Cha Ming exhaled a breath of turbid air as he opened his eyes, expelling the last bit of impure qi that had remained in his system after his advancement. The stone walls, sensing his awakening, illuminated the pitch-black room in a soft blue light. Based on his experience, the light would intensify gradually, acclimatizing his eyes to normal illumination.

He stretched his limbs and back, relieving the tension from sitting in meditation for so long. Then, looking at his palm, a miniature white formation appeared, which absorbed the creation qi in his body and concentrated it into a single white pellet. It was the same as those that the Custodian had made during his time at the library, complete with its dense, easily absorbable calories and perfect nutritional value.

The pellet melted in his mouth, rejuvenating his slightly weakened body. While a foundation-establishment and bone-forging dual cultivator like himself did not need to eat more than once every two weeks, his advancement had required a great deal of energy. Most of it had come from his surrounding environment and spirit stones, but they could only do so much to supplement his bodily functions.

He wasn't creating something from nothing. Every object in the universe was created with the qi of heaven and earth. His cultivation method gathered the qi and converted it into foundation qi in his dantian. A portion of this qi happened to be creation qi, which was ideal for producing such an item. It was also suitable for creating something like physical water, which he did with a simple thought.

Soon, a clear ball of liquid appeared in his hand, and he took several sips of it before using the remaining amount to wash his hair. Water created from ordinary water qi couldn't do what he'd just done. It could wash him, certainly. It couldn't sustain him, however. It was an illusory imitation of the real thing. The same applied to flames, earth, and other such manifestations created with qi. However, those things created with the white qi were all real. He wondered if one day all his qi could behave this way.

Sighing, he stood up and called out for the Custodian, who appeared immediately.

"Must you leave so soon?" the Custodian said with a sad expression on his face. "I may be a construct, but I still have feelings. I've been lonely for aeons, and your company has been marvelous."

Cha Ming smiled. "I would stay longer if I could, but I have doubts about the safety of the people up above. I must leave to free them and help them start a new life. Besides, my brother fox Huxian is still out there. I need to find him and make sure he's safe."

"Where would you like me to send you?" the Custodian asked. "I can manipulate space to send you anywhere within 100 miles from your point of entry."

"Oh?" Cha Ming considered that pensively. After thinking for a moment, he decided not to return through the mines. "Can you send me into the forest up above, away from any humans?"

"Not a problem, young man," the Custodian said, smiling. Then he bowed. "It was nice meeting you, Cha Ming. Don't forget your promise to teach. In addition, no one will be able to learn from this school for the next twelve years."

Cha Ming returned his bow. "I understand your intent, Custodian. I'll be sure to find someone to keep you company after twelve years have passed."

"Thank you," the Custodian said.

Then Cha Ming felt a jarring sensation before being overwhelmed with a brightly lit sky he hadn't seen in months. The sweet smell of leaves, sap, and flowers mixed in with the decaying underbrush assaulted his nostrils. He appeared next to a fourth-level spirit boar, who roared in rage and instantly charged at the threat to its territory.

Cha Ming exerted a slight amount of spiritual pressure, causing the boar to stop mid-charge and sit down respectfully. He walked over to the trembling boar and petted its head, directing a kind, calming intent to the creature, who became as docile as a pet dog. Then he held his hands out and projected his incandescent force outward.

He sent out a gentle, non-intrusive projection outward one mile, sensing nothing but spirit beasts in the surrounding area. Sensing no one, he expanded his sense to five miles, spotting a dozen odd bandits scouting the woods and hunting in the process. Then he expanded his incandescent force to his limit of eight miles. An incandescent soul granted the user the ability to project his soul out to sense things in a radius of two miles. Every sub-realm thereafter increased this radius by two miles, to a maximum of ten miles for a peak incandescent soul.

Found it, he thought. He saw the fuzzy outline of what used to be the village in his mind's eye. He saw the bandit tents, the cages, and the many prisoners going about their duties. He saw the shack containing tools, spirit stones, and the pitiful accountant going about his duties. He saw groups of exhausted men and crying children, and the downtrodden women who reassured them.

After confirming the position of the village, Cha Ming sat cross-legged in meditation to formulate a plan. His past experiences in trying to rescue prisoners had scarred him greatly, and he refused to be reckless like before. These bandits may not be devils, but he wouldn't put anything past these immoral beasts who had enslaved their fellow men. He had to be cautious, and he certainly couldn't expose his identity to these men, lest they hold the village hostage.

Thinking of this, he remodeled the bones in his face and took on the appearance of his late nemesis, Zhou Xian. The mystical technique transformed both his appearance and aura, and he complemented this new appearance by transforming his cultivation robes to a set of black robes with a deep cowl. He now had the appearance of a vicious assassin who hid his features.

There were three problems he needed to consider in rescuing the villagers. The first problem was that he couldn't kill Wei Chen first. The bandits were currently restrained by Wei Chen's heavenly oath. If he died, he wouldn't put it past them to at least attempt to threaten him with hostages, even if he did not let on his relation to the villagers.

