Forge of Destiny Threads 524-Deep Fire 5

Her gaze shifted, meeting Meng Dan's across the misty expanse. The instant his eyes landed on her, she was forced to deflect a barrage of qi tendrils attempting to infiltrate her channels. He possessed skill, undoubtedly, but Huisheng was in a different league entirely.

Could his methods be derived from the same ancient techniques the old ghost employed?

A sudden pause descended upon her as something within the liminal space, and faintly in the real world, began to fracture. The world's angles shifted subtly, as if a mirror had developed a network of cracks.

Now, what was this peculiar phenomenon?

His brow furrowed in intense concentration, his stare fixed directly upon her. She tilted her head, a smile playing on her lips behind her flute, a gesture she had found often captured his attention, particularly when her hair cascaded over her shoulder. Yet, not a flicker of reaction. She had to concede it was likely too much to expect him to be easily distracted when the situation demanded such seriousness.

She moved like a dancer through the fabric of space, a swirling motion that pulled her away from Xia Lin's subsequent assault. She partially slipped into the ethereal veil separating reality from dreams.

And just as Meng Duyi had once ensnared her, she discovered the liminal realm altered. Peering through the veil, she saw a labyrinth of shimmering water, its walls resembling the glassy surfaces of ponds and lakes, connected to no discernible shore nor possessing any visible depths.

She wove her dance onward, intending to reappear behind Gan Guangli, who was currently confronting the burgeoning bear construct. Several of her wolf constructs were nipping at his feet and ankles.

She rematerialized from the liminal space approximately half a meter to the right of her initial entry point.

A verdant light erupted, dark silk writhed in agitation, and Qiyi surged across her form. Her complete battle attire materialized in a flash of impact, accompanied by the shriek of metal against metal.

An attempt to disincorporate herself proved futile, her body held rigid by bonds of harsh, metallic light. Xia Lin's featureless helm loomed over her, mirroring her own reflection as the girl launched herself from the air, driving her halberd beneath Ling Qi's ribs as if using it as a vaulting pole. Ling Qi plummeted to the packed earth with a thunderous impact.

She wrenched herself free from the light's confinement, dissolving into a gust of wind. While Ling Qi had recently leaned heavily on her dreamwalking abilities, she possessed other methods of movement. She ghosted through the confines of Meng Dan's cage, transforming into nothing more than a spectral breeze and a fleeting shadow.

He had grasped a crucial point. While she could not be physically restrained or immobilized, her trajectory could indeed be altered. This was a weakness she would need to commit to memory. His perplexing mathematical manipulations could likely be applied to this very technique as well, provided he was granted sufficient time to devise them.

Ling Qi pondered if he could manipulate both her movements simultaneously. She doubted it. Meng Dan was highly adept, but he had not yet reached the venerable status of his Uncle Duyi.

Even with the lingering green qi within her veins facilitating her recovery, her ribs throbbed with pain. Xia Lin's strikes had left a deep resonance, echoing through her defenses much like a mace would impact ordinary plate armor. Each blow from the girl depleted a significant portion of her qi, notwithstanding the aid provided by Qiyi.

Xia Lin, too, possessed her own formidable strengths. She acted as the shattering spear, launching forward to obliterate defenses and shatter formations, thereby clearing the path.

Ling Qi coalesced mid-spin, the hem of her flowing gown flaring outwards. The tightly woven mesh covering her from her neck to her toes, concealed beneath her layers, still felt novel. So too did the veil that draped over her face, opaque to external observation, yet perfectly transparent to her own sight.

The impact of the bear construct's massive paw against Gan Guangli's chestplate thundered like a temple gong. This was met by the retainer's own defiant roar and the solid thud of six fists striking against fur and muscle. Though the shadow of the bear god, rearing on its hind legs, still loomed over her companion, he had grown to the height of its chest. Gan Guangli had truly become a giant, and Ling Qi surmised that the instructors on the upper balconies would likely be engrossed by their spectacle, even with the sound-dampening formations in place.

Ling Qi sensed the infiltration of a sliver of Meng Dan's qi. With practiced speed, she spun the corrupted energy away, her form dissolving into a flurry of cawing, flapping crows. Xia Lin blazed through them moments later in a brilliant arc, her feet drumming across empty space and striking sparks as she pivoted, tracking the construct imbued with the guiding qi.

This maneuver would afford her a few additional seconds. She could already perceive the threads of Meng Dan's qi, akin to starlight rays, sweeping and probing through the swirling mist.

