The Science of Cultivation
Chapter 301: Mindspace & Interaction

Li Lang and Ruby turned their attention toward the timid presence lurking within the mindspace they were in. Visually, they saw nothing, as only darkness surrounded them, but they could clearly feel the shivering aura of something nearby.

“Show yourself!” Ruby shouted as she floated out in front of her master with her hands on her hips. “Hello? Don’t you dare make my master wait for you!”

Li Lang strode forward and placed a hand on Ruby’s shoulder to rein in her zeal. He knew from experience that her words were effective, and there was no need to pressure the heavenly water further. As he expected, a response quickly came.

Despite the surrounding darkness, Li Lang could clearly see mist rushing toward a single point a few steps away. It converged quickly and soon formed a sphere of water with a diameter easily over a meter. Once the convergence was done, the body of water relaxed, and the shape changed to that of a droplet.

“About time you showed yourself,” Ruby scoffed. “Now quickly plead your allegiance to my master, and we can be done with it.”

Her words caused the heavenly water to vibrate in fear. With no expression to read, Li Lang had trouble taking it seriously, seeing it as akin to a mascot character.

“Can you understand it, Ruby? What is it saying?”

“Hm, a little bit. This is a fragment of the heavenly water known as the Thousand Change Sea Breath. It’s just putting up a tantrum about wanting to stay with its old master right now, but there’s nothing to worry about. There’s no way it will dare disobey me.”

“No need to push so hard, Ruby. I’m not looking to enslave it. You can tell it to relax—actually, do you think I can speak directly with it?”

“Unfortunately, it’s been weakened over the long years without a master, so it can only communicate with weak pulses of intent. It may not be wise for you to directly link your consciousness with it until it submits to you, Master.”

“Fine, fine. You can be our interpreter. Can you calm it down first, so I can ask a few questions?”

“Of course, Master!”

Li Lang struggled to stay silent as he watched Ruby walk straight up to the oversized droplet of water and shove a fist into it. Thankfully, water didn’t splash everything, nor did it turn into a puddle. The liquids softly enveloped Ruby’s tiny fists, and bubbles started to rise within the heavenly water’s body. It quickly turned from translucent to opaque.

The bubbling lasted several more moments before clearing up, and the fragment of the Thousand Change Sea Breath stilled.

“Okay, Master. It has calmed down now.”

“Good. Please ask if it can locate the main body of the Thousand Change Sea Breath. If it’s unwilling to part with its former master, I’d rather just find its source.”

Ruby and the heavenly water communicated silently, without Li Lang being able to pick up on anything. Before his curiosity about the so-called method of communication through intent could fully take root, Ruby got an answer.

“It says it can, but is only willing to guide us when someone passes the tests its former master left behind. The audacity of this lowly fragment of—”

“It’s okay, Ruby. Tell it I agree as long as it brings us to where these tests are. I’d rather not fall into another trap of some sort and waste more time down here.”

“But Master. It’s just a fragment. I can easily force it to sub—”

“Ruby,” Li Lang coldly stated, cutting her off short.

“U-Understood, Master.”

“Good. Now, be a good girl and convey my words.”

***

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“Let me go already!” Jing Song cried as he struggled to break free from his two fellow disciples holding onto his arms. “That bastard already made contact with the heavenly water. There’s no need to restrain me anymore. I won’t do anything!”

The disciples there glanced toward Mu Hanyue for direction, and she nodded, allowing Jing Song to finally break free. He rolled his shoulders as he scoffed at his former captors. An awkward moment ensued for all the members of the Radiant Wing Sect before Mu Hanyue placed herself right in front of the most arrogant member of their group.

“Jing Song, I need you to officially swear that you won’t be taking any malicious actions against our guest here before he rouses.”

“What? I already said I’ll put this stupid matter behind me. Why in the world would I take a solemn promise just for some matter regarding some small character from an organization whose headmaster is only in the Foundation Establishment Realm?”

