Chapter 22 – Bygone Era

  The Carcass Grotto pocket world would soon come to an end. Waiting several days outside was nothing new or special for the guard teams.

  Su Shuyi had continued to hover in place without break or rest. On the second day, Xie Yanshuang had come out early, claiming the death of Fel Yuhan Diyuan.

  There was an expectation that cultivators should have started to come out around the fourth day. Typically, cultivators fought one another and drained their levels faster than what the miasma would normally take. Once a level was low enough, staying inside would start the risk of dying to the miasma directly. The Foundation realm didn’t drain in levels, it drained in mortality. Even if no one had fought at all, by the fifth day, all cultivators would be level 1 Spiritweave without special artifacts or artes. Those that had fought would likely be in the Foundation realm or dead.

  It was now the fifth day.

  Not one person had come out since Xie Yanshuang reentered. For the Lianhua clan, staying inside until now was normal. Once the problems within the central castle was resolved, they would continue to take what spiritual plants and herbs they could. Anything taken would restock into something different when the pocket world opened up again in a century.

  Su Shuyi would occasionally glance at the gambit board between Patriarch Dali and Xunran. Xunran still had not won once. Other than the gambit board, the table also held the miniature version of Xunran’s Spine Blue Lightning spirit artifact wings.

  But then a movement caught her eye. From the Gu clan, Gu Guan handed over Fel Yuhan Diyuan’s spirit artifact dagger to someone else. He still floated in the air, hands behind his back like all was normal, but his posture told Su Shuyi that he was up to something. None of the others took notice.

  Gu Guan, with all the speed he could muster, flew forward towards the portal rift.

  The sudden movement got everyone’s attention. Xunran stood and went to fly towards him to stop him, but he stumbled when he realized he didn’t have the Spine Blue Lightning on his back. Yuhan Junhao, the Hall Master, held up his hand to prepare an arte that would lock him in place. Su Shuyi knew he had one—his Wireweave Ensnare. Yet, when he could have stopped Gu Guan, he didn’t. Yuhan Junhao lowered his hand and let the other man pass through the portal.

  A brief moment of silence passed as they sensed the portal rift ripple slightly differently, to indicate that no new person was allowed inside anymore.

  A burst of laughter came from the Honglie clan. They pointed at the Gu clan with no regards to respect.

  Patriarch Dali chuckled, eyeing the Gu clan. “Well then, if I were you, I would be embarrassed. I don’t think there has ever been a case where someone entered the Carcass Grotto midway through. It’s as if you are declaring you want to enter with the intent to kill another cultivator.”

  Several Gu clan members had a look of humiliation. Some had slapped their foreheads with their palms. It seemed like not all of them were on the same page as Gu Guan, who just thoroughly shamed his entire clan by acting this way. The Honglie clan people were now leaning on each other, laughter boiling up even further, tears stream down some of their faces. This shame from the Gu clan was something all the factions within the Honglie tribes agreed on.

  Su Shuyi couldn’t understand Gu Guan’s behavior. It was already bad enough he issued a Nether Mark on a Foundation cultivator; but now, him taking action at this moment would be likened to a sneak attack, except the cultivation difference was significant enough that the Gu clan would hear about this for years to come.

  Patriarch Dali summoned forth tea and took a sip. “Hall Master Yuhan Junhao, why did you not stop Gu Guan? You could have with your arte.”

  Yuhan Junhao entered a relax state. His daughter, Yuhan Ranxi, still didn’t seem bothered by the new threat that had entered. She was firm in her beliefs, it seemed.

  “It was legal. Gu Guan did purchase the final allocation spot, after all,” he said.

  “Such logic does you credit; we of the Celing clan salute you. Though I must ask, even if it cost you your son’s life?” Patriarch Dali asked.

  But instead of answering, Yuhan Junhao motioned to his daughter, who noticed and decided to give the patriarch a look that said you should know what I think.

  Patriarch Dali chuckled again.

  Fel Yuhan Diyuan would have one last opponent to fight. One that was level 4 Dharma as of the fifth day.

  ***

  Diyuan had spent a day since he left the central castle to navigate towards the miasma’s source. It took longer than needed since he was extra careful to avoid the other threats of the Carcass Grotto. The east’s Resonate Shards was a giant bone ribcage that made disturbing sounds when something hit it, causing confusion and disorientation.

  The northern area’s Ghostlight Grove was the same. Everything there glowed: the water, the fungi, and the demonic beasts. The problem was the disorientation that cultivators would feel, losing reasoning and becoming uncertain if any of it was real or not. When someone got close enough, a city started to appear in the glowing lands. None of it was real. It was all a hypnotic illusion that drew in unsuspecting victims.

  Diyuan spent a lot of time dodging threats around these places and moved to the northeast, the direction of the miasma’s source. He knew he was getting closer as the miasma became thicker, making his purifying arte work harder. He was still completely immune to its effects, but the further he went in, the more he tasted the miasma. If the miasma before now could be likened to simple mist, the current volume of it was similar to trudging through thicker sludge. As a precaution, his Pungent Poison Purifier increased the intensity of its workload, even to the point of partially borrowing power from its double arte partner, the Phoenix Fallen Flight arte, which it had not needed to do once since he had entered the Carcass Grotto.

  No other cultivator would be able to walk through this current path. They would be drained and then die to the miasma’s suction.

  At times he found himself walking in the wrong direction, despite going straight the entire time. He would check the miasma’s information again to find the direction of the source, which became his compass. Eventually, the miasma was so thick that he could only see his hands if they were right in his face. His breathing started to labor. He pressed on, into the unknown miasma. He should have reached the cavern’s wall by now, but still he went forward. He suspected that if the miasma kept getting worse, he would have to turn around even with his purifying arte.

  And then the miasma parted, giving him full vision.

  Or at least, it parted in such a way that it flowed upward, like a reverse waterfall. He was inside a grand chamber, with only miasma as the decoration. The walls were the up-flowing miasma. The ground was miasma. And the center of the room, though miasma, was slightly unique. It swirled at the top and created a windless tornado at the center, though its size consumed the greatest portion of the chamber. Diyuan walked up to it and looked over at both sides. If he was to walk around the tornado, it might take him maybe five to ten minutes to do so.

