Shi Yang didn't take long to adjust to the strange weapon's arrival in the real world. The sword still floated silently behind him, its presence like a shadow at his back.
"I guess my vulture has an inner world companion now," he muttered, summoning the great bird with a flick of thought. The vulture screeched low, its wings spreading wide as it settled beside him. Shi Yang's hand rose, fingers brushing through its coarse feathers.
"Though now that I think about it… where does this little guy actually come from?" he mused aloud.
He stroked the beast's neck, thoughts turning inward. I can summon and unsummon him at will, but I've never once considered where he goes when I send him away. Am I pulling him straight out of my inner world?
The more he thought, the more sense it made. Yes… it must be so. A Dao manifestation, like my rain, the rivers of blood, the things I've comprehended—sutras, mantras, techniques… all part of me, yet tangible when I call upon them.
His gaze flicked back to the rusted sword floating at his shoulder, its edge trembling faintly as if in agreement. "So this blade's just a manifestation as well," he murmured, exhaling slowly.
He stepped out of the carriage.
The first thing he noticed was the change in the air—thick, heavy, charged with violence. His eyes narrowed. They had crossed into an Asura Field.
The earth quaked with hooves. Across the scarred plain, a herd thundered into view—twenty qilin-dragon horses, each one shrouded in pale spiritual light, their scales glimmering like molten bronze beneath manes of flowing fire.
Two stood apart from the rest, massive and proud, their every breath making the qi of heaven and earth stir. Shi Yang felt their pressure immediately: both had stepped into the Foundation Realm. The rest of the herd, twenty strong, lingered in the middle stages of Qi Refinement, their eyes sharp, their tails lashing the air like whips.
The lead stallion stamped, sparks and mist bursting beneath its hooves. It bared its fangs, half-dragon maw curling with challenge as the herd slowed to a halt.
Shi Yang's hand twitched toward the floating sword. "…Looks like trouble."
Qilin-dragon horses.
Shi Yang's breath stilled for a moment as he watched the herd fan out across the cracked plain, their scales shimmering, manes flickering like living flame.
Every cultivator knew of them. Among the wealthy and powerful, qilin were the most coveted steeds. They could run faster than thunder, their hooves pounding the ground with the might of storms. Their lifespans dwarfed common horses by centuries, their bodies resilient enough to carry cultivators through mountains, rivers, even shallow spirit veins without faltering.
Owning one was more than convenience—it was a statement of power. That was why they were rarely seen in the wild, and almost never in herds. To see one was to glimpse a jewel locked away from ordinary sight.
And to offend those who had tamed them? That was suicide. More than one promising cultivator had vanished without a trace after daring to touch another's qilin. The saying went: If you see a qilin roaming, you're either dreaming… or witnessing your last breath.
Shi Yang's eyes narrowed. So that's what Xiu Mei meant by spirit stones…
These weren't mere beasts. They were grown spirit beasts. If they could be subdued, bound, or even sold, their value would rival mountains of stones. Enough to fund years of cultivation, enough to set entire clans thriving.
His lips curved faintly. No wonder her eyes lit up.
The wind shifted. A sharp cry split the air as Xiu Mei shot upward, her figure wreathed in spiritual light. She hovered for only a breath, hammer gleaming with condensed force, before plummeting back down toward the lead stallion.
"Shi Yang! Bind them before they scatter!" she shouted, her voice cracking like thunder across the field.
Her hammer swung, a streak of steel and light aimed straight at the qilin leader's crown.
Han Jie was already moving, robes snapping as she unfurled a clutch of talismans from her sleeve. Each strip of paper burned with etched runes of lightning. With a flick of her wrist, they shot outward, bursting into arcs of crackling thunder that speared toward the herd in a dazzling net.
The qilin reared, their roars echoing like storms breaking over mountains, as the plain erupted in chaos.
Shi Yang's eyes snapped open. His fingers flicked forward, commanding the rusted sword to fly free. At the same time, he unleashed the vulture. It burst into the sky, biting down on hundreds of crimson threads that wove themselves into a net, halting the herd mid-charge.
Han Jie's thunder spears rained from above, but when they struck the qilin-dragon horses' thick hides, they barely scorched the scales. The beasts roared, snapping the binds with brute force.
Shi Yang's gaze shifted left—where Yoke and White were already roaring back, surging forward with bared fangs.
"Uncle Shi, focus on these two first!" Xiu Mei called, her voice fierce. "Let Han Jie, Yueqin, and the tigers keep the others busy. Your vulture just needs to keep them from fleeing!"
