A Thousand Li Books 1-3: An Omnibus Collection for a Xianxia Cultivation Series (A Thousand Li Omnibus)

by Tao Wong

  For hours, Elder Wei worked the pill cauldron with intense concentration. Each movement she made, each action she took was planned to enhance the production of the pill. From the stirring method Elder Wei used, to the infusion of chi or the set up of the environment around the cauldron, the refining of this pill was an intricate dance of chi and intent. It was countless li different from the way Wu Ying blended his own pills. The live demonstration allowed Wu Ying to clarify many previously learned but barely understood principles of pill refining.

  It was late in the night when the pills were finally completed. Elder Wei struck the pill cauldron in the side one final time, and the congealed pills flew from the cauldron to land in the waiting bowl. All three Elders peered at the pills, letting out a simultaneous exhalation of relief when they saw five perfectly formed, glistening red pills.

  “Saint-level pills,” Elder Wei said, pride radiating from her voice. “If one is unable to break through using these, then heaven has no place for you.”

  “Yes…” Elder Po reached for a pill only to have his hand smacked by Elder Wei.

  “Do not put your dirty fingers in my bowl. I will hand it to you.” Suiting action to words, Elder Wei flicked a pill into Elder Po’s hand then repeated the action with Elder Li.

  The pair took the pills with a slight bow to Elder Wei before taking a seat a distance from each other in the clearing. Around them, smaller defensive formations were set up to ensure the cultivators were not disturbed, as well as to enhance their collection of chi. In seconds, the pair had stilled their breathing and calmed their minds before they consumed the pills.

  “Elder Wei?” Wu Ying tilted his head as he watched her place the remaining three pills in a pill bottle.

  “Elder Dong and I will consume our share in the sect,” Elder Wei said. “We are close to ascending from the Core cultivation stage. If we ascend, we will be noticed by the heavens and must face a Heavenly Tribulation. This is not the place for that.”

  Wu Ying nodded. Heavenly Tribulations were well-known disasters and roadblocks on the road of cultivation. The first major tribulation occurred when a cultivator formed a Nascent Soul. The Nascent Soul itself was a rebirthed, untouched, uncorrupted soul, one soaked in the cultivator’s dao from the moment of its inception. The newly born soul would then face the displeasure of heaven, protected only by the strength the cultivator had accumulated.

  If the cultivator survived, the Nascent Soul would grow over the course of the cultivator’s journey to immortality, absorbing enlightenment and meaning from the cultivator’s existence. In the end, the cultivator’s Nascent Soul would be fully grown and face a final Heavenly Tribulation. If it survived, the cultivator would ascend to the heavens as a new immortal. Those unfortunate souls who steeped themselves in a false dao, those who failed to embrace their dao fully, or those whose dao was too small and narrow would fail at this last step, destroyed by the wrath of heaven itself.

  A shift in the flow of ambient chi made Wu Ying turn his head, his jaw dropping as he felt the environment churn. Chi, swirling and resolving in a whirlpool of energy, flowed directly toward each of the Elders in their formations.

  “How long…?” Wu Ying said before he stopped when he spotted the pale mien of Elder Wei. “Elder?”

  “Oh, no,” Elder Wei breathed. “Heaven’s fury. The formation cannot hold if they cultivate here. We should have realized it…”

  “Realized what?” Wu Ying said, but understanding shut his mouth too.

  The Elders were draining the ambient chi, bolstering their cultivation as they attempted to breach the barrier between one cultivation level and the next. Nature abhorred a vacuum, and the more the pair cultivated, the greater the flow of chi from outside the formation. The shift in chi put a greater pressure on the deceptive mists the formation created, forcing the reinforcing cultivators to pour in more chi to stabilize the entire formation.

  As Elder Wei dithered, Wu Ying spun, assessing his friends and fellow cultivators. One, then another cultivator started trembling, their chi levels bottoming out, their bodies reacting to the lack of chi within themselves. Wu Ying’s mind spun then firmed, his thoughts clear.

  “Senior Ge. Senior Liu. You must let the formation go,” Wu Ying said. “We cannot hold it. Break the formation, all of you! The rest of you, form up. We must fight and delay the taotei when it arrives.”

  “Delay it?” Elder Wei said shrilly. “Are you insane? You are not even at the Energy Storage stage!”

