Data-Driven Daoist

Yu Han tied the end of the rope to the donkey’s harness. The animal yowled, sneezing up a hassle, then slowly trudged forward, pulling the basket full of hard excreta up from the well.

“Some pull it up themselves if they have enough strength,” Wen Liujie said. “Last time, one guy got stuck in the—never mind. Give me a hand.”

Yu Han, Huang Niuniu, and Wen Liujie poured the contents of the basket into the donkey cart.

They weren’t just shovelling crap like idiots. Because of the Filth Eating Ghoul infestation, excreta would turn hard like bricks. Ghouls would spawn because of the intense Yin Qi, eat the waste, and excrete far more toxic material. The Night Soil Collectors mainly removed that, and afterwards filled the rest of the cart with normal waste.

Yu Han brought the status screen up as he worked.

Name: Yu Han (Johan)

Level: 1

True Qi: 69 / 200

Pure Qi: 7 / 200

Lifeforce: 681 / 720

7 Pure Qi. Do I get Pure Qi for killing anything?

“How much Pure Qi do you have?” Yu Han asked Huang Niuniu.

“Six,” the girl replied between heavings. She had power in her arms despite the soft and cuddly look. “You?”

“Seven.”

“Why do you have more? I helped just as much!”

“How the Dao decides to reward Cultivators, only the Dao knows. It is fair, always,” Wen Liujie said.

“If I kill a lot of mosquitoes, can I get Pure Qi?” Yu Han asked. Huang Niuniu’s eyes lit up.

“Not a bad dream to have. Unfortunately, you can only get it by killing Monstrous Beasts like these Filth Eating Ghouls, or cleansing Demonic taint,” Wen Liujie said. “Primal Beasts don’t give any.”

Demonic Taint, like that dog. Yu Han shovelled up a hard nodule that had fallen over, dumping it back on the cart. “Getting one or two Pure Qi for one Monster or Demon seems like a bad reward.” Yu Han had gotten a hundred Pure Qi for killing that Demonic Dog. Of course, he knew they wouldn’t get the same amount.

“Junior Brother is greedy. Good. With the perks us Night Soil Collectors have, you’ll be more than satisfied!” Wen Liujie laughed, the sound hollow from within his helm. “Killing Demonic Beasts gives you anywhere from nothing to a million times more Pure Qi, for the same level foe.”

Yu Han dropped the shovel. “A million?”

“Maybe even a billion. Or more! The Dao decides, though rewards are based on the threat level. Monsters—Monstrous Beasts—are mindless imitations of life that have the potential to be life. Demonic Spawns, on the other hand, are consumers of Spirituality. The threat they pose to the existence of the world is of a different magnitude.”

Yu Han gulped. “Demonic Cultivators, too?”

Wen Liujie’s eyes turned sharp, glaring at Yu Han through the helmet gap. “Careful when mentioning them. The rumours are false.”

“What rumours?”

“That Night Soil Collection is a fast track to Demonic Cultivation.”

“It’s what?!”

“Ignore that. Where did you learn about Demonic Cultivators?”

“A book called Four Meditations,” Yu Han said. He would not ignore that rumour, and would definitely ask around. “I found it in the Marketplace.”

“The Sect should regulate it more. I appreciate the Sect Master’s new policies, but still.” Wen Liujie shook his head. “Demonic Practitioners follow a different Dao. Part of the Grand Dao, but far more insidious. They cultivate using Monster Cores without purification. They steal Spirituality. They consume the soul when consuming flesh, too.”

He then warned them with a grave timbre, “Cultivators at your level won’t be able to use Monster Cores directly, even if you try. Not before Qi Gathering, at least. Just because Night Soil Collectors have an easy way of farming more Monster Cores, doesn’t mean you can mindlessly use them.”

“Is that why there’s the rumour?” Huang Niuniu asked. “Other Night Soul Collectors got greedy and used the cores directly?”

“Who said that? It’s a rumour. Ignore it.” Wen Liujie laughed. “Wait for the cultural classes. If you aren’t exchanging them for spirit stones, then at least use them to make pills, elixirs, brews, or anything else. Never consume them directly.”

