142 Between Light and Darkness

"You will soon understand everything," the owl said. "Huxian, when I asked you if you had a close human friend, I was asking to confirm my dream. I heard your lie, so I've been keeping an eye on you. Otherwise, how could the Reptilian Lion Sovereign possibly give in to Silverwing's demands?"

Huxian transmitted a brief account of what had happened to Cha Ming.

Destiny is a strange thing, Cha Ming thought. But this time, I wasn't pulled along helplessly. I chose to learn talisman and formation arts. And even if I was given the Eyes of Pure Jade, I chose to use them. And finally, I chose to learn formations and help Mo Tianshen with his pills. Is everything truly predestined? Or are there many potential destinies, and my choices have led me to this one? Are there other similar destinies out there that I have abandoned?

He thought of the dual nature of the Clear Sky Brush. It didn't favor light over darkness. He could have easily chosen the devil path. It was a choice he'd made, regardless of what he might have thought at the time.

As Cha Ming thought this, the owl led them to a stone stele near the jade plate. It looked positively ancient, and it was covered in myriad runic lines. To Cha Ming's surprise, he did not understand a single character. At least with the jade plate he understood everything. This was why he was so certain he couldn't use it. These runes were completely different.

"I recognize those," Huxian suddenly said. He walked up to the stone stele, sniffing. "These are runes of light and darkness. I am no formation master or talisman artist, but I remember them. If you can master them, they will be very useful for me in the future."

Cha Ming shook his head. "How could I possibly learn them? I can't manipulate light or darkness qi, so I couldn't even begin to comprehend them. Learning runes starts with imitation. Without imitation there is no understanding." As he said these words, he traced the shallow grooves on the stone stele with his finger. They called to him.

"Don't you have that creation qi technique or whatnot?" Huxian asked, confused.

"It's not so simple," Cha Ming said, smiling. "The five elements, wind, and lightning are encompassed in creation. The same elements are a part of destruction, or so I understand thus far. But certain attributes cannot be created or destroyed. They are a resulting law, a consequence of everything else.

"Light and darkness are opposite forces of consequence. If I light a fire, I will create light. If I manipulate earth, I can block out light and create darkness. I can't manipulate them directly like you do. The same applies to the power of fate, merit, and sin, and their category, karma. It is the same for space and time."

"Then if you had access to light and darkness qi, it would solve your problems?" Huxian asked.

"Indeed, it would," Cha Ming answered. "If only gaining access to light and darkness qi were so easy."

"Not a problem," Huxian said joyfully, sitting on Cha Ming's lap. "With my help, you will be able to use light and darkness qi. Of course, it's demonic qi, but shouldn't that work just the same?"

Cha Ming felt the link between Huxian and himself deepen. He understood that, at least in a range of one hundred feet, he could draw on Huxian's qi. Meanwhile, Huxian could do the same to him.

"Nice!" the young fox said, summoning a ball of flame. "I've always wanted to summon flame. It's really cool, but every bagua fox only gets one contractor in their lifetime. That's why our knowledge on techniques for these elements are so limited. I can only adapt from the techniques meant for my beastly generals. Beastly friends. Whatever they are."

"Speaking of which," Cha Ming said awkwardly, "how come I haven't seen your minion, Lei Jiang?"

Huxian shook his head self-deprecatingly. "He's not my minion anymore. He's my friend. I released his soul seal, but he ran away…" Huxian narrated the sequence of events while looking away, not daring to meet Cha Ming's eyes. Cha Ming couldn't help but scratch his ears.

"You did well, my friend, you did well," Cha Ming said. "Now tell me, what do you know about the nature of light and darkness?" Cha Ming summoned two balls of qi, which he controlled using his incandescent force. One was pure white, one was pure black, just like his creation and destruction qi.

"Not much, I'm afraid," Huxian said. "We're in tune with nature from our birth. We don't need to understand its nature—we are its nature. Whatever element we cultivate, we are its embodiment. What I can tell you is this—light is inseparable from darkness. They only show their true nature when they are together."

Cha Ming pondered deeply as he summoned the Clear Sky Brush. He imbued liquified elemental essence and tried to guide it just like with any other qi. To his surprise, the liquified elemental essence and the demonic qi merged slightly. The liquified elemental essence began to glow, as though it was returning to its original nature. It reminded Cha Ming of the process of creating gold essence and the others.

