Chương 65: Chapter 14

Every Night tasted different. The array of textures, scents, and feelings one could come with as numerous as there were souls on this earth. Her own Night, with all its perceptive ability, let Wu Zetian do more than feel it all; it allowed her to live it, to a profundity that left the five senses in the dust. Chen Liwei's Frigid Night tasted of dew-dripping lilies and steaming iron, of frost-cracked wood and polished riverstones.

The roar of a waterfall falling over a weather-beaten oak, the water forming one thousand rivulets as it jumped from branch to branch. Wu Zetian breathed in. Sharp. Crisp. How wonderful. Frost spiderwebbed from the General. Spiritual threads unspooled themselves from her; they slithered through Zetian's Night like blood through flesh. Whenever they stopped, they expanded like ice over glass, until Chen Liwei was surrounded by an expanding tree composed of spherical zones of metaphysical cold.

And the cold was frost was stillness was death. It crept slowly but unstoppably, a thin crust expanding on the ground and a crackling mist in the air. Whatever it touched, it caught; the grass stood, sheathed in ice. Even the particles in the air slowed, then stopped.

"How impressive," Wu Zetian commented, admiring the flakes already forming.

"A compounding aura?" Chen Liwei didn't answer, but she felt her attention stray to the left side of her body, where a thin crust was already covering her robes and skin. Wu Zetian appreciated the sentiment, but it was unnecessary. She didn't mind. It tickled a little. She'd much rather admire the effect. Mmh… Her passive Domain offered no defense. Chen's Frigid Night threated through it like frost through water. Like this…? She poured more Qi into her Night, stiffening it.

Now denser, her Domain managed to keep the General's aura at bay. For all the worth it did. Wherever it touched, Chen's frigid Qi expanded all the same, acting the same way as, well, ice. It doesn't just spread cold. It freezes Qi. Like a spiritual plague. How fun. Wu Zetian narrowed her eyes as a blast of frigid air washed over her. Ice clung to her neck and shoulder, tendrils creeping over her head. This can kill an army, was her conclusion.

Endlessly spreading, Chen Liwei's Frigid Night would engulf, still and choke the life out of thousands as they flailed uselessly against its grasp. How fun. Was it normal she was getting a tiny bit excited? Her previous self did that, she was the geek equivalent for cultivation powers. But her… well, she always loved to see how challengers and juniors presented themselves. A double thing, for once.

"Distance for your movement," she commented.

"Shadows for your spear, which becomes Blades for ranged attacks, which becomes Weight for your presence and the power of your blows. And… Sight, but not for stealthing yourself. To have a perfect awareness of the world around you." She inclined her chin.

"The soldiers of the Hand keep to their roots. You do so quite well." Rather than hiding and fighting from the shadows, her martial style specialized in front-faced combat, maximising offensive and defensive power. A logical choice, given that on the battlefield the chance for stealth was limited, one the soldiers of the Hand had developed into a fighting style as deadly as they come. Chen Liwei would be able to disappear, Wu Zetian had no doubt, as well as to teleport.

But the former wasn't her premier strength, and the latter was pointless even to try against her.

"And this… Frigid Night, yes?" Wu Zetian lifted her left hand to her lips. The limb was almost completely encased in ice. She admired it for a moment before bringing it close. It tasted just like she already felt.

"Marvelous," she breathed.

"My Night Qi has always distinguished itself for its versatility. To think that it may change to this extent…" Chen Liwei watched her. The word for her at that moment was stunned, but she rallied quickly.

"I… thank you, Founder." Wu Zetian smiled. She gestured, unleashing untainted Qi from deeper in her aura. The ice didn't shatter as much as slough off, her robes flapping pristine again. She could do this as many times as needed, letting the surface of her Qi body freeze, only to discard it and replace it with a fresh one from deeper in. Her Immortal body didn't suffer the cold, and she had already noticed that the Frigid Night took longer to affect denser bodies of Qi.

As long as she kept the replacement going before it could make its way deeper, she could wade through it. But that was… suboptimal. And she didn't do suboptimal. Her True Night Domain wasn't just massive in its reach, keeping most of its potency even when extended, while the average practitioner had to focus his aura to make it effective. It lent her unmatched flexibility in its use, a cosmo to the smaller one of Chen Liwei, where she was the undisputed master. Now, she set it moving.

First, she created a multi-layered friction field around herself. Cold was stillness. She countered it by putting into motion her Qi until a dozen interlocking spheres revolved around her. Then, she did the same for each of the tendrils the Frigid Night had spread through her aura; she isolated them in corridors of spinning Qi, then smothered them. The ice receded from her, then disappeared. The air, which was filled with whirling snowflakes, started to warm and settle, the cold receding.

