Chapter Six: Descending the Mountain

Shi Yao awoke in an instant.

With his lips barely parted, he swallowed the tiny figure—his seven souls fused as one—into his belly.

He gripped a sword.

A burst of white radiance spiraled upward, transforming at once into a celestial expanse of sword energy. Tens of thousands of sword rays descended as if the starry dome itself were collapsing.

Under one such blade of energy, countless lesser spirits were obliterated.

Yet the golden-armored god simply reached out and grasped.

The starry sword dome was crushed in his fist; the sword light splintered into myriad firefly sparks, which the wind scattered to nothingness along the banks of the River of Forgetfulness.

Striding from the riverbank, the golden-armored god crossed the Bridge of Desolation in a mere moment, materializing before Xu Zhong and his companions.

He towered above them, grand and imposing as a mountain.

“That’s the Night-Wandering Spirit guarding the Bridge of Desolation,” Su Jue muttered, clutching her tail as her teeth chattered. “We’re finished. If we’re caught, we’ll be forced to drink Lady Meng’s soup and sent back to the mortal world.”

“Lady Meng’s soup?”

The waters of the River of the Three Crossings flowed beneath the Bridge of Desolation, where Lady Meng herself sold her tea. Along the bridge, underworld officials escorted souls and maintained order. Besides the officials, sixteen spirits—guardians by day and night—stood watch to prevent anyone from sneaking into the Nether City to retrieve the dead.

The one before them was a night guardian from the Bridge of Desolation.

“Heavenly Manifestation!” Shi Yao’s form began to expand, his robes growing with him—clearly a treasured garment.

A thunderous impact as man and deity exchanged blows.

The shockwave rippled along the riverbank, sending arcs of water into the air, which coalesced into a long spear that the Night-Wandering Spirit caught.

After the clash, Shi Yao was sent flying. But as he soared, he seized the layered domains of the cave-dwelling, stowed them swiftly into his Five Luminaries, and dashed off—shrinking the earth beneath his feet, leaping in golden flashes, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

The Night-Wandering Spirit urgently cast a spell to pursue him, but the cave domains, now packed within the Five Luminaries, unfolded again—layer upon layer, visible yet out of reach.

Tendrils of deathly energy drifted in, swirling and transforming into wandering souls: green-faced, red-eyed, hair like blood, murderous aura swirling, feeding only on flesh and bone, and all swooping toward the man and the fox.

With a snap of her jaws, Su Jue spat out demon fire, incinerating the wild ghosts.

“Shi Yao is wounded. The Night-Wandering Spirit’s power is turning his blood and flesh into these fiends,” Su Jue said while urging Xu Zhong to cast a spell.

But Xu Zhong, overwhelmed by the many arts within him, hesitated—unsure which to employ.

“Expel the energy! Refine this baleful Yin into exhalation.” Seeing Xu Zhong’s confusion, Su Jue reminded him.

Xu Zhong activated the seal of exhalation; each breath was measured and precise.

He exhaled, shaping wind that scoured the fiends to pieces. Inhaled, the remnants entered his lungs, but without unlocking the Golden Luminary’s hidden store, he could not refine them.

Over time, the exhalation grew turbid and hard to muster.

Within the cave domains, the man and the fox used their arts to aid Shi Yao in suppressing his wounds.

Gradually, the influx of fiendish energy ceased—Shi Yao must have escaped danger.

Yet before they could relax, Su Jue detected something amiss; she sprang to her feet, one forepaw pointing upward.

“There’s something above!”

Xu Zhong followed her gaze.

Above, his heart manifested as the Fire Luminary Star, suspended high and shining with peerless divine light.

They were, in this moment, within the hidden storehouse of the Fire Luminary.

On that star, a streak of rosy light revealed the silhouette of a person.

“Perhaps it’s Shi Yao’s original self,” Xu Zhong guessed.

The silhouette, too, noticed Xu Zhong and Su Jue, stepped into the glow, and gradually took on flesh and soul.

