PtM 18 - Chapter 38: Meeting with the Witch

I have my proofread manuscript back. After a bit of back and forth, I'll format the ePub / Mobi and post it. 

Since release is imminent.... I'll post another chapter right after this one. Enjoy ^^.

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Violet immortal lightning raged in a small corner of the Clear Sky World, shattering the void and causing damage wherever it passed. Cha Ming frantically collected and diluted the violent energy and converted it to Clearmist before it could wreak havoc.

Clearmist was the root of Cha Ming’s power. With it, he could create and mend anything. The damage to his inner world began to heal at a rapid pace, starting with the transcendent demiplanes and working its way down to the mortal planes.

Three days later, Cha Ming’s inner world reached 90% peak condition. Only a single crack remained on the Sky-Propping Pillar. As for his paintings, they were fully recovered and infused with fresh Clearmist. His combat prowess had almost returned to its peak.

There were still a few hours left inside the Clear Sky World, so Cha Ming turned his attention to Fuxi’s Puzzle Box, which he’d set aside during the inheritance trials. He swept the Clear Sky Brush across the lower third of the puzzle and watched as crystal-clear runes naturally aligned themselves and unlocked the empty compartment.

A second stroke solved the second third of the puzzle box. Hundreds of complex equations unraveled in a single breath thanks to Cha Ming’s clear runic sea.

He swept the brush a third time. It took nine breaths to solve the puzzles this time around. Then the box opened with a familiar click, revealing five pieces of slate that had experienced a hundred thousand years of wear.

Cha Ming injected Clearmist energy into each of the five pieces. They evaluated him just as the ten techniques before had, then shattered to produce five technique storing orbs and an accompanying dose of demonic energy.

These five techniques were none other than the missing core techniques of the Five-Point Monarchs. Their introduction into his spiritual sea had transformed the other ten to produce a three-layered and five-pointed diagram.

The first batch of techniques consisted of Raging Waves of the Inky Sea, Searing Sands of the Sacred Desert, Hidden Might of the Verdant Crossroads, Dissonant Sound of the Broken Symphony, and Dazzling Light of the Weeping Flame. Together they formed an ultimate offensive technique: Five-Point Assault: Total Annihilation.

The second batch of techniques consisted of Inkwell Story Shield, Runebound Faith Shield, Star-Eye Thought Shield, Clockwork Sound Shield, and Iridescent Light Shield. Their combination technique was Five-Point Defense: Unbreakable Shield.

The third batch, the one he’d just received, consisted of Wrath of the Deep Ocean, Prayer of the Thoughtful Desert, Thousand-Thread Road, Song of the Flawless Smith, and Five Lives Funeral Pyre. Their combination technique was Five-Point Lock: Invulnerable Prison.

These fifteen techniques and three combinations were powerful in their own right, but Cha Ming knew that the enemy he faced would be his most challenging yet. Moreover, these techniques belonged to others, and so they would not truly belong to him. Therefore, he did what he normally did—he incorporated the techniques into a painting.

Descent of the Five Sovereigns was Cha Ming’s oldest painting, and it had already undergone many revisions. The introduction of the final five techniques completed the painting, transforming it into one of his most powerful weapons yet.

But Cha Ming wasn’t done with this painting. It could be considered perfect from the point of view of the Five-Point Monarchs, but not from Cha Ming’s. What it lacked was flexibility and compatibility with his Clearmist energy.

The most suitable medium for this was his clear runic sea, so he replaced the standard runic structure in the painting with one made entirely of clear runes. The five sovereigns transformed and grew stronger. Their scales and feathers and shells grew crystalline and clear as they took on aspects of fused Clearmist laws, angelic energy, and Cha Ming’s divinity.

He did the same to his four other paintings, Shattered Yin, Broken Yang, The Great Devourer, Carnage, and Another Time, Another Place, then proceeded to modify his divine abilities. The addition of clear runes greatly increased their efficiency and power. Instead of borrowed things, they now belonged completely to him.

Serrendil and Silver Fish were ready and waiting when Cha Ming returned to the banquet hall.

“I take it you’ve all finished your preparations?” asked Harmony. The spiritual projection appeared dimmer than last time, somehow.

“We’ve finished preparing for the next trial,” Cha Ming said. “Can you tell us what it entails?”

“It will be a trial of courage,” said Harmony. “Prepare yourselves. You may have experienced many things in your short lifetimes, but it will be nothing compared to the horrors within.”

