Kindling, page 39
part #6 of Painting the Mists Series
“I think you’re judging them too harshly,” the tree said. “Their situation is difficult. They aren’t caving in because they’ve given up, but rather they’re retreating because they see hope from another direction.”
Yu Wen ignored him and continued her work. She adjusted several knobs and wheels on the tripod before finally nodding in satisfaction.
“It’s ready,” Yu Wen said, mounting her space-time camera. The soul-bound artifact displayed a widescreen picture at the center of the garden. Yu Wen zoomed in and focused on the nine black spikes and the black pillar. She flicked across the screen a few times before pressing a button and retreating outside the range of the formation, which glowed gray as it absorbed the purple crystals. The space-time camera ravenously absorbed the energy as a small meter on its display filled up. This continued for a few moments before the formation collapsed and was absorbed into the camera along with the remaining crystals.
“Say cheese,” Yu Wen said. The camera flashed, and Jade Moon Garden stood still. It unfroze a moment later, but one thing did not—the nine spikes and the black jade pillar. “Moving when you’re trapped in a picture is easier said than done,” she said, smiling.
A small two-dimensional print appeared beside the camera. She blew it off and admired the fine detail. Not only had it captured these objects, but it had also captured black and white threads of space and time around them. They’d obediently stopped moving to stay in sync with the picture. The pillar was struggling with all its might against the threads, but to no avail.
“That will buy us what—a few weeks?” the elemental said.
“A few months, if enough cultivators help us,” Yu Wen said. “We might even gain enough time for Xiao Bai to return with the Earth Source. If we can do that, we’re golden.”
“How about we save those ones?” Huxian said, pointing to a group of attractive humans along the way. Their movements were uncharacteristically slow, a consequence of the warped space and time surrounding them. They wore looks of horror as fiendish demons closed in on them, ending any hope they had for survival.
“They’re traps,” Xiao Bai said. “I mean, not that kind of trap. They’re bait to catch us on our way back and delay for time.”
“But I’m so tired,” Huxian said. “It’s very draining to keep up this technique.”
“Just shut up and eat your moon cakes,” Xiao Bai said. At this moment, her ears twitched. She suddenly ran up to the top of Huxian’s head and urged him to go faster. “This is bad!” she said gravely.
“What happened?” Huxian said.
“The devil sovereign’s begun attacking the shield,” Xiao Bai said. “He’s also scared off anyone from helping to maintain it. Maybe a few hundred cultivators are even bothering, and the rest are hiding.”
“That’s humans for you,” Huxian said. “After all the advantages they obtained from Jade Moon Garden, they’re not lending a hand when it’s needed.”
“Humans are selfish creatures,” Xiao Bai agreed. “That’s the way they’ve always been. I’ve lived for over a million years, and I’ve seen few exceptions.”
Seeing that time was of the essence, Huxian picked up the pace.
Chapter 38: Breakthrough
“Greetings, sisters,” Hong Xin said with a fake smile as she sat down among the mistresses. In addition to their usual red dresses, they wore golden trim usually reserved for special occasions. Their table was located behind a large seating area, where all the students obediently sat. Their eyes were dull and emotionless, a testament to the pavilion’s brutal training methods.
“We’re not your sisters yet,” Mistress Meng said as Hong Xin sat.
Hong Xin shrugged. “Is there a difference at this point? Aren’t we all in the same boat?”
“There’s no need to bicker,” Mistress Huang said from beside the headmistress. “The headmistress has given her duties like the rest of us. And after today’s formalities, she will have the same official standing as you all.”
The others shifted uncomfortably at her words. They were very clear about Hong Xin’s talent, and it was only a matter of time before her official standing outstripped theirs.
“It’s time,” the headmistress said in a soft voice that carried throughout the crowd. The teachers and students stopped speaking, causing the auditorium to sink into a deathly silence. “Mi La, you can go first.”
