Chương 12: Chapter 11: TO ESCAPE

CHAPTER 11 TO ESCAPE —∞— Jieyuan was caught up trying to come up with both a reason why this was happening and a way out of it—and coming up awfully empty on both accounts—when Meiyao stepped forward, pointing her saber at the inner elder.

"I know you. I remember you. I've seen you before." Meiyao's tone was somewhere in a voice between incredulous and accusing.

"You're a Geshihan. Geshihan Weiming. That's you, isn't it?" Geshihan. If Jieyuan wasn't stumped before, he was now. The Geshihan Clan was one of the two noble clans of the Gleaming Stone Sect, putting it above all of the other adjunct clans of the sect besides the Liangshibai Clan, the royal clan. This woman was a noble. It was bad enough that an inner elder was trying to kill him, but one that was also a Heavens-taken noble?

That she was just an inner elder and not a protector meant she probably wasn't a high-ranking member of the Geshihan Clan (definitely not from the core bloodline, at least), but she'd still be ranked high up in the inner court. He tried to place the woman, see if he'd ever come across her before. No luck there. She looked barely older than them, and had a tall, slender frame. He'd have probably found her rather attractive, if in a severe sort of way, if he hadn't been spending so much time around Meiyao.

Most importantly, she was wholly unfamiliar to him. Jieyuan also couldn't recall ever getting involved with a Geshihan before. So whatever reason the woman, Elder Weiming, had for going after him, it shouldn't be a personal one. The inner elder remained silent, holding onto her saber with only one hand, the weapon hanging down by her side carelessly, the shrouded blade brushing the gleamstone ground below. Meiyao wasn't having it.

"Look, Weiming, I don't know what your rotten issue with Jieyuan is, but you're out of your rotting mind if you think you can just go and kill my teammate right in front of me." She kept her saber pointed at Elder Weiming the entire time. Jieyuan licked his lips, thinking furiously. Meiyao… she had the wrong of it. If the inner elder meant to have only him killed, then she wouldn't have revealed herself after her failed attempt just now. Not when that meant making witnesses of Daojue and Meiyao.

Rather, she'd have just tried again—and given her step, she'd have succeeded. The fact that she'd shown herself meant she planned on dealing with all three of them. That didn't mean necessarily killing all three of them (the only one she wanted dead for sure was him), but she'd have something prepared to ensure Daojue's and Meiyao's silence. Either way, Meiyao's ongoing attempts at intimidation would have no effect. Elder Weiming had a frown on her face now as she regarded Meiyao.

Then she let out such a weary, heavy sigh.

"Know that I take no pleasure from this." She gave Jieyuan a look that verged on regretful.

"I'm only following orders."

"Orders?" Meiyao demanded.

"What orders? Whose orders?" Orders … Jieyuan frowned. It came as no surprise that this wasn't a personal matter, but orders? Just who had the power to order a noble inner elder around? He doubted even your average protector would have that much pull. Not unless they were also a member of the Geshihan Clan. The Geshihan Clan itself was the most likely place for those orders to have come from. But he hadn't had anything to do with the Geshihan Clan.

As far as he knew, this was his first time so much as seeing someone from the Geshihan Clan. And where was the elder that was supposed to have been watching them? The one Meiyao had said was probably a sect protector. Jieyuan looked past Elder Weiming, glanced at the sky. Nothing and no one. Right now seemed like a fairly good time for them to make an appearance. As in, before the tenth-step Redsoul that was in the open and in front of them took action.

Unless, of course, Meiyao had been wrong and it wasn't a protector that had been assigned to shadow them, but the murderous inner elder in front of them. In which case they'd be well and truly rotten. Elder Weiming shook her head, gently.

"I'm afraid I've already said too much. Meiyao, I'm supposed to take you back alive. It'd be better—for both of us—if you didn't resist. As for you…" Elder Weiming looked past Meiyao, at him and Daojue.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid this is it for the two of you. You chose a very unfortunate time to join the sect."" Take me back?" Meiyao's saber shook, but she didn't lower it.

