LOST CULTIVATION METHODS

The mountain air bit at Jin's skin as he stood at the edge of Valeria's outer cliffs, his robe snapping gently in the breeze.

Behind him, the city stirred with cautious life—undead sentinels patrolling like silent guardians, watchful and tireless. Civilians were beginning to reclaim what had been stolen from them.

Courtyards swept, doors rebuilt, shattered tiles replaced. Valeria, once a dead city, was breathing again.

But Jin wasn't part of that rhythm anymore.

Not fully.

His body still bore the weight of Shenwu's strike.

Not in wounds—those had long since healed—but in spirit. There was something about facing a being so ancient, so limitless, that it rewrote what you believed possible.

That left you humbled even in resistance.

"Then I shall teach you from afar."

Shenwu's words echoed like a mantra as Jin descended the winding trail out of the city and into the shadowed mountains to the north.

He came here every morning now, before sunrise. Not because he was told to—but because he could feel it.

That silent call. The weight of cultivation pressing against his bones, demanding more. Demanding everything.

The Ridge of Stillness

The clearing appeared as it always did—wind-twisted trees, jagged stone ridges, the sky stretched wide above like a blank canvas.

There were no spirit pools. No guiding runes. No gentle voices.

Only pressure.

As Jin crossed the edge of the clearing, the air changed. Denser. Sharper. His skin prickled.

"You've come," Shenwu's voice rumbled through the air like distant thunder.

No body. No face. Just presence.

Jin exhaled deeply and sat. Legs crossed. Spine straight. Eyes closed.

The moment his thoughts began to still, the lesson began.

Spirit Qi: The First Breath

Time became a blur. Hours passed, or maybe minutes. Jin slipped deeper into his core, where the world fell away and only energy remained.

He could feel it now—not just the qi within his veins, but the qi of the world. Threads of spirit dancing in the soil, drifting through trees, coiled in the wind like unseen snakes.

"You once fought to destroy," Shenwu's voice murmured in his mind. "Now learn to feel. To flow. To belong."

And Jin did. Slowly. Painfully. His Tyrant Body strained to soften, to shift from blunt force to pure awareness.

He failed.

He tried again.

Again.

Until—suddenly—a pulse.

A soft, warm rhythm in his gut. Not his heartbeat. Not the system.

Something older. Deeper.

Spirit Qi.

A connection was formed. Jin felt it snap into place like a thread being tied. His breath caught as the entire clearing shifted. Trees whispered secrets. The stones hummed faintly. He wasn't commanding anything.

He was listening.

And in that listening, he found power.

System Notification

[Spirit Qi Mastery: Level I Unlocked]

You have attuned to the ambient qi of your environment.

Meditation speed: +30%

Inner energy flow stabilized.

Next stage: Emotional Harmony Test – 3 Days Remaining.

Jin opened his eyes, sweat soaking his robes. His limbs felt heavy, yet something within him glowed. Not with raw strength—but with stability.

He stood, stretched, and looked toward the horizon. Valeria waited.

But something within him whispered:

"Not just Valeria. Everything."

The City Breathes

Valeria no longer held the silence of the dead. Hammers rang. Children laughed in alleyways. Merchants argued over ration prices. A city half-ruined, but alive.

And still, the undead stood guard.

Still.

Silent.

Yet… something had changed.

Lana walked the perimeter of the courtyard, scrolls in hand. Formation diagrams, construction permits, rudimentary territory plans.

She was sharp, focused—but her eyes flicked to the horizon too often.

Arielle sat nearby under the shade of an old elm tree, legs crossed, a closed book in her lap. She wasn't reading. She was listening. Watching.

"You're worried," Lana said without looking up.

"I'm not used to him being gone this long," Arielle replied.

"It's only been a few hours."

"It's not time. It's…" Arielle hesitated. "Him. He's changing. Faster than we can keep up."

Lana said nothing. Her fingers stilled over the scroll. Then, quietly, "Do you think we'll still recognize him when it's done?"

The silence between them stretched.

The Awakening of the Dead

That night, Jin returned as dusk fell. His steps were slower, not from fatigue—but from thought. He crossed the central square of Valeria, the skeletal army parting for him in eerie synchronization.

Except for one.

A single undead warrior stepped forward. Armor rusted. Sword chipped. Yet the way it moved… deliberate. Conscious.

Jin paused.

"Valeria…" the undead rasped, voice dry like brittle leaves. "My son… where is he?"

Jin's eyes narrowed. "You… remember?"

No answer came. Only a shiver ran down the soldier's frame.

Then, a ping.

System Notification

[NEW UNLOCK: Sentient Guardian Protocol – Activated]

Select undead units may begin recovering personality fragments.

Current candidate: [Lady Veyra – Defender of Valeria, Fallen Year 471].

Designate as Guardian?

[Yes] / [No]

Jin hesitated only a moment before selecting [Yes].

The undead woman froze. Then bowed. Her bones shimmered faintly, a soft blue glow pulsing through her ribcage.

"I live to serve Valeria again. My oath… remains unbroken."

Jin stared at her, throat tight. For the first time, the undead army felt less like a tool—and more like a legacy.

Shenwu's Message

Later that night, alone in his quarters, Jin knelt by the window, staring out at the glowing line of moonlight across the mountain ridge.

A soft breeze curled through the open frame.

And with it, a voice.

"You've made the first step. But the moon bleeds soon. And your soul must bleed with it."

"Three days. Soulfire Cliff. Or you will never awaken what sleeps beneath your heart."

Jin closed his eyes. He could feel it now—deep within—the Paragon Heavenly Technique stirring. It was fragile. Flickering. But real.

System Notification

[Quest Updated: The Remote Path of the Unyielding]

– Spirit Qi Mastery I

– First Sentient Undead

– Paragon Technique: Stirring...

New Objective:

→ Meditate atop Soulfire Cliff during the Blood Moon (3 Days Remaining)

Reward: Ancient Skill – "Echo Pulse Vein"

Bonus: Paragon Heavenly Technique (Stage 2 Unlock)