“More stock is pced in [Heritage]. In [Bloodline] and Cn. But these are noble terms, too blessed by the Qi for their ilk.”

  “A more suitable term?”

  “Breed. Like wretched dogs.”

  “Diversity of [Demonic] Attributes,” conversations with [Dour Faced Strategist]

  Four days had passed, granting the Wayward Winds more of the time that none among their leaders wished for. One victory was not enough to stem the rhythmic beat of impatience that held within their chests.

  It was merely one scale upon their painted serpent.

  Fu whiled away his time with the affairs of seniors. In training, meeting, education and matters concerning their burgeoning vaults.

  Routine.

  But his seven [Seasons] had aligned much. Once errant ribbons, now a firm breeze that spoke with one voice, struck with one arm and knew the thoughts of all within the vessel’s hold as through they were aged kin.

  Save for one.

  The flow of meaning ceased as Fu rose from the lotus, half-content with all he had interred into the Warship’s [Core]. That of his [Dao], inscribed upon pnk and sail just as it was his bones and flesh.

  For it, the wood was but a cloud. Some swiftly passing cumulus that fell to the background of notice and [Senses] when any might look upon it.

  His [Dao of Wind’s Present Whispers].

  Were he more than a humble ghost- a master or daoist, the [Core] would not need tended to so very often.

  A thought that challenged his walk to other necessities. Though it was soon that he darkened the screen to her chambers. “Venerable Mistress. I would intrude, if you so permit it,” he called, dipping a head for all that cloth and wood would block it.

  “Bah, enter you fool. Must you forever ask with such pleasantry?”

  Shuidi suppressed a shiver upon entry, and cd herself in small winds to ward off the chamber’s oppressive cold. Her cultivator did likewise across subsequent steps, inconvenienced as frost spread across his misty physique.

  Such were the downsides of the [Constitution of Grey Spectres]. The pain of an [Affinity] suppressed.

  Harming doubly what it might before.

  “Mistress Ivory Sea. It is time,” he smiled.

  The half-immortal frowned, consuming an ice-hewn mirror of her creation. “Yes, your little voyage has begun. As said, these steps squander opportunities. Consider once more the benefits of independent cultivation, fool Fu.”

  “It is a kindness that I hold a pce in your thoughts. Yet, I believe you know where my allegiance lies.”

  Ivory Sea scoffed. “Mortal attachments will not sustain. Another fool’s sentiment. Only the Path is timeless. Regardless, you may begin.”

  Fabric held little value to the Fatherly [Asura], so sparing bolts and fineries of silk so his guest might cd herself as befitted one of her station. Of azure-white tones, the daxiushan soon slipped to expose her chest.

  Ivory Sea scoffed again, adopting the lotus. “[Plum Axe Zhu] would sever his left arm for a gnce. The [Cherry River Monk] destroyed four [Meridians] when met with the purity of my skin. You’ve yet to look.”

  A fondness rose in Hushi, well mirrored.

  “Sun kissed the skin I held as perfect. A scar decorated its colr, shaped as a waning moon. Despite her [Body Cultivation], freckles remained as though a consteltion,” smiled Fu. “Forgiveness Ivory Sea. But I have seen Heaven, and that is enough.”

  Fu’s palm came to rest a finger’s breadth from her chest. From the hollow of [Dao]-rich thorns and the once fathomless depth of [Origin Q, where his [Pull] now drew.

  Well disparate from his first taste, for this same force had remade his whole. Fu knew not this cultivator- this cruel immortal from whom these benefits he reaped. Nor would their situations allow him to extend gratitude.

  So he took.

  It was not [Poison] as mortals would know. Tinctures or venoms. Substance. His dalliance with the cultivators proved a trove of insight on this. No serpent could inflict it with a bite.

  This essence of poison. Sentiment. A truth of poison was imbibed by the [Hundred Immunities Fruit], and driven though his [Channels] for replenishment.

  An inwards gnce traced its path by his [Meridians]. Already saturated by the same power, purified and re-cleansed - one facet for which Ban Bingbai might share his approval - and as it neared the Qi within resonated.

  Purity knew purity.

  On this resonance travelled, from the first [Meridian] through all that his Path of [Body] had cleansed. Then to [Mind], incomplete, and in progress.

  Here the [Origin Q became mist, spiralling to wear down and cleanse the [Impurities] that he chose. One [Meridian] beyond the [Half Visualization Meridian], the second stage of forming his [Conception Vessel].

