Below, the group reached the same conclusion in silence. Lin Xiao’s envoy snatched the map from the air, cutting off the golden projection. The cultivators channeled their energy to the maximum, and their bodies rose from the ground, propelled by their dense, refined Qi.
"To the gorge throat!" the envoy ordered. "Eyes forward!"
"And the wounded?" asked one of the guards, pointing at Elder Wu, who was still bleeding.
"The wounded stay! The map is what matters!"
Elder Wu paled but held his tongue. He sat on the ground, clutching the wound on his chest, while the rest of the group moved away at full speed.
Ruthless. The envoy values only those who serve him.
’Such is the world of cultivation,’ Xue Huang said with bitterness. ’The weak are ballast. The strong are tools. And those who serve neither purpose... are left behind.’
WHOOSH!
They shot out like arrows, leaving behind the luminescent corpses that continued blinking in the darkness. The sound of their flight—the rustle of their tunics against the wind, the beat of their Qi-propelled steps—was quickly lost in the distance.
Shen Tian cursed under his breath and activated the Flickering Shadow Steps, leaping from his cliff to follow them. A burst of Qi exploded in the soles of his feet, propelling him forward with a speed his Level 5 body could barely sustain.
SHING!
Immediately, the logistical problem became evident. His clone was limited to Level 5 Qi Condensation. Although his movement technique was superior and his combat experience infinitely greater, the pure difference in energy reserves and muscular strength began to take its toll. Each leap consumed more Qi than he could recover. His meridians burned with a dull pain, as if molten lead were being poured through his veins.
The distance between him and his targets widened with each second. The silhouettes of Lin Xiao’s group faded into the mist of the surrounding forest, turning into blurry shadows that receded toward the gorge throat. Shen Tian clenched his teeth, forcing his legs to a rhythm far beyond his body’s design.
Losing them means losing the map. Losing the map means losing the inheritance. And losing the inheritance turns all of this into wasted effort.
But Shen Tian had forged his skill through a century of survival. The Flickering Shadow Steps were an efficiency technique rather than a pure speed art. Each burst of Qi was used to the maximum, every thread of energy squeezed dry. And Shen Tian, with 135 years of experience, knew how to squeeze out every last drop. The raw speed belonged to them; the economy belonged to him. Each leap was calculated, each breath measured, each muscle contraction optimized. In a long pursuit, that discipline was worth more than brute force.
’Do not lose them, brat!’ Xue Huang roared in his mind. ’Your original body has the Foundation Establishment base and your soul is a bottomless well. Listen carefully. While I was in your Sea of Consciousness, I analyzed the way your tool compresses energy and how both bodies share the connection. There is a method we can use. The Lotus Feedback Method. It is a technique from the era of the Immortal Emperors that allows energy to be transferred between bodies linked by the soul.’
Shen Tian leaped onto the branch of an iron pine, propelling himself forward as the wind cut across his face beneath the straw hat. The pine needles scratched his cheeks, leaving thin threads of blood that the wind dried instantly.
"Get to the point!" he demanded mentally.
"Extract the excess mental pressure from your original soul and convert it into physical fuel for the clone. The System acts as a perfect bridge. But it has a cost: each transfer consumes Suppression Points, and your original body will be exhausted. Do you understand the consequences?" Xue Huang said ferociously.
"The exact cost?" Shen Tian asked, dodging a low branch.
"A hundred Suppression Points per level advance. Your original body will be exhausted for hours. The damage will fade within a day, though you will lose access to the spiritual link for a time. And if you push too hard, the original’s meridians could take damage."
Shen Tian committed instantly. In the Alchemy Pavilion of the Jinyun Sect, hundreds of kilometers away, his original body opened his eyes in the darkness of his room and channeled his Foundation Establishment Qi toward the spiritual link.
VWOOOM...
The original body clenched his teeth. The transfer cost him more than he expected. His dantian, recently stabilized at Foundation Establishment, creaked under the pressure. A sharp pain ran through his chest, as if his ribs were being torn out one by one. He would lose hours of cultivation recovering from this. But it was worth it.