  Diyuan stretched out his hand to touch it, and as he prepared to step in, his fingertip entered the tornado just a bit—

  Both Phoenix Fallen Flight and Pungent Poison Purifier hit him like a hammer. His body burned up, the fire of the phoenix roaring flame inside. Diyuan pulled his finger out but both artes didn’t stop. They joined together, combining and working together as a team. A small pillar of fire burst from his body, wrapping around. He realized what was happening.

  If the miasma he paved his way through was sludge, then the tip that his finger touched alone was like a solid majestic wall. The difference in density was like a Foundation body going against a Dharma-level arte.

  Both artes continued to work to keep him alive. Anyone else would already be dead. The fires continued to wrap around him; not harming him or burning him, but attempting to destroy the touch of miasma that sought his doom.

  The last time Diyuan felt spirit energy burnout was at the western plains battle, before he gained the Limitless Elixir; but now he could sense the double artes burning through his energy faster than it could replenish even with the Limitless Elixir.

  Diyuan sat and crossed his legs. He meditated to race against his spirit energy depletion. He focused his attention to assist in the purifying arte in its battle by also using the limitless version on top of the normal version. Sweat beaded down his face.

  He would assist, then focus on cycling his energy. When he had a good lead, he would assist in the fight against the miasma once more. This repetition continued for a few hours. The fire that wrapped around him flared throughout.

  He didn’t know how long he sat for, but when he was done, his body felt weak and his energy dry. He breathed heavily, like he hadn’t cultivated once in his life. The flames slowly died off. His body was too exhausted. He would need to regain his energy before he tried to make the trip back out of the Carcass Grotto. He worried he was so drained that he wouldn’t be able to fight off the weak miasma when he left this chamber. His purifying arte felt pitiful just keeping up with the small amounts of miasma that blanketed the ground below.

  Then, a voice.

  [I am old enough to not be surprised by anything. Yet, you have surprised me by surviving.]

  It was a deep and masculine voice. Diyuan’s head shot up, looking around for the source. But no one was in the area. Was it someone from the Honglie clan? Or the Gu clan? It shouldn’t be; Diyuan had storage rings for every one of them, even the ones he hadn’t killed personally but died elsewhere had been stored in his enemy’s storage rings. Besides that, other than him, who else could go this deep into the miasma?

  Before the connection fully vanished, he latched to it and responded.

  [I was not aware anyone else was here,] Diyuan said as he saluted to no one while still sitting cross legged.

  [Ah, sound transmission? Normally, that would have surprised me in a different era. A Foundation cultivator that can use sound transmission. Unfortunately, you would not be the first to showcase that to me. Nonetheless, I will grant you the honor of telling me your name.]

  [I am Yuhan Diyuan, of the Zhengyi clan,] Diyuan said. [May I ask who I am speaking to?]

  The voice grumbled in his mind through sound transmission. [Who am I? I am the betrayed. I am the imprisoned. If forgotten, does one still have a name?]

  Though Diyuan still didn’t know what direction the speaker was, his eyes went to the miasma tornado. [Are you trapped inside that miasma cyclone?]

  [Trapped?] The voice said the word slowly, like it was trying it out. [In a sense, I am. I am trapped in a bygone era, where my thoughts go to the betrayer for my every waking moment. I, at least, had the bliss of slumber until now. And you, are you the one who revealed the Behemoth King’s domain? Are you the one who awakened me?]

  Diyuan frowned. They were quite a ways away from the central castle. Did Xie Yanshuang’s voice reach this far? And since it mentioned waking up, does that mean it was in a long sleep? Diyuan recalled that the Reflections Pagoda had been the same, where Diyuan needed to climb to the top for Lady Pagoda to awaken and reveal herself. Was the thing inside the miasma tornado a divine artifact?

  He saluted. [I apologize for that awakening you. But it was not me that had done so.]

  [If it was not you, then why apologize?]

  [Because it was used against me in battle,] Diyuan said.

  A small silence. [How is it that you have come here? How do you resist the miasma?]

  Diyuan figured to tell the truth. So he told him about his double phoenix arte.

  [That is how I resisted the miasma, which I followed here to find its source.]

  The voice made a weird sound that reminded him of rocks grinding against each other. Not a physical sound, still only through sound transmission. [Your poison resistance arte, does it come from the Holy Phoenix Beast? Have you any relations to her?]

  Diyuan shook his head. [I don’t know anything about any Holy Beasts.] Was that similar to demonic beasts? [The heavens have been cut off for thousands of years. This arte came as a revelation by one of my Grand Elders, who had experienced death and returned to life.]

  [Resurrection? The little humans are indeed resourceful. Even without guidance, they shall claw their way back. Whether the Holy Phoenix Beast welcomes you or smites you for having such an arte, I know not. But I do know that my betrayer would not suffer your existence. For one to have a counter to them, you would be seen as a bane. A thorn. They would hunt you to the ends.]

  [I…see.] Little humans? Holy Phoenix Beast would smite him just for owning an arte? [We do not have any mystical creatures in the lower world like the Holy Phoenix Beast. But if something happens where the connection to the upper world is restored, I will do my best to avoid unnecessary trouble. You also mention a group that will see me as a bane. Who is this betrayer?]

  [My betrayer? My betrayer is the lineage of one!]

  The voice’s volume suddenly increased in Diyuan’s head. A sharp, piercing pain accompanied it. It was like his head was about to split. He gripped his ears, but to no avail. The miasma’s tornado spun even faster. The shouting continued.

  [I will rip them to shreds! I will find them and tear their legacy! None will survive. Their men. Their women. Their children. They have benefited from my demise, so I shall tear their limbs apart!]

  The voice finally stopped. Diyuan had nearly fallen unconscious from the splitting pain that dazed him.

  […Little human, I did not mean to harm you. I forget that your cultivation prowess starts you so weak.]

  Diyuan settled himself with a painful grunt and saluted towards the miasma tornado, which only slowed by a fraction. [Don’t mind me. To vent your anger against unjust action is understandable.]

  [But they are not the only ones to have benefited from me, are they?] The tone of the voice changed. It became even deeper, darker. The tornado’s spin picked up again. [They use me to make their sacred flower. Do you all not benefit from it? Are you no different? Are you?]

  The voice split pain in his head once more. But now, it was also accompanied with an external wave of pressure, starting at the Dharma level and slowly increasing. Diyuan put up his Emperor’s Rule barrier to resist it while massaging his temples from the headache he was starting to get.

