That realization brought clarity to his mind. Before he knew it, the violet heart force in his spiritual sea automatically began to circulate in the pattern on the second tablet. He’d mastered the second desire, the desire for a respectable life. From now on, not only would his illusions blind his opponents with greedy thoughts, but it would make them arrogant and haughty. They would make mistakes and leave openings in their false sense of security.
“This seems easier than before,” Zi Long said, frowning. “It no longer feels like a test, and more like you’re guiding me actively. What’s going on?”
The violet mist paused. There isn’t much time left, it said. Follow me. A purple portal opened. It led directly to the next trial. On the way, he caught a glimpse of Mu Qian. He, too, had just cleared the second trial, though from the looks of it, it hadn’t treated him kindly. His robes were tattered, and his body was covered in violet curse marks. Oddly enough, he was surrounded by piles of gold shavings.
As much as Zi Long wanted to shout out to him, there was no time. His surroundings blurred as he was pulled into the next trial.
Chapter 45
The first thing he noticed was the smell. A pleasant aroma filled a room he could only describe as wondrous. Off to the side, he saw a table filled with delicious pastries and snacks. They were things he’d eaten in his childhood, or wished he’d eaten. Just as he reached out to grab one of the many tempting snacks, he paused.
Right, this is another trial, Zi Long thought. And if I’m not mistaken, it’s the trial of pleasant sensations.
Tasting, smelling, touching, seeing. Only hearing fell outside this category for reasons he couldn’t fathom. Fortunately, he’d been able to resist delicious food since a tender young age. This part of the trial wouldn’t be a problem.
The table to the side disappeared, and the lights beckoned him forward. Zi Long walked into a room filled with famous artwork, things he’d never imagined he could see in person. He looked them over quickly, unsure of how long his eyes should linger. Seeing pleasant things didn’t involve covetous intentions. It only required extreme appreciation.
Before long, Zi Long had finished surveying the entire room. Nothing in it had caught his fancy, not even the gaudy weapons or the soft silks that had appeared some time after. These material things didn’t bother him. What worried him was the inevitable temptation he was utterly unprepared to deal with. The one he knew was coming.
With this thought, the landscape changed. He was no longer in a main hall, but rather, a bedroom. It contained a single bed whose exterior was covered in a thin fabric. A lone figure sat in the bed, waiting for him.
“Why must you tempt me so?” Zi Long said softly.
The purple mist appeared beside him, and this time, it seemed like a man, but holier, purer.
I tempt you with her image because it is necessary, the violet mist said. This is a knot in your heart, a knot that greatly restricts your achievements in illusory arts. You don’t understand yourself, your feelings, and most importantly, your desires. How can you deceive others if you yourself are deceived?
Zi Long sighed, and the scenery before him changed. They’d traveled to a clearing, where a beautiful woman with long black hair and a white cloak was practicing her swordplay. It was night, and a less astute observer would have assumed that she was simply practicing a set routine. Zi Long’s senses, however, were sharp and piercing. He could detect tiny droplets of water dancing in the wind as she cut and recombined them with flawless precision. Even more amazingly, the woman was blind.
“I made a poem about this moment,” he said. “Would you like to hear it?” The violet mist didn’t reject him, so he spoke the words in his heart.
I once stumbled upon a fairy dancing,
Her sword swinging wildly in an empty glade.
She called to me. Spoke to me.
Her every swing a call, a summons that I bade
And ever since that moment, an easy choice I made
That should I remember nothing,
Should my other memories fade,
I would never forget her dancing,
The lady and her blade.
Zi Long sighed once more. Ever since then, he’d always felt there was an unbreachable distance. A gap, of sorts. He’d never been able to confess his feelings for her.
Is it because you think you’re inadequate? The violet mist asked. The scenery had shifted back to the room and the bed. The curtain had parted, revealing a scantily clad woman with snow-white skin. Zi Long couldn’t help but walk over at her beckoning. He wanted nothing more than to touch her silky-smooth skin, to smell her delicate hair. To taste her lips and enjoy every other sensation imaginable.
