Corrupted Crimson

by Patrick Laplante

  The development wasn’t the least bit surprising to Cha Ming, who calmly threw out the hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones he hadn’t lent to Wang Jun onto the five energy-gathering formations and slowly absorbed them. Three days passed, and slowly but surely, what was originally one half a Dantian in diameter became a quarter, then a fifth, then a tenth. After reaching a tenth, it still hadn’t stabilized. This was expected, since Cha Ming’s Dao sigils only occupied one tenth of their original size. Cha Ming continued. One tenth soon became a twelfth.

  Suddenly, a creaking sound like metal on metal rang through his mind as the shifting runes hit a snag. He used his willpower to shove through the obstruction, and the compression continued. He hit another snag at one fifteenth, and another at one sixteenth. Cha Ming’s expression turned grim as he realized what was happening: The instabilities due to the impurities in his pillars were making it difficult to shift their internal structure as he compressed. It was becoming increasingly difficult to proceed, and the process required more and more energy.

  It took Cha Ming one day to go from one twelfth to one fifteenth, and one more day to go from one fifteenth to one seventeenth. It took three more days before he reached a bottleneck at one nineteenth.

  Cha Ming’s complexion was pale. When he had originally condensed his Dao sigils, they had snapped together smoothly like it was the only natural structure to begin with. But the runes in his Dantian were different—they were impure and difficult to shift.

  Every single compression now caused great friction in the runic structure of his pseudo-core. He also realized that there was no retreating from the path he had chosen. Should he take away the pressure his resplendent force was exerting on his Dantian, it would quickly unwind, releasing the massive energy he’d absorbed into his Dantian and body. Death would be an ideal case.

  Cha Ming pounded away at the spherical structure that had almost reached completion. Every blow of his resplendent force caused the pseudo-core to creak, while every surge of qi caused it to shudder. He watched as every spirit stone he possessed disappeared, one after another. Once these had vanished, he emptied out most of his liquified elemental essence. Fortunately, he only needed nine tenths of it before his core reached a saturated state.

  Bang. Bang. Bang.

  He continued to impact the pseudo-core with his resplendent force for an entire day. At this point, it had been almost nine days since he began his breakthrough. His mental strength was at its limits—even converting the last of his liquified elemental essence wouldn’t help. It wasn’t long before his blows weakened. Nine tenths, eight tenths, seven tenths… The strikes weakened gradually until finally, he could barely use one hundredth of his original strength. Despite his exhausted state, he continued giving the pseudo-core one light tap after another. This continued for an hour until he gave it one last desperate blow.

  He heard a soft click. The weak blow was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Cha Ming’s sigil foundation suddenly snapped into place, and the voids within were immediately filled by the sudden surge of energy that accompanied his breakthrough. The five energy-gathering formations shattered as the incoming energy overwhelmed them and directly entered his body. The energy was a gift of heaven and earth for breaking through the next level and wouldn’t stop until his core was formed.

  The voids in his core’s runic structure rapidly filled with a gaseous qi that was completely different from the initial gaseous qi he’d condensed into liquid. Instead, it was a higher-quality core qi. In his joy, he hadn’t realized that his core qi was four times more potent than the average core qi due to his sigil core. As the five-element qi was replenished, so was the peaceful creation-qi helix and the frightening destruction-qi helix. The gas remained within the black-and-white structures without causing a fuss.

  Once the five-element qi, creation qi, and destruction-qi reservoirs were full, Cha Ming looked on with joy as the remaining voids on his core were filled with a grayish substance. It felt soothing and frightening at the same time, and when he probed it with his resplendent force, he detected nothing. Although he couldn’t evaluate its function, his instincts told him that the gray substance stabilized the entire core and was what made it possible in the first place. In fact, it reminded him of the substance in the voids in his bones.

