Chương 26: "You always were confidently wrong, weren't you?"

Ch 26: "You always were confidently wrong, weren't you?"

The dome wall inched closer, now pressing against Zhen's skin. Lightning crawled across his body, tearing into his flesh and piercing into his bones. Before him, the woman remained somehow untouched by the crackling energy. Zhen glared into those black eyes that were now inches away from him. Nothing remained except his defiance and his will. She held his gaze for a long, pain-filled moment. Then her lips curved slightly.

"Interesting. Maybe you do deserve to be a Nine-Gate cultivator." She tilted her head.

"I will see you again very soon, Tie Zhen." The lightning dome vanished and the woman disappeared with it. Zhen collapsed onto scorched stone, his iron control finally fracturing. Even though his body threatened to shut down, he forced himself to remain conscious. Somewhat incongruously, despite the burns and his transformed cultivation, the first thing he noticed was that his ears were ringing. Ordinary sounds arrived distorted and muffled, as if he had plunged his head underwater.

Hoofbeats thundered against stone. A panicked whinny cut through the ringing in his ears, accompanied by scrambling, frantic footsteps. Zhen lifted his head a fraction to see Chul and Shuo blurring into view. Somehow, they had gotten free from Jue Shi Long's crystal cage. But if they were here and alive, it also suggested the dragon wasn't an immediate danger. Shuo skidded to a halt, his hand already swiping across his storage ring to pull out a flask with a glowing sapphire blue liquid.

He paused and scanned Zhen's body.

"Blast it all," Shuo's rasping voice cracked with what might have been a hint of worry.

"What have you done to your foundation?" He shook his head and shoved the potion into Zhen's hand.

"Never mind. Take this." Zhen stared at the bottle blankly. He tried to lift it but his fingers wouldn't close around it properly. Shuo tutted and grabbed the potion back. Ignoring the injuries, Shuo clamped Zhen's head and tilted it back to pour the liquid down his throat. Weakly, Zhen tried to turn away, but Shuo forced his mouth shut. The potion burned cold as it went down. Half of it went up Zhen's nose, leaving him coughing and spluttering as Shuo released him.

As the taste of bitter herbs and copper filled his mouth, Zhen rolled onto his side, but underneath the choking sensation, something changed. Warmth spread through his chest and limbs, knitting together torn flesh. Blisters deflated across his arms. The agony eased to a manageable throb. Chul gently pressed her muzzle against his cheek, her breath warm against his burned skin. Shuo muttered something incomprehensible then pulled a simple linen robe from his storage ring.

"Just because you almost died facing down a tribulation, no need to show off." He draped the robe around Zhen's healing shoulders and yanked it closed to cover his nakedness. Zhen blinked and looked around. Within that dome of lightning, all sense of night or day had been lost, but now bright sunlight slanted across the plateau. Beneath him, the stone radiated heat. If he had to guess, he would say it was around midday. He had been wrestling the tribulation all through the night and half the next day.

Chul whickered softly and pressed harder against him, her warmth reassuring despite the burns still healing across his skin. Shuo grabbed Zhen's shoulder and shook him, not gently.

"What were you thinking?" The rasp in his voice carried an edge Zhen had never heard before.

"I warned you not to open another gate so soon. The tribulation. Did you think I was joking?" Zhen blinked and his thoughts moved sluggishly. He tried to focus on Shuo.

"Actually," he said carefully, the words emerging distant and vague, "one more gate just meant a warning." He paused, marshaling his scattered thoughts.

"Two spirit gates. That was the problem." Shuo's hand dropped from Zhen's shoulder. He shook his head.

"Rubbish. You hit your head." He shook his head.

"Before opening the first spirit gate in Qi Condensation Two, you'd have to temper your bones and your marrow to create your Sky Tempered Body. You can't just open it."

"No." Zhen said slowly, "I didn't have to temper my body again."

"Then, whatever you did, you didn't open another gate."

"I did. It wasn't the first spirit gate in Qi Condensation Two." Zhen met Shuo's eyes.

"It was the ninth gate in Qi Condensation One." Shuo stared at him, and the silence stretched between them. Chul's breathing and the distant wind were the only sounds. Then Shuo's expression shifted to one of concern.

"It's alright, Zhen." His voice was exaggeratedly calm.

"You've been through a lot, and it's understandable that you're confused." He swiped his ring, and another potion appeared.

"Why don't you just drink this? You'll feel better." This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

"There's no such thing as a ninth gate. Each stage has a maximum of eight gates. And you've done very well to open all eight before moving to the second stage of Qi Condensation. But what has been true since cultivation began is that there are a maximum of eight gates per stage." Zhen looked down at his hands. He didn't need the Eye to know he had nine open spirit gates. A smooth flow of qi through his meridians had replaced the pulse he had previously known.

That ninth gate, locked within his dantian was working to manage the other eight to feed the endless pattern that was filling his expanded dantian. A female voice cut through the air, distorted to Zhen's ears but familiar somehow.

"You always were confidently wrong, weren't you Shuo? What you don't know about the world of cultivation would fill a thousand libraries. There is a ninth gate at the first Qi Condensation stage, but few people know about it. Even fewer dare to try to open it, and, of those, a mere handful survive." Zhen's scattered thoughts finally connected. He recognized that voice now, and dread coiled in his chest. The woman appeared in his line of sight, slim with silver-streaked hair pulled back into a bun.

It was the woman from the tribulation, and she was looking right at him.

"I, of course, know who you are." Her tone was measured and calm.

