PtM 18 - Chapter 33: Karmic Tampering

Progress is being made. The website is back up at www.paintingthemists.com. There's links to all sorts of social media and progress bars thanks to a helpful fan.

On another note, I'll have the entire book and out to you by the end of September. There will be a one month Patreon freeze after that, but my intention is to finish the second draft of Book 19 in time to start posting in November. 

Wish me luck!

2/2 this week.

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In a remote corner of the Central Inkwell Sea, there existed an island that was famous, and had been for nearly a hundred thousand years, but was incredibly hard to find. So hard, in fact, that the Inkwell Clan had spent the past sixty years looking for it before finally narrowing down its location to a patch of sea less than a hundred kilometers in diameter.

The reason they couldn’t find it was simple: the island was controlled by the Inky Sea Sect’s West Branch, the guardians of the Inkwell Ancestor’s Gallery. The Gallery was a powerful artifact that couldn’t be destroyed by anything the Inkwell Clan could accommodate.

The island was quite large and had ten billion inhabitants. There were human cultivators and demons, as well as demigod clans and associations, but only one sect was allowed to exist: the Inky Sea Sect.

It was in a small silk-grass meadow that Cha Ming, Silver Fish, and Serrendil found themselves as they tumbled through a rift in space. Their armor was cracked, and their clothes were torn. Each of them had suffered severe internal injuries.

“Fully protected, they said,” Cha Ming muttered. “In a completely different dimension, they said.”

“It wasn’t so bad, was it?” Silver Fish said, pulling himself up. He let out a howl as he pulled a bone spike out of his mangled leg and began purifying the poison slowly making its way to his heart. “Who could have guessed that a major spatial event would damage the Inkwell Plane while we were crossing the Starry Road?”

“I think the bigger coincidence was us stumbling onto an army that was just about to take advantage of said spatial event to invade the Inky Sea Sect,” said Serrendil. “If we’d showed up a moment later, we’d have found rubble here instead of a meadow.”

“It’s clearly my fault we ended up in this mess,” Cha Ming said. “And before you say it’s not, rest assured that it is. Fate has been out to get me for a while now, and it’s been especially bad since I returned to the Inkwell Plane.

Hundreds of thousands of tangled karmic strings appeared before Cha Ming’s eyes. From them, he calculated the state of the rift they’d emerged from and the integrity of space on the other side. “I’d be surprised if more than a handful of Inkwell clansmen survived that disaster.”

“What about the Starry Road segment?” asked Silver Fish.

“Gone,” said Cha Ming. “It can’t be repaired without intervention from this side of the planar boundary.” He cracked his neck and forced his spine back into place. “So, what’s next? You were the one who wanted to come here, Silver Fish.”

“That…” Silver Fish said, scratching his head. “I’m afraid I’ve never actually been here. I just heard a lot about it from my master.”

“Of course,” Cha Ming muttered. “It would have been too easy for you to have a network and a working knowledge of your own sect.”

“I do have a working knowledge,” said Silver Fish. “I’ve just never been here before. But I’ve seen a map. I have a map!”

It was a start.

Their group quickly cleaned up the site and made themselves scarce. No sooner had they left when several powerful individuals passed them by. Fortunately, their group was powerful enough to evade detection.

Their destination wasn’t far, so they took a small detour to visit a few farming villages and small towns, where they extracted valuable information about their surroundings. Three days later, they arrived at the biggest city on the island, Tyrant’s Rest.

“Master said that Tyrant’s Rest was where the will of the world fell in battle,” Silver Fish explained as they traveled. “Back then, it had caught everyone unaware, giving the Gallery no time to enable its defenses. The Inky Sea Sect had both demons and human cultivators among its membership back then, and the Inkwell Clan occupied a dominant position.

“That all changed after Melody’s fall. The Inkwell Clan went into self-imposed exile, and the Inky Sea Sect became the planar core’s protectors and jailors. They knew it was only a matter of time before Melody returned.

“The Inky Sea Sect’s four branches occupy the most powerful cultivation sites on the Inkwell Plane. There is no shortage of first- and second-level saint cultivators, and the West Sea Sect has no less than three third-level saints standing guard.”

