Chapter 5 Chapter Five — Shrinking the Earth, Treading Water, Riding the Wind

Deep night, the hour of Zi.

From a household in Sanhe Village came cries of anguish that tore at the heart. A burly man stood outside, fists clenched so tight he nearly cracked his teeth, eyes bloodshot.

The one screaming within was his wife.

No one knew how long passed before her shouts grew hoarse, laced with a despair past all hope.

A moment later, a pale-faced young dandy in fine robes stepped out. His brows were sullen, his pupils long and narrow, his bearing arrogant. He did not so much as glance at the man, but tossed him a piece of ancient jade.

"I am well pleased today. A reward for you."

With that, the pale-faced youth turned into a great green serpent, stirred up a demonic wind, and flew off into the distance.

The man walked inside and saw his wife — her dress stained with blood, fallen unconscious. He sank to his knees in ruin and struck his own face again and again.

…

The serpent demon rode the wind and soon reached Scattered-Stone Mountain, alighting before the Five-Tong Temple.

"Little Five, you're back?"

"Did you eat your fill today?"

He walked in smiling, greeting his fifth brother as always — but the smile froze on his face.

For within the temple, the green-faced, fanged idol now lay in fragments.

This meant — Little Five had met with foul play!

The serpent demon's eyes turned swiftly scarlet. He flicked his forked tongue; the tail behind him quivered violently, giving off a shrill, grating sound…

…

Xiaosha Village.

Under the village elder's direction, the villagers swiftly gathered their grain and belongings and set off toward Longshou Mountain to the east.

In the Wude years, rival warlords had fought for the realm without cease. To flee the fighting, the local people had dug tunnels and hidden chambers in Longshou Mountain; now, to escape the serpent demon's revenge, they were forced into hiding there once more.

Li Daoxuan did not leave.

He sat cross-legged on the rooftop, cultivating with closed eyes.

He had chosen neither to flee alone nor to face the demon without assurance. After his turmoil, he had the village elder lead the people away first, promising that once he was fully prepared, he would go and slay the last of the Five-Tong Deities.

He would summon them back when the time came.

It was the only way to have both things at once.

The night was deep, and an ill foreboding nagged at Li Daoxuan. He would not waste time — he was striving to cultivate the spell he had newly gained: Shrinking the Earth, Divine Striding!

The Heaven-Subduing Demon Scripture had poured all its cultivation experience of this spell into him, but to truly master it, he had to labor himself; it could not be done in a single leap.

Bathed in starlight, Li Daoxuan soon sank into a deep, still trance.

The author shares this chapter on the NovelPhoenix site, while the version here was reproduced without approval.

Starlight and moonlight wove together, like a misty gauze draped over him, flowing with a faint, shimmering glow.

In this moment he seemed an immortal descended beneath the moon — untouched by dust, transcendent and peerless.

Starlight and moonlight seeped into his feet, like silver needles pricking the acupoints there, until both his feet grew numb and aching beyond bearing.

Had it not been for the Scripture's imparting, the mere study of acupoints alone would have taken years.

His feet ached more and more, until veins stood out on his forehead and he nearly broke from the trance.

A common man would have thought his cultivation gone wrong, and stopped at once — all previous effort lost.

But Li Daoxuan knew it was all as it should be. Endure this agony, and hardship would yield to joy; he would grasp the spell's first foundations!

He knew not how long passed. As Li Daoxuan was near to fainting from the pain, the agony in his feet slowly ebbed, and at last turned to a feeling of ease and comfort.

In inner vision, the acupoints of his feet shone like the stars of heaven, each giving off a faint glow, while the Yongquan acupoint at the sole hung like a full moon in the night sky, suppressing the host of stars.

Li Daoxuan opened his eyes slowly. About him lingered a certain ineffable resonance of the Dao.

Divine Striding — its foundations were laid!

A smile touched his lips. His feet felt weightless, as if treading cotton, without the slightest heaviness.

He lifted a foot and stepped forward.

Thud!

In the next instant, Li Daoxuan appeared a dozen paces off, smashed against a great tree, blood pouring from his nose.

Li Daoxuan clutched his still-bleeding nose, torn between laughter and tears.

Too fast — he hadn't controlled it yet.

He persisted, practicing diligently, and after a great deal of flapping and squawking, at last grasped this formidable spell, barely.

Holding his swollen brow, pinned beneath a collapsed earthen wall, Li Daoxuan could not help but marvel — this spell was truly something!

With his cultivation, he could not possibly draw and refine the moon's essence. Yet following the spell's method, he could actually use star and moon as guides, stir the potential of his feet, and wield the earth-shrinking art.

For now he had reached the first layer of this spell, called Shrinking the Earth — one step of his equaled ten, even a hundred, of another's.

It did drain mana, though. After practicing but a short while, he had spent nearly a tenth of his store.

Should he cultivate the second layer, Treading Water, he could walk upon water as on flat ground.

And should he reach the highest third layer, Riding the Wind, he could even ride the wind and take wing — the dream of flight made real!

…

Beneath the moon, upon a small hill.

Li Daoxuan watched the villagers depart, and at last breathed easy. At once — discretion was the better part of valor!

One step, and his figure vanished from where he stood; the green Daoist robe flickered like flowing light and was swiftly gone into the night.

At the tail of the villager's column.

The little granddaughter watched the figure speeding away on the hill, eyes full of reluctance. "Grandfather," she said despondently, "will I ever see Daoist big-brother again?"

The old village elder gazed at that ghost-like silhouette, his voice firm. "You will. Daoist Li's power is vast — he will find a way to destroy that demon!"

…

Next day, at dawn.

Li Daoxuan ran hard, heading north, stopping only to regulate his breath when mana ran low, then running on.

Thus, by the break of dawn, he had run dozens of li in one breath, parched and dry-mouthed.

He looked around, unsure where he was — he seemed to have run deep into the mountains. But the flowers and grass were lush, and not far off a brook ran clear, carrying a clean, sweet moisture.

Li Daoxuan cupped the stream water and drank deeply, then lay back satisfied, a smile on his face.

Safe, at last!

He had run with no destination, scattering every which way, precisely so the demon could not track him.

If even I do not know where I run, how could another?

As for footprints — after using the Shrink footwork, his steps were light as a goose's feather; should Li Daoxuan wish it, he could walk even on snow without leaving a trace.

He had to admit, this spell was absurdly powerful. Merely at its foundations, it would envy countless martial masters to death.

Finding the place fair of mountain and water, Li Daoxuan gathered dry wood and wild grass, meaning to hide here a few days and cultivate this spell well.

…

In the mountains, time has no calendar; in a blink it was dusk again.

A wisp of cooking smoke rose; the scent of roasting meat drifted, enough to make the mouth water.

Li Daoxuan had skewered a wild pheasant on a stick and was roasting it over the flames. The forest pheasant's meat was firm and chewy; it sizzled and wept oil over the fire, and with a pinch of salt it was sheer mortal delight.

One bite, and fragrance lingered on the lips and teeth!

Once again, thanks to Divine Striding, Li Daoxuan had eaten chicken he had long missed.

But as he was enjoying his feast, a figure slowly walked out of the firelight and sat down beside him.

"Might I have a taste?"

The fire lit the newcomer's face — fine robes, a pale face without beard, narrow eyes that showed a flicker of disgust as he gazed at the flames.

Yet when he saw the roast chicken, he swallowed, and turned a stiff smile toward Li Daoxuan.