  The tornado’s spin started to slow, but the surrounding pressure increased. Diyuan could see how the world around him started to bleed like the ink on an oil painting. He had not seen any Dharma level pressure do that before. But as soon as it came, it vanished, snapping the world back to its proper form and picture.

  [Forgive me, little human. I have been corrupted by my betrayer. It would be safer for you to leave before it consumes me fully… While your journey here is remarkable, I have no parting gift. You can say you have found the source of the miasma, for it is I. But it will give you no benefit.]

  Diyuan stood up. He felt his circulation had regained enough spirit energy that he could probably walk into the thick miasma out of this room just fine. The voice was indeed the source of the miasma, a divine artifact, as he suspected. He should leave before the voice had another mental breakdown. He had no defense against the direct mind shouts.

  As Diyuan turned to leave, the voice called out once more.

  [Stop. You are at the Foundation level, true and unaffected. So then, how did you withstand my power?]

  Diyuan wanted nothing more but to go, since there would be no benefits here. But that would likely enrage the voice. Better to answer its questions and leave while it was still sane.

  [It comes from another double arte I use. The protective barrier specifically happens when I use Emperor’s Rule.]

  Silence.

  Well, since he answered its question, Diyuan figured he would leave. He had no means of entering the miasma tornado as it was, but perhaps if his purifying arte ever got stronger in the future, maybe he could take the divine artifact then.

  [You will make a vow with me today, little human,] the deep voice said.

  Diyuan paused on his way out, furrowing his brows. [A vow is not something a cultivator enters easily. It is a binding word that—]

  A blast of pressure smashed into the ground. Diyuan stood, unaffected, but the area bled like an oil painting once more. The miasma tornado spun even faster.

  [No, you will take this vow, or you shall die.]

  Diyuan didn’t respond right away. He did not like the idea of being threatened to take a vow. Did this thing’s voice shout have a range limit? Could he flee? The area continued to bleed due to a power he had not seen before in the lower world. Perhaps Ancestor Tianhou could do that, since he stood at the pinnacle of power.

  [If there is something you need from me, please tell me,] Diyuan said, saluting.

  [Next time, just be obedient!] Diyuan winced in pain. The tornado’s spin started to slow and the world’s bleeding reverted again. [Ah, pardon me little human. But even so, I must agree with my actions just now. Vows are indeed binding to immortals, but I have been betrayed by your kind before. My ask is little: should you ever ascend to the upper world, you must take me with you. You must vow this.]

  The request surprised Diyuan. [I…that is an unusual ask. The heavens have been blocked for several millenniums. No one has ascended since the tribulation thunder destroyed the world.]

  [If the heavens can be severed, then it can be mended. When it comes to escaping unescapable prisons, is your arte not capable? I will have you vow it, little human.] The deep voice was adamant.

  Diyuan stood there for a moment. He contemplated on his choice. If he made a vow and couldn’t ascend, then the vow would mean nothing. He would be beholden to no one. But if he accidentally ascended, however impossible that may be, and left behind the divine artifact, his cultivation path would cut off at that moment.

  [Vow it!] The voice demanded.

  The sharp pain in head lasted for a moment before it faded. If he made the vow, he would have to take it seriously, despite how improbable ascension to the upper world would be.

  [I will make the vow, but I have a quick question if you will allow this humble cultivator to ask,” Diyuan said.

  [Speak.]

  [Should I ever be ready to ascend, there is still the matter of your miasma prison. I do not have a means to block it. My purifying arte is strong, but just a fingertip was enough to almost kill me.]

  The voice grumbled a laugh. [Miasma prison? I am indeed imprisoned, though not in the way your little eyes see. You need not worry about the miasma. I have command over it. My corruption can control it freely, but it also sustains me; it is in that way I am imprisoned, for this miasma cannot leave this small world. Should I step out, it will be to ascend and claim my revenge before death. A glorious moment before my time’s end! Now, vow it. I will have patience no longer.]

  Diyuan nodded. He held up three fingers. [Since that is the case, I vow that when I should ascend to the upper world, I will take you with me.]

  The voice grumbled in his mind in approval. [Then it is done. I will keep you safe while you remain in this small world. Do not die, little human. For the first in this era, I have hope at last. My enemies will mark you as their enemy. For they will desire to know who aids me. Ah, I did not tell you who they were yet, have I?]

  Diyuan shook his head.

  [You and I share the same fate when we ascend. My enemy, my betrayer, is the Ancient Poison Tang Family. They walk as if they are righteousness themselves, but they are fiends! To strike at me and corrupt me with this miasma, yet they are loved by all. Their wickedness hidden. Ironic, then, that the one hated by all, the Heavenly Demon, warned me of their treachery. I saw myself above rumors and reputation, and yet I fell to its trap. Had I been proper to my being, I would still be walking free.]

  [Walking?] Diyuan spoke before thinking. The voice was a divine artifact, but perhaps they could walk if they had an ability to transform or something. Lady Pagoda was a transformation of sorts, so maybe this miasma source could do the same.

  The voice seemed to understand. [What do you think I am, little human?]

  [A divine artifact?]

  [Ha! Haha!] The voice laughed. The echo was deep in Diyuan’s mind, but not painful.

  But then it changed. The voice stopped laughing through sound transmission. It became physically audible.

  A muffled rumbling was heard. It grew louder. The floor and walls began to resonate with the rumbling laugh, as if it must or it would collapse instantly. The ground shook like an earthquake, causing Diyuan to crouch slightly to not lose balance.

  Then silence.

  Thump. The ground creaked and the miasma on the floor shifted, like it was disturbed.

  Thump. Thump.

  Diyuan knew what the noise was. Footsteps. His eyes went wide when he saw the figure that approached.

  A shadow appeared within the miasma tornado. Its height was far taller than himself. Perhaps closer to ten time’s taller than his own length. But what caught his attention were the two bright green glowing eyes that pierced through the miasma’s thickness. The same color as the glowing bones of the Netherwind Crane and the smaller variants. This creature was shaped like a deer, but had the slitted eyes of a serpent. Its head was similar to a dragon that one might see in a drawing.

  Through the shadow, Diyuan could see that on its head were large antlers…and perhaps whiskers? Its neck connected to a thick body, held up by presumably four legs, but the shadow hid the real details. Diyuan had never seen such a creature before. And for good reason. It did not belong in the lower world.

