Ch 24: Cutting off the rot

This time was weird. Instead of gaining my past life memories slowly, they returned all at once. I’d almost died from bullying, and when I woke, I remembered everything.

I was the eldest daughter of a noble house. However, my mother died giving birth to me, and my father’s second wife hated me. He even had a third wife who sought to gain favor with the second by aiding in bullying me. I think the only reason I’m still alive is because my spark of divinity is still with me. It seems I really did change my soul when I created that, and it makes it very hard to kill me unless a person is deliberately trying to (that demonic cultivator used me as a sacrifice to power a ritual of ascension, if not for that I probably could’ve lived).

Thanks to my divine sense (despite how weak it now was), I could immediately tell I still had the same veins as last time: earth, water, and wood. If I were to follow the plot of the stories I’d read that all started like this, I’d immediately start getting revenge by beating up my bullies and making them look bad. Personally, I think that’s a waste of effort. This family is rotten, and not worth my time. So, I decided to leave.

There was just one thing I needed to take care of first.

“Anne, I’m planning to leave this place. Do you want to come with me?”

“Young miss? Of course I’ll go with you. I have no love for this place, but how will we live? If I thought it’d be easy to survive on our own, I’d have run away with you long ago.”

“I’ve recovered memories from a past life. We can gain the strength to survive by cultivating.”

Anne had been my personal maidservant, and had taken good care of me (raising me for as long as I can remember). Or at least the best she could given the circumstances. She knew (to her dismay) that if anything happened to me, she’d likely share the same fate. No one in the household cared about her any more than than they did me. Leaving her behind would be too cruel. At best she’d be kicked out, at worst she’d be killed.

When I checked Anne’s ki veins, I was surprised. She had a mix of water, wood, and air. Water and air would be clouds and storms, but wood? Are there flying plants in this world? Plants that live inside clouds?

Ch 25: Saving a prince

Finding an oddly well dressed man, badly injured and bleeding in the woods we were escaping through, made me suspicious. Seemed a little too cliche. Still, I wasn’t about to abandon someone obviously in need of help, just because of that.

---

Prince Yu’s view

I woke to the feeling of delicate hands applying a paste to my wounds and wrapping them in something.

“Hold still, I’m not done treating your wounds yet.”

While I did not know where I was, I didn’t sense any danger, so I let her continue. 

“Alright, I’m done. Don’t take those off for a few days, and your wounds should be healed.”

She then left? I was inside a giant hollow inside an even larger tree. There was a bench on the side looking like it’d just grown out of the tree itself, with some fruits on it, and a book. I don’t like being in debt to strangers, so I waited a day hoping she’d return, while my wounds healed, but she didn’t. At least her wound treatment seemed to work really well, and I felt much better after that day’s rest, though I’m a bit surprised I haven’t been found. This tree is well hidden.

While waiting, I started reading the book, and was quite surprised. It was a book on cultivation with no title, and the cover appeared to be made of wood. I had a cultivation teacher, but much of what was in this book seemed to contradict what I’d been taught. My teacher had always emphasized that cultivation was a path to power, a way to fight fate and define one’s own future with brute force. None could defy the greatest cultivators.

This book seemed to teach something entirely different. It was cultivation focused on mastering and improving oneself. It taught self-control, self-knowledge, and self-acceptance as a path to freedom. The pursuit of power was never mentioned. In addition, the book contained techniques and formations I’d never heard of before, yet there was not a single combat technique in it. Everything was for either improving one’s own self, or improving one’s environment. I’d never imagined I’d find something of such value out here.

As I left, I studied the area and realized: this was a natural formation. The trees, bushes and other plants had somehow grown in a way that kept the central large tree hidden. Unless a person knew where to look, they’d never find the tree. My interest in finding the lady who saved me grew, and I don’t use the phrase “saved me” lightly. I know how serious my wounds were when I passed out. I needed to know to whom I owed my life, and to whom I should direct my thanks for this book.

---

Anne’s view

“Why are we leaving so soon? Shouldn’t we make sure he’s able to walk before leaving?”

“He’ll be fine in a day or so, and I left enough food to feed him that long. I don’t want to get dragged into his mess.”

“You think there are people searching for him?”

“Yup. I’ve been avoiding them. Thankfully, the trees are friendly out here. It’s not been hard to get helpful directions from them.”

It’s been weird following the young miss. She tells me to call her Alice now. It’s true that using her old name might be bad, but it still feels a little weird, and the way she talks to plants is also weird. However, she has been able to find food to eat and medicinal herbs with surprising ease. It feels like she’s more at home in this forest than she ever was in the home she was born into.

Ch 26: Searching for Alice

Prince Yu’s view

Over the past seven years, the only real clue I’ve found regarding the woman who saved me is related to the book she left. While there are no other books that look the same, there are other books with the same content. They appear to be getting spread by wandering cultivators. However, it’s clear the book I have is not made in the same way. The printing methods of the wandering cultivators have already been adopted by the kingdom for distributing notices. All I’ve really learned is that the books were originally written by a woman named Alice, whom is believed to have died over 40 years ago.

