Mana 5 Chapter 17 (Patreon)

Marking the tomb's direction in my mind with several landmarks, I jumped off the peak and hurried in that direction.

Most of the other cultivators traveling towards the tomb had chosen the safer route through the crevices, but I was more focused on speed.

I wanted to get there sooner rather than later. I had no idea what I was going into, and getting there first would give me time to scout ahead.

So I cruised over the landscape. Jumping along the surface, I cleared each crack in the ground as they came.

I knew the strategy had a clear flaw; I was leaving myself more exposed. But I decided to risk it and handle any attacks as they came.

And it didn’t take very long. As I was moving over one crevice, two ash beasts flew up in ambush.

Both of the beasts were twice the size of a human, but their proportions were ape-like. Their skin was the same ashy gray as the previous beasts, with blazing eyes. They separated, attacking me from both sides.

Throwing a palm at each, they didn’t even block.

Instead, they took my attacks on their chest, their maws opening up into a fang covered abyss as they tried to bite at my shoulders.

Tapping my void mana, I slipped back out of their reach, but their teeth still caught the edge of my shoulder. They were fast, and they didn’t seem to care about their own self preservation, only my destruction. That made fighting much trickier.

They came at me again, forcing me on the defensive as they pushed me back. I growled. I didn’t have time to lose any ground.

I blocked and dodged as the two ash beasts threw themselves at me once again as I worked on forming a plan.

Pushing them into a rhythm that I wanted, I worked to get their attacks to sync as to give myself more room to work.

While they were both recovering from my latest dodge, I pulled my bonesword from my inner world. Darting forward with a crescent slash I had once learned from my father, I attacked.

Both ash beasts fell into piles of ash.

Curious, I put away the sword and kicked at the ash, trying to figure out what the creatures really were.

Amid the ash, my foot caught on something. Curious, I bent down and pulled free a jagged blood-red stone. It wasn’t clear exactly what it was, but it pulsed faintly with turbid, violent mana.

Picking the two stones out of the ash, I put them in my spatial ring. Kicking the ash pile again, there was nothing else left.

Deciding they were a mystery for another time, I hurried towards the tomb again, bouncing along the surface of the shard.

But as I started away from the beasts, I realized I had an audience.

“What are you doing on your own?” A man called out, jumping out from a crack. Several others peered out of the crack, backing him.

“I’m doing what everybody else is, rushing to the tomb.” I answered, confused at why he seemed so relaxed. The man had grease stains in the corner of his mouth, and I realized there was smoke drifting up from the crack he emerged from.

He scratched the back of his head. “These sorts of things always take time. This isn’t my first trip. I’m Daomu Biji, but you can call me Mu.” He seemed friendly enough.

“Hi Mu. I’m Isaac, from Blueheavens. Our party was ambushed when we first arrived.”

Mu winced. “Everyone is after Blueheavens on this one. Come on, join us for dinner.” He waved over his shoulder and dropped back into the crack.

Not quite sure what to make of the man, I followed him down, keeping alert.

As we got down into the crack, I was able to take better stock of his group. There were six cultivators, including Mu, sitting around a fire.

“You said this isn’t your first time in a shard?” I asked.

“No, not at all. A shard comes close, maybe once every five or ten years. My family isn’t one of the big ones, but we’ve made a name for ourselves exploring these shards.” He slapped his forehead. “I’m being disrespectful. These are all members of my family. Everyone, this is Isaac.”

“But why is there no rush to get to the tomb?” I asked after greeting everyone. They all had the Biji name. The group consisted of three women and three men; half of them were Mu’s direct siblings.

Rei Biji shook her head. “No, these sorts of things aren’t open already. There will be some sort of trial to open the tomb. From there, it will be a series of trials and tribulations to get to the big reward. And regardless, there will be plenty of smaller rewards along the way. No need to go for the big one right off the bat.”

I took what they said at face value. They seemed to be confident in how to navigate the shards and at least appeared to be trying to help me. People who weren’t trying to kill Ming Feng, or I seemed to be hard to come by in the shard, so I tried to keep it friendly.

A thought occurred to me. “Does it have anything to do with the ash beasts?” I held out the strange stone I’d found.

They nodded and Mu spoke. “There really isn’t anything else on this stupid rock. Chances are extremely high that we’ll have to kill ash beasts to unseal the tomb.”

