Unending Silence, Ji Haogui

We arrive in the darkness of the mighty deep. Far beyond even the light of the United Realm's mighty sun, at the very bottom of an impossibly large lake, a single bubble of air thrived in silence.

With motionlessness it stood by as time passed; with indifference, it experienced the troubles of the water around it. For this bubble, monstrous in its size, contained a special remnant from the United Sect.

Tranquility Hall.

Ji Haogui, after walking into the Moonlight Mirror's portal, found himself standing within this giant air pocket. The instant he arrived, the strange aura that had grasped his mind let go, allowing him to regain complete control of himself and his impulses. Due to this, his first thought was to survey the area around him with heightened interest.

Mouth agape, he watched the faraway silhouettes of mountainous sea creatures gliding across the lifeless sea floor. One of such creatures was a multi-limbed tentacle monster, having a head so large it cast a shadow of complete and total darkness over the area around it.

Due to the sudden darkness, Ji Haogui's attention was then brought to the orbs of light that floated in the air. They lined the circumference of the air pocket, just before the demarcation between bubble and the mighty deep beyond it.

These lights were soft, instilling in his mind a sense of both safety and tranquility. Finally, he turned around to look at the place he would be spending his time in.

Similar-looking orbs of warm golden light filled the space of this hall. It seemed to have been ripped directly from a larger building, which it technically was. After all, this was once a part of the United Sect- one of its many rooms and halls.

Looking closer, Ji Haogui saw numerous stone pillars supporting the ceiling, golden light cast on them as well. The mosaic tiles seemed to glow while simultaneously reflecting the light, giving the entirety of the hallway a kind of shine that could effortlessly calm the soul.

Before long, Ji Haogui felt his awe and surprise fade away. All he felt was a deep respect from the confines of his soul, unable to be shaken or questioned. Such was the might of the aura coming from Tranquility Hall; such was the might of something belonging to the United Sect.

That was when it hit him. Since the very moment he arrived, he had not heard or made a single sound. Even if he tried to clap or stomp the ground, nothing could be heard. The sound of his footsteps seemed to be instantly tranquilized by the odd power within the air bubble, leading him to rethink the meaning behind the name 'Tranquility Hall.'

Carefully approaching, Ji Haogui walked up the short flight of stairs and finally landed on the tiled floor. However, the moment his foot touched that tile he felt an acute surge of power run through his body, focused on only two things: his ears.

With a soundless pop, his ears seemed to become both lighter and filled with powerful energy. Though he could not be sure, he felt as if his sense of hearing was heightened, allowing him to pick up the faintest of sounds. However, there was very little to hear. In fact, there was only one thing in the stillness of the hall, pounding with fervor and disturbing the silence.

That... was his heartbeat.

Standing at the starting end of the hall, although unbeknownst to him, Ji Haogui was now sighted by an entity existing within it. In a series of voluminous whispers, apparently unable to settle on a single level of sound, a voice transmitted itself into his mind.

"An offensive sound... Silence it... Now..."

That striking whisper shook Ji Haogui to his core, causing him to cry out... only he couldn't. His mouth was open, the vibration of his voice pouring out, yet no sound was heard. The only thing persisting- steadily speeding up- was his consistently beating heart. Ji Haogui immediately started trembling and his knees wobbled weakly, buckling under his weight and sending him crashing down onto the tiles, albeit without a sound.

He remained there, staring down the hallway with fear in his eyes. That fear, though it weighed down on his soul, was swiftly driven away as he thought back to the purpose of his visit here. If nothing else could motivate him, the fact that he could not afford to fail his assignment would.

With renewed vigor, he took a soundless breath and fought against the lingering pressure that was slowly crushing his spirit. His tiny limbs twitched, the veins in his forehead popped and his teeth gnashed as he tried to force himself to stand- to fight against the entity that was angry with him.

Unfortunately, fighting this way was not enough. With no other way out, Ji Haogui did the only thing he could think to do and tried to speak with his mind.

"Please, stop! I was sent here by my master to complete an assignment!"

In response, that entity did not yield. Instead, it increased the power output and put an even bigger strain on Ji Haogui. By now, he was almost face down on the floor and struggling to push himself up. Then, the whispering amalgam of that voice spoke in his mind once again.

"Foolish. To think your mediocre master could cow me... truly foolish..."

Hearing this, the unwillingness at the bottom of Ji Haogui's heart raged and fueled his final resort.

"My master..."

Yet again, the burden on his tiny body increased. His face slammed into the tile, bursting open the skin of his forehead and splattering his blood onto the tile. After a muffled, pained cry, he pounded down onto ground. The frustration heated up his blood until it was boiling, then he spoke again.

"My master... is Logean Wuji!"

Ripples wafted through the spatial laws of the hall, causing a sudden disturbance that overpowered even the silence of Tranquility Hall. A soft buzz filled the hall for only a few moments, however it was enough to cow the entity. It swiftly ended its assault, ending Ji Haogui's suffering.

Finally, he felt like he could breathe again. Deep breath after deep breath, he thanked his master in his heart, knowing that he had acted on his behalf. As for the entity within the hall...

'Shit! Oh shit, oh shit, ohh-'

Ji Haogui got to his feet, dusting himself off out of habit since his clothes were spotless. Once he did this, the entity took notice of the wound on his forehead. The wound it had caused.

'Shit! Fuck! Shitty fucking hell! NO!'

