Ri regretted everything. She had been so lost in her excitement, that she had put Dyon's life in danger. Although this cave was perfectly safe for her, the same couldn't be said of most people. In fact, that was the main reason she had sat them at the edge of the cave, had Dyon seen what was going on inside, he might have already died.
Little Black looked up from his nap with an adorable, confused expression, but then he just went back to sleep, ignoring Ri's panic.
Dyon looked around at the lights intently. They were actually quite beautiful. Ri seemed worried, but it was too late to do anything about it now. But, Dyon didn't feel any different, so it confused him that she was so concerned.
The lights began to slow. All of a sudden, you could make up the figures of tiny butterflies floating around the cave, circling them intently.
Dyon reached out his hand, allowing one to delicately land on his palm. He felt the celestial will within him furiously activate, resonating with the fluttering butterflies.
'This.. what is this?' Dyon couldn't understand what was going on.
However, his surprise completely paled in comparison to Ri's.
'He's alive?...'
"What is this?" Asked Dyon.
Ri was stunned, unable to reply.
"Ri?"
"Oh… um… Right!..."
Dyon looked at Ri with an odd look. The butterflies continued to circle around them. A few had even landed on Little Black. It seemed like they were resonating with him as well.
"Well… this is actually a source of purity will. Purity type wills are rare, but, they do exist. Each is slightly different from the next, but the reigning will above them is without a doubt Celestial Will. But, there are others.
"For example, a non-elemental type will like the will of buddha, or a simpler form like the will of light. Many wills also have paths of deeper understanding that can divert to purity as well. For example, fire and ice can do this…."
Dyon nodded. His aurora had properties of purification. He wondered if this was related.
"This source was actually created by my mother… It helps you along the path of purification… But, my mother was very clear on the fact that only those with a pure heart could survive. The purity surges at night because my mother was at her most powerful under the night sky… but, for some reason, you're still here…"
Dyon nearly choked on air, 'am I not pure enough for you?'
But Ri took this a completely different way, "humph, am I not pure enough for you? Maybe you should go hang out with another girl whose image is great enough for you, Mr. Jaws."
Dyon's eyes widened as a grieved looked appeared on his face, 'this girl is too much… is it necessary for her to misunderstand me so much? Mr. Jaws? What the hell does that mean?'
"You know that's not what I meant…"
Ri harrumphed but didn't reply, 'all men are the same.'
Dyon could only sigh and change the conversation topic, "why is it that this only happens at night?"
"Well, my mom used to specialize in ice will…"
Dyon didn't say anything when he heard her use past tense, he only respectfully listened. Ri seemed to appreciate the fact Dyon didn't ask any questions or show any signs of fake pity. Those kinds of eyes were ones she hated the most.
"Ice will gets a boost during the night, as fire will would during the day, much like it would probably be easier to tap into lightning will during a storm. My mother couldn't reach far enough along the path of ice purification… so, she made this place, hoping that I would improve quickly and surpass her."
'I wonder why they find the purity path to be so important…' Thought Dyon.
Ri, having finally relaxed from her worry, started walking towards the depths of the cave.
"Although I'm sure you don't cultivate the purity path because I sense too much demonic type will on you, it seems that despite this, your heart comes from a good place. I don't mind showing you the depths of the cave as a payment for talking with me today."
Dyon was going to correct her, but then he thought of something more important. "What… what exactly would have happened had my heart not been 'pure'…"
Ri turned back with her mischievous grin, "my mother was very powerful. She was probably even more powerful than my father although I can't be sure. Even if you were at the Celestial stage of cultivation, if you hadn't had a pure heart, the ice butterflies would have purified you."
Dyon shuddered at what this would mean. But, Ri didn't let him wonder for too long.
"Your death would look beautiful… sure. But, imagine every one of your cells getting washed over by a cleanser…"
A cold sweat covered Dyon's back.
'You mean like pouring rubbing alcohol into a wound?.... but your whole body instead?'
Dyon almost turned around and left, but Ri's evil nature shone through again. She skipped over gleefully and pulled on Dyon's arm, dragging him into the cave. Despite his feigned apprehensiveness, Dyon learned something else about wills, especially his celestial will.
Dyon remembered very clearly that when he used his celestial will in front of the Big Sect experts, they would often not know what it was or dismiss it as a 'purity type will'. This could mean a few things: either it was difficult to distinguish purity type wills when they were so low level, or it was impossible to distinguish them at all. There was also the possibility that celestial will had left this world for so long, that no one remembered what it felt like.
Soon, the enter a wide underground space.
There was a lake of pure energy, bathing the surroundings in light. The space was filled with crystals that had been purified by the energy. Flickers of ice and snow wafted through, but the feeling wasn't that of bone piercing cold, but instead reminiscent of an ache you treat with a cold pack.
'So, this is the purity path of ice?... It feels much different from Delia's ice will…'