Chen Liwei realized what was happening with a surge of alarm.

"At this range…!" Her spear whirled, and a dozen icicles long enough to impale a formation of men shot out. Humming, Wu Zetian raised a dozen shields, intercepting them. The icicles speared the shield and lodged into it. Ice started to expand from them, but Zetian only summoned more revolving circles around each, nipping the frost in the bud.

"I am sure you are aware of what we faced, General," Wu Zetian said, conversational.

"Of the Treasures, and the coincidences littering the Sect's misfortunes." Chen Liwei's spear swept downward. An iceberg fell, crashing on the arch Wu Zetian had raised. It crumbled apart, the stains of growing ice it left disappearing beneath vortexes of shadows. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

"Of course, ma'am," she replied, tense yet focused. Ice-Shattering Lance carved a trench, a formation of sharpened ice raising in its wake. It slammed against Wu Zetian's shield, flying apart into shrapnel that was caught by a multitude of smaller bucklers.

"I have already spoken about it with Elder Xing." Wu Zetian gestured. A dodecahedron of solidified darkness rolled forward, only to be slashed apart by a blade of ice.

"We quite agreed on the matter. But I'd love to hear your thoughts."

"Heaven." The answer was snapped as precisely as the following attack. Wu Zetian swept the wave of icicle away with a blast of Qi.

"So, we are all in agreement." Wu Zetian paused, watching her. Two boulders splintered against her shields. Behind Chen Liwei, a third spun, shedding flakes, compacting and changing shape.

"Only those wretches could have the reason, resources and means to equip the Demon Alliance with those Treasures. Any other explanation is impossible." The boulder split open, revealing a single, massive stalactite gleaming with a blue luminescence. It howled as Chen Liwei threw it, impaling three shields before it came to a stop and was squeezed to pieces.

"Do they hate us then?"

"Us and all those who climb the Great Path, searching for immortality. There's no greater enemy to be had in all of this wide world." Wu Zetian's eyes narrowed. She dug into her reserves, pushed away her corporeal form to use more of her power. Just a bit. She grew. Chen Liwei flinched and stomped. The Night had latched onto her aura. Tiny, silvery tendrils connected it to the Domain. Through them, her Qi was being siphoned away.

"Ack…" It was the first sound different from a determined cry she had made. Her spear flashed, shattering many of the tendrils, but double the number replaced them.

"They lay dormant," Chen Liwei grunted, not slowing down. Her spear turned into a blur as she spun it around.

"But they always, always return, endeavoring to break the powers of the lower world and impose their tyranny." She grabbed the weapon with both hands and slammed it down butt-first. A massive iceberg cracked through the ground, the tip aimed toward Wu Zetian. She pointed two fingers. A globule of black ink shot out, piercing the iceberg lengthwise; it erupted a moment later, the darkness devouring every fragment before it could escape. Chen Liwei fell on a knee, using the spear to keep herself from falling.

The tendrils covered her back, shoulders and chest by now.

"This time," she panted.

"It's clear that they worked from the shadows to destroy the Night. Doubtlessly, they'll try to do so again." Dismissing her aura, Wu Zetian walked to her. The General tried once to stand, but it was clear she was out of steam. Still, she didn't let go of her spear. She looked up, panting. Wu Zetian watched her.

"Will they return?" She murmured.

"Will they do so now?"

"Undoubtedly. No, no, I don't believe so. Heaven may be Heaven, but if they decided to manipulate the Demons into attacking us, it means they wish for their involvement to go unseen. Such schemes take time and effort to put into place."

"…or they are busy with greater things." Realization passed in Chen's Qi.

"It's… possible," she panted, and, true to form, tried to rise. Wu Zetian pressed two fingers against her forehead. Her Qi slithered over the armor, changing the color of the conduits to a bright red. With it, ice came, ragged and black. Chen Liwei's eyes widened.

"I…"

"The greater enemy there is in this wide world," Wu Zetian breathed.

"And what will you do, General? Will you stand against them?" Chen's face mask opened, revealing her surprise. For a moment. Covered in sweat, her features hardened.

"The Night is my one and only home. My children are here. My love is here." She clutched her spear.

"Even should Heaven fall with all its overbearing might, my feet stand planted." Wu Zetian searched her expression for a moment, before she softened.

"Thank you, child. I'll count on you then. Now… if you don't mind?" A complicated tangle of emotions flashed in Chen's eyes. Awe, admiration, conviction, and then defiance. She heaved, the joints of her armor cracking with stiffening ice. Wu Zetian raised an eyebrow, amused. Oh, soldiers. She pressed on her forehead gently, keeping her down. Chen hesitated, then something seemed to drain out of her, and her spear hit the ground.

