Cultivation is Creation Chapter 147 142: Who... what are you?

Having another consciousness wake up in your head is an interesting experience.

Not quite like having a conversation with Azure, who exists as a distinct presence in my inner world, or like communicating with Yggy, whose thoughts co across more as impressions and emotions than actual words.

No, this was more like... well, imagine if your reflection suddenly started talking back to you.

"Hello…? I know you can hear . Who... what are you?"

The young master's ntal voice was hesitant, almost timid – quite different from the fierce determination I'd sensed when he was fighting for his life. Then again, I supposed having your body hijacked by a mysterious entity might make anyone a bit cautious.

I considered my response carefully, first impressions mattered, and whilst they say honesty was the best policy, that didn't apply in a cultivation world.

"I'm the reason you're not currently bleeding out in an alley," I directed my thoughts toward him. "My na is Ling Zhuo."

The na translated to Wandering Spirit, it gave him sothing to call without revealing anything about my true identity. If this really was soone's inner world, I didn't want to leave any traces that might lead back to who I really was. You never know when that kind of information might co back to haunt you.

"So, Ling Zhuo," he started, and I could feel him testing the na, trying to get a read on . "I'm Han Renyi, I thought... I thought you were a ssenger of the Celestial Sovereign. Or maybe a demon." Another pause. "I'm still not entirely sure you're not."

I couldn't help but chuckle at that. "If it helps, I'm definitely not a demon."

"Then you're a dead Rouqin, aren't you?" Renyi's ntal voice held a mix of awe and apprehension. "One of the ancient cultivators from before the decline? That would explain your strange techniques..."

Well, that was an interesting assumption. Not entirely wrong, if you squinted at it sideways – I was technically dead, just not in the way he was thinking. "What makes you say that?"

"The way you fought those rcenaries," he replied. "I was... aware, sort of. Like watching through a fog. You used techniques I've never seen before. And that healing ability! No one's been able to do anything like that since..." he trailed off.

"Since the Celestial Sovereign disappeared?"

"Yes." The word carried centuries of cultural weight. "The stories say that he could nd wounds, cure diseases, even regrow lost limbs. But now without him?" He would have shaken his head if he had control of it. "We're lucky if our rouqi can speed up natural healing a little."

I filed that information away for later. Every bit of context helped build a clearer picture of this dying world. "Tell about the Celestial Sovereign," I suggested. "The stories about him must be fascinating."

But instead of answering, I felt him try to move, to take control of his body. The attempt was clumsy but determined, like soone trying to open a door with a key that no longer fits the lock. After a mont, he gave up.

"I can't..." his voice was strained. "This is my body. Why can't I...?"

"Because right now, I'm the one keeping it alive," I explained gently. "My energy is what sealed those wounds and kept you from bleeding out. If I withdrew completely, well..."

While it wasn't totally true that my presence continued to keep him alive, it was better than him trying to regain control.

My answer made him go quiet for a while. I could feel him thinking, weighing options and possibilities.

"If you wanted to harm ," he said finally, "you could have just let die. Or taken over my body completely without..." he paused, searching for the right words. "Without leaving aware like this."

"Exactly." I nodded, though the gesture was more ntal than physical. "We made a deal, rember? Right before you passed out, you agreed to accept my help. I intend to honor that agreent."

"The deal..." He seed to be trying to rember. "You said sothing about power and revenge?"

"And helping your family," I added.

"But why?" I'm sure if he had eyes, they would be narrowed right now. "What do you get out of this?"

It was a fair question. I considered my answer carefully while absently checking the area around us through my connection to the local plants. We were still alone in the overgrown garden, though I could sense people moving along the streets beyond.

The first reason, which I kept to myself, was simple practicality – his body had accepted my soul when I needed a vessel, and I owed him for that. The second reason was equally practical but more forward-looking: even a dying world with weaker energy still had opportunities if you knew where to look. I just needed to find them.

"Before we get into that," I said, "want to tell exactly what kind of ss we're in? Those weren't ordinary rcenaries trying to kill you?" A subtle shift, turning his question back on him while also gathering necessary information.

I felt him weighing his options, probably trying to decide how much to trust . Finally, necessity won out over caution.

"Those rcenaries, they worked for Elder Zhou Shentong of the Three-Leaf Clover Sect," he explained. "He's been... pressuring my family."

"Tell everything," I encouraged. "The more I know, the better I can help."

And so, he did.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

The story ca out in pieces, each revelation painting a clearer picture of a family's slow decline and a predator's patient stalking.

The Han family had once been prominent rchants, dealing in silk and jade, with trade routes stretching across the realm. But over the generations, as the world's rouqi continued to thin, maintaining those trade routes beca more difficult. Fewer cultivators ant fewer guards capable of protecting caravans from bandits and wild beasts. The cost of hiring what qualified protectors remained kept rising.

"Father says that in our grandfather's ti, you could find Tier 2 Rouqin working as common caravan guards," Han Renyi explained. "Now? We're lucky if we can find soone who's reached late Tier 1, and they charge ten tis what a Tier 2 would have back then."

"And this is all because of the lack of rouqi available…"

"Yes, breaking through to Tier 2 used to be sothing any dedicated person could achieve by their twentieth year. Now?" He ntally gestured to himself. "Father spent almost everything we had just to get the resources I needed for my breakthrough to Tier 1. And I'm considered talented."

"And this Elder Zhou? Where does he fit into all this?"

The surge of hatred I felt from Han Renyi at the ntion of that na was impressive. "He's been systematically taking over smaller rchant families for years. Those who cooperate get to keep so position in his organization. Those who resist..." he trailed off.

"Have unfortunate accidents?" I guessed.