To their surprise, the guards at the entrance of Tyrant’s Rest didn’t even question their presence. A few powerful figures briefly scanned them as they entered but did not prevent them from entering the city.

“I never imagined there’d be such a variety of cultivators here,” said Cha Ming. “There are demigod clans, schools and associations, and even angelic and devilish organizations.”

“From what I’ve heard, the Inky Sea Sect has very exacting standards,” Serrendil chimed in. “Their members must be absurdly powerful and of good character, but they must also be proficient in some sort of craft and be gifted in the arts.”

“I thought demons weren’t allowed in the sect,” Cha Ming said, spotting a group of cultivators in conspicuous inky-black cloaks. “What’s with all those monstrous demons tagging along?” His casual comment invited glares from nearby cultivators, and one of them even spat at Cha Ming’s feet. “Silver Fish?”

“One of the West Branch’s main inheritances requires the assistance of a demon companion to fight, craft, and even cultivate,” said Silver Fish. “Elder Ling is the most famous among them. Given that he’s very susceptible to flattery, there’s no lack of people trying to imitate him.”

Indeed, most of the demon companions they saw were feline. Moreover, they strutted about arrogantly like they owned the place. A strange expression crossed his face as he noticed that Angels and Devils was an extremely popular pastime. People even played in the streets, as if afraid that they wouldn’t be noticed.

“If only they knew Mr. Mao Mao’s true character,” Cha Ming said. “Then they’d know they were wasting their time.”

“Oh? I don’t know Mr. Mao Mao’s true character?” a nearby cultivator said as they walked past his Angels and Devils board. “You make it sound like you know him personally. No, don’t be in a hurry to leave. Tell me exactly how I’m wasting my time, or you won’t be leaving this place in one piece.”

The speaker was a young black-robed man with a shaved head. His cultivation was nothing to Cha Ming, but the old man beside him was a saint-level demon, a fierce opponent.

“Young master, though these cultivators are of no threat to me personally, any one of them would be sufficient to kill you ten thousand times if you encountered them in private,” said the old demon.

The young master rolled his eyes. “There’s no shortage of people that are more powerful than I, Bai Yunfei. But I dare guarantee you that I am second to none in my passion for Angels and Devils, and that none in my realm exceed me in calligraphy. Moreover, I am the first Daoist West Sea to succeed in taming an adamantine hellcat. How could I not be irked when some random country bumpkin calls me misguided?”

Cha Ming did not want to get tied up, so he clasped his hands and bowed in apology. “It was my fault, fellow Daoist. I spoke thoughtlessly.” He turned to leave, but the young man’s voice sounded once again.

“Did I say you could leave?” said the young man. “Uncle Teng, stop them.”

A fierce demonic will fell upon their group and prevented them from moving forward.

“A space-aligned demon,” Silver Fish said grimly. “Not easy to deal with, but not impossible. Shall we fight?”

“Relax,” Cha Ming said, putting his hand on Silver Fish’s shoulder. He did the same to Serrendil and invoked a tiny law projection that cracked and shattered the saintly spatial cage keeping them in place. They took a calm step forward and stared the elder demon in the eye.

The demon’s expression grew solemn. “Perhaps we should let these esteemed Daoists go on their way. Apologies, fellow Daoists. It was our fault this time.” He clasped his hands and restrained his power.

Fighting in the city must not be an unusual occurrence, thought Cha Ming. But since he didn’t want trouble, he accepted the apology. “It was both our faults,” he said before moving on.

They were barely a few hundred meters away when Bai Yunfei spoke ill of them. “You should have taught him a lesson, Uncle Teng. Didn’t you say they were no match for you?”

“This… I was mistaken, young master,” said the old demon. “Though I have confidence in preserving my life, the man in the middle possessed strange abilities. My duty is to protect you, so I deescalated. Forgive my impertinence.” The young man seemed unconvinced, so the old demon continued speaking. “You possess many protective talismans and are naturally in no danger. But have you not considered your adamantine hellcat cub? I can spare attention for you, but not for it.”

