Dual Body Cultivation Read online

  Dual Body Cultivation

  Path of emperor 1

  Patricia Jones

  A.P. Gore

  To my lovely Family!

  Copyright @ Patricia Jones

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  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Chapter 58

  Chapter 59

  Chapter 60

  Chapter 61

  Chapter 62

  Chapter 1

  Thunder echoed in the north skies. Black dragon clouds covered blue skies in an instant, spreading their wings over the small Cloud Dragon town.

  This wasn't the month of rain or thunder. It never poured down in the late summer, but today was different, like an omen clawed at the small town to punish it for its sins.

  A strong air current coming from the open window of the hillside workshop scattered Li Jei's long hair over his pale face. Pushing it back, he concentrated on the work at hand.

  The current also brought the spicy fragrance of meat cooking in Master Yu's kitchen. Jei’s stomach made a strange growling sound. Pushing his hand against his empty stomach, he willed the sound to stop, afraid the two remaining kids in the workshop would laugh at him. Thanks to lightning crashing somewhere to the north, no one listened to his stupid growling stomach. He could do with one less day of teasing.

  His hand quickened. Soon the thunder would come to Master Yu's courtyard, and before that he had to finish one last talisman.

  The distraction of his growling stomach and the chilly wind almost made him break the last line he was drawing on the yellowish paper placed on a thick mahogany table.

  Narrowing his dark brown eyes, he pushed his focus to the breaking point. It would be better that he himself broke rather than the last line of the talisman diagram. Master Yu wouldn't have liked one less talisman.

  He forced another stream of poison out from the cut on his right finger while tapping the qi storing talisman to release a strand of qi. Both of the streams met five inches above the paper and intertwined to form a delicate stream of poison qi before entering the ten colored wooden brush Jei held in his hand. Waving his hand in a circular motion, he finished the last raw talisman for the day.

  He licked his lips while studying the yellow paper and black ink, searching for any variance from the original design.

  There was none. Good.

  Almost everyone else working in the workshop had left. Only two other kids lingered, staring at him with fierce eyes.

  Jei lowered his eyes, pulled two raw talismans out of his small animal skin bag, and handed them over. They were extras, which he had to surrender every day to the two bullies for not breaking his qi storing talisman. Though he had to come two hours early every morning to create four extra talismans, it was worth in the end. Without his qi storing talisman, he wouldn't have food on his plate in the evening.

  The pair snatched the talismans from his hand and ran away. Jei envied them, not because they were stronger, but because they each had a dantian to produce pure qi, while Jei had an empty space in place of his dantian.

  He sighed. There was no point in dwelling on what ifs.

  Voice of lightning crackling somewhere near pulled him out of his thoughts. He needed to hurry home. Xue'er, his sister, would be hungry and afraid. She hated lightning.

  Jei hated lightning and thunderstorms too. A storm had taken everything away from him that freaking night.

  A strong wind force had already entered in the valley Master Yu lived.

  The fragrant aroma of cooked meat grew intense as he entered Master Yu's front yard, which connected to the workshop. Though Jei was hungry, he would have to wait until he got home to eat.

  "Jei, come and taste this delicious spring chicken. Uncle Yu killed one last night and there is too much for us to eat," Madam Yu said with a warm smile on her small face. She appeared to be in her late forties, but in truth she was more than fifty years old.

  Master Yu and Madam Yu had been living in this valley for the last ten years, running a workshop for unemployed youths and teaching them the art of raw talisman making so they could build some foundation for the future. The couple didn't have any children, so they treated every youth working in their workshop as their own son or daughter. They were angles from the heaven for their young employees.

  "No, Madam Yu. Xue must be waiting for me. I’d better get back and feed her."

  "Why don't you take some extra for her? We have more than enough here, and it'll go to waste if we don't finish it." She pulled out a small bag filled with spring chicken meat. She must have already prepared it for him. “I’ve packed some rice as well. The way Xue'er likes it."

  "Thank you, Madam Yu. Then I must offer you extra." He pulled out two more raw talismans, which he had prepared for this specific purpose, and placed them in the cloth bag given by workshop.

  Three days out of seven, Madam Yu gave him something to eat. Most of the time it consisted of rice and meat, but sometimes, like today, she packed something extra special. Spring chickens, chickens who fed on qi-filled plants, were precious spirit beasts. Their meat was tastier than normal chickens and nourished small injuries. They were rare and costly, but for a sect elder like Master Yu, it was nothing.

  Madam Yu giggled. "You and your proud heart." She took the bag and glanced inside. "Aha, extra two as usual. Tomorrow, I'll go get your painting supplies."

  Painting supplies. Good. He was running out of them. Painting was the only thing he considered himself good at.

