“[Might] is assured, though they are not blessed with [Ink],” he pondered. “Rhymes make light of it. Children’s tales and poetry that sheds mortal interest on matters they should not encounter. Thus, I care not for it. No youth of the Bck Ribbon Graves would dare extend such triviality for Qi’s timeless foe.”

  I asked, “But in cssification?”

  “Cssification- you do them justice. Breed, schor. No more. To say simply, there stand five types of their ilk.-

  Of brutish talent, the [Pischacha].

  Of foulest taint, the [Yaksh.

  Of fiendish schemes, the [Rakshasa].

  Of ignoble lordship, the [Asura].”

  Lord [Dour Faced Strategist] fell silent, I recall, and so it was asked, “Were five breeds not mentioned?”

  “Yes,” came his reply, and the departure from our talks.

  “Diversity of [Demonic] Attributes,” conversations with [Dour Faced Strategist]

  It was lightning that arced across Fu’s fingers.

  [Twin Mockeries Heartplume]

  [Foundation Realm] [Boon] bestowed.

  [Lightning Resistance] The [Twin Mockeries Heartplume] grants increased resistance to all forms of lightning and [Lightning Q.

  [Heartplume’s Mockery] Grants the ability to split your [Spirit], infusing lightning with your own characteristics.

  As the Heaven’s mysteries went, this message upon his [Ink] was one more vague that he had expected.

  An inwards look showed his heart.

  The agitation of lightning that danced from a fresh vessel within it. A valve or stem, should he ask for Medicinal Head Aarushi’s insight on the matter, though the name was of little concern. It sparked there, bright and brimming with force.

  [Heartpume’s Mockery].

  Hushi and Shuidi’s surprise showed as their own [Consteltion Seeds] reacted. Such was the nature of these treasures, hosted within a shared cultivation.

  Azure light grew at Fu’s summoning, warming a space upon his breast.

  And changed.

  The [Consteltion Seed] seemed to search him, touching upon the facets of his cultivation - what [Prowess] he held, his [Dao] and accumuted treasures - until the light had subsided, keeping only the growing heat.

  What came was a subtle force, suppressed in Qi and intrinsically blended with his [Clouded Ghost Arts].

  Then, the three studied air.

  A silhouette.

  “I greet you,” Fu said.

  The air said nothing, a construct of trapped breezes.

  Shuidi’s will expanded to touch the [Heartplume’s Mockery], and her Qi probed the exterior edges of its winds.

  “What do you find, sister?”

  Spare moments were granted as Fu conducted his own search. His [Senses] moved in simir, if less profound motions than his [Spirit Crab] companion, though he received much chastisement when these efforts interfered with her own.

  Minutes passed, and the [Heartplume’s Mockery] suddenly shifted. The translucent winds comprising it shrunk, morphing into a simucrum of Shuidi’s own scale. Another diminutive crab of ephemeral breezes.

  Hushi attempted this, and needled a gre at his sister when her hold would not release.

  “Her testing is still underway, brother,” smiled Fu, a hand to his chest. “Steel yourself, I am also eager. It is noticeable, no? The splitting of [Spirit]. While our… [Mockery] is present I would not invite another’s [Intent] or spiritual attack. We are halved, perhaps.”

  Now, what benefits does it afford?

  A peculiarity of his [Ink] spoke only of his [Foundation Realm Boon], not of [Core Formation] such was his realm. Another ponderance, he knew, but one that he equated to its absorption being a recent affair.

  Fu was certain that the true nature would reveal in time, or with further experience.

  The [Mockery] suddenly blurred at Shuidi’s command, moving with all the swiftness that Fu himself possessed. It crossed his quarters to… not quite annihite the table there, but to… not…

  His cultivation was truly reflected here, he knew, for the [Mockery] had indeed assaulted the table. Its diminutive cw had nded, and a resonance trembled through Fu’s heart to make aware exactly what motions this simucrum had made.

  But what remained was an untraceable storm of lightning. Unseen, unfelt, and fully suppressed despite all that his heart felt.

  “That is a [Spiritual] attack,” he nodded, seeing the unseen power fade. “So the [Twin Mockeries Heartplume] is a seed for that Path. Our horizons broaden then, beyond the simplicity of martial strikes.”

  Shuidi puffed her mists in protest.

  “You are right, sister. Apologies. I speak only for myself. My talent in [Qi Manipution], [Arrays], and the [Dao] pale compared to you.”

  Prideful, the [Spirit Crab] held herself in a lofty stance. “More,” came her impression.

  Fu gestured for her to continue.

  Then his mind’s eye filled with a view of three figures. He, Hushi and Shuidi, naturally, but as seen from the perspective of his [Mockery].

  Pain flourished in his temples one breath ter, caught as he made to excim. “Our [Senses] are shared, but the toll-”

  “Fret not. It is no mountain of bdes.”