WHOOSH!
In the frontier forest, the clone received the impact. A wave of pure energy, distilled from the immensity of a soul forged in a century of suffering, flooded the fragile Level 5 body. The pain was absolute. Shen Tian felt his blood vessels dilate to the point of rupture and his meridians tear to make way for the tide of power, rebuilding themselves on the fly under the repairing influence of his Mud Lotus Breathing Art.
CRACK! CRACK!
The System emitted a pulse of blue light.
"[Lotus Feedback Method activated.]"
"[Cost: 100 Suppression Points.]"
"[Remaining balance: 30 Suppression Points.]"
"[Forced advance completed. Clone’s cultivation base: Qi Condensation — Level 6.]"
Shen Tian clenched his teeth, swallowing the iron taste of his own blood. The pain was unbearable, but every instinct demanded he continue. Lin Xiao’s group was still moving away.
One more time. Just one more time.
"You cannot!" Xue Huang shouted. "Your original body will not withstand another transfer. Your meridians will break. It is too much risk. If the original collapses, both will fall. The clone’s existence depends on the anchor of the original soul."
"Then we fall together!" Shen Tian responded, forcing the link one more time. "If I lose the map, all of this will have been for nothing!"
SNAP!
The original body, in the sect, let out a choked scream that died in the empty room. His dantian contracted violently, squeezing out the last drop of available Qi.
"[Continuous advance. Additional cost: 30 Suppression Points.]"
"[Remaining balance: 0 Suppression Points.]"
"[Clone’s cultivation base: Qi Condensation — Level 7.]"
"[Warning: Original body’s meridians temporarily damaged. Absolute rest recommended for 24 hours. The original body will be unable to use the spiritual link or functions requiring Suppression Points during this period.]"
BOOM!
The air exploded around him. With a burst of renewed speed and his aura carefully sealed under the Cultivation Concealment Technique, the clone merged with the black wind of the forest.
Shen Tian felt the sixth and seventh meridians open wide, but the Tenth Meridian remained sealed. He felt it at the bottom of his dantian, like a door locked with a key. Its power awaited another day. But someday it would answer him.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
He cut the distance in a matter of seconds, his feet barely touching the iron pine branches before propelling himself again. The world became a blurry smear of dark greens and blacks, the wind howling in his ears, blood hammering at his temples.
I see them. They are about to reach the gorge throat.
Shen Tian reduced his speed, keeping a safe distance. Their Foundation Establishment speed still outdistanced his Level 7 body, yet he could follow them. He could wait.
He caught up with the group just as it came to a dead stop in a clearing ahead.
RUMBLE...
The clearing was an anomaly in the middle of the forest. A perfect circle of barren earth, stripped of grass, insects, and sound. In the center, the air trembled with a vibration that distorted the light, as if space itself were being stretched to the breaking point. An aura of pure dimensional decomposition emanated from the ground, causing the stones to slowly disintegrate into fine dust.
VWOOOM... VWOOOM...
Lin Xiao’s envoy and his guards were caught within the circle. Their bodies moved with exasperating slowness, as if submerged in molasses. The Qi they channeled dissipated before it could form any technique, absorbed by the clearing’s anomaly.
"It is a trap!" shouted one of the guards, his voice distorted by the vibrating air. "Someone has prepared a decomposition formation!"
"I cannot move!" growled another, struggling against the invisible molasses.
Lin Xiao’s envoy, trapped in the center of the formation, clutched the map against his chest with an expression of contained rage. His Level 9 Qi burned around him, but the formation absorbed everything, like a bottomless well.
"That aura..." Xue Huang murmured in Shen Tian’s mind. "It belongs to a Void Refinement Realm expert. Someone is playing with the laws of space. This trap extends beyond the Lin Clan. It waits for anyone who holds the map. Someone else is following the same objective as you."