  One attained a [Season] prior.

  His difficulty arose with such immediacy that Fu tensed, turning white the knuckles that rested upon his knee. Where previously his cultivation prompted a tug: what Qi had been imparted throughout his Path, warring against fresh additions and growth - the strength accumuted across these passed [Seasons] were more.

  By an order of magnitude.

  Hushi and Shuidi’s consciousness melded with his own to combat the strain. With combined might, [AIr Q and [Water Q flushed around his [Channels] to soothe and tease the agonized reservoirs as Fu focused solely on progress.

  A final exhation came three hours hence, and his second act began.

  Will drove the [Origin Q elsewhere now, birthing a groan from Ivory Sea. This [Pull] was no gentle thing.

  In pce of his own [Meridians], Fu flooded his [Hundred Immunities Fruit]. More so, the space where [Hundred Poisons Synthesis] held his vat of madies.

  For this his [Conception Vessel] was entered.

  The shore of tranquil waters emerged about him. Much grown, as all things were. For now his realm held the gentle patter of rain, cascading from teal-rich skies. The ground drank most, ever darkened from the nourishment, though the greatest volume fell upon the rocks before him.

  Pools for mussels or limpets, if empty of them. They rose without natural formation, cascading from a conical peak into further reservoirs.

  Fu set his hand into the highest.

  The [Origin Q bzed.

  Shuidi, is this enough?

  The [Spirit Crab’s] impression was uncertain, and unable to be tempered by reason. She bid him try.

  Hushi was impartial.

  Their [Pull] intensified by a force of will, dramatically. Outwith, Ivory Sea loosed another groan.

  The seas about him grew violent for his thoughts, drawing a tempest through the mist-wrapped realm and a deluge of rain to descend.

  Fu staggered as he demanded it to form, and the droplets did. A spray to a hammering, fragmenting the edges of the tallest pool until the liquid within near overflowed and the pools below frothed with impacts from above.

  The [Hundred Immunities Fruit] tore, and Hushi went fccid against the ground.

  Only Shuidi persisted, weaving her mists to constrain the [Origin Qi’s] terrible strength. Puff by puff and wisp by wisp, orchestrating a change within.

  Warmth came by [Ink] after an eon’s passing, but experience told that it would hold no message. No. For feats of this ilk, it was mere confirmation.

  A bleary look told of his realm’s newest addition. Something innocuous enough to bely the progress made.

  Simply of a greater, wider pool at the peak, and of the three fresh pools that it fed.

  He withdrew.

  Threefold. With this our [Hundred Immunities Fruit] holds a [Capacity] three times more vast than our [Core].

  [Origin Q filled it to brim within a heartbeat.

  A method to produce this Imperial’s power still eludes us. Ivory Sea will not remain crippled for much longer. Before then, we must discover a way to generate the same [Origin Q.

  It was a hazy retreat from Ivory Sea then, and a thanks given for her turned back. Fu conjured small droplets to cleanse the blood that oozed from his nose and eyes, suppressing a cough as he made it known that their task was complete.

  On her part, the half-immortal re-cd herself. “Again I am disappointed by your marginal progress.”

  “Apologies,” he dipped.

  Ivory Sea’s skin glistened with frost, and thawed as she set herself to sprawl upon a plush bench.

  Fu took his pce before her, content with a mundane stool.

  Without compint today. Her mind must steer towards other goals.

  “My patience for this endeavour wears thin,” she began, drawing a smile from the one across. “You’ve heard such, yes? Is this why you bear the grin of a clown?”

  “Mistress Ivory Sea is a constant in uncertain times, nothing more.”

  Her veneer shifted, whittling free a sliver of false outrage. “Ice is eternal, boy. If not constant, it is shattered. You’d do well to recall to whom it is you speak. Civility stands because you hold use and the granted benefit of my plight is tolerated for this alone.”

  For this, he removed his douli. “If Mistress Ivory Sea-”

  “My words have not ceased. Use wisdom here,” she intoned, and ice crept across the chamber’s walls.

  A change. Unlike her, or perhaps, unlike the woman we know. She is more immortal than at my entry.

  “The eyes of greed-lusted men are common for Yan ever seeks its Yin. I’ve walked a thousand ice-gzed deserts and weathered a thousand beating suns, and this is as immutable as the Heavens. My Oath was sworn before your seas turned to mulberry fields, Gao Fu, and you will know it.”

