Refreshed, invigorated by their recent battle and brief respite, Tian Hao and Lin Mei pressed onward, their footsteps echoing in the hushed stillness of the ancient forest.
The air, thick with the scent of damp earth and pine needles, each breath a reminder of the forest's embrace. Sunlight, fractured by the dense canopy above, dappled the forest floor in shifting patterns of light and shadow, as though the very trees whispered secrets to those who dared to listen.
They rounded a bend in the path and stopped abruptly, their progress halted by a shimmering curtain of light that hung in the air before them like a veil of woven dreams. The light pulsed with energy, its surface rippling with intricate symbols and glyphs that shifted and rearranged themselves in a mesmerizing dance.
It was a spiritual formation, a barrier both beautiful and daunting, barring their way forward.
Tian Hao, his earlier energy replaced by a weary sigh, glanced at the shimmering formation, then at Lin Mei, his expression a mix of exhaustion and playful resignation.
“Alright, Mei Mei,” he said, gesturing towards the formation with a flourish, “your turn. I’ll be over here, enjoying the scenery.” He settled himself against the trunk of a nearby tree, pulling out his flask and taking a long swig, relaxing into the familiar warmth of the wine and feeling his cultivation pulse.
Lin Mei stepped forward, her gaze fixed on the shimmering glyphs, her expression thoughtful. She raised a hand, her fingers tracing the patterns in the air, her touch gentle, almost hesitant, as though she were caressing the surface of a sleeping beast.
“A puzzle formation,” she murmured, her voice barely audible above the rustling of leaves. “Each glyph corresponds to a different element, a phase of spiritual cultivation. It’s… intricate.”
She paused, her brow furrowing as she tried to decipher the complex arrangement, the shifting patterns a puzzle waiting to be solved.
“Five elements—wood, fire, earth, metal, water—interwoven with the cycles of creation and destruction. It’s as though the formation itself is a microcosm of the cultivation path, a miniature Dao.”
“Sounds complicated,” Tian Hao quipped from his resting spot, taking another sip of wine. “Like trying to explain Jiuwei’s lineage after she’s had too much spirit fruit.”
Lin Mei’s lips twitched, his levity a welcome counterpoint to the growing tension. “Not quite,” she replied dryly. “Though, perhaps just as unpredictable.” Her brow furrowed, tracing patterns as she continued her assessment.
“Wood nourishes fire, fire creates earth, earth begets metal, metal collects water, water feeds wood. But then, wood parts earth, earth absorbs water, water quenches fire, fire melts metal, metal chops wood. It is a cycle of interdependence, as well as of inevitable opposition. Perhaps some of those disruption talismans might come in handy after all. Just need to decide which aspect to break…”
She paused, and after a few heartbeats, chuckled softly, and then pointed towards one of the glyphs shimmering in the light-woven barrier.
“But if I shift the ‘wood’ glyph here,” she continued, her voice now carrying a hint of excitement, “it should disrupt the flow of energy to the ‘earth’ glyph. Then, if we amplify the ‘water’ glyph over there, it creates an imbalance, a surge that should overload the formation… in theory.”
“In theory?” Tian Hao echoed, his voice tinged with mock concern as he took another swig of wine. “That sounds… reassuringly vague. Like when Fatty Wu tries to explain his ‘culinary inspirations.’ I never know if I’m about to taste a masterpiece or a disaster.”
Lin Mei ignored his teasing, her focus now entirely on the formation.
Her fingers moved swiftly. “Alright,” she said, taking a deep breath, “I'll need your help, over that part of the formation”. Lin Mei gestured at a section of the formation that looked roughly the same as any other to Tian Hao's eyes.
Getting up from his comfortable spot against the tree, he meandered over to where Lin Mei had indicated and stared into the formation.
He could feel the energy thrumming around them, crackling and shifting. Each ripple and shimmer of the symbols floating now before him, a hypnotic harbinger of the potential chaos Lin Mei might unleash. His eyes followed the swirls and whirls of the floating glyphs, subconsciously taking another sip of his whine as his head started to move in concert with the symbols.
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“Tian Hao! Focus!” Lin Mei snapped her fingers, her gaze intense as she prepared to unleash her power.
“Here's are two disruption talismans. When I give the signal, place the talisman into the ‘fire’ glyph and the ‘metal’ glyph,” she instructed, indicating the glyphs as she named them, her voice precise and commanding. “I’ll handle the rest.”
Tian Hao nodded and took the offered talismans from her outstretched hand, putting his flask away in his ring.
