PtM 18 - Chapter 39: Plots and Schemes

The world behind the door was an expanse of shallow water, ankle deep and inky black. It stretched out hundreds of kilometers in every direction and was as calm as a mirror’s surface. There was no wind here, and neither was there a sun; a black metal cage kept this world perfectly isolated from the outside.

Cha Ming and friends were the only living creatures in this place. They walked at a slow and careful pace, only stopping occasionally to inspect large black stones that came up to their waists. They spiralled outward from the center, and by Cha Ming’s estimation, there were 3,000 of them in total, including the colossal black stone that stood at the very center of the shallow pool.

“Dao Lord Blackwater came here three times in his life,” Elder Ling explained as they made their way toward the center. “The first time was when the war was over, and the coalition, under the leadership of the Inky Sea Sect, sealed away the will of the world, Melody, and separated her core from the outside world.

“The second time was ten thousand years later, when he tried and failed to merge with the planar core. He failed for many reasons, the main one being that he wasn’t willing to risk eliminating the seal on the core and awakening Melody.

“The third time was less than a century ago. He’d reached the limits of the Inkwell Plane and was a third-level saintly Dao Lord. No one was his match, not even the Crystal Emperor, the Pale King, or the Crimson Lotus Emperor. He tried one last time to merge with the core, but upon finding that his laws were ultimately lacking, he did not take that final step. His cultivation suffered backlash and took decades to fully recover.

“It was then that he and I and the other guardians sought out talented individuals, karmic anomalies that might be able to control the planar core. You, Cha Ming, were an option. Silver Fish was another. Cao Wenluan was a very promising individual. There was a girl, too, but…”

The planar core was only a hundred meters tall. It was small compared to the pool and the mighty cage that locked the sky away, but in terms of presence, it was an insurmountable mass of raw power and potential.

Every person in the room was linked to it, and in theory, the controller of the court could eliminate any one of them with a single command. Fortunately, the core was lacking will, and therefore operated based on simple rules and procedures.

“The key was a safeguard,” Elder Ling continued. “Dao Lord Blackwater was meant to keep it, but he handed it off to me after being severely weakened. In turn, I handed it to you and bound it to your soul for good measure.

“The outer cage was meant to keep the outer world from infringing on the planar core should she ever grow capable of touching the Inkwell Plane once again. My ancestors were skeptical but did as the four remaining ancestors instructed; a wise move, in hindsight.”

Elder Ling handed a cracked pearl to Serrendil. “Take this, leader of the Clockwork Clan. It belonged to Shneraz, but he perished before he could use it. I’m sorry for his loss. I tried to prevent it, but…”

“I understand,” said Serrendil, accepting the pearl. “A dragon can ask for no better death than one in battle. Our people will compose a song for him once this battle has ended.”

Elder Ling nodded. “It is an old tradition, but an appropriate one. May his funeral song guide him to the next life.” Elder Ling then turned to Silver Fish. “Silver Fish, there was a pearl passed down from the Inkwell Ancestor, but I placed it in that girl’s possession. She must have corrupted it and drawn upon its vast power. Otherwise, there’s no way she could have overpowered me.”

“Are the pearls useful?” asked Silver Fish.

“Extremely,” said Elder Ling. “They contain a wisp of the five ancestors. You should understand how rare such a pearl is in the Inkwell Ancestor’s case, and with how much difficulty her sisters would part with it.”

Elder Ling flicked his sleeve to send out five runes toward the planar core. They circled around it several times before stopping at five key locations. “The original plan was to find a successor to control the planar core before the Inkwell Plane collapsed. The inkborn were a contingency put in place by the four remaining ancestors.

“Each of you, assume your positions. The energy in this core is incomparably vast, but with your help, we might just succeed. You are all lacking in terms of bloodline and laws, but all of you possess something others don’t—a trace of the realm quintessence.”

Time was short, so they flew out to their positions. Only Cha Ming and Mr. Mao Mao remained.

“Now for the hard part,” Elder Ling muttered. “The key you obtained was the first line of the defense. As for the second… unfortunately, it’s impossible for you to have succeeded in opening the third level with your cultivation.”