Bai Yunfei’s eyes widened. “Do you think they were sent by my competition?”

The old man nodded sagely. “Your actions have been noticed, and even some old monsters in the Inky Sea Sect have approached the ancestor for permission to take you in as a disciple.”

“Absolutely not!” said Bai Yunfei. “I’ll join the Inky Sea Sect as Daoist West Sea’s apprentice or not at all.”

“Of course, young master,” said the old demon. “The ancestor is very optimistic about your chances.”

“Poor kid,” said Cha Ming as they left eavesdropping distance. “I didn’t have the heart to tell him.”

“To be fair, it’s not my master that’s the problem, but Mr. Mao Mao,” said Silver Fish with a grimace. “Satisfying him would be the far safer route, difficult as that is.”

“Have you both noticed the number of people looking at us in an odd way?” asked Serrendil.

“Are they?” said Silver Fish. “Hm… I guess they are.”

“It’s my bad luck kicking in again,” said Cha Ming. “The Inkwell Plane has it out for me.”

“Stop exaggerating,” said Silver Fish, only to swallow his words after three consecutive unfortunate encounters.

***

An hour later, Serrendil and Silver Fish were thoroughly convinced of Cha Ming’s misfortune.

“It’s one thing to run into one or two young masters, but six? In one hour?”

“The spilled drinks and slop buckets in our faces weren’t very nice either,” said Serrendil.

“I told you all, but you wouldn’t listen,” said Cha Ming. “Did you think those gold mites were there by coincidence, or that the Tree of Good and Evil just happened to need my master’s blood as food?”

“Now you’re just exaggerating,” said Silver Fish.

“I’m not,” said Cha Ming. “And I can prove it.” He summoned forth a tangle of karmic strings. Each of them represented a prominent youth in Tyrant’s Rest. “See these strings? These are the most unreasonable young masters present in the city.”

“That’s not bad,” said Serrendil. “I can buy five percent of those youngsters being unreasonable.”

“They all happened to be out and about while we walked down this street,” said Cha Ming. “How could that possibly be just a coincidence?”

Serrendil shrugged. “It’s consistent with myexperience, at least. Everywhere I go, there are people abusing their authority to trample the vulnerable. This is slightly worse, but it’s well within the bounds of possibility.”

“I’m afraid I’m going to have to side with Clear Sky on this one,” said Silver Fish. He pointed a finger up at the violet sky. “Am I right?”

“You are,” said Cha Ming. “Melody is out to get us. She doesn’t like what we’re doing, so she’s altering probability and subtly influencing cultivators to obstruct us. Fortunately, that proves we’re doing exactly the right thing. The will of the world doesn’t want us looking for Elder Ling.”

“What if it’s just using reverse psychology?” Serrendil said.

“That’s… a good point,” Cha Ming said. “Ninesky, do you have any input?”

“None for a big bully that’s cut down on dessert portions,” said Ninesky.

Cha Ming was forced to give in and assemble a large cake for her from the various materials in his inner world. Based on the ingredients alone, a peak-fusion-realm demon would explode from consuming said cake. Ninesky, however, was delighted and answered his question.

“There is karmic tampering in the air,” Ninesky confirmed.

“Can you stop it?” asked Cha Ming.

“I could,” said Ninesky. “But it’ll cost you.”

“Name your price,” Cha Ming said.

Ninesky held up five fingers.

“You’re going to have to be more specific than that.”

“I’ll take no less than three, no, ten such cakes,” Ninesky said.

“Are you sure you know how to count?” asked Cha Ming. “Could I perhaps interest you in four cakes?”

Ninesky eyed him suspiciously. “Perhaps I’ll take three cakes.”

“Done,” said Cha Ming. “But only after you work your magic.”

“One cure for bad luck coming up!” said Ninesky. She shot into the sky and pierced through some sort of veil that even Cha Ming, with his wondrous eyesight, had been unable to see. She returned seconds later looking exhausted.

“I did it!” said Ninesky. “I showed her who’s boss.”

“So there won’t be any more tampering?” asked Cha Ming.

“For an hour,” said Ninesky. “Now hand them over.”

