Pure Jade

by Patrick Laplante

  After having confirmed the usage of the demonic light and darkness qi, he walked over to the ancient stone stele. He looked at one of the least complicated runes and sent his incandescent force into it.

  This character reminds me of the dim illumination of an overcast morning, Cha Ming thought. He tried painting the character he sensed, only to have it dim immediately afterward. He frowned. No, that’s not it. It’s the dim illumination on an overcast morning before dawn.

  On this second try, the character didn’t fade; it stayed illuminated.

  Cha Ming didn’t switch to darkness characters right away. He continued painting character after character, knowing full well that on the mountain range, an intense war was being waged.

  Luo Xuehua, Wang Jun sent mentally, three hundred feet to the left, throw an Ice Grave Talisman and slow their pincer. Flaming Eagle Sovereign, fly overhead and intercept their supporting cultivators with flying swords. Boar lords one through seven, charge through the opening created and attack the three mid-foundation-establishment cultivators there.

  Wang Jun shouted orders incessantly while also manipulating a grand formation with the Geomantic Sovereign. Not only did he have to control the flow of battle, he had to counter whatever tricks Guo Jia was up to. Meanwhile, the opponent’s commander was elusive. He could not find him anywhere, and whenever he thought he spotted him, he vanished like the wind.

  Half of the Obsidian Syndicate has assumed a devilish form, Wang Jun thought. Why wouldn’t the commander? He directed a message to Luo Xuehua. Xuehua, do you know of any devilish creatures that have non-physical transformations? Ones that are good at hiding?

  There are two, in fact, she replied while fighting a burly, bark-covered man that was suppressing her. Envy devils can disguise themselves as any person and can transform into wind, becoming immune to all physical attacks. I killed one once with Cha Ming, but that’s only because his eye technique can see them in their unsubstantial form.

  The Eyes of Pure Jade? Wang Jun asked.

  That’s right, she said. I also noticed that his fox friend has those very same eyes.

  Then it’s very unfortunate that they’re both gone, Wang Jun said. He turned his attention back to the battle. In this case, he wouldn’t bother trying to find their commander. He would wait until Cha Ming and Huxian came back and destroy him in one fell swoop.

  It looks like I’ve reached a bottleneck, Cha Ming thought. He had tried the remaining light characters many times, but he was unable to gain any further comprehension. Huxian was off to the side, playing with a blob of lightning. He was learning qi manipulation like a child learned languages.

  “Any advice on how to proceed?” Cha Ming asked.

  Huxian appeared beside him immediately. He looked at the lit-up characters.

  “Hm…” Huxian said. “I suggest you start with darkness runes now. Light and darkness are not as far removed as you think. Maybe you’ll gain inspirations as you paint.” He then went off to the side and began summoning a small sphere of darkness.

  Cha Ming’s eyes narrowed, and he yelled out instinctively, “Huxian, stop playing with the destruction qi!” Huxian cast his eyes down and scampered off to the woods. Immediately after his disappearance, Cha Ming could feel his destruction qi being drained once more. He shook his head helplessly. Kids.

  Two hours passed before Cha Ming once again got to another bottleneck. He was left with an equal amount of uncompleted darkness characters.

  Just what am I missing? he thought. He had been through dozens of descriptions on each side of the spectrum, and yet he couldn’t understand any of these other runes.

  One rune in particular baffled him. The feeling he got from it was one of light and darkness duality, but he knew it could only be drawn with one kind of ink.

  I get the feeling that this is candlelight. But what am I missing? How many ways can you interpret candlelight?

  As though he was trying to prove a point, he summoned a large sphere of darkness qi, which blotted out his surroundings. Then he summoned a small flame. It flickered, creating light as a consequence. And wherever it went, the darkness receded ever so slightly. It suddenly dawned on Cha Ming that he had been thinking about it backward.

  Light is not just light, he thought. Light is also receding darkness. Likewise, darkness is also receding light.

