The Science of Cultivation
Chapter 298: Toleration

The group of Radiant Wing Sect disciples quickly regained their composure once their situation was made clear to them. They even took the time to investigate the semi-spherical room where the Absolute Dome Art was engraved.

Li Lang simply stood out of their way and let them do their thing once he gave them all the information they wanted. They were likely more proficient in combat and better trained in how to handle these situations. The countless years of knowledge accumulation from a big sect were not to be underestimated. They surely taught their disciples the dos and don’ts of something as common as a tomb of cultivation experts.

“Jing Song, what do you think about the dried blood here?” a woman asked their tentative leader, seeing no one else daring to speak up to the haughty young master.

“Could be from anything, but from how dry it is, I say it’s not a concern. Whatever happened obviously isn’t here anymore, or else they would’ve gotten us already. Let us stop wasting our time here and continue our way.”

“The frog who survives is one who looks before leaping. We’re not in that much of a—”

“Mu Hanyue, please do not lecture me as if you’re an elder. You’re not qualified. If you’re too scared to go first, then just follow behind like our guest here. He at least knows his place,” the young man said as he flashed Li Lang a smirk.

Unfortunately for him, Li Lang didn’t react. That was because he was barely paying attention to them. Even if he had heard them, he still wouldn’t feed into the childish squabbles.

As he mechanically followed along with the group, he contemplated the new chapters of the Absolute Dome Art. Specifically, he was interested in the official version that defended against illusions. He was busy comparing the difference between his makeshift version and the one a Violet Core expert had evidently valued enough to want to pass on to the later generations.

As I suspect, the Qi art does not target specific areas of the brain. What Kan Wuji created doesn’t make any sense to me. How exciting! This means there’s an entirely new paradigm on how Qi can interact with the mind, or ‘spirit’, as the texts call it.

The more Li Lang learned, the more promising the study of illusions appeared to be. Given enough time, he projected it to be an area he could excel in, just like with woodsmithing. His knowledge of anatomy and the functions of specific areas of the brain could help him fine-tune the Qi techniques that induce the illusions.

In a way, it was as if he understood the underlying mechanics of each part under the hood of a car. It gave him an edge that was hard to match. He just needed to shore up on how to design and operate the vehicle.

While Li Lang continued to deliberate on the wonders of illusion techniques, their group, led by Jing Song, made steady progress further into the passageways. They all stuck together, following his lead on which path to take. The boring tunnels soon widened as they came into a spacious cavern with a small forest before their eyes.

However, there weren’t any cries of Qi beasts or any other signs of animals inhabiting the woodland. It made what was supposed to be full of life appear eerie. The only sense of normalcy was the sound of water flowing from further within.

“Strange,” Mu Hanyue commented. “I don’t detect any living thing nearby. With a forest that should be full of life, I don’t think it’s a good idea to wander around. Maybe we should turn back?”

“Don’t be a coward. It likely just means everything here died off after being sealed for who knows how long. I doubt there are any dangers. Plus, we can make use of a thorough washing to cleanse away the ickiness of this place,” Jing Song said as he dove headfirst into the forest.

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His companions silently followed along, but it didn’t seem to be out of timidity. All those who made it into the Foundation Establishment Realm before thirty were each a genius in their own right. Most of them tolerated Jing Song’s behavior, while others didn’t care. They were experienced enough to know that starting confrontations among themselves would only hinder their teamwork.

Seeing how Jing Song wouldn’t heed any advice from others, Mu Hanyue purposefully hung back until she was side by side with Li Lang. They walked with the group for a long moment before she mustered up the resolve to speak.

“You should take charge before Jing Song gets into trouble.”

“And you think he’ll listen to me, because?”

“I know who you are. I’ve seen the recordings, which I’m sure Jing Song never bothered with, but he must’ve heard others discuss your little group. If you explain your standing to him, he would listen.”

“Will he, now?”

“Begrudgingly, but he would. He’s only so confident because his father is an influential elder amongst our rank. When he finds out you’re someone not even his father will want to provoke, he’ll back down.”

Li Lang finally turned to his conversation partner for the first time. He found a tomboy with her dark hair tied into a bun in the style common among many men. Nevertheless, her feminine features shone through, as her delicate features gave her a gallant look. Li Lang suspected she was quite popular among other females.

“Interesting. You seem to have a handle on everything. Why don’t you take charge instead? I’m sure you have a way to convince the group to follow you instead.”

“That’s—short-sighted. The others aren’t stupid. What I know, they likely know as well. If I forcefully take charge, Jing Song will only retaliate once we get back. It’s why all of us are following along for now. However, you’re different. Once this is over, you wouldn’t be sticking around. Even if he dared to do anything, you’d be gone by then.”

“Well, I’ll consider it, but for now, we all are equally clueless. Letting him take the lead doesn’t sound like such a bad idea.”

Hearing this, Mu Hanyue sighed.

“Letting him take the brunt of it, just like everyone else. I just hope he doesn’t get himself killed, because I really don’t want to deal with a vengeful father.”

“Your motive is slipping. If you’re so worried, maybe you should catch up with our leader before he does anything stupid.”

The girl nodded. “I will. Thanks for listening, I guess.”

Seeing the woman off, Li Lang resumed his investigation of his new technique. Thanks to Ruby’s time dilation, he could go take a peek any time he needed without seeming too out of place.

Unfortunately, his concentration was soon broken when he heard cries up ahead. He tuned back into reality in time to see a sky-high pillar of water being splashed into the air.

The nearby Radiant Wing disciples rushed forward to reinforce their comrades while Li Lang stayed a healthy distance away. The sound of fighting intensified, so he slowly ascended into the air to get a better view.

Soon, he spotted Jing Song and a few others dodging away from tendrils of water lashing out at them. They were being pushed away from the river they found, as they desperately blocked and dodged while their own attacks barely did anything. They were literally up against water, which just splashed around before reforming in the tendrils as if nothing happened.

Despite the disadvantageous situation the orthodox cultivators found themselves in, everything still appeared under control. They simply lost ground, but none of them appeared seriously hurt and were managing just fine.

Li Lang took this time to quickly browse through the chapter of the Absolute Dome Art regarding defending against water Qi arts. While he read, a thought couldn’t help but linger on his mind.

Is that really a trap or a Qi beast of some sort? It doesn’t look like it. It’s more similar to—my heavenly flame! Is that perhaps a heavenly water?

For the first time in a while, Li Lang dove into his mind where the Primordial Star Fire rested. It was just a small chunk of the greater whole residing in the Crucible, but it was all he had for now.

His Qi sense swept over the heavenly fire as he tried to analyze its presence.

It really does seem to be somewhat similar. Why in the world is there a heavenly water here? Too bad I don’t have the Crucible here to subdue it.

If it belonged to Kan Wuji, it might be a bit tricky to handle, considering its former master was a Violet Core expert. However, this is too great a chance to pass up. I need this for my five-element cultivation!

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