~~~

Liu Jin is floating.

At least, that is how he is choosing to interpret his current state. For him to actually be floating would require space to exist around him and for him to exist within that space. A vertical. A horizontal. All those things are necessary for him to do any sort of floating, and all those things are foreign to him right now. Liu Jin is not sure if he is truly anywhere.

Liu Jin is not sure if he even Is.

…

…

…

Is he dead?

…

…

…

His mind hesitates to answer the question, but that only proves how obvious the answer is. The Fleshcrafter killed him. That cannot be denied. The memory burns far too brightly to be a product of his imagination. Against a foe like him, that was the only possible outcome.

However, if he is dead, why is he still forming thoughts?

Liu Jin would like to say his ability to think is proof of his survival, but no one has ever proven death is an impediment to thought. He could easily be dead and thinking. Perhaps this is all there is to death.

Thinking. Nothingness. Waiting.

Waiting for what?

Something.

Anything.

…

…

…

No. No! No!

That is all far too grim. Even for him. This cannot be all there is, and he cannot possibly be dead! If he dies, the Storm Dragon will almost certainly restore the Grand Storm. His allies will be left without a path to victory. That cannot happen. He needs to get up before people start getting the wrong idea! After all, it’s already been…

How much time has passed?

Surely, it has only been a few minutes… Right?

Certainly not hours.

…Days?

Years?

…

…

…

No.

He is not dead. None of the things he is worried about have happened because he is not dead!

He is alive.

That is the assumption he must part from. No, not an assumption. A fact! It has to be a fact, or else this is all pointless. He is not dead. He is just very nearly dead. If he cannot feel his body, that just means he is existing as a soul.

Usually, he’d need to be in the Earth Realm to even consider something like that being possible, but the battle against the Fleshcrafter forced him to detach himself from his body to withstand the pain. When the Fleshcrafter killed his body, Liu Jin’s soul must have immediately withdrawn, sparing him from suffering the same fate.

That must be what happened because the alternative simply cannot be contemplated.

Liu Jin breathes.

It is not a real breath, of course. Souls do not really breathe, but Liu Jin decides he can breathe, so he does.

He thinks. He exists. He lives.

Thus, it should be possible for him to go inside his soul. He has done it before. Not having a body should only make the process easier by depriving him of all sensory distractions from the material world. The idea that he could fail cannot be contemplated because it would entail many things that cannot be thought of. He just needs to close his eyes and open them. That is all.

Liu Jin takes a deep breath and closes his eyes.

He opens them to a boiling sea.

Bubbles of air rise by the thousands, and just as many snakes swim through the boiling waters, every single one writhing in pain, desperately searching for an exit that does not exist.

Liu Jin is fine.

It is his soul, after all. No matter how strongly the sea boils, Liu Jin can only feel what he wants to feel. More importantly, Liu Jin has a body once more. It might merely be a projection within his soul, but arms are arms, legs are legs, and, on this one occasion, a breath full of boiling water is just as sweet as one full of fresh air.

Liu Jin allows himself a moment to enjoy it.

Just one.

The briefest of instants.

It passes, and the joy in his face is replaced by resolute purpose. That his soul is in such an obviously chaotic state is a clear sign that things are not well. Most likely, it is a result of his own weakness. He is not a cultivator in the Heaven Realm, so he cannot just regenerate his body from nothing. His soul is not mature enough to sustain itself without a vessel, leading to this rapid deterioration. If he wants to survive, he needs to mend what the Fleshcrafter broke.

Unfortunately, Liu Jin cannot sense his physical body. It seems his soul has detached itself from it to a very extreme state.

However, is the separation truly complete?

Liu Jin considers the question carefully and picks the answer that is most convenient for him. If he still has a sense of self left, it is because his soul is not completely detached from his body. Something must be holding the two together.

Liu Jin starts swimming.

The first time Liu Jin dived into his soul, there was a giant snake to guide him, most likely a product of Nine-Headed Snake God’s Inheritance. That is not the case now because all the snakes are boiling. Still, Liu Jin is reasonably sure he can find his way without a guide this time.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

It is, after all, his soul.

As Liu Jin heads toward the depths, the sea becomes darker, but not due to any lack of light. It is poison that gives the waters their darker tint. The deeper Liu Jin goes, the worse it becomes, a sure sign he’s heading in the right direction.

At the very bottom, buried deep into the seafloor, is an ornate sword.

It was most likely placed there by Nine-Headed Snake God, and it is the most salient example that there is more to his Inheritance than Liu Jin initially assumed.

Right now, it is probably the only thing keeping his body and soul together.

When he first discovered it, Liu Jin assumed the sword’s energy merely spread randomly through the sea of his soul. However, the events in the Dead Plains, the transformation he underwent there, forced him to rethink those assumptions.

Most likely, the sword isn’t just influencing his soul. It has been influencing his body to make it better suited to Nine-Headed Snake God’s Veins. Indeed, as Liu Jin forces his whole focus on the weapon, he finds a small thread of energy plunging downwards.

Liu Jin follows it.

He follows it beyond sight. Beyond his own senses. Beyond everything and anything, guided by nothing more than the need for there to be something at the end of this abyss.

He finds death.

It feels like touching ice, but he knows it is his flesh. The moment he dips some of himself into it, he almost loses himself. His brain is too damaged to form thoughts. His nerves cannot properly carry sensory information. His body...

It’s just a lump of flesh…

He can fix it, Liu Jin immediately tells himself. He can definitely fix it. His body can regenerate, and his soul contains the imprint of his body. Besides, he is a doctor. The healing arts are his specialty.

However, will that be enough?

If you heal all the damage done to a dead body and put a soul inside it, does that make it alive? Or is it nothing more than a corpse with extra steps?

Can a dead body, regardless of its condition, even nourish a soul properly?

It is with a sinking feeling that Liu Jin realizes he does not know the answers to any of those questions. He knows medicine, but this goes beyond that.

He cannot rely on himself.

But…

But maybe he doesn’t have to?

Liu Jin holds on to the tendril connecting his body and soul. It is made from the energy flowing from the sword. It is power beyond him, power that already changed his body once upon a time. It can certainly do it again. There is no guarantee it will save him, but does he have any other choice?

Liu Jin pours his essence into the thread to enlarge it so more power can flow into his body. It is hard at first, but the more the thread grows, the less Liu Jin has to do. The power flows without end, becoming a raging flood he cannot control. His already weak consciousness is soon overwhelmed and thrown back into his body.

A single word appears in his mind.

Shed.

