159 - Glimpse of a Path Forward

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The words were but a garbled mess of indistinct sounds. The creature’s wobbly arms flailed around as if trying to convey something, yet Qin Yun noticed some peculiar points he couldn’t help but feel were striking.

First, the creature's thorax rose up and down, yet the movement was much too regular to be likened to breathing, especially with the jagged way it moved. With such powerful movement and long screams coming out of its deformed mouth, Qin Yun believed the creature would require much more breath than it was currently taking.

To him, it felt as if this creature was merely imitating what it had observed of humans, yet had so little experience with them that this could only be the result.

Something else also supported Qin Yun's assumption. As he sat on the ground, trying to hinder the spread of the Corruption coursing through his bloodstream, so did the plant-like creature. It soon stopped flailing around and began to observe him closely, imitating his every action.

"What are you?" Qin Yun asked, fighting through the pain of the corrosion, trying to infiltrate his flesh and change him into those same plant-like creatures.

The creature spoke again, and the words were just as incomprehensible. It was almost as if the air was merely travelling through its throat only to be changed by the opening of its mouth, yet it didn't possess any vocal cords, as if it didn't know that humans even possessed such a thing.

Qin Yun repeated his question many times, and the creature grew closer to a proper response every time. Yet the lack of the proper organ made communicating much more difficult, and besides, he didn't even know if this creature made of Corruption could understand the concept of language.

Qin Yun closed his eyes, focusing on himself as he endeavoured to first drive away the Corruption assaulting him. Although he knew that without the Heavenly Dao’s help nor the ravenous egg’s nature, disposing of this intrusive force would be no small matter. He could only methodically sever away at the encroaching Corruption one small piece at a time.

Fortunately, Qin Yun’s qi centre was always protected by a golden membrane, disallowing entry to any foreign substance. Since he had been infected, the Corruption unsuccessfully banged itself on this barrier, trying to breach it, only to always be repelled. As long as his lotus stood unharmed, Qin Yun had a chance to remove the Corruption at the source.

However, just as he was about to sever the first piece of the grey fog taking root near his heart, Qin Yun felt his heart burn. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced. What he felt wasn't pain but an intense discomfort.

As he had been too shaken by his new circumstances, Qin Yun had forgotten to investigate his body following his fall from the Western Domain. As he hadn't felt any pain, he had let it go when he shouldn't have.

He looked in on himself and saw that his heart had changed. It wasn't its shape or size but what it was made of. His heart was now a lump of crystal, yet still beat like one made of flesh.

Is that... the crystal egg? No wonder I couldn’t find it anywhere.

Qin Yun's eyebrow rose as his mouth hung slightly open. He couldn't believe he hadn't noticed this change until now. He remembered the last moment on the world above, when tribulation fell, only to strike him on the chest, rendering him unconscious.

For all intent and purposes, the strike should have killed him, yet it didn't. He even felt perfectly fine when he woke up next, but the egg, which should have been next to him when lightning fell, was nowhere to be found.

Last I remembered, it should have been on the verge of breaking. Did it absorb the strike for me?

This was the only explanation that made sense. The egg absorbed the energy of the tribulation and broke into pieces. However, not all of its energy was absorbed. Some still struck Qin Yun, making him blackout and maybe even threatening his life. As both he and the egg were connected, the broken shards of its shell were used to heal the wound, fusing with his heart and transforming it into crystal.

Qin Yun didn't know if this change was permanent or a mere transient stage as the egg recovered, but he knew that he owed his life to this egg—whatever it was. Still, another question rose at the forefront of his mind.

Did the Heavenly Dao know this would happen? Had it already predicted this much?

Qin Yun couldn't help but frown, for even he, connected with it as he was, had no idea what kind of creature this egg would hatch into. He first believed it was linked to those crystal bugs, but he wasn't sure anymore. It was more than just a foreign space-faring species, as it could contend against the antithetical energies of both the Heavenly Dao and the Corruption, just as it was currently doing.

Contained within his crystal heart, Qin Yun felt the lingering power of the tribulation. It was perfectly contained, so he only became aware when the Corruption finally touched its surface while travelling through his bloodstream.

Just as it had done many times before, the two powers resisted, trying to annihilate each other's existence, almost as if an eternal grudge existed between them. However, Qin Yun's crystal heart, formerly the shards of the Ravenous Egg, kept the balance and even prompted the two energies to fuse just as they had before. Despite the change in its form, its nature hadn't changed.

The process was much slower than before, needing Qin Yun to circulate his blood flooded with Corruption a few times through his crystal heart for the Corruption to be weeded out. However, this afforded him much more control than before. He was no longer bound to the whim of a creature he knew nothing of.

