples, Huang Yuze and Qi Yue included. Ao Wen had been considered a candidate to become a direct disciple of the saintess because Cong Houzi believed that she could learn the method as well.

"Now you understand why everyone in camp looks at you like you're a manifestation of Heaven's Will," Qi Yue teased. "You're a senior sister to everyone in the sect core disciple and below and even the elders of the outer court will give way to your authority. Many will envy you but few will dare touch you. There is little in the sect that Celestial Fairies like you and I can't request, but along with all of that respect comes an expectation of service. Right now, Master is handling this outbreak of Yin Fiends personally as a training activity for your Senior Brother and me. Once we reach the fourth stage, we'll have to move out and serve with one of the Four Armies for a period of time. That's why Master talks about Senior Brother Huang moving on when he becomes a Master Alchemist."

"I had no idea," Ao Wen said as she relaxed with Qi Yue, sipping tea in her room. "I can see why Mother wanted to make sure I was outstanding enough to justify my place when she returned."

"Exactly so," Qi Yue said, reaching out to tap Ao Wen on the nose. "And that's also why she agreed to let me start teaching you about how to cultivate your soul. How much do you know about the path of Mysticism? Not just about sorcerers, but any of the paths of the soul."

"Nothing really," Ao Wen said. Mystics were all but unheard of in Turning Leaf town. It was so rare that anyone who felt they had a chance of becoming a Mystic would leave for Red Moon City to search for an appropriate mentor. "Other than the scholars and alchemists I've met here, the only cultivators I've known were Artists or Warriors."

"That's not surprising," Qi Yue said with a smile. "Warriors outnumber Artists and Scholars combined by nearly ten to one, but only one out of a thousand cultivators ever becomes a Mystic," she said with a touch of pride in her voice. "Since your senior sisters at the orphanage were Artists, I'll try to compare to Artists where it makes sense to describe why being a Mystic is so different and so difficult. You know that Artists cultivate the Heart, the things that a person feels. They master their own emotions and connect to and shape the emotions of others. An Artist can make you feel something, like fear for example," she said. "An Artist might make someone feel fear but a Mystic who could do that IS fear. Let me ask you something, how would you describe yourself?"

"I'm an alchemist, a healer, a scholar, a disciple of the sect," Ao Wen began before pausing. "I guess I'd say I'm a person who wants to help others, someone who fights for what she believes in, someone who works hard…"

"Too many words," Qi Yue interrupted. "Try again, use fewer words."

"Um," Ao Wen thought for a moment before answering. "I'm a scholar, a warrior, an alchemist who feels deeply and fights hard."

"You're missing the point. Fewer words," Qi Yue prompted. "Describe yourself in one word."

"I… that's not fair. How could I use only one word to describe myself?" Ao Wen asked. One word? There were too many facets to a person to distill into just one word!

"And that, my darling Little Yu, is why it's so hard to become a Mystic," Qi Yue said with a teasing laugh. "Let's make it easier. Try me. What one word describes me?"

"Trouble," Ao Wen teased, receiving both a laugh and a pillow thrown at her for her attempt at humor. "I guess, one word… Mischief," she finally said.

"Oh, is that how little sister Yu sees me? I see I've been remiss in showing my true colors," Qi Yue said languidly as she bent over Ao Wen to retrieve the pillow she'd thrown, giving Ao Wen an up-close view of her already spectacular cleavage and whispering in Ao Wen's ear. "Desire," she purred before returning to her seat. "An Artist can make your heart race because what you see is beautiful, what you hear is enchanting, what you taste is enticing, but I AM those things, and more. I am the desire to love and to cherish, the desire to possess and destroy, the destroy to touch, taste, and consume," she said in a voice that became richer and more entrancing the more she spoke, leaving Ao Wen unable to see anything in the room other than Qi Yue, unable to hear anything other than her own heartbeat and Qi Yue's voice. "I am the desire for wealth, the desire for power, the desire for sex… all of the things that drive a person distilled to the single word; Desire."