  “I am the Holy Qilin Beast. Once worshipped and revered. Now corrupted and stained.” The Holy Qilin Beast spoke with its mouth. The words echoed throughout the cavern room, despite being partially muffled by the miasma tornado. “No, I am the first Unholy Beast. My siblings would weep at my sight.”

  It turned and walked away from the tornado’s edge, going deeper into and out of shadow’s sight. [Leave me.]

  Diyuan stood, frozen and unbelieving. He had just witnessed something that would be considered mythical in any other context. A real creature from the upper world.

  There was a lot he had to digest. The Tang Family being the enemy of the Holy Qilin Beast was likely not something he would ever need to care about. The idea of ascending sounded great, but Diyuan would need to focus on his next steps. Ascension was a distant problem for those who were at the peak Dharma realm. Realistically, that would be hundreds of years from now.

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  He had made two vows within this Carcass Grotto’s week. That wasn’t something he would like to do again, lest he become flippant with things that could end his cultivation path.

  Diyuan turned and left.

  ***

  Several hours passed as Diyuan made his way to the exit the Carcass Grotto, which was located south of the Blood Sap Pool. His puppet went out and scouted for safe passage. It had discovered what the other cultivators had been calling the Malice Monarch Trees. They were trees that moved with their roots in the same way a centipede might. These demonic beasts had a face, or something that resembled a face. There were three “void gaps” where eyes and a mouth should be. Di Guilin ended up seeing how the Malice Monarch Trees used these blackened gaps when one root picked up a plant and threw it into its mouth. It entered the dark mouth and vanished within. There was no crunching or chewing or anything. Di Guilin reported back and Diyuan kept going on his way.

  He learned an interesting limitation with his energy circulation. Specifically with the Limitless Elixir. The circulation took a long time to restore. In fact, at the rate it was going at now, even his prior Foundation core could restore it faster. The Limitless Elixir had given the benefit of keeping his energy at top shape, but now that it had been used to a heavy degree, the energy resisted the warmth of the Foundation core’s recharging abilities.

  His energy was like an insulator, keeping it warm if it was already warm, and resisting warmth when it wasn’t. It meant his current capabilities were limited and would take time to return to peak form. Diyuan did not know how long that would take as this was his first time experiencing such a thing.

  One of Diyuan’s artes started to act strange. Bonegrit Dreadflesh, which was his main internal arte, tugged him to a certain direction. How odd, it had never done that before. He knew that certain sensory type artes could identify things if they were nearby. But a defensive internal arte acting up? Was there something that got its attention? Was that something that could happen? Diyuan didn’t know. He had previously gone this route on the way up here so it was strange it was tugging at him now but not before.

  Out of curiosity, Diyuan went towards it. To his surprise, it felt like this thing was also coming towards him, like a magnet. Diyuan sent out Di Guilin to get an early view on what it might be. His ghostly puppet flew up into the miasma, its eyes able to cut through and see beyond the landscape. Not even a minute passed before it hurried back to him. No, it slammed into him, nudging him away from the incoming object.

  Diyuan merged the memories and saw what it had seen. Flying above the ground was someone with runic wings

  Gu Guan. And he looked far too happy. A murderous kind of happy.

  Diyuan prepped to sprint, but which way? What were his options? He was hours away from the Holy Qilin Beast’s cave, so that was a no go. The Resonate Shards area was closer, but could Diyuan use it to his advantage? The sounds that vibrated there would harm him as well. But maybe not Di Guilin?

  Another option, a bit behind him, and closer still, were the Malice Monarch Trees. Diyuan sprinted there.

  [Di Guilin, fly up and keep feeding me your visual!] Diyuan commanded.

  The puppet flew up and continuously merged its memories into him. It was like having a second sight, but not as clear cut as simply seeing it with his own eyes would do. Based on Gu Guan’s speed, he would catch him before Diyuan reached anywhere near the Malice Monarch Trees. He would need to improvise.

  Diyuan had a few spirit artifacts in his arsenal, ones that weren’t half broken, courtesy of the dead Gu and Honglie clan members. He took out the Inverse Perception Mirror, something that was used on him previously. It still had a blood binding to it, much like all the spirit artifacts. That meant it couldn’t be put it back into a storage ring and it couldn’t be used by him in combat. But he wasn’t looking to use it for combat.

  [Di Guilin, carry this and lure the trees over here. I’ll buy us time. And don’t eat it!]

  The ghostly bone serpent took the mirror into its mouth and gave Diyuan a look that seemed to almost be offended. It was a puppet and was simply borrowing his own attitude, he knew, but it sure was endearing.

  It didn’t take long for Di Guilin to be out of sight. Diyuan continued to run towards the last known location of the Malice Monarch Trees to shorten the distance as much as he could. Based on the tug by the Bonegrit Dreadflesh arte, it was time for the meeting.

  A wave of pressure came onto Diyuan. He put up his barrier to resist it. Gu Guan had arrived. Time to see if he was as talkative as Diyuan needed him to be.

  The older man floated before him, just a few feet above the ground. His multilayered robes swished until they came to a stop. The miasma swirled above him, draining him of his cultivation level by a little bit, not enough to matter for Diyuan. Gu Guan was at the level 2 Dharma realm at the moment; it seemed like he had entered recently since he only dropped two level so far.

  “You’ve been a tricky one to find,” Gu Guan said.

  Diyuan saluted with a fist-in-palm. “A friendly face! And here I was wondering how I would get out. I got lost, you see.”

  Gu Guan looked at the pressure he was applying and saw how it did nothing. He made it stop. Diyuan carved his tunnel to warp in case he needed it. Gu Guan’s lips curved upward. A nasty smile, that. “Lost, you say? You certainly knew to start sprinting when Bonegrit Dreadflesh started reacting to me.”

  Diyuan tried to hide his surprise. How did he know that? Did he have some sort of compass that reacted to the arte?

  “I can see that you’re confused. Did you forget where you got that arte from?”

  Diyuan didn’t forget. It was an arte he got from Gu Mugong’s storage ring, which he had won in the gambit against Gu Guoxiong.

  “That wasn’t a Gu family heirloom, was it?” Diyuan asked.

  “No. Do you know why I put the Nether Mark on you?” Gu Guan dropped to the ground, making his runic wings vanish.

  “Wasn’t it because I won the gambit against Gu Guoxiong?” Diyuan made sure to look as interested as possible in this conversation. Older people liked to talk if they thought someone was listening. This would work in his favor.

