41. Surpassing Limits
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After such a disastrous first mission, Luoyin was more than ready for some peace and quiet...
The first two weeks after he awoke, were spent on his healing and recovery, as he expended pills and resources to undo what the immortal technique had done.
The technique had been risky, but some good had come of it!
That sheer burst of power had fortified Zhang Luoyin's body somewhat, enhancing his flesh, bones and marrow. It had also opened a few more meridians, and Luoyin could feel the change in his qi absorption speed, and his ability to tolerate external pain.
Next came a part he wasn't looking forward to...
Physical training!
As a mortal, Zhang Luoyin's body was out of shape, and even Bailong as an immortal hadn't needed much combat, as he had been locked away for thirty thousand years!
So far, Luoyin had counted on sheer spirit power, and had only meditated before the mission, but if he was to surpass mortal limits, every aspect of his cultivation had to be near perfect.
'But must you surpass mortal limits...?' An inner voice asked. 'Nothing wrong with living a quiet, mortal life... A Physician? An Alchemist? You'll do well as an Alchemist...'
The thought of leaving a quiet life appealed to Bailong...
He had never been ambitious, even as an immortal. A lot of his accomplishments had come from extreme hard work, yes, but most of his reasons had been his own curiosity, and him simply being himself.
He had never sought to rank the highest, or get a title, or surpass anyone. He simply wanted to know what happened if one cultivated this way, or that. Or what happened if one mixed this herb with that, and so on.
But through the eyes of Luoyin was everything Luoyin had been through, and when added to the need to protect himself, if the immortals ever found out who he was, his answer to that question could only be,
Yes!
He needed to surpass mortal limits!
So he picked a sword again to begin training, and cursed every few minutes as unwilling bones and muscles were abused with almost every stance.
But he didn't let up... couldn't let up, and thanks to the fortification, his body adapted quickly to the strain.
He scoured 'Zhang Luoyin's' memories for every bit of cultivation he learned till fourteen, and he remastered them all as an adult. Then he delved into his own life, tweaking or using what he could from his immortal cultivation.
A month passed, and then two.
During that time, he went to the Xu Central Residence every four days, to check on the Light Tiger, and Yinying happily followed. Luoyin mischievously introduced Yinying as his mother's long lost uncle from Yunchi Sect, who had fallen on hard times and couldn't remember his way home!
Yinying glared at him, but it at least got him a 'visible' identity!
And not long afterward, Luoyin noted with some amusement that Yinying had neatly trimmed his hair and beards, generally appearing much more refined in dark grey robes embroidered with white lining, as opposed to his normal stark black plain robes!
Yinying and Yiguang seemed to have gotten closer, and Luoyin felt like the uninvited tea guest whenever they were together, both of them speaking through telepathy and locking him out.
"Ungrateful!" He often complained, but couldn't help a large smile in their direction.
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Luoyin spent other days mostly training, or cultivating, or reading, or refining pills, or enjoying tea or wine in his garden pagoda, staring up at the clouds of day, or the stars of night.
Sometimes, Yin Xing joined him, and the two sat reliving old memories, or analysing recent mysteries...
"I was surprised when I first heard of this 'black dragon' in the Mortal Realm... I knew it couldn't be you!" Yin Xing was saying one evening.
It was winter now, and the pagoda was surrounded by Winter Peonies and early Plum blossoms.
Luoyin was dressed for the snowy wind, and a dark fur cape sat on his shoulders. But the biting wind was as tame as a chill breeze to someone on Yin Xing's level.
"I followed the War deity so many times to try and catch the black dragon." Yin Xing continued. "But it always vanished before any immortal appeared! And whenever we tried stationing Immortals in the Mortal realm, the immortal assigned to the attacked city would be found dead...
"And they all died days before the black dragon's strike!"
He turned to Luoyin, a desperate look on his face. "If we could only catch it...! It would create enough benefit of doubt to clear your na-!!"
"Don't dwell on past events." Luoyin calmed him. "In this world, there are Masters of changing White to Black."
"Tch! True Masters indeed!" Yin Xing spat with no small spite.
His brother had been born as the purest white dragon ever known! They still didn't know who, but someone had sent a dark aura into him, making his colour appear blacker than night...
"Such an advanced technique took some careful work and planning." Luoyin was saying. "They won't let you 'capture' the evidence so easily."
