Bang. Crash. Bang.

Trees fell one after another as Cha Ming brandished his Clear Sky Staff against a king-level frost wolf. Cha Ming didn't use formations, nor did the frost wolf use its innate abilities. They faced off in a contest of brute force, and there was no clear winner in the process.

Let's try this again, Cha Ming thought. He grasped the staff and slammed it down with all his strength, channeling as much earth qi as he could to execute a Quake Staff. His qi spread out into thirty-six qi points to mimic a combat formation. Unfortunately, it didn't work very well. The part near his hands vibrated slightly, but none of it transferred across to the wolf, who simply shrugged it off as he swung his massive paw at Cha Ming's small body.

Cha Ming flew back one hundred feet before crashing into a large rock. Its surface shattered as he plunged two feet into the solid granite. Fortunately, his bones were as strong as magic treasures, and his regenerative abilities quickly healed the lacerations his body had suffered upon impact.

"Are you sure you want to continue, pitiful human?" the frost wolf said. His voice was laced with disdain.

"I naturally need to continue," Cha Ming said. His staff lengthened to twelve feet as he lunged toward the wolf. He manipulated his weight and increased the thin staff's weight drastically while executing another makeshift technique using gold qi. The staff bit into the wolf's flesh like a dull blade but was ultimately ignored. Cha Ming swiftly manipulated his weight once more, using it and his heavy staff to redirect the wolf's massive body and push off against it. It was a crude manifestation of his Gentle Staff Art.

Then his staff expanded until it was twelve feet long and six inches thick. The ground sank under his feet as his weight increased to twelve thousand jin. The added weight enabled him to easily manipulate the 1,080-jin pillar in his arms.

As the wolf approached, he blocked its movements using the heavy pillar and interrupted its movements. He used wood and water qi to slightly trap and constrict the wolf before swinging it in a horizontal arc that easily struck the wolf's enormous body. It coughed up blood but stood strong and counterattacked with a vicious bite.

Cha Ming didn't panic. He kicked back in midair using his Stormchaser Boots, avoiding the wolf's bite by a fraction of a second. Then he bounced in midair several times before striking down once more while activating his Demon-Subduing Eyes and freezing the wolf in place. This time, he expanded the Clear Sky Staff to forty feet in length. The 4,000-jin pillar crashed down on the wolf's head and rendered it unconscious. It woke up after five seconds and lowered its head in shame.

"Sovereign, I have failed you," the wolf said mournfully.

Huxian's tiny frame jumped out of Cha Ming's shadow and into his arms.

"It's only natural that you'd lose against my big brother," Huxian said. "How was it, brother?"

"This physical strength is far too difficult to handle," Cha Ming said. "I originally thought I could use my old techniques, but I was wrong. I've made some embryonic techniques using my old qi-condensation techniques and combat formations as templates, but they are extremely lacking."

Huxian shrugged. "Worst case, you can use your staff as a big stick and combine it with your combat formations. Your Stormchaser formation is good for close combat, and you can work heavy staff strikes into your combat formation attacks without sacrificing anything. Not just that, you can take hits head-on without affecting your performance. You should be able to hold your own against late-foundation-establishment cultivators."

Cha Ming agreed with this assessment. He had reached early bone forging as they waited for the Geomantic Monarch.

"It's ready," a powerful voice said from the peak of the mountain.

Cha Ming and Huxian disappeared from the shamed wolf's side and reappeared on the barren peak. The Geomantic Monarch waved its tail and threw out a large jade bottle.

"Many thanks," Cha Ming said as he caught the bottle. Huxian frowned and let out a soft cough. The Geomantic Monarch slithered and threw out another two hundred jade vials, which Cha Ming caught with a look of surprise.

"Who knows, those venoms might come in handy when finding a cure," Huxian said to clear up the confusion. "I convinced the monarch to kindly help us. Silverwing lent a hand to make it happen."

Only then did Cha Ming see several large scars on the Geomantic Monarch's body.

"It's been hard on you," Cha Ming said apologetically.

"It has," she said. "In return, I'd appreciate it if you left my mountain as soon as possible."

Huxian shrugged. "Silverwing!"

A flash of silver leapt over from a nearby mountain. The large silver falcon impatiently gestured for them to hop on. Cha Ming gave Huxian a perplexed look.

He got over it, and now he enjoys carrying people around in the skies, Huxian said. A small protective bubble covered them and lashed them to Silverwing's back before the large bird leaped into the skies.

"Awwwoooooo," Huxian yelled as they exited the protective dome. "We made off like bandits. She'll never catch us now!"

"Boss is definitely the smartest," Silverwing said, chuckling.

"Is there something I don't know about?" Cha Ming asked.

Huxian responded by summoning a large assortment of roots, herbs, and fruits. Cha Ming quickly swept them into his Clear Sky World. "Where did you get these?"

