Episode 322
Senior Sister Tian smiled slightly, landed soundlessly on the rock, then turned her back to me and walked off.
I tilted my head in surprise. "Senior Sister?"
The fog on Spirit Mountain was unusually thick today, and her figure vanished into it in an instant.
Spirit Mountain was like a second home to me, and it sometimes stirred a sense of nostalgia. At the same time, I knew better than anyone how dangerous it could be. Over the past ten years, I had experienced many life-threatening crises here.
The mysterious place was heavily affected by the weather, and it became most dangerous on foggy days. The risk exceeded that of rain, wind, or snow. Of course, the danger didn't come only from the cliffs surrounding me on all sides.
I hurriedly followed Senior Sister Tian, but it was hard to find her. She had already disappeared into Spirit Mountain.
Jingle.
Just then, the sound of a bell reached me. It served as a guide when I was feeling at a loss.
I moved toward the sound. I was impatient but couldn't rush forward. A cliff could appear in front of me at any moment.
Senior Brother Arang once said that death here led to actual death. I had barely returned to Spirit Mountain thanks to my blessing. It would be a disgraceful end if I fell to my death instead of regressing.
Jingle...
I stayed cautious and moved forward with stiff, measured steps.
However, why did the bell's chime seem to be quieter than before? A sense of premonition crept over me.
Could the training have already begun? The thought was absurd, but it wasn't impossible either.
Senior Sister Tian's training methods were harsh. They differed completely from Senior Brother Arang's systematic approach or Senior Brother He Lou's deep understanding of teaching. If I had to describe her simply, she was the one closest to our master, Bai Luguang. In one word, she was unconventional.
As for Third Senior Brother, he enjoyed playing around even more than I did, so I wouldn't include him. There was a time when we joked around while my master had entrusted me to him to train. We both ended up getting beaten.
In any case, it wouldn't be strange for Senior Sister Tian to express the joy of reunion through training. If I lost sight of her, I would lose my chance to receive that training altogether. Wasting 100 days in this fog wasn't an option, so I focused even more.
Jingle...
The fog gradually thickened. As a result, my mind became dazed as if I had taken some type of dust, and sensation dulled in my limbs.
Spirit Mountain's environment often deceived people with quiet cunning, like a magic trick. It gradually numbed the five senses of those who lost their way. A master of the Qi Men Dun Jia like Senior Sister Tian could exploit this phenomenon, even control it entirely at will.
My thoughts drifted without focus. Soon, I noticed that I was heavier than I should be. Almost without thinking, I touched my face and realized that my condition hadn't returned to normal.
Dark Qi still eroded my body, and I was like a half-demon, just as I had been before I fell from the cliff. To make matters worse, the moment I touched my jagged teeth, the Dark Qi inside me started to rampage, as if it had been waiting.
"Ugh..." This was a different development from last time. When I arrived at Spirit Mountain, I had fully recovered, despite having lost one arm before.
Now it was different. My energy channels and meridians had been damaged from absorbing the Iron-Blooded Lord's Dark Qi, and they were still in a miserable state. Still, the pain seemed to have decreased considerably, so I was able to walk.
Jingle...
The bell's sound grew even fainter. I suddenly wondered whether the bell hadn't grown quieter at all. Perhaps my attention had dulled under the Dark Qi's influence. Either way, I could no longer discern the direction.
Thus, I just stopped. I suppressed any unnecessary impatience and sat where I stood. It wasn't that I had come up with a clever idea. I simply judged that chasing the bell would invite more danger.
The Dark Qi was an urgent issue, but not as urgent as the gradually disappearing chime.
I left the rampaging Dark Qi alone for a moment and focused on my hearing. Then something puzzled me. The moment I stopped trying to control the Dark Qi, I felt much more relaxed.
It isn't just my imagination. The Dark Qi had calmed down considerably, and my appearance gradually returned to normal.
A sudden calm voice made me snap my eyes open.
