The golden creature’s speed and strength increased drastically. He smelled burning metal as its arm burnt away to its elbow.
Shit, Cha Ming thought. He quickly pasted one of his trump cards, the Hardening Talisman, to his chest. His skin turned hard and brittle, and his muscles and bones did the same. Just in time for him to receive a kick to the stomach that sent him tumbling backward. If it weren’t for the talisman, he would have died from that blow.
Fine, I may as well go all out. Three talismans flew out at once and struck the golden monstrosity simultaneously. Her movements faltered as if unable to overcome her resistance. He could see the struggle in her eyes as she feebly raised her arm to deflect his staff as it bore down on her head.
Her arm barely deflected the strength of his heavy blow before shattering. Her body was now brittle due to the strength of the Crumbling Talisman. She screamed as what was left of her arms burned up to her shoulder, increasing her strength by another level. This time, she didn’t attack. She darted off with greatly increased speed, and he was barely able to keep up with both his movement technique and Stormchaser Boots. To his dismay, he saw her inching away. His energy reserves were insufficient to keep chasing her.
Shit, it’s now or never, he thought. If I want to stop her, I need to use it. He didn’t think twice before throwing out the final talisman in his possession, Ode to Mr. Mao Mao. Like the non-poetic talisman from his fight with the bandits, it transformed into the stable phantom of a demon bobcat. This time, it was only a single foot long, just like the original Mr. Mao Mao he had met in Elder Ling’s shack. He nearly puked blood after seeing the phantom’s appearance.
What the hell? he thought. You wanted to highlight the might of your feelings for Mr. Mao Mao, and you gave me this? What use is a kitten?
To his surprise, however, the girl shivered and stopped escaping. A look of incredulity spread across her face as she began shaking and quivering. Cha Ming felt a mounting presence in front of him. He identified with the presence as “cuteness,” but unbeknownst to him, the girl was experiencing something entirely different: suppression.
She backed away from the projection fearfully as the cat advanced in a lofty, imperial manner. The small bobcat was an incredibly cute sovereign that looked upon the world with disdain. Seeing his chance, Cha Ming rushed to the petrified golden girl, who now lacked two arms.
As he struck down, the phantom kitten let out a cute “meow” and set himself upon the helpless girl, who screamed as its claws tore through her golden flesh. Golden blood poured out only to be absorbed by the vicious kitten. At the same time, Cha Ming’s staff came crashing down on her skull. Golden blood and brain matter sprayed about. That, too, was devoured by Mr. Mao Mao’s phantom. It continued to eat away at the golden girl, and once the grisly task was accomplished, it let out a pleased mewl and disappeared. Nothing was left behind.
So this is the power of emotions you wanted to show me, Cha Ming thought. The talisman was significantly stronger than the last. If he hadn’t been told they used the same amount of qi and ink, he wouldn’t have believed it.
He was also pleased with the power of his four poetic talismans. One had protected him while the other three had rendered her helpless, unable to defend herself. The tough arms that he couldn’t affect with his strongest blows easily shattered after she was affected by the Crumbling Talisman.
If only I could make them again, he thought.
Sighing, he sat beside the wagon to meditate as he waited for the mercenaries and the merchant to recover. When they came to, they ran off to the next village at Cha Ming’s insistence. He wasn’t sure if they had been inflicted with lasting damage, as he knew precious little about matters of the soul. He could only pray for their recovery.
The battle just now had also reminded him that he was still weak. He required better talismans and battle techniques to fight effectively. In addition, his cultivation was far too low. He also resolved to find out more about these monstrosities. If an eye technique from the Devil Sealing Scripture identified these creatures with a malevolent ochre glow, they must surely be devils.
Cha Ming left shortly after they departed. Unbeknownst to him, his eyes had transformed. His irises were now green like the purest jade. And on his irises, two runes had also appeared—one golden and one blue.