  He looked back to the light-based character and pictured something else in his mind entirely. He didn’t focus on the candle, he focused on the area surrounding the candle where the darkness retreated. Then he infused his insights into the rune he’d painted with light essence. The completed character glowed and remained, not fading away.

  Cha Ming, excited by his new epiphany, began interpreting the different characters in different ways. It wasn’t long before every character on the stone stele glowed white or black. Once the last character was drawn, it immediately began to crumble. Huxian, having heard the commotion, appeared beside Cha Ming. The dust settled and revealed a small purple jade slip. It had a title: Demon-Subduing Eyes.

  Cha Ming summoned the slip with his incandescent force and immersed his mind into the technique. Images, feelings, and scenes flooded his mind. He imagined he was a monarch, a sovereign. Thousands of beasts groveled before him. He was forced to abruptly cut the connection. He looked at the jade slip with a strange expression.

  “How would anyone ever be able to cultivate this?” he thought.

  “Let me try,” Huxian said. He placed his paw on the jade slip. It glowed with an intense light. Three breaths later, the jade slip shattered into a small pile of gray dust. He then looked at Cha Ming, who shivered when he saw Huxian’s eyes. They were the same jade color as his eyes, except for a conspicuous purple ring on the outside.

  Cha Ming doubled over in pain as a similar ring etched itself into both his eyes. He immediately realized why he couldn’t cultivate the Demon-Subduing Eyes it in the first place: It was a demonic technique. As such, only a demon could cultivate it. Cha Ming learned it only because Huxian did. The same applied to using light and darkness qi. He shivered as he recalled the owl saying it dreamt of a black-and-white fox and Cha Ming activating the formation. Had the owl predicted them using their link to make the impossible possible? Had the original owl monarch done the same?

  When Cha Ming looked at Huxian, the fox appeared different than before. He saw a light green halo but also a purple one. Then Cha Ming looked around the clearing. He saw intense purple lines around the jade plate as well as many colored lines shooting off in different directions. Then, focusing on the mountains, he saw towering purple auras that blotted out the skies. The dead forest beside him was conspicuously empty of the purple qi that Cha Ming now recognized as demonic qi.

  “Now do you believe you can activate the formation?” the owl monarch asked. He had been absent until this moment, but now he’d fluttering back over.

  “I think I can,” Cha Ming replied. “But it will take a few hours. Do we even have that much time?”

  “I’ll make us time,” the owl monarch said. “Do you need Huxian? He’s needed in the battlefield.”

  Cha Ming stared at the massive array of runic lines. “Please buy me as much time as you can.”

  Wang Jun, I’m back, Huxian sent mentally. And so is the owl monarch.

  What about Cha Ming? Wang Jun asked.

  He’s busy activating the formation, Huxian replied. We’re here to help buy you time.

  I see, Wang Jun said. What about the owl monarch?

  We’re here to buy you time, Huxian replied. Whatever the cost.

  Wang Jun stared out at the battlefield. It was ever changing, twisting according to both tacticians’ desires. It was a dance, a very dangerous one at that. Any slight misstep would mean the loss of many lives. The allied beasts and humans were at a disadvantage. Fortunately, they were on the defensive, and they were able to keep their losses at a minimum. However, the losses they were sustaining were beginning to take their toll. It wouldn’t be long
before their forces crumbled.

  How long does he need? Wang Jun asked.

  A few hours, Huxian replied. As much time as you can get him, he added.

  Wang Jun closed his eyes to think of various countermeasures. He opened them after a few moments, his eyes flashing with resolve. To buy that much time, we need to take out their hidden tactician. Huxian, can you see anything unusual with your Eyes of Pure Jade? A hidden enemy that blends into the wind?

  A moment later, he received a reply. There is an ochre mist pervading the whole battlefield. It’s difficult to make out anything specific.

  Wang Jun nearly killed himself in shame. Of course he couldn’t spot their commander. It was because he wasn’t in any specific location, he was everywhere at once.

  Does the orange mist retreat quickly whenever any fire, lightning, or wind techniques are used? The techniques were few and far between, with fire being the most prevalent, but they were still being used periodically.