Her hammer swung in a wide arc, striking the lead qilin with such force it was blasted skyward. The beast roared, its mane igniting into blazing fire, hooves skidding against thin air as if stepping on invisible ground.
Xiu Mei followed it upward, water spiraling around her body. "Thousand Oceanic Swords!" she cried. The water burst outward, splitting into countless blades that rained toward the Foundation-Realm beast.
The qilin inhaled sharply and spat out a hundred blazing fireballs. They collided midair—hiss! Steam exploded, swallowing the sky.
"Break!" Xiu Mei shouted, her voice tearing through the fog as her hammer arced down—
—while below, the herd tore and struggled against the threads. Han Jie gave them no pause, talismans flashing one after another, thunder crackling like a storm over their heads.
One enraged qilin broke loose, charging, but Yoke and White met it head-on. Wind blades slashed across its flanks, drawing sparks off its scales. Then both beasts lunged, teeth sinking into its neck as they tumbled together in a frenzy of blood and steel.
"Roar!!!"
Xiu Mei's hammer connected with the qilin's jaw. The beast howled, blood spraying, its cries echoing across the battlefield. Its mate reared, galloping upward, flames blazing hotter as it tried to join the fight.
Tink!
A rusted sword slammed into its scales, ringing sharply.
The beast turned just in time to see Shi Yang's hand glowing, flames coiling around his arm.
"Blazing Koi Palm Strike!!!"
Boom!
The qilin was hurled back, smashing into the ground as flames engulfed its body. Shi Yang hovered above, fire dancing over his skin. "Let's see what you've got." He dove, palm outstretched, aiming to crush the beast where it fell.
The qilin dodged, but his strike struck the earth instead—
Whisshh!
Roots exploded upward, tangling its limbs. The beast snarled, ripped itself free, and surged into the air. Shi Yang's eyes sharpened, flaming koi circling his body. He met it head-on, palm against horn.
Boom!
The impact shook the air. The qilin shoved forward, horns straining to gore him—only to clash against cold, rusted steel.
"Rusted Sea Sword Sutra!"
Shi Yang seized the hilt and slashed. For a moment, he thought the horn was severed—until the beast burst apart into flames, its form scattering into smoke.
His instincts screamed. He twisted—just as the real qilin appeared behind him, maw open. A torrent of wind roared forth—shredding the air.
Shi Yang's fingers rose in a two-finger seal. A blue aura washed over him as he chanted his mantra, voice cold as steel:
"And all that stands shall rust. All that resists shall corrode. Nothing escapes the rot of time."
The blade flicked. A wave of rust surged outward, corroding the very wind itself. Decay spread like wildfire, striking the beast. Its scales blackened, flesh stung, whiskers shriveled.
The qilin shrieked, its fiery mane blazing hotter as hatred filled its eyes. Power surged across its half-burned body, hooves glowing like molten steel. It shot at him with terrifying speed.
Shi Yang kicked off the ground, vaulting into the air. The qilin skidded, then leapt after him, fury shaking the sky.
"You're good," Shi Yang admitted, the flame koi sinking back into his halo as the water koi emerged. His body rippled, aura shifting like a tide. "But not good enough."
The beast lunged straight through him—yet his form dissolved into water.
He reappeared behind it, smiling. "It worked." His vulture swooped down, crimson threads binding the qilin mid-air.
"I tested my flame dragon form in the spirit sea. Along with… a little of both."
The koi melted into him, scales forming along his skin. "But I haven't seen what my water dragon can do alone."
His voice deepened, resonating with the heavens:
"Within my spirit sea, thunder roars. Lightning strikes. Wind howls like a wolf unchained. Clouds veil the night, swallowing sun and moon alike!"
The wind surged. Storm clouds gathered overhead, lightning splitting the sky. His body expanded, water cascading into form as icy horns jutted from his brow.
The bound qilin thrashed, roaring desperately. Its mate heard the cry and broke away from Xiu Mei, galloping through fire and air toward Shi Yang.
Xiu Mei gasped as she caught sight of her uncle's form. His Dao stretched, swallowing the battlefield, his body dissolving into the vast structure of a dragon wrought from water.
"Roarrrr!!!"
The leading qilin hurled itself forward—only for Shi Yang to inhale, drawing moisture from the atmosphere. He exhaled in a torrent, unleashing a flood that blasted both qilin at once.