Inhale... Exhale...
Those were the very first things Haziqa did after regaining his body before immediately setting out to find the one he believed had caused all of his suffering.
"Just wait for me, you damned Cloud Spirit... I'll make you experience pain a hundred times worse than mine."
He clenched his teeth as the thought crossed his mind.
Before he could begin his search, however, he noticed a letter resting on the Cloud Spirit's stone chair.
Ahem, you brat.
Congratulations on obtaining a body.
This Great One never breaks a promise once it has been made.
Here is the method of cultivation:
Find a place rich in spiritual soul flames.
Sit cross-legged and steady your breathing.
Empty your mind of everything that may distract you.
Then focus on a single thought... the soul flames coming to you.
You will not succeed on your first or second attempt, but if you persist, the flames will eventually come.
At that moment, the absorption process will occur naturally.
You will feel the flames transform into energy.
Circulate that energy through all of your meridians before gathering it at a single point within your body.
If you accomplish all of the above, you will officially step into the path of cultivation and become a Ninth-Rank Spirit.
But don't get too excited. The two of us are nothing more than the weakest trash in the cultivation world.
Note: Don't bother looking for me. You won't find me anyway.
Haziqa stopped reading.
The corner of his eye twitched.
"He's gone..."
A tear rolled down his cheek.
"W-Why am I crying?"
He couldn't understand the reason behind his tears.
"C-Could it be that I wanted to teach him a lesson that badly?"
His emotions were in complete disarray, and until the very end, he never understood why he cried.
He never realized that despite knowing the Cloud Spirit for only a short time, he had come to see him as his only companion amidst the crushing loneliness he had endured for years.
He never realized it.
Days passed.
After countless failures, Haziqa finally succeeded in taking his first step into cultivation.
Yet there wasn't the slightest hint of joy on his face.
"Ah... I finally succeeded."
His voice was hollow.
His empty eyes made it seem as though the achievement meant nothing to him.
Then he remembered something.
"Ah... so I'm finally a Ninth-Rank Spirit."
Silence filled the air.
"It's not really a big deal anyway."
With that, Haziqa quietly returned to cultivating.
Five years passed.
His life remained unchanged.
Cultivate.
Eat.
Sleep.
Cultivate again.
A lifeless routine devoid of meaning.
In truth, ever since reaching the Ninth Rank, Haziqa no longer needed food or sleep.
Yet he continued to eat and sleep anyway...
So that he would never again forget what it truly meant to have a body.
Then, one day...
Without the slightest warning...
The winds of change arrived.