As he drew close, he noticed something. Something that he’d never seen before. A hint of a smile. He paused. Then he turned around, the illusion vanishing behind him.
“She never smiles,” Zi Long said wistfully. “Her past is painful, and she wants nothing but revenge. I know that our relationship is friendly at best. I can hope for nothing more.”
But you desire it nonetheless, the violet mist said.
“Yes,” Zi Long answered. “Or perhaps I’m satisfied with the current situation.”
How so? The violet mist inquired.
“What I want is her safety,” Zi Long said. “Luo Xuehua has dedicated her life to fighting devils, those same devils that destroyed her family. She cares so much for their destruction but so little about herself. She needs someone to care for her. I’ll be that person.”
Such a feeble hope you’re clinging to, the mist said, laughing. Do you think you’ll get closer to her in this fashion? Do you think you’ll get what you desire?
“I don’t desire her body,” Zi Long said. “Though I very much liked what I saw on that bed. Then again, I also saw something I didn’t. That wasn’t her. She is frost incarnate, a cold woman with a deadly blade. I’m entranced by the memory of her fighting in the moonlight. But a smile? I’ll pass. No. If I could forever be by her side, watching her fight, I would be more than content.”
Then, in a moment of epiphany, he looked backward. It was the room filled with pleasant sights and art pieces. There were paintings, tapestries, swords, and other beautiful objects. And on one wall, he spotted a painting. He walked over to the object and noticed that the painting was actually moving. It was playing out a familiar scene in his mind, and on the bottom was an engraving. A poem.
The painting was that of a blind lady in a white cloak, slashing at raindrops in the moonlight. She danced in a clearing, but behind the trees stood a young man in purple cultivation robes. He watched her, entranced, as the scene imprinted itself into his heart and soul.
“I understand,” Zi Long said.
The room and the painting vanished, and the purple mist reappeared. His violet heart force automatically circulated in the pathway indicated by the third desire, the desire for sensory pleasures. With this mastery, a door appeared. Zi Long walked through the door and into a large hall built from gray stone. A large crystalline heart hovered in the center, and beside it was a violet mist, the mist that had been guiding him all along.
You have proven yourself worthy, the violet mist said. Though you’ve just started learning about yourself and your own desires, it’s a journey that can last a lifetime. There is no end to this path, only continuous improvement. Now come, place your hand on the violet heart. Form a contract with me and inherit the mantle of sect leader. When you command me, the holy spirit of the Violet Heart Sect, I’ll tell you everything you want to know. I’ll tell you how Fan Yong died, his circumstances, and a plot spanning over a thousand years.
Zi Long looked back to the pathway. He saw Mu Qian struggling against the last illusion. The man’s body was covered in a thick layer of frost, and every step he took seemed to require a mountain of energy. If he weren’t here, Mu Qian would surely inherit the violet heart and become the sect leader.
It’s too bad I don’t trust anyone to get the answe
rs I need for me, Zi Long thought. He grasped the violet heart, and a purple light filled the gray room. A gong sounded as his violet heart force entered the crystal, and a violet mist charged into his soul. The trial was over, and soon, he would have his answers.
Chapter 46
“Congratulations on your quick recovery, Brother Yan,” the grand elder said. “I’ll be happy to discuss Zi Long’s treatment and release, but we currently have an urgent matter to deal with.”
The elders behind him shifted uncomfortably. After all, they weren’t entirely sure if Zi Long was in there to begin with.
“I’m afraid we must insist on discussing it now,” Elder Yan said. “Furthermore, I would like to see Zi Long right away. If he’s been harmed, we will not be able to bear the consequences.”
The grand elder’s smile faded. “Please calm your anger for five minutes while we check on his condition,” he said. “We’ll bring him out right away.”
“Five minutes is more than enough time for you to do something irreparable to him,” Elder Yan said dismissively. “You can’t fool me with your words. I know very well what means you’re willing to employ in order to claim the inheritance.”
