Martial Peak - Chapter 160
[If I could open a hole on the leeward side, I should be able to avoid the noise from the wind. I would also be protected from too much sunlight.]
He pieced together the cords he had brought with him to make one long rope and with its support, he was able to rappel down a thousand feet towards the stream.
When he used up all of the rope’s length, Yang Kai looked down and realised the Coiling Dragon Stream was too deep. He was unable to see the bottom. There was no way for him to judge its depth.
He felt fear strikes his heart at the thought of the potential consequences should the rope’s integrity fail at this point.
However, the Yang Qi of the atmosphere was truly denser than above.
At this moment, Yang Kai was very satisfied with his decision. He carefully looked around the area and settled on a good position for his cave.
There were numerous ancient pine trees living on the slope of the cliff. They were grouped together and formed what was basically a giant umbrella. If he opened a space under the giant pines, the trees could form a natural barrier, helping him keep out wind and rain. It would become his shelter.
After choosing a spot, Yang Kai condensed a drop of Yang liquid from his dantian onto his fingertip, then used it to cut into the slope.
It sliced easily into the rock. The sharpness of the Yang liquid was not affected. Yang Kai then directly cut into the next rock.
When Yang Kai was in the Initial Element Stage third layer, his Yang liquid could easily ruin an ordinary mid-grade defensive treasure. Now that his strength has increased, cutting a rock was as easy as eating pie.
The Yang liquid in his dantian was limited. The majority of it which he obtained in the Heaven’s Cave Inheritance was already used during the double cultivation with Su Yan. Now he had less than four or five drops present in his dantian.
After consuming three drops of Yang liquid, Yang Kai was able to cut open an entrance in the cliff face in which he could fit. Yang Kai continued to enlarge the cave, and the rocks were discarded into the jaws of the Coiling Dragon Stream.
Yang Kai sat and waited. After some time, the sound of the impact of the rock on the bottom of the stream reached his ears. By calculating the time it took for the rock to reach the bottom, he was able to gather a rough estimate of the actual deepness of the Coiling Dragon Stream.
The result was flabbergasting. His initial calculations told him that the depth of the stream was more than ten thousand feet.
Half a day passes and the cave has significantly expanded, but he had consumed all Yang liquid.
With nothing else but his physical strength, Yang Kai couldn’t excavate the cave any further.
He whipped out the bottle Xia Ning Cheng gifted him yesterday. He remembered the incident he had with his senior sister and felt guilt pricking him.
Fortunately, they did not go far past that, otherwise he could never face her again.
After ingesting several medicine pills and condensing some Yang liquid, he continued his little excavation
Yang Kai was very excited about his cave. It couldn’t exhaust him, and looking at the steady expansion of the cave, Yang Kai felt like a powerhouse who was building his secret mansion.
Yang Kai struggled for several days. For condensing Yang Liquid, he had the medicine pills provided by Xia Ning Cheng. For thirst, he had dew accumulated on the pine tree leaves in the morning. He barely felt hungry. Hunger rarely affects anyone in the Qi transformation stage detrimentally and strongly. Eventually, though, in a month’s time, they would need to supplement their strength with some form of nutrition.
Seven days later, the cave was, for the most part, completed.
Yang Kai stood at the entrance and admired his masterpiece. A feeling of satisfaction took over him as he giggled foolishly.
The cave was twice as big as Yang Kai’s log cabin. One would prove to be hard to spot if they sat at the entrance. The noise was also filtered out, although a soft whistling sound would resume nonetheless. His new humble abode was comparable to any good place of cultivation. The environment here was much better than many places.
On the left side of the cave entrance, there was a small stone chamber in which Yang Kai stored and preserved his dried food. He placed his Three Leaves Chaos Spirit Flower and Dead Jedi Tree Grass in that room.
On the right was a slightly bigger room. This was his break room. In there, Yang Kai had a stone bed cut carefully and intricately, its surface smooth and even. Yang Kai also took the time to polish it carefully and spent a lot of time doing so. One wouldn’t feel the slightest bit of discomfort resting on it, aside from maybe its toughness.
It was unknown what was going through Yang Kai’s mind when making this bed, but it was huge and could easily accommodate two to three people.
(Rosy: Really…. we don’t know what he was thinking?)
[Hehehe…. Nicely done!] Yang Kai thought in his mind.
The middle of the stone chamber had a large open space. It was unclear why it was open.
This was Yang Kai’s personal Cave Mansion. Although it was carved roughly, it was quite warm and cosy. It was much better than that small log cabin.
Common people generally don’t steer near the Coiling Dragon Stream. If in the future he is able to obtain something he cannot carry around normally, he could easily keep it here without worrying about its discovery or theft.
As Yang Kai’s train of thoughts continued, he climbed upwards with the help of the rope. He cut out some footholds in the rock wall so that he wouldn’t need the aid of a rope to descend next time, lessening the chance of its exposure.
Finally untying the rope tied to the big rock, Yang Kai returned to his Cave Mansion.
After so many days of hard work, he finally had a proper place for his own peaceful, quiet cultivation. Perhaps this cultivation environment is better than the areas the rest of the disciples in the High Heaven Pavillion use.
Yang Kai didn’t start cultivating immediately, but sat cross-legged near the entrance of his hideout and enjoyed the warmth of this place.
He suddenly remembered something and put his hand on his chest and took it out.