Immediately, it ended the silence between them and reached out to Ji Haogui, "You must allow me to heal you, esteemed guest!"

Now, its voice was completely normal and non-mystified, as if it finally dropped the act. Before Ji Haogui could even respond, the voice then hurriedly said, "Please! I insist!"

Stumped, Ji Haogui blinked a few times and tried to arrange his thoughts. The wound throbbed as well, which was also quite distracting.

"Please! PLEASE! YOU MUST LET ME HELP YOU!"

Finally, Ji Haogui answered.

"Okay, okay!"

Healing light instantly enveloped him, glowing even brighter on his forehead. Even the barely recognizable, minor injuries on his hands and knees were healed- most of which Ji Haogui did not know he had.

After that, feeling refreshed, he frowned and spoke to the entity with his mind. "Why did you do that? Was it really just because of my heartbeat?"

"Ah, esteemed guest must not know. Will you allow me to tell you?"

Ji Haogui had a moment of pure, unadulterated, 'Uhh...' then he answered, "...sure..."

"Well, you see, this foolish one is the emblem spirit of Tranquility Hall. My name is Jiji, and my purpose is to carry out the will of this hall. I do not know who created it, but they wished for sound to be nonexistent within this space. It is a place for the perfection of true meditation, and none who cannot silence their existence dare to step foot on these tiles."

"But of course, esteemed guest is welcome to make all the noise he wishes!"

Ji Haogui shook his head. "My name is not esteemed guest. It's Haogui, okay? Ji Haogui."

"Ah, yes, Lord Haogui-"

"Ji Haogui!"

"Geh... Umm... Ji Haogui..."

In the silence, their conversation went on for quite some time. Jiji explained to Ji Haogui that it was merely acting on behalf of the will of Tranquility Hall, which could not think for itself. It ensured him that Ji Haogui's earlier treatment was due to negligence on its part, and begged for forgiveness which was swiftly granted.

"But I tried to tell you about my master. Why didn't you listen?"

Jiji then hurried to say, "You must not know, but there are quite a few people that are still connected to the United Sect through karmic ties. These people sometimes send their students here for training, and I assumed you were one of them. They would not dare step into the hall if they could not silence their existences though, so I should have listened to what you had to say."

"Please forgive m-"

"I already did!"

Ji Haogui sat on the ground, looking around curiously. "So where are you?"

Suddenly realizing and, not wanting to come off as even slightly impolite, Jiji materialized before Ji Haogui. Though Jiji appeared in full, it seemed to be nothing but a three-dimensional shadow. Ji Haogui was slightly taken up with Jiji's appearance, and Jiji just laughed nervously, seeming a bit flattered but also worried that a random action would offend Ji Haogui.

Eventually, Ji Haogui got serious and decided to get to work. Jiji also sensed the change in his demeanor, so it straightened up and prepared for what he had to say.

"Jiji."

"What is it, Ji Haogui? Whatever you need, I will help you to the best of my ability."

"I would like to understand this place- Tranquility Hall. What is the will of the hall? Why is it so quiet?"

"Well, that has to do with the person who created both me and the hall. All I know about them is that their power was derived from a very special cultivation law: The Law of Unending Silence."

"Ohh," Ji Haogui nodded slowly, invested.

"Meditation played a huge role in cultivating this way, which was why they built this hall. Tranquility Hall was meant to aid others in developing the stillness of self that would bring true inner peace. In doing so, their calm, clear minds would allow them to better overcome their own challenges."

"However, this was only the surface-level function. Tranquility Hall's true function is to choose those with the most tranquil existences and gift them with the knowledge of the Law of Unending Silence. Those that could cross the hall while silencing their existences to such a low point that they seemed to fade from reality. That is the prerequisite for the Law of Unending Silence."

Ji Haogui frowned, thinking about his situation for a bit. Why was it that he was drawn to Tranquility Hall? Just what had happened to him that more or less forced him to come here?

Was he supposed to acquire the Law of Unending Silence's cultivation method?

With these thoughts and more in his head, Ji Haogui nodded and said, "I want to give it a try."

Jiji gave an 'eh' sound, then said, "Pardon?"

"That's right, Jiji. I want to try obtaining the Law of Unending Silence-"

As soon as Ji Haogui said this, Jiji's head cocked a bit to the left and his eyes peered off into the outside. A ray of light descended from above, bypassing the bubble's wall. Five figures appeared from that light, having teleported into the air pocket from wherever it was they came from.

At the very front, a proud-faced youth in white robes strode out of the light with his arms folded behind him, transmitting a message to them through a spirit link. "Come on, you guys. I'll show you just how amazing a disciple of Master Strange really is."

Following behind him, a young woman and three other young men laughed and joked through spirit link as well.

"Oh please, Senior Brother Li. You won't even be able to last ten minutes before the emblem spirit says you're too noisy and kicks you out."

"Shut it, Ling Qi! Senior Brother Li can easily last thirty minutes! Hmph!"

The one called 'Senior Brother Li' smiled smugly and chuckled. "Settle down, you guys. Just watch and see, okay?"

Ji Haogui watched, unable to hear what they were saying. However, when he saw the conceited look on Senior Brother Li's face, he frowned. Jiji noticed and hurriedly said, "They are here to train in true meditation. They have all been here before, sent by some mediocre master whose uncle's aunt's cousin's dog's previous owner's sister's friend had an ancestor from the United Sect."

Ji Haogui nodded and looked at them again.

"Oh."