Chapter Thirty: Metamorphosis (Part 1)

"Me?" Mo Wuxie laughed heartily after hearing this. "Little girl, your grandpa may not be a cultivator, but when it comes to strength, I am quite confident."

"No calling me little girl! I can change back! But if grandpa isn't a cultivator, then what are you?" Leng Bingyan pouted angrily, protesting against Mo Wuxie's nickname.

"Your grandpa isn't a cultivator, but rather a demon cultivator," Mo Wuxie replied, thinking to himself: I suppose I count as a demon cultivator, given the nature of my powers, though I could also be described as a spiritual cultivator. But really, immortals and demons alike are nothing but ants before me.

"Demon cultivator?" Leng Bingyan was startled, but after a moment, accepted it, soon regaining composure. She continued, "So which is stronger, martial arts or cultivation?" From the introduction to cultivation, Bingyan had learned that cultivation was more advanced, but she wanted to be certain.

"Martial arts?" Mo Wuxie snorted, his face full of disdain. "Martial arts only strengthen the body and teach the use of internal energy, but they do not understand the manipulation of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Yet, that spiritual energy is the most potent force. Cultivators can wield it freely, moving mountains and overturning seas without effort."

"When martial artists reach the pinnacle of their discipline, it is merely the starting point for cultivators. Do you understand now?" Mo Wuxie paused, then continued, "Let’s leave aside those below the Realm of Humanity. The three realms—Human, Earth, and Heaven—correspond precisely to the cultivator stages of Reflection, Enlightenment, and Fusion. They are equivalent to the first phase of cultivation. With continued training, one can enter the state of cultivation, though martial arts only refer to this as the 'Innate Realm.'"

"The ordinary Innate Realm is divided into Heart Stirring and Spirit Silence, but even at their peak, they cannot reach the likes of the Nascent Soul. However, the four hidden races are exceptions. Their royal families possess power at the Tribulation stage, and if they achieve the Imperial level, they can instantly match the realm of cultivators at the Grand Ascension stage—a rare and extraordinary occurrence."

"So are there many cultivators on Earth? Are they all powerful?" This was what concerned Leng Bingyan. If cultivators were numerous, then the experts at the Heaven and Earth realms would be greatly diminished in value.

Mo Wuxie smiled at her question. "How could there be many cultivators? There are not many at all, and most reside in separate spaces, rarely appearing in the mundane world. As for strength, due to the scarcity of spiritual energy on Earth, cultivators have a hard time as well. There aren’t many at the Nascent Soul or Out-of-Body stages—though not exactly few either. Some ancient sects, who knows how many secrets they hide?"

Leng Bingyan nodded, understanding. In her heart, she thought, "Grandpa Mo means that cultivators are a rare breed."

"Alright, night has fallen, and I’ve taught you the basics. Go rest now. Tomorrow, let grandpa train you properly." Mo Wuxie said loudly, heading toward the cottage, then suddenly turning back. "One more thing I forgot to tell you—in your current unstable state, the amount of Feathered Violet Qi within you is low. It’s best for you to sit under the moonlight every night, absorbing its yin spiritual energy to supplement and transform it into Feathered Violet Qi. This will help it fuse and harmonize with your physical body. At night, with the heavy yin, you will remain in your female form. During the day, because of the excessive yang in the space, you will likely revert to your male form."

"You must be prepared—male by day, female by night. Not everyone can withstand such a thing."

Something in Leng Bingyan's heart stirred, a warm current passing through her, and she meekly followed after him.

※※※Feather※※※Emperor※※※

The next morning, Leng Bingyan awakened from her dreams, and the first thing she did was check her body. Just as Mo Wuxie had said, with the arrival of daylight, she had reverted to her male form.

This reality was like an injection of energy, making him instantly spirited. He thought to himself that someday, he would leave behind this awkward transformation for good.

After getting up, Leng Bingyan wandered around the cottage, which was rather spacious and intricately divided into rooms. She entered what seemed to be a dining room, where breakfast was laid out on the table. Remembering that Grandpa Mo had told her to help herself to breakfast, Leng Bingyan did so without restraint, eating heartily.

Once full, Leng Bingyan prepared to go outside. At the door, he saw a mountain of round logs piled up in the front courtyard. "Wow, so many! This could burn for ages," Bingyan thought, estimating that each log was nearly a foot in diameter and ten feet long, and there must be nearly a thousand of them in the courtyard.

"Hey, girl—oh, I should call you boy now—come here quickly," Mo Wuxie called out, seeing Leng Bingyan emerge, now in his male form.

Bingyan didn’t mind and ran over to Mo Wuxie. "Grandpa Mo, what do you want? Are you going to teach me cultivation?" His face was full of anticipation.

"Impatient, aren't you? It's not that simple," Mo Wuxie said, surprised at first, then smiled.

"Not yet?" Bingyan's hopeful expression faded, and he anxiously asked, "Then... then..." He stammered without finishing his thought.

Mo Wuxie chuckled. "Don’t worry, I will teach you cultivation, but first I need to strengthen your physique. I’ve decided: during the day, I’ll train you; at night, you’ll absorb moonlight, channeling and transforming it."

"See those logs?" Mo Wuxie pointed at the pile, and when Bingyan nodded, he continued, "I want you to carry all of them to the top of that mountain over there. Finish before noon, and I’ll wait with lunch for you at the summit."

"All to the mountaintop?" Leng Bingyan’s eyes widened, looking at the thousand logs, each weighing over a hundred pounds, and the mountain at least a few miles away. Glancing at his own frail body, Leng Bingyan said pitifully, "They're too heavy and too far. I can’t move them."

"Oh, can't move them? That’s unfortunate. I was planning to teach you high-level cultivation, but..." Before Mo Wuxie could finish, Bingyan dashed to the log pile, wrapping his small arms around a thick log, struggling to lift it. His movements were awkward, and it seemed he might drop it at any moment. Mo Wuxie watched, amused, thinking, "The allure of cultivation is indeed powerful," then turned and walked toward the mountain.

"Heave—" Bingyan gritted his teeth, painfully dragging the log, inch by inch toward his destination. "No matter how heavy, for the sake of cultivation, I’ll push through!"

As the sun climbed higher, Leng Bingyan wiped sweat from his forehead and looked back—he had reached halfway up the mountain, and with a bit more effort, he’d make it. He consoled himself, but remembered that Grandpa Mo’s task was to move all the logs to the summit, and so far, he’d only moved one. His confidence wavered.

At noon, Leng Bingyan didn’t know how many times he’d wiped his brow. He only knew that he kept picking up and putting down the log, his arms aching. Finally, he glimpsed Grandpa Mo’s figure at the summit. "I made it," Bingyan collapsed, exhausted, breathing heavily, his arms too weak to even lift.

"Tired?" Grandpa Mo walked over with a smile. "Hmm, why only one log? Where are the hundreds of others?"

"Grandpa... Grandpa Mo, I... can’t... take anymore. Let me... rest a bit..." Leng Bingyan said wearily, never having endured such strenuous activity before.

"Oh, is that so? Then I won’t push you. Eat something and replenish your energy," Bingyan’s eyes brightened at the offer, but when Mo Wuxie added, "Continue moving logs this afternoon," his spirits fell once again.

"We're doing this again in the afternoon?" Bingyan groaned in misery.

"Of course. Once you’ve moved all the logs here, we’ll consider a new plan for strengthening your body."