Lu Na focused on the strongest spirit wall technique she could think of. It was the only technique she could use that wouldn’t hurt anyone. Just like her stone wall, she thought about making it as dense as possible. She thought about combining the different layers of the technique that combined all the elements and built on it.

  What if she made each layer like paper and then stacked each piece of paper on each other. With each piece of paper being as dense as possible and as small as possible. Then she would keep stacking them on top of each other in alternating patterns.

  Lu Na hadn’t thought about doing this before as she let Nugua handle most of the techniques, but this was new. With each element not only supporting the other beside it, but above and below. Metal to water to wood to fire to earth.

  Lu Na pushed all the spirit energy cycling through her body into this technique. The spirit skin formed on her body and spread throughout. It eventually touched her companions and spread over them as well. For the first time, she felt the spirit skin like a second layer of clothing.

  There was weight on her.

  The usual buzzing stopped and the skin looked as solid as anything. It didn’t take long before she realized she made another mistake.

  Lu Na couldn’t breathe. The spirit skin stopped all spirit energy from penetrating it, including the water spirit energy in the air. With a quick thought she dismissed the spirit skin.

  The second layer melted off them in an instant. Everyone gasped for air.

  That’s when Lu Na felt herself coming back to her body. The cloudiness of her thoughts and the control of her limbs came back. One moment it looked like she was still stuck in the labyrinth and the next she was staring at a large wall.

  Everyone let go of Lu Na and collapsed to the floor. They all gasped for air.

  “What happened?” Lu Na asked.

  “You almost killed us, foolish girl. I shouldn’t have taught you that technique,” Elder Xu said.

  Lu Na tapped her null metal bracelet to turn on the light ward. It shined brighter than it ever had as it pulled spirit energy from her spirit realm. The section of the labyrinth was lit up like the day and she could see every inch of the place.

  This new section of the labyrinth was dustier. Every corner of the labyrinth had cobwebs and dust covering every inch. Nothing moved except the stale air that lived there.

  “Is everyone okay?” Sun Ren asked. She dusted herself off.

  Hen Li was helping Elder Hen get up after he collapsed. Senior Wong was dusting off Elder Xu. Both of them looked fine.

  Oddly enough, Lu Na felt as if she had a ton of energy. She wasn’t thinking about spirit energy. It felt like she’d just had the best night sleep of her life and her body was well rested.

  “Zi Xu, are you still there?” Lu Na asked.

  “He’s gone,” Sun Ren said. She stretched her body and then unsheathed two of her daggers. “He left a final note for us before leaving for good. He told me to tell you that he’s done all he could for us to get here and to watch out for the feral spirits. They’re the last thing guarding the center of the labyrinth.”

  “Then that should be simple,” Elder Hen said. “None of the spirits I’ve seen so far have been stronger than stage two. Elder Xu and I can destroy any spirit between here and the center.”

  Sun Ren smirked.

  “Come on Elder Hen, you know life never makes anything that easy. Zi Xu also said that there’s a maze going through here and those rebels are almost here. They’re bringing their entire army.”

  “But how? We had the help of Zi Xu and we barely made it,” Senior Wong said. “Even with his help, Young Miss Lu almost collapsed from the mental strain.”

  “Not sure. It might have something to do with the ghost hunter they brought with them,” Sun Ren said. “They must have done a lot of research instead of just running in.”

  Lu Na knew that she meant their group. She had to admit, running into the labyrinth with no preparation like this wasn’t her first choice, but she didn’t have much choice like with everything.

  “Then are we ready to go?” Sun Ren peeked around the corner before turning back. “If this is a maze and there are feral spirits on the prowl, I doubt they didn’t hear us or see Lu Na’s beacon of light. Is there a way for you to turn it down?”

  Lu Na had gotten used to it, but with a bit of focus, she limited the spirit energy flowing into it from her spirit realm. She didn’t know she could do that until now. That was going to take practice.

  “I’ll scout out the next section. If Elder Xu would be so kind as to summon her sable spirit, we’d have more chances to find traps and discover a way through. The rest of you should travel as a group behind me. If anything happens to me, don’t follow. I’m going rebel hunting.” Sun Ren dashed forward without waiting for a reply. Her dark tunic blended in with the darkness and she disappeared.

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Lu Na was worried for her friend. She knew that Sun Ren was in her element in the dark tunnels here, but she would also have to fight with the spirits as well. She just wished her friend wasn’t so stubborn in doing things her way like this.

  “Again, who put that brat in charge?” Elder Xu asked. She summoned her sable spirit and pointed down another path of the maze. Then she summoned four more sable spirits, directing each one to a different path. “Let’s give them a few minutes to see which path is safest before we move forward.”

  Elder Hen finally stood up, coughing and wheezing. He popped another pill in his mouth.

  Lu Na focused her spirit vision on him and saw the spirit energy being instantly released from the pill into his spirit realm as it passed down his body. Then it slowly channeled more spirit energy into his spirit realm as it sat in his stomach.

  “Your pills are like my null metal bracelet,” Lu Na said. “Would you like to try absorbing the spirit energy from that?”

  Elder Hen chuckled.