Intense pain shot through Huxian’s eyes as he trotted through a forested mountain valley. After moments of debilitating pain, he opened his eyes to discover a world tinged in gray. It only lasted for a short moment, but he knew what it was.
Eyes of pure jade, huh? Huxian thought. It looks like Cha Ming is getting closer and ran into a good bit of fortune. I’ll need to find something for him as well.
Their bond may have had its advantages, but there were a few disadvantages as well. Now he needed to watch out for how much sin he accumulated, otherwise they’d both lose their wonderful eyes. Demon beasts like himself usually didn’t have to care about merit and sin. The moral obligations for demons differed greatly from that of humans.
After recovering his eyesight, Huxian carefully observed local fauna. He wanted something small, but it needed to be sufficiently nutritious as well. As he roamed, he emanated the pressure of his bloodline and forced the beings on the mountain to show themselves.
Too small. Too big. Too bony. He looked through the swarm of beasts like he would produce at a grocery store. Finally, his eyes settled on a grouse. It was a tier-two beast, a tier above most of the beasts on the mountain. Further, it was a seventh-grade spirit beast. Most importantly, it was small. Barely two feet in length. Perfect.
He exerted a tiny bit of his bloodline pressure, and the beast instantly committed suicide, leaving not a single trace of fear in its marbled flesh. He picked it up in his mouth and sprinted toward the peak of the neighboring mountain.
This mountain was strange compared to his. The woods ended a full mile from the peak. In addition, a spire jutted from the mountain, forming an obelisklike structure that overlooked the adjacent peaks. If he could choose any of the mountains, he would choose that one without a doubt. The overbearingly tall tower pleased him. Unfortunately, it was taken.
Before long, Huxian arrived at the base of the spire. A sharp screech sounded out from nearby as Silverwing flew out from his cave on the cliffside. His small body landed near Huxian, and he looked at the prey curiously.
“Is this for me?” he asked in beast language.
“I happened to encounter it while I was eating breakfast and thought you would appreciate it,” Huxian said with his honeyed tongue. “Besides, I have a larger appetite than a taotie1, and such a small, cute, delicious grouse would barely fill a small corner in my stomach.”
“Quite right,” Silvering said, salivating. “Such small delicacies should be reserved for little old me.” The falcon immediately devoured the tiny beast. This decisive behavior caused Huxian to roll his eyes.
Like feeding candy to a baby, he thought. Convincing him to become my general is going to be much easier than expected.
The falcon finished his appetizer quickly and let out a loud burp that made the mountain tremble. “What are we doing for fun today?” he asked the small fox, who shrugged.
“We explored my mountain last time,” Huxian said. “How about we see yours?”
The falcon’s feathers ruffled in excitement. The small bird clearly liked showing off. “I have something great to show you, and it only appeared recently,” the bird said excitedly. Huxian lazily followed him down to the base of the mountain and into a network of tunnels. As they dove deeper, a multicolored glow appeared. They were soon surrounded by glistening crystals.
“Truly pretty,” Huxian commented, “but useless. I sure hope this isn’t what you brought me here to see.”
“Of course not!” the falcon said indignantly. “My friend the badger used to live here, but one day he was killed by a human. I never found him, but in the process of looking for him, I found this multicolored stone wall.”
The
y rounded the corner and arrived at a partially excavated wall. A small chunk was missing from it, but otherwise it was a perfectly smooth multicolored mosaic. Further, he recognized the substance. “Isn’t this immortal jade?” he wondered aloud. “How can there be such a large amount here?”
The falcon bounced excitedly. “Did I do good? Did I do good?”
“Yes,” Huxian said, frowning. “You did good, but I’m worried. This was clearly excavated by a human. Immortal jade means nothing to us, but it is very valuable to them. If they come back, it will cause us endless problems.”
“Can’t we just kill them as they come?” the falcon questioned.
The fox shook his head. “This is much too valuable. We might be able to defeat them a few times, but you underestimate their need for it. It will only be a matter of time until core-formation cultivators arrive.” Then he sighed. “What a headache. I sure hope they don’t come for a few more years. Though that’s likely wishful thinking on my part.”
