PtM Book 17 - Chapter 56: Full Circle

3/3 this week. I'm going to post the epilogue and bonus chapter ahead of time, then pause contributions for next month. I'll post an update after the epilogue and bonus chapter to get everyone up to speed.

--

Huxian and Cha Ming never found the remaining two fiendish bases. All that remained where they’d once been was a mess of planar fragments and large holes in void space. The duo did their best to patch things up, after which they wandered the void until their mission jade announced an end to the third phase.

Though Cha Ming and friends could no longer participate in the defense of the northern hemisphere, their actions had greatly decreased the number of fiends present. Their influence could also be felt across the battlefield, such that even Oster Fireblight, Xing Tianlong, and Cao Wenluan didn’t dare interfere too much.

As such, all eight of Cha Ming’s companions climbed the Heartforge Realm leaderboards at an alarming pace. The Chasewind Plane ended up securing seven out of ten places in the top ten.

When the third phase ended, the Heartforge Spirit came to retrieve them with a transcendent incarnation. It carved out an interplanar teleportation formation using its superior spiritual essence, which they then took to return to the Heartforge Realm.

The process took many days, and it was during that time that the Chasewind Plane’s Dao origins were officially completed. The plane was still unstable, so they could not enter it, but Huxian had filled the entire plane with surveillance devices. As such, they were able to watch the process as it unfolded.

They saw the gaping hole called the Northern Abyss heal over. Primal chaos energies naturally gushed in from the void, filling up the gap with stone, earth, and rare metals that grouped together to form new leylines. These natural conduits would gather primal chaos energy and distribute it. It would take centuries for the plane to heal.

Mountains took shape, creating sheltered areas where forests could grow. Rivers flowed from elevated glaciers that melted as temperatures changed and weather patterns shifted.

The Southern Blight healed over. The many tiny rifts that had opened up across each of the regions vanished. Natural fiend occurrences dropped down to zero, and without their presence, the plane would no longer continue to decay.

It was impossible to tell exactly what would happen in the future, but Cha Ming knew that the near future would be far from peaceful. The surviving powers, no longer bound to defend their regions from fiendish incursions, would scramble to gather territory with their remaining resources.

Peace, Cha Ming realized, was a terrible thing, a gaping void that was short-lived by necessity. Conversely, there was beauty in conflicts created through want for more.

Conflict was necessary for growth. It tempered not just people but the planes themselves. This, Cha Ming guessed, was what pushed some planes toward transcendence. Peaceful planes would never break through.

When they returned to the Heartforge Realm, they found their residences locked. It was impossible to leave or go outside. A mysterious door had appeared in Cha Ming’s living room, and he felt a strong urge to enter it.

The doorway was far from ordinary. Its frame was built of immortal materials, and the door itself resembled frozen flames.

Cha Ming took one last look at his sprawling residence, filled with paintings and comfortable things, and knew that his time here had come to end. The Heartforge Realm was a training ground, and by completing all three trails, he had graduated.

He had changed a great deal. Not just in terms of cultivation, but of temperament as well. Cha Ming had grown the tiny shack in his heart that could barely accommodate himself into a home that could welcome friends and display beauty.

There was nothing left to do here, so Cha Ming entered the door, and as he did, it occurred to him that he had never seen Patriarch Heartforge. Stranger was the fact that this was hardly ever mentioned.

The door opened onto the cloudscape overseeing the jade and ochre mountains. Cha Ming saw no other cultivators, but through his bond with Huxian, he knew that they were all in the same place. This implied that at least ten spaces were currently overlapping, though it could be as many as a few thousand, one for each of the Invited.

Each step Cha Ming took forced him to remember the competition. The clouds shifted and transformed into the firm stone he was used to treading on the jade mountain. A leaderboard appeared not far way, showing everyone who had made it into the top fifty.

The number of points they’d gathered by clearing up planar debris was huge, enough to land two or three of them in first place. But they’d agreed beforehand on an even split, and as such, the top three were out of reach.

“What a pity,” Cha Ming couldn’t help but say. “In the end, we got five hundred million points, which is just shy of first place. But if I hadn’t been late by a few hours, I probably could have cleared some more trial obelisks.”

The moment he thought of the trial obelisks, twenty-seven obelisks rose up from the ground. The clouds shifted to match the marble tiles in the trial grounds.

Cha Ming took a step, and three trial obelisks representing physical strength appeared. His body was so powerful that they immediately shattered, transforming into whisps of gaseous energy that rejoined the cloudscape. He took a second step, then a third, then a fourth. Three obelisks shattered every time, and they continued to do so all the way through to violet-gold.

