Fan Zhong looked on as Little White let loose a bestial roar that shook the air around them. Quickly afterward the water wolf slumped in exhaustion and he shrunk into the small pup-like form he normally assumed. Slowly the now aptly named Little White pulled himself to Fan Zhong’s feet and started nudging his leg.

Through their bond and the slight whimpers from his companion Fan Zhong could feel instinctively what the beast king wanted. First, he commanded that he be allowed to perch atop Fan Zhong’s shoulder where he normally sat. Hidden under that, however, was an… apology? Yes, it seemed he was sorry for failing at something.

Looking down at the large eye as he scooped up Little White it suddenly dawned on Fan Zhong where his fierce companion had been during the battle.

“Didn’t finish it off then?” He asked as he turned to look at the white pup that was now happily napping on his shoulder.

A small huff was all that answered him as Little White simply kept his eyes close, content to mimic the old swordsman’s behavior.

“Dead or alive that adolescent abyss gazer should think twice before trailing us again, courtesy of our gracious lord, Sir White.” Xing Zheng’s voice was filled with mirth and the barest hint of a wolfish smile touched his lips as he spoke. “In any case, we should convene on how best to tackle the task at hand. I have a few ideas but a deeper description of the island’s geography would help in that regard, Junior Qiang?”

“O.. Of course, senior.” Wang Qiang turned and bowed to Xing Zheng before continuing to speak “ Currently we are on the northeastern shore of the island. Continuing further inland will give way to a dense forest that covers most of the central island. Had we come during a normal time, that forest would be the best route to reach our destination.”

“However, we are here during a time the island is sealed. So I’ll assume that path is not open to us?” Fan Zhong said with a dour look on his face.

They had tried to pry details of the island out of the Wang clan leader prior to the mission however he had been insistent that Wang Qiang would deliver further information upon their landing. Apparently, the information gathering of the Wei didn’t fall short of the Fan clan's observers for him to be so paranoid. All of that left them here, having to convene on a beach to make plans instead of a nice comfy room with extravagant things like, for instance, a table.

“Just so, Brother Zhong. When the clan members who usually occupy the island left they activated a sealing formation that cuts off most of the central region. That formation forms a blockage that seals everything from this side of the island from the western shore by covering all land between the two mountains. Those mountains are situated at the southern edge and the northwestern corner of the island respectively.”

Wang Qiang gave an apologetic smile toward Fan Zhong as continued speaking.

“However, passage around the island is not cut off. The shoreline should make any area of the island accessible albeit via a longer route. Clan leader suggested that we investigate the cove at the southern tip of the island as well as the western shore where the attacks first came from. Notably, the cove is used as a covert harbor for our ships to come and go. Securing it as a base of operations would give us a safe place to store our boat and reconvene at.”

“An interesting idea, having a safe harbor would be nice if we plan to spend multiple days investigating the island.” Fan Zhong nodded as he absent-mindedly petted Little White.

“Indeed, however, we are going to finish within a day or two.” Xing Zheng’s sagely tone cut across the conversation as he looked at the group with a wolfish grin. “Currently I have a formation with me that is usually used to cover the grounds of an area to help an observer watch over something like a manor or training ground. It will be at the edge of its range but the area should cover most of the island if we place the three formation cores like such.”

The old swordsman bent over and used a stick to draw a rough sketch of the island in the sand with three x-shaped symbols marking points.

“One formation core will be here to mark the eastern shore. The next one will go to the cove to cover the southernmost point of the island. Lastly, one more formation core at the western shore to allow all but the southwestern corner to be covered. After that, I can use my mental energy more accurately to search for clues about what's going on. If the cause of the recent spirit beast attacks is within the formation then we can go to investigate further. Otherwise, we will know that it is in the southwestern region and can gather to investigate that, either way, this should cut down the region we investigate greatly.”

