The Fourth Stage - Chapter 15 preview (Patreon)

“I never found my dao. Not the true one I needed,” Liu Tsong said, days later.

The pair were seated in her residence, consuming an early breakfast. Or late dinner in Liu Tsong’s case from the bags under her eyes. The woman hid a slight yawn beneath a hand, waving the inner sect cultivator that served them away before they could refill her teacup and doing so herself for her own cup and Wu Ying’s.

“And yet, you’re a Core Formation cultivator,” Wu Ying said, frowning.

“A poor one.” A hand crept downwards, to where her core sat in her lower dantian, that light smile still on her face. No bitterness here, as though she was content. “Two layers, and unlikely to grow much more. I pushed forward too early, chased Core Formation because I was impatient to work on different pills, different recipes. The pills I took, the recipes I consumed, it weakened my dantian.”

“Yet, you seem quite content.”

“I am.” Liu Tsong laughed. “I never really wanted to be an immortal. I was – I am – more interested in making pills and alchemy than finding a dao. Perhaps I could have found a dao of apothecary, but I believe that role has been taken above. Mine is a shallow imitation of theirs, and I never found a more specialized one.”

Wu Ying nodded. It was no secret there were a number of immortals who had taken that position, from the Immortals Huan Kuan and Zou Yan(7) to even the Heavenly Sage Equal to Heaven himself. Still…

“Are there not gods of the wind then?” Wu Ying said, softly. “Am I then doomed to be no more than a pale imitation, if I manage to make my way further?”

Liu Tsong shrugged, unconcerned. When Wu Ying looked at her, she smiled. “Why do you think I chose this path? I am content to make pills, research further recipes and aid my friends and the Sect. It is a good life, being an apothecarist. It will also be a long one.”

Snorting at the rather pointed last sentence, Wu Ying waved a hand. “I have no intention of risking my life further.”

“Oh, you had every intention of doing so before?”

“Well… no. But I’m an older and wiser individual now.”

“And all this wandering into the deep wilds. That is safe, then?”

Wu Ying reached for a cup of tea, raising it to his lips to hide his embarrassment. His silence was, of course, a point in her favour; but he did not have to acknowledge it. Smirking, Liu Tsong waved a hand dismissively before turning the topic back to the one that had brought him here.

“The apothecarist are – mostly – content with the way Elder Kim has run the Gatherers. There are some concerns about the use of his World Spirit Ring, but it is not as though the fields are entirely stripped. If necessary, we can trade for the necessary herbs while we regrow them, if his ring is destroyed or lost to us,” Liu Tsong said. “In the meantime, he’s much more receptive to new needs and has brought an influx of resources from other sects and the kingdom, making him quite popular among the sect.”

“You said mostly.”

“Mmm, he does wield his control over the herbs he grows rather heavy handedly. Those who are out of favour often find the products they purchase less than pristine or delayed.” At Wu Ying’s enquiring elbow, she waved languidly. “He has never shown that face to me. As one of the premier apothecarists in the sect, it would harm his standing more to act in that way to me.” A sardonic smile. “It, of course, helps that I have the support of those who still look to ascend and am, at the same time, not a threat.”

“You really are content, aren’t you?” Wu Ying said, a little sense of wonder in his voice.

“Very much so.” She gestured to the side, where her own apprentices hovered in the distance, ready to serve her. “It is an indulgent life, but it is stimulating and interesting.”

“Then I’m glad.”

“And you? You will not stop?” Liu Tsong leaned forward, graceful arched eyebrows drawing down in a frown. “Even if the journey furthermore is even harder?”

“No.” Wu Ying shook his head. “I won’t. I cannot. I gave up…” He trailed off, realizing what he was about to reveal. He was no scholar, no noblewoman who had grown up expecting to be a cultivator. When he made the decision to become one in truth, to climb the mountain of immortality, he had done so with the knowledge he was abandoning his past, his parents, a future he had expected. To give up now would be a failure. “I gave up that option when I studied the Seven Winds. I can only improve, only move forwards. The wind is not the wind if it stays still after all.”

Liu Tsong smiled a small smile, as though she knew that he had changed his mind of what he intended to say. Rather than call her friend on it, she nodded. “Then we should discuss how to deal with your injuries.”

“More baths and pills.”

“Of sorts. There is only so much that can be done and the report from Physician Gu is rather damning,” she said. “When you transformed and returned, your control of your body and form was compromised. And while the body knows what it should be, while you have done that before as you’ve related, it was always with a modicum of control. And now… the damage…”

Wu Ying inclined his head in acknowledgement. “Still, we can fix it, can we not?”

“Perhaps. We will try our best.” She chuckled. “There are numerous options, you gaining that last wind and achieving full enlightenment among them. In fact, it is perhaps the best solution, while we continue to patch together what we can.”

“You make me sound like a broken vase,” he complained.

