Ave Xia Rem Y

~~~

How many times can the soul be split?

Much has been said and written about the subject. From the moment cultivators realized the soul was not beyond their control, they have sought to push the boundaries of what can be accomplished with it. Soul fragments were born from that experimentation. They are useful tools for those who can make them, being able to send and receive messages, spy on others, and more.

However, soul fragments are not without risks. The soul, no matter how many times it is split, is always one, and splitting it too many times places it under a great strain. Even if a proper hierarchy is established to lessen that burden, there is a limit to how many soul fragments can be created. There are stories of cultivators who could create hundreds of soul fragments, and there are stories of cultivators whose essence ended up scattered to the winds when they attempted to create that many.

Most experts agree that thirty soul fragments is the limit for even highly skilled individuals, but that’s only the case if one is talking about standard soul fragments. The number decreases as the complexity of the soul fragment increases. A soul fragment as complex as the one Liu Jin has helping Xiao Nan and the Duke is quite taxing on his soul, especially after the damage it received due to Xiao Nan’s Qi.

However, it should be fine if he makes one more.

There is no other choice. The arts of the Death Fashioning Scripture are something he is uniquely equipped to deal with. He could send General Nie Dan to investigate, but Liu Jin has a feeling that would just lead to a lot of collateral damage and very little negotiation. Thus, after several hours of careful work and meditation, another of Liu Jin’s soul fragments leaves the palace with a freshly-made body.

According to the soldier’s report, the incident occurred in a town just a few miles away from Stone River City. That used to be Duke Lai’s former seat of power. He was a traitor who collaborated with the Death Fashioning Scripture in exchange for power and was defeated by Big Sister Bai. There is a chance this incident is merely the result of some leftover creatures they were unable to locate back then, but Liu Jin doubts it.

The journey is a short one. The speed and flight of the Heaven Realm mean no part of his Empire is ever too far away. Liu Jin might have even gone a little too fast. The messenger he carried is very dizzy by the end of it, so another soldier has to be the one to lead Liu Jin to the site of the incident.

“I-It’s this w-way y-your, Y-Your Majesty,” a soldier who looks at least twice his age and is a veteran of the civil war stutters as he guides him through an empty town. “I have never seen any-anything like it.”

“Was there anyone living here?” Liu Jin asks, taking note of the decrepit state of the houses around them. This place is not just dirty. It has been abandoned for a long time.

“Not many,” the soldier says, shaking. “After the in-incident with Duke Lai, mo-most moved away from this area, Your Majesty. It’s only a couple of be-beggars and vaga-gabonds that still live here. If not for your orders, we’d have ignored th-them. Good thing we didn’t because…”

Liu Jin sees it as soon as they turn around the corner.

Dogs, cats, boars, squirrels, and many other animals that must have roamed the surrounding areas. Their dead bodies have been fused together and turned into a macabre sculpture that now occupies the town square. Curiously, despite the materials used to make it, the shape of the sculpture is fairly basic.

It is an arrow pointing left.

“Has anyone touched it?” Liu Jin asks, walking closer to the flesh monument.

“No one, as far as we know, but we qu-quarantined everyone who has been in the area as per your instructions and—Your Majesty!”

The soldier cries in shock as Liu Jin’s hand makes contact with the pile of flesh.

“You did well,” Liu Jin says. “I will look over those people after I’m done here.”

“Y-Y-Your Ma-Majesty!” the soldier cries out, pointing at him. “Your hand! You’re touching it! You’re touching it!”

“Be at ease, soldier,” Liu Jin says. “There is no risk for me.”

As soon as he speaks, the flesh statue collapses. All the organic material swirls and compresses around Liu Jin’s hand, forming a flesh-colored gauntlet that reaches all the way to his elbow. The soldier’s face turns green. He’ll probably throw up later.

“Go,” Liu Jin says. “Evacuate the area. It is best if no one is around for the next part.”

The soldier has probably never obeyed an order faster in his life. Liu Jin watches him go before turning and following the direction of the arrow. His steps take him to a large, empty barn. The hinges on the door are so rusted that they look like they could fall off at any moment. Liu Jin gives them a kick to speed up the process.