"However, I didn't get the chance to introduce myself before. I am Zie Ruo-Chen, and we need to talk." Zhen ignored the pain lancing through his limbs and scrabbled backward across the stone, looking around wildly for anything he could use as a weapon. He had barely survived his last encounter with this woman. Another tribulation now, in his current state, would kill him. Ruo-Chen raised a placatory hand.

"I know what you're thinking, and I don't blame you. You're safe now. The Heavens tested you and judged you worthy. This tribulation is over."

"When my eyes are black, I'm an instrument of the Heavens. When they're not," She gestured toward her eyes, "I am as you see me now. A simple guardian of all that lies within and below the Thirsting Veins." Zhen stopped moving, and his breathing calmed enough for him to actually look at her. She was right, her eyes were no longer the solid black from the tribulation. Green irises stared back at him in a face that was all too familiar. Next to Zhen, Shuo had turned pale beneath his tan.

As Zhen tried to decide what to do, Shuo scrambled to his feet with an uncharacteristic clumsiness. He opened his mouth.

"Ruo-Chen…"

"Shuo, while I see that you still think everything is about you," Ruo-Chen cut him off, her voice cold, "right now, there are more important things to deal with." She gestured dismissively.

"We can talk over dinner. For now I will leave you with Jue Shi Long, who has graciously agreed to delay killing you." Zhen raised his eyes to see the massive crystalline dragon standing behind Ruo-Chen, her faceted diamond eyes glowing with barely restrained fury. She scowled down at them. Zhen's gaze dropped to the dragon's feet. All four limbs were whole and unmarked despite the tribulation severing one. He blinked, his scattered thoughts struggling to reconcile what he remembered with what he saw.

He was certain that his ruse had worked, but now he was doubting himself. Then he caught sight of the massive severed foot still lying on the scorched stone beside him, crystalline blood pooled around the stump. Ruo-Chen followed his gaze and her expression softened slightly.

"That was surprisingly innovative, child. Few things can pierce Jue Shi Long's hide, and the Heavens are one of them." She tilted her head.

"But we can discuss this later. For now, come with me." Zhen remained motionless, his body protesting even the thought of moving. There was no way that he would go with her. He had just faced a tribulation that had torn through his flesh and nearly killed him. And this woman was the person who had initiated it. Ruo-Chen seemed to read his thoughts.

"While I understand that it will take time to trust me, know that I mean you no harm." Her green eyes were steady but, lacked the cold authority they had held when they were black.

"I'll reunite you with your companions later." Chul pressed closer to Zhen, her warmth a solid comfort against his battered body. He reached up slowly and grasped her mane, using it to pull himself to his feet. His legs shook, but held. Shuo stepped forward.

"He's barely standing. Whatever you…"

"Are you still talking?" Ruo-Chen's voice had a snap to it.

"This is between me and the boy." She looked at Zhen.

"Can you walk, or do I need to carry you?" Zhen tested his weight on both feet. The healing potion had done its work, knitting the worst of the damage, but his exhaustion ran deep. However, he just nodded.

"Then follow me. If it makes it easier to accept, then know that if you don't come voluntarily, I will make you." Zhen glanced over at Shuo. The old man still looked shaken up, but he offered the smallest of nods. Zhen turned back to Ruo-Chen and took a stumbling step toward her. She pivoted without acknowledgment and started to walk toward the massive cave mouth at the back of the plateau.

Zhen was grateful that she didn't offer to help as he hobbled after her, but he was also relieved that she had slowed her pace so he could keep up. The cave swallowed them. Cool darkness replaced the harsh sunlight, and Zhen's eyes struggled to adjust. His bare feet dragged against smooth stone as Ruo-Chen led him deeper inside. The passage opened into a cavern so vast the ceiling disappeared into shadow. A wide staircase emerged from the gloom along the left wall, the steps carved directly into the mountain.

Ruo-Chen led him up without looking back. Zhen steadied himself against the wall as they climbed endless crystal-lit stairs. The steps wound up through the mountain's heart until they ended at a large door of dark wood bound with brass. Ruo-Chen pushed it open, and light flooded through. Zhen blinked against the sudden brightness, then stopped short. The chamber looked like something from a cultivation story. A pristine qi-infused pond dominated the center. Lotus flowers floated above shimmering golden carp.

Intricately carved couches and low tables rested upon polished marble, while heavy tapestries swayed next to them. The villa had been carved directly into the Thirsting Veins, and the exposed walls were swirling veins of copper, iron, silver, and more. The Eye found no flaws anywhere despite the size of the chamber. Whoever carved this place understood the mountain intimately. But Zhen's gaze was drawn past all of it. The opposite wall was open to the elements.

A manicured stone terrace opened onto a breathtaking panorama that swept down the jagged mountain slopes, across the forest canopy, then onto the endless plains beyond. Footsteps approached from one of the side corridors. A man with impeccable posture in robes of deep midnight blue emerged. He bowed low, then straightened.

"Mistress Zie."

"Take this boy to the Emerald Room." Ruo-Chen's tone had turned businesslike.

"Clean him up. There is appropriate clothing in the chests." The man's expression remained professionally neutral, but Zhen caught the frown that crossed his brow before he could suppress it.

"Isn't that…"

"I know exactly what it is." Ruo-Chen's voice was cold. The man dropped into a deep bow.

"My apologies, Mistress. It will be done."

"Inform the kitchen we have two guests for dinner. Baolao and Jue Shi Long will be joining us as well." Ruo-Chen paused.

"As will a horse."

"Of course." The man straightened.

"I'll be in my study. Send the boy when he is presentable." She turned to Zhen.

"I'll see you shortly. We have much to discuss."