Huxian chuckled. "While that old snake was busy making venoms, Silverwing and I pilfered the whole mountain range. Specifically, we took a bunch of herbs relating to poisons and the like. It just happens that most of them were on the Geomantic Monarch's mountain peak."

"Two Tails!" A loud roar of indignation carried from the mountain range to their small group, which was now dozens of miles away. "I'll have your hide for this!"

Cha Ming massaged his brow for what seemed like the thousandth time this week.

"By the way, where's Lei Jiang?" Cha Ming asked. As he spoke, an iridescent bolt of lightning darted over to them and landed atop Silverwing's broad back. He dropped a small bag of holding in front of Cha Ming.

"Can you keep these for me?" the small mouse said. "I brought some snacks for the trip."

Cha Ming peeked into the bag and saw dozens of strange objects. Fruits, stones, roots, bamboo shoots, and other lightning-based materials were stored inside.

"Well, at least they feed themselves," Cha Ming muttered. He set his sights on Quicksilver's mighty walls, which were rapidly growing in the distance.

***

The large city's hustle and bustle lightened Cha Ming's sullen mood as he walked out of the guard office. He'd just signed a guarantee on Huxian, Silverwing, and Lei Jiang's behavior. Given their prior escapades, it was possible that he'd lose his shirt before their time was up.

"It's just three days," Cha Ming said. "You can be a good Huxian during that time, can't you?"

"I'm always a good Huxian, even if you don't always notice," the small fox said, pouting.

The quartet flew above the rail tracks that led to the center of the city. It wasn't long before they arrived at Central Square. They passed several buildings before arriving at the northeast corner, where the Obsidian Syndicate and the Alabaster Group stood opposite each other.

Cha Ming ignored the dark building and made his way to the Alabaster Group's living quarters. He crossed the large garden of medicinal ingredients before arriving at a wooden door. A muffled boom sounded just as he rapped his knuckles on it.

"Who's there?" an aged voice called out.

"It's me," Cha Ming said. The door opened after a few moments.

"Well, you're back a lot quicker than I imagined," Mo Tianshen said. "Come in, come in. I have some good news to share with you."

He led Cha Ming to the table and poured him a cup of tea. Thankfully, Mo Tianshen paid more attention to standard laboratory rules than his apprentice, the leader of the Quicksilver Alchemist Guild.

"Where to begin," Mo Tianshen said, stroking his white beard. "Firstly, there have been some promising trials. I estimate that we can begin mass production of the ninth-generation pills within a half month. Those whelps Jun Xiezi sent have all learned the necessary runes, so we're only waiting for batches of raw ingredients."

"Congratulations," Cha Ming said, happy that his efforts had borne fruit. "I'm sure there will soon be a tenth iteration, followed by an eleventh and a twelfth."

"We're still a long way off from that," Mo Tianshen said. "Now tell me, boy, why are you here? You usually don't visit me without a reason."

Cha Ming looked at him sheepishly. "I want you to make me late-grade and peak-grade pills, as well as core-formation pills," Cha Ming said. With the old alchemist, it was best to be straightforward.

Mo Tianshen frowned. "I can tell that you haven't even broken through to late foundation establishment. What's the rush? Don't you know that cultivating too quickly will destabilize your foundation? Come back again in three months."

"I know it's best to wait to stabilize my foundation," Cha Ming said. "However, there's a war brewing in the Song Kingdom, where I was born. I want to be prepared in case of any unforeseen circumstances. Surely you can do that for me?"

He tossed a bag containing a multitude of rare ingredients from the Silverwing Mountain Range. These included the items on the list Mo Tianshen had given him earlier.

The alchemist briefly glanced inside the bag before giving Cha Ming a concerned look. "I'm very busy, and if I give you more pills, it means you'll be able to stay away for longer. What if I don't see you again for half a decade?"

Cha Ming chuckled. "So that's what's worrying you. How about this, I'll be back within three years, and not a minute later."

"No longer than a year," Mo Tianshen said. "And when you come back, you'll have to slave away for me for a whole year before regaining your freedom."

Cha Ming hesitated for a moment. For all he knew, the conflict could last longer. However, without these pills, he might quickly find himself outmatched.

"Two years," Cha Ming said. "And I'll work for you for six months."

"I'm not budging on the year," Mo Tianshen said.

Cha Ming hesitating once more before nodding. "Fine. Two years and one year of hard labor." The old alchemist sighed as he grabbed the bag of medicinal ingredients.

"You really need to be careful with your cultivation," the old alchemist said. "Your qi seas still need a couple more weeks to stabilize. Don't be in such rush to reach the peak, or you'll soon find it impossible to reach."

***

After speaking to the old alchemist, Cha Ming walked up the white marble stairs to a plain wooden door. Before he could even knock, he heard a gentle voice whisper for him to enter. He opened the creaking door and entered Lu Tianhao's library. The man was garbed in white like always, looking pensive as he stared at a doll on his desk.

