7

Bai li yue was standing in a fog filled section of the forest. It was so thick that she could barely see what chu jiang li was doing. He was moving around casting arrays almost like an afterthought at different points of the surrounding area. He made it look so easy, but she knew how difficult it was. He had never told her what grade he was, but she was sure he was definitely a formations grandmaster. There was a big chance of him being a sage, since she has seen him casting an array with only thought. She'd read that only sages could enter the thought state and only sovereigns could enter the thoughtless state.

'li yue, keep your eyes peeled. Tell me if you see any changes in the surroundings.' teacher chu called out. He powered the arrays and the fog was sucked into the arrays. She recognised the arrays now. They were wind arrays. She nodded before realising that his back was turned to her.

'yes teacher.'

'we have till the time an incense stick burns before the fog returns. Search carefully.'

She inspected every square inch around her before moving to another space.

The wind arrays faded and chu jiang li casted a few more to suck the fog out of the area. They searched hard for hours until bai li yue cried out.

' teacher. Over here. I think i found something.'

He ran over to where she was standing. She pointed at the tree in front of her.

' i think this is the key.'

He walked around the tree inspecting it while stroking his beard in thought.

' why do tou say so?'

' there is light coming from the tree. Don't you see it?'

He shook his head.

' this is interesting. I can't perceive the light you speak of. This tree looks very ordinary to me.'

' Why can i see the light?'

' you must have something that i don't. Come. Let me have a look at you.'

He touched her wrist and injected a speck of his soul power into her meridians. Her body tensed up automatically at the intrusion. The last time someone had touched her, she'd ended up on her way to another world.

'i'm just having a look, i won't harm you.'

She took relaxed and fought the impulse to crush the foreign gaze that was scouring her meridians. Teacher chu kept a running monologue of his findings

' fascinating.

How didn't i feel this energy?

Ahh i see!

You are a curiosity'

He finally withdrew his gaze from inside her.

'did you know that you have a seal inside your body?'

' a seal?' she didn't know anything about anything. It must be that monk who did this. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't had any bad luck ever since she came to this world. Teacher was already stuck here before she came so that didn't count.

She debated whether to divulge the secret about the death energy in her body to her teacher but this wasn't the time to keep secrets. If the information could help them get out of here, then she was ready to tell it all. She told him about the crazy monk who abducted her. She has mentioned him briefly in the past, but never in such detail.

' he said i have a spring of death energy inside my body that's why he took me. He was going to use me to advance his cultivation. He must be the one who placed the seal in my body.'

' what you've told me makes sense. Normally one would suppress such energy before sealing. Since he intended to use you for cultivation, there was no need for suppression since it will limit the amount of death energy produced. The seal also explains why your cultivation speed is so slow. Unfortunately, it doesn't explain why you can see the key. Let me think for a moment.'

He sat on the ground and she followed suit. That damn monk! She didn't know whether to thank him or curse him. On one hand he had solved her problem, but in doing so, he'd added another. She no longer had to fear living a simple happy life, but she would be too low level to stand a chance in a fight.

Teacher Chu opened his eyes after a while and presented his reasoning to her.

'Li yue the death energy in your body is sealed so it isn't interacting with the outside world. the only thing i can think of is that your realm is so low that you are able to see the key while i cant. Multitudes have tried entering this place, i was one of the lucky few. I thought i was one of the chosen ones to find the doorway into this place. Little did i know how insidious this place was. We met a few others when we arrived and had to fight to survive. I buried my friends and my enemies until i was the last person. That was when it dawned on me that there was no escaping this place.'

She listened to the story with rapt attention. This was the first time that he was telling her the whole story.

' li yue, you have no idea how nefarious this natural array is. I thought i knew it, but i'm understanding it more and more today. This natural array evolved from a formations inheritance. In order to protect itself from greedy hands it created a perfect system. Only the strong can enter the array, but to leave, one has to be weak. It's brilliant! so brilliant, that i can't even get angry.'

' teacher, what are you saying?'

'i'm saying only you can leave. I am doomed to spend the rest of my days here.'

Leaving alone?

' no! I'm not leaving without you!'

She said stubbornly.

'We are supposed to leave together. How can i leave alone?

' hearing you say that, makes me happy. My eyes didn't mislead me. I chose a good student.'

