Chapter 88: A Small Banquet, the Moonlit Immortal

After taking the wing-dispersing powder in succession, Ji Ming devoted himself wholly to the cultivation of the Lesser Celestial Circuit.

Within his chamber, before the painted backdrops of azure, violet, and yellow skies, he stood and unfurled himself, moving like a crane dancing in the room, every muscle fully stretched and trained.

The high-intensity, secretive circulation of power drove vital blood and qi to transform spiritual potential into the lower field of the body, and one surge of refined essence after another sprang forth like bamboo shoots after rain.

During the six yang hours from Rat to Dragon, the essence flowed down to the perineum, entered the tailbone opening, and climbed the spine along the Governing Vessel, breaking through one barrier after another in a relentless advance.

During the six yin hours from Horse to Pig, the essence retreated to the perineum and, along the body’s front midline, surged through many points of the Conception Vessel.

Once spiritual potential had been refined into essence, the demonic nature hidden silently in the flesh began to react in a peculiar way.

Tiny feather sacs formed on both arms. Ji Ming hurriedly activated the third form of the Crane-Controlling Art, the Loose Crane Form, and the slight bulges of feather sacs at once subsided.

The demonic nature, thin as smoke, was expelled through the pores and mingled with his sweat, circling his body and weaving itself into a cloudlike mist.

Ji Ming’s entire body burned crimson, as though he were being steamed alive. The heat radiated out of the chamber and dried the faint vapor clinging to the floor.

Having taken several packets of wing-dispersing powder, Ji Ming could not be certain whether any residue still remained in his flesh, so he once again employed the three forms, standing within the cloud-mist like a true immortal crane.

Only after he had thoroughly drained the demonic nature from his body did Ji Ming crane out his neck, draw a long breath, and inhale the cloud-mist completely through mouth and nose. From that point on, the Crane-Controlling Art advanced yet another step.

In the mountains, seasons pass without leaving a trace; in cultivation, years are not counted.

Secluded in his chamber, he had long since lost track of how many summers and winters had come and gone; he only knew that the remaining thirty-odd doses of wing-dispersing powder were being consumed at a rapid pace.

And with the occasional aiding pills and shell pearls brought by his little sister Ling Gu, this method of stirring yang fire and receding yin seals had progressed with astonishing speed.

Along the Governing Vessel in the spine, he had broken through two points, then eight, then ten, then thirteen, then nineteen, and finally twenty-eight.

Along the Conception Vessel in the front of the body, he had surged through three points, then seven, then thirteen, then sixteen, and finally twenty-four.

At that point, the Conception and Governing Vessels had both been fully pierced through, and he had already “plucked” a qi blossom.

Seated in meditation in the chamber, Ji Ming was filled with an unstoppable momentum. The success of his successive breakthroughs gave him immense confidence, and so too did his swelling strength.

He had originally intended to leave seclusion immediately after attaining the qi blossom.

But in his present state of overabundance, he chose instead to sit in stillness for another three days, smoothing the restless agitation in his heart.

If not for the accumulation from his former life, which had allowed his secret arts to reach great completion and let him take the wing-dispersing powder without fear of aftereffects, then even with the bearing of a heaven-sent prodigy, he would never have dared advance so recklessly.

Three days later, to celebrate the modest success he had achieved in the realm of nourishing qi, Ji Ming specially summoned Ling Gu, Wei Wulan, and Elder Ape, and set a small banquet in the purple bamboo grove outside the tower.

The two children, Huamei and Yunque, upon hearing the news, went into the grove a day early to sweep and arrange the place.

Since it was a banquet, especially one hosted by cultivators, there were naturally proper standards to observe. One must not overstep them, nor neglect decorum. Though the two children were young, they handled matters with great care.

After asking Ji Ming about the proper scale and expense, they arranged for the youths skilled in music to provide the banquet’s melodies, had the tower’s cooks prepare the dishes, and assigned several meticulous attendants to pour wine for the guests and clear away the dirt from the席.

Elder Ape, having received the simple invitation, had not originally intended to attend. As a guest of the Fiery Ruins Cave, he had set his heart on studying diligently before the master and winning his favor.

The young golden boy had lived with him for little more than a month, and during that time he had practiced and learned the Way, keeping his hands tucked within his sleeves all day long, as though guarding against him. This had made him rather displeased.

Later, however, he heard that the boy had been in seclusion in his chamber, and by calculation it had already been more than a year.

For a child so recently distracted by worldly impulses, to settle his nature and enter seclusion for a full year was, within the Fiery Ruins Cave, a rare and remarkable thing.

The matter had already reached the master’s ears, and in later teachings he had spoken at length in praise of the golden boy.

For this reason alone, Elder Ape could suppress his dislike, and even prepared a spiritual peach, along with two boxes of jade and gold, to congratulate the golden boy on emerging from seclusion.

Within the purple bamboo grove, all was deep and tranquil, a place of verdant shadows and dappled stillness. Strands of sunlight filtered through the dense tall bamboo, casting broken and dreamlike violet light. When the breeze passed through, the leaves rustled softly, as if murmuring some hidden Zen meaning.

A winding path led into the depths. On either side, purple bamboo stood upright and noble, rising in tier after tier.

