It's been over a month since then. Student Fen has been expelled from the sect. His family is rich, so he's managed to keep his life, though not his honor. He accuses his former friends of betraying him. They believe he's trying to blame them to save himself. No one suspects me. I'm just a slave.
Shi was very surprised that I was saved. I think she suspects something. She hasn't asked though. However, that day, her eyes seemed to pierce my soul. Since then, everything is the same. Nothing has changed. Except that I was rid of a threat.
Enough time has passed, and a week ago, one of the slaves achieved stage one. I don't think they would suspect anything if I do it too. Besides, I've been near for a while. Master Mu knows this, among others.
I'm in the cultivation room. We can reserve it once a year for a maximum of two days. In theory, only if we think we can advance to the next stage. But we also reserve it when we want a break. We use cultivation as an excuse.
They probably suspect us, but they let it go. It's more important that a slave occasionally improves his cultivation, as it improves our efficiency.
I'm having a hard time suppressing the energy, despite I've only taken a fragment of the fragment. But of course, it's a level six pill. From the bag I left in the room, I cut a piece of one of the pills. It's not the best or most efficient method, as it loses some power.
It's better to sell it, and then buy level one pills if that's what you need. You can get a lot of lower level pills by selling a higher one. That is, of course, if you're not a slave. We can't buy and sell. So, I have to make do with what I have.
Raising your cultivation, at least from what I know, is based on expanding your qi container. To do this, when you cultivate, you force the absorption until it exceeds the limit. Of course, there's not much you can force, and it's slow. You absorb qi to expand the container a little, absorb again, and so on and so forth. It's a very long process, as it expands very slowly.
Pills, on the other hand, contain a high concentration of qi. It's released as it breaks down and pours into the container. Thus, the limit is exceeded much more and constantly.
You have to be very focused to release the excess. If you exceed the limit too much, the container can be damaged. Therefore, you have to be very careful when absorbing a pill.
Another problem with cultivation pills is that you can't take too many in a row. When passing through the digestive system, a lot of qi is concentrated there. So, it's dangerous to take another one until the body finishes absorbing it, or it disperses. At least, that's the information that we slaves have managed to gather by listening here and there. You also can't force the container too hard too often. You have to let it rest.
My problem is that I'm using a piece of a pill that is too high level for me. So, it generates more qi than I can absorb. That's the reason I take very small pieces. It ends up being like small explosions.
It's proving more painful than I thought. I've almost lost consciousness. If it weren't for the fact that I'm so close, I wouldn't do it.
This time, a meridian has almost been opened. It's a circuit for the qi to circulate through the body, reinforcing it, making it stronger.
Each stage of the Genesis realm must open twice as many meridians as the previous one, one in the first. They say it's about five hundred to go from stage nine to the Soul realm. I can't imagine. It's taken me years to open one.
I rest for a while as the container expands slightly, and part of the qi dissipates. I think I'll get it next time or the next. I don't know how many hours I've been stuck here.
—————
It took three more, but I've done it. It's a strange, gratifying sensation. I feel the energy that was previously static circulating through my body. I feel as it's even healing old injuries very slowly.
I don't leave until they open the door, there's no rush. Not only do I need to get used to the feeling, but I avoid having to work. The guard watching looks at me, and I nod. He's not a slave, he's a low-ranking servant. He doesn't get paid much, but at least he's free. Also, they're above us. At least, he's one of those who doesn't treat us badly.
"Congratulations. Go register," he says. His smile is sincere.
I bow and go over there. Today the person in charge is a young and serious-looking woman, but I know she's much older.
She looks annoyed. None of them like being there, but they have to put up with it when it's their turn. That makes them treat us even worse than usual.
"What do you want?" she asks me with disdain. She only looks at me out of the corner of her eye for just a second.
"I've reached stage one."
"Put your hand on the stone and force the qi to circulate," she orders me, without looking at me.
I do what she tells me. The stone shines slightly. The sensation of a bit of my qi being absorbed is strange.
"Come closer."
She takes a metal seal and presses it to my neck. I don't know how she got it to burn, but it burns. It hurts, but pain isn't exactly something we're not used to.
"You can go."
I leave. The qi seems to circulate more strongly through the painful area. Somehow, the pain disappears faster than normal.
