The three-made-one shattered.
But wind did not break.
When tides of annihilation reduce them to specks breath, they gathered as a resurgent breeze.
A third attempt failed. A nineteenth. A four hundredth and second.
But wind did not break.
Each ti the sky-serpent reduced them to naught, the three-made-one ascended with greater haste than the last. No longer did they chase the [Dao] of [First Pool] insight, nor the [Second] or [Third] for the hegemon’s authority could not be disputed.
These winds flocked without command.
“The sky’s dominion is eternal,” sounded at the seven hundredth cycle.
“The sky’s dominion is eternal,” sounded at the two thousandth.
Ascension.
Struggle.
Transformation.
Shattering.
Ascension.
Fu’s [Spirit] was no more than fractured ceramic.
Once more.
Such was his mantra.
“This Gao Shuidi will have it submit.”
Hushi’s will was resolute.
Ascension.
Struggle.
Transformation.
Shattering.
Once more.
“Youngling!”
The Old One’s ire gave pause to all. From lidless eyes did the three-made-one blink, shocked awake by the sharpness of it.
We have lost reason in this clash.
Even the prideful Shuidi reflected on their actions, embracing the myriad winds they had reaped in this cycle’s rebirth. Concessions from the endless barrage that whirled about them with [Fourth Pool] insight.
“Too deep have we tread into conquest,” admitted Fu. “The sky-serpent’s will enforces this Path. I feel seeds of it within our [Spirit], impregnated through these myriad splinters.”
Shuidi fud. “It seeks to corrupt us.”
“A thousand moons could be spent like this. Warring until it receives its pri [Inheritor] and we are all the more broken for it.”
The impression from Hushi ca clear. “Father and [Asura]. Hegemon and assassin. One thing is not all things.”
So they rose.
Ascension.
“The sky’s dominion is eternal,” sounded the unceasing taunt, loosing its Struggle.
[Dao of Conquest’s Exhalation].
Disgruntlent thundered from the sky-serpent as the insignificant breath it sought to quash vanished into naught.
Transformation.
Thus ca the whisper from origin unknown, spoken by a wind it could not see. “We are the [Hegemon of Pale Mists]. The Fatherly [Asura]. True Change manifest. Those clad in winds to ever flee your grasp.”
As though a world unto itself this sky-serpent thrashed the realm with motion. Its great maw turned and the impossibility of its coil shifted to reach this whisper’s source. Winds gathered from across its myriad horizons, drawn forth as willing sacrifice.
Yet on the periphery the lesser [Dao] vanished. Were such directions of concern to an existence such as the [Loneso Wind God], then east beca a thing of absence and west, south and north lost many a gale beneath his notice.
The [Dao of Wind’s Present Whispers] had ascended, and the three-made-one had failed to retain its aning.
Ascension had blinded them - deviated them from truth.
How foolish.
Ceaseless battle was another’s Path. Conflicting wills. Sunlit challenge against no less than a God.
Now they no longer hid behind the breeze, but ordained that it carry their presence. To spread that it might only be gleaned by the hegemon’s will.
No [Loneso Wind God] was counted among this number.
Heaven’s wroth grew a tempest and indeed the three-made-one were within its very fabric.
A domain within the sky-serpent’s own.
“Conquest,” it roared. “A conquest unseen!”
Novel [Intent] stord from the devastation’s epicenter. This, a jubilant force. Sothing tentative and gleeful, resonating from the sky-serpent’s [Dao].
“Acceptable.”
Shattering.
🀦
[Spring’s] Qi washed over him like a rejuvenating wave, darkening Fu’s mood considerably as he erged into the open skies of the Clear Sky Empire.
The dissociation between sky-serpent’s trial, spiritual realm and all they had endured had his vision sway.
Hushi righted him, expressing his concern at the current [Season].
Be it the [Spring] two [Seasons] from his departure, or myriad more, the Heavenly Roaming Prefecture appointnt was already underway. They were in breach of duty, casting great sha on both himself and Bingbai.
