And it was his. That film, so thin, so intangible that it seemed like any blade could easily tear through it, was his and his alone. It seemed like an inviolable part of him, an area that, despite its thinness, he could completely control.
Cha Ming summoned his Clear Sky Staff and willed the film to move. It did so, creeping up the staff at his direction. The air inside the Clear Sky World crackled as he swung his staff casually. He frowned, then stowed it.
“Congratulations,” Sun Wukong said. “You’ve birthed a pseudo domain. It’s like a nascent domain but weaker. About a third as weak, though that threefold increase is a greater gap than you can imagine. It is the gap between being powerful in this plane—able to damage it—and being a threat, able to tear it apart with enough effort.” He grinned, revealing his sharp, pointed teeth in the process. “You’re now a half-step-rune-carving cultivator.”
At long last, he had the power to protect himself. He’d fought transcendents before, but he’d found that he was slightly weaker than they were. Of course, the plane’s will fought against them every step of the way, but that didn’t help the fact that, if he were attacked by enough transcendents, their raw power would overwhelm him despite his regenerative and defensive abilities.
Now, however, he had an additional weapon. This pseudo domain covered him like a thin armor. His qi had evolved beyond being a shield. It would now enable him to defend himself, and even fight back against transcendents. It made his goal in Bastion much more achievable. Now there was only one more thing he could do to strengthen himself—find the Gold Source Marrow and break through to half-step blood awakening.
Chapter 26: Leyline of Gold
Cha Ming summoned a portal and exited the Clear Sky World. The runic shield, which he’d erected before entering the independent space, was still fully functional. Large boulders had fallen onto it, though they hardly posed a threat to the solid, condensed shield that surrounded the crystalized gold evanescence. The earth was trembling faintly, and dust was settling. It seemed a tremor had occurred just before his arrival.
With his return to the outside world, he felt the leaching on his vitality increase again. Even with his superior body cultivation, he would only last around a month within the life-draining miasma.
That’s going to be a problem, he thought. Then, wondering, he summoned his qi as a thin membrane like he had before. The membrane only took about a quarter of his qi, but to his surprise, it completely locked out the intrusion of the leaching force. He sighed in relief. Despite whatever was causing the leaching, he now had some confidence in facing it.
Cha Ming turned to the column of crystalized elemental evanesce and placed his hand on it. He transferred the entire thing directly into the Clear Sky World; no sense in leaving it behind if he wasn’t staying. The unowned object disappeared, leaving behind a five-foot crater. The crystal had been twelve feet long at its largest.
The chamber trembled slightly as the crystal disappeared. Cha Ming ignored the trembling and eyed the tunnels, which were more stable than the one he’d come from. They led deeper into the fissure.
“I think it’s high time we left, Teacher Sun,” Cha Ming said. “We only have so much time to wander about. If we take too long, we might miss out on the show in the city.” Things were moving quickly on the surface, and he’d already spent one month mining and one month consolidating his strength and breaking through. He needed to get back as soon as possible.
“My suggestion,” Sun Wukong said, “is to find whatever is causing the leaching.”
“Oh?” Cha Ming asked. “Why’s that?”
“Whatever it is, it’s likely alive,” Sun Wukong said. “Life-leaching gold is one thing, but this? It’s something else entirely.”
Cha Ming nodded. Then, cautiously, he entered one of the fissures. The jagged rocks on the walls were cracked, and rubble filled the rocky floor beneath him.
“But even if it’s alive, why should we go looking for it?” Cha Ming asked. “Whatever it is, it hardly seems benevolent.” He ducked beneath an obstruction, then, seeing the path was clear, he flew forward for a few hundred feet before stopping again. Here, the ceiling had caved in. He summoned his Clear Sky Staff and struck out with an Origin Strike, demolishing and evaporating the stones simultaneously. The strike came easily to him. It seemed his enhanced qi was far better suited to executing the advanced technique.
“I find it very unlikely that it’s stronger than you,” Sun Wukong said, appearing beside him and peering into the dark tunnel past the remaining rubble. “If it’s sentient, it ought to know the area.”
Cha Ming raised an eyebrow. “And you’re thinking it’ll tell us how to get out?”
“Of course,” Sun Wukong said, grinning. “If not, I’m sure enough poking and prodding will convince it to let you leave. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“Fair enough,” Cha Ming said, flying forward once again. “If brute force isn’t solving all your problems, you just aren’t using enough of it.”
They traveled straight for a time, but before long, the tunnel bent. It traveled perpendicular to the previous fissure, continuing until it reached another jagged opening. There, small shivering rocks covered the wall of the fissure. Some were as small as half a fist, while others were larger than a human head. He took a step, and what he’d originally assumed was a rock splashed and cracked beneath his foot. Thick blue blood, cold, not warm, leaked out from it.
“Heavens above,” Cha Ming whispered. “What is this place?”
The walls were covered in thousands of tiny pustules, wartlike pieces of