  Gu Guan scoffed. “I am willing to take the shame from everyone that thinks so, not knowing the real reason. In some aspect, that is indeed why I put it on you. But it was not for showing off against us. It was not even for your illegal kill, or anything to do with the treaty for that matter. It was because Gu Mugong still had one use left in the Bonegrit Dreadflesh jade tablet. That is why I put the Nether Mark on you. To claim the arte back.”

  Diyuan furrowed his brow. “Really? You put up five million spirit stones for that? You could have just paid me and I’d have given it.”

  Gu Guan chuckled. “No, wouldn’t you have seen it as something worthwhile, then? And even if I played the sentimental role, pretending it was an heirloom, would you have cared? You were willing to gambit against a respectable Dharma immortal. Even if your Elder Xunran urged you on, the proper etiquette would be to give up the ring if asked. So no, I would not trust to point your attention to the arte.”

  Well, that was interesting, but also odd. The arte was useful and helped his defense greatly, and was able to provide offensive capabilities by reallocating strength from one arm to another, but that wasn’t worth five million spirit stones.

  “Since, you know, we’re meeting like this, can you tell me what’s so special about this arte?” Diyuan asked.

  Gu Guan, fortunately, obliged. He held out a hand. Diyuan watched as the hand started to gain a sheen-like quality. The hand was reflective of light. But then it slowly darkened. Soon, the entire hand and parts of his arm were completely black. Or more specifically…

  Diyuan took out his sword and compared both materials, looking from the sword to Gu Guan’s hand.

  “Black cold steel!?” Diyuan said in shock.

  “You are familiar with the metal, then?” Gu Guan eyed the sword, a flicker of greed appearing in his eyes, which fed into the now growing smile. “Yes, the Bonegrit Dreadflesh arte can make the body harden into black cold steel. It is an interesting arte. I will tell you their story. It is only appropriate, as you have become one of the three. Long ago, there were three brothers that had a basic defensive arte. It was something shared among everyone, not restricted to class or talent…”

  Gu Guan entered storytelling mode. As Diyuan listened, he realized that Gu Guan wanted him to see why the Nether Mark was appropriate; Gu Guan wanted Diyuan to agree with his actions. He wanted validation; he wanted someone to understand why he shouldn’t be shamed.

  The story went on, but even when Diyuan tried to find hidden meaning in it, it was simply a folklore style of a story.

  “Now back to the arte…I have poor spiritual control and still Bonegrit Dreadflesh can become like black cold steel for me,” Gu Guan said, looking at his blackened metallic hand. “Do you understand? This is a Foundation arte that can be useful even in the Dharma realm. I dare not reveal it until I have reached level 5 Dharma myself.”

  “Huh? Why wait until level 5 Dharma?” Diyuan asked, genuinely curious.

  Gu Guan looked like he didn’t understand why Diyuan asked the question. “Because of its spirit energy consumption is greater than cycle renewal. At level 5 Dharma, I would not need to worry about that anymore.”

  Ah, that wasn’t something Diyuan needed to worry about at all. In fact, he was able to even use two of them at once without a problem. Courtesy of the Limitless Elixir.

  “Enough of that,” Gu Guan said, his hand returning to normal flesh colors. “Though I will be shamed for my actions, you at least will know why. Considering your victory over all the other immortals, you should have a better understanding on the greatness of it.”

  “Yes, I understand,” Diyuan said as he saluted. “Time will vindicate you of all actions. When you attack to kill me, it is my recommendation that you do not use any golden Dharma energy, as others will see that as shameful behavior. Spiritweave abilities should suffice, I think.”

  “Ha, is that how you convinced the others to weaken themselves when they cornered you?” Gu Guan asked. “No matter. I can agree to that.”

  Diyuan had bought enough time, because Di Guilin was back.

  Gu Guan’s head sharply turned and watched the ghostly bone serpent fly over to Diyuan, the Inverse Perception Mirror still in its mouth. Diyuan took the spirit artifact and merged Di Guilin’s memories into his own before making the puppet disappear into his storage ring.

  “What was that?” Gu Guan asked.

  “No, what you should be asking is what is this!” Diyuan held up the Inverse Perception Mirror like it was his secret weapon.

  “Yes…I’m familiar with that spirit artifact. But you cannot use it.”

  “Why do you think I was able to win so many of my fights in here? I have a secret involving spirit artifacts,” Diyuan said confidently. It was all nonsense, of course, but with the new memories in his mind, he just needed to angle himself just so.

  While Gu Guan may have been able to use Diyuan as his own personal compass in the Carcass Grotto, that didn’t mean he could see deeply into the miasma. Normal ambushes would work just fine.

  A tree root stretched out and was soon to grab Gu Guan’s feet. The man was still focused on Diyuan’s outstretched spirit artifact, expecting something to happen. His eyes went wide when he finally sensed something was wrong. He looked down on his feet and saw the tree vine. Diyuan warped and landed his foot on Gu Guan’s face. With Gu Guan’s cultivation being in the Dharma realm, the attack did nothing but be an annoyance. Gu Guan swiped at Diyuan’s leg, brushing it off.

  But a Dharma cultivator casual annoyed swipe did more than just brush it off. Diyuan felt the crack in his leg as he fell down. Another tree vine was reaching for him, but he teleported out of there. Due to Diyuan’s interference, Gu Guan had been distracted and succumbed to the vine, where he got pulled backwards.

  At the same time, the miasma started to act unnaturally. It all swirled far above the Malice Monarch Trees, sucking in all the miasma in the area, becoming a dense ball. Diyuan didn’t bother to watch whatever was happening there, he got to his feet and hobbled away.

  The crack in his leg wasn’t a broken bone, fortunately. But that didn’t stop the pain from shooting up his spine. Every step on that leg was like a hammer striking at the bone. The throbbing ache caused his heart to beat faster. But he didn’t slow. He had no wings to flee, so hobbling was the way to do it. He hid the spirit artifact mirror into his robes, hoping that demonic beasts wouldn’t lock on him.

  He looked over his shoulder to witness the scene. Gu Guan’s four limbs were fully transformed into black, but two of his limbs were trapped by the vines. Diyuan saw five Malice Monarch Trees in the area. One of them moved closer and took Gu Guan’s hand into its black maw. The Dharma cultivator snapped back with force and shouted with pain, but the aftermath was already apparent. Gu Guan’s hand, which was only inside the maw for a brief second, had been severed clean across. There were no bite marks or anything. It was like the black abyss of a mouth consumed whatever entered it instantly. Even a black cold steel metal had no power over it.

