Path of the Ascendant

The qilins did not force her to use such terrible means, and thus they got to Paragon and got some people to show them around instead of the Ascendant. It wasn’t that they had some problem with her, or that she didn’t want to help them out – even if their unfortunate smell was slowly getting stronger for no clear reason – but she did have two other things with which she needed to concern herself.

First, and perhaps most important in the moment, she needed to confirm the state of the Primordial Deities that were going to emerge by the end of the day.

There was something that she had asked Kong Shi Meng about not long ago, and it was whether it would be possible to simply contain the Primordial Deities with those barriers. Reinforcing them with energy gathering arrays and the like was not particularly difficult in theory, and the people of the Bao District were already contributing to such a barrier with their own minimal quantity of energy, so it should be feasible to use the improving energy of the world to construct greater arrays and improve them beyond what the Primordial Deities could ever oppose with their limited strength.

According to the original Master of Yi City, this was not viable as the power drawn upon to form each barrier was limited. When used excessively, it would be exhausted far more quickly than anyone could refill it, and there would also be the issue of those restrictions that were apparently upon him.

It was hard to verify much of what he said, seeing as much of it would require experimentation that she simply couldn’t perform, so she was forced to trust him right now and thus had to focus in part on defeating one of the currently sealed Primordial Deities as to minimize the chances of any of them breaking out outside of her or Kong Shi Meng’s control. Given that she had fought Primordial Inferno more than the other Primordial Deities, she thought it would be best to prioritise it.

Naturally, sealing away the other Primordial Deities first was necessary, and so she had the two things that she needed to occupy herself with. Observing Primordial Inferno, and containing other Primordial Deities when they appeared.

That night, the two to emerge from the unknown void that housed the Primordial Deities up to this point were both relatively unknown, and both were within Yi City’s borders once again.

One had a celestial aura, judging by the wave emitted from somewhere in between the Ning District and the Wei District – or the former Kong District – but the odd thing was that there was no sign of the Primordial Deity or its territory anywhere. She tried to find it somewhere, looking into the sky and beneath the ground, as far as her divine sense was able to reach, and yet she was unable to find even the smallest trace of the Primordial Deity. It was odd, and very concerning in one way, but it also meant that, in theory, Primordial Cosmos wouldn’t be able to pose much of a threat to her right now.

Her attention was thus turned to the other Primordial Deity, which appeared at the north, between the Chao District and Bai District. Its aura was very reminiscent of her own physique energy, and upon glimpsing it, she understood that it could be nothing other than Primordial Physique.

This one didn’t try to hide at all – though Primordial Cosmos may not have been trying either – and stood most prominently in its own territory. It, like the others, had a humanoid form overall, and was seemingly composed of little more than muscle, forming a titan of flesh that seemed strong enough to punch a hole through the Planar Continents. Oddly enough, in comparison to the other entities, from which an aura of their energy emanated at all times, even if it was subtler on some of them, Primordial Physique appeared to lack anything of the sort, and some brief observation led to her understanding the most likely possibility.

The Primordial Deities were embodiments of their Dao, representing fundamental elements of the Planar Continents, and thus their forms were aligned with some variant of the element they represented. Fundamentally, a physique was connected to the body, and physique energy was something that should, at least in concept, remain within the body, flowing through the physique veins. As such, all of that energy would be contained within the body, and the body alone.

However, she wasn’t about to assume that the Primordial Deity would be less dangerous as a result. Even if no forms of external energy would be seen from it, the body alone was a sufficient threat.

‘It also means that I cannot use the strategy I employed against Primordial Earth, not that it would have been possible when I only had my own physique energy. It isn’t even transformed into something greater, like my planar energy changed into oblivion essence, so I don’t have any advantage against the purest, strongest form of physique energy…’ the Ascendant sighed, looking upon the entity.

The entity’s contained energy meant that it had minimal influence on its surroundings, but even then, it was not safe to leave such a thing out in the world. The ground did change beneath its feet, and entities exposed to its power would likely be affected just the same. It would take a longer period of time, and might be easier to avoid for humans, but in this part of the world, there were still plenty of planar beasts that would change into muscular abominations and ravage the world if the entity was left unchecked.

