PtM Book 17 - Chapter 47: Shattered Form

2/2 this week!

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Cha Ming had grown much stronger since fusing his three energies and consuming the Flamewing Demiplane. This had several consequences, one of them being that he could no longer enter weaker planar fragments without causing them to collapse.

Though he could not enter them, he could still directly refine them using the Star Void Spirit Refining technique.

“Ninesky, it’s your turn,” Cha Ming said.

“You’ve got it, Captain!” the small spirit said, offering him a salute. She scattered into tens of thousands of stars that positioned themselves around the planar fragment.

“Star. Void. Cauldron!” Cha Ming said, clenching an outstretched hand. Half of the Clearmist energy within his body poured out to connect the stars, creating a cauldron out of starlight and spatial energy.

“Heartforge Spirit Flame!” he shouted, and a three-colored mass of fire swept through the world and began devouring its spiritual elements.

The appearance of the flames greatly frightened the creatures living upon it, but their fears were unwarranted, as the flames passed through them without harm. These flames weren’t targeting them, but the will at the center of the plane’s Dao origins.

“There are two steps to dismantling a collapsing demiplane,” Cha Ming explained to his enemies and allies. “The first step is the most tedious one, and it involves wiping away the plane’s will. A plane is a self-regulating entity, so if we try to pull it apart or siphon away its energy aggressively, it will resist.”

“Is this what you did in the southern hemisphere?” Cao Wenluan asked.

“No, it isn’t,” Cha Ming said, shaking his head. “Back then, I wasn’t nearly as powerful, and its core was rapidly collapsing. In this case, we have an intact core and a fiendish fortress drawing upon it, so there’s no need to take any risks.

“Once the demiplane’s will is gone, infiltrating the core will be much easier. The process involves making minor alterations to the demiplane’s Dao origins to prevent spatial collapse. Once that’s finished, we can relocate the demiplane at will. The fiendish fortress will lose its power source, and the demiplane will no longer explode if left unattended.”

There were many holes in Cha Ming’s explanation, but Xing Tianlong was appeased by it. In the end, everyone was too inexperienced—directly manipulating a demiplane’s Dao origins was not something demigods should be capable of. Moreover, he was doing exactly as he said, using Heartforge Spirit Flame to burn away the plane’s will and chase it out from every creature in the plane, as well as its air, its rocks, and its soil.

Fighting a plane’s will was as difficult as it sounded. Cha Ming had a slight advantage, since he was a sentient being and his three energies were fused. His inner world was also much more complete. The main problem lay in a demiplane’s size. Cha Ming could only use extra energy to take care of the planar will, while the will could simply focus on survival.

Several weeks passed. The fiends swept the planet on several occasions, but by relying on Huxian, Undine, and Cao Wenluan, they were able to avoid detection.

Executing the Star Void Spirit Refining technique as a transcendent cultivator was quite taxing, but thanks to the steady supply of Clearmist generated by his inner world, he was able to chip away at the planar will, starting with its atmosphere, then working down through its crust, then its mantle, and finally, its outer core.

“I’ve finally reached the inner core,” Cha Ming alerted his companions. “I can’t be disturbed during this phase. If you see me suffering backlash, don’t panic.” This was the final confrontation between him and the demiplane’s will.

The demiplane was known as the Claw Vice Demiplane. Its will was like a solid boulder, refusing to bend or yield. It formed a shell that Cha Ming tried to break through many times, only to fail miserably and suffer grievous injuries.

“You okay?” Huxian asked him after the third such exchange.

“I’m fine,” Cha Ming told him. “It looks like I’ll have to do this the long way.” His Heartforge Spirit Flame wrapped around shell of will and started rotating like a grind wheel. If he couldn’t break through it, he’d wear it down until nothing remained.

Several more days passed. The will became increasingly frantic. It threatened to destroy the world if it couldn’t have it.

Cha Ming was no fool, however, and knew that it was just bluffing. If you want mercy, I can give you mercy. Serve me as the will of this world, and I’ll let you survive.

The plane had no choice but to agree.

“Change of plans,” Cha Ming said.

“What kind of change?” Oster asked warily.