Shen Tian landed silently on a high branch, observing the scene. The Zhao Clan elders, who were in the rear, had also been trapped at the edge of the circle. The mysterious hooded figure alone seemed to maintain some mobility; his figure writhed within the formation, struggling to free himself.
"Elder Mo!" shouted the envoy. "Use your rupture technique!"
Elder Mo, who was at the outer edge of the formation, channeled his Qi with a guttural shout. A golden shockwave shot from his hands, impacting the invisible barrier of the formation.
BOOM!
The space trembled, and for an instant, the molasses seemed to yield. But then it closed again, denser than before.
"The formation adapts to our attacks!" gasped Elder Mo.
"Then all of you attack at once!" the envoy ordered. "At the same point!"
WHOOSH! BOOM! CRACK!
The guards and the Zhao Clan elders joined forces. A rain of Qi techniques—swords of light, fists of fire, gusts of wind—impacted the barrier at the same point. The space creaked, and for a moment, it seemed they were going to break it.
Shen Tian watched from the shadows, his gray eyes fixed on the scene.
The formation is strong, but breakable. If they keep attacking, they will eventually shatter it. Any intervention on my part would be premature. I observe and wait.
’Stay hidden,’ Xue Huang said. ’If they detect you now, all of this will have been for nothing. And with your Points balance at zero, escape would fail if they catch you. Besides, the hooded one is concentrated on the formation. His attention is divided. A Level 7 hidden in the distance ranks low among his concerns. For now.’
I know.
CRACK! BOOM!
The formation barrier finally yielded. A burst of white light flooded the clearing, and the cultivators of the Lin Clan and Zhao Clan shot forward, free of the dimensional molasses.
"Run!" the envoy ordered. "Keep moving until you are out of the forest!"
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
The group moved away at full speed, leaving behind the barren clearing. The hooded figure, who had managed to free himself on his own, followed them closely, his black figure fading among the trees.
Shen Tian waited a few seconds before moving. Risking detection by the hooded figure, whose power dwarfed his Level 7 clone, would be foolish.
They are gone. The map is still in the envoy’s hands. The trap targeted the map itself, its snare laid for whoever held it. Someone else is playing this game.
’Who?’ Xue Huang asked. ’Who has the power to create a dimensional decomposition formation in the middle of a frontier forest?’
Shen Tian remained silent. The answer stayed hidden. But he would find out.
WHOOSH!
He leaped from the branch and followed the group’s trail, keeping a safe distance. He followed them from the shadows, a ghost among the trees, invisible to all.
The map is in Lin Xiao’s hands. The Sword Elder’s inheritance awaits them. And I will be there when they find it.
I only have to wait.
In the Alchemy Pavilion of the Jinyun Sect, the original body collapsed onto the bed, gasping.
THUD!
His dantian burned as if it had been pierced by a spear. The meridians in his chest creaked with every breath, as if they were made of cracked crystal. But he remained conscious. He remained alive. And that was the only thing that mattered.
GASP... GASP...
Before exhaustion overcame him, the original stretched a trembling arm toward the bedside table. His fingers grazed a piece of paper and an ink brush. He scribbled a note with trembling handwriting: "Indisposed. Fever. Keep away. Do not disturb." He left it on the pillow, where Tang Yuding would find it the next day when she came looking for him.
The original calculated mentally. His last report to Deacon Zhang had been the day before yesterday. He had at least one more day before the deacon expected to see him. By then, he would have recovered. The sick note was only for Tang Yuding; Zhang would see no reason to visit a sick servant.
It was a simple lie, but effective. In the Alchemy Pavilion, servants fell ill all the time. The sulfur vapors, the herb toxins, the extreme heat... Tang Songyang had seen it hundreds of times. His mind would register only routine.
The original closed his eyes. For the next 24 hours, he would be a simple weak servant. The System lay silent. The spiritual link stayed sealed to him. His body’s sole demands would be breathing and waiting.
But the clone moved forward. And that was enough.