Chapter 6: The Final Letter of a Cultivator
Zhang Kai immediately recognized the robe as the standard attire of the Wudang sect, albeit the most common kind. However, the person who wore it had long since turned to bones, the time of death unknown.
Approaching the bed, he saw it was a wooden one, covered with a soft cotton mattress and neatly folded bedding, now covered in thick dust. The skeleton was seated in a meditative pose on the mattress, hands resting on its legs.
Next to the bed was a small cabinet containing several books. Pulling one out, Zhang Kai noticed a letter on top, its envelope yellowed with age, bearing the words in bold strokes: "To the succeeding Daoist practitioner."
Zhang Kai was startled. "Did this person foresee my arrival? Was he a real cultivator in the real world? But then, why did he die here?"
With these questions in mind, he opened the letter to find several sheets of ancient-looking paper. The beautifully written small script revealed the writer’s literary skill. But the opening lines were shocking:
"Hatred for being born in the wrong era! Hatred for the Dao abandoning the world! Hatred for abandoning family and child!"
The three grievances were heavily inked, reflecting the intense emotions of the writer. The letter then introduced its author:
Born in the Republic of China era, raised in Zhonghai, he took over family business as an adult, married, and had children. He should have been content with the wealth and glory that others could only dream of. Yet, an accidental encounter with a magical Daoist duel changed everything. An old Daoist and a man in a black robe, fighting like immortals from legends, leaping five to six meters high. The Daoist wielded talismans, turning them into flames and even lightning, while the man in black controlled venomous insects.
Both were gravely injured in the end. The letter writer risked his life to save the old Daoist, who, despite being bitten by the venomous insects and beyond saving, handed him a package and a token to be delivered to a Daoist named Xuan Mingzi at Wudang. The writer, however, overcome by greed after witnessing the miraculous duel, not only failed to deliver the package but also falsely claimed to be the old Daoist’s disciple. Fortunately, he had some innate talent and was accepted into Wudang, though Xuan Mingzi advised him to enjoy his worldly life rather than choosing the arduous path of cultivation. The writer, determined to pursue cultivation, stayed.
He became a junior disciple in Wudang’s Internal Alchemy sect, keeping a low profile and focusing on Xuan Mingzi's teachings. Unbeknownst to Xuan Mingzi, the withheld package contained a long-lost Internal Alchemy technique annotated by the founder, a supreme method leading directly to the Golden Elixir path.
Driven by greed, the writer studied it secretly. After Xuan Mingzi's centennial, he secluded himself in the back mountains of Wudang to pursue his dream of immortality. However, as Xuan Mingzi had warned, cultivation was arduous and seemingly impossible without spiritual energy, which was mysteriously diminishing. Panic ensued as the writer's advancements halted without the spiritual energy, essential for sustaining and replenishing magical power.
In desperation, he traveled to various mountains and rivers searching for areas rich in spiritual energy. Initially successful, he eventually found that even these famed places were devoid of it.
Realizing he might be forever cut off from the Dao, and now in his sixties, the writer's despair deepened upon discovering his family's demise in a catastrophe. Returning to Wudang, he made a final, audacious attempt to break through to the next cultivation level. Failure would mean death, success a longer life and continued cultivation. The result was the skeleton that Zhang Kai now beheld.
The letter also mentioned other secrets: the decline of other sects, mysterious places too dangerous to explore, and a fox with unusual intelligence that the writer befriended, finding solace in its company.
The writer's final request was for the reader to return the stolen Internal Alchemy techniques to Wudang, offering his hidden gold and silver as a reward.
After reading, Zhang Kai was speechless, overwhelmed by the revelations. Firstly, it confirmed that real-world cultivators once existed and were now possibly extinct. Secondly, the diminishing spiritual energy posed a grave threat to cultivation.
Considering the global decline of spiritual energy, Zhang Kai wondered if the magical items and elixirs he acquired from movies and TV shows would lose their power due to these universal rules. This realization filled him with anxiety. While martial skills faced the inevitability of death, only cultivation offered a path to immortality. If the world truly prohibited cultivation, the implications were enormous. He needed to find a solution, or like the letter's author, end up a tragic figure, dying alone, his cultivation fruitless and family lost.
Disturbed, Zhang Kai browsed the other books, finding one titled "Internal Alchemy Methods." It contained Daoist terms, explanations of meridians, and diagrams of the human body with marked paths for circulating energy. But again, if universal rules limited cultivation, even the most powerful techniques would be useless.
Driven to verify his fears, Zhang Kai looked at the fox, which sat obediently, watching him like a human. He smiled, "It seems you had a connection with a Wudang master. I'll consider you a fellow practitioner." The fox grinned and scratched the ground, expressing its excitement and happiness.
"You stay here. I've learned some secrets from this Daoist and need to ponder them. I'll visit you often. If you maintain good conduct in cultivation, I can guide you," Zhang Kai promised.
The fox prostrated again in gratitude. Zhang Kai appreciated its intelligence. Seeing it as a creature of fate, he left to verify his theories, taking the secret manual with him.
His journey back was different; he now flew over land, faster and more graceful than before, reaching his residence in less than fifteen minutes.
Locking the door, he opened a video streaming app and played "Chinese Paladin," intending to test if a magical item from the series would lose its power in reality. He chose the Five Elements Pearl, a perfect test subject. If even this item, brimming with endless spiritual energy, couldn't resist the laws of reality, then cultivation would indeed be challenging.
With a mix of nervousness and anticipation, he paused the episode where the protagonist, three times handsomer than himself, had just obtained the Fire Spirit Pearl.
The moment the pearl appeared, it emitted a brilliant red glow, comforting and enchanting. Zhang Kai felt his internal energy stir, eager to absorb it. However, the pearl's light quickly retracted, transforming into a clear, precious-looking bead, devoid of its previous aura.
Zhang Kai's heart sank.