  Frost stole over Fu’s feet, hardening the skirts of his hanfu.

  “You’ve reduced me to a tool, and on my [Dao], you shall die for it.”

  The room fred gold and crimson in turn. [Profundity] sealing this Oath.

  Fu’s [Core] tightened. “A fairness, Ivory Sea. Among bckened deeds, to reduce another as I do is among my few shames. If death binds us and [Karma] sees fit to have our paths meet beyond Imperial Realms and the vastness of all beneath the stars, then I would say, no.”

  “No?” the half-immortal questioned.

  “No. We are familiar now, for your history with the [Cherry River Sage] and the unspoken means by which you know of me. More so for the [Seasons] shared aboard my Warship. I say no, and not yet, as death will come only when my children stand taller than you previously did.”

  This weight of ice cracked, splintering much of the surrounding walls.

  “Folly, to think I’ve need of your permission.”

  Hushi prowled closer, unflinching as he met her eye.

  “You’d dare match this threat, beast?” she sneered, batting the air as Shuidi rose in her own challenge.

  “We merely consider our options. [Dances Upon an Ivory Sea] does not strike us as reckless. Prideful. Bold. As she holds the right to. But to bite the hand that feeds leave many starving, as it is in our case. Are our mutual benefits to cease?”

  Ivory Sea’s frost was upon his knees, encasing him. “Extortion won’t succeed here. Or do you think your talents of such use to me? [Poison Absorption] is no unique talent. I’d suffer a throng of a thousand cultivators at my feet were I to merely ask for a cure.”

  Fu’s finger flicked, and [Air Q drove open the screen to their rear. “Perhaps this is a wiser course. Farewell, Mistress. Until the day you end my life, I hope your Path is interesting.”

  Silence.

  The frost rose to his waist.

  “Within a March of Blue? I think not,” she scoffed.

  “Oathsworn foes are poor companions for voyage. I shall call for disciples to escort you, so your departure might go untroubled,” and he put fingers to his brooch.

  “Hold, bastard. I’ll not leave in a pce so ill-suited.”

  Shuidi ccked her pincers.

  “Indeed, sister. The bounds of our hospitality are reached. We cannot stretch our consideration towards those not allied with the Cloudy Serpent Sect. Furthermore, we could not bring shame by allowing one under our care to be harmed by the threat of our vocation. A poor situation, this, is it not?”

  Ivory Sea’s eye twitched, and the ice surged to Fu’s neck. “All propriety fails then.”

  “Apologies, but a threat was made. Elsewhere this would not be tolerated. Within the main branch, matters of face would need be answered. An immortal threatening one of lowly [Core Formation]. One might demand this gulf be bridged by reparations.”

  A blink.

  The wisdom of centuries has not returned yet. She is still fallible in this state.

  “Again you dare? Again? A fool attempts to bind me with [Karmic Ties]?”

  Fu’s [Constitution of Grey Spectres] touched the [Water Q within her frost, and pulled it into his [Core]. Cold dispelled about him, a simplicity that held no physical form. “Ah. Your words… I must recall to who it is I speak. An immortal no longer. Perhaps the debt is not so grand as I first thought.”

  Ice roared towards him, manifesting in spikes.

  Already had he begun to speak by her ear before the first point had formed. “The pn is sound: I agree with your departure, venerable [Dances Upon an Ivory Sea]. But there is a matter I came to ask on,” he said, withdrawing the Tearless Strategist’s treasure. “Our debt will be fulfilled when it is answered, on this I swear.”

  She struck a shallow sp across his face, and he allowed it. “Your death will be unkind. Nine generati-”

  Hushi moved.

  “I urge you not to finish such a statement,” warned Fu.

  Ivory Sea took the bone from his hand with a sneer. “Insects cannot know the immensity of Heaven and Earth. Here, you’ve sought to py with powers beyond your ken. Blind bastard. Greed-filled for reasons you’ll never comprehend. What use is another [Splinter] when those in your possession yet go unused?”

  “The [Splinter] is secondary.”

  A further chill took the air.

  “For those very words, those of true power would be stunned to silence. Bah. I’ve no need to lower myself to this. Ask, fool. Why is this key in my palm?”

  With that Fu had his confirmation, but held it secret. Seeking more. “My first encounter was at the hands of this. An assassin of the Sepulchral Saber Sect unravelled a [Mystic Realm], delivering all within to a [Trial]. Is it always so?”

