When the formation powers on, it is a very quiet, and almost mundane affair. There is no flash of light or gust of wind — merely an ultra-thin blade-shaped wedge of coalesced sword energy that is ten steps long, but capable of creating a fissure in the ground, at the point of contact, that is almost five steps wide and growing.

With my spiritual senses, I can detect the matrix of the formation above its center into which a considerable amount of qi is spiraling — all supplied by my [World Eater] talent, in combination with the annihilation effect of my very own [Fractured Sword] motes of energy.

All in all, even operating at slightly under fifty percent load, I am supplying more qi and energy into this formation than what any of my memories suggest is reasonable to be expected from a cultivator or even a single object.

Of course, this amount of energy is not inconceivable, but it must come from a sizable vein or heavily compressed crystal. This last part — about the crystal — makes me question whether my black jade core has such a special function and whether my vessel cultivation is exactly like that act of compressing qi crystals into a higher-tier existence.

Ultimately, I conclude that this has little to do with my physical traits, and is entirely related to my [World Eater] ability — which may be related to my physique. Simply put, [World Eater] allows me to draw in the qi from a vast area and focus it into a single point — myself — along with the capability to dissolve and consume almost any material for its, presumably intrinsic, energy value.

Because of this lack of data, I have vastly underestimated the capability and shape of my newest formation.

First of all, I had assumed it would be a point, not a long blade-shaped construct that would cleave into the earth like a large-scale sword — and even though this arrangement is far less efficient, I find that it has particular advantages in terms of energy consumption.

Secondly, even after digging a trench thirty steps deep, it doesn’t feel like I am getting any closer to the treasure below the earth which I assume is ore or high-grade stone. In this regard, perhaps digging in from below was the more proper choice, but accessing it from this side won't be a problem.

Lan Xiaohui, for her part, with little else to do other than maintain the formulas of her martial art, retreats into my sea of consciousness where the flashes of her sword energy illuminate the dull, metal-silver sheen of the sea of my consciousness.

The waves rise and roil and the “sky” darkens underneath each cleaving blow of Lan Xiaohui’s sword — both her [Heartless Blood Lily] and [Liminality Flower]-brand of techniques — but not even sparks fly off the corpse of the snake, let alone any sort of indicator that it received a blow.

Above Lan Xiaohui, towering high into the heavens like a space elevator, the [Demon Tree of the First Thorn] seemingly looks down upon all of my spiritual “creation”, with its crown of dull-red-and-gold leaves, and strange, still-growing blood-red fruits.

Though Lan Xiaohui’s efforts leave no result to be impressed by, her form itself is something that fills me with deep appreciation and approval. It is enough for me to see and estimate her power and to use this metric to compare it to that time almost two years ago when she was helpless and more eager to die than to struggle against her fate.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

It was through the promise of reaching the apex that she managed to recover a semblance of dignity and determination, but it was most certainly another factor that carried her this far; in part, this was her faith in me, and something else.

Because of me, the thought jumps off my sentient core like a wayward spark in a faulty electrical grid and, for once — and with increasing frequency recently — I do not reject it immediately.

I know Lan Xiaohui is dependent on me for moral support — that was the cost of providing it in the first place — but is that all that there is to it? For the same reason that she is trying so hard to excise this parasite from my sea of consciousness, she has also walked this far, yet when I try to look at it from an outside perspective, I don’t necessarily feel that she achieved this to keep up with me but to walk by my side as a companion — an equal.

What a ridiculous notion. We cannot be equals on any level. As an existence, mine is of a higher hierarchy than hers, but as an entity, I am her weapon and tool and subservient to her mission.

Our mission.

This time, the wayward thought causes me to briefly pause in my thought process.

Is it even possible to share something so grand and so important with a creature that is by all objective metrics my inferior?

Automatically, I change the shade of my sky to a color I know she likes more and withdraw my consciousness from my spiritual vessel.

For a while, I suppose I wouldn’t mind not rejecting this notion of togetherness and oneness.

After all, a sword and its wielder should possess one mind and one body; one soul and one fate.

After a while, suddenly, Lan Xiaohui hurriedly departs my spiritual vessel and climbs to her feet, pulling me into her hand, and staring at the sky.

For once, her perception proves to be far more advanced than mine, because by the time I detect the pressure wave of sound, it has already reached us.

A high-pitched shriek echoes in the valley below us and the brief moments for which Lan Xiaohui shares her perception with me before terminating that function to conserve resources, I see a streak of white light shoot across the sky like a meteorite.

So far, we haven’t come across any demonic beasts of the Avian variety, but even with Lan Xiaohui’s inadequate physical sensors, I can tell that this demonic beast is, no doubt, a bird. A strange one at that.

I did not see it clearly, but it had mostly white feathers with streaks of light blue and vivid, glowing green marks. Its shape resembled something between a swan and a peacock, with colorful plumage, and a long neck.

I don’t have to question what I saw for long because the bird lands a hundred steps away from Lan Xiaohui, on the other side of the cliff, and spreads its wings to their full, twelve-step span, showing off its colors and form.

Lan Xiaohui’s pupils shrink to tiny needle points as she sees the bird and senses the most concerning attributes of this demonic creature.

There is a very strong, and very deep, sword energy within the creature, which is not strange considering its proximity to the holy land of sword cultivators. Here, there are many places abundant in sword energy, therefore it is not that strange that the local wildlife exhibits properties similar to that of a sword.

However, there are also very clear indicators of several types of elemental qi that are rare — wind, metal, and lightning.

From head to toe, this creature is an incarnation of profound sword laws and methods of various attributes — a walking, breathing treasure trove of materials useful to both myself and my owner.

I don’t need to tell Lan Xiaohui to separate the creature from its materials steeped in profound sword energy; the bird makes its intentions to do the same to my owner more than clear.

It raises its plumage, lowering its head to do so, and shows off the dozen, longest feathers within its tail, with each one containing a shape similar to that of a demonic eye.

“Qianyan Kongju,” Lan Xiaohui whispers, apparently recognizing the identity of the demonic beast. Something in her tone suggests that it is not an ordinary creature.

Lan Xiaohui, unlike when fighting Nascent Soul realm demonic beasts, assumes a slightly defensive stance — as if she is facing an equal.

Qianyan Kongju — Thousand Eyes of Fear — is this Core Formation realm demonic beast truly something that can stand on equal footing with Lan Xiaohui?