Chương 67: Chapter 66 – The Change Within

PoV change: Zi Shui had long admired the challenger. He had just broken into the 7th layer of the qi gathering realm back when the trials had first been discovered and gained popularity. The unfortunate timing meant he was beyond the recommended strength for the trials, but he had attempted them regardless. He was no formation master, so he didn't know the effort it took to make them, but he enjoyed beating the trials anyway. It saddened him that he couldn't engrave his name at the end without losing face.

It had buried a seed of anticipation for stronger challenges that might be discovered in the future. Many believed that the two trials currently known were all there were, but Zi Shui wanted to engrave his name on a challenge with his head held high. So he believed that there were more, and he searched. As others set out to discover more trials, he had joined them. Together they developed a small network with the infamous information broker Hu Yan funding and coordinating their efforts.

At least until he went into seclusion to break through to the foundation realm. When he learned through the network that his fellow seekers finally discovered more, Zi Shui rejoiced within his heart and set out to make his mark. When he arrived and found out the trial that had been discovered was numbered 5th, that made him all the more eager. Endurance had never been his strongest point, so he failed to leave his mark properly.

But he was reassured to know that there were other trials that might still allow him to shine. By then he also had to acknowledge to himself that merely leaving his name on the rock was little more than an excuse. Zi Shui had witnessed with his own eyes the difference that had come over the sect since the challenges had been discovered. He had been in the outer sect for nearly 4 years so he knew just how the attitudes of disciples had changed in just the past year.

Part of it he knew had to be attributed to the inheritance trial, but when the change persisted even after the trial had ended, he knew its source. Newly joined disciples of the sect learned about the challenges and cultivated diligently to one day be able to go up against them. They would hear tales from their seniors who had attempted them.

The stories about how the trials had prompted even the listless disciples who normally only collected their monthly stipend or did the occasional task to actually try once again. Those who feared for their lives or those who had broken after witnessing too much found a safe place to make progress. Those who wanted to practice a particular skill found the best training grounds. The tales inspired the youngest generations to greater heights.

After more trials were discovered, Zi Shui saw an even more marked change as disciples began to hold themselves to a higher standard. Whether it came to honing their skills or treating fellow challengers with respect, the Heavenly Sword Sect's outer sect was slowly transforming. Those who earned the top spots on the trials were highly respected, and their opinions were sought after, so when they passed down their experiences, their attitudes were also passed on.

And so, the respect Zi Shui held for 'The Challenger' continued to grow the more he saw the positive effects. Now he stood to gain great prestige just for reporting his find. Maybe even impress that pretty junior sister of his! But being the first to discover this 7th trial was only part of what thrilled him. More than anything, he wanted to know what the words on the marker meant about the wisdom to know when to retreat. The words of warning had highlighted the risk, but Zi Shui wasn't going to back away now.

When he drew his sword and stepped in, he almost expected a dozen attacks to burst out at him. Instead, nothing happened. He proceeded cautiously, yet all was still save for the susurrus of the shifting treetops in the light rain. He walked deeper into the forest, eerily unchallenged until he arrived at a small clearing. There was another marker here that said,"When you encounter an unbeatable foe, there is no shame in retreating to fight another day. Lay your hand on this rock to begin."

He felt a little silly for all his caution when the challenge hadn't even begun, but he breathed deeply and cleared his mind before doing as directed. A small amount of qi was drained, and before his eyes an enormous insect hive appeared out of thin air! Zi Shui stood frozen for an instant as an enormous swarm of sapphire blue bees emerged with an angry hum. He turned to see the way back had been shut and a number of illusory formations had been activated. The bees had started to scatter, but he struck out anyway.

His sword passed through his target as though it were mist. A creeping realization was starting to sink in. He recalled all those warnings about an unbeatable foe where retreat was the best course of action. Zi Shui swallowed heavily and then turned to run. He was used to escaping from unfavorable circumstances, so he knew that being decisive meant everything. No bees attacked him, but the drone of their wings got louder.

He quickly identified the dangerous attack and knew that he couldn't let the sound attack get any stronger. But lamentably, the challenger had chosen to protect the damn bees. Not only that, but the disorienting formations were wreaking havoc on his sense of direction. Still, as an experienced cultivator, he started to identify nodes in the form of flower patches. He used them to start calculating his way out.

As he ran past a patch of brilliant red and yellow flowers, several bees emerged from inside a nearby tree with a ripple and flew at him. One of them even anticipated his dodge and managed to sink its stinger deep into his upper arm. The stinging pain didn't hamper his movements, but it did make it harder to focus on escaping. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

Zi Shui's ears were starting to ache badly, but he eventually managed to stumble onto a viable path. As he advanced, he was ambushed a few more times and stung even more. Half mad with pain, he started to pick a direction at the nodes partly out of instinct to avoid lingering and being attacked. The hum got louder still. His sight was darkening around the edges when he spotted a possible exit. He rushed forward only to stumble into a dead end! His despair didn't last long as he soon lost consciousness.

When he finally woke with a throbbing headache, he found the formations had stopped working, and there were no bees to be heard or seen, so he crawled out of the forest. It took a long time for him to recover, but he found none of his enthusiasm had been dampened. This challenge had been a valuable lesson and experience. He also knew just where he had gone wrong earlier. Reporting this find could wait, at least until he attempted it a few more times!

