The First Law of Cultivation: A Xianxia Progression Fantasy

QI=MC2 ©2023 KRAZEKODE This book is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of the authors. Aethon Books supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights. Aethon Books www.aethonbooks.com Print and eBook formatting by Josh Hayes. Published by Aethon Books, LLC. Aethon Books is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead is coincidental. All rights reserved. CONTENTS 1. Beware of Cultivators 2. The Path of Alchemy 3. Old Man ‘Lao Zhang’ 4. Rat Dealings 5. Gotta catch ’em all? 6. A Peaceful Day 7. Totally not Drug Trafficking 8. Forbidden Love 9. Experiments 10. Labby 11. Animal 12. Sect Halls 13. A Silver Pill 14. Seventh Peak City 15. Stalking Stalkers Stalk 16. Sworn Brothers 17. Heart of Thieves 18. Zou Chen 19. A New Bond 20. Lost Love 21. Spirit Herb Cultivation 22. Changing Cultivation 23. Sect Library 24. The Second Floor 25. The Dao of Maths 26. Drug Explosions! 27. Cultivation Bombs 28. Improvements 29. Quest 30. Taizhou 31. Spirit Spores 32. Hidden Lake 33. Root of the Roots 34. Inner World 35. A New Companion 36. Back to Taizhou 37. Blossoms of the Moon 38. Lunar Thunder 39. History of Cultivation 40. The First Pill 41. Grandfather 42. Preparations 43. An Odd Gathering 44. Budding Friendships 45. Cultivation Cure 46. A Shattered World 47. Trials and Tribulations 48. Twin Paths 49. Half Step Breakthrough 50. Dual Cultivation 51. Sharing a Path 52. Science Class 53. Verdant Pills 54. Forming Bonds 55. Heart to Heart 56. An Old Man’s Past 57. Heart of Alchemy 58. Understanding Gu 59. A Desire to Grow 60. Broken Cycle 61. Plans and Preparations 62. Formation Arts 63. A New Home 64. Checking in 65. How to start a Drug Empire? 66. Spirits Roots - I 67. Spirits Roots - II 68. Lightning Arts 69. Blood Farming 70. Bloodling 71. Gu Alchemy 72. Void Explosions 73. Shared Secrets 74. Selection Round - I 75. Selection Round - II 76. Selection Round - III 77. End of Selections 78. Spirit Herb Hunting - I 79. Spirit Herb Hunting - II 80. Spirit Herb Hunting - III 81. Spirit Herb Hunting - IV 82. Spirit Herb Hunting - V 83. Spirit Herb Hunting - VI 84. Spirit Herb Hunting - VII 85. Spirit Herb Hunting - VIII 86. Spirit Herb Hunting - IX 87. Spirit Herb Hunting - X 88. Spirit Herb Hunting - XI 89. Hidden Trial 90. To Astria, for writing a silly story that inspired this mess. CHAPTER ONE BEWARE OF CULTIVATORS The world spun in circles. I focused on the wooden ceiling with a dimming gaze. A loud droning rang in my ears as someone shouted the end of the spar. “Are you done already, junior brother? We still have many pointers to share,” the boy said, smirking. His face was obscured in the colours splashing around in my vision. From the sound of him, he couldn’t have been older than fourteen. “Peh, that was pathetic. Barely managed to take five blows. Let us leave, brother. This scum is not worth our time.” Murmurs warbled all around me. Words full of disgust, and occasionally, some of pity were thrown my way. The other boy walked out of the arena, but I remained where I lay, staring at the high ceiling. “Someone take Lu Jie to Old Man, he seems to have hit his head quite hard,” a man spoke. Two pairs of arms lifted me up, carrying me through my daze. Their voices barely registered as I started to gather my wits. Two questions burned in my mind. Where the fuck am I? And who’s this Lu Jie? * * * The smell of herbs and incense touched my nose, and something warm prickled my skin. With a painful groan, I opened my blurry eyes. “Keep lying down, Lu Jie, your wounds haven’t healed yet. The pill is working but you need to rest.” An old man stood beside me, wearing a plain white robe. Long bushy eyebrows set on a face with more wrinkles than skin was framed in white hair and a long beard seen in all those kung fu movies. A boiling iron cauldron sat at the other end of the chamber, green smoke rising and twirling in the air, floating around the old man’s hand. “I’ll be making a Qi reinforcement pill. It will heal the damage to your dantian. You have nothing to worry about, you won’t be crippled,” the old man said with a kind smile, gently