Pandora Unchained - a Cultivation Progression Fantasy

One week later, Sorin returned to the Kepler Clan to meet with Elder Nolan in his capacity as an elder of the Abberjay Clan. The thin and tired-looking man was exceptionally spry despite his gauntness. Like the other presiding elders, he was a flesh-sanctification cultivator and not a run-of-the-mill flesh-sanctification cultivator at that.

"I know you're likely bitter about how things transpired in that meeting," said Elder Nolan as they walked through the Ancestral Manor. "Your parents died, and most of your possessions and inheritance were taken away. It was the most basic of power grabs, and given the state of the family, the Grand Elder was helpless to stop any of it."

"It's fine," said Sorin, following a step behind the elder. "I've come to terms with it. Honestly, if the family wanted to excommunicate me to make the succession line clearer, I would have accepted it in a heartbeat."

Elder Nolan chuckled. "Come now, Sorin. You know that's not how it works. Given your former position, it's inevitable that you'll know things people outside the family aren't allowed to know. For example, the prevalence of poison affinity in your bloodline. This is information that has been strictly controlled for over a hundred years, further obscured by the fact that most members of the Abberjay Branch have purposefully cultivated life mana in recent times.

"The most logical way to solve this problem is naturally to have you killed. But the Grand Elder made it very clear that attempts on your life were forbidden. Of course, he said this after the incident that left your cultivation crippled. Whoever did it acted quickly and ruthlessly.

"Now, I'm sure you have a lot of questions, such as where we're going and why I asked for this meeting. Rest assured that I mean you no harm. In fact, I hope you'll obtain a priceless fortune if all goes as planned.

Sorin wasn't sure where the elder was leading him but didn't sense any hostility from him. Intuition aside, Elder Nolan was the elder who was least likely to wish him harm. There was also the fact that any acts against Sorin inside the Ancestral Manor would fall under great scrutiny.

After fifteen minutes of walking and light chit-chat, they eventually arrived at a familiar location. "The family archives?" asked Sorin, curious about the elder's intentions.

"Yes, we're here to meet a good friend of your parents," said Elder Nolan. He pressed his identification plate—a violet one, as opposed to Sorin's gold plate—to a lock plate. The door opened without a sound.

The elder led him past shelves full of historical records and old books; from a practical standpoint, the archives weren't very useful. The only exceptions were the things located in the restricted section archives, like restricted cultivation manuals, techniques, and alchemical recipes.

They soon arrived at a simple door. Elder Nolan knocked three times, then waited three seconds before knocking three times more. "What do you want?" came a familiar voice from inside the door.

"It's me," said Elder Nolan. "I've come with Sorin, as we discussed earlier."

"Why did you didn't you say so?" said the voice. The door quickly opened, revealing Elder Claudius of the Rosair Branch. His branch was the one in charge of records, manuals, techniques, and other similar items.

The elder was a balding man in his late fifties who smelled of mint and smoked ginseng. "Come along; we don't have much time," said the elder, waving for them to follow. It's nice to see you again, Sorin. You didn't disappoint me with your stunt earlier. Lorent and Maria were the type to talk back and didn't hesitate to lash out against those who bullied them.

"Elder Claudius," Sorin greeted. "Why are we here exactly?"

"You mean you didn't tell him?" Elder Claudius asked Elder Nolan.

"I thought it would be better if we surprised him," said Elder Nolan.

"Fair enough," said Elder Claudius. "This way, please." He pushed open an ornate door armed with enough spell formations to decimate a city block, then led Sorin past shelves of rare books and cultivation techniques before arriving at a second door armed with even more destructive capabilities.

The elder pressed his identification plate to the door to open it, then motioned for Sorin to go in. "You've got an hour in there before I need to pull you out. Strictly speaking, your copy of the codex was taken, but they said nothing about you reading the original.

"What are you—"

"Go!" urged the elder, practically pushing Sorin past the door.

Behind the door was a small room, and inside that room was a golden book. Sorin had read a copy of the book so many times he immediately recognized it.

So, they keep the original copy of the Divine Medical Codex here, thought Sorin. Is the same for the Ten Thousand Poison Canon, I wonder?

Sorin controlled his excitement and slowly made his way over to the divine tome. Unlike the copy he'd read, this tome contained six sections of knowledge, one for each of the known cultivation stages. Practically speaking. However, only five of these stages could be practiced, and to his knowledge, no one in his family had reached the fifth stage since disaster struck over a hundred years ago.

Moreover, the tome contained one more thing that couldn't be copied or transcribed: divine charm. The divinity in the book resonated with the divinity in Sorin's blood, like a father or mother welcoming their child home.

It's a beautiful book, thought Sorin as he ran his hand along the cover. It's warm. A little tingly. He flipped through its pages and carefully took in the contents, which were said to be inked by the hand of Asclepius himself.

