"Rebirth Pavilion?"
"Indeed, this is the rebirth pavilion."
"The rebirth pavilion is quite an interesting place as you will come to know."
"A very interesting one indeed."
While still wearing a smile, his eyes held a cold glint within, making one feel quite unsettled, making their skin crawl.
"Now, don't let me hold you back."
"Please."
He gestured towards the gate, signalling for Qi Chen to enter the gate.
Despite knowing the fate that lies within was going to be far from pleasant, he knew more than well that he had no other choice.
Refusal was not an option, despite being clouded by the allure of knowledge, he was no fool and could still tell what lay inside was far from friendly, rather, it may even be a road of no return.
Even an intoxicated addict retained the simplest of self-preservation instincts.
The adrenaline rush he had recently gained from an influx of knowledge was slowly wearing off and his mind was finally free from the muddling by the joy brought by knowledge.
What replaced it was fear, rather fear of the unknown, a primal instinct, warning him against ever entering.
A feeling that he previously never thought he would experience again.
Gulping down his saliva, he felt a tough lump on the sides of his throat, it was constricting, suffocating, unbearable.
Yet what came with fear was also the insatiable and inevitable curiosity to know the unknown.
There are two types of reaction when facing the unknown, some of which is pure fear, while others carry the forbidden curiosity that accompanied the fear.
He very well belonged to the latter.
He forced a nod from his head that was numbed with fear as the guard flashed one last smile before leaving the area.
As what was left in the area were but him and his fear, regret once again crept into his heart, yet unlike the previous times, it disappeared as fast as it had reappeared, what was there to regret?
It was not like he could have done anything differently, no matter his choice, it was between the two, dying then and there or arriving here.
He was already lucky to not be on the shorter end of the stick.
The only thing he could tell himself was that this place held a sliver of hope.
Braving his instincts, with shaky fingers, he slowly grasped the handle of the gate, repeatedly slamming it into the gate, producing a crisp 'dong' sound quite different from a 'knock'.
"Coming."
The voice was the softest thing he had heard in his life.
It would not have been unfair to say it was the most beautiful sound in the world.
Truly a pleasant voice.
Previously, when he was on his way to the capital for his imperial exams, he had come past wealthy lords showcasing their prized collection of songbirds, back then he had already thought they were very pleasant on the ears, yet this voice was even sweeter, softer and even…
Alluring?
With a quick smack to his face Qi Chen woke himself up.
That was definitely abnormal.
A voice should not have made him swoon over someone he has yet to even meet.
Was this the 'Charm Arts' that the storytellers loved to describe in their stories?
Experiencing it first hand was…
'Smack!'
Steadying his breathing he forced himself to calm down, closing his eyes in hopes of achieving a calming effect.
Qi Chen was fully on his guard, holding his breath as the footsteps rang closer.
Each step felt as if in sync with his heartbeat, every step was stimulating the feeling of anticipation.
Anticipation?
'Smack!'
Pain works best against the instability of the mind.
Qi Chen had always abstained from the seven desires of mankind, most definitely abstaining from the concept of lust.
He was certain the current feeling wasn't love but rather the worst of the seven mortal desires, the sin of lust.
There was no reason for Qi Chen to have felt lust, at the very least he was certain he would not have lusted over someone based on their voice and footsteps alone.
They must at least look the part.
The door was pulled open, dust was shaken off the gate and the air changed, becoming chillier, with a hint of floral incense, its difference between the bloodied gate was night and day.
What could only be described as an overly sweet and somewhat sickening voice sang.
"Welcome young master."
"To my Rebirth Pavilion."
Her voice sent shivers down his spine, it was far from unpleasant on the contrary, it was rather melodious and sweet, but already knowing the other party was using some kind of charm arts, he had since conditioned himself to be somewhat disgusted by the voice.
Slightly tilting his head to meet the eyes of the source of the sound he felt as if time had stopped.
Beautiful?
That is an insult.
Mesmerising?
Not enough.
Otherworldly seemed to be the best word for the scenario.
She is…
Ethereal, otherworldly, like a fairy, like a goddess.
Her dark violet hair…
The way it frames her face was immaculate, it was as if a deity gave his best to sculpt her face.
Her eyes seemed lonely, a beautiful morning blue, resembling the brightest sky, it was clearer than the dew at dawn, purer than fresh snow.