I rolled the stone in my hand. “So, we should just go hunting.”

“No sense in that either.” Rei shook out her hair. “Kill a few, get a handful of stones, and then wait to see what happens at the tomb entrance. These sorts of things are almost impossible to prepare for. What if we killed all the ash beasts, came with a bag of stones, and the front of the tomb had a message that you had to spill other people’s blood on the stone to enter?”

“That’s oddly specific.” I said, growing a bit more concerned.

“Not unusual for this sort of thing.” Mu picked a piece of meat cooking by the fire and started back in on it. “You never know when having something beforehand makes you a target. The purpose of tombs is to weed out the people trying to claim the main prize. Make sure it only goes to those that are worthy. There will be lots of kills; it’s best to keep your head as low as possible for that sort of thing.”

My wives came to mind, but they could handle themselves and once we reunited, we’d stand as a strong group bound by more than just simple loyalties. Better I link back up with them soon.

I nodded. I had anticipated that the tomb would be a challenge of some sort, but it made it even more deadly if even those who weren’t out for Ming Feng specifically could benefit from attacking her group.

No doubt exploring these shards had not helped build bonds between the families. It was no wonder they seemed always out for each other’s blood. And I’d likely fare no better, making a few more enemies before it was all done. “Why do these tombs even exist?”

“If I could talk to one of the ancient experts, I’d ask that very question. But most people believe it is so that someone strong and worthy carries on their legacy, whether that be a drop of phoenix essence blood, or some famed technique. It is likely the expert that was trapped on this shard knew they were dying and built it in their last days.” Rei rubbed her hands together in excitement.

I leaned back, enjoying the small warmth of the fire and not being alone. It was fortuitous that I had met up with a group that knew their way around the shards.

Though, it was likely that Ming Feng and other groups knew much of this information already. I suspected my wives were even getting the same information I was at their first campfire for the night.

“So then, what do you suggest we do?” I asked Rei.

“We kill a few ash beasts. And then everyone holds onto just a few of the red rocks. We move towards the tomb, but we don’t rush. We save our energy and health along the way, so we are fresh when we arrive.”

I nodded in understanding. Having a low number of these rocks would hedge their bets against what they were used for.

But Rei continued. “So, are you strong?” Rei leaned forward, looking me up and down.

“I’m not sure how I compare to the other cities, but among the experts from Blueheavens, I’m quite powerful.” I answered.

Mu finished his chicken and asked excitedly. “Have you fought Ming Feng?”

“No, but I’ve seen her fight. I could hold my own against her.” I had seen her fight briefly in the hunting grounds. If that was any judge of her strength, I was a match for her. But given her status in her family, there was no doubt in my mind that she had a few tricks up her sleeves.

“That’s great.” Rei clapped. “We aren’t fighters.”

“What?” I was surprised by her admission. “Isn’t this going to be filled with combat? How can you be an expert on shards and not fight?”

“We’ll make it pretty far, avoiding direct conflict with any of the experts here.” Mu explained. “Sometimes it is just about getting into the tomb and solving the puzzles it presents. We take smaller prizes along the way. And when we get into a big fight, we just bow out.”

“Then why come at all?” Confusion settled between my brow. I couldn’t piece together the reason for coming into a shard intending not to fight.

“Because this place is filled with treasure. We could make more collecting valuables here than we could in the ten years of harvesting herbs and beasts around the city.” Rei jumped in. “That’s why this is so exciting.”

“Won’t someone still try to kill you for your treasures?”

Mu gave me the widest grin I’d ever seen. “Why don’t you try to attack me.”

“Yeah!” Rei agreed.

I looked around the rest of the group, and none of them seemed disturbed by the idea. I smiled, curious, eating away at me. Clearly, they had something up their sleeve, and I was happy to oblige and find out what it was. “Be ready.”

Mu didn’t even stand up, he just folded his hand, asking for the attack.

Not wanting to injure him, I slapped forward a palm attack. My mana surged forward, but it hit nothing.

Mu blurred momentarily before once again sitting in his spot like nothing had happened.

I squinted in confusion and struck again, paying closer attention to what Mu was doing.

My eyes were playing tricks on me. Each of my attacks seemed to pass right through him, but the ground told another story.