  The blood that had come from the missing hand stopped as soon as it started. Gu Guan’s runic wings came out and he began to glow golden. He pointed with his remaining hand at the trees and shouted something.

  Diyuan’s calf muscle cramped. A feeling mixed with a burning and stabbing sensation kept pressing into his cracked leg. His healing had been working it, but was slower than normal.

  The miasma ball kept growing bigger, thinning out the area’s miasma to a considerable degree. It wasn’t absorbing any cultivation level. It was just growing by pulling in the Carcass Grotto’s miasma.

  Limitless Benediction Balm worked, but it was incredibly weak compared to what it had done for him in the past. The drained spirit energy cycle still hadn’t recovered enough since touching the miasma tornado. He popped a healing pill into his mouth, but the healing would be slow if he didn’t sit and absorb it properly. Still, it was better than nothing.

  Diyuan looked back again to see the situation. Gu Guan had freed himself, without being that much worse off—minus the missing hand.

  Three golden doors appeared and slammed into the ground, surrounded Gu Guan. They had strange characters at the top. One tree vine touched a door, but a different one opened in response. That Malice Monarch Tree got sucked in instantly. It tried to resist by gripping the ground, but it only tore it up as it flew into the door. It did not come out of the other side. The golden door closed and vanished, taking away the Malice Monarch Tree with it.

  The demonic beasts turned to flee, but not before Gu Guan took two more trees into the doors as revenge. He let the last two demonic beasts go and turned his attention to Diyuan. He wouldn’t need to use the Bonegrit Dreadflesh compass to find the younger cultivator; the miasma was thin enough that normal eyesight could see through it. The growing dense ball had moved and was directly above Diyuan. It continued to suck in the pocket world’s miasma.

  In a flash, Gu Guan was hovering ahead of Diyuan. Rage consumed his face. He went to backhand Diyuan’s face, who quickly brought out his black cold steel sword to defend. Gu Guan’s black hand clunked with a metal sound when the impact struck the sword. Diyuan was knocked off to the side. He spun to land properly, but his cracked leg’s strength failed him, causing him to stumble and slide to the ground.

  “You can see why black cold steel is great. Just your sword was enough to keep you from having a broken arm.” Gu Guan slowly walked towards Diyuan, savoring the moment of triumph.

  Diyuan stood himself up, balancing on his sword. What options did he have? The miasma ball kept sucking in miasma and growing denser, effectively making the air clean.

  “How about we call it quits here?” Diyuan asked. “Your hand can regrow; it’s just a little expensive, but you have that much, yeah?”

  Gu Guan chuckled. Diyuan caught the moment Gu Guan’s body shifted to silent readiness. It was the kind of movement that seemed stealthy, but it was as obvious as a child acting completely out of character to try to play a bluff. Odd thing to think about, considering Gu Guan was multiple centuries older than Diyuan. That was simply the difference of martial skills, though.

  Gu Guan acted and swiftly threw something. Diyuan reacted and felt his sword block something, though nothing was there. A moment later, a thump hit the ground just before him. Diyuan looked down and saw a strangely shaped two-bladed dagger. It was a stealthy spirit artifact.

  “I’m starting to understand why so many had died to you,” Gu Guan said. “How you managed to react to an invisible weapon is something that baffles even me.”

  It doesn’t baffle me, Diyuan thought. Gu Guan’s body language had told him everything. It was like he had zero training when it came to secret weapons.

  “Aren’t you bullying me a bit too much?” Diyuan asked.

  Diyuan then saw his way out.

  He took out the spirit artifact mirror from his robe and held it up. “How about we trade? I’ll give you some nice artifacts if you let me go.” Diyuan tossed the artifact to him.

  Gu Guan instinctively side stepped it, causing it to hit the ground. He looked to the left and right, as if he expected to see another Malice Monarch Tree.

  Then with Diyuan’s deepest possible voice, he sent a sound transmission. [It’s a trap! Above you, Gu Guan!]

  Confused, Gu Guan looked up. Diyuan snatched up the two-bladed dagger on the ground and warped behind, using Gu Guan’s back and kicked off with his good leg, dropping the spirit artifact next to the mirror. Gu Guan quickly turned and shot out a mass of blue unstructured power—keeping to his word that he wouldn’t use Dharma energy, at least. Expecting an attack, and still in the air, Diyuan had his sword out and used the Spiritweave energy to push him even further before teleporting away from the impact blast. The blast hit the ground, creating an explosion of dirt and dust. Diyuan stood, leg barely keeping him up.

  Gu Guan was no doubt confused by the entire sequence of events. Diyuan’s actions would make no sense; he was no closer to escaping and apparently had no new tactical advantage. The confusion would last until Gu Guan put together the final piece of the puzzle. Which he now saw.

  Flying towards them, fully visible due to the miasma all being sucked into the dense ball that oddly followed above Diyuan, was the Netherwind Crane. Its eyes, which was just empty sockets, had locked on the spirit artifacts on the ground. The upper part of the crane’s body, including its head, had flesh. Everything else was a green-glowing bone. No internal organs.

  This would be a gambit on its own. Would it treat Diyuan as bones without meat? It was time to find out.

  Gu Guan created runic wings and flew up, but not before shooting another blast of unstructured blue energy. Predictable. Diyuan dodged upwards, double jumping above the blast. What would the Gu cultivator do next? He stood no chance against the Netherwind Crane. Not while he was level 2 Dharma. Would he still try to claim Diyuan’s life even now?

  A flash of anger passed through his face before he began to fly away. “You can’t stay in the grotto forever! You will eventually have to go to the exit.”

  But as he flew away, he recognized that the Netherwind Crane didn’t go after him. Instead, it was aiming for Diyuan. Diyuan had already left the two spirit artifacts on the ground, so why was the bone bird coming towards him? Gu Guan stopped in the air and crossed his arms, smiling. He was ready to see the show.

  Diyuan’s leg was nearly giving out and he had no place to hide. The towering Netherwind Crane swooped in and landed just feet away from Diyuan. Dust kicked up. The eyeless bird tilted its neck first toward the miasma ball.

