Chapter 30 - 147-149

Chapter 147: This Young Masters Breaks Barriers

When gambling, no matter how well you stacked the odds in your favor, the old adage always rang true. The House always wins. Unfortunately for Zumulu and the rebels, the Empire had been the House in the South for the last 400 years. It wasn't that he didn't think Xi Wangmu didn't have a long and carefully prepared plan to fight the Empire. He just put more weight on Lan Fen's and Song Yuelin's opinions than he did her planning. They had impressed the simple rule upon him about attracting the Empire's attention.

Don't.

So he wouldn't. He would help the Garrison. Get Xie Jin and Bao Si out of here. Then, hightail it out of Zumulu. It was a simple plan, but simple was good. He'd had enough of the complicated stuff. Perhaps it was a bit wishful, but Chen Haoran would take what he could get at this point.

He and Jiang Aiguo made their way back to the Garrison. Along the way, they ran into fleeing Rattan Vine Armor Soldiers. Or rather, the soldiers ran into them. More accurately, they ran into Chen Haoran. Though their faces were obscured just going by the way the soldiers flinched in the opposite direction, Chen Haoran could tell they were going through the worst case of being caught between a rock and a hard place in their lives.

Chen Haoran opened his mouth to speak, but Jiang Aiguo had already drawn his blade and was striding toward one of the soldiers. "Leave this one to me, sir."

Naturally, the soldiers attacked.

Phelps flew off his shoulder and barreled into another one. Vines whipped out of the soldier's armor like pythons and sought to wrap around Phelps, only to bounce uselessly off his liquid qi. The soldier only had time for a single startled shout before Phelps crashed into him.

That left three for Chen Haoran. Unlike their previous tight formations, they spread out spears and shields at the ready. Three floods of green liquid rushed toward him.

Chen Haoran sighed.

In one motion, he pulled out his sword, and a flurry of cutting blades flashed and diced the soldiers and their liquid qi to pieces. Final Floods erupted, and the struggling vine armors turned on their owners and rapidly devoured the qi to grow and carpet the ground in a blanket of vines. To his right, Phelps sank his claws through the Rattan Soldier's helmet and into his eyes before flipping away into the air as the soldier exploded into a mess of vines. To his left, Jiang Aiguo had broken through his target's blue liquid qi with a single powerful blow before flooding his own peach-colored qi into the gap and overwhelming the soldier. The soldier tried to struggle, but Jiang Aiguo seized him with his liquid qi, ripping away his armaments and his balance. Peach qi glowed along Jiang Aiguo's sword and neatly pierced the soldier's throat before swinging his blade and removing his head entirely.

Chen Haoran watched both masses explode into vines, noting the black marks on the surface of the vines after Jiang Aiguo pulled his liquid qi away. "I know they're not really on our side, but you're still pretty…. decisive."

Jiang Aiguo shrugged and sheathed his sword. "It's not like I knew they existed before this—compartmentalization of information and all that. It doesn't bother me too much. Fighting Rattan Armor Soldiers is practically tradition for Peach River Swordsmen."

Chen Haoran raised an eyebrow. "Really? The Peachbloods never used them?"

"We can't," Jiang Aiguo said. "Our qi is too caustic to use the vines properly, and they were never able to take to the Peachwine's water and soil for us to grow our own."

"I'm surprised you guys weren't called forward to fight earlier," Chen Haoran said. "I think I remember there being a few more Peachbloods."

Jiang Aiguo pointed at the black marks along the vines. There were a few of them, but they were surface level at best and even now were healing. "Peach Qi isn't much better at fighting Rattan Vines. When I say our qi is too caustic, I meant for infusion. The vines can still resist us on the surface. The other River Kingdoms wouldn't have invaded us so much if we could kill Rattan Vines that easy."

"It would have been better than nothing," Chen Haoran said.

"Well, that's the Empire for you. Their training focuses on their experiences with the Rattan Armor Soldiers, not my people's. I'm surprised they mention it at all. They've got more current enemies they need to study."

Phelps floated over to Chen Haoran with a squeal and bloody claws. Chen Haoran coated his hand with qi and proceeded to clean them before letting Phelps nibble on his bamboo stick as a reward. Meanwhile, Jiang Aiguo picked up the mass of vines that used to be a severed head.

"We have to split off here," he said. "Captain Pan is too observant, so it's better if we don't return together."

"Well, you're the experienced one," Chen Haoran said.

Jiang Aiguo flashed a smile and hooked a thumb toward himself. "Don't worry, sir. I may not be the strongest spy in the Garrison right now, but if I called myself second in skill, no one else could claim first."

Chen Haoran was suddenly assaulted with a strong feeling of deja vu. Those words were familiar. When he finally recalled where he had heard them before, he shook his head and chuckled. "You remind me of Jiang Lei. He said something like that before."

Jiang Aiguo brightened. "Thank you, sir. It's an honor to be compared to Senior Brother Lei." He clasped his hands in a bow. "I'll be off, sir."

Chen Haoran mimed a salute. "Godspeed, soldier."

Jiang Aiguo looked confused but accepted the salute in the spirit it was given and took off. Chen Haoran waited until he could sense he was out of the range of his sense. Then waited a few more seconds on top of that. Then he hung his head back and sighed.

"Complicated."

The Garrison was cleaning up the battlefield when he returned. Two Metal Root soldiers, the only two surviving ones, and an Earth Root with a Metal Technique were going around and chopping the tangles of vines into more manageable pieces. The vines were then taken and burned in piles with Fire Qi or buried deep in the earth by Earth Roots. A group of Peachbloods were off to the side, Jiang Aiguo among them. They were wrestling with something covered in Peach-colored qi that Chen Haoran soon realized was a living Rattan Armor soldier. The Peachbloods were holding him down and attempting to pry his vine armor off.

"Friend Song!" Pan Gong's voice boomed, drawing his attention.

Chen Haoran nervously watched Pan Gong and Captain Liu approach him. Jiang Aiguo said that there was no search warrant for Chen Haoran, but what if he was wrong? Or worse, what if he was lying?

Pan Gong stopped in front of him and gave Chen Haoran a thumbs-up. "Nice! Very handsome."

"Super handsome," Captain Liu added, giving his own thumbs up.

"What the fuck?" Chen Haoran would admit that being complimented by two extremely buff men was incredibly validating but seriously. What the fuck?

Pan Gong saw the confusion on his face and laughed. "Sorry, we assumed you'd be uncomfortable after having your mask destroyed. It was either we compliment your face or your manhood. I will say, though, rushing to fight 200 men alone does require a very large pair."

"There's a saying in my town. 'The Empire has as many heroes as there are stars in the sky,'" Captain Liu said. "You've opened my eyes to that saying today. Who would have thought we'd be lucky enough to have a friend with such a strong Metal Element Technique when we needed it most."

"Right…." Chen Haoran slowly said. "How goes it over here? I ran into a few soldiers on my way back." He cast his sense around, but it was hard to get an estimate of the fallen Rattan Armor Soldier.

"We killed eighty," Pan Gong said. "A good portion of that being yours. The vines of the dying got in our way and gave the rest of them time to flee. Since this whole area was trapped, we decided it would be safer not to give chase."

There was a scream of anguish and rage. They looked over and saw the Peachbloods jumping back from a grasping shamble of vines. The Metal Elements rushed over and cut it to pieces before it could grow too far.

Ji Aiguo conferred with the other Peachbloods, then walked over to them with his head hung low. "Sir, the prisoner self-detonated before we could remove his armor."

Pan Gong nodded, and Jiang Aiguo retreated. Captain Liu sighed. "What a shame. It would have been useful to get a complete suit."

"Losing the armor isn't a complete loss," Pan Gong assured him. "I'm sure the Imperial Academy will be more interested in the vines anyway."

"It's not like there won't be more opportunities once the other Rattan Armors regroup," Chen Haoran said.

Captain Liu grinned. "They can regroup all they like. Captain Pan and I beheaded most of their elites."

"And I plan for us to be long gone before they have them time to regroup," Pan Gong said. He waved for Chen Haoran to follow him and then to the other Metal Roots, and they all walked over to the Emission Node. "Song Yuelin, can your Metal Element Technique be focused on a point?"

"It can," Chen Haoran confirmed.

"Good. That makes this more feasible then."

"This being?"

"When you used your pupil technique on the barrier before, you saw it absorbing Water and Wood Qi, correct?" Pan Gong asked.

"Yes."

Pan Gong punched the white energy pillar in the corner where the barrier emerged with a hand wreathed in liquid qi, sending ripples across its smooth surface. "The barrier is Metal Element. It's not complicated as formations go, but it utilizes the ambient energies of the Secret Realm effectively, which means even if we bombard it with Water and Fire Qi, we'll be here all day before it finally goes down." He turned to Chen Haoran. "With you and the other Metal Roots all focusing your Metal Qi onto this point, then we can resonate with the Metal Qi of the barrier and open a hole to escape. What say you?"

