Nothing.
Black.
Oblivion.
In the darkness, the faintest thought remained.
Energy must be conserved. It can be neither created nor destroyed. This state is but a temporary state, a storage of energy. And all I need to do, is
A spark.
Instantly, the spark repressed itself.
Hui peered around. Barely the size of a spark, he hid in the pile of ashes, completely invisible to the naked eye.
Imdiately, he let out a sigh of relief. It worked! Were alive, and we cut off Huo Fenghuang. Perfect, perfect!
A huge, older Huo Fenghuang appeared, a manic grin on her face, raking through the flas. Mine. Theyre mine, all mine!
Hmm no, I dont think so.
Ah, will it be suspicious if we continue to be ashes for too long? Phoenixes dont usually spend much ti dead. Even if I am faking my death
The phoenixes stirred, impatient.
I think its ti to return.
Flas surged from the ashes. Huo Fenghuang staggered back, hands up to block the flas. Hui rapidly grew, aging from a ball of cells to a fetus.
As he grew, he reforged his body. Every cell he infused with fla qi, simultaneously both life qi and death qior rather, in the interdiary step between the two. He routed his qi passages as they grew, perfectly aligning them through his body. Shaping his dantian, he circulated all three types of qi in it, transmuting life qi to fla qi to death qi and back again.
Rather than having two cultivation systems, he synced his souls dantian to his bodys, making the two one and the sa.
He grew larger and older. In a series of monts, he passed through qi gathering, into second realm, third, fourth, fifth. His body still a childs, he faced the barrier at the top of fifth realm, and felt no resistance.
Huis eyes glittered. While I have the opportunity why not keep going? He threw himself at the barrier.
The barrier shattered. He surged through. The golden orb in his dantian liquefied and continued to spin, faster, faster. The barrier of the sixth stage appeared, then vanished. His dantian drew his soul in, and the qi rushed into it, forming it into no ordinary soul, but instead a Nascent Soul.
Seventh realm!
He pressed onward. Through the middle of the seventh realm, firming up his Nascent Soul, forming it into a near-physical form. Ah condensing a Nascent Soul is beyond simple for , soone who was once a reaper and who has been stepping out of his body since I was a young cultivator!
His Nascent Soul grew almost perfect, but there, Huis progress flagged. He frowned, looking it over. Its almost perfect. I know that. But where is it not perfect? What am I missing?
In that mont, he lost the edge. His cultivation stalled out, no longer surging forward. His age continued to grow, rushing up toward his previous age.
Hui frowned, then sighed and waved his hand. Ah, well, picking up two stages at once I cant complain about that!
As he reached his usual age, his aging slowed to a halt. The phoenixes flickered around him, burning endlessly. Hui looked down at his nude body, then ran a hand over his chest, materializing lotus clothes. As they grew, he imbued them with fla qi. The flas constantly burned at the clothes, but they constantly regenerated themselves. Aside from a few flas licking at his shoulders and the ends of his robes, he barely appeared to be on fire.
Huo Fenghuang snarled. She rushed at him, baring her hands in claws. Give them back!
Hui slapped at her backhanded. Flas burst around his hand without him even thinking. The blow struck her on the cheek and turned her in a full spin. She stumbled backward, falling against the barriers wall.
He looked at his hand, then at Huo Fenghuang. Er whoops. I just ant to push her back, but He flexed his hand thoughtfully. Too late now. Now that Ive been domineering lets go all the way!
Elder Sister, do you think Im stupid? Give them back? Why would I do that? Hui asked. He shook his head at her.
All this ti theyve been mine for centuries. I wont let you take them away! she snarled.
As I said, Elder Sister, what makes you think Ill let you choose? Hui asked imperiously. He stepped into the air, looking around. That hole where I broke through the barrier where is it?
Give them back! Huo Fenghuang shouted, desperate.
Hui turned away. Youre rely reaping what you sowed. Elder Sister, this, too, is karma!
Ahhhh! Ive wanted to say that phrase for so long! Hahah! Feels so good! Theres sothing incredibly fun about saying those ultimate phrases in real life, and actually aning them.
Qian Liqiu appeared before him once more. This ti, outside of Huo Fenghuangs dantian, she floated beside him as a qi construct, ever so slightly transparent. Her face slightly flushed, she nodded at Hui. We are with you for the mont, but who knows how long that will last. Our current state is unstable. Although we are conscious and sane for a mont, we cannot stay this way for long. No matter what, we will return to burning wildly. When that happens I fear you will end up in the sa state as Huo Fenghuang.
Then, I must act quickly, Hui returned, nodding. I dont want to absorb the phoenixes forever. I dont want to absorb them at all, except except that theyre my ticket out of the Underworld, without breaking the net as Zhu Diyu wants to!
Ill warn you now. To abandon us in this state, removed from Huo Fenghuang but without bodies of our own we would simply beco a beast, the likes of which even Huo Fenghuang could not compare to, Qian Liqiu warned him. At that point, we cannot be held accountable for our actions.
Absolutely not, Senior, I wouldnt dare! Hui assured her.
I understand what she ans. If I simply set them free, they wont be able to survive. Theyve spent too long as qi constructs. They may not be able to create bodies or perhaps, they forgot how!
Luckily, I have a solution though it might take so ti.
Or lots of qi.
Hui smiled quietly. Hmm. I might have a plan to co across so of that. But first
Huo Fenghuang swiped at him. Give them back!
Elder Sister, farewell, Hui said. He threw his hand out, sending a bolt of fla qi toward the hole hed opened in the barrier. As it flew, the fla qi transmuted into death qi. The hole had healed, but the weakness in the barrier remained. His death qi opened a wrist-sized opening, and Hui drilled through it, widening the hole as he burst out, then imdiately closing it behind him.
Huo Fenghuang lunged for the hole as it closed, distorting into a sword light in her rush. Hui opened his hand, spreading the death qi across the hole. She struck the death qi and recoiled, grabbing her face. What
Death qi, Senior. Ah, I am a ghost, after all. Was a ghost, Hui explained. He waved his hand, retracting his qi, and the hole sealed back up. He bowed to Huo Fenghuang. The next ti I see your disciple, Ill tell him where you are. If only as a distraction, to get him to montarily leave alone! I dont get the impression that Han Qin is good at cracking barriers, so sending him to find Huo Fenghuang should distract him for a while. Mmm, and if its one of those barriers that takes a hundred years to crack, I might even be at least a few realms higher, and perhaps strong enough to flee too fast for him to catch !
Hui paused. Shouldnt I already be a few hundred years old? With my diocre talent
Ah, well Ive gotten lucky, Ive rely gotten lucky! Theres nothing particularly stand-out about my talent, nothing at all. Nodding to himself, Hui turned to go.
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