Chen Haoran slowly rose. A single step carried him out of a hole taller than three n. He followed the Yellow Dragons glare into the sky and cycled qi to his eyes. Of the two Crystal Transformations in the air, only one had butterfly wings. He was clothed in purple as ancient royalty might wear, and over that laid the red official uniform of the empire like an overcoat. A purple-gold circlet of interlinked scorpions sat on his brow. Rows of small bone butterflies hung from thin threads attached to his sleeves. He wasnt paying them any attention.
Phelps dropped Xie Jin and Bao Si back to the ground, and Chen Haoran rounded on them. What the fuck was that!
Xie Jin cast his eyes toward the sky, then back down just as quickly. A Crystal Transformation Realm Shaman.
The dirt at Chen Haorans feet was blown away by an unseen force. And they can just do that? Steal my voice? My body?
A Golden Silkworm can, Bao Si answered.
It was a scorpion. Not a silkworm, Chen Haoran said. He touched his mouth and then cursed loudly. Angry was good. Loud was good. The louder he cursed, the more it felt like his voice was still his own, that it was actually him speaking and not a body-snatching cultivator.
The thought drew him up short. Did he not technically qualify as a body snatcher himself? The body snatcher got body snatched. It was such a ridiculous idea that it actually drew a laugh out of him. He spun and kicked a fallen tree with a trunk wider than he could wrap his arms around and sent it careening into the tree line in a cacophony of shattered wood and the groaning fall of yet more trees. Fuck!
Chen Haoran stepped on another tree trunk and crushed it in half. He flexed his qi, and the air around him visibly pulsed and fled outward with a sound akin to a whip crack. He raged amongst the wreckage hed created, flinging trees and cracking the earth with every step. The commotion he made did not go unnoticed, and soon enough, he felt two Second-Layer Liquid ridians approaching the hill. Unfortunately for them, there was no treasure to be had on this hill, just one angry Chen Haoran. When they dared to reach over with their senses and try to spy, he turned on them.
What do you think youre looking at!? Qi flooded his voice and pitched his words such that they beca a roar worthy of the Yellow Dragon, shaking the leaves off standing trees. Through his sense, he felt the two Liquid ridians spike their qi to brace themselves, then turn and flee.
Chen Haorans chest heaved with every breath, and he dragged his hands across his face. Bao Si and Xie Jin remained silent as he raged and made no move to co closer. Phelps floated to and fro between them. Chen Haoran breathed once. Then twice, then pulled his hands from his face. They ca away shaking, and Chen Haoran stared at them as if it were the first ti hed ever seen them before. He exhaled. Fuck.
Phelps let out a soft bleat behind him. Chen Haoran turned and opened his arms up to the sloth. Phelps floated over and Chen Haoran enveloped him in a crushing hug. Sorry. Im sorry. He buried his face into Phelpss fur. Sorry.
Putting aside how you were able to discern that, Bao Si finally said after a mont had passed. A Golden Silkworm isnt a literal term, at least not anymore. It refers to a powerful type of Gu. One with far more exaggerated abilities than the norm. She glanced at Xie Jin with a none-to-kind look. As soon as we got here, we were outed and rembered by a Gu Departnt official with a Golden Silkworm. I hope youre happy, Xie Jin.
Xie Jin frowned. Get off my back. We expected there to be shamans here. How was I supposed to know a crazy freak like him would show up? Since when did the Gu Departnt even have Golden Silkworms. His eyes flickered to the Crystal Transformation Realm. He didnt dare let them linger for longer than a second. I dont recognize him. Do you?
Bao Si mimicked Xie Jins actions. I dont.
Theres no way soone crazy like him is unknown, Xie Jin said. Its impossible.
Whats the significance of the Gu Departnt having a Golden Silkworm? Chen Haoran didnt raise his head when he asked the question.
Its.well, Xie Jin hesitated.
The Golden Silkworm is the best possible Gu you can create with the Poison Jar Ritual, Bao Si interrupted. In them, all the characteristics of a Gu, both good and bad, are magnified. With regular Gu, a shaman being devoured is a potential risk. With Golden Silkworms, it is a daily battle. She side-eyed Xie Jin. And as I told you before, selfish shamans raise selfish Gu. Creating such an example for such a dangerous Gu to follow can only be called insane.
Chen Haoran took one last huff of Phelpss fur and raised his head. How does a Black Bone Gu compare to a Golden Silkworm?
Xie Jin ran a hand through his hair and sighed. The best shamans in Zumulu are the Black Bones. The best Gu are the Golden Silkworms. He spoke as if he were reciting the words from a distant mory.
Sothing nasty welled up in Chen Haorana final ember from the dying fire of his anger. Clearly, the forr isnt true if the latter is. He imdiately regretted the words as soon as they left his lips. Being angry was justified. Taking it out on his friends wasnt. Im sorry.
Dont worry about it. Xie Jin grimaced. Its not wrong in the end. Black Bone Shamans and Golden Silkworms dont mix well. Our ritual is already dangerous enough that trying to reach the standards to make a Golden Silkworm is almost always fatal. We did have one shaman successfully do it, and he was one of the best in history but. His eyes flickered to Bao Si.
He killed himself 400 years ago, Bao Si said with a blank face. She brushed sawdust and wood chippings off her dress. Co on. Weve wasted enough ti. We need to enter the pyramid.
Fuck the trial. I just want to leave, Chen Haoran said.
As do I, Bao Si replied. If it were any other Crystal Transformation, we might have even had a chance.
Chen Haoran turned his gaze back to the shaman in the sky. Unlike Xie Jin and Bao Si he did not care to look away. Despite that, the shaman still did not pay him any attention.
Make sure you find out who he is, Chen Haoran said.
