He flashed a bleak smile, now utterly committed to pushing through, no matter what it took.
He glared at the barrier before him and the complex lock of Qi barring his way, determined to break through this night, before his buildup of Dark Qi overwhelmed him. For all that he was peering at the puzzle of the lock with his mind’s eye, he felt his jaw lock tight, his entire body trembling.
It was all he could do to hold himself together.
And even as some part of him sensed the concerned whispers of a captive he dared to think of as a friend, he didn’t let up his focus for even a heartbeat, desperate to somehow control the roiling storm of wild Qi within his too-fragile frame, knowing what he needed to do, but finding the Dark Qi, by its very nature, was resistant to the rigid order Alex required.
Again and again he tried to discipline the storm into some semblance of order, and failed, every time.
And just as he was about to surrender to despair, he was struck by a sudden epiphany. The answer was before him, just as it had always been. Order and Chaos, Yin and Yang. Forces that were utterly opposed, yet simultaneously interdependent and inextricably interconnected with one another.
No one could forge solid blocks of Dark Qi, no matter how hard they tried. It was antithetical to its very nature. Yet if someone had an understanding of all the elements of Light Qi, if someone who had spent what amounted to thousands of compressed hours purifying pearlescent blockages into strands of perfectly refined Dark and Light Qi, couldn’t that same person manipulate those strands deliberately? Weave them together with form and function, much like a tailor sewing together threads of fabric into a resilient cloth. Only this fabric of shimmering darkness and pristine brilliance was as rigid as perfection and as flexible as dream, a key slowly forming in Alex’s mind’s eye, perfectly suited to fit the eight tumblers he had spent so many hours learning the positions of after an entire night struggling futilely to trip even one.
Heart racing, an exhausted Alex visualized slowly slipping the key inside the lock, feeling the ridges of his key pressing against each tumbler. And what had taken hours of the most monumental effort to nudge even a single tumbler with complementary or opposing elements now took only seconds, the elements of the lock seeming to flow with well-oiled precision, Alex blinking at the sight of his key of Dark and Light Qi actually fitting the lock.
His heart roaring in his ears, a now-breathless Alex dared to twist the key.
It turned effortlessly, and suddenly he was through.
Insight gained! What better tool to unlock an artifact tied to your affinities than a key of Qi that only one who embraces the Dual Path could hope to create? Experience earned!
Qi Perception is now Rank 2.
Dual Path Purification Technique has reached 95.5% efficiency.
You have learned a new Qi discipline: Artificer. As a Rank 1 Artificer you have a chance of deducing the inner-workings of arcane artifacts using Qi Perception, given sufficient time and elemental affinities.
That which can be understood can be manipulated, duplicated, or destroyed.
Any artifact whose nature you can fully grasp you can make use of without penalty. Deeper understanding may allow you to use any discovered artifact with greater than normal efficacy.
Any artifact whose nature you can fully grasp you have the potential of destroying. The standard method of artifact destruction involves flooding the Qi channels with opposing elements. Warning, the more powerful the original Artificer, the more durable the artifact, and the more resistant it is to destruction. Qi backlash is possible.
Any artifact whose nature you can fully grasp you have the potential of forging. Warning: incompatibilities between Divine and Mortal Cultivation Paths may limit your ability to forge new artifacts based on Earthly artifacts or blueprints.
For endless moments Alex could do nothing but breathe in exhausted relief as the built-up flood of Dark Qi poured into his precious artifact, feeling a wave of fatigue and giddy euphoria wash through him, like a man rescued from peril at the last moment, overwhelmed with relief just to be alive. And the sheer joy he felt at having access to his precious treasure once more made everything he had been through worth it, so grateful just to reclaim his hidden sanctuary that he refused to feel any bitterness at all for the hard-earned prizes that had been lost, thankful beyond words just to have his priceless artifact restored to him once more.