He turned to Yin Xing, holding up a cup of wine. "I've made my peace with those events."
Yin Xing held up his own cup and they both downed the wine.
Luoyin dropped his cup with a sigh, as his mind slipped into an age-old memory.
A garden pagoda sat in the rain...
Bailong sat before a small table laden with a gourd of Wine, a platter of fruit and snacks, and a chess board.
In his hand was a lovely brush, and across him was a lovelier lady.
But the lady's face was completely blurry... Blank with no features.
All he could see were numerous black ink dots staining almost every inch of the blank face.
"*Wei Wei, your face is already full of ink!" Bailong teased with laughter in his voice. "How can you be so bad at chess? I fear there's no space left on your face!"
(*Each time a player wins, they paint a black dot on the loser's face. It's mostly Korean, but it fun, so...)
"Tch! Play on your own from now on!" The lady threw down the white chess piece in her hand and rose to her feet.
"Er... Wei wei!" He reached out. "Come back! I'll let you win the next round...!"
Back in the present, he sighed.
"Tch! That damned curse won't even let me see her face..." He poured himself another cup of wine.
"How did you bear it?" Yin Xing asked quietly. "How did you bear those lengthy years suffering alone?!"
Yin Xing had spent an equal amount of time missing Bailong, but at least he had known he was alive on Caoyang.
The mere four months of Bailong's death had wrapped Yin Xing in so much grief, that he couldn't understand how Bailong had spent thirty-thousand years mourning a lover whose face he couldn't even see!
Yin Xing sighed. "Elder brother, I know the Immortal way is one of 'peace, tranquility, acceptance, adaptability, resilience, and forgiveness'," he recited, "...but how can you possibly make peace and forgive those-!!"
"A-Xing!" Luoyin's voice was harsh, but he simply handed Yin Xing a cup of wine.
"I never said anything about 'forgiveness'... Too many lives have been lost, so I won't forgive them." Luoyin continued. "But I can no longer harm those directly responsible for these deaths, so I don't even know if it's vengeance I seek."
He sighed "It's more important to solve the current mysteries, because I fear it holds a dark fate for the three realms...
"And besides, don't I have present troubles?" He looked at his wrist and the Spirit-Binding Oath appeared. Weiyan's half arrow was a dull glowing red, and Zhang Cheng's arrow was a duller red.
Apparently identifying the grievance shortened the time that could be spent on it!
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Shortly after came the time for the Light Tiger to give birth, and a massive crowd gathered at the Central Xu Mansion.
Most Xu Relatives were within the household itself, along with almost all Sect Warriors and Elders, and quite a few warriors and elders from other Sects as well. These included the Sect Leaders of the Twelve great Mountain Sects, and key members of the Wulin.
"There's so much centred around this sect..." One complained. He was dressed primarily in furs and hides, and his all white hair was in a mohawk, the long back ends braided down his back.
This was Lord Ju, Leader of Yunchi Sect, 2nd Strongest. "First, Xu Weiyan killed the black dragon, and then there was the Eye-eater incident barely two months ago..."
After the Eye-eater incident, Lord Xu had presented Weiyan before the Wulin, where she had recounted all the Eye-eater had shown her.
Now the Wulin and the Immortals knew there was a hidden enemy which had controlled the black dragon, though the two Immortals present didn't seem to believe it, and had kept sending Weiyan sceptical looks.
~"We called her 'the hero of the Mortal realm'... Aiya. I suppose she will endlessly seek attention now!"~ One said to the other, deliberately letting Weiyan hear the telepathy.
Back at present,
"Is the Yueyan Sect simply lucky?! Now a divine beast is to be born here!" Another Sect Leader complained, his long black and red hair matching light pink robes. He was Lord Liu of Shenxiu Sect, 10th Strongest.
Meanwhile, right at Yiguang's Courtyard, a smaller crowd had gathered at the edges including Weiyan, Lord Xu, Lord Huo, Xu Haoyuan, Xu Linhua, and some Xu Elders.
And at the centre were only Luoyin, Yinying, and a few servants, with Yiguang herself, lying on her side atop a ton of her shedded white fur. Near her head, Luoyin had created a smaller bed of fur for the cub.
Outside the residence, another crowd awkwardly hung around the gates and main steps, waiting for the slightest bit of news!
This was the first time something so monumental was happening...
A Divine Beast was being born in the Mortal Realm!
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