~~~
Su Daji dashes across the Dead Plains.
The sky is devoid of clouds, allowing the sun’s harsh light to blast the land without rcy. There are no pretty flowers to be seen anymore. They left those along with the temple several hours ago. Instead, rust-colored earth spreads in all directions, with barely any hills or slopes in sight. It is as if a giant hand descended from the heavens a long ti ago and flattened the land to its satisfaction.
Su Daji loves it. The hot air rushing against her face, the hard ground under her feet, and the vastness of the space around her. All of it makes her heart leap with joy. It doesn’t matter that this desolate wasteland is supposed to bring misery and death to those who dare enter it. For her, this is a place of endless freedom.
A part of her desperately wishes to run on all fours, but she refrains from it. Her ears and tails may have already popped out, but that’s a matter of comfort. She is a lady first, and ladies do not run like animals.
Even if the idea feels so incredibly fun.
…
No! Su Daji shakes her head, banishing the thought to the darkest corners of her mind. The part of her that is Su An blas Daji. The part of her that is Daji blas Su An, which is incredibly unfair. She is not the one whose need to indulge in every debauched thing was so great that it beca a way of life.
She frowns.
Things would be so much easier if she could just be Su An. She even feels more Su An than Daji most days. Boss sharing his mories with her only helped in that regard, yet it is still Daji’s na she goes by. The thing clings to her beyond reason.
Once upon a ti, the Wandering Wind told her a person’s soul is molded by the choices they make throughout their life, but she wonders if that holds true for soone like her. Before she was herself, she was already two different people, and one of those two souls, though far more faded than the other, weighs on her so very much.
A worm pops out from the ground.
Su Daji easily leaps out of the way, not having missed the beast’s Qi as it moved underground. Its flabby, grotesque body casts a large shadow on the Dead Plains as it rises from its hole. The Spirit Beast turns in her direction with its mouth open, showing countless rows of sharp teeth.
[Ground Contraction]
A burst of speed. A slash of her claws. The massive worm is instantly killed, and its body collapses into countless slices. Su Daji imdiately flares so Qi around her hand to destroy any goo that might have gotten on her skin.
At that exact mont, he strikes.
With swiftness one would never associate with sothing of that size, Soaring Feather descends on the worm’s corpse. Its claws, powerful enough to tear a person in half with a gentle squeeze, glint in sunlight before digging into the spirit beast's flesh and pulling out a small object no larger than an eyeball, the worm’s core.
A beat of giant wings follows. As suddenly as the large beast cos down, it rises. The whole thing happens in the blink of an eye. Never once does Soaring Feather touch the ground or stop moving.
Su Daji blinks.
Twice.
“You thieving chicken!” She yells, shaking her fist at the bird. “That was my kill! That core is mine! Co down imdiately!”
Despite Soaring Feather already being dozens of yards above the ground, Su Daji can still see as the bird turns his head in her direction. The smugness in the overgrown chicken’s dumb eyes is unmistakable.
“I have seniority!” she yells, her tails bristling behind her.
Not as a pet, obviously. That would be ridiculous, but she is the one who has known Boss the longest. Doesn’t that count for sothing? Can’t this dumb, opportunistic bird respect sothing so basic?
Soaring Feather’s form descends. Its speed decreases. The claw in which he holds the spirit beast’s core begins to open.
Su Daji’s hand reaches out.
Soaring Feather tosses the core up and swallows it. Despite the limitations of having a bird face, he manages to smile smugly at her.
In the emptiness of the Dead Plains, a hundred ghostly flas howl as they rise to the skies.
~~~
Liu Jin closes his eyes as Soaring Feather squawks while desperately trying to avoid all the projectiles thrown at him. The eagle’s eyes seek his, pleading for his help.
Liu Jin closes the curtains on the wagon.
“...Shouldn’t we… help?” Big Nose Li asks.
“No,” Liu Jin replies, grabbing a pillow and fluffing it. “Soaring Feather brought that on himself. This will teach him prudence.”