“I received your message,” Liu Jin says as he walks in. “It was a bit too much.”

For a moment, there is silence. Then, the ground rumbles as she rises from amid the straw. Her body is covered by a dark cloak, but Liu Jin recognizes her immediately.

“It was a little too melodramatic, wasn’t it?” Serene End admits, leaning in as if to share a secret. “I apologize. That sort of thing is usually for artistic types like the Fleshcrafter, but I needed to get your attention.”

“You could have shown up to the palace,” Liu Jin says.

“Alas, I was a little intimidated after our last meeting, Your Majesty,” Serene End says, placing a hand over her chest. “I'd rather us meet in a place where you do not have an absolute advantage.”

Liu Jin gives her a look.

“The sculpture was not made of animals,” he says. “Why?”

He realized the moment he made contact with the corrupted flesh. Though fashioned to look like many dead animals fused together, the whole thing was just rotting flesh taken from the corpses of nearby graveyards. Whether that makes it better or worse is not something Liu Jin can say.

“I am not a savage, Your Majesty,” Serene End says. “I’d never hurt a dog. A cat, yes, but never a dog.”

Liu Jin wonders if he should have brought Marrow.

“So long as we are talking about sculptures, that’s a fantastic body you are wearing,” Serene End says. Her gray shines behind her hood as she looks at him. “That must have taken quite a bit of time to make. Even in the Death Fashioning Scripture, there are not many who are capable of such craftsmanship. You might say you are not one of us, but…”

She trails off. Abruptly, she advances several steps forward. Liu Jin immediately retreats.

“A soul fragment,” she says. “You’re not projecting your consciousness. You’re using a soul fragment.”

He sees her frown. Serene End’s lips thin as she tilts her head left, then right.

“That’s just strange,” she says at last. “You decided to imitate the end result, but came up with an entirely different process. Fascinating yet bizarre. The Elders will probably spend the next few centuries debating the merits of making the soul an active participant in the process when I give my report. I suppose that will give them something to do when they’re not theorizing about which demon species are more suitable for our arts.”

Liu Jin frowns.

“You know about the plan to bring down the barrier, then?” he says.

“All high-ranking disciples know. I will not insult you by pretending that it is not one of our goals,” Serene End says. “To live under the barrier is stagnation. Only when the sky above our heads is limitless will we be free.”

“You do not know what will happen when the barrier falls,” Liu Jin says.

“I know what will happen if the barrier does not fall,” Serene End says. “You were born on the wrong side of the Dead Plains, so you do not understand the might of the Peerless Heavenly Sword Peak. They were here before the war, and for four thousand years they have been gaining power. To live under the barrier is to live under their tyranny.”

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Liu Jin frowns. First Cao Bian, now Serene End. They are certain the Peerless Heavenly Sword Peak is the biggest threat.

“I thought all three factions on the other side were equal,” he says.

“Equality is a pleasant lie. That is why there is always a first among equals,” Serene End replies, crossing her arms. “Only those duty-bound fools from the Temple of the Thousand Shadows are content to let the fake peace of ours continue. Besides, the barrier will fall down one way or another. Better for it to be on our terms than to let the demons figure out how.”

“The war between humans and demons was one humans lost. We were weaker than they were before our strongest one hundred and eight sacrificed themselves to make that barrier. There is no telling how much the gap has widened during that time. If they still feel any hostility towards us, it will not end well.”

“That’s another subject the Elders have endlessly theorized about. They really have no lives. Do you know there are some who believe the demons wiped themselves out, and we’re all that remains on this planet?” Serene End asks, catching Liu Jin by surprise.

“Is that what you believe?”

“No, I just thought I'd share it,” Serene End says, shrugging. “If you join us, it won’t matter what’s out there. The Death Fashioning Scripture will become the strongest. Every other faction will be absorbed. Humanity will be unified in a way it wasn’t during the last war. The demons may be strong, but they have never been a unified front.”

She speaks with the unwavering conviction of someone whose mind was made up long before the conversation started. There was never a chance to change her mind.

In a way, she might not even be wrong. Maybe hiding under the barrier is folly. For high-level cultivators, decades and even centuries are nothing. For those who still remember the war, these past four thousand years might have been nothing more than a temporary ceasefire.

