The Fourth Fall - Chapter 49 & Epilogue preview

It took the combined might of the surviving Nascent Soul cultivators, the altered and empowered spiritual instruments and the aid of the Core Formation cultivators to stem the oncoming disaster long enough for immortal aid to arrive. Dragons who had ridden the winds and clouds above had returned upon sensing the impending doom, utilizing their own gifts to shunt the explosion of chi to shunt the World Spirit Ring’s contents into another dimension. They stabilized the gaping maw in the air, leaving it hanging in space where a new mystical realm and its gateway had formed.

Even then, the destruction that had occurred was widespread. Rolling hills had become tall mountains or been flattened into plunging canyons. A new river had formed, fed not by falling rainwater but by the newly born mystical realm’s own lands. Forest had been uprooted, while new ones had formed in the plains; massive tree trunks towering over the area as extreme amounts of wood chi had been poured into it.

For a hundred li all around, the land had been reshaped . More changes had occured further out, but the alterations were not as great. Hills might have risen or fallen a few feet, an area where land and earth - shaded by hills and an overhanging mountain and the curve of the geography - turned into a desert. A tiny desert, a half li all around that might not last. Even so, the soil had been drained of nutrients for the most part, others swapped out while new, strange blooms had formed.

Changes, wide spread ones.

In the ensuing period after the destroyed World Spirit Ring had been tamed, a strange peace had fallen over the surroundings. The sky had lightened once more, the cloudless skies returning. The Cai fortress, barely floating after all this, had retreated. Scouts indicated it had landed - or perhaps crashed - not far from the border, both formations and enchantments exhausted after the battles. They sat now on the other side of the border, even as an army arrived in an attempt to shore up the defences and protect the remaining, few survivors of the ill-fated sneak attack.

The Seven Tier Immortal Pagoda now dominated the surroundings, hovering in place, watching over the open rift even as cultivators rested and recuperated from the battle. Many of the Wei survivors had moved towards the new much emptier Shen spiritual instrument, licking their wounds and counting their losses. More than one Wei nobleman or guardsmen were having quiet conversations with their Shen counterparts, seeking refuge from the coming calamity for themselves and their people. Others were writing long missives, intending to throw themselves on the mercy of the Wei king in an attempt to forestall his wrath.

After all, the loss of the First Prince and his Uncle - traitors that they were - was one thing. Not seeing their coming betrayal was a major concern, and even if they had showcased their loyalty; it would still cast a long shadow on them. Even so, such a loss and betrayal might be survivable if not for the total loss of the imperial palace.

That spiritual instrument, an instrument that had last hundreds of years nearly since the founding of the kingdom was a major loss. That it offered a new town from which they might exploit the mystic realm that had opened was only a minor salve to the open wound of betrayal and lost the Wei ruler must feel.

And so, many who could flee, would.

Zou En Lai was leaning against the railing on the top floor of the pagoda, staring down at the world that buzzed below. Dark shadows under his eyes as he contemplated his past and future, grief making him wan and pale, his hair in disarray and unwashed for days. His sorrow was a palatable shroud around his body, soaking into the surroundings and weighing the world down with each moment.

“We will, of course, be happy to take you on. As an Honorable Visiting Elder to begin with, but eventually...” Fa Yuan let a little shrug reach her shoulders. “We have much need, of one of your ability and skill with the sword.”

“Yes.” En Lai, the last Sword of Iron Gorge said, heavily. “Your losses are significant this time.”

She could not help but incline her head. Elder Hsu, Elder Pang, Right Guardian Chang, Patriarch Yi Lai and the Third General were the most prominent members; but many other Elders and cultivators from the inner sect had been lost. Some had fallen when the shielding around the pagoda had failed, others when the overwhelming spiritual and killing aura of Cai Meng Dai had rolled outwards, crushing spirits.

“War is nothing but loss. But gaining a blade master, one whose techniques are so different from our own, will offer a significant advantage to us.” She smiled grimly, then added. “Especially if you are inclined to coninue training our martial students.”

“I will.” He looked pained as he touched his hip, masking it a moment later. Fa Yuan knew the man still felt his injuries. He might never regain full use of his right leg, certainly his fluidity would be affected. “Better that I train your sect now and have it become a style of your sect than see my martial line disappear.”

She did not ask if he had concerns about being a traitor. She was certain his feelings was jumbled and twisted, the loss of his brothers, the destruction of his sect and coming over to the side that had destroyed his people. At the same time, the Verdant Green Waters had not taken part in that particular expedition, and his own people, his kingdom had tried to kill him.

Would likely try to kill him now if he returned.

“Then I’ll convey your wishes to the Sect Head,” Fa Yuan straightened. A part of her wished to speak with him further, to delve into his emotions and understand him better. She found him intriguing, this man who had loss so much and yet found the strength to continue. A sword cultivator, but who could see beyond the blade into the wider world.

