Chương 301: Sworn Brothers

Night had fallen over the landscape, but darkness was a relative concept in this particular corner of Black Mist Valley. The air itself seemed to glow with an eerie luminescence, casting strange shadows that moved independently of any light source. Here, in what locals called the Shattered Mirror Basin, reality had worn particularly thin. Wu Kangming paused to survey the bizarre terrain, a deep frown etching itself across his face. Three weeks.

He had been here for three weeks, trying to access the inheritance site his master had told him about, but the spiritual key, a jade token marked with arcane script, had failed to activate the entrance. Three weeks of meditation, attempts, and growing frustration as he tried every method he could think of to make the key work.

"What am I missing?" he muttered, turning the jade token over in his hand for what must have been the thousandth time. Its surface remained cold and inert, showing none of the spiritual resonance his master had described.

"If only Master was awake…" A pang of emptiness washed over him at the thought of the absent sword spirit. A particularly large tear near the center of the basin caught his attention. Unlike the others, which shifted unpredictably, this one maintained a constant size and position. Through it, Wu Kangming could see a chamber filled with floating manuscripts and ancient weapons, clearly not a natural environment, but something deliberately constructed. Was this the inheritance realm he had been trying to access?

As he watched, the tear suddenly flared with brilliant white light. Wu Kangming instinctively stepped back, raising his arm to shield his eyes from the glare. When the light faded, a figure stumbled through the opening, collapsing to his knees on the shifting ground of the basin. Blood sprayed from the figure's mouth as he coughed violently, one hand clutching at his chest while the other barely supported his weight.

Despite his obviously weakened state, Wu Kangming found himself staring at his own face, his own body, it was himself, or rather, another version of himself that had just emerged from the spatial tear. Before he could process this impossibility, the tear flashed again, and a second figure emerged. The newcomer was young, perhaps twenty at most, dressed in simple gray robes that were now torn and bloodstained.

"Brother Wu!" the young man exclaimed, rushing over to support Wu Kangming's bloodied form.

"You need to rest. Your meridians are severely damaged from forcing that technique!" Wu Kangming's duplicate coughed again, more blood spattering the ground beneath him.

"No time," he rasped.

"We need... distance. Safety first... then recovery." The younger man's face twisted with guilt.

"This is my fault. Had you not intervened to save me, you wouldn't—""Luo Yichen," Wu Kangming's duplicate interrupted, his voice firm despite his weakened state.

"Do not apologize. It was my choice to intervene. I do not regret it, and neither should you." Wu Kangming watched this exchange with growing confusion. How could there be two of him? Had the valley's spatial distortions somehow created a duplicate? He took a step forward, intending to make his presence known, when something strange caught his eye. Looking down at his own body, Wu Kangming felt a shock of cold realization ripple through him.

His hands, his arms, his entire form, all of which had been solid a moment before, were now transparent.

"What in the..." he whispered, horrified. He wasn't real, at least not in the physical sense. Somehow, his consciousness had been externalized, projected as a soul fragment while his true body had been... elsewhere. A memory surfaced then of his master's voice during one of their many lessons about the valley's peculiarities.

"The valley doesn't just tear space," the ancient sword spirit had explained.

"It can tear the very fabric of perception itself, causing a cultivator to experience reality from multiple perspectives simultaneously. When this happens, stay calm and allow the fragments to naturally reunite."

"But Master," Wu Kangming had asked, "how will I know if this happens to me?" The sword spirit had chuckled.

"You'll know. One moment you'll be seeing the world as you always have, and the next, you might be watching yourself from outside your own body. It's disorienting and dangerous, whatever you do, don't panic and fight the reintegration." At the time, Wu Kangming had found the concept abstract and unlikely. Now, faced with the reality of his own transparent form, those lessons took on new significance.

The confusion of the past weeks, his seemingly failed attempts to enter the inheritance site with his master's key, now made perfect sense. He hadn't failed; the real him had entered the inheritance realm, leaving a soul fragment behind, trapped trying to enter a realm he was already inhabiting. The younger man, Luo Yichen, nodded reluctantly, helping the physical Wu Kangming to his feet.

"I really thought I had died when Lu Fang thrust his hand into my chest and threw me into that spatial tear," he said, supporting Wu Kangming's weight as they took a few experimental steps.

"But I couldn't have known that was the best thing to happen to me. Not only did I fully recover and receive an inheritance, but I found big brother Wu." The words "big brother" carried weight beyond the simple words. In the cultivation world, becoming sworn brothers was no small matter. It created a bond as binding as blood, sometimes more so, especially between two who had faced death together. The physical Wu Kangming's eyes softened slightly at the term of address.

"The heavens have their own plans, it seems." Luo Yichen nodded, his expression brightening as he continued: "Sometimes I still can't believe what happened. The Mirrorwater Sword Style inheritance... it's beyond anything I could have imagined." As the two continued to speak, the transparent Wu Kangming stepped closer to his physical counterpart, drawn by some inexorable force.