What could he say?

"I will be getting paid, right?"

Pan Gong paused, then chortled. "I'll pay out of my own funds if I have to."

"Works for me."

Chen Haoran stepped forward and drew his sword. Pan Gong and Metal Roots stepped back as white sword shadows cut across the ground before them. Chen Haoran gripped the hilt of his sword with both hands and cycled his qi. Ever so slowly, less and less cutting energy escaped from his sword, and it grew brighter and brighter. The Yellow Dragon continuously drew in more qi to replace what Chen Haoran was expending to point, not control, the White Tyrant's Harmonization. Phelps encouragingly squealed at him from his back.

The Metal Roots flinched. Pan Gong frowned. "This isn't a Technique."

Chen Haoran ignored him and pushed his sword into the Emission Node. The tip of the sword pressed against the barrier.

The energy pillar rumbled.

Chen Haoran flexed his qi for dear life as a vibration ran through his sword and threatened to fling him away. His liquid flooded around his arms and legs to hold them steady even as Phelps was flung off his back with a startled screech. Chen Haoran could feel the sword shifting across the surface of the barrier despite his attempts to keep it in one place. The calm surface of the pillar was now a stormy sea of rippling energy in every direction as Chen Haoran fought to keep the White Tyrant's Harmonization condensed and focused on the pillar. Two large hands landed on his back and pushed him forward, applying enough pressure to barely keep the sword still.

"Change of plans," Pan Gong said from behind. Yellow Liquid qi spilled from his hands and pushed against Chen Haoran. The Yellow Dragon was quick to react, releasing liquid qi across Chen Haoran's back. Where Pan Gong's qi met his own, it was seamlessly absorbed into Chen Haoran's body and into the Yellow Dragon's waiting maw.

Pan Gong grunted. "Five Elements Formation," he commanded with a deep voice.

Through his sense, Chen Haoran could feel the other Garrison soldiers rush over. More hands were placed on Chen Haoran's shoulders, more still were pushing Pan Gong, and further beyond that were soldiers pushing them. What was peculiar, however, was the order they did it. Directly behind Chen Haoran were the Water Spirit Roots. Behind them came the two Metal Spirit Roots. After that were the Earth Spirit Roots. Captain Liu led the Fire Spirit Roots to push them in turn, and at the very end were the Wood Spirit Roots. The only ones who didn't assemble were the Peachbloods, who stood on guard around the perimeter.

"Push," Pan Gong bellowed.

The Wood Spirit Roots flooded their qi, which fed the Fire Spirit Roots, who flooded their qi to bolster the Earth Spirit Roots, which then flooded forward to push the Metal Spirit Roots, which then heightened the Water Spirit Roots, who all pressed Chen Haoran. The sword stopped moving. Then it pressed into the barrier. Barely a millimeter, but it was movement, and they all sensed it.

"Push."

Another millimeter.

"Push."

Phelps dropped down onto Chen Haoran and added his own liquid qi to their efforts.

"Push."

The tip sank in.

"Push."

The Emission Node was trembling, the whole pillar disturbed and rippling with energy. Chen Haoran's sword was shaking as if it had become a giant tuning fork, and he started to worry that he would be ruining another weapon. The White Tyrant's Harmonization wasn't making things any easier. It bucked and raged at Chen Haoran's control, offended that he dared try to direct it. It would break through the barrier, or it would break through him, and it didn't care which happened first.

"Push!"

Phelps squealed.

The Garrison soldiers shouted.

The Yellow Dragon, now fat on Pan Gong's qi, squeezed itself into Chen Haoran's arm and lent its power. Its roar carried with it a sense of natural kingship, a wordless command that to hear its voice was to obey and that refusal was blasphemous. The proclamation rang through Chen Haoran's arms and led his qi in a battle charge into his sword.

The White Tyrant's Harmonization stilled.

For some reason, Chen Haoran pictured the time the White Tyrant turned his head and looked in disbelief at something Lan Fen had said.

Then the Harmonization exploded with anger. His sword sank into the Emission Node up to the hilt, causing Chen Haoran to stumble forward. He instinctively pulled back, raising the sword as he did so. Cutting energy flashed, and the barrier easily parted before the blade. A long, metal-white crack ran up along the pillar, stark even on the white background.

"Brace!" Pan Gong shouted.

The Emission Node exploded.

Interlude: The Centipede Princess

The Liquid Meridian Realm. In days of yore, before a great power shifted their hand and tied the tongues of the world together, there were many names for the Second Realm. Each of them a unique expression shaped by a cultivator's experiences on the dark and endless road they traveled and the world around them. According to oral tales passed down in Zumulu through ages golden and cataclysmic and regaled onto a young Bao Si sitting at the knee of Grandpa Xie, their people's name for it was the River Realm. It was a poetic name. One that attached their home and identity to a Realm that was doubtlessly only discovered after much hardship and loss. Calling it Liquid Meridian Realm was practically stale by comparison.

That is all it was, though, in the end—liquid qi in meridians. Even as she felt power course through her body, improving every single thing about her in every single way. Bao Si was only impressed, not awestruck. She had long set her sights on higher places than a mere Liquid Meridian Realm.

The Rattan Armor Soldier stood respectfully to the side while Bao Si inspected the changes her advancement had brought. Two Liquid Meridian Centipede Gu curled around her shoulders and snapped their mandible menacingly at the soldier. One was clearly older and larger than the other, who still spilled miasma occasionally as it adjusted to its new realm. Around them was the aftermath of her battle with the Gu Department Shaman. The ground was poisoned black, and several trees were slowly dissolving from the intense miasma they'd been infected with. The shaman and his Gu had long been devoured and transformed into energy. It was a benefit that was afforded to all Black Bone Shamans, born from the risk they took personally ingesting the poison used to create their Gu. Few other shamanic traditions in Zumulu could boast the same, and none could do so as easily as the Black Bones could.

"Two Gu," the Rattan Armor Soldier said. Bao Si could hear the respect in his voice. "You are no ordinary shaman." The vines making up his helmet splayed open like a booming flower and revealed a young man's face.

He was fine-featured and delicate of complexion. A frivolous thought arose in Bao Si to ask for his skincare routine before she banished it. The man's appearance was quite a shocking departure from his earlier actions. He did not look like the type who would brutally murder someone. Bao Si wouldn't let herself be fooled however, after all, many had thought the same about her before being taught an unfortunate lesson.

The Rattan Armor Solider pressed a fist against his chest and bowed. "I am Qiong Qi. May I have the honor of knowing your name?"

Bao Si briefly considered hiding her real identity but decided against it. It was pointless, given how tied she was to Xi Wangmu's rebellion now. It wouldn't take long for Qiong Qi to discover who she was and reveal the lie. At that point, she would have offended a Ninth-Layer Liquid Meridian for no reason.

"A talented Ninth-Layer Liquid Meridian," she mentally added.

A youthful face was no real indicator of age amongst cultivators. Advance quickly enough, and any cultivator could retain their youth for decades. From Qiong Qi, however, her Gu could taste vitality that only the young could have. That he reached this level of cultivation at such a young age spoke to his talent and his future prospects.

As counterintuitive as it sounded, cultivators' increased lifespans only added to the importance of youth. So long as one advanced as quickly as possible, then they would have plenty of time to cultivate for when they reached true bottlenecks. There were some older cultivators who would say that compared to their total lifespan, they were teenagers. Those sorts of people were delusional. Old was old. There was a world of difference between a twenty-year-old Liquid Meridian and a 100-year-old one.

"Not to mention those lotus flowers."

If she was not wrong in her assessment, then the pant wrapped around Qiong Qi's shoulders was the Bewitching Lotus of Ice and Fire. Among spirit plants, it was particularly rare and highly ranked. Even better than the Rattan Vine Armor he was wearing. Possessing it was proof of ability. The Bewitching Lotus of Ice and Fire had a strong spirituality that was difficult for the average cultivator to suppress. It was also a mark of status. To be able to keep and openly use a plant that even Crystal Transformation Realms would covet meant this Qiong Qi had a significant background. One of the Exiled nobility? Or perhaps a power hidden deeper still in the jungles?

Bao Si raised a hand to calm her Gu. They settled down reluctantly, one invigorated by its advancement, the other for its release from its seal. She brought her hands together in a bow. "Bao Si."

Qiong Qi's face morphed into surprise. "Bao? Of the royal house?"

Bao Si nodded. "The same."

"I've been disrespectful then, Princess Bao." Qiong Qi took on a look of consideration. "So the Queen Mother has also gotten her hooks into the Black Bones."

"That's quite the thing to say about Xi Wangmu. She is your leader, no?" No matter how dissatisfied Bao Si was with her master selling their people to Xi Wangmu, one did not reveal the workings of one's home to strangers.

Qiong Qi shrugged. "It's not as if we're here with her permission."

That was…. concerning, both for her and the other's current safety and for her people as a whole in this rebellion. The irony was not lost on her that Xi Wangmu had just recently complained to her about the fractious relations between Zumulu's various tribes.