Elder Ape walked along the path, the agitation in his chest somewhat eased. When he reached the end, he saw three or five figures seated at the banquet. At the head sat the child, and amid the gathering he laughed and spoke freely, his face flushed red, unmistakably the aspect of abundant blood and qi.

"Ah!"

Elder Ape gave a soft exclamation, and his thoughts whirled.

Before, when the local master had praised the boy as one of heaven’s favored talents, Elder Ape had not paid it much mind. He had drifted through the mountain for more than three hundred years and seen countless geniuses of every kind.

But this golden boy was only in the years of his childhood, his bones barely settled, and he had stepped onto the path of cultivation for at most three years. Yet that face of abundant blood and qi could only mean that the Conception and Governing Vessels had already been fully traversed.

With that thought, Elder Ape put away the two boxes of jade and gold and replaced them with two boxes of shell pearls, a smile spreading across his face.

He passed through the musicians plucking strings and flutes, then first bowed respectfully to the host of the banquet. His solemn bearing caused Ji Ming to feel quite surprised.

Had it only been a little over a year since they last met, why was Elder Ape now so deferential after once being so haughty?

To call it haughtiness would truly be unfair to Elder Ape; it was only that he had never been especially attentive to the matter of instruction.

Ling Gu, who had been teasing Ji Ming moments before, became somewhat restrained at the sight of Elder Ape’s attitude.

Having heard the lectures in the cave many times, Elder Ape had always managed to win the master’s favor, and in Ling Gu’s eyes he had long since become something like an elder. She had never expected him to bow so solemnly to her brother.

Wei Wulan gave a cold laugh inwardly. This old ape might seem astonishingly senior by the standards of the cave, but in truth he was nothing more than a beast guarding the mountain. All his glory and disgrace came from the master, and presumably the old ape understood this perfectly well.

Now that he saw the golden boy’s cultivation advancing with such speed, and knew that the boy would surely be valued by the master in days to come, he naturally adopted such a posture.

Yunque and Huamei did not know the story behind it. They only felt a shared pride, thinking their own hard service had not been wasted, nor their efforts in handling trivial matters.

Now that even Elder Ape had taken on such an attitude, the golden boy was certain one day to reside within the Fiery Ruins Cave, and perhaps they too would rise together with the tide.

Ji Ming took in every expression at the table, and a sudden realization stirred in his heart.

As the saying goes, when fortune arrives, heaven and earth lend their strength. Such favorable timing and opportunity had nearly been created by his own hand. Yet even now, he had not reached the peak of his moment.

The potential of a heaven-sent being had not yet been fully unfolded.

The two attendants presented the spiritual peach and the two boxes of shell pearls given by Elder Ape.

Ji Ming opened one box. Each pearl was large and round, with a shimmering glow flowing over its surface, clearly revealing the abundance of spiritual vitality within.

He pushed one box into Ling Gu’s hands. Between Ling Gu and Ji Ming there was already a tacit understanding; she said nothing pretentious or evasive, and accepted it openly.

Ling Gu had already been in the Fiery Ruins Cave for more than a year, still at the stage of nurturing the body and tempering the frame, seeking the small elixir gathered in the lower field.

Those harmless aiding pills and shell pearls could have accelerated her progress in this stage, yet she had quietly saved many of them to send to Ji Ming instead.

Even Ji Ming, devoted as he was to the Dao, could not help but feel even greater fondness for this little sister.

Once all the guests had taken their seats, the sounds of silk and bamboo began to play, and dish after dish of pre-meal fruit, sweet and sour appetizers, candied preserves, cured delicacies, and the like were brought forth.

Wei Wulan, feeling somewhat invisible, began searching for his presence at the table. His gaze swept across the seats, and at once he called out, "Why is there no wine at the banquet?"

The two attendants were just about to explain that this had been ordered by the golden boy, when Wei Wulan opened his mouth and released a bright moon, which rose above the bamboo grove, among the purple leaves, scattering a clear radiance.

Suddenly a young maid in green descended from the moon, carrying a pair of deep crimson gauze palace lanterns, and behind her came an immortal maiden.

Ji Ming knew this was an illusion, yet the moonlit glow, the maiden’s grace, everything appeared utterly real. He could not help but marvel inwardly at the wondrous arts of the True Spirit Sect.

"Where is the wine?" Wei Wulan asked with a smile toward the maiden beneath the moon.

The maiden circled gracefully to Ji Ming’s side, bent forward and lowered her head, and with a slight press of her soft lips, a few drops of wine slid from the corner of her mouth and splashed onto Ji Ming’s nose.

"Wondrous!" Elder Ape praised, clapping his hands. "Wine passed from the fragrant mouth of an immortal maiden only deepens the flavor still further."

Ji Ming was just about to savor that flavor when Ling Gu beside him suddenly covered her face and cried out. In an instant, the maiden and her attendant girl were startled away back into the moon.

Wei Wulan laughed heartily. "Ling Gu knows nothing of romantic charm and has frightened away a heavenly maiden. What a pity, what a pity."

"It’s all fake. I don’t believe it," Ling Gu said.

"Enough." Ji Ming set aside this little game at the banquet and looked toward Elder Ape. "I too have a skill I would like to display before Elder Ape."

As he spoke, Ji Ming crossed his legs and, like one riding clouds through mist, rose without any support a full ten feet above the ground.

"This..."

Elder Ape sprang up in astonishment, exclaiming without end.