>>5663384

The only way to describe the training session is a whirlwind. Incensed and encouraged by the challenge your sister presented to you to prove your mettle as not only a once in ten generation prodigy but a teacher of legendary acumen and talent, you work the hardest you've ever have. First you start with a lecture of the nature of the Dao and how the laws of the celestial orthodoxy restrict it to the point of choking it out, and how only by casting aside the teachings of the established sects and doing away with their gospel of caution and gradual process, can cultivators and the world they live in return to the heights they had once reached and their true form. Ping and Qinxin arrives just as you explain that the term demonic cultivation has no true meaning, as all things are an aspect of the Dao, and while the later looks rather unnerved by the statement, the former nods in approval as you describe that some methods are so low and dirty, so vile and wicked that any self respecting cultivators should scorn them even if they to are aspects of the Dao.

Which you lead into questioning what makes one Dao better than another, using the Dao of swords or the Dao of Alchemy two very popular paths of cultivation, as an example. Then you compare them to your Dao of Ghosts and Grudges, and how far you've come by stepping from the well trodden trails laid by men long dead to wander into the wilderness of the unknown and forbidden. Fu, acting marvelously as your first disciple, adds his own voice then, mentioning how effective his own Dao of Vengeance and Grudges has become without interference, which Siwang then uses to present his own Law of Wind and Justices. Lei also tries to lend his voice to show that any Dao could lead one to glory and power, and all that matters is that one follows a path that aligns with their Dao heart, but alas he does not have a voice to lend.

Then, you present the question to each of your students of what path they would follow. What mandates would they, if they took the gods own quill, would they inscribe on the fabric of the universe? How does the Dao speak to them, through the breath of the earth and the touch of the wind? And then you allow them time to contemplate and meditate on that answer, before you take Fu, Ping, Qiang, Siwang and Xuebai aside to discuss the strengths and weakness of each of your disciples, with Xuebai mostly just acting as an observer as your most senior disciples debate over who would flourish under a harsh teacher and who would need a gentler guidance, who has the innate talent and genius to write their own law and create their own method of cultivation and who must become a follower of another's law.

Monu joins the discussion, and brings Xuebai into a more active role by mentioning which of the laws she remembers from her time as an orthodox cultivator would fit for your disciples who have yet to find their path.
Cont

>>5663385

The training session stretches to hours and then days as the question turns out to be a difficult one for most to answer. Some, like Baifenchi, Jiangliehuo and surprisingly Niu have an easy time figuring out what Dao they wish to devout their studies and life to.

"I wish to become closer to the dead, like you, teacher" Baifenchi answers excitedly, fluttering her wings "I wish to gain insight of death and learn all of its mysteries. I wish to raise the dead and dance with corpses. Is that good answer?"

"Like Big brother Fu's way. Fighting like a beast, biting and tearing! Violence! Battle! Blood!" the river bastard happily declares "I like those sort of things, so that's what I'll do!"

"I just want to be youthful and live forever" Niu sighs "Then I might have the time to make something with my life, instead of failing at every corner"

But others have a truly difficult time deciding what Dao to persue. Like Mao Yue, Wang Wencheng, Bo and Zhurou

"I..I read some of the manuals" Mao Yue muses airily"But I don't get half of what's written in them. The spring fairy one sounds nice, Lanfen follows it doesn't she? She's pretty, maybe I'll follow that. Not sure though"

"Hah! This all sounds so dangerous" Wang whines "I see why the established sects are so cautious and ponderous with their cultivation! Just the other days I saw that terrible wolf mediating in fire! And when I approached with a bucket of water, a dozen ghosts appeared around him! How terrifying? Dao? The method I want to follow? Oh I haven't given it much thought, I'm still adjusting to be around so many talking animals! Forgive me Huanliuxue!"

"I guess I'd follow a law that makes me better at kicking ass" Is what Bo said when you questioned him on his progress after seeing him staring off towards the practice yard

"Well, the Dao is all encompassing, so I have a variety of options open to me concerning my future pursuits as a cultivator" Zhurou muses mid-meal, chomping through an apple "Though I do believe, considering my noble upbringing and classical education, I could venture to create my own law. Perhaps one of dignity and grace, of regality and fine breeding. A law to be practiced by the scions of great houses and storied legacies"

But eventually, one by one, your students find their answer
Cont

>>5663386

Lei has achieved foundation establishment rank 2, Huili has achieved Qi condensation rank 6, Chuandapo has achieved Qi Condensation stage rank 8 (Also she does follow the winter breath accord as well as the spring fairy), Yujijiao has began to practice the Famine of breath law (Focus: Ghostly evolution), and has rocketed up to rank 4! of the Qi condensation stage equivalent of the stranger law. Yinying has chosen to create his own law of cultivation focused on Shadows and stealth, and has reached rank 5 of Qi condensation, Zhurou is experimenting with the Dao of elegance and refinement and has reached rank 5 of Qi condensation, Niu begins practicing the pine warden records and has reached rank 4 of Qi condensation, Mao Yun has decided to divide her attention before deciding a main law and has reached Qi condensation rank 4, Bo has chosen the mountain shattering hammer and has reached Qi condensation rank 4, Wang Wencheng has chosen to follow the Pine warden records and has reach rank 4 of qi condensation, Houmougui decides to follow your advise and follow the Dao of blood and create law centered on it and close quarters combat and has reached Qi condensation rank 5, Hong has reached Qi condensation rank 6, Canlan begins to practice the winter breath accord and has reached rank 5 of Qi condensation, Lanfen has reached rank 7 of Qi condensation, Liu has reached rank 6 of Qi condensation, Baifenchi decides to follow the Dao of Death and is combining insights from you and Ping to create a necromancy law and excells reaching rank 6!, Youzaiwang is adapting the lightning messenger law into a variation that is hard and has reached rank 5 of Qi Condensation, Senlin Zheren has chosen to follow a self taught law and has began to meditate on bones, reaching rank 5 of Qi condensation, Jiangliehuo becomes Fu's first student of the Way of the avenging warrior and has reached rank 4. Siwang, ever diligent has reached Qi condensation 8, Fu has reached Foundation establishment rank 2. Qiang reaches Qi condensation rank 7

Raising a school is much like raising an army, and with such disciple and focus, the teacher who builds a sect from nothing is showered in wisdom. +220 to your next cultivation/ training roll. Total bonus +360

It is the middle of Autumn

Exhausted from spending so much time guiding your many, many students on their path, in the middle of the night, you prepare to head into the underworld to check on the order you placed, when you are approached by Ping and Xuebai

"If you're traversing hell, I would like to follow" Ping states humbly "I believe I shall find the last piece to the puzzle of my breakthrough into the foundation establishment realm there"

"I just want to see what hell is like, sister" Xuebai sneers "before I leave"
Cont

>>5663388

"You don't have to leave, you can stay here if you want to, Mother and I greatly enjoy your company" You declare happily as you stand up, casting aside your fur coat as you switch to your human form, deciding that revealing it would serve as an incentive to your sister to stay, considering how she sought to take a human form when she was still alive.

Her eyes pop out of her skull as you laugh, pushing up your chest with your arms. Ping just stands as still as a statue, seemingly unaffected by your radiant beauty.

"Shall I fetch Yinying to fetch you clothes, or will you walk amongst devils nude?" He asked teasingly, smirking as he turned away and you grinned in triumph as you saw a trace of blush on his pale cheeks

"WHAT!?" Xuebai roars, after she picked up her jaw from the ground "you! How! When! Did you steal that body"

"Nope, made it myself. Turns out us demonic beasts aren't body thieves. But that's just another lie told by the heavens" You sneer as Xuebai stares at you

"Hah! I guess I could stick around a little longer...Wait, I could possess you and feel what its like to be human" She declares

"No" You snap, covering the same assets you were just showing off, adopting a very defensive stance like you would if you were still a cat, back arched and teeth bared

"Awww" She cackles, clearly messing with you "Well, maybe I could use your body as a template to make my own, ghostly form, hmm?"

That could work actually

Double vote

Do you take Ping And xuebai with you down to hell?

>Yes, both of them

>Ping only

>Xuebai only

>Neither

And what do you do in hell, Huanliuxue

>Beeline for Anjing-Yinshi's abode

>Cause some mischief with Xuebai

>Help Ping with his breakthrough

>Tell Xuebai the story of how you got your beautiful human body [can be taken with other options]

>Write in

>>5663389
>Yes, take both of them
As long as Xuebai doesn't run off on her own, I see no reason why she shouldn't accompany us down to hell. That said, the soul trade is real, and I think we should warn her of the dangers before the portal is open, especially given her penchant for pranks. Ping, I am less worried about, beyond his rematch with Jingyu. If we head straight to Anjing's, we're cheating both of them out of a valuable experience.
>Tell Xuebai the story of how you got your human body.
>Help Ping with his breakthrough

>>5663445
I'm still worried that some kind of law enforcer from the ruler of hell would abject to a powerful soul entering and exiting at will, Yujijiao was still of little power and not much karma to speak of but Xuebai is in another category.

>>5663389
>Yes, both of them
>Help Ping with his breakthrough
>Tell Xuebai the story of how you got your beautiful human body [can be taken with other options]

>>5663389
>Xuebai only
>Help Ping with his breakthrough

>>5663389
>Yes, both of them
May as well roll into hell with the additional firepower just because we can.

>Beeline for Anjing-Yinshi's abode
>Tell Xuebai the story of how you got your beautiful human body
We will probably cause trouble even when going directly to Anjing’s home, so may as well go there first and see if anything comes up that serves our junior and sister.

As for the human story, it gives insight on our hatred of the gods (except one so far) and spreads the knowledge of what we lost around. There was a time where many awakened beasts far excelled us. I would love to see Xuebai and others surpass us too so it gives us more cause to push even further.

>>5663389
>Yes, both of them
>Help Ping with his breakthrough
>Tell Xuebai the story of how you got your beautiful human body [can be taken with other options]

>>5663445
Support.


With 360, there are good chances of hitting 400 on the cultivation roll.

With ping moving, it should meet 380. Not bad, soon we will begin. I just hope we dont stop short of a major keystone, like half a step from full core. That would be irritating.

>>5663389
>Yes, both of them

>Help Ping with his breakthrough
>Tell Xuebai the story of how you got your beautiful human body [can be taken with other options]

>>5663389
I also want to say I don't remember half of our new students.

>>5663680
That is what the document is for.
I shall continue work on it today

>>5663388
Of worthwhile note. most of the new guys were on level 2. And now we have some of them on level 6.

So I think Baifenchi [the moth] should be considered for inner disciple, given her rapid gains of 4 levels. Same for Yujijiao who started from 0.

We also have some useful data here on peoples talents, when given the same level of boost, the humans usually raised 2 levels, the beasts usually manage 3 and people noted for their skill have increased by 4.

>>5663731
I am slightly concerned by the relative lack of gains for the otter. I'm slightly concerned that it's a lack of compatibility.

>>5663700
I think some kind of list of who is what species would also be helpful

>>5663751
As well as brief personal info.

>>5663389
>Yes, both of them

>Tell Xuebai the story of how you got your beautiful human body [can be taken with other options]
>Help Ping with his breakthrough

>>5663753
>>5663751
I'm working on it. But both were intended features of the list, which had yet to be added, on a basis of tiredness and not wanting to remake the list again quickly.
So I waited until we got them to ascend a few levels to make it as up to date as possible.

>>5663772
There you go, all the new disciples have got bio's and a short bit to remind you who they are.

The older one's don't yet.

>>5663389
>Wait, I could possess you and feel what its like to be human

...Overdue realization that dual cultivation would be possible with Xuebai given our Dao, just with possession instead of the, uh, usual stuff, it entails. Cultivating while possessed by a grudge-strong ghost, two souls cycling the depths of ghostly Qi. And entirely not possible because we want Xuebai to manage Jingyu while we throne ourselves.

Shame body-trustworthy and powerful ghosts are not a plentiful resource.

>>5663389
>Yes, both of them
>Help Ping with his breakthrough
>Tell Xuebai the story of how you got your beautiful human body [can be taken with other options]

>>5664247
Now that you say it that method may be heretical enough to work, but it needs to be studied in depth or we end up parasitizing xuebai like Lei did to the demon he trapped.

It begs the question of at what level did xuebai cultivation stop and how much she retained as a ghost.
I believe that she was at a higher stage than huan is now.

>>5664247
No it wouldn't. she has no meridians, she is a ghost.

>>5664365
But what if she borrows ours?

>>5664484
Dual cultivation is the method of purifying QI by pushing it through two seperate sets of meridians, ideally complimentary.

A man and a woman pushing Qi through the Yang and Yin aligned meridians to purify it better, is the benefit of dual cultivation. And with our supreme Yin physique we would actually be a fantastic partner to have.

See the thing here however is that our sister has none, so we'd probably try to push her Qi [her body] through our meridians to refine them. Which is basically just soul eating.

And if she borrows our body to dual cultivate, she is just wearing us like a robe to screw a boy. And for it to be a good exchange for us, we need someone with supreme or pure Yang physique. or at least a lot of Yang, similar to Fu.

Not Fu. Like Fu.

>>5663389 #
>Yes, both of them
>Help Ping with his breakthrough
>Tell Xuebai the story of how you got your beautiful human body [can be taken with other options]

File: 1668526144281201.png (2.91 MB, 1328x2651)

2.91 MB PNG

Ending the vote now, tallying the result, apologies for taking as long as I did

Yes, take both of them:9

Xuebai only:1
Tell Xuebai the story of how you got your human body.: 9

Beeline for Anjing-Yinshi's abode: 1

Help Ping with his breakthrough: 9

so You'll bring both of them into your foray into hell, tell your sister how you got your human body and help ping with his breakthrough
Update will arrive shortly

"You are welcome to follow me, dear sister" You answer sweetly, after giving some thought to your sister and acolytes words "and I would be happy to assist you in your break through, humble student of mind. Just stick close to me, the yellow springs are a dangerous place and its customs bizzare"

"If Qiang could navigate through their webs then so can I" Ping answered confidently, coiling his prayer beads of bones and teeth tightly around his ghoulish arm "Besides, as the disciple of a ghostly law, it is only fitting for me to learn of their natural habitat. I shall not stray far from your shadow, Lady Huanliuxue"

"Hmm, I don't think I'll have to worry, I've heard stories of demons and hungry ghosts, I think I'll be right at home in their company" Xuebai cackles as you lead the two of them into the crypt, where you will perform the ritual to open a gate into the netherworld. While you can simply step into it without a door, as easily as you would clamber up a tree or leap over a stream, when you have guests you need to open a way for them. And that requires a bit of extra help and preperation. Luckily, you have a whole court of ghosts willing to lend their yin Qi to tear a hole through the veil of morality.