Next, he needed to lure the bandits out of the mine, disrupting their activities and making it difficult to endanger the hostages. He couldn't expose his appearance or true purpose, so he would need a motive for invading their village in the first place.

Should I pose as an assassin? A thief? But what could I steal that would cause such a ruckus? The shack containing spirit weapons and spirit stones came to mind. While he doubted that all the spirit stones mined were there, he also didn't think that Wei Chen would be so concerned about picking them up every day, especially given that his men had the area surrounded.

However, stealing such a small amount would unlikely achieve the effect he required. He would likely need to repeat the thievery multiple times. In fact, robbing other things from their group might be necessary.

Lastly, he was likely barely a match for Wei Chen. While his qi cultivation and body cultivation were both equivalent to early-stage foundation establishment, Wei Chen had experience. He also likely had foundation-establishment techniques, and Cha Ming could only use the insights he'd gleaned in Fuxi's Library and his newly improved qi to enhance his techniques. At the very least, he would have a slightly larger qi pool than an early-foundation-establishment cultivator.

Either way, this meant that he could not confront them directly. He would need to divide and conquer. His main advantage was his physical body's endurance, his multiple varieties of qi, and the Stormchaser Boots, whose appearance he had altered to black to match his outfit. He thought briefly of the two mid-grade talismans Elder Ling had gifted him but chose not to account them for now, for fear that they might be ineffective. At the very least, he could use them in a pinch for an unexpected effect.

He then thought of a glaring flaw in his plans. Why is the Clear Sky Staff so obvious in appearance? Can I change its appearance to something plainer like the rest of the magic items I'm wearing?

He summoned the staff, which reluctantly altered its appearance. Instead of being crystal clear, it was now a dark brown. For some reason, it refused to turn black, white, or gray. In addition, he was only able to dim the runes to a dull glow. Like before, the staff refused to see them extinguished, as though he were crossing its bottom line.

Quite picky, are you? he thought. To his surprise, the staff shivered indignantly and began reverting to its previous appearance. Cha Ming panicked and apologized profusely before it finally halted its progress and returned to its dark mahogany color with dull runes. However, he could see that the wood was slightly lighter in color than before and the runes slightly brighter, as though in protest. He didn't voice his displeasure, however, for fear that the brush would revolt once more.

His clothes complete, he waited for night to come. To his surprise, a family of a dozen boars arrived just before sunset to offer greetings. The boar he had spared approached and put a root on the ground, as though paying tribute to its king. Cha Ming chuckled when he saw that it was an ocher spirit root, one that had matured at least six years. The family of boars sat obediently, waiting for him to devour it.

And people use the saying "worse than a beast" to insult others, Cha Ming mused. Truly, these boars have enlightened me. While I cowed them previously, the boar didn't have to come back. However, it acknowledged its defeat and now seeks to give me the honor it thinks I deserve. Many humans aren't so thoughtful.

Then, chuckling, he held out his hand and sent a surge of qi into his closed palm. He opened it up and dropped twenty nutrition pellets that he had just created. Seeing the boar's confused expression, he moved away rapidly, giving the impression that he had disappeared. In the distance, he used his incandescent force to see their reactions.

After a while, the lead boar walked up to the root Cha Ming left behind and ate it, then after sniffing the white pellets, it ate one as a test. Then, noticing that these were good nutritious things, it invited each of the boars in its family to eat as well.

***

Cha Ming's figure fluttered in the darkness. His footsteps made no sound as he walked in the air using his Stormchaser Boots and his Seven Cloud Steps technique. Fortunately, using this basic technique was very economical for him now. His foundation-establishment qi allowed it to be used far longer than before. He estimated that it was to the extent that he could use the movement technique for a half day.

He used his incandescent force to avoid the many patrols around the camp. There were many more bandits than in the day, likely due to Wei Chen's vast experience as a bandit. Bandits and thieves came at night, not during the day. Still, avoiding them and remaining in the darkness was easy to accomplish. As one sentry walked passed him, he quickly zipped through the camp, avoiding the notice of the many bandits that were huddled around a fire. He flew through the darkness until he arrived at a second well-lit and heavily guarded area: the storage shack.

He walked around the perimeter carefully, probing for any potential weaknesses. He could only sigh in disappointment and proceed to his backup plan, which involved using brute force. Then, summoning his Clear Sky Staff, he ran toward the bandits like a gale force wind. They barely had the chance to react before Cha Ming's staff hit six of them in quick succession. His footwork was fleeting and the motions of his staff eccentric. Despite the staff's lightness, its quick movements and Cha Ming's great strength were enough to pulverize their bones and internal organs, killing the six bandits instantly. He wasted no time with the others and kicked the door in.