A familiar gray light enveloped all three of them, but just as they were about to teleport, he heard an angry roar and felt a force alter their trajectory. The world lurched, and Cha Ming found himself flying through the void, evading spatial fissures and storms and eddies with frightening precision.

When the nauseating journey came to an end, they found themselves on a stone platform. A chipped stone throne covered in golden chains and etched with mysterious runes stood at the center. And beneath these chains and nailed to that throne was a beautiful figure. She had flowing black hair and black tattoos covering the left half of her body.

Her presence provoked an immediate reaction from Silver Fish. He didn’t ask any questions, he simply attacked. Inky energy poured out from his surroundings and merged with his anchor hammer, which he then swung with all his might at the figure sitting in the chair.

“Die, die, die!” Silver Fish shouted. His eyes were clouded with rage. A storm of inky swords appeared around him and flew toward the woman on the throne.

“Should we stop him?” asked Serrendil worriedly.

“There’s something fishy going on,” said Cha Ming. “Let’s wait and see.”

It turned out that their intervention wasn’t necessary. The swords of ink did not reach the woman. The moment Silver Fish’s hammer touched the golden chains, it lost its luster.

“Oh, child,” said the woman on the throne. “West Sea tried his best to seal you, but ultimately, his knowledge of the enemy was lacking.”

Golden chains shot out from the throne before Cha Ming could react. They pierced Silver Fish’s arms and legs and pulled him away from their group.

“Put him down!” Cha Ming said. He pointed a brush dripping with destructive black ink at the throne, and the woman, sensing the danger it posed to her, commanded the chains to stop.

“You must be Daoist Clear Sky,” said the woman. “My Dao companion said so much about you. A pity that you made friends with that wretched cat. Otherwise, I think we could get along quite well.”

“And you must be the West Sea Witch,” Cha Ming said. “Put him down, or I paint you into oblivion.”

The West Sea Witch smiled. “Look at your friend. He’s clearly demented. The seal on his bloodline is barely keeping him in check, and it won’t be long before Melody has complete control of him. Put down the brush, and I’ll fix West Sea’s shoddy job. Otherwise, it’s only a matter of time before he hits you in the back of the head with that dreadful hammer of his.”

Cha Ming’s expression flickered, but he didn’t put down the brush. “Why should I believe you? You just whisked us out of the Gallery, which I’ve heard is capable of blocking out even Melody’s influence. You did this without our knowledge or consent.”

The West Sea Witch let out a soft laugh. “Oh, please. You believed those lies? Harmony was merely playing you all for fools. In the end, you would have obtained the West Sea Guardian’s inheritance, but that would have doomed us all.”

Silver Fish’s struggles intensified, and cracks began to appear in the tattoos on his chest. His condition was clearly deteriorating.

“Now, are you going to put away that brush and let me work, or shall we engage in a bitter struggle where your friend and I perish and you and the descendant of the Clockwork Ancestor are left to blindly search for Daoist West Sea?”

Cha Ming was quite confused, but seeing Silver Fish’s situation, he reluctantly put away the Clear Sky Brush. The West Sea Witch pulled Silver Fish over and began to paint runes atop his bloodline seal using a brush made of stone and bone.

“The throne keeps my bloodline sealed and my thoughts intact,” the West Sea Witch said to Cha Ming and Serrendil as she worked. “The only disadvantage is that I can’t move. A small price to pay for maintaining my sanity.”

“What about Harmony?” asked Cha Ming. “Is she compromised?”

“Not that she is aware of,” said the West Sea Witch. “Melody’s influence has grown beyond what the Gallery can insulate against. I originally took shelter inside the Gallery, but once I realized what was happening, I left. I also tampered with its adjacent space in preparation for your arrival.”

The West Sea Witch painted a few more strokes to complete a black diagram that fused with Silver Fish’s seal. Black merged with white and began frantically absorbing energy. The West Sea Witch provided that energy via a drop of her blood and a link from her golden chain. The seal took on a golden hue, and only then did the rampaging energies in Silver Fish’s body settle.

Seeing that Silver Fish was safe, Cha Ming continued questioning the West Sea Witch. “You said you predicted all this, but why should we believe you? For all we know, it’s you that’s the enemy, not Harmony.”

The West Sea Witch shrugged. “Did Harmony mention anything about getting you to your destination, or did she waste your time talking about the trials? Make no mistake, completing the third trial would have been the worst outcome, since Daoist West Sea would have instantly lost his mantle, effectively crippling him just before the upcoming struggle.