"That may be" You answer with a chuckle, only stopping outside of the gate into your kingdom of tombs when you remember that you were waiting for your clothes to be delivered by your other disciples "But it is best to er on the side of caution rather than to fall victim to one's own pride"

"Something you have experience in, I assume?" She teases as Ping rolls his shoulders in a half hearted shrug. Once your clothes have been brought to you by one of the lackies whose names you don't bother to remember, who scurries away blushing like a maiden in love just from the single glimpse he stole of your overwhelming beauty, you get dressed and continue into your kingdom of the undead.

"I can tell you're curious, Xueba, of how I came to achieve this form, the pinnacle of human beauty mingled with the untamed majesty of us beasts" You purr as you walk by a crowd of bowing and kowtowing spirits

"You will tell her if she is or if she isn't" Ping sighs with a smirk, brushing back his ethereal white hair out of his eyes "It was quite the adventure from what I have heard of it"

"I will admit I am curious how a little kitten like you did what generations of beasts could not" Xuebai muses as she sneers and snaps at the more cowardly of your subjects, chasing them around like mice "Though, with how much mother gushes over you, you'd think the explanation would be as brief as "Oh Huanliuxue is just that much of a genius", at least if you asked her or one of your sycophants"

"Master is unusually talented" Ping says proudly, bowing his head like he were a proper monk "And possesses wisdom beyond that of most educated scholars and the must shrewd of beasts"

"He's actually explaining how I came to possess this bodacious body of mine" You cackle and sneer

>>5666299

"Oh?" Xuebai asks as you glance into your throne room and sigh in relief. Xiongji wasn't around. Which meant there was no issue that needed your direct attention and thus your kingdom was running smoothly. Sure the general might be wrecking havoc elsewhere, but the lands he was assaulting weren't under your protection and that meant your ghostly subjects were at least content in their safety

"Human wisdom" You answer helpfully "I found an old text written by the greatest of our ancestors, Niu Bingwen the first beast to awaken. The beastial edict to attain human form, his treatise on the subject. It was part puzzle, part game and part thought exercise. I realized while reading it that it was written like that to help us animals understand human thought and grasp concepts that were beyond the simple world of beasts"

"I see, I see" Xuebai says "What does that mean"

You sigh and frown, trying to think how to explain it to her as your sorcerers begin the process of opening a path to hell itself

"Well things that are purely conceptual, that do not exist outside of thought, philosophy or uh, faith! religion!" You say excitedly "I traveled as a human to understands these things, and their civilization, to see what was different from men and tamed beasts"

"Not much" Xuebai sneers dismissively, not knowing how right her sarcastic answer is "What are they doing now"

"Opening the way for us" Ping answers helpfully

"Perhaps" You say coyly "But I couldn't understand these things, or how humans thought or lived, despite living with a few. So I possessed Yuyi, another student of mine, to see the human world from their perspective"

"And she still complains about serving as your robe. I don't go down to Fu's city anymore because she'll rant about that for ages" Ping chuckles "Nice girl"

"A good friend" You sigh lovingly as you step through the yawning hole in space and under the grey, lifeless skies of the underworld, beckoning ping and Xuebai to follow you "But I began to travel under her face, starting small by investigating the common folk, traveling inn to inn and talking with the cats I found there in search of insights concerning the common sense of humanity"

"The nearest towns still think Yuyi is an eccentric witch because of this" Ping adds, which was something you were unaware off

"Poor girl, seems you are my sister if you'd play such a prank" Xuebai says happily as she hesitates on the boundary before stepping through the portal with her eyes firmly shut

"It was fun" You growl, shaking your head "But anyways, I ended up making my first breakthrough when I found a town beset by bandits. Who didn't realize they were bandits, and that's where I learned how stubborn humans could be in their belief, and how ignorant and blithely unaware they could be. They weren't even lying to themselves, they were just too stupid and certain of their nobility that they never realized they were doing wrong"

"So you killed them?" She asked

Cont

>>5666301

"With what? I was in Yuyi and she was still a normal girl then, weak, pudgy, frail" You snicker as you lead your sister and student down a path lined with skulls lit up like lanterns and shades meandering down the road to the only city you know to exist in hell "I just scared their leader and lifted the wool they had pulled over their own eyes and thus learned more about society and its morals, and that rare human kindness, but that was just the first step on the stairway"

"What then? And are they eating that poor soul?" Xuebai asked excitedly and you couldn't figure out which she was excited over, the story or the demon being ripped apart by a bunch of starved crow devils

"I wanted to learn about faith, ended up meeting the only human who didn't immediately think I was a monster for being a talking animal and ended up becoming well informed about Buddhism and growing a fondness for the shaved head monks" You say happily "Toyed with a serious boy, got Yuyi a reputation as a saintess and learned a lot about that intangible thing called belief. I enjoyed my time in that temple"

"And isn't that how you ended up invited to the imperial family's last palace, where you assassinated the last emperor of a dynasty that spanned ten generations?" Ping asked, looking to Xuebai with a cocky smirk

"Damn, you've really been causing a riot in their human world, huh, lil sis" Xuebai praises you as she sits down to watch the crows' feast

"Eventually, the emperor did seek me out to cure him of well...all that was wrong with him. Poison, sexually transmitted diseases, obesity. It was quite the list" You explain calmly as the crow demons pluck out the eyes of their prey "But first I ended up saving the men who actually killed him, who I understand are now folk heroes for the deed, but after I got to the palace, I did stick around longer than I liked to witness his end and make certain he died. Not for human wisdom, I had already figured out the secret by then, but just to watch the center of a maelstrom of undying grudges breath his last"

"And what is that secret?" Xuebai asked coyly

"Figure it out yourself, it will make no sense if I just tell you" You coyly reply "But then I found an ogress, fought an ogress and left the palace in shambles before traveling back to my hometown and challenging the heavens""

"That is not a figure of speech" Ping interrupts

"I didn't think it was" Xuebai said "How'd that work out"

"Well, its complicated to explain. First I spoke to the graves of my beloved playmates" You reminiscence "Wetted the soil with my tears, and then made my proclamation, standing atop a statue of myself"

"Stylish" She remarked

"I know right?" You snickered, hiding mouth with the sleeves of your dress, the spider web patterned one with the sinfully short skirt "It was quite the speech I gave, need to have it written down or have Feiqing carve it into something, but anyways"

"Anyways" your sister urges

Cont

>>5666303

"Anyways" You continue, bowing your head, smiling just over the silk of your robe's sleeves "The heavens took offense and several upstart gods thought they could squash me, the young princess of ghosts and beasts. What an assault it was, but it was for not, for I was smarter than all of them and tricked them! They thought it was a simple contest of strength, that tribulation, but I never play fair if I can help it, Heh-Heh-Heh! And why should I, against self righteous jackasses and hypocritical shits! The summoned the wind, called the rain and pelted me with lightning and hail. In retaliation I stood stalwart and proud and listed their crimes"

"You should have a play commissioned of this" Your sister interrupted cheerfully "I think it'd make you the hero of all the young demonic beasts"

"I already am" You boast, wagging your hips back and forth "I used my dying grudge shield as I taunted them, creating a wall of protection spells after enduring their first volleys of divine wrath. A spell formation that'd be tough to crack. They took it as a challenge, it was actually a smoke screen. See, I figured that with my control of blood Qi that I could refine my body down into a slurry of blood, breaking myself down and disguising the process with the wounds I bore."

"Uuuh' Xuebai says, clearly disturbed by the mental image you're painting, which just encourages you

"Oh I digested my bones, melted my meat and poured out the marrow. Like caterpillar in its cocoon I disintegrated completely. You should try it sometime! It was a truly unique feeling, turning to a warm puddle of blood and enmity" You cackle and laugh, eyes wide and manic with macabre delight "I stood in the steaming pool of my own liquified innards and bowels as my bones turned to jelly and my fat dripped and turned a beauuuutiful scarlet shade. The gods got cocky, and couldn't envision my scheme even if they hadn't. They thought destroying my body would kill me"

Ping eyes widened then

"How cunning" he remarked simply "you used that queer ability of yours to become a ghost"

"Her what now?" Xuebai cried

"A secret technique I taught myself" You say, making sure to sound as mysterious as you possibly can "See, when they finally broke through my array of dying grudge shields, I had already left my broken body to lurk in the pool of blood and spite I had began to transform and refine it into"

"You used your body as a decoy!" She gasps, clearly amazed by your cunning
Cont

>>5666305

"YES! the tribulation of the blind heavens was focused on an empty vessel" You howl, laughing madly and slouching forward as you grabbed your aching stomach, laughing yourself sick and weary "And while they were distracted, one of them cheering in triumph over landing the "Killing blow" I painstakingly reformed my body, beginning with its veins and meridians, in that boiling cauldron of grudges, blood and gunk! I drowned the world in all the grudges I had collected or created and with blood refinement pieced my bones back together and wrapped them in muscle and sinew"

"And they didn't notice?" She asked

"Oh they did, that's why I made a second decoy out of the unneeded blood" You answer smugly "But by time they even noticed I was still alive, I was already pulling skin over the human body I crafted for myself and haaah, what a masterpiece I made! Don't you agree"

"Yes" Ping muttered, smiling with his eyes closed so he wasn't tempted to stare at the bosom you were lifting and proudly displaying

"Can't disagree" Xuebai giggled

"But, I made a bunch of doppelgangers out of the same blood I was reabsorbing to recreate myself, and the gods struck them while I crawled out of the crater" You snicker as you stop flaunting your body and teasing poor Ping "By time I stood proudly at its edge, they had ran out of time to interfere with the mortal realm or my destiny, and so all of them were kicked out. Though not before they threw one last lightning bolt at me"

"And?" Xuebai asked impatiently

"I tanked it" You answer crassly, flicking your tongue over your teeth, and tell a white lie "It barely hurt"

It hurt a lot. It sent you rocketing backwards and gave you a glimpse of the great wheel you've named your self taught law after.

"Good on you sister, spitting in the eyes of the gods and dragging a few of them down into the mortal muck" Xuebai sneered "I liked that story, you really deserve to walk around on two legs without your fur or tail"

"I know I do" You preen as Ping glances around, searching for something "Oh! Ping! I did say I'd help with your breakthrough, so lets get to it! What do you need to do"

"I am glad you asked" He said cordially, retrieving a scroll from his sleeve that when unfurled showed the mad scrawling of a mad man "I have several theories, based on my studies of cultivation bottlenecks and tried and true means of breaking through them, along with my heretical insights of the ghostly and exorcism, I think these theories would be a good starting point, teacher"

You nod and smile, making sense of the scrawl the more you look at it. Ping was smart and had encrypted it by writing it in a really annoying manner, instead of in the usual fashion, but instead writing his notes in a way that to your eyes resembles the way a corpse decays and how it can be preserved. More alchemical formula than journal
Cont

>>5666306

What do you do to help Ping break through, Huanliuxue?

>Just spend some of your apparently vast wealth buying him high quality cultivation materials and drugs

>Take him into the wilderness and into the lair of an ancient and hungry ghost where he can meditate upon it once it has been...subdued

>Help him acquire the demonic organs and a few haunted relics he needs to create the elixir that'll push him over into foundation establishment

>Find the old exorcists and necromancers his notes mentioned so he can have an audience with them and listen to their babbling

>Write in

Hopeful that I've shaken off that contemptible heart demon known as writer's block

>>5666307
>Find the old exorcists and necromancers his notes mentioned so he can have an audience with them and listen to their babbling
All the old men we met so far have been cool and/or funny.

>>5666307
>Find the old exorcists and necromancers his notes mentioned so he can have an audience with them and listen to their babbling

>>5666307
>Find the old exorcists and necromancers his notes mentioned so he can have an audience with them and listen to their babbling
Also has Ping came up with a name for his exorcist law yet?

>>5666307
>Find the old exorcists and necromancers his notes mentioned so he can have an audience with them and listen to their babbling

>>5666307
>Find the old exorcists and necromancers his notes mentioned so he can have an audience with them and listen to their babbling
Perhaps some of their knowledge will be useful for us to know as well. Perhaps some of them will have trinkets or organs we can buy as well.

>>5666307
>Find the old exorcists and necromancers his notes mentioned so he can have an audience with them and listen to their babbling

>>5666307
:>Find the old necrobones

>>5666307
>Find the old exorcists and necromancers his notes mentioned so he can have an audience with them and listen to their babbling
As everyone knows the only thing more terrifying than an old monster is a child looking cultivator.

So I've got a thought.

Im really wary of altering our students bodies with our ability to inscribe spells into their blood. Because I dont want to accidently inhibit their cultivation or make them weaker through reliance on outside resources.

So my thought then, is that we can apply to them a few simple effects that shouldnt deal any lasting damage.
Like a regenerative property, or a resistence against cold.

If this still seems like too much of a risk, which even now it does to me, I cannot see a reason to not extend this to our outer layer of martial artists who lack the ability to cultivate and who tend our grounds.

Maybe on the basis of time taken, but it could serve as a rather good reward and serve to demonstrate the limits and extents of our capacity with the technique.

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Ending the vote now, tallying the results.

Find the old exorcists and necromancers his notes mentioned so he can have an audience with them and listen to their babbling: 8

Landslide victory for getting Ping an audience with the old and dusty exorcists and necromancers

Update will arrive shortly

After some intense reading and consideration, during which time you assign Ping with the difficult task of keeping your elder sister from wandering off to gawk at the various bloody and violent scenes that occur daily in the plains and vast wilderness of the underworld, you decide that the best option among the many ideas Ping came up with to break through his bottleneck while he was bedridden, stuffed to bursting with pain killing drugs and feverish after his a bit past near death experience with Jingyu, is to seek out an audience for the old master.

Old in this case meaning having died ages ago, long before the orthodoxy was established or at least not long after it, when there were still dabblers of forbidden arts with large enough libraries of manuals and scriptures detailing forbidden magics such as necromancy or who still had enough renown and face to practice exorcism a step or two outside of the strictly regulated practices demanded by the heavens. The only issue is that Ping has no idea where these old masters could be, and neither do you. But that won't be a problem for long. You have enough connections in hell, and more importantly enough wealth and a reputation as being too dangerous to annoy yet alone rob, that if you jingle a few caged souls around suddenly those with that knowledge will flock to you and be all to happy to tell you exactly where to find these long dead masters. And if the greedy don't know their address you can flutter your eyes, push up your chest and get the desperate and lonely to lead you to their doorstep instead!

