Heaven's Laws - Lifestone - Chapter 29

As they ascended, Chao surrounded them all with a sound barrier. “We should probably keep any discussion about Huifen and my identity to a minimum, but its safe for the moment to ask us any questions,” he sounded.

“Thank you, Brother Tao,” Fair Daiyu replied loud enough for the other fairies to hear. She was purposely setting the example.

A fairy of the Fire Phoenix Sect he didn’t know asked about the murderer that still hadn’t been caught. He let Huifen answer most of those question. Sadly, they didn’t have many answers.

Before the reached the top of the stairs that spiraled around the rounded, outer wall of the tower, Fairy Eu-meh appeared at his side. She gave him a slight bow of the head before continuing. “Brother Tao. This one was wondering if you planned on continuing our law training while we were here.”

She’d been one of his original students, so he didn’t bother with pleasantries. “Do you have a copy of the law jade that Huifen and I put together?”

“I do. And I’m making use of it daily. Have you concluded whether your music improves a person’s ability to learn?”

Had he? He believed it did. He just hadn’t been able to test it as thoroughly as he’d like. “What are your thoughts on how it affects you during your training?”

She pursed her lips in thought.

Her dimples become pronounced, and he had to admit she was beautiful. She had more personality than most ice fairies even when she’d been using heart of ice all the time which only added to her charm. He had no intentions or romantic feelings for her, but he did consider her a friend. The more he thought about it, the more he realized she was one of his closer ones. When seeing the male cultivators showering her with attention, he also felt a bit possessive. His wife had once asked him about marriage when she was still his master. Is this how she’d felt?

“I don’t know if it helped my learning directly,” she said. “But as for my clarity of mind, it undoubtedly helps.”

“Let me know when you normally practice the laws and I’ll come each day and play for you. Gather the disciples interested.” He turned to his friend that had turned quiet. “You’ll be coming as well.”

“I’ll be there,” Li Qiang replied a little too seriously.

Chao noticed Eu-meh wasn’t annoyed at his friend’s presence as the other fairies were. They’d spent a lot of time together during his law lessons, so it made sense. She always seemed less irritable than the average ice fairy. It made him wonder if she was interested in marrying. Should he ask her? This way he could help her find a partner suitable to her. Or would that be overstepping? He’d never formally been her master, but she’d come to him to learn. It was something he’d have to discuss with Huifen. He knew she’d struggled a lot during his discipleship to her. She’d spent time considering these questions far more than he had.

One of the first things he noticed when stepping onto the second floor was that the qi was far denser there. He didn’t have to say a word, for Fairy Zhu was ready with an explanation. “With each floor you ascend, the qi is richer, but so is the pressure. Most earth realm cultivators can’t go passed the third floor, and even then, they can only stay there for so long. It’s possible to ignore the trials and stations all together, and just climb as high as you can to cultivate. The only issue is that it’s heaven and earth qi that’s compressed, so it’s not beneficial for major breakthroughs—for elemental cultivators, at least.” She gave Chao a glance as she said it.

“The pressure also can benefit one’s physique.”

Chao had been wondering how the murderer had been able to attack fairies without being caught with the openness of the first floor. One look at the layout of the second floor answered his question. No longer was there much open space. There were rooms leading in different directions. If the second and third floors were both like this, then all it would take was someone to wonder off on their own. The tightness of the corridors would allow ambushes, and since it was the divine marble used to segment the rooms, trace amounts of qi from attacks wouldn’t have an easy chance to escape.

He found himself growing angry just thinking about it. He’d heard how their Fire Phoenix Sect disciple had died. Not only had she been murdered, but her face had been disfigured after her death. It had been the same for all of the victims. Their one disciple that had survived had her core attacked directly and it had shattered inside of her. There was a chance that Father Zan could remove it, but then she’d have to start cultivating from the beginning.

The details from the victims led Chao to believe it was a crime of passion, not political. It was possible it could be both. He almost wanted to disobey Sage Pangfua and go out looking for the murderer on his own. If he got his hands on the perpetrator… He’d have to remember they might have information in case there was more than one person involved.

