54 The Princess of Storm Cloud Crater

In the blackness of her mind, Ji Tianshan was berating herself quite harshly.

'Haogui, your sister has failed to remember your words. Luckily, I'm not too late.'

The thundercloud giant huffed. It was unwilling to leave Ji Tianshan, a cocky human, alive after her repetitive taunting. Ji Tianshan herself had never intentionally taunted the giant, but it saw her repeated survival of its attacks as an outright diss.

The quartzfather had been mourning her until a short while ago, when he realized that the giant had not yet left.

It occurred to him, and the others, that Ji Tianshan could still be alive. They did not possess a divine will on the level of the giants, so they did not have an acute enough sense to be sure. The quartzfather looked at the two Dew Drops before him, then at his two children. He sighed.

Just then, he was considering trying to rush into the crater to help out in someway. He realized that he had no idea how he would do that, meaning that he would be in harm's way without a plan. He also thought about his children, realizing that he would likely die and leave them without a guardian.

It was with deep regret that he abandoned the idea and chose to remain where he was, all for his children's sake. Even so, the inner workings of fate were not blind to this. In some mystical way, Ji Tianshan had formed karmic and dharmic ties to that quartz rock. Thanks to the immensity of her own fate, any person- or thing- connected to her would surely see massive changes in their own destiny.

In the stillness of her mind, Ji Tianshan manipulated the skyforce energy. With it, she formed all manner of lightning. Some bolts were blue, others black or white, even yellow, red and purple. She was able to mimic the functions of a cloud, producing rain and snow. It seemed that, with that scrap of skyforce, she could create her very own miniature atmosphere.

It was remarkable... and enlightening.

'Skyforce isn't thunder. It isn't wind or rain, or clouds... It's all of them!'

Ji Tianshan's body had become particles, which was her most base state. She and her brother both possessed lightning spirit bodies, which explained how they were both naturally able to produce thunderforce. However, it did not explain how they were both able to shed their physical forms and take the shape of shiny white, intangible particles.

The more she manipulated the skyforce, the clearer it became to Ji Tianshan. She studied the skyforce with all her focus and concentration, pouring every iota of her 'detective' prowess into the endeavor.

'The only explanation is,' she thought as she forced the skyforce to take an unnatural shape; she manipulated it into taking the form of a house. Normally, skyforce could only take the shape of something naturally attuned to the sky, like a cloud or lightning bolt. For it to do this was a shift in the paradigm, something that should not have happened.

A chicken would always be a chicken, and it would always produce an egg. Yet, the skyforce was going against its nature and being used to create a house. It had to be something to do with Ji Tianshan herself, right?

Tianshan was the only one who didn't see it that way.

'This skyforce must be my dao!'

'It is the source of thunder and rain. It must be the very root of my existence! I need to have it all in order to strengthen myself. That must be it!'

And so, Ji Tianshan absorbed the skyforce she had. Now that she wasn't keeping it around to play with, but had instead absorbed it into her particle-body, she felt rejuvenated.

This was not due to it having healed her, but it was more like the feeling that came after eating a good meal. In other words, all the skyforce did for her was make her feel as if she had eaten something good. It had no added benefits. None at all.

Not a single one.

Even so, she took it as a sign that she was healed and, without even thinking about it, reformed her physical body. The particle-body sparkled for a moment before Ji Tianshan's fleshly body reappeared. If she had been paying attention, she would have noticed that not a single trace of skyforce energy had made an appearance during the reformation process.

All were amazed by the fact that the girl was still alive. All but the thundercloud giant, of course. It was at something of a limit. Channeling so much raw skyforce energy with its body was painful, to say the least. The energy channels in its body were, more or less, fried. It was hard for the giant to even move at this point, yet Ji Tianshan reappeared with not even a scratch on her.

Her hairs blew in the wind and her white dress fluttered, revealing her feet and legs. She looked up to the sky, staring the giant in its misty face. It growled, painstakingly raised a hand and prepared to channel more skyforce from the heart.

That was the plan, but that did not work.

When she felt the presence of the raw skyforce being released from the heart, Ji Tianshan reached out with her mind and attached her spirit to that skyforce energy. Just like that, a shiny white particle appeared on the giant's body. Then, with a thought, she took all the skyforce that the giant had been about to attack her with.

Instantly, through her spirit, the energy was absorbed into her body. It was like a spirit-link, but for the express purpose of transferring skyforce energy instantaneously. The white particle near the giant's body swelled and swelled with skyforce, then, when the giant was no more than a dried up husk, it returned to Tianshan.

Ji Tianshan felt wonderful inside- more stuffed than ever before- but she was not content. Following her murder of the giant, she aimed to suck all the skyforce from the heart of the cloud. When that was not enough, she sent her spirit to pierce through other clouds and take all of their skyforce as well.