However, I did get one big clue when the book got stolen. The thief had replaced it with one of the normal books. The only ones who’d do that are the wandering cultivators (no one else would’ve bothered to replace it). The ones claiming they have no sect, only knowledge. There can be only one reason for them to steal it: They must believe Alice made it.

---

Tessa’s view

When Alice died, I really suffered a shock. I couldn’t even sense her for two decades. It was a major relief when I did sense her again. Was god just not paying attention? Or was there some reason for the delay? I immediately headed off to find her again, and once again, I was slowed by difficulties. It’s frustrating to always lose my sense of direction if I go too fast when trying to track her. Thankfully, one thing I’ve gained over the past century is patience. While I still look like I’m in my twenties, I was over 120 years old when Alice died last. I don’t need to worry about dying of old age anytime soon, since I’ve completed core formation.

Since I was forced to take it slow, I spent some time getting to know the area, and learn of events. Feels a little weird how many people seem to recognize me. I guess the people of Alice’s sect spread word of my appearance and relationship with her, in addition to spreading their tales of Alice. Well, it’s not really all that different. As someone who’s completed core formation, it’s pretty normal for anyone of a lower cultivation rank to display respect, and people stronger than core formation are rarely seen.

If the pattern I’ve noticed in cultivation ranks holds up, the amount of time required for me to complete soul refinement will be comparable to the total amount of time I’ve cultivated so far. I’m pretty sure this is why cultivators who have completed core formation, as well as cultivators above that point, are so rarely seen: they spend all their time cultivating.

---

Prince Yu’s view

“Who are you? Why are you in my room?”

“I want to know where you got this book.”

“Could you be Tessa?”

“You know of me? Geeze, I didn’t think my fame would spread far enough for a prince to know of me.”

“I only know of you because I was trying to find out who gave me that book.”

I decided to take a gamble, and explained to Tessa, that I was saved by an unknown woman who left that book. From what I know, she should be the person closest to Alice. Thus, if that book has a connection to Alice, then my best chance of finding her is through Tessa.

After guiding her to the tree (I’d made a point to remember where it was) her first words made it clear.

“This definitely looks like Alice’s work.”

“Can you take me to her?”

“Why? If she had any interest in you, she wouldn’t have just wandered off.”

Right, she’s the head of a headless sect. A sect that has no home, and consists entirely of wandering cultivators. I cannot treat this like a normal meeting with a sect leader.

“I wish to learn more. I have already learned much from her book, and wish to continue learning.”

“At least you know what to ask for. Very well, I’ll let her know of your request. If she accepts, I’ll come see you again.”

Ch 27: A new house

I found a nice spot in the woods and made myself a home. It’s far enough from any city or sect to not need to worry about someone complaining that the land is theirs. Might need to worry about mystic beasts claiming the area, but the beasts seem to leave me alone… mostly. It’d be more accurate to say they treat me like a tree. Not really an issue most of the time, but occasionally I have to dodge when one of them tries to mark me as part of their territory. They’ve already marked the tree I made into my home. It’s like they’re having a literal pissing contest with how much they’ve marked it. I don’t leave my home very often. All the beasts are annoying.

I did have the evil thought of trying to mark the beasts myself, to see how they’d react, but that seems too rude. I don’t really know how smart these beasts are, and I do know that beasts which advance enough in their own cultivation can become quite intelligent.

While it’s nice to be able to relax and cultivate in peace, it’s a bit lonely without Tessa, and it gets boring too. Anne might be here, but she’s not Tessa. I really miss the internet, I miss novels and fantasy and video games. I can’t build the internet. I never studied how communication talismans work, but maybe I can build something else. Knowing what I know about cultivators now, the regular communication methods are probably too complex. Computing and phones were not built from complex systems, but very simple ones. At the very least, I should be able to develop a communication network if I try.

Tessa’s view.

I think I found Alice’s tree. There’s a lot of powerful mystic beasts in the area, and they don’t seem like they want to let me approach. Probably trying to guard the tree that’s filling the area with ki. As I contemplated how to get to Alice…

“TESSAAAA!!”

A lovely young woman crashed into me from the air, knocking us both to the ground.

“Hey, Alice. How did you get here from the tree? I’m not that close yet.”

“I jumped.”

“...” No wonder the impact was so hard.

---

“Hmmm…”

“What’s up?”

“I think I’ve got a better understanding of how to read you now.”

“What, like what I’m thinking?”

“No, like what your true essence is. Your divinity, or ideal. I think you are a star.”

“Those stars in the sky? The tiny lights?”

“Stars only look small because they are so far away. They are all like the sun. Big and powerful. Like all the elements on a planet lit aflame. A star is like magma taken even further. When all things on a planet melt together. Well, I’m sure the physicists of my original world would complain that I’m butchering the truth here. I mean, the sun is a giant ball of gas or plasma or something, not liquid. I don’t even know what that would look like as a type of ki, or what combination of the normal ki elements it’s made of.”

“You think I’m like the sun.”