"That's quite the thing to admit to someone you just met," Bao Si said.

"Seeing that we're standing on the same line now, who can call you a stranger?" Qiong Qi retorted.

"And yet I am tied to Xi Wangmu, and you are not." It was a dangerous topic to bring up. Sleeping dogs were left to lie for a reason, but the dangerous questions often revealed the most answers.

"Who says I'm not?" Qiong Qi asked.

Bao Si raised an eyebrow and daintily waved her hand. "Your actions? This situation? I scarcely think Xi Wangmu would consider you hers after this stunt."

"She doesn't have a choice," Qiong Qi said. "She needs everyone she can get to fight the Empire. The same is true for us."

"And yet you decide to go against potentially centuries of planning for what? Because she is a Peach River Cultivator?"

Qiong Qi folded his hands behind his back. He cut a striking figure with his cultivation and the blooming red and blue lotus flowers on his shoulders. "I won't lie. That may be a strong consideration for many of the cultivators participating in this ambush. It is not the only one, however, and it's not mine."

"As you say." Bao Si slandered Qiong Qi's posture in her heart even as he noncommittally responded. Only old men could pose like that and make it look refined, like Grandpa Xie.

"I sense a lack of faith from you, Princess Bao."

Of course, she had none. With allies like these, who needed enemies? "I met Xi Wangmu herself and wasn't impressed with her ability to face the Empire. I apologize if I have even less faith in you."

Qiong Qi chuckled. "That's fair. These sorts of politics aren't something a nascent rebellion can afford can it? I suppose that's why the Queen Mother brought you in."

He was well-informed. Talented. Holding strong treasures. Knowledge of key information involving several higher realms. This Qiong Qi…. his backing may not be any less than her own.

"What backing?" A bitter part of her mind mocked. If the tall tree had no leaves, then what use was its shade? An unreliable backer was little better than having none at all. Worse even. At least with no backer, you had no one to dash your hopes. Her Master's decision to align the tribe with Xi Wangmu without so much as a by-your-leave from the other Elders would not just cause waves among their people. It was completely anti-ethical to her position as Grand Shaman. She could already foresee what would happen when she returned home and the result. Her begging her Master for answers and not receiving any.

Bao Si felt very, very tired. A light of understanding crystallized. Given who Xi Wangmu was, it was really the only option. "I suppose you also have issues with the higher realms."

Qiong Qi carefully observed Bao Si and made a sound of understanding as he seemed to realize something. "The Queen Mother is an old cultivator. Ancient when our ancestors were young and will only get older. She is very patient. Too patient, perhaps. She will plot, plan, and wait for the perfect moment to strike, no matter how long it takes. For us who have been waiting 400 years, however? How much longer can we wait? My Grandfather and Father both ran out the lifespans of the Liquid Meridian Realm, chanting Zumulu's freedom on their lips. How much longer will she wait? Until I return to the waters as well?" He shook his head and continued without waiting for an answer. "What's perfect for her is not perfect for us. She would hold us in suspense that we might at any time fight for our lives and freedom and keep that play going up until we die."

"You could just pass it on to the next generation," Bao Si said.

"Pass what?" Qiong Qi asked. "For the Star Core Realm, 400 years may be a blink of an eye, but what about us? Since the annexation, the embers smoldering in the people of Zumulu fade with each passing year. If we don't do anything to light them now when they're still there, then what price will have to be paid to light them in the future?"

"And you think your efforts here will be enough?" Bao Si asked.

"At the very least, what we have done here will remind those above us that our lacking cultivation compared to them does not make us puppets to be directed however they please." He looked directly at her. "Perhaps we might find a common cause even."

There was only one thing Bao Si could say to that.

"You will die."

They were three short, simple words. Yet they were the truth. What Qiong Qi and his conspirators were doing was madness. They would be lucky to die in the trial compared to what Xi Wangmu or the Star Core Realms following her would do.

Qiong Qi had the nerve to chuckle. "We're cultivators. If we don't clench death between our teeth, then what's the point?"

"Living, I imagine," Bao Si sarcastically said.

"Well, that's a question for the philosophers," Qiong Qi airily replied. He looked over his shoulder at the barrier. "In any case, I have duties to attend to. There's a particularly dangerous Formation Specialist in there I have to kill. For the sake of safety, I advise you to stay here until I can escort you to the Central Circle. We've already harvested the majority of the treasures outside the Trial Pyramids."

"Wait," Bao Si said. "I came in here with two others, another Black Bone shaman and our guard." She had hesitated a moment to reveal Chen Haoran's identity, but…. it was perhaps best not to. Chen Haoran was not so weak that he needed the special care of the Rattan Armor Soldiers to survive. Given how private he was about his affairs, she would only offend him by spreading it around.

"Ah, that's simple." Qiong Qi pulled out a Communication Jade and relayed Bao Si's descriptions of her idiot and her new mistake. "They'll be taken care of so long as my men find them."

"You sound far too casual for someone ambushing the Garrison," Bao Si said.

Qiong Qi waved her off. "We have our own means. The Garrison has all been separated, and we collected half of them in the killing zones we set up."

"I repeat. That sounds far too casual for someone ambushing the Garrison."

Qiong Qi shrugged. "There was only so much we could do. In the first place, we don't have complete control over the Trial's formations. If we altered too many things, then the Garrison would have been spooked. Tricking them into thinking the Trial was a single entrance and not a random teleport was already our limit."

"Just how did you get access to the formations? I doubt you could have gotten it from Xi Wangmu."

Qiong Qi smiled mysteriously. "That, Princess Bao, is a question better left to those above us to deal with."

Right. One of these assholes. Unfortunately, Bao Si was in no position to force an answer from him.

Qiong Qi, the smug ass, continued speaking. "I assure you, Princess Bao, no matter how frivolous we might appear, we are taking this seriously. Our plan is foolproof, at the very least."

Almost as soon as the words left Qiong Qi's mouth, his Communication Jade crackled with qi.

"Requesting reinforcements to Barrier A! Garrison Resistance higher than anticipated. Captain Aing has fallen, and we've suffered significant casualties."

Qiong Qi frowned and fed qi into the jade. "This is Captain Qiong. Report."

"Captain! A Second-Layer Liquid Meridian suddenly revealed a wide-scale Metal Element Technique and broke our battle formation. Captain Aing and our skirmishers were lost in the retreat."

Qiong Qi remained calm as he spoke. "Confirmed. I'm sending the Jungle Team over to you now—"

His words were lost as a pillar of white light lit up the Secret Realm. They whirled around to find a barrier revealed in its entirety, shining with white light and rumbling like a choppy sea. Then it broke into pieces, shards of light falling apart like the barrier was made of sand.

Bao Si turned to Qiong Qi. "Foolproof?"

"I did not say we were dealing with fools," Qiong Qi retorted. Despite the large upset to their plans, his expression did not change, and he raised the Communication Jade. "Jungle Team, proceed to Barrier A and—"

The jade crackled with qi, and a whisper interrupted him.

"Reporting. Lu Aotian has been discovered. Location Central—" The message immediately cut before it could finish. Qiong Qi fruitlessly tried to re-establish contact and gave up after a few attempts. Before he could say anything else, another message came in.

"Reporting to Captain Qiong! The Formation specialist was just a decoy!"

Qiong Qi frowned. "So we don't know where he is?"

"We're searching for him now, sir—"

"Don't bother," Qiong Qi said, his face now carefully blank. It seems he also took etiquette classes. He was staring at the barrier next to them that was now slowly fading away. When it was gone entirely, he turned to Bao Si.

"Shall we make our way to the Central Circle?"

Interlude: The Silkworm

Separating the Ninth-Layer of the Qi Realm and the First-Layer of the Liquid Meridian Realm was a river as vast as the Machu. The worst of the Liquid Meridian was still better than the best of the Qi Realm. This was a paradigm that held true at every level of cultivation. Oh sure, there were stories and legends of heroes at the pinnacle of their Realm who could cross borders and prevail over a higher Realm. The majority of these stories never involved direct fights, however, and if they did, it would only be after some cunning plans or bad fortune had weakened their foe. However, not even the most outlandish tall tales would have their heroes directly challenge a higher Realm above the First-Layer.

Lu Aotian was a Ninth-Layer Liquid Meridian—a beast on the cusp of the Crystal Transformation Realm. He was not a foe to be overcome. He was the monster that killed heroes. Running from him was the greatest resistance Xie Jin could put up.

He cycled qi to his legs, pounding earth until the jungle around him started becoming a blur. The rest of his qi went to keep his heart and lungs from exploding from how much they were pumping. He would be feeling the effects of how hard he was pushing his body later, for sure. Of course, if he didn't do at least this much, then he wouldn't have a 'later' to speak of.

