PtM 18 - Chapter 14: Claw Runes and Glass Flames

Apologies for being late on this one. 2 chapters today.

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The Root Prison was the most secure place in the Realm of Good and Evil, and even Cha Ming, who’d long since infiltrated most of the realm, could only appear just outside of it. This was due to the complex shielding provided by the tree’s root system as well as the tightly packed clay in the realm. Both reeked of potent will that wasn’t his own.

Fortunately, Cha Ming had an insider. Namely, the incarnation Undine and the others had captured and used to track down the other incarnations. They had isolated it with rituals and severed its karma to the Clear Sky World. Unfortunately for them, this isolation was not as foolproof as they imagined.

Cha Ming had long since corrupted the runes making up the root prison’s outer shields. He guided these runes and manipulated thousands of connections to introduce a tiny weakness in the shield, which he then expanded using Clear Rune Field.

A trail of clear runes made their way through walls and doors and past prison guards. They formed two runic serpents that strangled the pair of guards stationed before his cell, then used their tails to pick the lock, revealing a haggard incarnation bound hand and foot with thick golden chains.

The clear runes approached the incarnation with caution, as it was surrounded by several spell circles. Cha Ming would be unable to break them with only this much power. Fortunately, he didn’t need to break them – the clear rune serpents formed a three-foot=long and three-inch wide portal to the Clear Sky World, though which an object flew out, cutting through the multiple layers of shielding like they were paper.

The item was none other than a silver axe covered in golden runes. It landed on Cha Ming’s wrist, which was nailed to the prison wall using a black spike and severed his hand, breaking his incarnation’s connection to the spike.

His stump of an arm wriggled and regrew, forming a new hand that grabbed the axe and cut off his other hand. Then his two legs, and finally, portions of his torso.

Cha Ming gained progressively more control over his incarnation, and eventually, enough of the black spikes were severed. He formed a connection to the outside world and summoned forth a surge of Clearmist.

Strength surged into the half-dead body, remaking it from the inside out. The chains binding him were unable to bear the pressure and shattered, and the remaining black spikes were forced out.

Cha Ming stretched his tired limbs and lashed out at the remnants of his bindings. They crumbled under the influence of his Dao projection, as did the furniture inside the room.

Cha Ming had just regained control of his incarnation when the walls of the Root Prison shook. The axe in Cha Ming’s hand let out a mournful whimper. “I’m sorry to put you through this,” Cha Ming said to the weapon. “But worry not – I have a way out for you.

Tendrils of lightning appeared in the prison walls. They were nowhere nearly as strong as tribulation lightning but could pose a threat to even peak law-stitching cultivators. The axe, sensing that Cha Ming was too weak to help it, took the initiative to welcome the lightning. It caused light damage to the axe, but also pushed it past its limits and increased the immortal aura within it.

There are a few main variables at play, thought Cha Ming. I don’t know how long the Tree of Good and Evil will be able to resist the lightning. After that, I don’t know how long the axe will be able to resist it alone. Fortunately, the Tree had ample vitality, and was the most important asset to Jezeriah and Harid Dej on this plane. They would rather sacrifice their lives than see the tree destroyed, and the two main threats to Cha Ming’s jailbreak plan, Pontiff Rice and Pontiff Rowe, were devoting most of their attention to keeping the tribulation in check.

Even so, it wouldn’t be easy to free the Monkey King. This was because Cha Ming was privy to what was happening outside the root prison, and therefore knew that the two vice-pontiffs, as well as Undine, Salamani, and three elite shield guards had been deployed to guard Sun Wukong. Concurrently, orders had been sent out by the two pontiffs – they were to execute all core prisoners in the Root Prison in five minutes unless given any other orders.

Cha Ming thought five minutes was too generous given his situation, but reassessed when a golden sword plunged into the earth, incinerating everything in its wake. He reacted quickly to the attack and decisively abandoned thirty percent of his influence in the Realm of Good and Evil. Then, seeing that the golden flames had the ability to infiltrate the soil and the air, he abandoned another twenty percent, giving the Tree of Good and Evil back substantial control over its territory.

The golden flames continued their attack on Cha Ming’s will. He was forced to continuously retreat, until finally, the golden flames exposed their true motive – the connection between this incarnation and the one stationed outside the Realm of Good and Evil!

It was as decisive and brutal attack, one that even damaged the Tree of Good and Evil. But forced Cha Ming to make a choice – he could either retreat now via his connection to his incarnation or sever the connection to his incarnation and continue with his plan.