“Elder Ling, are you speaking of the five remaining techniques?” asked Cha Ming. He retrieved a painting from the Clear Sky World. It depicted the five monarchs and contained the power of his clear runic sea and the core fifteen techniques belonging to the Five-Point Monarchs. At their center lay a five-pointed, three-layered star.

“Good heavens!” exclaimed Elder Ling. “You did it! I didn’t think it was possible with your sub-saint cultivation, but you did it! Quick, unlock this blasted thing!”

Cha Ming sent the painting out toward the core, where it affixed itself to its surface and aligned with the glowing gold diagrams on its surface.

The stone began to hatch like an egg. Pieces of shell comparable to immortal artifacts in hardness fell away to reveal an inky-black sphere filled with intricate laws and boundless energy. This was the true core of the Inkwell Plane, the thing that Melody had been after but was unable to obtain.

“Begin refining the core as per my instructions,” Elder Ling called out. The five inkborn formed hand seal after hand seal and sent runes flying out into the core to form a connection. Five regions of authority formed on the surface of the sphere.

“Please don’t hold this against me,” Elder Ling said to Cha Ming. “This core would be beneficial to you, but unfortunately, your cultivation is just too lacking to absorb it.”

“Their good fortune is my good fortune,” said Cha Ming. “I can see their strengths increasing already.”

“With energy of this level, even a pig would become a demon without doing more than eating and sleeping,” said Elder Ling. “If only Mr. Mao Mao’s energy needs weren’t so great. By the time those five are done, there won’t be enough authority left for him to pick his teeth with.”

He pulled out a table and three chairs. Mr. Mao Mao hopped on one of the chairs, and even pulled out an Angels and Devils board and two cups of stones. “Miao!”

“Oh? You’re giving up your turn so that he can play? How generous of you.” Elder Ling sat down and gestured for Cha Ming to do the same. “It’s going to be a while. Why don’t we catch up over a game?”

Cha Ming couldn’t ask for anything more. He played black while Elder Ling played white. It was a complicated game, filled with all sorts of tangles and plots. As they played, Cha Ming told Elder Ling of what had transpired over the years. He blurred over the part in the Heartforge Realm, due to the restriction placed on him, but resumed afterward, starting with his fight with the Church of Jezeriah.

“I never liked those self-righteous bastards, pardon my language,” said Elder Ling. “And to think they provoked the legendary Monkey King! Frankly speaking, they’re lucky they managed to keep their lives.”

“I ran some errands after that,” Cha Ming continued. “A while later, Huxian got a hold of your future coordinates. So I headed toward the Bridge of Immortal Ascension.” He told the story step by step, including his flight from Melody, his reunion with Silver Fish, and their journey through the Dragon Metal Realm.

He then spoke of their ordeals in the Inky Sea Sect, their success in the inheritance trials, and finally, their unusual encounter before arriving in Kraken’s Pass. “It turned out to be the West Sea Witch that whisked us away from the trials. She’d secluded herself in an independent space and had locked herself to a throne with gold chains.” He slowed down when he saw Elder Ling frown and pull back a piece he was about to place. “Is everything all right?”

“Go ahead. Continue,” said Elder Ling. “What exactly did she do and say?”

“Well, first of all, Silver Fish attacked her,” said Cha Ming. “He’d lost his sanity, and the West Sea Witch told us it was Melody’s doing. So she patched up his seal and restrained his bloodline. There were no problems after that.” Seeing Elder Ling’s frown deepen, he continued his tale, including every action and every word, without omitting anything. “When we saw the Inkwell clanswoman betray you and kill Shneraz, we couldn’t help but come to save you. Elder Ling, is something wrong?”

“It doesn’t make any sense,” Elder Ling muttered. “Why would she teleport you out of the Gallery, one of the few safe places in the plane? Why would she remain outside of it? Moreover, how could she possibly tamper with the Gallery? The only way that would work is if… oh dear. Everyone, stop it! Stop it now!”

An incomparably powerful law projection spread out from him and bore down on the five demons. Yet he was too late to stop black runes from lighting up on Silver Fish’s chest and shoot up toward the prison locking away the calm sky.

“Damn that woman, damn that wretched spirit!” shouted Elder Ling. He summoned layer upon layer of runic barriers and appeared in front of the black runes in an attempt to stop them. But these runes were insidious and slippery and worked their way around his many restrictions before striking the prison with a loud crack.