Xie Jin didn't even bother to direct his sense behind him. If at any moment he actually noticed Lu Aotian then he would be dead anyway. Better to keep focused ahead and eke out a bit more speed. The only distraction he afforded himself was the emotional tether to his Gu. Not that a Gu had many emotions to share. They were cold existences. The only thing that could inflame any hot feeling within them was their endless greed. That being said, for how unnatural a Gu was compared to any actual animal, there were still instincts even it obeyed.

A sense of pressure weighed down on his mind. His Gu did not fear, none of them could, but it could recognize a stronger predator. It was fleeing now, chased by what felt like a horde of ravenous beasts. That it could escape at all was a testament to a Gu's unique powers. What they lacked in direct power, they more than made up in other ways. It was the only reason Xie Jin had a chance at all.

He ordered his Gu to flee in a direction perpendicular to Xie Jin's own escape path. Once it had hopefully drawn away Lu Aotian away, it would swing back around to link up with him and—

The pressure was gone.

The shift was so drastic that Xie Jin nearly stumbled.

What happened? He pressed his Gu for a response and what he got back was a feeling of safety. The horde of beasts was still there, but the presence that gave weight to the qi was gone.

"That is so not good."

The only thing that could make death scarier was not knowing where it was.

Xie Jin hastily ordered his Gu to backtrack. Should this be some kind of trap, it would be a risk, but at least he would know. An alien sense stretched out, observing the world in ways that a human simply could not. An equally alien mind translated those indecipherable colors and impressions in a way that Xie Jin's mind would understand and not be driven mad by. It painted for him an ugly picture. Lu Aotian's tracks abruptly stopped before pivoting off into the jungle toward the center of the Secret Realm.

The same direction Xie Jin was running in.

Not good.

Xie Jin immediately recalled his Gu. It followed the path Lu Aotian took before diverging from it. That was good. It meant his and Lu Aotian's paths wouldn't cross. If the Ancestors were kind to him, then he'd be able to avoid notice. Xie Jin drifted right, away from where he assumed Lu Aotian was running. He debated whether to keep heading deeper into the Secret Realm. If he stuck to the outer edges, then he should theoretically be safe. On the other hand, if he actually wanted to find Brother Chen and Bao Si, then he would have to be in the place they definitely would be. Not to mention he hadn't found anything of value in the outer edges. If he wanted better treasures, he would have to go deeper in.

He looked down at the Liquid Core Fruit. No matter how hard he pushed his body, he made sure to keep a light grip on it, afraid of even bruising its flesh. He felt a burst of desire from his Gu. Treasures, wealth, food, a Gu was greedy for many things. Above all others, however, was their desire for advancement. They were much like cultivators in that way.

Xie Jin crashed into an area of dense ambient qi. The sudden spike slammed into his chest as if he'd belly-flopped into water. He ground his heels into the earth and skidded to a stop, falling over into a roll to bleed off his momentum. His legs and chest burned, and he cycled more qi to take the edge off the pain. Then he cycled even more to leap away as a hails of leaves struck the spot he was at before in the thousands. More leaves curved through the air and followed after him. Purple miasma spilled from his sleeve and turned into a swarm of biting insects to block the onslaught. As the knife leaves fell rotting to the ground, he spied the tree that tried to kill him. One branch was bare. The other thirteen were filled with leaves. Same as the rest of the trees.

"Of course, the trees get more dangerous." It was something he should have anticipated. Would have anticipated were it not for more life-threatening concerns. More qi meant more opportunity for crazier and more dangerous effects. He glanced at the Liquid Core Fruit. More qi was also a good thing for him. It would make his advancement all the smoother. He cast his sense around to quickly survey the area, then probed his Gu to judge its distance. It was closing in fast. It wasn't ideal safety-wise, but he could take the fruit here— no he would take the fruit here. There was no telling what danger would befall him if he delayed it any longer.

He needed to advance.

His Gu came to life in his mind. It didn't need to speak a language for Xie Jin to know it was furiously protesting his decision. Amorphous energy, qi but at the same time not quite, pulsed through their connection.

"Wretched spirit of my blood and soul." Xie Jin sighed and covered the Liquid Core Fruit in amorphous qi.

The sky turned white, and a deafening crack sounded across the secret realm. Xie Jin whirled around, and even through the jungle canopy, he could see a large pillar of white energy reach from Earth to Heaven and cut a barrier to pieces. It was a familiar energy.

"Brother Chen?"

Was he behind him? Why? Had he gotten lost? Or was he looking for them? Why would Brother Chen attack the barrier? Was it supposed to be a signal? Was he waiting there for them, or would Xie Jin be better off waiting for him in the center? No, that was foolish thinking. There was no need to wait when he knew where Brother Chen was. Finding him would be easy now that he had a direction. Xie Jin would advance and then double back to meet him—

His senses warned him. Warned him but did not prepare him. When he turned his head, Lu Aotian was standing before him. He was not looking at him. Instead, his focus was on a medallion he was holding. Xie Jin's qi screamed as he cycled it to its limits. He threw himself backward, his other hand grabbing a bag at his waist and throwing it at Lu Aotian. Purple qi twisted within him and resonated with the miasma-infused durians within the bag. They exploded in a plume of organ-dissolving chemical gas, covering Lu Aotian entirely. Xie Jin turned around and fled toward the outer edge.

It was futile. He knew it was futile. And yet—

Xie Jin didn't see the hand that slapped him, but he certainly felt the palm and all five fingers that imprinted themselves into his face. His head twisted to the side with a crack, and he flew through the air and landed heavily on the ground. His mind went black. He laid there, fading in and out of consciousness. An alien mind pressed against his fading one, glowing with purple qi and dragging him back to awareness.

Pain greeted him. His head rang like a thousand bells had been struck at the same time. He couldn't see out of one eye or feel the half of his face that'd gotten slapped. Blood dribbled from his mouth, and he coughed out a few teeth. He couldn't move. All of that registered at once and overwhelmed him so much that he could only form a single coherent thought.

Why was his head still attached to his body?

Out the corner of his working eye, he could see Lu Aotian standing over him. Wisps of miasma covered him but were blocked by a teal aura that slowly receded and disappeared with the miasma into a silver pendant around his neck.

"A poison protection treasure. Of course."

"So what if it's an ambush?" Lu Aotian spoke into the medallion."If they don't have the raw power to kill us, then their plans are pointless."

"Get stuck in one of those barriers and say that again," said a deep voice that Xie Jin recognized as belonging to Pan Gong.

"If we still lose with how much force we have concentrated here, then at that point, we deserve to die," Lu Aotian said.

"Die then," Pan Gong said. "Don't drag the rest of us into it."

"Stop worrying." Lu Aotian sat on Xie Jin's back, causing his breath to flee his lungs in a painful gasp. "The fact that I've been allowed to roam so freely means they don't have as much control over the Secret Realm as you think. If they did, then they would have focused on me first. I didn't even realize we were being ambushed."

"You— Have you not contacted anyone this entire time?"

"Am I someone who has to contact people? They contact me if there's a problem." Lu Aotion said the ridiculous sentence with a straight face as if it were as natural as the sun rising in the morning.

"You arrogant ass. This isn't a situation for you to fool around in." Pan Gong's frustration was palpable through the medallion.

Lu Aotian narrowed his eyes. "Watch your tone, Pan Gong. Others might be intimidated by you being in the Palace School, but I am not one of them. I chose not to go because my potential was greater than that."

"I will potentially beat the shit out of you. Focus on securing the situation and stop messing around."

Lu Aotian clicked his tongue. "I'm already in the Center Ring. Once I've finished up my business, I'll go see if this 'Rattan Armor Army' is worth the name." He put away the Communication Medallion without waiting for Pan Gong's response. Then without pausing, reached down and ripped off Xie Jin's middle finger.

Xie Jin stared at his hand in disbelief. The sheer shock of the sight momentarily prevented him from reacting. Only for a moment, however.

He screamed.

"If you didn't want that to happen, then you should use your appendages responsibly," Lu Aotian said. He toyed with Xie Jin's finger for a moment before tossing it into the air. A stream of red liquid qi rose from him and transformed into a wolf's head that devoured his finger in one bite. "Now then. Where's the Liquid Core Fruit?"

His nine fingers curled with such strength they dug into the earth as he fought through the pain."I dropped it while I was running."

"No, you didn't," Lu Aotian said. "If you actually did that, then I would just kill you and go look for it. You want to live, so you'll do anything you can to buy yourself time."

He grabbed Xie Jin's bag and opened it. With his sense, it would be child's play to note everything within, but Lu Aotian still upturned it and dropped all its contents onto the ground. It was a casual, unnecessary cruelty. The same kind that saw him keep Xie Jin alive rather than kill him instantly.

"Well?" Lu Aotian asked. "Summon your Gu. I'm waiting."

Xie Jin gritted his remaining teeth. "You think I won't kill myself rather than give you the satisfaction."

