Before at last beginning to pen his masterwork.
For only a second he froze, blood burbling like a dying scream upon the page, desperate to convey what he wanted to say.
Yet the words that spurted free from his spirit were neither English nor of any empirical dialect, but rather equations of blood and essence that spoke the story of his very soul.
He ceased worrying about their odd shape, caring only for the wisdom they would convey, infusing the fury, passion, and resolve that had forged him since the moment he had dared face down a greater lord of Hell, pulling himself free of the River of Souls to be reborn once more.
The resolve that had kept him upright and focused as he figured out the dark secrets of the slave collar, the infusion of Dark Qi that had destroyed his foe’s cursed armor, the deadly fight against a freed demon that had left Alex just a whisper away from oblivion…
And finally, the divine path he had taken to heal himself from death’s doorstep, purging from his very soul the dark curses that had sought to damn him even as his meridians were healed of all damage, his flesh knitting cleanly once more, free of all wounds.
And how his insights along the path of the Eternal Fox had grown, even as he and the children he had intended to rescue had raced across forest and fields in this world and spiritual worlds below and above, risking eternal peril as they forged themselves into mighty cultivators daring those first perilous steps along paths of greatness, forging themselves in the fire of unforgiving martial techniques even as they healed themselves at an inhuman pace, learning to infuse their very cells with Dark and Light Qi in a harmonious balance so perfect it could reverse the very effects of aging, allowing one to maintain the most pristine of forms until violent death alone laid them low, the very specter of hoary old age defeated by dint of the Eternal Fox.
A technique that incorporated paths that any aspiring kitsune girl could use to cleanse her meridian gateways without strain. A method for anyone to rejuvenate and repair any damage to mind, body, or meridian channels.
And then came a crucible like no other, Alex forced to endure an endless series of duels against cultivators who wished for his death above all else.
Somehow, Alex was even able to convey even that desperate fury within his masterwork, coughing and shuddering as the burgundy ink spurted from the now-crimson feather, drenched in his own blood.
The furious onslaught of attacks he had endured, the cracked bones and bruised organs he had healed in just minutes, catching his breath in just seconds, all under the glaring gazes of his enemies as additional insights allowed him to tap into the wild potential of raw beast cores, an inhuman feat that now any disciple of Eternal Fox would be able to do, with the lessons Alex conveyed within the crimson runes spattered upon the gold-white pages of his divine artifact.
His very soul.
And with a shuddering wheeze, Alex wrote on.
“You are pushing yourself, disciple.”
“I have so much still to write, master.”
Quiet laughter. “Then by all means, write away. Even should you perish this day, your immortality will be assured.”
Alex flashed a bleak smile, already painfully aware of this terrible truth.
His masterwork could very well consume him.
But he sure as heaven wouldn’t stop.
Not until he had finished.
But one thing Alex was not, was stupid.
Even as he transcribed the wonders of his gift, he embraced it as well.
Power Healing accessed! Your blood is now regenerating!
As to what exactly his gift was using to repair him, with all his resources devoted solely into forging his masterwork, Alex didn’t dare contemplate, pouring all of himself into his creation once more.
He wrote of his insights regarding Cleansing Breath purification technique and White Crane cycling technique, cleansing meridians and cycling Light Qi as a whole, not tied to any specific element. In his mastery over both, he had incorporated their truths utterly into his Eternal Fox technique.
So too, White Crane kung fu and its quiet truths and deadly application became one with the crimson-gold lessons he sought to convey, his manual showing the Way of the Body and Meridians both, as flashes of all his battles and the flow of spear, fangtian ji, and dao in the struggle for survival against all foes, the story of his soul, flowed into his masterwork as well.
Culminating in the night of Divine Storms, Alex forging a path that wouldn’t merely cleanse meridians and rejuvenate the body, but forge unspeakably strong and potent meridian channels as well, channeling the madness of the storm, his fallen foes, and the incredible power and potency of raw beast cores into both Dark and Light rivers of crackling potency within his own pristine meridian design, a seven-pointed star that was utterly one with his soul.
A divine path for he who would risk his very soul, and for more prudent disciples, it was a path that would assure advancement for even the least gifted cultivator with seven meridian gates intact, should he or she be willing to devote the decades, even centuries it would take for the lowliest to ascend from basic cultivation to pristine Bronze, and from there to enlightened Silver. And for the most gifted of cultivators, it might even allow ascension to Gold in the time it took the tiniest sapling to bloom into the grandest Redwood. A period spanning millennium, but old age was a burden no practitioner of this divine technique need fear.
And still he did not stop, conveying darker lessons still. For the Poisoner’s Path was also a part of his soul. Any student who dared study this far would have already experienced the exhaustion, agony, and triumph of any arena champion, any slayer of the foulest of spirits. Yet now they would have to endure the memories of a poisoning so awful, it imperiled one’s very soul.
The most dedicated Eternal Fox practitioners who dared absorb this manual from beginning to end would learn to instinctively ward off all caustic compounds, all poisons, to achieve a pristine form so durable that ten damage would be reduced for every attack using drugs, poisons, or alchemical Qi, for every rank in Eternal Fox earned. An incredible defense against one deadly school Alex had such a unique affinity for, for all that, in terms of boosts to power, strength, or damage resistance, Alex’s Eternal Fox path might be among the weakest body cultivation disciplines of all.