  The Old One’s mental presence moved as a cooling water, quenching the sudden heat that had consumed Fu’s skull. His efforts stripped all burden from viewing between these two perspectives, and Fu saw himself bow in both.

  “Gratitude, old master. I should not have leapt blindly.”

  “A truth and harshness. One should not forgo curiosity.”

  A nod came in response, twice seen. “How is this done, old master? How have you eased this burden, I would know so I might relieve it from you.”

  “Practice, youngling. I will recall a technique to aid in this. For now, enjoy greed. Yes. The treasure’s secrets are not yet told.”

  With gratitude, Fu returned his attention.

  The benefits of shared [Senses] were clear as limpid water. Additional eyes were welcome, and an additional body through which to act could not be discounted.

  Hushi impressed his curiosity with the air, signalling to an unseen ribbon that tethered these three and the [Mockery]. A thing of soul and [Spirit], intangible yet there. One arm rose, and plucked, though all felt this gesture was as unnecessary as intent.

  Another storm loosed. A hidden [Spiritual] maelstrom, with Hushi as its epicenter.

  For he had taken the [Mockery’s] pce.

  My [Core] remains intact, with no loss of Qi. As it was when it manifested.

  Fu hovered his hand above the [Twin Mockeries Heartplume], and tterly, his [Spirit]. The [Mockery] had returned, dormant within its [Consteltion Seed], though he sensed a mite of fatigue from its summoning.

  More so, his [Spirit] had not returned to whole.

  “A great [Boon],” affirmed Fu, conjuring it once more. “And another foundation to strengthen. Let us test our limits further, yes? This day requires no less than perfection.”

  ??

  It was not [Imperial Realm 1,097], [Imperial Realm 645], [Imperial Realm 2,402] or the thirteen subsequent realms the Wayward Winds prowled that contained traces of Ban Bingbai.

  Zhu’s protests of [Karmic Ties], or a ck thereof: through obfuscation and [Karma]-severing treasures, opposing cultivators of superior talent and myriad [Arrays] inscribed with the intent to mask their master’s presence, suddenly ceased.

  Amidst the clouds of [Imperial Realm 777], allied [Arrays] fred with wasted potential.

  The plum-eyed cultivator sat in meditation. An octagon inscribed upon the vessel’s deck held an orbit about him, with each corner inhabited by some manner of [Karmic] treasure.

  Corded knots, as reaped from the [Shores of Heavy Whisper], and more. A frayed branch of a vermillion bodhi tree. Prayer beads, painted thinly with a depiction of the Adamantine View. Four peaches, oscilting between light and dark.

  “The [One Truth Seeking Array] cannot continue without your input, Senior Zhu, is something amiss?” called an armed disciple. “Such instability will produce a dangerous backsh.”

  The seven remaining cowed at the outburst, for none were bold enough to question the acts of their betters.

  “Senior,” this disciple turned, directing her twin [Spirit Carp] to lend more Qi to the inscription. “What-”

  Pinxui’s [Spirit Ants] swarmed across the individual components, disarming it before the energies could grow rampant. Her [Consteltion Seed] had pilged much from memory, and with her peerless gifts, even the Old One’s methods were not outwith her talent now.

  The [Array] vanished, and all energies extinguished in her palm.

  “Zhu,” the Schorly Head addressed. “The strength of [Karmic Ties] here is much suppressed, but clear reaction shows within the [Offerings of the Lovestruck Emperor]; see there, how the three vessels maintain their glow. Our own [Defensive Arrays] redirect any hostile discovery that our efforts might arise, and yet- Yes,” she spun, blinking into acrity. “Disciples, break through this yer. Descend.”

  An internal grin rose as Fu blurred to Zhu’s side. “A sign?” he asked.

  Tanshuai was within the air already, and had hovered expectantly so she might nd atop the brim of Fu’s douli.

  The pair came to the bow but a moment before Pinxui arrived, studious as their vessel pushed through the tide of clouds.

  “A sign,” said Fu, seeing pin the reason for Zhu’s cessation.

  There hung a sun, bold and unmistakable in cobalt blue. Defiant above the [Imperial Realm’s] ndscape, for a clear and present strife existed below.

  A persistent force radiated from this sphere of some hundred li, blinding and burning the surrounding waters of a peculiar realm.

  One of vacant air, and the thousand, thousand rivers that passed by innumerable floating temples. Each a bridge or road, avenue or route, sailed upon by Warships that eclipsed the Wayward Wind’s own.

  At war.

  Two parties, no, myriad parties bzed on the perimeter of the great, conjured sun. Entire fleets that brandished camities against the other.

  Eclipsed only by the sphere above.

  Zhu chuffed a rare ugh.

