Her hands were stained. Crimson poured from them with every moment, and the further she looked, the more she saw. Her arms, even her whole body and everything around her was the same horrifying shade.

She could still feel the knife. The grip she had on it. The way in which it cut into that woman’s body as if it was simply going through air. She still saw the body before her, the massive cut upon it, the blood splattering all over her. Those pained eyes staring right at her made her wish she could drop the knife, undo that cut, undo everything that happened, but the more she looked, the more horrifying the sight became, and it seemed as if the woman began to reach for her, and rising with hand open, going straight for her throat.

And then-

“Wake up!” a certain kitsune’s aggressive tone brought her into the waking world, sun shining down upon her, “With that amount of noise, they’ll hear us all the way from the Blazing Skies Sect itself.”

“I… sorry…”

“Are you? Are you really? You’ve killed yet another person when you really, really shouldn’t have done.”

“I… I’m-”

“Again? Have you so little self control that you cannot even stop yourself from outright killing someone? All you needed to do was stab her arm, or her leg, or just force her down, maybe push her over… she’d still be injured by the runes, but they wouldn’t have been lethal!” Xue Yaling took a deep breath and then looked back with a calmer gaze, “That being said, your technique was sufficient to cut through a low-grade artefact. Likely a poor one, and you likely hit a fault point that had been there prior, or that developed during the fight, but still… Gives me all the more reason to study it.”

“W-What about Song Ming?”

“She is… well, you can see.”

She waved to the side. There, on the grass, laying on top of a sheet spread out on the grass, was Song Ming, her eyes shut and a glowing symbol floating just a hair’s width away from her forehead. In addition, there was still a visible discoloration at her left arm, a similar shade to the runes that had emanated from her tinted by skin and blood into a subtler blue.

Bianca scrambled over, barely managing to stand up, and landed on her knees beside Song Ming, initially reaching to feel her forehead before the strange symbol discouraged her. It seemed similar to the one formed by the flames before Bianca passed out, though she barely remembered what she saw.

“Is she alright?”

“Alive, and likely to wake up soon enough. I do not appreciate the two of you passing out on me, especially when you… you didn’t sustain many injuries. In fact, the worst is a slight scratch on your belly – oh, and that bring me to another topic,” Xue Yaling came over, knelt down and stared Bianca straight in the eyes, “I have good news, and bad news.”

The shift in topic was so sudden that Bianca barely managed to produce a reply, “… the good news being?”

“You’re not going bald.”

“What?”

“Bad news is that your hair is going grey, and quickly.”

“W-wha…”

“Since I had to carry the two of you for quite a long while – you might be able to see the plumes of smoke from what used to be the Ghostflame Temple over there,” she gestured to the side, where, far, far in the distance, past more trees than Bianca could ever count, there was some oddly coloured smoke rising into the air, “I took a moment to examine your state. It turns out that the roots of your hair have been turning lighter and greyer over the past few days. In fact…”

She reached out, put her hand on Bianca’s face, then forced one of her eyes open with two fingers.

“I have determined that the redness in your irises has not been as prominent was it is now, after you’ve managed to absorb another two stages of energy.”

At this point, she was struggling to even respond before the kitsune answered the question.

“One from the destruction of the guandao, another from the mist that became of that outer disciple. Somehow, even without being awake, you managed to integrate that energy into two full stages, something that is rather incredible for an ignorant girl in the first realm,” the kitsune said, “Anyway, your eyes had been turning more and more crimson with each stage you gained, and I can’t believe I hadn’t realised it right away. Furthermore, it seems that your eyes are not the only thing affected by this development.”

“What else?”

“You idiot, I had just explained how your hair has been turning greyer. I was able to spot some distinct… layers of growth, let’s say. It began with a shade similar to your natural brown, but then turned lost some of that pigment and turned lighter. The number of steps roughly correlate with the breakthroughs you’ve experienced, and the lightest portion is at the very roots of your hair, having grown in the short while since the battle.”

Bianca ran her hand through her hair, but she couldn’t feel anything unusual. On the contrary, it almost felt as if her hair was in a better state than usual, odd as that might be.

“You could have used your spiritual perception, but… not sure why I expect anything from you at this point.”

“It doesn’t feel like I’m going bald, though-”

“Ancient’s sake, are you even listening to me? Going grey, not going bald. That is, your hair is losing its pigmentation, not decaying… at least not yet, anyway,” Xue Yaling specified, “There may be other effects, but they are either more difficult to observe, or are more uniform overall.”

“Where could it have…”

“You have a body cultivation technique, don’t you?”