Fortunately, she had some confidence in her own strength, and wouldn’t even need to rely on it alone, unlike the Primordial Deity she was about to approach.

In order to maximise her own chances, Wei Yi chose to make her entrance from the skies, heading up as far as was reasonable. She positioned herself directly above the entity, transformed Moon Splitter’s shards into claws to enhance the power of her bare hands, and then leapt down.

The fall lasted quite a while, and in that time she checked up on the dragons and qilins, as well as the general state of Yi City, while also searching for any traces of Primordial Cosmos. The two ancient beast species were doing just fine for the moment, managing to avoid confronting one another, though it was clear that their more animalistic territories tendencies were being riled up. Yi City was doing about as well as it had been a minute ago, when she last checked, and Primordial Cosmos was unseen still.

It was all the kind of thing that she would check for regularly, as she had to do so in her position as Master of Yi City. There had been no official conferment of the title, nor did most ordinary people have much of a clue about this, but it didn’t matter to her. She was effectively the Master of Yi City, especially while Kong Shi Meng didn’t appear to have any desire to return to his original position, and so she had to do anything and everything possible to keep Yi City going, and improve it whenever she had the opportunity to do so. Eventually, she might be able to implement her concept of a just world, but until then, she had to make up for the lack of it in other ways.

For instance, by beating the shit out of this muscular abomination.

She had minimized the amount of noise she made, as well as reducing any other signs of her approach, and yet Primordial Physique spotted her just a little earlier than she would have liked. It – for there were no distinguishing features upon its body, whether one looked at the chest or crotch, so it would be impossible to even guess, unlike with Primordial Inferno or Primordial Nature – looked up, the mouthless and eyeless face meeting her gaze, and immediately balled its hands into fists, throwing one up to meet her.

The movements were incredibly simplistic, to the point that it looked downright silly in comparison to the expert cultivators she had fought in her prior years, but the vast amount of force somehow produced by them exceeded even her own estimations. Before the fist had the chance to reach her, she was already thrown up and away by the shockwave of its muscles rippling during movement.

Obviously, she threw a few punches its way while in mid-air, imbuing them with energy to make them have a decent impact, but that wasn’t going to be enough.

In comparison to direct contact, force transmitted through the air was never going to reach in full. The otherworldly demons understood this due to their concept of energy being the vibration of small particles composing all matter, air included, and even if the fundamentals differed at a level that Wei Yi couldn’t observe yet, she could be certain that the overall theory of energy transmission being most efficient through solid objects still applied.

Generally, it was, as always, planar energy that upset the natural way of things, for it could manufacture any kind of energy through the way in which it was shaped and released. Even a still planar construct could manifest vast kinetic force on contact with something, and power could be stored in a planar construct to let it traverse any distance without any effort.

The Ascendant could rely on this and this alone, but the fact that Primordial Physique managed to pull of such power without cheating with planar energy meant it was possible to go another route – as far as she could tell, neither the elemental form nor the greater form, which combined physique energy, bloodline power, killing will and elemental planar energy, were utilised. Strictly speaking, she probably shouldn’t go out of her way to make things more difficult for herself, but with the elevation of planar energy density came the question of where it would end, and how exactly it would do so.

What if, one day, planar energy changed, just as her own power changed to oblivion essence? What if it didn’t just stop there, and perhaps effectively vanished completely? What if the Laws of planar energy were to transform after the Hunger of the Beyond was gone?

Relying on the current rules of planar energy wouldn’t let her protect Yi City, or even herself, at that point. Thus, although it was stupid, and although there was really no good reason to do this to herself, she forced her body to adjust, to release as much force as possible, to use her power as well as she possibly could, with Primordial Physique acting as the perfect guide of how humanoid muscles could move and act.

She was only satisfied when she managed to land a proper strike upon it with enough force to interrupt its movements, at which point Kong Shi Meng’s barrier began to appear, signalling the end of the fight.