"You won't," Lu Aotian said, with such surety that Xie Jin was left speechless. "That's the surprising thing I've discovered. You can take a man's hand, his arm, his eyes, and his ears, but he will bear all of that so long as he keeps his legs. As long as you believe you have the chance to run away, then you have hope. So long as you have hope, you will not die. Of course, as soon as you take a man's hope away, he becomes akin to a cornered animal. That's when they become the most dangerous." Lu Aotian patted his legs, and Xie Jin's heart leapt to his throat. "Not that you're at all a threat to me. I could cripple you right now, and nothing you could do would make a difference. I won't though. No need to form a bad habit."

"Sick bastard." It was all Xie Jin could say.

Lu Aotian did not look pleased. "I was magnanimous enough to tolerate your crude words before. My patience is not limitless."

He reached down and ripped off Xie Jin's Human-Skin Mask. Xie Jin impotently glared up at him. He could feel his Gu waiting for orders. A volcano ready to erupt.

"Consider this a mercy," Lu Aotian said. "The world will see you die with your true face rather than a false image."

Xie Jin's fingers twitched. His Gu expanded its sense to encompass them. The trees rustled. Lu Aotian looked in the direction of the noise, and an arrow shot from the opposite one. Red qi rose into a tiger's head and caught the arrow between its teeth. From the jungle emerged ten vine-armored soldiers straight from out of Xie Jin's fairy tales.

The soldiers linked their shields and pointed shining spears at Lu Aotian. Behind them, the archer was speaking into a Communication Jade. "Reporting. Lu Aotian has been discovered. Location Central—"

Xie Jin's world became a blur of whiplash and vertigo before his back very painfully crashed into a hard surface, and what felt like a dozen pythons began constricting him. He had a brief moment to realize what happened. Lu Aotian grabbed him by the ankle and, using his body as a club, smashed him across three shields whose vines immediately wrapped around him. Lu Aotian spun on his heel, still holding Xie Jin's ankle. He heard a loud pop as his leg was dislocated and Lu Aotian threw him and three Rattan Armor soldiers, still clutching their shields, away in a single motion.

They fell in a heap. The soldiers were quick to recover. Xie Jin was not. One was kind enough to check on Xie Jin. Before his hand even touched Xie Jin, he let out a startled sound as he ran his sense over him.

"Are you the Black Bone Shaman?"

Why did they know who he was?

There was a bloodcurdling scream. Lu Aotian had torn the archer in half with his bare hands and, ignoring the other soldiers, turned to face Xie Jin. "Why do they know who you are?"

The soldiers leaped at Lu Aotian. Nine floods of liquid qi erupted on all sides. Red liquid qi rolled off of Lu Aotian in waves. Shapes arose from it. Lions, tigers, leopards, bears, wolves, and more came to life in a flood of beasts and ripped through the Rattan Armor Soldier's liquid qi with tooth and claw before pouncing on them. Xie Jin gathered amorphous qi in his hands.

"Hey, bastard!" The amorphous qi darkened and then disappeared. In his hands was a silver pendant. Lu Aotian's hand rose to his now bare neck. "The Liquid Core Fruit got eaten."

Xie Jin's Liquid Meridian Gu appeared above their heads and dropped a river of miasma atop Lu Aotian's head.

Chapter 148: This Young Master Is Selfish

The Emission Node exploded, and Chen Haoran and the Garrison were thrown on their backs by the rebounding force. A few quick-thinking ones spread out covers of liquid qi in an attempt to shield them from the cascading energies, but thankfully it surged into the barrier instead. Above them, the White Tyrant's Harmonization seized the spilling energies and, well….cut.

Stark-white cracks spread across the barrier's surface, the river turning into glass and shattering into a million pieces. The Liquid qi shields rippled as shards fell on its surface like rain over a still lake. Chen Haoran counted every blessing he had that the majority of the higher-up shards dissipated in the air before ever reaching them. They waited out the shardfall with bated breaths and only released them once the worst of it had passed, and all that remained was a light dusting of white dust-like motes.

Chen Haoran lay there as the liquid qi shields receded. He ignored Phelps's tongue, licking his cheek. Ignored the relief of the soldiers and their chatter. He ignored the Yellow Dragon and the indignant growl of its royal authority not being recognized. His hand still tightly clutched his sword even as his arm shook. The blade was still whole, fortunately. No arcs of cutting light veered off from its edge. Instead, a white shadow emerged from the hilt and flowed down the blade to the tip before collapsing and recollecting at the hilt to begin anew. It was the calmest the White Tyrant's Harmonization had ever been, and Chen Haoran knew in his bones that he was not responsible for it. He wasn't fool enough to think it was expended or controllable in this state; instead, it seemed to be admiring its work like the warlord looking upon his conquests in satisfaction.

Chen Haoran slowly breathed in and out—content with not moving and having a calm sword for once. The moment was a short one however. A hand roughly grabbed his shoulder and lifted him up. Chen Haoran let his sword fall from his fingers as Pan Gong spun him around and slapped his back.

"Good work," Pan Gong said. "Are you alright?"

Chen Haoran blinked away the mood that had overcome him. Pan Gong's bone-cracking back slaps also helped. "I'm fine." He bent down to pick up his sword. As soon as he grasped the hilt, white sword shadows flew out and split clean lines in the earth. Chen Haoran quickly sheathed the sword and sighed.

"Of course, it wouldn't be that easy."

"You just surprise me more and more," Pan Gong said, one hand clutching an eagle medallion like what Li Mou had carried. Though he was speaking to Chen Haoran it as obvious where his feel attention was. He patted Chen Haoran's back again and Chen Haoran swore he felt something in his spine pop. "Keep up the good work. I'll make sure you're well rewarded for this."

The medallion flared with qi, and Pan Gong's half-attention was now totally gone. It flashed once, twice, three times, and…. kept flashing. Pan Gong's medallion lit up like a flickering light bulb. Flashing so many times in less than a minute that the metal medallion started turning red from the heat. His was not the only one. A full three-quarters of the soldiers reached for their medallions at the same time, every single one pulsing with qi. With the qi came messages:

"Captain? Captain?"

"Is anyone there?"

"This is Ten Man Leader—"

"Reinforcements needed we have wounded—"

"If anyone is trapped within the barriers, please respond."

"Captain Pan, Captain Lu, please respond!"

Pan Gong's expression became uglier and uglier as reports flooded in. He scattered the various qi's flashing on his token and methodically began asking for updates and situation reports. Those didn't make him any happier. Captain Liu quickly walked over, his own medallion a strobe light of incoming messages, with a face matching Pan Gong's.

"Can you contact the other Captains?" Pan Gong asked him.

Captain Liu shook his head. "No. Have you tried Lu Aotian?"

"You haven't?"

Captain Liu scowled. "You think that ass takes my calls."

Pan Gong frowned and fed yellow qi into his medallion.

"Hello?" drawled a lazy voice.

"Lu Aotian, what's your status?"

"Relaxed?"

"Fucker," Captain Liu muttered.

Pan Gong turned and walked away from them to continue his questioning. It didn't stop any of them from hearing the conversation but it wasn't them hearing that was the issue, it seemed. Captain Liu certainly looked even worse after being right.

"This Lu Aotian seems like…. quite the character," Chen Haoran said. "Is it legal for him to not accept messages?"

Captain Liu scoffed. "It's completely against regulations, in fact." He fiddled with his Communication Medallion before putting it away in disgust. "Not that it matters. His father is an important commander, and he's one of the Garrison's top talents. Leeway is a given."

That…. was not good news for Chen Haoran. In fact, it was the opposite of good news, especially since out of all the people in the Secret Realm who could potentially recognize his face, Lu Aotian was the most likely. It didn't help that Jiang Aiguo had said he had a treasure that could protect him from Crystal Transformation Realms. If he wanted to cause a problem…. well, it would be very not good, to say the least.

"We were lucky we found Captain Pan," Captain Liu suddenly said. "We would have had a harder time if it were Lu Aotian."

"That's only natural," Chen Haoran said. Captain Liu's openness was unexpected. Chen Haoran didn't know if it was because he wanted to vent or decided Chen Haoran was a swell guy or something, but he wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. "Captain Pan is powerful."

Captain Liu shook his head. "Captain Pan may be the best Liquid Meridian in the entire Garrison, but Lu Aotian is the closest to becoming a Crystal Transformation. I would never trust my life to him, though. At least Captain Pan cares."

Before Chen Haoran could question him further, Pan Gong's shout distracted him.

"I will potentially beat the shit out of you. Focus on securing the situation and stop messing around."

An audible tongue click came from Lu Aotian's side. "I'm already in the Center Ring. Once I've finished up my business, I'll go see if this 'Rattan Armor Army' is worth the name."

As soon as his words finished, the glow of qi around the medallion vanished as the connection was cut. Pan Gong stared at it in frustration, breathing loudly through his nostrils like a bear ready to charge. Eventually, he calmed himself and walked back over to them.

"Lu Aotian was never trapped in a barrier," Pan Gong simply said.