“I’m afraid we’ve already decided on this matter,” the grand elder said. “The council agreed. Isn’t that right?” He looked back at the council members, who looked back and forth between each other indecisively.
“Do you all insist on your previous votes?” Elder Yan asked the elders.
“I have my misgivings, but there’s too much at stake,” the fifth elder said with hesitant eyes. “Please understand that we have some difficulties. Give us five minutes, and we’ll give you a proper explanation.”
Elder Yan’s expression darkened. “Very well, then you leave me no choice,” he said. “Grand Elder, First Brother Xin, I challenge you to a duel. Should I win, we’ll reconsider this entire situation.”
The second elder held his hand up, and the door to his cultivation cave trembled. The door burst open, and a violet sword flew into his hand.
A violet field extended toward the grand elder, who could only summon his saber and cast out his own illusory field. Nightmares appeared between the two initial-core-formation cultivators and began clashing.
“Elders, go check on Zi Long!” the grand elder yelled.
The four remaining elders moved toward the closed door, only to be cut off by a golden sword. Sword Master Jin, Luo Xuehua, Yue Bing, and Zhang Yuanqing flew up on flying swords and stood off against them near the entrance.
“You think you can stop me with your sword?” the third elder said. His violet heart force materialized as a nightmarish blade. It flew toward Sword Master Jin, who deflected it with his own. They exchanged a flurry of blows, only to discover that they were evenly matched.
“Yue Bing, Luo Xuehua, run inside and check on your friend,” Zhang Yuanqing said as the two swordsmen clashed. Fire and sand swirled around him as he summoned his spear. He thrust toward the fourth elder like a raging dragon. The fifth elder waved his hand and summoned a prison of ice. The temperature within the ice prison plummeted, causing the fire and earth dragons to solidify and crack.
“Oh, violet sea of forgetfulness,” the fourth elder intoned, holding out a gourd of water. His violet heart force poured into the frigid blue liquid it contained and formed a tiny puddle. “Your waters weaken the mind and dull the heart. Wretched are those who remember.” He formed a few swift hand seals, and the violet water scattered into tiny droplets. Then the fourth elder summoned a staff. He rushed out to the surprised Zhang Yuanqing and clashed with him.
“The water is suppressing General Zhang’s fire and making up for his superior skill,” Luo Xuehua said. “Go find Zi Long. I’ll hold off the next strongest.”
Everyone’s opponent thus far had been at the peak of core formation. Dozens of icy blades, crystals, and formations appeared around Luo Xuehua. The sixth elder stepped up and summoned an army of illusory beasts. They clashed with the swords in midair, leaving only Yue Bing and the fifth elder free from obstruction.
The fifth elder rushed toward the door, and Luo Xuehua let her. Just as the elder was about to shut it behind her, Yue Bing threw out six green talismans. They formed six vines around the door and prevented it from closing. The fifth elder tried to hack away these vines but was forced to give up. With this opening, Yue Bing rushed into the cave.
“Not so fast,” the fifth elder said, summoning a purple crane. The illusory beast beat its wings, and the bladelike wings crashed into Yue Bing and pinned her to the wall. The latter pulled out two feathers coated with blood and gasped in pain. But the wounds she’d sustained healed over in the blink of an eye. “What are you?” the fifth elder said, horrified.
“Your worst nightmare,” Yue Bing said. Bloody wings appeared behind her, and a cloud of blood seeped out from her wounds.
The violet crane tried to attack her once more, but her blood cloud caught and crushed it. The fifth elder formed quick hand seals and summoned an illusory serpent. Instead of attacking Yue Bing physically, it shifted through the bloody mist and into her mind. She trembled for a moment before slamming her ankh down. The crashing sound woke Yue Bing and expelled the violet mist.
“Impossible,” the fifth elder choked. “No one should be able to recover so quickly.”