"What?" Jieyuan glanced between Meiyao and Elder Weiming. Based on Elder Weiming's words, the one she was really after wasn't him, but rather Meiyao. But there was also the other thing Elder Weiming had said, about them joining the sect at an unfortunate time. That hinted at something bigger. Bigger than Meiyao. Even more so considering that Meiyao was clearly close to the Liangshibai. What Elder Weiming was doing here, if she was caught, could very well constitute treason. And still no sign from their watcher.

He'd been holding onto the admittedly very slim hope that whoever was watching them might simply be waiting for Elder Weiming to incriminate herself further before stepping in, but what Elder Weiming had just said should've been more than enough to summon their watcher if that had been the case. They could forget about anyone coming to their rescue, then.

"Hold on," Jieyuan said.

"Is there really no other way this can go? Can't we come to some sort of agreement?" Elder Weiming looked over at him. She didn't look particularly interested, but Jieyuan didn't need her to be.

"I'm not sure why it is you have to get rid of us—and capture Meiyao—but you must know what our heavenly affinities are," Jieyuan said.

"And what they mean. All three of us are future Greensouls. We're only a couple of decades away from it, if even that. If you let us go here, we'd remember that. We'd owe you a favor. A Greensoul's favor. Three Greensouls' favors." Not for a moment did he entertain the idea that Elder Weiming would actually buy that. The only one doing any buying here was him, and what he was buying was time. Time for himself, to think.

Problem was, he probably could've had all the time in the world and then some more and it might not be enough. He was all for beating tough odds, for facing adversity and coming out on top, but there was no way—absolutely none—that the three of them stood a chance against an inner elder. It came down to a matter of hastespace. Elder Weiming could use true Hastespace Manifestation; her hastespace had a factor of twenty, more than thrice theirs.

There was no overcoming that gap, and that wasn't even counting she'd also be overwhelmingly stronger, have better artifacts, and the bondskill she no doubt had. With the step gap between her and them, she'd also be near-immune to Absolute Will Command and whatever and whatever bondskills Daojue and Meiyao were hiding. There was nothing they could do to her. They were borderline harmless, as far as she was concerned. But still. There had to be something they could do.

Jieyuan refused to accept that he'd just die here, like this.

"You're stalling," Elder Weiming said. It wasn't an accusation. Just a statement. She gave him a look that was almost sad, pitying, and Jieyuan felt a flare of irrational anger.

"It's useless. There's nothing you can do." She sighed, then lifted her saber.

"Wait!" Jieyuan called. To his surprise, Elder Weiming stopped and looked at him questioningly. He let the silence stretch for as long as he could—he'd squeeze each instant for all it was worth, thoughts racing—before he continued.

"Can't… Can't you at least tell us why?" he asked, uttering the words as slowly as he could, an idea coming to him. He eyed the distance between them and Elder Weiming. He'd say it was a little over sixty feet, putting them right outside Elder Weiming's soulsenses. It was worth risking it. He reached for the presence of the mind-linker's spiritskill in his mind and activated it.

He'd long since recorded both Meiyao's and Daojue's ciphers on it (he'd been correct in his assumption that both of them had brought mind-linkers with them). He got an impression of its cipher roster, and he mentally selected Meiyao's cipher. Immediately he felt a presence in the back of his mind, similar to what he felt when he was Communing, except it was more solid, more tangible. Jieyuan? Meiyao's voice sounded inside his head. Outside, she showed no reaction, only kept looking at Elder Weiming.

He likewise made sure not to give anything away. Elder Weiming sighed again.

"Why, you ask? It's as I already said. You joined the sect at the wrong time. There's nothing more to it." Please tell me you've got something up your sleeves, because I've got nothing, Jieyuan sent Meiyao through their mind-link. Meanwhile he scowled.

