The wind does not ask permission to blow, nor does lightning announce its strike. True power flows naturally from understanding, not from rigid forms and shouted names.
— Sage Chen Feng, Voice of the Four Winds
Xiulan channeled additional qi through her meridians into her feet, strengthening her Water Stepping Foot technique. The water’s surface tensed beneath her stance as she slid her pack around.
Squatting low, she plucked the first blood lotus from the crimson carpet before her, its petals gleaming with spiritual energy.
"One down," Xiulan muttered, tucking it safely away.
The central blood lotus exploded upward in a violent spray of water and rage. A thick vine whipped through the air toward her, but Ren Chun’s blade flashed, severing it cleanly. The two halves splashed harmlessly into the dark water.
Xiulan focused on her task, snatching lotus after lotus while keeping her stance firm on the water’s surface.
More vines lashed out in angry arcs. Steel sang through the air as Ren Chun’s sword danced, cutting down each attack with precise strikes.
"It’s working better than I thought!" Ren Chun called out between strikes.
The abundance of blood lotus made collection swift—she barely needed to move. A sharp crack beneath the water’s surface caught her attention.
A vine erupted directly under her feet but smashed against her qi-reinforced Water Stepping Foot technique. It writhed and twisted around the barrier of her technique, searching for weakness.
Xiulan drew her knife in a fluid motion and sliced through the probing tendril.
"It’s going to try tricks!" Xiulan shouted.
A dozen smaller blood lotus erupted from the murky water, their crimson vines whipping through the air like angry serpents. Ren Chun leaped skyward, his blade flashing in a perfect arc as he spun. The vines targeting him fell in neat segments, splashing back into the dark swamp.
Xiulan bounded sideways as multiple vines converged on her position. Her Water Stepping Foot technique held firm as she landed, but the vines curved in pursuit.
Channeling qi through her right foot, she stomped downward. A massive spray of pressurized water erupted outward, shredding the pursuing tendrils.
"Get it together!" Xiulan shouted at Ren Chun. "If you can’t keep them distracted, just kill the parent!"
Ren Chun pivoted toward the central blood lotus. The massive plant launched a barrage of thorns that cut through the air like arrows. He wove between them with fluid grace before landing beside one of the smaller lotus. His blade struck true, and the lesser plant withered instantly.
Xiulan scooped another bundle of blood lotus into her pack. A vine lashed toward the precious cargo, but she twisted away in a fluid spin.
She launched herself airborne to escape, but two hidden vines shot up from beneath the water’s surface. Fear spiked through her chest.
Acting on pure instinct, Xiulan clapped her hands together and channeled every drop of qi she could muster. The air itself seemed to explode as a vortex formed, launching her into a wild spin. The attacking vines crumpled under the pressure wave as water erupted upward, sending the remaining lotus bobbing chaotically across the disturbed surface.
The impact as she landed shattered Xiulan’s concentration. Dark water rushed over her head as she plunged beneath the murky surface. Her qi reserves drained, she flailed for a moment before finding purchase on the thick, silty bottom. Sharp thorns pierced through her ankle as a vine coiled tight.
Xiulan steadied herself, gripping her pack close to protect the precious blood lotus within. The thin qi barrier around the opening barely worked to prevent the contents from being soaked.
The thorns dug deeper into her ankle, but she pushed the pain aside. Deep in her core, her dantian surged with raw power—wild and untamed like that day with Qingfeng. The qi flooded her meridians in a chaotic rush that threatened to overwhelm her.
This time, I will just let it all out.
Xiulan released her hold on the energy. Qi poured from every meridian, seeping through her skin in crackling waves.
The surrounding water lit up as electric arcs danced outward. The vine disintegrated, its grip reduced to ash. Several blood lotuses floating nearby vaporized in the discharge, but Xiulan couldn’t contain the flow enough to spare them.
The churning energy formed a barrier at the water’s surface. Xiulan gathered her remaining focus and executed Water Stepping Foot in reverse, pushing upward through her own qi field. Her knees found purchase on the supernatural surface tension as she emerged from the swamp.
"What the fuck are you doing? You’re supposed to—" Xiulan’s shout cut short as she spotted Ren Chun at the heart of a deadly dance.
