I waited with baited breath for the shadows to react. For them to unleash some kind of shield or barrier but they did nothing. The attack washed over them a second later and most of the shadows dissipated. I waited for the surge of kill energy but not only did nothing come, the shadow reappeared. A blast of heat from behind me told that Xerxes had begun his attack.

  Before I could decide my next attack the shadows sprung into action. Seven of them flew straight for me. I activated Psychic Aegis only for them to completely ignore it. I brought up both arms to brace as the first shadow arrived. The grinning creature passed straight through my body. The icy chill of death passed through me. The shock forced me to stumble a step. Just before a second shadow arrived. This one forced its way into my body and it felt like I was being torn apart from the inside.

  My eyes bulged as I spread each of my Tao through my body. Another shadow slipped into my body and I let out of soundless scream. I pushed the Tao of Adamance into Intellect Fortress as my soul felt like it was being ripped apart. I clawed at my chest in a desperate attempt at forcing whatever it was out. Suddenly there was a pop and all the spirits were ejected from my body. "Xerxes!" My throat felt like it had been scoured by sandpaper but I didn't let that distract me.

  An indigo sun appeared in the sky only this time it was imbued with the Tao of Lucidity. The light it emitted was nearly twice as intense and the shadows retreated like the night from the day. I unleashed my attack and fell to a new. My mind scrambled to explain what had just happened. Had the shadow tried to possess me? The thought sent a cold chill down my spine. A chill that transformed into fury. How dare some shadow creature do that to me? I formed a ball of compressed space and launched it. The Tao based attack fared much better than the spell.

  The shadows reformed slower but it wasn't enough to really stop them. I rolled my shoulders as Xerxes landed next to me. A quick mental exchange told me he hadn't avoided the effect either. The shadows weren't there to kill us but to control us. I activated Realm of Consciousness and imbued it with the Strand of Lucidity. The mist grew denser. My awareness spread through the domain. It wasn't only shadows coming after us. There were people though now that I knew what to look for I knew they were being controlled.

  I rapidly formed blades and fired them at every person I saw. The shadows that had possessed people were forced out while the other shadows hissed. Their voices joined together in a cacophony that made my skin crawl. The people who were possessed fell into two camps. Most of them collapsed like puppets with their strings cut. A minority didn't. Their energy still stirred in their dantian. They weren't conscious and from what I could tell they wouldn't wake up anytime soon.

  Did that mean I could rescue people from the darkness? "Xerxes, don't kill any of the actual people. I want to rescue them."

  Xerxes grunted in response but resumed his attack. I couldn't spare him much time but without a Tao strand his attacks weren't too effective. The light from the fire seemed to scare the shadows. Not that it was easy to tell. They all smiled like maniacs. Just when things reached a manageable point the shadows flew away from me and my domain. As soon as they were outside the confusing mist they piled on top of each other.

  I gritted my teeth as they transformed into some Frankenstein's monster of an amalgamation. I didn't need my danger sense to tell me that this one might be too much for us. My gut told me to run but there were at least four people on the ground. "Fuck it" I grinned maniacally as the lumbering creature approached. I wanted to have some fun so lets have some fun. Spiritual energy surged into the sigil for Inverted Dimension and then Manifestation of Perfection. I still couldn't imbue either spell with the Tao so I couldn't be sure either would be useful.

  In a moment we were all shifted into another spatial realm. The confusing properties of Realm of Consciousness still effected the creature but its effect had lessened. The creature seemed smarter now as well. A scream of danger forced me to move to the side just before a ray of black energy tore through my domain. My control over the spell started to slip. "Attack!" I commanded as six blades formed.

  I stabilized my spell as Xerxes unleashed a mouthful of fire. This time when the flame hit the monster let out a cry. A cry that was as sweet as music to my ears. The creature became more corporeal by absorbing its allies? Which meant it shouldn't be able to possesses us anymore. I conjured Psychic Aegis in its wall form in front of the creature. I couldn't be sure how long the barrier would last but it should buy me a few moments at least.

  Next I formed another ball of spatial energy. Instead of launching it immediately I compressed it down the size of my palm. When it was ready I unleashed it like a laser. Instead of the controlled beam I wanted it was more like a water cannon. It took my full concentration just to aim at the creature. The launched forward and carved through the right arm of the beast. The beam then continued past the beast and into the walls of Inverted Dimension. My vision swam as I cut the attack off. Before I could decide what to do next all the hair on my body stood on end.