Yu Han and Huang Niuniu looked at each other, nodding.

“We understand, Senior Brother.”

“Good. We’re done here. Let’s head to King Earthworm Gorge.” They got on the donkey cart again. This time, all three of them squeezed onto the driver’s coach—Wen Liujie on the left, Yu Han in the middle, and Huang Niuniu on the right.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“So you glow?” Yu Han whispered.

“I’ll tell you about it later,” Huang Niuniu said. Her irises glowed yellow as she winked. “It’s nothing useful, anyway.”

They fell into silence.

“What do we use Pure Qi for, anyway?” Yu Han asked. “Is it some kind of secret? I didn’t hear about it.”

“Aren’t you going to the meditation class?” Wen Liujie asked.

“There are… circumstances,” Yu Han said. A fiery hotness bubbled up inside him. Apparently, the Senior Brother in charge of teaching them had looked for Yu Han too. Yu Han doubted is was to invite him over for tea.

“The nobles, huh?” Wen Liujie patted Yu Han’s back. “Endure. Their time is over with the new Sect Master.”

Enduring was the only thing Yu Han could do. Eleven months.

“Some call Pure Qi a reward from the Dao for cleansing the world of otherworldly filth. Others say it’s the True Qi of the very world itself. Whatever the case, you earn it when you kill Monsters and Demons, but never righteous Cultivators, normal animals like Primal Beasts and Spirits. Assimilating it can hasten your True Qi gain.”

“For only my Realm Level, or for Arts and Traits too?”

“Everything. They say stats also have hidden True Qi progress, but the Dao blinds us to it. With large quantities of Pure Qi assimilated, you may gain stats too,” Wen Liujie said. “Be careful, though. There’s a limit to how many stats you can gain with training. If you gain more in Mind, that means you’ll eventually gain less in Body.” Wen Liujie’s shoulders slumped. “But any extra stat is better than no stats. The Heavenly Allocation happens only once per level up, same with Primordial Qi. The Trials at each level are fickle too.”

“Trials?” Yu Han asked.

“Like Tribulations. For every level up, you have to complete a Trial. They’re nowhere as bad as Tribulations. They say the nine trials before the Tribulation at every tenth level prepare you for it. But look at me, stuck at Level 9 for three years.” There was clear self-deprecation in his voice.

“It’s fine. It’s fine,” Wen Liujie said to himself. “With Common Talent, it takes decades to get to Qi Gathering, even if the initial progress feels fast. Unless, of course, you’re rich. Then breaking through to Qi Gathering in a year may even be possible.”

The donkey cart travelled away from the Nest of Storm-Like Heroes. They passed by a snaking mountain path through a lush forest, the donkey’s hooves thumping as it trudged through soft earth. Huang Niuniu had fallen asleep, leaning her head on his shoulder.

“Have you decided to be companions?” Wen Liujie asked.

“Companions?”

“Dao companions. It’s none of my business. But I’d have to give you a gift.”

Yu Han was glad he had his helmet on. “We’re friends brought together by circumstances.” Part of him wanted to lie just for the gift.

Wen Liujie nodded. “Make a life in the Sect. For us Common Talents, dreams of immortality are too far away. I’ll be happy if I can live until a hundred.”

It was mentioned in Ji’s Cultivation Contemplations that Body Tempering Cultivators barely lived until a hundred. Most normal folks in this world had a far lower life and health span than on Earth. If one could live until seventy or eighty, that was a huge accomplishment. Qi Gathering Cultivators could live up to a hundred and twenty, and for Foundation Building, it was a hundred and fifty.

“Core Formation. It’s something that doesn’t concern us,” Wen Liujie said. His voice fell like the last chord of a song. Sombre, yet full of desire.

They emerged onto a road separating a lagoon from a shallow river.

“This is the Blue Firefly Lagoon,” Wen Liujie said. “After the Wisping Serpent Isthmus, we reach the King Earthworm Gorge.”

The path was an isthmus. Blue fireflies twinkled around them like stars.