“That’s not even considering the strangeness of her actions. Why did she allow a Clockwork clansman and a half-breed to participate in the trial? Silver Fish could conceivably inherit the West Sea Guardian’s mantle by concealing his bloodline, but her? A pure-blooded demon is completely incompatible with the inheritance.”

“The elders of the Inky Sea Sect said nothing about this,” said Cha Ming.

The West Sea Witch rolled her eyes. “They are more interested in securing seats for their disciples than actually enforcing the rules. Moreover, Melody’s influence has corrupted the Inky Sea Sect from within. They do what she wants them to do, even if they were not aware of it.”

It was a detailed but convoluted explanation. “I’m sorry, I can’t take you on your word. You did capture us.”

“Still unconvinced?” said the witch. “Then look at this.”

A mirror floated in the air and displayed an image. “Elder Ling!” Cha Ming exclaimed.

The elder was leading five young demons and Mr. Mao Mao into a deep crevasse. The demons were none other than Clever Dusk, Drezil, Graceful Twilight, and Shneraz, whose scales were now inky black, just like Serrendil’s. There was also a member of the Inkwell Clan whose body was covered in white runic diagram.

The crevasse they were in was a dangerous place. Blood-red tentacles whipped about at irregular intervals to search of food, but thanks to Elder Ling’s guidance, they encountered no major obstacles.

“They fought with Melody a short while back, but the Pale King bought them time to enter Kraken’s Pass. They think she fears this place. It’s too bad they’re dead wrong.”

The image skipped ahead to a later time. The team entered an eerily silent place that was completely devoid of life. This was due to the krakens living nearby. Whenever they breathed in, a portion of vital planar energy was sucked out of the area. Whenever they breathed out, space shattered and collapsed.

They made slow and steady progress through these obstacles until they arrived at a mysterious door. The door was carved from stone. Exactly three thousand runes were carved on its surface. A single keyhole lay at its center.

“This is all happening in real time,” said the West Sea Witch. “I’ve predicted that Elder Ling will encounter a terrible ambush. Would you like to help him? Just enter this door, and you’ll be teleported straight there. The choice is yours.”

Elder Ling pulled out a key and was about to insert it in the lock, when suddenly, one of the youngsters flashed out and stabbed him in the back. She grabbed the key, then flew toward the Clockwork clansman, Shneraz, who was unable to free himself before the Inkwell clanswoman self-detonated.

“Shneraz!” Serrendil shouted. “What the hell are you doing, showing this? Why didn’t you warn us?” She drew her sword and moved to cut down the witch but was held back by Silver Fish and Cha Ming.

“We’re going to need an explanation,” Cha Ming said coldly.

“What explanation would you like?” asked the West Sea Witch. “You wouldn’t have believed me even if I told you. But now you’ll trust me when I say that Daoist West Sea is doomed without your help. Not only was his imitation key destroyed, but the explosion has also awakened the krakens. It’s only a matter of time before they destroy all those present along with the back door into the Five-Point Prison.”

“And how do we know you’re not lying?” asked Cha Ming.

“She’s not,” said Silver Fish. “I can feel a connection with my master through this gate, and it’s getting blurry.”

Cha Ming’s intuition also told him Elder Ling was behind the door. At the same time, it was telling him that something was not quite right with the situation.

“Fine,” said Cha Ming. “We’ll believe you this one time. Open the portal to Elder Ling’s location, and we’ll take it from there.”

***

The pressure at the bottom of the Inkwell Sea was enormous, and enough to crush anyone with less than saintly strength. As a result, the planar membrane in this location was incomparably sturdy. This was the very reason the invading krakens had chosen this location to colonize.

When Cha Ming, Serrendil, and Silver Fish emerged from the rift, they found the place filled with spatial cracks and tempests.

“I can feel him this way,” Silver Fish said. “Avoid the tentacles. Don’t ever anger a kraken.”

Unfortunately, their progress was dreadfully slow. Spatial fissures and eddies littered Kraken’s Pass, and it was growing progressively worse as the krakens awakened. Cha Ming was forced to take out Another Time, Another Place. He used the painting’s power over spatial architecture to forcefully stabilize a small bubble of space-time around them.

Every tear and every storm resisted, steadily draining the painting’s power, and it wouldn’t be long before its power ran out.