A student who’d been there for six years rose and bowed. She calmly walked over to the stage and took out a zither. She played a soothing melody that calmed the nervous students and doused their fears. Gentle clouds formed as she played, stretching out across the audience like a dry mist. The performance finished five minutes later.
“That’s a passing performance,” the headmistress said after evaluating the effect of her dousing technique. “Note that I said passing, not extraordinary. You qualify for graduation. Please come sit by the mistresses and await the gifting of your hairpin.”
A pleased expression appeared on the student’s face as she walked toward them.
She thinks graduation means an end to this hellish place, Hong Xin thought. If only she knew.
“Meng Jie, you may go now,” the headmistress said.
The student bowed and walked up to the stage. She danced a slow, soothing dance that relaxed the audience even further. Yet compared to the previous performance, it was lacking in substance. Not a single hint of gold appeared on the crimson runes of her black shoes.
“You may stop now,” the headmistress said. “Try again next year.” The student choked back her tears as she walked to her seat. This was her fifth year in the school, and the hard eight-year limit was growing ever closer.
Students performed one after another. A third of them passed, and the rest failed. Hong Xin noticed that most passing grades were from stellar performances of younger students. In a sense, older students were only the leftovers from prior generations, the runts of their respective litters.
“Lin Xiu,” the headmistress said, prompting a student to run up to the stage nervously. The mistresses all focused on this student, who was originally a core member of the rebellious group. “Let’s see how skilled she is after undergoing your procedure,” the headmistress said softly toward Mistress Huang.
“I’m confident that she’s still a very talented student,” Mistress Huang said.
As she spoke, Lin Xiu pulled out a black-and-gold zither. She plucked its soft strings, causing everyone’s hearts to stir. A small cat wandered playfully about the stage. The previously calm students laughed and began talking to each other softly. The headmistress did nothing; this was an essential part of Lin Xiu’s performance.
“How very interesting that she’d perform a heart kindling,” Mistress Meng said. “And such a strong one at that. If you told me she practiced the Frozen Heart Sutra, I’d accuse you of lying.”
“Feel free to inspect her core,” Mistress Huang said dismissively. “It’s frozen solid. I also advise you to be less jealous of our talented members, lest they plot against you.
“How dare you,” Mistress Meng said indignantly.
“I happen to think that heart kindling is very useful,” Hong Xin cut in. “Though dousing is an excellent way to bewitch the mind, what of the heart? What about passion? Is manipulating people using their mind alone really the best method?”
“Well said,” the headmistress said. “Heart kindling has its place. Everything is fine as long as it’s under the careful guidance of a frozen heart.”
The performance continued for an incense time before stopping. Lin Xiu, who was covered in sweat from the draining performance, bowed deeply to her audience. The students gave her heartfelt applause before realizing what they were doing and returning to their previously cold selves.
“What an excellent performance,” the headmistress said. “Please join your colleagues beside us as you wait to receive your pin.” Then the headmistress looked to the group of remaining students and picked an older one, Su Ling. She was not part of Hong Xin’s original group.
What a cautious woman, Hong Xin thought as Lin Xiu approached. She’s spreading out my generation of students, despite the treatment they suffered under Mistress Huang. Her soul tingled as she felt the senses of the other mistresses inspecting Lin Xiu as she walked toward them. She smirked inwardly as those senses returned to their owners empty-handed.
Sweat rolled off Cha Ming’s brow as he put down a half-finished book. It was the last book on the second shelf, the same book he’d once gone unconscious trying to read. Having finished Cures to Cultivation Problems, A Primer, he now understood why it was so mentally taxing to read it—the concepts conveyed were at the very peak of mortal understanding, and without a proper foundation to guide the knowledge into its proper place, it could drive a mind to madness. Therefore, he read it in spurts.
Cha Ming chipped away at the book bit by bit. It was his fifth reading of the book, so each iteration perfectly finished the voids in his understanding. As he finished the book, he looked at the second shelf in confusion. The answer he was looking for wasn’t there. According to these books, fixing his core was impossible.