—————
I get to the dormitory and point to my mark.
"Ah, congratulations. Take a room, and tell me which one it is," the person in charge for this week greets me.
Upon reaching stage one, we rise in rank as slaves, and get a room. I don't find many differences between them. So, I choose the one that seems the least bad. They record it, as well as writing my name on the door. It can be easily erased. It's mostly informative.
It's late enough that I don't have to go to work. It's not a coincidence. We all usually do it premeditatedly to work as little as possible. One of our little tricks, our little rebellion. It's all we can do.
I wait in my old space. When Shi sees me, she seems disappointed. She may think I've failed by being there. After seeing the mark on my neck, she realizes she was wrong.
"Congratulations!" she exclaims.
"Thank you. Are you coming with me?"
She looks at me and smiles. She's about to cry but stops herself. Maybe, she was afraid I'd leave her. Well, it's not that weird either. I wouldn't be the first slave to do something like that.
She grabs her few belongings and follows me. The room isn't much different than our previous space, just a bit bigger. Besides, it has walls. There's also an unrefined light stone on the wall. It provides light when applying qi. Ours are cheap and not very efficient, but it's something. She turns to me, strangely shy.
"I'm sorry, I'd like to, but I can't today," she apologizes.
I don't understand why she does this. There's never been a need for an apology. I think she's still afraid of being abandoned.
"It's okay. Do you need help with anything? Should I go get the ointment?"
"No, there's no need. It's just that I'm in pain. There've been three in a row. And another three to Song. They had a party."
Song is a red-haired, freckled, green-eyed, big-breasted slave, which also makes her a victim of students who like that type. She's quite close to Shi, and even to me. We've had sex sometimes if Shi isn't around. It'd be weird for someone who wasn't a slave, it'd be almost adultery, but it's not for us.
It'd be unthinkable for Shi to get angry or jealous. I even think she suggested it herself. It's safer for her friend than sleeping alone. Some slaves can be violent. The truth is, I don't know how they put up with it.
—————
After learning that I'm at stage one, Master Mu has reserved me every morning. From now on, I'll alternate copying symbols with learning to imbue qi. That means I'm a little more valuable now. It's good for me. I'm a little more protected now.
I still haven't mastered my strength, so I've been sent to chop wood all afternoon. That way, I can practice alone. The truth is that I'm faster than before, and I can carry more weight. But, as always, I'm not giving my best. We give ourselves room.
I take the opportunity to check the jade treasure once more. Now, I can try adding qi to it. I'm a little nervous when I do it. Though, it's disappointing. There's no reaction. Maybe, I should throw it away, so they can't relate it to me.
I've already tried with blood. The only test remaining is using blood and qi at the same time. It'd be strange if I discovered something. Separately, they've had no reaction. I'm going to leave, but I change my mind. If I don't do it, I'll be left with the doubt.
I cut myself. A couple of drops fall, and I try to give them qi. Nothing happens. Well, I didn't expect much either. Wait a minute. Something shines?
"Waaah! What's this!?"
It's been an explosion of light. It's completely dazzled me. I blink several times, until my eyes adjust again. I still see little stars. I anxiously search for the treasure to see what has changed in it, but I can't find it. I had left it on a log. I don't know where it's gone.
After a good while of searching and searching, I have to admit that it's disappeared. Was that light an explosion? It seems that it has been a waste of time, although it was exciting. And disappointing.
I better stop thinking about it. It's getting late. So I start to transport the wood I have cut. I return to my life as a slave.
—————
There's no sex tonight either. Shi must have spent the whole day in pain. On top of that, she wants to apologize to me. I guess the ranking system is very ingrained in all of us, and now I am superior. But I have a hard time being superior to her.
I start cultivating. I haven't done it since I reached stage one. I still need qi to fill up. All I can do is force it to go faster. I could also rest and let it fill naturally.
Hmm, there's something strange. It's a weird feeling, as if there's something inside my body, but I don't know where. Is it something from stage one? I've never heard of anything like that. I try to circulate qi through that something. It's strange. I don't know where it is, but I can send qi to it.
I feel something. It's as if I can access a different place, but I can't enter it. I just see it. It's a strange feeling. There's a room with a box and a sheet of paper on it. I'd like to know what it says on the paper, to read it.
