Chapter Forty: Chivalry in the Present Moment

Mountains, the black of night.

Cloud Qi raced through the forest, guided by a majestic white dragon ahead—the father of the Winter Fire family’s little dog, borrowed for this journey. Dog and man moved swiftly, as silent as shadows.

Suddenly, the white dragon halted, gazing intently forward. Cloud Qi followed its gaze.

There, towering above, stood a monstrous tree, nearly twenty or thirty zhang high. Its wide, dark green leaves resembled human palms; when the night wind swept through, the leaves rustled so loudly it sounded like crowds atop the tree applauding. But upon closer inspection, it seemed there truly were people—bodies hung suspended from its branches.

Cloud Qi’s expression remained stoic, his eyes cold and grim. From half a mile away, he raised his left hand and pointed toward the demon tree, uttering a spell:

“Burn to ashes!”

With a thunderous roar, the demon tree erupted in flames.

A wailing cry echoed from the tree as fire fell from the heavens. Black smoke billowed, then green rain poured down, but nothing could extinguish the fierce, destructive magical fire. The blaze illuminated the landscape for miles, burning for nearly half an hour until the giant tree was reduced to ashes, and the hanging bodies at last found release.

“Burn to ashes”—this was his newly comprehended spell.

During his days in the Miao village, Cloud Qi had gained a deeper and more complex understanding of the essence of fire. In the past, his burning spell invoked the powers of incineration, intensity, heat, and light. Yet, observing how the villagers used fire—not only to drive away evil spirits but also to dispel physical chill and inner fear, loneliness—he realized fire could consume intangible things as well.

After much contemplation, he decided to divide the burning spell into two: “Burn to ashes” and “Burn to purity.”

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“Burn to ashes” is a spell of destruction, its flames annihilating all evil and darkness, centered on the word “ashes”—it brings death. “Burn to purity” is a spell of protection, its flames dispelling illness, affliction, fear, gloom, distraction—centered on “purity,” it nurtures life.

“Destruction” and “purity” are the goals; “burning” is the means. In time, only when both “ashes” and “purity” are achieved, will the spell be complete.

Though derived from the burning spell, “Burn to ashes” now carried a far richer sense of annihilation, transcending ordinary fire—it could rightly be called magical fire.

His purpose here was to use the “Burn to ashes” spell to sweep away the demons near the Eighteen Villages of Hongjiang.

He knew there might be powerful monsters and ghosts lurking nearby, beyond his reach. He also knew that some lesser demons he destroyed might be reborn by the mountain within a few years. Perhaps only the white dragon leading him would ever know what he was doing.

Yet he cared not. Since he had seen it, since he had the power, he sought only one thing: to act as a hero in the present moment, with a clear conscience.

The evil was eradicated, the flames gradually fading. He waited patiently; when no further demons appeared, Cloud Qi signaled, and the white dragon darted forward, digging through the ashes for something.

Cloud Qi remained vigilant, hands forming seals, ready for anything. Nothing happened. Soon, the white dragon returned with something in its mouth.

Cloud Qi took it—a seed-like object—and stored it in his cave stone. He then let the white dragon lead him to the next cursed ground.

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Some days later, on the seventeenth of September, in front of his own house in Chestnut Creek Village.

Cloud Qi sat cross-legged in meditation.

The "Inner Scripture of the Hundred Apertures of the Celestial Cycle" says: The Twelve Layered Towers are the gateways of heaven and man, the pivot for circulating qi, and can serve as palaces for the gods.

This means the Twelve Layered Towers are the portals connecting the body’s microcosm and the natural macrocosm, the hub of spiritual energy, and can temporarily house other inner deities.

Unlike other apertures, the Twelve Layered Towers can be opened layer by layer. Thus, opening one layer of the Towers is far easier than opening the heart palace.

In other words, though Cloud Qi had yet to open his heart palace, he could first open a layer of the Twelve Layered Towers, envisioning the inner deity within the heart palace there. This way, he could imagine the spiritual nourishment, begin to nurture the inner deity early, and when enough magical power had accumulated, the deity residing temporarily in the Towers could use this power to open the heart palace, govern the flow of vital essence.

Cloud Qi had cultivated for over a year, and the first layer of the Twelve Layered Towers was already loosened—it would not be difficult to open.

Originally, he intended to postpone opening the Towers.

He had thought that only after visiting the Golden Rooster clan in Tianming Mountain in the Southern Wilds would he have the chance to comprehend the essence of the Rooster Star deity and forge the core of his inner deity. Yet, unexpectedly, in this small Miao village, he made great progress. As the saying goes: Circumstances are never fixed, water never keeps its shape.

He resolved to open the first layer of the Twelve Layered Towers today, right here in the village.

The method was the simplest and quickest—consumption technique. He would use external force, pouring vigorous spiritual energy directly into the aperture.

This method suited the opening of the first layer of the Towers, but to open the heart palace this way would require unimaginable resources.

Of course, this shortcut had drawbacks—skipping the process of comprehending magical essence and refining power. This was why some cultivators who advanced quickly through spiritual elixirs often encountered bottlenecks.

But this issue did not exist for Cloud Qi; he simply weighed the urgency and acted accordingly.

With a sweep of his sleeve, his cave stone flashed, and several fragments appeared before him: seeds, jade marrow, herbal fruits, golden essence, and some unknown items—all trophies from his battles with evil.

Though none were of particularly high grade, together they sufficed to break open a layer of the Towers.

Cloud Qi’s aperture favored yin, belonging to the water element. To be cautious, he selected water-type spiritual materials, used magical fire to purify them, and refined them into essence liquid.

Cloud Qi split his focus: one part directed his body to ingest the essence liquid; the other tended his inner world, watching the Twelve Layered Towers.

As the fragrant essence liquid entered his mouth, he tilted his head slightly, letting it flow slowly down his throat. Yet he kept his throat tightly closed, preventing the liquid from entering the esophagus.

Suppressing the urge to cough, he used his mind to dissolve the liquid into a mass of surging spiritual energy, guiding it towards the Towers.

From the inner world’s perspective, the Twelve Layered Towers appeared as a mass of mountain-shaped yellow mist—what lay within was unclear.

Suddenly, a fierce wind arose within the inner world, rushing towards the summit of the yellow mist. The mist at the top swayed, struggling to stay together, gradually peeling away under the wind to reveal what lay inside.

Cloud Qi watched as a corner appeared, thinking: No wonder they call them the Twelve Layered Towers. That section, like hollow yellow jade, was indeed like a floor of a tower.

The Twelve Layered Towers resembled a palace of jade hidden in mountain fog; only the rooftop now fully revealed itself, glowing with a soft, hazy light.