Chapter 13 – Seven Azure Fluxes

Sher felt a faint unease. Despite rejecting Anshar’s initial offer, she had followed his advice in the end. Still, she was quite satisfied with her new home. She consoled herself with the thought that within the confines of the Inner Sect, if someone truly wanted to find her, they would succeed regardless of where she stayed.

Sher would like to find a reliable alchemist in the future, but she decided to postpone that for when she sought out Senior Sister Li. She flipped through the sect’s rules, but her mind was already focused on her cultivation. On the way from the town of Tur, she reached the mid-stage Qi Condensation, her Sea of Qi now half-full. The White Tiger Blawan’s nourishing effects were already noticeable; her body was stronger, faster, and more durable than even a highly trained, athletic, mortal’s.

As her body grew stronger, so did her mastery of the Tiger Palm technique. She had begun incorporating her developing Spatial Art and adjusting her understanding of the technique based on her insights from the town of Tur. That very day, she had relied solely on her enhanced body and growing mastery of this seemingly basic technique to defeat the late-stage Qi Condensation disciple, Shi Shi. The woman had a stronger body, but she severely underestimated the seemingly basic Tiger Palm. The technique, as Sher had discovered, was a gateway for a cultivator’s insight and prowess to manifest.

Putting away the rulebook into her ring, Sher began to cycle her Qi in the familiar patterns of White Tiger Blawan. Qi flowed through her body, reinforcing her organs and expanding her Sea of Qi. She paid careful attention to the Qi's varying speed in different parts of her body, a tedious but necessary task. As she settled into the cadence, she began to visualize the newly acquired Seven Azure Steps. The Art consisted of seven steps, each corresponding to a cultivation realm and focusing on one aspect and a technique designed to further exhibit it.

The first step focused on balance, forming the foundation of the Art, upon which all further aspects would be built. Sher stood up from the meditative pose, but didn’t stop her cycling. To achieve a true balance, one had to have full control over both the body and Qi. Slowly she shifted through the forms, keeping stable, while exerting herself to keep the center of gravity low and firm. Subsequent forms grew stranger and more demanding, finally forcing her to let go of her breathing technique and leverage Qi just to assume and maintain the strenuous stances.

Naturally, she wasn't dejected by the struggle; slow progress was simply part of mastering a new technique. She repeated the exercise continuously, pushing herself further with each attempt. She would perform the Tiger Palm in the first two forms, then move to cycling her Qi with White Tiger Blawan in the next. Later, she forced herself to control her flying sword simultaneously, all while trying to keep her balance and reduce the reliance on Qi.

Sweat gathered on her brows, her breathing becoming increasingly labored. Yet, she did not allow herself rest and pushed her body further. Still performing more familiar techniques, she slowly started moving in the assumed forms, imagining an attacking foe, responding to the visualized strikes, all the while straining to keep balance in the first step of the Art.

Her body gave out before her will. As Sher performed another transition, she collapsed and lay on the ground, trying to catch her breath. Resting for a moment, she reinvigorated herself with Qi before resuming the forms.

Her movements were slowly refined, becoming less stilted, flowing naturally between the stances.

Sher began considering the Azure Equilibrium technique, the Qi Condensation technique of the Art. While maintaining stable, poised body, the Qi was gathered around the center of gravity, coiling and ready to be sprung. When met with an attack, the Qi rebounded steadying the practitioner, even against an overwhelming force.

Sher shifted her focus to the Ethereal Flux Art, which also consisted of seven auxiliary techniques. The one she was interested in was a method to fold her Qi into a reflective array, ready to bounce back any physical or magical attack to its source—a technique similar to the Azure Equilibrium technique, but incomparably more advanced.

She realized that night had fallen at some point, her body was exhausted, but her mind was sharp. She returned to the meditative pose, and started contemplating the Qi flows of the two techniques, extent of their similarities, and how they could be merged.

The process was slow and laborious. Over the course of several days, Sher tried a multitude of different combinations, constantly incorporating minor adjustments. When she wasn’t actively working on the fusion, she continued cycling Qi and training her body’s balance.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Sher had always appreciated the quiet moments when she could focus on her cultivation, instead of braving dangers and risking her life. Though sometimes, as far as she was concerned, life did need a bit of spice in it.

