‘What is a deviation’ is not a simple question to answer. It is something Tundra mulled over the centuries. It is a question that’s deeply tied to what is actually a cultivation method. 

To lesser cultivators that did not study the matter closely, deviation is simply a deviation from the cultivation method. It is to go astray from the recipe. It is when a cultivator misunderstands, or wrongly applies a cultivation. To deviate from the correct path. 

But this is a simplistic, and very flawed reasoning. Cultivators throughout the eons have experimented on cultivation methods, and it is their genius and guts that allowed the creation of better cultivation methods. 

A deviation to a lesser cultivator, is merely taking a new path for a better cultivator. 

What then, is a deviation? Why does it even arise? So, it comes back to the question, what is a cultivation method?

A cultivation method is many things, to many people. To the common man, it is the path to power. To the young student learning to absorb the energies of the world, it is the method to make sense of energies around them. 

It is described by many great masters as the way one perceives their relationship with the world around them. Analogies were often used, such as the act of cultivating a farm, or shaping a river, or dealing with land, or solving a puzzle with energy. Many of these analogies were helpful, but as with analogies, imprecise. 

Even today, Tundra continued to seek more precise ways of describing it to other cultivators, though he wondered whether that would be helpful. 

To the regressor, a cultivation method is no more than the means and ways the spirit manipulates energy. 

Energy from the outside world enters the body through the spiritual roots and sometimes, the meridians. 

But why? Energy in itself does nothing. It has no will. No intent. No command and orders tied into its existence. Left alone, it flows in accordance with the patterns of nature. 

So, the spirit creates cultivation methods, to command energy, to guide them through the doors to the spirit world, lead it through the veins and lines of the spiritual body, and then, depending on it’s purpose, add that energy to the soul, or create other structures within the spiritual realms. 

A cultivation method contains a set of rules that a cultivator creates, to govern the organization of energy within their own body and their own spiritual realm. Through those rules, canals, channels, and paths are created for the energies to flow in, and flow out.

These paths also contain instructions for the energies to reshape itself. In some cultivation methods, these paths tell the energy to nourish the body, some tell the energies to harden to bones, and millions others. These paths could even nourish spiritual weapons, be transformed into cauldrons, and so on. 

But the basic premise is that energy comes into the body, flows through the paths into the soul, and from the soul, outward to the spiritual roots and meridians. This cycle is controlled differently, for each different cultivation method. Some paths are straight. Some paths are narrow. Some paths are made for water, some paths for fire. 

A deviation, is then, a situation where the rules created by the cultivator in the soul, are incomplete, inaccurate, or flawed. A set of conflicting rules. Or a design that handled the flow of energies imperfectly. 

It is as if the pipes and irrigation canals of a farm caused water to pool in certain areas, or result in certain areas being nourished in ways that the cultivator did not desire. 

It is where energies created did not do what the cultivator intended.

So, through defining the form of a deviation, it is then possible to understand how they arise. 

A flawed understanding of the rules, thus they were created imperfectly. A conceptual mistake, such that the paths for energy to flow in the spiritual realm were incorrect. A failure to account for other factors that could shape how energy flows in the soul. Sometimes, it’s as basic as a failure to properly comprehend the cultivation method. Incorrect application, as far as Tundra could observe, was the most basic and common of cultivation deviations. 

Deviations thus, took many forms. Some salvageable, some not. For these, the cultivators would have to destroy and restart. 

A cultivation method did not exist in a vacuum. A cultivation method serves as the means to understand and control energy, but it has to be adapted to the environment. One’s spiritual roots, meridians, and physical qualities should influence the design and form of one’s cultivation rules. 

If one had fire spirit roots, to create a path meant for water would be a crippling mistake. In most cases, some mistakes are so obvious that such a cultivator would not get far at all. If a cultivator was blessed with two different element spirit roots, the design of the spiritual paths should account for how those two energies would flow in the spirit. Each variable introduced complexity to the energy patterns of the soul. 