"I…" he trailed off, drawing it out.

"Daojue and I—we're Stream-bound anyway, aren't we? And it's not like we'd be able to share your plans, whatever they are, with anyone else from the Silver Stream, is it? I can see you're not exactly… pleased about this whole situation. Can't you at least let us know what we're being killed for? I don't think that's too much to ask. Is it?" There was no immediate response from Meiyao, and Elder Weiming ended up speaking first.

"I have my orders," she said, simply.

"And even if you and Daojue won't live, Meiyao will. And I'm afraid that I don't…" Elder Weiming frowned.

"No. There's no point to this. You're still stalling. Enough." And she made to raise her saber again.

"Is it Qingshi?" Jieyuan immediately asked. Again Elder Weiming paused.

"What?"

"Qingshi. Is he the one behind this?" Jieyuan was grasping at straws now. Keep stalling her, Meiyao suddenly sent through their mind-link. Jieyuan had barely registered Meiyao's words when Elder Weiming said, "Qingshi? Dajinzhi Qingshi? The inner disciple?" She looked genuinely surprised.

"What does he have to do with anything?" Well, Jieyuan had been expecting a denial, but not one so incredulous. It was true that Qingshi was a disciple, so the idea that he could order an elder was indeed ridiculous. But Jieyuan had been hoping that maybe Qingshi was involved in this mess in some other way, following orders from above like Elder Weiming.

"He sent an assassin after us, before," he said.

"In the Fatebloom Woods." Keep distracting her, Meiyao said through their mind-link, and prepare to run. Meiyao's presence disappeared from his mind. She'd severed the mind-link without further explanation. Jieyuan didn't mind it much, too taken up with her last words. Keep distracting her. Prepare to run. Well, all right. He could do both of those, though he'd have an easier time with the latter than the former. More important, though, was that to have said that, Meiyao must've had some sort of plan.

He felt a flicker of hope at that. A plan. He'd have traded all the gold in the world for one of those right now.

"Qingshi… sent an assassin after you? That's… odd." Again, Elder Weiming seemed genuinely baffled. But then she shook it off.

"No. Qingshi has nothing to do with this. But now—""And Yunzhu? Is she involved?" Jieyuan cut in.

"And what about Elder Taishou? Did your orders come from him?" Elder Weiming's frown deepened.

"No, they… This is ridiculous. You—""Well, good thing they aren't, because Meiyao just contacted Elder Taishou, and he's coming over," Jieyuan said. Whatever Meiyao was doing, he hoped to the Heavens she'd hurry up, because he was really pushing it now.

"Or did you not know she had his cipher—""We are aware of the mind-linker Protector Yuyan gave her," Elder Weiming said, narrowing her eyes at him. She didn't seem wary, though, or even suspicious. Rather, all he got from her was irritation. Jieyuan reckoned it wasn't often that someone of her station got cut off so often, if at all. It was a good thing she hadn't looked over at Meiyao, though, because the entire point of this had been keeping Elder Weiming's attention off her.

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Also, we are aware? We? Jieyuan didn't like the sound of that.

"And I have little doubt that she's tried contacting her family," Elder Weiming continued.

"But we've ensured everyone Meiyao might be reach out to is currently busy with other mind-links. And enough. This little—""All right," Meiyao said, slamming her saber into its sheath. Elder Weiming turned to face her, looking distinctly put-upon. Meiyao began making her way over to the other woman, her fists clenched by her side. She glanced back at him.

"Jieyuan, just… stop. Weiming is right. There's nothing we can do that'll change this situation. These… delaying attempts of yours are, honestly, pathetic. I know you're a mundane-born, but you're a cultivator now. Sometimes you just can't avoid death, and when that happens you might as well go down proudly." Meiyao kept drawing closer to Elder Weiming as she spoke. Elder Weiming raised an eyebrow, then heaved another sigh. A weary one.

