Unbound Mantra Chapter 2 (Patreon)

I was torn for a good while on what I should do. Where I should go. Stay in modern fantasy china and deal with asshole young masters. Or go to America, where monsters replaced mall shooters.

America had a VERY powerful and far more spread out spiritual energy field compared to most of Europe and Asia apparently. So while it wasn't as ultra-concentrated as in some parts of China, and such.

But it's spiritual energy was of upper middle quality throughout the entire northern continent. So while there weren't as many ultra-strong cultivators, gods, mages, or whatever. There were... ALOT of them.

The massive number of people who could punch a building down, led to even during these days to cultivation methods, magical tools, and weapons being almost unrestricted if you had the funds to buy them.

And also because there was just soooo many monsters and spirits with how evenly rich the spiritual energy was across the country.

I was reading online, and one vampire put it like. 'America is the land where every human is seasoned with magic and comes with different flavors depending on the state you pick to hunt in.'

So while I wasn't enthused about being picked up as some vampires' twelve-piece chicken bucket with gravy. America was the best place for me to find a cultivation style that fit me...

Because those crazy fuckers just left them in libraries for homeless people, especially to read.

'The idea of a vampire going after some homeless dude only for that homeless dude to become a tornado of yang energy that turns them into ashes... Man, Abraham Lincoln really hated vampires.' I mused as I kept reading and found out that Americans had a massive racist hatred for European vampires.

But on the other hand, there was a bit of a meme going on online. About men of today with regeneration cultivation styles picking up big titty goth vampires to suck their blood... And something else wink wink.

After a long moment of thought...

I gave my knee a light punch to wake myself up before I said to myself quietly. "Alright! Fuck it, we ball! Let's go back home then." I finished a bit sheepishly.

As... I mean, I was dropped here for my reincarnation. And then within an hour, I decide to just say fuck it and run across the world.

It was just a bit funny to me, honestly.

Still with my mind made up, and firmly remembering that I was NOT going to Japan and Kuoh in particular. I got back online and quickly got myself some plane tickets for cheap that were set to leave in a couple of hours, which hadn't sold enough tickets to fill the flight.

-

"You would think... With magic and cultivation, the whole aviation industry wouldn't be a thing." I muttered before I recalled that even in this world. The people who actually cultivated and had the strength to teleport weren't that many.

Still here I was. In the Americas, I stumbled out of an airplane that took half a day to get here, with the heat of sunny California hitting my form.

"It's already late. I should probably get a hotel or something." I mused as I carefully made my way around the other people walking the sprawling streets of Los Angeles.

It was nice seeing that my home country hadn't changed... To much even with magic and cultivation being a thing that was 'common' Though it was more along the lines of magical energy being used for personal belongings.

As still, most people couldn't fuel their entire home appliances and such with their own magic. It was just a matter of talent and most people still working semi-normal jobs.

But even the most untalented had enough magical energy to charge their phones. They could charge magical gems to fuel fans and other things.

Still walking down the streets, I was just as much of a tourist as a lot of other people, even if I had the advantage of being a native english speaker.

After a good bit of looking around, I went to a decent hotel and got some sleep as I knew the local library was already going to be closed.

And in the morning, after a good wake-up shower. I got my shit together and went to the local library to get onto the internet to figure out my next steps.

As I had a bit of money in my pockets, as my sponsor let me have more than I was supposed to. In case I went full murderhobo roamer around the world. I was only going to be able to get a small apartment here in LA if I wanted to settle down here.

I then quickly made my way to the local library and got on to begin my research of the local area, cultivation methods, and a more permanent living situation.

'Hmm... So in LA, it's a shithole of vampires, in old families that fled Europe for being 'new' blood that didn't fit into old molds. A Ghost King actually formed more than a hundred years ago from all the dead natives and miners who came to California for the gold rush back in the day.' I mused while reading up on LA's power structure.

And the ghost king, and vampires weren't the only 'threat' either. Devils and Fallen had a very strong mutual grip on Hollywood, while the more street crime was held in a vice grip by a network of werewolf clans that had a blood war going on with the vampires at night.

But the secondary most powerful threat was the 'Yaoguai' in Chinese spirit monsters and Korean monsters. As apparently... America decided in this timeline, in order to deal with the suicidal Indians who were doing Kamikaze spirit possessions to blow up cities and towns. 

When America built the continental railroad across the country. They invited a fuck load of the more... 'Reasonable' monster clans to help build the railroad and secure it while paying them. In land, in which they took from the Native Americans and their spirits.

