Cultivation is Creation

Li Yuan focused on his surroundings; on the way the forest had begun to thin out as they walked. It reminded him of the forests near the Flowing Stream Sect, where he used to train...

The thought of his old sect brought a fresh wave of melancholy. He missed it – the familiar training grounds, the sound of disciples practicing their sword arts, even the strict instructors who would berate them for the slightest flaw in their form. It hadn't been perfect, but it had been home.

Almost unconsciously, Li Yuan reached inward, touching the space where his inner world resided. The contact sent a spike of pain through his spiritual sense – not physical pain, but something deeper, more fundamental. Where once there had been an endless ocean, now there was only void.

He remembered his old inner world clearly: a vast expanse of water that stretched to every horizon, powerful currents flowing in complex patterns that represented his understanding of the Ocean's Will Sword Dao.

At its heart had been his sword, drawing power from the depths like the moon pulls the tides. It had been beautiful, in its way – an expression of his belief that true power came from persistence, from wearing away resistance like waves against a cliff.

Now... now his inner world was empty.

The ocean was gone, replaced by an infinite darkness that somehow felt hungry. His sword still floated in that darkness, but it was different – no longer the instrument of inevitable victory he had crafted, but something colder, more absolute.

The Hollow Sword Dao suited his new existence, he supposed. What was he now but a hollow shell, animated by another’s power and bound by unbreakable contracts?

"You're brooding," Mo Qingyin's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Let me guess – thinking about your old sect? Your old life?"

"Of course, I am. We all do." She shrugged. "But I try to focus on the advantages of our situation instead."

“Advantages,” Li Yuan raised an eyebrow. "We're slaves to an insane collector who treats us like toys."

"We're powerful," she corrected. "More powerful than we would have been otherwise. I would have died from my corrupted cultivation. You would have remained dead after whatever it was that killed you. Instead, we have these new bodies, enhanced abilities, and the chance to continue existing." She smiled, and for once it seemed genuine rather than calculated. "Is it really such a terrible trade?"

"Ask yourself that question again after another century as a statue in the void," Li Yuan suggested.

"Point taken,” Mo Qingyin's smile faded. “Though I notice you haven't tried to escape yet, despite clearly hating our master. Why is that?"

"Because I'm not stupid," Li Yuan said bluntly. "The contract binds our souls, not just our bodies. Even if we somehow managed to break free of his control, where would we go? These bodies are constructs he created – they'd collapse without his power sustaining them. And our souls..."

"Would shatter," she finished. "Yes, I've considered all that too. But surely there must be a way. Someone, somewhere, must have found a method to break soul-binding contracts..."

Li Yuan was saved from having to respond by a pulse from the crystal in his hand. He held it up, noting how the light had intensified. "We're getting closer."

Mo Qingyin immediately shifted stance, her playful demeanor disappearing as she focused on their mission. "Can you sense anything yet?"

Li Yuan extended his spiritual sense, probing the area ahead. After a moment, he nodded. "There's someone about half a li ahead, near the base of that hill. They're trying to mask their presence, but..."

"But they don't know what they're hiding from," Mo Qingyin finished with a predatory smile. "Shall we introduce ourselves?"

Li Yuan looked at the crystal again which was almost flaring, confirming that they had indeed found their target. Someone else was about to join their master's collection, whether they deserved it or not. Another statue for the void, another soul bound in eternal servitude.

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

But he didn't have a choice. None of them did.

"Let's get this over with," he said, and started forward towards their unsuspecting target.

They found him sat meditating at the base of the hill, his plain sword laid across his knees as he faced the lake.

In the pre-dawn light, there was something almost peaceful about the scene – the kind of moment that, in another life, Li Yuan might have appreciated for its simple beauty.

"Well, isn't he just asking to be ambushed?" Mo Qingyin whispered from beside him. "Sitting there with his eyes closed, back to the forest..."

Li Yuan studied their target more carefully. He appeared young, perhaps seventeen or eighteen. His features were unremarkable at first glance, but there was something in his bearing, even in meditation, that suggested hidden depths. The way he held himself, the perfect stillness of his posture – this was no ordinary cultivator.

"He knows we're here," Li Yuan said quietly, noting how the mist seemed to curl away from the target in subtle patterns. "Those aren't natural formations in the mist. He's using it to sense his surroundings."

