My hand quivered as it reached for the globular mushroom rising from the bramble dog’s body. With no small amount of effort, I managed to grab onto it.
Pulse.
My violet dirt particle vibrated when my hand met the mushroom. The vibration rippled out of me and commanded the sparse violet fog to gather around me quickly, and it travelled towards the grasped mushroom. Even my own Violet Earth Qi shifted towards my hand.
“Wha—”
My mouth rasped open as the mushroom wriggled in my grasp, desperate to evade my touch. I didn't let go of the mushroom, and shortly, its red colouring was replaced by a violet hue. It didn't stop there, either. The violet colour raced along the mushroom, heading towards the bramble dog host. Before the violet colour reached the corpse, I forced my hand away, ripping the mushroom from its connection.
Huff, huff, munch, munch.
I nearly inhaled the mushroom, noting that it was like a crème-filled donut with the way it oozed a thick liquid that burned down my throat. My teeth tore into the mushroom with reckless abandon, savouring none of the intense flavours that singed my tongue.
A donut mushroom. My naming sense needed some work, but it would have to do for now!
My breathing grew more pronounced as a bit of strength filled my weary limbs. My gaze locked onto more donut mushrooms.
…
I quickly learned that transforming the mushrooms was an effort that yielded succulent results. But it wasn’t sustainable. The ambient violet mist powered the initial transformations, but as the mist grew too sparse to use, it was up to the power of my violet dirt particle to transform the donut mushrooms.
But as always, there was a trick I could use.
I gleefully watched as the violet hue travelled past the mushroom, seeping into the bramble dog’s body and turning the red vines into smoking cinders. The fur on the dog quickly withered, as did the muscles the dog held. In turn, the liquid inside the mushroom promptly filled to the brim as it soaked up the nutrients from the host body.
A little unnerving. But in this place, I had to adapt to accept it.
The law of the jungle. Eat, or become nutrients for the strong. That’s what I had to accept about this place.
Soon, the corpse shrivelled to the point of being unrecognizable, and the mushrooms were all converted into little bundles of edible delights. I tore a ragged part of my clothes off and wrapped the mushrooms in a bundle tightly held to my waist.
My satchel had been torn and lost a long time ago, and this would have to do instead, though it was certainly no long-term solution.
Suddenly, my ears twitched with a distant noise.
It sounded like footsteps. Human footsteps?
*****
“Why did we agree to go down here? This place gives me the chills.” A short Bloodthorne cultivator complained to his two other friends.
From their robes, a cloak extended out that shrouded their bodies, and a glowing red talisman was attached to their chests. On their faces were viny masks that let out tiny red particles to fight against the ambient violet mist.
“Think of the spirit stones, brother! Gou Jia gave each of us one for reporting on the state of The Pit. Easiest spirit stone I’ll ever get.” The tall leader of the Bloodthorne cultivators commented.
The last of the trio trailed behind, looking around with a hint of fear clouding his eyes.
“This mist gives me the creeps. It looks like it's moving around us.”
“Bah! Your mind is just playing tricks on you. There’s nothing in the mist besides some of Gou Jia’s beasts. With his protective talismans, we won’t find any trouble.” The leading Bloodthorn cultivator patted the glowing red talisman on his chest as he reassured his two fearful friends.
Crunch.
“AHH!”
“Calm down! It was just a branch.”
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“Yeah, but what snapped it!?” The small Bloodthorne Cultivator shivered with fear.
“A couple of limp-hearts, the both of you… wait, where did Mu Shan go?” The Bloodthorne Cultivator leading the group turned to see the last in line gone. At that moment, a distant scream made the leading Bloodthorn Cultivator draw his sword.
“Quickly, back to back, brother—"
“TAKE HIM INSTEAD!” The second Bloodthorn Cultivator let loose a terrified scream as he quickly ran, trying to get back to the tunnel leading back up to the floating mountain.
“Coward!” The leading Bloodthorne cultivator yelled as his supposed brother disappeared from sight. Then, he gripped his sword as he circled his body. Another distant scream shook the cultivator, and sweat ran down his forehead.
“Where are you? Come out and face me!” The remaining cultivator gnashed his teeth as he unconsciously backed up, swinging his sword around at every sway of the violet mist.
Suddenly, a voice sounded out from behind him.
“Gladly.”
*****
I gagged but wouldn’t let myself throw up the scarce amount of donut mushrooms I had just ingested.
I had killed someone.
My breaths were the short, shallow kind as I stared at the leader of the Bloodthorne cultivator trio. I had meant to render him unconscious with a simple chop to the neck, but with a horrid snap, his neck crumpled in without any chance for him to notice me.
I watched with horror as he fell to the ground, unconscious, then dead a few minutes later.
