“I have one,” Ling Dong said, summoning his demon bone greatsword. “It feels natural in my hands, but there’s something I can’t quite put my finger on. It’s not right. My sword should be metal, not bone.” He sighed, stroking his old blade softly. “One day, I’ll kill Mo De. I’ll find him and put an end to all his despicable acts. I’ll take revenge for the many innocents he’s slain using the sword he broke.”
“Those are big words for a small man like you,” Lan Yin said. “Mo De has been around for over a century. An old devil like him isn’t easy to kill.”
“Mark my words, I’ll kill him,” Ling Dong said. “If not this year, then the next.”
“I believe in you,” Lan Yin said. She waited some time before finally broaching the topic they’d been avoiding the entire time. “When will you leave?”
“Tomorrow, if possible,” Ling Dong said. “There are ten months left before my master comes out of seclusion. The sooner I get back, the better.”
“All right,” Lan Yin said, nodding. “I’ll let them know in the morning.”
She stood up to walk back to the cabin. While it was clear to Ling Dong that she wanted him to follow, he simply sat by the fire, staring at the flickering flames. Though his face betrayed no emotion, his mind was seething. He was a man of the wild now, a creature of instinct.
He could think of nothing else but revenge.
---
To be concluded in Book 2: Converging Fate
Additional Info
If you’ve enjoyed this book, you might also enjoy Painting the Mists, my main ongoing cultivation series. It’s available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited. Regardless, I would greatly appreciate it if you left a rating on Amazon. Ratings lead to credibility in this competitive marketplace, and by leaving one, you signal to the world that this book is worth reading.
If you would like to receive bimonthly updates on writing progress, releases, and the life of Patrick Laplante, subscribe to the Painting the Mists newsletter at http://eepurl.com/dymvO1. You can also find a link to the newsletter at www.paintingthemists.com. As a bonus for subscribing, you’ll receive exclusive biography sketches for each of the key characters, starting with Huxian!
Other ways to contact me or keep in touch:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RedMiragePtM/
Twitter: @RedMirage_PtM
Connect With Others
It’s a shame to read alone, so I’ve taken the time to compile a list of Facebook groups I frequent. Here are a couple of Wuxia / Xianxia groups:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/WesternWuxia/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/cultivationnovels/
Cultivation novels also have a lot of gamelike elements, so I highly recommend the LitPRG Society:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPGsociety/
These are all great places to share reading experiences, get ideas for the next series to binge, or just joke around and have fun. Just be careful—inside jokes and bookworm humor run rampant!
Acknowledgments
As I continue to write, I find that this list of acknowledgments grows. There are far too many people to thank—if I missed you, I’m sorry; it wasn’t intentional.
A special thanks goes out to my fiancé, Xing Wen, who recently accepted my proposal for marriage. Please wish us luck in the upcoming year. I’d also like to thank my parents and hers, who were present for the engagement.
I’d also like to thank this book’s beta readers, Aljoscha Volk and Jim Stojkov.
Thank you to all my friends and family once again. We’ve kept in touch since moving to China, which has been a tremendous pillar of emotional support.
Many thanks to Crystal Watanabe for her excellent support while editing my novel. My writing continues to improve with her help, so I’m glad to have her on board.
Thank you to Petros Stefanidis for great cover.
Last, but not least, thank you to my readers. I write to tell stories to people, and a story is worth nothing if it isn’t shared.
The Cultivation Systems
Qi Cultivation
• Qi Condensation – condense the qi of heaven and earth into a liquid in your dantian
o Stages 1-3: form a qi pool
o Stages 4-6: form a qi lake
o Stages 7-9: form a qi ocean
• Foundation Establishment – form pillars from your qi, setting a firm foundation for your future cultivation.
o Traditionally, a cultivator forms between one and nine pillars, which are affixed to the bottom of the qi oceans.
o The liquid qi in this stage is more viscous, its quantity and quality is dependent on the number of pillars.
o Pillars are grown from the bottom up, gradually forming the foundation with which to form your core
• Core Formation – condense your foundation into a core, the basis of your future growth
• Rune Carving -???
Body Cultivation
• Body Strengthening – basic body strengthening and purification. Typically, the body is fed with qi and then refined with an opposing qi, removing any impurities
• Bone Forging – bones are the basis of strength and durability. The strongest body is nothing without strong bones supporting it.
• Marrow Refining – marrow is the basis of your blood, which feeds the remainder of your body in turn.
Soul Cultivation
• Innate Soul – cultivators are born with an innate soul, and it grows as the cultivator advances in qi condensation. Eventually, the soul will make a rapid breakthrough into incandescence.
• Incandescent Soul – the soul begins to shine with incandescent light. Advanced soul manipulation of objects and mental communication is now possible.
• Resplendent Soul – wrap the soul in a resplendent vestment
•Transcendent Soul – A single realm spanning all of transcendence. A transcendent soul can now leave the mortal body and operate independently.
About the Author
Patrick Georges Laplante was born in a small town in the Canadian prairies in 1987. He began publishing Painting the Mists online under the pseudonym RedMirage in January 2018.
An engineer by trade, he graduated from the University of Alberta in 2009 and completed his master’s degree in 2011. While writing and engineering have little in common, he actively utilizes his experiences and attention to detail in fleshing out a vivid world and answering the “whys,” which are often left unanswered in Xianxia fiction.
As an avid vegan, he aims to prompt internal reflection in his readers through various themes like non-violence, choice, and begging the question: Is personhood restricted to humanity? And what is proper conduct, morality, and love?
His work is inspired by a combination of Western fiction, Dungeons and Dragons, Chinese web novels, and various Japanese, Korean, and Chinese comics and illustrated novels.
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