“I am Situ Nan, master of the Celestial Emblem Cave…”

Situ Nan was about to say more when, in the next instant, he hastily shed his flesh, reverted to a gleam of light, concealed his presence, and vanished from mortal sight.

Then they saw a giant hand pierce the barrier of flesh, appear upon the Fire Luminary Star, and seize this domain.

Suddenly, they seemed to be back at the mountain stream.

The nested cave domains merged into the one Xu Zhong and Su Jue occupied; once stabilized, Shi Yao entered from outside.

He was drenched in blood and filth, and streams of magma oozed from his pores.

His apertures were clogged with dense deathly energy, forming pestilent spirits that ferociously devoured the vitality of his flesh. Countering them were the tiny human figures manifest in his apertures, driving the pests out again and again.

As for deeper wounds, neither Xu Zhong nor Su Jue could see—these were not injuries of the flesh, but of the Dao itself, the Great Dao of the Nether City left within Shi Yao by the Night-Wandering Spirit.

Such wounds gnawed at him ceaselessly.

His face shadowed, Shi Yao took a hairpin, opened his pill chamber, and swallowed several elixirs. The moment his gaze fell upon Xu Zhong and Su Jue, a murderous urge arose.

“They’ve seen Situ Nan. Who’s to say Situ Nan hasn’t left a backdoor in them? I ought to kill them all.”

“Pity I haven’t fully turned my seven souls into a human soul, and I bear Dao wounds. I need time to heal, and I need Xu Zhong’s wisdom—he’s well read, he’ll be useful to me.”

Su Jue and Xu Zhong exchanged glances, clutching their tails and looking baffled. They knew such private thoughts weren’t meant for their ears.

The only explanation was that Shi Yao could not control his words—his every thought was spoken aloud, unfiltered.

“He has soul but no spirit, so he can’t mask his feelings. Failing to refine the spirit, he can’t conceal his thoughts,” Su Jue murmured, releasing her tail.

In this moment, Shi Yao was utterly transparent before them—thoughts and feelings laid bare, though he himself was unaware.

“When I’ve absorbed all of Xu Zhong’s knowledge, I’ll send them on their way,” Shi Yao mumbled as he circulated his power.

The Fire Luminary’s hidden store shone with divine light; the pests in his apertures were expelled, the Golden Luminary’s might manifested, deathly energy outside his apertures was drawn into his lungs and expelled as foul breath, the pests absorbed and strengthened the exhalation; the Wood Luminary revived his organs, swallowing the Nether City’s deathly energy from his bones and blood, granting them new life; the Water Luminary locked his essence, preventing leakage during Dao wounds while fortifying his body; the Earth Luminary governed the other four, maintaining balance...

The Five Luminaries formed a closed cycle, continually restoring Shi Yao’s vitality.

The body’s wounds could heal, but the Dao wounds were another matter.

“My human soul is incomplete, yet still stores wisdom—why not simply carve out Xu Zhong’s brain and devour it to obtain his knowledge…” As the thought arose, he prepared to act.

Xu Zhong’s heart clenched; Su Jue hugged her tail once more.

Just then, Shi Yao’s expression shifted. “Karma—I’ve accumulated karma in my soul?”

His attempt at refining the soul had failed, and even what he’d made was incomplete.

Karma descended, causing his soul to falter; myriad thoughts assailed him. With a quick calculation, he was vexed by the result.

“Some fiend escaped through the Nether City passage I opened and wrought murder in the mortal world, landing me with karma for nothing.”

His soul was incomplete, lacking a celestial soul to bear karma. If mishandled, the burden would ignite, drawing divine wrath and thunder he would not survive.

Thoughts racing, he looked to Xu Zhong and Su Jue. “The Nether City is searching for me, and I still carry Dao wounds. If I act, they’ll sense me. Better to send this little fox and little ghost down the mountain to kill those fiends.”

At this, Su Jue relaxed, releasing her tail, and Xu Zhong felt a surge of relief. If only they could leave this cave, the sky would be the limit.

“I’ll need to plant a spell seed in them to control their lives and deaths,” Shi Yao decided, speaking his thoughts aloud.

“I’m wounded and must retreat to heal,” he announced.

