章 77: World Of Runes

*Things like sexism and racism are purely for worldbuilding and to make it more realistic. Thank you for your understanding.*

Qing Fang stood before the great golden wall of runes as its light shone down over his entire body.

He felt the eyes of Da Shi Fu Wen's remnant consciousness lock onto him tightly, somewhat unnerving him. Qing Fang could clearly feel that if he stepped away in fear at this moment, he would instantly die. Or worse, be bound like a slave until he did.

It seemed as though Da Shi Fu Wen was desperate to bestow his inheritance upon somebody; anybody. That was why he let even a Catsith be a potential inheritor before him, and also why he did not raise any concerns about Qing Fang's demonic appearance.

It was strange as humans were widely known to be the proudest and most hateful race, though they had the strength to reinforce it. So, for Da Shi Fu Wen to be so accommodating when beasts and demons came to try for his inheritance, Qing Fang found it strange. Though the scholar thought himself to be a priest of the Dao, so having such thoughts would realistically be beneath him.

It was not an overstatement to say that humans were the strongest race of all. In fact, Qing Fang was a bit despondent at the thought of stepping out into the Mortal Realm. This was because, from the knowledge taught to Qing Clansmen, the Clan was very deep into human territory.

And there had not been a single human in all of history that was not religiously loyal to the Heavenly Court. That power was so unbelievably strong that the current Patriarch of the Qing Clan, Qing Xie Han, did not even qualify to enter...

Qing Fang looked forwards and let his eyes focus on only a single rune of the many profoundly shining ones around it. He looked at it deeply and was even stunned as he saw that the rune was comprised of thousands of even smaller runes, and those runes were formed of even smaller ones. It went on until Qing Fang's vision failed him, which stupefied him.

'Just what power does this wall contain..? Or...what is contained within it?' These were Qing Fang's thoughts as he gradually raised an arm that was nearly twice as long as Da Shi Fu Wen's golden translucent body.

His fingers, speared by crystalline black claws, glided through the air smoothly and aimed to reach out for the golden rune that he had focused on before. His movements were slow and solemn, showing that Qing Fang didn't dare to be lackadaisical at this moment.

Qing Fang looked up as his claws readily approached the mass of gold, his gaze meeting with a pair of stern eyes looking down on him. Those eyes seemed to contain a wistful acceptance of whatever may happen, but Qing Fang could tell they looked at him with some sort of hope.

Qing Fang averted his gaze and looked at his claws that were only a hair's breadth away from the runes.

"Hehehehahaha! Roar!" A strange cackle came from behind him, followed by a deathly screech that permeated his ears. Without looking back, Qing Fang could tell it was the blinded Catsith laughing, seemingly thinking that if it failed, he would too.

Qing Fang ignored its screeches as he finally took a deep breath and bridged the final gap, touching the golden runes.

The deep black claw touched upon the violently surging runes and surprisingly sank into it easily. However, what surprised Qing Fang was that the wall felt like sinking his hand into something similar to a thick and sticky liquid.

The runes almost seemed to be made from water as a clear inside pressure engulfed Qing Fang's claw as it submerged into the golden mass of art. He interestedly stared at his submerged claw that now shone with a golden tint, almost relishing in the lovely feeling it gave him.

However, Qing Fang guessed that this wall, which almost seemed sentient, wouldn't be so kind to anything other than an "inheritor". The power contained within was likely to be able to kill all cultivators on this planet, save a few hundred!

However, it was at this moment.

Qing Fang noticed an irregular movement within the wall, contrasting the smoothly vibrating runes! It looked to be a mass of runes deep within the wall that was mobilising, forming into something like a disfigured, thin claw as it reached out to grab Qing Fang's submerged claw!

Qing Fang let the thing approach him. It seemed to float closer with almost no momentum and seemed completely weak and powerless. The golden claw surged over at a slow speed before it was moments before Qing Fang's gleaming black claw...

And Qing Fang watched it slowly grasp onto his claw with a gentle touch. His eyebrows were slack as he didn't seem alarmed or unnerved by the little golden claw that seemed to be holding his hand calmly. Until...

