The Blue Vein

In the history of the cultivation world, it was unknown during which era or millenia the first sentient weapons were created.

Although it had probably emanated from the work of one single legendary craftsman, the knowledge of the technique spread quickly to the entire world.

As such, sentient artefacts were not that hard to find. The only thing that made them quite rare was that no matter how many times the technique to produce them was refined, no matter how many generations passed, the success rate of creating such an object was really low.

Most of these artefacts, especially weapons, were kept like treasures and passed down from ancestors to heirs, becoming family or even clans and sects heirlooms.

The level of intelligence of a weapon was directly linked to the resources used to create it and the mastery of the craftsman behind it.

As it turned out, Shin Sumi's Gold Tyrant Flying Sword was either not that intelligent or possessed a really bad temper.

As soon as it had sensed the presence of a Vein of Hell Fire in the vicinity, the sword had not been able to resist the temptation and had flown in its direction.

Shin Sumi had been in an almost comatose state, frozen solid by the effects of the Ice Flowers Domain. Without her knowledge it was probably what saved her life.

In her last attempt to break free from the mirror formation of the Ice Flowers, she had slashed her sword downwards before losing consciousness, tightly clinging to her sword with frozen fingers.

The Gold Tyrant Flying Sword dragged Shin Sumi across the air for hundreds of meters through a cavern that had probably not seen the light of day since ancient times.

It wobbled in its path, half trying to control its flight with the burden of its master gripping the handle, and half trying to shake her off.

The blue Vein of Hell Fire was in sight, and its effects were only starting to fill Shin Sumi with enough energy to open her eyes when the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword lost some altitude.

Shin Sumi crash landed on the transparent ice, sliding for dozens of meters, unaware of what was going on except from a sharp pain that was slowly awakening as her body recovered from its frozen state.

Finally liberated from its burden, the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword took to the air once more before planting its double edged blade deep into the Vein. Only the handle was visible, if you managed to look directly at the source of all Shinsoo in the second ring of the trial dimension.

Shin Sumi understood where she was before she could even move freely. She was laying in an unsightly position, with much of her robes torn open revealing pieces of flesh purer than the ice she was resting on.

"The second Vein of Hell Fire!" she mumbled. Her words didn't really make sense as she couldn't feel her jaw.

The excitement drowned out the pain quickly and she slowly started to piece together how she ended up there. It was truly a miracle.

She ignored that all the bruises actually came from the sword and now the Ice Flowers Domain nor the fall itself. It didn't matter anyway as the Vein of Hell Fire was enough energy to recover her full strength and more thousands of times over.

The pulsating source of Shinsoo irradiated with such strength and raw energy that Shin Sumi's skin tingled, exactly like it had back in the outer ring.

The only difference was that this time the source was blue in color and more on the Yin type side.

Shin Sumi realized that even the ice touching her skin didn't feel cold at all, almost burning her actually.

"So the 'fire' in Hell Fire isn't actually flames at all!" she thought as she recovered quickly. "The first one was red and burning, deep under the earth like the belly of a volcano. But this one is blue and although it is burning, it doesn't have heat. Or else ice wouldn't be the main characteristic of this place..."

"How lucky was I to be trapped by the Ice Flowers right above the Vein of Hell Fire?!" Shin Sumi thanked the Heavens.

The little grey nut rolled on her arm silently but ecstatically, seemingly unaffected by the dense Shinsoo pulsating so strongly that it was almost overbearing.

Shin Sumi looked at the nut for a second through half closed eyelids, her maximum at the moment.

"Is the nut excited because of the source of Shinsoo or because it is a plant or animal of some sort?"

Shin Sumi didn't know why the thought had popped into her mind, but it had brought along a whole lot of ideas and conjectures.

Maybe in this place she was able to think more clearly, stimulated by the blue Vein of Hell Fire, but her brain was functioning at high speed and clarity now that she had completely woken up.

"The trees back in the outer ring were much bigger close to the cave entrance to the Vein... And there was this huge crocodile, the bigger creature I've seen so far, that was really close to it too... Well except for the blur that chased it afterwards...

Anyway, in here too, the flowers were densely packed right above this place. And now the little nut. Maybe the source of Shinsoo makes living things stronger the closer they are to it!"

It was now so obvious that Shin Sumi felt ashamed of not having thought of it sooner. It make so much sense! And it that conjecture was true, then it would be way easier to find the remaining three Veins in the next rings!

"But before that, there's something more important I need to do!"

Of course she hadn't forgotten her friend Lan Hui.

Shin Sumi checked her identification medallion for any transmission that could have occured while she was out. It was useless but she didn't know it.

Close to the Vein of Hell Fire, not even the Elders back in the sect could see or sense her, the fluctuations of Shinsoo in this place acting like a shield, much stronger than a puny jade medallion.

Shin Sumi tried to contact Lan Hui, Bai Xuengen and even Xiao Yue but none of her divine sense messages seemed to reach out.