Captain Liu rubbed his chin in thought. "There's no way the rebels wouldn't know he'd be here, given their level of planning. It makes no sense they wouldn't stuff him into his own cage."

"He's not the only one either, going by the reports we're receiving," Pan Gong said. "We might not have been placed in the barriers so much as caught within them. It seems the rebels don't have as much control as we originally assumed."

"If they can't control the entrance, then they probably can't control the exit either," Chen Haoran idly thought aloud. "The Center is probably going to be heavily guarded to compensate."

Pan Gong gravely nodded. "We'll have to expect heavy resistance and defensive arrays."

Captain Liu sighed. "Let's hope our other Formation's Specialists are still alive."

Pan Gong's medallion crackled to life.

"Hello? Hellooo? Is anyone important alive, or have I become the most senior leader?"

Relief flashed across Captain Liu's and Pan Gong's faces. Pan Gong answered his medallion with a laugh. "Officer Six-Eyes, it's good to see you still kicking. What's your situation?"

Chen Haoran checked his hearing. "Officer what?"

"Captain Pan, it's good to know your eyes are safe. As for myself, after braving Death, spears, and spears of Death, I have successfully not died."

"The best news I've heard all," Pan Gong said. "Were you trapped in a barrier?"

"Hmm? What? Oh! The barrier. Yes, yes, I have successfully disabled it. Not quite the Formations I intended to crack but an interesting study nonetheless. In fact, I do believe I spy with my little six-eyes another over yonder. I shall endeavor to open that as well."

"Be careful," Pan Gong warned. "Your safety is paramount. How are your numbers over there?"

"Well, by my estimate, there were a hundred bloody sons within my barrier before their numbers were artificially decreased and— ooh, a fourth barrier splendid that seems like all of them."

Pan Gong's relief turned into a pensive frown. "Four barriers….1oo per….200 attackers. Potentially 800 enemy soldiers in the barriers alone. Maybe as many as double our number?"

"Not the best odds," Captain Liu mused.

"We'll manage," Pan Gong declared. "Six-Eyes, take down the remaining barriers and bring the soldiers to the Center Ring."

"As you say, Captain Pan. Keep your eyeballs safe."

Well…. that was a totally normal conversation.

Pan Gong saw the sheer confusion on Chen Haoran's face and chuckled. "Six-Eyes is a bit weird, but he's one of our foremost Formation Experts. We'll be in good hands with him around." Pan Gong turned to the soldiers. "You heard it all. Forget the rest of the bodies and ready up in five. Anyone who falls behind is going to get my boot."

A chorus of 'Yes sir' followed Pan Gong's statement as the soldiers took pills to restore spent qi, and healers went around attending to the wounded. Chen Haoran took a qi restoring pill from his storage bag and tossed another to Phelps. It wasn't much even though it was a reward pill. The original version wasn't that good, even for Qi Realms. The improved version was even less effective on Liquid Meridians. It was something, at least, though it was the Yellow Dragon's continuous cultivation that really brought Chen Haoran's reserves back to full.

Pan Gong, Captain Liu, and a few other officers were participating in an on-the-spot briefing to determine their path and expectations. Chen Haoran was close enough to them to be included in the conversation, but unless he was directly asked something, he didn't quite have the confidence to break into what was basically a military meeting and run his mouth. So while he stood with them, his attention was far less focused and occasionally wandered over to the other soldiers meditating, Jiang Aiguo and the Peachbloods on guard, the healers running green hands over bloody wounds, then back to the officers around him, and finally Phelps before repeating the cycle over again—Phelps, Soldiers, Peachbloods, Healers, Officers, back to Phelps. There was no wasted movement among them. Everyone was using every single second of the five minutes. Chen Haoran couldn't blame them. He'd feel threatened by Pan Gong's boot too. It would be even worse for the weaker cultivators like Patriarch Qi—

Chen Haoran stopped. He narrowed his eyes and carefully searched the crowd but the old cultivator was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Patriarch Qi?" His sudden words stopped the conversation of the officers. Chen Haoran didn't pay them any mind, instead spreading out his sense to make sure he just hadn't overlooked Patriarch Qi. Maybe he'd run away during the battle? Chen Haoran couldn't blame him. He thought about doing the same—

His head snapped towards the thickets of vines left behind by the soldiers and the familiar qi within them. Enhanced sight brought the vines into clear definition and he could see Patriarch Qi entangled within them. Could see the soft rise and fall of his chest. Could see the spear lodged in his chest rise and fall with his breathing.

"Oi! Patriarch Qi! Are you alright?" Chen Haoran rushed over, but a healer treating a soldier with a gash along his arm rose and stopped him.

"It's best not to get near him, sir," the Healer said. "His Final Flood is imminent."

"What the fu—What are you saying? He's alive! How long have you just left him like that? Go and treat him!"

The Healer's face was a mask of infuriating patience. The one all medical professionals seemed to wear when you were frustrated with them. "I have to attend to the more urgent injuries first, sir. It's triage. Please understand."

A quick expansion of his sense quickly put paid to that lie. Chen Haoran's qi spiked. The Healer's patient expression finally revealed the first hints of nervousness. The soldier he'd been treating was no better.

"He's the most injured one here!" Chen Haoran shouted. "You're over here treating a motherfucker with a cut on his arm while he's got a whole spear through his chest!"

"The-the protocols," stuttered the Healer. It was a bit ridiculous on the outside since he was Fifth-Layer Liquid Meridian to his Second-Layer, but Chen Haoran had already proven he'd chop through Wood Spirit Roots with ease. "Given the combat situation, we don't know if our supplies will last. We have to prioritize conserving qi and supplies and give priority to maintaining combat effectiveness. Non-Garrison—"

A loud cough from Pan Gong interrupted the Healer before he could say something he would regret. He realized this, too, from the way he paled looking at Chen Haoran.

"Go help the man," Pan Gong ordered.

The Healer bowed and sprinted to Patriarch Qi's side. Chen Haoran nodded at Pan Gong, although he recognized it was only because he didn't want Chen Haoran to get the wrong idea from the Healer's words. It didn't matter, though. Chen Haoran had heard him loud and clear. Non-Garrison cultivators aren't a priority. For Chen Haoran, this was false. He was too important and useful to be alienated like that. For someone like Patriarch Qi?

Chen Haoran strode over to the Healer, placing green hands on Patriarch Qi's chest. He frowned once he saw the vines covering him. They'd wrapped around his limbs and torso, completely immobilizing him. Chen Haoran thumbed the hilt of his sword and hesitated. Could he cut him free? Even if he'd discovered a new state of the White Tyrant's Harmonization, he wasn't confident enough in using it that he could free Patriarch Qi without killing him. Maybe Phelps's claws were sharp enough? Although those were more for piercing than cutting.

The Healer sighed and retracted his hands.

"Well?" Chen Haoran demanded.

The Healer shook his head. "I'm sorry, sir, but he can't be saved."

"Why not? He's a Liquid Meridian. I've seen them take worse damage than this before and recover."

"For other forms of injury, perhaps," The Healer said. "But for Liquid Meridians, gaping wounds and anything that opens a large hole in their body are particularly difficult to deal with given the nature of Liquid Qi. Especially chest wounds, given how many meridians run through the torso. The spear is currently stemming the flow for the most part, and his control covers the rest, but as soon as we remove the spear, he's liable to Flood. Not to mention the poison the spear is covered with."

"Poison? Why is he poisoned?"

"Yes, from the looks of it, it's a Qi Loosening poison. It makes it easier for Liquid Qi to escape the body, combined with the thinness of Mortal-Rank Qi and how easy it is to flow out—"

The Healer shut up when Chen Haoran leveled his presence down on his shoulders. "You misunderstand. I asked why he's poisoned. Give him an antidote already."

"We-well, given the complexity of Zumulu's poisons, we don't necessarily know if the antidote will take so…."

Chen Haoran swung his arm and motioned to the surrounding soldiers. "Then what are they using? Or are you going to tell me that he just so happened to be stabbed with the only poisoned spear?"

"Gi-Given the nature of the wounds itself, using a pill is…."

"Leave," Chen Haoran coldly ordered. "You're pissing me off."

The Healer bowed low and scurried off. Chen Haoran took out a healing pill and an antidote pill from his storage bag and fed them to Patriarch Qi. Whether they would make any difference was unknown. He didn't think they would, though. Profound-Rank pills were too weak to truly help, given the serious nature of his injuries. He tested the vines but found they were wrapped around too tight to get his fingers under them.

Chen Haoran stood back up and watched Patriarch Qi's weak breathing. It was a bit ridiculous, maybe, to get so angry for a guy who'd tried to rob him without hesitation not too long ago. They were less than strangers. They were targeter and targeted until Chen Haoran turned the tables on Patriarch Qi. Even so, for a time, they were on the same side. Perhaps that meant nothing, given the time and the reasons. Perhaps it was ridiculous to assign it any meaning at all.

