Chapter 50: Foxtails and Plans

A/N: Hey everyone, here's another chapter. Hope you enjoy.

Also, on a slightly less good new note, my writing hasn't progressed as well as I'd hope this week. I'm not falling behind, but I haven't got much ahead either. Might end up not releasing a chapter on Monday again to try and get ahead, but Wednesday and Friday will definitely have chapters.

I'll give a notice about this on Monday depending on how my weekend goes. Sorry for still not being as consistent as I'd like.

Chapter 50: 

“What now?” I asked Pan Song as we both took a moment to calm down at the bottom of the stairs to the temple. 

Up above, the sound of crashing rang out, followed by a rumble of the earth, but it was thankfully muted.

“I don’t know,” Pan Song said, shaking his head as he took a deep breath. “But we definitely can’t go back up there.”

“It was that bad?” I couldn’t help but ask. Things had felt crazy, but I’d thought the ancient formations were supposed to be way stronger. “I thought Foundation Establishment Cultivator and Rank 2 Spirit beasts need to expend a lot of effort into getting into ancient formations?”

Pan Song shook his head before straightening up. “It really depends. Not all ancient formations are made equal. Even then, when it comes to Foundation Establishment Cultivators, if a formation is weak enough that they can break through with force, then their main problem is only using enough power to break the formation, but not everything inside, given how tough the formations are. And given the shockwaves we were feeling, whoever is fighting above us is strong enough to shatter the temple’s formations and the temple itself.”

“Oh,” I said, gulping. It seemed that the temple was indeed a no-go zone now. If it was still there at all. I looked between the two sides of the tunnel nervously. “Then, should we really still be here? What if it causes this part of the tunnel to collapse?”

Pan Song shook his head but followed when I started down the side of the tunnel we hadn’t gone before. “The tunnel should be in better condition. The formation protecting them is far more robust and complicated than the ones around the temple.”

“Oh,” I said, slowing down my pace a bit. “Alright then. Can you figure out where West is? Because I’ve lost my sense of direction after being down here so long.”

Pan Song stopped and took out his formation plate with his good hand and gestured at it slowly with his other. The healing pill must’ve been helping with that. He frowned when the plate responded and turned back around. Towards the direction we’d gone before. “It’s that way.”

I frowned. “Right… the ship had initially come in from the east. So I suppose that makes sense. They just had to move the ship…”

“It's possible it was because of the spirit beast attack,” Pan Song said. 

He was probably right. But it didn’t make this any less troublesome. I hadn’t wanted to go back in that direction.

“So, is there anything we can do to decrease our chances of running into the other Qian clan members?” I asked, really hoping Pan Song had some answers. The tunnels down here were pretty extensive, so the chances of us running into them again might be low. But I’d rather do everything we could to avoid another encounter if possible.

“Well, there are two options,” Pan Song said and started walking back the way we came. He kept his formation plate out. I moved to follow. “Before… whatever is happening up there, I’d imagine Xing Yaling would have headed for the center of the city given her cultivation. So the remains of the Qian clan should be going there as well. We could just try taking the long way around the edges of the city to get to the west and likely avoid them. The tunnels should be large enough for that.”

“Alright,” I said, nodding. That did sound like a much better option. “What’s the other option, then? Going up top once we are further away from the temple? That… doesn’t sound like a good option.”

“It’s not,” Pan Song said, shaking his head. “Doing that while we have no idea where the fighting is happening is a terrible idea. If we had no other options, maybe, but we do. The other option I mentioned is… Ah, here is an example.”

Pan Song stopped in front of an alcove carved into the tunnel walls. There were steps leading up to a circular dais, which had a narrow stone-like post on the end closer to the wall. Around the dais were two more of these posts that came down from the ceiling of the alcove. One of them glowed as he approached with his formation plate, along with the one in the ground. They had the same glowing light lines as the rest of the tunnel but thinner, and the final one seemed broken and remained inert.

