Even as my chest was torn apart and I felt an immense pressure descending onto my very soul, I couldn’t help but grin through bloody teeth at Gao Shan. “Worm, you say?” I chuckled. “Worms are stronger than you think, arrogant bastard.”
Gao Shan’s strength was ridiculous. Even with the numerous temperings my physical body had gone through he was still able to tear through my defences.
However, that was false power. He was burning his vital qi as fuel to empower his technique. Right now it was a battle between whether I would be able to hold on longer than him.
His strike was not only a physical one, but I felt a presence settling into my chest. It was similar to the hypnosis gu, but much more intense.
If the hypnosis gu had been a burrowing worm attempting to crawl into my soul, this was like the hand of the heavens reaching down to grasp my soul and crush it whole as easily as turning a hand. However, I refused to give in so easily.
Gao Shan sneered, staring imperiously down his nose as I shrunk towards the ground. My legs buckled and my body trembled, but I remained standing.
He took that as a personal insult. Using two of his strongest techniques on a mere five-star Qi Gathering cultivator and failing to kill them was a major loss of face.
He ripped his hand from my chest, blood spurting out as he did. Chunks of flesh splattered against the ground and he flicked the mess from his hand with a wave of his sleeve.
I staggered backwards. The force gripping me was not physical, but the pressure it emitted was intense.
I wanted to scream, but I would not give Gao Shan the satisfaction of seeing me do so. I felt as if this was becoming a common occurrence, but this pain was beyond anything I’d felt.
Even the poison that burnt away my flesh and corroded my mind had hurt less. Additionally, while this presence felt beyond my understanding, it paled in comparison to the infinitely colossal worm I’d seen in my vision.
Even if it was the hand of the heavens themselves clutching at my soul, what did that mean next to a being that could create and destroy an entire universe to refine a single pill? My mind was still reeling from that encounter, my consciousness and soul tempered by the experience.
Gao Shan coughed blood, stumbling himself. While he had dealt lethal damage to me and unleashed whatever was clutching for control of my soul, it had taken a great toll on him.
Vital qi was a finite resource, granted at birth. Cultivators could not replenish or create it anew. Once it was gone, it was gone forever.
He had consumed a substantial amount to power this technique. I could see why it was the most powerful forbidden technique of the Gao Clan.
No matter how high one’s cultivation, they would still have to pay the same price to cast the technique. Even a nascent soul sage could not escape the backlash, although they might unleash a version of the technique that was far more devastating than Gao Shan’s.
This time I felt control of my mind and body slipping away from me. The hypnosis gu had failed entirely, getting devoured the moment it entered my dantian, but this was a new realm of threat.
My movements stiffened. My arms and legs jerked. I lost control for fleeting moments, leading to odd shakes and trembles. My mind was more resilient, my thoughts remaining my own for now.
The Gao Clan’s methods were truly insidious. I couldn’t imagine a more evil technique than mind control. Even their vile poisons seemed like swallows before a dragon.
Unfortunately, whatever was attempting to wrestle control away from me was not something I could refine. My physique seemed useless here. I was satisfied that I’d forced Gao Shan to pay a heavy cost to take my life, but I do wish I could’ve lived to see him die.
****
Xiao Cui’s hair fluttered in the breeze. She wondered why there was a breeze, given that the elder’s flying treasure shielded them from the wind as they soared high above the ground.
Given the dramatic way the robes of the three cultivators were fluttering about, she suspected it might be a function designed for aesthetic flair. Her master always said that cultivators were theatrical bastards.
They’d travelled all the way to the Cloudy Falls Sect to seek Wang Ren’s help in saving Zhao Dan from the Gao Clan. Xiao Cui had expected some resistance, though her master always spoke highly of his friend.
Instead, they not only gained the help of Wang Ren, but Wang Ren’s master and another Elder of the Cloudy Falls Sect. She almost felt sorry for the Gao Clan. Almost.
They deserved every bit of pain and suffering that was about to befall them. They said even a dragon could not suppress the local snake, but in this instance it was more like a foreign snake trying to suppress a local dragon.
The Gao Clan were doomed.
