Volume Two: Mountains and Rivers Block the Path, Chapter Eleven: Opportunity

Zhuo Hua sat in the cramped cabin, listening to the incessant lightning outside as it struck the hull of the ship, producing harsh, explosive sounds. Reciting incantations, Zhuo Hua removed the crystal dress from the white-robed young officer. But the young officer still kept his eyes tightly shut, motionless.

Zhuo Hua took out a small porcelain bottle from his robe, placed two pills into the young officer’s mouth, and let him hold them. After a few moments, the young officer’s eyelashes fluttered.

Zhuo Hua hurriedly called him awake.

The first words the young officer uttered upon awakening were, “Am I dead?”

Zhuo Hua smiled and replied, “No, you’re still alive.”

He said, “Alive? How is that possible? I remember charging forward with my blade to kill Yuan Kang, then a pillar of light descended, and after that I found myself in a dim, yellowish place. I couldn’t tell if it was the Lanling Void, but I was certain I was doomed, because not a trace of energy could be drawn from my Qi-Settling Pearl.”

Zhuo Hua helped him sit up and asked, “And then?”

The young officer said, “After that, it became harder and harder to breathe, and slowly I lost consciousness.” He suddenly looked up at Zhuo Hua and asked, “Why am I here? Who are you? Did you save me?”

Zhuo Hua sat beside him, took out the black, inscriptionless arcane stone seal, and handed it to the young officer. “I am Zhuo Hua, Primarch of the Celestial Palace atop the Clouds.”

The young officer first examined the seal stone, his hands trembling as he held it. Hearing Zhuo Hua introduce himself, he quickly turned over and kowtowed before him. “Lan Sheng of the Blue Clan pays his respects to the Primarch.”

“Oh, so you’re a Blue Clan boy! And what is Tian Chong to you?” Zhuo Hua asked.

“He’s my uncle,” Lan Sheng replied.

Zhuo Hua nodded, looking at the shrunken crystal dress in his palm. “Then it is only right that the Tian Clan’s sacred relic is with you. You may rise.”

Lan Sheng stood and clasped his fists, asking, “May I ask, Primarch, how did we come to be here?”

Zhuo Hua lay back on the floor, gazing at the thunder pouring like a waterfall onto the crystal ceiling overhead. “Yuan Kang of the Sun-Worshipping Cult tried to provoke a small heavenly tribulation, summoning the thunder of the Ninth Heaven to destroy you all. I intervened, activating the Cloud-Void to draw him in here. As for you, I wonder why you were brought along.”

Lan Sheng scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “General Xiao was slain by Yuan Kang, so I wanted to kill Yuan Kang to avenge him. I didn’t expect to be drawn in with you.”

“You haven’t even passed your first heavenly tribulation, and you still made it to this Cloud-Void. If not for the crystal dress shielding you, you’d have been reduced to dust a hundred times over,” Zhuo Hua observed, scanning Lan Sheng and sensing his aura.

“Lan Sheng has shamed the immortal clans. I am twenty-five this year and have only barely brushed the edge of the heavenly tribulation,” Lan Sheng said, embarrassed.

Suddenly, a loud crack resounded from the crystal ceiling, and a huge fissure appeared.

Lan Sheng hurriedly asked, “Primarch, is this place safe?”

Zhuo Hua, calmly reclining, replied, “Not at all. It will soon break apart.”

Lan Sheng’s face changed. “Then… aren’t we… aren’t we doomed here?”

Zhuo Hua replied leisurely, “Not entirely. You will certainly die, but I cannot be killed.”

Lan Sheng, tinged with resentment but not daring to protest, muttered under his breath, “The Primarch has already passed the Cloud-Void tribulation; he has plenty of ways to resist.”

Zhuo Hua suddenly sat up, his gaze sharp upon Lan Sheng. “You have two choices now. First, stay within this crystal dress and wait for me to deal with Yuan Kang and take you away afterward.”

Lan Sheng’s face burned with rage, his eyes blazing. “For years, Yuan Kang has tormented my immortal kin and slew Xiao Sui, the bravest warrior of Changshan. If I do not kill him, I’d rather die than live in disgrace!”

Zhuo Hua nodded. “Very well. Then your second option is to accompany me to find Yuan Kang, eliminate him, and then return together to the Lanling Void.”

Lan Sheng nodded excitedly, but then his face fell. “I wish to help the Primarch slay that villain, but my cultivation is too low. In this Cloud-Void, I can barely protect myself; I fear I will only hinder you.”