But for those who could sense and appreciate its strengths, Alex had forged a masterwork which he suspected had no equal.
And his tale was not done, for all that lessons mastered had been imparted to the best of his ability, in spirit, body, and soul.
He then wrote of his desperate drive to understand the very fundaments of Qi, having directly channeled so much of it that terrible night, gaining Adept mastery at what had once been a forbidden martial style, manipulating the raw flow of Qi in ways that would be perilous to the impure who failed to ascend, even as it allowed for the deadliest strikes imaginable.
Indeed, Alex found great relish in conveying the awe and wonder he had felt, channeling the very storm it had seemed, while fusing Silver Swan and White Crane together. He had exhilarated in feeling the flow of Air, Metal, and Lightning itself cracking against his target as he refined himself against the awful weight of elements tied to the poisons searing through his veins, refining himself even against the Fire and Spirit of his enemy’s hate while forging a master technique, achieving Bronze, and claiming the intertwined elements of poison hungering for his very soul into the Dark and Light twin strands racing along his forged meridian channels even now.
All this Alex conveyed within his masterwork, shying not at all in teaching even his secret techniques of Adderstrike and Bullrush as the two tapped into Light Qi as a whole, though they were specialized Qi disciplines, using internal Qi reserves alone.
Until at last his phoenix plume expelled its final crimson rune upon the page as Alex fell into an exhausted heap, sensing that his work was finally done. He chuckled softly as he gazed into eyes that were normally so hard, so mysterious, now peering back a
t him in genuine concern as he felt the hard library floor turn to softest sand, feeling the gentle lapping waves of the river caress his exhausted legs.
The icy chill of before was gone. If anything, it was warm. Warm as the most soothing of baths.
“Disciple...”
But his mentor didn’t need to say anything at all as Alex forced himself to breathe, realizing he had forgotten how to, some seconds ago, heart skittering in sudden panic, Alex recalling all too well the price he had paid for the path he now dared.
There would be no rebirth for him.
No matter how warm and welcoming the waters, should he slip into the River of Souls and fail to pull himself out in time, his doom would be absolute.
His was now a soul too dangerous to ever let free once more.
Congratulations! Your perilous journey to the depths of your own soul means you can sense the flow of universal Qi and your place within this universe more clearly than ever! Qi Perception is now Rank 6!
Saving throw versus Oblivion successful!
Congratulations! You have forged a Divine Tome!
Your cultivation manual contains the following paths of knowledge:
Eternal Fox Unified Cultivation Technique (and all peripheral techniques) - Rank 9
White Crane Kung Fu - Rank 6
Silver Swan Kung Fu - Rank 5
Your cultivation manual gives insights that worthy students can use to master the basics of: Adderstrike / Bullrush / Qi Perception.
Your divine tome contains 2 Forbidden techniques. (One overt, one hidden.)
Your divine tome serves as a nexus of Dark and Light Qi synergism involving all elements. It is conceivable that your tome may serve as a catalyst for numerous breakthroughs beyond your own personal understanding.
This manual taps directly into your experiences and skills as a Spiritual Teacher. Any prospective student will learn the lessons within just as quickly as you directly teaching them while on a mystic carriage ride between worlds.
Any student able to survive the lessons within will have immediate access to all breakthroughs they choose to study!
Any student able to survive the lessons within will be able to ascend to Enlightened Silver or Gold, though this may take many centuries.
Those who would risk everything may ascend even further.
This divine tome, forged from a fragment of your very soul, is indestructible!
As a divine tome, it cannot be transcribed or taught, save to the degree it is mastered by its student. Any transcribed tome will lose the benefit of Spiritual Teacher Rank 6 and can only contain as many breakthroughs as said student has achieved Ranks in Eternal Fox. Any instructor in Eternal Fox can only convey as many breakthroughs as they have achieved in Ranks, and Rank 9 must be achieved for any scholar or instructor to teach or inscribe your entire unified system, inclusive of all peripheral skills and secret techniques. (You yourself are the only exception to this rule.)
Congratulations! You are now an Adept-ranked Spiritual Teacher! Instruct your students in the basics of your arts at almost supernatural speeds!
Alex blinked, awakening within the wondrous garden lush with exotic blooms in the heart of his divine artifact, both awed and chilled by the glowing tome levitating in the air before him.
Made of what felt like either finest leather or vellum, the cover was of a color that defied any attempts to easily quantify it: a darkness so glossy it possessed a brilliant shimmering hue, particularly under the golden light of his saintly fangtian ji presently nurturing his garden like a gently glowing sun. Upon the very center of the tome was a Taijitu or Yin and Yang symbol outlined in diamond and jade, and the eyes within both the dark and light swirling pair of tear drops were shaped like a pair of foxes, which somehow didn’t surprise him in the least.
Presently lacking even the strength to stand, Alex quickly summoned some of his plentiful food reserves, including his stored spirit beast meat and several perfectly ripe apples from the trees even now blossoming in his magnificent garden, basking in the light of his saintly artifact.