"Or suddenly find themselves unable to hire guards for their caravans. Or discover that no one will buy their goods. Or have their warehouses mysteriously burn down." The bitterness in his ntal voice was palpable. "He's not subtle about it, but he's powerful enough that he doesn't need to be. His sect controls most of the trade routes now.

"There's sothing else you should know," Han Renyi added hesitantly. "About Zhou's interest in my family. It's not just about business. He... he wants my sister. To add her to his collection of wives. Qingyi is barely eighteen! And that old bastard... the things they say about how he treats his other wives..."

I caught fragnts of rumors through our connection –stories of broken won kept locked away in Zhou's private quarters, of servants who disappeared after witnessing too much. Nothing concrete enough to prove, but more than enough to justify Han Renyi's protective fury.

It wouldn't surprise if Zhou was this world's equivalent of a demonic cultivator.

"And now your father's been summoned to et with him," I mused, putting the pieces together. "Those rcenaries were supposed to deliver your corpse as a ssage – showing him exactly what refusing Zhou's 'generous offer' would an for his family."

"Yes." The word was heavy with dread. "Father went to et with him this morning. I tried to go instead, but..."

"But he ordered you to stay and protect your sister," I nodded. "A good father, trying to shield his children even when it ans facing the tiger alone. How long ago did he leave?"

"Just before dawn," Han Renyi replied, worry seeping through our connection. "The eting was supposed to be at Zhou's private residence."

I did so quick calculations. Dawn had been about two hours ago, and my encounter with the rcenaries had happened shortly after. "Those n were sent to kill you while your father was eting with Zhou," I noted. "That suggests they weren't expecting the eting to go well."

"Or they were just making sure Father would be properly motivated to accept whatever terms Zhou offered," Han Renyi suggested darkly. "Nothing encourages cooperation like knowing your son's life is in imdiate danger."

"Except now those rcenaries are dead, and no one's delivered your corpse as planned." I couldn't help but smile slightly. "I imagine that's going to complicate their negotiations sowhat."

The young master's consciousness stirred with renewed hope. "Then we still have ti? We could save him?"

"Possibly." I started sorting through various scenarios in my mind. "But first, I need to understand what we're up against. Tell about Zhou, what tier is he?"

"Mid-Tier 2. One of the strongest in the city, though that doesn't an much these days."

"What about his residence?" I asked. "Security asures, layout, anything unusual we should know about?"

"It's in the eastern part of the city. Three main buildings surrounded by gardens, all protected by formation arrays." Han Renyi's voice took on a frustrated tone. "I tried to get more detailed information a few days ago, but their security was too tight. The best I managed was bribing a servant for a rough description of the main hall's layout."

"That's actually quite impressive," I assured him. "Most people wouldn't have managed even that much. Now, about these formation arrays – what exactly do they do?"

"They're standard protection formations," he replied. "Alert the guards if anyone unauthorized tries to enter, strengthen the buildings against damage, that sort of thing."

"And they're powered by rouqi, correct?"

"Of course. What else would they use?"

I filed that confirmation away for later consideration. If the formations here were a derivative of the cultivation world, then with my Level 2 Formation skills, I might not be as disadvantaged as it appeared.

"Guards?" I asked.

"Usually around a half a dozen Tier 1 Rouqin."

"Now, tell what you know of the techniques he uses."

"His main technique is called the Verdant Binding Art," Han Renyi explained. "He can control multiple vines simultaneously, using them to restrict and crush his opponents. They say he once squeezed a rival sect elder to death in front of his own disciples, just to make a point about respecting territorial boundaries."

I thought about Yggy and my own skills and had to suppress a smile. A fellow wood cultivator, sounds like an interesting matchup.

"Master," Azure interjected, "a mid-Tier 2 cultivator in this world would likely be equivalent to the eighth stage of Qi Condensation in terms of raw power. Are you certain about confronting him?"

I noted that Han Renyi showed no reaction to Azure's voice. It seed he couldn't hear my inner world spirit's comntary. That was convenient.

"If this were Azure Peak Sect," I thought back to Azure, "I wouldn't be confident against soone two sub-stages above . But here?" I considered what we'd seen of this world. "Even if his raw power is equivalent to stage eight, his actual combat capability is probably closer to stage seven. Plus, with the Primordial Wood Arts, I have a natural advantage against other wood cultivators."

"Still," Azure cautioned, "we should not underestimate him. Especially since we're still adapting to this body's energy system."

He had a point. I'd managed to defeat those Tier 1 assassins, but that had been more due to surprise and Yggy's intervention than any real mastery over this vessel's capabilities. Going up against a Tier 2 cultivator would require perfect control over both my techniques and this body's rouqi.

"What's the plan?" Han Renyi's voice broke through my internal dialogue. "How are we going to save my father?"

After rescuing his father, he would be more open to answering questions I had regarding this new world.

"First," I replied, "I need to recover my power before we can make any moves against Zhou."

"We need to go now!"

I could feel his anxiety spike as his consciousness brushed against mine.

"As we are now, rushing in would be walking to certain death," I explained patiently. "Tell – are you sure Zhou would actually kill your father? From what little I know of him, he seems too calculating for such a crude move."

There was a mont of silence as Han Renyi processed this. "You... might have a point. Zhou is power-hungry, but he's not stupid. Blatantly killing Father would create attention and scrutiny that he doesn't need right now. His whole thod is to appear legitimate while slowly strangling us."

"Exactly. Which ans we have ti to do this right." I could feel his grudging acceptance of the logic. "So, is there sowhere safe I can recover my full strength?" I asked. "Sowhere Zhou's people won't think to look?"

"There's an old storage facility in the industrial district. It used to belong to my family before... well, before. It's officially abandoned now, but I know a way in. The foundations are still solid, and there's enough residual rouqi in the walls to mask our presence."

"Perfect." I stood, brushing dirt from our robes. "Show the way."