"Ugh..." Qing Fang's eyebrows immediately tensed as his expression became ugly! He felt the grip of the dainty golden claw suddenly become immeasurably tighter, almost crushing his claw into dust!

And Qing Fang's body was suddenly pulled forward, his head jerking downwards at the sudden movement! He raised his head with somewhat nervous eyes, however, he was yanked forward with dreadful force yet again!

His entire arm was submerged into the golden wall, and the soothing pressure now seemed crushing as Qing Fang saw his flesh deformed under the weight!

Suddenly looking up towards Da Shi Fu Wen's remnant consciousness, Qing Fang's eyes searched for reassurance. Suddenly, he didn't feel so sure about the inheritance. He had seen the cruelty of Da Shi Fu Wen already displayed and considered what he was in the eyes of that remnant consciousness!

"Good luck."

Plain words were spoken and Qing Fang's throat heaved as he heavily swallowed his sudden doubts. He was just surrounded by too many dangerous figures right now.

Looking back at his submerged arm, Qing Fang's haze hardened as he saw the golden claw suddenly flay! It arched out into huge thin golden webs that were like wire before clasping down into Qing Fang's arm and climbing across his body!

It malformed his flesh into something formed of runes, with golden veins running across them haphazardly! Qing Fang felt as though his flesh was being pressed down upon brutally and the feeling was crushing, a burning pain alongside it!

And then, Qing Fang felt a strong pulling force enacted upon his body; not something he could withstand! The runes continued to climb up his arm and covered his fine white fur in a layer of moving golden runes! They moved like ravenous ants as they moved along his tensed neck and upon his face, making him feel as though his head was being encased in searing steam!

His body, which was gradually being swallowed by pulsing gold, suddenly went limp as it was harshly pulled into the golden wall with a single dreadful pull. The air from Qing Fang's lungs was forcefully squeezed from his body and he felt his wings being moved up against his skin forcefully, almost as if being positioned!

Huge power flowed through the runes as they encompassed every part of Qing Fang's body, searing his skin with a pain that burnt his brain! It looked as though he had just been taken by the runes, his figure becoming an outline of surging gold, yet the pain was immense and his body was held still forcefully!

And right after he was pulled into the wall, Qing Fang felt a dreadful force placed upon himself! One much greater than the mere searing pressure! He felt as though his body had just been dragged sideways, pulled out of reality!

The sudden force caused Qing Fang's mind to thrash around inside his skull, sending his eyes dull and blood leaked from his orifices! His eyes seemed dazed and drunk as they looked around him, sensing a sudden burst of light before him!

Qing Fang searched for the ground before him, searched for something stable! Yet, all before him was just air as his hands grabbed nothing! His body heavily knelt down onto something that felt like the floor, his hands immediately being planted upon it and supporting himself as his body heaved!

His glazed eyes suddenly comprehended the light flooding into them and the image of Qing Fang's hands pressed upon the floor came unto him! However, he also saw a torrent of blood slipping down from his own head!

Hurriedly feeling his face, Qing Fang felt his ears, eyes and nose all bleeding profusely! His head was still banging in pain and the white giant seemed drunk as he continuously felt the blood on his face and smeared it across his fur with a slack jaw!

The ground beneath him appeared to be grass, however, looking deeply, a minuscule chain of golden runes was imprinted upon the small blade of grass! Every blade of grass!

Recovering as soon as his mind comprehended the situation, Qing Fang felt his injuries heal as he looked around him. He saw the grass formed of runes and a disbelieving expression came over him!

'This...is a new world? That human...created a world of runes when he was alive..?' Qing Fang thought with absolute incredulity. What was this power? Creating a world? Could a Formation Master be so powerful?

Regardless, the unbelievable might of Formation Masters was imprinted upon Qing Fang in this very instant. To think he previously disdained it, thinking it a waste of time and resources. That now appeared to be the epitome of ignorance and foolishness.