' teacher, don't tell me you've given up already?'

' i'm old. I have already lived. What kind of person will i be if i let you stay by my side because of my selfishness?'

' i haven't given up. I will think of something. There has to be a way. If worse comes to worse, we can just break it.'

He chuckled at her determination. If breaking the array was an easy feat, he wouldn't be here right now. He knew what was going through her mind. Her youthfulness had the right to fight. They had not yet understood the joy inherent in giving up.

'Ahh… Li yue, promise me that you'll follow my wish if you can't find a solution.'

She hesitated. She didn't have much confidence to succeed, but she couldn't understand why teacher chu had given up all of a sudden. What happened to fighting till the end?

' promise me'

'teacher is being insistent so i can only obey.'

She walked around the tree in turn taking care not to touch it in case she triggered something. A multitude of thoughts raced through her mind.

This array isn't alive. It evolved on its own, but it still has no thought apart from keeping people out and and protecting itself from those who find their way inside. It functions just like a machine. Most importantly, nothing is perfect in this world. it has to have a flaw- no, it already has a flaw. A perfect system will prevent any intrusion, but here we are. That means that there is a hole somewhere. A  defect that we can use to our advantage.'

She was feeling more confident now. Her thinking was on the right track but she didn't have a solution only ideas. She shared with him.

' if am able to see the key, then all we have to is make teacher like me.'

'teacher, is it possible for you to become like me? Lower your realm?'

' suppress my realm?'

She nodded excitedly.

' that is a good idea, but suppressing my realm does not mean that it doesn't exist.'

'what about a seal?'

' hmm…'

He thought about her idea for a while before he replied.

'that could theoretically work'

She clapped in celebration.

'I'll take it. Theoretically was better than nothing.'

He waited till she fell silent before he added.

' the only seal i can think of that's guaranteed to work is the asura's wrath sealing array.

' awesome!'

' the asura's wrath sealing array will seal my spiritual energy. Completely. I will become mortal.'

He paused for his words to sink in.

' during that time i will be incapable of protecting you.'

' i haven't spent all this time training for nothing. I wouldn't think of relying on you.'

' i'm glad you can take care of yourself, but the asura's wrath sealing array is problematic in my case. I am currently relying on my spiritual energy to keep my soul from dissipating. Do you see the problem now?'

She let out a long heavy sigh and frowned.

That was disturbing news.

' once i seal myself i won't have access to any spiritual energy. The dissipation will begin immediately. I could slow it down using a few tricks, but if the seal isn't undone in two months, it will be too late for me. Only an array grandmaster who has mastered the asura's wrath sealing array can undo it. you are a long way from that.'

Bai li yue's hand tightened into a fist. She wasn't resigned.

' what about the sect? You are always talking about your sect uncle. He can surely be of help.'

' the thousand bamboo immortal sword sect is located in the north eastern region in the jingqian province. It's a far away region. I've never heard anyone make the journey in two months.'

' in conclusion, you either stay here and die or escape and die.'

She sighed.

' teacher, let's get out of this place. My move like the wind isn't perfect, but i will make sure we arrive by the 2 month deadline. This is my chance to repay you for your kindness. Please say yes.'

' men make plans,

But so too do the heavens

The question is who will persevere.'

He seemed to have made his decision.

' li yue, i have spent too long in this place. Even if death is my fate, let me return once more to the place i call home.'

They discussed when it would be best to leave. Bai li yue wanted to leave immediately, but teacher chu was of a different opinion.

' let us be a teacher and a student for the last time. I don't want either of us to have any regrets if we don't make it in time.'

She prepared a pot of tea and served him. He drank in silence as the fog returned. He told her about his hometown and his many experiences during his youth training at the martial house before being recruited into the bamboo sect by his master.

She laughed at the stories of his antics in the sect. She had to make sure to visit the libido statue in the small town of Damu that had caused him to be imprisoned in the punishment hall for 3 years after he tricked a few old men out of their fortunes.

After a night of stories and laughter and countless pots of tea, he sobered up.

' li yue, the seal in your body will eventually become a problem for you one day. I can do one of two things for you. I can remove the seal and let you cultivate. Your cultivation will progress in leaps and bounds, but the disadvantage will be of equal proportion if not more. But i am sure once you are strong enough, you'll be able to confront them.

