The Science of Cultivation [Xianxia]
Chapter 314: Harmony & Bloodlust

Inside the spacious cavern beneath the Magnolia Forest, two human cultivators were seated on the ground with their legs crossed. They hadn’t moved from their position for an entire day. If a mortal were to do such a thing, they may be getting sore about now, but to these cultivators, they were completely refreshed.

The woman’s eyes snapped open first as her gaze drifted toward the center of the chamber.

There were several mounds all around the place, each inhabited by some species of Qi beast. They lived in harmony within this space for some reason, even though they would undoubtedly compete for resources once they left.

At the center of this strange space was a mound larger than any other. It stood tall and undisturbed, and Han Zemei’s eyes sparkled with lust as she glanced at it.

“Long Yi, you should be fully recovered too, right? Let’s get going!”

The large man beside her simply groaned in response. He had tried convincing her to be patient and wait for rescue, but she wouldn’t have any of it. The allure of a heavenly element had proven too much for Han Zemei to resist.

Since she was going to be making her attempt at seizing a part of the heavenly earth anyway, Long Yi resigned himself to following along.

Under the eerie gaze of all the Qi beasts in their surroundings, the two slowly approached the mound at the center.

“Are you sure this heavenly earth resides here? I don’t sense anything,” Long Yi murmured.

“Of course you can’t. If it’s strong enough to subdue everything nearby, it can easily hide its presence. However, there should be a reason why none of the Qi beasts here took over this mound.”

“Even if that is the case, are you sure you should take such a risk? Your primary affinity isn’t even earth, right?”

“Once I obtain a piece of this heavenly earth, I’ll naturally gain an affinity with the earth element. I won’t even have to restart my cultivation as long as I properly incorporate the right cultivation techniques into what I practice currently.”

The two didn’t have to argue for long, as they would soon have their answer. Han Zemei wasted no time and reached out for the suspected heavenly element.

Long Yi nervously watched on, half in dread and half in anticipation. He was no stranger to these powerful but dangerous entities. After all, the Primordial Star Fire resided in the Crucible. However, after hearing about Li Lang’s account of his experience with it, neither he, Wei Ping, nor any of the students dared to casually attempt to tame a piece of it. That was because they agreed that the cost of failure was catastrophic.

Anything to do with the soul or spirit was considered extremely dangerous by all cultivators alike. From the accounts of Li Lang, the heavenly fire had put his spirit to the test, but it could’ve easily left him with crippling damage. The Crucible likely only gave an opportunity to those who it thought had a decent chance, which is why none of them forcefully made the artifact spirits lead them to the cave where the heavenly fire was.

Unfortunately, all these warnings had been exhausted on Han Zemei already. She was too determined to make her attempt to care. To her, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Even if her sect secured it after, she likely wouldn’t get a turn with the invaluable resource, as it would be saved for only the elites.

If she succeeded, her status within the Rolling Tide Sect would skyrocket.

As soon as the woman made contact with the mound, her movements instantly stiffened. It was as if she were frozen in time, blankly staring ahead.

“Han Zemei? Are you okay?” Long Yi anxiously asked.

No reply came.

He restlessly squirmed around as he surveyed their surroundings. Nightmare scenarios, such as the heavenly earth deciding to lash out at them for their disturbance, coursed through his mind.

Things got worse as the mound really did begin to move. Its surface became viscous sludge and began to float around. It began to orbit the two human cultivators, causing Long Yi to grip his weapon tightly despite knowing he couldn’t resist something with the power equivalent to a Violet Core cultivator.

His fears were confirmed when the sludge rushed to engulf his companion, not giving him any time to react. It stuck close to her skin, making her look like a mud statue of some sort.

Not sure how to get it off his ally, Long Yi was momentarily stumped. Before he could put any of the ideas to the test, the sludge thankfully exploded off of Han Zemei in a bombastic fashion.

The deafening sound alerted every Qi beast nearby, but it at least meant he had regained a late-stage Foundation Establishment Realm ally.

“Damn, are you okay?” Long Yi cried as he drew close, prepared to fend off the sludge if it decided to change its mind.

The woman in question fell to one knee as she coughed repeatedly, looking drained. Her flush complexion from a moment ago was gone. In the short few seconds she had been enveloped, she became as pale as a ghost.