  My danger sense practically exploded as space cracked. For a moment I thought that something had gone wrong with my spell but it wasn't. Space had literally cracked. Just as I finished processing that information the crack started to grow. Pieces of space fell away revealing an empty blackness that made my skin crawl. No sooner did that appear did a suction for start to pull everything toward it. I pushed spiritual energy into my feet and launched myself at the closest tree. I slammed into it like a runaway freight train.

  As soon as I got my bearings I scanned the area with the Eye of Heaven until I found Xerxes. He had taken refugee behind an overturned tree about fifty feet away. I returned my attention on the literal hole in reality and tried to figure out what to do. The shadow creature had long been sucked away along with what remained of all my spells. I lost connection with them as soon as they passed through. I considered using the Tao of compression but I couldn't be sure that it wouldn't make the situation worse.

  The swamp around us started to be drawn in and genuine panic threatened to consume my mind. Intellect Fortress fought against it but that was like using your hands to stop a dam from bursting. Just as I was about to gamble with my Tao the hole started to heal. The edges of the hole began to crawl back together. I activated **Psychic Aegis** to form another layer of protection in front of it just to be safe. It felt like an hour passed before space stabilized and my danger sense finally abated. Still neither of us moved.

  It felt like we stood in a mine field and every move had the potential to end our lives. "Are you alright?"

  "Safe, don't do that again" His mental voice was equal part irritated and exhausted.

  When I heard his reply it was like a dam broke and I couldn't stop myself from laughing. I wasn't sure how long it took me to get my mind under control and I still wasn't sure if I really thought it was funny or if it was stress. Cultivation had time and time again proven itself to be both dangerous and awesome. Part of me wanted to test breaking space again but I still had no idea how to control it. I also didn't want to end going wherever that crack led.

  I took another breath and looked around. Chances are the battle would draw attention soon. Which meant that we should get out of here. I didn't need the Eye of Heaven to tell that space was still weak here. "Lets go. Lets find somewhere to bed down for the night. I am pretty sure that there are more of those creatures here."

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Xerxes and I took off north until we came across a mushroom forest. Since it was the only area with dry solid ground we decided to set up there. "I will take the first watch. Get some rest." I nodded to Xerxes who laid down under the closest mushroom. Once he was settled in I climbed on top of it and sat in the lotus position. I expanded my soul sense to its maximum and watched the swamp. I still hadn't gotten used to this feeling. It was like being able to see without actually seeing. I was aware of just about everything.

  I wondered if this was what Superman felt like when he listened to the entire planet. I settled into a meditative trance where I did my best big brother impersonation. I stayed like that until Xerxes started moving again. I gave him a short while to get himself ready before we switched places. As soon as I laid down I was overcome with a wave of exhaustion. It was like the mental stress of the last few battles hit me all at once. I was out before I realized it.

  I wasn't sure how long I was asleep but when I woke up I felt great. It was a bit like I had taken an expresso shot. "Yo Xerxes you ready to head out?" I called out while I rolled my shoulders. I expanded my soul sense and found there was nothing of note nearby. A second later my little Qilin leaped down to join me.

  "You are awake. Lets find some prey."

  I grinned and ran my hands through his fur and across his scales. My grin faltered when I smelled the mix of decay, blood, sweat and whatever else he had on him. "Remind me to find a place to get a bath. Come on. Either we find something to fight or we enter the next part of the forest."

  I opened the Eye of Heaven as we ran and enjoyed the colors that danced around us. I was used to weirdness of having a third eye by now though I still struggled to keep it open. I had to train new muscles to work like my old ones. Which was my main weakness. I still had to open the eye consciously. I even infused a bit of spiritual energy into it to further improve my perceptive range.

  We stepped several times over the next few hours. Each time we came across a natural treasure of some kind. Most of which were attribute fruits from what I could tell but I decided not to eat them. I was pretty sure none would work on my Luck attribute so they weren't super useful to me. The ones here were Constitution focused which when you considered where we were made sense.

  Xerxes and I fought against several beasts but none of them were at the same level of the leathery skinned zombie let alone the shadow monsters. We were just about to head into the next area when something interesting happened.