The ones who’d come to Three River City, anyway. Xiao Cui didn’t really understand the difference between various cultivators.
What made that granny and grandpa so much better than her master? Was it because they could fly? She frowned. They were using a giant sword to fly, not their own power, so that didn’t make sense.
Then again, she couldn’t fly even if she had a giant sword. It was all quite confusing. Zhao Dan once tried to explain the different realms of cultivation to her, but she didn’t get it.
He’d babbled about harmonising with the spiritual energy of the world and refining and tempering things. She preferred it when he taught her about healing and alchemy. She was quite good at mixing tonics and salves.
Her product had become famous all across Three River City. She’d made more money than anyone in her village had ever seen in their lives, wore fine silk clothes that made her as elegant as a princess, and ate delicious food every single day.
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Her life had been transformed by Zhao Dan. If he died, she wouldn’t be able to forgive herself.
Wang Ren turned around to face the three of them with a comforting smile. “Don’t worry. If it was just me I would be nervous, but with Master Bang and Elder Jin here, those trash don’t stand a chance,” he said, puffing out his chest.
“Pah! Where did you learn to speak such flowery words, brat? Maybe I need to be harsher with your training,” Elder Bang exclaimed, slapping Wang Ren on the back of the head.
Wang Ren staggered and coughed, turning to his master with a look of betrayal in his eyes. “Master Bang, surely you jest? I already spend sixteen hours a day working on my glaive forms!” he protested.
“That’s eight hours going to waste. Youths these days, no wonder upstarts like the Gao Clan think they can muscle into our territory,” Elder Bang said, shaking his head.
“Indeed, the discipline of the disciples grows more lax with every cohort. I believe they need more motivation. When we return, let us enact these reforms with haste, Second Brother Bang,” Elder Jin agreed with a taciturn nod.
“I suppose it has been a while since I left my peak,” Elder Bang mused, scratching his chin. “A walk around the sect will do this old fool some good.”
“You are as insightful as you are humble, Second Brother,” Elder Jin said, raising his head with a smirk.
He suddenly shouted in shock and spat blood as Elder Bang kicked him in the backside. He almost tumbled from the flying sword, but caught his balance at the last moment.
Before Xiao Cui knew what was happening, the two grandpas were brawling like rowdy teenage boys. This was the final hope of Three River City? Heavens save them all…
****
It had taken them the better part of an entire day and night to reach the Cloudy Falls Sect when they rushed off in search of Wang Ren. On the back of Elder Bang’s flying sword they crossed the distance in just a few hours.
“No wonder cultivators look down on us mortals,” Yu Chun said, peering over the edge of the wide, flat sword at the rice paddies and ant-sized people scurrying about.
“Not all of them,” Xiao Cui replied, smirking at the young city lord, Teng Sheng.
He’d had a starry admiration in his eyes, his fervent gaze locked on the tall backs of his three heroes. Even the elders, with their white hair and beards, had perfectly smooth skin and muscular bodies.
She’d heard that cultivators aged slower than mortals, so for the two men to show the signs of age, how many years had they lived? Xiao Cui didn’t care, as long as they saved Zhao Dan’s life.
She shuddered as a heavy and invisible presence swept over them. A firm but comforting hand squeezed her shoulder.
“Don’t worry, it’s just my Master,” Wang Ren assured her.
She nodded in reply, glancing down at Three River City as they approached its towering walls. From this high in the sky, they looked like carvings in the mud.
“There is a nine-star Qi Gathering cultivator somewhere in the centre of the city. Likely the Gao brat,” Elder Bang said, opening his eyes.
“Is that it? Why did both of us make this journey again?” Elder Jin scoffed.
“You and your master insisted on it,” Elder Bang replied with a wry chuckle.
“My master is dead, what do you-” Elder Jin began with confusion written across his face before spitting. “Watch your words, Second Brother. You may be First Brother’s equal in cultivation now, but he has a clan at his back. You have an untested disciple,” he added with a sneer in Wang Ren’s direction.
Xiao Cui didn’t understand their conversation, but she could tell it was about politics. Old men always bickered about pointless things.