“What do we do, then?” the falcon asked.
Huxian was pleased with the bird’s increasing dependence on him. “We wait,” Huxian replied. “We get stronger. While we can’t use this immortal jade, it might be useful depending on who comes to claim it. This can either be a calamity or an opportunity. Only time will tell.”
A tense silence followed.
“Have I introduced you to my follower, Lei Jiang?” Huxian asked.
“Follower?” the falcon asked, perplexed. “You have a follower?” His eyes bulged out when he saw the small mid-purification mouse appear atop Huxian. “So cute! Can I pet him?”
Huxian rolled his eyes. “How could you pet such a noble spirit beast? Lei Jiang might be my follower, but he’s still a fifth-tier variation beast. His talent is even a step above yours. Of course, it’s partially because I gave him a technique when he became my follower, but he’s pleasant company.”
“I’m Lei Jiang. Pleased to meet you!” the little mouse said. “Are you a friend of the boss too?” His glittering eyes would melt the hearts of most women, and his purple fur was equally adorable.
“Yes, of course I’m your boss’s friend,” the falcon replied. “A good friend, in fact. May I touch you?”
“This…” The mouse hesitated. “You promise you won’t eat me, right? I’m a very important member of the boss’s team, and he’s taught me many things and fed me many precious herbs. He even taught me a technique to increase the purity of my bloodline. Therefore, I don’t want to get hurt. I owe him everything.”
The falcon’s eyes narrowed, and his feathers ruffled in excitement when he heard those words. “Of course not. I wouldn’t dare hurt Huxian’s follower. But you mentioned bloodline purification?”
“It’s boss’s secret ability,” the mouse said. “He has countless techniques at his disposal. Of course, the best ones are only available for his generals.”
“Stop tempting him,” Huxian said. “He is my friend. I can share a lesser refinement technique with him. Alas, I can only share the best techniques with my generals, but that is a heavy oath, and I can’t make that decision for him.”
The little mouse seemed aggrieved at the rebuke but nodded nonetheless. “My apologies, boss. I’ll let him pet me to atone.” Then he rapidly appeared beside the falcon’s talon. The falcon pet the mouse’s purple fur slowly. He was clearly deep in thought.
“Where are my manners?” Huxian said. “Since I’ve offered, I can’t take it back. Here is a minor technique for you to use. I can’t promise it will help you break through to the next realm, but you can still try.”
A small black-and-white sphere came out from Huxian’s glabella and floated up to the falcon’s beak. The bird of prey chomped down on it and instantly became enlightened.
“How convenient!” Silverwing exclaimed. “And you even gave me a few combat techniques! I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.”
“No thanks needed,” Huxian said. “You’re my friend, so I’ll naturally do my best to help you. I hope you’ll understand that I’m helpless for other matters.”
“Of course,” Silverwing replied. A pondering expression remained on his face. Huxian observed him intently. The bait had been set, and it was only a matter of time until this proud bird submitted and became his general.
* * *
1 A taotie is a fiendish Chinese mythical creature, basically gluttony incarnate. It is shown with only a head but often with no lower jaw, which some people have speculated means that it was so hungry that it devoured its own body.
Interlude—Buddhas and Evil Spirits
A golden gleam lit up the sky as a female monk in a kasaya banished yet another spectre. It was the fortieth this month, and the third graveyard she had visited.
“Tell me again why we need to kill these ghosts?” Gong Lan asked, then uttered another mantra. The words flowed from her lips with great ease, combining with the thin light qi in her body. Her cultivation realm was far, far lower than the realm of her soul. However, that didn’t matter. Buddhist arts didn’t care much for the body or qi, only for the soul. It was a qualitative transformation. Few could match the might of a buddha’s soul.