He tried the same thing with the darkness qi. The liquified elemental essence took on a slightly obscure shade. "Light essence and dark essence," Cha Ming whispered. He couldn't help but think that, if demonic beasts had the capacity for learning that humans did, they would surely be the best talisman artists. And blacksmiths. And anything else he could think of.

After having confirmed the usage of the demonic light and darkness qi, he walked over to the ancient stone stele. He looked at one of the least complicated runes and sent his incandescent force into it.

This character reminds me of the dim illumination of an overcast morning, Cha Ming thought. He tried painting the character he sensed, only to have it dim immediately afterward. He frowned. No, that's not it. It's the dim illumination on an overcast morning before dawn.

On this second try, the character didn't fade; it stayed illuminated.

Cha Ming didn't switch to darkness characters right away. He continued painting character after character, knowing full well that on the mountain range, an intense war was being waged.

***

Luo Xuehua, Wang Jun sent mentally, three hundred feet to the left, throw an Ice Grave Talisman and slow their pincer. Flaming Eagle Sovereign, fly overhead and intercept their supporting cultivators with flying swords. Boar lords one through seven, charge through the opening created and attack the three mid-foundation-establishment cultivators there.

Wang Jun shouted orders incessantly while also manipulating a grand formation with the Geomantic Sovereign. Not only did he have to control the flow of battle, he had to counter whatever tricks Guo Jia was up to. Meanwhile, the opponent's commander was elusive. He could not find him anywhere, and whenever he thought he spotted him, he vanished like the wind.

Half of the Obsidian Syndicate has assumed a devilish form, Wang Jun thought. Why wouldn't the commander? He directed a message to Luo Xuehua. Xuehua, do you know of any devilish creatures that have non-physical transformations? Ones that are good at hiding?

There are two, in fact, she replied while fighting a burly, bark-covered man that was suppressing her. Envy devils can disguise themselves as any person and can transform into wind, becoming immune to all physical attacks. I killed one once with Cha Ming, but that's only because his eye technique can see them in their unsubstantial form.

The Eyes of Pure Jade? Wang Jun asked.

That's right, she said. I also noticed that his fox friend has those very same eyes.

Then it's very unfortunate that they're both gone, Wang Jun said. He turned his attention back to the battle. In this case, he wouldn't bother trying to find their commander. He would wait until Cha Ming and Huxian came back and destroy him in one fell swoop.

***

It looks like I've reached a bottleneck, Cha Ming thought. He had tried the remaining light characters many times, but he was unable to gain any further comprehension. Huxian was off to the side, playing with a blob of lightning. He was learning qi manipulation like a child learned languages.

"Any advice on how to proceed?" Cha Ming asked.

Huxian appeared beside him immediately. He looked at the lit-up characters.

"Hm…" Huxian said. "I suggest you start with darkness runes now. Light and darkness are not as far removed as you think. Maybe you'll gain inspirations as you paint." He then went off to the side and began summoning a small sphere of darkness.

Cha Ming's eyes narrowed, and he yelled out instinctively, "Huxian, stop playing with the destruction qi!" Huxian cast his eyes down and scampered off to the woods. Immediately after his disappearance, Cha Ming could feel his destruction qi being drained once more. He shook his head helplessly. Kids.

Two hours passed before Cha Ming once again got to another bottleneck. He was left with an equal amount of uncompleted darkness characters.

Just what am I missing? he thought. He had been through dozens of descriptions on each side of the spectrum, and yet he couldn't understand any of these other runes.

One rune in particular baffled him. The feeling he got from it was one of light and darkness duality, but he knew it could only be drawn with one kind of ink.

I get the feeling that this is candlelight. But what am I missing? How many ways can you interpret candlelight?

As though he was trying to prove a point, he summoned a large sphere of darkness qi, which blotted out his surroundings. Then he summoned a small flame. It flickered, creating light as a consequence. And wherever it went, the darkness receded ever so slightly. It suddenly dawned on Cha Ming that he had been thinking about it backward.

Light is not just light, he thought. Light is also receding darkness. Likewise, darkness is also receding light.

He looked back to the light-based character and pictured something else in his mind entirely. He didn't focus on the candle, he focused on the area surrounding the candle where the darkness retreated. Then he infused his insights into the rune he'd painted with light essence. The completed character glowed and remained, not fading away.

Cha Ming, excited by his new epiphany, began interpreting the different characters in different ways. It wasn't long before every character on the stone stele glowed white or black. Once the last character was drawn, it immediately began to crumble. Huxian, having heard the commotion, appeared beside Cha Ming. The dust settled and revealed a small purple jade slip. It had a title: Demon-Subduing Eyes.

