The hike was long, but Anji did not struggle. In the past, her weak body would have collapsed after climbing the first slope. It was rather steep after all. Going with the risky surgery was the right decision. Anji had no doubts about it now.
For about two hours, the student and teacher climbed. Yan Ping was right about eyes adjusting quickly in the darkness. Previously, Anji relied on her second sight and traces of natural energy to navigate. However, she was starting to see more, even without her second sight, after an hour of hiking in the dark mountains with only the stars to guide her path. She could not imagine spending months in there only to erge from the darkness and be hit by the sun’s rays. That blindfold was an absolute necessity.
After a while, Yan Ping suddenly stopped. Anji, not prepared for this, bumped into her teacher even with her second sight activated. Looking ahead, she did not sense anything. Her physical sight saw only trees, and nothing seed amiss until she realised how unnatural it was not to sense any traces of energy from those trees.
"This is where we have to part," Yan Ping told Anji. "Let put on the blindfold for you. The mont I activate the trial chamber, it will pull you in, and you will be trapped until the spell ends or you find a way to escape it."
Anji nodded. She had been ready for this for a while now.
Closing her eyes, Anji felt the cool silk slip over them as her shifu tied it.
"Is it too tight?" she asked.
Anji shook her head. It did not take long for the silk blindfold to feel like part of her skin.
The spell activated as soon as Yan Ping’s hands left the blindfold. She told Anji to tug at it to see if it would co loose. When Anji confird that she could not untie or tug it off, Yan Ping smiled with satisfaction. With all the preparations done, it was ti to see her student off.
Reaching down to pat Anji on her head, Yan Ping wished Anji all the best and double-checked if everything she needed was still in that backpack. Everyone else seed to be more nervous about the successor trial than Anji herself.
As Yan Ping chanted and activated the spell to open the trial chambers, Anji enjoyed the feeling of her shifu’s hand on her head. When she completed the trial, would she be slightly taller?
In less than a minute, Anji felt the ghostly warmth of where her shifu’s hand had once been. The successor’s trial chamber was nothing like she had expected. What she thought would be a dark and dreary cave with bat poop and no light turned out to be sothing else completely.
The air was fresh. The place was teeming with all sorts of strong energy signatures. So more otherworldly than the type Anji was acquainted with.
Without hesitation, Anji plopped her heavy backpack down and circulated the energy in her golden core. There was no ti to waste.
Grandpa Jin felt the unnatural swirl of energy surrounding the child he had chosen to look after and woke up from his nap. The girl had sohow entered a strange energy rift. How she got here remained a mystery. Unlike the previous ti she found him by accident while crossing over to the spiritual realm and almost dying, he could sense that her life force was still securely bound to the mortal realm. Soone else must have purposely opened this rift for her.
Undeterred by the unusual space she had transported into, Anji focused on setting up the spiritual array that she mastered. It was a more advanced protective zone spell designed not only to repel and ward, but also to blend into the new environnt like a mirror reflecting light. Unless soone approached with malicious intent, her new defensive barrier is likely to camouflage perfectly and deter others from approaching.
Without physical objects to anchor her array foundation, Anji took a little longer than she liked to get everything working. The protective spells embedded into her clothing gave her that peace of mind to work at a calm and steady pace instead of panicking when sothing brushed up against her before the defensive barrier was established. Thankfully, it was non-hostile.
Watching Anji set up the defensive array in the soul world for the first ti was as exciting as it was nerve-racking for the golden dragon. While wanting to celebrate a toddler’s first steps, he also feared that she might fall and hurt herself badly during the attempt.
Thankfully, the bright child figured out the trick and anchored her defensive array not to a physical pillar but sothing she could contain energy in. By imbuing energy into a blank talisman, Anji was able to visualise a coordinate for the spell. Although that talisman would eventually disintegrate, it was a good starter. The rest of the defensive barrier spell would then rely on Anji’s ability to adapt to this new space and her own soul’s existence. Unlike the mortal realm, energy in the spiritual realm relied on the gravity of existence to uphold any form. A weaker-willed existence would be swept away and consud by a stronger-willed one. It was the ultimate test of masters who wish to ascend to the next realm of possibilities.
After what felt like too long, Anji finally established a shaky but working defensive barrier. It took all her focus, and for a long while, she did not move from her safety spot. Grandpa Jin still swelled with pride at her accomplishnt as she adapted to this strange rift. Most people would have been swept away by the strong energy currents here. However, Anji withstood the pressure and was learning to establish her own natural force field amid the chaos. She was a strong person, and the golden dragon settled down to watch his ward closely.
As much as he hated to admit it, this child had grown much stronger during his nap, and he had the half-sage to thank for raising her this well.
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