Liang turned his head and saw the old man rushing a woman out of the door before he walked to the desk. She looked to be in her early twenties and his robes were loose and disheveled which was very unlike him. The old man liked to keep himself neat at all times, but the sheets on the floor made it clear what had happened.
She was cute with short brown hair that bobbed to her shoulders and fair skin that was bright red now. Leaving the room, she looked as though she did not want to leave and appeared to have a sense of longing. However, after the old man said a few words she finally exited.
Liang did not judge the old man for some of the things he did. Even though he was old, he was still a man who probably had needs. However, what made him upset was the fact that he did it right in the same room while he was passed out. He was glad that he did not wake up during the act.
Not even looking in Liang’s direction, the old man took out a leather bound book from his ring that looked as ancient as he did. He placed it on the rickety desk and began writing in it using some type of tool Liang had never seen before.
He had many things Liang had never seen before. Although Liang knew he was inexperienced, most of the things the old man possessed looked like extremely valuable treasures that could be sold for thousands of gold coins. He could not understand why he acted as if they were living a life of poverty.
The old man seemed to be keeping some sort of journal and he wrote in it every day. Liang asked him once about its contents, but he replied by saying, “The fact that you do not take note of the world shows just how stupid you are. How will you ever advance when you cannot go back to review what worked and what failed?”
It made sense to an extent but Liang wondered how hard it would be to remember when something went wrong. When he asked him, the old man just shook his head and called him an idiot before he continued writing. Though the old man was pretty care free about most things, he wrote in his journal meticulously.
Right now, he was certain the old man was writing a name in the journal. It was still early in the day and normally the old man only wrote in the journal at night, so Liang thought there could only be one thing he was writing. Over the course of the old man’s life, Liang wondered how many names filled that book.
The piece of leather that was in his mouth had been removed, most likely after he passed out, but the disgusting taste still lingered in his mouth and it felt like he had bit his tongue. Clearing his throat to ask for water the old man turned towards him and said, “Ah you’re awake, that’s a good sign. Your body should be sore and I don’t believe you will be able to move your legs for a few days, but I think you’ll be alright. Probably.”
He walked over taking out a wineskin he said was full of water mixed with some local ale and poured it down his throat. Liang started choking and the old man smiled as if he was happy about what happened. He noticed his new master enjoyed torturing him with little things, and after he got better, he vowed to take part in this game.
Swallowing his saliva that was slowly leaking out of his mouth Liang asked, “What happened?” The old man never really explained what he was doing. He just knew that he was crippled but the old man still took him as his disciple, so Liang did not believe he would trick him.
“Well you’re alive so it was a big success! I wrapped the core around your spine and it fused with you perfectly. It will take a while, but soon you should start to see your body strengthen.”
The old man’s eyes were so bright they almost looked like lights, however, he still had not explained in a way Liang could understand so he asked, “Why are you fusing beast cores to my bones? How is this going to help me cultivate?” However, the old man frowned and looked at him as though he was disappointed.
After the time it took to brew a cup of tea the old man decided to explain, “You will no longer be cultivating like the fools of this world. Cultivation takes in the world’s qi either through breathing techniques or stored energy extracted in the form of pills. The meridians absorb this qi and pass it throughout your body before sending the excess to the dantian. This however, is a very inefficient method, and for someone like you who has shallow meridians it is almost impossible to advance.”
“Beasts, primarily divine beasts are able to absorb the qi passively through their skin and the air they breathe. At all times their body is strengthening. The filthy qi is sent to the core first, refined, then sent throughout the entirety of their body using the blood vessels. The impurities are actually broken down within the core and excreted with normal bodily functions, never entering the body. Humans are unable to refine the qi they take in naturally and the dantian is like an overflow bucket.”
“Immortal roots are actually nothing more than a bridge binding the meridians to the dantian. Most of the qi should be going to strengthen your body but the meridians do not extend as far as your blood vessels. I am using beast cores to strengthen your body in the same way a beast does. Your meridians have been destroyed, they can be repaired but there’s no point because they are useless for what we are going to do.”
The old man took out a wine jar and poured a full cup, swallowing it down in one gulp, leaving Liang to think about what he was saying before continuing.
“To strengthen your body I have fused a core to your spine using many intricate arrays, but one core is not enough, every beast has limitations. To remove those limitations you will need to go through this many times. We will be creating a web of cores in your crippled body and turn this sack of flesh you walk in into a genuine treasure”
Finally, the old man stood up and began to laugh maniacally as if he was holding it in the whole time, “You are my last experiment. From now on, you no longer walk the path of cultivation. You will walk the path of divinity.”
Over the last few days, Liang had become used to this behavior. Most of the time the old man was calm and collected, even regal, but he had strange moments. It was as if he was a villain looking to take over the world one brothel at a time. He just attributed it to the old man’s advanced age.
Abruptly he lowered his arms and looked back to Liang once again before saying, “Ah I forgot, there’s an auction today and you’re coming.”