She bit her lips anxiously. She remembered how much suffering she had gone through in the past.

' no. I don't want that.'

' the other option might seem better to you, but it might not necessarily be in your best interest. I could suppress and seal the death energy, but it will hinder your cultivation. What will take your months to succeed might take years. What will take years might take decades. You will fall behind your generation. Think about it and tell me what you decide.

' i don't have to think about it, teacher. My whole family died because of me. I don't want to ever see the people i love disappear like that. After all, didn't you tell me that cultivation is not about speed? I much rather prefer being slow than being unhappy. I will take my time and cultivate slowly.'

' very well. Watch closely.'

The wind rose in the area around her body. She watched with bated breath as Teacher chu drew the most complex array diagram she had ever seen. There were thirteen layers to the array and three interlocking circles in each layer. She couldn't make heads or tails of the numerous runes he was adding. She peered closer at each of the mysterious runes, trying to memorise what she could. her head began to pound after staring too hard .

' remember the name of this array. It is called netherworld matrix sealing array. I will give you the diagram to begin studying when you are free since the energy in your body is only suppressed, but not eliminated. It will slowly eat away at the netherworld matrix seal and emerge in half a century. You should master the sealing array by that time or find a way to eliminate the energy.'

The final circle that completed the array fell in place and teacher chu injected some of his spiritual energy into the different layers. They hummed to life and revolved around her. They entered her body and settled over her diantian.

She bowed to chu jiang li to show her gratitude.

' bai li yue is grateful.'

He helped her to her feet gently with a kind smile on his face.

' aiyo, you are thanking me too early. I'm not yet done. With a wave of his sleeve an ancient tome appeared. The fog rolled and the wind blew fiercely in reaction. It was as they had seen a friend or an enemy.

' this is the inheritance i entered this heaven forsaken place to retrieve. I am giving it to you-

' teacher-'

' he stopped before she could voice her refusal.

' i'm giving it to you for safekeeping. If i don't make it, then it will become my legacy to you. Study it carefully and you will gain more than you have ever imagined. Let me tell you, this is an inheritance left behind by a han bei jie. He was an unknown formations emperor from the ancient times. Legend has it that he left this inheritance behind when he ascended to godhood. Study it carefully. Even if i was to die, it won't be bad if i am known as the teacher of an array sovereign. I can boast about my student to all the souls in the netherworld.'

She accepted the tome and bowed again. The book disappeared in her hands; only for a tattoo of an open book to appear on the inside of her wrist.

'Bai li yue will make sure that you become the teacher of a formation sovereign- no! a formation empress.'

He received her reverence this time. He quickly cleared his throat.

' i will say one final thing. Remember my lessons. Never forget them. Be principled, but bend when you have to, run if you can't fight, being a coward is alright as long as you live longer, cultivation requires riches, so make a lot of money when you can, don't flaunt your wealth if you cannot protect it. dont cheat others too much and dont allow yourself to be cheated too much, be ruthless to your enemies; sometimes mercy is overrated. Stay true to yourself and finally work hard in your cultivation.'

' i will commit your teachings to heart, teacher chu.'

He looked at the forest around them and gave a nostalgic sigh.

' i will miss this place once i'm gone.'

He stepped away from the kneeling bai li yue and began casting the asura's wrath sealing array. It was even not as magnificent as the netherworld matrix sealing array, but it was just as complicated if not more. She couldn't catch all the different runes that were flying around. the circles were surrounded by runes like a dam against fighting the rushing waters. The final circle lit the sky with bright light before gradually dying down. With it teacher chu also lost his solidity, his wrinkles were more pronounced. He now looked like a tired ancient grandfather on the brink of death.

' i have removed the restrictions on the spatial ring. Place me inside before you go outside. Unfortunately I can only talk to you. You will be on your own from here on.'

She drew him into the ring on her finger and stored it inside her jeans pocket. Master chu had already given her some clothes to change into, but she couldn't help feeling uncomfortable in the badly fitting mens robe. She kept her jeans trousers on in case the wind swept the robe upwards as she travelled. She checked the cloth bag containing water, roasted meat, fruits, her borrowed clothes, and the map to show her the way. Her wooden sword was also hanging at her side.

She took a deep breath and faced the tree.

'It's time!'

She stepped into the light.