Dozens of spatial fissures spread out from the point of impact, covering the entire dome until it looked no different than a damaged eggshell. A second crack sounded as a force struck the cage from the outside, directly opposite the black runes. An explosion shook the core region as the cage was blasted open, revealing a scorching sun and a violet sky.

“Stay down here and await my instructions,” Elder Ling snapped. “Mr. Mao Mao, to me!” He flew up above the planar core, where a beautiful woman with inky-black hair awaited him.

The woman gave off an ethereal charm and a pressure that was slightly lacking compared to Elder Ling’s, yet there was no mistaking who she was.

“You put up quite the chase the last time we met,” said Melody. “I was sad when you left. Thankfully, it looks like we’ll get the chance to play again.”

“This place is no longer your territory, Melody,” Elder Ling said coldly. “You’d have no power here even if you came with a proper body.”

“I suppose you’re right,” said Melody. “This body is a little unsuited for battle. Fortunately, I found just the thing a few decades back. It was difficult, subduing her, but in the end, I succeeded.” She made a beckoning gesture at the outside world, and an object flew out toward her. It was large and gray and covered in coils of golden chains.

Elder Ling’s expression fell. “It is as I feared. So she wasn’t able to suppress her bloodline in the end.”

“You make it sound so dreadful,” said Melody. She tapped the stone throne with her palm, shattering it and the golden chains along with it. Only a beautiful woman remained where the throne had once been. Her eyes were lifeless and cold, and very unlike those Cha Ming had seen less than an hour earlier.

Melody embraced the West Sea Witch and merged with her body. Her strength rose by several orders of magnitude, not stopping until it exceeded Elder Ling by more than half a step.

“There,” said Melody in a cold and angry voice. “That’s much better.” She then looked past Elder Ling toward the five demons, who were glaring her with hatred in their eyes. “Sisters. It’s been so long! Did you miss me?”

“Like we’d ever miss you,” Serrendil said with a familiar voice. It wasn’t her own voice she used, but that of the Clockwork Ancestor.

“You never fail to disappoint,” said the Iridescent Ancestor through Graceful Twilight. “I haven’t stopped crying since we found you. Why don’t you do us all a favor and disappear?”

“She is beyond redemption and must be purged,” said the Star-Eye Ancestor through Clever Dusk.

“Our mercy last time was misplaced,” agreed the Runebound Ancestor through Drezil. “It’s time to put an end to this, once and for all.”

“With only the four of you?” said Melody, cocking her head. “Unlikely. This ancestor personally destroyed the last inheritance pearl, and without it, you’ve lost your balance.”

“And what if you add me into the mix?” Silver Fish said in a very feminine voice.

“Harmony!” Melody exclaimed. “You… you split yourself off from the Gallery?”

“Silver Fish” smiled deeply. “How could I remain there when you were having so much fun out here? It wouldn’t be a good story if the battle was one-sided, would it? At least this way, it’s a fight. West Sea!”

“Yes, Ancestor?” said Elder Ling.

“The worst has come to pass, but fortunately, I split off a strand of will and handed it to this youngster as a reward during the inheritance trials,” said Harmony. “Can I trouble you and that adorable cat of yours to hold her off while we work?”

“With pleasure,” said Elder Ling. He took out an ancient black-and-white brush and hopped into the air. Mr. Mao Mao appeared beneath him, only this time, he measured nearly ten kilometers in length. “I’ve always resented our arranged Dao companionship, but I can’t help but feel a trace of pity. I’ll set things right by putting you out of your misery.”

The man and his cat flew up to Melody and struck with full force. Both sides were capable of shattering the void with their single strike, but here, near the planar core, they barely provoked a ripple.

“Clear Sky, you will work with us,” said the Runebound Ancestor. “We no longer have time to fully harmonize our authorities and require someone with compatible elements to act as a medium. This will be risky and may cost you your life. Are you willing?”

Cha Ming took a Clear Rune Step and appeared above the planar core. “Tell me what you need me to do.”

“You an comprehend the Runebound Clan’s sacred scriptures, so draw diagrams according to my instructions,” said the Runebound Ancestor. “Sun and moon rise in the midday sky. The stars are a tapestry in my mind. I draw the Great Divine into my person and invoke my ancestral right. Conquest Formation: Otherworldly Battlefield!”