The words in the book were written in the language of the gods, which would normally make the contents impossible to decipher. Thanks to the divine charm present in the writing, however, virtually anyone who showed talent for the medical arts would be able to understand the contents, even if they were illiterate. The precondition was, of course, that their spirit could endure it.

It only took Sorin five minutes to leaf through the first section. The codex was concise in how it delivered information. And through the way it was organized, Sorin realized that something was missing in the copy that was present in the original.

It's the Ten Thousand Poison Canon, Sorin realized. Or the gaps where they intersect. They're actually a pair. The Divine Medical Codex outlines ailments and their cures, but it's the Ten Thousand Poison Canon that goes into detail about how to concoct these cures, which are, more often than not, poisons.

The first section outlined one-star knowledge, which he'd long since committed to memory. But he'd yet to read the second section. He was excited to read it but was also skeptical. How could an hour possibly be enough to take in so much knowledge?

It was then that he realized that the book was glowing. The fifteen minutes of contact with the book had formed a sort of resonance with the divine item.

What the… the glow suddenly expanded until it filled the entire room, projecting vast amounts of knowledge onto the floor, the walls, and the ceiling. Sorin had no time to react before the knowledge that emerged from the book began searing itself onto his spirit.

***

"And there you have it," said Elder Claudius, motioning to the spectacle in the reading room. "Confirmation. Only two cultivation arts can inspire this sort of phenomenon: the Divine Medical Art practiced by Young Master Fineas and the Ten Thousand Poison Canon, which no one managed to cultivate, including Master Fineas, despite our rigorous search for potential candidates."

Elder Nolan let out a soft sigh. "It wasn't for lack of trying, Claudius. We tested everyone capable of cultivating poison and life mana in the Abberjay Branch and the Mockingjay Branch and found no one with the requisite talent or destiny."

"It certainly doesn't help that each art can only have one inheritor at a time," muttered Elder Claudius. "Regardless, we brought him here at the Grand Elder's instruction and confirmed he possesses the Ten Thousand Poison Canon. This is a great boon to the clan, Nolan. Now that he's confirmed as the Canon's inheritor, there's no way the Grand Elder will let anyone harm him."

"I'd say the real question is whether or not they'll let him out of the manor," said Elder Nolan. The clan suffered severe damage when Lorent died. Recovering the Ten Thousand Poison Canon will allow us to recover at least partially from that damage.

Elder Claudius grimaced. "Unfortunately, the Life Faction doesn't see it that way. As far as they're concerned, our poison inheritance is just a liability. It's better to do away with it, lest we encounter another great disaster. That's complete and utter rubbish if you ask me. We never would have gotten to where we are without the Ten Thousand Poison Canon.

"Wait, what's going on?" He adjusted his spectacles and peered through their vantage point to where Sorin was currently receiving large packets of information. Divine Medical Codex was reacting strangely. "Wait, is it trying to pass on the Divine Medical Art despite there already being an inheritor?"

"That appears to be the case," said Elder Nolan. "Should we stop him?"

"Can we stop him?" said Elder Claudius. "In case you haven't noticed, there's a lot more going on than a simple knowledge transference."

Elder Nolan fondled his chin. "There's a deeper resonance being formed than normal during an inheritance. Wait… is that God Light I see?"

"It shouldn't be," said Elder Claudius, taking off his glasses and cleaning them. "Well, I'll be—it is God Light."

"But how is that possible?" asked Elder Nolan. "The book doesn't generate God Light. The only way for God Light to appear is if Sorin were a God Seed—which he clearly isn't. All six of us inspected him."

"But what if he had a way to hide that from us?" proposed Elder Claudius.

"From six flesh sanctification cultivators, of which four are physicians?" asked Elder Nolan. "I'm sorry, but I think the six of us would be able to find a hidden demigod if we set our minds to it. Unless…" He squinted and looked at Sorin's floating body. "Is that a fox head medallion he's wearing?"

Elder Claudius hissed. "So it is. Imagine that—a hidden God Seed in our very own Kepler Clan. Should we… should tell the others?"

"If you dare do that, I'll kill you myself!" snapped Elder Nolan. "No, what's happening here must be kept top secret. I'll find an opportunity to personally inform the Grand Elder. Under no circumstances can communication devices be used."

"So you'll be leaving shortly?" asked Elder Claudius.

"Of course not," said Elder Nolan. "We still haven't seen what he'll gain from all this. Anyhow, it seems like his body is rejecting the Divine Medical Art."

"Fortunately," said Elder Claudius. "I can't imagine the political turmoil that would ensue if he was successful."

"I'm as clueless as you," said Elder Nolan. Oh, look, it seems all the knowledge sections are sealing themselves up into his spirit. And now, there are nine skills available for him to cultivate. Frankly speaking, nothing about this can surprise me anymore."

"Nine?" asked Elder Claudius. "Are you sure? There are usually only two or three to pick from. Some haven't been cultivated in centuries. Which one do you think he'll pick?"

Elder Nolan cleared his throat. "At this point, do you really think one is his limit?"