Smoke poured from his reed at a steady rate. With every breath the hurricane around his body picked up faster. He was absorbing the baleful qi in the air. While it poured a vast amount of qi into his reserves there was a lot of waste to it. To bypass the strain the waste put on his body, he increased the wind qi. More tiny blades of cutting qi entered his hurricane and the exhaust tapered off.

Smoke poured from his reed at a steadier rate. His every breath empowered the hurricane around his body.  Tiny shrubs and trees ripped up from their roots and were cut apart.  Sand and rock rolled away falling down the mountainside. 

To filter the baleful qi in the air he needed power. Vast amounts of qi poured into his reserves outputting a lot of waste to it. To bypass the strain the waste put on his body, he increased the wind qi. More tiny blades of cutting qi entered his hurricane and the exhaust tapered off. 

“You’ve adapted to the qi of hell. Not bad for a mortal.” Meifeng said. Her words were sharp enough to skin a cat. Ian felt his face heat up but not at the back handed complement.

If he looked too closely her naked nipples might poke an eye out.   He didn’t dare look down for fear that something else would heat up.  Still he rolled the reed in his mouth and enjoyed the sight.

He took the reed out of his mouth and blew a ring of black smoke. For now, he was much stronger than her, but time wasn’t on his side. She was growing stronger at a constant rate. While he had to spend ever greater amounts of qi to  filter out the baleful qi, while it conformed to her.

With his sixth sense that information was easy to gather. Another more experienced expert might have gathered that information at a glance. Or they might have known it instantly from previous experience. Ian wasn’t experienced but he knew how to pay attention.

“I’ve only been a qi expert for a couple of weeks, I wonder what I’ll look like in a year.” Ian said. Meifeng scoffed.

“In a year you’ll be a demon like me. I can see it now. Black fur, deep green eyes, and the power of a demon lord.” She said and reached out to him. Ian took a step back.

“My name is More Ian. Who are you?” He asked. She looked at him for a moment then lowered her hands to his side.

“You know my name you were the one who gave it to me.”  Ian stood there with the reed in hand and black smoke pouring from his nostrils. 

“Meifeng, I’m here to kill that bear. For my sect that’s what I’m going to do.” She burst out laughing. He felt his face heat up more at her laughter. His eyes kept wondering down to her dancing A-cups.

“How long have you been with them? It couldn’t have been more than a couple of days before they threw you to the wolves. What do they offer you that you can’t get as a demon?” She said. Ian sobered up at her words. This wasn’t about their offer or even principles. It was about him and his family. He wouldn’t become a demon no matter what.

“I wouldn’t make a good demon. Now, I’m going to kill that bear and bring his pelt back to my sect for 450 sect points.” Ian said.

“You won’t compromise. I could make you my attendant if you’re set on staying human. I’d have to take a lover eventually but not for a long time. We could have a century together.  He put his right foot forward and prepared for the fight. 

Don’t you want to go back to that cabin and fish?” More Meifeng asked.

“Yes, those peaceful days ended too soon. But once cut the damage is done. Ignorance can’t be restored.” Ian said what he felt was right. He didn’t want to kill Meifeng.

“Stand aside, I will not allow my sect to be destroyed.” Ian said.

Baleful qi gathered in her palm. He leapt from the cliff to the one behind him. Stinging pain covered his chest and a line of blood formed where he was struck. It was shallow but the damage was done. Even at a lower cultivation base she proved that she could do damage to him.

He’d fought at a disadvantage before. This wasn’t one of those times. He flashed in front of her using his superior speed and delivered a powerful wind palm to her stomach. Her whip flashed horizontal and he ducked. His hand heated for a microsecond before he retreated from the cliff.

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The ground beneath Meifeng exploded catching her off guard. Burns spread across her body as she threw herself to another cliff face. Hot gas and rock exploded upward in a mini geyser.

In that microsecond, he connected with the long dormant gases within the rock. Even contained within stone they remembered that they were once a part of the air and the greater atmosphere. All they needed was a little help to fight their way to freedom. That’s what he did, he gave them a little help in the form of heat.

Ian dashed after her. She swung her whip and Ian turned midair dodging the technique. Using his wind control he was able to change his trajectory midair and dodge. He snatched a stone from the ground and threw it at her.

It hit the ground and bounced off the wall. She didn’t give it any attention after it missed her. That was her mistake. The rock turned a shade of orange, then white before exploding. In the hands of a cultivator of air and fire, rocks could be convinced to become explosive. He dashed in their chase picking up rocks and throwing them. Some were normal rocks while others exploded forcing his opponent to dodge everything.

All the while he had a plan. He’d corner her and get her in a sleeper hold. After she passed out, he’d go after the bear. If he had some rope or talismans of restraint that would be better, but this was the only plan he had.

Two explosive rocks forced her to back track into a cave. He followed her in. Ian placed his axe against the side of the wall. He didn’t want her using it when he took her in a sleeper hold. The gun was placed under some rocks. If the bear took the axe at least he wouldn’t take the gun. He hoped with the amount of sulfur in the air it would cover his scent.

He took a step inside the cave and felt waves of ferocity smash into him like an attack. The demonic qi within the cave was rising at an incredible rate. Ian realized too late that she was ranking up. Power flowed from her near his own power. Glowing red eyes shined in the darkness. She stepped into the light in her wolf dog form.

