Chapter 28 – No Debt Between Friends.

  The sky above the Inheritance Site was an eerie and unnatural shade of red, reflected by the angry sun that cast its colours across the Disciples scattered across the desolate terrain.

  Mei Lian sat cross-legged on her cultivation mat and tried to ignore the sky and forget some of the events of the previous night. Her robes were slightly torn from fighting the Corpse Puppets, and despite washing and re-braiding her long hair, she still looked dishevelled.

  Her hands rested lightly on the sword placed across her knees while her breathing was slow and controlled. Her heart, on the other hand, wasn’t so easy to calm.

  The spiritual energy here was dense despite the resentment and violence contained in the Site. It flowed with ease through her meridians, making each cycle of her cultivation more potent than it had been in the Outer Sect.

  Mei Lian felt her Dantian slowly filling up, pressing against the limits of the 2nd Level of Qi Condensation. If she could just push it a bit further to draw in denser spiritual energy, she might possibly break through.

  Her eyebrows furrowed in frustration as she came up against the barrier to the 3rd Level but failed to break through. It was like a door that was just out of reach.

  Lin Yue sat next to her, silently cultivating. Her delicate features were calm, and her hands were clasped in her lap as she focused entirely on her cultivation. Despite the tension of the past few days, both women were now closer than ever to advancing to the next level of Qi Condensation.

  Mei Lian opened her eyes and exhaled a breath of turbid Qi as she brought her cultivation to an end. She was hoping for a moment of peace and clarity to refocus before attempting to break through again when she paused.

  There was a faint, golden shimmer hovering above them in amongst the redness of the sky. It was distant and fading, but she felt that she had seen it before.

  ‘That looks like the golden light that appeared when Jun De broke through.’ Mei Lian thought, and she instinctively lowered her eyes and searched for Jun De.

  Mei Lian had only begun her search when Jun De sat beside her. He gave her a calm smile, as serene as ever as if the chaos of the Inheritance Site couldn’t touch him.

  Unlike her, Jun De’s robes were unblemished; his aura was perfectly restrained. But there was a quiet power surrounding him that matched the increased Qi she could sense from his body.

  “Senior Brother Jun, you’ve broken though?” Mei Lian asked with surprise. She had just touched the barrier to the 3rd Level, and she knew it would take her many tries before she would succeed.

  ‘Senior Brother Jun De is truly talented!’ Mei Lian thought.

  Unlike Mei Lian, who had spent all her time cultivating while they travelled to the Site and waited for it to open, Jun De had been busy with planning and meeting with the Elders and the other Disciples. He hadn’t had much time to cultivate, which meant he had broken through without much effort.

  “The Qi here flows easily; it’s a good place to cultivate.” Jun De said as he shrugged his shoulder in response.

  “If it weren’t for all the Corpse Puppets.” Jun De added with a smile, and Mei Lian felt a warmth sweep over her.

  Mei Lian stared at him in awe for a moment longer. She felt that his cultivation had changed, that it was firmly in the 3rd level of Qi Condensation, but she couldn’t sense the limits of it.

  ‘What is Senior Brother Jun’s true cultivation? Will he soon be entering the Inner Sect?’ Mei Lian wondered to herself, and she was overcome with a sudden feeling of despair.

  If Jun De entered the Inner Sect soon, how long would it be before she could join him? Would he forget all about her?

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  Mei Lian glanced away, embarrassed by her thoughts and shamed by her lack of talent in comparison to Jun De.

  “I’m close as well, but the barrier is still too strong. I thought it would take me months to reach this point, but now it’s almost within reach.” Mei Lian confessed, her voice laced with a disappointment she couldn’t hide.

  She was more motivated than ever to keep pace with Jun De to join the Inner Sect with him.

  Jun De nodded thoughtfully, then reached into his storage bag and pulled out a small, elegant porcelain bottle.

  “Here.” He said as he offered it to her. Mei Lian reached out to take the bottle on instinct and popped it open to reveal a strong medicinal scent and strong spiritual energy.

  “Qi Gathering Pills!” Her voice rose in shock, and she tried to push the bottle back to Jun De, who held up his hand and shook his head.

