Destiny in Cinders

"The wilderness is reclaiming the area surrounding Brokeblade Mountain." Xu Tai looked sadly at the migrating beasts. "Centuries, or even a millennium of progress, wiped out in an instant."

An Jing knew exactly what he meant. Clearing land in Void Embrace was a brutal undertaking. Even though martialists were far stronger than ordinary layfolk, Void Embrace's environment was still an unforgiving adversary. Without human presence and natural predators, the mountains and grasslands would soon swarm with countless grass sprites and feys.

As living embodiments of Void Embrace's vitality, grass sprites could grow in any stone or soil, spreading at an unbelievable speed. Within a single year, they could turn a wasteland into dense pasture, swallowing farms, villages, and mines until every trace of humanity was erased. However, there were two sides to every coin.

If a powerful terrestrial-vein formation were used to suppress and channel this wild proliferation qi, it could be harnessed to supercharge crop growth. In truth, grass sprites were just surges of terrestrial-vein qi taking physical form. Untamed wild growth and golden harvests were merely different sides of the same power. This unchecked growth allowed the various creatures that fed on them to thrive and multiply. In response, feral beasts, feys, and human hunters would descend to prey upon them, keeping the exploding population of grass sprites naturally in check.

But without the divine armaments to guard the terrestrial-vein formations, the people retreated into the city while beasts flooded out of the mountain. Within five short years, the abandoned towns and villages around Brokeblade Mountain would be reduced to ruins beneath the rampant overgrowth.

"Look on the bright side," An Jing comforted him. "We won't have to fight off feral beasts or feys while clearing the land. We only have to worry about the heavenly fiends and northern barbarians."

The scar on Xu Tai's face twitched. He started to speak, but stopped himself and just sighed. "Now I'm actually nostalgic for the feral beasts."

Given Frostwhite Dart's speed, they would arrive at Riverside soon enough. After the fresh round of snowfall, An Jing watched the city from afar. Forged from great blocks of gray stone, the city walls rose like artificial peaks above the landscape. Faint outlines of roads and farmland crisscrossed the surrounding plains, while the frozen Yonder River coiled around the perimeter, splitting into a lone tributary that cut directly through the heart of the city.

Above the city walls, black flags whipped loudly in the wind. A tower of pale golden light gleamed at the center of the city, radiating visible waves of terrestrial-vein qi that sustained the major terrestrial-vein formation. Although the divine armaments were gone, the formation, which was essentially a semi-divine armament itself, remained operational. Like the final, shallow breaths of an old man, the formation was weak and sluggish, yet it endured and was still enough to maintain order within the city walls.

The travelers converging from all directions looked like streaks of dark ink bleeding across the pure-white snow, or winding streams seeking lower ground, slowly seeping into the great city along the river. Heavily armored squads inspected the incoming crowds at the city gates, looking more like elite private troops rather than ordinary guild guards.

"Interesting." An Jing narrowed his eyes, channeling True Spirit Eyes to extend his vision. "Getting in is easy enough... Makes sense. Between the snow calamity and the beast tide, no one's leaving once they're inside anyway."

An Jing brought his hoverbike to a halt and stored it away. Pausing in thought, he pulled a communicator from his void artifact and handed it to Xu Tai. "Take this. It's an artifact to contact me."

"How do I use it?" Watching the armored soldiers inspecting the incoming crowd, Xu Tai immediately understood his role. As the boss of the wayguards, he could dig up information beyond An Jing's reach. Besides, An Jing also had private matters to attend to. "Should I head straight to the Bejeweled Traders Guild for information, or handle this my own way?"

"Press the big middle button to talk, the left one to record, and the red one on the right for emergencies. If you hit that red one, I'll head straight to you. Take it." An Jing slipped into a white robe. The effects from both Netherscale and Profoundstep was immediate. To Xu Tai, it felt as though the boy standing right in front of him had completely vanished. Yet this seemingly nonexistent boy reached out and handed him a bunch of thunder beads and an armor talisman. Xu Tai's hands trembled for a split second, and this was a man brave enough to join An Jing in investigating Riverside and calm enough to strategize through the fiendspawns' attack.

Good heavens! A whole bunch of thunder beads? Not just one or two, but a handful of them?! Xu Tai's hands continued to shake. An Jing hadn't even counted them. He had just reached into his void artifact, casually scooped a handful, and passed them over. Aren't just a few of these enough to be a trump card? Could Sage Mystic Mirror be a secret artificer? Between creating metallic kites and thunder beads, he must be a great artificer at the very least!

