Volume Two, Chapter Sixteen: Clearing the Lotus Pond

Jin Guishan hurriedly looked at the top of He Lingchi’s head. The glowing sphere was shrinking gradually, and his junior sister’s complexion seemed to improve by the moment.

“You know, our previous generation had ties with the Zhengjia Sect. This pond is the main reason. It is split into yin and yang: one side covered in lotus blossoms, the other barren of even a single blade of grass. The lotus pond is turbid and yin, specializing in absorption; the clear pond is pure and yang, specializing in release. Their pagoda absorbs cultivation, so it's yin and turbid. If it’s plunged into the clear pond, the clash of yin and yang would annihilate it. Now, the lotus pond absorbs while the clear pond releases. As long as we stay within the pond, we’ll recover very soon!” The Venerable Tai Miao explained, her words flowing gently.

“I see! But how did Brother Turtle know?” Jin Guishan glanced in confusion at the divine turtle, who was still bickering with Han Yu and the others.

Tai Miao only smiled, keeping her silence, and soon closed her eyes, forming hand seals as she sat cross-legged upon the water. The rest finally realized—the divine turtle had been helping them all along!

Seeing the turtle still quarreling with Han Yu and her friend, the chubby girl hurried to intervene, “Brother Turtle, take a break! You’re amazing! But how did you know we were trapped inside the pagoda?”

“Who am I? It was obvious you were snatched by that demonic pagoda!” the turtle declared, immediately ignoring Han Yu and her companion.

“I woke up and saw you hadn’t returned!” the turtle said with a disdainful glance at Han Yu. “It was too boring alone, so I decided to wander. But before I’d gone far, I heard people shouting that someone had broken in and had been taken by Master’s pagoda. So, I snuck into the main hall…” The more the turtle spoke, the more excited he became.

“Is there anything you do that isn’t sneaking?” Meiniang cut in abruptly.

“I…” The turtle’s neck flushed red.

“What happened next, oh valiant Brother Turtle?” Mo Yan hurriedly coaxed.

“Heh! Then I pulled you all out!” The turtle beamed with pride.

“What about the guards?” Mo Yan asked dramatically.

“I knocked them all out!”

Mo Yan couldn’t help but grin. With a turtle the size of a carriage smashing down, it was a wonder the guards survived at all.

“Hey, why didn’t you use the sack? Where’s the sack?” Han Yu suddenly demanded.

“Huh? Oh, I forgot!” The turtle remembered the bag left in the grass and quickly retrieved it, clamping it in his jaws.

“You damned turtle! If we hadn’t fought our way out, we’d have died because of you!”

“Come now! You hadn’t been refined into golden pellets yet, and I’d already tossed you into the pond. You wretched rabbit!”

“You—!”

“Enough! No matter what, Brother Turtle saved us!” The chubby girl quickly tugged Han Yu’s sleeve.

“I can’t, I’m exhausted!” The turtle abruptly turned and dove into the reeds.

“Something’s wrong!” Han Yu shouted immediately.

Sure enough, a group of people surged into the garden, led by none other than Daoist Fei Xu!

“Disciples, pay respects to the Venerable!” Fei Xu greeted with false humility, hands clasped. The others immediately surrounded the pond.

“No need for that,” said Tai Miao, opening her eyes. The glowing spheres above everyone’s heads had only shrunk halfway.

“Why struggle, Venerable? After all this fuss, the outcome will be the same. Go retrieve the pagoda!” Fei Xu ordered, pointing at the lotus pond. Ye Boyang dashed toward the pond.

Sensing danger, Tai Miao was about to intervene. Suddenly, a round figure rolled onto the bank, stopping right in front of Ye Boyang.

“So quick!” Tai Miao thought in surprise.

“Out of the way, you fat idiot!” Ye Boyang shouted, swinging his sword. Yi Bing quickly raised his own sword to block, and the two engaged in combat.

Yi Bing was nothing like he’d been at the Immortal Cultivation Tournament. Before, he’d followed set forms and knew nothing of improvisation, but with his martial uncle’s patient guidance, he now parried and attacked with skill.

