Chapter 1 – Cultivation and Virtue
In the Ancient Times, the world was in turmoil. The Dark Lord Ye Guang rose in revolt against the Jade Emperor and the Orthodox Sects. His army of undead wreaked havoc in the world until a martial hero used the Flaming Medallion and Heavenly Sword to kill the Dark Lord. Eight hundred thousand years later, peace reigns in both Heavens and Earth. The Jade Emperor, aided by the Orthodox Sects, keeps peace and upholds justice but an evil not seen in thousands of years is about to be awakened…
Yang Jing was strolling in the garden of Mount Kunlun Sect. Bonsai trees lined the perfect lawn in their wooden boxes. In the center there was a pond as large as a small lake with flowering lily pads and a wooden bridge that crossed the middle. Jing was a young man. He was tall, with long black hair and a delicate and most beautiful face. He was wearing a blue gown made from the finest silk and was holding a hand fan made of crane feathers.
“You must be Yang Jing, right?”, a man said. Jing turned around and saw that the one speaking to him was a tall man wearing a long purple silk gown. His long hair was white but despite his age his face was delicate and showed no signs of old age. He exuded a sense of calmness and peace.
Jing slightly bowed and said, “Greetings. I indeed am Yang Jing. You must be Elder Rong?”
Rong smiled. “Indeed. Your father has spoken highly of you. I will take you as my disciple, but do not let me down. Considering that you father is my best friend, I will be stricter with you and expect the best from you.”
“I will not disappoint you. I will work hard and follow your instructions.”
Rong nodded in approval. “Cultivating immortality requires purity and peace of mind. You must be disciplined. If you do decide to pursue this path, you must be committed and have resolve.”
Jing nodded in agreement.
“Good. Come to the Main Hall in about an hour.”, Rong said and left.
Jing stood alone, silently gazing at the pond. Although he felt honored to have been accepted by Elder Rong, Grandmaster of the Mount Kunlun Sect, he missed somewhat his home and family. His father, Yang Wanli, was himself a famous immortal known for his mastery of the Yang Spear. He and Rong had been friends since their youth, so it was only natural that Wanli would entrust his son to Rong. The Grandmaster of Kunlun was the most revered among the four Grandmasters of the Orthodox Sects; the other three being Xian Li of Phoenix Sect, Zhe Chang of Heaven Sect and Ma Yong of the Ma Sect. The Orthodox Sects assisted the Jade Emperor in keeping peace in Heaven and Earth.
“You are Elder Rong’s new disciple?”, someone asked. Jing, who had been lost in his thoughts, turned around and saw a young man. He had thick eyebrows, large eyes and a sturdy and strong stature. He greeted Jing and said, “My name is Zhang Xiao. I am a disciple of Master Yi.”
Jing smiled. “My name is Yang Jing. I am glad to meet you.”
“You are pretty lucky, you know. Elder Rong has not taken a disciple for the past twenty thousand years. He is hailed as the wisest Immortal; even the Jade Emperor treats him with outmost respect.”
He paused for a moment before speaking again. “Do you happen to like drinking wine?”
“Of course I do!”, Jing said.
Xiao grinned. “Good! Why don’t we meet here tonight to drink some wine? It’s been some time since I last had a drinking buddy.”
“Well, I do like wine but… Elder Rong talked about discipline and-“
“That’s why I have such a long time to drink with a drinking buddy.”, Xiao said and sighed. “Most people here are far too disciplined. Cultivation does not exclude drinking some wine. It’s going to be fun, trust me.”
“Well… alright, but only once.”
...
Jing stepped into the Main Hall. The hall was spacious and the ceiling seemed to be twenty feet high. Waiting inside was Elder Rong, sitting on a purple mat and reading a text. Jing bowed slightly and said, “Greetings Teacher.”
“You know what is most important when cultivating to become immortal?”
Jing thought for a moment but could not find an appropriate answer.
“Being moral and virtuous.”, Rong said. “You must be pure in heart if you are to cultivate.”
“I understand.”
“Being my disciple, you will have to be a responsible person and not use your powers without thinking of the consequences. You must remember that every being has innate goodness in it. Subduing wicked people or demons alone does not make you praiseworthy; making them turn over a new leaf will. As such, I expect you not to use your powers irresponsibly, even when you have to deal with the wickedest persons.”
Jing nodded.
“You must learn how to meditate and breath correctly.”, Rong said. “We shall meditate together.”
Rong and Jing sat in a cross-legged meditative position. “I will teach you how to cultivate Level 1 of Soul Formation.”, Rong said. “You must breathe in the right way, so that you can draw in the Qi of the natural world.”
Rong took deep breaths, through the nose, and Jing followed his example. During the inhalation, their diaphragm moved downwards. They then exhaled, moving up their diaphragm, compressing their lungs and pushing the air out. For three hours they breathed that way.
...
The sun fell behind the horizon. The twilight faded to blackness. Jing and Xiao were lying on the garden and drinking each a jar of wine and laughing.