  Gray qi filled the voids in his core little by little. Yet another day passed until finally, his core was fully saturated. At this point, Cha Ming’s expression grew dark as he sensed a calamity approaching him. His core, which was now almost full, suddenly began to shake. The shaking emanated from each of the five elemental sigils that composed his Dao core. It intensified with each wisp of gray qi that entered it. As much as he wished to stop the absorption process, he couldn’t. In fact, the rate of accumulation increased. Before long, it reached a peak that caused crunching and screeching throughout his body and soul. A large amount of stress had accumulated during its formation and had to be relieved.

  Regrettably, Cha Ming’s core had already entered the final polishing stage. While the inside of his core had a runic structure, the outside was becoming more and more like polished jade. The smooth surface contained five colors as well as black, white, and gray. The shaking increased until finally, something gave way. A heartrending snap shook him to the very core. The smooth surface of his core cracked, causing a large amount of the accumulated qi to suddenly dissipate. The cracks crossed each of the five colored surfaces.

  Cha Ming waited as the remnant quakes in his core faded. Once they stabilized, he again began absorbing the energy of heaven and earth through normal cultivation. It entered the small core normally, but he sensed that one third of the qi he absorbed dissipated back into his surroundings. He sighed in relief as he concluded that he was in no danger of dying or being crippled. At worst, he could always dissipate his cultivation and start from scratch.

  After completing his inspection, Cha Ming opened his eyes. His frightening core qi swept across the shifting red-and-gold barrier, which shattered instantly. He then walked forward, his powerful body and surging qi smashing any traps or enemies that stood in his way.

  Not far away, many core-formation devil cultivators and corrupted guardians stood ready to receive him. Cha Ming ignored the swords, sabers, and magical techniques that flew toward him and expanded the Clear Sky Pillar to enormous proportions. His thick qi and powerful body absorbed the blows of dozens of techniques as he smashed into them with raw physical strength. The devils shrank back as his Devil-Sealing Intent ate away at their very souls.

  Soon, the room was deathly quiet. Only the sound of gently settling dust and debris could be heard in the silent labyrinth. That, and a soft rumbling that grew louder and louder as Huxian’s trio smashed their way toward Cha Ming’s position.

  Chapter 31: Swamp Tribulation

  “Brother succeeded!” Huxian said as he smashed yet another labyrinth guardian. His pseudo-core began rampantly absorbing surrounding energy as it transformed into an actual core instead of just a hollow structure.

  “Does that mean we’ll have to face the tribulation?” Lei Jiang said worriedly as he smashed into a trap.

  “It can’t be avoided,” Huxian said. “The plane hates me and resents anyone who helps me. Don’t worry, though. I’ll protect you.”

  “These wall creatures are really weak,” Silverwing commented as he smashed one after another. “Why were we even scared of this thing in the first place?” He unleashed a gust of wind that crashed through five consecutive walls as they charged over to Cha Ming’s position.

  “Perhaps it’s just a baby,” Lei Jiang said as he turned into a ball of lightning and smashed yet another wall. “Maybe it can grow stronger with time.”

  “Regardless, it’s helpless against us,” Huxian said as he joined his friends in smashing the colossal structure. His true form was now 160 feet in length, but he kept it compact for the sake of convenience. A third tail sprouted near the other two, and the three beasts were struck by a fo
reboding sensation.

  The Swamp Tribulation would be there soon, and there was no running from it.

  Cha Ming changed his direction abruptly as the position between him and Huxian became increasingly clear. The rumbling intensified as not only Silverwing but also Cha Ming smashed down wall after all. Corrupted guardians and devil cultivators guarding the maze were caught unaware by Cha Ming’s sudden change in behavior. They didn’t have a chance to react as he smashed through all obstacles to reunite with his brother.

  One last wall finally crumbled to dust before Cha Ming and the three demon beasts stood face to face. The trio wore a victorious expression when they realized that they had triumphed over the wall.

  “You were right, brother,” Huxian said. “The wall was just putting on airs—it couldn’t do anything against Silverwing’s mighty strength.”

  “Good,” Cha Ming said, shrinking the Clear Sky Pillar down to its larger brush form. “Huxian, you first. With my increased strength, drawing out the Swamp Tribulation Totem should be a piece of cake.”