Only three obelisks remained in the body trials—they were of two colors that changed depending on who looked at them. These were the legendary Heartforge Trial Obelisks. It was said that for every realm opening, only a handful of people would ever reach the extremes in any aspect. Those who did would immediately become disciples of the legendary Patriarch Heartforge.

For a moment, Cha Ming hesitated. Could he do it? Could he pass these three trials? He had tried many times several years ago but had failed despite his fully fused energies. Then again, he had been gravely wounded at the time. It had taken him years to recover to peak strength.

I should be able to do it, Cha Ming thought. In terms of physical strength, few can match me. In terms of endurance, it’s not even close. I’m not just one person—I represent two demiplanes and three moons, and the countless mortal realms beneath them.

With that thought in mind, he took a firm step forward. The three obelisks put up a struggle, but when Cha Ming’s inner world flashed behind him, they could only admit their inferiority and shatter. Specks of light flowed out from the obelisks and flew straight into the leaderboards, adding seventy-five million points to his total.

Cha Ming’s was not the only ranking that changed. First, second, and third place had each cleared a Heartforge Trial apiece, preventing Cha Ming from overtaking them. Huxian also saw great gains. Out of three trials, he’d cleared one, that of body tempering. In terms of physical strength and combat prowess, he was still lacking.

Next came another set of twenty-seven obelisks. These were the law trial obelisks, which encompassed law control, techniques, and combat.

Cha Ming stepped forward, and to his surprise, these were easier to crumble than the body trial obelisks. He figured this had a lot to do with him having a Dao projection of the highest caliber. Clearmist laws were innately superior.

A single step directly crumbled twenty-four obelisks, and the next three obelisks struggled for only a half second before joining them. Another group of lights flowed toward the leaderboards, placing Cha Ming firmly in the lead with 650 million points.

Huxian also saw great gains in the law trials. His demon Dao domain was especially powerful, and space and time laws were of a higher caliber than most laws. He cleared all three trials at the Heartforge level, bringing his total to 600 million points.

Last came the soul trials. This had once been one of Cha Ming’s weaker aspects. But thanks to the constant tempering of Heartforge Spirit Flame, he was confident in achieving a good result.

Three pairs of white wings appeared behind his back, and the phantom of a fourth pair was slightly filled out. The soul trials were a challenge compared to the body and law trials. Every step he took filled his heart with doubt as to whether he could continue.

But Cha Ming was stronger now than he’d ever been. No matter the obstacle, he knew how to pick himself up again and move forward. Moreover, it was not just his soul that was on trial, but the lives and wills of countless mortals. He would never let them down.

Cha Ming’s score was finalized at 725 million. Next came Huxian, who cleared one more Heartforge Trial, bringing his total points to 625 million. Just behind them was the previous first, second, and third place holders, followed by Petros, Baleful Vision, and Wei Longshen, who had each managed to clear a single Heartforge Trial.

The top ten were a mixture of good and bad people, which made Cha Ming wonder about the worth of the trial. Was it really a net positive to train so many heroes if so many despicable individuals also snuck through?

“The end results are not easy to measure,” said a soft voice. “Each world you and your classmates were sent to could be considered a greenhouse, where you were encouraged to grow and bloom. You started off as seeds, and you became sprouts.

“But remember—this is only the beginning of your respective journeys. What impacts you will have on the universe and what decisions you will make are entirely up to you. If you are unsatisfied at the villains who snuck through, face them. Because I doubt they’ll leave you alone, no matter how well you hide.”

The cloudscape transformed once again, and this time, it became a forest. In that forest, there was a thatched hut, and beside the hut were trees. It was autumn, so the leaves on these trees were multicolored. Gold, red, green, brown, and blue in equal proportions.

“Do you know why mankind has five fingers?” came an incomparably familiar voice. Memories long forgotten flashed through Cha Ming’s mind. Memories of a simple time where he’d just barely managed to cultivate the Lesser Five Elements technique. Back then, he was walking through the woods, and an old man with white hair and a white robe had asked him this same question.

That same man now stood beside the thatched hut, holding up a leaf in much the same way as he had back then.

“You…” said Cha Ming, surprised. “You’re Uncle Su! The same Uncle Su I met when I started my journey!”

The old man smiled. “I told you we were fated, Cha Ming. It was not a coincidence that my disciple, Sun Wukong, sent you here.”

“You’re Patriarch Heartforge,” Cha Ming said.

“I am,” said the old man. “I go by many names. Patriarch Heartforge. Uncle Su. Patriarch Subhuti. I know you have many questions. For example, why wait until now to appear? Why not meet with each of you instead of sending the Heartforge Spirit to oversee your examinations? Why not train you personally if I took the trouble to bring you here?”