“From the drawings made by Physician Gu, that is not too far a comparison,” she said. “But outside of that, well… there are options. Drastic ones, perhaps. But perhaps not more so than for you.”

Wu Ying snorted. “I’m not that much of a risk taker.”

“Mmmm… says the scourge of the dark sect. Were you not explaining not so long ago that there were still assassins chasing after you?” Liu Tsong said.

“I said I would not be surprised if there were some,” Wu Ying gently corrected. “Not that I have been attacked in the last few years.”

“Oh yes. Of course. Not since becoming a semi-Nascent Soul cultivator.” Again another snort. “Of course you haven’t been targeted.”

He shrugged in reply, then raised an eyebrow as one of the apprentices came over with a platter bearing a scroll. He took it at her prompting and unrolled it a little to read the beginning.

“A list?”

“Passed on to me by some of the other Elders. I’m sure there’ll be more, eventually, for work they do not wish me to know. But since you’re here…” She trailed off.

“And yours isn’t included?” he teased.

“Mine’s marked.” He grinned before she continued. “But realise that many of us look forward to your return and your new department.”

Wu Ying nodded as they circled back to their first topic. Whatever reservations he might have about Elder Kim, at least the man was doing his job well for the most part. Now, it was but a matter of setting up the curriculum and finding his students.

Oh, and dealing with a rather annoyed wandering cultivator.

***

Yang Mu staggered sideways, narrowly dodging the spear thrust aimed at her chest. She leaned over and used the haft of the massive, planted hammer head to steady herself before twisting around the weapon further as the spear kept sweeping to her. She used the momentum of her drop to pick up the hammer and slam it down, inches away from the dodging cultivator.

Even then, the explosion from the attack landing on the ground threw up splinters of rock and sand. It also loosened a small sonic boom that rattled the protective formation around the arena that contained the battle and safeguarded the audience.

In the smoke and dust thrown up, Wu Ying watched as the attacker – Elder Dong – flew backwards. He snarled, the head of his spear broken. Moments later, the broken weapon burst into motes of light, a yellow talisman burning up.

From his sleeves, additional talismans flew out. Each of those enscribed talismans transformed in mid-air, becoming arrows that speared through the air towards Yang Mu. The woman danced between the conjured arrows, the massive hammer sweeping up moments later to throw sand and release a massive hammer strike in retaliation.

“What are they fighting about now?” Wu Ying said, arms crossed.

Elder Hsu, the only one who was viewing the fight this time that he felt adequately familiar with to speak with, grunted. “I wasn’t paying attention. Something about insults thrown in a lecture?”

Another cultivator, Elder Ng – a blacksmith by profession, though only marginally gifted in that profession – spoke up, having overheard their conversation. Below, the fight continued, Elder Dong staying away and wielding his talismans while Yang Mu attempted to close the distance.

“The Honored Elder was discussing how spending time creating talismans rather than practicing actual formation making was a dead-end for most formation masters. Elder Dong – whose recent delving into formations via talismans has garnered him some acclaim – challenged her assertion.”

“And that’s how they decided to prove their beliefs?” Wu Ying said.

“Yes. The Honored Elder asserted it was such a poor use of a formation master’s time that she could beat the Elder without even using her element or any formations in turn,” Elder Ng said, his voice filled with glee at the chance to pass on gossip. “It was quite the declaration.”

Wu Ying watched as she struck the ground again, sending a fountain of sand and rock shooting towards her opponent. He in turn released a dozen talismans that exploded the erupting earth, even as high above a formation of disrupted talismans formed above, hovering in air and joining with one another.

“If your woman does not act soon, she’ll be trapped,” rumbled Elder Hsu. The martial elder tilted his head upwards, eyeing the growing consolation. “Though it looks to be a trapping one at least and not a slaughter formation.”

“That’s for the best,” Wu Ying said. “I would not want her to kill him.”

Elder Hsu looked at Wu Ying more closely than eyed the combatants more closely, even as he spoke. “You have great confidence in her.”

“Yes.” Wu Ying nodded upwards at the formation. “If that’s his trump card, then she’ll have noticed it already and worked out how to break it. He’s also wearing himself out, draining his chi to create that to make a point. Elder Dong has let his emotions get in the way of the battle.”

“And she has not?”

Wu Ying shook his head. “If this was their first fight, I would be worried. But this is what…? Their third?”

“And each time, she has used less of her skills,” Elder Ng interjected. “She’s calibrating herself to him.”

“Exactly.”

“But to what purpose?” Elder Ng asked.

“Now that, you’d have to ask the Honored Elder yourself.” Wu Ying had his own guesses, but he certainly was not going to reveal them to the pair. By the looks they gave him, he was sure they both knew and understood his hesitation.

“I’ve done the same, myself.” Elder Hsu crossed his arms as he spoke, his voice contemplative. “When I was visiting other sects and training with their people. As a guest in another sect, the prestige you carry is both that of your sect and your reputation.”