Still, upon closer look, he could feel the lingering consciousness of that egg dormant within the crystal shell. This form seemed only temporary, as Qin Yun couldn't ascertain what form it would inevitably take once it finally rose from its slumber. Would it separate once again, becoming its own being, or would the two remain connected somehow?

Qin Yun didn't know, and the unknown made him feel slightly uneasy, yet he couldn't deny that his curiosity was piqued. More than the dread accompanying this foreign existence that transformed his heart, Qin Yun couldn't wait to know what this creature would become. But first, he needed to deal with the beast observing him from beyond the barrier and the Corruption lingering in his blood.

Qin Yun remained passive as the creature flailed in front of the barrier. Its flexible, vine-like arms would sometimes brush against it, only for sparks to appear. The creature's flesh would then burst into flames, yet those flames were neither hot nor smelt of burned flesh. Parts of the creature merely exploded into a grey fog before being absorbed back into it through its mouth.

Then, without much delay, the cycle would start again, the creature never learning from its mistake.

Does it not feel pain? Qin Yun thought as he focused a portion of his mind on his crystal heart, which slowly purified his blood. Its intelligence seems extremely low. Can Corruption only imitate living creatures and not understand them?

Qin Yun expected that with all the life forms the Corruption had assimilated, some of their intelligence would remain, but it seemed he was wrong. It felt more like a mass of energy, only meant to consume as if that was its one primary directive.

Something like a weapon... but for what purpose?

Qin Yun had many disjointed puzzle pieces, yet far from enough to know the entire scope. He even doubted the Heavenly Dao knew what this foreign aggressor truly was.

As for the Corruption lingering in his blood, it had now been completely purged, joined to the remnants of the tribulation that once struck him. That new energy was now contained within his crystal heart, yet it seemed Qin Yun had no control over it. It appeared the Ravenous Egg's consciousness still lingered somewhere.

Without his approval, as if unable to bear further burden, that new energy was discharged through his qi channels. Surprisingly, it differed only slightly from qi, allowing it to flow mostly unimpeded until it reached his qi centre.

The energy was grey but much paler than the Corruption. Once it reached the barrier surrounding his lotus, it passed right through before etching itself onto its surface, transforming the golden runes scattered around the seed into a slightly duller shade of gold.

But even as they lost their lustre, these runes seemed to only grow in power, just as they had done when the first trace of grey had been mixed among them. Qin Yun even felt his stagnant cultivation begin to advance. The first leaf of this lotus threatened to separate from it, preparing to unleash all of its power. However, it seemed something was still missing.

He had already reached the threshold of the Foundation Building realm when he was baptized by the tribulation, but he chose not to go through with it, for building his foundation would lock in his future prospects. He couldn't allow the Heavenly Dao to have that much control over the path he would walk.

Indeed, had Qin Yun chosen to advance at that moment, he would have forever been under the Heavenly Dao's control, for the very energy he would use from now on would come only from it. But now, he had another path begin to take shape before him, a path none had walked before. However, there was one question on his mind.

Is this the Heavenly Dao’s will? Is all of this part of its plan?

Qin Yun hesitated. Usually, cultivators merely used their predecessors' wisdom to advance, making the early realm much faster to overcome, yet would soon reach the limit of what they could achieve.

Qin Yun's case was the opposite. The earlier stages were much more difficult, as he needed to tread through the darkness alone. At least, that was what he expected. Yet, the path he had chosen for himself when he first learned that the Qi of Heaven and the Corruption could be fused seemed to already be within the Heavenly Dao's plans.

Has everything I have done since leaving Jin City been part of its grand design?

As expected, Qin Yun didn't trust the Heavenly Dao, no more than it trusted him. He only went along with it since he had no choice but to entrust his future path to it, which was the one thing he wouldn't concede to. But there was one thing for sure: Qin Yun knew about Heavenly Dao's goal. Although it may possess consciousness, he knew the reason for its existence: the continuation of this world.

Once the world became barren, all life consumed by Corruption, so, too, would the Heavenly Dao. Only through the various forms of life thriving in this world did the Heavenly Dao find meaning in its existence and the source of its power. It would never allow Corruption to devastate what remained of the world.

I guess our intentions align... at least for now. While I can't promise the Heavenly Dao cannot influence my future path, this is probably the only way for me to make a difference in the end, and it knows that. Well played...

Qin Yun sighed as he closed his eyes. He felt powerless against this all-encompassing entity whose power and vision spanned the entirety of this world. Despite his many lifetimes of knowledge, he was but an ant compared to it. Still, he promised himself that someday, he would break free from it, never again to be used as a tool in the war for this world, and to do so, he would gratefully accept the power it offered.

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