"You as well, Meiyao? Do I seem like an idiot to you? This is clearly another farce. Consider taking your own advice, child." Meiyao was now only ten paces or so away from Elder Weiming. Jieyuan had absolutely no idea what she had in mind. Had no idea what kind of plan could possibly involve getting closer to the tenth-step Redrealm. White light shone out from one of Meiyao's clenched fists.

Elder Weiming moved so fast that Jieyuan barely saw her, lunging at Meiyao, but a shimmering, translucent dome appeared between them before she could reach Meiyao. It seemed to be made of light itself, solidified. Slightly yellowish. Meiyao didn't waste a moment as she turned around and set off running in his and Daojue's direction. She moved so fast she blurred; she was using hastespace. Behind her, Elder Weiming was slamming her saber into the dome as she glared at Meiyao's retreating form, wide-eyed.

Jieyuan couldn't hear any sounds—not from the saber striking the dome, not from Elder Weiming's open mouth." Go," Meiyao snapped as she reached him, and he didn't hesitate to activate his haster ring and kick off after her. As for Daojue… Jieyuan glanced back without breaking his run and saw that Daojue was still staring at Elder Weiming's imprisoned form. But before Jieyuan could call him, Daojue turned around without prompting and followed them.

Soon they were lost among the crystal trees, headed deeper into the Fifth Ring, Elder Weiming far behind them. Meiyao was at the lead.

"So, what's the plan?" he asked as he kept running. They were still using hastespace.

"We lose her," Meiyao said without glancing at him, all her attention on the forest around them. Well, that didn't seem too promising. Elder Weiming had already found them once. And once she got free, she'd be able to cover ground much faster than them. How much time did they have, anyway?

"That was a talisman, right?" he asked.

"What's its step? How long will it hold?"

"Tenth-step," Meiyao said. She veered a little to the right as a massive tree came up ahead; they ran past it.

"But it's a protective talisman. The dome was meant to take hits from the outside, not from the inside. We have anywhere from a few dozen minutes to an hour or so." Well, that seemed even less promising.

"Then we have to think of something else," Jieyuan said.

"Just running around won't—""Follow," Daojue suddenly said before swerving off to the right. Jieyuan immediately turned to follow him, not even thinking about it. Meiyao was right behind him. They glanced at each other, then back at Daojue—who was now just blitzing through the trees, running with purpose in a direction that looked the same as any other. All that lay ahead were more glowing gleamstone trees.

"You got a plan?" Jieyuan called out as he pushed his legs to the limit, trying to reach Daojue's side. He didn't quite manage it. Just keeping pace with Daojue was already taking all he had. In typical Daojue fashion, Daojue didn't say a word, just kept on running. Meiyao kept calling after Daojue as they ran after him, demanding answers, but Jieyuan quieted down. As he saw it, following Daojue or Meiyao made no difference if they weren't headed anywhere specific. And if Daojue did have some destination in mind?

It was already better than nothing. A while later, Jieyuan sighted something in the distance, in the direction they were running in, past the trees: a massive, sprawling wall of gleamstone. As they neared it, Jieyuan got a better view. The wall stood two hundred and fifty feet tall and stretched to the sides far beyond his line of sight. Its surface was rough and uneven. Above it, the forest seemed to continue. It was a cliff, then. They all came to a halt before the wall.

Only then did they stop using hastespace; Jieyuan checked on his soulprism and grimaced. During their run he'd expended nearly half of his chroma reserves. Meiyao was also frowning, but her eyes were on the cliffside.

"That's the Gleamstone Flaw. We're at the boundary between the Fifth and Sixth Rings." She turned her attention to Daojue.

"So what's the plan now?" Ignoring her, Daojue glared at the Gleamstone Flaw, eyes running over its surface. Looking at his teammate, Jieyuan noticed something: Daojue was rubbing his hands together. It was a soft, gentle motion. It really didn't seem like Daojue realized he was doing it. Jieyuan stared—surprised, but also confused by the surprise he felt. It was like there was something out of place, but he couldn't quite tell what it was. It took him a moment to realize it. He'd never seen Daojue do that before.

