Molting the Mortal Coil

With the Inner World put in order, Sage could now focus on a task that had been waiting for him since his breakthrough. The creation of a new body. It wasn’t as drastic as it sounded. Every rank breakthrough would increase the quality of the cultivator’s body. There was a saying that the human body was a perfect creation in the womb. It was only after being born that it was tainted by the air and food of the human world. Without the proper environment, humans could only grow up weak and muddled. The path of the cultivator was to gather the pure energy of the Heavens and Earth. The more power they accumulated, the more of the world’s impurities they would be able to expel.

Sage didn’t know if any of that philosophy was correct, but it was definitely a fact that each rank improvement came with a strengthening of the body. Each and every cell in his body was improved, getting stronger, tougher, more efficient. In the process, the dead cells and other byproducts from before the change were removed from the body. This usually turned out to be a disgusting oily black sweat or excretion from the pores of the skin. It also was followed up by a vicious trip to the bathroom. The sixth rank was slightly different from those that came before. It also brought a qualitative improvement to the body, but it didn’t happen automatically during the breakthrough like before. Instead, Sage instinctively knew how it operated.

Reaching the sixth rank was a transformation and evolution of the spirit, soul, and core. Changing the body was actually voluntary, and it was actually related to the method used to reach the sixth rank. It was a matter of the understanding of laws. At this level, every cultivator would truly diverge. They should infuse their understanding of law into their own organs, flesh, and bones. In short, a body of laws. A cultivator who studied a Fire related law would end up with a body that was immune to fire, or at least a vast degree of resistance to it. How strange would it be if a person who spent centuries studying flames could be so easily injured by them? The more laws and the deeper their understanding of them, the more powerful a cultivator’s body would become. It was no longer a single time upgrade, but a process that could be repeated to infuse ever greater or varying laws within the body.

The Body of Laws acted in a similar manner to the laws themselves, strengthening or weakening those things that fell under its influence. Sage immediately labeled it a ‘passive’ version of Laws, compared to the ‘active’ use he’d been using in the past. Not only would it be effective without any effort on his part, but it would also enhance the normal usage of laws by making him more attuned to them. Now that Sage had handled all the most pressing business, he settled down and slowly entered a meditative state.

Thankfully, the actual process of forming the Body of Laws was not difficult or dangerous. It was quite simple, but it required calm concentration and plenty of time to slowly infuse the power of law into the body and carefully transform it. Over the course of the next few days, Sage slowly gathered the power of the Primal Law of Corruption, bathing the cells and the underlying invisible structures of his body with the overbearing energy. Just as in the past, large amounts of ‘impurities’ were removed from his body, excreted as a thick oily mess. His whole body was soon covered in the disgusting stuff and he belatedly remembered he should have taken off his clothing. Oh well, that’s what the Wardrobe Spider is for after all.

A few days later, there was a vile puddle beneath him on the ground, but he had finally completed the process. His whole body felt revitalized. Oddly, he didn’t seem to be any more powerful, but he just felt good. Strong and healthy. He quickly tore off his clothing, throwing it all into a trash heap to be burned, the exception being his belt. The spider shaped belt buckle could weave him a whole new outfit any time, and only the things mounted on the belt were unaffected. The Storage Pouch and Beast Bag that hung on it were extremely common and Sage used them as decoys for the Universe Ring. He carried the belt into the bathroom of his manor and quickly rinsed it off, then he set it to spinning a new outfit while he stepped into the shower.

Long ago, he’d created a simplified magical device to create endless amounts of hot water, specifically for the simple pleasure of being able to take a shower. Being from the modern world, it was one convenience he just couldn’t go without. He’d tried to use it to make money, but he wasn’t all that successful. Thankfully, he’d met Wan Ling and she was able to take his ideas and correct his failed business. Man, she is really going to be mad at me for disappearing for another two years.

