Damn what a week huh me.
Myself we are still only on second half of Rootday.
Damn it all me.
After the little outburst at lunch uncle said its time for me to learn the family niche of making talismans.
After we finishing lunch in polite silence, we make our way to the 8 mat tatami room, to finish up the rest of the day on learning about arrays and inscrybing.
Given that uncle is now here, I will be using mother's set for this time.
"Alright, what do you know about arrays Gen."
"Arrays are the replication of how Heaven structures the world so which cultivators can copy by using qi to cause phenomena."
"Whether it be through the use of various mediums of expression as prayers, chants, dances, music, art, or literature it is known that one can reach through and influence Heaven to change its designs."
"It is through learning and deriving meaning from everything arrays are created by creating qi vessels for something to inhabit."
"The message of a song, what can be gleaned from the interpretation of a dance, a desperate prayer begging for a saint to intercede for them, the rote repetition from a scholar's mouth, the image depicted in a painting, the carvings upon a wall, the very manuals that hold techniques, and even the swing of a blade can be a qi vessel for a concept to take hold, thus becoming an array."
"Five breathes, a stunning record my nephew, now that is the most I have heard from you in the four years we have known each other."
"Nothing much to talk about."
"You are a good listener Gen, but I like it more like this, us talking."
"After you take your steps beyond these walls, be sure to tell uncle all the things you see, it can be my turn then to listen."
"I will, and I already have."
"Although it is nice to hear all about the things you come with, I think I want to hear your thoughts on everything outside that wonderful head of yours more I suppose."
"To see the busy streets of Crucible City closely instead of admiring the shimmering bright lights from your room and the words of everyone else."
"To see you out of this cage and fly freely, that would be a sight."
"I would get killed uncle."
"Bah, Long struts around and only gets an assassin sent after him once a year at least, the rest try to kill him up-close and personal."
"Besides, a little experience living in interesting times would do you no harm, especially when your grandma, uncle and mama are keeping close watch over you."
"There are many stronger cultivators than grandma uncle."
"So what, the tall grains are cut down first, and we are not that tall Gen."
"The Pan and Quill clans only have Foundation Establishment elder fodder with no guards to speak of and a few contracted cultivators who would turn on the first sign of weakness."
"No excuse not living out a vibrant city life at all I say."
"So you say uncle."
"So it is, I rambled on for a while there, the four treasures are ready then?"
"Yes, uncle."
"Good, begin breathing the Fading Soliloquy while grinding your ink to imbue it with qi like this."
I do as instructed and prepare to turn a piece of paper into a qi vessel.
My uncle excludes his qi to guide me like a metronome slowly synching our breathes in tandem as demonstrates how to imbue the paper with the intended character without any accidents such as exploding.
With a few quick strokes borne from repeated water writing sessions and the characters for "Soft' and 'Light' is made via qi infused ink upon that paper slip.
As there is no signs of qi leaking from improper place and no backlash from unstable qi, I hold it out for uncle to inspect.
"Good, good, good!"
He activates both of our talismans and they crumble into nothing to give off a soft glow.
"Copied near perfectly." -my uncle remarks- "The one year of studying calligraphy lead to this? Now that there is proof that not a single silver tael was wasted."
"I tell you what, do a hundred more just like these one after the other and I will accredit you as a Rank 1 Array user."
"Really?" -I say.
"Really." -my uncle replies.
"This isn't nephew privileges isn't it?"
"Nothing of the sort. In fact the bare minimum is twenty five."
"Properly or any way I want?"
"Eh, why not, do as you wish as long the quality remains consistent."
Acclimating from the orthodox into what I think my own style should be from just one demonstration?
I think I can. I haven't spent two hours of my two year everyday water writing session to fall short right now.
I flex my qi channels and dip my fingers in the ink, it travels up via my middle and index, I take just enough to replicate the talisman as I had eyeballed it.
The thing with talisman arrays and how it is structured everyone doesn't need to get it to work with it.
