Book 1 Adventures up in Heaven: The discovery of a wish

My Own Rebirth

Ominous it was indeed. The moon was full and enormous like a giant and stood out sharply in the blanket of night. This was because of its vibrant color; painting the land beneath the sky a dark coat of crimson.

Cold winds whisked the branches left and right on the nearby trees. A stream beat past the flax and bushes, weaving into a rich forest of spring bamboo.

The bamboo grew strong and sturdy and towered almost effortlessly over whoever were to present themselves to the smooth path between the proud stalks. But that was fourteen years ago nowadays they have become far more wild and protective of their own land is perhaps something else. Tonight was different though, now they expressed something rather unheard of. Isn't a bamboo forest supposed to be a peaceful calm yet sturdy place so why is it so...unnerving?

As the young cultivators dismounted from their swords they couldn't help but exclaim in surprise " Aiyo! How is it we have never noticed such a forest this abundant in spiritual qi?", they gaped. 

The bamboo forest had never in the past century admitted spiritual qi before, how is this possible?

Could it have been an immortal?

 Or could it be a beast seeking shelter in the darkness of the night?

The cultivators were so thrilled at their discovery they did not hesitate to step right into the bamboo forest. Once they had all entered it was almost as if they had stepped into the ocean as a wave of qi washed their six senses. It was heavenly. Condensed qi filled their beings as they took deep breaths to get used to the overflowing pressure of the wild qi. 

Their legs were practically dragging them further into the heart of the qi, but why should they resist?

Admits the group was a young boy wearing a face of worry across his clean face— called anxiously:

" Something doesn't feel right.
Shouldn't we be a bit more cautious?"

This was not a good move in his favor because just after the last word he was reprimanded.

" We are all trained to walk into any battlefield prepared for any scenario. If we can't stride into a bamboo forest like this one and inspect the source of this ridiculous amount of spiritual qi, how can we refer to our selves as cultivators, huh?" 'said a cultivator only a few feet in front of him. In turn, the entire group hummed their approval.

Then after that small cultivators never spoke a word out of turn for the rest of their exploration.

And so they continued to follow the qi that grew stronger every step of the way. Soon one shichen had passed and the moon hung at its peak, directly above them. They hadn't realized it but they had reached the center of the qi that had become so prominent it was like a tide crashing on them washing into their bones, deep into their marrows, and crashing on their souls.

Nevertheless, it was injurable and they persisted until only a few were left standing but even they keeled over; their energy had long faded away. Cultivators littered the path. They've fainted along the path prior to the immeasurable spiritual qi circulating around them. To them, this qi was a mountain sitting on their backs. Devastating.

The last thing any of them would see for the night would be the bloody eye in the black sky that never once blinked instead it stared right back at each of them. Frighteningly, almost as if it was mocking them.

The wind once shallow became more fierce, bellowing. The earth groaned and shivered. The night animals shrieked their cries of welcome and the trees and plant life stretched and twisted in their fixed positions, changing.

In that same bamboo forest, the apparent shape of a body surfaced the rock and dirt of the forest.

Slowly the body's bosom began to rise and fall. A sound of air being inhaled could be heard. But to the ears of man, the sound would be perceived as an echo of a large beasts slumber.