  Yes, now that you mention it, it does, Huxian said. After confirming his suspicions, Wang Jun formulated a bold and daring plan.

  Geomantic Sovereign, Wang Jun sent, I’ll need you to…

  Cha Ming wasn’t sure where to begin, so he started from the most distant line leading away from the plate. He hovered in the air and wielded his Clear Sky Brush, painting a wide blue line as he went. The amount of ink he used was staggering, but he didn’t have much choice in the matter. Fortunately, a foundation had already been established. Each line stabilized immediately on completion.

  As he approached the faraway mountain, he spotted several minor formations. He used his ink and brush to trace over their outlines, which appeared in either purple or elemental colors. The formations became more and more complex before finally arriving at the mountain. It split off into several lines that snaked up the mountain before finally merging into a jade plate at the peak.

  Cha Ming carefully painted these lines, and as soon as he finished, the jade plate glowed with multicolored characters.

  One formation plate down, he thought, wiping the sweat from his brow. Eight to go.

  Chapter 38: Gambit

  Wang Jun looked at the battlefield dispassionately. Ever since his instructions to the Geomantic Sovereign, the casualties had skyrocketed. She no longer focused on defense. Rather, she focused on setting up a small formation in the center of the battlefield. Meanwhile, Wang Jun could not divert as much attention to obscuring vulnerable parties as before. He focused on obscuring the formation being erected stealthily beneath the battlefield.

  I still don’t understand why you’re doing this, the Geomantic Sovereign sent mentally. People are dying up there in droves. Don’t you care at all?

  Wang Jun remained stone-faced. Ironically, he was the only one not in danger during these encounters. He’d looked so hard to find the opposing tactician; conversely, the other tactician had given up on finding Wang Jun right away. Which wasn’t surprising. Wang Jun was located in a remote location underground, and beside him was the True Seer Owl. He constantly displayed a video projection of the battlefield, zooming in and out as Wang Jun pleased.

  I care very much, Wang Jun said sternly. This is all a ploy to capture their commander, and these deaths are necessary. When you command a battlefield, you need to make difficult decisions. It’s not just beast lives that I’m throwing away, it’s human lives as well. All to save so many more. I’d sacrifice you just the same if it was worth it. Silence ensued. How long until the formation is complete? he asked.

  An incense time, the boa replied.

  Good, Wang Jun said. Now to start the most dangerous part.

  Huxian fought tooth and nail while constantly monitoring the ochre mist, ensuring it didn’t escape. He didn’t use many special abilities. Wang Jun had specifically requested that he conserve his energy. Everywhere around him, his fellow beasts died. Many humans were dying as well. Wang Jun did not differentiate between man and beast with his decisions. He was cold, mechanical, and ruthless.

  He would make a great demon beast, Huxian thought.

  Suddenly, instructions flooded into his mind. You want me to do what? He didn’t hear a reply. He could only grit his teeth and execute. This was war, and second-guessing the commander was tantamount to suicide. Therefore, Huxian followed his instructions to a tee and dived straight into the melee, where it was least safe. At the same time, everyone else on their side pressed inward, pushing everyone further into a more confined space. Wounds and casualties mounted instantly. Huxian even felt a sharp blade leave a deep slash in his shoulder blade.

  Huxian didn’t question Wang Jun. He was Cha Ming’s friend, and that was a good enough reason to trust him. He just hoped that he remembered their friendship and didn’t sacrifice them both as well. Just like he had so many men and beasts.

  Something’s wrong, Guo Jia said, laying down formation after formation. He was exhausted. The only thing that kept him going was an ample supply of pills, but even that was dwindling rapidly.

  Nothing’s wrong, the voice said. This commander is far too young to be facing off against me. He’s finally made a mistake, thinking he can surprise me. Look at what they’re doing—they’re using larger amounts of area-of-effect attacks. But he forgot to account for your formations, which will show their greatest potency in a small area.