She had a flower motif by the left of her cheek, not too big, just slightly rewriting the feel of her face, it was a sharp contrast to her mildly pale and soft delicate features.
She was clad in a midnight violet robe, not revealing in the slightest, yet it was drowned in charm, the dressing was modest, while her graceful figure enhanced the frame.
Her smile was light, almost imperceptible, yet at the same time was the brightest smile he had ever seen in his life.
He was more than certain that this was love.
She leaned against the gate as if welcoming him inside.
Some say you only take a glance to fall in love, at this very moment Qi Chen had only truly understood that phrase, only at this moment had he felt the utterly irresistible sweetness of love.
Just like knowledge to a scholar, it was equally addictive.
It took a while before rationality caught up.
Love?
This was clearly infatuation, his body was screaming at his mind to snap out of the trance of infatuation.
Repeatedly shaking his head, Qi Chen hoped to shake it off.
He couldn't help but think that charm arts were truly dangerous.
Had it not been the slightest thread of rationality holding him he was afraid he would have truly fallen for her.
Qi Chen's eyes showed that he was on guard with unfiltered hostility, yet the clear hostility in his eyes only made her smile widen.
"So you broke free of the charm arts, well that was a tad bit quicker than expected."
"But nothing mind boggling, after all you are a mortal."
His guesses had finally gotten an answer.
So she was indeed using charm arts, but how do they work?
"A mortal? What do you mean?"
Curiosity had once again got him in a chokehold.
"Well come in then. I can explain along the way."
Her tone was playful and flippant, yet it felt as if it had some hidden meaning beneath, completely indecipherable.
Her footsteps were leisurely and unhurried, as if she did not care if he followed at all, but perhaps she knew he would.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Qi Chen followed her, entering the gate.
The scent grew stronger the further they went.
An intense unforgiving floral sense assaulted his nose, coupled with the incense ash it made his eyes water, coupled with an undercurrent of a metallic smell which he could only guess to be blood, was a revolting combination.
Noticing his reaction to the smell, she flashed an enigmatic smile.
"Don't worry, you will get used to it fast enough."
The interior was completely different as to what he had thought.
It was a simple interior that was brightly lit, the whole place felt weirdly cozy, which only made the place more ominous.
Covering his nose, Qi Chen asked.
"Rather than getting used to it, I would prefer to understand what you just said."
"Well a curious one aren't you?"
"Charm arts in simple terms are a type of Immortal Art, a unique branch of soul arts to be more precise."
Looking at his fervent eyes, she gave a light chuckle before continuing.
"Charm arts do not actually affect your body, unlike the way poisons and pain does."
"Then what do they do?"
"Well they are soul arts, they directly affect your soul, giving your soul a false sense of resonance, thus stirring favourable feelings such as uncontrollable infatuation, affection, attachment, or in some ways 'love'."
"As for why you can break free so easily…"
"Well I believe the guard has already told you quite a bit on your way here, so I believe you understand the nature of cultivators."
Her words sent a shiver down his spine.
She knew?
Does that mean she has been watching me from the start?
His eyes narrowed, showing an inch of hostility.
Picking up the inkling of hostility he harboured, she smiled.
"You need not worry, now shall I continue?"
Not waiting for him to answer, she continued speaking.
"As you already know, cultivators focus on the soul and see the body as redundant."
"Charm arts exploit this ignorance that cultivators have towards their body, if there is one weakness charm arts has is the natural repulsion that the body has towards it."
"For mortals who place their trust in the body rather than the soul, this repulsion is easily picked up due to them being very perceptive to their bodies, and after a while they would snap out of it."
"As for cultivators who spend a lot of time disregarding the flesh and alienating it from the soul, this repulsion is much harder to pick up."
"So cultivators have such a weakness. By this way you are quite literally exploiting cultivators aren't you?"
Qi Chen asked, but before the question even left his mouth he had already received an answer.
"That is the exact point, if a charm art was to deceive both the body and your soul it would be too difficult. Rather, too inefficient."
"Strength is never without cost, this is but one of the many weaknesses of cultivators."
"Inefficient?"
"Yes, inefficient, and it is not like we need to trick mortals anyways."
"There is no point in expending twice the energy to trick both the body and the soul when one should suffice, that would be quite foolish to do."
