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  Ancient Fragment #27

  As the woman stepped into the Garden of Gods, divine flowers of every conceivable color burst into bloom. Threads of divine qi danced freely in the air, drawn to her presence like joyous spirits.

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  Hours after Long Tianyu and Hua Qingqing's cultivation they stood up from the bed and left the room. It was time to prepare to help Jin Ruyan. The two discussed with the Jin family, and Jin Ruyan handed over a small bowl with a lid that would allow cold water to stay inside and not make the Crimson Gold Flower leave the bowl.

  They left the house, the wooden stairs creaked as they left the porch and crossed over the village toward the stream that they had been found at before.

  The villagers looked at the two immortals in fear.

  ''Go back inside'' the adults whispered to their children and ushered them inside. Even when warned, the children's eyes gleamed hopefully. In their hearts they hoped they would become strong cultivators like these two.

  Long Tianyu looked at the trembling villagers.

  His hand slightly raised and then he left it stay down. There was no point, they would just become more afraid that they have offended us.

  Hua Qingqing sighed slightly. This wasn't what she wanted when she started cultivating, but there was nothing she could do. Even though she had helped them before, they were all too scared to really talk with her.

  The two walked past an old house, where a young child, around 11 years sat by himself. His trousers were broken and his face dirty. The young boy's eyes lit up as he saw the two and stood up.

  ''T..Th..Thank you two immortals for helping Xue'er's mother.'' The young boy said and bowed.

  Who is this child? He's completely alone here. Long Tianyu looked at the dirty clothes and the old house. Probably an orphan...

  Hua Qingqing smiled warmly. ''You don't have to thank us. Aunt Ruyan is our friend's mother.''

  The boy nodded and went quiet. His body was slightly trembling. Even though he wanted to thank them for making his friend happy. He was terrified of Long Tianyu and Hua Qingqing. He had heard that villagers had found a tall red pine not far away, completely destroyed at the base. Many of the aunts had started whispering about the two immortals. In a small village like this whispers were the real weapon.

  Long Tianyu walked forward and clapped the kid on the shoulder, being careful not to hurting him.

  The boy grimached, damned uncle, why did you hit me so hard?

  ''Child, you don't have to be afraid of us. Do you know of Xincheng Village?''

  The boy turned his head sideways, contemplating.

  Long Tianyu looked weird.

  ''Do you know Shadowjade Mountain?''

  The boys eyes lit up. ''Yes!''

  ''Hehe, our village is on the other side. So, both me and my wife were born in a mortal village, just like you.''

  ''Really?!'' The boy's eyes widened as his mouth was large enough to fit an egg.

  Hua Qingqing giggled ''Mmm, you never know, maybe one day you will become a strong cultivator yourself.''

  ''Uh...'' The boy shook. ''Do you think I can?''

  “Why not?” Long Tianyu raised an eyebrow. “Back then, I couldn’t even lift a sack of grain without falling over. If I could cultivation, then a sharp-eyed kid like you has even better odds..”

  The boy scratched his head, clearly torn between disbelief and hope. “But… cultivators fly in the sky and can destroy mountains with their sword. I can barely climb a tree.”

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  Hua Qingqing crouched down so she was eye level with him. Her voice softened. “Did you learn how to climb the tree the first time you tried?”

  The boy hesitated, then shook his head. “I fell. A lot.”

  “Exactly.” She smiled. “Cultivation is the same. Falling hurts, but each time, you learn how to hold on a little better.”

  The boy swallowed, his small fists slowly clenching. “Then… what should I do?”

  Long Tianyu glanced at Hua Qingqing, then back at the boy. “First, stay alive. Practice every day. Eat well when you can, run when you must, and don’t pick fights you can’t win.” He smirked faintly. “That rule applies even to cultivators.”

  The boy let out a nervous laugh.

  “If fate allows,” Hua Qingqing added, “you might meet someone who can guide you. Until then, remember this feeling.” She gently tapped his chest. “That spark. Don’t let the world stomp it out.”

  Her soul force touched the boy's and gave him a cultivation technique from the Hua Clan. It would lay dormant for a few weeks.

  For a moment, the wind rustled through the trees, carrying the distant cry of a bird. The boy nodded hard, as if afraid the feeling would escape if he didn’t hold onto it.

  “Uncle… Auntie…” he said quietly. “What are your names?”

  Long Tianyu paused, and shouted “Uncle?! I’m 19 years old, who is your uncle?”