  Perhaps this was why Pinxui’s face shone with interest. “Brother Zhu?”

  “It takes no guesswork. Master Ban is here,” he returned, vanishing his smile.

  “The Clouded Courts would not praise such a show. Hmm, but I do not hold a history with the venerable Master, nor do you offer idle thoughts so freely,” Pinxui mused, growing vacant as her palm lifted. “A composition of [Celestial Q would suggest his [Affinity], despite the three-thousand, six hundred and twelve [Arrays] that attempt to suppress it. Senior Fu, please, reiterate the history of the [Twilight Lotus Expanse] and Master Ban’s influence upon it. If you would.”

  Fu stroked a whisker, for such tales were from an age that seemed long ago. “Master Ban’s imprisonment was of convenience, using the profoundly dense [Celestial Q within the Lotus Bde Sect’s home realm to further his cultivation. When he ceased his draw, the backsh of resurging energies tore the [Mystic Realm] asunder.”

  Again, Zhu chuffed, drawing even Fu’s attention. “Search the skies,” he said.

  So Fu did, and Pinxui’s eyes narrowed.

  A moment passed, and Fu shared his singur ugh. “Yes. There are few others that would do such a thing.”

  “The sun?” gazed Pinxui. “He… He has stolen the sun?”

  “What worth are candles to a phoenix?” said Fu. “Compose yourself, Wen Pinxui, our undertaking is made clear. The preparation of seven [Seasons] must bear fruit. Marshall the Heads, for I will suffer no mistakes this day.”

  Disciples moved hence. Those of [Senses] high enough to glean this realm’s mysteries, of avian bonds and [Arts] to mirror their far-reaching eyes. Treasures rose in their wake, all as Fu set himself at the mouth of his Warship’s great structure.

  For this, Hushi descended from his midden. Tall aside his partner as Shuidi mounted a shoulder.

  Aarushi’s bckened daxuishan whirled to his side, and she bowed.

  So followed Anfang, graceless as she dropped from above. Dispensing a bow only as Qiqui’s arachnoid hiss admonished her ck of propriety.

  Su Sai approached sternly.

  Udvah bore no smile.

  Then did Pinxui approach, offering a palm. Her [Eye of Supreme Rekindling] was abze there, imparting all that its [Formation Realm Boon] might offer. “Senior.”

  Memories flowed like gifted wine, sweet and clear. All that the disciples had seen in moments, delivered with the same swiftness.

  “Had [An Array in One Hand] possessed her treasure. Nourishment. Novel. Keep her talent close, youngling.”

  The imparted sights coalesced with his Old One’s aid. A librarian to rival Heaven’s own records.

  But Fu did not share them with those who need not know.

  “Wayward Winds,” he said, facing each of his Heads. “What words need I speak here? A valiant cry is not our way, but a whisper. When tapestries are painted and songs are recounted of [Spring], of Empires and false Emperors, recall this act. For within history, you are soon to become the midnight ink to lengthen brushstrokes and the absence between verse.”

  His serpent rose, and Su Sai’s ecstasy could not be suppressed. “It will be so, senior.”

  “It will be so,” chimed three more.

  Pinxui’s swarm met in a pilr, bestowing two treasures. A matching set of vases, palm-sized and hewn from tarnished jade. Within each sat a single stick of incense, unlit until Fu set his fingers upon them.

  A spark from his [Twin Mockeries Heartplume] had the pair smoke, scentless.

  The treasures would not have them extinguish, nor cease to burn within the safety of their spatial rings.

  “Three days, eight hours,” whispered Pinxui, and the sticks thickened to represent this time.

  Fu nodded. “The st [Reliquaries] will rival [Imperial Realm 4,008]. Make sure this is not false confidence, disciple.”

  It was Anfang that interjected, sharing no trace of such. “I agree with the Schorly Head, senior. It’s merely that no less than this is required.”

  For the second time in so short a span, the [Three Eyed Spying Array] warmed Fu’s chest. Through joy or pride, or perhaps both.

  Then he firmed his jaw, stepping to the balustrade of his Warship.

  “Three days, eight hours,” said Zhu, doing the same. “Master Ban would say that your juniors have grown rowdy, brother. To presume completion of the March of Serpents in a mere clutch of hours.”

  “I do not ask birds to swim or fish to fly,” he said, considering.

  Zhu only arched a brow before leaping first.

  ??

  Four hundred rivers snaked towards greater temples, woven through the very air. A facet of this realm’s [Law of Origin] he recalled, as the pair observed the distant warring scene.

  [Imperial Realm 777]

  [True Lord Realm] [Spring] [Water Qi Abundancy] [Spatial Qi Abundancy] [Trial Realm]

  Seven hundred and seventy seven. A March of Blue. How long will it be until the True Imperials of [Spring] make themselves known?