"Come on, we're heading to the city on the horizon" You declare, lifting your eyes from the mind achingly complex scroll of wild theories and meandering contemplations to see that Xuebai is chatting with one of the half skeletal ghouls that you had so often seen out here in the uh...you guess it counts as farmlands, so that's what you'll call it, the farmlands of hell. You didn't know they could talk, but Xuebai is chatting with one of them quite happily while Ping watches on with a look in his eyes like a bird of prey as he winds his prayer beads tighter around his arm.

"Oh, yes, this fellow was just telling me of it" Xuebai says cheerfully "Apparently they sell fetus peaches there, a key ingredient of elixirs of youth"

"We are not buying them, they're disgusting" You snap before she can get any ideas, and unless she swindles a few souls herself, all the finances of this trip lie solely in your hands "And we have no need for elixirs of youth"

"I think they're cute" She pouts as Ping frowns and begins to walk towards the city without waiting for either of you "I thought you'd think so to, considering your macabre interests and aesthetics. I was thinking about seeing if we could grow them up on earth"

A tree of peaches shaped like aborted babies? That might be the only thing that could give you nightmares.
Cont

>>5668681

"My appreciation of the nightmarish and grim has its limits, dear sister" You explain as you hop and skip to catch up with Ping before he can get lost or swept away by the crowds never to be seen again.

To your great surprise, you don't have to flaunt your collection of trapped souls or do your best Monu expression and flirt with the various demons and hungry ghosts, as the moment you begin to ask those ghosts who your recognize from your earlier jaunts into hell, like the moth spirit who introduced your to Anjing or the other vendors who share a street with her stall or a few nobles who were present when you slaughtered the crow king, they are willing to do the boring work for you and by the seventh one you ask you're told that one of the old masters has agreed to use his authority to grant Ping access to their hidden sanctum.

It's actually one of the nobles who tells you this, who seems very eager to get one your good side as apparently the old master owes you greatly.

"Why?" You ask, you might be vain and at times airheaded when your whims get the better of you, but you're certain you'd remember helping some half decayed sorcerer or moldering sage. Did you sleep walk into the underworld and help the old corpse across the street or something?

"Also how did you get an audience with them, if they're so secretive?" Xuebai asks, and you were about to ask that yourself

"Oh" the one eyed, purple skinned devil with teeth and fangs that tells you he probably eats people "Well, when he was among the living, my grandfather helped him collect a few rare herbs and taught him how to safely carry and refine them. My family are old friends with the great alchemist, eheh even if we aren't the closest, our name is still enough to get a messenger at his door which is why I am awed that he is so fond of a young thing like you, but not surprised at all that it was because the genius you helped complete his Magnus opus. Odd, I figured he finished it when he was still breathing"

Oh. OH! Its the writer of the book of underworld alchemy you so treasure! The very same you ran into on your short trip into the past! You knew he had to have died at some point, but you didn't think he still around, you just figured he must've died and reincarnated a few times instead of remaining a ghost in hell. Either he has dirt on king Yama or he committed a truly tremendous amount of sins in his life.

"You have a look that tells me you remembered when that happened now that you're memories been jogged, little sister. My oh my how forgetful of you" Xuebai teases, nipping at your ears as you blush

"Thank you for your assistance" Ping states in your stead, cupping his hand and bowing as the one eyed purple people eater grins ear to pointed ear

"I am honored to lend my family's reputation to Lady crow killer" He says glibly bouncing from one foot to the other "Though my family has been going through quite the financial hardship as of late"
Cont

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>>5668682

OH! Now your remember where you first saw this demon's face. He lost most of his money betting against you in the last realm of the tournament! Well, he's not getting a single copper cash from you for that. You send the shameless beggar off with a fierce glare, after making sure he handed over the secret location of the hidden sanctum of the club of dead heretical sorcerers and sages.

But you didn't tolerate the shameless beggar's presence long enough to learn if all of you would be allowed into the building if only ping would be.

What do you choose to do, Huanliuxue?

>Send Ping off on his own there, he's a big boy after all and can handle himself, while you go visit Anjing, collect your order and introduce her to Xuebai

>Follow Ping there to check, and if you are allowed in follow him to make sure his audience doesn't go sour and to thank the alchemist for his two gifts to you.

>Realize if that one eyed devil is reduced to begging, you could probably buy his family estate out from under him and do just that out of sheer pettiness (Bad karma)

>Find Lei's ancestor and see if you could sweet talk some of the secrets of their family's cultivation technique from him

>Write in

>>5668683
>Send Ping off on his own there, he's a big boy after all and can handle himself, while you go visit Anjing, collect your order and introduce her to Xuebai
Kind of hard to sweet talk someone that can't speak

>>5668686
Although I am very tempted to meet the alchemist to thank him.
It was him that gave the pearl that restored Monu, wasn't it?

>>5668683
>Send Ping off
>Send him off with a letter of thanks and one that expresses hopes for a future appointment.

>>5668688
yes it was.

And networking never hurts.

>>5668683
>Follow Ping there to check, and if you are allowed in follow him to make sure his audience doesn't go sour and to thank the alchemist for his two gifts to you.

>>5668689
I like the letters idea, it seems like a good compromise between going with Ping and visiting Anjing.

>>5668683
>Head over to Anqing and invite her to join you on your trip to the old master. Networking will do her well, and if the old master doesn’t let you in both then you, Xuebai, and Anjing can always talk and share stories.
I like the letter idea, but I want to bully Anjing in a positive way. Dragging her out of the house to spend time with us builds her reputation by associating with us (we’re a medium deal if not a big deal), shows that we don’t care for old prejudices (spiders are apparently pretty roundly hated) to build our rep among the “lower” classes, and if the old master is willing to still entertain us with Anjing then it furthers her network.

If he doesn’t let us in, we still get to hang out with Aniing and swap stories with her and Xuebai. Ask for more info on the assassin and spider politics? He was pretty cool and I wouldn’t mind getting him as part of a hell court. Maybe some other sages would be able to join in conversation too, we’re bound to be an interesting group as a still-living demonic beast, a ghost, and a spider.

>>5668683
>Follow Ping there to check, and if you are allowed in follow him to make sure his audience doesn't go sour and to thank the alchemist for his two gifts to you.

>>5668689
Support


>>5668799
I would rather not drag the spider neet around, besides the old alchemist who probably still wears the ratty old robes he died in isn't the kind of networking a weaver would want.

>>5668848
+1

Remember anons, this old alchemist wants to see us because we helped him a lot in the past, if he hears about is after god knows how much time, we really should visit.

>>5668683
>Follow Ping there to check, and if you are allowed in follow him to make sure his audience doesn't go sour and to thank the alchemist for his two gifts to you.

>>5669131
He’d be exactly the sort of person who would need better robes then! Her spider silk is a useful alchemical material too.

I do admit any benefits from networking are secondary to my real desire to get Anjing out and interacting with others though, so if you don’t want her along in general then I can’t argue that.

It’d be nice if we could do the occasional “hang out with a friend just because” thing every once in a while though. If some benefit comes out of it then great, but that doesn’t always need to be the point.

>>5670477
Debatable

Benefits are a big reason for most cultivators to do most anything.
I just don't think bringing our socially introverted spider pal out to meet ancient necromancers is a good idea.

Nah, we want something more suited.
Maybe take her with us on a prank spree would be. . much better

>>5670481
Drag her from hell back to our sect to meet all of our children, I mean, students.

>>5670481
>>5670483
I would accept either of these in a future vote!

>>5670483
Educational AND home warming.

>>5670483
Yeah, get the moth too!
Our disciples need personalized style clothes since they're not all human.

Here's a tally

>Votes - 8
YLU3CSLT
yJPDVeXO
JgSm+qPW
UDVhdKTs
OFMzP1LN
y42+uM5K
5J8owI9T
j8J80SO6


>Anjing - 3
YLU3CSLT
yJPDVeXO
y42+uM5K

>Alchemist - 4
JgSm+qPW
OFMzP1LN
5J8owI9T
j8J80SO6

>Letter - 3
yJPDVeXO
YLU3CSLT
y42+uM5K

>Bring Anjing to Alchemist - 1
UDVhdKTs

Very neck and neck, even those that want to go to the shy spider still want to meet the alchemist.

And here's the suggestions that were mentioned to what do when we do meet Anjing:
>Prank wars
>Forced networking
>Sect visit

>>5668683
>>5668799
Switching to support >>5668689, leading >>5670895 to be 4-4-4. Perfectly balanced, as all things should be.

Though it’d be nice if we could get a fourth option with four votes as well, this is pretty auspicious for Huan.

>>5668683
>Follow Ping there to check, and if you are allowed in follow him to make sure his audience doesn't go sour and to thank the alchemist for his two gifts to you.

As a note from the old threads, the winter blossoming sect master failed a breakthrough in the late stage of the golden core formation stage [core formation].

So after our mega sesh, we ideally want to be mid-core formation at the minimum before we go and slap some fools.

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Ending the vote now, sorry for the five day wait. Was busy house sitting for some family.

So with 5 votes in total, you'll follow Ping to check, and if you're granted entrance alongside him, make certain his audience doesn't go wrong and take the chance to thank the alchemist for his two gifts to you

Update will arrive shortly

>>5670895
And thank you for doing most of the work, oh illustrious tally anon.

For a few moments, you think of merely sending a letter to express your thanks to the old master, but decide just as quickly that would be an unforgiveable breech of proper etiquette, especially for royalty such as your magnificent self. It would be a great honor to be thanked in person by the radiant and beneficent you after all. Then there's the whim to stop by anjing's hermitage manor to drag the girl from her web, though you can't convince yourself that whim is anything but, even with the stray thought of having her present the old sage with a fresh set of spider demon silk robes. While that would certainly do wonder's for her reputation, would the reclusive spider even want to improve her reputation beyond what it has already reached? She is a shy child after all. Maybe taking her out to play and see that the world is not so scary a place or forcing her to the mortal realm to visit your sect is something you can do, but with proper planning and warning.

You might just give the weaver her death of fright if you dragged her from her lair to meet a bunch of moldering scholars and decayed warlocks. So you decided that since you don't want to talk with the begging noble devil again, that you'll simply ask the gatekeeper of the hidden sect if Ping's invitation extends to his teacher as well? If not, then you there is nothing stopping you from having the cursed armed exorcist deliver your message for you while you visit Anjing and introduce her to Xuebai, but if you are allowed into their tower as well then you can properly give the old alchemist thanks for his two gifts to you. First the treasure that made Monu young again and second giving his recomendation so Ping could be granted this audience to begin with. And thinking on it, you should also give thanks and praise for the manual of underworld alchemy he wrote. Even if you stole it from a tomb rather than being directly gifted it like the other two boons that have come from his saintly hands, it is one of your most prized possessions anyways.

So with your mind made up, you take you acolyte and sister once you find her after she's wandered off and you find her playing a game of dice with an eyeless wretch and a mangy crow demon, and head out of the city to find the hidden lair of the old alchemist and his heretical peers. They've hidden it in one of the many cracks and crevices of the yellow springs, away from prying eyes but also in lawless land and territory that one would expect to be inhabited solely by gangs of bandits and thugs wearing tiger pelts. You do find a few groups of hungry ghosts and demons that match that description nearly perfectly, but they are smart enough to not be bandits at while you're around in spite of your wealth of caged souls.
Cont

>>5672627

It turns out even the dead can still possess strong survival instincts, and the few of them that do not run away from you immediately after you step over the invisible line that marks the boundaries of their territory are helpful enough to point you to the safest and quickest path to the well hidden sanctum of the old sages.

Which would be hard for any human wandering in hell to find, but even with a pretty human face, your sense of smell is as sharp as any beasts and though it has been centuries since the manual was written, the air takes on a familiar aroma that clings faintly to its pages trapped in ink like bugs in amber. The scent of its writer. Then, following what the one eyed devil and the bandits told you and your own sharp sense of smell, you track down the entrance to their abode swiftly from amongst thousands of cave side cliffs and yawning sinkholes.

At first it looks like any network of caves, but soon the amount of bones becomes worryingly indicative that the tunnel is occupied, and the green flame lanterns makes it clear whoever is living their is intelligence and the carpet that leads to a wrought iron gate just makes it clear that this is a place most should fear to tread. Except for the cunning exorcist ping and his beautiful teacher. The gate opens without hands, or the need to state your name or carry out a complicated and boring ritual and a headless brute of a guard with a passive face carved onto the breast plate of its armor appears.

Silently, it bids Ping to enter and it doesn't stop you or Xuebai from following him. Ping bows to the headless specter, who rudely does not return the gesture and stands as still as a stiff corpse as you walk by.

Past him is a trove of scrolls, a labyrinth of shelves and floating ghost flames acting in the place of lanterns. And to your surprise there are a lot of people here, pointed ear demons wearing masks shaped like the wings of moths and pale, off white robes like yellowed bones, moving from row to row, organizing and jotting down notes as living shadows and mumified monks sit gathered like debating scholars, though they are as silent as the grave itself.

"Ah" A familiar voice, weighed by age and as dry as sand, but still all to familiar to your keen ears calls out and you look up to see one of the preserved monks floating in the air, held a loft by thousands of spectral butterflies, dressed in the same black tang suit he wore in the distant past, though it is covered with paper talismans, some of which burn with black fire as he approaches you and Ping "A familiar face. I had long pondered how so young a child could possess knowledge I lacked and speak it so clearly in the voice of an expert. A child who could walk down to the yellow springs in her own flesh, but not have any presence in records of the time or the lists of the sect of the wisest. It would seem, Huanliuxue, I have found my answer, time traveler"
Cont

>>5672628

"What?" Ping asks, eyes wide as the mummified corpse in front of him laughs

"And you must be Ping, I am excited to have a fresh voice join our dry debates and sermons" He continues on as he drifts down to your side "And I take it from that smug smile of yours, daughter of grudges, that you are pleased I remember you"

"That book I helped you finish is one of my prized possession, though now that I think about it, its existence is quite the headache isn't it" You begin to boast before realizing just how odd it is that the book you treasure was finished in part because you spoke what you had learned from it to its writer when he just began to pen it and that really gives you a migraine trying to figure it out.

