…notable show of dissent from adolescent Red ([Spirit Yak], Male.) recently acquired from Realm 37,414.

- Shamelessly requested differing foodstuffs due to conflicting [Qi Affinity], later showed inadequate work ethic due to exhaustion three days later.

Imperial Officer overseeing Realm 37,414 reminded that [Death Qi] unenlightened are not fit for purpose. Dissident thrown to [Spirit Beasts].

Village in jurisdiction reports unjust trist between one Sivha (Imperial Alchemist of Repository 13,261) and an adolescent, Orange ([Spirit Carp], Male. Spring Potentate).

- Unsanctioned activities resulted in the potentate’s gentiling and reassignment to Imperial Realm 14,511.

[Seasonal] [Beast Tide] preparations underway, and citizens of Yellow have relocated to Grand Repositories to weather the coming storm.

“Record of Patrol, Imperial Realm 13,261”

The stock of alchemists were too few to have his own library tended, and then rose a question of how it might be. An open exchange? Was he merely to give all beneath his leave to peruse what knowledge he was to hoard there?

Yunhan’s righteous tirade on [Qi Suppression] before all was an adequate foundation.

Yes.

“If these disciples cannot complete the basic formations of the [Clouded Ghost Arts] then their focus should not be split,” he said.

Hushi cared little and Shuidi’s fascination with the bound tome beneath her shell proved of too much interest to lend thoughts to the subject.

A half-day had passed since his pillaging of the foreign Sect, ending with a swift flight to the far reaches of this [Mystic Realm]. Pinxiu and her number were disseminating the contents even now, yet all else had remained in his possession.

Fu felt astray for it.

Were there an existing system of learning and contribution to base his initiates’ needs on, their outline… some standard metric of training such as the [Yin Equilibrium Stances] that his Clouded Courts employed-

No.

[Prowess] was another’s to seek, and he could not tutor initiates in techniques he himself did not know.

Even with the [Old One’s] aid.

After further minutes of thought, Shuidi impressed that her task was complete. It called all to fall atop Fu as he sunk into the lotus position.

These steadying breaths brought his clarity swifter than before, and his inward gaze revealed itself within a matter of heartbeats. First his [Core] and the slow waft of [Spectral Qi], then on to the breath of [Mist Qi] held there.

A fresh breeze that could not be.

His [Conception Vessel] was reached, finding Fu atop a sanded shore and waters that stretched to all horizons. The teal waveless, and the granules beneath his searching fingers that of granite shade.

“The Qi,” he offered. “How free it feels here, brother, sister.”

He filled his lungs, drawing deep from the external, ambient [Air Qi] and [Water Qi] that lay in the world beyond.

“Our [Pull]. Are all cultivators able to draw so much here?”

Both partners basked firstmost, replenishing all they had spent. Of lesser [Capacity], Hushi and his path of [Body] were nourished first, and moved to investigate their realm. The octopus heeded both circulating chains above, their twinned [Dao Oaths], impressing little beyond his recognition.

Fu and Shuidi met him at the shore once their [Inner Qi] was restored, taking a knee as the waters there stirred.

The Old Old rose in gold, breaching the stillness of teal beyond. Gone were the pustulant welts and growth-riddled skin. Now he possessed only unmarred scales, resplendent and worthy of the existence he was.

“Younglings. Joy comes. A first meeting that is not. That this old one might look upon you, free from suffering. The same joy. Yes.” The catfish’s voice rolled like quiet thunder, no sudden rumble as occurred outwith the [Conception Vessel].

Hands clasped, Fu set his head lower. “A joy indeed, Old One, and a chance to offer our unending gratitude in person.”

“Ill needed. Unneeded. The [Array] master’s chains fell for your intervention. All owed is on this one’s part. All offered is less than repayment. This. You. It is we.”

“A we, this I enjoy more than debt and settlement. Might we move forth as such, as these souls before hold no thoughts of tithes where you are concerned?” Foolish, perhaps, but Fu could not abide thoughts such as those that held him in the Cloudy Serpent Sect’s employ. That of debt and of acts driven without choice.

