Hours after eating my fill an angry looking centaur with a whip in hand approached me with an ugly look on his face. I made sure not to look at his face and keep my head down. The centaur trotted around me and I felt his qi brush up against me. It was dark like Od's when it touched me it was like being hit with ice water. My body felt frozen and I couldn't react for several breaths. Then the centaur harrumphed in my direction. "You aren't qualified to weed the garden. Qi condensation of the 2nd level is the minimal requirement. I can only sense the qi of a foal in you. Scratch that even a foal has more qi than you. If it was up to me, I would take your collar off and teach you to the fifth stage and recollar you. Melchior Nimrod what do you have to say?" The centaur glowered.

"Mistress Od mentioned your name was Gantalga. She told me to ask you for a fire axe." I replied.

"Polite good, elder sister Od asked me to oversee her homestead while she is away personally. I Gantalga have never failed her." The centaur said and stomped his hoof. Then he grunted. "Fire Axes are heavy and unwieldy things. Not a problem for centaurs or mule centuars. We weigh close to a ton. You couldn't weigh more than 200lbs. You won't swing it; it will swing you. If you had any cultivation, I would teach you a Dao. Any fire Dao would do." The centaur droned on for a moment then looked thoughtful.

"There is a single Dao I could teach you. It is used by children to spark flames. A simple but reliable fire Dao. Your collar stops you from personally cultivating but cultivating fire is another story." From there Gantalga walked me through the steps of the Fire Dao, Wyrmling.

I repeated Gantalga's triangular hand sign and set my feet in a position to make use of the technique. Within the triangle of my hand the ghost of a spark appeared then vanished.

Dao Skill Discovered: Wyrmling lv1; active 1MP; +0.1INT/WIS

"Good now you just need to grow that single spark a hundred thousand-fold. Od left these for you." Gantalga presented him a bag like the one Od held. "This is your bag of holding. It's one of Od's spares. Apparently, we are out of low-level bags. It contains 5 low grade spirit stones and some medicinal pills." I could practically feel the centaur's frown.

"I'm sorry master Gantalga. I expected to be shocked or whipped. This situation is going very smoothly." Gantalga chuckled.

"Ah the gossip and rumors of the human lands. I'm sure we are painted as blood thirsty rapists and slavers. Life is hard and it has made us hard. That doesn't mean we whip slaves for obeying and trying to do what is asked of them. Its counter productive the whip a slave that wants to be productive. Besides Elder Sister Od has waved a nice fat carrot in front of your face. There is no need for the stick." I bowed low as Od had taught me and the large centaur left.

I saw a flash a mule centaur was waiting in their hidden place. She was in heat again even though her eggs were useless. No mere mule centaur could satisfy her. I took hold of that vision and pulled myself back to reality. The centaur paused and turned back around.

"Before I forget, Salena can get a little handsy around new slaves. You might want to stay away from her if you don't want to be crushed." With that the centaur trotted off.

I held my hands in the triangle formation and a tiny spark appeared. This time instead of running out of energy it remained. I focused on my mana traveling down from my head and wisp out of my fingers. The thin fog like mana encircled the small spark and it began to grow ever slightly. Excited if pushed more mana into the Dao and it was smothered. There was no level up to make me feel better. I needed to figure this out on my own.

My In Sight kicked in and as I reached the her field. It was a small lush field heavy with spiritual energy. With any resource there were those who wanted to choke out the competition. Weeds more demonic than plant at this point hid in the soil disguised as medical herbs. That is until prey grew too close. A field mouse BP 250 entered the field to eat the powerful herbs and increase in power. It sped through the rows until it came upon a plant outside the row. This odd plant had far more qi than the other plants. The mouse bit into a leaf only for the plant to move. A face made of leaves appeared and a mouth opened like a crocodile. Its teeth were made of thorns and it struck quickly. Its jaws were like a bear trap once closed it locked into place. The mouse wounded and bleeding struggled against the maw only for the pressure to grow stronger. The mouse's bones snapped, and the mouth sealed before sinking underground. Powerful digestive enzymes broke down the mouse's body leaving only bones.

This time, I controlled what I saw and pulled back after I'd seen enough. My skill with In Sight was growing stronger. I held the Dao Wyrmling much longer feeding the flame only as much mana as it could handle. Then the flame grew, and I fed it more mana. The spark had from a speck to a fingernail.

Dao Skill level up: Wyrmling lv2; active MP cost 2; +0.1INT/WIS

The sun was still high in the air and it would be a little while before I felt confident with my little Dao enough to challenge the weeds. "New Guy, are you having trouble."

I turned my head losing my concentration. My Dao collapsed winking out. Before me slithered a naga with a tail reaching 20meters in length. Her human half had bronze skin making her golden hair even more beautiful. She wore a bra of wool. With no shirt to speak of showing off her midriff. Only a single ribbon hid her modesty as it traveled down her snake half hiding her privates. She smiled playfully and I remembered what Gantalga said.

I took a step back getting ready to flee for my life. "Don't be afraid I'm not going to hurt you. I noticed you had trouble with Wyrmling." Her expression turned pitying. "You aren't a cultivator and your path has been closed completely. Cultivating fire itself is impossible without a source of flame. You will only waste your reserves in an endless cycle. I wanted to give you an offer." Salena said.

"What kind of offer?" I blurted out without meaning to. My In Sight had already pulled some abstract sensations from her most of which was hunger. A feeling I knew all too well. She licked her lips showing off her long purple tongue.

"If I consume you your measly cultivation will grow mine by a slight fraction. All your problems would end." I was already stepping away this was insane. "Wait let me help you. I want to give you a pleasurable send off. Would you rather die here worked to death? This will at least help me get closer to an escape. Don't you want at least some part of you to be free. Even if that part has become one with me."

"Not interested is there anything else." I said in a dull tone. She shrugged.

"I didn't expect you to say yes right away. These decisions take time. But don't take too long." She said and slithered beside me. Salena grabbed my shoulders and shoved her wool covered breasts against my back. "An end by me can be a most pleasurable experience."

She turned and slithered away. "You have my erection nothing more lady." I muttered and cleared my mind before continuing to practice.