Lin Feng had found the best place for himself. Much like his time cultivating at the market, he was spreading himself across a wide area with his powerful soul.

He was now understanding a new part of his Dao. During his time with his family he had begun to enter a rut caused by peace. While it was right to calm the mind and embrace tranquility, chaos would eventually make its way into your life.

He saw the carnage below and felt the emotions of the people and beasts there. As the chaos grew, so did his ability to sense the battlefield.

His soul was expanding quickly. He could feel the constraint placed upon him by his body, it felt like a slowly tightening straightjacket. If he hadn’t been given the his cultivation method along with many pills from his master, he was sure that something would have gone catastrophically wrong.

While he was progressing up the ranks of cultivation, it felt like every stage and realm constrained him even more. While he was physically stronger, his soul far overpowered his body. This lead him to adopt a passive role in the fighting.

He sat on a lower deck of the spirit vessel and looked down at the battle below. He saw the tech from Earth, the constant flow of reinforcements, the invading fire demons and the center of the action.

A new ability he was developing was the spiritual nudge. It was the beginning stage of spiritual transmission, something only Nascent Soul cultivators could do.

Lin Feng could tell where the humans were losing the battle. He would find the nearest higher realm cultivator and send them the nudge.

It was a little like hearing your name in a crowded room. You think you hear it, but are unsure about the origin and direction, so you look around for someone addressing you.

In the confusion of the battle, many experts would turn and find allies close at hand in dire straights. Most assumed it was coincidence. The handful of Nascent Soul cultivators could all tell that someone was watching from above and coordinating the battle. What caused them to respect this person high above was their sense of being watched at all times.

Lin Feng looked down Ben and Terra. The revelation that Ben was from Earth had come quickly, he only found out when he saw the swarm of drones, a technology he recognized.

In the end, it changed little. He had already put his lot in with the man he called his master, the fact that they came from the same distant world only brought them closer in Lin Feng’s mind.

While watching his apprentice sister cultivate on the stone, both him and Ben felt a change at the same time.

---

Terra had a connection with the stone. The moment she sat down on it her mind was dragged away into a dream like the one she had seen when she awakened her bloodline.

This time she watched someone else's life.

She was born into an influential family. Even her maids had their own servants, and they each lived well themselves.

Daily medicinal baths, the finest pills, rooms fitted with Qi gathering arrays, private tutors and meals fit for immortals were all provided unceasingly.

When Terra compared her own life to this girls, the difference was like night and day. Terra was a slave, this girl was a princess.

She grew up, started training and cultivating, saw a wide marvelous world and became a immortal through her hard work.

She grew to power and managed large territories. She was worshiped by mortals and adored by cultivators.

She fell in love with the wrong person. That person got sick. She stole medicine to heal him.

That medicine happened to be forbidden. The wrong person belonged to an ancestral enemy.

When her actions were discovered a war broke out between the factions. She refused the clan summons and tried to elope with her beloved. They were caught within hours.

She watched her lover killed in front of her very eyes. She was brought back in chains.

“Ryu, what have you done? That was no mere medicine! If you weren't so blinded by love we would stay at peace. The Heavenly Demon Pavilion has been waiting for a shift in the balance of power. Those battle hungry freaks will take any opportunity to invade our world.”

“No one in the whole Nine Empyrean Heavens dares touch the Eternal Firmament Origin Fruit. Demonic Overlords, Dragon Gods and even the Sovereign Emperor himself wouldn’t want to deal with the consequences of such a theft.”

She had been brought into a large hall. Her grandfather, patriarch of the Divine Moon Clan, was thoroughly chastising her.

“When the fruit was discovered all those years ago at a nexus of dragon veins, all the powers of the time agreed to guard it closely until it ripens. We’ve made many treaties that are now null and void because of your greed. We will be attacked on all sides.”

“Even if I am your grandfather, I still need to punish you heavily. If you weren’t from the main line of our clan you would be executed in a painful and lengthy display.”

“It pains me to do this. You are hereby stripped of your power and cast down from the Empyrean Heavens.”

She was bound, her core of power was destroyed and her meridians crippled. She was then cast out of the Nine Empyrean Heavens and exiled to one lower worlds to live out her remaining days as a mortal. Being the granddaughter of a being that stood at the pinnacle of cultivation was the only thing that saved her life.

She kept only one thing, her bloodline. While she couldn’t pass on a high cultivation to her children, she could give them some small chance at success.

She had a daughter who had another daughter. A line of women passed through the ages carrying of a faint trace of the goddess who was cast out of heaven.

