Chapter 128: The Depths

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    Liu Jins Qi roars and thunders and soars. He pushes and pulls, yet no matter how many hours pass, the result will not change.

    He cannot pull out the jeweled sword.

    What am I missing?

    Liu Jin floats upside down in the contaminated waters as he ponders that question, one hand on his chin and the other on his elbow. His legs kick at the water every now and then to help him keep his balance.

    Is it just a matter of strength, or is there something more to it?

    The sea offers no answers to him, not that Liu Jin expected it to. He turns to the side.

    Do you perhaps know the answer?

    The giant snake that brought him here has its body laid out in a circle around him, one large enough for over a thousand people standing side by side to fit inside. There is no doubt in Liu Jins mind that it and all the other snakes are somehow related to Nine-Headed Snake God and the existence of this weapon buried deep within his soul. It is from the sword that the thick miasma all around him is born, and from the miasma, the snakes are born.

    Alas, the giant creature has no answers for him. It does its closest equivalent to a shrug, a gesture Liu Jin more feels than sees. A hum leaves Liu Jins mouth.

    The snakes, the poison, the sword.

    Nine-Headed Snake God has left quite a mark on him, one beyond the scope of his Inheritance, yet not one that evokes any sense of urgency. After all, the sword has been inside him all this time, and Nine-Headed Snake did mean for him to deliver this gift. A dead man would make a poor messenger.

    Certainly, Liu Jin will need to keep a close eye on the effects the sword has on his soul, but there is no need to panic over it.

    Hell figure out how to remove it in due time.

    In the meantime...

    Have you seen a book somewhere around here? He asks the snake, holding his hands apart, somehow trusting the snake will be able to see them. It is about this big.

    Old Jiang said he left the book in the same place Nine-Headed Snake God left his gift, but there is no sign of it in this area. Liu Jin thought theyd be close to each other, but it seems his thinking was too literal. The soul is vast, far more so than Liu Jin had imagined. There is no end to the places where it could be hidden.

    Unfortunately, the giant snake just blinks its big, blue eyes at him and tilts its head in confusion.

    Can you take me to another area? Liu Jin asks instead. Is there another place in this sea that looks important?

    The snakes eyes light up, glowing through the miasma. Its massive body starts moving, kicking up multiple tons of sand and generating a current that lifts up Liu Jins body in the process. Like before, the snake catches Liu Jin on the back of its head. Its long, sinuous form moves through the ocean at unimaginable speeds, turning Liu Jins surroundings into a blur of purple.

    Seconds pass. Minutes pass. Hours pass. Purple becomes blue once more, yet the snake does not stop. Liu Jin wonders, not for the first time, whether the passage of time within his soul is the same as the one outside. He can still vaguely sense his body, but thats as far as his sense of the outside world goes.

    Oh, well.

    Someone will seek him once he uses up his allotted time.

    Maybe.

    For now, it is okay to enjoy the ride through his soul.

    ~~~~

    Eastern Port City burns at the bottom of the sea.

    Columns of smoke rise higher and higher into the ocean. The city walls lie broken, the commercial district ransacked, the stadium devastated.

    Why?

    Liu Jin hops off the giant snake. He swims through the ruined walls and steps into the outer districts. Burning houses illuminate the broken down roads, somehow not collapsing despite the fierce flames.

    Why?

    Eastern Port City was his home. For the first years of his life, it was all Liu Jin knew. It makes sense for it to have a place within his soul.

    Liu Jin is walking towards the riders before he knows it, his body gaining speed with every step. As if drawn by his anger, the riders speed up as well, their weapons whistling through the air. Neither side slows down. Neither side hesitates. They are starving beasts who have not seen prey for many moons. Now, they bare their fangs and howl.

    Liu Jin lunges.

    The poison emanating from his body rots the horse before he even makes contact with it. The riders body is not so easily overcome.

    [White Venom Fist]

    Liu Jins hand tears through the soldiers armor and throat. With the same motion, he swivels to the right, his body twisting like a snake as he launches himself at the next rider.

    A spear is thrust to his face. Liu Jin reaches out and touches it. His poisonous Qi rushes up the weapon, disintegrating it as it goes along and flowing into the riders body. The soldier does not scream as his body starts falling apart. Neither does the next one as Liu Jin buries his hand deep into his chest, melting his way through the armor. They are not capable of it. These things are most likely nothing but a representation of something within his soul.

    Anger. Despair. Resentfulness.

    It doesnt matter. Either way, these things are not alive.

    Does Liu Jin tear into their bodies so savagely because of it? Or does it happen in spite of it?

    The wisps of white Poison Qi around Liu Jin grow and take the shape of red-eyed snakes. They hiss and glare at the riders, and soon enough, they are biting and swallowing them as well. Reaching out to grab and kill that which lies beyond Liu Jins reach.

    More riders come, spreading throughout the streets like a swarm of locusts.

    Liu Jin doesnt hide. Liu Jin doesnt try to avoid them or even stop to think of a clever plan. His thoughts are no more complex than those of a man who finds an insect in his house and stomps on it out of disgust.

    This is no different.

    This is his home.

    These things have no place here.

    White poisonous Qi flows through Liu Jins body as he throws himself into the fray. The storm of swords and spears sings for his blood, but Liu Jin is the rock upon which it breaks. The spears melt. The swords shatter. The armors fall apart and become nothing but scrap.

    The snakes devour.

    Liu Jin tears his way through the Outer District. His body blazes with Qi that shines even brighter than the flames surrounding him. He breaks into the commercial district and keeps fighting still.

    He keeps fighting all the way to the Xiao Sects compound.

    All the way to that place.

    Master, this sort of gesture is not like you.

    A quaint little house in the inner zone of the Xiao Sects compound where usually only Core Disciples are allowed to enter. Despite the destruction everywhere else in the city, this area remains untouched. The floors are intact, the gardens are green, the flowers blooming.

    How much time did he spend here?

    Stepping into the cottage drains his wrath away and leaves him dizzy. No matter where he turns to, he can only see a new memory. Eating together with Xiao Shuang. Pouring over Doctor Wus notes on his desk. Su An constantly telling him not to overwork himself. There is only one corner he does not turn to.

    What does it mean that Old Jiang left the notebook here?

    Liu Jin picks it up from his desk and gently pats it even though there is no dust in it. This whole area has been left untouched by time.

    Did Old Jiang imagine he would have moved in here by now? That he would have risen within the Xiao Sect?

    No. That doesnt quite sound like him.

    Liu Jin frowns. Try as he might. His Masters motives elude him.

    No matter. He has the book now.

    Liu Jin pulls out a chair and makes himself comfortable.

    He has a lot of reading to do.

    ~~~