Ye Boyang was secretly alarmed. Last time, this chubby youth hadn’t been his match, but now he was forced on the defensive at every turn. Hastily, he formed a seal and muttered an incantation. A jet of flame shot toward Yi Bing’s face.

“Yikes!” Yi Bing flipped back, barely dodging the flames. But as he landed, two more jets of fire came at him from either side. In panic, he suddenly recalled Senior Brother Hongpeng’s wall of fire. He quickly formed the necessary seal, muttered the incantation, and thrust out his hand, sending forth a wall of flame.

Ye Boyang had never expected the boy to turn his own technique against him. Caught off-guard, his flames were not only repelled but also blown back at him, leaving his face blackened and scorched.

Just then, a myriad of silver threads suddenly shot through the flames, wrapping around Yi Bing’s wrists and yanking him to the ground, dragging him straight toward Daoist Fei Xu. Struggling, he realized the threads were actually the transformed whisk of Fei Xu’s hand.

Just as he was about to be impaled by a sword, the black line on Yi Bing’s wrist suddenly shot out, darting along the silver threads straight for Fei Xu’s face. Fei Xu hastily threw aside his whisk and leapt away, swinging his sword at the black line—only for a wall of fire to sweep across. The black line, seemingly sentient, instantly recoiled into Yi Bing’s wrist. At the same time, Yi Bing himself was flung back into the pond.

“What kind of monster is this?” Fei Xu frowned, watching Mo Yan clutching the black line.

“You’re the monster! This is a treasure cord, specially meant to subdue fiends!” Mo Yan coughed weakly. She had the weakest cultivation, and this spell had nearly exhausted her.

“Hmph!” Fei Xu’s face turned green with rage. He slashed another wall of fire toward the pond.

Everyone ducked into the water. A loud whoosh sounded as the flames swept across the surface.

“Yi Bing, turn into a giant cauldron!” Han Yu shouted as Fei Xu’s sword painted a vast circle in the air. Yi Bing hesitated.

“Cover the pond!” Han Yu shrieked. A massive fireball hurtled toward them.

Tai Miao was about to leap up when everything went black; a gigantic iron cauldron suddenly sealed the entire pond. The flames roared against the cauldron’s base.

“Is this alright?” Yi Bing asked, still holding his right hand aloft as if he’d just thrown the magical iron.

“What were you spacing out for? We nearly became roast pork!” Han Yu snapped.

“I… didn’t know how big to make it,” Yi Bing said apologetically in the darkness.

“Hmph! When it comes to food, you always know everything!” Han Yu grumbled.

Outside, the clang of metal rang out—Fei Xu and the others pounding desperately on the cauldron. The noise, not loud outside, sounded like thunder within. Before long, everyone began to suffer.

“Tear some cloth and stuff your ears!” Tai Miao instructed. They obeyed, and though it helped, the noise became unbearable over time. Finally, they had to surface for air and crouch in the water for relief.

At long last, the pounding ceased, but the cauldron became unbearably hot.

“They’re burning it!” Hong Kun exclaimed.

“No matter, just dive under to cool off,” Jin Guishan suggested.

But as the cauldron’s bottom grew red-hot, the water grew scalding, steam so thick it was hard to breathe.

“I can’t take it…” Mo Yan whispered before collapsing into the water.

“Get up!” Cheng Yan quickly pulled her up.

“Yi Bing, can’t you turn into something else?” Han Yu panted.

“Turn into an ice cauldron!” the chubby girl cried.

“It would just melt!” He Lingchi warned.

“Then… what do we do?” The chubby girl was at a loss.

“Can’t you make a cauldron with a chimney, so the heat can escape?” Meiniang asked, her breath short.

“How do I do that?” Yi Bing asked helplessly.

“Close your eyes and focus. However you imagine it, that’s what it will become!” Tai Miao instructed.

“Oh!” Yi Bing seemed to understand. He pressed his left hand to his dantian, his right atop his left, closed his eyes and concentrated.

Inside, nothing could be seen, but outside, everyone was startled as the giant cauldron shifted—now square, now round, now flat, now bulging—changing shapes until finally, a chimney sprouted from the base and everything calmed.