“Nothing bad,” Cha Ming said. “It appears that the plane’s will has surrendered to me. It’s willing to cooperate with me to fix its Dao origins on the condition that we don’t destroy it.”

“Will that take more or less time?” Cao Wenluan asked. “We’re risking exposure with each passing day.”

“Less time, obviously,” Cha Ming said. “Otherwise, why would I accept? Now I don’t need to fight the plane’s will, but I need to enter the demiplane’s core region to alter it.”

“Must you?” Xing Tianlong said. “We don’t need the plane’s cooperation.”

“But if we have it, we can more easily hide what we’re doing,” said Cha Ming.

In the end, they were committed, and could only agree. Cha Ming entered through the demiplane’s membrane. His presence instantly destabilized the plane, but with the planar will’s cooperation, it stabilized.

Like with the Flamewing Demiplane, the Claw Vice Demiplane’s inner core existed at the center as a destruction-based formation that kept its core stable. Due to the flaw on its Dao origins, in expelled a steady stream of primal chaos energy and Dao fragments, which fed into the fiendish fortress via a spatial rift and a karmic link.

Cha Ming painted a few supplementary formations to stabilize the area before focusing on his next work—a painting. He did not have the law foundation required to directly alter this planar core and had to rely on his painting skills instead.

By touching the planar core, he saw the plane’s miserable history. It had once been a piece of the Storm Crab Plane, a major transcendent world, but an accident had destroyed the plane. Only this remnant will remained.

The plane’s history gave Cha Ming much to work with. He focused not on this rich past, but on the recent past instead. He painted a present where the plane had never succumbed to fiendish forces but had instead pretended to.

For thousands of years, the world had withdrawn on itself, like a crab in a shell, waiting for the right moment to strike. Its five guardians had entered a deep slumber, and though their strength was lacking compared to the past, they were far stronger than the average rank-thirteen demonic life-form. Moreover, their descendants were legion.

Cha Ming was not able to paint actual life-forms, but he could paint approximate life-forms with a will of their own. The world slowly transformed until it conformed to his inner world. To complete their fusion, all he needed was a suitable law projection.

“Ninesky, how are things progressing on your end?” Cha Ming asked.

The spirit of the Clear Sky Brush came out from a spatial rift—the same spatial rift connecting the core of the Claw Vice Demiplane to the fiendish fortress.

“Mission accomplished!” said Ninesky, coughing up a few large primal chaos crystals.

“Let’s hope it’s enough,” said Cha Ming. He painted a few more changes to the planar core, which shrank in size as a few more primal chaos crystals took shape.

The Claw Vice Demiplane was dangerously unstable now, but that couldn’t be helped—Cha Ming lacked energy for his breakthrough. He siphoned the energy into one of his law runes, Shattered Form. Shattered Form encompassed the harmonized Concepts of Breaking and Mending, and as such, was the best fit for Claw Vice Demiplane.

A web spread out from the Shattered Form Rune, latching onto local laws and forming a dense, interconnected pattern. He’d just started stitching his second law together, and already, the web of laws was several times denser than when he’d first formed his Bound Energy Canvas.

Hours passed before the law tapestry reached saturation and collapsed upon itself. The resulting block of tightly packed runes was as clear as crystal and had a misty, effervescent quality. It was a law of Clearmist, and its name was Shattered Form Canvas. All matter that he did not approve of would crumble and shatter! All matter that he approved of would heal and reinforce!

My inner world has reached its limit, and my second law is complete, Cha Ming thought. To complete my breakthrough, I’ll need to absorb this demiplane. Directly pulling the demiplane into his inner world would be ideal, but doing so would tip his hand. He could only opt for the next-best option, which was to first pull its law core into his inner world and assimilate it. Once this step was complete, drawing the demiplane into his inner world would be extremely easy.

Cha Ming brought his Shattered Form Canvas law into contact with his inner world’s earth source. Using Clearmist energy as a bridge, they fused without any issues.

Next, Cha Ming pulled the Claw Vice Demiplane’s core into his inner world. The plane trembled from the sudden disappearance of its energy source and began to show signs of collapse. Time was of the essence, so Cha Ming directly fused the source with the demiplane core, initiating the process of Dao origin fusion. Dao fragments began appearing on his skin as the new plane’s Dao origins assimilated with his inner world.