“Brother, sister, we cannot indulge any further in this trial. We have many hundreds moons over which to complete its remainder,” he said.
But Shuidi saw this matter differently. “This Gao Shuiidi would ask forgiveness over permission. Master Ban will scold us for returning empty-handed. More so than returning beyond when we were to return.”
Accumulation was their Master’s Path.
“Just so,” Fu grimaced.
True breath reinvigorated his faculties, drinking deep of the ambient Qi. The [Dao of Conquest’s Exhalation] held a bounty to be consolidated, but that was a matter for the [Seasons] ahead.
Thus they turned to a star unlike any other.
All that had comprised the [Loneso Wind God’s] shrine now collapsed into golden gales, swarming a colossal orb where the throne had once rested. From pillar to ribbon, ascent and marble, all rushed to feed the forming [Constellation Seed].
A thing of peerless worth if this is all that comprises the trial. And yet, is one treasure all that makes a Martial God?
With confidence, Hushi’s arms grasped the [Constellation Seed] and drank deeply of its surging power. Oceans drew into their [Spirit] mont after mont without cessation, inscribing mory and ability both as it passed.
Images that would take many moons to parse.
Yet so ca strengths as intrinsic as breath.
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[Shrine of Final Skies]
[Boon] awarded.
[Sky’s Authority] When manifested, the [Final Skies Domain] transmutes and purifies all ambient Qi into that of [Mist Qi], [Spectral Qi], and that of their composites.
When internalized, the [Sky’s Authority] passively purifies the ambient Qi within your vicinity.
[To Whom the Storm Bends] All external energies of [Air Qi], [Water Qi], and [Lightning Qi] nourish you, defying those that dare conjure them in your presence.
Haste was of the greatest concern, and yet what fool would ignore so vaunted a treasure?
[Shrine of Final Skies].
The [Constellation Seed] sneered.
“Bah. The sky-serpent’s will is clear. A treasure of this nature cannot be neutered, it demands respect of open address,” Shuidi equally sneered, intoning thereafter. “[Shrine of Final Skies]!”
Gao Fu’s conquest followed a different Path than the [Loneso Wind God]. Naturally these changes manifested in the shrine.
For all of the [Spirit Crab’s] bluster, it was not unearned, but still their personalities warred to produce a more modest structure.
Conquered winds whorled to construct a series of four cardinal pillars, from which vapourous ribbons did stream. Effervescent cloud spilled into the surrounding area, and Fu knew instinctively that a wealth of Qi was refining before his eyes.
He drew in the purity, eyes wide.
“The air here was abundant before,” he mused. “But even in so short a ti as the shrine’s appearance I feel the Qi closest to these pillars is on par with the Cherry River. Had we disciples of [Air Qi] they would have no need to search for purity, it would be before them. This benefit alone is untold.”
Hushi shoved his gluttonous arms into the dley, triumphant. However, the octopus was more devious than this. With a swift flick he widened the northmost pillar, spreading it to reveal an unprecedented depth of treasures within the folds of wind.
A spatial realm not unlike their ring.
The boundary could not be crossed, nor could they physically reach what by all accounts seed a palatial vault of ten thousand shelves. Upon each, a treasure; a [Spiritual Herb]; weapon; to and [Pill].
“This aged master is unused to luxury,” echoed a voice from within its depths. A more realized form erged within the [Shrine of Final Skies’] vault, finding no difficulty in navigating the palatial recesses they could not. “A sin, yes. To have such wonder corrupt so great a [Spirit] as I.”
Fu smiled as the catfish lounged on a bed of plush clouds within the vault. “No less than this is deserved, old master. We have been poor hosts thus far. Please, make full use of this space.”
“As the youngling insists,” he chuckled in return. “This aged master will catalogue the [Loneso Wind God’s] myriad treasures… if this spiritual flesh could pry itself from so silky a bed.”