  "Madam Yu, I'm not sure how would I repay the debt," Jei said. "But I must offer something in return, or I won’t be able to sleep in peace. I'll come extra early and prepare a few more talismans for you."

  "Payment accepted. Think it like this, if I don't give this to you, it would go to waste. I alone can't eat a complete spring chicken. Now, go fast. A storm is coming, and Xue wouldn't like wet chicken, would she?" She turned her small head to stare at the black sky visible through the kitchen window.

  "Thank you, Madam Yu." Jei bowed slightly before taking the small bag and rush
ing outside, faster than his normal speed. As Madam Yu said, Xue wouldn't like wet meat. Neither would she like being alone in a heavy downpour complete with ferocious lightning.

  Small drops of water were already falling when he left the front yard. Tucking the small bag under his arm, he further quickened his steps. Without any qi supporting his body, running was a huge task for his fragile body.

  Five minutes later, he was humming a favorite tune as his legs moved swiftly. The chilly wind, the warmth of the chicken bag tucked under his arm, and the anticipation of Xue’s fulfilled expression once she’d eaten her fill of the chicken made his walk a breeze.

  His tune stopped as a blazing sound echoed in the vicinity. It was different than the booming thunder crashing in the north. Instead, it seemed cruel and fearful.

  "You're dead," Someone said.

  Chapter 2

  Thunder rumbled to the north, rain quickened its pace, and a shadow jumped in front of Jei—a shadow with bloodstained eyes and a huge cut across his face. His blue robe was tattered, and looking at his swollen face, it would be difficult for his own father to recognize him.

  "Please save me." He tried to grab Jei's hand, which Jei yanked away. There seemed to be a fight going on, and it wasn't Je’s place to interfere in any fight. Not that he was afraid, but interrupting a fight between qi experts meant death for a dantianless weakling like him.

  "Misaka, you won't get away today!" Another voice boomed.

  "If you kill me, Ning, my ghost will hunt you forever," the swollen-eyed youth said. Blood oozed from the corner of his mouth.

  Jei ducked down and quickened his pace. They looked strong, and smelled like qi condensation experts. In fact, he was right to leave the Misaka guy alone. Ki Ning was chasing him. Ki Ning was a well-known fighter with a well-built body, huge face, and thick eyebrows. The sight of him coming was enough to produce terror in his opponent’s heart.

  "You die today." Ning pulled his elbow back. Strands of white energy accumulated in front of his palm and entered through his skin. The natural energy was so strong that the leaves of a nearby tree scattered.

  Jei's feet froze at the display of pure white qi energy. Once again, he quickened his pace to get away, but his eyes kept jumping back to the fight.

  "Swollen Dragon Fist!" Ning shouted as he thrust forward his palm at Misaka's body. When his palm made contact with Misaka's abdomen, white energy burst out of Ning's palm into Misaka's body. It then moved like a snake, destroying everything inside Misaka's body.

  Misaka dropped like a dead man, unconscious, his blood vessels destroyed. But he would live. Qi fighters were tenacious in nature. Qi healed and supported their body. At least, Jei hoped he would live.

  Wiping water away from his forehead, Jei pulled his gaze back and focused on the wet road ahead. He wouldn't want to fall and injure himself just because he was distracted.

  "Hey you." A voice fell on Jei's ears, but he didn't stop. Instead he hastened his pace. Stopping here would mean trouble for him. More bullying.

  "Li Jei, stop. Or else you'll die the same way as him."

  Jei's heart skipped a beat. Was the Misaka guy dead? Did that monster kill him? He didn't know who Misaka was, much less how he’d pissed off the town's bully. Surely it wasn’t an offense worth dying over.

  "I said stop."

  Jei's legs halted, despite his brain urging them to move forward. He wanted to rebel. In the world of cultivation, being powerless was a curse. A curse that put the victim at the bottom of society. He could listen to the powerful ones above him and live, or not listen and die by their hands.

  If not for Xue, he might have rebelled a long time ago, but the thought of leaving his handicapped sister behind, alone for the wolves living around them... No, he had to push aside his pride and live for her. Jei had been smart enough to survive for seventeen years. He wasn't going to risk it all now.

  Ki Ning walked in front of him, his sly black eyes fixed on Jei's face. Ki Ning was on the 3rd stage of qi condensation and he liked to bully everyone in town. He was friends with the town patriarch’s son, and that made him think he could bully anyone. Even the ones older than him, like Jei.

  "Brother Ning. This poor little kid is carrying some rice for his small sister. I hope Brother Ning would let me go." Sweat formed on Jei's face even in the freezing weather.

  "Why does it smell like a spring chicken then? Let me see it first."

  To Jei, Ki Ning looked like a monster waiting to eat him alive. His mind raced with all the ways he could flee, but being in the 3rd stage of qi condensation Ning had a brutal advantage.