It was the Ying Yang Monster Ginseng. It was a Heavenly Spiritual Herb, a sentient artefact. After being captured by Yang Kai, it was placed on his chest, where it didn’t try to escape or struggle.
The Herb seemed to smile at Yang Kai.
The Old Demon said that this type of thing will only grow in places where both Yin and Yang energy coexist. Yang Kai didn’t know why there was a Yin Yang Monster Ginseng in the Heaven’s Cave Inheritance, but on obtaining the inheritance he understood the mystery.
That was the inheritance of the Yin Yang Joyous Unification Art so it was normal that it could give birth to the Heavenly Spiritual Herb.
He forced out a drop of Yang liquid to feed the Yin Yang Monster Ginseng and unexpectedly, it absorbed the Yang liquid in a flash and put on an even more joyful expression, much like a living child.
Afterwards, an aura encircled the Yin Yang Monster Ginseng and it hopped out of his hand. It pranced all around the cave curiously and after a little while, it found an appropriate place to root and so it did on the spot it stood, still seemingly smiling.
As the aura of light that surrounded the Yin Yang Monster Ginseng became denser, Yang Kai could clearly feel the Yang Qi being absorbed by it. The density of the Yang Qi increased in the cave.
Yang Kai was speechless at such a useful function; something he would have never foreseen.
He became curious, untied the restriction on the Soul Breaking Awl and the Old Demon’s respectful voice transmitted from it immediately, “Old Servant sees the young master.”
“Have a look at this Yin Yang Monster Ginseng, and tell me what’s going on with it,” Yang Kai requested.
The Old Demon eagerly replied, “This thing can absorb both Yin and Yang Qi to live, and in this place there is an abundance of Yang Qi which suits it for growth. However….”
“Do not swallow words you planned to spit in an effort to mystify matters unnecessarily,” Yang Kai warned coldly.
The Old Demon had forgotten how intimidating Yang Kai could be. This was their first time talking in quite some time and he is already shivering from fear. His Immortal Soul was imprisoned in the Soul Breaker Awl, and from his punishments, he was very clear about Yang Kai’s decisiveness and ruthlessness, so he then continued hastily, “It must absorb both Yin and Yang Qi for it to grow steadily. This place has an abundance of Yang Qi, so for a short while it won’t be a problem, but in the long run, it will not only stop growing, but there also is a possibility of it withering. It will be like a flower without petals, or like a lone cloud drifting endlessly in the atmosphere. After all, it needs both Yin and Yang Qi as it is a Yin Yang Monster Ginseng.”
“So it lacks Yin Qi, right?” Yang Kai probed.
“Indeed, it’s as the young master says.”
[Well, that should be easy to solve, someday when Su Yan visits she can give some of her Yin Qi to it.]
Hesitating for a moment, Yang Kai asked awkwardly, “You have said before, if a man and a woman have mutual affinity, and when they like each other, it will change into two independent energies and will integrate within their bodies, right?”
“Yes!” Old Demon said with an amazed expression, “Em? Young master, did you…?”
Well, it was not prohibited, Yang Kai, after all, is a young boy. Since the last time they spoke, the Old Demon discovered that Yang Kai has lost his innate Pure Yang Qi. This was the result of Yang Kai having had intimate contact with a female.
“Who are you to ask such a question?” Yang Kai snapped.
“Young master, forgive me, this old servant was just curious. I will refrain from asking in the future.”
“There had better be no next time!” Yang Kai sternly scoffed.
Wrinkling his brows, Yang Kai thought.
Although the Old Demon’s origin was a mystery, his experience is very profound and he knew a lot about the Yin Yang Monster Ginseng, so he should be speaking the truth.
When they were in the main hall, where he and Su Yan were exchanging sentiments, it was right beside them.
But it did not change into energy and integrate with him and Su Yan. It didn’t become a part of them. So, the only explanation is that his and Su Yan’s sentiments were not to the degree of having mutual affinity with each other.
Although they may become husband and wife, it would be under the influence of the inheritance and was not originally their wish. If there was no Yin Yang Joyous Unification Art, he could only feel that Su Yan would bear a grudge against him for seizing her virginity. Even if she didn’t bear a grudge, she wouldn’t have a favourable impression of him, so how could there be mutual affinity between them?
Su Yan had not opened her heart, and the same went for Yang Kai.
Even if they felt attraction towards each other and would go through thick and thin to remain in their position even in life and death, this all was the effect of the Yin Yang Joyous Unification Art.
Love was not something that could be achieved in one day and night, and it couldn’t be forcefully developed with the aid of a cultivation technique.
Only when they reach the stage where they regard each other as the most important person in their lives without the influence of anything, then can they claim that their sentiments are truly mutual.
The Old Demon decided to console Yang Kai, “Young master doesn’t need to feel discouraged. This old servant knows women well. You have already captured her body, sooner or later, you will also capture her heart. This claim, the old servant can guarantee on his life.”
“But aren’t you already dead?” Yang Kai chuckled.
Old Demon cautiously watched for anger but could detect none. He then continued with a smile, “That is true, young master, but this old servant can guarantee with his Immortal Soul that women forever hold special sentiments to their first man. Young master, you just need to put in a little bit of effort, then she will be dead set on you. Right now, mutual affinity is just around the corner for you, and when that day comes, this Yin Yang Monster Ginseng will display its effect proudly and brightly.”