“Okay, that’s probably a no. Take my shoulder. Let’s head back for now.”

The woman couldn’t muster up a reply and could only glare at Long Yi. Still, she complied.

Unfortunately for them, the matter didn’t simply end there. The moment they tried to retreat, they noticed an absurd amount of killing intent directed at them. The source wasn’t hidden, either. All the Qi beasts nearby glared at them with a red glint. They could lunge out at them at any moment.

They did.

Within a moment, hundreds of Qi beasts charged at the two humans from all directions. No matter how good of a fighter Long Yi was, he was completely flabbergasted at the turn of events. He knew there was no chance against this number of monsters who could all pose a challenge, even if they fought on equal terms.

Just as he was about to swing his green longsword in a wide arc around himself, the ground beneath them trembled, and the sludge returned. It spread itself thin, positioning itself protectively around the two of them, causing the Qi beasts to come to a halt. The few who failed to decelerate in time crashed into the sludge and quickly stopped moving, as they visibly withered at a rapid rate.

The situation swiftly took another turn, as a new equilibrium had been reached. The Qi beasts surrounded the two humans, while the heavenly earth defended them. None of the parties moved, putting them into a deadlock, where Long Yi and Han Zemei were trapped in the middle.

“What in the world?” Long Yi muttered under his breath. He felt the arm holding onto him tighten as Han Zemei stumbled into him.

“Don’t—” Her words were faint, Long Yi barely caught any of it.

“What did you say?” he cried as he leaned his ear closer to her mouth.

“Don’t—touch—earth.”

Seeing how weak she was, Long Yi could stand it no longer and retrieved a Recovery Pill from his space ring. He grabbed her face and placed it into her mouth, but the effects weren’t as instant as he was used to.

Whatever the sludge had done to her, it took a huge toll on her body. Still, the pill helped, as it restored some color to her face.

“Do you need another one?”

The young woman weakly shook her head. She willed her Qi and materialized her own pills, allowing her to soon recover.

“Next time, know that a Qi Replenishment Pill would’ve been the better choice,” she said with a chuckle.

“Yes, yes. I’ll be sure to remember if another of my companions decided to stupidly pit themselves against a heavenly element, that a Qi Replenishment Pill is the best choice. Heck, maybe I should even stock up on higher-quality versions of the pill. Now, about what you were saying?”

The young Rolling Tide disciple didn’t quip back at his sarcasm and weakly looked down.

“Don’t touch the heavenly earth. If you do, we’ll likely both die here.”

“And why is that? What in the world is happening?” Long Yi asked as he gestured to the situation around them, where Qi beasts were still prowling about.

“I failed the heavenly earth’s test. It rejected me.”

Long Yi almost wanted to scream at her for more answers, but seeing her distraught expression, he reined in his urge and carefully minded his tone and words.

“And why do you think that resulted in provoking the killing intent of all the nearby Qi beasts who had been living in harmony until now?”

“From what I learned during my trial, I think—they see it as the heavenly earth rejecting me. Heavenly earths thrive from having Qi beasts living nearby, as they provide it with nutrients. It keeps the peace among its inhabitants, but now that I’m rejected, I’m no longer under its protection.”

“So they got the go-ahead to attack you? But the sludge is still defending us. Wait, is that because of me? That’s why you’re telling me not to touch it—if I get rejected by it too, we’re doomed!”

“Yes,” Han Zemei weakly nodded. ”Now that all the Qi beasts’ hostility is on me, the moment we step out of the range of the heavenly earth’s protection, they’re going to attack. We’re going to have to stay like this until help arrives.”

“Oh great. It’s just like the plan I championed, except we no longer have a choice.”

Left with no other option, the two got comfortable on the ground as they awaited their fate. Just as their conversation was dying down, a voice suddenly called out from somewhere.

“Sounds like you two need a hand, then? And to think you said nothing could possibly go wrong while we’re in the city. Why didn’t you tell me when you left?! Once milady hears about this, we’re both going to get in so much trouble!”

Long Yi couldn’t help but feel elated when he spotted the bald head in the distance.

“Umm, she can lecture me all she wants later. How about we get out of here first?”