“[Shrine of Final Skies],” announced Fu, dissipating the pillars. “Does the sa comfort exist now, old master? I would not seek to deprive you, but the shrine is very… ostentatious for those of our vocation.”
“It does not differ, youngling. Have no concern,” was said, arriving within his mind.
To have the [Shrine of FInal Skies] internalized brought about the second function of [Sky’s Authority], which desperately needed consolidation with his external techniques.
The focus required to maintain his [Clouded Ghost Arts] whilst exuding the subtle [Dao Intent] of the [Dao of Conquest’s Exhalation] through the cowed ambient winds and the passive purification through this new [Constellation Seed] was a prodigious task.
Was he not so well versed in [Qi Suppression] a great beacon of wind would rage about him, drawn by his vastly bloated [Pull].
Shuidi mounted his shoulder, toying with the Qi. “We must stopper the draw until this technique has been tempered. Undue attention cannot be avoided if we beco a font of purified Qi.” Her pincers changed the flow of [Air Qi], dispersing the imdiate, noticeable purity throughout the unseen area of their [Clouded Ghost Arts]. “The range of our [Qi Suppression] must grow to unfound distances. For Gao Shuidi, this much is possible in ti.”
“A distance that must grow as our draw does,” considered Fu. “Very well. Firstmost, however, we must see if the clerk from the Ninth Golden Reserve still awaits us. If not, we have a long walk ahead.”
🀦
A matter of hours later, the three had stolen into the family estate. His parchnt was placed, and noticed only by Paxing as Feng nigh battered his screen down as a result from another flight of oversleeping.
Fu’s son scrambled to fasten his light hanfu, dropping both sides as he blinked away the morning’s toll. “A letter from father?” he exclaid, bringing none of the outrage another might suspect. “Hah. He has grown mysterious, no, Paxing?”
The [Spirit Orangutan] whooped, pressing his brow.
“My dearest children, duty has taken us away once more. The extent of our seclusion training was unforeseen, and we regret all the monts we have missed from a lack of foresight,” Feng read, absorbing every word. “To my Yuling, this father is ashad he could not complete your ascension to [Core Formation] in record ti, but you… Sister’s words are not for us. My diligent Feng. The Path you have taken has my pride soar higher than a phoenix in flight. I see the dedication with which you study, train and live, and no man within the Jianghu is without envy for such a son. For all the lessons I have inscribed with my children, of prudence and effort, rember that ti for your passions are of equal import. A grandchild would not go amiss in the coming moons, no? I love you, my family. We will return soon.”
Scarlet overca Feng’s face. “Grandchildren? Father leaves us with a final joke,” he soon laughed, clutching the papyrus intently. “If he has returned to duty, then we must do no less. Divine Clouded Mountain might never learn of his feats, but through us… Co, Paxing. We must do more for the Gao Clan.”
We are not worthy of such children, no?
After a swift check that Yuling and Nuwang had returned from their training in the [Sea of Titan-Mottled Bone] and the ho-bound assassins were performing as instructed, the three gave a wistful smile.
It will not be so long until the next visit.
With a final look, the wind whisked them away.
🀦
“Does it not trouble you, junior?” he asked. “The stagnancy must impede your cultivation to a significant degree.”
Though mask-clad, the Clouded Court’s disciple was evidently pale. “This lacking junior could never complain about his appointnt! If this lacking junior has given any indication, they will gladly accept instruction from Senior Gao Fu!”
Shuidi loathed so spineless a cultivator, and Fu felt her consider swift verbal retribution.
Yet, duty had returned.
“Peace, junior. There is no need for that.”
Those among the Clouded Courts of Twenty Sunrises City were a ager sort. A branch upon the very defining line of Cloudy Serpent Sect interest, for population, resources, Qi density and location had rendered this settlent the bare minimum on which to deliver their presence.