"Stay calm," he reminded himself, recalling his master's instruction.

"Don't fight the reintegration." As the distance between them closed, the landscape around him began to waver, colors bleeding into one another. The ground beneath his feet lost substance entirely, and he felt himself falling, not physically, but through layers of consciousness itself.

"Let go," he heard his master's voice echo in his memory.

"Trust the process." When the disorientation passed, Wu Kangming was whole again. His consciousness had fully reintegrated with his physical form, the soul fragment merging seamlessly back into his body. His memories settled into place with perfect clarity: finding Luo Yichen's broken body suddenly appear before him in the inheritance realm, nursing him back to health, discovering their compatible sword daos, the brotherhood they had formed through shared hardship. Enjoying the story?

Show your support by reading it on the official site. The young man's inner world had been reconstructed entirely. Where once there existed only the foundations of cultivation, a modest pool reflecting his nascent water affinity, now stretched a vast network of lakes. These interconnected bodies of water extended throughout his spiritual landscape, creating countless mirror-like surfaces that captured and multiplied every ray of light.

At the center of this circular river stood a sword platform of white jade, where Luo Yichen's spiritual weapon, once a common iron blade, had transformed into the Mirrorwater Blade, a translucent weapon that reflected everything with flawless clarity. When activated, the sword captured an opponent's attack within its reflective surface and released it back, often from unexpected angles. The more he cultivated stillness in his mind, the more perfect his reflections became.

"Big brother Wu?" Luo Yichen's voice pulled Wu Kangming back to the present moment.

"Are you alright? You seem distracted." Wu Kangming blinked, his perceptions realigning as the final fragments of his consciousness settled back into place.

"I'm fine," he assured his companion.

"Just... experiencing the aftereffects of the inheritance realm's exit." He paused, considering how to explain what had happened.

"It seems my consciousness was partially split when we entered. A fragment of my soul remained here, waiting, while the rest of me was inside with you."

"Split?" Luo Yichen's eyes widened.

"Is that... normal?"

"My master warned me about this," Wu Kangming explained.

"He said the valley doesn't just tear space, it can tear perception itself, causing a cultivator to experience reality from multiple perspectives simultaneously. The fragment of me that remained here has been trying to enter the inheritance realm for what felt like three weeks, not realizing I was already inside. Had I perished inside, it would have spent eternity trying." Luo Yichen shivered slightly at the cruel fate of the soul fragment.

"This valley is truly a place of wonders and terrors."

"Indeed. My master's lessons prepared me for many of its dangers, but experiencing them firsthand is... different." Wu Kangming glanced at the real jade token, now understanding why it had seemed inert to his soul fragment, the other had been merely a copy.

"Big brother, what's going on?" Luo Yichen asked, causing Wu Kangming to look around. Before them, a remarkable transformation was taking place. The Shattered Mirror Basin, with its impossible geography and spatial tears, was... normalizing. The tears were sealing themselves, shrinking until they disappeared entirely. The patches of contradictory environments were bleeding into one another, forming a more cohesive landscape.

Even the air felt different, heavier, more consistent, no longer charged with disruptive energy.

"The valley is returning to normal," Wu Kangming replied, watching as the last spatial tear sealed itself with a sound like distant thunder. Luo Yichen watched the transformation with fascination.

"It's beautiful, in a way. Like watching chaos reorder itself into harmony." Wu Kangming nodded, but his expression remained troubled.

"We need to leave before someone appears and realizes we are to blame for what is going on here," he said, scanning the newly stabilized terrain. A frown creased his brow as he added, "I have no intention of facing a Stellar Realm cultivator again, not with my master still..." He couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence. Three weeks had passed since the sword spirit had fallen silent after that devastating battle with the Masked One. Three weeks in the outside world, that is.

Within the inheritance realm, time flowed differently, stretching those weeks into months of training and recovery, yet his master never woke up.

"Will he ever return?" Wu Kangming wondered silently. Years, decades, centuries? How long would he have to wait? The possibility that his master might never awaken hung over him like a shadow, darkening even his most significant achievements. With effort, Wu Kangming pushed these thoughts aside, focusing on the immediate situation.

"Come," he said to Luo Yichen, gesturing toward a path that led away from the basin.

"We'll head south, away from Wuqi City. With the spatial anomalies receding, we can travel safely in any direction." Luo Yichen nodded, falling into step beside Wu Kangming as they began their ascent from the basin. For a while, they walked in comfortable silence, each processing the events of the past weeks in their own way. It was Luo Yichen who eventually broke the silence, his curiosity evidently getting the better of him.

"Big brother Wu," he began, "what exactly is the Black Mist Valley? I've heard many rumors, but after experiencing it firsthand, I can't help but think the stories barely scratch the surface." Wu Kangming considered the question carefully before answering.