He ignored the quivering accountant, who he had just woken with his brusque entry, and proceeded to the back of the shack, where he felt the densest energy of heaven and earth. Opening the door, he saw various locked chests. He wasted no time and broke them open with fierce blows of his staff. The crystal ore they contained scattered all over the floor, but he instantly whipped them up into his Clear Sky World. Then he proceeded to another four rooms and repeated the process.

As soon as he had finished looting, he felt a powerful spiritual force projecting outward and focusing on the shack.

Time to go, he thought. He used his spiritual force to avoid the probing and rapidly burst out of the back wall of the shack, where various bandits welcomed him with weapons drawn. He snorted and stepped down onto the ground heavily, increasing his weight using Mountain Stance. Then he extended his Clear Sky Staff to fifty feet in length, using his entire strength to smash across a dozen of them with Sword Staff.

Previously, his Sword Staff would only glow with a silver sheen. Now, however, he could see the blurry outlines of various runes in the staff art, complementing the blade-like qi projection that made the technique effective and increasing the density and sharpness of the blade. As a result, the Sword Staff cut through them like butter, bisecting them before he withdrew his staff and ran like the wind.

He didn't pause for even a moment and flew away, well aware that a frightening presence was approaching from behind: Wei Chen and two others he had not noticed previously were approaching on flying swords, tailing him in hot pursuit. Wei Chen led the pack, but before long Cha Ming noticed the man break away from the pack and begin catching up with frightening efficiency.

Cha Ming clicked his tongue and tried using his Seven Cloud Steps to increase his speed, but to no avail. He then remembered what the Custodian had said—that the boots were good for fighting and flying but weren't great for absolute speed compared to a flying sword.

Do I have no choice but to fight?

He wasn't very confident in his odds of winning against the three experts pursuing him, so instead he focused on his previous experience with the Sword Staff Art. Somehow, some blurry runes had appeared that supplemented its functions. Could he do the same for the Seven Cloud Steps technique? While using the technique, he felt the wind qi beneath his feet and the path it traveled, combining awkwardly with the functions of his Stormchaser Boots.

What runes would truly be useful right now? He instantly though of the Seven Cloud Steps talismans he had crafted for the auction in Fairweather. To his surprise, the qi beneath his feet became more tangible, and some blurry runes formed of qi appeared. His speed increased substantially. However, Wei Chen was still closing in on him. He was only a few hundred meters behind, almost in range to lash out with a flying sword.

Cha Ming's mind rapidly sifted through the many characters he had learned in Fuxi's Library. Whenever he found a character related to wind or speed, he willed it to appear, and it materialized beneath his boots. Sometimes, his speed increased. Other times, it decreased due to incompatibility.

"You can't escape!" Wei Chen shouted as he closed the distance. "Surrender and return what you stole, cut off your right arm, and we'll let bygones be bygones."

Cha Ming ignored him and continued focusing on gaining insight with compatible characters. Unfortunately, things became much more difficult once he sensed a sharp sensation from behind. He used his boots to sharply change directions in midair, barely avoiding a flying sword. It turned around to head back toward him, but its efficiency was much lower. Cha Ming thanked his lucky stars and no longer regretted the choice he made in choosing the boots. While they were slower than a flying sword, their ability to change trajectories on demand was invaluable.

"You might be able to avoid a single flying sword, but how about three?" Wei Chen yelled, taunting him. Cha Ming was well aware of the other two cultivators who would soon close in on him. He continued thinking as he evaded, and soon he found three runes that seemed to complement his movement technique perfectly. Unsurprisingly, they were all runes that represented different types of clouds.

Perhaps seven clouds are optimal. He poured through his memories, and before long, he found four additional ones. The seven runes represented "cirrostratus," "altostratus," "stratus," "nimbostratus," "noctilucent," "polar stratospheric," and "cirrus". These were all clouds that didn't move much, and the logic behind his deductions were that they would enable him to push off with greater force. In addition, he was strapped for time and had already determined the first three.

Sharply evading another sword, he began tracing geometric lines between the fuzzy qi runes between his boots. At this time, the other two foundation-establishment experts had arrived and sent their flying swords out to intercept him. He dodged the various flying-sword techniques, barely avoiding death multiple times before finishing the formation of foundation-establishment qi.

As soon as the final line connected, establishing a firm relationship between the characters, the blurry characters condensed and cleared. His footsteps quickened and his instantaneous acceleration increased dramatically.

"It was nice spending time with you," Cha Ming said with Zhou Xian's voice. "However, I don't have a lot of time to waste. I have things to do, things to steal. See you around."

Then, using his newly created technique, he darted off into the distance. He heard loud cursing as the three fell further and further behind before finally giving up.

Cha Ming continued for an hour before stopping to catch his breath and count his gains. Overall, he'd stolen the equivalent of 30,000 mid-grade spirit stones. Regrettably, he estimated that this was only two weeks' of total output from the mine.

Still, it was a start. He refused to believe that they wouldn't react after he repeated the theft several times. It was a game of patience, and he was sure theirs would give out first.