Maybe the barrier will fall one day. Maybe it is better for it to happen under humanity's terms than to let demons be the ones to do it. Maybe the complete Death Fashioning Scripture does offer some semblance of hope.

However, what about everyone else? What about those for whom decades are not the blink of an eye? What about everyone who will be trampled if a war of that magnitude erupts again?

“I don't like it," Liu Jin says. "Your goals are too dangerous for my tastes."

“Really? I would have thought the danger would be an incentive for someone like you,” Serene End says. “The Peerless Heavenly Sword Peak and the Temple of the Thousand Shadows will kill you long before the barrier falls. What point is there for you to worry about demons? The disciples of the Temple of the Thousand Shadows are already in this country.”

Liu Jin’s gaze sharpens. There is something about the way she said that last part.

“You know where they are,” he concludes.

“Perhaps,” she says. “I am not sure if I should tell you. As much as I would be glad for the opportunity to cooperate, I’m not sure if I trust your ability to handle the situation, Your Majesty. It has taken you this long to find me, and only because I made myself known. That’s sloppy. Perhaps I should give you pointers.”

Her Qi rises. Liu Jin’s Qi immediately does the same.

“Shall I take this as a sign of hostility?” He asks her.

“Why would you?” she asks him. “This is simply another type of conversation. After all, neither of us is really here, so how can there be any hostility? Think of it as a… cultural exchange. I am so very curious about that puppet you’re using. Aren’t you?”

Liu Jin thinks it over.

“Perhaps.”

She offers him a kindly smile before going for his face.

Liu Jin dodges to the side as her arm becomes a long spike of bone, but as he does, another spike grows from the limb. Liu Jin grabs it before it can pierce his eyes. Immediately, his influence begins spreading through it to the rest of her body, and…

Something is wrong.

Dozens of voices suddenly scream in his mind before the bone explodes into seven spikes. Liu Jin immediately lets go, but one still pierces his palm. The flesh gauntlet around his hand sprouts tendrils of flesh that shatter bone and rush towards Serene End, but she dashes back before the tendrils can reach her.

"I was not expecting you to make use of my little present like that," she says, eyeing the flesh gauntlet with approval.

“What was that?” Liu Jin asks as his hand heals.

Whenever he touches a creation of the Death Fashioning Scripture, he can feel its connection to its creator. Taking control of their creatures requires him to sever that connection. However, touching Serene End felt like making contact with multiple minds at once. They all controlled different parts of her body and fought against him independently. Faced with so many fronts, Liu Jin had nearly been overwhelmed.

“You can’t do it, can you?” she asks him, grinning as her arm mends. “I had a feeling, but I knew for sure once you showed up in that body. Unlike you, I am projecting my consciousness to manipulate this body. It is a basic skill taught to disciples of the Death Fashioning Scripture. You must have seen it before. It is useful for controlling things over vast distances, but it becomes harder if you have to control multiple things. In those cases, it is common to just give vague and broad directives to your creatures.”

Liu Jin nods. That is exactly what the Fleshcrafter did and why Liu Jin was able to take over so many of his creatures. The Fleshcrafter was controlling them at a largely subconscious level, so he hadn’t noticed when Liu Jin began subverting his monsters.

“However, there is another way. If one mind isn’t enough, you just need to split your consciousness into two, three, or more. However many it takes,” Serene End says, tapping the side of her head. “It’s quite good for multitasking, but not particularly popular due to the headaches it causes. However, against someone like you, it seemed like the proper thing to do.”

“You…How many of you are in there?” Liu Jin asks, finally realizing what Serene End has done.

She grins.

“Why don’t you try to find out?”

Another bone spike shoots from her wrist. Liu Jin punches it out of the way. For the brief instant his hand makes contact, dozens of voices try to enter his mind. He turns on his heel as Serene End appears behind him. Her arm has changed into a long blade of bone. As she brings it down, the flesh gauntlet on his arm expands and forms into a shield.

“Good! Very good!” She yells as countless voices echo in his head. “However, is that basic form all you can do?”