 

After that, she got around to doing the thing that she would need to do for quite some time – looking at Primordial Inferno through the light-forged dome containing it and its domain. The task wasn’t too entertaining in itself, though she didn’t care. There was plenty to look at, even if entertainment had been what she was after, and much to learn regardless of her purpose, especially when the Master of Yi City stood around her.

“Incidentally, while I’m staring at this barrier, could you tell me the reasoning behind the Four Cardinal Beast array’s particular arrangement? What was it, again…”

“White tiger in the north, Azure Dragon in the east, Black Tortoise in the south, and Vermillion Bird in the west. The reasoning… It is how it is within the stories of my home country. I’m not sure there is a specific reason for it there.”

“Oh. That’s disappointing. Were you just able to make it work?”

“Of course not. It took some time to arrive at the current stage.”

“Right,” Wei Yi nodded, ‘Those are… explanations that greatly lack in detail. Also, the order of beasts… Hm.’

If she was to be honest with herself, she didn’t want to poke the sleeping bear, or the quiet beehive, that was the matter of this Kong Shi Meng’s identity. She was already concerning herself with far too much, and it was not at all good for her mental state, and her Ascendant’s Library was often shaking and trembling from the excess flipping of pages.

None of the storms that had formed prior to her imprisonment in the Kong Prison Realm had appeared, fortunately enough, but the pressure was clearly there. One day, it could easily spiral out of control, and she wished to limit that possibility.

However, one thing that would be certain to ruin such attempts was if the people of Yi City were destroyed by a phenomenon or entity that she had allowed to travel freely throughout it, despite having the opportunity to confirm its identity and prevent such a thing. This made it very challenging for her, as neither decision was right, and neither one was strictly wrong, either. Such scenarios were most irritating when her ultimate goal was a straightforward, complete deciphering of a concept that was as debatable as justice, though it was clear that the ultimate issue was something she had brought upon herself with her ambition.

There was more to work with regarding Kong Shi Meng, and so she had to consider every manner possible in which to put herself into the best position.

“Actually, it is possible for the Primordial Deities to get into the Kong Prison Realm, right?”

“An intrusion is possible, though unlikely at the moment.”

“Still, since we’re talking about barriers, I would like to go and reinforce the Four Cardinal Beasts array while I can. Will you come with me, or will you keep an eye on Primordial Inferno while I am away? Given your restrictions, asking you to assist here is-”

“I will remain. I had supported the spatial realm’s array before, but I cannot empower it now.”

“Alright. I’ll try to integrate the spatial wall with the array itself, so I’ll be sealing the Kong Prison Realm for just a moment. I don’t know if you are even able to enter at that point, but do avoid it unless there’s a significant event, like Primordial Inferno breaking out of the barrier or something like that,” she said, the man nodding promptly in response, “Be back in a minute.”

He didn’t do anything else, his gaze remaining on the barrier and the flaming Primordial Deity within, not turning even when the smoke and silver of the gateway to the Kong Prison Realm was at its brightest.

The moment she entered, she put up the spatial realm’s barriers, temporarily closing up every single gateway leading to or from it. There would be some disruption, inevitably, but she did intend to stick to her estimate of using only a few minutes as she only had a little bit she wished to do. Mostly, that wasn’t even the reinforcement of the Kong Prison Realm’s barrier, which she most certainly did wish to attempt, but rather the intended conversation with the spatial spirit of the realm, and the one that would know Kong Shi Meng best.

“Wei Yi, is something the matter? Sealing the spatial realm so suddenly…”

“Just had a chat with Kong Shi Meng, and that thing I had noticed when the barrier was last activated came to mind. What is the proper order for the Four Cardinal Beasts array?”

“If one was to start at the north, and go clockwise, it would be the Black Tortoise, Azure Dragon, White Tiger and then the Vermilion Bird.”

“Now, what did you see when the array was activated during the intrusion of the Great Leeches? I can provide my memory to you, if you want, but simply recalling the memory accurately should be enough to point out the error.”

