Chapter 153: Snakes and Shadows

Chapter 153: Snakes and Shadows

Black burst around Hui. He rushed into the darkness. A force shoved him away from Bai Xue, but he didnt slow down or fall. Instead, he raced off in a different direction.

Bai Xue! he shouted.

His voice faded into the void. Hui frowned, then shook his head. Bai Xue will be fine. I should worry about myself.

White light burst out all around him. Hui flew out into a void and plummeted backward, unable to continue flying without Bai Xues assistance. Down, down. He rolled over.

Below, shadows squirmed over the floor. The smoky shapes moved with a will of their own.

Whatever that is, I dont want to land in it. He drew a wind talisman and pointed it at the floor. Activate!

Nothing happened. Huis eyes widened. He circulated his qi internally, strengthening his physical body as much as he could. The qi circulated as far as his ghoul-skin, but the second it bled past the ghoul-skin, it dissipated.

I cant use qi outside my body? Does this realm prohibit the usage of magical techniques?

He slammed down into the smoky shadows. The shadows broke apart, immaterial, and he smashed directly into the hard white stone-like surface beneath. Huis bones snapped, and his internal organs bruised. Coughing up blood, Hui bounced and rolled into the shadows. The shadows drew away, leaving a wide gap around him. Blood smudged over the bone, tracing a path into the shadows.

Lying there, Hui let out a pained groan. He drew out a Viscera Pill and swallowed it, then circulated its qi, quickly healing his injuries. The pain faded, and he crawled to his knees, then stood.

Shadows milled around him, swirling as high as knee-height. Sometimes, tendrils reached up his legs, curious. All around him was nothing but the white-walled cavern and the low, swirling shadows. In the distance, the cavern walls curled down, closing off the world, but from here to the wall, no one but him walked in the cavern. He walked along, peering around him as he went. Hui drew his sword and slashed downward, scoring a narrow scratch in the floor.

Bone. This cavern is made of bone. Is it inside the snakes skeleton? But no, thats where the disciples caves are. This must be an illusory realm generated by the snake.

Then what are these shadows?

Hui stopped. He snatched out and grabbed one of the tendrils. It squirmed in his hand, coalescing into the shape of a snake. The shadow-snake fought against his grasp, writhing harder and harder, then ripped itself free and dropped back into the shadows.

These shadows are all snakes? Or are the snakes all shadows? He furrowed his brows. Curious, he drew back his sleeve.

Sleepily, Zhubi shifted around his arm. He looked up at Hui, confused by the sudden retraction of the sleeve, then let out a massive sigh and snuggled back into place.

Ah, thats right. One must look at the heart to understand ones Dao. To look at the aesthetics of my path and judge me on that is truly shallow. Instead, one must look into the depths of my heart. This small cultivator only wants to remain alive and live a long, happy life. Therefore! I am no demonic cultivator! Yes, this this is the proper way to comprehend it!

Hui nodded to himself, satisfied. He breathed out.

A little shadow swayed. It let out a tiny cry, blown back by his breath.

Eh? Hui reached out instinctively and caught the little shadow, cupping it against his chest.

A tiny shadow snake stared up at him. About the length of a hand and the width of a pencil, it coiled in his hand. Pitch black eyes glittered like onyx. A transparent, smoky body swayed in his hand, nearly weightless. It hissed again and leaned up toward him.

You chose me? Hui asked. He looked out over the entire sea of snakes. None of the others? Only this tiny snake, the smallest of all the snakes Ive seen?

He looked down at the snake, then smiled. Its better than nothing. Getting anything out of this realm is better than getting nothing at all. At least like this I can progress to the next level. Then, lets go together.

The snake blinked at him. It hissed again, quietly.

Hui held the snake aloft. I choose this snake!

The realm rumbled around him. The floor shook, then split in two down its center. The two halves hinged open, tilting more and more beneath Hui. Holding tight to the snake, Hui slid toward the center, then plunged, falling deeper into the realm.

He and the tiny snake fell, but the rest of the shadow snakes hovered in air. For a few seconds, the snakes hung in the sky before the bony floor closed again.

A red floor rushed up at Hui. He drew out a wind talisman again, hoping against hope. Maybe that restriction was only on the first floor! Activate!

Qi surged, but not out of the hand that held the talisman. Instead, it burst through the snake.

Hui stared. The snake! Can I--? He swapped the talisman into the same hand as the snake and tried again. Activate!

Qi passed through the snake and into the talisman. Wind burst out of the talisman. It slammed into the red liquid below, sending waves through the redness, and slowed his fall.

Is that blood? Huis eyes widened. He blasted off another talisman and hovered in the air. Desperately, as he began to fall again, he scanned the horizon for land. An island, a beach, anything!