Liu Jin grunts as he backs away from her. The noise is too much. There are too many consciousnesses inside Serene End. He cannot take control of her body. That means the main tactic he’s been using against the Death Fashioning Scripture cannot work here.

To think she’d admit a weakness and find a solution after just two encounters.

More bone spikes grow from Serene End’s body and shoot towards Liu Jin. She appears to be fond of bone in the same way the Fleshcrafter was fond of flesh. Liu Jin dearly hopes there isn’t a disciple of the Death Fashioning Scripture with a preference for digestive organs.

The projectiles Liu Jin sidesteps easily pierce through the walls of the barn. If the two of them weren’t just testing their skills, the entire town would have been destroyed already. A long whip sprouts from the flesh gauntlet on Liu Jin's arm and wraps around Serene End’s ankle. The voices assault his mind again, but not before he hurls Serene End through a wall. Before the infection can continue, he cuts the whip off.

Serene End burst in through the roof. Her legs have taken the shape of sharp curved blades of bone, which fall upon him like guillotines. The gauntlet changes to a spear. The ensuing clash nearly brings the building down around them. As he pushes her away, bits of Liu Jin's gauntlet fall off.

Serene Grins at him knowingly. Every time they make contact, Liu Jin loses more material. If things continue like this, he’ll run out of it first. However, there is no reason to be dependent only on what Serene End left behind. This is not his real body. There is no need to be careful about making mistakes. He can shape it however he wishes.

Serene End’s bladed legs allow her to slide through the ground just like her monster did in the Crimson Cloud Tournament. Liu Jin accelerates to match her movements. Her arm changes into a long lance made of bone. With but a thought, Liu Jin’s arm collapses and reforms around the gauntlet to imitate the shape.

The ensuing clash brings down the barn around them.

"Your control is impeccable!” Serene End says as their fight moves to the abandoned town. Spears of bones shoot into the sky and rain down while whips of flesh lash through houses. “However, you still lack imagination!”

A bone spike shoots from the ground, a feint to make him lose focus on the main body. Liu Jin moves just enough to dodge without losing sight of Serene End. Thus, he's able to see as her entire body becomes a long spike of bone, and the spike behind him turns into the real Serene End. In the blink of an eye, her body has become the feint, and the feint has become her body. Liu Jin dodges the spike, but Serene End pierces him from behind.

“The body is mutable,” Serene End says with hundreds of voices as he gaps in pain. “All that is physical decays. Thus, all that is physical changes. There is nothing more natural.”

She’s about to stab him again, but Liu Jin has already internalized the lesson. His whole body melts and shapeshifts away from the injury. It is probably one of the most unpleasant things Liu Jin has ever felt, and his flesh is almost eager to return to its proper shape.

“Excellent!” Serene End smiles at him in praise. “However, I still have more material than you, Your Majesty."

As she speaks, hundreds of formless blobs sprout from the ground. She must have been harvesting that material from nearby cemeteries. Liu Jin decides to make cremation mandatory all over the Empire as soon as he can send his memories to the original.

“It's a good thing, I have other tools then,” Liu Jin says, right before a snake erupts under Serene End. A kick from her slices the construct, yet the lightning still leaves the limb singed.

“You’re going to abandon our contest?” She sounds offended.

“It has been quite instructional, and I'm thankful for it. However, and do forgive me for this, I prefer to have an absolute advantage,” Liu Jin says as their fight begins anew.

Multiple houses are destroyed in the blink of an eye as lightning rages throughout the town, destroying the bone weapons before they can touch Liu Jin. One blast of purple catches Serene End head-on, blasting her through an entire street.

“I see,” Serene End says as she repairs the damage done to her body and dusts herself off. "That's quite boring of you, but I suppose you have more than proven your ability to handle threats.”

Liu Jin raises an eyebrow. Serene End’s body is already starting to collapse, but not because of any damage he has done. She is just letting it happen. "You'll tell me where they are?"

“I do not care enough to know the names of all your cities, but I believe they are close to a place called Rumbling Thunder City. Do take care of this piece of me, won’t you?

It is the last thing she says before her body collapses. Liu Jin does not feel like celebrating the victory.

There are still intruders in his Empire.

~~~