Things moved very fast after Yoshika made her deal with Shen Yu. He didn’t waste a second before creating another portal like the one she’d seen before he kidnapped her. His magic was unlike anything she’d seen—an effortless fusion of arcane and spiritual arts that twisted the fabric of reality to the divine avatar’s whims.

If there was any doubt left in her mind about what Shen Yu meant by ‘true cultivator,’ seeing that erased it. Sovereign Shen was a unified cultivator, like her—and the way he commanded his essence was beyond anything she’d dreamed possible. Even in his weakened avatar, it was clear that he wasn’t bluffing about his true power.

As they stepped through the portal, they arrived back on the plateau of the Purewater Peak, met by a startled Xin Hai and a furious Lin Xiulan. The grandmaster of the Spiritual Flowing Purewater Sect quickly rallied and bowed.

“Sovereign Shen Yu, we weren’t aware that you were visiting. I was beginning to worry that our guests had been taken against their will, but they seem to be in good health. May I ask for an explanation?”

“No. Call an urgent meeting of the elders while I discuss matters with the prince, then meet me in the grand hall in an hour.”

He didn’t wait for a response before turning away and stepping through space in a way that Yoshika’s mind refused to comprehend, disappearing from sight. Xiulan rushed forward and fussed over Yoshika.

“Oh, I hate that man. What happened, dear, are you alright?”

Yoshika shook her heads, the stress of what had just happened catching up to her now that the adrenaline faded.

“Um...no, I don’t think so. How long were we gone?”

“A few days. You don’t remember?”

“We were...he...could you take a look at our soul, please? He had us under a mind-altering illusion that trapped us in our soulscape and I want to make sure he didn’t leave anything behind.”

Lin Xiulan’s face hardened.

“That flagrant bastard! I don’t care if he’s the God-Emperor’s fucking twin I will kill that—”

Yoshika’s blood ran cold at the thought of Lin Xiulan confronting Sovereign Shen, and she shook her head urgently.

“No! He’s way too strong. I know I’m too weak to be making judgments like this, but I don’t think you stand a chance. I was only able to resist him because I got lucky. Besides, he’ll just send another avatar that’s even stronger.”

Xin Hai furrowed his brows.

“Stronger? He seems like a shrewd man—do you really think he’d have held back when he could have sent a more powerful avatar in the first place?”

“I’m not sure, but I got the impression that he was frustrated about something, and I don’t think it was just that his soul magic wasn’t working on me. I think it should have worked, but he’s weakened beyond just the limitations of his avatar.”

Xiulan raised an eyebrow curiously.

“How so?”

“There’s a thing with avatars that Jianmo told me about, when I was working on the technique. If you closed your eyes right now, then the next time you opened them you were actually a double created by the original, would you just do whatever the original told you? Would you just quietly let yourself be unmade when you weren’t useful anymore?”

“I think not. I’d probably even go as far as to fight my original self for my independence.”

Yoshika nodded.

“It’s a little different for everyone, but that sort of divergence is a real danger when making avatars. I tried to avoid it by giving myself a clear goal and doing a lot of mental preparation when I made Li Meili but...I messed up, and now there’s another me that struggles with her identity.”

“I see. What does this have to do with Sovereign Shen’s power?”

“There are different ways of controlling avatars. My mental exercises were one approach that only half-worked, but Jianmo’s avatar only had a limited set of memories and no physical form. This is only a guess, but I think Shen Yu controls his avatars with soul magic, and limits their ability to use it so that they can’t break free of their compulsions and escape his influence.”

Xin Hai grimaced.

“Sounds like a pretty brutish way to do it.”

Yoshika shrugged.

“It’s safe and consistent. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t consider doing the same before making Meili, though Eunae would have slapped me for asking. Maybe Shen Yu thinks of it as self-discipline, or maybe he just doesn’t care.”

A heavy silence hung in the air for a few moments before Lin Xiulan shook her head and sighed.

“You are far too young to be worrying about such things. I’m sorry that fate has conspired to place you in such an unenviable position. As you asked, I’ll take a look and make sure that monster didn’t leave anything behind. Though if he’s as strong as you say, it may be beyond my ability to detect.”

Yoshika nodded.