“When I left the Nether City, I saw many demons and ghosts wreaking havoc in Yangshuo. While I’m in seclusion, you two will go down the mountain to exorcise them.”

With a flick of his hairpin, Shi Yao conjured a domain from the cave.

The Sword Pavilion appeared, bristling with blades, sword energy subdued. Besides swords, there were other treasures.

From the pavilion, Shi Yao selected a sword, handing it to Xu Zhong, secretly planting a Dao seed within him.

“If they speak my name or leave Yangshuo, the soul-capturing seed will turn against them and steal their souls,” he thought—his mind transparent, his body unable to restrain his speech.

Xu Zhong took the sword, elated.

“This sword is called Xuan Guang,” Shi Yao explained. “His original self practiced sword before he cultivated Qi—this was his blade from age twelve to sixteen, and it’s the only treasure here usable at the Five Luminaries level.”

“Infuse it with a trace of spiritual energy, and sword light will rise to slay your foes. I lend it to you, that you may uphold the righteous path and rid the world of evil.”

Xu Zhong slid his thumb along the guard, drawing Xuan Guang a few inches; the cold gleam reflected his own face.

Shi Yao glanced at Su Jue, considered, and handed her a rattle-drum from the pavilion, adorned with beads and tinkling rings.

“This is wondrous: one strike stirs the soul, two shakes scatter it, three seize it, four pursue it—each with supreme power. But beware—never strike it more than four times, or death will follow.”

Using the same hidden method, he planted the soul-capturing spell in Su Jue as he gave her the treasure.

After a thought, he also brought out some elixirs and talismans. “If you encounter plague, use the talisman-water to ward it off. If you find those whose life and Yang essence are diminished, nourish them with these pills…”

Talisman-water, drawn from the Way of Talismans, invokes gods to punish ghosts, subdue demons, heal illness, and avert disaster—its uses are endless.

This spell was inscribed upon the Water Luminary’s hidden store within Xu Zhong.

Xu Zhong took the talismans, the little fox the elixirs.

“With this, I’m relieved,” Shi Yao said, satisfied with his arrangements.

But his pleasure was short-lived, as more karma descended upon his soul.

“Hurry down the mountain,” Shi Yao urged, anxious. “Demons and fiends plague the world—this is a matter of utmost importance. There is no room for delay.”

With a wave of his hand, a dark cloud lifted them from his palm and carried them from the mountain stream, gently depositing them back in Xu Zhong’s bamboo hut.

As they landed, the cloud returned to the mountain.

“Whew…”

Su Jue and Xu Zhong both let out a long breath, collapsing to the floor, cold sweat soaking their backs.

“We survived,” Su Jue said, finally at ease.

“What happened to Shi Yao? How did he change so suddenly?”

When he first swept them into the cave, he was muddled but kind.

How had he become so ruthless, so quick to kill?

“When he first took you, his soul was newly formed—ignorant but good. Once his cultivation stabilized and his spiritual light was fixed, he understood good and evil, became envious, covetous. Without guidance, he fell to wickedness. By the time he tried to refine his soul, his morals were already set.”

“Like a child venturing out, with no concept of right or wrong, needing guidance. Without it, desire swallows them, and they become evil.”

Shi Yao was a prime example.

“What now? Are we really to follow his orders and hunt demons?” Su Jue sprawled over the table, weakly swishing her tail.

“His human soul is incomplete, without a celestial soul to bear karma. His sins will ignite easily—we might win freedom if heaven’s thunder strikes him down first.”

Xu Zhong shook his head. “We’ll be dead long before that happens.”

“If his accumulated karma exceeds his soul’s limits, he’ll act for his own safety—he’ll take matters into his own hands to deal with the fiends, even if it draws the day and night guardians of the Nether City.”

“And we’ll die before the fiends do.”

When one’s own safety is at stake, who cares about exposure?

“So we must exorcise these demons as quickly as possible.”

No sooner had Xu Zhong finished speaking than he stood, grabbed Su Jue by the scruff, slung her onto his shoulder, and with sword in hand, descended the mountain.