PoV change: It had been months since Yu Ran had hatched, and the little snake was finally starting to show interest in things beyond food and sleep. Ren still couldn't carry it out of the security arrays of his mountain peak because the young snake still couldn't conceal its aura. It was still essentially a great cultivation resource for the other snakes that could detect it. It was barely lengthy enough to wrap around his neck, so he started to carry it around as he tended to his home and fields.

It watched everything from its new vantage. He mainly sensed its curiosity, with the majority of its inquiries pertaining to whether something was food. He felt a little guilty, but he lied and said the spirit plants within his field weren't food. It was a good rule to reinforce if it kept the little one from nibbling on his sources of income. And thank heavens he had managed to convince Xiao Yu early that the tortoises weren't food.

A core formation realm beast it may be, but the tortoises could still gang up on the newborn. As for the tortoises, two more had settled into an alignment of fire and metal in the three weeks since he visited Mei Ling. It brought the total up to 11 of 18 with fixed alignments. It had been over a year and a half since they had hatched, and the longer they took to settle into an alignment, the more potential they had.

Ren still left it up to fate and only tried to offer them a variety of cores from the beasts he hunted. After Yu Ran had hatched, the number of snakes on the mountain had reduced in number, allowing other beasts to move in, meaning more choices. Ren had also planted many tree saplings he bought on occasion around the middle reaches of the mountain. With more spare income, he could afford better natural treasures to serve as nodes for his mountain array, and it was close to automating his hunts now.

Whenever he desired, his arrays could lure a beast into the killing grounds, which were now equipped with dismantling arrays. He still chose to manually fight with minimal array support to continue training his Turning Seasons Sword Array. It was a good way to also get accustomed to his incremental growth in strength from body cultivation. He knew he was about to break through very soon, perhaps even today or tomorrow. Before he sat down before the yin flame, he checked his dantian. It looked much better now.

Once his cultivation stabilized a week or so after his breakthrough, he had finally severed the strand of karma that had brought him karmic sin. It had been strangely easy. He had acknowledged that what was done was done, and to move forward, he wanted to settle his debts. Once he was in the right frame of mind, he had shattered the qi construct that represented that connection. His thoughts focused on how he was giving up something to settle all debts and favors. Wiping clean the slate.

The qi that had gone into forming that strand had dissipated from his dantian. It was a setback equivalent to losing a month's worth of cultivation, so it wasn't a small price. Yet he felt lighter once he was done. He may not have been able to perceive the true karmic connections, but he felt his intent had correctly dissolved it. To his dismay in the following days, he realized that just because the connection was broken didn't mean the sin he had absorbed would dissipate as well.

It left him wondering how bad the effects would have been without his positive karmic merit to balance the scales. But today, all looked normal. The spiritual sea was gently lapping at the walls of his dantian, and the Fire of Life was glowing brightly with the various strands that emerged from within it. Satisfied with his condition, he looked over his body as well. His skin no longer looked pale and delicate. It had almost returned to normal.

His physique had also become bulkier and more muscular, though it was still lean. It was another sign that almost all the yin qi he had absorbed had been burned up by the yin flame already. On the other hand, his muscles and tendons were bursting with strength and flexibility. His body felt like a boundless font of power. As he sat before the Ossiferous Yin Flame, he idly noted the skies darkening early. He shook the distracting thoughts of preparing an early dinner and focused on cultivating.

Once more he absorbed a small strand of the flame and began to move it along the circuit described in his manual. With his mental and physical wounds completely healed, he found he could bear the pain admirably, only letting out occasional grunts of pain instead of crying like a child as he would before. It was remarkable what a difference it had made once he fixed his suboptimal condition. Even his cultivation had sped up since then.

As the flame made its way through his flesh, the last pockets of yin qi were sought out and consumed. But it was enough. The flame could only push out the smallest bits of impurity now, and he felt a tremble that indicated he was ready to break through from the body refinement realm to the marrow cleansing realm. He quickly completed the circuit so he could send out the yin flame, not wanting to break through while holding such a dangerous thing within him.

He opened his eyes to watch the ember rejoin the main flame when he noticed he was soaked. It had apparently been raining for some time from the soaked state of the soil around him, and he hadn't noticed being fully absorbed in his cultivation. Flashes of lighting and the peals of thunder indicated it wasn't a simple rain shower. He got up to move towards his medicinal bath so he could complete his body cultivation's breakthrough.

Suddenly his skin tingled and the air crackled, barely giving him a moment's warning before a bolt of lightning split the sky above him. Ren used those scant few breaths to curse that unknown senior who had gifted him such terrible luck when the lightning struck the metal staff that represented the metal node of his formation just a short distance away from him. The bolt of lightning that seared into his vision struck the staff and split into dozens of strands that sprayed out.

The explosion of noise was completely missed by Ren, who had been struck by two of the scattered bolts of lightning and hurled back to land near the spirit spring, crushing a patch of flowers beneath him. Sparks danced across him and even as his consciousness faded, deep within Ren, his breakthrough continued unabated.