Chapter 9: We All Burn Together

In between doing something incredibly stupid and risking his very being in the process More Ian planned. A part of his mind never stopped processing the various streams of qi pouring out of the demonic portal. This tiny part of his mind couldn't ignore that some of the strands of qi were alien.

They couldn't be compared with the qi of earth because these strands were completely foreign. Nothing in the world resembled these strands. They were like 3d objects in a 2d world.

Even by standing next to the portal he couldn't comprehend them which made it easier to reject them. These strands filtered into the demon bear and were balanced with a good measure of wood qi. Seven black strings of qi stretched out in every direction and among them only a handful entered the demon bear. If the bear didn't have wood qi to balance out these strings what would happen?

Among the strings that crawled from the tiny peep hole various rainbow-colored strings flew out before exploding into various strings of qi. Like a cut rope large strands unwound when they crossed the portal. These smaller strands quickly merged with similar elements. The black strands had no where to go. They lingered if they weren't absorbed by the bear.

These observations were calculated in an instant and his plan changed. The bear required wood qi. Then the answer was simple. He'd cut the supply line. By observing the interactions between the green strands of wood qi and how they reacted after crossing the portal, his ballsy plan to absorb all the power pouring from the portal became a little more feasible. If he had even a minor understanding of all five of the natural elements, then this would be easier. By absorbing wood he'd increase the amount of fire qi in his body. There was only one way to get rid of it. Since he didn't have an understanding of earth qi, he had to dump it.

With most of his mental energy focused on cultivation and maintaining his breathing technique that fire had two outlets. The one in his cultivation base was producing too much earthen ash. Increasing the heat wouldn't do him any good. It would burn up more qi that he needed to devote to maintaining his breathing technique. That narrowed down the outlet of his focus. It would also increase the purity of his qi and lower the amount of wood qi to the bear a win in his book. The flaw was his very mortal human lungs. They weren't made to handle fire qi.

To that end, he would pass wood qi through them to heal the damage. That would serve two benefits. First, he'd heal the damage to his lungs but increase the fire output. Second, by observing the interaction between the portal and the bear Ian understood that the bear's wood qi was used as an attractant to the wood qi flowing from the portal. By pushing wood qi into his hurricane, he could greatly increase his attraction of wood qi.

He had a single avenue of safety. Wind directed fire. It wasn't one of the primary elements, but it was a natural force of nature and considered a Grand Dao. More Ian had connected himself with his fire Dao before to keep it from over cooking his fish. By doing that he was able to keep the fire from burning too quickly. He also gained great insight in the inner workings of fire. It was the element he was most familiar with and the one he was most weary of. After being cooked alive he knew to be cautious.

Normally, he wouldn't do something like this. His mental power wasn't anywhere near the level he needed it to be at. Controlling four elements two of them being Grand Dao was beyond him. The most he could do was direct the destruction. If he hadn't already established his hurricane up to a high level and given himself some breathing room in its eye, he'd be more nervous. Fire burned and and left ash in its wake.

What he was about to do was stupid and dangerous. He'd have about a foot of protection between himself and the flames. No matter how he looked at it, this was an oven in the making. When he started, he was sure air would shoot in and heat up his flames even more. His only hope was to increase the speed of his hurricane even more. If his lungs gave out it would be over.

"What's with that face? You were talking with such bravado a second ago. Did you realize its too late for you and your sect? Has your situation finally dawned on you?" Da Chao asked.

More Ian closed his eyes and began slowly adding wood and fire qi to his breathing. Searing pain filled his lung and he choked before letting out his breath. The hurricane hitched for a second. Ian forced himself through the pain and pulled in more qi. Wood qi suddenly began shooting into him and breathing became easier. The pain in his lung grew greater but he could breath.

"What are you doing?" The bear demon yelled. Talismans on the ceiling burned to ash. One after another the ashes of talismans rained down. Strings of black qi continued to amass within the cave but the wood, cutting, fire, wind, and some strings that Ian didn't recognize flowed into him.

Ian brought his hands to his eyes and cupped them firmly.

The pain increased but his breathing never stopped. Rocks popped and hot air rushed out from between cracks. Cutting blades of qi flew faster than ever slicing into the walls and digging deep gouges. The heat climbed at a stead hungry rate. More Ian pulled at the qi erupting from the portal. If he stopped, he didn't know what would happen. He felt his own machinery crack before bits of wood qi filled in those cracks. He couldn't hear anything anymore. The qi continued to increase from the portal, so he increased the power of his storm. The fire grew hotter and hotter and in moments it was out of his control. He could only add to it and push it with the wind.