  The dense ball moved away from Diyuan and into the bone creature. It hovered over and sat comfortably at the center of the Netherwind Crane’s hollow ribcage. It then turned towards him.

  And spoke.

  [You had said he was a friendly face. I would have come sooner had I known otherwise.]

  Diyuan’s eyes went wide. The voice was deep and had a resonance to it. [Holy Qilin Beast!?]

  [Did I not say I would keep you safe? Why are your ‘friendly faces’ attacking you? Have you been betrayed?]

  Diyuan didn’t know whether to laugh or leap with joy. [You heard that conversation? That’s just how I talk. It’s sarcasm. He’s my enemy that I want dead. You can control the Netherwind Crane? You can talk through it?]

  The Netherwind Crane tilted its head to the spirit artifacts on the ground, then up at Gu Guan, who was looking more confused as time passed on. [Of course. It seems fate has decreed that I give you a parting gift after all, little human. I have seen that you have your own Avatar Incarnation. My gift to you is an opportunity. What you gain from it will be dependent on you. Take hold of mine. Corrupt though it may be, it will teach you how to properly handle yours.]

  The Netherwind Crane looked back at Diyuan and a thought of “submission” entered his mind. It didn’t do anything exactly, but Diyuan sensed that he could give commands to the green glowing bone creature just like how he could to Di Guilin. Though, it sounded like puppet wasn’t the proper term for it. Avatar Incarnation, was it?

  Diyuan turned to Gu Guan, who’s eyebrow was raised. Diyuan limped towards the two spirit artifacts and stashed them into his robes.

  Diyuan shouted for the man to hear. “Gu Guan, thank you for your spirit artifact. You wouldn’t happen to have more, would you?” Gu Guan didn’t respond. “Do you want to have a race to see who can reach the exit first? Loser gets the reward of death.”

  Diyuan warped onto the flesh parts of the Netherwind Crane’s back.

  [Fly.]

  The Netherwind Crane’s bone wings opened up and it flapped, raising them up to the sky.

  Gu Guan’s eyes looked like they were about to pop out. “How!?” But he registered how pointless it was to ask. He knew one thing: Diyuan now had the advantage. Gu Guan turned to flee, to escape the Carcass Grotto.

  [Kill,] Diyuan commanded.

  The chase began.

  Visibility was basically clear, giving a wide view of the entire Carcass Grotto. Diyuan saw the layout, all the broken buildings and structures. It gave him the feeling that the Carcass Grotto was a research zone, which now had the appearance of something that had become overrun by some failed experiment. He could see the terrain of the other areas. He could see the different demonic beasts acting strange, curious about the missing miasma. Some looked up at the disturbance in the sky. They saw those in the air. They were unwilling to chase or fight the Netherwind Crane, king of the Carcass Grotto.

  Diyuan’s and Gu Guan’s flight path was angled to fly above the central castle soon. The Netherwind Crane flew after their enemy. It was faster than Gu Guan and managed to overtake him. It clawed with its feet, but Gu Guan threw out a punch with his black limbs, cracking the glowing bones. His handless arm was still able to generate a golden energy, blasting at the Netherwind Crane, cracking another section and causing the flight to wobble.

  Gu Guan took a moment and prepared one of his Dharma artes. Two golden doors formed next to his runic wings and flew with him. The doors opened, revealing a white light inside. But nothing came out. Instead, the doors melted onto Gu Guan’s wings, giving it a golden coating and tripling its length. He now had an eerie, angelic long wings attached to his back.

  Gu Guan flew up high and spun, releasing a blanket of golden energy that stretched out and curved up, shining a bright light down to the ground. It was like a partial sun had descended.

  The sun above started to form objects out of it. Tips of giant swords came out. Diyuan had to keep the anti-pressure barrier up at all times. He saw the edges of the false sun start to crumble already. This was a Dharma arte that only had time for one move before it would vanish completely; Gu Guan had settled for an area encompassing attack.

  What happened to no Dharma energy? Diyuan thought.

  The miasma core of the Netherwind Crane restored the cracks of the glowing bones back to its proper form. The tips of the giant swords above began to fall like rain. The Netherwind Crane swerved to dodge them. When they hit the ground, the sword vibrated and cut in eight directions, leaving an odd shaped crater. The speed of the Netherwind Crane increased, the miasma core working to give it additional power. Gu Guan had turned and fled, aiming to go to the exit.

  This attack wasn’t meant to kill them, but to delay.

  The rain of swords wasn’t hard to dodge, but they did have to dodge wide, slowing their advance a good bit. If Diyuan remembered correctly, the Netherwind Crane had special abilities it hadn’t used yet. What was Diyuan doing wrong? Why wasn’t the Netherwind Crane using any of its skills that it was doing when it fought against Xie Yanshuang?

  [Screech like you did when you fought the behemoth,] Diyuan ordered.

  It did so. It opened its beak and a screeching noise pulsed out, creating a cone before them that disrupted the giant swords, causing them to explode. Diyuan gripped on the flesh of the Netherwind Crane as they flew through. The miasma of the core created a protective bubble around the Netherwind Crane. The chase continued.

  But that brief exchange gave Diyuan the information he needed. That screech did not affect him like it had the rain of swords. It acted in a very similar manner to objects Diyuan was familiar with.

  Spirit artifacts.

  Diyuan searched within the Netherwind Crane. Unlike with Di Guilin, who freely merged memories with him, the Netherwind Crane’s information gathering was not automatic. The inherent resistance to his probing it might have given wasn’t there, due to the submission order that the Holy Qilin Beast gave, but Diyuan still needed to dig inside for the bits he wanted. There was a memory bit, which was just what the Avatar Incarnation saw; no intelligent thought. Then there were sections of spirit artifacts it had properly absorbed. In that section was a list of skills it could use.

  Diyuan saw and knew how to do proper battle.

  The golden canopy above ended, stopping the Dharma attack. They flew over the central castle. The Lianhua clan people were outside in the courtyard, looking up at the clear air, which lacked the miasma that they had grown to know. They saw the source of the disturbance. They pointed at Gu Guan fleeing the Netherwind Crane. But then their eyes grew wide when they saw Diyuan riding the back of that same crane. They witnessed the battle unfold. Elder Meilan and Huang Nong looked like they were preparing to leave with the rest of their Lianhua team, but had stopped to watch the chaotic sight, mouth agape.