Below, Yang Mu was beating a quartet of misshapen wolves. These, unlike the weapons that Elder Dong conjured, were not at all like the creatures themselves in appearance but paper wolves. Even so, they moved with the same fluidity and heft.

Not that it mattered, for each blow by the massive hammer that the wood cultivator utilized sent the monsters flying into the walls with a rumbling crash. More than once, she guided her steps so that the creatures would fly towards her opponent, forcing him to dodge aside even as he pulled additional talismans from his robe.

“The Honored Elder below has only the reputation of her parents, the recent expedition and her association with Elder Long to lean upon. A precarious position indeed – and one that generates no little controversy in itself.” Elder Hsu chuckled. “When I traveled north, I had nothing more than my strength to lean upon. Making the foreigners understand I was not one to be trifled with was an exercise in itself.

“Something Elder Long well knows.”

Wu Ying grunted. “I rarely interacted with sects or families in the same manner. Mostly, our relationships were transactional and brief.”

“Yes, we’ve all heard about the Verdant Thief.” Elder Ng grinned and waved a hand as the insulted looked at him. “No, no. I’m not getting involved in such matters. If anything, you did us good – teaching them a lesson not to trifle with members of the sect.”

Elder Hsu snorted. “Oh, and they’ll be sure to open their doors when another comes by. What with the example Elder Long has shown.”

“If they cannot tell the difference between a man defending himself and guarding what is his own and a true scoundrel, then it is not a sect or family that we should bother aligning ourselves with,” Elder Ng countered.

“Stories twist and change as they are told from one wagging to another. The truth can be distorted, and even when those who hear the truth unvarnished could expect better manners,” Elder Hsu replied. From his tone of voice, Wu Ying could tell he was one of those.

Funny, to think the man who had stripped down to his shirt and short pants and oiled himself to strangle a Body Cleansing cultivator on the regular just to practice his techniques would be so uptight about manners. Then again, they had entered the ring ritualistically and left in that way too.

So perhaps it was not as surprising.

“The way you speak, you’d have Cultivator Long let them rob him blind rather than give offence,” Elder Ng said. “I thought you demanded strength!”

“The strong are the ones who must be most courteous!”

“Gentlemen.” Wu Ying raised his voice, interrupting the bickering pair. When they looked to him, he raised his chin to indicate the arena below.

Yang Mu had finished beating down the wolves long ago along with the pair of tigers – even less realistic than the wolves, though the yellow paper and black lines of text had actually provided them a similar appearance – and was weaving away from the charging bull that sought to gore her. She dragged the hammer along behind her, staggering in one direction and another, the Drunken Fairy technique she was using confusing the talisman.

“It seems it’s nearly over.” Both other Elders were not looking below but upwards, eyeing the nearly finished formation. Even those who did not know formations would be able to tell the difference, for the floating yellow talismans had formed into a twisting octopus shape above, missing but a small connection along one arm.

“Yes, it is.” Wu Ying’s eyes were locked not on Yang Mu or the formation itself but on Elder Dong himself. The Elder was sweating and pale, his energy drained as he infused the formation above and controlled the bull as well.

Talisman papers had the advantage of being prepared earlier, allowing a cultivator to store chi for future use. However, the delicate control of weapons and creatures, of the formation he created above – those required energy. And while the talismans might utilize stored chi and the materials used to make them mostly, it was only mostly. The cost of activation still had to come from the wielder.

All which meant that the Elder who was doing all this was growing tired. Meanwhile, Yang Mu’s own core was nearly entirely full. She had not utilized the ready energy available to her, having been restricted by the terms of the fight.

“Smart woman…” Wu Ying muttered to himself. She had purposely set it up in this way, to drain her opponent in a battle of endurance. A dangerous strategy in real combat… but this was not a fight to the death.

Just a duel of honour.

Before his companions could ask, Yang Mu finally acted. One moment it seemed like she was dodging the bull by a hairsbreadth. The next, she was swinging the hammer upwards. It struck the bull, catching it as it attempted to gore the cultivator and throwing it upwards.

Almost directly upwards.

Not towards the gap in the formation which was already closing, Elder Dong presuming the attack was headed for the obvious weak point. Instead, it arced through the air to the formation’s true weakness. The bull, when it struck the cluster of talismans that controlled the rest exploded, the energy of its dispersal setting off a chain reaction.

Like firecrackers going off during the new year, the talismans went up as well. Explosions rippled outwards, one after the other, destroying the carefully designed formation in short order. Leaving Elder Dong reeling backwards from the backlash and exhausted of energy.

She did not even need to request his surrender, as he offered it the moment he could catch her breath. Not that Yang Mu was bothering to follow up either, instead leaning on the haft of her grounded oversized axe to stare upwards into the wings.

Upwards, to meet Wu Ying’s own eyes where he noted, once again, her annoyance.


Footnote:
7 - Real people, known for writing about or creating alchemical recipes in the Qin and Zhou Dynasty respectively.