As he spoke, Cha Ming saw projections appearing above the old man. In one of them, Cha Ming looked depressed and despondent. An old man was standing not far away, stroking his beard while wondering how best to fix him.

In another, Patriarch Heartforge was debating Cha Ming’s condition with Sun Wukong.

“What, are you kidding me?” Sun Wukong said. “The Savage Deity Battle Art? That’s not happening. I won’t let you. I barely survived cultivating it. Do you think he can manage such a vicious art in his state?”

“He’s more resilient than you think,” Patriarch Heartforge replied. “Moreover, duality is a core aspect of his cultivation. He must learn of conflicting energies early on. Introducing him to conflicting auras will only benefit him in the long run.”

Patriarch Heartforge then proceeded to work with Sun Wukong to build him a proper gift box. He spoke to the invigilators of the first trial and tailored the level of difficulty and danger. Not only that, he even arranged for those three doctors to improperly heal his soul when he returned.

There were hundreds of situations that Cha Ming didn’t know about. The Patriarch had been involved in his growth. He just hadn’t seen him. One of the most direct ways he’d interred was by meddling with the contents of the trial obelisks to push him to his limits.

His meddling even extended to the Chasewind Plane. The Heartforge Realm oversaw the healing and repair of hundreds of transcendent planes every decade, and as such, they had a good selection of suitable worlds. Not only did the Patriarch pick the most appropriate worlds for their batch of cultivators, he also negotiated with local forces and set up boundaries and agreements tailored to each individual to maximize their opportunities for growth, development, and conflict.

“I find that a hands-off approach is best, if you can manage it,” Patriarch Heartforge said to Cha Ming. “But sometimes, people need a little push in the right direction. My favorite way of interfering is appearing in lower worlds to grant a superior technique or an edge that others don’t have. At other times, I’ll appear as a timely teacher. I’ll spend a year teaching what would have otherwise been a wasted talent.

“Once these talents reach maturity, I find a way to bring them over to the Heartforge Realm. Not only do I invite them, but their friends and their enemies as well. Those who survive become legends, and those who fail are inevitably forgotten.”

Cha Ming wasn’t sure how he felt about this approach to raising disciples. It seemed so detached and merciless. But it was clear from the many projections he’d seen that this was far from the case. Patriarch Heartforge did care. He cared so much that he pushed his disciples to the breaking point.

“Huxian once told me that every major figure has a specialty,” Cha Ming finally said. “His ancestor, Bagua Hushao, guards the realm boundary from outsiders. Elder Zhong governs commerce. Yama governs death. What do you manage?”

“At a glance, the Heartforge Realm serves a dual purpose,” said Patriarch Heartforge. “But in the end, it’s all about the eternal conflict. Our world and the other worlds. Continuously reinforcing our reality as our enemies do their best to collapse it.

“The Heartforge Realm plays a vital role in the universe by recycling and saving countless transcendent and mortal realms. But it’s not enough. It’s never enough. The only reliable way to increase the power of our realm is to foster the next generation of powerhouses. Whether they be heroes or villains, it matters not.

“Of course, there’s a third reason for my involvement in this phase of everyone’s development. It relates to a certain brush that likes to show itself from time to time.” He passed Cha Ming’s Divine Shell and went into the core of his inner universe. “Will you not show yourself, spirit? Do you really fear your own creations?”

Ninesky hopped out of the Clear Sky World and crossed her arms indignantly. “Why would I be afraid of a grumpy old man that’s reached the limits of his Dao?”

Instead of being offended, the Patriarch launched heartily. “Very good. Very good! After eighty-one appearances, the brush has fully awakened!”

Cha Ming frowned. “You know this brush?”

“How could I not?” Patriarch Heartforge said. “Seven of my students have borne it. Sun Wukong was only the latest. Alas, one of my greatest regrets was that I could not prevent his enemies from sealing him inside the brush. But who could have predicted that not only would he return, he would bring with him hope for our dying world.”

Cha Ming’s eyes widened. “Dying… world?”

“Forget I said that,” Patriarch Heartforge said. “Literally.” A blankness appeared in Cha Ming’s eyes, and Patriarch Heartforge turned to Ninesky. “It’s too early for him to know.”

Ninesky merely shrugged. “That’s fine. He gets moody when he has too much responsibility.”

Cha Ming’s eyes cleared, and he blinked. “Sorry, what was that?”

“I was just saying how happy I am that Sun Wukong has returned to the realm of the living,” Patriarch Heartforge said. “Tea?”

