The Jade Shadows Must Die [Cultivation LitRPG]

The creature before him was utterly different from the fade he'd fought in his trial, but no less terrifying. It looked like someone had melted a bear: four thick-clawed legs, scarred skin, bubbling and grossly uneven, and a stubby jaw made lethal by serrated teeth like carpenter's nails that snapped down on where his neck had been just moments before. It was much larger than the fade from the trial, almost reaching Rix's shoulder, but its body was wreathed in the same kind of dark purple smoke that seemed to bend the light around it.

If it was surprised to have failed its opening attack, it didn't show it. It gave Rix no time to adjust, pivoting to face him and lunging forward to slash out with a paw the size of a dinner plate. Rix reacted without thinking, raising the staff and blocking with the metal banding. He felt the weapon shudder in his hand, nearly losing his grip. He stumbled backwards, struggling to keep his footing. The creature was strong, far stronger than the spider-like fade from the day before.

But it was also slower. Perhaps he could use that.

It dropped low and began stalking to its left, seeking an opening, its eyes fixed on him. Rix tested it, lashing out with several quick strikes from his staff, one side and then the other. He didn't even try to channel his broken style, instead relying on well-honed instincts.

The Fade didn't bother to dodge, taking the blows on its fleshy legs with barely more than a snarl. So, that was how it was. A simple beating probably wasn't going to cut it.

Rix summoned his [Wind Blade] and lashed out again, once, twice, three times, the conjured edge biting into the creature's skin. The fade roared, the wounds beginning to leak dark blood, but they were superficial. Its body was too dense, too thickly muscled.

Its response was to rush straight at him. There was no finesse to the attack, no attempt to hit anything specific. The goal was brute force, to take him to the ground where its bulk and teeth and claws were unstoppable. It was a killing move, but Rix was quick enough. He danced sideways, landing two more quick cuts as the creature barrelled past him. Perhaps this was a war of attrition. He was probably quick enough to avoid all the fade's attacks. Given time, enough of his small blows would add up. But he had no idea how long that would take, and no idea what would come of a prolonged fight. Would other fadeborn be drawn by the noise? Or other inmates? He didn't know the rhythms of this place, and this was not the moment to find out.

Besides, he had something he wanted to use properly.

He let [Wind Blade] disappear. As the creature spun, Rix engaged again, following the same pattern as before. Strike low, strike high, easing the creature into a rhythm. If his experience with the trial fade translated to this one, it wouldn't be very bright. And stupid creatures were predictable.

Sure enough, it took the blows on its body, then charged once again. Again, Rix was too fast, but this time when the creature whirled to face him, it was greeted by Rix's maniacal grin and the end of his staff dropping like a meteor from the heavens. [Force Hammer] landed with a thunderous crack, driving the fade's legs out to the sides and its body down into the dirt.

Unlike the previous fade, this one's body was sturdy enough that it didn't simply disintegrate. In fact, as Rix finished his attack and stepped forward, his blood flush with triumph, the creature let out an agonised gurgle. Though its head was almost completely caved in, it still lived.

"Tough bastard, aren't you?" he said.

The creature replied with a weak swipe, though there was no force behind it. Even now, with its life ebbing away, that killing instinct still drove it.

With precision and a good deal of strength, he slowly forced a [Wind Blade] through the creature's skull, destroying what was left of its brain. There was a familiar rush as the fade's essence entered his body. He couldn't help but smile.

[Essence: 20%]

He was making progress. What was more pleasing was that the fight had been almost entirely on his terms. If he hadn't allowed himself to be distracted by the natural treasure, he didn't think he'd have been under threat at all. It was stupid to draw too many conclusions from one battle, but in that moment he felt like perhaps the realm's dangers had been overstated.

After finishing digging the root out of the ground, he tucked it into his robe and continued. The path zigged and zagged, growing narrow as the rock walls closed in tight around him. Eventually, they began widening back out when the terrain changed again. One moment he was walking through a rocky canyon, the next it had transitioned into a vibrant jungle. Trees loomed over him, cutting the light, and underfoot, the ground became treacherous with leaf litter and low-lying shrubs.

He cocked his head, studying the tree that seemed to be emerging from the edge of the canyon's rock wall, cleanly bisected, but otherwise apparently unharmed. The sight defied all logic. Much like the previous environmental change, this one was abrupt and absolute, made all the more dramatic by the difference in the two terrains. It looked like someone had neatly sliced the canyon away and then dropped a jungle in its place.

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He began picking his way forward. The light here was dimmer, the strange glow from the clouds struggling to penetrate the canopy. Rix's eyes darted left and right as a drop of sweat rolled down his neck. The jungle presented more danger than the canyon. Enemies could be lurking in any shadow. He'd spent some time as a youth foraging in the woods near Cloudpiercer, but he'd never been at home there like some.