Insert a sliver of qi to activate it and slap it on or throw it to something you want it to affected by and the preset array would work.
This means that the characters only need to be recognizable to the inscryptor. So even it isn't pretty, it should still work out.
Like a printer I place my fingers on the paper, I do everything as per usual except for a few differences this time.
I use my fingers instead of the brush, and I use the cursive form of the characters in this talisman array, quicker and more streamlined.
Pinching it between my index and middle I activate it, a perfect replication of the soft glow.
I do it five more times before dipping my other hand's fingers into the ink speeding up the process.
One hundred talismans of the same consistent quality and style were then laid before the tests proctor to be examined.
"As expected, you have been stewing the idea of printing for a long time Gen."
"Ever since I saw you and your seal uncle, you have enlightened me that day."
"So it has been said, two heads can be better than one, and one good turn is due for one in return, come here you."
He moves to ruffle my head.
I dodge.
He moves again.
I dodge his attempt again and we continue for a while, laughing and moving in the joy of the moment.
"My nephew, an accredited array user at the age of four, could you believe it." -he says as he finally caught up to me and subjects my yet to be villainous wavy slick backed hair through a thorough tussling.
"I could hardly believe it myself uncle, I think I can now start contributing to the factory."
"Yes, yes you can but you shouldn't"
"For one reason, that work is beneath you."
"For the second, you still aren't an accredited array user yet."
"Lucky you, you have an uncle who can compile the paper work and grease the wheels along to give you one as soon as possible."
"For the last reason is you are only half way through the test."
"I just need to teach you how to make a basic barrier array, a victory lap in comparison to the talismans."
"Today uncle?" -I say a little knackered out from the inscrypting.
"Since you finished so early yes, after that I could then head over to the sect to affirm your status and be back for dinner, now how does that sound."
"Very sound uncle."
"That is very good, now I wager by observing you should be able to get the gist of it."
He paces out to the middle of the four corners of the room, discreetly he sends a shake of salt swiped from lunch into each corner.
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He follows this up with performing a handseal cupping the some of the salt and recites the following chant-
By our way, we erect a wall to purge the impure, Barrier!
The salt imbued with qi serves as offering to be the fuel to manipulate the natural qi to be aligned with the phase of Earth and bringing out the concepts of 'Purity' and 'Barrier' to form a transparent wall of qi hinting of salt.
The sweat and ink from my hands was washed away with the barrier that started from his handseal that meets with the salt spread in the corners.
The first spell an array user must learn as its various uses such as buying a little breathing room in a fight, purifying the area of uncleanliness to prepare an environment fit to conduct first aid, and serving as a way to drive out wicked spirits.
I take in the way my uncle's practiced movement, how the qi is imbued and set, and how one invokes their inner resilience to combat impurity and restore order in this impure world to be far simpler than I expected.
He passes what is left of the salt to me and with a snap of his fingers the barrier collapses.
It in now my turn.
Taking a moment to imbue the salt as best as I could copy, I set the boundaries and I make the handseal.
A burst of qi erupts from my hand and I weather the forces I called upon as best as I could.
What results is a barrier, my own barrier, which uncle pops with three strong taps.
"Good enough to withstand a budding Qi Sensing cultivator and banish a Tier 1 Hungry Ghost, congratulations you passed nephew."
I lie on the floor exhausted but glad, with all of the array making going on tempering my body I can feel a breakthrough coming through.
My uncle takes his leave as promised taking all of the talismans as proof to my credit.
I wait around meditating until interrupted by my grandmother for dinner to which uncle made it back for.
My mother sent her tidings with uncle and let us know she is being considered to serve as the Outer Sect Inscryption Teacher now that her Foundation Establishment qi has settled.
With processing the necessary resources she is entitled to as a Direct Disciple after breaking through the first step and having a party with her friends she says will be home by the end of the week.
We will break the news of the ritual to her once she arrives as to not spoil her fun.
We greet each other goodnight once dinner has been eaten and I meditate charged by grandma's cooking until sleep takes me.