Anyone else could've rubbed their hands, and he wouldn't have batted an eye. But Daojue was the sort of person who was either moving or still, no middle ground there. That meant Daojue stood like the perfect statue, always. No twitches, no involuntary, thoughtless actions or gestures. He never did anything without a purpose. This kind of unconscious behavior was jarringly uncharacteristic. Jieyuan wouldn't have paid something this like any mind if it had been anyone else besides Daojue.

But Daojue always gave off the impression he was in complete control of himself. Everything he did, he did it with heavy intensity. Focusing on the motions of Daojue's hands, Jieyuan saw he wasn't really rubbing them together; rather, he was using his left hand to rub his right forefinger. That finger … Jieyuan froze as a chord of memory was struck. Daojue was wearing gauntlets right now, but Jieyuan knew that on that finger was Daojue's mysterious blood-red ring.

The one his soulsenses couldn't detect but that didn't look mundane. The one Jieyuan had been curious about for a while now. What's going on? Jieyuan was sure he'd never seen Daojue do something like this before. So there had to be a reason for it. A cause. Something that had just happened—or was happening right now. But what is it?

Before Jieyuan could consider that further, Daojue abruptly stopped rubbing his finger; then, wordlessly, Daojue put his spear away, strapping it onto his back, and approached the massive cliffside. Then he grabbed onto a crimp on the towering crystal wall and pulled himself on it. Hanging off it, he reached even higher, grabbing onto a crack. And just like that, Daojue started climbing the Flaw.

Jieyuan and Meiyao shared a glance; Meiyao's frown deepened, but they nodded to each other, put their weapons away, and moved over to the wall. They started climbing after Daojue. Jieyuan didn't have much experience with scaling walls like this, but his body was in perfect shape and Gleamstone Flaw was riddled with cracks and ledges he could use as footholds and handholds. He had an easy time of it.

Daojue was much further ahead of them, but instead of going straight up, at the midway point he veered to the side, like he was moving toward a specific point in the wall. Moments later, Daojue's arm disappeared into the gleamstone wall; Jieyuan froze. The rest of Daojue's body followed suit as he seemed to phase into the gleamstone wall.

"What the rot?" Jieyuan said, staring in incomprehension at the spot Daojue had just disappeared into it. Further ahead, Meiyao had also stopped. But then she glanced down at him, and Jieyuan saw that though her eyes were also wide, they were also bright.

"An illusory field," she said.

"Let's go." She began moving sideways, climbing toward the stretch of wall where Daojue had somehow gone in. An illusory field? Jieyuan's heart skipped. Excitement surged inside him. He had no idea what was going on, but it was clear that there was something special about this place Daojue had led them to. Moreover, an illusory field like this was promising all on its own. If Elder Weiming had no specific way of tracking them, she shouldn't be able to find them if they hid behind the field.

Meiyao reached the area first; her arm disappeared into the gleamstone wall, and soon after that the rest of her body. Jieyuan quickly climbed up after her; he slowed as he reached the area, probing the wall with his hand, and froze again when it suddenly passed through the wall like it wasn't there. Jieyuan pulled himself, then pressed his head against that same stretch of wall. Like his hand, his head went through the illusory wall, and he saw what lay on the other side.

A cave made entirely out of gleamstone, the glowing crystals lighting it up with their eerie glow. His teammates were standing inside it, Meiyao near the entrance, Daojue a little further ahead. Jieyuan didn't hesitate; he hauled himself up, climbing fully inside. Stopping beside Meiyao, he properly scanned the area. Something immediately drew his attention: a gleamstone statue of a person. Glowing dimly with a soft violet light, the crystal figure was positioned near the center of the cave.