Her fur was white as freshly fallen snow and a purple crescent moon appeared on her forehead. Meifeng’s claws dug deep rivets in the cave floor and her eyes were level with his own. She moved at a blinding speed.

He touched the cave floor before dashing backwards. Ian snatched up his axe and gun. Meifeng dashed across the cave floor faster than the heat could agitate the gases. Explosive rocks flew from his hands and while one exploded near her the shrapnel barely bothered her. Worse still her power continued to increase. He could feel it like the dark of the moon eclipsing the sun. An oppressive demonic power was flowing through her.

She was on him in moments and took a bite of his arm. On reflex he pushed a large amount of qi to his arm.  Using her hold, she threw him into the side of the mountain face. With her paw she forced him down and opened her mouth. A beam of moonlight gathered quickly. He struck with a wind palm knocking her leg off of him and threw himself out of the way before white light blinded him.

Meifeng sucked in a breath and blasted out a cloud of miasma. The pants around the mountain suddenly decayed. Ian stood and let his hurricane turn. The deadly cloud broke before the storm leaving him alive but blind to her next attack. Another blast of moon qi shattered the cliff face under him. He leapt for the next cliff only to see her jumping for him mouth agape. He could see ever one of her powerful fangs, her pink tongue, and her cavernous throat.

At that moment he realized that if he held back anymore, she’d win. He’d be forced to either become her servant or a demon like her.

Ian used the wind to force himself against the mountainside to kick off. He delivered a full powered wind palm to her side. She let out a pained cry and he charged in for the attack. Her jaws nearly closed on him again and he punished her for it. Wind palms flew freely with little to no restraint. Dust flew high in the air while he delivered blows to her body.

Ribs snapped and she was thrown against the side of the cliff. Ian fought and yelled in rage. Blood covered his fists after he split her skin. She screamed and hid while he struck. After he finished, she curled in a ball and whimpered. Ian felt his rage begin to consume him.

She looked pitiful. Where was that pride? Didn’t she want to capture him and turn him into a demon. Where did that go? Even now her cultivation continued to rise. The injuries that made her whimper were healing before his eyes. The line of blood on his chest still bled.

Ian lowered his fists. There was no time, he needed to slay the bear before it fully opened the hell gate. When he looked at her, he knew he couldn’t leave things like this. He sat down beside Meifeng. She growled at him but quieted down when he glared at her. Slowly, he reached out and placed a hand on her head.

He remembered the tale of Astros and Dio. The man who tamed a demon lord dog. Astros was said to have been blessed with great insights in animal taming by the heavens. Even the intelligence of a perfect demon was no match for his skill. After a mighty battle the hero traded blood with the dog demon, and they became companions. Their cultivation gained a link and the dog demon became a sacred beast. The heavens were a lie. Maybe the story held some truth to it.

Ian was certain it had more to do with qi than anything else. He pushed qi into his blood and offered it to Meifeng. She stared at him with her golden eyes and moved in a way that force one of her wounds to bleed freely. While she licked the qi filled flood from his chest, he drank the blood flowing from her wound.

Something happened then. He couldn’t explain it, but a new sense of pain came over him. It was alien, confused, and happy. That made him happy and he worried about her injuries and felt bad about causing them. There were questions like why he didn’t just become a demon. Ian felt pride for what he was but didn’t know if it came from him or this new feeling. It was confusing and it added all sorts of phantom aches and pains.

With some focus he found that he could block out most of the feelings that weren’t his. It wasn’t hard to detect the thoughts that weren’t his and separate the two. Suddenly, the baleful qi flowed into him and produced less waste. It was strange and he worried that he was less human for it.

She licked his hand. “It’ll be alright you aren’t a demon; you just have a demon on your shoulder.” Her words echoed in his mind.

“What did I do?” Ian asked.

“Wait, you didn’t know what you were doing?” When Ian didn’t reply she let out a deep growl.

“Stick your hand in my mouth, so I can bite if off for your stupidity.” Meifeng demanded.

“So, what did I do?” Ian asked. She let out a deep sigh.

“You just performed the devil’s covenant with me. We have formed a pact and by doing so you’ve taken your first steps into becoming a warlock. Demonic qi can now be filtered through a demon. In exchange, I can absorb qi through you as well.” Ian felt there was more to it than that.

“I still have a job to do.” Ian said.

“I no longer need a hellgate to cultivate.” She said.

The wound on his chest closed. “Is this one of the perks of the pact?” Ian asked.

“It could be.” She replied. Ian began his climbing the mountain and approached the mouth of the cave. The demonic qi was growing ever more powerful. He felt his own cultivation base begin to rise at an alarming rate. Ian checked his machinery to see it working no harder than normal. Even the reed in his mouth barely let off a wisp of smoke.

More Baleful qi poured from the bear’s cave than ever before. The amount pouring out continued to rise at an ever-faster rate. It was accelerating towards a point and he knew there couldn’t be much more time before the gate opened.

Ian stepped into the cave only to be met by a large mass of bones carved into the shape of a man. It turned to face Ian. Rotting sinew moved the creature as its boney imitation of a face grinned.

“More Ian do you remember me. Its you’re old buddy Gui Peng.” The abomination said.