“How ruthless…” Cha Ming muttered. His eyes flashed with a cold light, and he decisively cut off his escape line. Either he would break out Sun Wukong and live to see tomorrow, or he would die trying.

Pulling back his influence from the Realm of Good and Evil had certain advantages. By concentrating his will and presence, he was able to muster more powerful incarnations. His body broke into thousands of bolts of bloodstorm lightning that shot through the outer ring of the root prison, breaking down doors and cutting down guards and spiriting away the many high-profile prisoners the church had bene keeping.

He worked his way in a wheel pattern before proceeding toward the core region where the heart of the Tree of Good and Evil lay. He moved through the middle region expecting fierce resistance, only to discover that the guards that should have been keeping a watchful eye on their charges were kneeling in prayer.

Cha Ming had his doubts about what was happening but resolved to make the best of the situation. He quickly located Sect Master Frozen Thorn, Frozen Rain and Graceful Twilight’s father, Ashen Sky.

“I knew you would come,” said Frozen Rain, rubbing her raw wrists. “It was foretold long ago.”

“By who?” Cha Ming asked him. “Clever Dusk?”

“No,” said Frozen Rain.  “It was your master who predicted it.”

“You mean he foresaw all this?” Cha Ming asked doubtfully. “Something underhanded must have happened, then. Given his power, there’s no way either church would have been able to capture him.”

Frozen Thorn sighed. “He willingly followed the two pontiffs when they came to visit him, then came to an agreement with the two churches. Yet the two churches went back on their original agreement and captured everyone living in Verdant Crossroads.”

Cha Ming closed his eyes and thought back to his many encounters in the Heartforge Realm. The capture of Verdant Crossroads occurred when he’d been assimilating the Flamewing Demiplane and awakening Ninesky.

Did they goddesses sense my breakthrough and act pre-emptively?Cha Ming thought. Or was it the Inkwell Clan’s increasing aggression that forced them to accelerate the Tree of Good and Evil’s evolution.

“I’m afraid there’s only one way forward,” Cha Ming said. “I’m headed towards the heart of the Tree of Good and Evil. Unfortunately, your imprisonment has made you all too weak to help me.”

“No!” said Frozen Rain. “We can fight!” Her cultivation had caught up to her father’s. She was now a middle law stitching cultivator, which was impressive given her age.

It wasn’t just her, but the other demons and Daoists he’d rescued. Under Sun Wukong’s care, they’d all made significant breakthroughs in their cultivation. “I’m afraid you still won’t be of much assistance,” Cha Ming said, shaking his head. “My opponents this time are peak gold rankers and saints. My strength isn’t great enough to fight them head on – at most, I can only break past their blockade and attempt to free my master.

Though they were disappointed by his answer, they all understood. They could tell at a glance that Cha Ming had surpassed them on every level. “Rest in the Clear Sky World,” Cha Ming told them. “I don’t have much time left to gather the others and break through to the center. Wish me luck.”

Another wave of lightning welcomed his return to the Root Prison. The axe in his hands left out a keening howl as it resisted another wave of lightning. Cracks appeared on the axe blade.

Seeing that the guards in the central prison were all busy praying, Cha Ming took the chance to free the rest of the prisoners in the middle prison. Soon, all political prisoners had been rescued, and only Sun Wukong remained.

The central Root Prison was vastly different from the outer and middle rings. Blood red roots tinged with gold ran along narrow clay walls. From them, Cha Ming felt a nauseating will that was both righteousness and malevolent.

The prison was built like a maze. The further in Cha Ming went, the thicker the stench of blood, and the brighter the golden highlights on the Tree of Good and Evil’s roots became. There were no guards in the central prison, and Cha Ming soon saw why. Not long after entering the maze, he spotted the remnants of a prisoner that had been crucified who knew how many decades ago. A tiny hint of the remaining saintly aura in his body vanished just before Cha Ming could free him and entered the Tree of Good and Evil’s root system.

Having sucked the corpse dry, the roots turned their sights on Cha Ming. The suction force in the room increased exponentially. “You think you’re amazing because you’ve attained a hint of immortality?” Cha Ming said to the tree. “Well, I have news for you. You can’t do anything to me.”

A garment flames appeared on Cha Ming’s body. It was made of clear material, but contained a hint of iridescence that manipulated light as he wished it. A pair of clawed gauntlets also appeared on his hands.