The second floor didn’t just have trial stations, but also those to help one’s cultivation. It didn’t have many of the smaller stations with puzzles to solve, historical data, or general daises that acted like giant card jades that held the writings of ancient cultivators.

They took the left leading passage it was there that they found a chamber that was covered in vines and moss on the walls and ceiling. On the far side of the room was a small garden with a variety of different plants. They ranged from root to fruit crops, flowers, shrubs, and a couple miniature size trees. The barrier protected the garden was difficult to observe. Chao could feel presence of the plant life despite it. It wasn’t a chamber designed to cultivate nature qi, but the natural concepts, as well as the variety, made it a great place for cultivating the laws. Whether that was the original intention of the room, he wasn’t sure.

Even though Huifen was in the midst of the other fairies, he caught her glancing back and him and he nodded his head in confirmation. It was exactly as she though. She’d probably be spending a lot of time in here over the next couple months. It was large enough for thirty to forty people, but if there were that many present, then the qi in the room would have to be shared. He was starting to see why they limited the number of people they let inside the spire.

The next chamber was covering in different rock formations. Behind another barrier were gemstones and different ores in their most natural form. He’d always used rocks he’d found or spent time amongst the boulders near his house when he’d been figuring out the earth laws. Seeing the ore and gemstones in their natural state would be worth studying. He had a decent understanding from his time in the mine, but it had been limited in the variety of minerals and gemstones.

Many of the remaining chambers held no surprises. There was one with different kinds of flames. They varied because of the fuel they were burning. At least, that’s how they were normally formed. The barrier kept him from being able to examine the fuel source, but flames were easy to see.

The wind chamber was the most fascinating one. There was no barrier like in the other ones, but wind circulated throughout the room and constantly changed the direction it was coming from. If you stood in the middle, eventually, wind would hit you from every direction if you stood there long enough.

Our fairy guides weren’t taking us in a straight line but making sure we saw all the chambers close to the second-floor entrance first. There were only two elemental ones remaining. The next one was made of the divine marble except for the barriered off side of the room. There he found some kind of flower that came up to his chest. Its color was hard to make out for it had constant violet sparks sizzling from it. The earth realm lightning wasn’t alone. There were moments where the sparks intensified to sky realm red. As such times some of the sparks elongated and struck the wall, floor, and ceiling.

The one lighting bud wasn’t along. Another one was growing there but it hung from the ceiling. It was slightly smaller, but it sparked with the same intensity.

When we came to the last chamber that was considered to be dedicated to cultivation, it was nearly twice as large as the others and at the center of the spire. There was no barrier in this one, but there were surrounded by the indestructible glass. It was filled with water. The water beneath them and above seemed to run in a current in opposite directions, while the water on the walls was like a waterfall. Somehow, he could sense water concepts all around them even though he didn’t have access to the water itself.

“There is no ice station?” He asked. He watched the demeanor of the fairies wane.

“There’s not,” Daiyu replied.

Eu-meh shook her head from beside him.

His sound barrier was still active, so he took some liberty to encourage them. “Even if this room was filled with ice, what you are used to at the joint sect is superior to this. These chambers aren’t even filled with elemental qi. If this spire really is from an ancient divine sect, it’s my guess that they considered water and ice the same element. Maybe even specialized in water. Don’t forget that my Huifen and Sister Eu-meh have both cultivating the water laws, and they found success within a matter of months.” He didn’t mention that it had only taken days for his wife. As much as he looked for opportunities to make his wife look good, he wouldn’t do it if it may undermine their confidence. Especially the fairies of her own sect. He grinned as he thought of another way to flatter her.

“Don’t forget that Sage Huifen borrowed a small lake and used it to create a massive ice technique that would’ve been impossible to execute any other way. There is an opportunity here, even if it’s not directly related to the Ice Phoenix Cultivation Tome.”

As if remember who he was, they all turned and issued him a martial salute. “Thank you, Sage.”

He felt his face redden at their response.

