NOVEL NEXT Chapter 5: FIVE
Inside the still dazed Tian Zheng`s aperture a battle was raging. The black marks that had been used to distract the Heaven`s Vision gu appeared once more but this time they caused all the gu in the aperture to shake. Some that weren't lucky were consumed by the marks and turned into dimmer variants that leaped towards the Heaven`s vision gu. It also didn't wait for any measure of time before the purple gold marks appeared once more and rushed towards the only remaining gu worms, the fire wave gu, the fire man gu and the broken mind gu turning them into glowing variants of themselves. A clash like never before seen appeared in the aperture of the boy. His aperture walls couldn't even hold out for two such clashes and started to deteriorate, however the two gu that caused this held it together with their own power.
One side transformed into a dark color with the membrane and primeval essence turning into dark flames, while the other side`s aperture wall was like a purple gold sky while the membrane and primeval essence turned into motes of golden lights connected by chains of purple vines. The two gu worms that headed the clash rushed to each other when the battle was reaching an uncomfortable balance. When they clashed, the nearly filled primeval essence creaked in protest but it couldn't do anything. As the two gu worms used their bodies, with the Heaven`s Vision gu now transformed into a winged purple gold snake with golden markings on its wings while purple ones filled its body and the newly formed gu worm transformed into a long worm filled with rings of red and a crown made of black flames.
The marks that littered the aperture clashed periodically before they also started to clash with fervor. However, no matter how much they injured the aperture or its walls the two gu worms always repaired it by placing a new mark on the injured part. This continued until the midday sun disappeared and a pale and pure moon appeared. It led its grace shine down onto the world but avoided the two bodies, one had fainted while the other seemed to be stuck in his thoughts. After a few hours, dark clouds obstructed the moon and stars and the scent of rain filled the island. Those who were busy cultivating came to their windows and watched as the rain fell and hydrated the already wet ground. Soon the sound of insects rejoicing filled the island and soon nearly every island in this sector of the eastern sea was filled with dark clouds turning it gloomy. At some point late at night, the insects stopped rejoicing and the animals awoke. Even the wild gu, whether safe inside the bodies of beasts or those which relied on nature grew worried. They could feel it; the beasts were the closest to nature while the gu were the essence of the Great Dao. They could feel the tension in the air on this night and the effort the rain was making to try and wash away whatever had been unleashed onto the world.
This feeling didn't end even as the slightly gloomy sun rose. This was the sign to the Gu masters who were knowledgeable of the state the world was in. wisdom path and information path Gu masters tried their all to uncover this mystery but they all failed. This led to panic, but for a certain bot whose aperture had been turned into a never ending battlefield this was the least of his worries. For when his mind finally came to, it was bombarded with something he couldn't process and was starting to break apart. When the two battling gu worms realized this, a blackened purple gold mark shone brighter than all and shot off into the broken mind gu. Its power was amplified and it stole the lines of thought that were being formed in the boy`s mind. It fattened up to the point that it looked like a balloon before it sunk deep into the scared aperture. The clash paused and as if they had communicated, the two gu stopped and absorbed the marks that they had created. For the infected gu worms, they were left as they were. The Heaven`s Vision returned above the primeval essence that was turning back into a red steel color but with remnants of what it was before. The new gu sank deep into the primeval essence resting.
When the two gu stopped, so did the gu they controlled and they continued swimming leisurely in the essence as if they had forgotten the war they had raged a moment ago. With the strain removed, the aperture walls started using the marks left on it to heal and the mind of the boy slipped into a realm of dreams.
At midday of the following day, both bodies; the son and father, finally slept as their wills were freed.
Two days passed by with the two still not responding to anything from the world around them. At the third day, Tian Ho awoke from his deep sleep. His mind was filled with great knowledge and he could feel his attainment in the two paths he followed increase. Like a gift from the heavens and while he was confused he remembered a phrase that was widespread throughout all Gu masters.