Cha Ming obliged her by summoning three cakes, each one with a slightly different filling and a different color of frosting. She stuffed them into her face, then plunged back into the Clear Sky World, where she proceeded to destroy two sandcastles and greatly annoy the three cats who’d built them.

“We’d better hurry up,” said Cha Ming. “Where exactly should we go?”

“We’re in pretty rough shape, so we should probably buy some medicine for our recovery,” said Silver Fish. “Let’s go to the Inky Sea Emporium.”

The Ink Sea Emporium was over ten times larger inside than out and was filled to the brim with powerhouses doing business. Cha Ming spotted no less than ten saint=level cultivators doing business in private rooms as they waited for an auction would take place three hours later.

“I just remembered, I’m a little short on funds,” said Silver Fish.

“Same,” said Serrendil. “I have plenty of dragon metals, but I’d prefer not to spend them.”

Cha Ming was also short on wealth. He had a few demon crystals from killing the horde of Inkwell clansmen but preferred not to spend in this place.

Fortunately, Cha Ming could dismantle treasures and rebuild them with the same base materials. It was an old trick he remembered from Yu Wen’s shop.

The only question is what to make, Cha Ming thought. He drew on Memory’s strength to compile information on the various powerhouses he’d witnessed, including their abilities and weapons. There were no preferred weapons, but talisman brushes were in high demand, as was high-quality alchemical ink and pills suited for raising demon companions.

“Let’s take a look at what they have for sale on the higher floors while I work,” Cha Ming said. His companions both agreed, and they proceeded up the stairs as a group. He called over an attendant passing them on the stairwell and handed her a storage ring.

“We’ll be on the top floor,” said Cha Ming. “Please come find me after these goods have been assessed. You have fifteen minutes.”

“The-the top floor?” said the nervous attendant. “Right away, sir!”

“Can we even get to the top floor?” Silver Fish asked Cha Ming. “From what I’ve heard, only second-level saints can make it there. Ordinary saints aren’t qualified.”

“I should be able to cheat our way in now that I’ve made a breakthrough,” Cha Ming said.

There were a total of six floors in the Ink Sea Emporium. The first floor was for sales and entry into the auction house. The remaining five floors contained goods at various cultivation realms for sale, starting with rare goods for the Rune Carving Realm on the second floor, goods for the Rune Gathering Realm on the second floor, and the Law Stitching Realm on the third floor.

The fourth floor was reserved for saint-level figures, and the fifth floor was reserved for elites among saints. Each floor was protected by a barrier that had to be passed or penetrated by potential customers.

Technically, Cha Ming was unable to match up to a second-level saint, but he had a few tricks up his sleeve. He took a moment to inspect the field outside the fifth floor and confirmed that it was something he could decipher.

He summoned his Dao projection and began sorting and dismantling runes inside the repulsion field. It was as he’d guessed—these barriers followed the same structure he’d learned from Fuxi’s Puzzle Box. Except his knowledge exceeded the one who’d made this barrier, and his laws were of a higher level than the barrier as well.

“Do you need any help?” Serrendil asked him. “Silver Fish might need to hold back to avoid detection, but I’m under no such restrictions.”

“I’m a little short just based on runic arts and brute strength,” Cha Ming muttered. “But don’t worry, I have a solution.” He ran his finger along the repulsive barrier and injected a stream of rust-colored energy. This was none other than his latest divine ability, Gold Song Corruption.

Tiny bits of metallic energy spread throughout the barrier and began vibrating at a peculiar frequency. Three restrictions that Cha Ming was unable to decipher suddenly turned traitor and began dismantling the barrier from the inside.

“Is this all right?” said Silver Fish. “We’re not creating trouble for ourselves again, are we?”

“Relax,” said Cha Ming. “All is fair as long as you take down the barrier.”

Cracks and veins of corruption appeared on the barrier, and finally, it could no longer withstand the strain. The barrier shattered, and Cha Ming and friends walked through the entrance of the fifth floor.

“Hello?” Silver Fish called out. “Is anyone there?”

“No one save this old man,” replied an aged voice. “I’ll be sitting here enjoying a cup of tea. You youngsters can look around as you wish.”