Dust kicked up at his feet as he moved so incredibly quickly that he dodged my attack. Then he returned to the same space. But I could only determine that by the dust he left behind. My eyes couldn’t track his motion. Visually, it just looked like my attacks were passing through him.

“Incredible.” I withdrew my hands and gave him a slight bow. “Everyone in your family can do that?”

“It’s our family technique, the mirage ghost.” Mu confirmed. “We all start learning it from a young age. With this technique, we are able to explore tombs and hidden areas of the world safely.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “How has n one forced this technique from your family’s hands. Can you attack with it?”

“To attack with it would be to abandon the technique. It is one of self preservation, not violence.” He spoke as if he was repeating words that had been beaten into his head since a kid.

I also figured that his family likely enjoyed remaining more neutral. They weren’t a threat and made fewer enemies if they didn’t participate in the violence.

But the technique was powerful, one of the greatest movement techniques I’d ever seen.

“Then I won’t pry. It is truly impressive.” I complemented their ability.

***

That night, I settled in while the Biji family rested. Trusting the group around me, but I still set up several enchanted stones around me as protection before. I delved into my shared soul space, wanting to make sure my wives were all okay.

I was pleased to find them all waiting.

Once they finished ambushing me with kisses and hugs, we settled in to share what we’d learned so far.

“Yes, we’ve been told much the same, although tactics slightly vary. Ming Feng is on a quest to collect as many of the ash beast cores as she can.” Michelle confirmed much of what I suspected.

I was surrounded by my wives. My mana beasts hadn’t joined us yet, which made me guess that ‘The Game’ was in full swing.

“Should we try to dissuade her of that tactic?” Kat asked the other women. “Given what our husband has found, the Biji family might be onto something.”

“Fat chance of convincing her to change her tactics.” Wenxi was present. Now that she had joined me in bed, Kat had shared her technique, and she had fit her soul palace into the shared space. “She is on a mission to get the phoenix essence blood. The ambush only made her want to get some sort of lead.”

Scratching my chin, I knew she was right. Ming Feng’s family legacy depended on this. “Let her collect as many as she can, but be careful. When you approach the tomb, the risk will be highest. Stay on your guard.”

They nodded, and I changed the subject. “Everybody is okay? Every one of you made it out of the ambush unscathed?”

Thea winced, and I stared her down until she spoke. “I got a little banged up. But I’ll be better in a day or two.”

Michelle nodded in confirmation when I checked with her. “She has a wound on her side, but it is healing.”

I clicked my tongue. “Who did it?”

“The creepy spider men.” Diana answered for her.

I made a mental note to kill the Zhi family if I saw them. Attacking me was one thing, but I wouldn’t let an attack on my wives go without punishment.

“And you?” Michelle turned the question back around.

“Forced to reveal several bloodlines, and I was injured, but I have since recovered.” I shrugged it off, not wanting to tell them just how close it had been if it hadn’t been for the two ash beasts giving me a distraction. “I went a different direction than you all. The tomb is almost due north of me.”

“Northeast for us.” Celina commented. “Sounds like we might not be that far apart, but there are no landmarks to use for an easy meet up. Too much tall dark rock everywhere.” She rolled her eyes.

The landscape was too bleak for any of us to mark our passage besides the direction of the tomb.

“What of Hendrick and Quixi? Did Ming Feng punish him for almost betraying her?”

Wenxi snorted. “No. As expected, my cousin wormed her way back into Ming Feng’s good graces.”

“Shame.” It would have been easier for me if Ming Feng had abandoned them. I could already picture hunting them down among the dark rocks of this place.

“The tomb will incite conflict. If Hendrick was okay with betraying her once, he will probably do it again. He’ll show his true colors, eventually.” Kat wrinkled her nose in distaste. “We’ll just have to be ready for the opportunity.”

I nodded. “Focus on this tomb. From everything that the Biji family is telling me, there are many treasures in there beyond the phoenix essence blood. Obtaining more power for ourselves is the top priority.” As much as I wanted to kill Hendricks and Quixi, I would not let that hatred cloud my ability to see other opportunities.

All my wives nodded at the sentiment, except Kat, who once again was over plucking petals off flowers. “Should kill them in their sleep.” She muttered. “Trap them in their soul.”

“We can’t attack yet.” I spoke softly and moved over to rub her back. She leaned into me. “If Ming Feng is still on their side, then you risk starting a fight with the rest of the group.”