Hundreds of thousands of years later, Terra was born. Six years later, she became a slave. Three years later, her bloodline awakened and she made a connection with the power of her ancestor.

Terra sat on a ancient stone that resonated with that distant bloodline.

On a distant world on another plane of reality, a small glyph glowed brightly. An inheritor had arisen.

---

‘Is she alright?’ Ben asked.

‘No, she’s in trouble, a spirit is assaulting her through the stone.’ Alice answered.

‘You mentioned that I could refine the spirits inside the stone. Where are they coming from?’

‘It seems like the stone and the pillars are related. The pillars are obviously connected to some kind of devil world. The stone is probably connected to a ghost world. It shouldn’t be a problem to save her. Just place your hand on the stone and let the Computer Core handle the rest.’ Alice explained.

‘Got it.’

He touched the stone. Nothing happened for a few moments. Then a whispering voice entered his mind. While he heard something like words, there wasn’t any intelligence behind them. He shrugged it off without much thought, it wasn’t the first time he had heard voices in his head.

‘Side effects?’ He asked Alice.

‘Minimal. Most of the ability and independent thought was refined out of the ghost. There isn’t much left of it except some Qi and a shred of will.’ She answered.

‘How many of these spirits would I need to form a new core?’ Ben continued.

‘Around 200 or so. You could also give up some control and leave one of the spirits as a core spirit, then you would only need to feed it with souls or Yin Qi energies.’

‘I don’t like the idea of giving up control of one of my cores. I’ll take my time if need be.’ Ben shook his head.

‘I knew you’d say that. I have another suggestion. We could place a kind of lure on either artifact, that would gather spirits that you could refine.’

‘That would be dangerous for Terra, wouldn’t it?’ Ben was slightly concerned.

‘Yes.’ Alice admitted.

‘That’s fine, she needs some personal development. Being attacked by evil spirits will be good for her.’

---

Ben held Terra up while she regained consciousness. When she opened her eyes again Ben smiled at her.

“Well done so far. Keep it up.”

She nodded and closed her eyes, this time in concentration, not a pained sleep.

Ben sat back down and faced the pillars. There was little change there, the blue fire had gotten a little larger, but nothing else was different. The stalemate continued due to human cultivators being unable to get close enough to close the rift. Only Ben and Terra could have any effect.

The two were at the center of a Yin formation that countered the raging energy around them. Even Ben wouldn’t last long away from the lotus. He would like to fully contain the wild Fire Qi being released, but he would need to be a Heavenly Connection Cultivator with complete control over flames for that to be possible. Setting up this safe haven was the limit of his ability.

The battle was entering a stasis. The Fire Demons were streaming out in ever greater numbers, but they were being cut down without inflicting heavy losses.

Ben ran through his plan for closing the rift. He would refine the two pillars himself and seal the portal to prevent more demons from entering this plane of existence.

Unless his calculations were wrong...

---

The invasion wore on for days, then weeks. The temporary camps turned into more permanent structures, more people arrived to contain the demons and relieve those who had been fighting for days.

Ben’s main group never moved. Lilith and her sisters stayed in the spirit vessel as a backup force. Lin Feng could keep up his task thanks to his strong soul. Ben and Terra were both busy with the artifacts. Only Ben’s lesser disciples rotated in and out of the battle.

The fire demons grew stronger over time, this was offset by human reinforcements. The wasteland created by the war grew larger and larger.

A curious slow retreat was taking place. The temporary camps would be fortified into forward operating bases as the front line crept closer. Hospitals turned into fortresses and fell in turn. Supply lines were fortified into trenches that the ranged corps fought from, then the shield wall defended, then abandoned to the fire demons.

What impressed cultivators was how organized the defense was. With minimal effort the waves of demons were cut down. If a position was threatened, there were always reinforcements on their way as well as multiple paths of safe retreat to secure defenses.

It was a different way to wage war, it almost felt like cheating. Many combatants began to feel some empathy for the hundreds of demons they killed.

The corpses of the demons were all gathered. When they were refined or fed to trained beasts, they produced great effect. Unlike other infernal creatures, their bodies weren’t filled with impurities and corruption. Whatever consumed them was filled with energy.

The motivation to end the fight was lost. It soon turned into a training exercise and chance to fight for resources.

Cultivators came and went, Sects sent mission teams, mortal armies came and occupied large outer areas as screening forces.

The whole country of Vorchin became a wasteland of demons and war. At the center of the conflict was a airship circling a pair of pillars and a black stone flower.