He looked out before him and saw a wide and completely flat green field of grass. The place was weirdly flat, with not even a small mound or hill even an inch tall out across the wide space. Looking up, the sky was completely blue, and there was not a sign of anything but a constant shade of the same blue all throughout. No clouds, none, only blue.

Not to mention that the entire world seemed to drop off suddenly, falling into an abyss of the same blue that made the sky. And if he looked down off the edge, the soil that made the ground winded down along with the sky infinitely it seemed.

When he looked closely at everything, he only saw golden runes. Even the colours that he saw were formed from golden runes, which was something that Qing Fang didn't understand. He was too ignorant in the matter.

"Welcome, welcome!"

A loud shout came from above Qing Fang and he squinted his red eyes as he looked into the bright sky and saw a small figure made of bright gold. He wore robes that hung past his legs for five meters, making him seem like an eternally flying existence that disdained to step foot upon the ground.

Naturally, it was Da Shi Fu Wen's remnant consciousness.

Qing Fang bowed his head to the figure before raising it and looking at him with inquisitive eyes. His face was still smeared with his own blood which made him look beastly alongside his hardened eyes.

The remnant consciousness floated down with a magnanimous visage before he spoke grandly.

"Withstanding the teleportation to this space can be counted as passing the first trial. Very good; I am pleased. It is not a matter of physical strength, but mental strength to withstand the pressure. But, since you didn't even lose consciousness, you can only pass with distinction!" The words were spoken with lofty purpose, yet worldly joy was contained within.

Qing Fang nodded his head sternly. 'So that was teleportation? It indeed felt like my body was ripped from reality and thrown elsewhere; a strange feeling!'

"As you can see: this world is not real. It is artificial, made by Da Shi Fu Wen while he still lived. It was an amalgamation of all of his knowledge, and took countless years of study to create. This will be the arena that hosts the trials of the inheritance." The fact that the remnant consciousness clearly didn't think himself to be the real Da Shi Fu Wen, who was long dead, was stated subtly in his words.

"There will be five trials in total, and the difficulty of any of them solely depends on the inheritor as they test different attributes. This is the arena for your first official trial: the trial of strength.

However, if you manage to fail this with anything less than a distinction, it will surprise me. With a constitution such as yours that allows you to bridge two major realms from your real cultivation...such a thing is amazing. It is simply vastly superior to even Catsiths!

In the trials; you can fail, pass, pass with merit or pass with distinction. Well, I say "you can fail" but you cannot. Failing even one of the trials will result in your failure to obtain the true title of "inheritor" and your life will be forfeit." The remnant conscious spoke concisely and crisply, and Qing Fang could tell he was not here to stay.

"Senior, what happens if I pass all five trials?" Qing Fang asked as he stared up at the remnant consciousness with an eager visage.

"Heh, how great would that be?" The remnant consciousness first muttered under his breath and chuckled, however, he turned to Qing Fang and spoke loudly.

"That would make you my inheritor and you will be entitled to take treasures of equal value to your degree of success in the five trials." The remnant consciousness spoke with a smile, however, Qing Fang was confused.

'Only entitled to take treasures? I thought that the remnant consciousness sought after a successor to inherit Da Shi Fu Wen's talent in formation techniques?' Qing Fang's brows furrowed.

"Senior, forgive me for being so forthright...but I was under the impression that Senior wanted to find a successor; a disciple." Qing Fang said somewhat bluntly and unapologetically. He already knew that the remnant consciousness would not kill him before he underwent the five trials. That was likely due to an order left in its brain that the real Da Shi Fu Wen had left at the time of his death.

Hearing his words, the remnant consciousness seemed to show no reaction whatsoever and only stared at Qing Fang with that same smile. However, Qing Fang could see a change in its eyes, an unpleasant change, even though the smile was constant.

Eventually, the remnant consciousness seemed to show a change and an apologetic expression appeared on its face. However, that unchanging smile from before lingered in Qing Fang's mind. This remnant consciousness was only pretending to act the same as Da Shi Fu Wen, probably hiding a mechanic or maybe insidious nature?