He frowned then, seeing in his mind’s eye that almost everything truly had been lost. Gone were even the memories of the chambers he had formed within. Yet far off he could sense a tiny pinpoint of light, some treasure glowing off in the distance, and curiosity compelled him forward.
At some point he realized he was dreaming, yet he knew it didn’t matter. And when he spotted the figure dressed in a dark cloak, wide-brimmed hat, with a pair of dao at his hips and a mischievous grin under his twinkling silver-green eyes, he wasn’t surprised at all.
“It’s good to see you, master,” Alex said with a smile.
WiFu grinned. “It’s good to see you too, lad. Though you chose the harder path, you’re playing the cards you were dealt as well as can be expected. And that you figured out how to unlock the mysteries of your divine treasure so soon is nothing less than what I expected of you, though Grandfather Zheng Yi is throwing fits right about now.” The fox-tailed inspector chuckled at that.
Alex winced. “I hate the thought of earning the god’s disfavor.”
WiFu gave a callous shrug. “You, a mortal boy never even properly born to this world, and in the form of a Ruidian no less, dared to embrace a Divine Cultivation Path, refusing Zheng Yi’s golden prize not once, but twice. How could you expect other than to earn his wrath?”
Alex groaned, earning a sympathetic clap on his back from the ancient inspector.
“But not to worry, Alex. Lord Zheng Yi would not be the god of justice if he didn’t play by the rules. And none can deny the trials you have endured for the sake of our realm. For all that few mortals can sense the golden karma you now blaze with, the gods above, at least, cannot deny that you have earned a certain measure of clemency. Or at the very least, it will be mortal agents alone that will be sent to test you, as opposed to divine foes determined to bring you down.”
Alex shivered with those words. “So the gods are going to send opponents after me?”
WiFu chuckled at that. “Oh, there’s no need for that, Alex. You walk my path, after all, and can’t help but find yourself in the thick of interesting events wherever you go! And as you know, the Dragon King is not entirely your enemy either, if not quite your friend. He’s interested to see if you can actually unlock a suitable eight element cycling technique that you’ll need if you’re truly to advance along the Dual Path, and I must admit, I’m interested to see if you can do it as well. And since you did manage to steal one eternal life from a demon king, you’d best do it within the next century if you possibly can, Alex, because as soon as that bastard reforges himself, killing you and claiming your soul will definitely be on the top of his list.”
Alex stopped, gazing at the smiling god of chaos and change with genuine horror. “Please don’t tell me I’m on some demon’s hit list!”
WiFu flashed a chilling smile. “You are indeed, Alex. You committed a virtuous act, and since the only prize you can expect is eternal damnation if and when your foe eventually catches up with you, it makes your virtue all the greater!”
Alex groaned.
“Of course, should you actually manage to ascend through the ranks of Bronze, Silver, and Gold, eventually ascending to Jade, it’s conceivable you’ll have a chance against him.” Silver Fox shrugged. “Or you could ignite all the trapped prizes you’ll no doubt have stored in your ring once more, when he eventually comes for you. Of course, that will obliterate a sufficient portion of the Golden Realms as well.”
Alex paled, violently shaking his head. “No way. I’m not going to butcher millions of people, setting myself off like some damned nuke,
just because some ugly power-mad bastard’s coming after me.”
WiFu nodded approvingly. “And that’s why we’re even having this conversation. I never would have bothered rescuing you the first time if I didn’t think you were a piece worthy of the board we now dance upon.”
After what seemed an endless distance traveled, they stopped before the single source of light in the brilliant darkness of the pocket dimension that was his ring. Alex gazed with awe at the source of brilliant golden light, amazed to see it was none other than his fangtian ji.
Alex whistled. “Wow. Is that really the same weapon Master Jian gave me when we first went hunting for potion ingredients?”
WiFu dipped his head. “It is indeed.”
“I’m surprised it wasn’t utterly destroyed after I, well...”
“Blew yourself up?”
Alex winced. “Yeah. That.”