The blue fire was now larger than a bonfire. The two pillars reflected it’s blue glow. While he still had some time, Ben knew that he couldn’t let the blue fire grow large enough that it touched the two pillars. If that was allowed to happen it would open up a gate to hell that could only be closed by a immortal.

Ben himself had to take action several times to cull the numbers of demons when they came through in a horde. He still had no trouble taking them down, he even took a few corpses for Nubbins and Snuffles.

Terra almost had complete control over the Black Devil Stone, she had been attacked by several other spirits. Each time they were refined by Ben.

Through both of their efforts the Yin Formation grew in strength while Ben studied to pillars, hoping for a breakthrough that would allow him to close the rift and take the pillars away.

‘Ben, she’s being attacked again. It’s a different kind this time. I think it’s a rare spirit.’ Alice informed him.

‘Useful? How?’ He asked.

‘It’s a rare type that can withstand fire. The Yin Flame Spirit. 99% of spirits can’t stand fire and other Yang Qi elements, but Yin Fire is one of the rarest types of flames. If a spirit has that element it won’t be weakened by daylight or fire of any kind, it can actually absorb and refine these flames.’

‘Sounds like something that can be useful now. Lets pull it out as gently as possible. I should be able to use it for refining the pillars.’

He reached over to the stone again. The spirit that emerged this time was fully awake and conscious of what was happening to it. It wailed against the restrictions Ben imposed. The Yin Flame Spirit had intelligence of its own.

It had an immaterial shape, like a candle casting a wavering shadow of someone in a deep hood. It was azure and had wisps of blue flames shading it. It writhed in the air as Ben refined the spirit.

Slowly it’s ego was erased and free will was wiped away. The whole process was similar to absolute brainwashing. While some life was left, it was weaker and had no ability to resist or take independent action.

What was left was a faint blue shade that slowly melded with Ben’s own shadow.

‘Good, let’s start refining it further using the abyssal and void flames. This should give us the ability to suppress the pillars.’

Ben, Alice and Terra worked in silence for a few minutes.

‘Wait a minute. There’s abnormal activity in the rift.’ Alice warned him.

Ben looked over at the blue fire. While he was watching, it turned a deep shade of red.

The pillar with the giant fire demon flashed. The third eye on the large figure glowed brightly, this didn’t escape Ben’s notice.

The fire grew larger and took on the shape from the pillar. It was four meters tall and looked like a hooded figure. It had no arms and where it’s face should be there was instead a dark hole with three bright lights shining out.

When it had fully manifested itself, it’s evil aura spread out over the area. It was a caustic, malevolent aura that sought to consume anything it came into contact with. According to beings Ben had come into contact with before, this was at the peak Nascent Soul realm.

The figure blinked with it’s three eyes. It looked around and saw the black lotus. It’s eyes met Ben’s and he could tell that the mouthless creature was smiling at him. He smiled back.

Ben had seen true evil before. He had met serial killers and the worst felons on death row. His studies of the human psyche could only be done by interviewing a wide spectrum of people. By learning from the people who had given in to their darkest temptations could he understand the motivations of mankind.

The biggest problem he had with them was getting them to show their true colors. The guards didn’t appreciate having to deal with agitated inmates, but money goes a long way when it comes to convincing people to look the other way.

Ben felt like he was meeting one of those inmates again. He saw the same predatory gaze, the same disregard for life, the same hatred towards good and innocent things.

He couldn’t help but feel some sympathy towards such twisted beings. Ben knew how easily it was to slip into depravity and evil.

These were simple beings, more like rabid animals than conscious entities. While cunning, they had a set of desires that were completely transparent to him.

Ben was glad that he had this kind of being to deal with. This thing he could taunt and control.

He looked back at Terra with a look of concern on his face. The flaming figure saw this and grinned further.

The bait was set, now time for the trap.

Ben prepared most of his cores for battle. His lower dantian core he left alone, he couldn’t cut something immaterial. His heart core began circulating Blood Flame Qi through his body. The brain core produced a thin layer of water Qi on the surface of his skin less than a centimeter thick. His Computer Core started analyzing the battle to come.

The results of his analysis were bleak. While he could win the battle, sacrifices would need to be made. Ben got more serious when he learned what he would have to do.

The spirit let out a psychic howl that spread fire wherever it went. The fire in the area grew more excited and stone itself burst into flame.

The attack washed over the Obsidian Lotus and the outer edges of it began to melt. Ben and Terra felt the formation starting to strain.

Ben took off one of his rings and left it there by Terra, then he walked to the edge of the flower and faced the fire spirit.

‘I’m glad I brought a fire extinguisher.’ He thought.