We’d passed it earlier, but I hadn’t given it much thought, too focused on messing with my Earth Constructs. Although, thinking back on it, we might have passed more than one of these.

“What is it?” I asked.

“It’s a transport array,” Pan Song said, his voice reverent. Which made sense, if that meant this was a teleporter of some kind, like I thought he meant. “Or at least, it was. This one is damaged, as was the other one I saw before we ran into Qian Zhi. I believe that something might have happened to the interconnected formations sometime in the past, damaging them.”

“Is the other option you fixing the formation and teleporting us out?” I asked a bit hopefully, even if I doubted that was the answer. Otherwise, Pan Song would be more eager.

“No,” Pan Song said, shaking his head. “Maybe if I had months to study this and some expensive materials. Even then, something like remote transportation formations are no simple things. No, the other option is to keep a lookout for these formations, and hope we find one that isn’t damaged.”

“That’s a shame,” I said as we left behind the broken teleporter and continued down the tunnels. “What’s the chances we encounter something like that?”

“I’m unsure,” Pan Song said as we neared another intersection. 

We quieted and slowed down, careful for any unexpected encounters. When there wasn’t any, we took a left, departing from the path we had taken before. However, our pace slowed just a bit as we were now walking along unfamiliar paths. While we hadn’t run into any traps set up by the previous explorers of this place yet, that didn’t mean there weren’t any.

“We’ve only encountered two of those formations so far,” Pan Song said once we left the intersection behind. “With the help of the guides built into the main tunnel formation, I should be able to direct us towards them. But I have no idea how many were damaged. It could be all of them or perhaps just the ones we’ve seen so far.”

“Would we need to deviate from our plans to skirt around the edges of the city?” I asked as we passed a stairwell that might have once led up to a different building. This one, however, unlike most of the stairwells we passed, collapsed all the way to the tunnel down here. 

“If we want to maximise our chances,” Pan Song said, holding up his formation plate. “I believe there might be more of them closer to the center of the city. So it will depend on whether we want to risk running into the Qian Clan more or if we want to find a transport formation more.

I frowned, and we walked in silence for a moment as I considered.

“What are the chances the Qian Clan guys can use the transport formations too?” I asked.

“That’s… very possible,” Pan Song admitted. “They are down here, so they snuck an Array Master with them. Perhaps, like you guessed, where they snuck in from the outskirts of the city. Or… It’s possible the transport formations are what they used if there are similar arrays beyond the city. Either way, it’s possible, but the chances of them using the same one as us… Shouldn’t be too likely. There are quite a lot of them.”

“I think we shouldn’t take the risk,” I said, looking down at my hand, which still had the crystal embedded in it. It wasn’t bleeding anymore, and as long as I didn't touch it, it was fine, but it still kept me from using the hand for much.

It was also a reminder that we were hardly at our best. 

Pan Song still winced when he used his bad arm too much, and I still felt sore all over, even ignoring my hand. My burned arms weren’t hurting as much, and the blistering and redness had gone down, but they were still there. The gashes on my left arm seemed to be healing well, and didn’t affect my use of that arm as much as I’d thought, but it still wasn’t pleasant.

“We aren’t in the shape to take risks at the moment,” I said, shaking my head.

“But we might have to,” Pan Song said, rolling his shoulders as if to test it. “Depending on what’s happening above, the ship might be forced to flee. And if we are too slow, we might end up stuck here with Rank 2 spirit beasts running amok above.”

I grimaced. I hadn’t thought of that. I should have. I guess I expected the Trial Overseers to win. But if they lost, then the ship would be forced to go or else likely get destroyed. “Well… shit. I guess we do need to take the risk then…”

“Yes. We’ll still need to avoid the core of the city, but I’ll start taking us closer to make sure we check as many transport formations as possible. We also might want to pick up our pace.”

“Alright,” I said, frowning but speeding up to follow Pan Song. My body protested, but I was recovering and could deal with it.

