Cultivation Nerd-Chapter 215 - The Walkway Invitation

I never imagined writing could be so enjoyable out here on the porch, sitting on a chair with the chill of winter surrounding me. With the yard blanketed in a soft layer of snow.

I was putting the finishing touches on my personal book, Alternative Cultivation Methods. It was a detailed catalog of the pros and cons of the various cultivation techniques I’d encountered throughout my journey.

There was also another book, Secrets of Traveling, which described the places I’d visited so far. However, it was still unfinished and detailed all the locations, people, and biomes I had encountered. I had even included some rough dates of when I had been there, just in case I needed reference points in the future. Of course, the dates were intentionally vague, and some were deliberately incorrect. Only I knew the exact times.

I wasn't planning on publishing this book, but these measures were more of a safeguard in case someone in the future got their hands on it. After all, there was a time-traveling rabbit. Who’s to say regressors weren’t a thing? I wasn’t about to leave myself vulnerable like that.

After finishing my writing for the day, I stored the books in my storage ring.

Now that I was back on clan grounds and not in a place crawling with Nascent Soul Cultivators, I was able to train my Sky Grade Technique more often. Well, the Blazing Sun Sect had only one Nascent Soul Cultivator. Still, it always felt like that guy was everywhere and knew everything.

With just a thought, the clump of snow that had been about to slide off the roof stopped abruptly, freezing midair as if suspended by an invisible force.

In my hand, I formed a square jade inscribed with intricate carvings. It was designed to handle information overload, though still far from perfect or usable in most cases. Nevertheless, it was good enough for testing.

That’s the thing about Sky Grade Techniques, they’re odd. For instance, the snow was floating, but no Qi or any energy detectable by ordinary cultivators was involved. It defied all the rules of Earth Grade Techniques, which required Qi to achieve results.

The only ones who could understand this were those who had learned a Sky Grade mental technique like I had. What I was using now was mental energy that naturally flowed throughout the world.

In essence, I had telekinesis. Of course, it was weak and never strong enough to be practical beyond picking up a pencil or something light, but it was still kind of cool.

I created another jade square in my other hand, which helped manage the results so the calculations didn’t clutter my mind for too long. Technically, I was just a guide for the technique.

Telekinesis was something new I’d discovered with this technique, and there was a chance even the Four Way Immortal hadn’t used it in this way, probably because it was mostly useless.

When I felt lightheadedness approaching, I released the snow. My mental energy was almost drained, and it was still morning; I wasn’t ready to pass out yet.

“Little Feng, your friends are here,” my mother’s voice called from the entrance to the yard as she and Wu Yan walked in. Wu Yan was dressed in a pink, long-sleeved robe resembling a yukata.

Behind my mother were Liu Bo, Liu Heng, and Liu Qian. They wore dark blue robes, similar to the inner sect disciple uniform. The guys were carrying some bags, and Liu Bo had an awkward smile. Clearly, something had happened.

“Hey, guys,” I waved as my mother and Wu Yan entered the house while my male cousins helped carry the bags inside.

Liu Qian looked around and used Qi to enhance her vision. As I wondered why she was being so conspicuous, her eyes settled on the small snow mound next to the frozen pond.

“I’ll never understand why you take that turtle with you everywhere,” she muttered.

“I’ll have you know that turtle is like my best friend,” I replied with mock seriousness. “If there was a ranking of creatures I care about, Speedy would be at least in the top five.”

She looked confused but sighed, clearly uninterested in arguing about it.

“Anyway, nobody’s seen any monstrous beasts lately. Normally, they’d have attacked by now, so we’re being sent on an investigative mission,” she explained.

More issues with the monstrous beasts? Could it be related to whatever the Blazing Sun Sect had stirred up with those intelligent beasts?

“Just us?” I asked, ready to feign injury or claim I was nearing a breakthrough. Family or not, I wasn’t about to play monster bait.

“Other teams have been sent out, too. The elders are creating a perimeter, and we’ll investigate the inside of it,” she replied.

“You think it’ll be like last winter, near the Blazing Sun Sect?” I asked.

“I hope not.” Liu Qian glanced at the distant sky and shook her head. “Nobody wants to face the Thunder Wolf King.”

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The Thunder Wolf King wasn’t my biggest concern. What I feared more was a situation like the one that happened in the central continent, which had essentially become a monstrous beast zone.

“All right, I’ll tag along,” I agreed. Since everyone was going, there wasn’t much choice. Well, there were other options, but I wasn’t ready to abandon my family over a simple patrol. “But I’m bringing one extra member.”

“Who? The turtle?” Liu Qian eyed the sleeping Speedy skeptically.

“No, Speedy will stay here to protect my parents in case of emergency. He’d only slow us down. I’m talking about Wu Yan,” I said.

As soon as I mentioned her name, my two cousins joined us from inside the house.