“Um… sure,” Cha Ming said, feeling a little disoriented.

A small table appeared outside the thatched hut. The Patriarch took a seat and motioned for Cha Ming to do the same. He brewed tea with practiced motions, using familiar dual-colored flames to brew tea just like Cha Ming did.

Cha Ming found that he could not refuse a cup from the old man. The tea was both hot and cold, bitter and sweet. It broke his soul apart and healed it repeatedly, much like his own tea, but tens of thousands of times more potent.

“Your Heartforge Spirit Flame is different than mine,” Cha Ming said.

Patriarch Heartforge nodded. “I call them Heavenly Devil Flames, but the name matters not. The concept is the same: Take two opposites and have them fight one another. Both sides will end up stronger for it.”

“Your flames draw their power from the opposing forces of good and evil,” Cha Ming said.

“And yours between heartlessness and emotionality,” Patriarch Heartforge said. “Don’t ask me which is best. In my opinion, there is no best path, no best cultivation method. It’s up to everyone to find the path that best suits them. Only then can one exceed the strongest immortal emperors and seek the Dao.”

“And what is the Dao?” Cha Ming asked.

“It’s too early for you to consider the Dao,” Patriarch Heartforge said. “Focus instead on laws and runes, and your inner world.”

He waved his hand and summoned three boxes. “As promised, I have prepared prizes for all of you. Those who graduate from the Heartforge Realm are my honorary disciples. Those who make the top fifty can be considered true disciples. But only those who have completed a Heartforge Trial have the right to become my personal disciples.”

Cha Ming thought for a moment before tactfully refusing. “I have a teacher already,” he said. “He’s a bit rough around the edges, but without him, I’d never have gotten to where I am.”

Patriarch Heartforge laughed. “Very good. Just call me Grandteacher, then. Consider these rewards a gift on first meeting.”

The first box transformed into three orbs of energy, one for wind, one for lightning, and one for blood. They crashed directly into his inner world and directly fused with his three moons. The moons instantly tripled in size, further stabilizing his inner world.

Not only did the moons change—the fledgling divine ability that he had developed, Bloodstorm Invocation, also changed. The many flaws in this divine ability were ironed out, such that they could be improved all the way to the immortal level.

With the flaws ironed out, Cha Ming could now convert physical objects like the Sky-Propping Pillar into bloodstorm energy and back. As a result, the Sky-Propping Pillar could become weightless on demand.

“This gift is too precious,” Cha Ming said. Every demigod was allowed eight divine abilities, and these were all great factors in their individual strength. Patriarch Heartforge had just saved him decades of painstaking effort.

“The premise of Bloodstorm Invocation is a good one,” Patriarch Heartforge said. “By bringing lightning, blood, and wind into your inner world as three moons and assigning your companions to manage calamities, you’ve developed a seed that will eventually transform into divine will.

“There were a few problems with the divine ability, so I went ahead and fixed them for you. Your familiars should now be able to leave the Clear Sky World as long as they remain within the limits of your Crumbling Canvas Domain. This will also alleviate your conscience, to some extent.

“My second gift complements the first,” said Patriarch Heartforge.

The second box opened, revealing a small ship. A drop of Cha Ming’s blood rushed out from his glabella and bound the ship, which then transmitted all relevant information into his spiritual sea. “I know that your companion has a nice ship. One day, he’ll build a ship that’s far superior to this one. But you can’t always rely on him. There’s no telling when any of you will transcend the limits of this realm and be forced to leave the other behind.”

The ship was a half-step-immortal treasure, making it an extremely precious item, even on the Inkwell Plane. Ships were known to be one of the most expensive types of treasures, on par with palace-type treasures and residences.

This ship in particular was best suited for traveling the void. It would protect Cha Ming from all manner of spatial turbulence, and even integrate with his techniques, Dao projections, and divine abilities. The ship was also adorned with twenty-three anchors for his bloodstorm wings.

“The third gift I prepared is something indispensable to the path you’ve chosen,” Patriarch Heartforge said, opening the third box. Inside it was an immortal technique entitled Nine Tribulations Regalia Refinement.

“Regalia?” Cha Ming said. “Isn’t that what true gods manifest upon ascending?”

Patriarch Heartforge smiled. “Indeed. Only true gods can manifest regalia. And by that same token, only true gods can house transcendent-level planes inside their inner world. A regalia is formed from the essence of one’s heavenly temple, which serves as the world’s core.”

Cha Ming whistled softly. “My inner world contains two transcendent demiplanes. Since it was impossible to stabilize my inner world when their laws conflicted, I suppressed them by creating a shadow of a heavenly temple a half step into the immortal realm.