"The valley is not a natural formation," he explained.

"It's an intersection of multiple abandoned inner worlds."

"Abandoned inner worlds?" Luo Yichen's eyes widened.

"How is that even possible? When a cultivator dies, their worlds collapse and is absorbed by the world."

"Typically, yes," Wu Kangming agreed.

"But powerful cultivators can sometimes anchor their inner worlds to external reality before their passing, creating legacy realms for their disciples. What makes the Black Mist Valley unique is that these anchored realms began to overlap and interact, creating the spatial distortions we've witnessed." Luo Yichen absorbed this information with a thoughtful expression.

"But what caused them to overlap in the first place? Was it natural, or...?"

"My master created it," Wu Kangming stated simply.

"All those years ago." Luo Yichen opened his mouth as if to ask another question, then closed it again, thinking better of it. During their time together in the inheritance realm, he had learned that while Wu Kangming was willing to share knowledge and even personal philosophy, anything directly related to his master remained strictly off-limits. The few times Luo Yichen had pressed the issue, Wu Kangming had simply stopped speaking entirely, sometimes for hours.

Wu Kangming continued without prompting, perhaps sensing Luo Yichen's curiosity.

"The inheritance realms hidden within the valley's distortions are nearly impossible to access without specific keys; spiritual resonances that my master embedded within certain objects." He glanced at Luo Yichen with genuine puzzlement.

"That's why I was so surprised when you appeared in the inheritance realm, half-dead and completely unauthorized. Most who fall through spatial tears are simply... destroyed."

"I don't know how I survived either," Luo Yichen admitted.

"Maybe it was fate?" Wu Kangming's lips twitched in what might have been a suppressed smile.

"Perhaps." He looked back at the valley, now appearing as an ordinary mountain depression with scattered vegetation.

"Well, now the Black Mist Valley is no longer anything special. Just another landmark on maps, with only legends to hint at what it once was." As they continued their journey, Wu Kangming reflected on his own gains from their time in the inheritance realm. He had broken through to the ninth stage of Qi Condensation, a significant advancement that brought him to the very threshold of the Elemental Realm.

More importantly, the months of intensive combat training and practical application had honed his battle instincts to a razor's edge. He was certain he could now fight an Early Elemental Realm cultivator on equal footing, possibly even emerge victorious under the right circumstances.

"The sect tournament will be simple enough," he thought.

"Defeating Ke Yin and the others should pose no challenge now." His thoughts turned to Wu Lihua, and his expression darkened slightly. Whatever had changed her from the kind, genuine girl he once knew into the calculating beauty she had become, he would find a way to reverse it.

"Big Brother Wu?" Luo Yichen's voice pulled him from his thoughts.

"Yes?"

"What will you do now?" Wu Kangming considered the question as they entered the shelter of the forest, the valley disappearing from view behind them.

"I'm returning to the Azure Peak Sect," he said finally.

"There's a tournament I must participate in." Luo Yichen nodded, then fell silent for several steps before speaking again.

"And what about... me?" The question came hesitantly, as if he feared the answer. Wu Kangming stopped, turning to face the younger cultivator directly.

"What do you want to do, Luo Yichen?"

"I don't have anywhere to go," Luo Yichen admitted.

"My family is gone, I have no sect, and before meeting you, I had no cultivation method worth mentioning." He straightened his shoulders, meeting Wu Kangming's gaze directly.

"We're sworn brothers now. Where you go, I go…if you'll have me."

"I thought you wanted revenge on Lu Fang," Wu Kangming said, studying the younger man's face carefully.

"He nearly killed you, after all."

"I do," Luo Yichen admitted, his hands unconsciously clenching at the memory.

"But even with my breakthrough to Qi Condensation Stage 9, I'm not confident in killing him yet. One day, I will find him and repay the debt tenfold, but that day doesn't have to be tomorrow." A hopeful look appeared in his eyes as he continued, "In the meantime, I'll grow stronger at big Brother Wu's side. Isn't that the better path?" Wu Kangming regarded the young man thoughtfully.

When they had first met, or rather, when Wu Kangming had found Luo Yichen's broken body pulled through a spatial tear into the inheritance realm, the sectless cultivator had been little more than a desperate youth with more courage than sense. Now, after months of shared hardship and training, Wu Kangming saw something different: a cultivator with genuine potential and a spirit worthy of respect.

More surprisingly, he found himself valuing the young man's companionship in ways he hadn't anticipated, which made the thought of returning to the Azure Peak Sect alone suddenly seem bleaker than before.

"Perhaps I've been alone for too long," he thought.

"Even the strongest sword needs a proper scabbard." Slowly, a rare smile spread across Wu Kangming's usually serious face.

"What do you think about joining a sect?" he asked.

"The Azure Peak Sect has its flaws, but it's where my path currently leads. Perhaps it could be where yours begins as well."