She wanted to escape the cavern and keep on looking for her friend but that was impossible for now.

Turning around and protecting her face with her small white hand, Shin Sumi took one glance at the glowing blue vein down below.

The handle carved from the Stone Leaf Tortoise was the only thing that could be seen of the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword.

Sitting with her back to the Vein in a cross-legged position, Shin Sumi calmed herself to enter a state of meditation.

"I have to wait for the sword to finish its refining. I can't leave without it, and I need all the energy I can gather to find you, Brother Lan."

***

Shin Sumi was unaware of time passing while in her deep meditative state.

She hadn't been immersed for more than a week when an orange robed girl clad in a black cloak reached the other side of the first mountain pass.

Xiao Yue was shivering slightly, even under her big fur cover. Her first attempt at crossing to the ice ring ended abruptly with her having to go back to the jungle area.

There she had found a suitable spirit beast and hunted it for its fur. Xiao Yue's hunting skills were known among the entire lower valley as being top class, even for an orange talented disciple.

Imbuing the coat with the Yang energy of a few beast cores in order to fight the cold, the resourceful girl was now finally stepping on the snow.

She marveled at the sight of the blue crevices like lightning bolts between the fangs that were the ice arcs soaring towards the Heavens.

In her hand was the identification jade she had just tried to use to contact Shin Sumi.

"Nothing at all. I don't think Sumi is that far behind, which means she must be in front! Where are you, sister?"

Her breath formed a small cloud in front of her delicate lips as she sighed before moving forward across the land of snow and ice.

Xiao Yue eyes were vigilant at all times. Her instinct as a hunter was more developed than many, and she knew how to recognize traces and hints that indicated danger.

That applied to spirit beasts but also to cultivators. One of the things she feared the most wasn't an animal, that she could deal with easily. But the cunning nature of cultivators, especially in the conditions of a trial by fire, that was something else.

Across the jungle environment, she had seen many instances of disciples tricking one another over an item, a precious artefact or a treasure. Almost as soon as she had left Kan Xi, the orange robed girl that was following her, she had participated actively in the hunt for treasures.

Xiao Yue worked better alone, unbothered by the lack of company, but she pitied those who couldn't.

"I may pity them, but that is how the game works" she thought as she travelled the almost empty white landscape.

At some point in a small area hidden by a forest of ice trees, sounds of battle echoed in the distance. Interested by them, Xiao Yue approached the scene from a hidden point of view.

Three disciples, all with red robes, were battling an Ice Winged Serpent the size of a bear. On top of the creature's head, a short sword could be seen planted. The beast didn't seem bothered by it at all, as if it had spent decades with it there. In fact small greenish white scales were coiled around the basis of the sword, almost as it the beast had fused with the weapon.

The sword shone with a glint that only a certain nature of artefacts produced.

Stars shone in Xiao Yue's eyes and she understood why the three disciples didn't want to give up the fight against the beast that was obviously too strong for them.

"A good-grade treasure!"

Xiao Yue was going back and forth in her head, wondering what to do. Judging by the power of the Ice Winged Serpent, she could probably kill it with almost no risk to herself.

The red robed disciples though, that was another deal altogether.

Xiao Yue didn't want unnecessary contact with other disciples, and also felt a bit bad about reaping the reward they were actively fighting for. Had it been someplace else and at another time, she wouldn't have thought about it twice, but here...

"I really have to commend them. Already being this far deep into the second ring, these red robes have strength!"

The trial had already been ongoing for a few months, but what was that amount of time compared to the length of the whole Rising Star Tournament? The fact that red robed disciples had succeeded in fighting off the cold of the second ring, making it this far this soon meant that they were well prepared, and deserved their reward.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a low shout from one of the three boys.

"Now!"

It was only then that Xiao Yue realized that the three of them were placed around the Ice Winged Serpent, forming a perfect triangle with the creature in the middle.

Rows of light shone on the ground, green lines connecting the three boys together and attacking the snake at the same time.

"A green level spirit formation! They have this level of power?!"

The surprise in Xiao Yue's eyes was underwhelmed only by the surprise felt by the snake itself. As the green lines wrapped around it, the snake was helpless. Like burning hot chains, the lines seemed to sink inside the beast's flesh, cutting slowly into scales and bones as if they were nothing.

A sizzling noise arose, drowned in the beast's cries of pain, until it was dead.

Panting, the three red robed disciples had lost a huge amount of energy by unleashing a spirit formation spell that was above their current power.

From what she had seen, Xiao Yue conjectured that the spell could probably be used by a single green talented disciple, but given their low power, the disciples had to be three in order to successfully use it.

The boy that seemed to be the leader told one of his two companions to retrieve the sword that stuck out of the Ice Winged Serpent's head, while the other was charged of finding the beast's core in the middle of the mass of charred flesh.