Zhuo Hua laughed heartily. “Is that so difficult? Since you entered the Cloud-Void and survived, it’s a stroke of fortune. Let me help you ascend.”

He drew a dozen Solar Jade stones from his Infinite Cosmos pouch and placed them beside him. “Give me your Qi-Settling Pearl. Hurry!”

Lan Sheng hesitated, wanting to ask but not daring. He circulated his energy and released his Qi-Settling Pearl from his abdomen.

Zhuo Hua glanced at the pearl. “Your father neglects statecraft, always chasing immortality. Look what he gave his son—a worthless thing.”

Lan Sheng explained cautiously, “This is the immortal-grade Qi-Settling Pearl bestowed by my father…”

Before he could finish, Zhuo Hua interrupted, crushing the Solar Jade stones in his palm as he spoke. “This pearl was originally spirit-grade, barely upgraded to immortal-grade. I suspect your father was deceived again.”

He took Lan Sheng’s pearl, letting the crushed Solar Jade powder spiral and hover in midair. Then he gently pushed the pearl into the center of the powder. Next, Zhuo Hua produced a Golden Crow tail feather, its black body coursing with golden light, and broke it in two, pinching each half in his hands. He slowly inserted the feathers into Lan Sheng’s Qi-Settling Pearl from either side. As soon as the feathers touched the pearl, they began to burn, and flames spread from the contact points until the entire pearl was ablaze. At this moment, Zhuo Hua gathered all his energy in his palms and struck the burning pearl with all the Solar Jade powder.

The burning pearl began spinning rapidly, absorbing the nearby powder. As the powder dwindled, the flames slowly extinguished, and at last a new Qi-Settling Pearl emerged, glowing blue-white, with flickering black-gold flames visible within.

Lan Sheng felt utterly overwhelmed. The unremarkable pearl he’d just produced had been transformed before his eyes, almost beyond recognition, by Zhuo Hua’s deft hands.

Zhuo Hua used his energy to gently push the newly forged pearl back into Lan Sheng’s abdomen. At the very last moment, Lan Sheng took a deep breath—so deep he felt as if he’d drawn all the surrounding energy into himself.

Zhuo Hua beamed. “Congratulations! You finally possess a genuine immortal-grade Qi-Settling Pearl. You may name it as you wish.”

Lan Sheng’s face was a mix of excitement and disbelief. Grinning widely, he said, “I see it shines blue-white, yet inside flows black-gold flame… I’ll call it Whitefire Goldstream.”

Zhuo Hua packed up his things, laughing. “What an awful name. Well, I’ve used up all the Solar Jade I brought as materials. From now on, we’ll have to rely on our own abilities to escape this Cloud-Void.”

Suddenly, Lan Sheng knelt and kowtowed three times, nine bows, saying, “Lan Sheng owes the Primarch a life-saving grace and generous gift, which he can never repay. From now on, I shall brave fire and water for the Immortal Clans of Xuanhuang without hesitation.”

Zhuo Hua helped him up. “Let’s get out alive first.”

Lan Sheng nodded and turned to ask, “Primarch, there’s one thing I don’t understand.”

Zhuo Hua lay down again. “Ask.”

“I’ve heard the Primarch only uses god-grade Solar Jade. But why, when used as material for my Qi-Settling Pearl, is the pearl only immortal-grade? Also, that Golden Crow tail feather you used is a divine artifact; isn’t it wasteful to forge an immortal-grade pearl with it?” Lan Sheng asked.

“The Solar Jade I used was indeed god-grade, but once it’s crushed and injected into a pearl, its grade can only match the pearl’s grade. The pearl’s grade depends on the rare materials used during its forging. A divine bird’s tail feather is the highest form for an immortal-grade artifact. Its efficacy is not much inferior to a god-grade pearl; if you are skilled in its use, you could fight a master who’s just passed the Cloud-Void tribulation to a standstill for three days,” Zhuo Hua replied.

Lan Sheng asked, “And after three days?”

Zhuo Hua’s lips curled slightly. “After three days, your energy will be exhausted and you’ll be killed by your opponent.”

Lan Sheng deflated. “Then I still can’t defeat a god-grade master.”

“Of course not. That’s why you must remember the technique I teach you soon, and master it in a short time. Only then can you hope to return to the Lanling Void with me,” Zhuo Hua said, still gazing at the crystal ceiling.

Lan Sheng’s eyes flashed gold as he asked excitedly, “Primarch, are you going to personally instruct me in cultivation?”

Zhuo Hua laughed. “Who else is here? Hurry up! The crack is getting bigger. Our time is running out.”