And with America's policy of whether you being monster, human, or immortal. All are equal in the equal in the eye's of the law 'mostly'. The monsters weren't too discriminated against and had set down firm roots in America.

As the Chinese and Korean monster clans were especially suppressed, as they fought against cultivators in those lands rather brutally. While Japan, with its Youkai system were mostly harmonious with the humans of their land.

They learned to embrace the way of the 'Kami' and become familiars to be fed human faith and mana to evolve themselves over their looong lifespans.

I shook my head as I had gone too far down a side tangent in my scrolling. I brushed a hand across my face before I muttered. "So like... What is the murder capital of the city? How safe am I is the question?"

While I researched HOW dangerous this city was anyway. I also found, of course, cultivation manuals.

"Normal human cultivation still only has five realms in total. Body Tempering, Mana/Qi Refining, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and True Immortal. Body Tempering is straight forward, you cleanse your body of filth to ready it to produce mana at high quantities in the next stage." I mused to myself.

Which also explained why there were so many 'normal' people in the world still, even with cultivation and magic freely available here in America at least. Even if everyone COULD get to peak Mana/Qi refining. It was still hard work.

And even in my past world. What percentage of people who didn't work hard manual labor jobs, went to the gym regularly to make themselves better?

Still, cultivation manuals that went up to tier 4 or Nascent Soul were rare, but freely available to me online... Though it was noted that these free manuals were rather difficult to cultivate, obviously.

One I was looking at was the 'Heaven Forged Method' which used special materials to enhance your body in each stage to give you special abilities based on what you used to enhance your body.

Another was the Spirit Moon Sutra. Which was a method that refined moonlight to cultivate, giving the user a strong advantage against illusions, and heavily enhancing yin-based magic like ice, soul, and mental-based attacks.

Then... I paused and laser-focused on another manual that was apparently at the peak of tier four. And only not making it to tier five due to the fact that people who walked this path had a tendency to either accomplish nothing. Or go mad with power.

"Eightfold Path of Samsara Mantra." I mused quietly as I could... Feel my Mantra Reactor humming to life, filling me with untamed and undirected power as I read the foundation law of the mantra.

[Mantra is living emotion given form.Emotion is your will unbound and unchained.Your WILL, will reshape the heavens.]

It was a cultivation manual with eightfold techniques, and abilities that followed the Buddhist charts and while they were fucking cool. It was the description at the end that besides it being a perfect match.

Made me say inwardly.

'This... This the one. The path I shall walk without looking back.'

The various supernatural factions actually tried to have this manual sealed for various reasons. But they all boiled down to.

Emotional growth cannot be sealed until the user erupts or just fades away. Authority strengthens it, and the very gods empower their own executioner by opposing it.

The devils and their clans call it unstable.The angels and their god call it heresy.And all gods that came across someone lost in their power. Call it extinction in written form.

All eight of the paths were powerful in their own right. But the Wrath, Lust, and Pride paths were the most pressing and useful at the moment.

Wrath's Emotions- Rage, indignation, rebellion.Effect: Overwhelming destruction, god-slaying

With the effects of ignoring divine protections. And scales against injustice and oppression, I was facing.

But there was also the threat of complete physical, emotional, mental, and soul burnout which could literally tear me apart.

Likewise Lust was based off making connections with others, along with naturally allowing us to dual cultivate. And even allowing me to share my mana and such with supernatural beings without issue.

Lastly, the pride path... Which allowed me to resist and then later on, even negate authority-based abilities. Along with strength increases when facing beings that considered themselves my 'superiors'.

The other five paths were still useful for sure. But those three were perfect for now anyway. Though honestly, I had some doubts I could follow the true path of Pride to begin with. I just didn't have that kind of arrogance and pride in my bones.

So with a cultivation manual in hand anyway... Am I'm basically set for now?

Then my face twitched as I realized that no. No I am not set. As I needed a fucking job to support myself. And it's not like my cheat had any overpowered way to make said money.

And this wasn't a shitty isekai world where I could 'invent' toilet paper to make a lot of money...

"Fuck... I just reincarnated. Do I really need to get a job?" I couldn't help but whine silently in my head before sighing helplessly.

I then got up with a solemn look on my face as I realized I had two choices in this life. I could rejoin the workforce, becoming a chef without too many issues like my previous life. Maybe even pick up some magical methods of cooking and use the path of Gluttony to enhance it?

Or... Being a handsome, poor, and defenseless little human. I could find a supernatural sugar mommy? I woudn't mind a little sucky sucky action with a goth vampire with mommy milkers!