Thus, identifying a deviation exists is fairly simple. A deviation is a deviation when it introduces a drawback. An inability to advance, because the incorrect patterns in one’s soul causes the flow of energy to be suboptimal. 

Identifying where and how to correct the deviation is significantly harder. It is knowing how one’s soul was shaped, how the energy flows in one’s soul, and what ‘structures’ are nourished by that energy. It is highly, highly personal. With each realm’s ascension, the patterns grow in complexity and size, and so, at higher levels, it requires a cultivation to truly understand every component of their cultivation, and discover where the flaw exists. 

A wise man, and a fellow sect master once said, “The canvas grows much larger with each realm, but the brush remains. Few know how a single stroke affects the larger whole.”

It is for this reason that even with perfect teaching, cultivation deviations can occur. 

Tundra wasn’t hopeful that he would be able to contribute. Even when he was in the tenth realm, solving cultivation deviations for those higher than the 3rd realm often required prolonged, almost intrusive exploration of one’s soul. Few are willing to grant access, and fewer still are able to look at another’s cultivation to see what is wrong. 

The Dragon’s Earthspine Mountains were now within sight.

***

“Welcome!” Patriarch Gordon Eastheart stood as the wagons arrived. 

Tundra stepped out first, and held the hands of the Patriarch that came to greet him. He was a large man, bulky, filled with muscles and strong. It was as if he was carved out of the Earth itself, a man that looked like a muscular golem made for brawls. 

“Greetings, father-in-law.” Tundra said with a smile. “It is nice to see you after so long.”

“Indeed, indeed.” Gordon answered. “Come, come. I heard from Marin that you’re here to help us with our pest issue.”

Tundra nodded, a little amused that Gordon went to that topic even before they reached the reception hall. “Yes, I brought along some of the disciples and my other children, and hoped to make it a learning experience for them all. I hope our presence does not trouble you too much.”

Gordon nodded in approval. “It is nothing.”

“Anything I should know about these beasts?” 

Gordon looked around, as if wondering whether anyone was eavesdropping. Tundra found it funny, because everyone was trying to listen in on the two leader’s conversation. “Let’s speak elsewhere.”

Gordon led the way as the two arrived in a private dining room, just for the two of them, while the rest of the family and the Verdant Snow Sect’s disciples dined in a much larger dining room. 

“We detected signs that the realm of the spirit beast in the Mountains may not be what you think it is.”

Tundra sipped the porcelain cup, and allowed the rice wine to swirl in his mouth as he digested the information. The cities and towns of the Eastheart family have formations that protect them, and these should be good for spirit beasts up to the 5th realm. Even if a 5th realm beast did attack, it wouldn’t be an assured loss. 

In other words, Patriarch Gordon Eastheart suggested that the threat may be something in the 5th realm. If so, this wasn’t a problem they could put off forever. Tundra tried to remember whether there was any news about the Eastheart family. He vaguely recalled they moved to Verdant Leaf, but that was after Marin passed away due to old age. 

Was it because of the monsters? 

He cursed how so many things were imperfectly remembered, especially matters that he felt were trivial. 

“I will have a look, father-in-law.” Tundra offered. If anything, he should be able to locate the beasts. His senses were the sharpest here, honed over 10,000 years. 

Gordon nodded sternly. “Move carefully.”

“I will leave tonight.”

“If there is anything you would need, let my servants know. I will have them arranged.” Patriarch Gordon answered. 

Tundra nodded.

The patriarch clapped, and then the door swung open. The silencing formation was dispelled at that moment, and servants, all carrying food that was already ready, marched in. There was too much food for the two of them. 

Tundra decided to ask more casual, less serious subjects.

“How’ve you been, father in law?”

Patriarch Gordon Eastheart downed his cup. “For most parts, good. Could be better, of course.”

