Dual Body Cultivation Read online

  The senior opened his eyes. They were red like blood. "What the fuck, man? Why couldn’t you control your body?"

  Jei hung his head as memories of the fight came back to him. "I'm ashamed, Josh. I was too weak. But I never thought that one drop of poison would put me in this condition." He had a vague memory of what happened, but he did know the senior had to take control of his body to save him.

  "How does it feel to be in the Houtian realm? Also, being a half step in the Houtian realm from the other method?"

  "Houtian?" Jei didn't know what the senior was talking about.

  "Go and check, man. But first get that filth away from your body. Even your soul palace stinks. I need to work overtime to clean up this mess." He scanned the surroundings with obvious disgust.

  Without saying a word, Jei retreated from his soul palace. Once again, it only took a fraction of a breath's time, and it felt great.

  The first thing he noticed was the filthy sticky liquid slipping towards Xue, who lay on the ground. She was out of the bed, trying to crawl to him.

  "Xue, what are you doing?" He jumped to his feet, but instead of a normal jump, somehow, he jumped a few feet in air, destroying the pine tree branches he had used as a roof.

  "What...?" He couldn't believe he could jump so high. What had happened to his body?

  As soon as he landed on the ground, he slowly moved forward, controlling his body. Picking up a clean towel, he covered his hands and then helped Xue to get back to her bed.

  "Xue'er, what were you doing?"

  She wept. "Brother..."

  Jei wiped her tears with the towel. He was afraid of the sticky black mud that was still stuck to his hands getting on her.

  "I thought you died." She wrapped her hands around his. "Why did you yell and then pass out? And what is this liquid coming out of your body?"

  Jei realized he had made Xue worried sick about him. "I'm sorry, Xue'er. I advanced to the Houtian realm." He felt bad for worrying her, but at the same time he was excited about the new changes in his body.

  "Kid, don't tell her about the Asura Body Transformation, and ask her to keep your transformation as a secret," the senior said through a mental message.

  Jei wanted to ask why, but he decided to obey his wish for now. Joshua had worked hard to protect him, and it was the least he could do.

  "Xue'er. I've reached the Houtian realm in a Body Cultivation art. It's the same as the qi condensation art. Do you remember how Master Yu opened my gate of healing? That process is complete now."

  Her brows arched. "But how? You don't have a dantian..."

  "There are other paths too, sister. Like a mage path, or body cultivation path that doesn't require you to have a dantian." Jei smiled a happy smile that echoed from his heart.

  "Oh, is that so? Wow! I'm so happy for you, big brother." Her black eyes shone with a light of hope. She didn't know that gate of healing was just the half step to Houtian, that his actual power came from the Asura Body path. But he wasn't going to tell her all the details. The future was limitless.

  "Let me get myself cleaned up, and then I'll go buy some food for you." It was time to dig into his savings, but he wasn't worried about that anymore. With this new strength, he would surely get some better paying jobs.

  Xue'er nodded and closed her eyes. She looked tired. Jei felt bad for worrying her. He vowed to buy something good today, to make her smile again.

  "Kid. Get ready quick. We've gotta prepare for a fight that we have to face in few days." Senior’s message echoed in his mind.

  A fight?

  Chapter 15

  Cold water poured over Jei's body, washing away the impurities his body had generated. The calmness it brought was essential to his current condition. Finally, he had achieved something he was proud of. This might be the new beginning for a better life, a new life where Xue could live peacefully, not worrying about money and her injury.

  The filthy smell vanished after hundreds of mugs of water ran over his body, replaced by a fragrance that eased his mind.

  Is this my body's fragrance?

  Lifting his hand to his face, he smelled himself. It was indeed true. He smelled like a sweet fruit. Was it because of the Houtian realm?

  Maybe.

  It felt awesome. His body not only produced a nice smell, but he also felt energetic and lively. The heavy water bucket he couldn't lift easily before today, but now he knew he could lift several of those at a time.

  There was a faint white energy encasing his body. According to the Asura Body manual, it was the essence of heaven and earth.