When I awoke I have broken through to 6.7 Body Tempering.
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Today is now Basket day, mama should be home this evening, and in the three days since I was accredited as an Array User I have burst through to 6.8 Body Tempering after learning the movement techniques for the Impermanence and Cauldron breaths.
The Boiling Cauldron's Movement has you take in the energy and breath made by the breathing technique for the purposes of movement rather than settling it for meditation or cooking.
Just like the steam that whistles forth with a force when using a pressure cooker or just about any steam engine.
It is a simple enough thing to refocus on expending the energy instead of gathering it about yourself when the human flight response in play, but to wrest control over it and to make sure all that energy is going somewhere is not that simple.
So to remedy this one sequences the breathing mantra with the movements own-
To nourish all, consume all.
Iron contains, Earth is devoured by Fire with Wood, and the Copper burns bright so that Water churns!
Consume all, to nourish all.
The next technique available to a Body Tempering cultivator like me in the Impermanence series is Impermanence, 81st Death Charge.
This was developed off the Daoist Ideal-Seeker's memories before the sect and Crucible City was a thing.
In those days there was no one seated on The Throne of Iron Dusted Jade, and all clans did what right in their own eyes.
The Bonfire Waypass, The Tempest Territory, The City of Earthen Walls, The Gathering of Blades, The Dried Wood Grove.
Every City that the Great Sects of this territory saw in their own sights, the outsiders insisted was the City of Five Phases, a delusion they had dreamt up in the name of clear Imperial record keeping.
Dozens of clans from each sect were sent to occupy it and dozens of Imperial princes leading Imperial armies were mustered to order it by various means were drawn into the infighting or crushed outright.
For a time it was the only core territory under the Imperial Court caught in turmoil and it was for more profitable to keep that way for a few important somebodies.
The cultivator who would be Daoist Ideal-Seeker was once 15 and at the time was a pressed-to-service scribe to an Imperial Army in a land far away from his own.
Under the son of one of the concubines of one of the son's of one of the daughters of one of the concubines of one of the son's of The Son of Heaven, the 81st Yellow Dragon's Imperial Army were caught in an unfavorable battle against a alliance between three of the Great Sects and two other Imperial Armies.
While their allies, two of the other Great Sects were sacrificing them to strike at the undefended territory of the other sects, to which they were caught in a trap set for them that was not as much as effective as the defenders had hoped, but when their other forces were to retake it they would have been successful in their defense.
It was this battle that would see 81st Imperial Army make an upset in against the alliance and make headway to the undefended territory where they butchered the two traitorous sects and reset the board with their occupation of the City for a decade.
The 15 year old Body Tempering scribe had recorded the speech their Imperial Prince and general had made and implemented the traces of Dao held within for this movement techniques mantra-
March on! On the way paved by bodies of foe and friend.
Charge forth! For the living and the dead.
Impermanent
This too shall pass.
Permanent.
Those who cling to death live.
"Gen'er we are back!"
"Welcome back!"
Mother has returned in the robes of an Outer Sect Elder, and uncle has been in his Disciplinary Hall formal attire to serve audience and witness to her Elder Status Bestowment Ceremony.
"Feng'er, Ying'er, welcome back. Do you need more that a moment? Our dinner will soon be ready but I can wait."
"Let me just get a moment to have Gen all to myself and I am ready, Feng said we have something to talk about him right?"
"Yes mother, grandmother said she has an ritual that can push me into Qi Sensing and beyond!"
"No... no that isn't-"
"We will talk about it Ying, after dinner."
"Feng this is the same ritual that left you in bandages until Qi Condensation!"
"You would have Gen in bandages until-"
"With the input of Feng'er and many other's I have refined it even further Ying'er. Get yourself settled and rested and we will talk about it."
Oh damn this is going be a really awkward dinner after all, I really hope grandma is telling the truth here, the truth being pushing me beyond Qi Sensing.
What consequence is a body when the immortal soul is at stake after all.