The Hidden Myth of Ji Dara

"There's no going back now…"

"It's for his good, her good, and our own good…" Ji Wang added as they all entered the clinic…

On getting there, they met Aunt Lin currently cleaning Dara's body with a clean cloth dipped in warm water;

"You all are here again…"

Aunt Lin said, but this time she didn't yell, and as a matter of fact, she seemed fine on the outside, calm in her temperament but with an aura of grief still looming all over her…

The Elders saw this, and they all breathed a sigh of relief in unison as it seems their journey today was going to be fruitful;

"We just-"

"-I understand…"

Aunt Lin didn't allow them speak before she interrupted and then take a step backwards for them to come in… The Elders came in and began to discuss how to go about Dara's burial…

"So, how are you planning to go about this?"

Aunt Lin abruptly asked and it was then that the Elders realized that they had been so concerned about being allowed into the clinic than what they were going to do when they enter…

They all swallowed awkwardly as they began to gaze towards Ji Wang's position, and when Ji Wang realized this, he simply shook his head with a light chuckle;

'You guys really look to me for solutions unh?' He thought to himself as he explained;

"Firstly, from all we, the Elders, we present our condolences to you, and what to assure you that, we are just as saddened by his passing as you are…" Ji Wang went ahead with a soft approach;

"Secondly, we plan to get him ready for the burial in here, and then announce his death to the entire tribe on the burial spot…"

"Lastly, we will take three days to prepare him for burial, three days to prepare his burial site as well as his coffin, then we will bury him on the last day of the third week since his death…"

Ji Wang revealed as the rest of the group nodded in support…

It was Dara, and he was not only their Tribe Leader, but their main mental support and morale, as well as the founder of the current tribe, thus, the Elders believed that his burial has to be neat, grand and befitting, and thus, they had to take their time to ensure that they did it to the best of what they could offer…

Meanwhile...

Whilst the Elders were planning Dara's burial…

Within Dara's mental space, one would be able to see that the soul within the transparent fruit was getting much more refined and was already looking much more humanoid, and now, the transformation process was about 40% complete…

Another six days flowed by like water around a rock, and it was the eve before Dara's burial…

Elder Smith had brought a casket over, one that was made of wood with the frame made out of the Qi steel…

They laid the interior with a layer of leather, before placing a layer of snow white fur on top of it…

Then they laid him within and placed two bouquets of sweet smelling flowers into his hands, as Aunt Lin brought seven Qi Stones [filled] over, and the moment she entered the room with them, the tree within Dara's mental realm trembled excitedly, something it has not done in a while…

It could already feel the presence of the Qi Stones and it was already flexing Dara's meridians, preparing them for a feast of the century…

Aunt Lin then brought the Qi Stones over; placing two by his right, another two by his left, one by his feet and one as an headrest, then she placed the final Qi Stone on his chest…

Then after about another hour, they finally left leaving only Aunt Lin behind to once again accompany him for the last time, before he was lowered into the ground…

Aunt Lin sat beside his coffin, looking at him as her eyes welled up with tears once again; she was truly heartbroken and couldn't still believe despite waiting for three entire weeks without any sort of miracle, but nothing happened…

She planted three deep kisses on Dara's lips before placing her head on his shoulder till she fell asleep, just like they occasionally do in the hot tub after a night of mutual indulgence…

But within Dara's mental space…

The root of the tree attached to his cultivation base trembled slightly, as several white lines began to appear on it, from the tip, heading up towards the trunk, albeit at a slow pace, but it was happening…

The Qi Stones then began to glow as they began to surge into Dara's body, slowly moving into his meridians as their glow began to fade and dim, and as this continued on, the energy being absorbed by the roots continued to surge upwards into the transparent fruit as the soul within the fruit continued to become more and more refined;

Starting from his head where two perfectly defined ears grew out, and then his face with a nose, the eyes, lips  then to his neck, chest, hand, fingers, knee, toes and even nails…

Then after a bit of time had passed, the soul within the fruit then trembled abruptly as it rose its head up and began to trash around, trying to push its way out of its confines, until its eyes abruptly open;

Kaboom!

The fruit exploded into smithereens as the multicolored soul gradually floated downwards;

The soul was white on one half of its body and black on the other half with golden runes that made into a formation etched all over it…

The moment the soul awakened, in the outside world, Dara's eyes abruptly snapped open, and within it were three concentric pupils…

He looked around for a bit in bewilderment and a frown of curiosity before he then looked to his chest and found the head of a lady laying on it, and his body trembled slightly in shock, but then he bumped his hand and looked to his sides before realizing he was within some confinement of some sort…

The scent of several sweet smelling flowers assaulted his nostrils, as he looked towards the flowers and his frown deepened;