The way they spoke about the Gao Clan members, it was clear they didn’t expect it to be a hard battle. So why were they delaying?
“The brat isn’t the only cultivator in the city. Perhaps if you paid more attention to your surroundings and less to the condition of your beard, you might have noticed that, little Jin,” Elder Bang said, pointing a finger directly at the palace.
Elder Jin frowned at the insulting use of his name, but followed the direction of the finger until his eyes rested on the palace. Xiao Cui could barely make out the individual buildings from this height, but the palace was big and shiny enough to stand out.
“Interesting. The Gao Clan truly are plotting against us, it seems. We shall have to crush this rebellion with the full force of the sect. A tiger does not allow a snake to make a nest in its home. Let us meet this master face to face, Second Brother,” Elder Jin declared.
“You can handle him on your own, Fifth Brother Jin. I shall retrieve Zhao Dan from the Gao brat and meet you afterwards. It shouldn’t take long.”
Elder Jin spat again. “That trash ex-disciple isn’t the reason we are here. Our objective is to remove the stain of the Gao Clan from our lands and remind them why the Cloudy Falls Sect is the hegemon of this region. We don’t need to waste our time with the boy.”
“Does allowing the Gao Clan to kill one of our former disciples show them that we are in control of our lands, little Fifth? Use your head. I know you are blinded by the Sun Clan’s wealth, but there is a brain in there somewhere,” Elder Bang snapped, letting a little of his presence spill out.
“As you say, Second Brother Bang. We must show the strength of our sect. Don’t take too long, or you’ll miss all the fun,” Elder Jin agreed with a stony expression, taking a single step off the side of the sword and plummeting to the city below.
Elder Bang snorted as the other man disappeared, before turning to Wang Ren. “My disciple, I will not step in to save your friend. That is your responsibility. These three loyal people came to seek your help and that is what they will receive.”
“Master, you cannot be serious!” Wang Ren protested, his tone taking on a sharp edge.
Master Bang chuckled loudly, falling into a cross-legged sitting position at the front of his flying sword. “Relax. You need a chance to test your techniques in battle. This is a perfect opportunity. I said I won’t help your friend, but if my precious disciple is in danger, then that is another matter entirely,” he said with a wink.
Wang Ren froze for a moment then sighed, sinking into the flat blade of the sword. “I see. Master is wise,” he said, bowing his head.
“I’m not wise, Wang Ren, just old. When you live as long as I have you see a lot of things. Some strange, some disturbing, some beautiful, but all experiences shape the spirit of a cultivator. Now, let me see what your spirit is made of,” he announced, disappearing from view.
Xiao Cui’s eyes went wide as he reappeared in front of Wang Ren and planted a foot in his disciple’s chest. The boy went flying over the edge of the sword towards the city below with a startled shout.
Bang Ji began to cackle like a madman, the tip of the flying sword descending towards the earth below. Xiao Cui wondered if he’d truly gone insane, or if he’d always been that way.
Teng Sheng and Yu Chun had rushed to the edge of the sword to watch Wang Ren fall through the sky like a meteor. “Will he survive?” the young city lord exclaimed.
“If he doesn’t survive, he isn’t worthy to be my disciple,” Elder Bang replied with no trace of amusement remaining on his face.
****
Wang Ren was shocked when his master kicked him off the flying sword, but it took less than a breath’s time for him to accept it. Bang Ji was eccentric at the best of times, but he’d known the sort of man his master was before he attempted to become his disciple.
The fall to Three River City was long and dangerous, but he would survive it. If he did nothing, he’d land and break most of the bones in his body, arriving a cripple and unable to save his Junior Brother.
He knew what Master Bang’s intentions were in giving him this trial. He had told him that his glaive forms were untested in the crucible of battle. This was only the first of many challenges that lay ahead and if he failed to meet his master’s expectations then he was worse than trash.
However, Wang Ren was not nervous in the slightest as he drew his glaive. Master Bang’s expectations of him might be ridiculously high, but the standards to which he held himself were even more severe.
“Shattering Earth, Carving Heavens Heavy Glaive, first form,” he whispered as his body began to ripple and writhe in the air, his glave singing a song of destruction and power.
