Dao of the World Walker (Xianxia) Book 2

“Hmm.” His master popped another berry into his mouth, “That would explain the entity trying to merge with your soul.”

Yang’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head as he barely managed to stutter out a “What?” and the berries in his hand dropped and scattered, rolling off the dais and dropping to the floor below.

“Why act so shocked? Between your chosen cultivation technique and your little stunt at the talisman event, it is obvious you are aware of its existence,” His master said as if simply commenting on the weather.

Yang gaped for what felt like an eternity before he got enough hold of himself and replied to his master rather indignantly at his less-than-impressed expression at Yang’s own response. “Master. First, I didn’t expect your power to be so profound so as to see something like this. And second…it’s a person?”

His master let out a derisive snort. “Profound? Powerful? Even that brat Xiao Zhan noticed it.”

And there it was. After weeks of wondering. Yang finally understood why Senior Sect Brother Xiao Zhan had always stared so intently at him.

“Though to his discredit,” his master continued, “he thought it was something taking over your soul. He believed you were already or in the process of being possessed.”

His master added this plainly, as though discussing some mild curiosity rather than the explanation of one of Yang’s deepest and longest-running anxieties.

Yang, who had carried so many questions for so long and was now finally getting some long-awaited answers, found himself wishing his dear master might consider pacing himself.

Instead, the answers were arriving in a steady, unceremonious barrage, and Yang felt like his might actually stop if this continued.

Because. What the hell?

His greatest secret had been visible to anyone with the right kind of sight this whole time, and no one had bothered to say anything.

“No one mentioned anything,” Yang whispered.

His master finally looked something close to sympathetic. “Well, not everyone could see it.” Yang let out a relieved breath. “Only those who practice soul techniques,” his master continued, and Yang’s relief evaporated, “or fate-based techniques, or karma, or a few other esoteric techniques would know.” He gave Yang what was apparently meant to be a comforting smile.

“Is there someone who couldn’t see it?” Yang asked, somewhat defeated.

“Do not be so dramatic, Disciple. Only a few hundred people practice such techniques across the whole sect; most of them are elders and grand elders. The odds of you crossing paths with any of them during your brief time as an outer sect disciple are very low.” His master paused, “It was only by chance that you even came across Xiao Zhan. As you advance, it will become much harder for others to perceive. And now that I am your master, I will ensure no one pries into your secrets.”

“Disciple Chen Yang thanks Master.” Yang bowed and began to rise, intending to prostrate himself properly, but his master waved a hand dismissing the gesture before it could go further.

“No need. Take care of yourself and cultivate well. That is all I require.”

Master continued. “As for your second question. The being is not a person. I use the word ‘being’ in the sense that it is sapient. It understands limits. It knows what it should and shouldn’t do.”

“Master, do you know what it actually is? The bead?” Yang asked.

“Is that what you call it?”

“It looked like one when I first saw it in the void, so that's the words I've been using since I realized it was in my sea of consciousness.”

“Hmm. Not bad.” His master considered this. “As for what it actually is, I can't say. It's beyond even my own understanding. What I can tell you is that it is extremely strong and has even stronger self-control.” His master looked at him closely. “Whatever it is, it has been damaged. Nearly destroyed. I can’t give you a definitive answer, but I can speculate about what happened between you.”

He continued. “When it found you, you were about to be destroyed entirely, and I believe it was either about to suffer the same fate or was already so severely damaged that it could not heal on its own. It latched on to your soul and saved you. And in doing so, it began trying to merge with you, but it is a benevolent being, and your soul, mortal and already damaged as it was, was too weak to survive the merging without losing itself entirely. So it has been waiting, biding its time, waiting for you to become strong enough that the two of you could become one without you being lost in the process.

“What would happen to me if we merged?”

His master sat up straighter and looked at Yang directly with more focus than he had shown for the entire conversation up to this point.

“You will become more than you are now, but I cannot tell you exactly how it will change you.”

Master tilted his head slightly. “Do you want my help removing it?”

Yang thought about it for a moment.

“No.”

“No?” His master looked amused and asked with a teasing edge, “Most people would be horrified, knowing that some strange being had been trying to integrate with their soul and would do anything to remove it from themselves.”

“I would have died a thousand times over if it weren't for the bead. It has protected and guided me this far. If it needs me the way I have needed it time and time again, then I'm glad I can help it, the same way it has helped me.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt a warm hum resonate through him. It didn't take long to place where it was coming from.

“I have no issue with your decision.” Master said, “I do not believe you to be in danger. So I find no need for me to interfere.”

Yang sensed that if Master had found the bead to be a danger. Yang would not have been offered a choice to have it removed.