Did I miss something? He might have read every book on the first shelf, but in his haste, he’d only read half of those on the second one. Unfortunately, his self-imposed three-month deadline was swiftly approaching, and he had a sneaking suspicion that he didn’t have much time remaining.
At this moment, his core-formation jade pulsed. He withdrew it and saw a message from Yu Wen. According to the wood elemental, the knowledge he was seeking could be obtained by reading the first book on the third shelf and a pill recipe in a chapter of the fourth book.
Smiling, he picked the first book off the shelf called Preliminary Transcendent Alchemy. As he opened its cover, he was overwhelmed by the dense runic writing it contained. Transcendent might flooded from the writing. As he read, he realized that had his soul been any weaker, it would have completely succumbed to the text’s overwhelming power.
“We’re almost there,” Xiao Bai said as they passed a fiendish demon patrol. The horrible creatures wrinkled their noses, causing Huxian to question the effectiveness of his void-traveling technique. He looked around before finally spotting a carefully placed immortal-jade formation plate. Using his Demon-Subduing Eyes, he saw natural energy circulating within ten miles of Jade Moon Garden’s protective shield. It was an alarm of sorts, a detection array to prevent intruders from breaching the perimeter.
“The last of the journey’s going to be an all-out fight,” Huxian said. “There’s an army of fiendish demons out there, and judging by their positioning, they’re expecting us.”
“We’ve crushed loads of fiends,” Lei Jiang huffed. “How is this any different?”
“Quantity, for one,” Huxian said. “Plus, if you look closely, you’ll see several powerful avatars surrounding the shield. They’ll jump on us the moment we approach. I don’t care how strong each of you are, there’s no way we’ll stand a chance against nine half-step rune-carving devils. Even with Jade Moon Planet’s suppression.” He then looked to Xiao Bai. “Are they ready?”
“They’ve just finished their preparations,” Xiao Bai said. “We’ll need to strike the black formation from the outside as they attack from within. It’s not going to be easy to pull off.”
“Don’t worry, I have a plan, and it’s a good one,” Huxian said excitedly. He quickly issued instructions. “All right, let’s do this!”
The five beasts rushed out toward the jade barrier in unison. They were immediately detected as they entered the premises, but they ignored the initial wave and tried to make up as much ground as possible.
As they approached the two-mile mark, millions of black crows flew up into the air. They flew toward them at breakneck speed to chase them out of the skies.
“It’s your turn, Silverwing,” Huxian said.
The small bird cawed in acknowledgement. He grew to his largest size and channeled the combined power of their four to unleash hundreds of tornadoes. They crushed over three tenths of the crows, and the remainder angrily chased after Silverwing. The large bird continued flapping at them, repelling them away from the main group. Meanwhile, Huxian, and the rest continued to the four-mile mark.
“You dare intrude upon my territory?” a voice said as they arrived. A large black wolf appeared. It howled and summoned a hundred companions, bringing them to charge against Huxian and the others.
“It’s my turn!” Gua said, jumping at the wolves. They shivered when they saw the horrifying toad, who unleashed a cloud of corrosive and foul-smelling vapor. The air thickened and hampered their movements. Blinded, they cast out their spiritual force, only to discover that it could hardly penetrate the thick air. It was like a bog had completely encapsulated them. “I need to stay here for best effect!” Gua said.
“Good job!” Huxian yelled. As they approached the six-mile mark, a group of vicious-looking cultivators appeared. They were gaunt and drained from their hard work maintaining the formations. Further, they were all infused with a dark miasma. “Lei Jiang, your turn,” Huxian said.
“Yippee!” Lei Jiang shouted as he jumped into the crowd of cultivators. He sent out bolts of lightning laced with Devil-Sealing Intent. These attacks were extremely effective against the evil-infused cultivators, who were forced to cope with him.
Three, two, one, Huxian counted mentally.