The leader then took out a fan from his bag of holding, revealing to Xiao Yue the reason for their strength.

The fan was rainbow colored and heavily damaged. The paper triangles were almost all ridden with holes and some of the wooden armature was broken.

As the boy was observing the fan, the last remaining paper part that was untouched suddenly ripped. Along with the tear, the fan caught on fire, green magic flames destroying it quickly, forcing the boy to throw the thing in the snow where it continued to burn unnaturally.

"That was its last use... Thankfully we seem to have found a new weapon on par with it, brothers!"

Xiao Yue understood instantly. The boys had repeatedly used the fan in order to pass trials and acquire treasures. That was how they managed to get this far already.

She was about to turn around and leave, having finally decided to leave them alone when a chuckle erupted from the boy on top of the snake head.

"We? We have found a new weapon? I don't think so, Lao Wan. It is time to end our collaboration now that your precious fan is gone. NOW DIE!"

In a flash, the red robed boy launched itself. In his hand the scaley short sword drew a circle in the air. Unable to escape and taken by surprise, the boy called Lao Wan couldn't respond in time.

The sword entered between the shoulder and the neck and almost didn't slow down until it had escaped the boy's body on the opposite side, just below the torso.

Without a word, the previous leader of the group fell to the ground, the white snow forever tainted by his blood.

The third boy of the group, obviously the youngest, was standing there, his eyes bulging out of their sockets with shock, unable to comprehend.

Xiao Yue saw his instinct kick in as he turned around to flee but too late.

"With that sword in my hand, even orange robed disciples will think twice before attacking me, don't you think you can escape, Ning Ho!"

The treacherous boy threw his sword, easily finding its target after six or seven spins in the air. Without having escaped more than fifty steps, the boy named Ning Ho fell, the sword planted deep between his shoulder blades.

Xiao Yue refrained a gasp. Even she had been unprepared for the scene that just unfolded in front of her.

When she looked back up, the last standing boy was wiping the blood of his newly acquired sword in the snow, laughing like a maniac.

Xiao Yue's eyes had already shifted from encouragement to hatred. If before she had scruples about getting the sword after their fight, now she only wanted to make him pay.

***

Shin Sumi opened her eyes amidst a sea of blue light.

The Vein of Hell Fire had dimmed by more than seventy percent compared to its brilliance from before.

Without wasting any time, Shin Sumi scanned her own body anxiously. Excitement rose quickly in her, messing her breathing rhythm.

"Fifty second Shinsoo Door! I opened four of them in one go!"

Just like last time, the Vein of Hell Fire had directly boosted her cultivation by what could only be considered an enormous leap.

Shin Sumi marveled at her newfound strength. She wondered if now she would be able to fare better against the giant crocodile from earlier.

Four Shinsoo Doors wasn't much normally, but Shin Sumi had long passed the Primal and Outer Doors. During the Spirit Doors phase, each one was way harder to break open than the last, needing an unimaginable amount of Shinsoo to break the barrier.

With the amount needed for the fiftieth door alone, one red robed disciple would be able to directly open the first twenty doors. Considering that most disciples would normally only break through a dozen openings in their cultivation, it showed how insanely unusual Shin Sumi's cultivation was.

Her meditation close to the Vein of Hell Fire and the absorption by the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword had emptied a good portion of the Shinsoo source. It was unknown how long it would take for its strength to grow back.

But as of now, the Vein seemed to be on the verge of extinction. In fact it was barely enough to sustain the environment.

The entire ring was directly linked to the Vein of Hell Fire, and due to the relative frailness of the ice, the ground started to tremble while Shin Sumi was checking herself.

Cracks started to appear in the walls of the cavern where the source was located.

A chunk of ice the size of a house started vibrating a second before it detached. Right above Shin Sumi.

It was at the same time that the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword finished its absorption. A golden arc of light broke through the air, instantly returning to Shin Sumi's hand faster than lightning.

The thin golden blade effortlessly cut the bloc of ice, equal pieces falling on either side of Shin Sumi.

The sword that had started like a rough and dull piece of metal was now closely resembling the leaf of some treasured plant.

Its slick profile was more refined than any weapon Shin Sumi had ever seen and the blade was so thin it almost was translucent.

It made no doubt to Shin Sumi that the blade had undergone a massive change in power.

Following the path opened where the block of ice had fallen, Shin Sumi leaped out of the cave in hope of finding a safe way back to the fresh air.

The cave crumbled on itself soon after, the Vein of Hell Fire now buried again for who knows how long.

Shin Sumi wrapped herself in her cloak. With the recent events, the cloak was now full of holes, barely covering the new set of robes she had donned. But Shin Sumi didn't feel the slightest cold.

She looked in the distance towards the yellow ray of light, her hand seizing from her bag the vibrating piece of jade.

She ignored how long she had been under the ice, and only hoped that Lan Hui had been found. With clenched teeth, she sent a sliver of divine sense into the identification medallion.