  It’s best to be cautious, Guo Jia said. There’s a reason why we accepted coming here for such a low price. The Wang family subsidized this expedition, all to take out this Second Young Master. If the first young master of the Wang family feels threatened by him, should we not treat him with some level of caution?

  Fair enough, the voice replied. Suddenly, everything changed. Man and beast alike instantly charged out from the tight battlefield and began retreating instantly. There, I told you he made a mistake. And now he realizes it. All we need to do now is butcher them as they retreat. What a— Oh. Oh dear. Guo Jia, defend me!

  That was when fire, lightning, and wind rained down from the heavens, blocking Guo Jia’s line of sight. He quickly set up the best defensive combat formations he knew, hoping he would survive the assault.

  Now! Wang Jun yelled. The many beasts that had rushed in before retreated all at once. In the confusion, the enemies chased after them in an expanding circle. All but one enemy. After all, they had painfully set up a restraining formation earlier at the cost of many lives. Rushing in seemed like a mistake, but it was a ploy used to set up this very moment.

  On Wang Jun’s cue, the large owl monarch floated up in the sky. He flapped his wings many times, flooding the area inside the formation with a devastating wind. It also pushed downward, keeping the wind devil’s intangible form pressed to the ground.

  Fire rained down from the heavens as dozens of cultivators unleashed techniques. Lei Jiang, who had been saving his power the entire time, burned his blood essence to unleash a lightning storm unlike any Wang Jun had ever seen. Meanwhile, Huxian sent out his aura of suppression into the formation. It was laced with the feeble Devil-Sealing Intent he had accumulated. Silverwing, who had also been holding back, unleashed thousands of windy blades into the formation.

  It was just a bonus that Guo Jia and a few other cultivators were stuck in the area. They were the strongest and therefore the least watchful. This combined attack couldn’t hurt them, but it could drain their energy.

  The dust soon settled, and on the surface, the losses did not seem to outweigh the gains. But Wang Jun knew better. The roar of defiance yelled out by Guo Jia after the attacks faded confirmed the death of their tactician. So did Huxian’s Eyes of Pure Jade.

  Now they would have no problem holding out defensively until Cha Ming arrived.

  “One more,” Cha Ming muttered to himself in exhaustion. His brush felt heavy, his soul force overtaxed. He took a quick break to recover his soul’s energy. The painting Jun Xiezi gave him filled and nourished his soul.

  The dual life-and-death theme didn’t seem so awkward to him this time. Life and dea
th were much like light and darkness. Resistance and momentum. Crumbling and hardening. These opposites only existed relative to each other. Warmth suffused Cha Ming’s soul as it greedily drank from his surroundings.

  Kacha!

  He felt a slight shattering sensation within his soul. The remainder of an invisible shackle crumbled away, and the incandescence in his soul reached a peak. But to his surprise, it didn’t continue to another level of resplendence, as he had expected would happen with a resplendent soul. Instead the incandescence in his limbs concentrated onto the cloth on his torso. It became tangible and bright. The resplendent garment draped his soul. At that moment, he felt his soul sense expand five times to one hundred miles. The quality of his soul force—which was now called resplendent force—was far easier to manipulate and control than before.

  His mental exhaustion immediately vanished. He picked up his painting and took out his brush once more and began completing the formation more rapidly than ever. The speed at which he painted doubled. And while he wasn’t confident in his ability to condense higher-level formations, he felt the increased speed would make up for it.

  He painted as he ran up the mountain with Stormchaser Steps. The last mountain lit up with colors that complemented the natural flow of energy. Soon, he arrived at the peak of the mountain, where he was greeted with a corpse-littered battlefield. Man and beast alike had killed each other in cold blood.

  I can stop this, he thought. I can make the difference. He took his brush and began painting the last formation.

  The loss of his tactician frustrated Guo Jia. With his disappearance, Guo Jia had no choice but to divert some of his attention to commanding instead of laying down formations. It was this increased perspective of the battlefield that alerted him to the figure at the peak of the mountain. He was painting a large formation, but from what Guo Jia could see, it was only a piece of a much greater whole.