However, duty called. All the more keenly. She had delayed in speaking with the Sect Head about the topic he so intently wished to discuss with her, but even now, she was conflicted. The Right Guardian might have trained her, begun the process of handing over his duties and contacts; but she had not wished it.

Even so, the Sect needed someone. Now, more than ever. Now, when...

“Do you think he survived?” En Lai asked, softly.

She did not need to ask who. They had all wondered it. There were many who had been lost and finally accounted for. Yin Xue among them, the man disappearing during the rumble and cracking of the world, when the dragons had arrived to stabilize and contain the tear. Since then, he had stayed in his room, refusing even the physician as he attempted to patch his cultivation and body back together.

If that was even possible.

No, she did not need to ask who. Only two had disappeared during all that tumult. And only one of them that they’d be concerned about.

“He has,” Fa Yuan said, firmly.

“Do you know, or do you just believe?”

“I know.” A slight twitch of her lips. “One of the gifts of my dao and training.” She could sense him, far in the distance. The karmic balance that sat between them, twisted and jumbled and out of sorts once again. It sometimes amused her, how, even if she and he might not consider the ramifications of the give and take of saving one another, of words spoken and actions taken; this invisible scale of karma and judgment still weighed them all.

“Good. It’s good. And will he...”

She finished the sentence for him, when he chose not to finish it. “Recover? Only the gods know. And with Ying - Elder Long - perhaps only him. He has a tendency to surprise us all.”

“So I’ve experienced.” He turned again, to regard the open rift. Nothing could be seen through the bright light that flooded out of it, smaller mortal figures scurrying around the opening itself. They were laying formation flags down, he knew. Not to stabilize the rift - the dragons had done that - but to create barriers to entry and exit, to emplace illusion formations and alarms.

No one knew what was within that new mystic realm, and unlikely as it might be to contain anything dangerous initially, one never knew what might have been drawn in, or worst, enterred during that period of flux. After all, the changes in space and dimensions and even time had rippled out, over thousands of li and potentially over hundreds of year within.

There was a reason no one, not even the most adventurous of cultivators had dared step within. The only expert of that realm, well, he was missing.

***

“You believe he will stay loyal?” Sect Head Yuan was looking tired. Having overdrawn his chi in curtailing the oncoming destruction, he was forced to recover in a chi gathering formation in the heart of the Seven Tiers Immortal Pagoda. The energy pulled from the various spirit stones below was purified through both the chi gathering arrays of the pagoda but also the array specifically set-up to align it with the Sect Head’s own needs. It sped up his recovery process but did require him to stay within the glowing formation lights.

“I do,” Fa Yuan replied. “His feelings of loyalty and trust to the Wei have tipped over entirely in the other direction. There is no coming back for him. Though he acts with grief now, wishing to hurt those who took his brother’s away, I believe he also seeks a future. He no longer sees one in this kingdom.”

“All the better. And the bodies?” Shu Ren said. Even sitting inside the formation, a light mist had gathered around the room, making the air heavier, vision a little cloudier.

“All collected. We have accounted for even Meng Dai’s corpse, though there was, of course, not much left of it. Even finding the finger and ankle of the man was surprising, even if they were nearly a dozen li from the epicenter.”

“It’s based not to leave half-Immortal body pieces around,” Shu Ren said, firmly. “You never know what demonic beast will eat it and then become another calamity. Nevermind whatever Dark Sect ritual there might be, utilizing such body parts.”

“Of course.” A slight hesitation, then she added. “And what do we intend to do with them?” After all, the instructions to acquire the body parts of the half-immortal Meng Dai had been exacting, mostly to ensure it was all preserved.

“Why, we’re going to enact less foul rituals and make use of it, of course.” Shu Ren chuckled softly. “The Silver Merchant was not wrong, that we are not that different sometimes.” Then, at the disapproving glare she sent him, Shu Ren shrugged. “We will utilize an old formation to extract the chi and the immortality from the body parts. Those rituals can either be used to empower the sect’s formations or, in some cases, pills.” A shake of his head. “His beliefs and chi are too deviant for the second however.”

Fa Yuan relaxed a little, and the Sect Head smiled grimly. “Most of these things are a matter of the Left Guardian. He watches us, for our deviations, for bending in our moral compass. Your job...”

“Sect Head.”

“Please, do not act the fool further, Elder Yang. Even temporarily, we need a Right Guardian, and you are the most appropriate individual. Or will you leave us open to attack?” He leaned forward, his voice dropping. “We might have come out the stronger, but many of the alliances developed in the last decade are now in danger. The Princes will war with one another, whether covertly or overtly. And we must be prepared for it all.”

Fa Yuan was silent for a long time after he was done speaking before she nodded. Accepting her role and her place. Even if temporary, though she knew all too well how a temporary position, a temporary agreement could become a binding promise or permanent posting.

“And have you heard from them, yet?”

