Chapter 185 - Secrets in the Darkness

Ao Wen drew a shuddering, wheezing breath as she tightened her embrace around the illusion of Hou Jia. "Thank you," she said, coughing slightly and spitting out a glob of foamy pink blood. "Anything else. You want. To say?"

Confusion rippled across the illusionary Hou Jia's face as she pulled back to look at Ao Wen. Strangely, Ao Wen's face contained no hurt, no shock, no hatred. The pain in her eyes was purely physical but despite the pain, her gaze was gentle and the slight smile on her lips was… warm. "You expected this?"

"No," Ao Wen said, shaking her head. "Not this. You're wasting. Time," she said between ragged breaths. "What else?"

"What do you mean what else," the illusion asked. "You're the one who's running out of time. Shouldn't you be doing something right now? You showed so much promise, fighting the beast, tracking me down, stalking your prey. What is this from you now? Giving up? Not going to fight to your last breath?"

"You're not. My mother," Ao Wen said slowly. "But, you called me. Wen'er. You were. Disappointed. To be. Disappointed. You have. To care. Why? Do you care?" Ao Wen asked. She'd come to the conclusion long ago that this vision was more than just a method of unlocking the manual. It wasn't about aligning her body and her soul with the methods of the manual like she'd originally believed. 

Oh, the acupuncture, the injected venom, the harrowing experiences, all of these things could adjust the flow of energy in her body and the shape of her soul, but this vision was more than that. It responded to her. It pushed at her and it yielded when she pushed back. It felt… alive. She suspected even  more when she saw the pit of broken souls. If this was just a manipulation of her own body and soul, there was no way for her to encounter other souls in this vision, yet here they were, the broken souls who failed to unlock the manual. 

Now, as the knife pierced her body, she realized that things were far more connected than she'd suspected. Spider's web indeed. The ritual hadn't just aligned her body and soul with the manual, it had opened her soul to others… to whoever or whatever else was connected to the dark web of the Cult of the Dark Weaver. 

She didn't know if the person she was speaking to know was someone still alive or the remnant soul of a person long dead. Maybe it was a fragment like the bit of Qi Yue left behind in the Crown of the Myriad Paths Immortal Empress. She didn't know, but she hoped to use the time she had before her lungs filled with fluid to find out. 

"I confess that you are unique," the illusion said after a few moments of thought. "You and I have much in common. We do not belong to this Mortal Realm. This place is a cage. A prison. Tasting your soul, I wondered if you could return to the world outside this realm. I hoped that someone with a soul that tastes as old as yours would have a way that I could follow."

"Who. Are. You?"

"I am Dark Weaver," the woman said, her appearance rippling until a pale skinned woman with jet black hair and bewitchingly dark eyes stood before Ao Wen. "You Spirit Folk call my kind 'Ancestral Spirits.' This is me," she said, gesturing at her current appearance. "That is also me," she said, pointing to the massive spider looming above them. "Your time is almost up. Last words?"

Ao Wen's mind reeled at the revelation of the woman's identity. That Spirit Folks and Spirit Beasts shared a common root was a well accepted legend but no one living claimed to have encountered a true Ancestral Spirit! "Work. Together." Ao Wen spat another glob of foamy blood, her vision becoming increasingly dark at the edges as she struggled to draw breath. "Have family. In Immortal Realms. Help. Each other."

"You think you can bargain your way out of this? You came to me to master my power, to establish a connection to what I have designed. I have hope for you, yes, but there are rules to be followed," the ancestral spirit explained. "You failed. Failure must reap its reward. I will feast on you and wait until another comes along," she continued, gesturing to the pit. "There are always others."

"Didn't. Fail." Ao Wen said thickly. "Chose, connection. In darkness. You're alone," Ao Wen said softly, stepping closer to the ancient spirit and extending a hand. "Not any more."

"Interesting," Dark Weaver said, looking at Ao Wen's extended hand without moving. "As a predator, you have potential. Your Earth Dragon blood gives you natural dominance. Yet you suppress those things to form connections in darkness. Your darkness and mine are different, but they are not incompatible. Very well. You may cultivate my manual little alchemist. But only to the fourth stage. If you wish to progress further than that, you must seek me out and convince me that you're worthy. I won't be as lenient the next time I test you," she warned sternly. 

Ao Wen knelt stiffly on the large tree branch, bowing her head and cupping her hands towards the ancestral spirit. "Disciple Ao Wen thanks Master Dark Weaver for her instruction," she said formally. 

"Hmpf," Dark Weaver snorted. "You will not speak of me to others, not even your lover. Your life is my greeting gift to you. You have ten years to prove that I didn't make a mistake in bestowing this gift on you. You do not fit with any of my cults or sects, do not seek them out. Continue to impress me and I may allow you to have a place among them but for now, the manual is guidance enough. Show me what you can do with it if you want any more help in the future," she finished. 

With those words, the encroaching darkness finally overtook Ao Wen, sweeping her away from this nightmare realm and back to the world where Feng Xi and Ma Xiaohua awaited her return.