Any lower in stature and the Cloudy Serpent Sect would have them pay a tithe in place of administration.
As such the thin ranks of so two thousand assassins barely graced early [Core Formation].
Fu observed all this with middling interest, blurring to the spire of the modestly tallest tower within the city’s confines.
To the east lay a spine of mountains, peppered in myriad holes by a battle of hitherto unheard of, assudly talented, ancient cultivators. The sun rose there, spilling through nasake spaces in the range.
It is no mystery how the city gained its title, I suppose. Brother, Sister, beyond that is our Heavenly Roaming Prefecture - the frontier. Wisteria Peaks stand many li distant. The impression of our second selves is strong, no?
With Twenty Sunrises City as the closest bastion of the Clouded Courts within this reach of the Clear Sky Empire, he wondered if he should make introductions to the local disciples.
We have had ti enough in absence.
They put the city to their back, stepping into the wind. Moving through the [Dao of Four Horizons] had a minor tithe in ntal energy, or had done previous to his absorption of this latest [Constellation Seed].
As the distance grew he found that the wind’s will bent to his own, sensing the intent before he had commanded it to shift. His newfound authority through the [Dao of Conquest’s Exhalation] now made the cost of travel negligible.
A desolate landscape spread beneath.
The rich colours of the Wisteria Peaks, the gentle bamboo forests and rivers of the Jade Songbird Province and the borderlands between each were mortal delights, certainly. But the depth of Qi’s absence was enough to curl Shuidi’s nose in disgust.
Had she such a thing.
“Barren. Master Bingbai must hold sothing here of great importance if he seeks to ‘put down roots’. A [True King Grade Realm] would be fitting for this Gao Shuidi, not a desert.”
Admittedly Fu was intrigued.
The resonance from the [Heartplu of Clouded Schisms] grew across his thousand-li journey.
Clouds, peaks, and grassland flew by until he ca across a mundane mountain in the shadow of its sister. The height of either was not particularly grand, though he imagined that the greater sister would afford an unparalleled view over much of the surrounding Prefecture had one the eyes to see so far.
Bingbai sat atop the lesser, basking in the noon-ti sun. Fu swept down and was addressed at the mont of his arrival.
“My my, the prodigal disciple returns!” he scolded.
“Master,” clasped Fu. “This lacking disciple takes full responsibility for his actions, and would only explain if the venerable Bingbai wishes to hear it!”
With a tug of his cobalt beard, Bingbai sighed. “Oh-ho, you take much of the fun from it with your sincerity. What’s the count now? Shall we round down?” he smiled, growing sharply and mockingly serious. “Foolish disciple! A [Season] is owed and shall be docked from your next span of free ti. Bah, hmm, yes, sothing about respect and other nonsensical chidings. In truth, Gao Fu, I’d expected our plum-eyed disciple to return later than you.”
“We were waylaid, master.”
A small frown tugged at Bingbai’s lips as drifting clouds blotted out his sunshine.
Shuidi looked Heavenward, exerting [Hegemony of Pale Mists] to scare the clouds from their master’s path.
“An ascension to late [Core Formation]. Hidden [Boons]. A fresh [Constellation Seed]. An arm. Oh-ho, disciple, you’ve a strange understanding of family ti, no?” bead Bingbai. “How fare your children, Gao Fu?”
“They are well, master. Thank you.”
“Your grandmother?” he asked.
“Only the Heavens themselves might answer that,” Fu smiled. “It was partly at her hand that I arrived so late. A trial of [Inheritance] and of dragons.”
Bingbai’s eyes glittered. “Oh? That’s a tale I’ve much interest in. Alas, disciple, it must wait. We have our own dragons to contend with, and they’re soon to arrive.” He gestured to the grasslands before their peak.
Minutes passed.
Shuidi grew impatient.
“A pity, that would have been suitably dramatic,” chuckled Bingbai. “In that case we are under no duress, co, you can tell both you and I over tea, no?”
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