"Time is no straight path" He answers with a shrug "I have studied happenings of the kind in the last oh, two centuries or so, it is a really fascinating subject, how often certain individuals blessed by fate or the playfulness of a certain earthbound deity venture backwards and forward in time. Please, make yourself at home here in our humble record hall and know that you are always welcome here"

"You didn't think to tell me of so exciting a tale?" Xuebai asks with a raised eyebrow "that is almost as impressive as taking on a human form, meeting with a wise sage in the past. How'd that transpire to occur anyways"

"He just told you, by the whims of a god" You titter as you cover your mouth with the back of your sleeve, looking deeply into the hollow eye sockets of the long dead alchemist "or I should say the generosity of one"

"Is there a difference?" The alchemist asked as you found a comfy looking pile of manuals to sit down on, crossing one leg over the over after scaling to the top of the stack of books, scrolls and scriptures

"If the gods has a heart, yes" You answer fondly as you cross arm over the chest and use the sleeve covering the other to hide the bottom of your face "So, will the great and sagely alchemist standing before me be escorting his guest to meet his peers to bask in their well aged knowledge"

"Oh I will be joining the debate and lecture of the young ping, but I would enjoy speaking to his mentor first" the alchemist answered with a dry chuckle as he watched his acolytes look up at you in despair, their arms heavy with books they meant to stack atop the records now securely under your behind. Sure, the writings you're using as a cushion are probably worth the ransom of several emperors, but the urge to sit atop them like a throne was irresistible. What better way to take advantage of their hospitality than to make yourself comfortable, and the towering height of the stack of manuals made it the perfect vantage point.

"What of?" You ask
Cont

>>5672630

"Anything" The alchemist stated "I do owe you a great debt, after all"

"That makes two of us, I came here to thank you for giving me two or three treasures, a generosity that can not be easily repaid" You answer back cheerfully

"There is no need for either of us to be indebted to the other, young girl" He laughs "So let us settle it by making this discussion the payment for both of our gratitude. An aid will arrive shortly to bring your student to the debate hall, until then, let us talk freely with one another"

What do you talk about with the alchemist, Huanliuxue?

>He mentioned time travel, so ask him about his studies of that and mention that strange manual emporium that lead to an even weirder place to him

>Ask him how he died, since he must be one hell of a powerhouse so whatever killed him must be twice as terrifying

>Tell him what you did with his gift and ask how he came across such a treasure and if he made it himself.

>Question him on the contents of the library and if you're allowed to take any of the writings there as your own

>Write in

>>5672631
>Tell him what you did with his gift and ask how he came across such a treasure and if he made it himself.
>He mentioned time travel, so ask him about his studies of that and mention that strange manual emporium that lead to an even weirder place to him
He is cool

>>5672631
>He mentioned time travel, so ask him about his studies of that and mention that strange manual emporium that lead to an even weirder place to him
>Tell him what you did with his gift and ask how he came across such a treasure and if he made it himself.
>Ask him how he died, since he must be one hell of a powerhouse so whatever killed him must be twice as terrifying

>>5672631
>He mentioned time travel, so ask him about his studies of that and mention that strange manual emporium that lead to an even weirder place to him

>Ask him how he died, since he must be one hell of a powerhouse so whatever killed him must be twice as terrifying

>>5672631
If we have the autobiography book then
>Show him your self-writing autobiography and ask for his opinion on the magic powering it.
I’m curious about that in particular.

Internet is down so my ID may change. I’m >>5670502.

Besides that, also voting
>Tell him what you did with his gift and ask how he came across such a treasure and if he made it himself.

>Question him on the contents of the library and if you're allowed to take any of the writings there as your own
>>Specify manuals that would assist your more heretically-inclined students. Necromancy, cultivating for ghosts, embodying grudges.
>>Also specify manuals with rituals that could attract other demonic beasts or half-beasts to a location. You caused quite the stir in the mortal realm, and a number of new beasts will need to band together to defend against increasingly warlike orthodox sects.

Can’t think of any other specifics to ask him that don’t boil down to “tell me cool stuff to help me cultivate”.

>>5672631
I will support >>5672639

But I also wanna ask
>How far along the path of cultivation did he reach, and how has he remained in hell for so long.

>>5672721
Oh yeah, his opinion on that damn book is also pretty good to collect.

Adding to >>5672820

>>567263>
>Show him your self-writing autobiography and ask for his opinion on the magic powering it.
If we don't have it with us
>He mentioned time travel, so ask him about his studies of that and mention that strange manual emporium that lead to an even weirder place to him

>>5672631
>He mentioned time travel, so ask him about his studies of that and mention that strange manual emporium that lead to an even weirder place to him
>Tell him what you did with his gift and ask how he came across such a treasure and if he made it himself.

>>5672631
>Show him your self-writing autobiography and ask for his opinion on the magic powering it.
>Tell him what you did with his gift and ask how he came across such a treasure and if he made it himself.

>>5672631
>Ask the alchemist his name(Unless we know it)
>Ask if he anything unresolved in the land of the living. Not as a favor but as solid for technically one of out alchemy masters.

>>5672631
Guess I’ll take a turn, even if phoneposting this is terrible. Also adding my vote in places since I should have my old ID back.

Votes - 9
S7BmQSsx
JgSm+qPW
Tie3IT6i
iGxA3Snx/UDVhdKTs
yJPDVeXO
j8J80SO6
cUlBsYS9
ZABgJIWQ
qFe7AKHM

>Time travel/manual place - 7
S7BmQSsx
JgSm+qPW
Tie3IT6i
yJPDVeXO
j8J80SO6
cUlBsYS9
iGxA3Snx/UDVhdKTs (new)

>How he died - 2
JgSm+qPW
Tie3IT6i

>His gift and where he got it - 6
S7BmQSsx
JgSm+qPW
iGxA3Snx/UDVhdKTs
yJPDVeXO
cUlBsYS9
ZABgJIWQ

>Question his library and ask for stuff - 1
iGxA3Snx/UDVhdKTs
>>Specifcally manuals to help students or call beasts to a location - 1
iGxA3Snx/UDVhdKTs

> Have him examine our autobiography - 4
iGxA3Snx/UDVhdKTs
yJPDVeXO
j8J80SO6
ZABgJIWQ

>How has he stayed in hell so long/how far along was he in cultivation - 2
yJPDVeXO
iGxA3Snx/UDVhdKTs (new)

>Ask his name - 2
qFe7AKHM
iGxA3Snx/UDVhdKTs (new)

>Ask for unresolved business/sidequest - 2
qFe7AKHM
iGxA3Snx/UDVhdKTs (new)

Currently we’d ask about his gift and time travel. The autobiography examination is close but needs one more vote, and everything else is pretty distant.

>>5676426
>Anon did this on the phone
Truly your devotion is unparalleled.

>>5676426
My my, such honest piety to one's sect and fellows!

I respect it.
In the meantime, I'd also like to implore our fellows to inquire into our unique treasure.

It is a slight risk but I think he can be trusted, for he gains nothing by selling us out.

>>5676426
You did on a phone? I'll say that you have surpassed me.

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201 KB JPG

Ending the vote now, sorry for making you wait for a week while I was practicing closed door meditation. Still struggling with the heart demon called writer's block. I shall kowtow immediatly

>>5676426
Incredible! Junior is a peerless prodigy. Thanks for tallying. But seriously that you did that on a phone is amazing.

So

You'll ask him about his studies of time distortion and the gift he gave to you when the two of you first ran into eachother and mention your experience with that odd manual shop

Long overdo update will arrive shortly

"You mentioned something incredibly interesting" You say with a purr at the end of your voice and a very feline smile on your face, eyes glittering with a curiosity that could only be cat like as you cross one leg over the other, rest your head on the back of your hand and lean forward as the old alchemist's mummified lips twitch into a smirk

"Are you referring to my pursual of accounts and records of those blessed existences that have walked into ancient history and distant future as easily as mere mortals could step from one side of a stream to another?" He asked poetically waving and turning his wrist in a way that you couldn't help but giggle at

"What else could I be referring to. I thought I was the only girl whose gone through such a bizarre journey but you speak as if there's quite the club of temporal wanderers from the way you're talking about your studies" You answer mirthfully, your sister sitting by and listening intently while Ping takes the chance to grab a random scroll from the pile you sit atop to study with a hungry look into the space his eyes should me

"There is a history but it is twisted and tangled, hard to track. All I am certain of is you are not, chronologically speaking the first to step into the past. By this I of course me there are others who have gone further back, but whether they came from between then and now or further in the future I cannot say" He answers with much more vigor than any corpse should have, he's spry in his advance age. Must be the preservation.

"I...think I understand" You state, not really certain if you do understand what he's saying since it sounds rather complicated and might be even too complex for a genius such as yourself

"Yes, and without fail a certain great power seems to be behind most of these sojourns across time. I dare not speak his name, as some of my respectable colleagues are outspoken infernalists and anti deists and I am in no mood to begin a centuries long argument over that old master, though I do greatly respect the man personally" He explains

"So five colors has a hobby of sending people back to the past?' You ask, also uncertain if you should feel offended that he's given others that gift or amused that he makes a habit of play havoc with history

"Yes. Though as far as I can tell history has not changed because of these interferences. I do not believe in fate but the idea that there would not be signs of the original history if these journeys do alter what is written upon the vast scroll of destiny somehow repulses me more. But that then leads to the question if free will is nothing more than a vain illusion of us intelligent beings" He rambles "Either all was meant to transpire as it did, and none can escape the grasp of history from its dawn to its end, or by the whims of a cat and a god, the world can change"
cont

>>5676863

"I remember that the carmine mystics fell to debauchery and turned feral before I stole their prized peach" You answer hopeful that this will prove of some use to the alchemist and act as a sort of revelation

"But did that memory form afterwards? Who is to say you were not born in a world where their downfall occurred far later, after the establishment of the orthodox laws and the mandates of immortality?" He asked rapidly, empty eyes focused so unerringly onto you that you feel like they might burn a hole through your body if he stares any harder "The alternative of course is that you were always preordained to be the catalyst behind their decent into monstrosity and madness"

"I can see why you hate both possibilities now " You growl, catching on quickly to the implications and immediately rejecting the possibility that your actions were anything but your own doing, same as your decisions while also feeling a certain dread as you wonder if what you know was always what you knew "Perhaps before their peach withered and rotted and I merely stole it away"

"The third possibility, that the old emperor merely moves pieces across time where his power will allow him to make subtle alterations that will not be noticed in the past but felt in the present. Though we'd then have to consider what the present actually is from the perspective of an entity that controls a portal into astral chaos and the unseen stream of time" The old wiseman blathers relentlessly as a few more withered corpses step by him, mummified in the same manner. They sigh and tap their feet before they spot Ping and move to study him like he was a preserved specimen in a jar.

"You're giving me a headache, uncle" You chuckle, which makes the long dead alchemist laugh dryly "how about we change the subject"

"We have strayed somewhat from the topic of my studies of the matter of time travel" He admitted shamelessly "Which in of itself not worthy discussing. It was like any other historical research, except I had to scrutinize texts in search of discrepancies and anachronisms. Such as the appearance of a certain troublesome sword, that most took to be a duplicate or fake at the time but I have suspicions was in fact the same object displaced backwards in time, perhaps a closed loop where the original copy was stolen to the future?

"Uncle, that is fascinating but" You begin

"Oh my apologizes, I was rambling again" he chuckled, bashfully turning away from you "So, what would you now like to discuss"

"The gift you gave me when we met, that darling little pearl. Where did it come from? Was it your handiwork or a treasure you found in the world somewhere?" You ask excitedly
Cont

>>5676865

"It was my own creation. I managed to live as long as I have by its use. But its ingredients have become somewhat scarce in recent generations so I had to travel and find alternative means of continuing my life, so my studies could continue, so I may figure the great mystery that plagued me up until the day you made a name for yourself killing that upstart carrion king" He explained with a smug look on his mummified wait, he's still alive?

"You aren't dead?!" You gasp, almost feeling like its an accusation more than anything else.

"Yes. The alchemist of the Sect are. The rests are ghosts, demons, souls inhabiting puppets or living echoes of the memories that would otherwise be washed away and forgotten upon reincarnation" He explains quite happily despite your offended tone

"Then what happened to your eyes?" You ask bluntly

"They turned to dust a few years ago, despite my careful measures to preserve them" He answered chipperly

"That must've been quite the experience" You cackle as a shiver races down your spine just from imagining it "Well, I wanted to thank you again, because of that pearl my mother is young again and will live long enough to see the world I intend to bring about""

"That is the purpose of a longevity elixir. Though most nowadays only extend lifespan and do nothing to revitalize the flesh and marrow" He snorted before sighing "And it would seem my peers are becoming impatient and have began to pester your student, so alas, our enlightening discussion must soon end unless we wish to incur their wroth"

"One last question uncle, on one of my earlier trips to the underworld, I encountered a strange shop built in a style I had never seen before. A pale arm beckoned me inside, but I did not enter a shop but rather a platform of stone in what appeared to be the far reaches of outer space, the astral void or whatever you want to call it. I felt watched by...something I cannot describe" You explain slowly, cautiously as even just talking about that experience brings a chill that even you cannot ignore, dread. Something you rarely experience

The alchemist says nothing

"Inside, I found four treasures. A will addressed to me, a diary of a man long dead and an art unknown even to us heretics" You whisper "And inside that will was a treasure beyond treasures, but there was also a manual that"

"Ah...You stumbled across a secret realm, whose owner decided to grant you access to. And from the sounds of it, they are another tamperer of time, or perhaps simply a collector of the strange. But to carry you to distance space must mean they had a talent with spatial reorganization or"

He cannot finish his sentence before one of the other sages claps him on the back of his head, though that does little to shut him up and drags him away

"Come if you wish to assist your student in his exam" One of the dour sages mutters "We'll make sure this idiot is on task before the examination begins"
Cont

>>5676866

"But I didn't even get to tell him that the treasures were on marble pedestals shaped like smiling cats, or that I was so terrified I closed my eyes to escape the nameless terror but when I opened them I was back in the street and the shop was gone" You shout angrily

"Oh that makes it even more interesting that a simple case of time OW!" The old alchemist shouts, before he gets smacked on the back of his head again.

What do you do during Ping's examination and discourse with the ancient mystics, Huanliuxue?