~~~

Liu Jin’s body stirs.

It begins as the smallest of tremors, barely a twitch of his finger, but it intensifies until his hands are clenched in the tightest of fists. His back arches so much a few of his bones crack, and his mouth opens as if to scream. However, no sound comes out. Not even when his mouth opens so wide his jaws literally unhinge.

A bulge appears within his ribcage.

It moves.

Softly yet with force, breaking apart his ribs as it passes through Liu Jin’s insides. Fingers appear in Liu Jin’s mouth. Ten of them. They hold on to his teeth and lips as though they were the edge of a cliff. Hands follow. Arms come next, the elbows breaking a few teeth on their way out.

Liu Jin pulls himself out of his own body inch by inch.

He is naked. His body is covered in more fluids than he’d like. His chest rises and falls as he pulls himself out and lies down next to a wall. He is breathing.

He is laughing.

Liu Jin’s laugh echoes across the corridor. It is mad. It is joyful. It is incredulous. It is over a dozen things, none of which Liu Jin is in any state to discern. A single thought repeats itself in his mind again and again.

He’s alive.

He’s alive!

He is alive!

Has the air ever been sweeter? Have colors ever been so bright? Has the feel of a simple wooden floor ever been so sublime? Even the horrible stench in the air is like the sweetest of perfumes.

It takes Liu Jin several minutes to calm himself down. To do anything other than simply marvel.