My fists tightened as I juggled the reality of the situation in my mind.
I had killed someone - even if it was unintentional. If this were Earth, I'd be put away for murder.
As crazy as it sounds, I tried to justify it. He was the enemy, someone ready to swing their sword at me, and he likely wouldn’t hesitate to get rid of me. A part of me shivered at the prospect of the sword slashing against my skin. It almost seemed worse than a bramble dog’s claws.
Killing the bramble beasts was one thing, but killing a human was another.
Pulse.
My violet dirt particle let out a beat that eased my tension, and it helped a little, but it wasn't enough. My mind needed time to settle, to process what I had just done.
...
I don’t know how long passed, but when my stomach growled, I realized I had been waiting for hours. My hand reached for the bundle of donut mushrooms on my hip, and my eyes grew wide as they caught nothing but a frayed end of clothing.
“My mushrooms!” I spoke with a hoarse throat.
I looked around but saw nothing. I hurried past the second cultivator I had successfully rendered unconscious, then arrived at the first.
They were both dead, but I hadn’t done it myself.
Roaming bramble beasts had clawed and chewed… well, they were finished. Prey that was unconscious and unguarded was too great of a temptation for starving, maddened bramble beasts. Regardless of their ingrained instincts to keep away from the glowing red talismans. Speaking of a talisman, whatever they had been boasting of was no longer around. Instead, All I saw was a patch of viny roots that dug into the cultivator's chests.
I stared at the first of the cultivators I had taken out with a punch to the sternum. He had been foaming at the mouth from the blow, but I believed he would live. I might have even been able to question him. To talk with someone that wasn’t myself.
Now, he had violet-hued mushrooms growing out of his corpse.
I peered around and noticed the bundle of broken donut mushrooms. They were dripping violet ooze across the ground, with some of the liquid splashed against the face of the cultivator.
My face frowned, but my mind quickly calmed.
The Pit was ruled according to the laws of the jungle. Eat, or be eaten. I had to remember that.
My mouth scrunched up further as my hand reached for the donut mushrooms. As they contacted me and my violet dirt particle sped up the mushroom’s growth, I watched the cultivator’s body shrivel.
I was lucky, in a way. I wouldn't have connected the dots if the mushrooms hadn’t fallen off me and burst onto the cultivator. They were corpse mushrooms, which grow on corpses—even human ones.
I was more surprised they grew so fast.
As I plucked off one of the mushrooms and bit into it, I noticed the burning sensation was stronger from these mushrooms.
Was it because they grew on a human? Or was it because the humans were cultivators?
I had noticed the sparse amount of Qi that filtered through their bodies, but it was insignificant. They hadn’t even gotten to the first stage of Qi Condensation yet.
Something was interesting, though. As the first cultivator's body shrivelled, their robes revealed a bulge in the inner pockets.
My hand pulled something from the dead cultivator’s pocket: a black stone with flecks of white in it. My violet dirt particle hummed with delight as my hand contacted the stone and crushed it. I felt a surge of Qi funnel into me as the violet dirt particle greedily absorbed the stone's energy. Soon, I felt the energies push against the barrier to the next Qi Condensation Stage. My violet dirt particle seemed eager to jump past the boundary, likely pushing me to the third stage of Qi Condensation, but I quickly contained the feeling.
If I was going to break past a barrier, I needed to do it with enough built-up energy. One of these stones wasn’t enough.
“Are these spirit stones?” I was familiar with the concept from Grandma Sylvie’s stories. I rushed to the other cultivators, searching them for similar stones, and found two more. I tucked both inside the robe I looted from the tall man I had killed with a neck chop.
My clothes were already in tatters; the new clothing was a welcome addition. Not like they would be needing it now. However, looting from the dead bodies of strangers felt a bit strange. I nearly didn’t do it at all, but my survival instincts won against my humanity.
Pulse.
As I put on the robes, the violet dirt particle within me was quick to rid the crimson colour infused into the clothing. Soon, I was wearing a violet-hued robe.
“Guess I’ve got a new favourite colour.” I joked with myself.
I glanced at the dead cultivator's sword and guard nearby and sheathed it along my waist. I was no swordsman by any means, but I may need it. Realistically, I had gotten used to my fists for fighting instead of any weapon, but I could swing it as exercise. Anything to keep my mind preoccupied while I was down here.
Splash.
I dragged all three cultivators to the same spot and watched the mushroom’s liquid cover their skin.
First, I would grow more food.
Then, I would resume my search for the cave that held the violet pool.
I had to get stronger, and the violet pool was the fastest way to do that. Its energies were even more potent than the spirit stones I had looted. With its concentrated power, I could break through multiple stages at once.