Thus far, the process had gone suspiciously well. So well, in fact, that Cha Ming only realized his mistake once the paralysis set in.

Ninesky, you said I wouldn’t become energy deficient! he sent.

Oh, Ninesky said. I meant after you absorb the demiplane. You probably won’t be able to move till then.

Cha Ming cursed. If the fiends attack us before then, it’s all your fault!

No sooner did he think this did a foreign will settle upon the coreless demiplane that had once been a power source. It felt dirty, like thick oil on pristine water. It did not take long for the will to discover that the core was missing.

A being on this level of power wasn’t easy to trick. It quickly discovered that the core was not far away and used its will to pierce through space and invade the Clear Sky World.

Cha Ming was incapacitated, but Ninesky wasn’t. The brush flew out at the will and began painting white streaks in the air. Black smoke rose as the will suffered multiple grievous injuries and was forced to retreat with its tail between its legs.

There goes our plan to attack through the fortress’s back door, Cha Ming thought. I wonder how long it’ll take until they attack?

Um, Cha Ming? Huxian sent his way. I’m trying to stall here, but what exactly did you do?

I cut the karmic link and nabbed the core, Cha Ming explained. Then a powerful will came to inspect. It knows exactly what I’m doing.

That doesn’t sound too bad, Huxian said.

What if I can’t move? Cha Ming asked. Does that change things?

Silence. Maybe.

What are you hiding, Huxian? Cha Ming asked. And why is space fluctuating so much?

No biggie, Huxian said. An army of fiends decided to attack us. We’re defending as best we can.

Cha Ming inspected the state of his inner world. I need three days, Huxian. Till then, I can’t move from this location.

Hm… that’s a big problem, then, Huxian said. Everyone’s talking about whether or not we should retreat.

Cha Ming’s blood chilled. Aren’t they afraid this demiplane will blow if I don’t finish the job?

I’m trying to sell that possibility, Huxian said. Hard. The problem is that the fiendish army isn’t so small. And they look pissed.

Buy me that time, Cha Ming said.

I’ll do my best, said Huxian. Just keep on fighting the good fight. Regain mobility as soon as you can.

***

“And then I asked how long it would take him, and he said it would take around three days,” Huxian said, completing his retelling. “Until then, he won’t be able to move on his own.”

The crowd took Huxian’s words about as well as one might expect. “He said he’d be busy and would need us to buy him time,” Cao Wenluan said. “He didn’t mention anything about paralysis, not to mention losing all his abilities.”

“Well, things went south,” Huxian said. “And now we have to deal with the situation. Wasn’t the agreement to delay? He’s only asking for three days. After that, feel free to ditch him.”

“What exactly is he doing that’s rendered him immobile?” Oster asked. “That’s what I’m most concerned about. He mentioned nothing about the possibility, and now this happens? Clear Sky isn’t careless. It doesn’t add up.”

“He’s fixing the world’s Dao origins, and something went wrong,” Huxian said. “So what if he can’t move? It’s not like he’s asking us to carry his body around.”

Oster tapped his fingers. “I’m going to need to recalculate our odds given the strength our enemy’s shown so far. His Bound Energy Canvas was one of the reasons this plan was viable.” He summoned the Mirror of the Blighted Coin and coughed a mouthful of blood on it. Pale-green writing peeled off its surface and entered Oster’s eyes.

“Well?” Petros asked. “How are our odds?”

“Grim,” Oster said. “I predict a one-in-three chance of Clear Sky failing.”

“That’s a tenfold increase,” Cao Wenluan said. “Why is that?”

“I’m not sure,” said Oster. “But I have a sneaking suspicion it has to do with Clear Sky’s terrible luck.”

“I say we leave,” Undine said. “It’s not worth risking further assets given Clear Sky’s dishonesty.”

“Agreed,” said Cao Wenluan. “I’ve always thought there’s something fishy going on, and that feeling’s not going away.”

“Something obviously went wrong, you armored meathead,” Jadefall snapped.

Cao Wenluan eyed her coolly. “You’re one to talk, you overgrown cow.”