A woman sitting with her legs crossed; resting sideways on the its lap was a crystalline spear. Much like the woman, the spear was entirely made of gleamstone. It was a thin, sleek weapon, spanning over eight feet with a narrow, tapered blade at its end. Unlike the crystal making up the woman, the spear lacked a distinctive violet tinge; rather, as the violet glow radiating from the woman touched the body of the spear, it was refracted in a thousand different shades.

The floor, walls, and ceiling of the cave shone with a barely visible glow, reflecting the statue's light much like the spear, though much more softly. A chill crawled down Jieyuan's spine; he stared at the crystal woman uneasily. Just the sight of it unsettled him on a deep, almost instinctive level. And the moment he got over his shock and he began to process what he saw, his unease surged even higher.

Because he'd thought of something: Why would someone carve a cave in the Gleamstone Flaw and hide a statue inside it? That made no sense. Not unless the statue wasn't really a statue. Jieyuan took in the rest of the cave warily. On the ground next to the crystal woman was a small golden orb An orb? An idea occurred to Jieyuan, and he tapped into his soulsenses; sure enough, he sensed a tenth-step Redrealm inscribed field around him.

This inscribed field should be responsible for the illusion outside; as for the sphere, it was most likely the artifact it was anchored to. The field-focus. Jieyuan searched the inscribed field's song. A lot of it was unfamiliar, but he found some similarities to the inscribed field of Meiyao's surveillance field-focus, that silver plate they used to keep watch during their breaks.

"That's…" Meiyao murmured quietly beside Jieyuan; turning to her, he saw her eyes were wide, fixed on the crystal woman. She seemed dazed. But before Jieyuan could ask her what was wrong, he noticed that Daojue, who had been heading toward the statue, had come to a sudden stop after just a couple of steps. Frowning, Jieyuan moved to stand next to Daojue.

"Daojue, what's—" Jieyuan cut himself off; he'd been focusing on the crystal woman while he spoke, and he realized just what the problem was: he was less than eighteen feet away from the statue now. Its crystal became visible to his soulsenses: a tenth-shade red outline. He could also sense the floor beneath the figure and even a small stretch of floor behind it. But he could not sense the gleamstone spear on its lap. It had no presence at all to his soulsenses. As if it were mundane, entirely devoid of chromality.

Only it couldn't be mundane. It was clearly made of gleamstone. Just like the Yikongwei ring, Jieyuan realized. And speaking of rings … He stole a glance at Daojue, his gaze dipping down to the man's waist—and sure enough, Daojue was unconsciously rubbing his right forefinger again. Meiyao came over; just as she joined them at Jieyuan's other other side, Daojue began moving again: he crossed the remaining distance to the statue in a few brisk steps before kneeling in front of it.

Then, without the slightest sign of hesitation, Daojue closed his hands around the shaft of the crystalline spear. Rising back into a standing position, Daojue held the spear out in front of him. His normally cool, stony violet eyes seemed unusually bright.

"Gleaming End," Meiyao said suddenly. Her voice shook.

"That's— That's Gleaming End." She rushed over to Daojue, stopping right next to him, staring wide-eyed at the spear. Jieyuan followed.

"Or… Or at least I think it is," Meiyao said, running her eyes over the spear. She looked awed.

"It was supposed to be a tenth-step Redrealm spear, but it's a perfect match for the description I've heard of it. And…" She turned toward the statue.

"That should be Protector Yuanzhi." At Meiyao's words, Jieyuan's gaze also shifted from the spear to the woman. He'd already been wary of it, and now he found his suspicions confirmed. This close, he saw that the crystal woman was impossibly perfect. Its outline was perfectly smooth, and it was entirely devoid of flaws, from the features of the woman's face to the folds and wrinkles on her robes pooling around her on the floor of the cave. Protector Yuanzhi.

Not a statue made from gleamstone, but a person who'd somehow been turned into crystal.

"Protector Yuanzhi… She went missing over a hundred years ago, taking Gleaming End with her," Meiyao said.