Hot air rushed out through the chimney, and inside the cauldron, it immediately became much cooler. By the faint light filtering down, everyone could see Han Yu craning her rabbit head upward.

Fei Xu pressed a finger to his lips for silence, signaling the others to keep burning the cauldron, then silently floated up toward the chimney.

“Yi Bing, move the chimney!” Han Yu shouted as a shadow darkened the chimney’s mouth. Yi Bing hesitated only a moment before shifting the chimney just as a blaze shot down. He barely managed to move it in time.

Fei Xu was thrown into a frenzy, leaping and scrambling after the elusive chimney like a monkey climbing a mountain—all while the disciples watched his antics.

“What are you staring at? Keep burning!” Fei Xu fumed, nostrils flaring with rage.

At first, Yi Bing could follow Han Yu’s commands, but after a while, he grew exhausted and could only move it as best he could—and even then, his movements slowed.

“I can’t… my head’s going to explode…” Yi Bing suddenly cried out. The chimney stopped moving.

“That’s enough! Dispel the cauldron!” Tai Miao ordered. She was now fully recovered.

At last, Fei Xu caught the chimney, feeling a strange elation—only for the cauldron to vanish instantly, dropping him straight down. A wave of water surged from the pond, dousing the Zhengjia disciples’ flames and sweeping them all against the wall.

Sunlight burst forth, blinding everyone.

As soon as he landed, Fei Xu thrust his sword forward, sending a ball of fire toward the pond. But Tai Miao, without even looking, flicked her left sleeve, unleashing another wave that forced Fei Xu to leap into the air, barely escaping the cresting wave.

“Traitor! How can you face your ancestors?” Tai Miao shouted, leaping from the water.

Fei Xu dared not reply; he whipped his whisk, sending a thousand silver threads shooting at Tai Miao. She stood her ground and caught them on her arm. With a gentle tug, Fei Xu’s whisk slipped from his grasp.

“I will cleanse the sect of traitors for your ancestors!” Tai Miao declared calmly, gripping the whisk.

“Venerable, look behind you!” Fei Xu suddenly cried, pointing.

“Don’t try to fool me!” Tai Miao replied, not turning. With a flick of the whisk, the silver threads spun toward Fei Xu.

But a sudden chill swept in from behind. Alarmed, Tai Miao spun to defend. With a resounding clang, a spiked mace crashed onto Yi Bing’s sword.

“Who are you?” Tai Miao glared at the blue-faced, tusked demon before her.

“You damned fatty!” Jade-Faced Lord sneered, barely avoiding being knocked over. Yi Bing ignored him, standing guard before Tai Miao.

“That’s the Jade-Faced Lord!” Meiniang shouted.

“Well, well, you’re still alive, you wanton woman?” Jade-Faced Lord sneered at Meiniang.

“Ah, my dear, we haven’t consummated our marriage yet!” He turned to He Lingchi, his excitement plain. Her cheeks flushed red with fury.

“Yi Bing, stand aside,” Tai Miao said calmly. Yi Bing quickly stepped aside.

Jade-Faced Lord hefted his mace, casting a quick glance at Fei Xu. Fei Xu pointed his sword at Tai Miao’s back and hurled a fireball at her, while the Jade-Faced Lord’s mace conjured a black whirlwind, morphing into a wolf’s head to bite at Tai Miao.

“Master, look out!” the chubby girl cried.

Tai Miao’s lips curled in a faint smile. Forming a sword seal with her left hand, she conjured a dragon of water that soared through the air. The dragon turned its head and spat a torrent of water, rebounding the fireball, while its tail swept forward, reducing the wolf’s head to ashes.

The Jade-Faced Lord was terrified and tried to flee, but the silver threads lashed out like arrows, binding him tight.

“Yi Bing, tie them up!” Tai Miao snapped off two threads, turning them into ropes.

“Yes!” Yi Bing hurried to bind the Jade-Faced Lord. Turning to Fei Xu, he found all the Zhengjia disciples had vanished, leaving only Fei Xu, burned black from his own fireballs, collapsed on the ground.

“Venerable, all tied up!” Yi Bing called to Tai Miao at the pond’s edge.

“Good,” she replied without looking back.

Suddenly, two dark shadows flashed across the garden.