>Listen but do not give him any assistance [Result will be determined by Ping's wits and will alone]

>Help him in anyway you can (Mental/ Knowledge trial. DC 60. Result will be altered by the result]

>Chat with the master of underworld alchemy and discuss at length time travel and the strange place the bookstore took you (Mental training. DC 90)

>Leave Ping for the time being and go check on Anjing with Xuebai

>Write in

Had a lot of fun writing this update.

>>5676867
>Listen but do not give him any assistance [Result will be determined by Ping's wits and will alone]

>>5676867
>Listen but don't help him
Ping needs to prove his worth of immortality.

>Chat with the master of underworld alchemy.

>>5676867
>Listen but do not give him any assistance [Result will be determined by Ping's wits and will alone]

>>5676867
>Listen but do not give him any assistance [Result will be determined by Ping's wits and will alone]
I trust in our boy

>>5677022
He gains what he earns. We can't just hold his hand repeatedly

>>5676867
>Listen but do not give him any assistance [Result will be determined by Ping's wits and will alone]

>>5676867
>Listen but do not give him any assistance [Result will be determined by Ping's wits and will alone]
Checking in on disciples > satisfying our curiosity

May as well pick up what we can during the discourse too.

>>5677418
Why is checking on disciples > Satisfying our curiosity?

He's not in any danger here and we'd just be watching him perform like a proud parent instead of improving ourself.
We are a prideful cat but we should act in efficient manners, especially in such time sensitive oppertunities.

>>5676865
Simple answer: the peach was always stolen, the only thing which was changed was who stole it. Thus continuity is preserved, though the means we were allowed to travel back means that the peach did still exist in the original timeline we came from, preserved and in the Crow King's treasure room and thus we claimed it for a second time.

I also would like grandfather to reveal something, the beastly saint doctrine is more than just the collection of martial techniques of our forebearers. It is also a repository of the secrets of evolution.

Can Grandfather reveal some stuff on that? Like how many evolutions we can undergo, the basic mechanisms of it, how the damn thing works [even if it is somewhat obvious that it is a collection and purification of primordial essence in our beast core which separates us from humans.]

I'd like to do a bit of planning ahead.

>>5678319
The demons were involved in the sect's downfall, weren't they? I wouldn't be surprised if a demon, a cultist or someone that made a pact stole the it.
Although Baoli could have tracked down the preserved peach just for to be part of his collection, since he also had the Jiangshi as a prisoner.

>>5679016
Hot take (imaginary): Baoli being a rank higher learned to fuse remnants of his essence within the peach and kept it hidden so his soul would naturally gravitate to it and that's made it into his resurrection seed, which will appear too valuable as a cultivation item for someone to believe it's actually a psuedo-phylactery itself which will be triggered whenever anyone is foolish enough to eat it.

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Worry not juniors, I have not returned to the great wheel of transmigration, I am however battling a stomach bug. So apologies for the wait, but its gonna be a while longer, but I'll tally and write once I no longer feel like reheated dog vomit

>>5678557
The highest record thus far is eight evolutions, and you can guess who made that record, its everyones favourite long dead oxen, Niu Bingwen! 9 is the max, but exists only in theory and would require a truly profound cultivation to achieve.

And your guess is correct, the beast core is more or less used as a furnace or the soul it self is altered or the body mutates due to environmental/ magical factors, but the type of evolutions you can access are determined by the Qi/ spiritual energies around you or even materials you consume. Which is why Huan had access to the evolutions that she did, beyond the Wild Princess, Ice nymph was because of her proximity to Monu and her habit of deeply immersing herself into potent Yin Qi, the metal was because of the catacombs dominant Qi being metal before the spring was brought in, and Maogui was because she evolved her soul in hell itself

Wild Princess hence is the "Pure" evolution, as it is just primordial beast essence being gathered and refined, which in Huan's case was done by absorbing ghostly Yin Qi directly into her living soul to strengthen it, which lead to her body and the essence inside of it bolstering and growing to accommodate her now regally refined spirit. Which is why she grew from wolf to Young ox size.

An example would be, say Huili, who is already fire aligned. If he say, went to the forge devil's desolation Feiqing went to gather materials for his breakthrough into foundation establishment, which he hasn't undergone yet, he'd have access to the Pyre Spirit, Maogui, and Wild Prince evolutions if he reached a milestone of magical beast development

Which can be done by numerous ways. Huan's was one of the more, bruteforce methods. Age is one of the more delicate ones.

There's more to it than this, and it gets more complex past the 2nd or 3rd evolutionary level, but I feel lightheaded and like I am about to throw up. Hopefully when I wake up, I'll feel well enough to write

Oh, and funnily enough, Jingyu has undergone a "Artificial" beastial evolution, because in the eyes of the dao and reality itself, he no longer counts as human.

>>5680688
This is. . . incredibly interesting. Yes, yes I think that this is very interesting.

Pure evolution is naturally the idea which appeals best, but in the world of cultivation, some things need better optimising.

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>>5680688
Interesting things to note, especially Jingyu's evolution. Also had a whim to show what those other paths included all that time ago as they were lost when someone really disliked seeing Chinese symbols.

>>5680778
Of note, I can think of a few milestones.

Territory size, producing a bloodline [you know what I mean], killing and eating our natural predator/prey, maybe related but reaching the top of the food chain.

We need to do more research on what produces and stimulates bestial essence, but I imagine it usually relates to the predator/prey dynamics

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After a thousand years, I am reborn. Thank you all for your patience. Tallying the vote at long last/

Listen but do not give him any assistance:6

Chat with the master of underworld alchemy and discuss at length time travel and the strange place the bookstore took you:1

Landslide victory for listening to Ping's trial without interfering, leaving your disciple to win the old masters' respect and aid.

Update will arrive shortly

>>5680938
Thanks!

The room you and Ping are lead to is a vast theater, a chamber with a ceiling so high you cannot see its top, with rows of seats carved alongside the cavern walls lit by souls trapped in paper lanterns. Faceless scribes mill about on the sand covered floor, spider like and kneeling with their faces pressed firmly to the ground so their bulbous heads do not get in the way of the lowest row of chairs site as their bone thin hands work diligently recording every word that is spoken or else describing even the most minute shift in the speaker's demeanor or stance. In the center of the room is a round stone, polished to a mirror finish, split one half white marble and the other black with a swirl of the opposite color present in the material of either side. The silent alchemists who have lead you, the old master and your disciple to the theater motion for Ping to step forward alone to stand on the raised dais alone. Meanwhile, you are beckoned to take a seat and not knowing the proper etiquette these ancient scholars behold themselves to or the place reserved for guests, you simply follow behind them and wait to be directed to a chair so as not to make a fool of yourself.

You can assume that the highest seats amongst the clouds are reserved for the highest ranked or most honored of this hidden sect of researchers, but in hell that might be reversed. However a true glutton for knowledge would prefer to be nearer to the lecture being given, rather than having to crane their neck or listen to gossip passed up to their position from the lower seats. And you cannot know which assumption is correct. But you find your answer soon enough, as the mummified corpses arrange themselves by seniority, with the man who you owe much to taking a position of influence over the others who array themselves in seats beneath him and bow their heads in a show of subservience and submission. So your first guess was correct and much like the seating arrangements in an imperial dinner or civilized court, the more important chairs are situated above the lesser and minor ones. You wait, wandering if you should return to your natural form to sit on your haunches as the chairs look remarkably uncomfortable and spartan, carved out of stone that's only been smoothed and polished by untold centuries of being sat on.

But before you can make up your mind, the great pioneer of underworld alchemy cordially invites you to sit beside him with a subtle but polite gesture. A smug smirk plays on your lip, and you have to lift your head to avoid looking down at your seniors in the alchemical arts as you stride up to him and take a seat at his side, crossing one leg over the other.

"Am I being honored or did you simply want a rare beauty seated beside you, sir alchemist?" You teased with a refined titter, covering your mouth with the drooping sleeves of your spider made robes.
Cont

>>5682912

"Oh forgive me if my gesture seemed lecherous" He answered kindly "But I believe you my equal, considering the assistance you provided to me in my youth"

"It was a joke" You mutter under your breath "I wasn't implying anything seriously"

"There is humor to be found in playing the straight man" He says with a sneer, his parchment thin lips cracking as you pout and glower, realizing you had been played

"Cheeky uncle" Huff, crossing your arms under your chest, wondering if your elder sister is behaving in the library or if she is causing mischief "So when will the assessment of my student begin"

"When the masters are gathered" The alchemist replies, leaning forward and using the bald head of one of his juniors as an arm rest "They have been lecturing for a decade about the proper treatment of a certain fungus that can be found to grow in the belly of those monks who practice self mummification on the full moon on the anniversary of their self sacrifice and if it can be cultivated"

"Do they intend to turn their juniors into farm plots or something?" You ask, glancing at the man, curiosity now peaked as the image of these death evading sages sprouting mushrooms and lichens out of their gut fills your mind. If they aren't you might need to see about using corpse puppets as walking pots, the idea is not only sound but would make for good decoration. How intimidating would a herb garden sprouted from the walking dead be? It'd be a fantastic conversation starter

"I dearly hope not, we are merely in the process of self mumification to preserve our bodies and keep our souls bound to them, we are not truly immortal, not yet. This state is merely a temporary one to allow us to gather and keep as much knowledge as we can before we expire" The arm rest alchemist grumbles "It'd be a waste of our talent to be reduced to fodder, even if what would sprout from us is a key ingredient for elixirs of youth"

"The pearl of reversal requires the dust of that same mold" The alchemist using the other as an arm rest explains and that is enough to tell you just how potent a regent the fungus is, since it was what gave your mother her youth back

"The spirit renewal pill of the yellow springs" You state with a twinkle in your eye

"The very same" He answers with a lifting of his chin "A treasure of my own design"

"The pride of the founder of underworld alchemy" The armrest sage states solemnly "And he gave one to you for assisting in the creation of a far lesser spirit drug"

"No drug is lesser" The founder reprimands, wagging his finger "All pills are treasures, it is foolish to measure and rank them by their effects, that pill took more research to create than the pearl did, yet it is forgotten and the pearl is still coveted by the white haired youngsters who stand atop mole hills and declare themselves the strongest beneath the heavens"
Cont

>>5682914

"It must really piss those fossils off that I handed such a prize to the toad witch" You cackle, amused by the thought of seething old masters clawing at Monu's feet "especially since that little pearl is an ingredient for the elixir of immortality"

"One of hundreds" The founder groans "There is a reason the skies are not filled with so many immortals that they gather in flocks, OH! you did ask me when the hearing would begin, the debate should be ending any moment now, and then the masters shall arrive so we may, as a whole, test Ping's worthiness to receive our wisdom"

"I did ask that didn't I? But our talk of pearls and using corpses to cultivate fungus was so interesting" You say cheerfully "I could stand discussing it for at least a few minutes longer, but thankfully I won't have to wait for years. Though if I did, I'd probably just have left Ping to wait and left a reminder to check to see if he passed his test in a few years time, Heh-Heh-Heh"

"Toad witch?" A alchemist that smells of blood, fresh, old and corrupted asks as he sits by the seat next to you, and you can recognize him immediately as a carmine mystic from the palor of his skin and the mutations of his eyes and teeth. Oh and the black veins running along his neck

"A youngster" The founder of underworld alchemy explains "And see, Huanliuxue? The masters are already gathering"

Which was an unspoken warning to end the conversation before the monsters of the sect appeared and demanded silence and order. You nodded your head, straightened your back and looked to Ping.

He sat like a monk in prayer, unfurling scroll after scroll from his sleeves and belt, each of them appearing completely black at a glance but looking closer revealed each was covered in tiny writing, the notes and theories he had jotted down concerning his self taught cultivation law.

There was a murmur of approval through the slowly increasing crowd as Ping laid out the scrolls in order and pulled up the sleeve of his cursed arm as he arrayed the scrolls around himself, then knelt with his head held high and his eyes shut.

Nine robed figures emerged from the clouds above the chamber, each one dressed in a style of distant lands or long dead dynasties. None of them were human, at least not anymore. They were dead things, not undead, but corpses that had just refused to stop moving and talking. An evolved form of Jiangshi perhaps? A cousin to the Carmine mystic at your side? Leaning forward, you watched the procession of the eight with great interest. A bead of sweat dripped down Ping's brow as one of them reached out claw like nails to brush his head. But he did not tremble or quake.

"A new school of exorcism?" The ghoul asked with a dainty, maiden like voice more fitting for a princess than a shriveled bag of bones
Cont

>>5682916

"Based on achieving symbiosis with ghostly Yin Qi and using it to create discord within the energies of wandering spirits" Ping explains, lifting up his arm "It is possible through this arm of mine, It is a ghost's arm you see. If my master had not intervened and given me this treasure, all of me would be dead"

A different master grabbed his arm

"A jiangshi transplant?" They asked "If the texts are correct, your exorcism relies on a reverse of the breath or Life energy absorption practiced by the living dead, such as those hopping corpses or hungry ghosts"

"In part yes" Ping answers "I use it as a conduit to draw Yin energies and contain them within myself, but the exorcism itself relies on spells taught to me by ghosts and the previously mentioned disruption of my target's essence, it can also be used to great effect on living targets"

"Of course" Another muttered, prodding and stabbing Ping's arm with various needles and knives, he did not flinch "the same basic concepts behind spiritual disruption can be used against mortal flesh and mundane material. I see you've incorperated Buddhist mantras and spells"

"They are what I was trained in, I found they can be combined with the secrets whispered by ghosts pleading not to be returned to the great wheel" Ping states calmly as a long strip of skin and flesh is drawn from his arm, revealing what lies within his ghoul arm. It is a beautiful site, the bone inside is dyed as black as pitch, almost looking like it was carved from charcoal "That is why prayer beads made of mortal remains are necessary to use the techniques and spells of this art I am creating to its fullest potential"

"Naturally, they hold a small amount of Yin within them, as all corpses do. Though teeth and knuckle bones are a lesser material" Another states as they poke one of Ping's eyes, apparently to test their wetness and firmness

"I use teeth of hungry ghosts and the accursed dead. It allows me to more easily stand against malevolent spirits of the same kind." He explains

"Hmm, the same spirits your master has tamed" The girl of the group asks playfully "That would explain why you haven't taken petrified eyes, a more suitable material"

"My master would be displeased if I blinded her court, yes" Ping answer, in the same bored tone as a gardener explaining why he is waiting for a flower to bloom fully before cutting it from its stalk

"Fascinating, the arm is a ghost's in flesh, yet your body is unaffected by its presence. Normally you'd be decaying" Another whispers "And there are traces amounts of Blood Qi"
Cont

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>>5682917

"My master put her veins into mine and filled my arm with her ghostly breathe, I have tested my arm before, as far as I can tell, the limb is partially given over to the spirit realm. I am reaching into the realm of ghosts with it constantly. I could replicate what she did to me, I am certain" Ping replied "It is a physicals kind of curse, but a beneficial one"

"Interesting theory, chanting curses like mantra, combining Buddhist method of ghost sealing with the sorceries of the dead..." Another of the nine masters replies and that is when you realize this will take awhile. Sighing, you send a jolt of blood Qi down your body and transmute a portion of your blood into a stimulant to keep yourself awake, as fascinating as this talk is, it is putting yourself to sleep even though you are dying to see what their judgement of Ping and his law will be.
_

After what felt like hours, the theater was closed so the nine masters could deliver to Ping their verdict. But judging from how they applauded his work as "A good start" You are certain he had succeeded. in fact he had done so well they were going to give him more than just access to the texts and lectures he had requested, but what that was, you had no idea. And judging from How Xuebai was tied to a chair, she had tried to play a few pranks while Ping was being examined and damn near autopsied by the nine most ancient masters

Ping has succeeded in his breakthrough and has reached Foundation Establishment Rank 1 and has been taken aside to be given an additional boon for wowing the ancient sages with his writings and understanding of ghosts and the dead. Bonus for raising a disciple to foundation establishment state +20, Total bonus +380

What do you do while you wait for Ping to finish his breakthrough/ receiving his gift from the nine masters, Huanliuxue?