“A wise attitude,” Big Sister Bai says. To the side, a sleepy Marrow lets out a low growl, which sounds like agreent.
Ever since Soaring Feather reached his species' equivalent of the teenage years, he’s had a bit of an attitude problem. It was about ti he found out what happened when he crossed the wrong person.
Besides, Liu Jin thinks as he hears Su Daji’s joyful laughter and is reminded of simpler tis, who is he to deprive his friend of her fun?
~~~
The Fla-Wheeled Wagons land safely, and all step outside to watch. Big Nose Li’s mouth is hanging open. Su Daj’s eyes have beco as wide as dinner plates. Soaring Feather, who sports quite a few bruises, looks like he wants to bury his head in the ground. Marrow has already hidden under Liu Jin’s robes. Even Big Sister Bai radiates noticeable nervousness.
“I believe,” Liu Jin says, “that we found the place where they last fought.”
Su Daji snorts. Big Nose Li lets out a hysterical giggle.
There is a gigantic hole in the Dead Plains. Though they are standing on the edge, they cannot see the other side. It is a black chasm that stretches as far as the eye can see.
Su Daji tosses a stone into it and waits.
Unsurprisingly, they cannot hear it hit the bottom. The hole is big enough to fit an entire providence inside it… maybe more than one. It must be miles deep.
“This was done by Elder Brother’s All-Consuming Heavenly Void,” Liu Jin says.
“You sound certain,” Bai Wen says.
“Look at the edges,” Liu Jin says, kneeling down and running his finger over the edge. “They are too smooth for this to be the result of an explosion. I am certain we’d have felt it in our countries if that were the case. However, this type of precision is exactly what you’d expect from the Xiao Sect’s All-Consuming Heavenly Void.”
“No, but that would be…” Big Nose Li struggles and fails to find the words to express himself. As a mber of the Xiao Sect, he knows more about the Xiao Sect’s techniques than most. That is why he understands how outrageous Liu Jin's theory is.
Though made for large-scale destruction, All Consuming Heavenly Void does so in an overwhelmingly controlled way. The technique creates a distortion across a large area, destroying everything within it but no further. No matter where one is standing within the technique, the level of force they are subjected to is always the sa. Such precision and potency demand far more energy than more brutish displays of power.
Most of the ti, that doesn't really matter. Actual battles between high-level cultivators tend to revolve around focused applications of Qi and eventually beco clashes of Dao. Large displays of destruction are used mostly for showmanship.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
That such a large chasm was made with All Consuming Heavenly Void ans…
Liu Jin shakes his head. No wonder Senior Brother Lotus said he had to rethink his ideas about the strength of Emperor Realm cultivators. The technique used by Lord Feng Gui that threatened to destroy Imperial Cloud City now seems overwhelmingly restrained by comparison.
“High-level cultivators are walking calamities. You should already understand that more than most,” Bai Wen tells them. “Each one of you has the power to destroy an entire city and more. You are not ignorant of it, but you have yet to truly internalize that knowledge. Because you have achieved in less than two decades what has taken others centuries, you do not understand the depths of your power. You have never once allowed it to run wild.”
Big Nose Li opens his mouth. At first, he hesitates. Big Sister Bai’s beauty, position, and power all intimidate him.
However, he pushes through.
“How can you say I have never used my power?” He protests. “I have given it my all in battle plenty of tis!”
“You misunderstand,” Big Sister Bai says. “I do not doubt you have been pushed beyond your limits. The issue lies in the way we have been taught to use our power.”
She raises her hand. Blue Qi glows around it, and frost begins to form. A sword of ice appears in her hand.
“By carefully flowing my Qi through my ridians, I can empower my body. By molding it, I can give my Qi the properties of ice. We have all been taught similar things. These are all efficient ways to use our Qi. However, as we grow in power, they beco bindings. We beco so accustod to always using our energy in the most efficient way, that we beco blind to the realities of our power. This is not done maliciously. It is inarguably the best and safest way to learn. A cultivator who cannot control their power is an embarrassnt. Regardless, it leaves a blind spot that must be rectified. Observe.”