During this time, she noticed several disciples from the neighborhood observing her. However, perhaps seeing her immersed in cultivation, they kept their distance. The only ones who approached were two Juniors from the Outer Sect, who went around the Inner Sect taking orders and selling commodities. She found it endearing that they took initiative and tried to create opportunities themselves. This occurrence also served as a reminder that she had no cultivation resources herself, except her knowledge and talent.

A dozen days after settling in the Inner Sect, Sher’s mind, exhausted but sharp, finally connected the last pieces of the puzzle. The Qi released from her Dantian flowed in just the right way, creating a vortex of furious energy, raging with power yet holding a tentative equilibrium. It threatened to collapse, but she wrestled it under her control, feeling the strain on her Qi channels and Dantian. She knew it couldn’t be maintained for long in its current unstable state, but it would be powerful when used wisely. Sher decided to name it the Equilibrium Flux, first of the Seven Azure Fluxes.

Eager to try it out, wanting to earn more resources, and keen to find a reliable alchemist, Sher decided that she had enough reasons now to finally seek out Senior Sister Li. Most of her belongings were kept in her spatial ring, she wasn’t comfortable leaving them around the house for someone to steal, when she was absent. Before she made her way toward the shore, she left a fragile Divine Sense imprint on her residence. It wasn’t strong enough to deter anyone, but it was also hidden and fragile enough not to alert anyone either. She wanted to know if anyone intruded on her property during her absence.

Sher hopped onto her flying sword and allowed herself to fly at a much higher speed, her improved balance negating the risks. Based on her observations, it was customary for disciples to avoid flying over the lake unless they were headed towards a specific island, instead, they moved around it to get to the other peaks.

Already having caught a glimpse of the Outer Sect on arrival, Sher flew the other direction, intent on checking out the Beast Peak on the way. In the valley between the peaks, there were cottages and cabins forming a small town. Curious, she descended. Many homes were empty but maintained, while near the others, wagons from merchant convoys stood, their servants scurrying about.

Exiting another lodging were cultivators wearing the fiery-red robes of Zhuque sect. At their front walked a tall, statuesque woman with hair like tongues of frozen flame. She summoned an ornate pipa large enough to hold them all. The cultivators took off, flames spewing from the flying instrument, and headed towards the spiritual lake.

Sher followed the group with her eyes until a figure in white robes of the Baihu sect intercepted them on a flying sword. Greetings were exchanged with clasped hands and bowed heads, then the Zhuque group followed the Elder deeper into the sect.

Continuing the flight, Sher finally reached the Beast Peak. The mountain was densely forested, and her curious gaze could barely make out some of the beasts that lived there. The species were varied and coexisted in artificial harmony, with the sole exception of a species of white tigers. Through the foliage, she caught a glimpse of a hunt – a majestic white beast with deep, vibrant jade stripes stalked an unsuspecting boar. The boar was massive; as it brushed against trees, its bristled, rough hide stripped great patches of bark, shaking their thick trunks with its passage.

Then the tiger sprung, its fangs snapping on the boar’s neck. Squealing, the other beast tried to rush forward, but was brought to the ground. The tiger smothered the boar patiently, not letting go, weighing down on it. The quarry stopped moving, but the predator held fast. In a final, sudden surge, the boar tried to escape, but its attempt failed. The tiger then began the slow, arduous task of dragging the kill away, its powerful muscles straining against the weight.

Sher continued her flight and soon approached the Core Sect peak. She was hailed by two Outer Sect disciples who stood guard at the gates opened onto the stairs leading up to the summit. Core disciples could fly in as they pleased, but lower-ranking disciples had to announce their arrival and obtain permission to enter.

“Hello, Juniors, please inform Senior Sister Li that Song Sher asks permission to enter,” Sher said, alighting on the ground and dismissing her flying sword.

“Greetings, Senior, what is your reason for requesting this meeting.” One of the outer disciples inquired. Haughty expression on his face, the man was eager to exert what little power he could over those who were otherwise his superiors.

“That’s between me and Senior Sister. Now be a good boy and don’t waste any more of my time.”

The disciple’s face reddened, but before he could retort, the other disciple quickly bowed, “I’ll return promptly with Senior Sister’s answer.”

Sher kept her gaze fixed on him for a few minutes, curious if he would finally burst. He shifted from foot to foot, unable to meet her eyes. At last, taking pity on his visible discomfort, she moved a distance away to sit on a nearby tree stump.

Not long after, the departed disciple returned and offered to guide her to Li Meilien’s residence.