—After deciding to walk on the path of enlightenment, I faced a new challenge. What is a demon?
A faint figure appeared in the fog. It was Senior Sister Tian. She stood still, as if lost in thought.
The sight unsettled me. I had never seen her in such a stance before.
That wasn't the only reason for my unease. She wasn't wearing her usual robe. Instead, she had on a simple military uniform, and the usual cloth that normally covered her eyes was gone.
Her eyes were closed. A furrow creased her brow, and her lips pressed tight, revealing a deep sadness that I had never seen in her composed demeanor.
"Senior Sister?" I called, but there was no response. This was strange. She was the sharpest among my seniors when it came to detecting energy.
Senior Sister Tian started walking again. I awkwardly got to my feet and followed her.
—A Heavenly Demon is a being that commands 10,000 demons. Therefore, those who walk with me in the future will be defined as demons in the world. Then who are the people I should keep by my side?
The voice continued, as if it were ringing inside my head. It was similar to a sound transmission.
Senior Sister Tian showed no sign that she noticed me, but just in case, I reached out to grab her sleeve.
My hand passed right through it.
Was I unable to intervene? Was I forced to just watch what had already happened?
What has already happened? A thought suddenly came to me. Perhaps I am currently witnessing Senior Sister Tian's past.
Senior Sister Tian continued walking through the darkness. From time to time, shadowy figures struck her. Each time, she fought back. Blood splattered, and flesh fell away.
Senior Sister Tian killed many people, but she saved even more. The path that she had sworn to walk was far away from peace, rest, or romance.
The darkness was stained red, and she walked forward with an expressionless face, covered in flesh and blood.
—I can't gather the good. They wouldn't endure the darkness that lurks on this path. I also can't command the wicked. I will show no mercy or hesitation to those who violate the laws. If I blur my process and purpose, I will eventually collapse.
Senior Sister Tian occasionally stopped and fell into thought, or looked back. Of course, all that lay behind her was a dark road stained in blood. Her eyes had been closed from the beginning, but she seemed to observe her footsteps for a long time.
—If I die, the cause will be madness. I can find rest by accepting the demon, but I wouldn't have made such an oath in the first place if I intended that.
—To remain sane between reason and madness is like walking through a hell of knives, without allowing even the slightest stab wound.
—Yet my mind is stronger than I thought. I endured pain and anguish, but I never went mad. My fractured mind didn't break further. Remarkably, it even improved over time.
—Only on the brink of madness did I finally adapt to my karma. How is that possible?
—I suddenly realized that what had gone mad was my foundation.
A fierce, icy wind rose from somewhere, and the scene momentarily changed. A cold, pristine snowfield spread in all directions. There, children frozen to death lay embedded in the ground, their corpses like gravestones.
—If I still carried the memories of the children buried in the snowfield, I would've gone mad a long time ago.
—I understand now. Those moderately tainted, gray groups; those who wander through the darkness until the end of their lives, tormented forever by murder and mercy, reason and madness, life and death. Only those who have experienced hell can stand by my side.
Senior Sister Tian moved forward.
The dark, blood-stained path remained unchanged, but one thing was different. People were walking beside her. Their faces and figures were indistinct, but they were a gray color.
At first, there was only one. Then as her journey continued, more figures joined. Their numbers increased, and Senior Sister Tian's appearance gradually changed. Her tightly bound hair came loose, and the blindfold over her eyes became a cloth that partially covered her face.
Gradually, the Senior Sister Tian of the past returned to the form I knew.
—Are those who are similar inevitably drawn to one another?
—I didn't want to stand above them. I never intended to make them submit. Yet at some point, they came to me and chose to follow me. To me, it felt as natural as a river flowing into the sea.
At that moment, I realized that I had once again glimpsed Senior Sister Tian's life. It was just like when I read the book. The reason likely lay within me. I had told her that I now wanted to face my roots. Of course, there could be other reasons.