  Fu’s memories stirred the distinction.

  Cultivators of purest [Spring]. In blood, flesh and soul. Those that had descended on the Four Corners Prefecture cd in robes of purest orchid.

  Of [Winter] he and Zhu, or correctly, Shuidi and Tanshuai, expanded their [Senses] through their [Hollow Ivory Splinters]. A warning chime that might detect these [Spring]-tied experts of which their treasures so eagerly wished to reap.

  The plum-patterned butterfly impressed first, for her talents were prodigious in comparison to Shuidi’s own.

  “In further temples,” Zhu stated. “More arrive through the southernly [Paifang]. I’ve no name for the number they total.”

  “A fool would call this good fortune,” Fu nodded.

  Where they tread was recently abandoned. A temple of stelr condition, marred only by the devastation of jian-strikes, scorch marks and dried blood upon the main approach. It possessed no living souls so far as these ghosts could sense, and what bodies might have fallen here were presumably long cleared before their arrival.

  For the others, the myriad floating structures that paved the way forward, sight would have to serve as their means of discovery.

  “Three days and seven hours,” Zhu said. “We’d do better to solidify ourselves in this realm before then. The factions, they’ve caught my interest.”

  Of a simir mind, Fu recalled the memories Aaurshi had imparted. “A banner flies of the [Cherry River Pilgrim], among that a coalition I do not recognise, and numerous smaller factions of the Old One’s recollection.”

  “[Karma] speaks differently. There’s one among this number that holds a tie to you. To us, though my tethers are spit where yours are ever channels.”

  Fu considered this. “We have an association among them?” he said, neglecting this comment on his [Karma].

  With Zhu’s [Mantra of Heavenly Plums], encounters created few sting bonds unlike his own.

  “If they’re of our Sect, duty compels us to forewarn them. If not, then a more immediate assessment of this [Imperial Realm] than our own would be of benefit. Yet, I so loathe embroiling ourselves in these disparate factions. Obscure introductions to the self important are a tired thing now… No, they’ve always been.”

  Shuidi disagreed.

  The prospect of gaining another’s fear or admiration appealed well to her.

  “Seven [Seasons], and before. Yes. The Cloudy Serpent Sect’s notoriety should not have to be expined, and I will admit the process is taxing,” said Fu. “When Master Ban is rescued, this may well change.”

  Zhu followed distant events with small gestures, as if plucking the strings of an unseen guzheng. “It’s a sea of faces. Of colours and banners. My novelty of it has not waned.”

  “Nor mine,” nodded Fu. “It is the repetition.”

  “This won’t st an eternity. Change comes as the [Seasons] do. Our next appointment will have us pnt deeper roots. These introductions will be fewer, if any at all.”

  The statement had Fu’s brow rise. “Our next? That is not a consideration I would have thought you held. Thoughts for the future, beyond cultivation.”

  “Witness the fall of this Empire,” Zhu offered. “Lavish myself when our leave is granted, and moreso, vish my unmet nieces and nephew when finally we return to Divine Clouded Mountain. But beyond that, we’ve no longer a branch within the Four Corners Prefecture. Only a division and an interesting path to walk.”

  One of Hushi’s arms held Tanshuai there. A sworn sister.

  “Three days, seven hours,” mused Fu, well content. “Enough to make idle our tongues, no?”

  The loose clutch of Zhu’s fingers fell. “Yes, what would our Master say?” he said, growing severe. “I can’t unmake these [Karmic Ties], or discern to whom we’re connected. Their position speaks of an overseer. A cultivator above the main fray. Bah. This guesswork is akin to mystery.”

  “A Serpent?”

  “A cultivator of peak [Core Formation]. Have-”

  Darkness surged upon the skyline. Some colossal mass of straight edge and expanding size, that drove both ghosts [Senses] to peril.

  Then it closed, scything across an expanse of no less than fifty li and ten times that in intervening temples.

  [Half Cloud Step].

  Fu took roost on an adjacent temple, crossing the very skies to evade this blow. This Heaven-hewn crescent bde that obliterated all they had stood upon some moments prior.

  “Sand,” said Zhu, coalescing from light.

  A thunderous groan split as the remaining fragments ahead shattered, cascading into the chasm of this [Imperial Realm’s] surface as ten-thousand granules of sand fell alongside. The sheer volume of [Earth Q therein had Fu’s [Core] tremble.

  “Who have we wronged with such talents?” Zhu scryed, piercing the far distance. “An Imperial. Doubtless. And… a [Spirit Whale].”

  Shuidi attempted to copy Zhu’s efforts, and found it in vain.

  Old One?

  “We know no such cultivator.”

  Another sand-forged bde blossomed upon the skyline.

  “An oddity,” grimaced Zhu. “For it seems they know us.”