“Wasn’t it the sa- Ah. I see. That… That is incredibly odd. I recalled everything being absolutely correct…” the spatial spirit frowned, showing off a greater range of expression than usual, “Wait, you had said that there was a figure in the Kong Prison Realm during the activation of the array, and until now, I hadn’t recalled such a thing, but now my memories seem to contain it as well! Was it a humanoid figure seemingly made of, or shrouded entirely in light?”

“White light.”

“Yes, that’s exactly it!” the excitement of Yi Shi Ming quickly reverted to trepidation, “So, if the array wasn’t activated correctly… No, that can’t be right either. It was activated, so perhaps it was something already built into the array’s structure?”

“How about you check the array? I imagine that it is possible, but surely this is something that you would have noticed after working on it for such a long time?”

The mother of the Master of Yi City didn’t say anything, but both of them moved to the northern part of the array, though while Yi Shi Ming got on with her usual duties at the same time, Wei Yi instead spread out her energy and attempted to perform the barrier strengthening that she had claimed she wanted to accomplish while in here.

If she failed, it would be acceptable, and if she succeeded, then it would be even better, since she obviously did want the spatial realm to be better defended. Both would be believable to Kong Shi Meng, whether or not that was truly him, and the time taken was also very reasonable so far.

“Hm, the array… Hm.”

“What is it?”

Yi Shi Ming’s face fluctuated between a few very subtle expressions, “This would obviously sound odd, but it doesn’t seem like the array has ever been activated to the extent of summoning the cardinal beasts.”

“Wouldn’t the beasts have been due to, uh, potentially false Shi Meng? Xu Shi Meng?”

“It might not be a good idea to start throwing around names,” the mother of the Master of Yi City muttered, “Still, my experience was that the array itself did light up. If Shi Meng, true or false, had wanted to support us with his own methods, there would be no reason to imitate the activation of the array itself. Especially not when he wasn’t aware of the proper order of the cardinal beasts, which seems to be the case. Oh, and there is nothing I could find within the array that would allow for the beasts to be switched, though you suspected it already.”

“Yeah, he was odd prior to this particular revelation, but this was enough proof to alert you beyond what I had already attempted to do,” the Ascendant said, “Just like it isn’t a very good idea to reveal Kong Shi Meng’s existence to the world, it isn’t a good idea to reveal Xu Shi Meng just yet. However, one day, I will confront him, and if he wishes to stand by and help Yi City…”

“I can feel your anger returning. Take care, please.”

“Will do. Thanks to the Great Leeches, I have way more practise than I would have liked to ever have…”

She sighed, trying to calm herself to a sufficient point. It was rather challenging, for there was no situation that she was entirely happy with, but she contained the fury within tomes of the Ascendant’s Library and the outer edges of the Kong Prison Realm, filling the skies with additional smoke.

“Anyway, we should probably move on, seeing as I suggested the better of the possibilities and was already in a terrible mood. When it does come time to speak with him, whoever he truly is, I don’t think I will be able to contain myself. I would not want to be in his position when the time comes, but I may not want to be within my own position when the times comes, either, so it’s not a particularly good situation either way…”

She sighed, but ultimately she had to go back and observe.

 

“It does feel like a good idea to rush in there, but there’s a difference between what will work and what feels right. In this case, cultivator intuition doesn’t seem to be on my side.”

Wei Yi spoke as she stood in the air, atop a chain of Law, looking upon Primordial Inferno’s activity within the barrier of heavenly light. She was addressing the man who appeared to be Kong Shi Meng, for she had to keep going as if she noticed nothing, but there was also the possibility that Xu Shi Meng was in fact the true Kong Shi Meng but with lacking or altered memories.

Even if that was not the case, she could benefit from him right now, and so she had to do so.

“You should not rush in. The Primordial Deities can wait, for a while, but if you breach the barrier, it will never be shut again. At that point, you will either fall to Primordial Inferno, or be occupied by it until your victory.”

“I know, I know… How much time has passed since the last Primordial Deity emergence?”

“The next one will occur within five minutes.”

“Ah. Time sure moves quickly as of late, doesn’t it?” she sighed, stepping off one of the chains of Law to another, “Let me guess, it’s going to be Primordial Invader and Primordial Corruption.”

