Path Of The Dragon (A Dark Fantasy Cultivation Wuxia Xianxia Progression Series)

Chapter 112 Shared Knowledge

They continued speaking as they traveled across the blood lake. Jie was relieved to learn that the statues helped the arak in return for their work on the dungeon, so it wasn't a completely one-sided affair. They also talked about cultivation and how to more efficiently gather Essence. Kazzak had several techniques and pieces of advice that Jie was sure she and her friends could use even though they didn't cultivate sunfire qi like he did.

And Jie told her friends and Kazzak some of the things she'd learned with her own cultivation. They seemed to find her thoughts fascinating, though they seemed obvious enough to her. Pan Tian and Ithilix also shared some of their techniques and discoveries. And Jie passed on what little she could glean from Xue, using her connection to him to get a general feeling for what he wanted to say. But that was far less useful simply because she struggled to communicate it.

But Xue did his best to demonstrate to make up for it. Even though the way magical beasts cultivated was different, there were enough similarities for Jie and the others to learn something. And he seemed to benefit as well.

It felt like an incredibly useful and productive discussion and it was enjoyable too. Between their conversations were long moments of silent traveling as her friends cultivated with their eyes closed and huge smiles on their faces as they sucked in and refined huge amounts of Essence.

Jie cultivated a little too, but her cultivation still felt a bit unstable despite how much the fight with Hazzik had helped her and once again, it quickly turned painful. Still, what little cultivation she did was vastly improved by all that she'd learned from Kazzak and her friends.

Jie looked out over the calm blood lake into the darkness lit only by the glowing worms on the ceiling, the occasional luminescent mushroom or stone, and the dim light of their lanterns. Including the one on the boat.

It was quite beautiful, in a disgusting and extraordinarily creepy way.

As she looked out over it, she thought about what Kazzak had said and what others had told her. She tried to think about the conflict within her that she least wanted to think about, which made her thoughts rapidly turn to the idea of killing.

She'd been avoiding it ever since she came to this world, and she knew deep down in her bones that she couldn't avoid it forever. It wasn't like anyone in this world would judge her if she killed... quite the opposite... not that she cared what they thought.

But her parents would. They'd always said that no matter the reason, killing someone makes you a monster just like them... Jie didn't know if she agreed with that... she wished she could talk to them about it. Had they meant it? Did they still mean it? Surely there was a time when it was acceptable?

If I kill someone... would you hate me? Do you already hate me for what I've done? What I asked Ming to do? Jie wondered.

The thought was like a cold knife to her heart. Sharp and painful, it spread a cold ache through her soul that made her bones physically hurt as she fought back tears.

Her friends were busy cultivating, but Kazzak's golden eyes met hers and he gave her the smallest of nods. Somehow, knowing that someone else had to go through something similar to break through was a comforting thought. And she was grateful that he didn't say anything to the others.

Jie meditated on it until she noticed she was only running in circles within her mind. Then, she stopped and took in shuddering breaths as she blinked back tears. Kazzak said nothing and they traveled in silence.

***

Finally, they approached an island of rock connected to a wall of the cavern. The island was bare except for a statue of the red woman, and a doorway sculpted in the shape of an insectoid head with large, serrated mandibles extending outward around the doorway that led into a long, dark tunnel.