The Pathway

Wispy cotton clouds gradually acc.u.mulated high above, only adding to the blissful ambiance of the morning that marked the beginning of the second day of luminary week.

Stepping outside, Ju Feng took in a long deep breath before slowly releasing the air. He bathed himself in the soul-soothing comfort of the sky while tracing some patterns in the air with his fingers. He was back in a familiar territory and seeing familiar faces.

Happy familiar and not too-familiar faces!

Immediately, he remembered Su Ming and the other core disciples that faced the revenant when he was down. They all had fought the heaven"s forsaken ent.i.ty, but it was Su Ming who had saved his life. If not for her quick intervention with the pill, he would have died for sure. But, seeing the conditions of others, surely, she came out worst for wear, from the encounter. And from the words of the elders, she could have died too. The last time he asked about her, he was told she was still recuperating. Though, it had been a couple of days since the events, to him, it seemed years had pa.s.sed. He would have to check on her and the rest, later.

He lifted his head up to sky and gazed at its glory.

Despite being a glorious morning, the words of the world oracle were still ringing at the back of his mind. Her words that predicted his death. Knowing you would die no matter what happened? Not so good. But, there was something nagging at his mind from the very last words of the oracle.

"There are many ways to die".

Of course, everybody knew there were many ways to die in a martial and mystical world. Disintegration, decomposition, granulation, combustion, explosion, implosion and many other ways. What could the oracle have meant by that? After much thought on it over the night, he had made a decision.

First, he must be stronger. He had to be stronger. In this life, he had a family, his hamily! Reincarnation was not of an appeal to him at this stage in his life. He would only accept it if there was no other option. Second, he would secretly ask the elders about the meaning of those words. Apart from these, he couldn"t think of any other way.

Closing his eyes, he didn"t even know when his mind initiated the Soul-Serenity technique. Inner peace! It had been quite a time since he had a feeling like this. After some minutes, he slowly began walking towards the location of the cafeteria. As he walked, he observed the joyous atmosphere in various location of the sect premises. All the disciples of the Last-Sword sect were really having a fill day from different events and compet.i.tions.

It was indeed a beautiful morning.

With a serene mind and equally calm appearance, he continued walking towards the direction of the cafeteria. However, on a day like this, he would ha prefered to stay in his room and ruminate on the past events. After gruelling hours of yesterday that were literally of eternity, he knew they all deserved a full day of solitude at the least. But, all of them had agreed to meet today at the cafetaria. And since others went through the same thing as him, to the cafetaria it was.

By the time he reached the place, the other three were already there, conversing while eating from their food plates on the table. With the looks on their faces, he could correctly guess they were all eager to share their adventures in the forsaken palace. He couldn"t agree more with them. It had been an incredible adventure.

"Hey, Ju Feng."

Chenric called to him the moment he caught sight of him entering the cafeteria.

"h.e.l.lo Chenric."

Ju Feng replied before swftly turning to Da Xia and Ying Jie. He could tell through their faces that they all had fortuitious encounters at the forsaken palace of the Jade emperor.

"h.e.l.lo Da Xia, Ying Jie."

"h.e.l.lo Ju Feng."

They both replied in unison. They were trying very hard to hide the smile on their faces which was growing wider by chomping down on their food.

"Quickly, have a seat."

Said Chenric enthusiastically, indicating the seat s.p.a.ce beside him. He gave Ju Feng a quick nod before continuing happily.

"You want to hear this from Da Xia."

Da Xia, nonchalantly, waved the comnent down. Though, there was eagerness written on her happy face.

"Come on, Chenric. It wasn"t that much of a big deal as you are making it but I guess it was still something. Hehe."

She quickly looked around the cafeteria before adjusting her sitting position. She leaned closer to the center of the table and glanced from one face to another. After having their undivided attention, she continued.

"You all remembered when we were about to enter the palace? After our encounters with the Luduans? Well, the moment I raised my right leg to enter, everything around me went dark. And the next moment, I heard the voice of the giant saying that we could find ourselves in different locations. My mind went directly to portal. Are we entering a portal? At first, I was scared. What if I find myself in a demon hole? With all these going on in my head, I decided that as soon as I get there, I would use the safe word immediately. Are you with me?"

Da Xia asked her silent audience. After recieving confirmatory nods in return, she continued.

"The moment my right leg landed, I found myself in the midst of the golden marmosets."

"The golden marmosets?"

Asked Ying Jie in surprise.

"The fairies of the Golden-Glitters?"

Fully astounded, Ju Feng inquired before continuing.

"I thought they say any cultivator below Jindan level couldn"t see them."

"Thar"s true, only golden core and above."

Replied Da Xia as she continued to watch them in delight.

"Then, why did you see them?"

Ying Jie asked with curiousity.

"I wondered the same and I really do not know the answer. But, imagine the scene before me. All holding ceremonial golden talismans and figurines, dancing around in circles. You all should have seen the surprise and shock in their eyes when they saw me. Though I was afraid, my astonishment couldn"t let me react quick enough. I was standind there, inside their dancing circle, looking at their faces in bewilderment as they were staring at mine. From what I later learned from their leader, they were performing the rite of the goldrave. But, they were not expecting any summoning talkless of that of a human."