Because while it might not be now, and it might not be soon. He was going to rip that bastards jaw off.
Chen Haoran pulled his cloak around him tighter, and Phelps took the hint and remained as still and silent as he could be. All around them were rushing cultivators, and while they did try their best to avoid the majority, the sheer number in such a small area made it impossible to completely avoid every cultivator on their way to the pyramid, especially since many were going in the sa direction as them. Fortunately, even the soldiers were none too keen on observing them with their senses. It could have been out of an ingrained cultural aversion to openly doing so, or it might have been because Chen Haorans qi was poised like an animal ready to lash out.
Xie Jin scanned each and every relief and engraving they passed with a rigorous focus, quite the opposite of how he usually acted. Bao Si anwhile pinched a leaf off a bush as they passed by it and chewed on it.
Its faint, but theres poison in it, she said. She screwed her face and spat it out. Only the Green Hell could be this bitter.
Thats a normal bush, no? Xie Jin asked, turning his attention away from the ruins.
It is, Bao Si confird. I can see why the Empire is so interested in this place if even the ordinary plants can adapt to the Green Hells miasma.
Xie Jin rubbed his chin. This valley is directly connected to the Tenth Green Hell. The whole thing is like a huge channel for miasma. It was definitely made by one of the Greater River Kingdoms. He pointed to the ouroboros carving atop the pyramid. The Snake King probably even built it himself. I dont think any of his successors and pretenders would have the strength to build a place like this.
Theres probably so fascinating history here, Chen Haoran said. Ruins this large and this complete would have been a huge deal back on Earth. While he didnt quite have the mood to appreciate them now, they still helped calm his mind. It was just a sha there were so many treasure hunters rather than archaeologists here. There was a faded fresco of a red dragon that caught his attention in particular. The edges were ti-worn and damaged, but he could make out a row of kneeling human figures with spears laid flat in clenched hands.
Then the wall broke.
A red-clothed Fifth-Layer Liquid ridian stepped over the rubble of the fresco and onto the main road, dusting off his shoulders as he did. His foot absently fell on the intact eye of the red dragon and crushed it. Chen Haoran froze. Then he gritted his teeth.
The defacer saw him and laughed. What do you think youre looking at? Got a problem, you trash?
Xie Jin grabbed his arm with lightning speed and pulled him away. His eyes were steely and aid toward the pyramid. Dont, Brother. Despite his words, Chen Haoran could hear how he ground them out.
Right. Theyd already gotten in trouble with a super shaman. While Chen Haoran would have liked nothing more than to beat soones face in to reclaim so of his lost feelings of control, it wasnt the best idea to do so now. He couldnt just fight every random asshole.
The thing about assholes, however, was that they never let it stop at just one thing.
"Did I say you could leave? You think you can glare at however you want without an apology?"
Chen Haoran didnt even have to pull his arm to convince Xie Jin to let him go.
The Liquid ridian sneered. What? You want to start sothing?
Back off. Chen Haorans tone was flat. I wont say it twice.
A flare of qi was his answer. More flies that dont seem to understand the imnsity of Heaven. This isnt a place you can run wild in. I make the rules here.
Chen Haoran glanced up at the Crystal Transformation Realms. By so unholy miracle, the shaman finally deigned to look his way. They locked eyes. The shaman smiled and nodded. Chen Haoran shivered and looked down.
Connection: Negative
The dumbass across from him clearly misinterpreted it. Know your place, worm. Nowhere in the Southern Region is safe for you if you offend , Li Mou.
Chen Haorans palms glowed green. These ruins didnt survive the march of ti to be destroyed by a piece of shit like you. The only reason youll walk away alive today is because of those two in the sky.
Well said. The interrupting voice was deep and powerful. Before any of them could react, a tall, barrel-chested bear of a man wearing a red Garrison uniform appeared next to Li Mou. The man flared his qi, Ninth-Layer Liquid ridian, and hamred the back of his fist into his comrades ribs. Li Mou's chest caved in, and he collapsed to the ground like a puppet with cut strings. Despite the terrifying injury, Li Mou was still alive. It was a testant to the incredible vitality of the Liquid ridian Realm that he remained conscious enough to have fear in his eyes. The man lood over him.
Fool. If it werent , it would be the team from the Ministry of Culture. How much knowledge has been lost in these ruins? How precious is every scrap of pottery and chipped brick? That wall could have held the key needed to control this trial ground, and now well never know because you were too lazy to jump over it. The man spat on Li Mou and waved over so nearby soldiers. Get this idiot out of my sight before I kill him.
As the soldiers carried away the once proud form of Li Mou, the bear-like man turned toward them. Chen Haoran dispersed the qi gathering at his palms but held them at the ready. It wasnt danger that he felt from this man, however, it was more akin to. kinship?
The Yellow Dragon crooned, for once taking interest in the outside on its own initiative.
The man smiled. A fellow cultivator of the Machu River. Who would have thought I would have t another of the sa kind so far from our mother river? Friend, may I know your na?
Chen Haoran briefly considered the rits of answering or not. In the end, it was an easy choice. He clasped his hands in a polite bow. My na is Song Yuelin. A wandering cultivator.
The man returned the bow. I am Pan Gong. My na is not worth much, but I am fortunate to call myself a student of the Palace School.
The Palace School. The place Lan Fen had felt so called to in order to further her cultivation. Where the future officials of the Empire were molded, and Heaven-Rank techniques could be claid by the worthy. This Pan Gong in front of him would no doubt beco soone important one day.
Connection: Negative
A pleasure to make your acquaintance.
Chen Haoran couldnt find it within him to care anymore. He was tired of eting important people and tired of eting self-important Crystal Transformations.
He really needed to leave Zumulu.
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