WiFu grinned. “Remember, Alex, your artifact was rendered near indestructible, razor sharp, and in pristine condition after being instrumental in killing that Greater Spirit Beast that nearly took out one of my many descendants. If it can be changed so much with that simple act, how much would it be altered, do you think, after piercing the throat of a greater lord of Hell?”
Alex blinked. “That’s right. I only detonated after I had, well...”
“Channeled all your desperation, all your wrath, all your hope and love through the heavenly artifact glowing like a golden sun before us?”
Alex winced. “Um… yeah, pretty much.”
WiFu nodded. “And thus, we have a divine artifact, forged by a reborn saint. A prize that can only be wielded by someone who is worthy, and only in the moments when sacrifice and inspiration burn so brightly in their veins that they can, for a time, leave all mortal pettiness, folly, and flaws behind. It is a weapon that can only be wielded by a saint, which you most certainly are not, Alex, or by those lost in the rapture of divine virtue, which did grace your soul a time or two.”
Alex flushed, feeling both embarrassed and confused. “But wait, you’re saying it was made by a saint, but that I’m not a saint, so I can’t use it, even though it was made and used by me.”
WiFu nodded. “Exactly.”
“But that makes no sense.”
WiFu shrugged. “When does anything, really?”
He chuckled softly as Alex sighed.
“Think of it this way. In the final moments of your second life, were you thinking of your own goals, your own dreams, your petty pursuit of power, how much you hungered to ascend the endless path of potency that cultivation promised?”
Alex froze, heart racing with sudden desperate panic and fiercest resolve as he visualized a pair of desperate eyes, a girl screaming for mercy. Glimpsing a horrific nightmare hellscape of crackling lightning, brooding clouds of sulfur, and a demon king laughing as he prepared to rip asunder Alex’s adopted world.
In those moments he had wanted nothing more than to stop that abomination, to rescue a girl doomed to the most horrific of torments, no matter what it took.
In that moment, his personal wants had meant absolutely nothing. Rescuing a realm in peril had meant everything.
In that moment alone, he had transcended.
WiFu patted a trembling Alex’s shoulder. “In that moment you died a saint, Alex, even if before and after you are a mortal boy with all the wants, needs, weaknesses, petty hungers, and flashes of nobility that mark most mortal souls.” He gazed at the artifact. “In that moment this artifact was forged, and thus it can only be wielded by a true saint, or perhaps any soul willing to commit the ultimate sacrifice for a prize utterly beyond themselves.”
Alex took a deep, shuddering breath, finding it suddenly hard to speak, grateful for the soothing flask of mead his ultimate sensei passed him, for all that he knew he was dreaming. “So basically, it’s an artifact that no cultivator should expect to be able to use more than once a lifetime. Because once you pick it up, you fight with it with no expectations of survival, just doing the right thing, no matter how utter is the price you pay.”
WiFu nodded. “Not only that, it will also serve as a wonderful source of Heavenly energy for your next garden!”
Alex blinked at the change of topic.
WiFu grinned, waving his hand, and suddenly Alex found himself thinking wistfully of the magnificent garden filled with soaring apple trees and endless herbs and brilliantly shimmering Silverbell blossoms that had made his cultivating garden such a delight.
“Of course, your garden will only grow at time’s normal pace, but until you actually manage to find, finesse, or outright steal another Silverbell blossom, anything you plant here will flourish as if growing in the most ideal conditions imaginable, so long as you are wise enough to nurture your blossoms and cuttings with plenty of water, and soil. And you’ll find the constant stream of Heavenly energy good for more than cultivating your future garden, I am sure.”
Alex gave a relieved nod at that. Even if he wouldn’t be able to force-grow his garden at the incredible rates he could before, at the expense of his Dark Qi reserves, this divine prize glowing in the middle of his divine artifact was still a tremendous boon.
“Thank you, Silver Fox. This one is, and always will be, grateful to you.”
WiFu smirked. “Considering you sacrificed all your toys and all contact with your royal friends only to wake up a friendless slave, your mental resilience does you credit, Alex.” His bemused smile hardened. “But morning rapidly approaches and you have had a very long night. And you and I both know what your next step should be.”