  The water dripped from his body with a splash. A fly buzzed around his ears.

  Irritated, he tried to wave the fly away, but instead he caught it between his fingers.

  "My speed..." A wide smile spread across his face as the memory of destroying the ceiling with one jump danced across his mind. He was faster than before, at least three times, and he could jump higher. Now he just had to test his strength. Somehow, he knew it wouldn't disappoint him either.

  After thoroughly enjoying the calm chilly water for another hour, he put his last green robe on. It was the same robe he’d worn when Ki Ning killed him; he had sewed it back together.

  If he got into the same situation, would it end differently?

  Maybe. If nothing else, he could run away.

  "Big brother, what is that sweet smell? Did you use soap?" Xue asked as soon as Jei stepped inside the house. They only had one cake of soap, which they used only on special occasions.

  He grinned. "No. It's because of my transformation. Xue'er, don't tell anyone about my transformation. Even to Aunty Bei. Okay?" Wang Bei was their neighbor Wang Hei's wife. She was a sweet lady, always helping Xue in her girly matters, like taking baths and other stuff where Jei couldn't help. Though Jei paid her with five silver each week, the help she provided was much more personal than money could buy.

  Xue nodded her head in agreement. She looked happier than before. Maybe she understood the importance of his advance.

  "Where is Brother Green?" He asked, wondering where the creature went.

  Xue rolled her eyes. "He’s angry."

  "Angry? Why? Did you say something to him?" Brother Green was a proud spirit beast. Both of them respected him as a real brother, and treated him like one. Once, Aunt Bei called him a snake, and he almost bite her.

  Xue looked at him like he was crazy. "Don't you remember?"

  "Remember what?"

  "You..." she said, pausing for what looked like choosing a proper word. "You assaulted Brother Green and called him little snaky. You even forced him to pour his poison in your blood. He hasn’t been back since."

  "When did I do that?" Jei couldn't believe her.

  "When you were unconscious, kid," senior replied through a mental message.

  Now Jei understood what must have happened. Senior had told him the suffering he went through to advance Jei to the Houtian realm. But it seemed that he’d omitted a few little details from the story.

  "I can't believe Brother Green had to go through that. Poor Brother Green," Jei whispered.

  "Damn you, kid. Poor me! I'm the person who suffered most for you. I even had to endure that snaky putting fangs in your arm." Senior snapped back. "Now start with the damn practice and don't talk to me until you complete 100 punches in a minute."

  "I'll get the food." Jei's voice saddened. Poor Brother Green, I must apologize to him with my heart once I see him again, Jei thought and moved out of their house.

  Touching his small cloth wallet, he sighed. He only had 300 silver saved up, and it was a pain to delve into those savings to buy food. On a normal day when he went to the workshop, he earned 10 silver from which he would save 4 silver each day, using some for food, and saving some for the district taxes. But not working for 3-4 days meant he had to use his savings.

  "I must find a way to do some labor in the evening." That was the only job he could think of doing. With his new strength, it sho
uldn't be an issue. "Or I can register with the town management if they accept body cultivators."

  Generally, qi cultivators were offered salary by the town's administrator house. The only requirement to qualify was to be at Houtian realm.

  The White Phoenix continent was divided into four major regions. His Cloud Dragon town was part of the south region's White Dragon country.

  Though Jei didn't understand how large and diverse the word was, he had some basic understanding of the cultivation world in Cloud Dragon town. Purple Cloud sect branch was the only sect his town had. That branch alone accommodated all the qi cultivators from 10 nearby towns. It provided salary to their disciples, but joining it wasn't an easy task.

  Now he was a cultivator too. But the senior had forbidden him from telling anyone about his advance. Even Master Yu. At first, Jei resisted the senior's opinion. Jei wanted to fly to the clouds and brag to everyone about his achievement, but the senior insisted he couldn't tell anyone about this.

  Having a soul crystal inside his soul palace was a fortuitous event that let him defy death and reach the Houtian realm without effort. How would the world react to this news?

