Elder Cultivation: Three Sisters

 Courageous junior and senior cultivators gathered daily at the Ice statue of a female judge, at the medicinal fountain, and in the deepest part of the waters at the site of a ribbon blade that did not move with the currents.

The assistant wardens ensured each arriving cultivator was given a heavy challenge relative to their cultivation level.

They had never met their seniors, instead following the Eldest assistant’s orders.

While the visiting cultivators traveled to and from the three attractions, the fountain of pure water suddenly stopped spouting.

When a few disappointed Lifegiving cultivators went up to the ice artwork, they found the ice judge was gone.

Soon even those in the depths of the lake had emerged. The sacred ribbon blade which taught them was gone.

Three sisters of incredible power had been invisibly maintaining Lifegiving, Judgment and Blade relics for centuries. They gathered to share an afternoon together every decade or so, but this was early.

They knew how to provide the assistants with appropriate challenges to fit each cultivator, because all three of them were seers of Fates.

Something like a mountain was now impeding the fates in Ice Crystal Lake. Only a being that transcended their own Divine Empress stage could do that.

It was easy to find the fate warper, he was headed their way.

Saraii was stunned, “Lord Doctor!”

Mia instead called the old man, "Honorable Judge!"

With her two sisters kowtowing, Verona as eldest examined the old man. The tapestry of his fate was unrecognizable in large structures. But she recognized the signs of someone who had lost a central part of their life.

"Do you not see the grief this Lord carries, sisters? We are the three Sisters of the Lake, Lord. Is there anything we can do to help you?"

"My disguise was perfect at the last place. How did you identify me?" he muttered.

Verona spoke clearly, "You are a dark mountain in fate, Elder. We have all woken from our normal duties when we noticed the eclipsing of fate."

<>

The King of Water Battle City did direct him truly. These three sisters were strong enough to identify him completely.

"I am Hao Yongtian. My sect was destroyed. I was never called out from seclusion to save them. I will wander until I find the greatest authority in this world, or I find those who surpass me. I want to escape to the furthest distance. May I reside at your lake for a brief time?"

Saraii seemed the most excitable of the three, "You may stay as long as desired, but we three have pursued different paths in our cultivation, so that we have little purpose in challenging each other. First, my sisters will bring out the most dire patients from beside the fountain of Life. I am eager to see your dao of medicine."

Mia spoke next, "I will be your servant Saraii, and bring patients before the Doctor, but afterwards you must gather the justice seekeers and judges seeking wisdom in their own troublesome cases. I will trade pointers with the Lord Judge on these matters."

Yong laughed. "What would you challenge me on, Lady Verona?"

The flash of the sister's ribbon blade was deflected from his saber, which he had brought to a guard position in plenty of time. He struck back, reserving himself to a Emperor's strength, but this sister Verona was sent flying anyway.

While the sister was in flight, he stretched out his other hand, and an intense flow of cutting nullification repaired Verona of the damage his blade had wrought. He did not know his own strength. He had not fought so strongly when he was a Divine Emperor, or perhaps these sisters were only early stage Emperors.

Verona returned, satisfied, but Yong knew he would watch her at every moment for a sudden attack.

"I will be both of your servants, sisters, for I have been satisfied in the master's response!" she said.


Thus began a fortnight of the greatest miracles of diagnosis and healing the Ice Crystal Lake area had ever seen. By the seventh day, everyone with a sick relative was desperately trying to bring them to the hospital which had been created.

Even Doctor Saraii herself had rarely revealed her skills, directing everyone to the Fountain, which was her creation, instead. The visiting doctor was truly a master beyond all masters now known to them.

Yong would have never pursued medicine if he thought that it was simply a matter of a powerful cultivator flexing their power. No, to heal, one must first know the source of the malady. There was no general factor of health in individuals, nor universal healing solution. Certainly, Hao Yongtian had tried many times to concoct such a formula in order to solve the agonizingly difficult problems he faced in his spiritual world.

He was never troubled with the solution to any problem at Ice Crystal Lake. Each day, he would allow Saraii to diagnose patients first, and then if she was troubled, he would resolve the issue and explain to her what he had done.

She still had a lot of learning and cultivation to achieve before she could understand his deepest theories.

After 28 days of working with Saraii, the youngest of the three stepped down, and with a simple gesture, Yong changed the hospital into a courtroom.

It took a little bit for the people in the area to recognize the change, but soon there were judges and justice seekers of all kinds entering the courtroom seeking true and honest judgment. Again, Yong let Mia examine the cases first, only making his own judgment when she was incorrect or deferred to him. Soon all who felt they were wronged came to the courtroom, but many were deceitful and self-interested, and Saraii and Verona had to spend all of their time dealing with those due for punishment.

The second to last thing he did at Ice Crystal Lake was sparring against the combined efforts of the three sisters.

Verona, being focused on retribution and the ribbon blade, lead the sisters. Saraii applied every poison she knew of, while Mia used judgements to try to bind him, but the three Emperor cultivators could not stand against him for more than five moves

The last thing he did is ask his original question again. "Can you think of any place where even you would never dare to go. So dangerous that you tremble in contemplation of it?"

Verona only replied, "The Mountain"

Red Cloud Mountain was constantly under a haze of Red mist which sapped the strength of every cultivator who traveled there. It was even suspected that some ancient cultivator lived in those mountains and cut down everyone who entered them. No one had dared to travel to even the foothills in hundreds of years.

"A suitable gift, Sisters. If you ever need me, let your fate guide you."