Tundra nodded. “That is good to hear. It’s been many years since Marin came home. She seemed happy, though I’m not sure what she thinks, sometimes.” 

“Oh? Just tell her to tell you, then.”

Tundra smiled. “If wives were so easy.”

“It should be.” The Patriarch flashed a rare smile. “The father is the father, the husband is the husband. We act according to our roles, and my daughter has been drilled well to act in accordance with her role. As your wife. If you ask, she will speak of it. If you do not, she will not speak of it. My daughter knows her place.”

The regressor picked up his cup of rice wine and sipped it again. It was likely made and milled from some of the mountainous variants found in this area. He looked at the father of his wife, and felt a clue hidden in those words.

The role of a wife. How Marin knows her place. 

Tundra tried to reconcile those words with the woman that was his 5th wife. In many ways, Marin was indeed dutiful. They had children. She was polite, for most part, and acted the role of a wife. Duty. 

She did it out of duty. Tundra closed his eyes, and bowed gently. “Thank you for your advice, father in law. I should speak to her.”

The father nodded. “She will listen. She wouldn’t bring shame to her family.”

“I see.”

***

“This is my eldest son and the heir to the Eastheart family, Milton Eastheart. Greet your brother-in-law, Milton.” The patriarch summoned the heir to the private room later on.

Milton bowed, as deeply as he could. Tundra took a measure of the skinny man, and noticed he was barely in the 4th realm. He wasn’t in the 4th realm when they married, but as far as he could remember, the heir of the Eastheart family didn’t leave any strong impression. Tundra nodded diplomatically. “It’s been a long time since I last saw you, brother-in-law.” 

“Greetings, brother-in-law.” Milton said, and strained himself to continue the sentence. The trio sat in a beautiful table, but Tundra immediately noticed how the wives were all still seated on a different table, outside. 

In the world of cultivation, there were still differences in how genders were treated. Males were commonly associated with yang-energy, and females with yin-energy, though variations and exceptions existed all the time. 

However, this generalization affected how society developed.

In places where there is a proliferation of the yang-variant energies, societies tended to be strongly patriarchal. The yang energies were more likely to make the men strong, and so, their place in that society reflected it.

In places where yin variant energies were stronger, the females generally were stronger, and so matriarchal societies tended to emerge. In places where there was a general balance of both the yin and yang energies, commonly referred to the neutral areas, societies were generally more equal in terms of gender roles. 

“So, how are you adapting to the role of the heir?” Tundra decided to open the conversation with something more casual.

Milton tensed up, before answering. “I am adapting, brother-in-law.”

Tundra saw Marin glance over at their table, but when Tundra smiled at her, she immediately turned away. “I see. What do you think of the pests?”

Milton nodded. “They are persistent and they harass our miners. We’ve deployed guards to protect our caravans, but some of the mines are still inaccessible due to the pests.”

It’s likely some of the spirit beasts have turned the mines into their nest, and entering a spirit beast nest is a dangerous affair, especially if unprepared. He would need his three wives and some of the Core Disciples to assist him. The Core Disciples were all in the 4th realm, and they should be able to hold off some of the lesser spirit beasts while he dealt with the stronger ones. 

“I see. Have you tried exploring the mines?”

Milton paled, and shook his head. “No. It’s too dangerous.”

At that point, Tundra looked at the patriarch. “Would any of your men assist us in this pest-hunt?”

Patriarch Eastheart shook his head. “I’m afraid my men are already tied up protecting our caravans, towns and cities. We are quite stretched.”

It wasn’t a lie. They’ve settled in this stable situation, playing the defensive game. If there was a surge or an outbreak, it’s likely they would be pushed out. 

The rest of the dinner was mostly pleasantries, though Tundra soon learned that Marin funneled resources back to their family, in order to help Milton ascend to the fourth realm. It seemed that was an expectation placed on Marin as part of the marriage.

It was her duty, her role as daughter. 