A bit later, as we jogged, staying just slow enough not to run headfirst into danger, Pan Song and I both took another healing pill. The energies of the ones we took before had run out. Mine actually ran out faster, likely due to my high vitality, but I’d lost track of it. I needed Pan Song to remind me about it.

After that, we continued in silence, too worried and cautious to speak. Occasionally, we’d hear or feel rumbles from the fighting above. It was more than a little disconcerting, given how deep into the ground we were and how far we’d already gotten away from the temple. Just how widespread was the fighting?

Eventually, though, I realized that I should probably do what little prep I could do in case we ran into more danger. We’d likely be screwed if that happened, but better to do anything to increase our chances than not. 

So I started burning the remains of the spirit beast cores I’d recovered with a single ball of foxfire. To maintain the control I needed, I did it carefully, slowly increasing the flame's size and heat. Once I was done, I condensed it as much as I could. That spot near my stomach where I could store the flames could only comfortably fit so big a flame. Otherwise, even while phased and not burning, it would be uncomfortable long-term.

Once that was done, I pulled the foxfire within myself. It wasn’t nearly as strong as my old trump card, but it was better than nothing. And being weaker, it meant that I had greater control of this flame. It was enough for me to split it off into smaller—but still far stronger than my normal balls of foxfire—flames, giving me a limited supply of more deadly foxfire to use at a moment's notice.

After that, I used what remained of the spirit stones I had to replenish my Qi. I filled up my main reserves all the way, but could only fill my excess by a quarter. Once that was complete, I was nearly done prepping everything I could.

The only thing left I could do to increase my chances of surviving involved my new Skills. Or my new Skill, as the other one wasn’t going to be much use in the near future. But Foxtail Clone on the other hand…

Since it was a choice between potentially exposing part of my power to a friend or dying if we ran into trouble, I decided that I would make use of the Skill if needed. But the only question was just what kind of scenario would require it, and whether I should try out the Skill now. 

It would expose me without there being any danger at the moment if I tried it now. But it might be worth it, as trying out the Skill for the first time in the midst of battle would probably not be a good idea. And at the very least, even if the clone itself wasn’t that useful without practice, the Mind boost would help in terms of combat.

My main ability to fight now was my foxfire, so being able to control more of it more easily would be a boon.

I thought about it for another long moment as we made our way through the tunnels. As I did, I noticed another transport formation up ahead. I perked up at the sight, but deflated when I saw that this one was clearly damaged as well. 

After that, and a bit more thought, I decided it would be worth it. And given my cultivation of foxfire, I could explain it as me trying a technique that I’ve practiced before. Or perhaps Pan Song would assume the fox's corpse I disappeared was a material I needed for the technique.

I could explain it that way… but… probably better to just leave things vague. It wasn’t like even among friends that you tell each other all aspects of your techniques after all.

“Hey,” I said, drawing Pan Song’s attention. “Can we slow down for a moment? I’m just going to try a quick technique. It’s something I’ve been working on, and I think it might help me fight better in my current state. So don’t be alarmed if a fox appears.“

“A fox?” Pan Song asked with a quirked eyebrow as he slowed down. “Alright. But are you sure now is the time for trying something new?”

“Better now than if we encounter more terrible luck and run into danger,” I said, shrugging and slowing as well.

“True…”

With that said, I opened up the status screen for a moment, just to get a brief look at my Skill description.

Foxtail Clone (Active) (C Rank): Manifest a Foxtail Clone drawn from your own essence. The clone can freely shift between a fox-shaped body and a tail attached to you. The clone’s Qi pool is equal to the cost of the Skill. Destruction of the clone can lead to mental backlash and a cooldown.

• Fox Form: Functions as a semi-autonomous second body under your direct command. All stats are equal to 50% of your own stats. Range is 1 mile. 

• Tail Form: Merges back into your body as a living tail, granting a +50% bonus to Mind while sustained. Upkeep can be paid from your own Qi pool in this form.

Only one Foxtail Clone may exist at a time.

