Jintian took a deep breath of the cold air, eyeing the thick clouds above his head warily. He'd gone out to fill up their water reserves from the well, and found that it had frozen over. After instead gathering it from the stream, he'd noticed that the sky had become overcast rather swiftly, an ill omen for the weather that would surely follow.
He then reached into his bag of holding and extracted his sword, the very first one his master had given him, and then willed it to rise into the air. Pointing at a large tree close to him, the sword slashed outward, a flash of Sword Qi severing it at the base. Ancient timber groaned as the tree toppled sideways, kicking up a cloud of powdered snow.
Jintian smiled to himself. Even as strong as he had been, it would have taken him nearly half an hour of unbroken labor to fell a tree of that size, and he had accomplished the feat in the span of a breath. Sighing emotionally, he then waved his finger, further cutting the tree into dozens of small logs, which he then stored into his bag of holding along with his sword.
What would have been a couple hours' worth of labor had been done with a few waves of his finger.
Cursing Kang Shanxi in his mind for all of the countless days spent chopping down timber, he walked back into the house, where he saw Xiyun observing her toys with a thoughtful expression. She had arranged them into a small circle, and from the formality with which they had been assembled, it would seem they were in the midst of a rather serious meeting.
He ruffled his sister's hair, and such was her concentration that she only half-heartedly pushed his hand away. Jintian looked at the glowing embers within the hearth, and added a few logs to their number, once again filling the house with warmth as the flame caught.
He then made lunch for his sister and a cup of tea for himself, before sitting down and reviewing his spell theory manuals. He was currently trying to memorize all of the spell node characters relating to metal and ice.
He had learned that within spell formations, there was actually a 'core' node that served to form the basis of the element that the formation drew upon. For instance, all of the techniques that had belonged to his master's former Sect relied upon a core node that drew upon ice, but accomplished this with different characters.
The Blooming Frost Lotus, for instance, used the 'freeze' character as its core node, with the other three 'drain', 'form', and 'explode' characters serving as additive nodes.
As such, he also learned of neutral nodes, which was what the other three nodes within the spell were. These nodes were not imbued with any element, meaning they were essentially a blank canvas. While certainly effective, if they were used as a core node, the spell would suffer a significant loss in power.
He also learned during this time the importance that affinity played when using spell formations. Besides the ease with which those of a higher affinity could form the shape for a spell formation that shared it, they could also more effectively imbue the element they were proficient with into a neutral node.
While someone with an average affinity for ice could cast the same Blooming Frost Lotus, their spell would contain one ice node and three neutral nodes. Meanwhile those with a higher affinity could imbue the element into more neutral nodes, thus resulting in a Blooming Frost Lotus spell formation that contained two, three, or even four ice aligned nodes, which would greatly enhance the effects of the spell.
As it was, he was still learning how to imbue his affinity into these neutral nodes. He'd had preliminary success with performing the Blooming Frost Lotus with two ice aligned nodes, but any more than that and the spell formation became unstable.
For now, at least.
The entire subject was complicated, and just like his other areas of study, would require many more months or even years of research before he could fully understand and implement them. Still, it felt good to be making progress, and he was growing more and more proud of his capability for spell formation with each passing day.
After a couple of hours, he looked up and was startled to realize that the world outside of the windows had grown dark. He heard wind wailing around the house, and saw thick snowflakes streaking past the window, heavy and innumerable.
It would seem the storm he'd seen earlier had arrived in full.
Xiyun was sitting next to him, her head drooping and her eyes closing as she fought sleep. Smiling, he picked her up and carried her to bed, tucking her in.
He added a couple more logs to the fire, and stashed a neat pile of wood to the side for ease, before unfurling the purple scroll his master had left and setting up the Go board with the puzzles he'd written. After a bit of time, he was in the midst of trying to solve it, his brows furrowed, when he heard a voice outside calling out past the storm.
"Elder Kang!" They yelled desperately. "Elder Kang please, it's Lin Feng from the village! We need your help!"
Jintian blinked in surprise, sending out his spiritual sense and seeing a person standing just outside of the door. They were shivering, their head bowed. He recognized Lin Feng. In fact, when Jintian was a youth, he had helped expand his house, and Lin Feng was the father to one of the boys that Xiacheng had been friends with.
Hurriedly standing, he rushed to the door, sliding it open. "Elder Kang, thank y-" Lin Feng began, before freezing as he saw Shen Jintian. He looked at him in shock for a few moments, before a hint of apprehension could be seen on his face. "Shen Jintian? Where's Elder Kang?"
Jintian hurriedly brought him into the house, closing the door behind him. Lin Feng was shivering dreadfully, and judging the blast of frigid air he had been hit by just by opening the door he could only imagine how miserably cold it was outside.
"Elder Kang left for the city further north to procure some things." He explained, sitting Lin Feng down in front of the fire and immediately grabbing blankets to throw over his shoulders. He poured him a cup of tea, before sitting across from him. "What is it?"
