Molting the Mortal Coil

Chapter 43: The Center

Drawing closer towards the center, Sage started to see more ghosts and spirits floating about in the dark water. Near the edge there was one of them every hundred feet or so, but here near the center they started to swarm about in schools. When the spirits were alone it was hard to make out their shape, but when dozens of them gathered in a group it was easier to see the similarities between them and pick out shapes. The different groups seeming to be made up of the creatures hed seen near the edge of the water. A swarm of bat spirits, lizard spirits, rodent spirits, snake spirits all of the normal animals hed seen in the area were represented. Sage wasnt sure just how these spirits had formed, but he was quite curious if the spirits were created from the nearby animals or if the spirits had drawn in their matching animals.

Putting aside that question, Sage focused his attention towards the area the swarms of spirits seemed to gather around. The black water seemed to get darker, a circular area in the center of the Lake of Souls seemed to attract the swarms while at the same time preventing them from entering. The Twin Ringed Serpent seemed to be suffering from a similar state as it felt a calling towards the dark barrier yet also a great fear. It was like a deadly attraction, inspiring enough fear to keep everything back yet not enough to destroy its allure. Urging the Serpent closer, Sage felt that unlike the spirits that were locked out, the Twin Ringed Serpent could enter the barrier. The snake had always been too afraid to do so in the past, but Sage was not the Serpent and since hed put in so much effort so far he wasnt about to give up.

Hed gained greatly so far on this expedition and it had caused his blood to nearly boil with excitement. It was just like the time when he first learned how to stop being a coward and fight for his life. After years out on the road traveling and facing danger he held felt such relief at being part of something and living the easy life. The time he spent at the Holy Flame Sect was simply too calm and relaxing. He had settled into the rut of a simple life, doing the same routine day after day. Taking care of animals, studying formations, inscribing formations for points, and getting together with his friends a few days a month to unwind. It was so similar to his old life that he lost sight of the burning vigor that had awakened in him that day hed lost his hand. That feeling of fighting for his life and living on the edge had been ground down till he was nothing but a sharp point.

It was only now that he realized hed suffered trauma and had taken the wrong path. He had rapidly gone from one extreme to the other, seeking solace from the hard life he had been forced onto. A smile crawled onto his lips as he remembered that it was power which would give him a place in the world. Ever since he entered this world it had been apparent that his talent for training was lacking. If he wanted to be powerful he would have to find another way to be powerful, or rely on treasures to get ahead. Without any talent, who would waste treasures on him? Sage had instead focused on finding another way, but even then he now realized that while ones personal power wasnt as important as skill for Professions, it was still important. It was even a barrier to progress that constantly restrained him.

It was only now that he was here in this abandoned place filled with treasures that Sage realized what path he needed to take. He would have to travel the world looking for treasures. This world seemed to have a rich history and the stories of ancient tombs, abandoned fortresses, ancient battlegrounds, and hidden nests were innumerable. The world of cultivators was massive, large cities were surrounded by smaller towns and farmlands. The cities were linked together by huge roads in long chains. These chains of cities in an area would make up the Provinces of a Kingdom. After looking at a larger map Sage had realized that outside of each Kingdom was massive open areas where other kingdoms had fallen or where the dangers of the beasts, plants or other natural conditions were too terrifying to tame and huge areas were left uninhabited. Within every Kingdom only half the area was settled and the uninhabited areas outside of the Kingdoms was easily twice as large as the Kingdoms were. The craziest part was that from the little he read on that map, this planet was far larger than Earth. That map he examined was only a portion of the continent he was on and it looked to be near ten thousand miles across.

There had to be endless possibilities out there. Even a little branch clan like the Lang Clan had such a rich pile of treasures sitting locked up in a tomb, just what sorts of things could this vast and unexplored world possibly hold? Grasping hold of this aspiration in his heart, Sage urged the Serpent through the barrier.

Passing through the opaque barrier, Sage found that the dark water around him had suddenly cleared up. The Serpent had entered a dome like barrier of energy which seemed to diffuse the dark water he had previously been in. Looking closer, Sage realized that on the stone floor just along the border of the barrier was a line of symbols. That faintly glowing array formation kept back the dark water and also seemed to prevent the spirits from entering. The dome was only about ten feet tall and twenty feet in diameter. Enough to clear just a small chamber from the darkness of the rest of the water. This chamber was still filled with water, but it was astoundingly clear and pure. The Twin Ringed Serpent felt invigorated within this barrier, Sage felt through his link that the soul of the Serpent was rapidly recovering and he blinked with amazement. This water nourished the soul?

Continuing his exploration he saw a half dozen complicated arrays arranged around a stone well. The well was constructed out of a different stone than the walls and floor, it even strangely had a small roof and crossbar with a rope attached. A small bucket even floated in the water nearby. The Well had a completely untouched area of a few feet around it, but after that safe zone there was dozens of complicated array circles and shapes that linked up to the half dozen array formations that extended out near the edge of the barrier.

So it seems theres a large array around the Well, and six smaller arrays linked up to it. I wonder what they do?

As he was pondering this question, the arrays surged into motion and provided an answer. The circles around the well lighting up, the energy flowing around through the arrays and then suddenly venting into one of the six smaller arrays and filling with energy. Sage watched carefully with both his sight and spiritual sense, paying close attention as the array seemed to do nothing else for a few minutes. As if sensing his boredom, there was another change. A small soul, merely the size of a thread, flew into the barrier and was drawn into the center of that glowing array. The lights got brighter, the water churning around that thread of a soul. Sages jaw nearly dropped as he saw the little thread rapidly grow, getting larger and larger. Nothing else was going on so Sage watched carefully as barely a quarter hour later the thread of a soul had grown to the same size as those that swarmed outside the barrier. That ghost of a soul in the shape of a bat it was twice as large as a normal bat before the array beneath it finally started to dim. At that point one of the arrays around the Well lit up and the bat soul was expelled from the barrier.

Shocked, Sage pushed the Serpent to follow and watched the bat soul simply float around aimlessly a moment before it smashed against the barrier in frustration. As it did, the barrier blasted it away. After a few more minutes the bat soul found itself swarming along with the other bat souls, circling the barrier and wanting to get back inside. Sage urged the Serpent back in and examined the arrays again in more detail. Taking his time to pull out a scroll and copy down the arrays again like hed done for the many he found within these ruins. He didnt want to waste time, but he also felt this massive formation was quite special. It looked like that soul was nourished from a little animal soul to one that matched a rank 1 or 2 demonic beast.

Sage had no idea what these souls were being grown for, but he was pretty sure the how was related to that Well!