That did indeed cause Qing Fang to stiffen up a little bit. All the expressions that the remnant consciousness showed were merely fake; an act put up by it. It was likely that the true nature of the consciousness was that of a different being, yet it possessed the memories of its former master.

A puppet pretending to be a human. A demon pretending to be an angel. It was quite an unnerving thing and did definitely cause Qing Fang to become much more careful.

He started to ponder about the actions the remnant consciousness did unto the chained Catsith. Maybe Da Shi Fu Wen wasn't such an insidious character, but it was the doings of the remnant consciousness' true personality?

Qing Fang steeled in his mind that he had to be careful about bringing forth the remnant consciousness' true personality. He had to make sure his actions could be judged by the orders left in the head of the remnant consciousness.

If he acted unconventionally or asked questions that were outside of the orders that the remnant consciousness had to stick to, then who knows what could happen? If he maybe asked the remnant consciousness what the weather was like, it might suddenly kill him if it wanted to.

The monologue about Da Shi Fu Wen's past? It was likely written by Da Shi Fu Wen himself before being implanted in the remnant consciousness' "dialogue". If Qing Fang did something that the orders left in the remnant consciousness did not have an answer to, then the remnant consciousness might be allowed to act as it pleased...

"That is indeed it intention of this inheritance ground. I must find a successor for Da Shi Fu Wen before I either away with time. It has already been a thousand years and nobody has passed the final trial. I even had to go so far as to use the flesh of failed inheritors to keep the runes alive until another inheritor finally succeeds."

The words of the remnant consciousness were much different than before and did not have that "lofty" feeling. This was likely another being apart from Da Shi Fu Wen speaking right now...

"However, it is a shame. You can only redeem treasures even if you become the inheritor as you are not human." The remnant consciousness said with a hateful expression that scared Qing Fang. It was clear the remnant consciousness thought of him as a mere waste of time...

"I suppose that was Da Shi Fu Wen's wish?" Qing Fang said carefully.

"Yes." The remnant consciousness said plainly before staring at Qing Fang with dead eyes.

"Well...that is difficult." Qing Fang said ponderingly.

"Indeed." Another plain response.

"But...are there any conditions that allow you to ignore that specific order?" Qing Fang said as he looked up inquisitively. If he could get the maximum benefit, he would. Otherwise, his being here became a little more inefficient.

The remnant consciousness had a horrific smirk on its face as soon as it heard Qing Fang's question. He then spoke with bared teeth and cunning eyes.

"Hehehe, you must be very knowledgeable about remnant consciousnesses to know this. Your words even tell me that you know I am not the real Da Shi Fu Wen. To my knowledge, that is impossible for anyone in the Freedom Alliance's City or the Hidden City to know."

"Firstly, the Freedom Alliance has fallen since Da Shi Fu When died and the city is ruled by the City Lord. And secondly, I am not from this pathetic cage of beasts." Qing Fang said to the remnant consciousness who had floated very close to him.

"Not from the cage of beasts..?" The eyes of the remnant consciousness slowly became astonished. However, it didn't seem to want to know about the outside, maybe it just didn't care.

"Now tell me: you can ignore this order, right?" Qing Fang became more and more sure of this fact.

"It is possible, but you must pay an equivalent price." The remnant consciousness said boredly, as if the "price" was something he didn't find to benefit himself.

"You must establish karmic ties with Da Shi Fu Wen and swear upon your life as the price to achieve them." The remnant consciousness said.

"Karmic ties? I thought-" Qing Fang started. He didn't know what karmic ties were. He knew of the Law of Karma, but that was mostly just superficial decoration to him. However, the way "karmic ties" was said told Qing Fang it was something entirely different to that.

"I don't care, and this is just useless to explain to you now. Pass the trials first, or die." The remnant consciousness disappeared into thin air and left these words behind, aggravating Qing Fang and making him scowl.

And then he looked around the artificial world, waiting for the first trial, the trial of strength, to begin.

*3,313/3,000 words*