The onlooking creatures saw and marveled. With Ji Tianshan's interference, the skyforce was no longer crashing down into the crater. They all saw a chance to acquire Dew Drops, but no one dared to take the chance. If they were to somehow offend that girl- that Princess, as they now saw her, they would definitely be struck down.

Ji Tianshan, however, could not be bothered with them. She was filling up on skyforce, absolutely certain that she was fulfilling her Dao by doing so. She singlehandedly cleared out all of the skyforce from the sky, taking it all into herself.

In a sense, she had become a body of skyforce- a skyforce giant in her own rut.

In terror, the creatures looked from Tianshan to the sky a number of times, then all found their own ways to prostrate themselves.

"All hail the Princess of Storm Cloud Crater!"

"All hail the Princess of Storm Cloud Crater!"

"Long live the Princess!"

"Blessings and eternal prosperity to the Princess!"

"Uh, can I get some Dew Drops?"

If the the family of the stone that had made that last remark had arms, they would have slapped it to death.

Ji Tianshan was feeling wonderful. With such a concentration of skyforce energy within her, she surely would be able to advance in her dao in no time at all. However, as she was relishing in an easy victory, the will of skyforce awoke within her, ready to compel her to do its bidding.

This was its purpose, as decreed by Xuyue Zailiang. It could not be defied by someone like her.

Ji Tianshan was forced to pour out a large portion of her skyforce energy into the crater, no matter how hard she struggled. Her mind split under the pressure, causing her spirit to become injured, Blood ran down her nose and stained her dress, yet she did not stop trying to keep the skyforce for herself.

That was when her master, who was watching from a void, had to step in and correct her foolish thinking.

When Logean Wuji showed himself, even skyforce fell into a docile state. Those that had revered the 'Princess of Storm Cloud Crater' were now bawling, thinking that this was the God to whom they had always given praise in the past. To them, the embodiment of Heaven was here to enact punishment on the False God, and on them for worshipping her.

They could not be more frightened.

Fortunately, Logean Wuji was not here for them. Ji Tianshan saw him through her blurred vision and smiled weakly. Her body had been stiff before, when under the control of the will of skyforce, but now it was limp and lifeless.

She was about to fall, but Logean Wuji caught her.

"You imbecile! How can something as simple as skyforce be your inheritance from the Grand Dao! Open your eyes and look within yourself for once! Skyforce is not you, skyforce is below you! It is a tool to be used by you in order for you to understand what you are meant to be!"

He put a hand on her forehead, and his forefinger and thumb sunk into her skin. In actuality, he was reaching into the metaphysical aspects of her existence, drawing the skyforce from her spirit.

All looked on in shock as this divine man pulled all of the world's skyforce out of Ji Tianshan's body and sent it back into the sky. This image made them think back to the stories of Creation, instantly confirming their self-imposed belief that this man was the God of all Heaven.

They once more broke out into praises and cries.

"Oh God, the one and only true God, master of the other Gods!"

"We beseech you, forgive us for out trespasses!"

"We know now that you are the Holiest One! We will never worship idols ever again!"

"Can I please have some Dew Drops?"

"Oh, God, give me hands to slap this foolish brother of mine!"

Logean Wuji restored the clouds and the natural order of skyforce in the United Realm, then slapped Ji Tianshan's head, waking her.

She was fully conscious, but her injuries were not healed. In fact, he had intensified her pain as part of her punishment.

"Ji Tianshan, are you aware of the danger you have put yourself in?"

She shook her head, still a bit groggy.

"Had you been subject to the will of skyforce for long enough, you would have become skyforce and thus wasted your potential. Since my mother created skyforce for the purpose of spiritual balance within the United Realm, I would have been forced to leave you as you were, as I will not defile her creations."

Ji Tianshan understood in part. What she understood best of all was that Logean Wuji was mad at her, and that she had failed somehow.

"I will repeat myself only this once. You are not skyforce, skyforce is not you. Skyforce is below you. It is a tool to be used by you in order for you to understand what you are meant to be."

Ji Tianshan nodded, burying those words deep within every part of her that could retain information. It was indented onto her heart, and inscribed on every bone of her body. Her determination returned to her, and she looked to the spatial ring. The battery had absorbed some of the sykforce, and it still contained it. It seemed that Logean Wuji's reason for giving it to her was for her to be able to closely study it. Absorbing it was never his intention for her.

That was why he did not empty it of the skyforce it contained.

"Now, Tianshan, return to the dorm and prepare for class."

Ji Tianshan obediently took out the return crystal and vanished from sight. Before Logean Wuji left, though, he waved his hand and uncovered hundreds of Dew Drops from the crater. With another wave, those Dew Drops were shared among all present. With that, he left.

As for the Quartzfather, he ended up acquiring 150 Dew Drops thanks to his apparent relationship with the 'Disciple of God.' With those, he was sure to be able to cultivate beyond any estimable level along with his children.

He would never forget his young friend. He and his children would remember her for the rest of their days.