“I know.” Kat looked up at me, sighing. But as her kaleidoscope eyes met mine, adoration shone through them. “But maybe later?” As her eyes drifted away from mine, I saw calculations running through her brain. “Ming likes to talk to our group. I’ll see if I can’t talk her into it.”

She dropped the flower onto the floor, crushing it under her foot with a smile.

I wasn’t sure Ming Feng would go for it, but I didn’t have the energy to stop Kat from her scheming.

It made sense why Ming kept him around. He may be a snake, but he was also one of the stronger cultivators in her group. She needed his strength, even if she couldn’t trust him.

“Alright, I think we’ve talked about this enough. There’s not enough information to make any concrete plans or decisions, so we just proceed with caution.” Michelle clapped her hands, ending the family meeting. “I’m going to wake up and keep an eye on camp and all of you.”

“Not a bad idea for most of you.” I agreed. The last thing I wanted was for something to happen to them.

While I couldn’t quite determine why, I felt extremely safe with the Biji family. Mu and Rei had been welcoming and relaxed, and I truly didn’t see any offensive abilities pop out among them.

While there was risk, my entire life was filled with risk. This one felt safe. And if they were willing to let me stay within their warded enchantments, I could use the rest. There was no knowing what was to come.

***

As my wives disappeared, I wandered around my soul palace, looking at all the mana crystals now intertwined throughout it. They were beautiful and powerful. They added to the grandness of the space.

As I walked around, I started to get bored and lonely. I wasn’t used to being alone for so long.

Letting my curiosity get the best of me, and I floated up towards my mana beasts’ soul palaces.

Careful not to disturb them by sensing for them, I took a guess at where to go, heading towards Aurora’s.

The massive Kunpeng had a floating mountain with a hole carved out of the center for her soul palace.

I’d never been inside, but the entrance was massive, large enough for her Kunpeng form.

Pushing my soul to the lip of the cave, I paused and listened.

“My turn.” Mei shouted before they all went quiet. “I take out this one.”

“No fair. Why are you picking on me.” Lumi whined. “It’s because I’m the new girl, isn’t it?”

Confirming they were inside, I crept forward, taking in Aurora’s soul palace for the first time.

Where mine was an ornate fortress, hers was a simple cave, at least from the outside. But it didn’t change much on the inside. The only change was that more of the surfaces were covered in soft, plush pillows. They were mounded up in odd spots, almost like a sleepy Kunpeng could nap in almost every area.

As I moved forward, I reached a center area and froze. It was familiar, and it only took me a moment to place it.

In the very middle of the wide open cave was a sandbox. One just like I’d had as a child.

When I’d first met her, Aurora had come to me in that sandbox. I’d been five at the time, playing with little figurines. It was a silly child’s game.

Somehow, seeing that same sandbox in the middle of her soul palace melted my heart. How long had that been there?

I imagined a lonely Kunpeng trapped and waiting in my immature body, sitting by this replica sandbox, waiting to play with me.

Sometimes I forgot that she’d spent thirteen years trapped inside of me before my body was strong enough to take on her core.

The thought of her sitting in this sandbox alone for thirteen years playing by herself made my heart ache. I couldn’t imagine isolation for that long.

But at the moment, she looked perfectly happy. All four mana beasts were hunched over the sandbox as if it was a strategic military map. And each of them had their own set of different colored miniatures while they pondered over The Game.

“Master?” Aurora looked up, feeling my gaze before she shot forward, flaring her wings to block me from seeing the figurines. “No, you weren’t supposed to see it.”

She paused, taking me in. “Master, are you crying?” Her energy changed immediately as she grew concerned, wrapping her arms around me. Sure enough, I realized a few tears had trickled down my face.

I scooped her up and pressed her to my chest while I rubbed her head and gave her all the love I could. I didn’t want to bring her back to the time she’d spent alone, so I didn’t work to confirm my theory of how the game had been originally created. Whatever it had been then, it was now something she played with the other mana beasts, something fun and full of family.

So instead, I kissed the top of her head. “Is this The Game? Teach me how to play.”

AN - I got a little teary eyed reading this again. But next chapter you get to play The Game.

Also I've been on a little auto pilot editing large chunks and posting them. I missed something I meant to ask. How was the Wenxi sex scene? I tried to do it differently after rereading some Herald of Shalia again.