The mountain hesitated but followed orders. If there was anything good about Mr. Mountain, it was that while he was dumb as a rock, he listened. The violet mist floated inside the bubble in uncertainty. Its pace quickened as it stepped inside, and before Huxian could register what it was doing, it had transformed into a hundred-foot-tall mountain inside the bubble.
Good. Good. He’d use that wretched clock to speed level Mr. Mountain. Plus, he would do it for free, as the clock would draw its power from the nearby oceans to do it. The clock was a near-limitless source of energy. On that note, he willed the bubble to compress even further, and soon a small trickle formed. It was condensed time essence, which he lapped up greedily.
Yes, revenge was a dish best served quickly. Another plan, perfectly executed.
Cha Ming stared wide-eyed at the mountain. He’d seen the purple mist drift slowly toward the clock, but before he knew it, it had zipped in front of it and materialized as a mountain. Further, it seemed to be growing at a rate detectable to the naked eye.
“What’s going on?” he asked Huxian.
What’s going on is I’m a genius, Huxian said. See that clock there? It’s had it out for us this entire time. It made this challenge way too difficult for us.
“The clock,” Cha Ming said in a deadpan voice.
That’s right, Huxian said. So I decided to get revenge. I saw that it could generate a time field. That made me think of Mr. Mountain, who’s very different from Lei Jiang, Silverwing, Gua, and me. He’s an illusory mountain, and while illusory demons grow much more slowly than normal demons, mountains do too. It needs time more than it needs energy. That’s why I decided to exact the most perfect revenge on the clock. It destroyed your choices for advancing, so I’m stealing its time-altering powers and diverting it for our personal use. Mr. Mountain is going to be awesome because of this. Give him three months tops, and he’ll be a god amongst ants on this plane.
Cha Ming’s head hurt. Huxian wanted revenge, so he bent time itself to do it? Then, a thought struck him. How much faster is time in that area?
I dunno, ten times near the outside, an average of six hundred times where Mr. Mountain is. Closer to the clock, I have no idea.
“Huxian, you’re a genius,” Cha Ming said.
“I said that,” Huxian huffed. “My revenge is perfect. I’ll teach that clock a lesson it’ll never—”
“Teacher Sun, what do you think the time flow is like near the center of the time-contraction field?” Cha Ming asked.
Sun Wukong’s spirit appeared beside him. “I’m not sure. Maybe a few hundred thousand times? It’s tough to say because the time field distorts spiritual perception.”
Cha Ming smiled when he heard this. He summoned two objects. One was the Water Essence Core, while another was the Runic Nirvana Pill. “Do you think three months on the outside is enough to mature at least one of these?”
Sun Wukong closed his mouth and opened it several times. He raised his finger, then put it down. “Maybe failing was a blessing in disguise? It’s tough to say for sure, but toss ’em in. A mortal body would get torn to shreds near the clock by the space-time distortions, but those inanimate objects are different. Both the Runic Nirvana Pill and the Water Essence Core should be able to withstand the strain. If we’re successful, we’ll solve both your body-cultivating problem and your core at the same time.”
Cha Ming’s eyes gleamed. He used his transcendent force and threw them both toward the base of the tower.
At that moment, Gong Shuren walked up beside them. She looked quizzically at Sun Wukong and then at Cha Ming. “What’s going on?” she asked.
Cha Ming bowed apologetically. “My apologies, Sister Shuren. While I was sulking over my failure, Huxian discovered something interesting: a time-contraction field. So, while we’ve failed in our struggle for the Sea God Crown, we’ve found a silver lining. Huxian can help his friend gain strength, and I may be able to use the extra time acceleration to resolve the problem with my core and body cultivation.” He averted his gaze. “I’m sorry about your loss. If there’s anything I can do for you in the future, anything at all, I will. This was my fault.”
His words didn’t seem to register, however. Gong Shuren stared at the miniature Sea God Clock Tower and put her hand to her chin. Her body language shifted. One moment, she was unhappy, resigned to her fate. The next, her back straightened. Then she chuckled. Her laugh intensified, then peals of laughter filled the room as a determined glint appeared in her eyes.
“Who would have thought that this loss was actually a blessing in disguise?” she mused.
“Pardon?” Cha Ming asked.
“We have many records of the trials,” Gong Shuren said. “Every trial, three artifacts are claimed. Most parties clear the other two trials in roughly the same amount of time. The first two tests are just screens for worthiness, but the third test is the real one—a test for bloodline.”
Cha Ming nodded slowly. “You were able to attune much faster than your brother.”
“The disparity in bloodline concentration can be frustrating,” Gong Shuren said. “To try and bridge this gap, they tried something daring. They tried to attune to this.” She pointed up. “The Sea God Clock Tower.”
Cha Ming’s eyes lit up in surprise. “You mean it’s possible?”
She shook her head. “Theoretically, it is, but the process is far too slow. Based on the attunement rates, an average family member would need over a hundred years to attune with the clock. Not at all achievable in the time we have available. But if time were accelerated somehow…” Her eyes gleamed. “I estimate I only need a few years to attune the clock with my strong bloodline. We normally only have a few months, but Huxian may have just made this possible.”
Cha
