Avery unhappily woke up from his meditative trance. His cultivation had been slower than usual, and the Tao had felt more distant than usual. The difference was almost imperceptible, but he did not like the idea of anything getting between him and the Avenue.

  Seeing as the only difference from his normal cultivation was that he was in a village instead of alone in the wilderness, he was pretty sure the cause of this was his recent interactions with mortals and the resulting karmic ties that now bound them together.

  It might not be a big deal right now, but if his cultivation had slowed down by a noticeable amount after one evening of barely interacting with his hosts, then it would quickly become unbearable.

  Perhaps, immortals were never meant to tread the red dust, and his outdated attachment to civilization would only lead him to lose his way, unable to bear the weight of mortal karma.

  He certainly wanted companionship, but not to the extent that he was ready to jeopardize his connection to the Truth in any way.

  His pessimistic musings were cut short when he re-calibrated his Dao vision to capture light instead of focusing on the fundamental laws of the universe, and saw a completely different scene from the one he was expecting.

  Instead of the small wooden room furnished with a sturdy looking table and chairs, he found himself outdoors, the sun shining on his back and the wind rustling his clothes. The only remaining evidence that he had ever been indoors was the floorboards and bed he was sitting on. Other than that, the entire house around him had been demolished, to make room for the dozens of blue robed cultivators sitting cross-legged in a circle, surrounding him.

  He had no idea who his observers were, but they were all intently looking at him, having noticed he had woken up. He could tell they were cultivators by the Qi running through their body, and that they were wearing brightly colored robes enchanted with familiar runes. He also guessed they must belong to the same sect or clan, for they all wore the same token on their waist, though the color of its symbol differed. Sadly, that was all he could make out of this situation with his deductive skills.

  He had no idea what he should do, so he stayed perfectly still, secretly glad that his illusory body would not betray his confusion and unease. The only movement he allowed himself was an interrogative glance at the only person he even recognized, the cultivator who had thrown fireballs at him just yesterday. It was hard to accurately control facial expressions through an illusion, but he hoped he managed to look more curious than pleading, or scared.

  Fortunately, it seemed his silent plea was understood, for the man hastily got up and bowed.

  “Please forgive us, your excellency. We did not mean to disturb you, but no one could resist cultivating alongside you. We are eternally grateful for this great opportunity, and will do our utmost to compensate you.”

  Opportunity? Was watching him cultivate somehow beneficial to them? He was quite sure these people had not been in the village yesterday, so that “opportunity” must be important enough to rush and travel great distances to experience.

  He didn’t actually know what happened when he cultivated, because he was too focused on the Tao to monitor the outside world. It had simply never occurred to him there might be some outward signs of his cultivation, or that it could be beneficial to outsiders.

  Avery almost sunk deep in thoughts again, pondering what this meant and what he could learn from it, but stopped himself when he realized no one else was making a sound.

  Looking around, he saw the crowd looking at him expectantly as if waiting for him to say something. It was like he was their superior, and they were awaiting his orders.

  Avery had many things to say, and many questions to ask. Who were they? Where were they from? What did they gain? Why did the village now look empty, where were the villagers? And that was not counting the more general question he wanted to ask, about the world in general.

  However, each time he opened his mouth to speak, he stopped midway, deciding against voicing whatever questions he was going to ask.

  He was addressing complete strangers, who were most likely not capable of harming him at all, but for some reason he could not bring himself to disappoint them. They appeared to treat him with respect, as if he was their superior, and he could not bear the thought of seeming ignorant and asking those “basic” questions.

  Still, staying silent felt even worse, and nobody seemed to want to rush him or take the initiative to talk. They were all perfectly happy to let the senior cultivator gather his thoughts, as they all knew how disorienting it could feel to wake up from profound meditation. On the contrary, seeing Avery remain calm and composed, taking his time to consider things carefully when faced with a surprising situation impressed them very much.

  As seconds trickled away, the silence grew heavier and heavier, becoming unbearable. In desperation, Avery simply turned to his usual savior, the Tao.

  “The Tao is beautiful. All is Tao, and Tao is All.

  Yet there is tragedy, for Tao and I are separate, and all beings yearn for unity with the One.

  Meritorious is the one who, through no-mindedness, follows the natural order perfectly.

  That is non-existence, to incarnate the Tao so that no distinctions remain, forever in harmony. To realize oneself in the Way, is to be at home with the Tao, and this way is sublime, and without the intermediate existence of duality.

  Yet there exists another path, of perfection through Duality. The Tao and I can be one, or we can be two, unified yet distinct.

  The Tao is One, and One is perfection.

  Yet Yin and Yang are Two, and Two is perfection.

  If Tao is Yang, then I will be Yin.

  If Tao is Yin, then I will be Yang.

  Together forever, perfection in duality, existence arises through harmony.

  That is the path that I must walk, for perfect companionship, and eternal contentment.”

  Avery talked for a long time, pouring his heart out without restraint. He wasn’t really addressing the crowd, he was talking to himself, and to the Tao.

  He preached his Truth for multiple days straight, as once he had started talking, he could not stop. He was vaguely aware of new cultivators arriving to listen to him, but he paid them no head.

  Finally, when he felt all had been said, he closed his mouth, and looked down upon his listeners. He still felt the same awkwardness and irrational fear of asking questions, but that did not deter him anymore.

  Those transient moments of unease were nothing compared to the Tao, and as one who aimed for the Supreme Avenue, he would not let those small displeasure hinder his path.

  It was with a calm smile that he addressed the nearest cultivator.

  “Who are you?”