  “I can’t take these; they are far too expensive, and I don’t have the contribution points to repay you.” Mei Lian protested, and Jun De smiled once again.

  “There’s no debt between friends, Mei Lian. Take them, you’re already close to a breakthrough, and these will help. Think of it as doing me a favour; I need you to watch my back.” Jun De replied.

  Mei Lian’s throat tightened as she gripped the bottle with trembling fingers, not knowing how to respond.

  Jun De pulled out another bottle from his storage bag and quietly placed it on the ground in front of Lin Yue, who was still deep in cultivation, before standing up and walking away.

  Mei Lian clutched the bottle to her chest and watched him move over to some of the other Disciples and check on their well-being.

  Her heart stirred, and a blush appeared on her cheeks. She touched Lin Yue’s arm gently to wake her from her cultivation and draw her attention to the bottle of valuable pills Jun De had given her.

  ‘No matter what happens in this place, I will protect him.’ Mei Lian promised.

  As for Jun De, he walked away with a new lightness in his step. His robes fluttered gently around him, and he did a round of their camp, stopping to talk to all the other Disciples. He felt stronger and more energized than before, and even his senses were sharper.

  He had reached the 3rd Level of Qi Condensation, but he had no idea how it had happened. Jun De recalled sitting down to meditate and recover his Qi after fighting the Corpse Puppets, but had fallen asleep shortly after.

  When he woke up, he was stronger and his Dantian had expanded. The golden Qi inside him now flowed with much more volume and vigor than it had before.

  It left him confused and upset.

  On one hand, he had to praise this new body of his for the ease with which it broke through and its talent for cultivation. But he hated that he could still feel it wanting to fight. Even now, he could feel his body hum with anticipation for the night and the Corpse Puppets that it brought with it.

  His fingers twitched when he thought of combat, and a deep-seated thrill ran through his muscles like an electric current.

  Jun De narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists.

  “No! I’m in charge now. This is my body and we aren’t going anywhere near any Corpse Puppets. I arranged this whole thing so that I could be safe, surrounded by capable Disciples who are more than happy to fight instead.”

  “I won’t have you ruining this!” Jun De threatened softly, as if his body were something that could be warned and persuaded.

  The golden Qi inside his Dantian stirred softly, and Jun De couldn’t help but think that it was protesting against him.

  “I said no. No more leaping into danger. We’re going to stay here, protected and safe, while everyone else gets into trouble. I even gave Lin Yue and Mei Lian those pills so they can fight those Corpse Puppets instead of us. 3rd Level Qi Condensation Cultivators won’t have any trouble against the puppets we fought last night.” Jun De assured himself as he calmly circled the camp, nodding and smiling at the people he met.

  “And when I get back to the Sect, no more adventures! I’m going to sit in my chair, drink my tea and watch the clouds pass by. Not these stupid, dark clouds in a shitty red sky. A proper blue sky with white, fluffy, happy clouds.” Jun De muttered, and he scowled at the sky above him.

  Jun De had completed several laps around the camp, his footsteps calm and steady as he took comfort in the Disciples’ preparations. The angry red sun slowly descended on the horizon, and dusk settled over the desolate landscape like a heavy curtain.

  The wind began to shift, turning unnaturally cold and blowing with a fierceness, unlike the previous night.

  The Disciples, all arrayed around the camp in a defensive formation, paused what they were doing as the blood-red moon rose into the sky and dyed the ground a bloody crimson.

  But, to their surprise, there was no scraping of bones or the sudden noise of Corpse Puppets pulling themselves from the dirt. Instead, a deep hum rose from the land, like a howl of some gigantic beast.

  A dark wave of spiritual energy erupted across the landscape and swept over the camp like a tidal wave as the air shrieked.

  Everyone abandoned their positions and ducked into crevices or clung to shattered rocks, but all their efforts were useless.

  The wind screamed like a furious god, and Jun De’s body was lifted off the ground. His feet lost contact with the earth as easily as a feather caught in a gale, and the force ripped him away before he could grab onto anything.

  Jun De was flung skyward, spinning through the blood-hued sky like a leaf in a storm.

  “No! I’m never leaving the Sect again!!” Jun De’s voice was lost in the wind, leaving his cry unheard by anyone except the heavens, who were powerless to assist.