Volume One: When Youths Meet in Humble Times Chapter Fifteen: I Cannot Cultivate Immortality

I cannot cultivate!

These five words, light as a feather, weighed upon the hearts of Lu Ming and his companions like five towering mountains. They had never imagined such a situation, nor that Li Yu’s resolute desire for death stemmed from the knowledge that he could not pursue the path of cultivation.

But the question remained: how did he know?

As the doubt arose, both Lu Ming and Lie Yan Kong recalled the protective jade pendant Li Yu carried. From Lie Yan Kong’s demeanor and words at the time, it was clear he understood the significance of that pendant.

Lu Ming glanced at Lie Yan Kong. Shui Linglong, reading the confusion in Lu Ming’s gaze, also sensed something amiss. Lie Yan Kong did not conceal anything and directly asked Li Yu, “You’re from the Li Clan of Cloud Tomb, aren’t you?”

Li Yu replied, “I wish I weren’t.”

His words, lightly spoken, carried a hint of helplessness, a trace of resentment, even a touch of bitterness.

Lu Ming and Shui Linglong knew well what the Li Clan of Cloud Tomb represented—a family of cultivators who commanded a region under the Imperial Palace. Their power and foundation far surpassed ordinary sects; even the mighty Sword Green Mountain, famed for its mastery of the sword, yielded territory before them.

On this continent, the Imperial Palace reigns supreme, establishing branches in various regions. Yet, with vast lands and some areas barren and harsh, those of the Imperial Palace rarely deign to cultivate wild soil. Thus, with overwhelming strength, the Imperial Palace coerces or entices local sects and families to serve as their agents, governing cultivators across the land.

This system, enforced with power and lured with profit, is welcomed by many sects and families who seek greater status and resources, knowing that reward comes with obligation. Loyalty and ability are expected, but more importantly, they must submit their cultivation techniques to the Imperial Palace.

Officially, this is to promote mutual understanding and support each other’s paths, though every party harbors their own intentions. Thus emerged a landscape where the Imperial Palace stands alone at the summit, surrounded by a hundred vassals.

Still, some families and sects possess their own pride and heritage. They believe their cultivated paths cannot be handed over for outsiders to study and imitate, leading to several fierce clashes with the Imperial Palace.

Sword Green Mountain is one such example. Though formidable, it falls short before the Imperial Palace; any full confrontation would leave both parties wounded. Therefore, while Sword Green Mountain avoids becoming a subordinate and need not surrender its sword technique inheritance, it must exchange cultivators with the Palace for mutual training.

The Li Clan of Cloud Tomb, however, forced even the Imperial Palace to retreat with their unrivaled strength.

Publicly acknowledged, the Li Clan is permitted to occupy a region alone, possessing Tianshan, without tribute or exchange, maintaining independence and wholeness.

Thus, the Li Clan and a handful of other sects are regarded by cultivators as entities second only to the Imperial Palace. This recognition is not merely submission to power, but respect for their pride and unyielding resolve in the face of a colossal force.

Yet only a few at the very summit know: if the Imperial Palace wished to annihilate them, it could, but refrains for reasons beyond fear of united resistance—perhaps for reasons unknown to outsiders.

When Li Yu did not deny his clan, their hearts were struck by the revelation—not only by his identity, but by the fact that someone of his stature could be cast out and left unclaimed.

Then they recalled his words: I cannot cultivate. Had his abandonment stemmed from this very reason?

Lu Ming asked, “Since you’re from the Li Clan, why are you wandering outside?”

Shui Linglong followed, “Yes, and what do you mean by saying you cannot cultivate?”

Li Yu glanced at them, his voice devoid of joy or sorrow. “My mind has always been different from others. From birth, as time passed, I understood far more than other children. At first, my clansmen believed I possessed extraordinary talent and held great hopes for me. When I turned one, the elder held a special awakening ceremony for me.”

He laughed at himself. “Perhaps the heavens are fair. They gave me near innate understanding, but took away the most vital foundation for a Li clansman. After the ceremony, they discovered I lacked the innate Spirit Command Power of the Li Clan.”

Shui Linglong asked Lie Yan Kong, “Brother Lie, do you know what Spirit Command Power is?”

Lie Yan Kong shook his head, indicating he did not.

The Li Clan has always been shrouded in mystery, residing atop Tianshan, rarely interacting with the outside world. Even though the Palace of Sacred Water and the Sunfire Sect hold high ranks among cultivation sects, their distance from the Li Clan remains vast. This was the first time they had heard of Spirit Command Power.

Lu Ming explained, “It is said that from birth, every Li clansman possesses Spirit Command Power within them. This power is the foundation for glimpsing the path of spirit command. Some have it strongly, others weakly, but never has there been a Li clansman without it.”

That Lu Ming knew of Spirit Command Power did not surprise them, for Sword Green Mountain’s history far exceeds their own sects, and its strength rivals the Li Clan. Knowing some secrets of the Li Clan is only natural.

Shui Linglong pursued, “Then, are you truly a Li clansman?”

Before Li Yu could respond, Lu Ming objected, “Impossible. The Li Clan holds bloodline in utmost regard, never allowing outsiders to infiltrate. They have their own ways of verifying identity; if the elder conducted the awakening ceremony for him, it means they accepted him as one of their own.”

Li Yu continued, “Brother Lu is correct. Some doubted my identity after the ceremony, so they tested my bloodline. It was confirmed—I am indeed a Li clansman. But for reasons unknown, I lack Spirit Command Power.”

