[A.B.P.P.E.] Bk 2 - Chapter 55 - Final Pillars

It took some time for them to recover from the effects of having gone through the funeral. 

Yin Hu had an increasing amount of suspicion that their potent emotions had been made worse by the incense he had used. Everything within his rice bag exceeded their intended use. That included the Incense of the Sorrowful Maiden. He had to make a mental note to never use it again at least until they reached the Hu Clan. Then he could decide whether it would be applicable to use to commemorate the fallen members of Jun’s and Shui’s family. 

Hopefully they didn’t find themselves in any situation that would require it before then. 

Just the thought of his girls getting hurt made his skin crawl and a fire bubble in the pits of his stomach.

The group waited a few hours for the incense to finish and then clear out of their system. It would not be wise to enter a potentially dangerous area without their wits about them. Especially with a power source powerful enough to have survived for so long still kicking. 

Yin Hu had checked his perception skill multiple times since shattering the illusion array. 

The blip was still there and going just as strong as before. It hadn’t even wavered slightly after its main function had been destroyed. That was a testament to the amount of danger it could cause if they were not careful around it. Getting stuck just like all of the bunny cultivators within the illusion was not a fate he wanted to experience, even if he had more than enough resources to survive for the next few millions of years easily. His rice bag had more than enough food and water to last. 

But that meant sitting in isolation like he had been on the island. 

This was another thought that gave him goosebumps just as strong as the idea of his girls getting hurt by anyone.

“Ancestor! Ancestor!” Shui came running out of the palace. 

Yin Hu jumped out of his seat and summoned DragonsWrath, prepared for war.

“I found them! Come look! I found the other two you talked about. The ones like Void Ruiner. I even left marks next to them to make sure I didn’t forget where they were.”

He stared for a moment wonder whether he should reprimand her for riling him up and making it seem like something bad had happened. He eventually resolved himself to sighing mentally and sending his spear back into the rice bag. “C’mon. Lets see.”

Shui grabbed his hand and dragged him back into the palace. Rushing through the pillars with a clear idea of where she wanted to go.

Did she use the dragon hatchlings as markers?

Yin Hu could see two dragons puffing their little fires from the distance. One further than the other and Shui was sprinting toward the first. She didn’t stop until they reached the dragon who was happy to have been part of whatever game she had them playing. The other one started to blow its fire more insistently. 

“Go to your sister,” Shui said as she patted the little hatchlings’ head. “Keep her company until Ancestor and I get to you. Make sure to take turns blowing fire so we don’t forget you in here for a million years.”

The little, two foot long, dragon shivered for a second then bolted toward its sibling.

God… I really can’t neglect Shui’s mentals as much as I have been. She’s basically torturing these little guys when I’m not looking. 

Yin Hu stepped forward and started studying the mural. It told a very similar story, but this time, it was a much younger smith. One that created a greatsword instead of a slim katana like the old man. His tale mentioned the old man a few times, a potential rival, but only mentally as he had come from his lineage of SwordSmiths. Someone to aspire to and eventually overcome as time passed. 

Except that very few people would ever have the ability or the dedication to spend their entire lifeforce into a single blade as powerful as Void Ruiner. The greatsword was one such example. Named Celestial Cleaver to match the ostentatious name that the old man had called his own. 

Once they reached a certain power level, it was nigh impossible to separate them and decide which was stronger than the other. 

That came down to who held the blade and how compatible they were to its cultivation and Dao. Someone wielding Void Ruiner, would struggle to wield Celestial Cleaver considering its size and the necessary nuance that came with fighting with such a large weapon. It was these small things that differentiated between the elite of the universe if he was asked. 

Luckily, he spent more than enough time on the island to practice with every single type of weapon. 

Whether that would translate to actual battle was another matter entirely. 

The second pillar was different to the other two. Creating a dagger made to pierce through the barrier that surrounded the treasure chamber that held the crystal power source. His plan had not been to escape, but rather to destroy what held them captive. 

Yet, just like the other two, he had died before anyone learned what he had planned in his crazed fanaticism and focus on finishing his greatest creation. 

Forgetting to mention that his little dagger might be capable of saving the few that did remain after his death. 

That became the perfect segue for Yin Hu. Now he knew exactly where the crystal was within the palace and how to get to it from the story. It even had a little map with a red X around a glowing blue square. One that he memorized and made Shui learn as well. He would make her lead the way and gain some experience making decisions for herself. He would judge her afterward and go through any mistakes she made. 

Yin Hu planned to start stepping back a bit and letting the girls lead projects and plans for the future. 

Gain experience leading and making tough choices. 

“Call everyone. We’re going to check this power source out,” he said to Shui, but stopped her before she could run off. “Take the hatchlings with you too and don’t bully them along the way!”

“Okay!” Shui said with a massive smile. 

Yin Hu watched her run out of the palace and into the clearing where everyone was at. No one but her and the hatchlings had entered the building since the funeral had started and eventually ended. 

It took only a few seconds before the group collected around him. 

“I’ve found a place of interest before we venture to explore every inch of this place,” Yin Hu said and took a moment to make sure everyone was listening. “It may be a dangerous situation. Be prepared for battle if necessary and to destroy any defensive arrays and traps that we may find.” This felt too much like a fantasy dungeon, or an Indiana Jones episode, with a dozen pits, laser beams, and arrow launchers just waiting around every bend. 

The only missing piece were water ways underneath them filled with hungry alligators snapping sharp teeth at their ankles. 

Everyone in the group nodded and prepared themselves, except Zhong Da and his wife. 

“Please excuse us for a moment. We left our weapons back in the pavilion. We aren’t connected to them anymore and they seemed useless to us, but maybe we can find purpose with blades once more.” Zhong Da, and his wife, bowed and hurried out of the palace once Yin Hu nodded. 

Da Ruis, on the other hand, scratched the back of his head. “Umm… I’m not really any help right now. I can probably hold a sharp weapon, but I can’t use any Qi or unlock anything special from them.”

“You’ll help scout,” Yin Hu summoned Void Ruiner and swung it a few times. Everyone flinched with his every strike. 

Maybe I shouldn’t use it. Cultivators do have mental issues with big names even if they aren’t that special. I barely got Jun out of that same psychological trap. Do I need to do the same for the rest of the party too? Just more work showing itself every single day. 

Yin Hu wasn’t going to act like he hadn’t seen their reactions. 

There would be lessons, grueling lessons. More added onto his growing list of items he needed to address ever since he learned that none of them had noticed the illusion.

Rong made his limbs turn into blades, less chaotic and with more rhyme and reason. Closer to a whip sword than a normal one. 

Jun and Shui each practiced with their own weapons to the side. 

Yin Hu had little worry about them. The Weapon Spirits had proven to be good caretakers and guides during tough situations. Whether it was the incident with Shao Yating and the fake buxom Spirits that tried to trick Shui or even when they had been kidnapped by Da Ruis before being forced into serving the Hu Clan as their Sparring Instance to pay for his crimes against them. 

Better that than dead, I say. 

Zhong Da and Wu Xui returned a minute later. Neither of their weapons floated around them like they had when they first met. They held them without an ounce of Qi, just like Zhong Da had claimed. Nothing connected to them like usual. 

Yin Hu surveyed them one last time and nodded. This Hu Clan revitalization had come a long way since the modest start they had. 

He still remembered when Jun had appeared like a storm with a staff. Smacking and disarming those very first guards that had tried to fight him just because he looked like a Demonic Cultivator with his ostentatious black robes. Now she moved far more gracefully and with hidden power. The difference was as great as the separation of the earth and the sky. 

“Good. Let’s see what this treasure hall has in store for us.”