Chapter 8
"Worse! The Supreme Immortal Body Refinement Art… it requires a constant, massive influx of spiritual energy to maintain the new body! If you don't find a new, powerful source of Qi within the next few hours, your new meridians will collapse, and the backlash will not only shatter your foundation but kill you instantly! We are out of time, Liyun! You are dying!"
The Emperor's frantic warning slammed into Ye-Liyun's mind, cutting through the adrenaline of his escape. He skidded to a halt, his heart hammering a frantic rhythm against his newly forged ribs. He looked around the dense, ordinary forest—no spiritual herbs, no hidden springs, only trees and dirt. He was a fugitive, broke, and now facing a ticking clock that would end his life before his journey even began.
"How long, Emperor? Be precise!" Ye-Liyun demanded, his voice a mental shout, his hands instinctively clutching the wooden ring.
"Two hours! Maybe less! The Crimson Sun Grass was a volatile, high-burst fuel, not a steady source! Your new meridians are like a furnace that needs constant, high-grade coal! If the fire goes out, the furnace cracks! We must reach Azure Cloud City! It is the only place with enough concentrated spiritual energy to sustain you temporarily!"
Ye-Liyun didn't hesitate. He turned and ran, his new, powerful legs eating up the distance. The Supreme Immortal Body Refinement Art had given him a body far superior to any Physical Refining cultivator, but it was a double-edged sword—a magnificent engine that required a magnificent fuel.
"Guide me, Emperor! Where in the city? I have a handful of low-grade spiritual stones and a few coins from my father—it's nothing!"
"The spiritual stones are useless! They are too weak! We need a place where Qi naturally pools! There are three options in Azure Cloud City: the Clan Head's Private Meditation Chamber (impossible), the City Lord's Manor Array Core (suicidal), or the Spiritual Stone Exchange Market!"
"The Market?"
"Yes! The Exchange Market is where all the city's spiritual transactions occur! Thousands of spiritual stones are traded daily, creating a massive, temporary Qi vortex! It's the only place you can absorb enough ambient Qi to buy us time! Go! Run as if the Core Formation Master himself is chasing you!"
Ye-Liyun pushed his body to its absolute limit. The forest blurred into streaks of green and brown. He could already feel the first, subtle signs of the Art's failure—a faint, icy tremor deep in his core, a warning that the furnace was cooling.
He burst out of the forest and onto the main road leading to the city gates. The gates were already open, and the morning bustle was beginning. He pulled his hood low, blending into the stream of merchants and early cultivators.
The moment he stepped through the gates, the air changed. The spiritual energy in the city was noticeably thicker than the forest, a faint, nourishing mist that settled on the skin. It was enough to momentarily halt the icy tremor in his core.
"It's working! The city Qi is slowing the collapse! But it's not enough! We need the Market!" the Emperor urged.
Ye-Liyun navigated the crowded streets, his eyes scanning for any sign of his brothers or his father's trackers. He was a ghost, a banished son, and he had to move with the cunning of a seasoned fugitive.
He found the Spiritual Stone Exchange Market—a massive, open-air plaza surrounded by high-end shops. The air above the plaza shimmered, a visible distortion caused by the sheer concentration of spiritual energy. It was a chaotic, beautiful vortex of power.
"Liyun! Get to the center! Sit down and absorb! Now!"
Ye-Liyun pushed through the crowd of cultivators, merchants, and guards. He ignored the strange looks he received—a young man in torn robes pushing his way to the most expensive part of the market. He reached the center, a large, polished stone platform used for high-value transactions.
He dropped to his knees, ignoring the stares, and immediately began to circulate the Supreme Immortal Body Refinement Art again, but this time, he reversed the flow, using the Art to aggressively pull the ambient Qi from the air.
The effect was immediate and dramatic. The spiritual energy in the plaza rushed toward him, creating a visible, swirling column of mist that enveloped his body. The icy tremor in his core vanished, replaced by a warm, nourishing flood of Qi.
"Yes! Keep absorbing! This is only a temporary fix! We need a permanent solution! We need a high-grade spiritual herb—something equivalent to a Thousand-Year Ginseng or a Cloud-Heart Flower! Something that will provide a steady, powerful fuel source!"
