Fang Hua’s eyes faded, from black to gray, from gray to white. Her shoulders relaxed, and her expression turned blank once more. The green lines faded from her fingers, and the black blood vanished as well. She stepped toward Hui silently.
Hui took another step back, then stood, waiting. ...
2022-03-20 22:18:18 +0000 UTC View PostThe scraps drifted to the ground. The puppets drew back. Xi Guanxi stepped forward, then hesitated. “No… blood?”
Green threads lashed out at Xi Guanxi’s back. He leaped forward, then flicked a finger. A pair of puppets rushed toward Jin Xian. Snarling, she sprouted fangs and claws. ...
2022-03-19 00:29:00 +0000 UTC View PostTheir feet touched the ground. In the same instant, the power that held them dissipated.
Xi Guanxi charged. His sword lashed out, a blaze of silver. In his far hand, he gestured, throwing out strands of glowing green.
Hui stared, eyes wide. He jumped back.
“Too slow.” Xi Gua...
2022-03-18 22:56:11 +0000 UTC View PostArthur led the way down around the corner, into the shade of the hill. Thick bushes crawled in horizontal lines along the hillside. Red, ripe berries hung under dark green leaves. A sweet smell wafted their way.
A basket dropped into Gale’s hands. Beside him, Kino jumped and caught his ba...
2022-03-18 22:47:58 +0000 UTC View PostDawn light filtered through the windows, playing over a pair of blankets tucked under the large table. Kino snored away. He rolled in his sleep, throwing out an arm. The arm struck Gale in the gut.
Gale let out a quiet oof. He blinked awake, then scowled and pushed the arm off of h...
2022-03-18 22:47:12 +0000 UTC View PostThe day passed slowly. Kino led Gale on a roundabout route toward Arthur’s house, darting from stand of trees to stand of trees. In ermine form, he slipped through the tall crops, occasionally peeking up for a moment only to drop down again and bounce ahead. Gale followed him at a crouch. Whene...
2022-03-18 22:46:31 +0000 UTC View PostAt the top of the hill, Gale put his hands on his hips. He cast his gaze across the farm as the wind caught his hair, stirring it around his face. The oversized jacket streamed from his shoulders, almost a cloak. “Where to start?”
Kino stared around, on-edge. “What if that human comes...
2022-03-18 22:45:48 +0000 UTC View PostThe further they emerged from the forest, the more populated the road became. The forest thinned, then vanished, replaced by rolling farmland. Pastoral farm houses sat back from the road, scattered amidst big red barns and wandering cattle. Humans drove laden oxcarts toward the village and rushed...
2022-03-18 22:44:47 +0000 UTC View PostGale hustled along, waddling on his squat limbs. He lifted his nose and sniffed the air, peering around. “Everything looks really big from down here… I need a bigger body.”
Heavy crashes caught his ear. Branches snapped. Brambles snagged. He stopped and stared off into the distance. T...
2022-03-18 22:44:04 +0000 UTC View Post(Author note): Hey everyone! I've started working on a second novel, once again. Here's the first few chapters! At the end of the month, I plan to split off another two tiers, one for everything (at about +$2) and one for TLHASO (at the same price). I've got some feedback that people don't like h...
2022-03-18 22:43:09 +0000 UTC View PostHui stepped through the door and into light. He stood in a small room, boxed in on all sides by glowing walls.
A sword instantly thrust at his neck.
Startled, Hui toppled backward. He didn’t fall very far; only into Jin Xian’s arms. She caught him numbly, face blank.
Oh,...
2022-03-17 01:42:59 +0000 UTC View PostHui gestured Jin Xian back. She hopped back and stood where he’d sat, gazing blankly at the ghouls around them. Hui drew a deep breath and looked out at the ghouls rising through the earth.
How many are there? Ten… twenty… thirty… fifty? Fifty fourth-stage ghouls? Grandpa trial ...
2022-03-17 01:42:03 +0000 UTC View PostJin Xian stood in front of Hui. Green light flickered over her eyes. The green threads coiled in her palms, almost invisible from the outside. Only a faint green glow against her robes stood out in the darkness.
Ghouls circled around them, lurching closer step by step. Fluctuations at the t...
2022-03-14 01:25:04 +0000 UTC View PostAs he fell, he crossed his arms, thinking to himself. This realm… I wonder if it’s physically inside the remains of the snake ancestor? We gathered a snake, then passed through its blood and bones. Where are we headed next, I wonder?
Ahead, a light blazed out. He smiled and hur...
2022-03-14 01:24:14 +0000 UTC View PostSo determined, Hui buried himself deeper into his meditation. This time, he focused on the two auras. Although one aura emanated from each dantian, the two dantians had their own sets of pathways that independently curved through his body, meaning his whole body emanated both a death aura and an ...
