Two days passed by, in the blink of an eye. Tianmo has successfully broken through the late-eighth stage of the cultivation realm.
Very early morning, Tianmo's mother, Madam Cai, clad in black silk robes, stood before his chamber door. Her face was pale, her hands clasped tightly together, her knuckles white. She had been standing there for nearly an incense stick's time, gathering the courage to knock.
Finally, she raised a trembling hand and tapped lightly on the heavy wooden door.
"Son... It's Mother," she called out, her voice barely a whisper.
Inside, Tianmo was seated cross-legged on a meditation primordial green lotus, his eyes closed, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth swirling around him in visible, iridescent currents.
He didn't open his eyes.
"Enter."
The door swung open silently. Madam Cai stepped inside, her movements hesitant. The chamber was bright with profound and dense spiritual energy, the air humming with a power that made her newly awakened spirit roots tremble in resonance. She saw her son floating above a lotus of pure jade, his form ethereal, bathed in a soft, golden light.
She swallowed, her throat dry. "Son... I made a breakthrough to the first stage but I am unable to freely circulate the Qi stored in my dantian... I am afraid I might have made a mistake."
Tianmo opened his eyes. The green light faded, leaving behind the cold, dark voids that were his irises. He looked at his mother, but there was no warmth in that gaze, no filial piety. There was only the detached assessment of a craftsman examining a flawed piece of jade.
"Show me," he commanded, his voice echoing slightly in the chamber.
Madam Cai flinched. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and focused inward. She visualized the Qi in her Dantian, a small, swirling vortex of energy. She tried to guide it, ton it, to send it flowing through her meridians as the manual instructed.
Nothing happened.
The Qi remained stubbornly stagnant, a dense, unmoving pool in her lower abdomen. She pushed harder, her brow furrowing with effort. A sharp, stabbing pain lanced through her gut, stealing her breath. She gasped, her eyes flying open, her hand flying to her stomach.
"Ah! It... it hurts. It feels like a stone is lodged there," she whispered, her voice trembling with pain and frustration.
Tianmo observed her for a moment, his expression unreadable. He descended from the lotus, his feet touching the stone floor without a sound. He walked toward her, his movements fluid and silent.
He stopped before her, his shadow falling over her like a shroud. "The problem is not with your technique," he stated, his voice flat and devoid of emotion.
"It seems the problem lies within you... Mother has somehow the reverse technique. The Qi is flowing backward, causing a blockage in your meridians," Tianmo said, his voice devoid of any warmth.
"I need to touch you to confirm," Tianmo said, his tone clinical. "Remove your robe."
Madam Cai's eyes widened, a flicker of maternal indignation flashing across her face before it was quickly smothered by a wave of cold understanding. This was not her son speaking; this was a cultivator, a being of logic and power. She was a patient presenting a symptom to a physician. The fact that the physician was her own child was irrelevant.
Her hands trembled slightly as she untied the sash of her black silk robe. The fabric slid from her shoulders, pooling at her feet. She stood before him, naked, her body pale and soft in the dim light of the chamber. She was a woman in her prime, her curves full and inviting, but her posture was rigid, her arms crossed protectively over her chest.
"Please sit in lotus with crossed legs, I will try to guide the Qi," Tianmo said, his voice flat, devoid of any inflection that might betray a flicker of discomfort or recognition of the intimacy.
Madam Cai hesitated for a heartbeat, her gaze dropping to the floor. The air in the chamber felt suddenly colder, thinner. She was his mother. The woman who had carried him, birthed him, nursed him. Yet here she was, disrobing before him, a supplicant seeking a cure from a distant.
She quickly climbed into the lotus, her butt stretching wide seductively hissing like a snake.
Tianmo knelt behind her, his hands pressed against her back. "I will try to guide the Qi. If you feel any pain, do not hold it in. Scream if you must. It is better to shatter the blockage with sound than to let it fester."
He slid his hand on her lower back, right over the Mingmen point, the 'Gate of Life'. He didn't use his own Qi immediately; instead, he pressed down with his thumb, digging into the flesh with physical force.
"Ugh..." Madam Cai gasped, her body jerking forward slightly. The pressure was intense, like a hook digging into her spine.
"Hnnn..." She tried to find the moan but couldn't.
"Your Mingmen is blocked," Tianmo stated, his voice clinical. "The Qi is pooling in your lower back, unable to circulate to the Governing Vessel. This is why you feel pain when you try to guide it."
He shifted his hand, moving it to the center of her back, between her shoulder blades. He pressed down again, his fingers digging into the flesh with unyielding force.
"Guuuh...♡" A low, guttural sound escaped Madam Cai's throat, her back arching involuntarily. The pain was sharp, electric, shooting down her spine and radiating outward to her limbs.
"Hnnn..." She bit her lip, her face flushing with a mixture of shame and a strange, dark heat. She was his mother, yet here she was, naked, moaning under his hands like a common whore. The degradation was absolute, yet a twisted part of her revelled in it. She was being touched by power incarnate, and her body was responding to the proximity of such overwhelming Yang energy.
"Focus," Tianmo commanded, his voice cutting through the haze of her confusion. "Do not let your mind wander somewhere else..."
He increased the pressure, his thumb grinding into the knot of stagnant energy, his hand glowing with golden light.