These where the two pieces of regalia Cha Ming had spent the past month familiarizing himself with. They were far more powerful than his original divine abilities, and harnessed not only the might of his divinity, but of countless mortal planes as well. The core of each regalia piece was his two demiplanes; nothing short of a saint would be able to destroy them.

Cha Ming’s regalia and divine shell complemented each other. With their combined defensive properties, the Tree of Good and Evil’s devouring force was unable to affect him. “Now it’s my turn,” said Cha Ming. “Have a taste of my Crumbling Canvas.”

Clearmist laws spread out from Cha Ming and began breaking down the clay walls of the root prison. They wore away at the protective clay coverings and forced the roots to retreat.

The earth shook as the Tree of Good and Evil began to manipulate its massive body; stakes shot out of the ground, forming walls of saint-level wood. But Cha Ming did not slow down for them. A single slash from his gauntleted hands were all it took to break down their sturdy defenses.

Lightning rumbled and coursed through the Root Prison’s walls as another wave of tribulation energy assault the Tree of Good and Evil. The golden roots in the prison convulsed as they did their best to resist the lightning. Only a hint managed to sneak through and attack the axe.

Facing the combination of lightning and Cha Ming’s strange powers, the tree withdrew. Tiny golden roots pulled back from the outskirts of the maze, collapsing it as Cha Ming advanced.

Walls of clay and debris appeared before Cha Ming, but they were swiftly moved apart by tiny claw-shaped runes that sprang from the earth. It wasn’t long before he reached a barrier that was far stronger than everything else he’d encountered.

Three pairs of misty white wings appeared on his back. The Clearmist pool inside his inner world boiled as he activated his angelic ability, Triune Soul Burn, to the maximum. By drawing on his fused cultivation, Triune Soul Burn, and his regalia, his strength straddled the line between the late and peak law-stitching. Combined with his authority over the Realm of Good and Evil and the territorial advantage it conferred him, he was barely able to generate saint-level combat strength.

It only took a single palm to breach the wall, revealing a wooden cavern carved in the shape of a cathedral. Awaiting Cha Ming in the cavern was none other than the two vice-pontiffs, Undine and Salamani, as well as three shield guards. Surrounding them was a small army of hundreds of angels and devils, arranged in a battle formation centered around a small pillar in the middle of the room.

Atop the pillar was a beating heart covered in golden veins and filled to the brim with divinity and faith. Its aura was weak and damaged, but Cha Ming could sense a hint of immortality that did not lose out to the axe in his hands.

Tied to the pillar at the center of the room was his master, Sun Wukong. The Monkey King was fastened by a tangle of vines. A constant stream of divine, law, and spiritual energies poured out from him and into the vines, replenishing the Tree of Good and Evil’s energies and catalyzing its evolution.

“Master…” Cha Ming whispered hoarsely. He wiped tears from his eyes and settled a cold gaze upon the army separating the two of them. “Release him. Now. It’s the only chance you’ll get at a clean and painless death.”

“What an audacious welp,” said Vice-Pontiff Lorimer. “But it seems I overestimated him. He came down here, even after knowing it was a trap.”

“He’s showing commendable qualities that my goddess approves of,” said Vice-Pontiff Clockmaker. “Stop here and submit to Jezeriah, Clear Sky. Everything will be forgiven, and I guarantee you that your master will be released when all is done.”

Cha Ming’s eyes flickered with three-colored flames. His emotions alternated between cold indifference and mindless rage. If not for the grayness at the center that allowed him to straddle the line between the two emotions, he would have long since lost his mind.

“Disperse this army and get the hell out of here,” said Cha Ming. “Get out of might sight, and if you’re lucky, I’ll forget all about you.” His eyes settled on Undine and Salamani. “But not you two. I gave you ample chances.”

“Stop bluffing, Clear Sky,” said Undine. “You had your chance to make a breakthrough, but you blew it. There aren’t any demiplanes for you to devour on the Inkwell Plane, and it won’t be long before the tribulation lightning takes that blasted artifact of yours.”

Another wave of angry tribulation lightning smashed into the Tree of Good and Evil. Fissures appeared on its stiff and dead wood, allowing lightning through the ceiling. It charged toward his axe and attacked the weak spirit at its core. The cracks on its blade widened at a visible pace.

Despite not being the main target of the lightning, the Tree of Good and evil was also damaged, forcing it to increase the rate at which it absorbed Sun Wukong’s energies. They also fed a black energy back into the Monkey King’s body. This energy was none other than tribulation lightning poison, something that even immortals and gods were fearful of.