  “What’s cake?” Huxian asked curiously.

  “It’s a delicious sweet desert,” Cha Ming said as he swiftly painted blue, green, and brown totem lines over the fox’s fur. “They don’t make it in the Song Kingdom or the Quicksilver Empire, but I’ll find some for you one day.”

  Huxian’s eyes shone brightly as he patiently waited for Cha Ming to finish. After a few hours, the murky lines on his fur glowed brightly and condensed into a tight runic structure that protected him like an armor.

  Cha Ming proceeded to work on Lei Jiang and Silverwing next. Finally, he shrank the Clear Sky Brush into its talisman brush form. He used it to paint one small rune after another, which shot into various places on his body. Little by little, Cha Ming’s bare skin was covered in so many tattoos that he now resembled a cave-dwelling tribesman.

  “How much longer do we have?” Cha Ming asked.

  “Two days, but I can call it forward,” Huxian said.

  Cha Ming nodded, and the surroundings immediately darkened. A peculiar smell filled the air as an ominous presence snuck into the labyrinth completely unimpeded. After all, the labyrinth was a creation of this world—how could it possibly resist the will of the cosmos?

  “The first stage,” Cha Ming whispered. “Corrosion.” A swirling maelstrom of viscous heaven and earth energy appeared around them. It attacked their bodies constantly, threatening to burn away their skin and bones with their terrifying power. Cha Ming could have resisted this with a combination of his body and his core-formation qi, but as the greenish-blue energy invaded his body, the Swamp Tribulation Runes on his body activated and reduced its effectiveness by nine tenths. The remainder of the energy was easily handled by his fierce body, and the three demons did the same.

  “You call that a calamity?” Lei Jiang yelled. The small mouse had grown arrogant since its breakthrough to core formation. “That barely tickles. I dare you to do better!”

  The surrounding energy suddenly concentrated on the small rodent. “I apologize, I apologize!” the small purple mouse said, and the tribulation returned to normal.

  Seeing that its corrosive abilities were ineffective, the malestream halted, and the energy in the air thickened. Cha Ming discovered that the armor could only do so much against this second stage, the poison calamity. The mist condensed into a liquid, which then began seeping through the cracks in his armor and slowly but surely dripping onto his skin. At first it felt like nothing but a tickle, but soon it felt like bee stings all over his body.

  Lei Jiang was the first to howl in pain. As the weakest member of the group, and the one with the poorest defenses, small pinholes began to appear all over his hide. The purple fur he prided himself in was quickly dissolving as the green and blue qi pierced his skin like daggers and spread into his bloodstream. Cha Ming succumbed next, followed by Huxian, and finally Silverwing.

  The pain was unbearable. It wormed its way through his blood vessels like liquid lava as Cha Ming mustered his qi and vital energy to fight against it. When the two energies clashed, the pain doubled. This was a small price to pay for halting the damage it caused all over his body. His flesh struggled to regenerate as his refined marrow pumped increasing amounts of blood into his veins. The only part of his body not threatened by the poison were his bones.

  “Bodhi seed, what’s happening?” Gong Lan asked as a small piece of stone crumbled off the increasingly frail labyrinth walls. “The corruption might have modified the wall’s functioning, but it shouldn’t be so fragile that a few large men with hammers could completely destroy it.”

  As she said this, she stretched out her hand and scratched it with her soft fingers. The nearby Luo Xuehua gasped as the wall crumbled to dust under Gong Lan’s weak movement.

  “I’m not sure,” the bodhi seed said. “I feel the Plane Will’s wrath. It has unleashed a calamity, but one that is far different than I’ve ever seen in my lifetime. It’s much weaker than a transcendence calamity, and its elemental composition is completely off. A typical tribulation would be composed of wind, fire, and lightning, while this one bears the elements of water, earth, and wood. The name ‘Swamp Tribulation’ comes to mind, but I have no idea why it was summoned.”

  “Regardless, the walls are weakening,” Gong Lan said. “We should use this opportunity to move further into the labyrinth.”