Mo Qingyin's eyes narrowed as she noticed what Li Yuan had seen. "Clever boy. Though it won't help him much." She reached into her sleeve and pulled out a small black seed. "Shall I start with something subtle, or should we skip straight to overwhelming force?"

Li Yuan considered their options. The target was supposedly powerful enough to catch the Masked One's attention, which meant underestimating him could be fatal. On the other hand, they had the advantage of numbers and surprise – even if he knew they were there, he couldn't know exactly where or when they would strike.

"Take the left flank," Li Yuan decided. "I'll approach from the right. Create an opening for me.”

“I have just the technique in mind,” Mo Qingyin's smile turned cruel as she channeled qi into the seed, causing it to sprout into a nightmarish black flower. "My babies never fail.”

“Just remember we're taking him alive." Li Yuan replied, though privately he wondered if their master would really care either way.

The Masked One's obsession with "protagonists" seemed to focus more on their souls than their physical state. Still, better to follow orders exactly – the punishment for failure would be bad enough without adding disobedience to it.

They split up, moving through the trees with the silent grace of practiced hunters. Li Yuan kept his spiritual sense extended, monitoring both Mo Qingyin's position and their target. Their target hadn't moved, his breathing remaining steady and rhythmic. If he truly was aware of their presence, he was doing an excellent job of hiding it.

Li Yuan reached the position they'd agreed on, close enough to cross the distance to their target in a single burst of speed. He looked across the clearing to where Mo Qingyin crouched in the shadows, her black flower now fully bloomed and ready to release its toxic pollen.

She caught his eye and nodded. Li Yuan held up three fingers, then two, then one...

Mo Qingyin's flower exploded into a cloud of black spores that rushed towards the young man like a swarm of angry insects. At the same instant, Li Yuan burst from cover, his sword materializing in his hand as he crossed the distance in a flash.

What happened next would have been beautiful if it wasn't so terrifying.

Without opening his eyes or moving from his meditation pose, their target’s sword lifted from his lap and began to dance. There was no other word for it – the blade moved through the air in precise, flowing patterns that seemed to follow some music only it could hear. Where it passed, Mo Qingyin's pollen simply... ceased to exist, as though it had never been.

Li Yuan's strike, aimed at a nerve cluster that should have paralyzed their target's sword arm, met nothing but air as the young man’s body swayed slightly to the side. The movement was so subtle, so perfectly timed, that Li Yuan's blade missed by mere millimeters without their target appearing to have moved at all.

"Interesting," the young man said, opening his eyes. "You're not the ones I was expecting. Your spiritual signatures are... wrong. Hollow, somehow. Though I suppose that makes sense, given what you are."

Li Yuan took a step back, reassessing their target. That casual display of skill...

"Our master sent us to collect you. Come willingly, and this doesn't have to end in violence."

The words felt hollow even as he spoke them. No one ever surrendered to the Masked One's servants – why would they? The best case scenario was an eternity as a statue in the void, waiting to be used as a puppet. The worst case... well, Li Yuan tried not to think about what happened to the souls that proved unsuitable for their master's collection.

"Collect me?" Wu Kangming raised an eyebrow. "An interesting choice of words. And if I refuse this... collection?"

"Then we take you by force," Mo Qingyin purred, twirling her dagger. Dark flowers began blooming in the air around her, their petals razor-sharp and dripping with something that made the grass wither where it fell. "Though personally, I hope you resist. It's so much more fun that way."

Wu Kangming looked between them, frowning. "I'll give you one chance to return to your master. Alive." His sword rose into a guard position that Li Yuan didn't recognize – the blade perfectly vertical, tip pointing at the stars. "I don't know what hold he has over you, but I have my own path to walk. I won't be anyone's collection piece."

Li Yuan felt a hollow laugh escape his lips. "We don't have a choice in this matter. Our souls belong to him now." His sword shifted into the opening stance of the Hollow Sword Dao. "And soon, yours will too."

"We'll see about that."

"You're quite confident for someone outnumbered two to one." Mo Qingyin laughed, though Li Yuan noticed she had shifted to a more defensive stance.

"I am Wu Kangming," he said simply, as though that explained everything. Perhaps it did.

The words had barely left their target’s mouth before the real battle began.