He couldn’t help but feel a sense of wonder and awe with his creation. For all that he hadn’t quite been able to catch whatever glimpse of insight he had been striving for, ascending no further in his own wisdom with its forging, he felt more comfortable with his foundation than ever before.
But a certain tidbit revealed by his interface was more than a little bit troubling.
“Any student able to survive the lessons within?”
But no one responded. Even when he left his garden and entered the vast library now swelling with all the texts that comprised one of Lady Jidihu’s greatest treasures now under his stewardship, he found it utterly empty of anyone save himself, most especially empty of his divine patron, as perhaps it had been the whole time.
But he could almost imagine WiFu chuckling quietly within his mind.
“Of course, little fox. You cannot help but visualize perfection. Pristine channels can be forged. But if a prospective cultivator lacks a set of fully-formed meridian gateways and dares to read your masterwork...”
Alex winced, instantly understanding. With the rate at which knowledge and insights would flood anyone who dared to glimpse the crimson sigils within his artifact, should they lack the expected seven gateways, his manual would utterly destroy them.
He’d like to think his path was flexible enough to allow for even more complex potentialities. A gifted genius who somehow had more than seven gates would not suffer for the wisdom within. But such a one would have to forge his own meridian path. And though blockages were not a problem, for any cultivator born with less than seven intact gateways, in other words, the overwhelming majority…
He shook his head, pushing the grisly thought away, promising himself that he would use his Soul Sight and Spiritual Teacher skills to make sure only students who at least had the potential for Bronze would have access to his tome.
He smiled fondly at his creation, wondering if he could somehow put in a forward to that effect, before realizing that, his miraculous epiphany at last past, he had utterly tapped all his Dark and Light Qi reserves, and the mundane pen and ink he brought forth left absolutely no mark on what was, after all, a divine artifact.
He chuckled softly, settling for forging a book jacket out of thick vellum, glorying once more in how easy basic crafting was in this ring where his will and visualization alone would let him shape so many mundane objects, before carefully inscribing that only those able to open all seven of their gates dared glimpse the secrets within. He nodded, before writing a second quick aside that to dare experiment with Silver Swan techniques necessitated abstinence until Silver had been achieved. As to why he had even poured so many secrets, so much of himself, within the pages of that tome when he had originally intended a far more modest work, he could only say that inspiration had taken ahold of him, for good or ill.
At last he was done, and he realized that it was time for him to face what he had been dreading.
For all that there was merit to caution, and his reserves would allow him to stay safe and hidden for countless weeks, even months, perhaps longer if he devoted himself to his garden, that would do nothing for the people he cared about.
People even now heading for a fresh new city to call their home, free of the increasingly deadly intolerance of this school.
Friends who, for all their brilliance and skill, perhaps didn’t realize just how black and bitter was the hate being rallied against him.
Alex had come perilously close to utter expiration, despite all his power, with the barest caress of that alchemist’s deadly power.
He could only imagine the peril his kitsune friends would face if that monster Lai Leng had a mind to hunt them down.
For all Alex knew, the alchemist, or the countless cronies subservient to him, could be hunting them down at that very moment.
Alex’s friends might have no idea of their peril.
He took a deep breath, girding hi
mself.
It was time for him to exit his ring.
25
In a heartbeat he was out, already racing for the lip of the property as the howling storm continued to crash and beat by the cliff’s edge.
He had known from the instant he had hopped back into the living world that his nemesis hungered and seethed for him, just beyond the gate. After enduring the vilest of curses and venoms, he could sense the ebb and flow of his enemy’s hate more intimately even than Hao Chan’s gaze when he sucked in her breath with desperate kisses they had savored before breaking off what would lead to their inevitable doom, for all that their friends had laughed or actively shoved them apart.
For the doom waiting for him just beyond the gate was no less grave, filled not with star-crossed love but darkest malice.
And it was only because his senses had been flooded by his enemy’s dark presence that Alex hadn’t immediately registered the imposing figures now standing before him.
Panheu himself, and Zhao Doushi by his side, both wearing the same cold smiles as the flash of lightning highlighted identical shimmering glints in their eyes. Both mirror images of the other, separated only by time’s grace. And how Alex had not seen the resemblance before was beyond him, Zhao Doushi so obviously being Panheu’s son.
And there was something else in Zhao Doushi’s gaze, peering so hard into Alex’s own.
Insight check made!
Alex forced himself to smile, bowing low before the pair gazing at him so intently, all but tasting how perilous his situation was as Panheu chuckled in the storm.
“The crucible of combat suits you, disciple! It is conflict that allows you to blossom, and the whetstone of your enemies’ hate has ground the finest of edges upon the steel of your soul!”
Panheu’s eyes then widened. He flashed a truly impressive grin before turning to his son. “I do believe our Alex has managed to forge a pristine cord, Zhao. No small feat for one of his temperament, and with the entire school’s resources thrown at cross-purposes to his own at every turn!”
Silver Fox & The Western Hero: Warrior Forsworn: A LitRPG/Wuxia Novel - Book 3 Page 40