Though Xu Tai swallowed hard, his hands remained steady as he carefully packed the fifteen thunder beads into his water flask. These were gold yang thunder beads which could only be stabilized with water or stored in a void artifact or a minor yin jade case.

"I've got to track down my mother first, so I won't be able to gather information just yet. You go on ahead." Watching Xu Tai's preparations, An Jing gave a small nod and added, "Handle it your way. Just let me know when you're heading to the Bejeweled Traders Guild so I can blend in as one of your wayguards."

"Alright." That was all that needed saying. When An Jing vanished into the blizzard, Xu Tai finally let out a heavy breath. An Jing's overwhelming generosity with supplies bordered on excessive. Putting aside the communicator and its marvelous functions, the thunder beads alone were enough payment for his full effort. But to An Jing, they were just tools to get the job done. He composed himself, ran through his plan one more time, and walked toward the city gates.

Meanwhile, An Jing had already vanished from the top of the city wall. For martialists, scaling a wall was no different than walking along a road, and this was especially true for someone at An Jing's level. As long as the surface wasn't completely smooth, propelling their body weight with their strength was as effortless as raising a teacup to their lips.

Under normal circumstances, the city wall would be protected by a formation. But apart from the chaos caused by the disappearance of the divine armaments, the imperial blood droplet in his sea of consciousness allowed him to bypass basic defensive formations. In the blink of an eye, An Jing cleared the city wall and landed inside like drifting snow. Upon setting foot in the city, he quickly oriented himself and rushed toward a remote courtyard in the east.

Before departing with the Heavenly Demon Cult, An Jing had agreed to meet his mother in various cities where the An clan once traded in. There was a hidden residence containing buried silver for travels and medical supplies. When An Jing and his mother first fled south from North Han Circuit, they planned to escape to this very spot to dig up these emergency funds and supplies. Retrieving them would allow them to survive in the city for a while, even if the rest of the An clan had perished. But fate had other plans, and the group of refugees crossed paths with bandits multiple times along their journey.

Just as he neared the house, An Jing's pupils contracted. He could faintly hear two people talking before he could even step inside. One of the voices belonged to his mother, Shen Mubai. Her relaxed tone made it sound as if she was discussing ordinary domestic life, prompting An Jing to breathe a sigh of relief as his tension faded away. The other voice, however, caused An Jing's heart to tighten once more, not out of fear, but from disbelief. Though a storm of thoughts swirled in his head, An Jing finally halted at the gate and knocked. The voices abruptly cut off, replaced by the approaching sound of footsteps.

"Who's at the gate?" Shen Mubai sounded guarded.

An Jing had so much he wanted to say, but when he opened his mouth, everything collapsed into a single word. "Mother."

A brief silence hung over the entrance before a sudden burst of movement erupted. The door opened. "My son!"

The gate swung open and they locked eyes. The tall, formidable woman from a martial lineage now stood half a head shorter than her grown son. She recognized him the instant she heard his voice. Stepping forward in a burst of excitement, she was met halfway by An Jing, who eagerly pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Mother, I've finally come back for you!" A wave of relief washed over him, completely dispelling the long-standing unease in his heart. It was in An Jing's nature to assume the worst. He couldn't stop himself from imagining terrible scenarios regarding his mother—if she had met with misfortune, had an accident, or worse. The deeper he sank into these thoughts, the more a mix of rage and impatience clawed at his chest, giving rise to a dangerous, destructive impulse. Had he not possessed such self-control, this uncontrollable rage would have driven him to find any excuse to go on a rampage and vent his emotions.

Before this, An Jing was a living manifestation of his Seven Ruins Arc, devoid of any real peace. Now, holding his mother close, he felt her steady vitality and noted with relief that her cultivation had actually progressed from the Silk Aura Stage to the River Aura Stage. His heart was no longer just relaxed; it was completely filled with tranquility.

An Jing even extended forgiveness to people he had yet to encounter. So long as they refrained from acting too egregiously in front of him, he would grant them a window of clemency and let them slide. It was in this frame of mind that An Jing looked up, his expression a complex mix of emotions as his gaze swept across the frosty courtyard, landing on a girl who was also clad in white.

With her distinct white hair, Bai Qinghan stood motionless in the courtyard. The faint yellow light from the doorway caught her features as she stared silently at An Jing. Her long eyelashes flickered beneath her delicate brows. Like moonlight shimmering on a still lake, she was calm, graceful, and radiant.

"Qinghan..." An Jing said, his voice thick with conflicting feelings. "You're here..."

"Senior Disciple." She averted her eyes, looking down as she softly said, "I'm here."