  Her eyelid. Shuidi, your [Senses] outstrip my own. Did she hold a reaction to the Sepulchral Saber Sect?

  The [Spirit Crab] confirmed this as Ivory Sea narrowed a venomous gaze. “To gain my seven, I sughtered all within their realms. But others, to secure their Path, yes. All within a [Mystic Realm] are afforded a chance once a Trial of the Hollow Throne begins.”

  Fu repced his douli. “Gratitude. Our debt is fulfilled,” he said, and turned before Ivory Sea discovered how much insight her lips had betrayed.

  The key, retrieved.

  ?

  What Sect holds an equivalent? One grain of sand upon a shore, or a gathering? No thing can be certain.

  Force radiated from each compartment.

  Inscribed containers of carved bodhi, octagonal, with air-thin strings as their sides. Designed to allow viewing, and nothing else.

  Fu was pensive as he studied the [Consteltion Seeds].

  Mind askance and fingers gentle as he sensed the integrity of each [Array] that Shuidi had set within.

  “Three hundred and twelve, a humble start, no?” ughed Udvah.

  “Three hundred and thirteen,” corrected Zhu, socketing a fresh [Consteltion Seed] into one of the [Arrayed] containers. The threads closed about it, sealing a fiery spindle within. “An acquisition from a neighbouring Green Realm.”

  A retive term, neighbouring, when Udvah’s [Shaving of the First Gate] became involved.

  “You troubled yourself with this?” asked Fu. “The March of Serpents does not require…”

  Some fresh parchment unfurled from Udvah’s grasp. The Clear Sky Edict, updated across a [True Orchid Path].

  Corresponding colours and symbology painted far clearer a picture than the edition they had previously acquired. Pinxui’s seal was printed in the lower corner, slight, but fine.

  “The [Cherry River Sword’s] personal disciple,” Zhu said, half-heartedly gesturing to a bckened [Imperial Realm] upon the consteltion. “Any further and the Sect’s interests might be challenged.”

  A path of snow-white ink had carved over fifty realms for itself across the [True Orchid Path], and the shape intimated that their course would soon intersect with the Cloudy Serpent Sect’s hundreds.

  Shuidi ccked her pincers, discontent.

  “I’d not consider it, little sister,” Zhu shook in reply. “The challenge was barely worth Udvah’s Qi. Still, resources of Green stand finer in our vault than these mundane Yellow.”

  “Amituofo. This cking disciple agrees. If Gao Fu so wishes, a week’s dey could expand the March of Serpents before its final call,” Udvah smiled, feigning innocence.

  Fu arched a brow. “Much as our treasury would, I believe you mean. Apologies both, but we must strike while the iron is hot. A boon, this Clear Sky Edict, for it does much of what Earth Tyrant Hall and the Western Bone Cult once did. With attention turned to Clear Sky cultivators, our path into Blue is less perilous.”

  The Vajra threw his hands up in fake protest. “Amituofo, by the [Boundless Dao] we are cursed. A senior without greed is no senior at all! What will become of these Wayward Winds with logic at their helm?”

  Mangam croaked with shared humor, garnering a smile from all gathered.

  “To that end,” Fu shared, airily presenting their shelves.

  Three hundred and thirteen [Consteltion Seeds] were a peerless sight. Contained within his vessel were the means to promote a powerful force. A foundation to build Sects, barter with Emperors or foster unparalleled chaos should they so choose.

  “We three alone?” asked Zhu. “That we’re the solitary disciples of the Cloud Gathering division pys into this.”

  “Amituofo. Not forgotten is sister Linhua.”

  A small silence arrived at her mention.

  “The Heavens weave as they will,” said Fu, his lips thin. “Master Ban is of priority. [Of Perennial Shade’s] message within the [Ink] was seven [Seasons] prior. Our dey is long enough. To locate Linhua is a dedication of time we cannot afford.”

  Her wings brought Tanshuai into view, for much light gathered upon them. An interjection, before those gathered fell into idle discussion.

  “Cloud Gathering,” her plum-eyed cultivator repeated.

  This presumes my confidence in his rescue, and yet, my foundations are stable. Growth comes now.

  “Ban Bingbai is the Cloudy Serpent Sect. At an order he might disband the Wayward Winds or order them sughtered for the information they hold. As is his right. A course I do not support- but a crow cannot set the sun by cawing.”