  Hua Qingqing giggled next to the two. ''I'm Hua Qingqing and this is Long Tianyu, you can call us Big Sister Qingqing and Big Brother Tianyu.''

  The boy straightened up, suddenly serious. “I’ll remember them. Big Sister Qingqing, Big Brother Tianyu, I’m Chen Mu. When I get strong someday, I’ll come find you.” He bowed, trying to act older than he was.

  Long Tianyu laughed, loud and unrestrained. “Good. If that day comes, I’ll make you treat us to wine.”

  As they turned to leave, neither of them noticed that the boy stayed there for a long time, watching them go. His fear was gone, replaced by something small, fragile, and bright.

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  Hua Qingqing showed Long Tianyu the way forward. After all she had visited the stream again after waking up. Wanting to see if any clues were left from The Godslaying Abyss.

  Long Tianyu looked up at the towering red pine trees. It feels good, having left that horrible place. The grass was green, butterflies fluttered in the soft mountain wind and birds could be heard singing far above in the canopies.

  The sounds of a small stream was heard and eventually it opened up. Tall towering mountains could be seen far away.

  ''So if we follow this we should find the cold pool''

  ''Right.'' Hua Qingqing nodded and took a step forward, walking along side the stream.

  Long Tianyu thought back to her words when they had climbed the plum blossom tree in Xincheng Village. He smiled and took a few steps forward, walking next to her.

  After an hour of walking they came upon an icy pool of water, the top was completely frozen meanwhile the small waterfall kept gurgling down to Chisong Village. The grass around the pool was frosted, but it still stood strong.

  Long Tianyu's nose stung as he breathed in the cold air. They were cultivators so as they got stronger they would be able to ignore the regular cold and heat, even eating and sleeping wouldn't be needed in the future.

  He looked upwards to the tall mountains. They were grey, large patches of snow covered the peak, they rose up like grey spikes.

  He stepped forward to the lake and punched out, exploding the surface of ice as the water shot upwards.

  ''Qingqing, this is perfect, the colder the stronger the medicine will be.'' He smiled, he was sure they could help Jin Ruyan.

  Hua Qingqing nodded and brought it out, gently putting it into the cold pool.

  ''It's really weird how its frozen here... It shouldn’t be” Long Tianyu said softly.

  The water rippled where the pot sank, thin threads of frost immediately crawling up its sides. Hua Qingqing crouched by the pool and dipped two fingers into the water. The chill bit sharply, even through her spiritual energy.

  “It’s colder beneath the surface,” she said. “Much colder.”

  Hua Qingqing narrowed her eyes. She circulated her qi and extended her soul sense into the pool.

  10 meters..

  20 meters..

  30 meters..

  40 meters..

  50 meters..

  Darkness.

  She couldn't reach the bottom of the pool. No one in the village should have reached the bottom.. I wonder what is down there.

  She kept her soul sense still and faint ripples of qi could be felt coming from the bottom.

  Her focus was interrupted by Long Tianyu ''How is it? Did you find anything?'' He had sat down on a nearby rock, they would have to wait three days here. And he would focus on cultivating the whole time.

  ''No..'' She shook her head. ''It goes further down than what my soul sense can reach, but there are faint ripples of qi coming from the bottom.''

  ''Really?'' Long Tianyu stood up, ready to jump in and find whatever it was at the bottom. He then slowly sat down, calming himself down, ''Actually, let's focus on helping Aunt Ruyan first.''

  Hua Qingqing agreed, sitting down on a flat rock opposite of Long Tianyu. The two sat in silence, with each holding a Scarlet Soul Orchid. They focused inwards on cultivation.

  Long Tianyu turned his focus on the qi cultivation within The Divine Tempering of the Three Origins. To truly use the three origins he needed to have them in harmony.

  Long Tianyu was in 1st stage of Elementary Qi, 2nd stage in Elementary Soul and 8th stage in Elementary Body.

  Hua Qingqing was in 1st stage of Qi Infusion, 1st stage in both Elementary Soul and Elementary body.

  Right now it was making them stronger than regular cultivators that focused on one of the origins. But their potential was much stronger if not for the extreme imbalance between their origins. Their divine bloodlines was also a factor in their power, especially with their own powerful scriptures of unknown rank.

  The energy of heaven and earth surged around them, though a few of the pieces of energy slowly melted into the pool of water, into the darkness below.

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  End of chapter 27 - Icy Pool