  The cultivation world prevailed with law of jungle, and he had heard numerous stories of people killing others for treasures. If an expert came to take his treasure, what would he do? How would he fare against sword and dagger? He, who couldn't even punch, would bring calamity on himself if his breakthrough went public.

  To avoid all of this, the senior wanted him to learn fighting and know his limits before taking to anyone. He had even given him a target: Ki Ning, who had taken the senior's spatial bag. The senior even said there were treasures inside his bag, and Ki Ning wouldn't be able to open it easily.

  Jei hoped it to be true. He could do with some treasure, or money.

  "Jei, if you are going to the market, can you buy a bottle of wine for me?" Wang Hei, an aged man who had a tummy comparable to that off a pig asked.

  Jei snorted before saying yes. He didn't like Uncle Hei. That man didn't work and lived on aunty Bei's money. And him now asking for a bottle of wine meant Aunty Bei would have to let go of her weekly payout from Jei. Well, Jei didn't have any other option. If he had said no, he feared Uncle Hei would prevent Aunty Bei from coming to his house to help Xue.

  Before Uncle Hei could add some more stuff to his list, Jei took off.

  What? What is this?

  Chapter 16

  Jei startled and stopped in his tracks. His chest heaved with each breath, and the small energy particles he had seen earlier around his body rushed inside his skin.

  In just three breaths he had run about 50 meters. What monstrous speed!

  Heart full of happiness, he dashed forward. For the first time in his life, he enjoyed running. Warm air brushed across his body, enthralling him as he picked up speed and zipped toward the market. In less than a minute he was around the myriad pine wood forest owned by the town patriarch; the next minute he was around the smoky forest trail, and in less than ten minutes he was at the entrance to the town market.

  It’d taken him fifty minutes to walk to the market last time, but today he made the trip in less than fifteen minutes. Senior Joshua had worked wonders with his body. I must kowtow to him once I get back to my soul palace, Jei thought.

  Feeling every pore in his body filled with newfound energy, his heart overflowed with joy. He had never felt like this before. Finally, he was free of the shackles that had held him back for not having a dantian. Now he knew how it felt to be a cloud in the sky. Free and carefree.

  A strong spirit aroma enticed him from a nearby street, awakening a strong memory from the past. It was the stage 1 spirit beast—the two-colored bee. He had eaten it once at Master Yu's house, and the aroma stuck to his nose forever along with its taste and the way the flavors burst on his tongue. It was the most heavenly food he had tasted in his life.

  His legs turned involuntarily toward the restaurant where the aroma came from. Surely, spirit beast meat would cost more, but today he might just splurge. After all, it was a joyous day.

  Spirit beasts were animals who had the innate ability to absorb heaven and earth essence and store it in their body. They were leveled from stage 1 to stage 9. It was said that a stage 1 beast equaled the strength of a level 3 qi condensation expert. But when it came to innate talent, each beast had their own specialty. The frozen monkey of the sect elder could freeze its opponent with its fist. Once, Jei saw the monkey fighting a qi condensation opponent, and it was scary.

  Maybe it would feel different now. I might not be able to stand right away, but when I advance further, or learn some divine art, I might be able to fight the frozen monkey head on.

  Jei grinned as he stopped in front of the restaurant. "Brother, how much is the two-colored bee meat?" He asked the first server he spotted.

  The server looked up from brushing a tablecloth and eyed Jei with disdain. "Shoo, go away. Beggars don't get to ask price." He was a potato-shaped person, and his tummy protruded even more than Uncle Hei’s.

  "Please, brother. Tell me the price of the two-colored bee meat. 100 grams would do."

  The server laughed loudly. "Look at you, kid. You're wearing a tattered robe, and you dream of buying two-colored bee meat? Do you even know what a spirit beast is?"

  "Who's this fucking fatty? And why is he insulting you?" Senior demanded.

  Jei lowered his head. The server spoke the truth. He only had enough money to buy some rice and curry. Who was he to ask for two-colored bee meat?

  "Come on, kid, answer me already," Senior said.