“If you’ve got anything that can help us move faster, please do it now,” said Cha Ming.

Silver Fish summoned a ship of inky water, instantly doubling their speed. As for Serrendil, she began to hum a soft song that created an additional protective bubble around the ship.

Twenty seconds later, they found what they were looking for: a rock wall on one side of the fissure. A man and his cat was protecting three heavily wounded demons from a half dozen blood-red tentacles.

“Elder Ling!” Cha Ming shouted.

“Cha Ming?” said Elder Ling. “Silver Fish, duck now or you’re all dead!”

The ship swerved just in time to avoid a large red tentacle. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to evade the tentacle’s dreadful pressure. His trusty ship broke in half, and Cha Ming and his two companions were sent flying.

Another tentacle followed up to claim their lives, but Mr. Mao Mao came to the rescue. The adamantine hellcat swatted the tentacle away before it could hit them, then yanked them to Elder Ling’s side, where three demons—Clever Dusk, Graceful Twilight, and Drezil—lay unconscious.

Serrendil flew up to Shneraz’s corpse and held it close. Cha Ming wasn’t sure what their relationship was, but it clearly wasn’t ordinary. She crooned a soft song to honor her dead clansman while Cha Ming and Silver Fish convened with Elder Ling.

“Tell us about the situation,” said Cha Ming.

“The situation?” said Elder Ling. “As you can see, it’s downright terrible. There was a traitor in our group. Not only did she kill Shneraz, she even destroyed my key. Wait—the key! You have the key! Cha Ming, open that door, quickly!”

Another mass of tentacles was approaching, this one larger than ever, so Cha Ming wasted no time. He pulled the key Elder Ling had given him through Fuxi’s Puzzle Box and inserted it into the stone door. A fierce grinding sound filled Kaken’s Pass as the door that had been placed there over a thousand years back finally opened.

Inky energy oozed out from the door and into their surroundings, filling their immediate location with the purest and most primal essence of the Inkwell Plane. Cha Ming’s inner universe screamed with joy, but that joy was short-lived. The void trembled as the krakens in the fissure simultaneously awakened.

“Quick, open it! Faster!” yelled Elder Ling.

“I’m trying,” said Cha Ming. Dozens of tentacles had emerged from the depths and were heading straight for them.

“Damn it all,” said Elder Ling. “Mr. Mao Mao, withstand the first wave. Once it’s too much, retreat.”

A giant tentacle that was tens of times larger than the previous ones swept toward them through water and stone.

Mr. Mao Mao grew until he was over a thousand kilometers tall and met the tentacle head on. His adamantine teeth bit into blood-red flesh, and even manage to draw purple blood before he was thrown into the incomparably hard fissure wall.

“It looks like I can only give up this life-saving treasure,” muttered Elder Ling. “Go on. Buy us a few breaths’ time.”

A golden shell flew out and erected a small barrier around their group. It resisted the writhing tentacles for ten seconds before cracks began to appear on it. Finally, the immortal artifact, which should have been unbreakable on the Inkwell Plane, shattered, as did space and time around them.

The strength displayed by the collision exceeded the limits of the Inkwell Plane, so Cha Ming was unsurprised when he saw clouds of tribulation energy appearing within the fissure. It rained deadly bolts of energy on the kraken, which was currently pulling itself out of its resting place.

The creature was enormous, bigger than the entire Burning Lake Prefecture. Such a creature should not have been present on the Inkwell Plane, but here it was, hungry and quite annoyed by the pesky lightning interfering with his feast.

“Great,” said Silver Fish. “Just what we needed. The will of the world rearing its ugly head.”

The opening was barely more than a foot wide and had ceased growing wider. It was clear that there was a problem with door’s the mechanism.

If it won’t open, then I’ll force it open, thought Cha Ming. He shrank down the Sky-Propping Pillar until it was barely larger than his hand and popped it into the opening before commanding it to expand.

The door groaned as its faulty mechanism was forcefully opened.

Come on, Cha Ming thought. You’re powerful enough to support my inner world, so you’re powerful enough to do this. It struggled for a few more seconds, until finally, something clicked. The door opened wide just as another tentacle came down to finish them.

“Get in, fools!” Elder Ling yelled. He swept up the group with his sleeve and grabbed Mr. Mao Mao and Serrendil before jumping in. “Explode!” he commanded, and space and time unraveled, taking Kraken’s Pass and the entrance with it.