"I heard from Xuehua that your trip to the mountain range was successful," Lu Tianhao said with a light smile.

"We only barely succeeded, despite the seniors you sent," Cha Ming said grimly. "It's unfortunate that so many of them couldn't return."

Lu Tianhao sighed. "It's always been that way, and it will never stop. The universe was built that way."

Cha Ming frowned as he sat. "How can you be so sure it was designed?"

"There is an old story passed down from the realms up above," Lu Tianhao said. "It tells of the first painter, who painted the mists at the dawn of time. He created a world of black and white, good and evil. We don't know who he is or what his goal was. All we know is that the world was created balanced. Whether it was his mood at the time, or his indecision, we all suffer from this first mistake. Both devils and angels have cursed him since the world's inception."

"How are the forces of good and evil balanced?" Cha Ming said. "It seems to me that devilish cultivators are overpowered, and their cultivation progress smooth and unhindered."

"That's one way of looking at it," Lu Tianhao said. "But have you ever wondered why the forces of good always happen to stumble upon the forces of evil at the most opportune time? How fortune favors them at the last second, enabling key individuals to undergo breakthroughs at critical moments?

"The world is balanced. Good fortune favors the benevolent, who thus enjoy better resources that contribute to their growth. That's why there are so many good-aligned cultivators in this realm. Devil cultivators need to sacrifice thousands of lives to advance, so their numbers are limited. In compensation, they have been granted greater strength. How else would the war between good and evil continue throughout the aeons?

"Mortal worlds are in a constant state of flux. They change ownership between the forces of good and evil. Devilish cultivators seek to be unrestrained and pursue their personal desires. They believe that the will of this world is unfair. It punishes them for being selfish, and it benefits those with good hearts. They are fighting to reverse the scales. They seek a world where everyone can pursue their desires without fear of repercussion, and if they succeed, cultivating their devilish ways will become much easier. Instead of sacrificing thousands of lives, they will only sacrifice hundreds, and the world will soon be overrun with their devilish ways. Conversely, angelic ways will become much harder to cultivate, and the trials and tribulations of good men will increase exponentially. However, this greater difficulty will better temper their souls, and they will be stronger for it."

"Why would anyone ever design the world in such a way?" Cha Ming asked.

"Who knows," Lu Tianhao said. "But enough talk about things we can't change. How are your formation arts coming along?"

"They've reached a bottleneck," Cha Ming said. "I can't progress until I increase my cultivation. Sometimes, I think that it's best to abandon the path of stability and just forge ahead."

Lu Tianhao nodded. "It's a difficult decision, one that I also faced in the past. Patience is a virtue, but so is selflessness. No one can make this decision for you." Then he waved his hand, and an image of Huxian appeared. "Is this the beast brother you spoke of? I've never seen a fox like this."

"He's an enigma," Cha Ming agreed. "Something curious happened between us in the Silverwing Mountain Range. Have you ever heard of people transferring qi through a bond with a demon?"

"It happens sometimes in transcendent realms," Lu Tianhao said. "The Inky Sea Sect is well known for it. They can channel demonic qi to form new talismans. It's also useful to paint in elements that wouldn't normally be available. Tell me, which ones did you gain through your bond?"

"Light and darkness," Cha Ming replied. "Though I find it difficult to paint with light and dark-demonic qi. My success rate is abysmal."

"Demonic qi is attuned with nature," Lu Tianhao said. "It resembles a diluted form of elemental evanescence. When it fuses with liquified elemental essence, it becomes useable as a natural ink."

The man flicked his sleeve, bringing two thin books out from the shelf. "Here are two books on suitable brush techniques for light and dark qi." Then he summoned two thick books. "I'll also lend these two books to you; they contain dark-aligned formations and talismans. I acquired them by chance, but I've never used them. I don't have any light-aligned manuals, however, so you're on your own there."

"Many thanks, Teacher," Cha Ming said. "I've already obtained some from the Church of Justice."

Lu Tianhao wrinkled his nose. "Insufferable fellows, but very honest. Is there anything else causing you doubts?"

"I was wondering about condensing light and dark sigils," Cha Ming said. "Do you have any books on those?"

Lu Tianhao shook his head. "I don't, but weren't you very confident in those Dao sigils of yours? Why don't you incorporate runes into them?"

Cha Ming pondered for a moment before nodding. "I'll try it," Cha Ming said before standing up. "I'm sorry, Teacher, but I can't stay and chat for very long. I have a poisoned king to treat and an infestation of devils and evil spirits to deal with."

"Don't bother accompanying this old man," Lu Tianhao said. "Just holler if you need any help." He shot Cha Ming a lonely smile as the younger man flew out from his office.