Suddenly, Qi Yue's power withdrew leaving Ao Wen's heart racing, mind spinning, and much of the world duller than it had been before Qi Yue spoke. "How… overwhelming," she finally managed to say.

"If you want to cultivate your soul, you have to find the words that will define you," Qi Yue explained. "It isn't actually just one word, it can be multiple words, but rarely more than three. You may also find that one of your words changes over time. It was that way for your mother, you know."

"Oh? Do you know what Mother's words are?" Ao Wen asked. On one hand, she was genuinely curious about the Saintess that had adopted her, but on another, she felt like she was starting to understand why she was given words when she awakened. Were these the words she was meant to cultivate for her soul in this life? But that didn't quite feel right.

"Right now, your mother cultivates two words, and they're both incredibly powerful," Qi Yue explained. "The first word she cultivates is 'Dragon,' which some people would feel is synonymous with 'Power' and that's true to an extent. Cultivating the word Dragon encompasses a number of other concepts that effectively come along for the ride. Power, strength, wisdom, longevity. Those are the most common things people would think of that are positive but your mother couldn't truly cultivate the word 'Dragon' if she limited herself to those things. Rage is another attribute of dragons, as is pride, lust, and possessiveness. Dragons aren't simple. Cultivating a Dragon Soul is layered. Believe it or not, even among True Dragons, the number of them who are able to cultivate a true Dragon Soul the way your mother does is as rare as Mystics are among human cultivators."

"Then where do dragons get their power from if not by cultivating 'Dragon'?" Ao Wen asked.

"Most dragons, your mother included, are body cultivators who derive significant power from their Dragon Core. It's similar to the beast core of a spirit beast, some scholars would call it the greatest of all Beast Cores but don't ever say that to a dragon! A dragon's strength, lust, rage, energy, all of those things flow from the Dragon Core," Qi Yue explained. "A dragon like your mother, who cultivates the word 'Dragon' has doubled her sources of power, gaining both a Dragon Core and a true Dragon Soul."

Inwardly, Ao Wen's heart shook. The small ball of what felt like bone that she'd noticed near her heart… in her current life, her life as Ao Wen, she had a Dragon Core! No wonder the murderous rage of the Rage Queen had resonated so strongly with her! The pride of a dragon wouldn't allow any rage to be superior to its own! "Wait," Ao Wen said, coming back to the moment. "You said mother cultivates two words for her soul. What's the other one?"

"Saintess," Qi Yue said. "I gather that she used to cultivate the word 'Healer', not Alchemist, but Healer, before becoming a Medical Saintess and expanding the reach of her Mystic arts. Your mother isn't a timid woman. The word Saintess comes with concepts like 'selfless' that conflict with a dragon's concept of 'possessiveness', a saintess is 'chaste' while a dragon is 'lustful.' That's why it's hard to cultivate grand concepts like 'Dragon' and 'Saintess.' There are so many layers that it's easy to lose focus and it's also difficult to balance the conflicting elements of both things."

"Do you cultivate any words besides Desire?" Ao Wen asked, genuinely curious about Qi Yue and how she defined herself.

"I'm trying to cultivate a second word, but it's far too early to say whether I'll make progress or not. Cultivating Desire is a challenge because it can easily devour lesser concepts," she said, opening her hand and revealing a captivating dancing flame. "This is a Flame of Desire," she said. "It's what happened when I tried to cultivate the concept of 'Fire.' I've managed several different forms of Fire from within the concept of Desire and that's allowed me to cultivate a few of your mother's Soul Flame arts. I said that I'm all forms of Desire, that includes a desire to consume and from that I can produce a flame that consumes. A desire to destroy can provide similar results. Ultimately, I haven't really needed to cultivate 'Fire' as a separate word but the flames that I can produce from Desire don't always synergize well with the flames of Alchemy. Your mother's Dragon Flame has much more synergy with Alchemy than my Flames of Desire, but we all work with what we have, or rather, what we ARE."

"The question is," Qi Yue said, giving Ao Wen a bewitching look. "What are YOU?"