“Teacher’s plan is of course profound and wise; however, won’t the formation cores need someone to guard each of them to prevent damage to the overall working? Also, they need Qi which would require spirit stones, many for such a large formation, or martial artists with the capability to activate them. As much as I yearn for the master realm, Brother Yong and I still lack sufficient strength.” Fan Zhong’s brows furrowed as he turned to Xing Zheng with some confusion on his face.

“If I remember correctly the formation that covered the main fan clan compound used around three dozen spirit stones on a day that none of the elders infused their own energy into it. Although that formation had more abilities than enhancing mental energy usage it still only covered a much smaller area, how much would a formation that can cover this whole island even take? Come to think of it, how does the talisman refining formation on the island keep powered?” Fan Yong joined in on the conversation, cupping his chin in one hand as he also looked over at Xing Zheng.

“Well… that's…” Wang Qiang’s face twisted into a grimace as he averted his gaze from the group.

“Good question, although junior Qiang most likely can not share the method I would imagine it functions much the same as your late clan compound. Mainly by having smaller sub Qi gathering formations that gather and store energy to feed the main formation. Such methods are good at saving on spirit stones and are common for long-term formations. That won’t do much good for us today, however, as we have neither the time nor resources to accomplish that method. No, we will use these.”

Xing Zheng’s tone was sagely and he gave off the air of a lecturing scholar teaching a group of students as he reached into the folds of his robes and pulled out a bundle.

Quickly he sat the bundle on the ground and unwrapped it to reveal a small box made of pure white jade that seemed to exude a heavenly light. Slowly the old swordsman opened the lid and a pressuring aura fell over the beach. Fan Zhong felt himself pressed down so much that he barely managed to remain standing.

Knowing that Wang Qiang wouldn’t be able to stand the pressure he quickly reached over and wrapped an arm around the merchant’s son to stabilize him. The other man nodded and Fan Zhong returned the gesture before looking back at the box. Set inside was blood-red silk padding with slight dips for small items around the size of a fist to sit.

There was room for 10 such objects and only seven were currently filled. Each of the objects was a perfectly cut stone that shone with transparent slightly blue light. Even without being able to manipulate it, Fan Zhong could feel the great amounts of Qi contained within.

“These are high-grade spirit stones. Only found deep in the earth at the heart of dense veins of lower-quality stones. Many years ago I was traveling and happened to help a fellow daoist out of a tough situation, in thanks he gifted me this box with ten such stones.” Xing Zheng’s face revealed the barest hint of a wry smile and Fan Zhong only just stopped his face from twitching at the ease with which his teacher lied.

Obviously, he had received the stones for being a member of the royal family of the empire however, the wandering swordsman Zhang Zheng obviously needed a better excuse to possess such things.

“Each one is worth a thousand normal spirit stones. Disciple, you will take one and go to the western shore with a formation core. After you arrive, use the high-quality spirit stone to activate it. Junior Yong and Junior Qiang, your goals will be the same yet your destination will be the cove. Meanwhile, I will remain here with the final formation core. Once the formation is activated I will send a message via mental energy about what I discover and where we will regroup.” Xing Zheng's tone took on a commanding air and the brief illusion that he was a general giving orders to officers seemed to come over the group. “Now the only thing that remains is a question. Are you capable?”

The old swordsman’s eyes met each of them slowly as he let his question linger over the group.

Fan Zhong straightened his back and met the older man’s gaze head-on. “Of course, teacher. Leave the western shore to me!”

“Good, I’ll need someone to watch me while the formation is in use. Sir White if you would be so kind as to guard this old man.” Xing Zheng’s smile widened as he extended his hand and gestured in a flicking motion toward himself.

Air rushed over Fan Zhong’s shoulder and Little White was quickly lifted off and fell into the old swordsman’s awaiting arms. The little beast king tried to resist but fatigue seemed to overtake him as a calming hand started to stroke his head.

“Since senior orders it, how could I dare refuse? Come, Brother Qiang, let us hurry to this cove.” Fan Yong spoke in a humble tone as he gave a respectful bow in Xing Zheng’s direction.

