With a crack, the jade bird at Healer’s hip shattered. He sat upright, sweat running down his back. Putting a hand to the pieces, he looked around. Who died?

Mortal lived up to his name, Rogue replied.

Healer rubbed the back of his neck, quietly reviewing the memories. He shook his head. Fuck.

It’s a lot, Rogue agreed.

Heaven is after us. The Heavens. That’s why we have the character “Heaven” on our hand. That’s why we were brought here to this world. The Heavens want to capture us and invade this world, Healer muttered.

But obviously they can’t easily interfere in this plane. Otherwise, we’d have been captured by the Heavens long ago, Rogue pointed out.

Healer took a deep breath. That’s true. Then… we’d better continue to be unassuming, quiet, ordinary small cultivators. We don’t want to catch the Heavens’ eyes!

Rogue cleared his throat. Then, destroying All-Heavens Sect…?

Obviously… we can’t give up! All we have to do is make sure it isn’t ‘us’ who destroy All-Heavens! And the obvious solution, is to allow Li Xiang to lead the charge! Healer declared boldly.

Rogue laughed. That’s true!

Healer ran a hand through his hair and climbed to his feet, rising from his meditative stance. Restlessness consumed him, despite the late hour. It’s because of the way Mortal died. Choosing death… I thought I would never. But in the end, we’re all clones. Even if we die, we simply return to First. That is… the true Hui. Thus, we… find death acceptable.

Unacceptable! We can’t get used to thinking this way! Horrible, horrible. No, I’ll have to take care not to end up in a situation where I have to choose death. This small Hui cannot become so familiar with death!

Ah, I’m not sure if the others have realized, or if they care, but First is the only clone that we must not allow to die. As he possesses the majority of our soul, his death is equivalent to our end—that is, Xiao Hui’s end. Although individual clones might be able to escape death and cultivate individually for long enough to become unique existence and not clones if he dies, we will no longer be able to return to being Hui. That is a fate none of us desire, not even Sectgoer with his heart-demon.

In the dark of night, Hui silently strode the halls of his compound. The simple white building stood within a few kilometers of All-Heavens’ territory. Indoors and out, not much adorned it. Knowing it would be temporary, Hui had built it simply. But maybe that was a mistake. All-Heavens still hasn’t come to recruit me, despite the rumors of a miracle healer spreading around the area. Perhaps I should have made it lavish and eye-catching. Ah, but then I feared that someone might attack it, or attempt to steal my limited wealth… but it would have been better than failing this way.

He let down his hair and ran his hands through it, thinking to himself as he combed it out. After so long bound up in a ponytail, it had a distinctive wave in it where his hairband usually held it. What else can I do to catch their attention? Maybe I should simply present myself to the sect. It would be obvious, but it’s not unreasonable for a life-qi cultivator to seek out the sect that focuses on life qi. Still, I’d rather not. I can gain a more favorable position within the sect if they recruit me. Even Rogue, approaching them as a fifth-stage cultivator, was only put onto a rogue cultivator’s group, not inducted into the sect. They aren’t so small as to desperately accept every fifth-stage cultivator.

Ah, although fifth-stage cultivators can’t be considered as common as clouds, they still have dozens. Sixth stage would be a different situation… but I’m not Master. I can’t simply cultivate to sixth stage in the blinking of an eye. And besides, sixth stage is exponentially more difficult than fifth. One has to forge their own path, or successfully inherit someone else’s. Since I clearly can’t inherit Master’s path, I’m stuck with forging my own, but that’s no simple task. I need to fully comprehend my Dao, first. As it is, I’m not even sure what my Dao is! Faking death? But then… what about talismans? I could walk a talisman path as well. And a faking-death path… what does that even look like? Hui breathed out and shook his head.

Though most of all… I strongly suspect that we have to rejoin into one Hui before we can progress in realm. Or… maybe inhabit our true body again? To some extent, the two are one and the same.

He paused by the next door and pushed it open just enough to peek inside. Ying Lin laid on a bed, fast asleep. Seeing her peacefully sleeping, he let it shut again. Still sleeping like a mortal? Come to think of it, she truly hasn’t been a cultivator for long enough to break her mortal habits. I should take more care to teach her our way of doing things. It’s too easy to be lax, when there’s no one else to show her the proper way.

Hui sighed heavily. He quietly petted Zhubi, though even that wasn’t as relaxing as he usually found it. Even Zhubi has his own… situation. Is nothing simple in this world?

This world…

From the beginning, Yunxu’s interest in me was solely because I was an otherworlder, as he called me. The Heavens, likewise, want me because I’m an otherworlder. Although Yunxu seemed convinced that we could both accelerate into Immortality by taking me to the Heavens, I doubt that’s truly the case. For one, that Immortal doesn’t want anything good for my world, and neither does Yunxu. Though I didn’t have it easy in my world, that doesn’t mean I want to see it destroyed, and I can’t imagine that the Immortal is so stupid as to imagine that I would go along easily with his plan. That means he’s prepared to use force to enforce his plans… or to put it simply, this small Hui is unlikely to survive whatever it is that he wants to do with me. Besides, he's trying to access my original world. It was extremely difficult for him to access the mortal realm of his own world. If it’s that difficult, I can’t imagine it’s easier to access a whole different world, let alone invade it. Whatever spell formation he uses for that, whatever it takes as its price, I cannot expect to survive it!