The great figure looked to nod, for each half of his grand whisker bobbed in affirmation. “Fairness. As seen upon our meeting. Righteous. The glint among what shadows clad you. Yes,” he continued, savouring every word. “Use is returned now. A [Conception Vessel] reached, and this one’s manifestation, allowed. Make known, youngling. Ask.”

Here rose that prior urge, or impression, if accuracy was to be observed. Muted intuition from the embodied [Constellation Seed] before him now, promising stability and aid if only he might delve deeper into cultivation.

“Your talent, old master. How best might it be used?”

In place of words, the catfish conjured a great stream of silvering light. Outlines and character both, heralded by recent observations. Recent readings.

“The Sepulchral Saber Sect’s technique? [Three Wisps from Breath],” Fu returned, noting the tome Shuidi had poured over some minutes previous. Yet more came, if less well studied than this. “[Imperial Spear Arts, Orange],” he continued, descending a list. “Spear Formations of the Abundant Path, Orange Series. And the secret that holds no name.”

“[Blue Hegemony Body Refinement],” the Old One intoned. “Know this. All notions hold cousins. In Clear Skies and Abundant [Springs]. Foundations differ, yet improvement transcends the meagre boundaries between them. As with [Arrays], comparison and elimination guide, revealing even foreign notions.”

This master spoke in riddles, but Fu would not insult him.

“Once read, youngling, the tome exists within my [Wisdom]. Uses. Structure. Limits. How best. How not. The whole,” continued the catfish. “This tome serves those of [Fire Qi] and similar Paths. Cool where tongues should boil. Unique, and a curse. An unkindness by Abundant Spring’s design. It limits, and cripples so middle becomes a peak.”

“Truly? There is such an evil-” Fu stalled, for a half moment drew reason. “Such things are natural, no? That the strong seek to curb the weak. Then this tome is an unwitting poison to its practitioners, serving no use.”

An expectant silence.

The catfish waited.

“Apologies, old master. A poison to any but you.”

“Cousins, youngling,” and those silvering silhouettes shifted into a dozen variations. Branches, as Grandmother Hua’s constellations might.

These disjointed after the third set of motions displayed within, flavoured with motes of differing colour. Impressed to be other techniques, in which Fu…

Cousins, ah. Myriad as all Paths are, the similarities between each and the depths of the Old One’s knowledge highlight all that begins and travels the same. How only names might differ in some, and how others complete at opposite destinations.

“Then a trove stands here that might be used?” he queried, wide eyed at the implications. “Old master, might we draw from this? I would offer much for my own techniques to be inspected such as this, and that of the initiates. This would allow their [Prowess] to soar, and have them stand free swifter than I might train them to do alone.”

With his aid, we might scribe each technique. Through oversight, my eyes could glean their imperfections - as I saw with Niwai and others. Refined… the old master’s wisdom could have us survive.

“And yet.”

Hushi bristled, resonating with Fu’s sudden deflation. The counting of fish before they were caught.

“Tens and hundreds led to thousands. More. Yet not endless. This one’s captor, what immortal seeks tutelage beneath another? [Dao-named] pledge Sects. Pledge freedom. Pledge lovers and [Dao Partners]. The peak do not lose tomes, and my library is poorer for it.”

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

If clouds rolled above, the sun might have peaked brighter through it.

“Old master, poor is no word to ever be used in your description. A moment in such a library is a treasure beneath the Heavens. Truly,” exclaimed Fu. “If it does not trouble you, how might we begin?”

All figures before them receded to one, displaying the first movement of Qi within Shuidi’s readings.

“Slowly, youngling. Slowly, Gao Fu. Foundational is your [Insight]. Pale. Shallow. My knowledge is free, yet only as long as you might bear the weight of it.”

🀦

A cultivator’s sleep had brought about early evening, and what time was not spent with rested eyelids went to inspection and query. Talks with Pinxiu, whose juniors suggested that the recent compilation of their studies were unready as of yet: and then on, to observations of the initiates set about what might be named their training hall.

No great stretch of his [Senses] was needed to test their [Qi Suppression], for many flagged upon his mere entry.

The necessity fades, Hushi, no?