“Many thanks, Elder,” Cha Ming said. He cupped his hands and bowed to the elder before moving toward the fifth floor’s display cases.

The fifth floor was barren compared to the earlier floors. Thirty or so items were on display, and each one was inside a glass case reinforced with powerful restrictions that exceeded the barrier guarding the entrance. There were no other attendants aside from the old man.

“The tea will be ready once you’ve had a chance to look around,” said the old man. “Be careful not to break anything, or I’ll have to beat you to a pulp.

“He’s strong,” said Cha Ming to his companions.

“Much stronger than we are,” said Silver Fish. “Look at his robes. He’s a major elder in the Inky Sea Sect.”

This elder had a three-eyed crow as a demon companion. The creature was gifted with godlike senses and hadn’t stopped staring at them since they’d walked into the room.

“This is a good treasure,” Cha Ming said, stopping before a glass case. “Primordial Void Marrow, obtained from a mysterious secret realm located outside the Inkwell Plane.”

“It won’t work on me,” Serrendil said, shaking her head. “Whether it’s to heal my injuries or consolidate my cultivation, I’ll need a treasure that’s hard to obtain even by second-level saints.”

Serrendil had already broken through to the saint realm after fully fusing with the Dragon Metal Realm. Her cultivation was shallow, but it was enough to crush first-level saints and ensure her survival with second-level saints. As was the case with Cha Ming, this didn’t come without drawbacks. Mundane medicines were useless on her.

“This one’s not bad,” Silver Fish said from another case. “Blood from a false immortal kraken. Three whole drops.”

“Kraken’s blood? Are you sure?” Cha Ming said, walking up to the case. “It says here that anyone who absorbs this blood essence will incur the wrath of the Kraken Clan.”

“If you have any better ideas, I’m all ears,” Silver Fish said. “From what I can tell, there are only a few treasures here that would even be remotely useful to us.”

“It’s not easy finding medicine,” muttered Cha Ming. Would they need to wait three hours for the caution? By then, their luck would return to normal.

They continued looking through the items on display. Most were weapons and armor, but they disregarded these in favor of the few medicines on display. Unfortunately, there were none that suited Serrendil, forget Cha Ming, whose inner universe was very difficult to restore.

They were making their way to the elder when Cha Ming saw something out of the corner of his eye. “It can’t be…”

He walked over to a glass case containing an archaic suit of amor. The armor was damaged but was listed as a second-level saint artifact. The only disadvantage was that it would only resist a few blows before completely disintegrating.

But it wasn’t the suit of armor that caught his attention, it was its materials. There was an incongruity in the law structure forming the item, and it was caused by fragments that had been used to form the artifact’s core.

The only issue was the price. Saint-level items were disproportionately expensive. So expensive, in fact, that only immortal jades or crystals could be used as currency. Other immortal artifacts could be used to trade. The goods in his possession were far from enough, however, unless he decided to spend a significant amount of time crafting items out of demiplane fragments.

Regardless of success or failure, Cha Ming was determined to obtain both this item and the kraken blood. Their group was extremely weak and had antagonized several forces on the way here. Ninesky’s interference could protect them from new karmic entanglements, but it could do nothing about existing grudges.

Let’s see if he’ll give us a bargain, thought Cha Ming as he made his way toward the elder. He was about to take a seat when suddenly, the attendant he’d encountered in the stairwell burst through the doorway. Her eyes were red, and there was a black hand imprint on her face.

“What happened?” asked Cha Ming. “Tell me what’s going on.”

“I… I took the ring for appraisal, but it was confiscated!” the attendant said.

Cha Ming frowned. Was this just normal bad luck, or was something else the matter? He didn’t need to wonder long, because a group of people burst through the doorway behind her.

Like the first attendant, these newcomers were also members of the Inky Sea Emporium. There were over a dozen individuals, and three of them had reached the saint realm. Normal saint-realm cultivators were of no concern to Cha Ming, but he was nervous about starting a fight in the Inky Sea Sect’s territory.

