Embersteel: Legend of the Warrior BlackSmith

Chapter 12: Reality is but a shell

Jiang Feng shouted as he held the weakened body of his father, his mind was in chaos, what could have possibly happened between the short time of his breakthrough, his father leaving to enter the outer realms, him suddenly running into this place, and how hellish it was and the sudden appearance of his father in this place. The strange happenings after embarking on the path of cultivation were truly mind-boggling and frightening to him!

"Dad...who did this to you?"

Jiang Feng screamed, his mind racing, he could see that his father was dying and there wasn't anything he could do to save him. His tears welled up as the stench of blood poured down on his head, the howls of ghosts and the cries of the damn shook his soul to the core, his heart, mind, and soul on the verge of collapsing.

"Steady your heart, and your will, will be firm. The Dao of man is limited but the Dao of the Gods shall forever be everlasting. Those who embark on the road of reverse cultivation will forever fight against the challenges of harnessing the power of the divine, seeking to reshape their destiny and forge a path beyond mortal limitations. The Heavens will send roadblocks, it will try to kill you but you too can take from the Heavens, what you perceive as reality is nothing but a shell, young man you are about to die, pull yourself from the jaws of death!"

A deep voice echoed inside Jiang Feng's mind like a bolt of lightning, the voice sounded near but also far but the voice sounded familiar as if he heard this voice before. "It's reverse cultivation again" This thought popped up in Jiang Feng's mind, he could hear the laughter and cries of man, the eerie smell of blood, and the hungry roar of ghosts.

Not only that but he could sense death, a stillness so dark and lonely that his skin crawled all over. He could feel cold sweat dripping as he held his father's body, but was he truly holding his father's body? Wasn't his father a man that could shatter the sky? Didn't his father remind him that this was only the lower realm, how could such a place bring him to his knees?

"What I perceive as reality is nothing but a shell?" Jiang Feng frowned as his mind began to work on overdrive, the clan of the Warrior Blacksmith was blessed with shocking talent both in forging, comprehension, and cultivating. Not to mention that Feng was able to summon the long-lost Eternal Flame Codex and housed it in his mental sea without even knowing. Thus one could say that he had the most remarkable talent in the entire clan's history.

"These markings on the walls, they aren't just markings but words, words transformed into lines and patterns, imbued with spiritual energies"

Feng took a deep breath as he focused on the lines, their formations and patterns, how they intersect, and how the flow of spiritual energy flowed along the lines. Some lines looked sharply drawn as if a sharp sword was used to cut these lines in the walls. Some rough and frightening, furious and horrifying, as if they would behead you at any moment. There were hundreds of thousands of lines that formed into patterns.

"Reality is but a shell, the shell of the world, is but an illusion, born from the Heavenly Dao" Feng murmured as he looked down at his father who turned into sparks of light and fine lines. The howls of the dead and the eerie stench of blood receded alone with the feeling of death.

"Haha very good, with so little reminder you could comprehend the essence of the Dao so well, this world will have a monster shortly indeed"

A hearty laughter echoed behind Feng as he turned to see a gold book so massive it almost took up the entire space in the cave. The book seemed to be stuck between the void, both real and illusionary, it was the same voice that gave him pointers in his moment of despair.

"Senior, thank you for your pointers, it surely saved my life."

Feng bowed to show his respect, he could feel a strong connection to the massive gold book that was before him, it was a deep feeling that was like a bond between blood, a feeling that told him that it would never hurt him, as if they were both the same.

"Hmm, your comprehension speed is shocking evening in the old world. I can see that you've figured that I won't hurt you, that's why you've remained so calm, you Jiangs are all the same"

"You have two days before this cave falls apart. I've copied the markings on the wall for you to study, you should leave the place as soon as possible, people are heading this way and you won't be able to handle them. When you exit the cave, head north"

The Eternal Flame Codex rippled with gold light before vanishing, Jiang Feng took and deep breath before leaving. After two hours, four men showed up at the cave entrance in dark cloaks, their faces hidden from sight.

"Interesting"
..................

Jiang Feng spent six hours heading northbound, while doing so he spotted several wild beasts fighting so he waited for serval moments in hiding. There was a muddy patch nearby which he used to cover his scent, putting mud on from head to toe. He was very hungry and wanted to eat his fill, the beasts were fighting near a stream, there were four in total with large bodies that looked similar to lions or tigers.

They had sharp claws that looked like iron, bloodshot eyes, and thick muscles. As he continued to look he saw not too far away were human remains, broken and bloody.

"There are people nearby, this is good"

Jiang Feng thought while still in hiding. After several bouts of intense fighting, one of the lion creatures died, and two fled with torn flesh and broken bones. The one that remained was badly battered and beaten, with large patches of flesh missing, its wounds dripping with blood and it was extremely exhausted.

"Here's my chance"