He didn't need to use his sense to know everyone was watching him for the spectacle he'd made. What were they thinking? What were they saying? Chen Haoran didn't know, but he did know what they were doing.

Nothing.

Despite witnessing all of this, not a single person stepped up to render any form of aid despite Patriarch Qi being mortally wounded helping the Garrison fight their enemies. Protocols. Logistics. They were cold, logical reasons born from one truth. Patriarch Qi was too weak. Saving his life was not worth it when the materials could be used on more useful soldiers. How or why he'd been injured didn't matter. The Garrison had the means to save Patriarch Qi is the really wanted to. Instead, they were content with watching him slowly die right in front of their eyes.

Including himself.

Chen Haoran sighed in frustration and rubbed his eyes. Phelps softly crooned. Right now, Chen Haoran was one hundred percent sure he could save Patriarch Qi. A single seed from his Paradise Pomegranate was equivalent to a high-level healing pill, and the poison would be a joke in front of the Stainless Purity Lotus. So long as he pulled them out, then Patriarch Qi would not die. He wouldn't. There were many reasons. He didn't want to bring out such valuable plants in front of the Garrison. He was leery of using up the precious effects even if he could use them multiple times. Patriarch Qi would almost assuredly not do the same thing for him were their positions reversed. He did not need to save Patriarch Qi.

The thought wasn't as comforting as Chen Haoran hoped it'd be.

Patriarch Qi coughed, and his eyes fluttered open. "Young Hero," he rasped.

"Rest Patriarch," Chen Haoran said.

"My storage bag and my weapon," Patriarch Qi slowly said. "Should you return to Reservoir Town, please bring them back to back to the Qi Family."

Chen Haoran crouched down. "That's a tall task to ask a stranger, Patriarch—especially me of all people. I did beat up your brother and son, and you, not long ago."

"And yet, all three of us are still alive and not crippled despite offending you," Patriarch Qi said.

"Is that really enough of a reason to place your faith in me?" Chen Haoran asked.

"No," Patriarch Qi said. "But how could I not place my faith in you? You are so powerful. So talented." He laughed. It was an effort of great pain for him to do so and saw blood trickle out his mouth, but he looked happy all the same. "So angry for someone like me. It's such an honor."

"Don't misunderstand, old man," Chen Haoran softly said. "I just think this is sad. I hate sad things."

"What a hypocritical thing for a cultivator to say."

"Yeah," Chen Haoran acknowledged. It was the truth ever since he'd entered this world. "It is."

Liquid qi bubbled up around the spear wound and began dripping onto the vines. Chen Haoran found he could no longer look Patriarch Qi in the eyes, not because he could not meet them but because they were looking far past him now.

"This isn't so bad," Patriarch Qi choked out through blood and labored breathing. "I killed a legendary Rattan Armor Soldier. Me. How glorious."

"I will bring your storage bag and your story back to your family." Chen Haoran promised.

Patriarch Qi's lips twitched, and a small smile formed. "Thank you. There is a treasure in there you may use as compensation. My greed may have killed me, but perhaps it will be useful to you."

Chen Haoran reached through the vines and took the storage bag. By some stroke of luck it hadn't been tangled by the vines and was easy to remove. "Do you have any last words?"

Patriarch Qi did not reply. His breath grew weaker, and weaker, but Chen Haoran remained by his side and waited for an answer that might never come, but that deserved the opportunity to be heard nonetheless.

"My arm," Patriarch Qi finally said. "Can you free it?"

Chen Haoran fell silent. He could do it. He had reasonable, common-sense options to cut away the vines.

His hand fell to his sword despite those reasonable options. White energy shined as released a sliver of the blade. A thin, white line suddenly appeared across the vines wrapped around Patriarch Qi's arm. The vines fell apart, sliced cleanly in half, but the arm beneath it was unharmed, without a single cut on the sleeve.

"Thank you," Patriarch Qi said. He raised his arm, and his sleeve fell away to reveal his bone bracelet. He pressed it to his mouth.

Patriarch Qi did not die a beautiful death. It was drawn out and painful. He undoubtedly suffered until the last moment when his breath finally failed. His liquid qi did not even have the dignity to rage in a Final Flood before it was pounced on by the vines and greedily absorbed.

A white flash saw the vines wiped away from existence. Chen Haoran pressed his hands together in a short, silent prayer before opening the storage bag Patriarch Qi entrusted to him. A gold light greeted him.

Chen Haoran stared at the thought-lost Gold Formation Compass.

Chapter 149: This Young Master Meets A Crazy Bastard

The nature of the ambush was fully revealed to them as they moved out to link up with the other elements of the Garrison. A good half of the Garrison were trapped behind large, pre-prepared kill zones while the rest had been randomly scattered across the Outer Ring. They would concentrate their forces within the barrier to quickly deal with the trapped Garrison while other roaming groups of Rattan Armor Soldiers hunted down the free soldiers across the rest of the Trial. Not exactly a bad plan if they were able to control who was sorted into the barriers and who wasn't. It soon became quite clear that they didn't, in fact, control who went where. Strong and talented cultivators found themselves outside the barriers just as often as weak ones found themselves inside. A fact that only made it more difficult for the rebels to hunt them down, especially since their communication medallions weren't disabled like those inside the barrier.

Another thing that was revealed was that the majority of the rebels' efforts had been placed on the barriers and presumably whatever defenses they had around the exit of the secret realm. At least once they traveled into the Inner Ring, they ran into no traps of any sort. Presumably, whatever time and resources the rebels had to invest into this ambush weren't enough for them to actually turn the entire Secret Realm into a Death Trap. At least, this was Chen Haoran's guess. Who knew what the real reason was?

It was illuminating, really, to realize just how much the rebels relied on luck. That they caught high-ranking Captains like Pan Gong and Captain Liu at all was just pure random chance working out in their favor. That luck was now running out, however. Fast enough that Chen Haoran was glad in his decision to throw his lot in with the Garrison. The tragic casualties the soldiers in their barrier suffered were not mirrored in the barrier Six-Eyes disabled, as the messages from those soldiers revealed. As callous as it sounded, they were just sorted with the weaker ones. Jiang Aiguo hadn't been exaggerating when he said the Garrison had sent its best.

It left Chen Haoran with a single question. If this was what the best of the Garrison looked like, what was the best of the Empire?

—————————

White Sword shadows flashed and diced through a hastily raised vine wall and cut into the Rattan Armor Soldiers behind it. In the chaos of the unstoppable metal energy, the survivors were given no respite as the Garrison exploited the weaknesses Chen Haoran opened up to quickly kill the soldiers lucky enough to have survived Chen Haoran's attack.

As they progressed further into the Secret Realm, they attacked and were attacked by Rattan Armor Soldiers as they gathered the scattered Garrison soldiers. They had quickly devised a workable pattern of combat: Chen Haoran would split open the vine defenses of the Rattan Armor while the Garrison moved into the gaps and defeated them. It was shockingly effective, given that Chen Haoran knew next to nothing about the Garrsion r their tactics. The reason was two-fold: The White Tyrant's Harmonization was just that strong, and the Garrison was concerningly adept at adapting themselves to it. Not only discussing amongst themselves how to place him in their formation for optimal effectiveness but even taking into account his obvious reluctance to use the White Tyrant's Harmonization more than once per battle without pressing him on it.

The result was clear. None of the rebels stalling actions held up their group for long, and as more Garrison soldiers met up with them, the time only grew shorter. To say the Garrison operated like clockwork would be misleading. They did not operate with mechanical efficiency. Not to say they weren't precise or they were unorganized, but clockwork was far too stiff a term. No, the Garrison flowed like water, taking on whatever shape the situation demanded of them. Each soldier was an individual droplet, freely combining to form a greater river and separating as needed depending on whatever obstacle was in the way of their flow.

Whatever could be said of the Empire, their military at least was not lacking. Unlike the authoritarian governments Chen Haoran had been familiar with back on Earth, the Garrison's soldiers were not crippled by corruption or lax standards or whatever issue the superiors who sold them out were afflicted with. Granted, the soldiers around him now weren't representative of the average Garrison soldiers at all. The majority were officers and talents slated for promotions. In a way, that was worse. With such a well-trained professional officer class, one could imagine how intimidating the army they directed would be.

Eventually, the Garrison's Metal Spirit Roots showed up and Chen Haoran ended up becoming superfluous. As the Metal Roots smoothly took over, Chen Haoran completely gave up attacking. It was a risk. He had seen what they'd done to someone useless to them. On the flip side, he had seen what they'd done to someone useless to them. He was loathe to waste any more qi on them that he'd be better off preserving. It was admittedly nerve-wracking, though. So long as Pan Gong had the thought, then the hundred-plus soldiers would immediately turn on him. Chen Haoran wouldn't fool himself into believing Pan Gong would hesitate, either. He was favored. Pan Gong was not his friend nor a good person.

Not that he was, either.