"Where do I find that?" Ye-Liyun asked mentally, his voice strained by the effort of absorbing the chaotic Qi.
"In the Black Market, of course! No legitimate shop will sell a treasure of that caliber to a boy with no status! You need to find a way to earn enough money for a high-grade herb, and you need to do it before the market closes and the Qi dissipates!"
Ye-Liyun opened his eyes. He was surrounded by a circle of curious, then angry, cultivators. His aggressive absorption technique was literally stealing the spiritual energy from the air, affecting the transactions of the wealthy merchants.
A large, burly man in the robes of a mid-level guard, radiating the power of the Qi Condensation Realm, stepped forward, his face red with anger.
"Boy! What do you think you are doing?! You are disrupting the flow of Qi! Get out of here before I break your legs!"
Ye-Liyun knew he couldn't fight. He had just broken through the Physical Refining Phase, but he was still a beginner. He needed to buy time.
"Emperor! What do I do? I can't fight him!"
"You don't fight him! You use your knowledge! You need money! Look around! Find a flaw! Find a way to make a quick fortune!"
Ye-Liyun quickly scanned the market, his eyes darting over the stalls of spiritual herbs, artifacts, and cultivation materials. His eyes landed on a small, unassuming stall run by an elderly, nervous-looking merchant. The stall was selling low-grade spiritual stones, but one item caught Ye-Liyun's attention: a small, dull, grey rock sitting amongst the common stones.
"Emperor! That grey rock! What is it?"
The Emperor's voice suddenly sharpened with excitement. "Liyun! That's a Void Stone! It's a supreme treasure! It's a stone that has been completely drained of its spiritual energy, but it's the perfect catalyst for a Spatial Storage Array! It's worthless to a normal cultivator, but to a master Array Formatter, it's priceless! The merchant doesn't know what he has!"
"How much is it?" Ye-Liyun asked the merchant, his voice carefully neutral.
"Ah, this old thing?" the merchant stammered, nervous under the gaze of the angry guard. "It's just a dull stone. Five copper coins."
Ye-Liyun quickly paid the five coins and snatched the stone. The guard was still yelling, but Ye-Liyun ignored him, his mind racing.
"Liyun! You have the Void Stone! Now, you need to sell it! But not here! We need a buyer who understands its true value! We need to find the Azure Cloud City Array Master! He will pay a fortune for this!"
"Where is he?"
"He lives in the highest tower in the Inner City! But you can't just walk up to him! You need a way to get his attention! You need to prove you are worthy of his time!"
The guard lunged forward, his hand reaching for Ye-Liyun's shoulder.
"Liyun! He's going to grab you! You must escape! Go to the Inner City! Now!"
Ye-Liyun dodged the guard's grab, his new body reacting with lightning speed. He sprinted out of the market, the angry shouts of the guard and the merchants fading behind him. He was still absorbing Qi, but the icy tremor was returning. He had the Void Stone, but he was still dying, and now he was running toward the most heavily guarded part of the city.
He reached the entrance to the Inner City—a massive, fortified gate guarded by a dozen heavily armed soldiers. He couldn't sneak past them. He had to find a way to get the Array Master's attention without being captured or collapsing from Qi depletion.
"Emperor! What's the plan? I have maybe thirty minutes left before the collapse!"
"The Array Master is obsessed with ancient formations! He has a massive, flawed Defensive Array protecting his tower! It's a masterpiece, but it has a single, fatal flaw! If you can expose that flaw, he will be forced to see you! It's the only way! You must attack the Array!"
Ye-Liyun looked up at the towering structure, its peak shrouded in a shimmering, complex web of spiritual energy. Attack the City Array Master's tower? It was an act of war.
"But if I attack, the entire city guard will be on me!"
"You have no choice! It's either that or collapse on the street! Now, listen closely! I will guide your Qi! You must hit the North-East Nexus Point with a focused burst of energy! It will expose the flaw and force the Array Master out! Do it now, Liyun! Your life depends on it!"
Ye-Liyun took a deep breath, focusing the last of the ambient Qi he had absorbed. He was a banished, dying boy, about to launch an attack on the most powerful defensive structure in the city. He raised his hand, the wooden ring pulsing faintly, and prepared to strike.