2022-03-12 22:01:56 +0000 UTC View PostAs soon as the idea to absorb the entire ocean passed into his head, Hui’s eyes widened. He smiled. I have to. I must! To do any less would be to turn down this heavenly opportunity. If I turn it down, when will I come across an opportunity like this again?
I’m not even in ...
2022-03-12 22:01:14 +0000 UTC View PostThe sea trembled. It reached toward the gem, drawn by its immense powers of suction, but couldn’t break the seal.
Hui furrowed his brows. He grabbed the snake and pressed it against the gem, then fed his qi into the gem to strengthen its power of suction.
Still nothing.
No...
2022-03-12 04:03:20 +0000 UTC View PostFar below, a glitter of white caught his eye. Hui blasted off another two, three talismans and zoomed toward it. The snake in his hand diminished, growing even smaller.
Using qi… uses the snake up? Hui’s eyes widened. He measured the distance to the white with his eye and fired...
2022-03-12 04:02:37 +0000 UTC View PostBlack burst around Hui. He rushed into the darkness. A force shoved him away from Bai Xue, but he didn’t slow down or fall. Instead, he raced off in a different direction.
“Bai Xue!” he shouted.
His voice faded into the void. Hui frowned, then shook his head. Bai Xue will be...
2022-03-10 01:46:07 +0000 UTC View PostAs Hui slept, Jin Xian sat silently beside him. The ghoul’s body began to change, quietly but surely. Her teeth grew into fangs, and her finger and toenails became razor-sharp claws. The black blood and the puppet qi inside her swirled, growing stronger as well. Within the milky-white that coat...
2022-03-10 01:45:19 +0000 UTC View PostHui passed by Xixing on his way out. She hacked away at the large cicada, happily butchering it for parts. Translucent and purple ichor splattered over the ground around her. He walked up beside her. “Elder Sister, I’m heading out now. Will you be safe here?”
Yi Ping gave him a fierce...
2022-03-07 00:35:10 +0000 UTC View PostHui drew out the segment of gold wire he’d cut earlier and the lighter of the two pieces of amber. He circulated them above the corpse, injecting his qi into them. They began to resonate, fluctuations merging into the corpse. The corpse resonated back, the remnant scraps of qi calling out to th...
2022-03-07 00:33:45 +0000 UTC View PostHui stared. He looked at Zhubi, and Zhubi looked at him. He cleared his throat. “Ah… Zhubi is…”
“He’s always been with you, hasn’t he? Actually, I’ve been curious about him, too. Is he your spirit beast, or…?” Bai Xue asked, frowning.
Hui hesitated another few seco...
2022-03-05 19:02:46 +0000 UTC View PostStepping forward, Xixing spat out a small, dark pill. She held it up in the air and crushed it. Immediately, black smoke rushed out of her fist and coiled toward the cicadas.
The cicadas fluttered their wings. Hui lifted a talisman, expecting them to attack, but instead they rushed at the s...
2022-03-05 19:01:54 +0000 UTC View PostThe swarm of cicadas buzzed all around Hui. He backed away slowly, his dagger out in front of him.
One of the smaller ones hurtled at him. He slashed. Black energy traced after the dagger. It slashed into the cicada. The cicada paled and withered. It fell to the ground, color drained from i...
2022-03-03 01:23:06 +0000 UTC View PostSwooping in, Bai Xue led the way directly to the base of the crystal. Twice as tall as Bai Xue and three times as wide, the crystal towered over them. A thick gold wire wound thrice around its base, easily as wide as Hui’s index finger at its thickest, though it tapered to a hair’s width at i...
2022-03-03 01:22:23 +0000 UTC View PostThey wound deeper into the geode. The further they progressed, the denser and larger the crystals grew. Every so often, Hui stooped to check for materials, but each time he found one, it was either too low level, or Xixing dismissed it for being too impure. The deeper they went, the purer and hig...
2022-02-28 04:18:40 +0000 UTC View PostAt the very edge of the sect’s boundaries, far beyond the valleys, so far away the skeleton was only a blur in the distance, the shuttle finally slowed. It circled down to earth, looping through the air. Fa Chuyou hopped off, landing delicately on the ground. Moss-covered boulders climbed all a...
2022-02-27 23:34:58 +0000 UTC View PostGhouls wandered around them, groaning and muttering. Fa Chuyou wandered between them, occasionally pausing to tweak something. Distinctly uncomfortable, Yi Ping shied away every time one wandered near.
On the other end of the spectrum, Bai Xue peered at the ghouls, poking at their faces and...
2022-02-26 16:17:08 +0000 UTC View Post
Had a pic commissioned for Xiao Hui. What do you guys think? He's a handsome cultivator. Next time, should I get him kowtowing? XD
Zhubi doesn't have his patterns... but they added Hui's cute snek for free, so I wasn't going to complain!
2022-02-25 02:23:03 +0000 UTC View Post