Nodding his head in approval the old swordsman gestured with two fingers once more and two high-quality spirit stones floated out of the box and hovered in the air. Both stones exuded even more energy as they were removed from the container causing the air to stir around them. Sand kicked up with the violent swirling winds causing mini vortexes full of loose sand to quickly form around the rare treasures.

Xing Zheng quickly slapped a pouch at his side causing two thin pieces of paper to shoot out. Each one pressed onto the surface of the stone instantly causing the wind to stop and the sand to fall to the beach once more.

“These talismans should keep them sealed and avoid attracting more of the spirit beasts. Simply use your mental energy and form this rune to detach them.” Quickly the old swordsman drew in the air with his two outstretched fingers leaving behind a trail of light blueish energy that lingered to form the rune. “Take care of their use of mental Qi to cause hallucinations and sleep. Disciple and Junior Yong put to practice the mental rune I’ve been teaching you over the past few months. For Junior Qiang, wear this talisman. It should last for a week which will be more than enough for us to regroup.”

Saying this Xing Zheng’s hand slapped his pouch once more before pointing at Wang Qiang. A sliver of bluish light connected with a talisman that flew out of the pouch before it slipped underneath Wang Qiang’s robes, positioning the paper on his sternum.

Fan Zhong started to walk toward the forest in the direction that Wang Qiang had indicated would lead him to the northern shore along which he would have to travel. However, before he got far a small whine and a mental nudge caused him to look back. Little White was looking at him from his position in Xing Zheng’s arms with a serious expression.

Through their bond he could feel the deep sense of worry and anxiety his companion felt at him going off alone. Urging his own mental energy to send his own feelings back to the water wolf he tried to emit the image of a great hero going off on an adventure. The response was a simple snort or rather a wolf's approximation of one.

“Hahahaha, take good care of Little White, teacher. I fear he will come chasing me if you aren’t strict enough.” Fan Zhong laughed as he turned around and set off.

Soon after Fan Zhong’s back faded from the view of the rest of the group into the forest Fan Yong and Wang Qiang checked their supplies before leaving as well.

Xing Zheng watched the receding forms of Fan Yong and Wang Qiang disappear and sighed to himself. Looking down he watched for a moment as Little White furiously squirmed in his arms, desperate to follow after Fan Zonhg. Even without being connected to their bond the mental energy that the beast king was inadvertently broadcasting was evidence enough of his anxiety and need to protect his master.

Of course, the water wolf could protect his disciple, even injured as he was. However, that would hamper Fan Zhong’s development. After speaking with the young man about how he had spent his years leading up to the ceasefire in the valley, a topic he was only recently open to speaking about, it was apparent what had been holding him back.

Even with incredible amounts of talent, martial artists who were protected and sheltered rarely grew quickly. There were those who did, such as those who trained in solitary sects and secluded mountains. Fan Zhong on the other hand was a warrior who grew through battle.

Each moment he described advancing or coming to moments of enlightenment happened through personal trials and hardship. Time in the Reclusive sword mountain sect had sharpened his rougher edges and given him the polish an expert of his stage should have. Now he needed adventures to push him, and trials to make use of his unbridled potential.

With a beast king almost a realm more powerful than him watching his disciple’s every move that simply couldn’t happen. He leveled a commanding glare at the now pup-sized water wolf and slowly set the beast king down on the beach. Despite his prior unwillingness to stay Little White remained perfectly still and met his gaze with one of resoluteness.

“Calm yourself, Sir White. Too much shade will stop any growth, let your master accomplish his goals. He is more capable than you realize, besides he still has my emergency talisman with him. Right now Junior Yong needs your help far more than he does in any case. Here,” Xing Zheng reached into his storage pouch and retrieved a medicinal pill that wafted a sweet aroma over the beach.

Instantly Little White went to jump up and take the pill in his mouth but Xing Zheng held it aloft while tapping the water wolf on the snout with a slight bit of force. With a boom, the pup-sized beast was smacked into the beach sending up a plume of sand.