“There are only three Primordial Deities that have not yet emerged in the current sequence.”

“Doesn’t stop me from making a guess,” the Ascendant looked southward, for it was highly unlikely that either one of the three would be making their appearance at the Northern Desert again. Presumably, if the three remaining were Primordial Corruption, Primordial Invader and Primordial Mind, then the first would appear in the Central Plains, where conditions were most hospitable, the second would emerge near the Wu District, and Primordial Mind… she wasn’t sure about that one.

Still, the heat of the north wasn’t very conducive to thinking, so it was very likely to be closer the centre as well. Perhaps the Ru District would be the home for Primordial Mind, though she would have expected to have heard more legends about the Primordial Deity if that was the case. Then again, she didn’t know whether every single Primordial Deity that had been in one place ended up returning to the same place, as the majority of their original domains had not been well documented throughout the records she had studied. The Patriarchs also lacked some of that information, so she mostly had to guess with two of the three.

She did have the Corruptor’s Enclave to go to if she wanted to learn about Primordial Corruption’s likely point of emergence, but since she had not yet found it, it would be more likely that the Primordial Deity would lead her to them instead. Frankly, it was rather frightening, considering the entity’s horror.

The waves had begun some time ago, but the presence of Primordial Inferno and the barrier containing it just a short distance away from her made it very difficult to detect it initially. Now, however, as their time of emergence drew even nearer, little effort was required to perceive them. One pulse of energy was concentrated at a point west of the Yi District and south of the Chen District, and the other was exactly where she expected it to be – just south-east of the Wu District.

Primordial Invader was to be expected, and she had begun considering what to do about it, but she was at least able to apply the knowledge of Kong Shi Meng’s battle against it to have some clue.

Meanwhile, Primordial Corruption was far more concerning, as she neither understood what exactly that thing was supposed to be, nor what to do against it. Even when she had last come across Primordial Corruption, when it infected her with a seed of corruption that she promptly spat out, it seemed to be more effective against her than the power of Primordial Earth, especially when her power had been unable to dissolve the energy of the Primordial Deity in the same way as with Primordial Earth and Primordial Nature.

Whatever miracle permitted her to take Primordial Earth’s grey dust and Primordial Nature’s power might well not apply to Primordial Corruption, making the entity so much more dangerous. Its whole focus was the corruption of others, and if Wei Yi lacked immunity, she could be utterly terrifying.

That’s right, it was her own power that most concerned her. As her normal self, she could already do a great deal of damage, but if she was taken over by Primordial Corruption, her power would absolutely devastate the world. Furthermore, if Primordial Corruption was able to take the abilities of the things that it corrupted, then it would be even worse, for the power of the Ascendant would suddenly join an entity that was already fearsome on its own.

She did not want that to happen, and so she was rather wary about entering Primordial Corruption’s domain in any way. Still, she had to interact with it eventually if she wanted to seal the Primordial Deity and contain its corruption, even if it would only be for a little while. That necessitated a battle, so far as she understood the flow of things.

It did not take long for the emergence to occur, and when it did, the Ascendant was forced to make a quick decision regarding the Primordial Deity that she would need to take on first. With the dangers of Primordial Corruption already considered, there was good reason to take it on first, before it had the chance to grow unnecessarily, but the fact that Primordial Invader appeared so close to the Wu District did tip the scales in its favour. She had experience with it, thanks to Kong Shi Meng, so fighting it should be at least somewhat easier than the unknown that was Primordial Corruption.

“Shi Meng, while I’m still considering this – Primordial Corruption or Primordial Invader?”

“Primordial Corruption poses a vast threat to everyone around it. However, the open space within which it appeared means that there is time before it will affect others. Primordial Invader is immediately next to the Wu District, and there is a very high possibility that the barrier will swallow most of it with the Primordial Deity if it is not weakened sufficiently.”

“Pretty much what I was thinking… You know about the Hunger of the Beyond, right? Can you tell me if they are less irritating than the Primordial Deities?”

“… Far more dangerous, that much I can guarantee.”