[Prana Core: Mid Initiate]

  [Prana: 42/42]

  “Damn. Seeing my rise like this makes it feel like the seven years I spent pushing my nose into the grindstone was wasted.” He mumbled and wiped the sweat from his bald head.

  “It wasn’t. It showed your grit. Not many could be driven enough to grind away for years at something that seems unachievable.” Bing Xin said.

  Dejiu frowned and stood up, ready again to descend the Pillarshard. Is she being nice or patronizing me?

  “Quickly reach the high initiate stage and continue to use the Wilted Stem reinforcement technique. You haven’t noticed it, have you?” She asked as his steps echoed down the stairwell.

  “Noticed what?”

  “Your base strength without using Wilted Stem. The technique starts off small and humble, but as you advance, it slowly increases your base strength. This will pay dividends when your greater, but temporary burst lasts longer because you can handle the strain better.”

  “Wait really?” He asked as he clenched his fist.

  “Indeed. I’ve said it before, haven’t I? This is my curated technique. Of course it’d be this valuable.”

  Dejiu walked, lost in his wondrous delusions. After a long while, he asked, “Are there any other techniques from the Dark Flower cultivation method?”

  “Many. But you need to advance before you can learn them. As cultivators progress through each new stage, their prana becomes more potent and more dense. Although the minor stages inside the Initate Stage itself aren’t as evident, you will still be able to do more with less.”

  “...I see.” He said, already training on his passive prana cycling.

  —

  Hours passed before Dejiu noticed something different.

  The sounds of the outside became increasingly louder over time, but when he heard a piercing roar, he knew the Seventh Hell’s floor was close. But because it was close, it also meant something else should be too if he hadn’t misinterpreted what he learned.

  So he asked.“Is the next chamber last? The one with the guardian and Pillarshard’s core?”

  He waited a while for Bing Xin to respond. The silence was unsettling given the nature of his question.

  “It is.”

  “...Do I have to face it?”

  “You don’t. Because we’re close enough to the guardian’s chamber now, I can tell the Pillarshard is in the process of becoming a Tainted one. Very close. The chamber is already below the Seventh Hell’s surface, descending to the Sixth Hell. But that also means you can leave this Pillarshard and venture the Seventh Hell until the Seekers Accord will forcibly relinquish your control.”

  “Ah! So if I can leave the Pillarshard and survive until then I’ll be saved? Thank the Genesis Venerable!” Dejiu sighed.

  He felt relieved. All that talk about blinding himself made him worried that he had to face the monstrous thing—

  “You can. But are you sure you want to leave it all behind?”

  Dejiu frowned. “What do you mean?”

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  “Let it go any longer, the Pillarshard becomes Tainted. Daimons of the Sixth Hell will follow. What about your Heiyang Prefecture? The people there? That Hollow Talon Scavenger you ran from must’ve alerted the temple of the Pillar Shard at their feet, but they cannot enter before that time limit is over. What if it reaches the Fifth Hell? The fourth? The third? Hm? Not even your almighty Abbot could handle such beings.”

  His heart sank the moment he stopped. “How? There's no way it could descend that fast right? I mean it's only been a few days and it hasn’t even reached the Sixth!”

  “Who knows? Let's say you wait it out and test how much the Pillarshard could descend before that thirty-day control limit is over. Which Hell will it reach in that time? How would you feel when it opens an onslaught of daimons from that level.” She continued.

  “Onslaught!? But I thought you said this Pillarshard is a little special! That’s why it isn’t flooding in daimons!”

  “Like I said, who knows? Perhaps it will change by then. Ah, but you’re no fool, correct? This is only a possibility. You won’t die for a possibility, will you?” Bing Xin said mockingly.

  “...How much time would I have before that?” Dejiu said through gritted teeth.

  “About fifteen. Enough time to grow strong enough to fight if you continue as diligent as you are.”

  He stood in thought. Minutes passed. Snorting, he responded, “Hmph. Fine. I hate those deceitful and misleading words you say — who knows. Sounds like trouble, and you’re doing nothing more than pulling at my virtue. But I’ll play along. I’ll kill enough daimons on the Seventh Hell until I’m strong enough to kill the guardian before it reaches any lower. It's not like I wasn’t planning on getting stronger anyways.”

  Bing Xin paused and left his gallant words linger in the hot empty stairwell.

  “Good response, little monk. Kill them. Slaughter them. Let their lives feed your growth. If there is one thing that the Seventh Hell doesn’t lack, it’s quantity.”

  “Hmph. As if I need orders to do so.” He shook his head with a scowl. Bing Xin was hiding something, but the fact that it was a possibility that the Pillarshard could get even worse than reaching the Sixth Hell put him at a crossroads.

  “Tell me, is there anything else I could do to accelerate my growth?”

  “There is, but you must reach the Advanced Stage, though that is far from now. As for your strength, focus on what you can do. I will be able to teach you another technique soon.”

  “I see. I guess there's no other way about then — I’ll kill as many daimons as I can.”

  “Good.” She said with a satisfied ring that he didn’t like. It felt like she was having her way.

  With newfound vigor, he eventually reached the Seventh Hell’s floor. The outer wall opened and he could already see the hellish landscape from atop the steps. He slowly walked down and ignored the spiral that led to the final chamber. Like he said earlier, he’ll face it later.

  More of the Seventh Hell was revealed to him, but he felt more than he saw.

  “Agh!” He muffled a curse. “It’s like I walked into an open fire.”

  Words on scriptures and scrolls couldn’t explain this feeling. Lesson exchanged couldn’t either.

  Hot. Dry. Malevolent.

  The inside of the Pillarshard must’ve been cleansed somehow because the wave of ash tinged his eyes and airway. He took a moment to acclimate himself. Wiping away the tears with a dirty sleeve, he braced himself. Here it goes — my first step in Hell.

  He stepped off the dark stone and into the gravely dry “earth.”

  Dejiu sighed, taking in the expanse before him. Abysmal as it was, the place had a strong feel.

  It feels befitting, now that I’m here. Caligraphy alone doesn’t do the words justice. I guess you just need to see it firsthand to understand. Looking at the loathly land, Dejiu could only lightly smile, recalling something he once read.

  “A desolate land abandoned by the Gods and Buddha.

  Forlorn creatures replaced beast and man alike.

  Cinders replaced morning dew

  Spewing flames replaced winds.

  Today I step foot onto Hell, but my heart is held high.”

  He shook his head at the old poem’s recital and wandered off at Xing Bin’s discretion. She’ll lead him to the first of many abominations. But it only took seconds. He vastly underestimated what she meant by quantity.

  Such was the nature of hell.

  It crawled with daimons.

  He affirmed himself and set forth towards the fiend. Dejiu’s black eyes seemed to reflect the burning madness of the Seventh Hell’s daimonic blaze.