  “What choice do we have? Run?” Wu Ying shook his head, casting his gaze back to the unmoving forms. “No. We stand and fight. If we can hold on long enough for the Elders to break through, we should be able to win.”

  “And if not?” Elder Wei said.

  “Then it seems our road ends here,” Tou He, who had just trotted up, answered for Wu Ying. The monk flourished his staff, turning his head from side to side as the mists outside churned and boiled. “Why have they not dropped it yet?”

  “Because I can’t order them to let it go.” Wu Ying turned to Elder Wei. “Please. We cannot have them exhausted when the taotei arrives. If it will fail, at least it should fail on our schedule.”

  Elder Wei pursed her lips, pressing them so tightly together they turned white. After letting out a dissatisfied harrumph, she raised her voice. “Let the formation drop. Retreat and rest. We will face the taotei and delay it.”

  In short order, the cultivators broke away from the formation flags, stumbling over to where Elder Wei waited. Wu Ying and Tou He helped their fellow sect members, handing out the remnants of breakfast to the hungry and tired group. The moment the group finished their food, they sat down in a loose circle and cultivated to restore their drained chi.

  Without the continual infusion of chi, the formation broke down. Mists which had obscured and confused dissipated in the evening air, leaving the surroundings easy to see. The waxing moon and clear night sky gave the wary cultivators a good view of their surroundings.

  “Rest well, all of you. When the taotei comes, it will not come quietly,” Elder Wei said.

  She strode off a short distance, returning to her refining cauldron, and she began the process of cleansing the cauldron. Wu Ying sighed and moved around the meadow, setting up a series of bonfires if the monster did come. Thankfully, it seemed the taotei had left the immediate surroundings.

  Yet as Wu Ying reached out with his senses, he could not help but note the massive shift in chi caused by the cultivating Elders. It would not be long before the monster noticed the change. And then it would return.

  Chapter 22

  A summer dawn was peeking around the edges of the mountains in the distance. Wu Ying yawned, sipping on the cup of tea he had brewed to keep himself awake during the chill of the night. He took another turn around the encampment, nodding encouragingly at the other cultivators who were awake. As one of the most rested individuals, Wu Ying had taken it upon himself to stay alert, allowing the others to regain their strength. Each minute, each hour, Wu Ying had expected the taotei to turn up. And yet, silence still lingered.

  The howl that penetrated the meadow made Wu Ying wince. Even now, having heard the taotei repeatedly over the course of the week, he still felt the bone-deep fear the demon beast’s approach engendered. The taotei was a legendary demon, a creature of ravenous gluttony, a monster that even the heavens rejected. A monster whose existence was an affront to the heavens and the Dao of all things.

  The howl was more than sufficient warning for the cultivators. As one, they roused themselves from their seats, standing and readying their weapons. Liu Tsong fell back beside Elder Wei’s massive pill cauldron, guarding her Master. From her storage ring, Liu Tsong conjured her weapon, the segmented, three-piece staff clicking together as she pulled on the internal chain to lock the weapon in place.

  Senior Ge stood at the forefront of the group, bare-handed as always. Dressed in new robes, the long-haired cultivator had tied his hair into a bun in preparation for
the battle. Over the course of the week, his left arm had healed somewhat, though it still lay by his side, bandaged. Beside Senior Ge, Tou He held his favorite staff, the weapon resting on the ground as he leaned on it. Li Yao, with her spear, flanked Senior Ge on the other side. When she caught Wu Ying looking, she flashed him a smile and received a tentative one in return.

  “Bah!” Breaking away from the group, Li Yao strode back and kicked Wu Ying in the shin. He howled, hopping on his foot as he clutched his injured leg. “Stop looking so somber. You’re making all of us sad.”

  “You didn’t have to hit me!” Wu Ying growled.

  “I didn’t have to. But I wanted to.” Seeing Wu Ying put his foot down, Li Yao flashed him a smile. “When we’re back at the sect, I’ll let you buy me dinner in compensation.”

  “When… that sounds nice,” Wu Ying said, offering her a tentative smile.

  “Good.” Li Yao smiled then walked back to her spot.

  It was then that Wu Ying realized what Li Yao had said. “Wait. I’m buying you dinner?”