>Check on Anjing and the order you placed with her and introduce her to your sister

>Apologize for your sisters behavior and find out what exactly she did.

>Look for trouble, you need to burn some energy after being forced to sit around for soooo long

>Feeling somewhat envious, see if you couldn't debate the masters yourself to win a prize of your own

>Write in

>>5682918
My envy BUUUUUUUUURNS but my pride towers above it by miles.

>Go and check on Anjing
>Before we go, ask the underworld alchemy founder if there is a formal exchange of any kind in this small researchers sect. It might be useful in the future if we want to trade with them.

>+380
I'm euphoric.

>>5682968
Supporting

>>5682918
>Check on Anjing and the order you placed with her and introduce her to your sister
Damn, that's a lot. Ping dedicating himself completly to study and exorcism has payed off.
We should do some intense training when we get back, before our disciples surpasses us. While our sect member doesn't seem to be type to try to overthrown us (except Huili after we went harsh to get him to be bold again), it is a bad look for a sect leader. And probably bad for Huan's ego.

>>5683010
Mate.

we're going to cultivate when we have our throne. That will put us MILES above everyone else. I agree with the training sentiment, I'd quite like to try and evolve ourselves again, use the primordial beast essence we got earlier to boost past our second evolution.

>>5683018
I know, but some training before it gets ready could be useful, depending on how far along it is.
Unless we have some more urgent things we need to do. Being a leader and teacher eats up so much time.
But it's worth it.

Talking about evolutions, I wonder which one would be available for us now.
I imagine that progress in the wild princess form and the ice nymph form would return as options since one is the default and the other is because we are even more connected with Monu, Xuebai and have supreme Yin.
Probably one related to blood qi too, and maybe a form with the five elements, due to the spring and our connection with five colours?

>>5683030
I think. . Pureline evolution is rather obvious as an option. I' be surprised if it is ever NOT an option.

Given how much we've been teaching lately, could maybe do something related to being a creature of wisdom.

Something related to blood very obviously, but I'll go a step further and say I'd quite like if we could evolve along a form that interacts with our followers, maybe allows us to keep in communication with them across the realms and stuff.

>>5683050
Teacher evolution makes sense.
And thinking about it, one about karma would too, given how everyone mentions our good deeds.

>>5682918
>Feeling somewhat envious, see if you couldn't debate the masters yourself to win a prize of your own

If we get some evolutions, maybe because we made Yuyi part of our "lineage" after possesing her, I'm 80% sure there's going to be a Blood-QI related evolution which is going to boost our Lineage, maybe doing it directly on Yuyi or her grandsons.

Hell, if we go with the theory there's some teacher evolution, maybe if we grab something like a "lineage" evolution and a teacher one, we might be able to make a new evolution called like "Generational teaching" where we can pass our knowledge into our bloodline really down the line, or maybe "keep" those teachings in our "DNA" which those who can achieve it might learn them.

>>5682918
>Check on Anjing and the order you placed with her and introduce her to your sister

On the way, find out what she did for the lulz

>>5683216
that's already a thing, we saw an example of it in the underworld markets.

We can legit encode stuff into blood, we already do it with spells.
The issue then is when the bloodline thins out.

>>5683216
>>5683257
Maybe theres a way to expand the whole bloodline even further, the ox managed to send a message and he probably wasn't our ancestor.
Maybe being the first awakened beast made him the father of our entire kind, even without direct descent.
So maybe Huan could claim aonething similar, or maybe all the beasts that our roar awakened, or humans that were transformed, could be counted as our children.

>>5683278
Another possibility is that type of power and position simply comes with reaching a higher stage of magical beast evolution, since grandfather said he was 8th.
And there's also the devilmind's cat too, but I think that was more due to the weird dimension then ancestry.

>>5682918
>Apologize for your sisters behavior and find out what exactly she did.

>>5682918
>Check on Anjing and the order you placed with her and introduce her to your sister

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Ending the vote now, tallying the result. Been busy over the weekend and I may have over indulged on some fine spirits while destressing. Sorry for making you wait for like, four days, juniors, I shall kowtow immediately

Check on Anjing and the order you placed with her and introduce her to your sister: 5

Before we go, ask the underworld alchemy founder if there is a formal exchange of any kind in this small researchers sect. It might be useful in the future if we want to trade with them.:2

Feeling somewhat envious, see if you couldn't debate the masters yourself to win a prize of your own:1

Apologize for your sisters behavior and find out what exactly she did.: 1

Land slide victory for checking on Lonely anjing and introducing her to your sister

The order of course comprising of, Sect banners, Spider silk demon armor, dresses for yuyi, Sashes cloaks and daoist robes +Clothing customized for each of your students, and suitably regal/ imperial attire/ accessories befitting your status as a wild princess

update will arrive shortly

"Elder sister, I am not even going to ask what sort of trouble you've made" You sigh, disdainfully shaking your head as you walk up to your spectral sister, your mane of scarlet hair bouncing with every step you take to her. The cheeky grin on her face doesn't falter or weaken in the slightest, even with the scathing glares of the demonic guards baby sitting her and the enchanted chains and prayer papers keeping her from running off to play more pranks or havoc on the poor scholars who only wanted solitude and silence but got a mischevious fox spirit in their midst

"Oh you really should, it might give you some ideas. It was just a harmless bit of fun anyways, now, younger sister, if you would be so kind as to tell these brutes to release me?' She asked, as if she were sitting on a high throne rather than tied and lashed to a dingy stool like a poorly skinned fur rug "Also where's Ping? Did they eat him alive?"

"He's receiving their wisdom, which I understand will be a long and boring process and I have things I need to do besides sitting around in a dusty library" You huff, glancing to one of the guards who, upon realizing you were planning on leaving and taking Xuebai off of their hands, audiences to her request to be freed by tugging off the single sealing talisman that had an actual purpose beyond looking intimidating to the untrained ghostly eye

"Oh joy, we're going to see the sights, have a lovely little date together while your student is "tutored" by a bunch of grouchy old men" She snickers

"And what's that supposed to me, why did you have to waggle your eyebrows like that!" You snap, balking at the tone she used and her phrasing, knowing just enough on matters of mating and courting to know vaguely what she was implying was going on beyond close doors "And speaking of our host so crudely, mother should feed you soap"

"I can't eat without a body, the threat means nothing, and she'd be laughing besides me" She teases, bounding around you as you walk with her out of the hidden enclave, leaving behind several very much relieved scribes and their guardians behind "But don't you think it is a little suspicious they separate the student from the teacher? Even if they aren't directly injecting him with their "wisdom", they might be trying to make him turn his cloaks"

"I will admit I have a healthy sense of caution, but I am not so paranoid to think some dried half corpses would be seducing my disciple in anyway" You snort, confident that Ping would turn traitor even if he was offered the world "Especially not in the lewd way, what, do you fancy mummified remains or something? I thought you'd have more refined tastes in men"

"Dumb and pliable" She answered without hesitation "With a brush like tail and sharp snout, if we're talking foxes, and boyish and delicate if we're speaking of men"

"Shameless" You hiss through your teeth
Cont

>>5687018

"I know what I like, besides, sister should gossip about boys" She snickers "Or girls, I know mother enjoys the company of both"

"Shamelessly so, luckily she has enough pride not to bring her pets back to our shared home" You say, smirking despite your self "Though their scent has a way of clinging to her most unpleasantly, I'm just happy she's turned her attention back to brewing poisons and teaching my sect instead of playing around and indulging herself in drink or lovers"

"Can you blame her? she spent how many years as an old hag and became young and beautiful again?" Xuebai yawns as you leave the hidden cavern and begin to make the boring trip back through the bandit infested wilderness towards the only city you know how to find in hell "So where are we going, no where as boring as that mildewy old library? It felt too much like being buried in the earth? Hey you fought in a death tournament before right? You should be able to get us seats for another for cheap. What was it they called you, little Huan? The crow killer"

"I wish I could show you that fight" You cackle, beaming and bloated with pride as you grin ear to ear, pushing out your chest as you swagger down the mountain path, daring any brigands or robbers to try and confront you and your sister "I won it by the skin of my teeth, it took every trick I know and every advantage I could scrounge up to beat that monster, and I whipped him like an old mule! There's a reason the denizens of hell speak the name crow killer with such reverent awe"

"I'd think most cats could claim that title, if they're at all worthwhile as hunters" She mocks and you snarl, spitting at her despite being in your human form

"You're lucky I can't pinch and pull on the ear of a ghost" You huff, cheeks flushed and steaming from the insult she so casually spoke

"Am I wrong? I know it has a deeper meaning, you killed some scary demon that was a league or two above you an impressive feat without a doubt" She continues, still giggling to herself "But again, how many spoiled house cats have caught crows for their dinner"

"None have caught the crow king and ripped off his wings, it was an elegant execution. Qiang could tell you of it, she was in the stands watching" You pout, not even wanting to look at your laughing elder sister with how mean she's being

"I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, it was all in good fun!' She calls out, as she falls behind to laugh while you march ahead "Besides, you never told me where we're heading?"

Stubbornly you refuse to tell her, some might call your silence petty but they can go leap off a cliff if they'd have enough of a death wish to call you petty to your face. Xuebai is being rude, so she can suffer silence. Curiosity unfulfilled is an agonizing thing, as you well know, so Xuebai can endure it while you sulk to your hearts content.
Cont

>>5687019

But eventually her constant badgering and repeated questions begins to be nearly as irritating as her initial insult, but you keep a stiff lip and refuse to break despite her determination to get on your nerves.

"Oh a spooky decrepit manor" Xuebai says with an impressed whistle "Matches your aesthetics, little sister. Is this a summer home of yours or are you visiting a friend or a "Friend"? Hmmm?"

"A friend" You answer, rubbing your forehead, feeling a pain not unlike a long coffin nail being hammered through your skull at a steady pace "She is a shy girl and a shut in. And she also happens to be a master weaver and clothier, whose works are sought after by the cream of the underworld's elite. I just happened to earn myself an introduction last time I visited and dealt with some problems she had"

"Problems meaning?" Xuebai urges, prodding your in the back with her snout

"Siblings" You drawl, furrowing your brow "Who were annoying her"

"Not a threat if I'm already dead, Huaaaaan~" Xuebai cackles as you lead her up to the gate of the decaying abode of Heizhizhu Anjing-Yinshi "So many bones, did you also help her decorate? You enjoy this sort of macabre atmosphere, don't you"

"If anything I'd ask her to help me decorate" You trill as you watch a few lesser spider demons and demon crows pick at a fresher corpse strung up by the front entrance of the moldering manor house "Though some of her choice are a bit unhygienic. Ah! Just realized she might die of fright if I brought in an uninvited guest, wait out here in the garden while I warn her"

"How meek of a girl can she be?" Xuebai huffs with a pout as she turns herself into her least frightening and monstrous form as you walk up to the door and think for a moment if you should knock on it, before deciding that Anjing wouldn't be able to hear it from her workshop and that you really don't want to touch the door, since its wood has gotten coated in some horrid grey fungal ooze since your last fist. So you open it as quickly as you're capable of and start whistling the moment you step inside, to give Anjing as much of a warning as you can. But you aren't certain if she could hear that our would notice it from the drafts that creep in through the holes and cracks in the walls, so you start shouting

"Oy! Anjing! I've come to visit and play!" You shout a few times, repeating it like a monk chanting their morning prayers before adding "Oh and I wanted to check on the commission I put made and introduce you to someone!"

You shout that a few more times as you retrace your steps through the labyrinth of hallways and forsaken rooms, pausing to sneer at a few portraits or brush dust out of your hair but otherwise hurrying because the dampness is very unpleasant and gross.
Cont

>>5687021

You also make a point of avoiding the waterlogged rugs that line the bone strewn hallways, as you are in no mood to step upon such filthy things. And the horde of spiders seem to know to keep out of your way as you make your way deeper into your friend's home. At least she seems to have lit a few incense sticks to ward away the stench of mildew and decaying flesh.

Or she did in the portion of the mansion she actually cares to maintain

"Aw! Servants!" You exclaim, that's good progress. The two trembling demons that took the place of the two she had strung up to serve as lantern holders on your last visit looked stubbornly ahead, with a corpse like parlor of dread draining all color from their faces "Is your master in?"

"Y..yes" Anjing answered herself, her shadow appearing behind the paper screen keeping her hidden from any prying eyes in the hallway "I..really wish you'd have sent word you were going to vis..vist instead of barging in. I though there might've been a burglar with all the racket"

"Who the hell is dumb enough to rob a giant spider?" You ask playfully as you skip and hop into her parlor "especially one who is a friend of the great huanliuxue"

"Some demons have d..dung for brains" She sighs as you step around "Shall we get our buisness out of the way first?"