  “Minor treachery. No. Rationality,” suggested Zhu. “An act of caution I’d not argue over. Benefits aside. To say this- you’re confident in his retrieval?”

  Hushi thought Zhu’s perception ever amusing.

  Time had Udvah’s appearance shift, and from his chin extended a wiry shock of sable hair. Often, such as now, he was partial to tugging it. “Master Ban. Amituofo. A [Consteltion Seed] stored might be lifted. One absorbed might not.”

  Spare thoughts turned Fu to Grandmother Hua’s promise. That of a [Heritage] to match his concept. Might it hold a [Consteltion Seed] of its own? Two, or a set?

  “Inevitability, through the transformation of clouds,” he said.

  Few shared the exactities of their Path. Among the Jianghu, save for prideful fools, to speak it aloud was a seal of trust.

  “Gratitude,” blinked Udvah, bowing thrice. “Gao Fu, this cking disciple would meet your words. Sukhavati, found in all spaces.”

  A concept that fits no assassin. Sanctuary and paradise. Spoken as the daoists of the One Hundred and Eight might say.

  Heat put Fu’s hand to his chest, suppressing the [Three Eyed Spying Array]. “My admiration for this Path would take a man of better words to say. Among what is gathered, I would share more than a single [Consteltion Seed] for such a goal.”

  The Vajra chuckled. “One is enough. A thousand gratitudes aside. This cking disciple does not hold enough talent to consolidate more than a single treasure. Sister Pinxui would comment on this. [Qi Deviation] or conflicting natures. A certainty, this disciple is sure.”

  His understanding, or perhaps their tenure together had him measure each man beside him. Thus Udvah left, dipping his head as he went.

  “Truth,” stalled Zhu, grasping Udvah’s shoulder. “As known in all lights,” then he released the man for his search.

  Udvah passed a second, humbled nod, and said nothing further.

  “A cultivator that loathes mysteries. I am surprised Udvah did not comment on this revetion,” said Fu.

  “As you did?”

  “I looked forward to his humor. My own reaction was poor then, and still I stall for words,” admitted Fu, sensing a set of distancing footsteps. Then his mists rose, and Shuidi inscribed her silence upon them. “Ivory Sea.”

  Zhu remained pcid. “Recall that we share a bed for mutual benefit alone.”

  “Droplets might shatter mountains, in time.”

  “Love?” ughed Zhu. “You’ve grown sentimental for more than the Gao cn, brother. Immortality would not grant enough time. Not for that.”

  “Then all is well. I am not the Uncle [Asura], though-”

  A sigh fled Zhu’s lips. “Yes. Udvah’s humor far outstrips your own. Don’t continue. Speak on Ivory Sea instead, for your [Karmic Ties] are as cords where they were cobwebs before.”

  “She swore an Oath to end me. On the [Dao].”

  The pair fell into step, navigating the aisles. Rarely was it a choice without their partners to select a [Consteltion Seed], for each treasure was nebulous and nigh unguessable until adopted into their cultivation.

  Though Zhu’s [Senses] eclipsed his own, perhaps marking such a statement as false.

  “She said more,” Zhu guessed.

  “[Splinters]. Her words were that seven were needed. No less and no more. It came with a loose tongue and amidst fury: a mistake. Though if I must trust in her, it is a certainty that she would lead us astray. There was another facet, something the Qi did not recognize. That, I will meditate on with aid from [Intermediary Wisdom].”

  Instinct put the pair’s hands to their spatial rings. As if all twenty four of their divine artifacts might spill to the floor.

  “If she’s sworn this Oath, our trist is done. Passion won’t reveal this any longer, distracted as I’ve been during such attempts,” nodded Zhu. “No. This is a query for Grandmothers.”

  Fu nodded.

  Something was thrown at him, and another three steps beyond.

  “A divination of truth?” Fu asked, coddling both [Consteltion Seeds] as if they were a juggler’s balls.

  “No. But I recall their [Trials].”

  Would I truly entrust my cultivation to so uncertain a selection method? Yet, a [Mystic Realm] reflects its treasure.

  Zhu paused, recounting a tale of both.

  “Oh? There is such a good thing?” came the reply, having Fu weigh the items.

  One, a pinion - azure energy crackling between the spine, and the second, a marble of violent cold.

  A moment passed, and he set one down. “Until the aisle has ended, I will take this under advisement. Now, brother, time for your own.”