Alex glared, thinking of the deadly collar around his neck. “I think I do, sir.”
WiFu nodded, fading to shadows and mist before Alex’s eyes. “A muffled captive in a den of wolves. And those fools have no idea what wonderful chaos they will unleash.”
Alex blinked, but before he could say a word he woke up with a groan, wiping bleary eyes and gazing into the cold countenance of one of the guards who had just prodded him with his boot.
Alex groaned, rubbing his throbbing skull, forcing himself to his feet.
“Get up, slave. We’re already running late.” Alex quickly bowed, a sideways glance making it clear he was indeed the last man on his feet.
The guard simply snorted and left, inflicting no further abuse upon him. And if the cold glare Scar was sending Alex’s way was any indication, he knew why. Sparing time only for a quick bow the caravan master’s way, Alex immediately collected his harvesting pack from the bored-looking quartermaster and began searching the area for whatever mystical plants he could find, his ability to sense the faint emanations of Qi radiating from select plants more fine-tuned than ever, after his ordeal last night.
Unlike before, however, he made a deliberate point of storing over half his findings in his personal pocket dimension, exulting in the fact that his ring of unlimited storage capacity was open to him once more. And deliberately foraging farther and farther from the camp just now making its way forward, he took the time to transfer large swaths of loamy ground, as well as washing his feet and dipping his ring into an ice cold stream his active use of Qi Perception detected no hostile spirit beasts lurking within, supplying all the nutrients and water his future garden would need to grow vital and strong.
Yet he was always prudent enough to stay within casual sight of the wagon’s guards more often than not, and when he went to turn in his daily harvest, the quartermaster’s grunt was more resigned than irritated. “This isn’t as much as you usually harvest,” the man noted with a scowl. “At least you were able to make some more healing pots.”
Alex flowed into a graceful bow. “This one does his best, honored quartermaster.”
The man grunted. “I’m surprised you can find anything more than lemongrass and cabbage in this godforsaken woodland. Alright, feed your face before you drop. You’re no good to us exhausted or dead.”
With a final bow Alex left and did just that, digging into what was effectively his onl
y meal of the day with relish, before dropping into an exhausted slumber beside Peng, who only grunted and tossed one of his furs over Alex.
Alex blinked at the unexpected kindness. “Thank you.”
The other slave snorted, their voices lower than the murmur of the other slaves or the crackling of the fire. “I’m fine enough with the fire to my back, boy. But whatever it is you’re doing, you need to be more damned discreet. You’ll notice that fur wasn’t well tanned. It’s beginning to stink. But it stinks like fur, not like a cultivator hiding secrets.”
Alex froze, saying nothing.
A soft chuckle was Peng’s only response. “Truth is, I could barely smell it, lad. But you’re playing a dangerous game. I’d be right more careful if I were you, boy. You’re swimming among sharks, and if they catch your scent, you won’t be any better off than poor Yong Ming. So have a damned care.”
Alex winced, heart racing, forced to accept the fact that his desperate gamble the night before hadn’t gone as smoothly as he had hoped. Obviously, some traces of his Dark Qi had escaped his pores, despite his best efforts. Alex was both humbled, and grateful.
“I will remember your kindness,” he said, having every intention of paying back every kindness he received tenfold, just as he would respond to every betrayal or act of savagery he had suffered, determined to balance grim scales only he could see.
Peng just snorted. “How about you keep your head, kid, and not end up as Tang Dan’s torch. That’s payment enough for me.”
Alex took a deep breath, still facing away from the man speaking so softly beside him. “What rank?”
To this alone Alex received a warning squeeze to his shoulder so tight he almost cried out, somehow sensing it was only a fraction of the man’s strength. “None at all. Do you understand, lad? None at all.”
Silver Fox & The Western Hero: Warrior Reforged: A LitRPG/Wuxia Novel - Book 2 Page 7