“But I can,” Yue Bing said. She dodged two illusory sparrows and closed the gap before summoning thirty-six golden sigils. Golden wires sprung out and connected them. They formed a two-dimensional prison that trapped the fifth elder’s neck and arms. Then Yue Bing glanced around the empty chamber. “Where’s Zi Long?” she asked.
“It is as we feared,” the fifth elder said, gasping for breath.
“What is?” Yue Bing pressed, tightening the restraints around the woman’s neck.
“It’s Mu Qian,” the fifth elder coughed. “We think he helped Zi Long escape.”
“Impossible,” Yue Bing said. “If he’d escaped, we would have heard from him. The first thing he would do is send us a message.” She summoned her blood cloud and directed it to squeeze the fifth elder’s body. Her joints popped as her limbs were compressed together.
“Then I don’t know,” the fifth elder gasped. “I swear on my sect and my ancestors, I don’t know where he is.” Her face was going purple due to the bloody cloud’s mounting pressure.
“Damnit,” Yue Bing said, slamming her fist against a wall. She banished the blood cloud but kept the golden formation. It shrank into smaller manacles, which Yue Bing grabbed while dragging the gasping elder through the door.
The moment they left the premises, the fighting stopped as though by prior agreement.
“Where’s Zi Long?” both the grand elder and Elder Yan said, to each other’s surprise.
“A better question is what happened?” Yue Bing said, tossing the fifth elder forward. “Who the hell is Mu Qian, and where did he take my brother Zi Long?”
The grand elder hesitated. “We think he escaped with Mu Qian’s help. He was on relatively friendly terms with Elder Zi. In a panic, we went to confirm. When you came, we thought you’d misunderstand if he wasn’t there. That’s why we wanted those precious five minutes.”
“Even if Mu Qian helped him escape, how could he possibly escape the sect now that it’s been sealed?” Elder Yan asked. “People might be able to go in with an elder, but no one can go out until the restriction is lifted.”
“Who knows how many means Mu Qian has,” the grand elder said helplessly. “Out of all our brothers and sisters, he’s the only one I can’t read. He disappears for months at a time. What does he do while he’s gone?”
Elder Yan paused to catch his breath. Clearly, the battle had exhausted his newly recovered powers. “Does he have any relatives in the sect?”
“None still living,” the grand elder said.
“Any friends?” Elder Yan pressed.
“None!” the grand elder replied.
Silence. A strange premonition fil
led them as they formulated plans to find him. Before they could even begin their search, however, a gong sounded. As though by prior agreement, all six elders present glanced up at the top of the spire, where the Violet Palace was located.
“The violet heart is warning us?” the fourth elder said. “Is there more to this than meets the eye?”
The gong sounded a second time.
“The sect is in danger?” the grand elder said, his eyes bloodshot. He looked down to the base of the mountain and scoured it with his resplendent soul. He frowned when he saw no invaders.
The gong sounded a third time. This time, the direction was clearly from the Violet Palace.
“The Violet Palace has been infiltrated,” Elder Yan said grimly. “The guardian spirit is in danger.”
“What does this have to do with Zi Long?” Yue Bing asked.
“If you believe in coincidence, nothing,” the grand elder said. “Otherwise, I’m over ninety percent certain that he and Mu Qian are in the Violet Palace. And one or both of them bear ill intentions toward my sect.”
Chapter 47
Above the three mountains, four large beings were floating in the clouds. One was a clay dragon that seemed more decoration than demon. Another was a crow of blades, its every gleaming black feather so sharp that they could cut you from several feet away. The third and final being that rested below their leader was a large butterfly. Its wings seemed to span an eternity, and any human or demon who gazed upon them would be enthralled by their nightmare.
The nightmare butterfly was the strongest of the three, aloof of the other two mountain sovereigns. But despite her superiority, her power paled in comparison to the fierce being that rested on a higher cloud than they. It was a tiger with wings made of clouds and stripes made of lightning. The storm tiger was the monarch of the mountain range, a mighty core-formation demon beast that occupied the most precious demonic energy source: the cloud lightning expanse.
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