“Can I help you?” he asked their leader, one of the floor managers.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve, presenting stolen goods for sale at our Inky Sea Emporium!” said the manager. “If you don’t provide me with an explanation, I’ll be forced to detain you.”

Cha Ming’s expression turned strange. All the goods inside the storage ring he’d given the attendant were only a small portion of what he’d made, but they were unique goods. He should know—he’d crafted them himself.

“There must be some sort of mistake,” Cha Ming said calmly. “The goods I presented for sale are all brand new. It’s impossible that they are stolen merchandise.”

“So you say,” said the manager. “But how do you explain this?” Six items were pulled out in quick succession. “A treasured sword from the Bai Clan? The mysterious wind fan belonging to the Jiang Clan?” The other six treasures belonged to the Zhang, Meng, Ko, and Wei Clans.

“How convenient that a bunch of goods belonging to the clans I just offended would appear inside my storage ring,” Cha Ming said dryly. “You’re clearly here to stir up trouble. Perhaps planting less-blatant evidence would be more effective.”

The manager smirked. “Fortunately, I have all the evidence I need. This is the territory of my Inky Sea Sect. Individuals without sufficient backing can only dream of escaping me.”

The saints advanced. Though Cha Ming didn’t want to stir up trouble, trouble had come looking for them anyway.

“Perhaps we can have a discussion, and I could offer you an explanation?” said Cha Ming.

“It’s too late for that,” said the unreasonable manager. “But I’m not an unreasonable person. Confess to your crimes, and I’ll only imprison you in the sect dungeon for six months.”

Cha Ming sent quick instructions to Luther and the others to prepare for battle. He held out his hand and was about to summon the Clear Sky Brush when a dry cough rang through the room. An invisible force stopped the guards in place, then pushed them back several feet to their original positions.

“That’s quite enough, Manager Wei,” said the old man. “You may leave. I have business with these friends.”

The manager frowned. “You don’t decide what goes on in the Inky Sea Sect, Elder Yang. Your actions have already resulted in your assignment to this location. Are you sure you want to make a mountain out of a mole hill?”

The old man turned his head and leveled a stare at the manager. The difference between their cultivation realms was made immediately apparent when the manager broke out into a cold sweat and stumbled backward.

“This isn’t over!” the manager spat. “Just you wait till Elder Wei finds out about this.”

“I’ll be awaiting his personal visit,” replied the old man. “Now will you get lost, or do I need to throw you out?”

“Let’s go!” said the manager. The guards shot Cha Ming and friends a hateful look before heading back through the door to the stairwell.

The elder sighed. “I might not have much authority in the Inky Sea Sect, but I have enough clout to stop customers from being bullied inside this emporium. Come have some tea, youngsters. I insist.” Since their safety was in the hands of this old man, they didn’t hesitate to sit down before the small tea table and grab a cup.

A wonderful feeling washed over Cha Ming’s body as he took a sip of the inky-black liquid inside the cup. He felt his connection to his inner world deepen and his comprehension of laws accelerate. “Amazing,” he said. “This is the best tea I’ve ever had.”

“Drink up, little friends,” said Elder Yang. “This tea goes bad fairly quickly, and even elders like myself receive only a tiny amount every year.”

Cha Ming took another sip of the tea. “I’m curious as to what we might have done to deserve such treatment,” he said. “From what I can see, your situation in the sect isn’t good, and kicking out Manager Wei probably didn’t help matters either.”

The elder chuckled. “If two apprentices of my old friend and the leader of the Clockwork Clan in this generation aren’t worthy, I’m not sure who is.”

“How could you tell?” Silver Fish asked. “The seal on my body isn’t something anyone should be able to see through.”

“If you want to remain hidden, consider disguising your appearance,” Elder Yang said dryly. “This place isn’t as isolated from the outside world as you think. We receive fresh news through the Greenwind Pavilion twice a day, and we tend to pay close attention to confidential reports of small groups destroying an entire army of invaders.”

Cha Ming and friends relaxed upon hearing his words. “We don’t regret hiding our identities, especially Silver Fish’s. There are a lot of people out there who idolize Elder Ling, so it’s not like we can reveal our association with him. Besides, the will of the world hasn’t been kind to us since we entered the Inky Sea Sect’s territory.”

