The Fourth Fall - Chapter 12 preview (Patreon)

Passage on the floating pagoda was more convenient, though after the first few hours, significantly more boring and slower. At least, for the wind cultivator. Then again, Wu Ying knew that not all cultivators could fly through the air with as great ease as he could. Even for most Core Formation cultivators, the act of flying through space required the constant use of chi from their core. It helped, of course, to utilise specialised flying instruments like flying swords, carpets, spirit steeds and the like. Even then, the amount of chi used was not inconsiderable if one had to cross significant distances.

There were other considerations, of course. The sky was not the domain of cultivators alone. There were creatures - dragons, phoenixes, pixiu, demonic birds and spirits of air and wind - that truly inhabited the skies. Passage through their domains could anger them, and bring further calamity.

It was why passage through the air was not as common as one might think, at least for those few Core Formation cultivators who could manage it. And, of course, few had the wind cultivator's speed or his ability to pass through the air with minimal disturbance.

"The Sect Head wouldn't mind if I went ahead, would he?" Wu Ying muttered, mostly to himself.

"Impatient, as always. What new method of cheating the gods have you found then?" Wen Yin Xue said, almost sneering the words out.

"What?" Wu Ying said, dumbly. He'd noticed the man's presence, but that was not unusual. Stuck close together as they were in the pagoda, the withdrawn but still overlapping auras of all the Elders filled the surroundings. Furthermore, formations around the pagoda's exterior contained the aura and chi and dao emanations of the group to decrease disturbances in the external environment, though it amplified the effects within. As such, it was little surprise when Yin Xue had joined him on the fifth floor balcony to stare at their passage.

"Isn't that what you do? Find shortcuts forward?" Yin Xue said, leaning against the banister as he turned to stare at Wu Ying challengingly.

"Says the man with a demonic arm and eye," Wu Ying said. "I see that you've integrated it even better now and layered another core covering."

"Six," Yin Xue said proudly. Then, bitterness flickered across his face. "Nothing, of course, to a half-Immortal like you."

"I'm not..." Wu Ying said, only to be cut-off by a wave of the other man's hand.

"Semantics. I saw what you did to your friend, remember?"

"My friend? I know you and Tou He have been having issues but..."

"Issues, you say. He calls me a demon lover and tells me to cut off my path to cultivation." Then a slight pause, before he added. "Still, at least he understands the difficulties of pressing forwards."

"And you think I haven't?" Wu Ying said, knowing the implications left unsaid.

A shrug was his only answer.

"Why are you here?" Changing tactics and already tired of this conversation, Wu Ying could not help but ask. Things had been well with them for some time, then, of course there was his on-going conflict with Guardian Pang - Yin Xue's sponsor and master - and then... well, then the last few years, his rise and status had chaffed at the other. Yet, they had managed to be civil if distant. This though... this was new.

"The State of Wei asked for me, of course." A twist of his lips. "I've been called to account for my theft."

"Wait. Account?" Wu Ying hesitated, lowering his voice. "They are not seeking reconciliation?"

"With me?" A shake of Yin Xue's head. "Oh no. I'm not important enough to be appeased on our side. No, I'm a pawn on ours."

Now Wu Ying could understand some of the bitterness. "Are you sure?"

Yin Xue nodded. "Tsifu warned me before I came."

"My..." At the look Yin Xue shot him, Wu Ying changed his words of sympathy. "aid is yours, if you will take it. Whatever you need."

A hesitation now, the other man frowning at Wu Ying. "You really mean that, don't you?"

"Yes."

"That monk has really affected you." Yin Xue looked away, out at the passing clouds below and the occasional glimpse of fields and forests far beneath. It was a strange way to fly, to Wu Ying, for he could only barely sense the winds outside, the formations dampening their passage each moment. "Thank you."

"No need."

Silence filled the surroundings, neither of them having much more to say to one another. Eventually, Wu Ying straightened and nodded goodbye to the man, leaving him to mull his darker thoughts and the uncomfortable silence as  he went in search of Yang Mu and better company.

He might have forgiven the other, after these many years. But he still found his company prickly and difficult.

***

He found Yang Mu deep within the bowels of the pagoda, underneath the main floors in the array chamber that controlled the flight of the spiritual instrument. She was in deep conversation with Elder Wang, the pair of formation masters discussing their occupation and interests with heads bent low.

Wu Ying paused near the entrance, a small smile on his lips as he watched her enthusiastically speaking with the Elder. He traced the arch of her nose, the graceful line of her neck, the cut of her robes. He found the tension in his body relaxing as he stood there, just watching her speak brightly and knowledgably about formations at a level he could not even comprehend.

Though she might still complain about being forced to study formations as a child, it was clear to him that she now had embraced the knowledge. Her passion for learning, for understanding the way the world worked and connected to one another, whether it be individual or elements had driven her conceptual dao.

On the other hand, Wu Ying had to admit, there was a lot to be intrigued by. Even his minor understanding of formations - no greater, if not somewhat less than most Elders - was sufficient to allow him to grasp the deep complexity and intricate manipulation of energies being wielded in here. Also the delicate balance of power, that the dozen Core Formation level spirit stones seated in energising pillars around the room, being output and the tight restrictions enforced upon the surroundings.

Even as he stood there, he noticed the energy within one spirit stone guttering out. It faded and then shattered, stone dust scattered across the pillar. Immediately, a pair of Energy Storage cultivator rushed over, the first brushing the pillar down and the second, popping open an elemental storage case. The first cultivator then extracted the spirit stone within, placing it on the pedestal before stepping back and away before the formations triggered.