After the shower he made a very long and painful trip to the toilet. Feeling much lighter, he took another shower and then dried off and ate a massive meal. He rested a few more days and grew accustomed to his new body before finally returning to the outside world.

He emerged beside a Chameleon Mantis the length of his forearm. It had been nearly two weeks since the battle and Sage was curious to try out his new body. Upon entering the outside world, he was surprised!

Nothing leaped out at him, he was happily shocked. He was already reaching out to use the power of law to resist the deadly air of this world. Yet, he found that he was breathing easily. Unlike before, he didn’t have to use the Law of Poison to resist the vicious atmosphere. He immediately understood. The Body of Laws. The Law of Corruption was a Primal Law, far more powerful than the Major Law of Poison. With the innate effect of his Body of Laws, the harsh air of this world no longer bothered him. Anything that tried to corrupt him would automatically be resisted, while his own efforts to ‘corrupt’ would be improved.

He laughed loudly and then re-entered the Chameleon Mantis. The cat sized bug flew through the air, doing a fly over of where the battle took place. It was far too chaotic for him to notice anything different, and he had no reason to spend time using the Timeless Eyes to check if anything happened while he was gone. Instead he had the Mantis fly over to the nearby quarry-like place where the Flares made their base. Compared to the last time he’d seen it, it looked like a graveyard. Before, there had been many Flares lazing around in front of bonfires or walking around for some business or another. Now, there wasn’t a single person in sight. Even so, as he got closer, he finally noticed signs of activity. There was a large amount of noise coming from one of the larger buildings.

It sounded like a great crowd of people shouting at each other. Sage guided the Chameleon Mantis closer to the huge warehouse-like building. It had tin, or some sort of metal, roofing with high windows near the roofline, but none on the first floor of the building. They tilted inward, making it easy for the bug to fly into, of course, most of them were already smashed so that really wasn’t a concern. Inside, the Chameleon Mantis entered a large warehouse or factory floor. There were a handful of large steel pillars, but otherwise it was quite wide open within. Around the edges of the room there were scattered groups of furniture with things like targets, cages, boxing rings, sawhorses, and other unusual things. Sage made the guess they were places for ‘entertainment’, while the center of the warehouse was used as a meeting place. Mainly because at this moment there were hundreds of Flares gathered in that central area and shouting ferociously at each other.

The Mantis clung to a steel rafter brace and looked down at the crowd. From their high vantage point, Sage could see that the crowd seemed to be divided into four parts. One part was a large wide mass, a row of people four or five deep. Then, next to that row or wall were three masses of similar size. A few dozen people clumped up together and faced toward the other two groups. With just a few moments of listening he already had a rough understanding of the situation. They were ‘electing’ a new leader. The three smaller groups were the support for three prospective leaders, which were currently facing off in the center, while the larger row of Flares were the undecided ‘voters’. It seems that it only takes two weeks for these people to forget their loyalty and fight to be the new boss.

“Boss will be back soon! We have to double the defenses and wait patiently. When Boss returns, he will solve everything with a wave of his hand!”

Sage felt like that man down there heard his thoughts. It was like he was walking down the street and a random passerby swatted at a fly, yet their hand had landed right on Sage’s face. He resisted the urge to insult the man, since it would only make his goal here more difficult. Thinking of his plan, he easily resisted the violent impulse. Instead the Chameleon Mantis flew towards one of the steel pillars around the center of the room. At that moment Sage exited the insect’s inner space and leapt into the outside world. In mid-air he called upon the Human Seal and returned to his true form. The huge cobra body curled around the supporting pillar and it looked out over the crowd. Its body just beneath the head suddenly flattened and the cobra’s hood was revealed. The strange trio of overlapping pupils started to oscillate up and down, the weird vibration striking straight into the minds of the Flares that all turned their heads up to examine the source of movement that had caught their eyes.

They all gazed into the Hypnotic Eyes and in just a few moments they were all sent to the Inner World after they were stripped of valuables.