In the wind he felt the bear charge at him. The portal's eruption of qi began to slowly decline. Bits of rock ripped up from the cave caught in his hurricane. More Ian stood in the only safe place while the storm left his control. He pushed the wind with all the might he had. The last of the talismans turned to ash and the cave shook.

Once on a bucking bronco getting off isn't easy. The bear charged repeatedly. It inched towards the eye of his storm, but those last few feet were an insurmountable foe. The storm began to suck air in from the outside and Ian felt his skin burn. The bear charged into the walls scratching at the walls frantically. Ian felt it with his qi sense.

It scratched and flailed like the wounded animal it was. Ian remained standing and then he heard a mighty crack from above. No matter how he controlled the wind heat always rises. Searing molten rock poured from above like rain. The bear lost its footing the the storm took it.

His machinery cracked in multiple places while he pulled in a massive amount of qi. After a moment he cursed when he remembered he had to take back the beast's pelt. Hopefully, a charred skull would do.

There is no stopping a bucking bronco. He could only fall off and hope the fall didn't break his back. Ian stopped increasing the speed of his hurricane. Fire qi stopped flowing from his lungs and parts of the cave began collapsing. What wood qi remained in the air flowed into him suffusing his damaged body while the fire had its way with him. Ian curled up in a ball in the eye of the storm.

He'd done it. He'd saved the sect by being a complete glutton and devouring the powerful qi flow of hell itself.

…

She stared in awe and fear as the mountainside cracked open. Rock, heat, and boiling gas shot up like a geyser. Meifeng could feel the air flow into the Da Chao's cave. She felt it when the hell gate shut when Da Chao could no longer supply it with energy. Molten rock poured down the mountain and the fire raged on.

More Ian wasn't worried she could sense that. Despite the blinding pain she could feel over their link she knew he wasn't worried. This had been a conscious decision. She felt his thoughts and took them as a warning. Before the hurricane of fire started, she'd found a safe place to hide.

From their link she knew this had been a conscious decision. It wasn't a secret technique or some grand divine ability. This was the power of a human cultivator backed into a wall. They could have fled, that would have been the wiser course of action. Humans were rarely wise. Demons could be wise, but she hardly fit that concept. More Ian wouldn't die she was confident in that. It would be wise of her to kill him and leave the area. This was her best chance to get away with everything.

More Meifeng hopped down from the top of the chasm. It was the only entrance left. It had been nothing but luck that an avalanche hadn't buried the entrance. That would have been a fitting death for a human hero. After defeating the evil and halting the opening of a hell gate, the hero was trapped under rubble and died. He knew the risk but chose to die for humanity. That was the type of tripe humans loved. The death of the hero was a favored story.

She leapt down from the chasm and balanced on a cooling rock. Only a slow steady wind blew around him. It had long since cooled the molten rock around his little safe space. She put an ear to his charred chest and ignored the blackened skin peeling off. Despite the damage his heart was still strong.

She turned her gaze to the charred body of Da Chao. Despite the heat and the molten rock. The bear managed to raise its head. Its nose flexed. His hide was growing back already. She sensed that he had just entered Demi Imp stage three before More Ian flipped the script. By tying himself to the portal his cultivation was severely damaged when it was closed. Without the wood qi flowing out of the portal, he wasn't able to maintain balance in his own cultivation. The deviation had damaged him severely.

She walked over to the gun that managed to survive the whole ordeal. It remained whole on the ground beside Ian. She took it and reached into a robe she made for herself from the clothes of humans. Meifeng opened the cylinder and pushed a few rounds in the chamber.

Without missing a beat, she jammed the barrel into the bear's socket and pulled the trigger. The bear's back legs shot out from under him. She pulled the trigger twice more. She felt the qi his body collected through his life of cultivation release. Wood qi flowed out of him and into the softly breathing More Ian.

It wasn't instant healing or even very quick healing. His breathing settled and the winds grew steadier. Fortunately, she knew of another abandoned cabin near a lake. She'd need a kind of bag to help her carry Ian in. She picked up the axe of his favored weapon and stared at Da Chao's corpse. The mountain air was quite cold. She turned to see More Ian shivering. There was no sense in leaving a perfectly good corpse on the ground. She licked her lips at the thought of eating the bear's guts.

She'd seen how humans skinned animals before. Taking the axe in hand she started the process with the genitals. They just happened to be the softest and her favorite part of most meals.