"The rite of the goldrave?"

Asked Ju Feng as he thoughtfully regarded his food before he continued.

"I read they choose the ones to enter the depth of the goldrave during that rite."

"Yes, that one. Anyway, coming to my senses, I was about to use the safe word, when they started crooning in delight. This made me had a pause of my intention. The leader of the group, the one they refered to as Lord-Fae, happily approached and addressed me. He said though they were surprised to see me, they were happy that I was summoned and asked me to follow him."

"Summoned?"

Ying Jie observed Da Xia with curiousity.

"Can you even summon a mortal?"

"Yes, you can. Extremely difficult though, since a mortal has no nascent soul to make the soul alignment easier."

Answered Da Xia before taking another bite off her food.

"So, what did you do?"

Ju Feng wondered.

"At first, I was reluctant to go. How would I know where they were taking me to? Then I decided to a little risk of following them. Was just hoping I had a moment to say the safe word if I eventually find myself in trouble. While following them, I had the opportunity of observing the place I found myself in. No doubt, it"s a glitter world. Short golden trees that were bearing golden fruits. Flowing waters of liquid gold. You should have seen this place. Every where you look is of sparkling gold. Sparkling gold? Alright, I know they were marmosets, but, what kind of a place was that? I asked myself. I started thinking hard and fast because I haven"t learned of any marmoset"s place like this before."

"I don"t think any one of us have done that before too."

Said Chenric, who was resting his chin on his palm, deep in thoughts. He glanced at their faces before continuing in a more silent tone.

"From the records, marmoset"s world is not all of gold like that. What could have happened there?"

"Good question, brother. From the conversation I was having with the Lord-Fae, I came to learn about the place. Though, it was part of our plane, it was a dimensional world. A hidden dimensionsl world. I wasn"t suppose to see them talkless of when they wrre performing their ceremonial rites. He said the only reason that could have happened was because of the fact that I must have been summoned."

"Alright, you are the summoned one. But did you manage to find out why you were summoned?"

"After asking Lord-Fae about this, he told me about the problem of the Goldsurge that was ruining their world. Every million years, the terran-energy line of the gold streams, must be sealed with the Cold-Ore to avoid Goldsurge like that. And, it was already million years but their rites had not been successful. They had been performing this rite but couldn"t get the rites to choose the marmosets to seal the terran-line. However, the chosen marmosets would all die from the mission. At the same time, they couldn"t just barge into the depth because of the power of the surge. The surge was as powerful as a G.o.dly attack on pure metal ent.i.ties. They, as gold ent.i.ty, would simply be fused into the stream from the surge."

Da Xia, dramatically paused as she solemnly examine their faces.

"And they couldn"t find another way since they were just metal ent.i.tes with no cultivation. So, their powers were limited. Though, they were performing rite to see who will go, they would rather prefer none of them to do it."

"Why?"

"Because, the ones they had sent in so far, didn"t make it to the half-way of the terran energy-line. And because I was a different being entirely, not made of gold, they had high hope of me reaching the depth of the Goldrave. Lord-Fae said if I could seal the energy-line, they would repay me in gold and I agreed."

"But, you can"t take marmosets gold. It"s a common knowledge that the moment it"s out of their world, it would turn to pebbles."

Ying Jie glared at Da Xia, confusingly.

"I know that quite well. It wasn"t the gold that caught my interest, Ying Jie. What do you get when you place Cold-Ore inside terran energy-line?"
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"Heavens tears! Cold-Ore and terran energy! The terran-ore crystals!"

"And for a million years?"

Da Xia asked them with a self-satisfactory smile that turned wider as realization dawned on them.

"Total grade hevenly terran-ore crystals."

"t.i.tan"s torso! One crystal alone, is an incredible fortune."

"Tell us Da Xia, did you find any of them?"

Da Xia smiled broadly as she glanced at their anxious and expectant faces. She reached into the inside of her robe and produced a medium-sized cloth sack. She gently placed it on the table and slowly opened it. Ju Feng and the rest, leaned closer to have a proper look at the crystal. Inside the small sack, were two bright and sparkling terran-ore crystals.

Heavens tears!

It truly existed. What a fortune?

An hour later, Chenric and Da Xia were off to the library, Ying Jie to the training center while Ju Feng was on his way to the sect"s haven to check on Su Ming. On his way, his mind went back to Da Xia and her terran-ore crystals, and his heart leapt in joy. He had never seen a terrore crystal before until then. Now, depending on Da Xia"s resolve and decision, with those crystals, she could either become a very rich woman or an extremely powerful cultivator, in the future.

Ju Feng was certain of one thing, with her talent and her acquired materials, Da Xia would definitely become a nascent soul at the least. Faster than most cultivators. No matter her decision.

But the choice was hers to make.

Nevertheless, the good thing was that, she had a fortuitous adventure. With the twin spirits fruit and the terran-ore crystals, Da Xia"s adventure was never in vain.

About the others? Only time would tell...