STNS: Chapter 372 (Patreon)

Wu Jian had spent several days inside of that cave. His newfound strength had been far too much for a single day’s worth of effort.

He spent the entire first day in meditation, which was essential for harmonizing his chi and achieving balance. By meditating for a prolonged period of time, he was able to calm his mind, release his inner tension, and regulate the flow of chi through his meridians. It was harder than it sounded. Meditating was far more than just sitting on his butt and keeping his eyes closed.

Once he was able to properly harmonize his chi, he needed to learn how to control it. He had noticed during his battle against the Blaze Lions that he was overexerting hi chi. He would simply use more than what was needed. Overexertion or loss of control could lead to instability. By practicing control exercises, such as breathing techniques and energy manipulation, he was able to learn how to properly control his newfound strength, which led to an increased stabilization in his cultivation.

Wu Jian also trained his body. With his newfound cultivation, his physical strength had skyrocketed. Cultivators tapped into their chi subconsciously. The flow of chi through their bodies was an automatic function, like how blood flowed through the veins. As the body became more adept at channeling and harnessing that chi, the increased energy flow significantly augmented a cultivator’s physical strength, speed, and endurance. In order to keep up with this, Wu Jian had practiced several body control exercises to help him learn how to control his strength.

He would have done more, but the noise outside had made it impossible. Even without stretching out his awareness, he could sense the surges of chi, like the ebb and flow of a tide or the eruption of a volcano. When he did stretch out his senses, a frown found its way onto his face.

There’s an unknown individual fighting against Huo Yulie. Who is he? And why is he with Huǒ Pànguó? Also, when did Huǒ Shuchang get here?

A battle was going on just outside of this cave. Huǒ Yulie was protecting him from someone, that much he understood, and Huǒ Shuchang was fighting against their older brother alongside Youmei. He opened his eyes, then narrowed them when, through judicial use of the Dao of Space, he saw Youmei get injured. His magical beast companion had not grown stronger since the tournament began. Huǒ Pànguó was more than a match for her.

He stood up, walked over to the barrier, and sliced straight through it. Darkness erupted in a thin line as space distorted. He walked through the barrier, which soon dissipated. His eyes narrowed further when he saw a bright ball of incandescent flames barely a chih away from Huǒ Shuchang’s face. If that thing exploded right there, his friend and magical beast companion would both die.

I am one with the universe.

With a simple motion of his hand, a casual wave like he was removing dust from the air, he created a line through space that severed the sphere in half. He didn’t even need to be near the attack anymore to cut through space. Distance no longer mattered, so long as his target was within his line of sight. The dark voice that appeared seconds later sucked up all the energy from the sphere. Huǒ Pànguó’s attack soon vanished.

“What’s going on here?” he asked.

Everyone turned to him. The man whose name he had yet to know, Huǒ Pànguó, Huǒ Shuchang, and Huǒ Yulie all stared like they had seen a ghost.

“You! What did you just do?!” Huǒ Pànguó demanded to know.

Wu Jian turned to him, and Huǒ Pànguó flinched.

“I am the one asking the questions here, though I feel like I don’t need an answer anymore.”

It was obvious to him what had happened, though less obvious were the circumstances. Whatever circumstances had led to this moment were irrelevant, however, since all that really mattered was knowing that his friends and companion had been attacked by these two.

Everything exists within the universe.

Wu Jian took a single step forward. Space bent to his whims, and quite suddenly, before anyone could even blink, he was standing beside Huǒ Pànguó, his arm raised skyward. Something plopped to the chasm floor with a dull thud. Nobody seemed to realize what happened at first, least of all the man beside him. However, Huǒ Pànguó soon realized what had fallen to the ground.

“AAhhh… AAAAAHHHH! MY ARM!!!”

Huǒ Pànguó screamed in anguish as he reached out toward his stump. Blood spurt from the wound just now, as though the veins there had finally realized the arm was gone. Agonized howls echoed around the chasm as Huǒ Pànguó fell to his knees.

“You’re lucky an arm is all I removed,” Wu Jian said in a cold voice. His anger was contained, but it still seeped through his tone. “You let a strange man infiltrate this realm, attacked my friends, and hurt my companion. Losing an arm isn’t even close to enough compensation.”

Huǒ Pànguó gritted his teeth. “Damn… you… fucking peasant! You dare hurt me! You… are courting death!”

“No. You’re the one courting death,” Wu Jian declared. “I might not have the full picture, but you attacked Huǒ Yulie, the pride and joy of the Phoenix Clan. Such actions are a betrayal of the Phoenix Clan. There’s no way they will stand for what you’ve done.”

Huǒ Pànguó’s face paled. “I…”

“Well, this is quite the pickle we’ve found ourselves in, huh?”

Wu Jian furrowed his brow as the mysterious man with Huǒ Pànguó appeared right next to him within the blink of an eye. He saw through his mind’s eye how the man had stepped into a shadow and emerged from another one. It was similar to Youmei’s Shadow Walking but different at the same time, more refined.

[Soul Corrosion]

The man thrust an open palm at Wu Jian’s chest, but it passed right through him as he used Nihility to become intangible. While the attack might not have damaged him, Wu Jian still felt the chi attempting to disrupt his technique. He clicked his tongue.

If everything exists within the universe, then I exist within everything.