  There was no escape for Jei.

  "Brother Ning, please let me go. My sister is hungry, and I don't have any food other than this." Going to the market was out of the question in the roaring thunderstorm. All of the vendors would long gone, headed back to their homes. And making Xue sleep on empty stomach? No, he would hate himself for that.

  Ki Ning just smiled, a pure evil smile. Reaching gout, he tried to snatch the bag from Jei's hands.

  Jei resisted. If Ki Ning took the food, what would he give to Xue? She wouldn't say anything, but she would toss and turn the whole night.

  Ning's face hardened. Drawing his elbow back, he infused a strand of qi in his palm and propelled it toward Jei's stomach.

  Jei was turning away, so instead of his stomach the palm hit his heart.

  A bolt of pure qi entered his heart, piercing through the muscle.

  Instantly, his heart stopped. How could it withstand a qi attack? A dantian-less guy's heart didn't know what qi meant. It just gave up.

  "What? Why are you dying?" Ki Ning's face twisted for a moment. Surely, he didn't think his one palm strike would kill Jei.

  Why did I end up like this? Who will take care of my sister now? Those were Jei's last thoughts before death clawed at him.

  Chapter 3

  Joshua

  A bright ray of light appeared out of the darkness, his sight returning after what felt like an eternity.

  What was that light?

  Was it hope?

  Who knew?

  At least he still had his consciousness and memories with him.

  The view changed. The darkness shifted into a forest. Lush green trees competed with the sky. Lightning sparked not far from the place where his conscious floated. He could only see, nothing else. All his other senses were muted.

  "Joshua Hull." His hearing returned next, and then it all began. The booming of a thunderstorm, bird cries, and so many voices struck his ears, or at least his consciousness’ ears. He didn't have a body, just something that could see and hear things.

  The air cracked, and a woman appeared out of a black portal that looked like a black hole he’d once seen in a science fiction show. She was breathtakingly beautiful. Her bust especially attracted his eyes. Just looking at her made his active senses go wacky.

  "Ah, your voice." She waved her hand and, like a seed sprouting, Joshua felt his speaking ability came back to him.

  "Miss..."

  "Call me Overseer. I manage this realm and foreign souls that are transported to this realm."

  Joshua suppressed the urge to scratch his head. Fuck. He didn't have a head.

  "A realm? Overseer?"

  "Don't worry too much about it right now. After you died, your soul was chosen to come to this realm for a semi-reincarnation."

  "What? Did I die?" Joshua's heart constricted. At least it would have, if he’d had a body.

  The last memory: he was pushing through fire to save his sister.

  "Of course. You died while trying to save your sister."

  "Tania, how is she?" Tania was his handicapped sister on Earth, where he lived... an unknown time ago. From birth, she had a crippled right leg. But not once was she bogged down by it. In fact, she was the most determined person he had ever met in his forty years of life.

  The woman with the huge bust closed her eyes for a brief moment. "She's doing fine. She recently birt
hed a son."

  Joshua exclaimed. "A kid! Are you sure? She was just eighteen when I..." It must have been an eternity since he’d died on Earth.

  "I can't give you any more information," she said," but yes. She has a kid and is living happily right now. Now, let's find a healthy body for you."

  "A body?" It didn't make sense. He had read some reincarnation fiction, and if he was reincarnated wouldn't he start in a womb? And how was he supposed to have memories of his past life? "Miss busty..."

  The woman arched a brow. "What did you just say?"

  Joshua wanted to bite his lip and just pretend like nothing had happened. He and his tongue. They always got him in troubles.

  "I'm sorry. I meant Miss Overseer. Can you explain this in detail?"

  The right corner of her lips curled into a beautiful smile, proving that she had other places that were enticing besides her bust.

  "Let me tell you how this works," she said. "I'm going to find you a body which has good potential for cultivation."

  "What is—"

  She raised her hand to stop him. "That, you should learn yourself. I'll place your soul in that body and give you access to his memories. From there, it's on you to learn how you can achieve your goal."

  "Goal?"

  "Yes, this is a test. If you survive a thousand years in that body, I'll transport you back to your planet. Good news for you, the time on Earth and this realm is different. A thousand years on this planet means ten years on Earth. If you manage to live thousand years on this planet, you can go back and see your sister and friends."

  A thousand years? The life expectancy of a human male was eighty years at best. How was he going to live a thousand years?

  "Is this a joke?"

  She smirked evilly. "I found you the perfect body. The boy has just died, and his body is yours to take. And one more thing, I'm throwing in a spatial bag with some items in it. Find it ASAP, so you can gain some tactical advantage." She waved her hand, and Joshua's conscious was sucked toward the forest he had seen below.

  Blue light encased him as he entered into a body of a boy with sword shaped brows and a tattered green robe. And then everything went black.