“See? I told you it would be fun!”, Xiao said.
“This wine is the best I’ve ever drunk.”, Jing admitted. “Where did you get it?”
“My father brewed it. My family has a tradition of brewing the best wine in Heaven and Earth.”
Xiao sipped some wine. He then said, “You really are lucky to have Elder Rong as your teacher. You will become the most powerful immortal of Kunlun if your follow his instructions. Everyone will respect you and girls will fall for you.”
Jing laughed. “I do not have such ambitions. Honestly, what I want is to be carefree like I am now. I do not want glory or power; they bring too many worries, they restrain you too much. The most powerful and respected you are, the more worries you have and the less free you are to do whatever you want.”
A tall, sturdy young man with long black hair dressed in a white gown walked towards the two drinking buddies. “So, you are Elder Rong’s new disciple?”, he asked, looking at Jing with contempt.
Jing got up at once and bowed slightly. “Greetings. Indeed. I am Yang Jing. I’m glad to meet you.”
The man sneered. “You should be working hard, not lying and drinking wine. You may want to bring shame to yourself, but do not bring shame to Elder Rong.”
“I understand.”, Jing said. He felt awkward and a sense of guilt.
“We are just having a drink.”, Xiao protested. “Plus, it is his first day here, Brother Yao.”
Yao looked angrily at Xiao. “Hopefully he will not end up like you.”
He then turned to Jing. “As for you, do not think too highly of yourself. You were accepted as Elder Rong’s disciple only because your father is his friend, not because of your skills. Do not expect people to respect you. I certainly will not. If you want respect, you should earn it.”
Yao then walked away.
“Who is he?”, Jing asked.
Xiao sighed. “He is a fellow disciple of Master Yi. He is the best swordsman in Mount Kunlun and the youngest immortal. He is also the favorite disciple of Master Yi and the most admired. He is far too arrogant and thinks he can judge everyone! Do not take his words at heart.”
“He is right.”, Jing said. “The only reason I was accepted by Elder Rong is because my father is his best friend. I should work hard so as to not bring shame to my Teacher.”
“That’s why I dislike Yao…”, Xiao said. “He kills all the fun. Look at you, you talk exactly like him. If you become rigid and preachy like he is, with whom will I be drinking wine?”
...
The yellow shining sun started rising from the ground. It filled the sky with mighty colors of red and splashed the clouds with endless orange hued rays. Birds began chirping, singing a beautiful melody. Jing was practicing his swordplay on the wooden bridge that crossed the middle of the pond. Rong was supervising him and giving him instructions. Jing performed intricate and fast sword forms. The whooshing sound of the sword revealed the great strength put into each form. One attack came after another in quick succession.
Rong was nodding in approval. “Very good; you are grasping the basics. Swordsmanship, however, is only a part of your training. Another important part is studying Daoist Texts. Follow me.”
Jing followed his Teacher to the Main Hall. There, Rong presented five texts to his disciple. “Those texts must be studied thoroughly by you. You should copy them four thousand times each.”
“Four thousand!?”, Jing repeated.
Rong smiled. “Indeed. You are cultivating immortality, so you will have aplenty of time for copying those texts.”
...
Five hundred years are a long, very long amount of time in the human realm. Not so in the Heavens; for immortals and those cultivating immortality, such timespan is short. In those five hundred years, Jing had been copying and studying Daoist texts, practicing his swordplay, meditating and cultivating. From time to time, he would drink wine with Xiao. One such time was tonight. They were lying under the starless, moonless black sky and drinking one jar of wine each.
“Congrats on breaking through to Level 5 of Soul Formation.”, Xiao said and sipped some wine.
“Thanks brother Xiao.”, Jing said.
“I am sure you will do well in the tournament tomorrow as well.”
Every hundredth year, Mount Kunlun would host a tournament so that its disciples could test their skills and compare with each other. In the last four tournaments, Jing had not taken part as to not lose and bring shame to Elder Rong. Now, however, he was confident that his skills were good enough to not make his Teacher lose face.
“I certainly hope so.”, Jing replied.
As they drank some more of their wine, Yao walked by them. Seeing them, he sneered and asked Jing; “Are you going to show up in the tournament this time or shall you hide once more like a turtle?”
Xiao was going to argue with Yao but Jing stopped him. Calmly and maintaining his composure, he replied; “I shall show up, brother Yao.”
“Good.”, Yao said. “I only hope that you will not bring shame to Elder Rong.”
He then walked away.
“Brother Jing, why didn’t you let me put him to his place?”, Xiao asked. “He is far too arrogant!”
Jing laughed. “Why waste time arguing with him when we can have some pleasant time drinking wine?”
Xiao sighed. “Hopefully you will defeat him in the tournament. I just cannot stand how he wins every tournament…”
“I highly doubt that… I have made progress those past five hundred years but I am no match for him. He is the greatest martial artist of Mount Kunlun; how can I compare to him? Not that I care that much about winning. I only want to get to the top rankings so that I will not bring shame to my Teacher.”