His master must have read something in his expression. Because he added, “I have a feeling that there is a great deal this bead could do for you that you haven't yet discovered. It needs qi, and judging by what happened at the True Talisman Peak, this bead has been sharing with you as much as your soul and body can bear.”

Yang nodded at this; he was not particularly surprised by it. A year since joining the sect, and he had already reached the fourth stage of qi condensation. By any reasonable measure, that was a miracle, and he knew exactly where most of the credit belonged.

“Master, how long do you think it will take for the merge to happen?”

“I can't say. I haven't encountered anything quite like this before. In most cases, what actually happens is possession. The strong soul or spirit takes over the weaker soul entirely.” His master looked at him pointedly, “You are the weaker one in this arrangement.”

As if Yang hadn't already figured that out.

“But since this bead appears to prefer something more symbiotic, I cannot give you a timeline with any confidence. What I can say is that it will likely not happen before you form your Nascent Soul. This is when your soul truly begins to strengthen in earnest. And with you cultivating a soul technique—” He paused, raising an eyebrow, “Which soul technique are you cultivating?”

“The Heaven Refining Soul Sutra,” Yang said.

“Hmm. Xiao Zhan’s technique. Interesting.” His master looked at him with renewed attention. “Did you decide on that particular technique yourself?”

Yang was startled by the casual confirmation that Senior Sect Brother Xiao Zhan also practiced the Heaven Refining Soul Sutra.

He admitted honestly, “The bead guided me to it.”

“It interferes that directly?” His master looked genuinely surprised for the first time since Yang had sat down. “That's good, actually, further proof of its intention towards you. The Heaven Refining Soul Sutra would strengthen your soul considerably more than any ordinary technique.”

“Master, Senior Sect Brother also practices the Heaven Refining Soul Sutra?”

His master seemed distracted now, his mind clearly elsewhere, and answered somewhat absently. “Yes, that brat chose that technique as well.”

Then he turned back to Yang with focus. “Have there been other instances where this bead influenced your decisions?”

“Many times,” Yang admitted. “My grandfather was killed when I was a child, and I spent years alone in the forest afterward. It was the bead that guided me away from poisons and dangers and towards safety and opportunities.”

“List for me what you believe were the beads' effect on you. Everything you can think of.”

Yang began.

“It guided me towards eating beast cores. The process was excruciatingly painful, but it made me physically far stronger than any ordinary mortal. I kept hunting and consuming beast cores until I felt they had stopped affecting me.”

His master looked thoughtful, “That's explainable. The bead would have absorbed most of the energy and shared little with you initially, enough to keep you alive while you gradually grew stronger. You weren't a cultivator at the time, so the energy went to strengthening your body rather than your dantian. The beast core from a stronger beast would likely have a similar effect again, or maybe even an increase in your cultivation.”

“What else?” Master asked, looking more engaged than he had at any point so far.

“It guided me towards cultivation. I did not know cultivation even existed. Where I lived, there were only martial artists. The bead led me to a painting stall in the city, and I found myself unable to look away from one particular painting. The merchant turned out to be a cultivator; he brought my brother and me here to this continent.”

“What cultivator and how did you convince him to bring you and your brother here?”

Yang explains the whole sequence: the painting, Senior Cheng Mo, and the journey to the continent. His master listened without interruption, then asked him, "Where is this painting now?”

“I was going to show it to you. Senior Brother Zhen Hao saw it and was drawn to it the same way I was. He had me wrap it tightly before he placed it in his storage ring.”

“The next major decision it influenced was bringing me to the White Cloud Sect,” Yang said.

“It led you here? Specifically?” Master asked.

Yang nodded.

“The bead is considerably more mysterious than I initially gave it credit for. Its perceptiveness goes beyond simple survival instincts.”

“Is that everything?” his master asked after a pause.

Yang hesitated; his hesitation must have shown plainly. Because his master's expression softened. “I am your master,” he said gently, “Someone you can trust, someone who will protect you, but we remain separate individuals, and there is nothing wrong with keeping things to yourself, if that is what you need."

Yang thought somewhat resentfully that being told he was allowed to keep secrets, while also being told this way, made it considerably harder to actually keep any.

“Master.” Yang took a deep breath. “The first time I opened my inner eye and entered my sea of consciousness, a golden thread pulled my soul…"

His master waited patiently for him to finish.

“It dragged my soul into another world.”

His master went very still.

“It did what?”

“It pulled my soul into the dead body of a boy in another world.”

His master’s expression went completely flat.

In the next instance, he was suddenly impossibly closer, having moved without Yang registering any motion at all, and his hands were on either side of Yang's face, holding it steady, his eyes locked on to Yang’s.

Yang flinched on reflex and tried to pull back.

“Look into my eyes,” his master said.

Yang looked.

And felt himself falling.