Li Qiang had remained quiet almost the entire time, but Chao heard his sigh of frustration. There was no need to ask him what the problem was. The first time he’d spend any time with the guy he’d done little else but talked about girls. Now that the fairies of the Ice Phoenix Sect were more prone to accept suitors, his luck with them still hadn’t changed.

Chao couldn’t blame his friend. He’d never been desperate to get married as Li Qiang was, but he could admire a beautiful woman as well as the next guy. Now wasn’t the time or place. He’d have a serious talk with his friend when the time came.

“There are three main trials on the third floor,” Fairy Zhu said in her matter-of-fact way. It made Chao wonder if she would’ve had a cold personality even without heart of ice… “To be honest, they seem like a waste of time, and you can only try each of them three times.” They exited the water chamber and entered the trial half of the second floor. There were three passages.

She pointed to the one on the left. “This one has a training construct that will test your ability to last. The temperature will alternate between hot and cold. It will become harder to bear the longer you’re inside the construct.”

Pointing to the center passage, she continued. “This trial plunges you into a body of water and tests how long you can survive without air. Those at a higher cultivation have a huge advantage, so people rarely visit it. And the final one.” She motioned to the last one. “It at least has practical application. This trial’s construct tests your speed while changing the environment around you. The wind, temperature, and even gravity will change.

“As for the prizes, they are mostly just more qi crystals unless you reach the Commander rank or higher. All of the trials still give good resources if you score high enough.”

Huifen left the group then turned to face us. “Sisters. Little Brother. Thank you for escorting us. I look forward to training with you once again. For now, return to the first floor and continue your cultivation. My husband and I will explore the rest of the spire and find a place to settle in. If you need us, don’t hesitate to contact us. Sage Pangfua will be allowing those of you that don’t possess a transmission jade to borrow one during your time here. Cultivate well, but your safety is paramount.”

“Sister Fen’er,” Zhu said, showing a crack in her cold demeanor. “Most of the attacks were on the second and third floors. If you two go alone…”

“Pray,” Huifen demanded, “that whoever is responsible for what has happened to our sisters would dare to attack us. Sage Pangfua will be leading the investigation, but little else would please me more than to personally catch his monster in the act.”

“Mmm,” Chao said with emphasis, slipping through the group and grabbing his wife’s hand. “We will do our best to appear as easy victims. If we can put an end to this today, we will leave an example.”

They said their farewells and were alone a few minutes later.

“Is there anything you wish to do on the first two floors before we proceed?” She asked.

“Not yet. Let’s find our base station away from everyone else. Hopefully, I can make it to the highest floors. I want you to get the most of our time here.”

“Husband, I promised you I wouldn’t leave the lower realm without you. Let us take advantage of every opportunity here. There’s no need to rush. If we just stayed in the Ice Phoenix Palace and dual cultivated, we still would’ve ascended in record time. The density of the heaven and earth qi in his place should be of great help to you. Here we will progress even faster.”

“If we can find a place to dual cultivate in safety.”

“Sage Pangfua and Mother Sya can stand watch if there’s any resources that might take us an extended amount of time to refine.”

“So you’re not worried about surprise visitors at all?”

She gave him a sideways look. “We have formation arrays for a reason. It’s something we’ll have to grow accustomed to eventually anyway.”

“My wife’s wisdom never ceases to amaze me.”

“You do remember that we could be attacked at any time, right?”

He nodded ardently and gave her a wink. “I’ve had my perceptions extend to their peak since we arrived on this floor. What do you say to taking a careless walk with me up to the next floor?”

“You’re wearing your flexible armor, yes?”

“Why bother asking when you can just reach over and find out for yourself?”

She stepped back to face him. “How can you take this so lightly?”

“I assure you, I’m not. Flirting with you is just my default. It’s when I’m not that you know something is wrong. It would help our performance if you flirted back.”

Then to his surprise, reached over and smacked him on the butt.

“I can’t believe you just did that.”

She became very still. “Isn’t that what you wanted.”

He leaned close to her ear and whispered. “Yes.” Grabbing her hand, he wrapped it around his arm. He began to walk then stopped. “Uh, which way to the stairs?”