The Golden Compass felt like a lead weight at his side, even though a storage bag made things weightless. It was still in Patriarch Qi's bag. He hadn't dared to take it out while being stared at by Pan Gong and the rest of the Garrison. Chen Haoran didn't exactly know what it was save that it was used by the Formation Specialist to analyze the barrier and that quite a few in the Garrison were very bummed to have lost it. Presumably, it had other uses related to Formations as well, but that wasn't something Chen Haoran could figure out right now. It was a miracle Patriarch Qi got it in the first place. Presumably, one of the rebels picked it up, and Patriarch Qi luckily got it when he killed him…. or maybe it wasn't so much luck as it was deliberate. Patriarch Qi did say it was his greed that got him killed. Did he perhaps know who among the Rattan Armor Soldier's had the compass?

It was a question that would never have an answer.

———————

They marched unimpeded into the Center Ring. Their numbers swelled to 200 strong, including more than a few unaffiliated cultivators. The Yellow Dragon crooned when they crossed whatever invisible barrier separated the rings. It greedily swallowed up the thick ambient qi, quickly bringing Chen Haoran back up to full reserves.

With more qi came more dangers. The trees were bigger and deadlier, with homing leaves. The durians smellier and more lethal. The pyramids huge compared to those in the Outer and Inner Rings. They paid none of that any mind. The dangers were dealt with and the potential rewards were ignored. They marched through the depths of the Center Ring until scouts came back after discovering where the rebels had gone. Pan Gong brought the group to a stop and had them temporarily rest.

In the distance, two barriers flashed bright white, then fell one after another. More messages flooded the Communication Medallions as head counts and rally points were ordered. Several more Ninth-Layer Liquid Meridians had joined their group now. Despite this, Pan Gong remained firmly in command, not that anyone seemed to have a problem with it. Or if they did, they were good at hiding it. Pan Gong was a generous leader, deferring to the opinions of his peers and delegating many tasks to them, keeping himself to be only the final say on operational decisions and the vanguard tactics.

Of course, a good portion of his time was occupied trying to get in contact with Lu Aotian. For whatever reason, he wasn't responding to Pan Gong's demands for his whereabouts and status. The other captains all had different reactions, from disdain to uncomfortable embarrassment and neutrality. There were various theories bandied about regarding Lu Aotian going dark. Some were polite. Others were not so polite. Without having met the man, it was incredibly clear he was a divisive figure. Despite this, not a single person present suggested that Lu Aotian may have been killed or captured, which personally was Chen Haoran's first thought. He wasn't dumb enough to say it out loud, however. Pan Gong heard all of this with a frustrated look on his face as he kept trying to reach him before finally putting away his Communication Medallion in disgust. Personally, Chen Haoran would never try to call someone so many times who didn't pick up but who told Lu Aotian to have a Crystal Transformation Realm Artifact.

Pan Gong pinched the bridge of his nose and turned to Chen Haoran. "Song Yuelin. Come with me. We need your eyes to check out the rebel's defensive formations."

Chen Haoran nodded in affirmation and followed Pan Gong and a few other captains to finally lay eyes on their way out of the Secret Realm. The first thing he noticed, without even having to share his vision with the Yellow Dragon, was the barrier surrounding the place. A square box of metal white energy like every other barrier had been, except smaller. Well…. by comparison, at least. It was still huge, particularly since it covered a lake, the island in the late, and the giant pyramid on the island. The pyramid itself was a one-to-one recreation of the pyramid they used to enter the Secret Realm. In fact, it looked more than a recreation, Chen Haoran could have sworn he saw similar plant growth and moss on the outside pyramid.

Then there were the rebels. At the base of the pyramid's steps, they'd erected walls of earth, stone, and vines. Three long trenches separated the walls from the islands. Along the terraces of the pyramid were archers and Rattan Armor soldiers behind further walls and parapets. The whole pyramid had been turned into a fortress.

"Song Yuelin, what do you see," Pan Gong urged.

Chen Haoran blinked and connected his vision to the Yellow Dragon's. The barrier's swirling energies immediately unfurled in front of him. They coursed from four pillars of white light at the corners of the cube. Unlike with the other barriers, however, he couldn't tell which one was an Emission Node and which was a Receiving Node. All of them? None of them? Other than that, it looked like a standard barrier. Although there was a suspicious ball of metal qi that was forming in the middle of the barrier by drawing on its energies. That definitely wasn't visible when he was looking with his regular eyes. Even the lake was trapped. Some were obvious traps. Others were less clear. Particularly the formation that the rebels had somehow strung across the entire lake.

"There's a Formation in the water and some explosive traps," Chen Haoran said. "There's also something weird going on with the barrier."

"That's because it's a combination of defense and attack formation."

Chen Haoran whirled around to look at the speaker of a voice who was not there before and had to resist every reflexive instinct he had to commit unspeakable violence when a pair of googly-eyes was standing far too close to his face.

He was an eccentric site to look at. He wore the same red Garrison uniform as Pan Gong and the rest, but his was decorated with hundreds upon hundreds of eyes. Some sewn in, some patched, others embroidered, still more painted and all of them in a multitude of different colors and wakefulness positions. The owner of the robe looked the opposite of sleepy. He bounced on the balls of his feet, all 4.5 feet of him. His face was lined with wrinkles, his hands covered in liver spots, his white hair and mustache frayed in every direction as if it'd be shocked with static and never recovered. The 'googly-eyes' staring deeply into Chen Haoran's own were actually oversized goggles, more binoculars really, that made the fake eyes look like they were about to pop out at any second. Altogether he reminded Chen Haoran of Albert Einstein if he took meth.

The eyes blinked.

Chen Haoran jumped backward.

"You have some interesting eyes," Methstein said. The goggle eyes blinked again, and Chen Haoran abruptly felt naked in front of them. The Yellow Dragon evidently felt the same way because he growled and snapped in Methstein's direction. "Ah. So they're not really yours. Not yet, at least. Still interesting. Tell me. Have you been possessed yet?"

What the fuck?

Pan Gong immediately stepped between them. "Six-Eyes, enough."

"Hello, Pan Gong," Six-Eyes greeted in a jolly tone. "I see your eyes are still in your head."

"Hello to you too," Pan Gong replied with a note of long-endured suffering. "It's good you're here. I need you to appraise what we're up against."

"It's just a Metal Element barrier synced with a manually controlled attack formation. It's not too complicated, particularly given that it relies on drawing in ambient qi to power both. The lake is a bit interesting, though. They've covered the whole thing in a Weak Water Formation. Anyone who slips into the water won't be able to swim back out."

"Their numbers?" Pan Gong asked.

"More than ours."

Pan Gong frowned. "A serious answer, please."

Six-Eyed chuckled. "Please don't mind this old man's jokes. I've had a bit of a day. The Ice and Fire Lotus deserves its reputation." He clicked something on his goggles, and the device became a blur of motion as it segmented, and two tiny arms reached out to detach the eye lens and replace it with a new eagle-eye lens. "700."

"And we've 400," Pan Gong said to himself.

"438," Six-Eyes kindly corrected.

Captain Liu spat. "Current estimates for enemy dead is 300. What a terrible ratio."

Chen Haoran wasn't sure he'd say the same considering the Garrison had been outnumbered, out planned, and caught unaware and still managed to kill more than they lost. Then again, they were still outnumbered. Any loss on the Garrison's end would automatically be worse than the rebel's end.

"The situation isn't that severe yet," Pan Gong said.

"They dug in now," Captain Liu agreed with a nod. "Shows they're not confident facing us in open battle." He scoffed. "So much for the South's legendary soldiers."

"They must aim to stall until our antidote pills run out and let the air poison us to death," Pan Gong said.

"Do we press the assault now?" Captain Liu asked.

Pan Gong shook his head. "No, we still have time—no need to rush and potentially be caught in the back by any roaming forces they might have. Let Six-Eyes study the Formation more while we scout out the area. We still have to find Lu Aotian as well."

"Should we build counter fortifications to trap the rebels here then?" Captain Liu asked.

Pan Gong seriously considered the suggestion before shaking his head again. "The Rattan Vine Armor allows the wearer to walk on water. We'd have to encircle the entire lake. It's just a waste of energy. We'll post some observers here to keep an eye on their movements."

While Chen Haoran listened in to Pan Gong and Captain Liu go further into preparations and countermeasures, Phelps quietly hissed a warning in his ear. Six-Eyes had crept away from Pan Gong and approached Chen Haoran.

"Excuse me," Six-Eyes whispered. "Assuming something deeply unfortunate were to happen to you while we are locked within this Secret Realm, may I have permission to harvest your eyes?"

He…. didn't know how to respond to that. Just who asks that sort of thing?

"You…. do know I'm a Liquid Meridian, right?" Chen Haoran said. "Like, if I die, I'm going to just explode."

"Oh, I'm aware. Do not fear. I would harvest your eyes while you're dying in order to preserve their quality. I'm quite experienced in that regard. I just don't want you to think I'm attacking you."

Chen Haoran stared.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?"