Molting the Mortal Coil

A few minutes later, Sage was settling a third Dragonfly into one of his Insect Cages. After chasing down the first one, it had been a simple task to find a couple more. All he had to do was linger nearby a swarm of Mosquitoes, which thankfully found his scaly body unappetizing, and once a Dragonfly came into range he released a paralyzing cloud. ‘Subduing Spores’ was a wood based Qi Technique that acted as a tranquilizer. For those weaker than him, a lower rank, it would cause gradual paralysis. Against those of an equal rank it dulled the senses and slowed reaction times, while those who were more powerful would be relaxed and find their emotions dulled. It was one of the most useful techniques for a Tamer, just so long as the target didn’t have a resistance against the effect. There was actually more than a few species of beast that the Subduing Spores had an opposite effect upon. As soon as they felt themselves slowing or relaxing they would become enraged and become even more powerful than before.

With the use of the Subduing Spores, Sage merely had to wait for them to fall from the sky before scooping them up and stuffing them into an Insect Cage. At the same time, the many Mosquitoes in a swarm would also be affected and he didn’t waste the opportunity to snatch them up as well.

Along the way he also ran across large water striders and a species of violet colored snake. He wasn’t sure what species the snake were, nor their capabilities. Since he’d become part snake he felt compelled to capture and study all the snakes he found. As such, he merely threw out some Subduing Spores upon the snakes and snatched them up. They were only around Level 15 so it was a cinch to capture them. He’d look into their species later. A dozen different species of fish swam past him, but he ignored them. It wasn’t as if he didn’t bring enough rations, so there was no need to spend time catching fish, unless of course something about them caught his eye.

A dozen minutes later, the purple fog started to clear. An area at the center of the lake a few hundred yards wide came into view. The clear space seemed to be formed around an island, one which was swarming with beast shaped ghosts and spirits. Seems I’ve found the right place.

Moving closer, Sage examined the island carefully before slithering up onto the shore. The next step was to investigate. This was supposed to be a Training Grounds of some sort, so how exactly did it operate? Sage found that the center of the island held a huge array formation inlaid into a stone floor. The stones were tightly fitted and looked to be in perfect condition. Not a single weed or speck of dirt had been able to fit its way between the stone blocks beneath them. Upon close examination, the stones seemed perfect cut and fitted, such that barely more than a hair could fit between them. As usual his first action was to copy down all the arrays before starting to decipher their function.

A few hours later, he threw a dozen spirit stones into position on the arrays. The stones would slowly be consumed over time and was the reason that the arrays were no longer functioning. With new stones put into position the many arrays lit up, the geometric symbols interweaving and overlapping in very specific fashion. Each shape glowing a different color created a swirling kaleidoscope as the symbols rotated slowly. The arrays continued to grow brighter until finally the center most array lit up with a massive beam of light. The beam swept out over the lake around it, suddenly stopping and shrinking in diameter. The light had focused on something which soon came into view. One of the beast spirits that had been floating nearby the lake was trapped in the beam of light and being drawn in towards the center of the array. When it was nearly to the middle the beam swung over to the side, passing over one of the other arrays which lit up in response. The beast spirit was pulled over the activated outer array and seemed to be trapped inside.

With a beast spirit trapped, the central beam of light shot straight up into the sky again before starting another sweep. The whole process being repeated till all eight of the outer arrays had a beast spirit trapped within them. At that point the central array dimmed, the huge beam of light winking out of existence, leaving only the 8 smaller arrays. Each of them only seeming to carry a dim glow, only lighting up when a beast spirit smashed up against the barrier that trapped them. Looks like I’ve reactivated it properly. I wonder how it all works?

This place was called the ‘Soul Training Grounds’ so these beast spirits must be helpful in training the soul somehow. Sage could damage these spirits with his flames, but that was far from being a training method. With no other ideas in mind, he gave it a try. Using his rope dart sheathed in the flames of his Verdant Firebrand to battle with one of the spirits. The barrier that trapped the spirit had no effect on him whatsoever which made the battle quite safe. Unfortunately, the spirit was actually stronger than the Twin Ringed Serpent’s Twin Soul had been and it took quite some time for him to gain victory. In the end, he seemed to have accomplished nothing, except to learn that as soon as the spirit was vanquished the center array lit up again and pulled another spirit in from the lake to refill the empty spot.

“I found some sort of ghost trapping array out in the swamp, Peak Master.”

After trying a dozen different things and getting nowhere, Sage returned to the Soul Taming Abode and reported his findings to Peak Master Zhen. She pondered over things for a while before consulting with some of the Elders. After a short time she slapped her hand down onto the open pages of a book.

“Aha! Here it is. A place similar to what you described. The Soul Training Grounds. The disciples of the Soul Taming Abode head there to temper their Beast Spirits!”

Sage was obviously out of the loop, and held up his hands to slow them down, “What’s this about Beast Spirits, Peak Master?”