“Pretty,” Huang Niuniu said.

“You’re awake?”

“Wisps aren’t bad. Wisps are cute,” she said with repeated nods. As if trying to convince herself.

Damn, girl, just tell me your trait already!

Long grass with corn-like heads grew in the lagoon. Frogs ribbited, and after looking carefully, Yu Han could see the rushing figures of thumb-sized fish swimming in the shallow water.

The isthmus path was well paved, wide enough for three donkey carts to travel side by side. The small river was like a quiet serpent, only the sound of its shallow breath audible. They passed some half-snapped trees, a few shadowy boulders, and one small shrine by the lagoon.

On the other side of the isthmus was dry land. The ground had opened up, steep cliffs going down into a quiet abyss.

It was a land of cracked earth, with giant crevices and deep gorges. Far away, they could see the looming forms of night-covered mountains. But here, the land was barren, the bottom deep.

Wen Liujie drove the cart to a small shrine erected on dry wood. It had a similar statue of a stone earthworm. He got out of the cart, then lit an incense stick.

A few feet away, there was a giant crevice, which gradually opened up, then met back together about twenty metres away.

“There are stairs,” Huang Niuniu said. Behind the shrine, there was a hole in the ground, with stairs sculpted into the earth.

“Never descend without praying to the Land God. The Monsters who lurk there are prey of the God and his spawn. They welcome visitors, but never thieves. If you stay with the Night Alchemists long enough, they’ll give you some perks. As I said, we’re totally great, and not like the rumours.”

“Gods really exist?” Yu Han asked.

Huang Niuniu slapped his shoulder. “Don’t blaspheme, you dummy!”

Wen Liujie laughed. “That they do. From old ghosts to powerful spirits. They have mysterious powers. You can respect them, deny them, worship them, fear them. When you’re strong enough, you can even kill them.”

Huang Niuniu squeaked, “Senior Brother! Watch what you—”

“We’re Cultivators, Sister Huang. We defy the heavens, while the gods live in it. Our Stormy Reef Sect is a Traditional Sect that leans more towards Orthodoxy. Our relationship with the Imperial and Divine Courts is mutually beneficial, friendly, and without discord. But there are Evil Gods out there, spectres masquerading as deities, stealing faith from mortals. It’s our job to hunt them if one appears.”

This world was mysterious. Maybe it wasn’t all RPG stats and numbers like Yu Han thought.

They dumped the excreta nodules and corpses into the gorge.

“These ghouls were too weak,” Wen Liujie said. “A little stronger, and you could harvest them for parts. It’s better to dump them here for the Earthworm Spirit Beasts to process. See that mountain over there?” He pointed at the faraway looming form. “The alchemy and medicinal fields start there. Beyond that, you can find the Spirit Rice fields. The underground domain of the King Earthworm Gorge also has an opening there, and the Alchemy Hall, Agriculture Hall, and Medical Hall can directly harvest Spirit Fertilizer from the gorge exit.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier if the Waste Tanks were connected to this place?” Yu Han asked.

“There are some small tunnels. If they were too big, the other Mountain and River Gods would throw a fit.”

“Gods have politics?” I love it. Excitement bubbled up in Yu Han. Cultivators. Spirits. Demons. Gods. What else?

“That reminds me…” Yu Han looked around. He’d read about this isthmus in Four Meditations. “Is there a crab around here?”

Huang Niuniu frowned, confused. Wen Liujie laughed. “I see the Junior Brother has heard of it too.”

They drove the cart back. This time, at the midpoint of the isthmus, they stopped near one of the boulders. Under Wen Liujie’s urging, they got down.

The Senior Brother clapped his hands, then bowed at the boulder. He stomped, creating a large sound.

The boulder moved.

“Is that…?” Yu Han asked.

“Eek!” Huang Niuniu screamed.

The dirt and moss fell off. Claws clicked, feet tapped. Under the moonlight, a giant orange shell revealed itself.

The thing was the size of a mini-truck. Yu Han looked up, falling down on his butt.

Two beady eyes stared back.

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