Cultivation starts with picking up attributes-Chapter 59: Ch-: The Envoy

The door to the herbalist’s shop creaked shut behind the old man.

Rain still trickled outside, but within the wooden walls, the air seemed to freeze.

Tian Shen didn’t move from his seat, but his eyes narrowed.

Feng Yin’s fingers flexed subtly, instinctively brushing against the dagger hidden in her sash.

The old man shuffled forward. His clothes were patched and soaked, the wide-brimmed hat slanted low over his eyes.

But the Qi around him was unmistakable—coiled, ancient, and dangerous.

Like a hibernating beast that had just cracked open a lid to survey the world once more.

The herbalist, an elderly woman with cloudy eyes, looked up with a mixture of reverence and fear.

"Master Gu... it’s been a long time."

The man smiled thinly, revealing yellowed teeth.

"Are you the owner?"

The herbalist, ever polite, nodded. "Yes, Elder. May I help you?"

"I’m looking for two... assistants of yours. A man and a woman. Stayed here for about two weeks."

Feng Yin stepped out from behind the curtain, her expression calm.

"We’re here."

The old man turned his head slightly, qsniffing the air like a beast.

"I was told you helped a child recently. One whose sister was taken by Wen Li."

Tian Shen’s hand twitched.

The man’s smile widened.

"That was a mistake. Wen Li worked for people with influence."

"And yet," Tian Shen said softly, "he didn’t act like it."

The old man let out a wheezing laugh.

"No. But the people above him do. They sent me to clean things up... and decide what to do with you."

Feng Yin’s eyes narrowed.

"And what’s your judgment?"

The old man tilted his head.

"Depends on what You’ll give for me to look the other way?"

There was a long pause.

Then Tian Shen asked.

"What do you want?" fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

The old man didn’t answer him. His attention elsewhere.

"You’re not from this city," he said, voice rough as gravel. "And you smell of blood, though you wear peace like a disguise."

Tian Shen remained still.

"You’re observant."

"I’ve seen many things."

The old man’s lips twitched.

"Too many. But few that interest me anymore. You... you might be one."

Feng Yin stepped slightly in front of Tian Shen.

"State your purpose, senior. This shop is humble and causes no trouble."

The old man tilted his head.

"Trouble doesn’t need to be invited. It follows those who drag storms behind them."

A long pause. Rain whispered on the roof. Somewhere behind the shop, a windchime jingled softly, out of place with the tension tightening the air.

Then, without warning, the old man moved.

He crossed the space in a single step, His palm reached toward Tian Shen’s chest, fingers aglow with faint green Qi.

But Tian Shen was faster.

With a flicker of silver light, his beast spirit sword was in his hand, angled perfectly to deflect the incoming strike.

Steel rang against palm.

A shockwave exploded through the room. Dust rose. Shelves trembled. The herbalist fell to the ground with a gasp, and dried herbs scattered in the air.

Tian Shen slid back a step, jaw tight. The old man hadn’t budged an inch.

"Not bad."

Master Gu rasped, withdrawing his hand.

"Most would’ve fainted from the pressure alone. You have a monster in your blood."

"I don’t like being tested," Tian Shen said flatly.

"And I don’t like wasting my time."

The old man turned, moving to the hearth, and calmly poured himself a bowl of tea.

"I’m not here to arrest you, boy. If I wanted you dead, you’d already be ashes. But I sensed it the moment I entered—traces of the Exiled Flame. That technique was used recently."

Feng Yin’s eyes flickered.

"You recognized Zhao Lan’s technique?"

"No."

Master Gu said.

"I recognized his version of it. He wasn’t its first master."

Tian Shen felt a chill crawl down his spine.

"What do you mean?"

Master Gu took a sip of tea, eyes faraway.

"Decades ago, the Evil Serpent Sect had another prodigy. Stronger than Zhao Lan. Crazier. He vanished during a forbidden technique experiment, presumed dead. But I knew better. That man wasn’t just seeking strength—he was looking for a way to reach Divinity through emotional transference."

Tian Shen’s heart skipped.

"That sounds like—"

"Your power."

Gu nodded.

"Whatever it is, it mirrors his theory."

"You know about that? How?"

Feng Yin asked sharply.

The old man gave a knowing smile.

"I know the feeling of it. I know how the world bends around those who carry that kind of fate. And I know that others will come sniffing for it. Soon."

Silence.

"Why are you telling us this?"

Tian Shen asked.

"Because," Master Gu said.