“This should help you recover to peak condition, however, you can only have it if you protect Junior Yong and Junior Qiang.”

Indecision passed on Little White's expression before he huffed and let his body grow to its full size. After doing so the beast king sent a mental energy pulse to signal his acceptance and Xing flicked the pill into the wolf’s mouth. Vibrant verdant energies gathered and exuded off of the large beast as bloody wounds across Little White’s body mended in mere moments.

Letting out a bestial roar to the heavens that shook the air, and terrified all the non-spirit beast wildlife in a 1 km radius, Little White quickly turned transparent before dashing off. In just a few moments Xing Zheng was left alone on the beach standing beside a formation disc he had placed on the ground. With nothing else to do, he started looking around for a place to sit and spread his divine sense to watch over his charges when a sudden pain shot through his body. Four of his Qi Condensation meridians flared with pain.

One moment he was looking around and the next he was on his knees clutching at his mouth. Divine sense gathered throughout his body as he pushed his cycling technique to purge whatever harmful effects had cropped up. Beastial cries echoed in his mind alongside the mournful wails of dying women.

Holes tore open on his arms as jets of black and red blood were ejected by his body’s Qi. Finally, he coughed a mouthful of the vile blood into his hand before feeling his energy stabilize. Doing a thorough inspection of his body left a grimace on Xing Zheng's face as he sat down slowly into a lotus position.

His meridians had looked to be healing nicely but now he saw that wasn’t the case. The speciality of blood cultivators was to convert others' lifeforce into their own and whatever curse Sha Mu had used on him was particularly good at it. Hidden within his own Qi circulation small bits of blood Qi had been staying dormant like parasites quietly corrupting minuscule amounts of energy while waiting for him to use enough of his Qi to be vulnerable.

Those same dormant energies had also been woven into his repairing meridians causing them to be compromised from the time had spent healing over the past year. On its own, this wasn’t an issue as Xing Zheng was more than confident in his ability to heal such a curse. First, he would need to expend all his current Qi but the very smallest amount to keep his cycling technique active.

Then using a secluded area of his dantian he would form a smaller version of the cycling loop. After that, it was just a matter of expelling the rest of the corrupted energy before restarting his gathering and cycling with the pure smaller loop. Any of his corrupted meridians would need to be shattered again, something that had just happened to four of the six that had been injured, and reformed once he established his Qi was no longer corrupted.

All of that would be fine if he had a few decades of seclusion. Purging something like this took intense detail and focus to make sure that none of the curse remained. Missing any of it would allow the cursed Qi to slowly corrupt more of his energy resulting in what happened today.

Originally he never would have missed such a detail but he had only ever gone into seclusion to heal such injuries before. Now that he was using his cultivation base actively while traveling with his charges, time to take his recovery slow and steady had been neglected. Assuming that he even could perform the purging of his body without concentrated seclusion.

Staring at the blood in his hand caused an irrational spurt of anger to rise in Xing Zheng’s mind. How could he have been so naive? So arrogant? Surely Sha Mu had been confident in his signature technique and demonic cultivators always had nasty tricks up their sleeves.

There were two other ways to resolve the issue. First, he could breakthrough to the next major realm. His cultivation had already been at the apex of the Qi Condensation stage for a few decades at this point and he had spent over a century opening his 12th meridian. In theory, he should be able to easily cross the threshold and breakthrough.

Reality was a different story however and Xing Zheng felt that the Foundation Establishment realm was close yet still strangely far away for him. The other option was to ask his master to remove the blood Qi curse. That option made him grimace even more.

When last he had spoken to his master Xin Zheng had told him that he would walk his own path, to find where his adventures would take him. His master had always been the sort of man that would rarely open his mind to others so he had no idea if his request would be accepted or not. However, he personally felt that he would be letting down himself the most by taking that route.

Even if he wanted to, going to the sect would take months at his fastest, even longer with his cultivation injured. Looking into the sky he sighed one more time and focused on spreading his divine sense out, resolving to simply take this one step at a time..