“I’ll feel better having checked. I’ll probably have Eunae do the same—not that I don’t trust you.”

Xiulan waved her off.

“Everyone has their specialties. While I know some dual cultivation techniques, there’s no shame in admitting that you are probably more of an expert in the field than I am. The same may be true of Eunae and soul magic. Take good care of that girl, Yoshika—her predecessor was even more of a monster than Shen Yu.”

“I will.”

“Good. Now give me your hands.”

They quickly went through the familiar motions of letting Lin Xiulan’s essence flow through Yoshika’s meridians, guiding it towards her dantian until they both appeared within Yoshika’s soulscape.

It wasn’t the same as Melody of the Dreaming Moon, which formed a bridge between the souls of Yoshika and her friends and presented an illusion of her soulscape. Nor was it the same as Shen Yu’s forced invasion of her soul. It was more like a one-sided version of the bonds she’d made with Rika or Eunae—Xiulan was actually present within her soul, but Yoshika had no access to hers.

Yoshika didn’t mind. Even as powerful as Xiulan was, she felt safe in the knowledge that her soulscape was her own. Not even Sovereign Shen was able to violate it with impunity.

Regardless, she allowed Xiulan the control necessary to find what she was looking for, and it didn’t take long.

“Yoshika, what in the emperor’s name is this?”

They looked up at the raw representation of Yoshika’s soul, where the silvery bonds of her oath snaked throughout it.

“Oh, that part is normal. I made a promise to Shen Yu that I’d lead his chosen representatives to the Sovereign’s Tomb.”

“You what?!”

“I didn’t have a lot of options, and he only wanted one thing from me.”

Xiulan bit her lip and scowled.

“You are far too careless with these things. This feels a lot like Qin Zhao’s oaths—not that he ever let me get a closer look at them—but while his are self-imposed and empowering, this is purely restrictive.”

“Yeah, it’ll kill me if I break my promise. I have to bring Shen’s proxies to the tomb, can’t enter with more than two of my own allies, and I have to ask my friends to go fight the demons occupying the academy—I’m actually not too clear on why he wanted that last one, but all I have to do is ask, so I’ll just tell them I was forced to and they’re allowed to say no.”

Xiulan shook her head urgently.

“No—don’t do that. This sort of oath isn’t like a written contract with loopholes you can exploit. If you break the spirit of the agreement, it will still trigger. Be honest, was that your understanding of what Sovereign Shen demanded?”

Yoshika frowned.

“Well...no.”

“Make an earnest attempt to convince them, then. Please tell me you bargained for more than just your life—not that I would blame you otherwise but...”

“Oh, I did! Shen Yu is going to pressure the elders to agree to the treaty, and he promised my family’s safety. I also got Jianmo back but...they’re in bad shape.”

Xiulan cocked her head.

“Not bad, but you could have gotten much more. What’s this about the sword demon?”

Yoshika manifested a representation of Jianmo’s blade and held it out to her.

“Shen Yu trapped their soul in the blade, then pulled out the demonic core. Supposedly that means they’re dead, but I can’t confirm it. There’s a really powerful seal on the blade that repels any essence I try to put in. I can’t even use techniques with it.”

Xiulan took the blade and inspected it closely, her eyes widening with surprise.

“This...is the God-Emperor’s work. Not the blade—the seal. His divine essence is unmistakable.”

She grimaced and shook her head, handing the sword back.

“If there is anything left of the spirit that inhabited the blade, I’d give up on freeing it. I may not like God-Emperor Qin, but I cannot deny his power. I doubt anyone but him is capable of breaking this seal.”

“He was the one who put the old seal on Jianmo, and that one was broken by Yan Zhihao!”

“A ten thousand year old seal that had been weakened by a xiantian fire elemental cannot compare to this. It is newer, more powerful, and self-sustaining. He obviously hasn’t neglected his cultivation as much as his country.”

Yoshika stared down at her feet, dejected. She wouldn’t give up—not so soon after promising herself—but it hurt to hear someone she respected telling her it was hopeless. Xiulan sighed.

“Look, you did well. Most would have crumbled in that situation, but you managed to escape with not only your life, but with a profit, and I don’t see any corruption in your soul, beyond the oath you entered into willingly. Keep that up. Stay alive, and grow stronger. Eternity is a long time to spend plotting your vengeance—just remember that Shen Yu knows that too, and he’ll strangle that problem in the cradle if given the chance.”