“My sun at least. I’m a tree. I grow best in the fertile soils of a swamp, with a bright sun shining down.”

Ch 28: Alice’s influence

Elder Darya’s view

“How is this possible? Did our techniques get stolen?”

“There’s no evidence of that. If I had to guess, I think it’s her. Even the name is the same: Alice.”

“She died. There were witnesses.”

“Perhaps she had a secret method for preserving her life, or a way to retain her memories in her next.”

Unbelievable, these books given away by wandering cultivators contain techniques developed by Alice when she was here. In addition to many new techniques and a whole new approach to cultivation. Instead of teaching a single cultivation method or even a series of them, she teaches ways for one to find and build their own cultivation method. Is it really true that anyone can cultivate? 

If she really is alive, I want to find her. Perhaps she can help me figure out what’s holding me back in my own cultivation. I don’t want to be stuck in the unity stage forever.

---

Alice’s view

“I’m actually not too confident in my assessment of your essence. Fire and earth veins don’t really seem to fit well with that. Fire does, fire fits very well, but I don’t really see earth as fitting well. Earth is still and solid, while stars are certainly not.”

“But when earth is heated enough it changes.”

“A phase change. That’s perfect! Stable, yet capable of explosive force! Plasma is just the final phase!”

“How does earth fit then?”

“It’s the starting point! Solid to liquid, liquid to gas, gas to plasma! Though it’s possible to skip steps, that’s the order, generally. Though it can get really weird when something has the right mix of temperature, and pressure to be solid, liquid, and gas at the same time.”

“And a star is heated to the point of becoming plasma. I think I see now. I’ll need to think on this and maybe meditate some, and definitely experiment to see if this is the right path. It does fit though. I definitely feel that I’m more like fire than earth, but didn’t really know why. Perhaps, I’m not the fire itself, but the result of something being heated up. Yes… fire burns and destroys, but a hot rock or molten metal doesn’t inherently do that. It’s just very hot, and damage is a consequence of that. While fire is inherently destructive because it doesn’t exist without consuming something. Stars still consume, right?”

“Yeah, they slowly consume themselves, and eventually burn out.”

“Then I’m not a star, I’m not burning. I’m just very, very hot. Like, energy itself.”

A star that doesn’t burn out. What would that be? An eternal sun?

Tessa’s view

While I’m not strong enough to do anything about the Demonic Blood Sect, Elder Darya of the Divine Sea sect should be. Since I’ve gotten word of her arrival in the area, I think it’s time to talk.

“I see, so Alice has been through several lives now, and the last one was ended by such a horrid sect.”

“Yeah, I want to destroy them, but I’m not strong enough to even dare search for them yet.”

“If their leader is as strong as you say, and to defeat Alice they likely had to be, then you are correct to not go after them yourself yet. I’ll inform other sect leaders that there’s a Demonic sect on the rise, and start sending scouts. If we find them, we’ll crush them. None of the major sects have forgotten the atrocities of Gevan the mad. The land still bears scars from his deeds.”

Ch 29: Ever after?

I ended up writing some revised versions of my previous books, making use of new insights I’ve gained into the truth of cultivation. For instance, I’m pretty sure the spark of divinity stage is actually a soul reformation. Likewise, core formation is a ki reformation. 

Since Tessa was already known to the people who still followed my teachings, I had her hand them out to be copied and redistributed. As for that prince? I just had Tessa deliver a copy of each of my new revised books. I have no interest in meeting him. Knowing how these stories go, fate would surely conspire to get me embroiled in his political messes if I did.

Tessa’s view

“Hey, Anne, you know you don’t have to stay here, right? You could go off and join a sect or live on your own or search for your family.”

“My family is here. I think of Alice as my own daughter. I raised her ever since she was born. Though she has gotten a little weird ever since she gained her memories of previous lives.”

“Hehe, she is certainly a strange one. Thanks for taking care of her, and us.”

“It’s my pleasure.”

God’s view

After looking through what happened when I was not paying attention to her, I realized that despite having her sect and land destroyed by a demonic sect, she displayed no interest in getting revenge. How can she not want revenge? She should be plotting and scheming to destroy the Demonic Blood Sect, but all she’s doing is cultivating in peace, and writing books.

Overall, I’m not sure if my plan this time should be called a success, or a failure. She didn’t follow my script at all, but she still somehow accomplished the main objective. By giving original copies of her books to Prince Yu, she inadvertently gave the impression that she favored him, allowing him to gain support from both the wandering cultivators of her sect, and from the Divine Sea sect. With their help, he managed to take the throne. Of the seven princes, he was the one I liked best. Plus, I think Tessa’s going to take care of the whole revenge thing for me, even if Alice won’t. The only thing I like about Demonic sects is watching them get destroyed.

Perhaps I need to be less obvious with my plots next time. The reborn as a mistreated daughter one is apparently already well known to Alice, as well as the injured prince in need of help. I was hoping to hook those two up and rope her into a royal marriage. Would’ve been fun to watch her deal with Tessa if that happened. Sadly, that was not to be, she dodged it too well, not even leaving a hint of a way for him to meet her.