Fu’s thoughts rested on a blade as he saw them, weighing the methods of his shadowed Sect. The safety here was a crutch, with no [Spirit Bats] to threaten nor prisoners to harry those who could not conceal their presence.

But this number was small, and he would not act freely with the strength even such few provided.

Still, there were methods.

“Senior Gao,” greeted Anfang, appearing from above. A mask of disappointment barely concealed when her efforts did not startle him.

“The small impact when foot meets ground,” he countered, gaze ever on his initiates. “Breath rushes at this, stammering the suppression you so firmly hold.”

A considering tilt then, and the disciple attempted it again. [Might] was clear in her Path, with an impartment of Qi that spread towards speed much as his own did. So, to eaves and back, landing this time with her technique intact.

Fu nodded. “An [Affinity] of lightning behaves in ways I might not say. My own of [Air]- when it became the composite form it is now, my [Prowess] was well in hand. Simple enough to corral its parts into suppression. Thus I extend apologies that I can aid you no further in this matter.”

Anfang shrugged, this improper enough to draw several eyes. “It’d be rude to ask on your promised benefits before mastering the foundational techniques, though I’ve found myself in need of inspiration. Tell me, what other methods might hone it?”

Greed, is it?

Shuidi impressed an image of Anfang’s form, dropped headfirst into the Clouded Court’s prisons.

The remedy may not be so distant from that, sister.

His list of duties seemed to lengthen then, given how the initial goal was to converse with Udvah about his newly absorbed [Constellation Seed].

“We might begin by killing two birds with one stone,” he said.

🀦

“Amituofo. Chaotic, no?” offered Udvah, arching a quizzical brow.

The boundary of these orange gardens was not as he said, for what the Vajra gave criticism on was the state of affairs. This second leap from the Wayward Wind’s Warship that had delivered he, Anfang and Fu at the peak of a stately home.

Or the mountain that loomed above.

“When routine is implemented, and if this sudden venture proves a fruitful opportunity, once I form the foundations of what we are to do… Yes,” Fu admitted. “Currently my wishes are chaotic, but if we do not experiment then nothing will be gained.”

Both ghosts prowled the boundary wall in tandem. Experience had them muted from sight, chasing the last shadows that dusk afforded while no thought was put to feet that could not trip unless they tried.

Observing.

It was to Anfang’s credit that she took several breaths to spy, soaring in great spider-styled leaps to bypass gatehouses and the small buildings within this estate’s grasp.

Udvah grinned, and this was caught in the polish of her valar-tadai. The weapon now relegated to his own hand. “This daoist recalls tales of Master Ban’s orders. Sister Niwai performed this way once, reliant on naught but talent.”

“And Linhua,” added Fu in affirmation. “[Of Perennial Shade] once revealed to me the merit of cruelty. By example, I would employ it.”

[Half Cloud Step].

A span of five breaths passed before Udvah rejoined him, now at the crest of the estate’s corner wall. Close enough that they might intervene should Anfang’s efforts become known, yet distant enough that their words might not be overhead.

The laxity of orange-robed cultivators, that of the several dozen red tending these gardens… it granted small assurances.

Mundane [Spirit Beasts] plodded. Cattle once more, suited for the labour of their partners as beds were turned and herbs were drip-fed Qi rich waters. Most would lack a Martial path, he expected, but this was no knowledge he relied on with certainty.

“The distance is adequate to speak, I should think. If it does not add to the chaos of goals and topics,” said Fu. “Cheng Rao’s [Constellation Seed], does it serve you well?”

Mangalam swelled in a silent croak. Jubilant in his quiet.

“Amituofo. For all his evils, Gao Fu’s senior held treasure,” said Udvah, producing a fragment of scroll. “Here, written, so no mistakes might be made.”

As [Ink] might be.

A nod followed, and Fu both tore and vanished the tatters into his ring. “A [Constellation Seed] of use with the [Paifang]. Brother, do you know its merits? Control? Perhaps not at the [Foundation Realm], but…”

I must corral these waywards thoughts. We know not its use.

The makings of their conversation was halted as two orange-robed cultivators exchanged laughter, sharing tales of some mutual acquaintance. Good spirited fellows, and of a match with the tittering [Spirit Birds] in their wake.