“But the pressure of the temple increased. As the demiplanes in my inner world grow, their Dao origins will become more complete, as will their Dao projections. This means that the heavenly temple will also grow heavier as my cultivation increases. I was able to lessen the load on my inner world by creating a divine ability, but only by condensing a portion of my power into regalia will I be able to reinforce the fundamental structure of my inner world to bear the weight of the temple.”

“You chose a hard path,” said Patriarch Heartforge.

“But if I could choose again, I’d do so in a heartbeat,” said Cha Ming.

He reached out to grab the immortal technique, but like the divine ability, it shattered into motes of light that directly entered his spiritual sea. This third gift was more important than the first two gifts. And he suspected that its value far outstripped that of his other gifts as well. From his discussions with Godking Heavenbind, he already knew that normal true gods could not cultivate regalia.

Though Cha Ming had turned down the Patriarch’s offer of discipleship, by accepting these three gifts, he had acknowledged their relationship. He got down on his knees and kowtowed three times. “Grandteacher!”

The old patriarch placed a wrinkled hand on Cha Ming’s shoulder and eased him up. “Sun Wukong was always a handful of a disciple, but he’s known to bring about good surprises now and again. Out of all of them, you are the most pleasing.”

The Patriarch walked to the back of his thatched hut, and Cha Ming followed him obediently. Soon, he saw twelve other individuals, each following an incarnation of the Patriarch. Like him, they had passed a Heartforge Trial, earning themselves a place as Patriarch Heartforge’s direct disciples.

Huxian was there, as was Petros, Wei Longshen, and Baleful Vision. Yet none of them were in the mood to talk. Whatever conversation they’d had with Patriarch Heartforge, it appeared to be weighing heavily on their minds.

“The time has come,” said Patriarch Heartforge, his thirteen incarnations fusing into a single entity. He flicked his sleeve and sent them each a badge. “These Heartforge badges are of no use to you in the transcendent realms. Only by ascending to the immortal realms will you be able to activate and use them. I assure you that the privileges they grant are commensurate to your status as my disciples. In addition to these unknown benefits, those of you who reach the immortal king realm or equivalent will be able to contact me to initiate a Heartforge Trial.”

The Heartforge badges in their hands merged into each of their palms, forming the imprint of twin mountains and a single flame, merging with their bodies, souls, and spiritual seas. “You have been marked by me, and as such, immortal emperors won’t dare cause you trouble. But you must take care. Ascending to the immortal realms is a dangerous undertaking, and the immortal realms themselves are more dangerous still.”

The Patriarch summoned a door. Like the one that brought them here, it had an ornate frame, and was made from the same solid flames. “We will not be seeing each other again,” he said to them. “At least, not until you all reach the immortal king realm. I have done all I can for you. From now on, you’re on your own.”

He flicked his sleeve, and the doorway opened. Orbs of nine-colored light enveloped the thirteen and shot through the open doorway, entering a tunnel through void space.

They traveled across the stars, passing countless transcendent planes that made up the middle strata of the universe. From their vantage point, these planes were small pebbles in the vast emptiness of space.

They soon arrived at a vast stretch of open void, where several thousand other orbs of light had already arrived. They were grouped according to their home planes; the Inkwell Plane, the initiation plane, naturally had the largest group of trial participants.

A faint projection of the Heartforge Spirit appeared before them. “Each of you were invited because you were geniuses among geniuses. I now officially confirm it: You are geniuses. The sky is the limit to what each of you may accomplish.

“I will not tell you to behave, for I have raised both heroes and villains. Your actions will not be policed, and I will also not be coming to save any of you.

“There is only one rule: You will never communicate what transpired in the Heartforge Trials to any person or organization or group, through any means you can imagine. You all bear my seal, and should you break this cardinal rule, no one will be able to save you.”

Not everyone from the Inkwell Plane had been assigned to the Chasewind Plane, since the competition on the other worlds wasn’t as brutal. Thirty-one cultivators in total had managed to return. They shot off toward the Inkwell Plane as a single group, scattering just before reentry through the planar membrane.

The Inkwell Plane was just like Cha Ming remembered it. He missed its inky waters, and he missed the salty smell that hung in the air. Most importantly, he missed his teacher. He missed his friends. He missed… Yu Wen.

I’m back, Cha Ming thought as he landed upon familiar soil, the badlands just outside Verdant Crossroads. They were just as he remembered them, only a little dryer than normal.

He turned to walk toward the familiar city, only to stop dead in his tracks. Because Verdant Crossroads was no longer there. Its tree of life had vanished, and the Starry Road was gone.