• Cost: 25% of Qi

• Upkeep: 1 Qi per minute.

After double-checking the description and comparing it with the instinctual knowledge I got from the Skill, I took a breath and activated the Skill. My Qi moved rapidly, guided by the System through my body. It ran through my meridians in complex patterns before ending with a majority of it at the base of my tailbone. There, it did things that I couldn’t even keep track of, and then I had a tail growing out of me. 

My mind also seemed to… Expand? Sharpen? It was hard to describe, but the sudden boost to my Mind stat was definitely apparent. It took a second to get used to, but then it was like I’d always been like this.

Turning to look at my new tail, I saw that it was black like my own hair. Unlike what I expected, however, it didn’t appear semi-transparent like it was made out of Qi. Instead, it looked like a real fox’s tail, scaled up to fit me.

Experimentally, I twitched and moved the tail around, marveling at how easy it was. It was like I’d always had such a limb. Was that the extra Mind helping or something else? I wasn’t really sure, but it made things a lot easier.

“Is that supposed to happen?” Pan Song asked from beside me. 

I turned to look at him and realized I’d stopped, and he’d stopped as well. He was eyeing my new appendage with concern. Right… I’d told him I’d be creating a fox, and now I had a foxtail. Probably thought I messed up.

“Yes,” I said, nodding as I started to walk forward. It felt a little odd, as my tail was automatically adjusting for my balance. “This is part of my technique.”

Pan Song gave my tail one more dubious look before moving to walk ahead again. I was thankful for that, as I didn’t need to explain.

I walked for a few more moments, just letting myself get used to the feeling of moving like this. When I felt comfortable enough, I focused on the feeling of my tail and activated the next part of the Skill.

“Whoa,” I said softly as something very weird happened. 

It was like my vision just split in two. Which, as I took a moment to adapt, I realized was the case. I’d known from the information the system gave that I would have a link to the fox clone, but I hadn’t realized it would be like this. I could literally see out of its eyes and control both our bodies at the same time.

It almost caused me to trip over my own feet, but somehow I managed to keep control of both my bodies and keep up with Pan Song. He’d turned around and eyed me strangely. Well, eyed my fox clone strangely.

I turned around to look at my clone… And saw the clone do the same thing, turning its head to look behind it while walking forward. Frowning, I focused harder and made just the fox's body turn its head around.

It was surreal to say the least. I could see both my bodies at once now. In one set of vision, I was looking up at my normal body from a low angle. I could see most of my back and see myself looking down at me. It was a perspective of myself I’d never seen before.

Through my other set of eyes, I saw my fox clone's body. It was about the same size as a normal fox, like Qian Zhi’s before it grew in size. Its fur was black and its eyes an amber-yellow. It didn’t look like much, but it had about a quarter of my Qi and stats in it, so it was far from helpless.

Overall, I could see this being very useful at the moment. As long as it didn’t take me too long to adapt, that was. And, I suppose, depending on how bad that destruction backlash was. It only said it could backlash when destroyed, so I didn’t think it would be that bad. 

There was also the fuzzy elephant in the room. That, despite how much trouble foxes have caused me so far, I now had a Skill that actually made my own fox… It was… kinda annoying.

But there wasn’t anything I could do about that now, and I wasn’t about to give up something useful just because of my—possibly irrational—dislike of foxes. So I would just ignore it for the moment.

I turned my main body’s head to look around, noticing Pan Song looking at me curiously. I just shrugged at him, as my fox body moved to walk beside me, testing its limbs as I got used to moving around like that. I didn’t really have to think much about it, as the body seemed to come with the instincts for moving around.

 “The technique worked,” I said. “I’ll need some time to adapt, but this might give us more options. At the very least, I can use it for scouting. And it might help in combat as well.”

“Impressive,” Pan Song said after a moment before nodding. “Hopefully it won’t come to that.”

“Yeah,” I said as we continued on. “Now we can speed up again. Hopefully, we can just reach the ship and get out of this place before it gets any worse.”