Molting the Mortal Coil

The eyes are the window to the soul. The Eye of the World was said to be a window to the soul of the world. It was located in the section titled ‘Heavenly Waters’, as it said that the tears from the Eye of the World were able to nourish the soul. The reputation of Heavenly Flames were indeed the highest as they were powerful weapons and vastly improved the abilities of Alchemists and Blacksmiths. Heavenly Waters weren’t any less rare or powerful, but were less impressive compared to those beautiful and powerful flames.

Just using this Eye of the World as an example, its effect was astounding and very unique but how many people had much use for tears that nourish the soul? Most cultivators focused on using Qi Techniques to fight, or strengthening their body to battle with weapons. There were others that focused on spirit power, but they were usually those who focused on a Profession. Only very rarely did people use Spirit Power to create combat techniques, and those who used their souls were so few in number as to be called legends. When a cultivator reached rank 6 and transformed their soul into a Nascent Soul, it would gain the ability to leave the body and operate independently. If the body was destroyed they could even continue living on like a ghost as just a Nascent Soul without a body. The main barrier to soul techniques was that next to none of them could be performed before rank 6, so only the strangest or most powerful of Clans or Sects focused on using Soul Techniques.

Happy to have found what he was looking for, Sage realized that none of these Heavenly Treasures listed how they were supposed to be harvested. Frowning, Sage went back to the introduction area and found what he was looking for.

‘Each Heavenly Treasure is far too powerful for any normal harvesting methods. One must rely on luck and carefully examine the conditions of the treasure and create their own solution! Refining a Heavenly Treasure for oneself would mean defeating its individual will and having a method to store it in the body as well as having the ability to resist its power. Good Luck!’

The instructions amounted to barely more than a pep talk. Sage was saddened as his hopes were dashed, yet at the same time he noticed it did list a couple important points. It needed a place to be stored, and it had to be subdued or it would run wild. The last bit about resisting power seemed obvious for someone who wanted to say… keep a flame in their body that could melt metal in an instant. Luckily, this ‘Eye of the World’ didn’t seem nearly as harmful as some of the other Treasures. The only disturbing thing was that mental fog that was flooding his mind.

Willing the Serpent to leave the top of the Well, Sage was surprised to find that the mental fog started to dissipate as soon the Serpent stopped looking down towards the Eye. After a few minutes the fog was all gone and the Serpent lost it’s sluggish reactions. Seems the Eye has more effects than just the mysterious tears. Wait… the Tears!

Sage moved the Serpent back into the Well and even had it swim downwards, getting closer to the Eye so he could watch it carefully. He wasn’t exactly sure when those arrays would light up, but he had a hunch. Being careful not to lose focus, Sage recalled those nights on guard duty while guarding a caravan and practiced a few mental exercises he’d learned to stay alert. He’d picked them up from other caravan guards and they were quite handy here as he didn’t with to miss anything. His Spiritual Sense also extended to feel for any minute changes around the Eye.

A half hour later something finally happened. Sage felt the arrays begin to activate with his Spirit Sense and it was then that he saw a single drop dribble out of the corner of the Eye. The ‘drop’ was less like a teardrop and more like a sparkling star. All he could make out was a blinding flashing like a sparkler on the fourth of july, lifting upwards and passing by the Serpent before exiting the Well and disappearing into nothing. Urging the Serpent to travel back up, Sage watched as the same process from before was complete, a little thread of a soul getting turned into a large ghost. I was right. Seems like its using the tears to grow these big ghosts. They must have used them for something.

With the purpose of the arrays discovered, Sage willed the Serpent back down towards the bottom of the well. The strange fog rolled back in, but the Seed of Life kept his mind clear just as before. As the Serpent approached closer to the Eye, the fog shrunk the area of light that the Seed of Life illuminated. His worries were for naught as even when approaching within a foot of the Eye, the protective area was still quite large. The issue now was how to take the Eye. Such a rare and valuable treasure, he couldn’t just let it sit here unclaimed. Ready to take a chance, Sage extended out his Spiritual Sense, probing the Eye of the World for clues.

A sudden suction force was emitted from the Eye of the World, consuming the spirit power he’d sent out as a probe. Worse yet, even after the spirit power he’d sent out was consumed the suction force didn’t stop. More and more of Sage’s spirit power was rapidly being stolen at a faster and faster rate. His heart began to race as he couldn’t stop the flow of power, at this rate in only a few minutes it would drain it all. Once his Spirit Power was all gone, he had no idea if it would stop… what would it drain once his Spirit Power was exhausted? Struggling to keep his calm, Sage knew that as soon as he started to panic it would only make things worse. As his Spirit Power depleted the Seed of Life seemed to lose its brightness, shrinking the area of protection even further. This is not looking good…

Quickly searching through his Storage Ring for an idea, Sage popped a Green Revitalizing Pill into his mouth to help recover his spirit. At the same time he took some drastic measures and urged the Serpent to wrap around the outer rim of the Well. Not sure if this crazy idea was going to work, he urged the Serpent to pressure against the edge of the Eye and aimed to lift it. A shocking energy surged through the Serpent’s body, flooding its meridians with energy. Worried about the Serpent, his protection from this soul stealing water, Sage acted immediately and pulled the Eye of the World directly into the space inside the Twin Ringed Soul Serpent’s body. It was a huge risk, but time was limited and Sage was out of options.

The Eye of the World was a large sphere two feet wide, appearing to be an eyeball with an eyelid that covered it like a pod around a pea. With it being so close, Sage noticed that the Eye seemed to be made of some sort of stone. Surprisingly, the stone seemed to be moving and rolling in place, changing colors and composition constantly. When the Eye was brought into the Serpent, they were no longer separated by the internal space and the effects upon Sage multiplied even as they began to lessen upon the Serpent’s body. His Spirit Power shrank rapidly, just as the mental fog got even thicker.

Sage’s soul was pushed back to the Seed of Life, the light it gave off no longer strong enough to reach down to the waters of the Spiritual Sea below. Sage wrapped his rope dart around the Eye of the World and ignited his flames around it. Contrary to his hope, the orange flame did not weaken the Eye, instead making it start to rumble. The rumbling extended to the fog within Sage, making it start to swirl. That terrible fog turned into a furious whirlwind, the eye of the tornado shrinking smaller, closing the distance around Sage’s soul. I sure hope this is just the last of its strength being used desperately!

Putting all his hope in this last ditch effort, Sage forced all of his Qi into the flames that had doused the Eye of the World. The whirlwind only got stronger, raging into the skies and collecting the clouds of the spiritual sea and even lifting up the waters below. It was stormy before, but this is crazy! At least I went out giving it my all...