"Indeed."
Staring at him contemplating the contents of their conversation, she shot a playful glance before she ended the topic.
Following her down the hallways of the pavilion Qi Chen was deep in thought.
He had previously thought that the views that cultivators had towards their physical bodies were nothing short of genius, however after learning the drawbacks, he could not help but reconsider the optimal way of cultivation.
While the abandonment of the physical body is indeed smart at first glance, its drawbacks were rather apparent.
However compared to its drawbacks, the advantages were indeed numerous, a give and take indeed.
The abandonment of the body can help one familiarise with their soul, thus achieving the ultimate goal of absolute soul stability and in the long term is indeed a much better route.
While she had not shared the details of the charm arts, Qi Chen assumed that it would have a weak if not redundant effect on one of a stronger soul.
"Well we have arrived."
"Arrived?"
"Yes, for your preparation."
"Preparation?"
"Well, to prepare you as a cultivation furnace."
"There ought to be some modifications."
The words settled slowly.
A cultivation furnace.
"There will be some modifications done to your body."
"Well you would know the details sooner or later."
"But I suppose there is no harm in telling you now."
"Now, a smart person like you would know that being here, in the demonic sect, there are no good outcomes. Perhaps surviving up till now is both the best and worst outcome."
"You are the perfect cultivation furnace."
His fist tightened.
"Is this related to the Three Qi Harmony Physique?"
"Perceptive, and yes."
Turning to face him, she gave a charming smile.
"Cultivators have three forms of qi. You already know this much.
Qi Chen nodded.
"Are you not nervous? Or afraid? I just said you would be a furnace."
Her voice was dripping with concern yet her eyes only showed her interest.
Shrugging, Qi Chen groggily replied.
"Not much that I can do is there?"
She did not answer, but she was clearly amused by his answer.
Even Qi Chen was shocked by his own answer.
Perhaps the moment he had stood foot on the edge of cultivation, he had already fallen in love with it, so long he could learn more, even death would not be off the table.
Or maybe it was just the pure acceptance.
It was weird.
Just moments ago, he was still afraid, yet now, he seemed to not care for his life and death.
"I am sure you know of Spirit Qi enhancing pills."
Qi Chen gave a nod, his gaze was unfaltering.
"Allow me to give you an analogy."
"Let's say that a pill gives you three units of Spirit Qi when ingested and properly circulated, for a normal individual, that three units would be directly added to their Spirit Qi which can help them advance in cultivation."
"The hierarchy of qi is rather simple, at the lowest is Spirit Qi, the easiest qi to raise and increase, Life Qi and lastly the hardest qi to increase, Soul Qi"
"The Three Qi Harmony Physique directly ignores this hierarchy, splitting any Spirit Qi gained perfectly to the three."
"Meaning taking the Spirit Qi pill from earlier would give you one unit of Spirit Qi, Life Qi and Soul Qi."
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"Well, yes… and no. On paper that is indeed the case, but in the demonic sect you have much more value as a medium that can be shared."
"…"
"You don't want to know why?"
"…why?"
Despite feeling bitter about his circumstances, he could not hide his curiosity.
"Well it is because the furnace absorption arts absorb the three qi into Spirit Qi at different ratios."
"One unit of Soul Qi is equivalent to five Spirit Qi, one unit of Life Qi is equivalent to three, as for Spirit Qi, it's the same. Even counting the loss through qi transfer, about 6 units of Spirit Qi can still be obtained, doubling the effects of a pill."
"Meaning your body basically is a free 'pill effect doubling tool'."
"Doubling the effect, and considering it can be used for countless disciples, this body indeed has more value than a single cultivator."
"The demonic sect truly enjoys milking every bit of value out of one."
"That is the beauty of our sect!"
A grin appeared on his face, yet her voice did not show even a hint of respect for the sect.
"Well as for what modification, it is a rather simple one, usually one that would not warrant me the esteemed Rebirth Pavilion master to perform."
"Curious?"
"Not exactly."
"You really are no fun."
"I wanted to perform it for you thinking I could see fear and get a few interesting emotions out of you. You are boring."
She poured like a little girl yet while it seemed childish, felt more so mechanical.
"Just a simple tendon removal surgery so that you would be unable to run away and resist!"