“Thank you,” Cha Ming said, taking the disc but leaving the medallion. It was clearly very precious. He closed her hand around it. “No need to give us any precious treasures. My friend here says this disc is extremely valuable. It will do. You owe us nothing.”
“But—” she started.
“No buts,” Cha Ming said. He clasped his hands and bowed to the two cultivators. “I’d better get going. Do be careful as you travel. Those assassins weren’t normal cultivators but devil cultivators. They’re more dangerous than they seem, and the lives of others are meaningless in their eyes.”
Seeing Gong Su’s grave nod, Cha Ming rushed back to his disciples, who’d been waiting anxiously in the café. They were greeted by angry guardsmen and a civilian police officer.
Well, that could have gone better, Huxian grumbled as they walked out of the guard office.
“How so?” Cha Ming said. “They just want us to leave within twenty-four hours and ban us for a year. I think it’s reasonable, given how many things we wrecked.”
But it’s their fault for letting assassins into the city to attack people! Huxian exclaimed.
“They frankly don’t care what people do, as long as they don’t commit crimes and destroy buildings,” Cha Ming said. “Though self-defense is allowed, collateral damage is not.”
It’s so unfair, Huxian said.
All four of his disciples rose as they exited the prison.
“Master, we missed our appointment with Lan Xue,” Yue Bing said. The woman, who used to be a gentle spirit doctor, now wore red robes. Her temperament had changed drastically since he’d left for Jade Moon Planet.
“Yes,” Cha Ming said, “I heard he’s a little eccentric. I hope he’s still willing to take us.”
They walked down several roads until they reached a poorer area of town. The buildings there were dirty and worn, and they wondered if they were in the right place. They soon discovered the place they were looking for: The Deep Sea Emporium.
The Deep Sea Emporium was, admittedly, a bit of a dump. Scattered, disorganized treasures littered the shelves, and a man was sleeping at the counter. He seemed to be dreaming. Cha Ming felt a tingling sensation as he walked across an invisible boundary. He frowned and repelled the invading dream, while Huxian ate it. All his disciples but Zi Long suddenly crumpled to the ground as they were dragged into a dream.
“It’ll do them some good to suffer a mental technique, especially a non-offensive one,” Zi Long said, shrugging.
“My thoughts exactly,” Cha Ming replied. “You’ve learned a few extra tricks. Illusionist, right?”
“Something like that,” Zi Long said. “I’m now a heart-force cultivator, majoring in illusions. It might seem like a small distinction, but it makes a world of difference.”
“I’ll bet,” Cha Ming said. Through his transcendent soul, he could see a violet hue staining his disciple’s soul. A spirit resided there as well, much like Sun Wukong resided in his own Clear Sky Brush. It didn’t seem malevolent, so he left it alone.
Yue Bing’s eyes snapped open first, followed by Jin Huang’s. Ling Dong came last, and he awoke with bestial fury. Cha Ming appeared beside him and placed his powerful hand on his shoulder, holding him down to prevent any misunderstandings. They might not know how powerful the sleeping man was, but he did.
“Let him at me if he wants,” grumbled the man, who’d clearly been feigning sleep. He yawned and stretched out his arms. “I could use a warmup.”
“As much as I care about their education, Lan Xuan, a peak-core-formation cultivator bullying juniors isn’t exactly educational,” Cha Ming said.
Ling Dong’s eyes widened as he realized the mistake he’d almost committed.
Lan Xuan grinned. “You’re too soft on them, Cha Ming.”
“I feel people learn best by example,” Cha Ming said. “Why don’t you tussle with Huxian? It seems dreams make for good eating.”
The black-and-white fox was salivating, almost begging the man to oblige.
Lan Xuan grunted. He walked over to a desk and pulled out a piece of pure white paper with blue lines. Beihai City was a single dot at the edge of the ocean, and Haijing City was a bright golden dot in the center of it. The two points were separated by a gap ten times wider than the plane’s single continent. He handed white discs to each of them. Unlike normal compasses, they contained two needles, one blue and one gold.
“The gold needle points to Beihai City, while the blue one points to Haijing City,” Lan Xuan said. “If any of you get lost, you only need to follow the needle along the sea floor or the surface, and you’ll find your way back to Beihai. The pressure near Haijing is intense, even for peak-core-formation cultivators, so I don’t recommend heading back there.”
Cha Ming nodded. “Do we need anything else?”
“City passes,” Lan Xuan said. He held out blue tokens with gold writing to each of them. “Haijing issues a limited quantity every decade, and they’re expensive. Don’t lose them.”
“Not a problem,” Cha Ming said.
“Everyone should get some sleep,” Lan Xuan said. “The darkness down there can be unbearable. I want everyone in good mental shape before we go down. Understood?”
“Yes, sir!” everyone said.
“Great,” Lan Xuan said. Then, to Cha Ming’s surprise, the man snapped his fingers. Everyone but he and Huxian fell asleep.
Cha Ming chuckled. “Saves on hotel rooms, I guess.”
He found an empty room. Then, instead of sleeping, he summoned a gray portal and entered the Clear Sky World.
“Took you long enough,” a gruff voice said as Cha Ming entered Jade Moon Garden, the single landmass floating within the Clear Sky World. He looked toward a nearby mountain and appeared beside a tall red-bearded man holding a large stone staff. Now that his soul was healed, Sun Wukong sported a furry red monkey tail as well.
“My apologies for keeping you waiting, Teacher Sun,” Cha Ming said.
Sun Wukong grunted. “It’s not as lonely here as it used to be. The fish and the nymphs taking care of the garden are