  “If it were that easy, everyone would have null metal bracelets. Your bracelet contains all the types of spirit energy in it to power all your techniques. My spirit realm can only take one specific kind. If even a little bit of the wrong kind enters my spirit realm, I’d die. That makes you unique, despite being so weak as a summoner.”

  “Then how am I not dead?”

  “Child, I have no idea. Whoever bonded you with your spirit must have their reasons. However, if you ever want to learn more about the summoner arts, my offer still stands. You can join the Wintersweet Sect as my personal disciple and I will teach you everything I know.”

  Lu Na considered that offer, this time with a new perspective. If she could learn more from Elder Hen, then she could also improve not only her defense as a summoner, but also how to make better inventions. There were so many things in the Xia manual that didn’t make sense until she thought about how to use her techniques to make them work.

  Besides this, she already had the monkey king’s scroll of immortality and she couldn’t grasp the most simplest thing it tried to teach her without the help of another summoner. There were so many different possibilities to become stronger.

  “This is a first,” Senior Wong said.

  “What is?” Lu Na asked.

  “You’re the first person that I know who didn’t drop to their knees and thank the heavens after being offered this. There would be so many at the sect that would kill for the opportunity. Me included.” Senior Wong glanced at Hen Li before turning back to Lu Na. “Do you hate our Wintersweet Sect that much?”

  Lu Na thought about that. She tried to separate the unfortunate incident of them trying to kidnap and kill her with how Elder Hen has personally treated her. On the one hand, the sect’s leader and Ancestor were the ones that caused it. Yet they’re gone now. Elder Hen had been oppressive near the end but Lu Na saw how he treated his son and helped them so much despite not needing to. Was that enough?

  No, never.

  “Yes, I hate your sect. I hate how everyone of you would do everything you can to get ahead. I hate how despite me never doing anything to you, you destroyed my life. You almost killed my brother. I wouldn’t even be here. Everything that has happened to me, all my suffering has been because of your stupid sect.”

  Lu Na took a deep breath and curtsied to Elder Hen.

  “So if it’s alright with you, respected Elder Hen, you would stop trying to recruit me. I beg you.”

  Elder Hen looked like he got slapped. He nodded and turned away.

  “I’m sorry that we caused you so much pain and suffering.” Senior Wong cupped her hands and bowed her head. “I have learned that my actions were excessive. In my desire to please my father, I didn’t think about anything else. I realize now that I shouldn’t base my own success on something like that.”

  Lu Na didn’t care for such an apology, especially not from her. But she needed her help.

  “Fine. I’ll accept your apology if my brother lives. If we go back home and something happens to him, I will hunt you like you hunted me.”

  Senior Wong nodded.

  Elder Xu’s sable spirits all came back and disappeared back into her spirit realm.

  “Oh ho ho, it seems like little Yoong has finally learned, Shimin. Maybe there is hope for her after all,” Elder Xu said. She turned to Lu Na. “Besides little girl, you should learn under me. I can teach you things no one in the sect can. And if it makes you feel any better, I opposed the silly prophecy from the very beginning.”

  “Let’s focus on the task at hand. We’re talking too much and this is taking too long,” Hen Li said. “Elder Xu, what have your spirits found?”

  “Not you too. Why are all the young brats so disrespectful?” Elder Xu shook her head. “My precious darlings mapped out some of the maze. We can follow a simple path to the center that is littered with bones or the long way around with less bones and more rebel soldiers.”

  “Could you show us all the map, Xu Ming? I’d rather not have you go off without us and we’d be lost,” Elder Hen said.

  “That was one time.” Elder Xu clenched her left fist and waved her right hand over the wall. A black outline of the maze appeared.

  Lu Na couldn’t believe how clear it looked. How did Elder Xu create this map from her spirit’s directions? What kind of technique could do something like this? More importantly, how could Lu Na learn this? Elder Xu had so many things that Lu Na would love to learn. Maybe studying under her wouldn’t be so bad.

  “Girl, are you done staring yet? I can’t keep it up forever,” Elder Xu said.

  Lu Na smiled sheepishly.

  “Yes, Elder Xu. I apologize.”

  “Now, let’s head out. The rebels look like they’re combing the area.”

  “Fine, whatever, let’s go.” Hen Li clenched his fist and his five colored hound, Panhu, appeared with his bone-mouth head. The normally calm silver haired monk rushed forward.

  “What happened to him?” Lu Na asked.

  “Better you not ask,” Elder Hen said. “You might have been the one that had your eyes opened and experienced your nightmares, but we all experienced our own as well. He must have been reminded why he left our sect and seeing us here didn’t do him any good.”

  “Especially you, old man,” Elder Xu said.

  “How come the nightmares didn’t affect you guys as much?”

  “Child, when we’re this old, we have accepted most of what we have done. If we didn’t by now, we wouldn’t be standing here. You young ones don’t have that experience so you act differently. Like little Yoong here. She would have never apologized for anything she’s done before, isn’t that right?”

  Senior Wong nodded and looked away.

  Then that means Sun Ren and Hen Li ran off because of what they saw. Was the labyrinth affecting them? Was it changing who they were?

  “Don’t worry, child. If your friends get themselves killed, you’ll still have us.” Elder Xu cackled.

  That’s what Lu Na worried about the most. The last thing she needed was to be stuck in a labyrinth with the Wintersweet Sect.