  "Don't worry, Josh." Jei gulped the words he was about to say. "He's right. Why would he give me the price for a stage 1 spirit beast? Madam Yu let me taste it once, and from that day on I couldn't forget the taste of it. I just wanted to see if I could afford one piece for Xue'er. But I forgot I'm no one but a frog in the well." His voice shook, and emotions choked in his throat. All the humiliation, the frustration he’d suffered for years clawed at him, reminding him that he was no one in this world.

  "Fat asshole, how dare he insult you? And when I'm living inside your body, to boot. You want this bee? Tell me, where does it breed?" Senior asked, his voice raised to the highest level. "I'll make sure Xue has much meat as she wants of this bee."

  "I don't know," Jei said. "But there is one person who might." Jei's eyes flushed with joy as he moved to the next lane. His brother, Fatty Chang had a shop there, and it’d been a while since he visited him.

  Brother Fatty grinned from ear to ear when he saw Jei walk into his shop.

  "Brother Jei! Come, come, have a seat." Fatty Chang hugged him tightly. "I was wondering if Brother Jei forgot about this poor fat brother of his."

  Today Fatty Chang was thin as a stick, but three years back he was fatter than a buffalo. He used to work in a restaurant, feasting on the leftover food every day. One day, he accidently insulted the patriarch’s son, Chu Son, and the restaurant owner kicked him out. No other restaurant owner would give him a job, as everyone feared the patriarch. So, Fatty Chang started selling raw talisman papers. Earnings-wise, he did better than being a server, but he lost all his fat and turned into a slender handsome man. Still, the nickname “Fatty” stuck to him like glue.

  Jei had known Fatty Chang since childhood, and he was Jei's best friend in the town.

  "Fatty Chang, can you tell me about two-colored bees? How much do they cost, and where can I find one?"

  Fatty Chang rolled his eyes. "Did you rob someone, brother?"

  Jei laughed.

  "I know, you wouldn’t." Fatty Chang's lips curled in a smile. Froth covered the corners of his lips. "Two-colored bees, they are so tasty. Some nights I wake up dreaming about them." Then he glanced at Jei. "That's a stage 1 beast known for its speed. In our entire town there’s only one place where you can find them: the patriarch’s hunting ground. He opens it every Saturday for a hunting competition for youths below age 18."

  "A hunt
ing competition? Why?" Jei asked.

  "Let me tell you a secret." Fatty Chan glanced around to check if someone was listening to them. He then moved close to Jei, bringing his palms around his mouth. "That hunting ground is the bee hive raised by the late majesty. He used to love two-colored bee meat, and our town's cloud condition is the best in the country to raise these bees. But after he died, the new majesty didn’t care for it, so the patriarch took advantage and made it into a business."

  "A business? But how?"

  "Do you know why two-colored bees are famous among the early stage cultivators?"

  Jei shook his head. He had very limited knowledge about this.

  "Their beast cores can help a level 3 late stage qi condensation jump to peak stage in one go. That's the only use of it, but when you compare it to hundreds of people stuck at the late stage cultivation it’s a huge advantage. They say breaking into Houtian realm is easy once you reach to peak stage in level 3. So, each week hundreds of youths in qi level 3 come from nearby towns to get a chance to catch a bee. They do it for their brothers, or to sell them at good price."

  "Mnn. That make sense." Jei understood the logic now. Though his town didn't have many cultivators, when one added nearby towns there were thousands of people stuck at level 3 late stage.

  "Kid, ask him how we can get inside the hunting ground." senior said. He sounded interested.

  "Brother Fatty, how can one get into the hunting ground?" Jei asked.

  "The entry fee is 200 silver, and one has to be at Houtian realm to enter. Anyone below or above Houtian isn't allowed."

  "200 silver?" Jei's eyes bulged out of their sockets. 200 silver was way too costly to just catch a bee.

  "And you have to display 300 kg strength on the strength meter," Fatty Chan added. "Anyway, Brother Jei, do you want to eat the two-colored bee? Let's go and eat one. I'm craving it after all this talk about it. It costs 100 silver for 200 grams of meat, but don't worry. Your brother made a breakthrough into stage 2 condensation last week and he is in good mode."