Hui frowned, twisting his nose. To think, I thought immortality was the end of the road. Instead, it seems that even once I become immortal, I’ll have to overthrow the Heavens to survive!

Ah, oh well. That Immortal can’t easily access this mortal realm, so I’m safe for now. Once I ascend—that is, assuming I’ll ascend, I’ll be able to rely on Mast… er…

Hui sighed deeply. When have I ever been able to rely on Master? No, no. I need to refine my death-faking to such extremes that even an Immortal cannot see through it! And the sooner, the better!

A heavy thump on the roof startled him from his thoughts. Hui looked up, then activated his third eye. Qi became visible to him, even through the physical barrier of the ceiling and the roof. There’s someone on the roof… no. He squinted, and the faint qi signature beside the first person resolved into a separate set of qi passages. Two someones! The second one is so injured as to be nearly dead, though—well, I can guess why they came here. Ah… a Healer’s job is never done!

Pushing off, Hui blasted through his compound in a single bound. He stepped down just inside the door, arriving just as his late-night visitors limped inside. Smiling, Hui tucked his hands behind him. “Welcome, honored guests. To what do I owe the honor of your illuminous presences—”

A woman supported a bloodied and badly-injured man. His eyes half-shut, his breaths came short, his life on the verge of flickering out. She reached out, grabbing at Hui’s robes with a bloody hand. “You’re the healer, right? Please… please help…”

Not hesitating a moment, Hui took the man into his arms and pressed a finger against his forehead. Instantly, strange energy surged out at him, a burning, aching sensation that sought to devour him. Hui yanked his hand back, his eyes wide. “What happened to him?”

The woman gestured outside. Hui turned and watched as waves of jade-white energy rolled over the sky from a great distance away. “That energy… we were too close when the Immortals began to battle. He protected me, but the immortal’s energy infected his body at the same time.”

Hui’s breath caught. He backed away, suddenly nervous. The Immortal? This is his energy? I, I can’t, I can’t be caught! I’m so close to getting into All-Heavens, I—

Calm down. Deep breaths, Hui. Master is handling the Immortal. If I have faith in no one else, I at least have faith in Master. This far away, I doubt the Immortal is paying attention to every last cultivator infected with his energy.

Besides… isn’t this an opportunity? An opportunity to learn more about the Immortal! If I can figure out a way to corrupt or negate his energy, I’ll have a huge foot up in battle whenever I face him! Assuming this small cultivator… reaches the Immortal realm, naturally. Ah, but though that may be a great distance off, it’s never bad to be prepared!

“Will you… will you help us?” the woman asked, her face paling as she saw Hui’s nervousness.

Hui took a deep breath and forced back his fears, plastering on a smile instead. “Elder Sister, please leave it to me. I cannot guarantee success, but I will do everything in my power to help this man.”

“Thank you! Thank you,” she said. Tears squeezed out of her eyes at that, and she wiped her face hurriedly, embarrassed to let her emotions show.

“Fellow Daoist is…?” Hui asked, carrying the man deeper into the complex toward one of his rooms.

“Ah! That’s right, I haven’t introduced myself. That one is Wu Fanyun, and this one is Gui Yutong,” she said, bowing her head.

Hui froze. A second later, he rushed over and helped her up. “No, no, Elder Sister, please don’t bow to this small cultivator. Er, that surname, Gui… you wouldn’t happen to be…?”

She nodded. “I’m Gui Delun’s daughter. Though…” she grimaced. “Father…”

Hui’s ears perked up. “Father…?”

She shook her head. “I shouldn’t trouble you with my family’s struggles. Please, focus on healing Wu Fanyun.”

No, no, please trouble me! I’m begging you to trouble me! Hui cried silently. I want to hear all about your family drama!

Externally, he simply nodded. Lengthening his stride, he flicked his hand, and a large lotus blossomed from the floor. A small lotus beast, androgynous and pale green in color, stepped out of the lotus. It grew from fist-sized to waist high in a blinking, then reached up, taking Wu Fanyun from Hui’s arms and supporting him on a large white lotus that grew out of its palms.

Gui Yutong let out a little cry of surprise, then knelt down, examining the small lotus beast.

Tucking his hands in his sleeves, Hui, too, inspected the beast with a small smile on his face.

Although I cut Mount Mu’s inheritance out of me and can’t speak to plants like Mortal could, I’m the clone who’s focused the most on life qi. I discovered that, if we nurture the lotus body, we can grow a second core, or even a third and fourth. Those cores don’t belong to us and won’t create clones, but if we plant them, we can create new lotus beasts by feeding life qi into them.

Rogue’s voice sounded in his mind. Does that count as m!pre—

Not a word more, Hui grumbled firmly.