  The Netherwind Crane unleashed the purple wing attack. But Gu Guan’s black cold steel limbs blocked it without effort. Gu Guan would generate swords from his golden coated runic wings and threw them out at Diyuan. Diyuan would dodge with better control now, so not a one would hit him. Diyuan realized Gu Guan’s wings acted like a door, or portal, that created objects to hurl at them. But it didn’t have to always be items, as beams of light shot out with a frightening sound and force. Diyuan guided the Netherwind Crane as they spun and turned sharply to dodge the onslaught of beams.

  Next, Gu Guan’s golden wings sent out something that looked like golden spirit stones. Small and seemingly unthreatening. Dozens filled the air. Then the first detonated. An explosive power erupted and filled the sky with a powerful blast. The others began to explode as well. Diyuan swerved and dodged high and low, left and right. A ringing noise started to hum in his ear due to the loud sounds. A slice of power pierced through the sky, almost decapitating Diyuan’s head. The exploding minefield continued. Gu Guan was only at level 2 Dharma at the moment, but he was very versatile with that door arte of his.

  They crossed above the Blood Sap Pool. Diyuan used an ability from the Netherwind Crane he had been saving until now. The ability to create a vortex to push or pull, which could press weight equivalent to a mountain. Or so he sensed, but doubted the actual metric of it. The glowing bones became even brighter as its flight stopped and used its strongest attack. It spun in place, creating a cyclone that struck the fleeing Gu Guan.

  The force pushed Gu Guan straight down into the Blood Sap Pool. The vines there instantly took hold of him, piercing the skin that wasn’t transformed into black cold steel.

  [Shame, I would have liked to get his storage ring. To complete my collection.]

  The Netherwind Crane’s head tilted towards Diyuan. The Holy Qilin Beast spoke through it. [Take what is yours, little human. The Blood Sap Pool will not dare act if I am with you.]

  Diyuan moved the Netherwind Crane lower. The Blood Sap Pool vines parted, revealing their victims below. He saw Gu Guan, frozen stiff, but his eyes still moving. The crane picked him up with its bone leg, which gave Gu Guan the impression that he would be saved. Unfortunately for him, Diyuan simply took the ring from his remaining good hand and let him fall back into the pool.

  Something else caught his eye. While there were other victims in the pool, he saw another person who looked to have been there for a while. The skin on his face had sunken to the point where it almost looked like a skull. Considering the eye movement, he was still alive. That wasn’t someone Diyuan knew.

  He hovered above for a moment as Diyuan contemplated something. Gu Guan was likely going to remain stuck in the pool for the remainder of his lifespan, much like that skin-skull man. Diyuan didn’t care about that so much…however, Gu Guan did only use Spiritweave energy when Diyuan had asked—ignoring the part where he used Dharma attacks when the Netherwind Crane came into that picture. He could forgive that. But Diyuan decided to reward Gu Guan for his willingness to use Spiritweave energy when he could have obliterated him with ease.

  Out of the kindness of his heart, Diyuan ordered the Netherwind Crane to kill Gu Guan, rather than leave him alive in the pool.

  He then made the Netherwind Crane grab the other man. It was an on-the-spot decision; he figured whatever clan this person was from was going to give him political points, which he intended to use right when he got out of the pocket world. The vines let go as he pulled the man out of the pool.

  When that was done, they flew south a bit until they saw the shimmering portal rift. Diyuan landed, letting the rescued man lay on the ground, stiff as stone.

  [Kill…me…] The man said, too weak to move.

  Diyuan tried to sit him up, but it was impossible to do since the petrification sap inside kept him stiff. The Netherwind Crane stood guard, but the miasma core within the bone creature stretched out a portion of itself and wrapped around the rescued man. The sap stiffness quickly vanished and the miasma returned back to the core. Diyuan was able to sit him up then, and began his limitless Benediction Balm arte to heal him.

  [You could die, but since you’ve survived this long, why not keep living?] Diyuan said as he began to work.

  The healing lasted for a bit, but it was slow due to Diyuan’s low spirit energy circulation. Still, it was better than nothing. The Netherwind Crane’s neck turned to the side. Diyuan followed its sight and saw the Lianhua group cautiously peek around a bend.

  [It’s safe,] Diyuan said to them.

  Elder Meilan walked forward, a bit of terror in her eyes as she looked up at the glowing green bone creature. [It…it won’t attack us, right?]

  [No.]

  She summoned her courage and stepped forward, while her clan members stayed behind to see what would happen. As she got closer, her eyes finally shifted from the Netherwind Crane to the person Diyuan was healing. At first, her face had curiosity written on it. Then, confusion. Finally, recognition.

  “Headmaster!?” Elder Meilan shouted.

  The tight-skinned man used what strength he had to look up. [Wu Meilan?]

  Her eyes teared up. She looked at Diyuan disbelieving, then to her team, then back to the rescued man.

  “How? Where? When?” She crouched down to look at him. Her eyes filled with pain.

  The man seemed to want to open his mouth, but had no strength to speak. At that moment, Diyuan’s limitless Benediction Balm broke, entering a three-day exhaustion period. Odd, it was nowhere near the limit of what it could do from his prior training, but he would simply lump that limitation to his low spirit energy circulation.

  Diyuan stood up, his leg reminding him it still needed its own healing, and motioned for the Lianhua brute guard Huang Nong to help carry the rescued man. The rest of the Lianhua team cautiously stepped forward, still wary of the Netherwind Crane. They each saluted to Diyuan and stepped into the portal rift to leave. Huang Nong and Elder Meilan each took an arm for the rescued man and entered the portal themselves.

  Diyuan was left alone with the bone creature.

  He popped a healing pill and meditated it for full circulation. The Netherwind Crane stood guard all the while. Once it helped with his injuries, he stood.

  Diyuan turned to the Netherwind Crane. [Thank you for letting me learn more about the Avatar Incarnation. Your Avatar Incarnation has taught me about what I can do with mine.]

  A void grumbled through sound transmission. [What you were able to learn is based on your own understanding; a truth for all immortal techniques. I await your return, little human. If you are to bring back the heavens, you must first be free yourself.]

  The Netherwind Crane stretched out its bone wings flapped, bringing the Avatar Incarnation into the air. The miasma core began to break apart, spreading across the pocket world once more.

  Diyuan saluted and watched it leave. When done, he turned to the portal rift and left the Carcass Grotto.