  The bodhi seed bobbed up and down. “The tribulation is damaging the labyrinth’s walls, forcing it to divert a large amount of energy to defend and repair itself.” It looked toward the center of the labyrinth. “Whatever you do, don’t head in that direction. The calamity is converging there, and anything that walks within its range will experience its wrath.”

  Cha Ming’s mind relaxed as the agony in his body receded. The first two phases of the Swamp Tribulation could not be fought, only passively endured. Having resisted the corrosion and poisoning portions of the calamity, all four of their bodies swiftly recovered as they prepared for the third stage: smothering. The totems on their bodies had completely faded while defending them previously, and they could only depend on their own power to prevail.

  The swamp energy around them thickened once more until it became a slurry that weighed down on them like fifty feet of swampy debris. Cha Ming quickly realized that he couldn’t breathe, and the surrounding bog was now rapidly draining away at both his qi and vitality. The remaining challenge was to escape the swamp. If they didn’t, their bones would remain here for all eternity.

  “I’ll help Lei Jiang,” Huxian yelled. The small mouse was not as powerful as the other three, and its impressive speed couldn’t help it. Conversely, Huxian was the least affected. His three tails glowed with three lights that whizzed around him like three shooting stars. One glowed purple like Lei Jiang’s lightning, while another was a dull azure. The third color was a murky greenish blue, much like the swamp they were currently experiencing. While it didn’t glow brightly like the purple star, it wasn’t dull like the azure one. In fact, it seemed to be glowing brighter by the second, as though the tribulation’s energy was slowly seeping into it and reinforcing it.

  A circle of light purification and dark swallowing surrounded Huxian and Lei Jiang. This move by Huxian immediately provoked the tribulation’s energy to double; a tribulation could be transcended with help, but only at a great price. Nevertheless, the purple star strengthened the small mouse, and the black-and-white aura around them weakened the pressure they felt substantially. They inched out toward the outside, leaving Silverwing and Cha Ming to fend for themselves. The fox and the mouse summoned black-and-white battle armors, and Silverwing followed.

  “I’m out,” Silverwing said. The falcon activated its roc bloodline and grew until its wingspan reached eighty feet. Its silver wings cut through the Swamp Tribulation as though it was wind. Then Silverwing flapped his mighty wings and flew twenty feet in a single go. After ten more flaps, he forced his way out of the range of the tribulation, which ceased
choking him and absorbing his vitality.

  “Looks like I’m the only one left,” Cha Ming mumbled. He thought for a bit before summoning his own battle armor. Black-and-white tattoos revealed themselves on his skin and formed a suit of shadow and light. The armor linked up to his five-element qi and functioned as a replacement to his normal qi shields.

  Then Cha Ming summoned a high-grade Blade Barrier combat formation. Seventy-two sigils swirled around him and cut away at the bog, weakening it ever so slightly. On a whim, he summoned thirty-six other sigils and rearranged the combat-formation structure. He used his accumulated knowledge of formations and his extremely dense core qi to force them together into an impromptu peak combat formation. The blades slashed the surrounding bog and eased their pressure. He gritted his teeth and took his first step forward in the swamp’s strangling field.

  He paled as he realized that, despite all his efforts, that single step was more difficult than wielding a 40,000-jin Clear Sky Pillar. After substantial effort, he used his qi and fierce body strength to urge his foot forward. To his amazement, not only was he fighting against the swamp, he was fighting against himself. The voids in his bones had actually activated involuntarily and increased his body’s weight to 430,000 jin. He had no way to retract it.

  “What a frightening swamp tribulation,” Cha Ming whispered.

  Both his increased weight and the restrictive energy of the tribulation made each step a ridiculous ordeal. The first step carried him a single foot forward but drained one percent of his total energy. After ten steps, he’d consumed a little more than eleven percent. To his amazement, the energy being consumed increased the farther from the center he was. After fifty steps, he’d consumed sixty percent of his energy reserves, meaning that he couldn’t possibly transcend the tribulation with his current strategy.