Lie Yan Kong asked, “Even if you lack Spirit Command Power, your innate understanding should be stronger than most. Why would they abandon you?”

Li Yu fell silent, then said, “After discovering I lacked Spirit Command Power, they found I also had no Celestial Aperture.”

The Li Clan’s awakening ceremony is linked to the Celestial Aperture. If the ceremony fails, they examine the aperture, and so discovered Li Yu’s lack of it.

Now, all were stunned. They understood how crucial the Celestial Aperture is for cultivators. One without it, no matter the talent, is like a sword that cannot be unsheathed—beautiful, but useless.

The Celestial Aperture, elusive yet real, cannot be located in the body, yet profoundly affects cultivation.

Some believe it resides in the sea of consciousness, like the eye of the ocean; others claim it is in the spiritual platform, channeling the universal Dao; still others say it lies within the soul, the third eye of the cultivator.

Opinions diverge, never reaching consensus.

Yet one point is agreed upon: “Whatever the Celestial Aperture may be, the ability to cultivate requires it. In other words, only those with the aperture can pursue the path.”

This has been proven over ages.

All who can cultivate possess a Celestial Aperture. Every family and sect has methods to detect it; those without it invariably lack talent, while those with talent always have the aperture.

Thus, the relationship between talent and the aperture is deemed equivalent. None believe it possible to have talent without the aperture, and vice versa.

Testing for the aperture is troublesome, but talent is easier to discern. Those with advanced cultivation, or special abilities, can spot it—like Lu Ming.

What is talent?

Lu Ming was born as a sword embryo; his talent is tied to the sword, able to resonate with it and sense other sword embryos.

Shui Linglong’s talent is to command water; she is close to water, able to submerge without the need to breathe.

Lie Yan Kong excels at fire; his talent lets him draw light and heat from the sun, commonly forming flames.

These talents show they are innately attuned to a certain Dao, though the degree varies.

But someone like Li Yu, with talent but no Celestial Aperture, challenged their understanding, even making them wonder if he was deceiving them.

Yet, if he were lying, why would he be abandoned by the Li Clan?

They listened, lost in astonishment.

To be a Li clansman without Spirit Command Power was already unprecedented; to lack the essential Celestial Aperture as well, the discrimination he must have suffered was unimaginable.

Lu Ming then asked, “How did you end up here?”

Li Yu looked up at the brightening sky, his voice tinged with hatred, anger, unwillingness, and resignation. “Once I was deemed a useless child, my clan ignored me. My grandfather, who cared for me, died on a mission. Two years ago, the clan chose some to leave the mountain for training; I was placed among them. I knew it was deliberate, that their aim was to find a chance to kill me. So, after leaving, I seized an opportunity to escape and made my way here.”

Li Yu spoke simply, but anyone could imagine how much suffering and torment he endured in the clan without care, and how many hardships he faced after fleeing, before meeting the kindly old woman.

Shui Linglong despised those heartless people, but she understood that cultivation, for all its ethereal allure, was a realm of the strong, of survival and fierce competition.

She asked, “After you escaped, did they not pursue you?”

Li Yu replied, “The clan forbids killing one’s own. Though I was deemed worthless, if I died at their hands, they’d be punished. So their goal was only to bring me out and push me to death, ridding themselves of me without staining their hands with my blood.”

“My ability to escape, to them, meant I would not survive. Since I wouldn’t, why would they make a fuss searching for me? They'd simply erase my trace.”

The three understood—this was intentional murder. Sending a three-year-old for training made it obvious, as no sect would do such a thing.

Perhaps they feared Li Yu’s innate understanding might cause unpredictable trouble, and so sought to eliminate him while he was still weak.

Lu Ming and the others fell silent. Then Lu Ming asked, “What about your parents? Is there no one else left in your branch?”

Li Yu answered, “I never knew my parents. Only my grandfather cared for me. Others said they died in a mission. When I asked my grandfather, he said nothing, only told me to live well. Even without parents, he would take care of me. As for my branch, there has long been no one else—only me and my grandfather remained.”

The three sighed deeply. In such mighty clan, his life must have been unbearably hard. No wonder he cherished his bond with the old woman so deeply.

Li Yu finished, then laughed helplessly. “So, do you still think I could avenge myself by my own strength?”

The three remained silent. Li Yu continued, “If I could cultivate, I would live on. But reality forces me to bow to fate.”

“I want to live well, to protect those I care for, but heaven denies me the chance.”

“In the clan, I not only had to hide my ability to perceive the changes of yin and yang, but make myself as small as possible. After my grandfather passed, I lived every day without hope. That’s why I escaped. Though life was hard, I gained freedom. Later, heaven let me meet the old woman; all the warmth I’ve had these five years, besides my grandfather, came from her.”

“I once thought I could accompany her through life, stay in this village, live simply as an ordinary person—marry, raise children, work at sunrise, rest at sunset. But things turned out otherwise.”

“I want to hate heaven, for giving me hope and warmth only to take them away. If it must be taken, why let me have them at all?”

“I see no light in my future, not even where my future lies!”

Finishing, Li Yu smiled and asked, “Brother Lu, how should I live?”

Lu Ming said nothing. He hadn’t expected Li Yu to be so resolute, so uncompromising. He truly didn’t know how to answer. To bring him back to Sword Green Mountain? With his strength, he could, but if Li Yu lived under his protection, would that be the life Li Yu wanted?

He knew Li Yu wouldn’t want such a life.

The other two felt the same. For someone who has thought through every retreat so thoroughly, unless he himself sees hope, any arrangement would only be a burden.