She shook her head. “It would take a long time, for word to arrive. If they managed to arrive at their location. To ascertain how much damage he has done to himself. To find a solution.”

“If there is one.” the Sect Head crossed his hands before him, placing them on his lap. “There might not be. I have only ever seen such extensive damage, such a twisting between soul and body once before.”  Fa Yuan raised an elegant eyebrow. “It is why Body Cultivation is so dangerous. Why it’s not a preferred form of cultivation among the orthodox sects. Simple enough to refine the body, if you have the funds. But if the body and soul do not mesh...

“Disaster.”

“Then, is there no hope for Wu Ying?” Fa Yuan whispered.

“There is always hope, so long as there is life.” The Sect Head smiled, and for a moment it was as though the clouds that had hovered around them all these last few days had parted, allowing sunshine to bear down upon them. “That is what gives life such meaning. Even to the last moment, there is always hope.”

###

The End of the Fourth Fall

Epilogue

He sat, hunched over in his room in the center of the cultivation stage that dominated it. A series of formation flags had been sunk into the flooring, a rudimentary aid for focus and chi gathering. Nothing special, nothing unique. Not even half as effective as the enchantments embedded in the dedicated cultivation rooms in the Seven Tier Immortal Pagoda.

It did not matter, not for Wen Yin Xue. For he required secrecy above all.

“Damn him. Damn them all to be reborn as a cockroach.” He rocked back and forth, holding his only remaining hand to his body above his heart. In his hand, a small stone lay, not even half the size of a fist, sharp and jagged. So sharp that it had cut into his flesh when he had picked it up and even now was embedded in him. He had been holding onto the object for so long, even the blood had stopped flowing and small portions of his skin had begun to grow over the wound.

It hurt, but no worse than his missing limb, his missing eye. Those were streaked black and red, infected with demonic chi that had coursed through him, controlled by the body parts that had leeched into his body.

He was dying now, Yin Xue knew. Without the arm and leg and the controlling formations embedded in those and the portions of his flesh that had attached the body parts to him, the demonic chi was killing him.

Demon and human were never meant to mix.

It was why he had looked for it. Found it. The chi within him calling him to the spot, nearly fifty li from the epicenter. He had not been the only one there, but the hunter had been easy to slaughter. He had not meant to, but his control had been weak. The shove had been meant to be light. It was not.

Fool, should not have tried to take what was Yin Xue’s. Not try and do it while so weak.

He should not have stood in Yin Xue’s way.

Hiding the stone until he returned, holding the King’s demonic second heart close till he had been back and avoiding the gaze of all the cultivators had taxed him even further. Accelerated his decline, such that the black veins now ran up his neck, down one side of his face.

“Elder Wen, please. Let me see you!” the physician’s voice, some foolish peak Energy Storage fellow called through the barred doors again. Yin Xue could not remember his name, though he had met him often enough treating Wu Ying.

Wu Ying.

Yin Xue bared his teeth. Damn the man, for taking so long to kill the king. He should have just given him the ring from the start. Made him absorb it all. And then, and only then, fought him with his sword. If he had done his job, killed the king like he had been tasked, none of this would have happened.

He would not be crippled.

Again.

“Go away. I am fine.” Yin Xue forced himself to call out, forced himself to sound normal. Damn fool, if he let him see the state he was in, he would insist on Yin Xue resting. On trying some useless method of healing. He would insist on taking away the heart, which was his only chance of healing.

Healing and ascending.

And then, finally, he would be ahead of Wu Ying. Finally, he would take his place above the man. He was damaged, his cultivation shattered. He would never become an immortal. He would be lucky to be even in Core Formation now, with what he sensed. No, for all his rushing, he had finally fallen.

Now Yin Xue could rise. If he used the heart.

So why was he hesitating? Why had he been sat here for days now, holding the stone to his chest and feeling it leak even more poison into him and not moving? Why?

Yin Xue knew the answer, even if he refused to speak it. He was afraid. The next step, there was no going back. There were no controlling formations, no safeguards to stop the demonic heart from taking over. If he absorbed it, he would lose his humanity. Not immediately, but eventually.

He would become a demon, eventually; with all the strengths and weaknesses. All their karma and their burdens. He might look human, perhaps, but inside...

Where it mattered, he would have given up his humanity. He would never climb to the heavens. Not in this life, perhaps not ever. He could not read his future, could not discern how deeply this action would stain his rebirths. If he did this, he might never be able to take it back, no matter how long he spent in the hells.

Or perhaps, he would have to pay for it, a thousand times over. Born again and again as the lowest of the low.

A scholar. A farmer. A detestable merchant. Or worst, not even human but insect, animal.

So he hesitated, afraid to take this step. Dying, by inches. Wondering if it’d be better to die, here and now rather than take this final step.

Should he grasp this final hope? Or give up, and be reborn?

What fickle fate, to give him such an option.