As he moved, he studied the trees. They were all species he'd never seen before, and hugely varied. Some stood only a little taller than he did, whip-like saplings with sparsely packed leaves, while others towered over him like the great stone pillars of the city's grand temple. He found his attention drawn to one such behemoth. Its trunk was pale, almost white, and staggeringly wide. Its roots alone jutted out at least six feet high from the soil. If he'd put a roof over it, there was space enough to live in that root system.

There was something special about the tree, or the space around it. He couldn't put it into words, but it tickled his mind somehow. Cautiously, he moved forward to investigate. The closer he drew, the more pronounced the sensation became. It was as though the tree was calling to him.

As he drew closer to its root system, he began to become aware of a vague pain throbbing gently beneath his skin. It felt like a full-body headache. He glanced around, raising his weapon and attempting to steady himself in case this was an attack. But no enemies appeared. The tree remained inert.

He experimented. Stepping backwards caused the sensation to drop away, while drawing closer caused it to worsen. It was as though he was stepping into some kind of invisible trap. Was this a naturally occurring phenomenon in the Fractured Realm? Or something more sinister? Perhaps it was some working of mana by another inmate designed to ward off would-be competitors.

Whatever it was, it didn't appear to cause permanent harm. More importantly, he couldn't shake the sense that the spot was calling to him somehow. The next time he entered, he was prepared, though the onslaught still made his eyes water. As his body adjusted to the pain, he looked inside himself, and there, deep within his dantian, he could feel his qi vibrating.

Now that was new. Never in the entire time he'd had his qi had anything in the world interacted with it. He experimented, pushing it out through his body. It thrummed in his meridians even more so than normal. It felt almost eager? He was tempted to summon his Energy Surge just to see the effect, but that would be a huge waste of his meagre supply.

Unfortunately, the longer he stood in that strange zone, the more the pain built. It washed over him in waves, fogging his mind and making his muscles ache. Soon, it threatened to overwhelm him. As much as he wanted to keep experimenting, it was too dangerous to stay in that condition.

With a hiss of relief, he staggered out of the tree's radius and collapsed on the ground. The effect was powerful. He'd been in its grasp for less than thirty seconds, and he felt wrung out. The whole experience didn't make sense. Why would something that had resonance with his qi be so punishing to him?

In spite of the pain, the discovery was exciting. Anything that was related to his other power source was worth investigating. He tried to make a mental note of the location of the tree so he might be able to return.

The scrub grew thick as he continued. The trees were tightly packed enough here to be almost like walls, and they knotted together overhead to make an impenetrable layer of branches. It was almost like walking through a hallway. He'd heard people in the city talk about 'game trails' and wondered if this was similar.

Eventually, the path widened and the trees opened up into something more closely resembling the woods he knew. With more space in the canopy, it was brighter here, the trees a little greener. The hum had changed too; it had grown a little lower, a little more consistent.

And that change let his ears pick up that he was not alone.

He was climbing his way over a fallen log when he caught the faintest hint of a sound. A familiar clicking in the distance somewhere to his left. He probably wouldn't have been able to pick it out, but everything about his trial the previous day was burned into his brain.

It was the eerie skittering of the spider-like fade he'd fought in his trial.

Visions of that duel flashed through his mind. He swallowed hard and continued to listen. Judging by the noise, it wasn't coming for him, which meant it was probably unaware of his presence. He could double back once more and pick a different path, or circle around and try to avoid the creature.

Or he could embrace the risk, take advantage of the element of surprise and do what he'd come here to do. Become the predator, rather than remain the prey.

The decision wasn't really a decision at all.

With slow, deliberate steps he crept forward, pausing every ten feet to listen again. The clicking continued at regular intervals and didn't seem to be moving. Though not adept at woodcraft, Rix had a lifetime of experience cutting purses and sneaking food from under market vendors' noses. You didn't survive long on the street without a knack for stealth.

He picked his way forward, staying low and using the scrub to mask his movements until he judged the creature close. Peeking out from around a gnarled black tree trunk, he found the fade in a small open patch of grass in front of him. It may as well have been identical to the one he'd fought before. The same dull black carapace, the same nightmarish form. It was facing away from him, gnawing at something at the base of another tree.

Rix grinned. Not exactly a noble battle, but he had no qualms about taking the creature while it was distracted and unaware.

The distance between them was just ten feet. He could cover that in a moment. His fists tightened around his weapon, and not giving himself time to overthink things, he launched forward.

The fade reacted far faster than he'd anticipated.

It whirled, throwing up one leg to block his incoming blow, but of course he'd activated [Wind Blade], so the attack sheared clean through its carapace, sending the limb tumbling into the scrub. The creature hissed, and Rix felt a surge of elation. First blood in record time. Emboldened, he unleashed a flurry of bladed strikes, but rather than repeat its mistake, the fade dodged the next three blows, scuttling backwards and letting loose another hiss.

Rix advanced again, and again the fade retreated, dancing backwards once more as Rix's weapon found only air. This surprised him. Both fades he'd fought so far had only had one mode: offence. It was almost as if—

The second clicking sound from his left was all the warning he had.