Heaven's Laws - Lifestone - Chapter 73 - Part b

Reaching the top of the stairs, Chao felt the weight of a divine cultivator’s perceptions crash down on him. It was still repressive, but it didn’t affect him as much as the first time he was here. Living on the sixth floor for a few months had greatly benefited him.

“Shall I reduce the aura?” Ji asked.

“Thank you, but no,” he replied.

The door sealing off the bulk of the seventh floor was almost identical to the white vault. Its color made him think of the Heavenly White Jade Cauldron. He asked the spirit if it was made of the same thing.

“No. I’m afraid divine jade is far too rare. I can assure you it would take a Divine Lord more than a day to break through it and all its protective arrays.”

Ji became contemplative before saying, “It has been many millennia since someone has dwelled on this level. It will act as your living quarters, customizable cultivation chambers, captain’s deck while traveling, and your last line of defense. Master and Mistress Long, welcome to your new home.”

Just as with the vault door, this one rolled into the wall. What was waiting beyond the shimmering energy barrier was a wide-open space as large as any of the floors below. Stepping through with Huifen’s hand in his, their eyes were drawn up at once. The top of the spire was their ceiling it domed inward to a point, reaching three or four stories high. It wasn’t just plain marble, but a mural covered every centimeter.

The artistry was so detailed it was like they were plunged into a new world. The sky near the entrance was blue and inviting. Divine Beasts flew about minding their own business. There were many creatures that Chao had never seen. Near the center of the ceiling clouds had gathered. They weren’t angry and threatening, but thick as a mountain of cotton. Pillars of light shone down all around them. This light seemed to be an illusion of the artistry, but light was also cast from it to fill the room.

Then the far side of the room was under the protection of stone architecture. Its ceiling reached as high as the real ceiling did and was just as well decorated as the rest. Instead of Divine Beasts, there was a mural of plenty. Fruits of the vine, stalks standing as tall as a man, and sacred herbs protected by their own aura gave it a homely feel.

The murals didn’t stop at the ceiling, but they did give way to practicality. Where paintings might hang, the murals flourished. The stone too remained visible to give it a feeling of security.

Only then did he take in the massive bed that reached out from the wall like a quarter moon. There were decorative wooden partitions that broke up the room into sections. Chao wasn’t sure if it was Ji that had arranged things, or it had been the last spire’s master, but each piece of furniture looked to come in twos. One side of the room mirrored the other.

“Would you like me to explain the history of this place?” Ji asked.

He was about to tell the spirit to go on when Huifen stopped him. “Husband let’s save it for later. There’s already so much to absorb. After all that has happened…”

“Then let’s get some rest,” he replied.

They made their way to the crescent shaped bed, and she didn’t hesitate to kick off her slippers. Her ice gown dissolved then he helped her put on a night gown. He knew she wasn’t in any serious danger, but there was no denying her injuries. The covers were blue and dark. The pillows were a little large for how she liked them. She rested her head on one anyway.

Chao placed himself right beside her. He held her until she fell asleep. He quietly informed Pangfua through his transmission jade of what they were doing. It wasn’t long until he too fell asleep.

***

The artificial spirit Ji had served more master’s than years these two young cultivators had been alive. It secured the door to their room without needing to be informed, as well as lessened the pressure the repressive array provided to a level acceptable for the young mistress’s injuries. At the opening of the seventh floor, a spiritual pulse went out that only the highest realm cultivators could sense. It was a declaration of victory. A celebration that the ancient spire finally had a new owner.

The pulse wasn’t like that of the birth of a heavenly treasure. It wasn’t qi that burst into their surroundings. This spiritual pulse defied the laws of nature. It piqued the curiosity of a few old monsters on Lifestone, but they soon lost interest. Its reach wasn’t limited to that little world.

It broke through the world’s firmament without slowing. The worlds of that solar system were quickly left behind. New solar systems came and went until it reached what seemed like a smaller one that was mostly shrouded in darkness despite the young strength of its star.