Lin Feng wrapped his hands around the warm cup, but did not drink it. "Jintian, it's the children, they…" He began, biting down hard on his lips as anxiety choked the words from him.
Jintian nodded to him encouragingly, and Lin Feng took a deep breath. "We told them." He said bitterly, tears springing to his eyes. "We told them to be back. We saw the storm coming in, and told them to be back before it started snowing. But they haven't returned, and… oh my little Hechun…"
Each word increased Jintian's alarm, until finally he could contain his words no longer. "There are children out in this storm!?" He gasped, and Lin Feng nodded, his eyes wide with desperation. "For how long!?"
"We first noticed almost half an hour ago. We know they went out to play by the caves near Breaking Stone Grotto. Others went out into the storm, but I know they have almost no chance of finding them in these conditions." He said rapidly, eyes downcast. "However, Elder Kang… we know he's an Immortal now. But if he's gone, then…"
Jintian took a breath, before standing. "My little sister is in that room there, Shen Xiyun. Please watch over her until I get back. I have firewood there, but in case you need more, there is a small shed attached to the house that holds more." He said, walking to the door.
"Wh-where are you going?" Lin Feng asked. "You can't possibly do anything in this storm…"
Jintian smiled over his shoulder, his expression melancholic. "I'm an Immortal too, now." Was all he said, before stepping out into the blizzard.
Instantly he was buffeted by the screaming wind, his eyes stinging as snow dug ferociously into them. He circulated his Qi through his body, and the cold was no longer quite so unbearable.
Kang Shanxi had told him that once he reached the Fifth Circle, he would be able to sustain flight on a sword, and once he reached Foundation Establishment he would be able to fly directly, earlier if he found a magical technique for it. But as it was, he would need to go on foot.
However, as a Third Circle cultivator, his speed was nearly double what it could have been in his mortal peak, which was already three times as fast as a mortal man. As such, circulating his Qi through his pathways, he leapt out into the storm, racing through the woods.
Breaking Stone Grotto was closer to Cang Forest than it was to Kang Shanxi's home. On a horse at full gallop, the trip could take as little as ten minutes, and Jintian was far faster than a horse was now. He knew he could make the trip in less than seven minutes. But in a storm like this, every minute would matter.
The trees flashed past him as he weaved through them at blinding speed, protecting his eyes with a thin layer of Qi so that he would not have to close them against the storm.
Soon, his breath came in rough pants, his heart hammering painfully in his chest. But he did not dare stop, until he saw the boulder that gave Breaking Stone Grotto its name. It was nearly three times the size of a person, and was split jaggedly down the middle. He had heard once that a lesser mountain god had been born from it, emerging like a butterfly from a cocoon.
But that did not matter to him. There were a small network of caves close to the Grotto. He sent out his spiritual sense, and growled in frustration as he felt nothing but snow and small rodents hibernating beneath it. He debated running around to search for them, but knew every moment he wasted was the difference between life and death for these children.
Suddenly, he remembered how heightened his senses were when within Beast Transformation. He hurriedly sent his moons crashing down into his Circles, the water of them rippling before erupting with a silver glow. Instantly he felt his bones creaking, his blood rushing through his veins, and his senses reaching unprecedented heights..
Suddenly the darkness of the storm became almost as bright as day, though washed in shades of grey. He sniffed the air, and nearly cheered with excitement when he caught the faintest whiff of a scent. There was only a faint trace of it through the storm, almost buried completely, yet it was sharp, stinging his nostrils and the roof of his mouth.
An instinctual part of him realized what it was.
Fear. He could smell fear.
He pushed the thought away, and followed the scent, rushing toward it. The scent was soon joined by several others, and he eventually stood next to a small lump in the snow where the scents converged.
He dug into it, clawed hands sending inches of snow flying away at a time, until he breached what looked like a small dome. Inside, he saw five children huddled together, shivering so hard that he could hear their teeth rattling.
One of them turned to look at where the breach had occurred, and then screamed in pure terror, instantly devolving into tears. Cursing himself, Jintian willed the moons to rise, and soon he was returned to his normal appearance.
The rest of the children were too weak to look, and Jintian took a breath. He flushed his Qi into the area, gritting his teeth as he willed the snow around him to form a dome similar to what the children had made for themselves, but larger and more complete, with a funnel to vent smoke outward from it.
His first few attempts failed, and he grew more desperate with every second that ticked by. Until finally, the snow around him swirled upward, condensing into a hardened dome that was four meters across, and the screaming of the wind quieted into a whispering wail.
With his task completed, he reached into his bag of holding and tossed firewood into the small vent he'd created, lighting it with his very first spell formation. Almost instantly blessed warmth filled the small dome, and he pushed the weakened children toward it.