Wu Ying allowed his spiritual senses expand all the way, tracing the energy from the newly attached stone as it entered the formations. He noted how the energy flowed, the way it bolstered the spirit instrument's ability to fly.

"Amazing," Wu Ying breathed. Understanding how the energy flowed and the amount, it seemed that the entire thing could likely fly with only nine or so of the stones running. The rest, he assumed was here as a safeguard. "And expensive."

"Very expensive," Yang Mu said, noticing his presence. She walked over and smiled, taking his head for a quick squeeze before letting it go. "We were discussing the formations and how it might be improved."

"Improved? Hah. The arrogance of youth," Elder Wang muttered as he stomped over, though he said it fondly. "This work is vastly more complicated and difficult than anything you've ever managed to create." He held his hand up, forestalling her interjection. "I know of the formation you built for the Blue Lake Sect. This is even more complicated."

"More powerful doesn't mean more complicated," Yang Mu said, firmly. "I will admit, the spatial dao's are more complex than my own understanding of it, and the variety of dao's in play. But I believe, in time, I will understand it."

"I look forward to it." Elder Wang said. To Wu Ying's surprise there was no patronization to it.

"Of course, even you must admit that there's some truly outdated formations within," Yang Mu muttered, shaking her head. "I can understand using the Twelve Lightning Fork formation to balance energy needs because it's cheaper, but why the Three Element Fan instead of the Five?"

"Three Elements Fan is more stable. It can handle additional fluctuations in the energy being passed on to it," Elder Wang said patiently. "The Five Element Fan is more delicate and will fail faster if the amount of energy input fluctuates too greatly."

"So use the Silver and Gold Dam," Yang Mu said, with a roll of her eyes.

"That increases the amount of space required for the formation inscriptions though," Elder Wang said.

"You've already saved about thirty percent of the space using the Five Element Fan, and adding a little more space would not hurt," Yang Mu said, waving a hand around. "I'm sure if we looked, we could find other savings."

"I'm still doubtful that it is that easy," Elder Wang said, then grinned. "But it wouldn't hurt to study the Seven Tier Immortal Pagoda, see what might else might be improved."

"Just so long as you do not experiment on it while we are in the air," Wu Ying said, dryly. "There are those who can't fly."

Yang Mu snorted. "That sounds like something you would do, no?"

"Me?" Wu Ying shook his head. "I'm never reckless."

"Mmmm... whose the one who decided to check out a 'strange feeling in the north' and almost anger the Dragon King of the North? Or danced with a bunch of wind dragons?" Tapping her lips, she considered. "No, you're right. You are quite reasonable, so long as it has nothing to do with dragons." Turning to Elder Wang, she said seriously. "There's nothing to do with dragons, is there? For our meetings?"

"No," Elder Wang replied with a light laugh. "Nothing that I know of at least." He hesitated, then added. "Or not exactly."

"What!?" Wu Ying said, suddenly focused and serious. "Elder Wang, please explain yourself."

"Just rumors," the older man said. "It's probably nothing."

"Oh.... those!" Yang Mu said, brightly. "Surely they're just that. After all, if it was true, we would have had further evidence."

"Evidence of what?" Wu Ying said. He hated feeling like a fool, but truth was, when it came to rumors and such discussions about the neighboring kingdoms, he just was not as informed.

"About... a decade and a half ago. Before your arrival," Elder Wang said. "The State of Cai was losing, badly. Their easternmost army had been defeated, and their enemies were marching to reclaim additional land. Many thought they were done for. Then, the armies halted in place, an entire brigade destroyed. The rumors were that a dragon appeared, destroying the brigade and threatened the main army itself. It was only driven off after the cultivators in the army managed to erect a defensive array."

"That sounds like quite the rumor," Wu Ying said. "Surely such a presence would cause more than a single rumor, or be more than that. Surely it would be easy to confirm?"

"That something, something powerful forced the neighboring nations to stop was clear." Elder Wang shrugged. "However, the difference sometimes between a Nascent Soul cultivator with a dragon bloodline, a true dragon, a bonded carp or a powerful technique is difficult. It might even be a single use talisman or enchantment. What is certain is that no such presence has been detected in the intervening years."

"Ah..." Wu Ying relaxed a little, glancing over to Yang Mu. She did not seem particularly surprised by all this. As Elder Wang had explained, such occurrences and sightings could be explained in numerous ways, beyond visitation by a dragon. And even if one appeared.... "Not all dragons are of equal strength, right?" He said brightly.

"No, of course not." Elder Wang frowned. "Though I'd caution in taking any of them lightly. Even the youngest of their kind are born with strength that rivals most peak Core Formation cultivators."

"I recall," Wu Ying said, dryly. As his companion had alluded to, he certainly had his own experiences with those magnificent creatures.

"Did you come down for a reason?" Yang Mu said, cocking her head at Wu Ying.

"Just to see you."

Elder Wang smiled fondly at the pair, stepping away to give them a moment.

Meanwhile Yang Mu waved a hand around. "I'm well entertained. There's a lot to learn here and an opportunity like this..." a shake of her head sent her hands spiraling around, the wind coming up to trace a line across her cheeks and tug at the escaped strands. "it would be rare to receive it. You don't mind, do you?"

"Why would I?" Wu Ying said, lowering his head a little with a smile. "Go. Learn what you can. I should perhaps undertake some of my own preparations."

Yang Mu beamed at him, then stepped back and rejoined Elder Wang. At the same time, Wu Ying took a deep breath and focused. He did have work to do, if he was to prepare for their visit to the state of Wei.

Among other things, reparations for an aggrieved prince.