Big Nose Li’s knees hit the ground.
Sweat shines on his face, and tears fall from his eyes as his entire body is seized by primal fear. His fingers dig into the ground as he tries and fails to pull himself up. He cannot even raise his head. Next to him, Su Daji’s knees are already on the ground. She valiantly tries to keep the rest of her body upright using her tails as support. Soaring Feather trashes on the ground, trying to take flight and failing to muster the strength. Marrow can only let out pitiful whines.
Big Sister Bai has not used any technique, nor is she aiming any intent at them. The thing responsible for their extre reactions is nothing more and nothing less than her aura in its rawest form, free of all the restraints cultivators naturally and without thinking exert over their Qi. It is a geyser that erupts without end, spreading her power for countless miles. Her Qi surrounds them. It smothers them and extinguishes their will. All without any action on her part.
It is no different from ants being crushed by people walking about.
Liu Jin grits his teeth. His aura flares to protect him and the rest. Despite being a copy, he has yet to be destroyed, but that’s no rit of his. It is just further proof that this is not an attack. The Qi coming from Big Sister Bai is not ant to be harmful. There is just so much that it naturally overwhelms their senses. Even though Liu Jin is soone who has already stepped into the Heaven Realm... Even though Bai Wen is only six levels higher than Xiao Shuang…
No, it is because Big Sister Bai is already on the Ninth Level of the Heaven Realm that there is such a difference.
“I am soone who is preparing to overco the Renegade Realm,” she says. “I do not feel it is boastful to say that I am among the strongest Heaven Realm cultivators on this side of the Dead Plains. And yet, this power is still not close to that of the ones we seek.”
With graceful steps, she places herself directly in front of them so that the gigantic hole is right behind her. The ssage is clear. Behind her, there is an unfathomable abyss.
“The people we are seeking are largely positively predisposed toward us. Even so, they are Renegades. I want you to understand that before we continue this.”
Despite his trembling body, Liu Jin manages to smile.
At so point, cultivation levels began to seem less important than they used to be. What did a difference of a few levels an when compared to one’s mastery of their Dao?
How foolish of him to have forgotten the realities of pure, unrestrained power.
“Big Sister Bai, I thank you greatly for this lesson,” Liu Jin says, bowing his head to her.
“I-I echo his words,” Su Daji says. Beside her, Big Nose Li manages to nod his head.
Bai Wen smiles.
Her aura vanishes as abruptly as it appeared, leaving them all gasping for air. Big Sister Bai steps into the void, effortlessly floating in the air.
“Very well,” she says. “Let us continue the search.”
~~~
“How can it be that no one can find one wretched person!”
The Green Tiger Squadron is the most fearso group in all the Endlessly Raging Valley. All twenty mbers are Core Disciples of great skill whose mission is to root out and eliminate traitors. They dress in dark green and hide their faces behind masks. Few people know their true identities. Receiving a visit from them usually ans one’s life is already forfeit.
Ding Yan watches all twenty of those fearso fighters tremble before a single woman.
She has a tall, willowy fra, further emphasized by her loose green and golden robes. Her face, though beautiful, is twisted in displeasure, and her bright green eyes are alight with rage. Her green hair, usually done in twin buns, has co loose and reaches past her waist. Her earrings, the decorations in her hair, and even the jewelry she wears are all talismans.
She is Ding Feiyu, one of the leading figures within the Ding Clan.
Her mother.
“My lady,” says the leader of the Green Tiger Squadron. “It is not an easy task.”
“The Green Tiger Squadron specializes in tracking, do they not?” Lady Ding asks him. “I am not asking for the impossible. I am asking you to do the job you have been chosen for.”
The leader of the Green Tiger Squadron looks at her.
“It is the Wandering Wind,” he says, his voice bordering on disrespect
And yet, is he not justified? It doesn’t matter that the Green Tiger Squadron are the best trackers in the Endlessly Raging Valley. How could they possibly find soone who is like the wind? She goes where she pleases and only makes herself known when it suits her fancy.