Cha Ming summoned the slip with his incandescent force and immersed his mind into the technique. Images, feelings, and scenes flooded his mind. He imagined he was a monarch, a sovereign. Thousands of beasts groveled before him. He was forced to abruptly cut the connection. He looked at the jade slip with a strange expression.

"How would anyone ever be able to cultivate this?" he thought.

"Let me try," Huxian said. He placed his paw on the jade slip. It glowed with an intense light. Three breaths later, the jade slip shattered into a small pile of gray dust. He then looked at Cha Ming, who shivered when he saw Huxian's eyes. They were the same jade color as his eyes, except for a conspicuous purple ring on the outside.

Cha Ming doubled over in pain as a similar ring etched itself into both his eyes. He immediately realized why he couldn't cultivate the Demon-Subduing Eyes it in the first place: It was a demonic technique. As such, only a demon could cultivate it. Cha Ming learned it only because Huxian did. The same applied to using light and darkness qi. He shivered as he recalled the owl saying it dreamt of a black-and-white fox and Cha Ming activating the formation. Had the owl predicted them using their link to make the impossible possible? Had the original owl monarch done the same?

When Cha Ming looked at Huxian, the fox appeared different than before. He saw a light green halo but also a purple one. Then Cha Ming looked around the clearing. He saw intense purple lines around the jade plate as well as many colored lines shooting off in different directions. Then, focusing on the mountains, he saw towering purple auras that blotted out the skies. The dead forest beside him was conspicuously empty of the purple qi that Cha Ming now recognized as demonic qi.

"Now do you believe you can activate the formation?" the owl monarch asked. He had been absent until this moment, but now he'd fluttering back over.

"I think I can," Cha Ming replied. "But it will take a few hours. Do we even have that much time?"

"I'll make us time," the owl monarch said. "Do you need Huxian? He's needed in the battlefield."

Cha Ming stared at the massive array of runic lines. "Please buy me as much time as you can."

***

Wang Jun, I'm back, Huxian sent mentally. And so is the owl monarch.

What about Cha Ming? Wang Jun asked.

He's busy activating the formation, Huxian replied. We're here to help buy you time.

I see, Wang Jun said. What about the owl monarch?

We're here to buy you time, Huxian replied. Whatever the cost.

Wang Jun stared out at the battlefield. It was ever changing, twisting according to both tacticians' desires. It was a dance, a very dangerous one at that. Any slight misstep would mean the loss of many lives. The allied beasts and humans were at a disadvantage. Fortunately, they were on the defensive, and they were able to keep their losses at a minimum. However, the losses they were sustaining were beginning to take their toll. It wouldn't be long before their forces crumbled.

How long does he need? Wang Jun asked.

A few hours, Huxian replied. As much time as you can get him, he added.

Wang Jun closed his eyes to think of various countermeasures. He opened them after a few moments, his eyes flashing with resolve. To buy that much time, we need to take out their hidden tactician. Huxian, can you see anything unusual with your Eyes of Pure Jade? A hidden enemy that blends into the wind?

A moment later, he received a reply. There is an ochre mist pervading the whole battlefield. It's difficult to make out anything specific.

Wang Jun nearly killed himself in shame. Of course he couldn't spot their commander. It was because he wasn't in any specific location, he was everywhere at once.

Does the orange mist retreat quickly whenever any fire, lightning, or wind techniques are used? The techniques were few and far between, with fire being the most prevalent, but they were still being used periodically.

Yes, now that you mention it, it does, Huxian said. After confirming his suspicions, Wang Jun formulated a bold and daring plan.

Geomantic Sovereign, Wang Jun sent, I'll need you to…

***

Cha Ming wasn't sure where to begin, so he started from the most distant line leading away from the plate. He hovered in the air and wielded his Clear Sky Brush, painting a wide blue line as he went. The amount of ink he used was staggering, but he didn't have much choice in the matter. Fortunately, a foundation had already been established. Each line stabilized immediately on completion.

As he approached the faraway mountain, he spotted several minor formations. He used his ink and brush to trace over their outlines, which appeared in either purple or elemental colors. The formations became more and more complex before finally arriving at the mountain. It split off into several lines that snaked up the mountain before finally merging into a jade plate at the peak.

Cha Ming carefully painted these lines, and as soon as he finished, the jade plate glowed with multicolored characters.

One formation plate down, he thought, wiping the sweat from his brow. Eight to go.