“Who would have thought you’d be so stupid as to come back here,” a voice said. A strong pressure bore down on him as a half-step rune-carving devil avatar appeared.
“Xiao Bai, give me a boost,” Huxian said.
“You’ve got it, boss,” Xiao Bai replied.
Huxian glowed bright gray as the small rabbit poured half of her energy into him. Huxian suddenly grew to 333 feet long. Three tails floated behind him, each one radiating a powerful suppressive field. Light, dark, wind, lightning, and swamp bore down on the devilish avatar, causing its might to weaken greatly. Then Huxian lunged forward and bit down on him. The avatar grasped Huxian’s front teeth and forced his jaw open, barely resisting against the giant fox.
“You think you can run?” he said to Xiao Bai, who rushed past him and fled toward the jade shield. He moved to intercept but was restrained by Huxian. The fox’s aura was far stronger than normal. Not only was he being strengthened by Xiao Bai, but he was drawing any extra power he could from Lei Jiang, Silverwing, and Gua.
As she approached the shield, Xiao Bai began accumulating her power. A gray cloud surrounded her as the energy poured into her two back legs. On the other side of the shield, a massive vine had appeared. Yu Wen stood beside it with a golden sword in hand, ready to unleash her power the moment it was needed.
“You think a paltry formation like this can stop the one and only Jade Rabbit?” Xiao Bai yelled as she rushed toward the black formation covering Jade Moon Garden’s dome. She dodged two devilish avatars that appeared beside her and kicked out with all her might.
At the same time, the wood elemental struck out with its vine and hit the same spot while Yu Wen’s golden sword flew out and struck the shield. Space distorted as the three forces collided on the black runic surface, causing a small hole to appear. It healed over in the blink of an eye.
“Retreat!” Huxian yelled as he saw the hole heal over. He swatted at his devilish avatar with a large paw and threw it toward the shield. He then flew at full speed past Lei Jiang, Silverwing, and Gua, collecting them as he passed. Xiao Bai appeared beside him, exhausted. The three devil avatars they’d faced earlier had returned to their initial positions and refused to chase them.
“There goes Plan A and Plan B,” he muttered. “What do we do now?”
“We need more firepower,” Xiao Bai said. “I just couldn’t make a big enough hole, and Yu Wen is busy stalling the giant pillar on the outside. Meanwhile, offense isn’t exactly that old tree’s specialty.”
Huxian frowned. He hesitated for a moment before calling out to the last person he wanted to bother.
Brother, we need you, he sent.
Cha Ming’s mind was numb. His soul had grown slightly transparent from the effort he’d spent trying to learn the first transcendent tome. After a full week of learning, he still hadn’t learned even a third of it. Who knew how long it would take to learn a pill recipe after the fact?
Brother, we need you, he suddenly heard.
What’s the situation? he sent, placing the book back on the shelf.
We couldn’t pierce through the formation, Huxian said. I think our brute force is enough, but something’s missing.
You likely haven’t hit a formation node, Cha Ming replied. That, and the opening on the black formation would only last for a brief moment. It would be very difficult to pass through it before it closed again. I thought Yu Wen and the wood elemental had special means to deal with that, but it seems I was being optimistic.
Then what can we do? Huxian said. We’re safe for now. They’re playing a defensive game.
Let me find out, Cha Ming said. He placed a call on his core-transmission jade, and Yu Wen’s embarrassed figure appeared before him.
“There’s a bit of a problem,” Yu Wen said shyly.
“I’ve heard,” Cha Ming said wryly. “And it sounds like you need my help.”
“Not right this second,” Yu Wen said. “I needed to put a spatial lock on a formation-breaking pillar to protect Jade Moon Garden, and that’s tying up most of my strength. As a result, Xiao Bai isn’t able to pierce through as planned.”
“Did you try striking a formation eye?” Cha Ming asked.
“About that,” Yu Wen said. “Did I ever tell you that the only reason I was in Fuxi’s Library was because I enjoyed their food?”