“Yeah, Demonic Form…”

“Well, it appears that the archetype it comes from considers a demon to have light, if not outright white hair, red eyes, and who knows what other particularities. Maybe you will start growing horns in later realms…” she shrugged, “I have still not recognised the exact nature of the archetype, nor its origins, so the only thing I can conclude is that it does not appear to be especially elementally attuned. For all of the crackling your combat skill involves, there isn’t a trace of lightning within it, nor of fire or metal.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“Pure planar energy – or, I should say, non-elemental energy in particular – has its advantages and disadvantages. There isn’t really such a thing as a perfect technique in general, as greater power will require greater usage of energy, or a more complicated structure, or very specific usage conditions, and the same can be applied to energy,” as she spoke, she returned to her original position and sat down on a pillow, “It will be less affected by various elements, meaning that you will not experience any disadvantages in most terrains unless planar energy itself is drained away, though then everyone will suffer to a certain extent.

“Of course, the inverse is also true. If you are in a land full of flame, you cannot amplify that flame efficiently. Against a cultivator with flame-aspected energy and a similar realm, you will be at an immense disadvantage.”

“That sounds… complicated.”

“I suppose when not killing someone else is complicated, things like this will be as well,” the kitsune shook her head, and before Bianca could say a single word, she looked in Song Ming’s direction, “She’s waking up, and she will want to do a number of things she really, really shouldn’t do. So, don’t let her get overly active.”

“What do you-”

“Hm… mh… w-where… am I?”

“Song Ming!” Bianca exclaimed, “You’re far away from the Ghostflame Temple, because… well, you know.”

“I… I remember bright lights, and your voice…” she frowned, then looked down, her gaze landing on the scar on her arm, “This light… i-it’s getting brighter, it-”

“Stop that right now! Don’t even think about it if you can’t control yourself!” Xue Yaling shouted as she produced a piece of paper that she tossed straight onto Song Ming, “You’ve awakened a physique that is far, far more powerful than what you can handle, and it nearly burned and melted your entire body. You’re lucky I caught you before it did more than evaporate some of your blood!”

The piece of paper landed on Song Ming’s shoulder, then suddenly sparked and was lit ablaze, a wave of energy akin to the one released by the ghostflames from the temple, causing the light that had begun to brighten to dim just as suddenly.

“That… a talisman, right?”

“Of course it is… though I am not especially good with them, so we will need to find an expert to be able to subdue your Crusader’s Runes further.”

Whereas Song Ming seemed to know some notion of what was happening, Bianca did not, so she started with the first question that came to mind, “Sorry, Crusader’s Runes? Were they the exploding things?”

“… No. Just no,” Xue Yaling shook her head, not even managing to produce a look of anger, though even the frustration dulled when she looked at Song Ming and saw that she was also confused, “Heavens, all of you… The Crusader’s Runes are an absolute physique, and an incredibly powerful one at that. It is among the four of the so-called Conqueror’s Eye, a set of physiques that all possess a great deal of potential and, supposedly, if you were able to somehow unify them into one body, they could produce something even more fantastic.”

She sighed.

“Of course, that’s not as easy as it might sound to you, Bianca. A single person can have a single physique, whether it’s one their born with or that’s developed using certain pills and a large amount of energy, and at most, it can be mutated or otherwise different from its usual state,” she explained, “And before you ask, possessing a physique means that your body is, in some way, altered, permitting you to perform certain feats based on the nature of the physique you have.”

“Like those exploding… runes?”

“Yes, like those runes. It isn’t a purely physical thing, despite what the term might imply. You can have something like the Frozen Step physique, which permits you to manifest footholds of ice in the air, or the Cold Mirror physique, which could let you duplicate the attacks of others,” the kitsune said, “Any more questions?”

‘I doubt she has a whole decade to listen to the, even if she is as old as she claims to be, so I probably shouldn’t…’

“Shouldn’t a physique be entirely positive for me, though? Unless it’s a specific effect of the physique, of course,” Song Ming asked.

“Nothing bad did happen. More precisely, there was nothing negative to the physique itself, but it was your body that was incapable of handling its energy consumption,” Xue Yaling said, “If you were a powerful cultivator in the eighth realm, at the peak of the world, you would be able to control it with ease. However, at the moment, it is rampant within your body, doing as it wishes, throwing away energy at a simple whim, like merely thinking about it. Your current power isn’t sufficient, and your current control is lacking too. Hence, talismans.”