  Wu Ying looked around, puzzled, but none of the other cultivators were paying him any attention. Or, if they were, they weren’t looking at him. Another howl, this time much closer, drew Wu Ying’s attention back to what was truly important.

  “Later. I’ll think about it later. Maybe after we kill the demon…”

  ***

  Their first sight of the taotei came as it crested a small hill, rushing in its unnatural manner. Powerful forelegs bunched up and sent the monster hopping forward while the smaller hindlegs caught up to the body. In this manner, the taotei moved in a strange semi-hopping motion, like a frog’s hop reversed.

  “Li Yao, Tou He, and myself will hold the front line,” Chao Kun said. “We will attempt to attract its attention and force it to spend itself on us. In turn, the rest of you are to flank it and attempt to cripple its legs. The creature is fast and dangerous, the horns along its body sharp and spirit-infused. Attack and back away immediately. Is this understood?”

  Words of consent rang out from the group.

  Chao Kun frowned and turned to Wu Ying. “Not you. Or you, Liu Tsong. Those who have not trained in our formations should stay behind. You will be our last line of defense with Elder Wei. Ru Ping, watch the injured.”

  Wu Ying’s fists clenched, frustration at being excluded boiling in his chest.

  Chao Kun did not wait for his acknowledgement, instead turning around and walking forward, stretching and rotating his shoulders to loosen tight muscles. As the taotei continued its headlong rush, the martial specialist took off as well, bare feet digging into the earth. The closer Chao Kun got to the monster, the more the wind flowed around him, wrapping and tugging at his bound hair. Beside Chao Kun, a few steps behind, Li Yao and Tou He ran. The remaining cultivators spread out.

  As Chao Kun closed with the monster, he jumped, one hand pulling back to throw a punch. The taotei pushed upward with its front legs, bouncing up to snatch the cultivator from the air. A sudden gust caught Chao Kun, pushing him higher and allowing the cultivator to dodge the attack and land his own. The impact of fist on green-grey skin sounded like a hammer smashing into hardwood, muffled and loud, and it forced the taotei to stop. As a wood-air-aspected individual, Chao Kun’s ability was extremely flexible.

  As the taotei stilled, Li Yao exploded forward in a thrust that glanced off a horn. The spearhead scraped the monster’s skin, her attack attracting the monster’s attention. A hopping jump nearly caught Li Yao, the creature’s explosion throwing the dodging cultivator into the air. Before the monster could continue its attack, Chao Kun was on it, throwing a series of short, air-encrusted whirlwind fists into its side before he flipped back.

  Even as the monster bunched its legs to follow Chao Kun, Tou He, thus far ignored, thrust his quarterstaff at the monster’s hide, making the monster stutter to a stop again. The monk caught the staff as it rebounded and spun the weapon around in a rising blow that caught the lunging monster as it recovered. As the monster flipped over, Tou He slid backward, his feet digging furrows in the earth as the energy of the attack dissipated. Tou He’s style, The Mountain Resides, might not be particularly powerful, but it excelled at defense.

  Even as the three cultivators fought to trade off on attracting the demon’s attention, the other cultivators arrived on its flanks. A dao-wielder brought his sabre down on its back thigh, cutting a long furrow. Another, using a halberd, missed his strike and lopped off a horn instead. As the taotei whirled on them, Tou He pounded on its body and sides with his staff, attracting its attention again—only to watch his precious staff get bitten in half. Before the monster could finish the job, Li Yao was there with her staff, threatening its eyes with her point.

  The cultivators fought and distracted the monster like the highly trained martial artists they were. Without the element of surprise, the taotei found dealing with the martial specialists more difficult. Left behind, Wu Ying, Liu Tsong, and Elder Wei watched the fight.

  “They are doing well,” Wu Ying said, to break the silence.

  “For now. They are burning their chi at an astounding rate to keep up with the taotei,” Elder Wei commented coldly. “Your friend, the monk, is even burning his life force.”

  Wu Ying jerked at her words, narrowing his eyes on Tou He. His friend was engulfed in a shimmering heatwave. Burning one’s life force should have only been possible at the Energy Storage stage—but those who were fire-aspected had the ability to do so even at the lowest level. After all, burning was what fire did.

  “You idiot,” Wu Ying whispered in horror.