That was when Jadefall punched Cao Wenluan, sending him flying into a nearby planar fragment. The warlord grinned as he wiped blood off his lips. “Looks like I hit a sore spot.” He vanished from his position and appeared at her side. His black blade came cutting down, tearing through demon armor and lopping her arm off.

“I’ll kill you!” Huxian said, appearing behind Cao Wenluan. Eight tails wrapped around the warlord’s body, immobilizing him as Huxian stabbed a spatial dagger into his chest.

“Now, now,” Autumn’s Call said, sweeping his fan. Huxian’s dagger was forced out, and his tails unraveled. Cao Wenluan traveled backward in time, and Jadefall’s arm reattached itself.

“I never ordered you to reverse time,” said Cao Wenluan.

“I’m sworn to protect your best interests,” said Autumn’s Call. “Fighting while we’re surrounded by fiends and potential enemies is not in your best interest.”

“He’s right,” said Violet Rose. “Calm down, Wenluan.”

“Are you done?” Undine asked after she uttered a prayer to replenish Autumn Call’s memory. “Because that’s the last time I’m wasting energy.”

“We’re not the one who attacked,” said Huxian.

“She punched me,” Cao Wenluan said.

“You called me a cow,” Jadefall shot back. “How dare you do such a thing.”

Cao Wenluan wiped blood from his lip. “Whatever. It’s not like it’ll make a big difference. What is this, the first wave? Ten thousand small fries and a few dozen big ones?”

“That sounds about right,” Huxian said. “Seems they’re bat-type fiends, with sonic attacks and armored chitin. Petros should be able to pick out the strong ones while Jadefall mops things up.”

Oster cleared his throat. “I believe we all agreed, on contract, that I was calling the shots on the battlefield.”

“I thought you were breaking contract and leaving,” Huxian said.

“I may have overreacted,” Oster said. “Three days isn’t a deal breaker. But if our lives are in danger, I won’t hesitate to abandon Clear Sky, as per clause seventeen of our contract. Are we clear on this?”

“Fine,” said Huxian.

“Excellent,” said Oster. He turned to Petros. “Petros, start picking off the big ones right away. I’ll use my Greenfire Hex to mark them in order of priority.”

“Roger that,” Petros said.

“Jadefall, I apologize on behalf of Cao Wenluan,” Oster said. “I’ll personally slap him for you if we get through this. For now, you have crowd control skills. Please use them. Use your stomps, use your hellfire, use your summons. Don’t fight head on and waste your energy.”

His words invigorated Jadefall. She straightened her back and summoned her axe before marching forward with an army of hellfire devil oxen at her back.

Oster issued a few more orders, leaving Huxian for last. “You basically said what I did,” Huxian grumbled.

“But I did it much better,” Oster said. “And now that they’re busy, you’re going to spill the beans.”

Huxian swallowed. “Spill what beans?” Is he onto us?

“There’s no need to pretend,” Oster said. “I know what you did, even though you did a good job at hiding it. Now, tell me, Eight Directions. Where are the explosives?”

“I… the what?” Huxian asked.

“The explosives you buried on the battlefield while setting up our smokescreen,” Oster said. “I know they’re there, and I was going to overlook them, but I’m in need of extra combat assets. And you’re going to give them to me.”

“Ha-ha,” Huxian said, scratching his head. “Couldn’t pull the wool over your eyes, could I?”

“I’m used to fighting clever foxes; don’t feel too badly about it,” Oster said. “I’m not going to ask for all your explosives, but I want at least eighty percent. Write them down on a map.”

“But they’re my explosives,” Huxian said.

“And this is my battlefield,” Oster said. “If you don’t tell me, I’m going to pull my support. We’ll pack up and leave Clear Sky here to get swallowed up.”

Huxian’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t like your tone, Oster. Threaten me all you like, but threaten my brother, and that’s just asking for a knife in the back.”

“Fine. I misspoke,” Oster said. “I apologize. Please tell me? Pretty please? I need to know where the explosives are. The Bound Energy Canvas was an important part of my plans, and I need to make up the difference.”

“Fine,” said Huxian. He took out a jade slip and inscribed several locations. “There. Happy?”

“Almost,” Oster said. “Now tell me about this Mobius Labyrinth of yours. I need to know its strengths. I need to know its weaknesses.”