“Are you really so self-absorbed that you don’t pay attention to our sect’s political situation anymore? I doubt someone with high ambitions like you would be that stupid.”

“Watch your words, girl. You may have some talent, but don’t think those elders who have taken a liking to you will really stand up to my Jing family when it comes to it.”

“Just swear on your family name that you’ll behave, Jing Song. We don’t need any more interaction between you and our guest right now. This matter isn’t to be taken lightly.”

The arrogant young master took a moment to take a look at all his peers. Their expressions varied, but what was left unsaid was clear. No one supported him. He crossed his arms tightly, lazily extending out three fingers, and went through the motions to make a vow with minimal effort.

“Fine! I, Jing Song, swear to no longer interact with Li Lang for the rest of this stupid excursion. There, happy?”

“Yeah, no complaints, here.”

Everyone instantly snapped toward the speaker, Li Lang.

Jing Song simply scoffed and glanced away while Mu Hanyue swiftly made her way to his side.

“You’re back already. How did it go?”

“This heavenly water is willing to guide us toward the core of this tomb. It wants us to pass its former master’s tests.”

“Does that mean it’s under your control now?”

“Not exactly. It appeared exceptionally attached to its previous master, but it shouldn’t be hostile to us anymore.”

“Hm, understood. We’re ready to proceed, then.”

With Jing Song now silenced, no more hiccups arose from the group, so they were soon ready to head out. There wasn’t a need to go very far, though. The heavenly water only took a moment to transform into its liquid form and guide them back toward the river where they first encountered it.

After crossing the river and walking a short distance, the group suddenly encountered a temple of some sort in the shape of a pyramid. It had appeared abruptly. One second, they were walking in the underground woodland surrounded by trees; the next, the large monument appeared without a sound.

It caused the group to go on high alert, but they didn’t stop moving. The blob of water extended out dozens of tendrils to use as legs and steadily reached the base of the pyramid. It jiggled around at the base of the set of stairs that led up the structure, waving its tendril as if waving the cultivators to head on up.

“Did the heavenly water tell you anything about what kind of tests await us?” Mu Hanyue inquired as she marveled at the scene before her.

“No, so I assume this is more of your sect’s wheelhouse. Your storied sect must’ve encountered numerous crypts like these before and know what to expect, right? Because this is my first time in one.”

“From what we were taught, as long as the main purpose of these crypts is to find inheritors for the deceased senior’s legacy, then it shouldn’t be dangerous and stick with the theme of what they want to pass on. Unfortunately, there are a few spiteful cultivators out there who take advantage of this knowledge and make traps that appear just like these inheritance crypts, but are instead a death trap. We can only hope it isn’t the latter if we don’t have any more information.”

“I’d assume the heavenly water will try to betray us in the worst-case scenario, then?” Li Lang remarked, despite not believing in his own words. He doubted anyone who feared Ruby would dare lie to her, but there was no need for his allies to know that.

“Yes, which is why we shouldn’t all proceed. We need people staying behind to stand guard against the heavenly water.”

“Sounds like your group will be well prepared for that scenario, so let’s think about what happens if this is really an inheritance crypt instead. A consistent theme, you say? Is it normal to have two? So far, I’ve seen focus on both defense and illusions.”

“That—I’m not sure,” Mu Hanyue gingerly replied with a frown. “Experts usually only pass on the technique they were most proud of in life. They are rarely indecisive people who can’t settle on one.”

“Well, just be prepared to break out of illusions and have your defenses tested. That’s all I have to say. I’ll let your team take the lead from here.”

The woman from the Radiant Wing Sect blinked blankly at Li Lang for a moment before she realized what he was playing at. He was blatantly asking her group to act as the vanguard, the riskiest position. There were a few colorful words that only made it to her throat before she shook them all away. For a moment, she regretted having shut Jing Song up, because she could really use his sharp tongue and indifference to their guest’s identity right now.

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