Ling Qi redirected her focus back to Gan Guangli and his ongoing struggle with her construct. The sheer potency of the Bear God was such that a construct infused with its might could not be replicated. As she perfected its mastery, she would gain the ability to shape different forms, yet she would remain confined to maintaining only a single manifestation at any given time.

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The tyrannical bear god met its end before a hero's formidable power. Tsu the Diviner, known more for his words and foresight than his martial prowess, found himself in battle. Facing the relentless onslaught of the Bear God, a force indifferent to pleas and destructive in its path, he too shed his robes and entered the fray, relying on sheer strength and his fists.

For violence, in its own way, was a form of discourse.

Such was the nature of this realm. No path of cultivation existed that was so serene, so detached from conflict, that it could not, in dire straits, manifest as physical or spiritual combat.

Tsu's realization wasn't about a solitary hero bearing the world's burdens alone. The Bear God, embodying a world indifferent to suffering, could not be halted by a single individual. For countless days and nights, Tsu endured and was battered by that overwhelming might. Yet, he stood his ground, unwavering, holding the beast at bay so that his companions could strike the colossal creature, a thousand cuts felling the great beast. Together, through persistent effort, they annihilated disaster.

A guttural roar echoed across the battlefield as the shadow of the beast pulsed with renewed vigor, drawing deeply from its wellspring of qi. The surge sent Gan Guangli crashing backward, the impact resounding through the entire field. This was the death knell of the Bear God, the agonizing struggle against calamity nearing its end, oblivious to the incessant, minor wounds that had bled it dry.

More critically, Gan Guangli was immobilized, granting the others precious time. While it consumed a significant portion of her qi, it nonetheless presented an opportune moment.

It was a fleeting chance, however. She had no doubt that Meng Dan was intimately familiar with this scenario, even if he couldn't immediately decipher the technique with mere moments of focus.

Ling Qi pondered.

Sixiang voiced dissent, but they did not outright refuse.

A faint smile touched Ling Qi's lips as she perceived the intricate web of warped space and dream surrounding her, a constantly shifting labyrinth. She observed the sweat beading on Meng Dan's forehead. This was a more complex trap; a simple, swift wind maneuver wouldn't suffice.

While she might not reach him to unleash her chilling song directly, her Mist enveloped him entirely. She possessed an alternative.

A wolf's howl pierced the air, answered by a chorus of dozens from within the mist.

Xia Lin’s armored boot dug into the earth as a wolf the size of a horse slammed against her upraised weapon haft, its jaws clamping down while its paws clawed at the ground. Enormous wings, adorned with shimmering rainbow feathers, beat behind it, scattering disorienting, lunatic qi in a dazzling display. Dark-furred bodies swarmed in behind it, a relentless tide of howls and barks.

Ling Qi allowed herself to disperse into a gentle breeze, and a school of fish surged through the maze's pathways. She remained in constant motion, her core qi ricocheting wildly through the chaotic environment, probing the spatial and spiritual maze Meng Dan had erected. She sensed his attention darting, patching the damage from her incursions, dispelling her constructs. He reacted with swiftness, but ultimately, only a single opening was needed.

The wind sprite slipped free, materializing behind him, a chilling serenade gathering in her throat. Mist billowed from her parted lips.

There was no thunderous shatter of air this time, only a faint tremor of surging qi preceding the impact.

Light. Unlike Cai Renxiang's broad, illuminating beams and barrages, Xia Lin's light was a narrow, concentrated, and piercing beam.

Ling Qi had never envisioned the sensation of being struck in the jaw by a ray of light, but she now had the unfortunate distinction of experiencing it. The mist swirled outwards in expanding circles, and Ling Qi found herself hurled against the boundary at the edge of the field. The seal separating the sparring arena from the surrounding gardens rippled violently from the impact, flaring with a brilliant, visible surge as the formations strained under the force.

Another impact, then a third, a fourth – multiple strikes landed on her form in the blink of an eye, far faster than she could register. Qiyi let out a distressed cry, her own qi wavering as Xia Lin's halberd point pierced the silk, striking her qi directly.

A blizzard materialized around her, warring against the relentless whirlwind of light.

Yinhui's voice, carried on currents she shouldn't have been able to perceive, reached her intermittently.

"Hoh! Thank you, little miss!"

Ling Qi recoiled from Xia Lin's assault, propelling herself sideways through the ethereal space, a streak of qi trailing behind her.

She encountered a stoic, golden visage there, encircled by golden hands arranged like the unfurling petals of a blossom.

Ling Qi offered a wry smile. She rarely encountered Jinzha, Gan Guangli's sun spirit. He was either taciturn or shy. Perhaps both.