"KYAAAAHHH!♡"
Madam Cai screamed, her body convulsing as a shockwave of pain and pleasure ripped through her. The blockage shattered, the Qi surging forward like a dam breaking. The energy rushed up her spine, exploding into her brain, clearing the fog of her mortal thoughts and replacing them with the sharp, crystalline clarity of a cultivator.
"Haaaaah... Haaaaah..." She collapsed forward, her chest heaving, her body drenched in sweat. The pain was gone, replaced by a feeling of lightness, of expansion. She could feel the Qi circulating now, flowing through her meridians like a river of liquid starlight.
"First Stage of Qi Refining, stabilized," Tianmo said, withdrawing his hands. He stood up, his expression unchanged. "Do not slack off in your cultivation. The resources I gave you are enough to push you to the fifth stage within a month..."
Madam Cai slowly sat up, her movements stiff. She looked at her son, her eyes swimming with a complex mix of gratitude, fear, and a newfound, terrifying respect. He was no longer just her child; he was her master, her path to immortality.
Madam Cai slowly rose to her feet, her legs trembling slightly from the residual shock of the energy release. She gathered her discarded robe, the silk cool and smooth against her flushed skin. The humiliation of the moment was a bitter pill, but the clarity now flowing through her meridians was a potent antidote.
"Thank you, Son," she whispered, her voice still hoarse. She bowed deeply, a gesture of profound respect, before turning and leaving the chamber, her steps silent on the stone floor.
Tianmo watched her go, his expression unreadable. The familial bond was a thread, thin and frayed, in the tapestry of his ambition. It was a variable to be managed, not a foundation to be relied upon. He turned his gaze inward.
It's now time to fly high. He plans to visit the auction house and sell a few treasures to further solidify the rumor of the Dragon Court and the Wang Family's status as a vessel family.
There is also the matter of Elder Bo and Madam Feng. It's unclear whether Madam Feng is a growing poison or not, to be safe, he needs to test her as soon as possible, if she seems to take revenge for her son, then Tianmo won't hesitate to eliminate her.
However, for now, he needs to focus on the main mission.
****
Meanwhile,
Inside the Bloodmist sect, Elder Xue was thinking about the backup and backup for backup. Based on the information gathered, Wang brat only seemed to have offended a brat named Zhao Bai, and members of the Blood Fiend group.
The Blood Fiend group can be said to be an ally of the Blood Mist sect. Elder Xue of the Bloodmist sect and hall master of Blood Fiend group Xue Feng are brothers.
'However... Blood Fiend group has yet to retaliate, could it be that my brother for scared of Elder Xuan Ji?! No, I know him... That's very unlikely. The sect master of Azure Cloud Sect seems to be in closed-door cultivation for a long period of time, it's very likely his spirit roots have dried up. Which means a Holy succession might start soon...' Elder Xue's heart began to beat faster and faster.
The thought sent a jolt of cold calculation through Elder Xue's veins, cutting through the lingering fear from his encounter with Tianmo.
A Sect Master's spirit root drying up was the prelude to a power struggle that could shake the foundations of the Azure Land.
The Azure Cloud Sect would be plunged into chaos with civil wars and factions divided. A holy succession is none less than an imperial succession.
This was not a time for caution. This was a time for decisive action. It seems his brother has started to play longer games. If we could get a hand on the land of the Azure Cloud sect, it would be far more beneficial than a mere Mid-grade dragon vein.
A cruel smile touched his lips. The Blood Fiend Group, led by his brother Xue Feng, was perfect for the task. They were rabid dogs, loyal only to coin and carnage.
It's time to push multiple pawns ahead, creating an opening for devastating play. However, there is still a lingering question... How invested is Dragon Court within the game?!
'No... I must utilize the three local families, the Zhao Family and the Blood Fiend group to suppress the Wang family, and reveal the upcoming holy succession to Venerable Blood Crown.'
Just then,
The communication jade tokem on his waist began to buzz.
"Elder.. Bad news... Young Master Tianmo of the Wang family has arrived at the Auction house and enlisted a few treasures —Spirit awakening fruit, Spirit upgrade fruit, Dharma Bodhi fruit, and sword enlightenment tea. The eastern region is going to be in uproar very soon."
"The Pavilion Master himself has come down to receive him. The entire upper floor is sealed."
Spirit awakening fruit, spirit upgrade fruit, Dharma Bodhi fruit, Sword enlightenment Tea?! Elder Xue's hands trembled violently. Just what is the Wang family planning to do?
No, it's not the Wang family, they are merely pawns. Just what is the Dragon Court trying to do? Why are they using the Wang family to auction off such treasures? They are enough to awaken the whole Eastern region.
Is this the display of power?! Is it Dragon Court trying to assert dominance?! Or perhaps, they are trying to spread chaos, making every family or cultivator run wild for these treasures? The more the chaos, the better for the Dragon Court, or the Wang family.
That's very unlikely... Many families can't even afford one of those treasures.
Dragon Court is arrogant, but they aren't so stupid as to throw such treasures out in the open market unless the treasure in our eyes is merely trash for them.
"I need to report it to venerable Bloodcrown and let the demonic sect behind know about it... If we do any delay, the power within Azure land will change."