"I've heard of her. She was my stepmother's grandaunt. She was a heavenly protector, supposedly the most talented Liangshibai after the clan's founder, the only other amethyst-eyes in the history of the Liangshibai Clan." There was a lot to unpack in what Meiyao just said, but there was really only one thing Jieyuan was concerned about right now. He looked warily between Meiyao and the crystallized corpse.

"And she ended up like that how?"

"I… I have no idea. I've never heard of someone turning into gleamstone." Meiyao frowned deeply.

"But… it might have to do with why—or rather, how —Gleaming End isn't at Redrealm anymore." Prying her eyes off the crystallized corpse, Meiyao shifted her attention to the spear in Daojue's hands. Jieyuan did so as well, stepping closer as he eyed Gleaming End.

"Orangerealm, do you think?"

"Maybe," Meiyao said, also scrutinizing the spear.

"Probably. But… That doesn't make sense. Gleaming End is a refined construct, not an inscribed artifact. You can increase a construct's step by over-refining it with a higher-step material, but only if it's in the same realm. You can't refine something out of materials at different realms… Or at least that's what I thought. But…"—her eyes flitted back to the crystallized woman—"this has to be Gleaming End."

"Well, regardless of what happened to it, whatever it is now, it's not at Redrealm," Jieyuan said. He glanced back at Meiyao.

"And let's put that aside for a moment. Elder Weiming—do you think she can find us here?"

"Only if she can somehow directly track us, and I don't see how she could do so. So no, I'd say she can't. To start with, we wouldn't have found this place if it weren't for Daojue." She rounded on him.

"Actually, how did you find this place, anyway?" Daojue said nothing, ignoring her. When it became clear to Meiyao he had no intention of answering, her questioning look gave way to a glare; Daojue bore it unflinchingly.

"What about a divination ritual?" Jieyuan cut in between them. He agreed with Meiyao that they were probably safe, but he wanted to explore every avenue here.

"I've heard about those. Could she use one of those to find us?" Meiyao held her glare for a few moments longer before she turned to face Jieyuan.

"No. They're too costly and imprecise, at least Redrealm ones. We should be safe here. The sect spent decades scouring the Gleamstone Forest for Protector Yuanzhi, and nobody ever came across this place." She gave Daojue another pointed look; he ignored it.

"All right." Jieyuan nodded slowly.

"All right. That's good. It's a start. But we'll have to get out eventually. Any ideas?"

"Maybe we can—"" Resolve," Daojue said. There was an odd note to his voice; Jieyuan turned back to him. Resolve— that word. It was Daojue's attuning hymn. He'd heard it a few times these last couple of days. He tapped into his soulsenses; sure enough, there was a line of chroma extending from Daojue's soul, connected to the spear. Meiyao whipped her head over to Daojue.

"Wait, are you trying to bond it? Did you— You can't use an attuning hymn on something at a higher realm. That's not how it works. It's pointless—" She cut herself off as Gleaming End started glowing. It pulsed briefly with an inner light before dimming again. Something changed in Daojue's expression. Jieyuan caught a rare flash of emotion cross his teammate's face: eyes widening, lips slightly parting. Shock. Abject shock, really, considering this was Daojue.

But then Jieyuan noticed something else: Daojue's gaze was flicking, almost imperceptibly. Between Gleaming End and his hand. His right hand. His right forefinger, Jieyuan would bet.

"Did you just bond it?" Meiyao stared hard at Daojue and Gleaming End, looking incredulous.

"No, no. This is… This is ridiculous. And you can't just ignore your way out of this. How the rot did you just do that?" Ignoring her, Daojue continued staring down at his hands and the spear they held; the shock mostly left his face, but an unusual gleam lingered in his gaze.

"Daojue," Jieyuan said, "what's going—" Blurring into movement, Daojue spun on his feet, whirling around, and then threw his body forward, launching Gleaming End—at Elder Weiming, who'd just appeared at the mouth of the cave.