"If you want to? Also I thought my armor would pay for rebuilding your house" You state plainly

"It has, its just that materials take time to ship to the city" She sighs "And the contractors gouged me for a price"

"You were too meek to argue when they haggled" You sigh, shaking your head "Want me to threaten them to give back what they swindled from you"

"There's no need" She says hurriedly, as she draws to strings of silk together "B..besides they gave me a better price than they would've gi..given to anyone else. Please don't trouble them"

"I won't" You say sweetly "So business, how far along is my order, what, if anything have you finished?"

"I started with the banners for your sect" She begins, sounding much more confident and in her element "To get accustomed to the pattern of your chosen heraldry and I believe there are enough completed to suit your immediate needs of displaying the power and grandeur of your sect and having one to fly in the event of battle"

"And the robes, sashes and cloaks?" You ask "I know you finished a few already, according to the correspondence you sent me when I had that additional suit armor made for my first disciple"

"Oh that armor and yours are finished, they were the first I made. Needed to be, since making armor quality silk requires more nutrients and time to produce" She says, much to your delight
Cont

>>5687023

"And I have made enough generic uniforms that according to the number of students you had when you last visited, to satisfy the needs of the entirety of the whole organization, though the personalized wardrobes are still pending completion. But I have finished with the set for Fu, since I already had a model made while fitting his armor and a few other outfits for the others, but nowhere near a complete wardrobe. Its a fun challenge, making different styles with absolute freedom for so many, I will admit I've gotten a little indulgent experimenting with that portion of the order, I believe your sect will soon lead the fashion world...at least down here. The whole collection might just be my best work yet, though I don't know if you're students will agree with my ur...artistic decisions. After all I am going off of description alone to try and make clothes to their taste without ever having met them"

"And the dresses for my friend?" You ask "And don't worry, they'll adore your work. Its the finest in hell and if they have the gal to complain, I'll pick them up by their scruffs to scold them. They should be at the very least grateful I'm not demanding they all dress in the same cult like fashion most sects do, even if they don't find your work uh, stylish?

"Finished, it was more of a chore making so humble of attire" She mutters as she works "And your imperial regalia is still in the planning stages, I cannot begin until I am satisficed, it must be perfect, you understand. It will be unlike anything seen before, and it will be deserving of being worn by a beauty of your standing and grace, Huanliuxue. Wholey unique, experimentative, and befitting for a young empress. I will only work on it when I find a way to translate your personality into silk and cloth"

"Aww, how touching?" You coo as you watch the giant spider at her work "Now for the play. My sister is out in your garden, a ghost long dead, would you like to meet her"

The look in her eight eyes states clearly that she doesn't want to

"No, but I don't have a choice do I?" She asks meekly

"You could say no" You say gently, patting a hand on her gangly leg

"I won't, you looked so thrilled to introduce her" She said sweetly, bowing her head "I'll invite her in, uh, there's a less crowded room I had restored recently, specifically for meeting guests, if you'd like us to move over to there"

"I would be honored" You state "But don't force yourself, if you feel overwhelmed just tell me"

Anjing's only answer is to nod as she skitters away. And to your surprise, Xuebai doesn't overwhelm her and respects her boundaries, and heaps on praises as Anjing's various servants bring out chest after chest of clothing, saving the armor for you and Fu for last.

And what resplendent armor it is.

Cont

>>5687024

Fu's is brought out first. The silk is dyed black, streak with whorls of grey and white, with a long cape befitting a general. The gauntlets are clawed and the design of the rest of his armor seems to be designed to bring to mind lost souls struggling to escape from it, with hand prints and carvings that seem to your eyes like wailing faces covering it, in particular on the breast plate, that seems to have dozens of hands pushing out against it from beneath. The helmet is fashioned like a skull, as are its shoulder and kneepads. And the whole thing makes you wonder if Yi Zhu somehow knew of Fu's self taught law and told Anjing about it when he delivered his measurements, it certainly matches the sight of his cloak of vengeful spirits sitting astride his back and shoulders.

But yours is even more breathtaking and attention demanding! Nearly as beautiful as yourself, it looks like an armored imperial dress, unlike Fu's which is clearly armor of a strange and foreboding design, yours could be mistaken for a extravagant dress if it were not for the pieces of it that were clearly armor.

The gauntlets were also clawed, but more obviously with blades long and curved, being able to be used like claws while worn in your human form or as claw guards in your natural shape, a design that is shared with the armored foot ware. The armor is silver and polished to a near mirror like finish in the places but is vivid bloodred everywhere else, with an interesting design of bones, crow feathers and cats all over it. The vambraces are decorated with two carvings of sleeping cats on each, the leggings are designed to look somewhat like a cat's paws and the "Skirt" is designed to look like a fur wrapped around your waist. The breastplate looks like the fangs of a yowling cat, the shoulder pads look like crow skulls, but the helmet, looks like a crown, with rubies woven onto the band on its forehead in the center of eyes carved onto it, with two skeletal hands clinging to its side.

Trying the armor on, you find it fits perfectly in both your forms, and even changes a bit in design to accommodate your feline body, losing its dress like quality's to become like a second hide of steel. Anjing also teaches you that the skeletal hands on your helmet can be made to move to cover and protect your face, a very important feature of course
Cont

>>5687025

double vote

How do you play with/ spend your visit with Anjing

>Hug her and compliment her work, showering her with praise

>have some tea with her and tell her all about xuebai and xuebai all about her

>Drag her out of the house and take her out on the town

>Do what she wants to do, you don't know her hobbies if she has any

and what do you do once you've picked up Ping and seen what he's been given, Huanliuxue?

>Return to the mortal world and check to see if Feiqing is done with your throne, and hand out the parts of your order that are finished

>Find something to test your armor against, how about a friendly duel with the assassin Bāmóushā

>Decide to take more territory for your catacomb kingdom

>Visit Yuyi and give her her new dresses (Can be taken with other votes)

>Decide to test your disciples by sending a few of them on a missions as training

>Write in

>>5687027
>clasp her hands with yours and compliment her work, showering her with praise


I feel like a hug along with compliments may overwhelm her too much, a more heartfelt and subdued thanks would do best.

>Return to the mortal world and check to see if Feiqing is done with your throne, and hand out the parts of your order that are finished

I think the time is close to seclude ourselves in meditation to cultivate, already it has been too long and our bonus in the bank is getting ridicolously huge.

>>5687027
>Clasp her hand and shower her with praise

We're really there just to enjoy talking with her. Fashion talks!

>Give Yuyi her new dresses
Why not? By the time we are done meditating, I expect her to be wearing them properly!
>Check if our throne is done
I agree with the martial brother above me. As fun as it would be to skip core formation entirely and enter golden core directly, I think we may already be at that point and we've been in foundation establishment. . . for 12 threads or so. It's time we step up and fly.

Also, the armour designs are AMAZING!

>>5687027
>Hug her and compliment her work, showering her with praise
>have some tea with her and tell her all about xuebai and xuebai all about her

>Return to the mortal world and check to see if Feiqing is done with your throne, and hand out the parts of your order that are finished
>Visit Yuyi and give her her new dresses (Can be taken with other votes)

>>5687074
+1

And god DAMN, the armors descriptions are really neat, Fu's one talks a lot about his Law and Huan it's not only beautiful, but really shows her amazing journey here on Hell, and will surely make a bunch of elders to spew blood once they start to know about us.

>>5687027
>Do what she wants to do, you don't know her hobbies if she has any
>Visit Yuyi and give her her new dresses (Can be taken with other votes)
>Decide to take more territory for your catacomb kingdom

I want to finish off that forbidden library in the catacombs, easy boss to defeat and lots of heretical texts.

We can enter core formation without starting the golden core doomsday clock right? I assume that golden core will need a outrageous amount of effort to get a good core and not suffer the alt fail state of passing the tribulation but getting a flawed core that prevents cultivating further.

>>5687027
>Do what she wants to do, you don't know her hobbies if she has any
Return to the mortal world and check to see if Feiqing is done with your throne, and hand out the parts of your order that are finished

>>5687027
>Do what she wants to do, you don't know her hobbies if she has any

Let's play D&D and nerd down with the basement spider

>Return to the mortal world and check to see if Feiqing is done with your throne, and hand out the parts of your order that are finished

>Visit Yuyi and give her her new dresses (Can be taken with other votes)

>>5687027
>have some tea with her and tell her all about xuebai and xuebai all about her
>Compliment her work, give earneat praise and feedback
Poor shy girl, she might die of attention
>Visit Yuyi and give her her new dresses (Can be taken with other votes)
>Return to the mortal world and check to see if Feiqing is done with your throne, and hand out the parts of your order that are finished
We need to cultivate.

>>5687250
Nevermind, changing my vote to this.
Let's get revenge on the puppets and then we can cultivate.
The books might even give some extra insight.

>>5687027
>Do what she wants to do, you don't know her hobbies if she has any

>Visit Yuyi and give her her new dresses (can be taken with other options)
>Decide to take more territory for your catacomb kingdom

Idk you guys, but if it's true what some anon said that the golem on the library it's a Human soul controlling them, I have faith we can recruit it.

I mean, if the ancestor of the emperor we killed, and he saw we had so much Good Karma, if souls could see when people are good or Bad people, maybe the Golem could see we're someone it could trust.

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291 KB JPG

Ending the vote and tallying the results now, sorry vanishing for four/ five days. Had to scramble to prepare for father's day.

Compliment her work, give earnest praise and feedback:5
-clasp her hands with yours and compliment her work, showering her with praise:3
-Hug her and compliment her work, showering her with praise:1

have some tea with her and tell her all about xuebai and xuebai all about her:2

Do what she wants to do, you don't know her hobbies if she has any:5
_
Return to the mortal world and check to see if Feiqing is done with your throne, and hand out the parts of your order that are finished:7

Visit Yuyi and give her her new dresses:5

Decide to take more territory for your catacomb kingdom: 3

So You will clasp her hands and shower her with praises and compliments on her work, before doing what Anjing wnats to do as you don't know what hobbies, if any, she has

And then, after collecting Ping and returning to the surface world, you'll give Yuyi her dresses before checking to see if Feiqing has finished on your jade throne

Update will arrive shortly

>>5687074
>>5687187
Thanks! Glad you liked them

After spending a suitable amount of time admiring yourself in the nearest mirror, which might have been minutes or hours, time does fly when your in the presence of nearly peerless beauty even if said beauty is your own, you decide that Anjing for all of her hardwork deserves to be showered in praise. And certainly not just because you think seeing her flustered from being so earnestly and heavily complimented for her work would be adorable. Even if she is a giant spider. Especially if she's a giant spider. So, hopping over to her after you finally manage to give your eyes their fill of the stunning beauty that is the great and mighty huanliuxue dressed to march to war and looking damn fine while doing it, you take her front to limbs in your hands and clasp them together as if they were hands.

And just as expected, the shut in weaver is adorable when she's flustered, stammering and looking like she just might faint as you look adoringly down at her with stars twinkling in your eyes

"What incredible work you do, lady spider demon! You've surpassed yourself, you surely must have, to have made such beautiful regalia and armor. I'm sure the creation of these treasures will shortly become the gossip of the town and probably become myth one day, even up in the mortal realm" You snicker and chirp, happily shacking her hands up and down "I am beyond happy, far past gleeful and galaxies away from overjoyed! Anjing, you really are an artist. I didn't think it was possible for such effective armor to be also so beautiful! Truly you are also a once in ten generations genius! A once in a millennium visionary! Your worst creation is comparable to the masterpieces of those who dare call themselves the pinnacle of their artforms, and wrongfully assume themselves to be your equal"

"Are spiders your type sister?" Xuebai snickers as Anjing blinks with all eight of her eyes, struggling to comprehend all of the praise you've been piling on her and that you aren't just making fun of her and are being entirely honest, and probably not knowing how to deal with affection considering her status as an outcast amongst her kind

"I..I am pleased you are satisfied with my work, I was worried you would not like it or think I went too far with the uh..erum, the feline elements, considering that mortals do not...accept your kind as their equals" She said after stuttering and stammering for a few seconds

"I'm a proud feline, and how could I adore these jewels you've given me. You know my tastes are gloomy and macabre, I delight in what others dread, and besides enjoying hanging around crypts and other reminders of inescapable death, I also find other world fashion to be" You exclaim, drawing out a long sigh, lifting up an arm and flicking your mane of crimson hair back as you lift up a leg nearly as high "Quite fitting for this gorgeous body of mine. What can I say, the style and I are just compatible. And you are the leader of fashion down here"
Cont

>>5691158
"I..I really am not" She whispered, so you lifted her front legs up again

"Oh don't sell yourself short. How many souls are handed over for an Anjing-Yinshi original, and how much more will they be worth when a princess such as myself is seeing wearing them!" You shout happily

"You've got a really big head, lil sis" Xuebai cackled, so you shot her a cold glare while Anjing wormed out of your vice like grip

"W..well if you think so" She muttered "I..would you like my servants to pack the pieces I've finished"

"Sure, while we're visiting they can toil like busy little bees" You say happily

"Oh right, you said you came here to play didn't you" She says, somewhere between gloomy and overjoyed, quite the paradoxical reaction "Just don't make me do anything too exhausting or embarrassing, like wrestling or the like"

"Or what ever it is you're doing right now with that pose" Your sister teased, knowing well you couldn't slap her in retaliation considering her incoporealness

"Well, I was thinking, I don't know your hobbies, so you'd decide what we'd do while we're visiting. I'm not picky with my fun" You say gently, trying to ease your friends worries and keeping her from panicking

"Oh. Well I have some books you might like to read that's really all I do when I'm not working, reading I mean, not recomending books" She says, much more lively. Aha! So that's it, she's an avid reader is she. Well next time you visit you'll have to bring her some books to read

"What kind of books?" Xuebai asked with a snake like hiss and a certain sadism in her voice.

"W..weh bah" Anjing babbles "I uh, mostly read romance novesl. Not the usual sort that demons or hungry ghosts write, with the abuse, the cannibalism, the extinguishing of whole clans to claim the sole survivor as their wives or the other unpleasantness like...I can't say, its stoo awful"

Those stories actually sound pretty enjoyable when she describes them like that, like some kind of mingling between horror stories and romance.

"So what do you like?" You ask warily, fearing you already know the answer

"Human romance" She whispers meekly, clearly ashamed by her own tastes. You think about asking if she has any of the stories about wholesale slaughter, but decide against it

"Well what's your favourite book?" You ask cheerfully, deligting and purring inside from the look of relief and unbridled joy the spider gave to you when you didn't laugh or tease her for her choice of reading material.