“That bad, is it?” asked the elder. “There have been rumors of strange karmic events over the past few decades, but no one has been able to confirm this.”

“Wouldn’t the West Sea Witch know for sure?” asked Silver Fish. “She’s the one that usually pays attention to karma and the like.”

“She would probably have an inkling, but as things are, she is… indisposed,” said Elder Yang.

“What happened?” asked Silver Fish. “The West Sea Witch is one of the West Sea Sect’s three main authorities. Her veto power alone is enough to ensure that nothing untoward happens.”

Elder Yang shook his head. “Unfortunately, it isn’t others that have revoked her authority but the West Sea Witch herself. As you might be aware, all those who inherit the position of West Sea Witch are half demons from the Inkwell Clan. This connection to the will of the world allows the witch to predict its actions. Conversely, this makes her susceptible to its influence.”

“I thought the Gallery was immune to such tampering,” Silver Fish said.

Elder Yang took a sip of tea. “Which is why she chose that same location for her self-imposed exile. She still participates in major decisions but has left the governance of the sect to the elders.”

Cha Ming finally understood what was going on. Elder Ling and the West Sea Witch were gone, so the sect’s many factions were playing power games. This perfectly explained the rampant behavior of their clan members on the streets as they sought to impose their authority.

Elder Yang happened to be part of Elder Ling’s faction. Once upon a time, this had been the strongest faction, but the disappearance of both leaders had greatly weakened them, and many elders had crossed over to the other side.

“Regardless of how I feel, maintaining the integrity of the Inky Sea Sect is of paramount importance,” Elder Yang said. “We enjoy the protection of the Gallery, and in return, we protect the Inkwell Ancestor’s original intentions. Civil war would only provide a gap that the will of the world would exploit.

“As for the three of you, you need not meddle in these matters. You have important things to do. Speeding up your recovery and getting you where you need to be is the priority.”

“And where exactly are we supposed to go?” Cha Ming asked.

“To the Gallery, of course,” said Elder Yang. He flicked his sleeve, and two glass display cases dimmed. The aged suit of armor flew out to Cha Ming, and the vial of kraken blood flew out to Silver Fish. “Your situation is a little trickier, leader of the Clockwork Clan, but worry not—the sect has planned for many eventualities.” He took out a transmission jade, and moments later, an attendant walked in. It was the same attendant that had been reduced to tears earlier.

“I tried to take what you requested, but Manager Wei obstructed me,” said the attendant. “His reasoning is that the item in question has already been put up for auction. What are your instructions?”

“My instructions are that Manager Wei hand over the item, and I will personally deal with any fallout or compensation,” said Elder Yang. “You will also tell him that if he dares talk back or retaliate against you in any way, I’ll string him up on a post, strip him naked, and have him publicly flogged no less than ten thousand times with a strip of kraken leather.”

The attendant paled but did as she was told. Minutes later, she returned with a golden vial, which Elder Yang then handed over to Serrendil. “This is a vial of Sea God’s Tears, which were obtained at great expense from another world. Such an item will allow second-level saints to instantly consolidate and strengthen their foundations, thereby granting them the potential to charge to the third level.”

Serrendil refused the vial. “This is too precious. I can’t take it.”

“You can, and you will,” said Elder Yang. “There will be no shortage of people to stop you from entering the Gallery. I’ll do what I can, but ultimately, you’ll need to rely on your own strengths and wits.” He flicked his sleeve once more, and an opening appeared on the far wall. “These are my personal chambers, which you may use to recover for the next three days. Once you’re finished, I will lead you to the Gallery.”

“Thank you,” Cha Ming said to Elder Yang. “I don’t dare say we can repay the favor now, but I have confidence in being able to do so in the future.”

Elder Yang waved his hand dismissively. “Repaying the favor is easy. I hear Mr. Mao Mao has taken a liking to your offerings, and wishes for them to continue. Keep him happy, and the rest of us will be able to breathe a little easier.”

Cha Ming and Silver Fish laughed as they retreated to the hidden room and began to treat their injuries.