“I would hardly call these ghosts, little girl,” the bodhi seed said to her. It appeared as a small projection on her shoulder. “They are evil spirits. Creatures that have accumulated far too much karma in their past life and thus remain bound to this plane. They are the exact opposite of buddhas, they who have shed their physical bodies and have rid themselves of all earthly karma. They linger. For that reason, they are a plague on this world.”
“Are all spirits stuck in the mortal realm truly evil?” Gong Lan asked in a soft voice.
“Of course not,” the seed replied. “Some especially strong souls stay with the intent to protect. If they have kept true to their vows and have not needlessly meddled in earthly affairs, they will remain pure. We call these holy spirits. Still, they are few and far between. Holy spirits can be corrupted. You need to consider that it may be worthwhile to banish a spirit that has not committed heinous deeds, because it will prevent them from harming others. We are only sending them back to the circle of reincarnation, after all, not destroying them.”
Gong Lan suddenly focused on an oncoming swarm of ghosts up ahead. “Grant me blades of light with the strength to banish these evil spirits and return them to Samsara,” she uttered. Her resplendent force combined with the light qi within her and formed two sabers, not unlike those she had wielded in the past. Only, these sabers could not harm the living, only the dead.
She spun around in circles, much like she had in the past, dispatching one evil spirit after another. Each one she cleaved transformed into motes of light that were welcomed back into the Yellow River by the laws of the universe. As she banished them, rage flickered across her otherwise peaceful face. It wasn’t uncontrolled rage. Rather, it was calculated rage toward these evil spirits that had tormented the residents nearby, feeding on their fears and sorrows and sometimes driving them to suicide. It was righteous indignation.
These emotions further fueled the power of her blades, increasing their length and width while making them lighter and easier to wield. Before long, one hundred evil spirits had been dispatched.
“You are learning well, child,” the bodhi seed said. “It is not wrong to lash out against the evils in the world, to resent them. This resentment will give you strength, but you must be careful. You must keep yourself balanced, or your soul will lose its purity. Much like angels can swiftly become devils, buddhas can also become evil spirits. It is a dangerous path to tread, though sometimes necessary.”
“Where to next?” Gong Lan said, seemingly ignoring him. Then, after looking at the tree’s indignant expression, she chuckled. “I’m just teasing you. Of course I heard. I’ll be sure to keep myself balanced.”
The bodhi seed sighed in relief. “We have another hundred and five spirit accumulation points to visit before worrying about anything else. Whoever has been p
lotting in the Song Kingdom has been at it for over a thousand years. It’s hardly feasible to crumble everything they’ve established in a single night.”
Gong Lan sighed. “Very well. Let’s keep traveling. The night is still young.” With a resplendent soul, she no longer needed sleep and no longer needed sustenance. She could devote her full attention to her goals and never falter. She finally felt like she was making a difference.
I wonder how the others are doing, she thought before walking into the night.
Chapter 7: Quicksilver City
Veritable mountains and seas of people flooded the busy streets of Quicksilver City1. As the capital of the Quicksilver Empire, people traveled here to trade from across the continent. At a glance, its reputation as the city of engineering marvels was well deserved. Both the city walls and several buildings inside it were around two hundred feet tall. Running water was available to every building in the city.
Cha Ming had also seen several water wheels, irrigation pipes, and pump wells in small villages outside the city. It seemed the life of common people was much better in this nation compared to the Song Kingdom. It was little wonder that Li Yin’s medical innovations had frightened the Spirit Doctor Association to the point of banishing him. They had likely seen shifts in the balance of power with each new emerging technology. Even simple technologies could undermine the utility of lower-tier members of any organization, thus reducing the influx of new members and their total revenue.
One day, your medicine will change the face of this continent, Cha Ming thought as he passed a spirit doctor hospital. The building was opulently decorated. Its ostentatious construction was a clear indicator of overabundant pride. Which was ironic, given that of all organizations, the Spirit Doctor Association should have stood for the benefit of the common people. As he directed his senses to the line in front of the building, he confirmed that the only people being treated here were cultivators, despite its location in the poor outskirts in the city, where many mortals lived.
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