The way of the Heavens is to take away excess. This phrase had been said and repeated by all to the point of everyone seeing it as the way of life. He had now experienced that. While the heavens did take the excess it also gave gifts to those it deems worthy. Either by luck or fate but it always makes sure that the karma of every being is balanced. "Truly the methods of the Heavens are vast." His voice rang out as he watched the sunset. The sun was caught in his eyes as a thought came into his mind. He looked at his side and a distance from his position he saw a figure. He remembered how the gu worm that his son had finished to refine was hijacked by something else and the consequent battle with Heaven`s Vision gu.
The battle relayed in his mind and he felt as if he was back in time, before the two mighty gu worms as they created mystical symbols in the air that had power greater than any he could ever produce. "I hope he gets something from heaven that represents the actions he has faced due to it." He had never seen or heard of the will of heaven act in such a manner due to a gu worm. "Did you see our son is destined for great things…. I have to continue cultivating. I can't have him beating me in strength" his voice was filled with regrets and sadness as he thought back to the love of his life. She had been his all but he knew that they would never meet.
After he had carried Tian Zheng back to his bed, something he had done far too much for his liking he sat down under the stars and for the first time in a few years he started cultivating. Around him was a pool of primeval stones he had taken from a very happy primeval Elder gu. Every few moments a puff of dust would form on the top layer of the pool before a huff from Tian Ho caused them to be carried away by the wind. He sat like that for hours and then days before he opened his eyes for the first time in two weeks. Not because he was done, even when the pool of primeval stones had all turned to dust the primeval Elder gu would spit out another. He stopped his tedious meditation since he wanted to check if Tian Zheng had woken up.
He walked inside the house and into the bed where his now thinner child laid, he saw him still in the same position. A small layer of dust was blow away with a wave of his hand. He looked at the food he had left for him, now already showing signs of starting to rot. Tian Zheng looked thin and the muscle he had once put on had deflated like a balloon while his face and eyes seemed to have become sunken. This sight broke the man a little. He knew how to fix his child`s state but he didn't dare to try.
'Those marks on his body don't seem to be inviting.' His eyes wandered to the faint but countless marks that had formed a sort of ink dragon on the child`s body. while he was laid down, Tian Ho could only see the feathered tail of the creature but that was all he needed to see. He saw as it moved and it resembled thousands of tiny ants witching so faintly that one wouldn't notice. As he got close and turning him to his side so he could see the whole ink dragon that had formed he noticed that while its tail was large and prominent the rest of the body, which was coiled on his lower back had some golden points. They looked to be under the scales of the ink dragon. Its head was looking at his upper body where the eyes of the ink like beast had a snake like head with a golden mane and dragon horns. He looked at the thing that the dragon like beast was looking and he saw a crescent moon shaped mark. It looked like it had been branded onto his back in between his shoulder blades. It`s was a golden shape framed by a deep darkness.
"It`s not about balance but complementation." The rumblings of his son ran inside his mind as he saw the two marks. It was what he had been saying when he crafted that accursed gu worm. He saw the essence of complementation in the two marks. Like they were searching for it but hadn't found it. 'Are they using him?'
The two figures gave rise to this thought. He had seen that battle and the two had created a delicate balance before they shot inside his aperture. He assumed they would have fought again in Tian Zheng`s aperture and that was the reason why he was trying to stop them. If that was the amount of power, they could display then his son`s aperture should have been destroyed. 'Is heaven and whatever that force was trying to make him find a way to create harmony between them?' this question brought dread to his heart. He knew that there wasn't anything he could do to his son. He couldn't even heal him, without worry of the retaliation of the two opposing forces. From what he could see, with the two colors not being pure, the battle was still ongoing and he didn't want to be in the middle.
He just did all he could, making his body comfortable and changing the dirty clothes the bit was wearing before going back to cultivation. He planned to continued until the ship came to the island.