However, the joy fades eventually. Liu Jin rises to his feet. His legs are strong. It does not feel as if they were newly made. There is no reason for them to. This body should be exactly like his old one…

Exactly as his old one…

Liu Jin takes three steps and looks down at himself.

It’s a weird feeling. To be standing over one’s own corpse, especially when it is in such a sorry state. In many ways, it doesn’t feel real. He does not want to believe that used to be him.

Liu Jin kneels down and touches his skin

It is cold.

He runs his hand over his mangled face, staining his hands with his own blood. On a purely intellectual level, he realizes there is something deeply gross about touching a corpse with such curiosity, even if it is his own. However, Liu Jin feels no aversion to this act. This skin used to be his skin. This blood was his blood. These bones were his bones.

This was him.

This is him.

Liu Jin gasps as his corpse suddenly collapses into a cloud of black ash. He does not have time to move before the ash rushes towards him and just… seeps into his body. Liu Jin stands up and tries to cough it out, using a hand to steady himself against the wall, but it’s too late. His clothes and belongings are lying on the floor, but his corpse is no longer there. The ash is also nowhere to be seen. It all went inside him. It should worry him, but it doesn’t. It feels natural. Words he heard a long time ago echo in his head.

A dragon cannot stand to be anything but a dragon.

His corpse sought refuge within himself because it is himself. Liu Jin has no idea if that is true or not, but it feels true. It feels right. He looks at himself and somehow feels more complete than before. Whole.

His dantian thrum.

His meridians enlarge.

Earth Realm, Level One.

A huge achievement to be sure. One that many dream of, and one that is nearly always celebrated. However, Liu Jin does not feel like celebrating. He does not even feel any surprise when the Curse of the Earth takes hold, and the gravity around him increases. This is normal. Natural. He flares his Qi and finds it different.

He holds up his hand and reinforces it.

Scales appear over it.

“Interesting,” Liu Jin says before dismissing his Qi. He quickly bends down and picks up his clothes. They might not be in the best condition, but wearing them is much better than walking around naked.

That wouldn’t be proper at all.

~~~

“I am relieved to find you in good health.”

Walking is a different experience when in the Earth Realm. It does not matter that he is stronger than before; the weight over him is that much greater. Even the simplest of movements become an exercise in Qi control. It gives him a greater appreciation for all those he knows in the Earth Realm.

Yong Zhuyi is not excluded, of course.

“I am not sure how seriously I should take your words, Senior Brother Yong,” Liu Jin says to the Core Disciple. “You did try to capture me the last time we spoke.”

“I am entirely serious,” Yong Zhuyi says. He is without his two companions. “I find myself grateful to this spatial realm. It is really quite convenient, don’t you think so?”

“Is it?”

“General He Bin, an Emperor Realm cultivator, is after you. Normally, that would guarantee your death, but within this space, I managed to find you before him. That would not have happened if we were in the palace.”

“If we were in the palace, General He Bin would not be able to touch me due to the Storm Dragon’s protection,” Liu Jin points out.

“But your uncle would,” Yong Zhuyi counters. “Your family situation is quite interesting, by the way. Regardless, now that I have found you…”

He trails off.

“Have you changed somehow?”

“I am in the Earth Realm,” Liu Jin says.

“I noticed that. Congratulations are in order, but that is not why I ask.”

“I stopped dying my hair.”

“Black hair suits you better, but that is also not what I am asking about.”

“I cannot imagine anything else.”

Yong Zhuyi stares at Liu Jin.

Liu Jin stares back at him.

“Are we going to fight?” Liu Jin asks. “I’d prefer not to, Senior Brother. I feel oddly calm right now. I would like to believe it is because I have achieved a degree of enlightenment, but it is just as possible I am heavily repressing several emotions.

Something cold shines in Liu Jin’s eyes.

“You are not the person I want to unleash those emotions on.”

“We are not going to fight, though I appreciate your candidness,” Yong Zhuyi says. “Things would go better if everyone could speak plainly.”

“I could not agree more.”

“I wish to ask something of you.”

Liu Jin blinks.

~~~