"I… admit defeat," she admitted, lowering her head. Was that so hard? Ah, but she has her pride. Their audience, prudently shielded behind walls of Night Qi, welcomed them back with polite clapping. Wu Zetian didn't need to be an Immortal to see their impressions: from stunned to enthusiastic. The Night General, toyed with like a doll! The Palace would ring with the news for months.

"Well done, Lady Wu!" Xing Xing was beaming.

"Well done, indeed! It's not every day you get to witness such displays!" He grinned widely.

"I adored the interlocking fields solution you chose to counteract the spiritual stillness enforced by the General's Night. I cannot hope to match you in the precision and complexity, but I'd still beg for your guidance in replicating a lesser form of it."

"We'll see." Wu Zetian glanced toward the General. Chen Liwei actually looked glum.

"Chin up, Chen!" Xing cheered.

"It's always the Founder we are talking about here!" To his credit, the Elder knew how to be graceful when his rival ate the dust.

"You weren't expecting the result to be any different, I am sure."

"I fear that I allowed my pride to get the better of me." Chen Liwei didn't raise her eyes.

"The idea that the honored Founder would find my skills worthy enough to bless me with a display of her Immortal arts… it has blinded me." Oh, so she did notice. Wu Zetian had used the traditional Shadow Arts, albeit to a size and complexity no other practitioner could wield. Her Night… well, that was her given, the Domain effect that constantly accompanied her.

"The General has impressed me greatly," was all she said, striding among the audience.

"She may well deserve the title of strongest of the Sect." Her words sank among the nobles like stones into butter. Those too would have them talk for months.

"The honored Founder is too merciful." Chen Liwei blushed a little, following.

"My Night couldn't ever hope to offer a worthy display."

"But it did." Wu Zetian took the chair Shanti offered her. She adjusted her robes.

"You've given me an excellent example of the Shadow Arts of the Hand. Was the Movement Technique you used a variation of Sparrow Step?"

"Yes, Founder." Chen Liwei brightened a little as she took her seat. Behind her, Xing Xing smiled approvingly.

"We registered it as Wingless Crow in the rolls. It's quite efficient for quick redeployment."

"And it comes alongside that use of Weight. Night Crushes The Earth, is it?"

"Yes! We use it to increase the potency of our blows."

"But not to increase your resistance."

"Not primarily, no. Since the change in doctrine, Weight in its defensive applications is meant to protect the practitioner from metaphysical attack and make his blows harder to redirect. Pure defense is present, but only as a secondary application. Speed and heaviness are favoured instead." Wu Zetian nodded slowly.

"It makes sense." She mused. Once channeled into a weapon, the Path of Shadows provided a heavy attack vector. The Path of Blades, as its advancement, gave the average soldier a long-range option. Distance gave them speed and wings. Sight lent a Hand Soldier a sharp gaze and quick thinking, while Weight gave heaviness to their blows and made them harder to disrupt. What they lost in resistance, they earned in offense through specialization. They could still stealth themselves, but that wasn't their focus.

The result was a medium-range combatant who manipulated darkness to deadly effects.

"Quite the spread," she commented.

"The Hand is worthy of its name." Chen Liwei grinned. Actually grinned. It must have been a social faux pas, because she caught herself right away, covering it with a cough. Wu Zetian smiled gently.

"We had a small bet, don't we? While it didn't pan out well on your part, there's still something as a reward for your efforts." She pushed a cookie across the table. Chen Liwei watched it.

"Founder, I couldn't…"

"Mh, and a story, I think."

"A story?" The General blinked.

"Of course. About the time I first arrived on the Plateau and fought against Chi You. I hear that it's a topic of some interest among the Hand." Chen Liwei watched her for a long moment.

"Can… Can I excuse myself for a moment?"

"Why, of course." Chen Liwei was gone in a flash, into the gardens and straight through. Her poor son, who was just starting to learn how to play, was ripped bodily from it. His protests died as soon as she told him that "there was wisdom to be heard by the Founder's very lips, and you'll be a fool to pass it off." Shanti sighed, while Xing Xing chuckled. Wu Zetian covered her smile with a hand. Well, that was endearing. After the excitement, the guests had returned to their polite talks.

Above, the Night stood in serenity. It was a peaceful moment, and it made her aware that somewhere else, someone was about to go into danger. But she had done everything she could about that, didn't she? So she put up a smile for her guests and entrusted her hopes to fate.