Her mother already knew that. There is no doubt in Ding Yan’s mind about that. Yet, the woman still screams at the Green Tiger Squadron for several minutes before sending them away to resu their fruitless duty.
“Was there really a need for that?” Ding Yan asks.
“Of course, there was,” her mother replies. She takes a deep breath, and her anger seemingly drains away. “The Wandering Wind needs to be found. Just because it is not possible does not an we should stop trying. Having the Green Tiger Squadron occupied on the task ans they cannot be used by anyone else without drawing attention. Lastly, I needed a reason to vent. I cannot afford to lose my temper in the days to co, so it is better to get it out of the way.”
Ding Yan sighs. As expected, her mother always has a reason for doing things, even when it looks like she’s just being petty and unreasonable.
“When you say you don’t want the Green Tiger Squadron to be used by anyone else, do you an the Ruan Clan?” she asks. If she doesn’t, it would look like she hadn’t understood the lesson.
“Who else?” Lady Ding asks, standing in front of the mirror and rearranging her hair. “Ruan Haoran’s death is a happy event, but that does not necessarily make it a fortunate one.”
Ruan Haoran.
For as long as Ding Yan has been alive, Ruan Haoran has been the mightiest pillar of the Ruan Clan. The man had several rivals within his own clan, but none could equal his combination of power and experience. With him gone, all those rivals have begun scrambling to see who will be the one to take his place. The Ding Clan should be trying to capitalize on this opportunity.
Why aren’t they?
Try as she might, Ding Yan cannot wrap her head around it. The Ruan Clan is in disarray, yet instead of taking advantage of it, they are keeping their heads down as though they were ek children.
“Is it related to the summit?” Ding Yan asks.
Her mother goes still for a mont.
“That’s not sothing you should concern yourself with,” she replies, going back to arranging her hair.
It is a dismissal. She knows it.
And yet…
“The Wandering Wind seems to favor the Emperor of the Storm Dragon Palace,” Ding Yan says.
Her mother stops again. Still, she does not turn to face her.
“You have spent too much ti with her disciple.”
“Wasn’t the point of spending so much ti with her disciple to learn whatever she might know?” Ding Yan counters. She has co to like Su Daji and considers her a dear friend, but there is no denying what her initial reason for approaching her was. “Why discard what has been gained? The Wandering Wind allowed her disciple to go with the Emperor. Doesn’t that say it all?”
When Ding Yan was young, the Endlessly Raging Valley called a eting of all their Elders and Branch Masters. She was told such an event happened only once every century.
For reasons unknown, it is happening again after less than a decade.
Sothing important is being decided. Ding Yan understands that much, and there is no way it is not related to the Emperor of the Storm Dragon Empire.
Why ignore that he has the Wandering Wind’s favor?
Maybe Ruan Haoran wouldn’t be dead if he knew that.
“That woman is as whimsical as ever. Nothing more,” her mother replies. “Her so-called freedom is just an adolescent flight of fancy she failed to outgrow. There are realities in this world that cannot be ignored. Not by you and . Not by the Ding Clan or the Ruan Clan. The Wandering Wind, for all her power, is not an exception to that, daughter.”
Ding Yan frowns.
“Are those on the other side truly that terrifying?”
Her mother turns.
Though her Qi is calm, the look in her eyes is so intense that Ding Yan fears she might get slapped. She understands she has gone too far. Regardless of the situation, impudence will not be tolerated. Ding Yan reflexively looks down and tenses in preparation for a hit.
It never cos.
Ding Yan dares to lift her head, and what she sees leaves her puzzled. The hot rage has faded away from her mother. In its place, there is sothing she cannot recognize. Her mother looks at her in a way that she never has before. The optimist in her wants to call it pride, yet pride has no reason to look so sad.
“I used to wonder the sa thing,” her mother says at last.
“What happened?”
“I lost a husband.”
Silence reigns between mother and daughter.
~~~
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