I have the absurd feeling that I can pick it up. I try without much conviction. I use my mind, because I can't bring my hands to something that only exists in my imagination. Suddenly, the paper appears in my hand.
I'm completely baffled. How's this possible? But it is, the paper is here. I can touch it. It's real. And I don't understand what it says. The letters are strange. I've never seen them before. I look at Shi. She's still sleeping.
I don't understand anything. I apply qi to the paper. It's just trying for the sake of trying. Something happens for a moment. I apply qi again, but it doesn't work anymore. I feel quite confused.
I look at the sheet without knowing what to do. They're the same strange letters, but now I understand them. I don't know whether to scream, or pinch myself in case it's a dream. While I make up my mind, I start reading it. It says:
If you're reading these lines it means that you've linked the Phantom Residence. Congratulations, you're compatible with the last of its kind. Before continuing, a warning, don't talk to anyone about this, unless that someone belongs to you. There are those who are seeking it to destroy it, as it has happened with the others, or to take it for themselves. In any case, you would die.
Let me tell you about the Residence. First, it is now a part of you. You will only lose it when you die.
The room you got this paper from is infinite. We call it a warehouse. You can put in and take out anything just by wishing it, but only non-living objects. It doesn't require training or great skills, it will obey your will.
You can also sense the Residence itself. You can create rooms out of nothing, They can be closed, with access to open space or between them. You just have to imagine the layout. You can even put barriers to open space, to separate areas. You just need to imagine it.
You can't create furniture, so I recommend you hoard what you can when you have the chance. There are a few in the warehouse. You just need to desire it to create the barriers, rooms, or move objects or people from one place to another. Yes, people. You can bring in anyone with a lower cultivation level than you, as long as they have agreed to submit to you, and if they are of the gender you like.
To subdue someone, all you need is their will. It is useful for them to say something like "I submit," but the important thing is that they accept it. It does not matter if it is by their own will, coercion, or violence. If they accept, that person is yours. You can bring them anywhere in the Residence, except the warehouse.
The open space nourishes the people there, but I advise you to bring them real food as well. It's not a bad idea to bring seeds to plant, or livestock. For more details, there is a complete manual, a red-covered book in the warehouse. But it is boring, and there is not much other useful information.
The Residence may seem incredible, but it is not meant to exist on its own. It is rather a complement to the cultivation method in the locked box, the one that was under this paper. There is a notebook for each realm. Make sure you read them carefully. Also, make sure that no one discovers the method. It is the most efficient method to climb to the highest levels of cultivation, wherever you are now, even if you are just starting out. That is why you have to be careful. If they find out that you are improving too fast, they may suspect you.
It is a method that is forbidden to some, and that requires not being tied to certain moral conventions. However, don't worry too much. If it is forbidden, it is because they are hypocrites. It bothers them because they cannot use it, but nothing more. Banning and denigrating it is an excuse to get rid of what they consider a threat, or they envy. As if they do not kill without hesitation for their own benefit.
If you have linked the Residence, it means that the method is suitable for you. Now, I recommend that you familiarize yourself with the Residence, and then open the box. Whatever realm you are in, start with the first one, the realm of Genesis. You need to know it and master it before moving on to the next.
Good luck and enjoy the process. Above all, don't get caught.
I think I've been staring at the paper for ten minutes. Or half an hour. I don't know how many times I've read it. I pinch myself. It hurts, but I don't wake up. I try to put the paper away. I take it out again. I put it back. I move it. I put a piece of clothing inside. I take it out. It works in an incredibly simple way.
Now I create a room. I make it disappear. I create another one. I put inside a bed that was in the warehouse. I take the bed back. I create another room. I create a door to the first one. Another door outside. I remove the door. I put a barrier around a rock, I remove it.
I should go to sleep, it's late, but I can't. I open the box and take out the first notebook. It's a book of sexual techniques, and how to absorb qi through sex. I blink and start reading the notebook again. Yes, I've read it right.
I start studying it immediately, but I can't understand anything. I'm too tired to focus. I think I've overdone it today with my physic. I'm not used to it yet. I can't take it anymore, I have to sleep. As incredible as it all is, I have to get up and work tomorrow.
I'm having trouble falling asleep. I haven't fully assimilated what has happened. My heart is still beating hard. Will I wake up, and it's all been a dream?