The Lotus and the Cloud

Chapter 15 - The Core Within, the Path Ahead

By her third day on the mountain, Wei Ying had already explored nearly every corner of the upper sanctuary.
She'd mapped the streams by memory, climbed every ledge the disciples allowed her to, and cataloged in her head the names of every herb and talisman in her room. She even named the white crane that nested near her window.
But what she was most excited for... was this.
"Are you ready?" Baoshan Sanren asked, seated calmly in the center of a round jade meditation platform.
Wei Ying nodded eagerly, kneeling before her. Her robes were pale purple now, stitched with gold thread by her grandmother's disciples — lighter and looser, perfect for long hours of meditation and cultivation.
The clouds curled gently around the edges of the peak. The sky above was clear.
Everything was still.
"Close your eyes," Baoshan Sanren instructed gently. "And breathe. No need to force it. Just let yourself fall inward. Let the spiritual energy in your body rise naturally."
Wei Ying obeyed.
She closed her eyes.
Let her thoughts settle.
Let the world quiet around her.

Baoshan Sanren pressed a palm lightly over her granddaughter's back, and channeled her spiritual energy inward — into Wei Ying's dantian, the spiritual center of the body where golden cores were formed, shaped, and nurtured.
And there it was.
The bright glow of Wei Ying's spiritual core — healthy, strong, remarkably stable for her age.
Baoshan Sanren felt her own heart swell with pride.
But then, something shifted.
Something stirred just behind the core — something dormant, something ancient and untouched.
It shimmered faintly.
Coiled like a sleeping dragon.
A hidden core... but not an ordinary one.
It pulsed.
And Baoshan Sanren's eyes widened.
"Heaven above," she whispered.
She pulled her hand back slightly, stunned.
Wei Ying blinked her eyes open. "Did I do something wrong?"
Baoshan Sanren stood, her hands trembling slightly — not in fear, but in awe.
Then she laughed softly, and a tear slipped down her cheek.
"Oh, my little star... you're not just special, you're blessed."
"What is it?"
Baoshan Sanren knelt beside her again.
"You were born with not one, but two cores," she said. "Your natural spiritual core, strong and bright... and another, hidden deep within."
"Hidden?"
"An immortal core."
Wei Ying stared at her, mouth open.
"An immortal core? But... I've never read anything about—"
"Because they're legendary. Extremely rare. Even among immortals, only one or two in a thousand years are born with a dormant one. They don't awaken on their own — not unless guided."
Baoshan Sanren smiled wide, her voice soft with joy.
"Cangse must've known. She must have felt it, even if she never had the time to say it. You inherited this from her bloodline... from our bloodline."
Wei Ying was speechless. Her hands trembled in her lap.
"Is that why I always felt like I needed to learn more? Like nothing was ever enough?"
"Yes," her grandmother said gently. "Your core was already calling to you. Hungry for refinement. For balance. For freedom."

That evening, Baoshan Sanren began a new path of teaching.
This was no longer simply about cultivation.
This was the immortal path — a sacred, delicate form of spiritual development beyond swordplay or talismans. It required patience, endurance, and deep emotional stillness.
But Wei Ying was ready.
More than ready.

Each morning, she rose before the sun and meditated for hours in silence, learning to draw energy not only from the world around her — but from herself.
Her grandmother taught her to breathe in the clouds, to align her meridians, to quiet her thoughts until the dormant core stirred faintly within her.
She learned how to walk barefoot across thin lines of spiritual thread, how to use wind and will instead of brute force. Her sword no longer responded just to her movements, but to her intent — to her heart.
They practiced energy harmonics — a sound-based technique once lost to time, which used frequency and vibration to resonate with the inner core.
They trained her mind, too.
Teaching her restraint, perspective, compassion.
And in the stillest hours of the day, Baoshan Sanren shared the stories of her mother — of Cangse Sanren's curiosity, wild laughter, and gentle touch.
"She was just like you, A-Ying," she said once, as they painted talismans under moonlight. "Brilliant, stubborn, and never satisfied with ordinary answers."
Wei Ying smiled. "Guess it runs in the family."

And each time her grandmother checked her dantian again...
The immortal core pulsed a little brighter.
Still sleeping — but no longer silent.
"One day," Baoshan Sanren said with a proud smile, "this core will awaken. And when it does... the world will tremble at your power — and shine with your light."
Wei Ying wasn't afraid of it.
She didn't want power for its own sake.
But the idea of becoming something more... of understanding herself fully... of using it to protect, to explore, to live without fear...
She was ready.
And for the first time, truly, she knew:
This year would change her forever.