Vines whirled around him in a lethal cage. Twenty—no, thirty—forty attacks converged from every angle. His blade flashed in an endless arc of steel, barely visible as he spun to counter each strike. The parent lotus towered above, directing its spawn in a relentless assault.
Xiulan reached deep within, locating her fifth meridian among the complex network flowing through her body. With precise control, she pinched it shut, blocking the natural cycle back to the first meridian. Qi instantly began to pool, pressing against the artificial dam she created. Rather than ease the pressure, she forced more power from her dantian, deliberately overfilling the channel.
Raw spiritual energy cascaded through her secondary pathways, seeking any available outlet. The power surged through her like a flash flood across open terrain. Heat built beneath her skin as the qi saturated every channel to bursting.
"Here!" Xiulan called out through gritted teeth.
Ren Chun darted across the water’s surface toward her position. Xiulan drew her dagger with her free hand, balancing its familiar weight against her spear.
One by one, her meridians reached maximum capacity. The spiritual pressure built to unprecedented levels until her entire network threatened to rupture. At the critical moment, Xiulan opened the meridians in both palms while adding a simple filter.
The weapons suddenly felt different—more like extensions of her overflowing meridians than simple steel.
Yang energy rushed into her dagger while yin poured into her spear.
The sudden transfer left her dizzy. Her meridians emptied so rapidly she swayed on her feet, momentarily light-headed from the draining sensation.
The moment she released the pinched meridian, fresh qi began cycling from her dantian to restore balance. But the weapons in her hands pulsed with barely contained power, growing more unstable by the second.
Shit. The realization hit hard—these techniques required careful practice for good reason. The weapons were about to explode.
Ren Chun’s boots skidded across the water’s surface as his eyes widened at the unstable weapons in her hands. He backpedaled frantically, sending ripples across the dark swamp water.
Xiulan pivoted and hurled the qi-charged dagger skyward. The weapon spun end over end, its blade crackling with contained Yang energy as it arced high above the blood lotus. Without pause, she launched the spear in a lower trajectory, watching its yin-infused form slice through the humid air toward the massive plant.
Time seemed to slow as both weapons traced glowing paths through the dim swamp light. The dagger tumbled at the apex of its arc while the spear drove toward its target.
A ridiculous thought struck her—Ren Chun always called out his techniques. She glanced at his wide-eyed expression and grinned.
Something more dramatic than ’River Stone Sundering’...
"Thunder God Splits the Sky and Fucks You Up!"
The dagger detonated overhead in a brilliant flash. Pure Yang energy erupted outward in a devastating wave. Her spear struck the muddy earth beside the blood lotus parent a second later, missing its mark by mere inches.
But it didn’t matter.
A blinding pillar of lightning descended from above, bathing the swamp in brilliant yellow light.
Xiulan squinted against the searing brightness as a wall of super-heated vapor rushed toward them. Ren Chun materialized beside her, his hands flowing through practiced motions to form a protective qi barrier. Blue energy crackled around them as electricity arced through the steam, the barrier absorbing each deadly discharge.
The devastating display ended in a heartbeat. Where murky swamp water had stretched moments before, only scorched earth remained. A massive plate of fulgurite marked where the lightning had struck, replacing the swamp vegetation with glass-like formations.
Xiulan studied the destruction with a mix of awe and disappointment. So much for harvesting more blood lotus later.
At least I already collected enough. I’ll just have to nail the golden meridian pill on the first attempt again.
"Thunder God Splits the Sky...?" Ren Chun stared at her with wide eyes as he lowered the barrier.
"And Fucks You Up." Xiulan smirked at his shocked expression. The technique had worked better than she’d hoped—they’d even survived the blast wave.
"Are you sure you’re not... hiding your cultivation?" Ren Chun studied her intently. "You’re not a hidden master testing me, are you?"
Xiulan slapped his back with a broad grin. "No way! I haven’t even made a single step of progress in body refining yet!"
"But... but that had to be an ancient art!" Ren Chun protested.
"Didn’t I tell you?" Xiulan tapped her temple. "I’m pretty smart!"
He looked like he wanted to cry. Poor puppy.