"I’m the only one who can help you reach the next threshold before they do."

He pulled from his sleeve a jade talisman, shaped like a curled serpent, and set it on the table.

"Meet me at Serpent Hollow. Three days from now. There, I will test whether you are worthy of the inheritance of the Sage."

Feng Yin’s breath caught.

"The Sage? That’s a myth."

"No."

The old man said, his eyes glittering.

"He’s a shadow that never faded."

With that, he turned and limped to the door, pausing only to glance back at Tian Shen.

"Make your choice, boy. Stay and hide... or rise and face the truths buried within."

Then he left, as quietly as he’d come.

For a while, neither of them spoke.

Feng Yin cleaned up the mess of fallen herbs, but her hands were tight.

Tian Shen sat still, the jade talisman now resting in his palm.

It was warm to the touch... and pulsing faintly with Qi.

"Do you trust him?"

She asked finally.

"No," Tian Shen said. "But I believe him."

She nodded.

"Serpent Hollow. That place is cursed, isn’t it?"

"It used to be. The old battlefield during the Sect Purges. They say the land itself bites intruders."

Feng Yin frowned. "Then we need to prepare. If this is a trap—"

"I know."

They spent the next day gathering supplies.

Tian Shen reforged a set of lightweight armor from the forge’s discarded scraps.

Nothing flashy, but solid enough to deflect blades and hold Qi formations.

Feng Yin restocked her poisons, slipped needles into her sleeves, and mapped three exit routes from the city.

By the second night, they were ready.

They left before dawn, moving through Lianmu’s eastern gate as part of a farming caravan. The mist hung low, muffling hoofbeats and breathing.

Hours later, they turned off the main road, moving through twisted woods and vine-choked ruins until a black crevice opened in the earth before them.

Serpent Hollow.

The entrance was shaped like a maw—curved rocks forming what looked like jagged teeth. Faint green mist leaked from within.

Feng Yin shivered.

"Quite disturbing," she muttered.

They entered.

Inside, the cave opened into a wide underground chamber. Moss glowed faintly on the walls. The air was thick, moist, and humming with unseen Qi lines.

A figure waited in the center, sitting atop a stone altar shaped like a coiled snake. Master Gu.

"You came," he said, eyes opening slowly. "Good. Then let us begin."

He raised his hand—and the altar glowed.

Symbols carved into the stone flickered to life, and a spiral of Qi erupted around Tian Shen, lifting him into the air.

"What the hell?"

Tian Shen growled, struggling.

"It’s a trial." Master Gu said.

"The Sage’s legacy cannot be accepted. It must be earned. The spirit of the Hollow will test your essence—mind, heart, and blood."

Tian Shen snarled, his body jerking.

Then, he vanished or perhaps... the world vanished.

He stood in a barren wasteland.

Storm clouds churned above. Corpses littered the ground—men, women, children. Some faces he recognized. Some he didn’t.

Then a voice whispered from the sky:

"Would you trade their lives for your power?"

Tian Shen shook his head.

"No."

The wind howled. The ground cracked.

Feng Yin’s broken body appeared before him, bleeding.

"What if you must sacrifice love for survival?"

Tian Shen trembled, repeatedly reminding himself that this is but an illusion.

"I’d find another path."

Flames erupted, and he found himself alone, standing in a mirror hall.

Reflections of himself stared back—some twisted, others hollow, one laughing maniacally.

"Which one is real?"

"I don’t know yet," Tian Shen whispered. "But I’ll never become him."

The light vanished.

He gasped, falling back into his body.

He was back in the cave. Sweating, shivering. Kneeling.

Master Gu stood over him, face unreadable.

"You passed," the old man said softly. "Barely. The Hollow has judged you worthy. The first door is open."

A mark flared to life on Tian Shen’s shoulder—a serpent curling around a lotus.

"What is this?"

He asked, panting.

"The seal of the Sage’s path. You’ll need to find the other keys to unlock its full power."

Tian Shen looked up.

"And what if I don’t want to follow the Sage’s legacy?"

Master Gu smirked.

"Then you’ll die when the others come for you."

As Tian Shen and Feng Yin left the Hollow, the air behind them shifted.

A figure stepped out from the shadows within the cave.

A young woman dressed in snow-white robes, with silver hair and eyes like polished obsidian. The envoy of the Celestial Sword Sect from before.

She smiled.

"So the Honoured one is rising again after all... How interesting."

She vanished with a blink, leaving only silence behind.