  Life force, lifeblood, was something individuals had a limited amount of. Some herbs, some medicines, could recover the lifeblood to some degree, but it could never be entirely replaced. Mortals had a limited lifespan. Burning one’s lifeblood was tantamount to reducing one’s time on earth, cutting short one’s chance of immortality.

  “He is right,” Liu Tsong said as she placed her hand on Wu Ying’s shoulder. “This is no time for half-measures. If we do not buy the Elders enough time, we will all fall.”

  Even as Liu Tsong spoke, Wu Ying saw another weapon shatter. The unlucky cultivator was saved by a last-minute explosion of air, one formed by a timely fist from Chao Kun. That further exhausted the tired cultivator, making him stumble. Only the intervention of another cultivator striking the taotei with a flame-covered mace saved Chao Kun as he pulled back, cradling his fist. The now-swordless guard recovered and drew another weapon from his storage ring, jumping back into the fight as the taotei focused on another cultivator. Even from this distance, Wu Ying could tell the new weapon was less powerful, less sharp. A backup weapon.

  “When it breaks through, I shall assault it with my cauldron,” Elder Wei said, her voice still dispassionate as if she were detailing a pill formula. “The attack should allow us some modicum of protection. Liu Tsong and Wu Ying, you must do your best to finish it.”

  Wu Ying winced. Winning the fight seemed impossible. After all, if the nearly dozen martial specialists, working together, could do little but harass and lightly injure the taotei, what could the three of them do?

  “Elder, perhaps we should be the distraction?” Liu Tsong offered.

  “No. My cauldron can suffer more damage than you can,” Elder Wei said. “While I can control the pill cauldron to defend and attack, its attacks are less powerful and concentrated. Sufficient for my purposes most times, but against the taotei, unlikely to be sufficient.”

  Even as the group spoke, the battle between the martial specialists and the monster was coming to a close. A sudden twist of the creature’s back as it planted its front legs threw the demon’s spike-ridden hindquarters into an unsuspecting cultivator. Impaled, the martial specialist plunged his short jian into the creature’s hindlegs before expiring.

  In the distance, a pair of martial specialists helped each other retreat. One limped on a shattered leg, the other’s face covered with blood with a strip of
flesh hanging off his side. Of the twelve initial cultivators, seven still stood, the final two lying still on the churned earth. As a cultivator fell, the taotei unleashed a howl, filling the clearing with its unwashed, malodorous breath.

  “Tou He, Jin Ya, Ou Shen, fall back. We four will use the Green Yin Leaf formation,” Chao Kun ordered, re-ordering the remnant group.

  Even as he spoke, Chao Kun dashed forward to meet the taotei’s charge, a well-timed uppercut catching the lunging bite. The wind-boosted attack threw back the monster, forcing it to wiggle on its sloped back to regain its feet. As Chao Kun retreated, he shook his right fist. Dripping blood flew upward and around his fist, staining the swirling tornado around his hand with blood.

  As the named cultivators retreated, Wu Ying turned his gaze to the still Elders. Both sat in silence, the chi in the atmosphere around them so thick it was visible. Around Elder Po, a silver-white halo of power twisted, emerging from the ground and sky. Elder Li was likewise covered by the darker brown-and-yellow chi of the earth. In the glow of the concentrated atmospheric chi, Wu Ying could not help but notice the pair’s auric presence had increased even further.

  “Wu Ying.”

  “Yes, Elder Wei?” Wu Ying said, turning his gaze back to the woman.

  “Your aura control. Exert it to the maximum. Hold yourself back and launch your attack when you are given the opportunity. If you have no aura, the creature might ignore you,” Elder Wei said.

  “Yes, Elder.”

  Liu Tsong offered Wu Ying a half-smile as he stepped away from them. If he was going to launch a sneak attack, it would be better for him to give himself more space. Next, Wu Ying steadied his breathing, drawing his aura tight along his body and closing off the leaks as best he could.

  Tou He, retreating with the others, offered Wu Ying a frown as he passed his friend. The ex-monk was pale, as if he had been lying at the bottom of an ice-cold lake for hours. Eyes which were often filled with laughter and life looked dead, unfocused, as Tou He stumbled to a stop, one hand gesturing futilely. Tou He looked at his empty hand blankly before he took a proffered staff without a word.