It was there above that bleak canopy that Zan floated with Quinyuan and youngster Billi. He’d been explaining to them that the creatures they hunted had ravenous appetites. They swallowed the energy from the light as swiftly as Chao did his cultivator portion.

The pulse was almost insignificant, but he’d been waiting for it.

“Husband?” Quinyuan said when he suddenly stopped talking.

He focused momentarily before responding. “It seems they did it. Give me a minute as I try to glean details.”

In the lower realms of cultivation, a person’s perceptions were accompanied by their qi. Their ability to perceive the world took on whole new facets, and reached beyond anything any moral could dream. Reaching the Divine Spirit realm wasn’t just a different level. It spiritualized one’s perceptions, allowing them to reach out exponentially further than one could with just their qi. It also gave them access to view the spiritual realm which overlapped with the material one. It was something they could only catch glimpses of before that.

It took Zan a few minutes like he said to pinpoint where they were. It took even longer to drift past the Divine Spire’s defenses. After that, he’d seen what he needed in a moment. “The spire is theirs. Huifen is slightly injured, but now they’re resting in their new dwelling.”

“Should we?” Quinyuan began.

“No. It’s not serious. I am curious to hear the story when we get back. Most of the damage is internal.”

“It will help protect them then?”

“The Northern Continent could rise up against them and wouldn’t be able to disturb their rest for a thousand years. If they become that lazy, then I’ll beat them myself.” When he saw Quiyuan’s glare, he gave her a wink. “I guess I’ll let them get away with it for a day or two. It is nice that they have a safe place to call their own, but they aren’t destined to hide away in some tower. Their real trials have just begun.”

He then spied Billi’s wide-eyed expression at learning her friend was hurt and clicked his tongue. “Enough, already. There’s a nasty space insect a few kilometers below us that is weighing whether we look like easy enough prey to attack. I’ll take the first few. Practice sensing them.”

He didn’t wait. Flashing away, he appeared behind the light absorbing beast and struck out with his fist. He needed to be careful at this distance so as not to inadvertently assail the others.

This beast wasn’t much for him, but it was a tribulation realm monster. He felt its body break as it soared in the fairies’ direction.

Reaching almost the limit of his speed without using excessive qi, he appeared behind the women to judge their reactions. Quinyuan flinched but was too hesitant to react. Billi, on the other hand, struck out with a whip of blood qi that wrapped around the beast and dragged it to a stop.

“Good,” he said, only partially startling them. “Are you having difficulties spotting it?”

His wife answered. “Spotting it, no. Following its movements is proving difficult.”

“Understandable. Even if cultivators don’t use solely their eyes in battle, to truly fight blind is a skill that can only be practiced in the absence of light. Billi remove its head and refine its blood. It should be beneficial to you.”

She looked at him like he’d gone insane. “It’s an insect.”

“It’s not a real insect. I just called it that because besides a few of its tricks, its insignificant.”

Her face changed immediately. “Oh. Okay.”

Removing a dao from her spatial ring, she flew over and decapitated it with a single slash of her sword. Then a tendril of blood reached out from her and struck at the wound like a viper.

“It’s a winged lizard?” Quinyuan said with a gasp.

With its death, its light absorbing ability faded to reveal what looked like an overly skinny salamander with wings in place of its gills.

“I guess you can call it that.”

Billi spun her head around to look at him when she had a thought. “Is there any other reason why its hard to see the surface of this planet besides these things?”

He gave the girl a wide grin, only to turn to Quinyuan and incline his brow.

The little blush his wife had fled from her cheeks. “You mean this planet is covered in these things?”

“These and other creatures like them. These are the weak ones.”

---

There you have it folks. We've reached the end of book 2. I really wanted to get to the tournament in this book, but they still have a ways to go. It should be the main focus of the next book.

Keep a look out. I'm editing right now, but Underworld is coming soon.