As I stood lost in thought, the figure from the past faded like a mirage. I was alone in the fog once more.
By now, the sound of the bell had completely disappeared.
I stood still when I heard the voice once again.
—Demons aren't meant to be commanded.
Senior Sister Tian's final words reached me with unusual clarity.
"They aren't meant to be commanded," I repeated, for no particular reason.
Perhaps this was what she wanted to remind me of. The insight suited my current worries.
I sat down cross-legged and faced the rampaging Dark Qi. Frankly, I had never tried to forcibly suppress or control it. However, when unfamiliar energy coursed through my body, I instinctively went on alert. It was a natural reaction, like flinching at fire or tensing when a blade neared my throat.
But... I remembered the circus troupe I had seen back in my mercenary days. One young acrobat entered a box filled with venomous snakes. At the time, unease overwhelmed me even as I watched.
Later, I happened to see the acrobat at a drinking party.
"Snakes are sensitive to temperature! First, you need to lower your body temperature.
"Of course, that isn't enough. The most important thing is to suppress your vigilance. Relax your muscles, don't clench your hands, and imagine immersing yourself in a bathtub... No, in snakes? Hahahat!
"In any case, you just need to make them realize that you are harmless. Then they will treat you as their own.
"Still, a snake's body is warmer than ice water! You may feel more comfortable if you think of it as soaking in a lukewarm bathtub. I'm just kidding! You should absolutely not try this!"
Looking back, he didn't seem entirely sane. However, his nonsense now felt almost like advice. The key was to abandon vigilance.
Naturally, leaving the Dark Qi inside me was much more dangerous than immersing myself in a den of venomous snakes. In terms of sensations, it was no different from a bed of venomous scorpions crawling inside me.
The decision was easier in thought than in action. Letting the Dark Qi roam freely, when it could shred my meridians and even my organs, was not something I could accept lightly. However, there was no better option. Moments like this came in life, when I had to choose despite understanding the enormous risk.
I made up my mind and deliberately released my body's natural defenses one by one. This was as difficult as freely controlling muscles that couldn't be moved by conscious will. A martial artist who could wield internal energy could control these involuntary muscles, as well as the body's basic immune system. The principle here was similar.
Once unrestrained, the Dark Qi started to rampage violently. I felt my insides being shaken apart.
Blood surged into my throat, but I forced it down. For a moment, I considered reactivating my body's defenses. However, I had already come this far, and doing so would cause backfire.
I closed my eyes and surrendered myself to the Dark Qi.
The brief span stretched endlessly. Pain spread through me like thousands of needles stabbing me, so I focused on enduring it.
At that moment, the rampaging Dark Qi gathered near my heart.
I was a bit nervous. This Dark Qi had originally lingered near the Iron-Blooded Lord's heart.
Does it instinctively recognize a human's weakness? No, that can't be. No matter how sinister it seemed, it was basically just a form of energy. Like flowing water, it had no will. It simply followed its true nature.
Gradually, the rampaging Dark Qi calmed down. It was as if it finally found a nest. The sharp aggression faded the moment it reached my heart and settled there. Within moments, it stabilized.
"So this works," I muttered.
Was it simply due to Senior Sister Tian's advice? I doubted it. The Dark Qi itself seemed far calmer than before I arrived at Spirit Mountain.
I couldn't be completely certain. The Dark Qi hadn't disappeared.
Still, having such a powerful form of energy in my heart wasn't a bad thing. It was separate from the internal energy accumulated in my dantian. At least, I didn't have to worry about the Dark Qi leaking out when performing martial arts such as the White Sun Eclipse and the Thunder Stomp Footwork.
Nonetheless, I still needed to consider how to harness the energy now settled in my heart.
My breathing eased, and my mind became clearer.
Jingle...
Only then did I realize that the sound of the bell had never truly stopped.
I stood up and walked toward the source of the ringing.