Yoshika swallowed nervously and nodded.

“I’ll try to be careful.”

Lin Xiuan smiled and patted her on the shoulder.

“Good girl. Alright, we’d better get moving—I suspect it’s about to get rather hectic around here.”

 

---

 

Xiulan was right about things getting hectic. Yoshika barely had enough time to tell her friends and family about what happened and that she was alright before they were called to attend another meeting of elders.

Once more, she sat with her avatar at the foot of the table between Master Ienaga and Princess Seong Misun. Sovereign Shen replaced Qin Yongliang at the head of the table, with the imperial prince sitting to his left. The hosts were conspicuously absent, save for Guan Yu sitting to Shen’s right.

Unlike the previous meeting, there was no feast or preamble, and Shen Yu did not mince words.

“The fiends across the ocean, led by an unidentified representative of the divine dragon clans, have sunk to the furthest depths of depravity by aligning themselves with demonic invaders. The increased incidence of beast waves and the appearance of awakened fiends within the empire are the direct results of their actions.”

He hammered the table with his fist.

“This is a distraction. The dragons have located Chou’s tomb and even as we speak Demon Lord Longyan races across the ocean to arrange for its opening. We must assume that the dragons and demons each have their own keys and will be able to enter without mine. That cannot be allowed to happen under any circumstance.”

The elders murmured furtively amongst themselves, and Yoshika caught Yan De giving her a curious look before turning to the Sovereign.

“What are you proposing, Lord Sovereign?”

“It is clear that the situation has grown too urgent to delay any further. If the fiends hadn’t been so fortunate, we may have had decades or more to prepare, but it seems fate had other plans. Instead, we must make full use of every resource available to us immediately—including our auspiciously timed guests.”

All eyes fell on Yoshika’s side of the table, and suddenly she wished she was anywhere else in the world. Luckily, Shen Yu was happy to take the attention back.

“With Longyan absent from the enclave, its defenses are weakened. This is the best time to strike, and with our allies helping, victory is all but certain. I propose a treaty with Yamato and Goryeo for the reoccupation of Geumji, followed by an immediate assault on the enclave.”

The elders reacted strongly, each of them shouting over each other to voice their protests or to rally behind Shen Yu. Unlike Qin Yongliang’s subtle, quiet control of the flow, Shen Yu dominated it, and stoked the flames as he shouted over them.

“This will allow us to commit a powerful strike force to intercept Longyan and either prevent him from opening the tomb, or ensure that our own proxies are able to enter before it closes. Such a force will need to be small and agile—fast enough to reach the enemy in time, but strong enough to protect the houtian proxies from any counterattacks. I will lead it myself, and I expect to be joined by some of the members of this council.”

There was no more shouting now. Only silence, as the gravity of Sovereign Shen’s words sunk in. These were men who’d survived for hundreds or thousands of years, now being told to risk their lives in a direct assault against adversaries powerful enough to kill them.

Yan De cleared his throat.

“Lord Sovereign, I support your motion, and I have a selection of capable disciples ready to move on your command. I will even join your strike force myself, and commit my disciples to the attack on Geumji—however, I do have some concerns.”

“Speak them.”

“Demon Lord Longyan’s movements have always been difficult to track, and I fear that our efforts may be in vain unless we already know his exact destination. Furthermore, while I have no objection to the treaty, I must request that Ambassadors Lee Jia and An Eui refrain from participating in any operations alongside the Great Awakening Dragon Sect. We have an unfortunate history, and I wouldn’t want to encourage any infighting among allies.”

Yoshika wrinkled her nose. Why? It’s like the entire universe was conspiring to keep her out of that damned tomb, and she didn’t believe Yan De’s infighting excuse for a second.

Shen Yu shook his head.

“Both concerns have the same answer. Ambassador Yoshika is privileged with the knowledge of the tomb’s location, and her cooperation is contingent upon this alliance.”

The divine avatar met Yoshika’s eyes, and while his expression was impassive, she could sense the smug satisfaction behind them.

 “Your forces will have to put aside their animosity for her, Lord Yan De, because she is going to be leading them.”