Wu Jian disappeared. At the same time, he reappeared directly behind the man, Pale Moon appearing in his hand, which he swung with impunity at the man’s neck. His intention was to remove the man’s head from his shoulders. That didn’t happen. The man’s body became shadow, which his sword sliced clean through. The shadows engulfed Huǒ Pànguó and his missing arm, then vanished, only to re-emerge on the other side of the chasm. All of this happened within a split second.

“You've become exceedingly powerful for someone who just stepped into the Deva Realm,” the man said. “You’re only at the first subrealm, and yet, I can tell you’re more than capable of fighting someone at the Seeker Realm on even footing.” He shifted his gaze from Wu Jian to Huǒ Yulie. “It seems I’m at a disadvantage now, so I’ll take my leave. I’m sure we’ll meet again, though. My name is Shen Yunhai. Be sure to remember for the next time we meet.”

Wu Jian narrowed his eyes. “Do you think I’ll just let you go?”

For I am one with the universe.

[Spatial Lock]

With a flick of his fingers, Wu Jian invoked his technique, weaving intricate patterns in the air. Threads of energy like invisible chains coiled around Shen Yunhai, seeking to restrain him within their intangible grasp. This was the improved version of his technique. It completely immobilized all enemies by trapping them within a specific space.

“What an interesting technique,” Shen Yunhai. “I have never met anyone who’s mastery of the Dao of Space was this comprehensive. You are quite talented… but talent is not everything.”

A cold shiver crawled up Wu Jian’s spine as he sensed a shift in the atmosphere. Shen Yunhai’s eyes glittered with mysterious intensity as the ethereal chains closed around him. He didn’t even flinch; instead, he melded into the shadows that clung to the chasm walls.

And the universe is me.

Wu Jian once more summoned Pale Moon, which he raised high into the air. Spatial fluctuations created distortions that rent the atmosphere. Darkness like the sky at night glittering with a sea of stars gathered along his blade, condensing around the edge. His eyes glowed with otherworldly light before, with a single fluid motion, he brought the sword down.

[Severance Wave]

What erupted from Pale Moon was a massive crescent wave of black chi that sliced through everything within its path. It bit into the chasm where Huǒ Pànguó and Shen Yunhai were, the proceeded to cut straight through. The technique died down, and what appeared before them was a massive gash shaped like a triangle in the chasm wall, one that spread at least several dozen chi across and another several dozen deep.

Wu Jian frowned as he stretched out his senses. If his attack had killed those two, there would be some residual chi leftover, but he felt nothing.

They escaped. Dammit.

“It looks like they’re gone,” Wu Jian said, turning to the pair.

“Jian Wu, I am glad to see thy cultivation hath stabilized. I thank thee for coming to our aid. However...”

Wu Jian tilted his head when Huǒ Yulie went silent. “However?”

“'Tis... nothing. Prithee, forget I uttered aught. In either event, I thank thee for appearing in this timely hour. My elder brother wouldst have been entangled in dire straits hadst thou not graced us with thy presence.”

“I… I could have handled it,” Huǒ Shuchang muttered.

“Really? Because it looked to me like you were about to be blown to smithereens,” said Wu Jian.

“That’s rude! I had a plan, I swear!”

“If your plan was getting blown up, then it’s a good thing I came when I did.”

“I swear that wasn’t my plan!”

While Wu Jian teased Huǒ Shuchang a bit, they didn’t have the time to loaf around there. The first thing Wu Jian needed to do was make sure Youmei was okay. She was, quite fortunately, just unconscious, and she would be fine after he fed her a pill to recover from her injuries. He also didn’t want to stick around there. Shen Yunhai knew where they were. They might have driven him back, but he didn’t doubt the man would return. The only reason he retreated was because he had been outnumbered.

Wu Jian carried the unconscious Youmei on his back as he, Huǒ Yulie, and Huǒ Shuchang made their way through the chasm. Several magical beasts tried to get in their way, but Huǒ Yulie dealt with them easily. They soon emerged from the chasm. What appeared on the other side was…

“A forest?”

It was, indeed, a forest, but one unlike anything he had ever seen. It bore the indelible mark of the realm’s fiery essence, a unique blend of natural beauty and blazing splendor. Towering trees adorned with leaves that glimmered like burnished gold, each one a fiery crimson, as if they had been touched by the very flames of creation. Every gentle breeze that rustled through them created a soft, melodious whisper that resonated like a sacred hymn. The forest seemed perpetually bathed in the warm, radiant hues of a setting sky, which was painted in shades of orange and deep crimson, casting a breathtaking, fiery glow over everything below. Thee underbrush was a tapestry of luminescent vegetation. Flowers, moss, and fungi emitted their own bioluminescent radiance, casting an enchanting glow over the forest.

Even the creatures within this forest bore the symbols of flame. Among the trees and within the depths, Wu Jian caught glimpses of creatures uniquely adapted to this fiery realm--fire-elemental birds with crimson plumage soared through the air, and fiery fox-like creatures with tails that trailed flames darted among the undergrowth. These creatures must have adapted to coexist in harmony with the flames that defined this realm.

“This, mine companions, is the Eternal Emberwood,” said Huǒ Yulie. “Lord Phoenix, in a great battle, did create it. His blood was shed o'er this land, and it didst bring forth life.”

“That explains it. Only a creature of rebirth could conceive something like this,” Wu Jianj nodded.

“It’s getting late,” Huǒ Shuchang said. “We should find a place to rest.”

“Right. Let’s go.”

With his two companions in tow, Wu Jian entered the Eternal Emberwood Forest.