Linhua’s soundless [Art] was well missed.

He shook, progressing deeper into the compound. Distant waters could not parch nearby fires, and so Fu used only what was at hand. In safety once more, he asked Udvah to share what he might.

“Amituofo. A learned man might read between these characters. Much is said in missing space, no? First Gate, Rekindle, linking. The [Boon], yet, [The Bark of One is Bark of All]. This lacking disciple could not guess. Better to seek a [Paifang] and discover what untethered things might be tethered again.”

Without further thought, Fu produced Niwai’s ring. “A smaller vessel is within,” he said, and offered the pendant possessing the [Dao of Collections]. “If the process for touching its [Core] is similar, merely reach out and it should be claimed. My curiosities highlighted no offensive [Arrays] when I looked over them, but as a vessel of ‘red’, my faith is that you would triumph over any that might remain.”

Mangalam bloated quizzically.

In response, Fu raised a brow. “Apologies brother,” he nodded. “Yes, it is a swift decision. But I would not leave our junior to tread these lands alone. You and Brother Udvah are most proficient. Please, seek a [Paifang] that your talent can be confirmed.”

Propriety then, at the end of a grin, for the pair flew after a fitting bow. All attention soon fell to the distant Anfang.

[Half Cloud Step].

Those of high stations shared a similarity between both Empires, a downfall in the hubris of placement. The tallest room of any structure held lodgings for Patriarchs and bandit chiefs alike, something that Fu might even bet on with certainty.

So it was that Anfang had ascended, stealing into the quarters there. Her stealth unbroken, and pursuit of her target - unchallenged.

At the peak of this roof, Fu unfurled his [Killing Intent]. A grainy texture overcame the air surrounding him, washing several hundred paces in each direction before he drew it back into his own silence.

Cries returned. Howls and bestial caws that heralded the great streaming of feet from across the estate. Those of red, in frightened uproar, and those of orange in better tended states.

Their weapons drawn and eyes searching.

Thirty numbered the wings that soared to Fu’s level then, or previous level as he blurred within the structure’s uppermost floor. A shade in the eaves, he prowled above Anfang as she responded to the sudden alarm.

Her [Qi Suppression] floundered, panic having her hand scramble for the valar-tadai. Anger flushed her face the colour of fortune, ill-helping the state of her fledgling technique. Fu’s command was that she harm none during her trespass, and only that she reap the most valuable tome from this estate’s collection.

That she spat upon the floor was distasteful, but Fu had no intention to interject. But a voice coughed as she moved to exit, bypassing the staircase that would lead deeper within.

“Disciple,” it said, bursting the facade of [Qi Suppression] she had recovered. “The task is not yet complete.”

[Lightning Qi] bristled along one arm as she levelled a finger at her senior. “Gao Fu-”

“Ghosts should hold no names, disciple. Yet, even then it is false,” he said. “While you are failing, as you do now, I am Fu Gao.”

Anfang’s [Spirit Spider] bristled, clacking her mandibles in outrage.

Hushi silenced it with a single move. A blur so swift that the arachnid could barely process she had been swatted aside before Fu Gao’s douli was once more filled.

The staircase clamoured with heavy footfall and the chime of weapons as they swayed with their cultivators’ ascent.

“That [Dantian] is loud, disciple,” he said, nodding to the mounting noise. To the-

A growth of emerald frost licked from the stairwell’s entrance, coating all within ten strides. From carpet to table, bannister and more, the cold grew as a precursor to the first defender. An orange robed foe, whose jian then thrust by Anfang’s uncertain arm to slice a neat groove where shoulder met flesh.

Her intake of breath was no quiet thing.

Shuidi. Let us not begin quite as cruelly as our own seniors.

[Mist Qi] roared into the immediate space, removing sight from all. It vanished the orange, his pursuing [Spirit Hound], and the fledgling ghost in entirety. Further cries came, highlighted as Fu’s [Senses] expanded.

But in his perch, he ignored them. Choosing to focus only upon the spluttering [Qi Suppression] one flight below, and the distance it left in its wake.