“Sure, I trust your judgment,” Liu Qian shrugged. “But who is she? She looks about our age, but I don’t remember you having many female friends.”

“It’s Song Song in disguise,” I joked.

Despite my teasing tone, my cousins immediately spread their Qi, searching for her energy signature.

When they found it, their frowns deepened as they looked at me.

“In my defense, I didn’t think any of you would believe me,” I chuckled, raising my arms. “Also, why would you believe such an absurd lie?”

“Whatever, can we just move on? How long do you need to prepare?” she asked, shaking her head, though a tiny smirk tugged at the corner of her lips. No matter how rigid she tried to act, we were still cousins at the end of the day.

I glanced at the rising morning sun, pondering my schedule. Besides my cultivation session in the evening, there wasn’t much else to do.

Standing up from the wooden chair, I stretched. “When do you need me ready?”

“As soon as possible, preferably today. But if you have something important, we can wait until tomorrow. No more than three days, though,” Liu Qian said.

She was being lenient, and I wasn’t about to abuse her goodwill.

“Give me one minute. I’ll be right back.”

I headed inside to the kitchen, where my mother was putting away produce with Wu Yan’s help. Wherever my mother couldn’t reach, Wu Yan subtly increased her height by just enough, sparing my mother the trouble of climbing a chair to put things away.

“Mother, I’ll be taking Wu Yan with me on a patrol mission,” I said.

My mother turned, her one good eye flickering with an unreadable emotion. “Do you have to go?”

“Yes.”

“Does she have to go with you?”

“Yes,” I replied, thinking about my grandfather. While I trusted he wouldn’t harm me, I wasn’t so sure about Wu Yan.

“Make sure you both come back safely,” my mother’s voice faltered slightly, though she quickly turned back to the shelves. “Liu Feng, I know you’ve grown stronger and smarter in the Blazing Sun Sect. But take care of Wu Yan, she’s an innocent soul.”

“Of course,” I nodded and left the kitchen with Wu Yan beside me.

In the hallway leading outside, I briefly set up a silencing array.

“Don’t show anyone your metamorphosis ability,” I whispered.

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Wu Yan nodded, and I dissolved the array as if it had never been there.

I trusted my cousins, but the fewer people who knew about such things, the better.

When we stepped outside, my cousins were still waiting. Liu Bo smiled. “Huh, he really did only take a minute. You sure you’re ready?”

“Of course. I keep everything in my storage ring,” I replied. I had two storage rings, one from my teacher and one from Song Song. Technically had another one, but I never used that since its space was tiny.

Liu Bo frowned, eyeing Wu Yan. “I swear she was smaller when we first met.”

When the fuck did he become perceptive?

“Probably just your perspective. You were looking at her from far away, on top of a wall,” I shrugged.

Without further conversation, we set off, using our supernatural speed to blur through the landscape. We jumped from rooftop to rooftop, moving so fast that we were likely barely visible to those around us.

I kept an eye on Wu Yan as she followed, though she moved awkwardly, struggling to match our speed. Even though we weren’t going full throttle to conserve energy, she was clearly unused to it.

I gave her a few tips and tried teaching her my Galloping Horse Power Technique. Despite her cultivation talent, she struggled to grasp the concepts. Perhaps it was her upbringing, but she wasn’t adept at learning new techniques.

I had to catch her a few times as she nearly slipped.

It was a shame. If she had been as quick to learn as Song Song, I could have helped her become a monstrous cultivator. But if she had this much difficulty with Earth Grade Techniques, mastering Sky Grade ones would likely take years.

Eventually, we settled into a rhythm Wu Yan could follow, and soon we were outside the city.

Out here, with the snow crunching beneath our feet and a horizon of endless white, we didn’t have to worry about sneaking around or sudden attacks.

As we traveled, I reflected on my cousins. I knew them well from childhood and our time training together, but there were things I still didn’t understand, like why Liu Heng stuck so close to Liu Qian, almost like her shadow. She was the Clan Head’s daughter, but we weren’t her servants.

What was Liu Heng’s deal? He wasn’t raised to be a servant, and I distinctly remembered him being wild when we were younger. Had Liu Qian saved his life after they entered the Blazing Sun Sect? Maybe something drastic had happened, which would explain why he followed her so closely. He rarely spoke these days.

Cultivation was an individual path, yet Liu Heng was spending all his time supporting someone else, slowing himself down. That guy needed his own goals.

…

We ran for what felt like hours, the sun slowly sinking as long shadows stretched over the snow-covered field. Though the elders had supposedly secured the zone we were patrolling, experience had taught us not to let our guard down, even in familiar territory.

As the light faded, we decided to stop for the night. The cold air bit at us, and though it was just a routine patrol, there was no harm in being cautious. If there was a battle tomorrow, it was better to be well-rested.