After a few minutes, their shivering stopped, and their labored breathing grew easier. They all looked at Jintian with wide eyes, and he swallowed thickly. "Don't worry. You're safe, now. We'll stay here until the storm passes."
The children immediately burst into tears, hugging him tightly. Even the one who had seen his Beast Transformation seemed to be so grateful that he didn't let his previous fear stop him from crowding around Jintian, who held them all tightly in his arms.
"It's okay." He whispered fiercely, tears springing to his eyes. "It's okay, I found you all. I found you all."
After the children stopped crying, they all huddled around the fire, sniffling both from their tears and the cold that had seeped into their very bones. Jintian inspected them all over, and though a little sniffly, none seemed to have permanent lasting damage like frostbite. Still, he would ask Kang Shanxi to check them for sickness once he got back.
"You're… you're Xiacheng's brother." One of the boys said hesitantly, and Jintian looked at him. It was the same boy who had once boasted that he would hunt a boar to his brother, a lifetime ago. Lin Feng's son.
Jintian nodded, smiling sadly to him. "Yes, I'm Jintian." He answered, and the boy seemed to hesitate for a few moments.
"My dad said you were the reason the village was on fire… the reason my mom died." He whispered, and a few of the other children nodded. Then, he clenched his little fists and shook his head resolutely. "But that can't be right. You would never do something like that."
Jintian smiled, though the expression was almost heartbreaking on his features. He couldn't find the will to tell this child that he had indeed been the reason for all of that misery.
Still, a couple of the other children nodded with him. "Yeah. You saved our lives, Mr. Shen!" One little girl said, before bowing like she had seen her parents do time and again to Kang Shanxi, when he'd healed her broken leg. "Thank you Mr. Shen!"
Immediately the rest of the children performed the same bow. "Thank you Mr. Shen!" They chorused, and Shen Jintian covered his mouth with a hand, the emotion choking his voice away.
In truth, he had always carried a sense of deep guilt over what happened to the village. Besides his own personal vengeance, that guilt had been the reason he always pushed himself unceasingly in his cultivation efforts. Furthermore, it had increased several fold when he'd gone to visit his farm, and saw that the village clearly felt the same way. He had always felt like he did not deserve to be the one to live, when so many of the village people had died.
But hearing the children' s voices, he could not help but bow to them, as he felt the slightest amount of the weight that had been pressing on his shoulders lift away. "No, there's no… you don't need to thank me." He whispered. "I'm just glad you're all okay."
He felt a tiny hand pat him on the head, and he looked up to see a particularly young boy stroking his hair consolingly. "It's okay Mr. Shen. Don't be sad."
Shen Jintian smiled, the expression no longer quite so sorrowful on his features. He hurriedly wiped his eyes, before clearing his throat. "Are you all hungry?" He asked, and the children nodded. He reached into his bag of holding and produced a few slabs of meat, which he controlled with Qi to hover over the fire.
The children watched him do this with wonder, eyes sparkling as he then floated the meat into the air and pulled out a small knife, carving off slices and handing passing them into waiting hands. Perhaps it was their brush with death, or perhaps it was simply because their bellies were now full, but the children immediately began to nod off one by one, resting against each other and falling asleep shortly after.
Shen Jintian stroked their hair comfortingly, before looking up at the dome around them. He sighed, wondering how the snow could be so cruel as to almost take these precious young lives away from the village.
And then he frowned, shaking his head. No… snow, ice, wasn't cruel. It simply was. It fell to the earth, not by its own will but by the whim of Heaven. It did not ask to be created, it did not wish to harm. It simply was a result of the cycle of seasons. It existed, and as such, it both brought the blessings of rich soil, but also the dangers of swift death. And then, when its time came, it melted away, leaving the earth it had been cast upon, to once again enter the cycle in a new form.
After a few hours passed, the storm finally died down, and he led the children to the village. They had already begun to form a search party, but when Jintian led the children to safety, they hugged tightly to their little ones with teary eyes. Then, they bowed to Jintian, thanking him profusely while weeping.
He watched them all leave, and sighed emotionally, looking up into the night sky. Although the village might not have forgiven him for the role he played in its destruction, he had saved members of the future generation, and thus… he could not be hated.
Jintian thought that he was like the snow, then. He did not wish to harm. He only existed, and thus danger was brought to those around him due to the whims of Heaven. And yet, he too could bring his own blessings, like saving those children.
When that thought entered his mind, he felt something inside of him profoundly change.
He simply was. Ice simply was. Neither good nor evil, malign nor benevolent. He could bring death, but at the same time, could also bring blessing. Only by falling among the world around him.
He felt the Qi in his body shift, taking on a colder feeling than it had previously. Like faintly drifting snow. Although he did not know the reason for this change now, he would later learn from a profoundly shocked Kang Shanxi that he had just stumbled upon the beginnings of a Dao, one that many in his Sect would only dream of having the good fortune of encountering.
The Dao of Ice.