  Just as I was about to withdraw my soul sense someone passed through. It was a small group, a trio and each member wore the clothes of Taesha Kingdom. At first I thought it was people from the second prince who had come to demand an answer but I quickly realized that was wrong. For one this trio was much better equipped than Scythan's people. Second their color scheme was inverted. I vaguely remembered from history class that branch families sometimes had different colors than the main one. If that was true here then was this actually the third prince? Or was it flipped in the multiverse?

  Either way it didn't matter. I called out for Xerxes to stop and we stood at the base of a large tree. They traveled for another few minutes before the trio stopped and conversed with one another. Their conversation boiled down to whether or we knew they were following and whether or not they should approach. Their leader, a woman with black skin and white hair was the one who made the final decision.

  The trio entered the clearing a few minutes later. I scanned them with the eye and was surprised to see they were all around level 40. When combined with their gear they might make a fun fight. Of course the numbers advantage might end up hurting them we fought in the Inverted Dimension.

  The woman walked until she was about half way between our two groups. She extended her clasped hands in front of her and then bowed. "This one greets the distinguished cultivator"

  I blinked in confusion and then looked at Xerxes before stepping forward. I copied her movements identically. "This one greets the distinguished guards." A brief look of confusion passed across her face before she smiled.

  I glanced behind her at the two other guards who looked like they wanted to laugh. At first I thought there was some kind of joke or insult but I noticed something odd. Their hands were slightly different from hers. She had her right hand covering her left with her sword clasped between. While the men used the opposite hand. I quickly adjusted and then the woman stepped forward.

  "I bring formal greetings from the Crown Prince of the Taesha Kingdom."

  I couldn't the smile that spread across my face. I felt so important. Like some kind of noble lord. "I greet the Prince's Emissary." I did my best to imitate a regal appearance as I stepped forward to meet the woman.

  "The prince would like to formally invite you to a meeting. I have been tasked to act as your escort should you choose to accept."

  Well the first prince had definitely won the initial meeting competition. I nodded and gestured for Xerxes to join me. The woman shifted her gaze to my companion and her smile grew. "We had heard rumors that you possessed a Qilin. It is an auspicious sign. We hope that your trial has been well."

  "Indeed I have partaken in many battles as well as found many natural treasures."

  "Wonderful." She gestured with her right hand and the guard on that side stepped forward. He slowly reached into his bag and pulled out a token. The Eye of Heaven told me it was the real deal so when he handed it to the woman and she handed it to me I was confused. I wasn't sure if it would be rude of me to refuse the token so I took it and sent it into my ring. Once again a look of surprise passed across her face and once again she wiped it away. I scanned her fingers but found no rings. Were rings that rare? Or did they just

  "The Crown Prince has offered this as a token of his good will. Naturally he has offered you full guest rights as well as safety but on your travel to meet him and as you depart."

  Now that piqued my interest. Since the second prince hadn't offered me that could he have just attacked me? A second thought soon followed the first and I had to resist the urge to sigh. Since I hadn't asked or brought it up had I revealed that I wasn't someone important? If so did I ruin my negotiation position before we even began? I bit back the slight bitter taste in my mouth and used it as a lesson for next time.

  "I have received your words and swear to cause no harm to your prince or his people as long as no harm is done to me and mine. I also accept his offer and will follow you."

  The woman smiled and the other two guards moved into position on either side of us. Once everyone was in position we turned and sprinted north west. At first I thought we would head deeper into the swamp section but we shifted more westward until we stepped into thick jungle. At first I thought this was just a repeat of the first area but darker and with thicker trees. It didn't take long for that misconception to correct itself. A creature that looked like a massive hercules beetle thundered through the forest and toward us.

  I had started to conjure my halo of blades when the two guards on our sides blurred. Their movement skills took them right in front of the overgrown insect and a second later the bug exploded. The larger of the pair had used a staff while the smaller a thin rapier like blade. I wasn't sure which of their attacks had actually killed the thing. Not that it mattered, their cooperation was incredible. Neither of them said anything before the attack yet they moved in perfect unison.

  I gave them a pleasant smile as they took their position again. My thoughts had turned to the mysterious crown prince. Just how strong was he that his followers were that effective? My desire to fight him grew and I wished we could pick up the pace.