"Seriously? We're going to be huddled around a book like blushing maids?" Xuebai sighed, clearly not as excited as you are to see exactly what a giant demon eating spider demon likes about boring cliche romance stories imported from the mortal realm. It really is an almost scientific curiosity

Cont

>>5691159

"Oh don't look at me like that Ping" You pouted as your disciple gave a very telling look when your cackling elder sister explain the books you were carrying were not manuals but were instead chaste stories of romances and courting that Anjing had lent you after she guided you through reading her series of books

"I didn't think you could turn redder, even with your fur" Xuebai howled as you batted a paw and bounded after her, determined to pluck a few of her whiskers out

"I am not judging you" Ping Lied as he gathered up the books and turned them over "I just didn't think you'd enjoy...this sort of thing"

"They're my friends! I read them because of my friend!" You shouted back as he smirked and you decided you'd pluck out a few of his hairs as well, before you noticed he was holding something in his hand "What's that?"

You leapt over to him, as he held the object out for you to examine

"A gift, a fragment of a ritual. They refused to tell me what its purpose is or provide anything but this scrap of the scroll" He explained, eyes trailing back to one of the book, the Empress and the dragon, that Anjing assured you was one of the best written in the modern century

"Say a word and I'll bite your tongue out" You promise sweetly, simmering with rage as Xuebai laughs and laughs and laughs
_

"Oh, you didn't have to bring me a gift, really, you didn't have to" Yuyi said, despite it being obvious to all to see that she really did appreciate the gift of a trunk of dresses that would rival the quality of the clothes of the princesses of some er most nations on earth

"Well friends give friends gifts" You say happily "Even if said gift make them the subject of mockery"

"What?" Yuyi asked, looking half asleep as she runs her hand up and down two the dresses and the look of joy and wonder is so much that you find you don't have the heart to tell her the source of the silk of her lovely dresses

"Oh, another friend of mine gave me some romance novels and Ping and my dead sister think its funny that I took the earnest gift of my dear friend who adored those books" You explain, gnashing your teeth in a show of frustration

"Like what kind of romance? Nothing weird I hope" She said sweetly "And I am going to ignore that you mentioned a dead sister, as I remember Ping holding the door open when him and my darling walked off to talk about men things"

"She isn't here" You say, and that wasn't a lie. Xuebai raced back to the sect to tell your mother about your "Maiden" like tastes. Even thought that wasn't the case, its just that Anjing had none of the gory or darker books you actually wanted to read and despite what she claimed you did not shed even a single tear while you were reading the spider's favorite stories with her.
Cont

>>5691160

"You aren't lying are you?" Yuyi squeaked and you opened you mouth before pausing to think how you could answer that without sounding like a horrible liar and realized the moment you paused to think that you just made that task a lot harder than it already was
_

"Feiqing" You cooed as you snuck up on your meditating disciple, who you sensed had grown in powder and could see glittering bits of jade dust still stuck in his hair and bear "Do you have good news for me? Have you finally finished carving that piece of jade I brought to you? Is my throne complete?"

"With the iron I wrought and its cuttings, I've broken through into the same stage of cultivation as you. And I do believe, Lady Huanliuxue" He answered, opening his eyes which were now the same odd color as the jade you had given him to carve into a throne "That you will be most pleased with the throne I have made for you, it radiate such potent spiritual energy that I am certain if word of its creation got out, we'd have to fend off thieves and thugs wishing to take it for themselves from then on to the end of time. But I am not prideful enough to consider calling it a divine rank treasure or anything approaching it, but I am certain the treasure is worthy to stand beside Ghost Empress Melody at the least"

Astral Jade Throne acquired . Feiqing has leaped up to Foundation Establishment Rank 2. Bonus for raising a disciple to foundation establishment state +20, total bonus +400!!!

"And what did you do with the cuttings, did you store them away or eat them" You drawled, half joking

"if I may be allowed to take a few. I have a certain project I wish to work on" Feiqing asked humbly, already kowtowing before you

"A living sword" You guess immediately

"Ah! Master is truly wise! So perceptive as to see my thoughts written as plainly as if they were inked on a scroll!" Feiqing exclaims

"I mean I am wise, but it isn't hard to guess what you want to do, considering how you cling to that book I discovered down in hell" You snicker as your disciple nods his head and opens his mouth to explain why he wants a friend he can carry into battle. But before he can say a word, a familiar icy presence leaks in through the doors of his private chamber. Its mother

"Oh my little huan is growing up!" She swoons as she throws open the door, holding one of anjing's book "Oh I must've been blinded to think you were still a little girl unaware of romance and love. I guess you're maturing as quickly as you cultivate. Oh but I wish you'd stay my little girl awhile longer, but I'm also happy that your becoming a woman"

"Mother" You begin, knowing exactly what your loving, if smothering mother is going to do next

"Come! We should celebrate" She says with tears in her eyes as she grabs you by your tail and drags you

"Let go! Those are my friends! Not mine!" You yowl in protest "And why are you so staggeringly strong all of a sudden"
Cont

>>5691161

"Hey I recognize that book! Lady huanliuxue! You have wonderful taste!" Feiqing says, being entirely earnest with that oh so shameful compliment

What do you do once you've escaped your mother and the embarrassment she wroughts, Huanliuxue? Two actions can be taken

>Drag your throne down to your cultivation chamber in the catacombs and CULTIVATE (Cultivation trial)

>Sit down and read one of the books Anjing loaned you, purely out of curiosity as to why a spider like her enjoys it

>Ask Feiqing about that blacksmith and his living sword that he seems to wish to idolize at this point

>Research one of your manuals/ scripture [Trial, type and DC dependent on which manual is read]

>Display all of your treasures from Anjing to your sect, and give a little ceremony as you give Fu his armor

>Stop Xuebai and Monu from spreading rumors about you to your disciples

>Write in

>>5691162
>Research one of your manuals/ scripture [Trial, type and DC dependent on which manual is read]
>Drag your throne down to your cultivation chamber in the catacombs and CULTIVATE (Cultivation trial)
Can we give Feiqing the forge demon relic we have? I still think a great smith like him can unlock it's true potential.

>>5691162
>>Research one of your manuals/ scripture [Trial, type and DC dependent on which manual is read]
>>Drag your throne down to your cultivation chamber in the catacombs and CULTIVATE (Cultivation trial)

>>5691162
This is incredibly shameful. What's the expression? It makes me want to bang my head on a block of tofu and die?

>Drag the throne down and CULTIVATE
>Research one of our scriptures. [Huan's Scripture]

This book has made me curious for too long. I want to test it's connection and see if a third person view of our history can reveal any insights to us.

If nobody else wishes to join me in this assessment, then I can only suggest the Beastly saint doctrine, because our next cultivation trail will. . . definitely be the place to make any last minute arrangements.

>>5691162

> Drag your throne down to your cultivation chamber in the catacombs and CULTIVATE (Cultivation trial)

> Display all of your treasures from Anjing to your sect, and give a little ceremony as you give Fu his armor

It's time.

>>5691162
>Drag your throne down to your cultivation chamber in the catacombs and CULTIVATE (Cultivation trial)
>Research one of our scriptures. [Beast Saint Doctrine]

>>5691162
>Display all of your treasures from Anjing to your sect, and give a little ceremony as you give Fu his armor
>Drag your throne down to your cultivation chamber in the catacombs and CULTIVATE (Cultivation trial)

Divide the loot before disappearing for the next five years to cultivate.

Also think about establishing a book club among yuyi feiquing and anjing

>>5691162
>Display all of your treasures from Anjing to your sect, and give a little ceremony as you give Fu his armor
>Drag your throne down to your cultivation chamber in the catacombs and CULTIVATE (Cultivation trial)

>>5691180
Agreeing with giving him the forge demon item

>>5691162
>Display all of your treasures from Anjing to your sect, and give a little ceremony as you give Fu his armor

>Drag your throne down to your cultivation chamber in the catacombs and CULTIVATE (Cultivation trial)

>Give Feiqing the forge demon relic

>>5691304
Supporting

>>5691247
I'll also say, us enjoying romance novels is foreshadowed everywhere and we can only blame our mother.

The only question is do we lean into this, wear it like armour that they can't mock us with or do we let them have this pleasure

>>5691180
also yeah, give him the forge demons bagle

>>5691352
We only read the novels for further research into human nature, isn't that obvious?

>>5691354
Do we quote them only to deepen ourselves in human guise, huh?

>>5691227
>>5691180
In the interest of making this quick for Grandfather, can you also decide what scripture you want to study?
It prevents the need for another vote, which itself will save us days of time between an update.

>>5691358
>Do we quote them only to deepen ourselves in human guise, huh?
I bet we only pen fanfics of them to prove we could write the same characters better than their author

>>5691162
>Give Feiqing the Forge Demon Bangle
>Study a manual (Huanliuxue's Scripture)
>Cultivate
I guess the Catacombs can wait until after we level up.

>>5691376
When it comes to these fucking golems there is really no kill like overkill, we shouldn't engage them if there is even a slight chance of losing again. We hit em fast and hard when we're 2 levels higher!

>>5691358
I'll vote for the Beast Saint Doctrine

>>5691359
>Huan becomes a renowned writer of poetry and penny dreadful novels.
>They resemble the game of thrones, in that the love is always backdropped with macarbe imagery and strife

>>5691487
>Huan writes Saya no Uta

Is the throne even going to be enough considering the qi in the catacombs is quite thin for Huan at this point? At least if I remember right. I wouldn't want to waste our huge pool of roll bonuses on a wasteful method of cultivation. I suppose Huan might just go up a few foundation ranks then no further if my suspicion is true.

>>5691593
It will be enough, and our expectation is that it will get us to core formation or straight to golden core just due to our Sheer amount of experience.

But at this point I think the vote's are cast. We've waited long enough and want this to be done, and it would take a great turn of fate for everyone previous to take note of this fact and change their vote.

>>5691593
another possibility is that it will take longer in meditation.

>>5691593
Don't forget that cursed skull we got from the crow king's treasury, and the second Blood peach. We have a metric ton of absurd cultivation mats to use, if we should deem it necessary. I assume a lot of them are already in our cultivation/treasure chamber...
>>5691599
This is also a fair point. We have time to burn. Killing the sect elder of the Winter Blossoming Wisdom Sect is basically just for style points and/or griefing.

>>5691162
>Drag your throne down to your cultivation chamber in the catacombs and CULTIVATE (Cultivation trial)
>Stop Xuebai and Monu from spreading rumors about you to your disciples
It’s about time we got a chance to cultivate and prove how talented we are

>>5691659
Oh yeah, I forgot about the skull.

The skull in addition to our meditation chamber and throne should be enough to mitigate/null the issue of thin QI, especially if we summon the rooster general and ALL of our subjects.

Well now i wonder if perhaps cultivating in hell would be more profitable since we can come and go as we please.

Does anybody know what kind of qi even is there in hell?
Given the abundance of ghosts i would say yin qi but maybe it's tainted?

>>5692071
Nah. Our reputation has mostly protected us when visiting hell but it is still a dangerous place filled with many powerful evil beings, not a place that I would feel at ease cultivating.

>>5692071
It's also not a place we have prepared. Our meditation chamber is completed on the third level, it now has the throne and will have our Yin skull.

The only thing I wish we could have studied before we started was the gege's cultivation techniques. But cest la vie.

In other news, We now have 4 foundation establishment inner disciples, all but Ping being at stage 2.

Chenpadao and Swiang will be the next to ascend, being rank 8 in Qi condensation, without our intervention.

It's not bad for a sect that's only some 5-6 years old. Following the old ways of risk and danger, we're already on track for most of our students to be considered minor geniuses in this modern realm.

>>5692128
Also most of our students and the sect master are all minors, less than 6 years old.

When word comes out the rest of the cultivation world would be shamed to hell and back.

>>5691162
Counting time, first time doing so, so there might be some misses here and there.
Votes: 11
>CULTIVATE:11
S7BmQSsx
p4LJjUuZ
yJPDVeXO
OyUMKT8O
j8J80SO6
y42+uM5K
qaclasxs
bfdkPyqb
ZABgJIWQ
tq/vOvsK
3tWWomcl
>Study a manual:6
S7BmQSsx
p4LJjUuZ
yJPDVeXO
j8J80SO6
ZABgJIWQ
3tWWomc
>>Huan's Scripture:2
yJPDVeXO
ZABgJIWQ
>>Beast Saint Doctrine:3
S7BmQSsx
j8J80SO6
3tWWomcl
>>None specified:1
p4LJjUuZ
>Show off Anjing's Work/Fu armor ceremony:4
OyUMKT8O
y42+uM5K
qaclasxs
bfdkPyqb
>Stop the rumors:1
tq/vOvsK
>Give Feiqing the forge bangle:5
S7BmQSsx
qaclasxs
bfdkPyqb
yJPDVeXO
ZABgJIWQ

There is no question that we're getting back on that cultivation grind, and studying the Beast Saint Doctrine is a close second place.

>>5695693
Just one more vote and the bangle gets in

>>5695693
Oh, and good job on the counting, you will go far on the dao.

>>5695693
I had it partly counted before getting distracted. I appreciate you finishing it though as phone posting remains a pain when counting votes.

>>5691162
I’ll back
>Drag your throne down to your cultivation chamber in the catacombs and CULTIVATE (Cultivation trial)
>Sit down and read one of the books Anjing loaned you, purely out of curiosity as to why a spider like her enjoys it
>Give Feiqing the forge bangle

Since I know we won’t be reading the books, I’ll back >>5691326 in a book club idea.l as a later thought. Rope Lanfen in too and entrust the books with Yuyi so our sister and mother don’t get their hands/paws on them while we cultivate.

We should have included some general directives for the sect while we cultivate since we’ll likely be down for years, but I’m sure it’s too late now. Asking if they could connect our domain with the garden or stocking up for an assault on the lower crypt levels would have been nice before everyone went off to do their own cultivation things.

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Not dead. Had some writer's block and when it passed I had no time to write, funny how that works out.

Just popping in to thank tally anon >>5695693 in advance. Going to try and archive and make a new thread as soon as I get some time, thinking it'll happen in a day or two, so if you have any last minute changes/ additions to make to your votes, make them now. Curse has been treating me like a cocky young master

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138 KB JPG

>>5695693
>>5695712
Alright, so the winning votes are, Cultivating, studying a manual (Beast saint doctrine) and handing Feiqing the Forge devil's bangle

Excellent

so that's what you will do.

New thread will arrive shortly. The first trial will be the manual research, followed by the cultivation.

>>5698961
New thread: >>5698975