“I see only one…”

“Are you so blind as to miss the one on her head? Sure, it’s composed of ghostflame and not likely to endure for long if I do so much as leave your side for more than a few minutes,” she sighed, “Who would have thought that I needed to have significant training in talismans, arrays, pill refining – to strengthen that weak body of yours – and perhaps inscriptions and blacksmithing, if only to make sure… Oh, how lucky I am.”

Bianca may have struggled to remember what any of those things were, but at least the sarcasm was incredibly obvious.

“I… I’m sorry.”

“Now, pay attention. The ghostflame talisman, combined with my paper talismans, will only last for a brief while. It may be weeks, may only be days, but either way, I have no way to recreate the one on your head without another few months of energy accumulation. Thus, we need to find someone who could help you with that,” Xue Yaling raised a hand and began her count, “Then, we need to get away from the three sects as quickly as we can. Even if they do not send anyone after us directly, they are certain to put up bounties for our heads.”

“Bounties?”

“You didn’t think that they’d just let you get away after you killed a disciple of the sect? An outer disciple, not some random servant in the first realm that they’ve let in to sweep their halls, either,” the kitsune shook her head, “Of course, the actual influence of the sects is minor outside of their lands, so the only requirement is to get away from the places that have any intense loyalty to the three sects on the Dragon’s Fangs. I propose going south, where the might of Long Shiyi’s warband ought to keep us safe.”

“Long Shiyi’s… wait, is that the name of an ancient dragon?”

“Yes. And one of the few that still live, at least here in the Eastern Continent. She leads a great force that even the Cold Solace Sect and the Blooming Orchid Sect fear to do anything about it. If we arrive at Rong Village, which is within her grasp, we will be free from anything the three sects might wish to do against us, and have the chance to regroup and relax.”

Song Ming frowned, “Uhm, I may be entirely mistaken, but is there not another force over to the south?”

“Two, technically. The Dancer’s Above borders Long Shiyi’s forces, though they’re neutral to one another and thus don’t come into conflict too often. They’re also on decent terms with the Blooming Orchid Sect, so they have a modicum of protection. However, the other force… Have you heard of the Exarch, by any chance?” there was a sign of recognition on Song Ming’s face, though as usual, Bianca didn’t have a single clue, “The Exarch-”

It was then that the figurative lightbulb lit up, “Wait, I have heard of him… her? It?”

“That’s odd. Where, exactly?”

“I remember reading it in a book at Xi Village. There was a description of some kind of battle between Long Shiyi and the Exarch.”

“Huh. Well, both of these figures are ancient. The Exarch… nobody knows for sure who the Exarch is. The rumour is that the Exarch once had a name, but after acquiring a Heart of Dao for the Exarch archetype, all of their identity was lost. Now, it is just a walking robe, clad in rags and flames, only a burning symbol blazing at their face,” the kitsune explained, “Never had the misfortune of meeting the Exarch, so I cannot confirm this, but I have heard the same things time and time again, so it is almost certain to be true.”

“So, there’s a conflict between an ancient dragon and… some cloth?”

“Well, that is perhaps the most…” she shook her head and didn’t finish the sentence, “Never mind that. We will need to find a safe place to stay, make sure we’re away from the sects, and then keep the two of you from dying. Anything else?”

“… Why has all this happened to me? To us?” Bianca said suddenly, raising her head and staring out into the distance, “Could we not… could we have stopped it?”

“Me and two layabouts – don’t get upset, I’m just being honest – against six disciples of a significant sect? Oh, sure, if we’d killed them, they would have been unable to do much, but then we would have had a death sentence on our heads. There is no chance that they would have left us alone after that, unlike a single death that could still be deemed an accident due to the circumstances…” Xue Yaling shrugged, “Otherwise, there isn’t much that we could have done.”

“No, I mean… Could we have prevented this altogether? Is there anyone the sects wouldn’t have gone after?”

The kitsune sighed as she joined Bianca in looking into the distance, “Well, if you really want an answer, an easy one would be other sects. Sects are like the nations of the west, the district and what not. Even if they’re technically weak, they are a vital component to the stability and safety of the continent as a whole, so as long as a sect does not outright provoke any other major factions, there will be no reason to fight them.”

She turned back to Bianca and shook her head.

“Now, enough of silly nonsense like that. I’ll need to hunt some food once the two of you wake up properly, and we’ll be moving on as well. We’ve been here for too long as is.”

Xue Yaling’s attention had moved on elsewhere, but Bianca couldn’t quite leave it. Unfortunately, she barely understood the world around her, and had no clue whether anything that came to mind would have even the slightest chance of working. More importantly, she was rather hungry, so she inevitably had to focus on the matter of food first.