His focus replaced by a sudden alertness, the seriousness of her tone snapping him out of his drunken haze. He closed his eyes for a moment, gathering his energy, focusing on his dantian as his body remembered the forest’s rhythm—the dance of leaves, the whisper of shadows, the hum of the very ground beneath him.
He opened his eyes. “Ready,” he replied, and as he spoke, he extended his hand towards the ‘fire glyph’ while balancing his other hand above the 'metal' one.
“Now!” Lin Mei shouted, and as she spoke, she slammed a talisman of her own against one of the glyphs, the impact reverberating with the amplified energy. The glyph shimmered, twisted, and with a crack, it splintered, sending a wave of uncontrolled energy ripping through the formation.
Tian Hao reacted instantly. He thrust his hands against the two glyphs. The ‘fire’ glyph flared as though receiving its fuel from his very will, a tongue of shimmering crimson flared. The ‘metal’ glyph crackled and hummed, the energy flowing through the air, pulsing with an intensity that made his fingers tingle.
The glyphs swirled, the light intensified, blinding, and with a resounding crack, the formation shattered, the shimmering curtain of light collapsing inward before exploding outwards in a blinding flash of pure energy that washed over them both.
A low hum emanated from beneath their feet as they stood there, their senses overwhelmed, their hearts pounding in their ears as the remnants of the formation dissipated like wisps of smoke in the wind. Each shimmer and whisper of the glyphs, no longer a chaotic maze but a clear path, as though the forest itself had parted to allow them passage.
A few feet away, a soft golden glow emanated from between two trees, like a beacon beckoning them closer. The teleportation formation.
They'd reached the final clearing.
Tian Hao and Lin Mei stood there, catching their breath, their hearts pounding, the adrenaline of their success—both from their combined effort against Feng Liang and Zhu Meng as well as their combined ability to break that strange forest's illusions and puzzles—coursing through them.
“Looks like we make a pretty good team after all,” Tian Hao said, turning to Lin Mei with a lopsided grin.
Lin Mei’s expression softened slightly as she met his gaze.
“You’re still a reckless fool, Tian Hao,” she replied, shaking her head, but her smile betrayed her amusement and something more—a grudging admiration, perhaps even a hint of affection for his persistence, his refusal to give up even when faced with the harshest realities.
“But,” she added, lowering her voice to a near whisper, “your… unpredictable nature does have its uses.” Her words were carefully chosen, but the warmth in her eyes, a stark contrast to her earlier caution, and even his antics seemed more welcome somehow.
With a shared smile, the air between them suddenly lighter and easier, they stepped into the golden glow of the teleportation formation, and the world dissolved into a blur of swirling light and color.
They materialized back in the clearing where the competition had begun, their bodies tingling slightly from the effects of the teleportation. They weren't the first to return, the Pure Path duo and one other pair having already completed the challenge, but they were third, beating out most of the other sect disciples.
Tian Hao couldn't help but swell with pride, a genuine warmth spreading through him. Their third-place standing feeling like more a mark of his own tenacity than his sect's standing among the stronger cultivation houses.
From the spectator stands, Fatty Wu’s booming voice echoed across the clearing. “Young Master! You made it back! Don’t tell me you used up all your luck in that forest!”
Jiuwei, perched on the railing beside him, flicked her tail approvingly. Her golden eyes, glinting with amusement, met Tian Hao's across the distance, her words reaching him as though whispered in his very ear despite her being still quite far away. “Not bad, mortal, for one so utterly inexperienced. Though,” she added with an arrogant tilt of her head, “it is the least I would expect.”
The sect officials, their expressions carefully neutral, recorded their completion time and collected the token. While they hadn't won, third place was a respectable finish, and Tian Hao found himself enjoying their small victory, the tension he had held so tightly these past weeks beginning to dissipate.
Tian Hao glanced around the clearing as other teams began to emerge, looking weary, some with blood-stained robes as if this was not merely a competition to test teamwork but of how well each pair might perform when pressed—like their battle against Feng Liang.
It was clear that the mystical forest course had been a formidable challenge for Body Refining cultivators, and they had more than held their own against sects who previously saw Skyward Lotus as something they could casually dismiss.
“Don’t get too comfortable, Tian Hao,” Lin Mei whispered, and he noticed a small scratch on her cheek she’d not seen previously, “this was only one part of the Conclave. There are more challenges ahead.” Her earlier concern for him now sharpened as her secret weighed heavily upon her. “We should celebrate, but also use this rest to consider how best to continue, perhaps even find a way to keep those who bear ill intent for our sect from causing too many ripples.”
“Celebratory feast!” Fatty Wu hollered, interrupting Lin Mei, and clapping Tian Hao on the shoulder with enough force to make him stumble. “My treat! We’ll find the best the market has to offer!”