***

“This is the room, Lord Tundra.” The servant girl bowed, and presented the room to Tundra and his wives. There were not many modifications, though the bed was larger. Twice as large, actually, as if two beds were joined into one. 

Marin, Celestia and Elly all followed. Marin looked around, and sighed. “Well, I suppose it’s not the worst idea my parents could come up with.”

Tundra looked at the servant girl. “Would you be able to get us some tea, and some desserts?”

The servant girl nodded. “At once, milord.” She zoomed out of the guest quarters..

The three wives placed their own personal belongings on their own separate tables. There were three dressing tables, and one larger work table. It was, for most part, a private residence with multiple little areas. A work area, a changing area, a cultivation corner. It possessed the almost standard design commonly seen in wealthy cultivator families all over the continent. 

He decided to sit at the tea area, and waited,

The servant maid returned with three others, each carrying a tray of food. There was enough fruits to serve twenty, and three pots of tea, each with a different type of tea. 

The Patriarch clearly told them to go all out. 

But once they left, and all the refreshments were on the table, Tundra sat. 

“I spoke to your father, Marin.”

Marin, who was still sorting through her belongings, tensed briefly. She straightened herself, and turned to face Tundra. “How did it go, husband?”

Celestia and Elly glanced at each other, and then at Tundra. Tundra merely shrugged. “It went as well as I expected. I have not yet given our gift. Would you like to do it?”

Marin paused, as there was a strange expression, as if she was processing the question. After what felt like a few seconds, she shook her head. “It is not right for me to do so. Husband, please give it to him. It will be better that way.”

Celestia and Elly didn’t say a word, instead, they both sat on other seats around the tea table, and began to eat the grapes. The tea table was fairly ornate, made of some kind of darkwood. It was well polished and then lacquered with some kind of dark colored resin. Beautiful stuff, and Tundra reckoned it was of better quality than the one he had in his own room. It was exceptionally smooth, and Tundra picked up the tea. “Very well. I will give it to him later, but first, it appears the issue of the spirit beasts is far more serious than expected.”

Marin grunted, but it wasn’t one of frustration. Instead, Tundra thought it sounded like she expected it. 

“You seem to have expected it?”

Marin didn’t want to answer that. Her facial expression was complicated, as if she had something to say that didn’t. She picked up the blue-and-white porcelain tea cup, and briefly sipped it. “-yes. Father has a tendency of projecting strength.”

Tundra nodded. There was a second sentence unsaid, but he knew. “I will need your assistance, all of you.”

Elly and Celestia nodded, and Elly spoke for the first time since Marin and Tundra started talking. “What will we face?”

The regressor shook his head. “I don’t know yet, but Patriarch Eastheart seems serious about it. I’m expecting a beast in the high fifth, or even the sixth realm. And a nest of some kind. Maybe multiple nests.” 

Marin somehow couldn’t hide her frustration. “I should’ve known it’ll be like this.”

Tundra nodded. “No matter, let us help them through this.”

Yet her wife didn’t seem too happy about it. But she didn’t voice it, instead, she merely sipped her tea. Her hands trembled slightly, but enough for Tundra to suspect there’s more to the family relationship between Marin and her family.

Celestia and Elly clearly picked up on it too, but both wisely chose to keep their mouths sealed.

Tundra finished his cup of tea, and picked up another. He wondered whether to continue this topic, because it only seemed to irritate his wife. After a brief few seconds of thought, he decided to drop the matter. He told them enough. He’ll make some preliminary surveys later tonight. 

“I’ll do some surveys later tonight. Should be fairly brief, but I’d let you know what we face tomorrow, then we can outfit ourselves appropriately.

Marin nodded. Elly asked. “Will a single night be enough?”

Tundra nodded. “It should be. We will see. Get some rest, my dearest wives. We will be needing it in a few days.”

 

 

[Advance chapters on patreon (see RSM tier). I intend to grow the advance chapters to about 12 chapters ahead, but currently it's 4 ahead).