Kiln nurturing

Li Fuchan nodded and said no more.

Within his Sea of Qi, Light-Deceiving gave a little leap, darted out in an instant, and plunged into the thick, endlessly churning clouds overhead.

"Jiao-Driving Lightning."

Deep within the clouds, sword light flashed in waves, white radiance flickering in and out in concert with the rolling thunder. A piercing cry rang out, like the call of a flood dragon, yet also like a serpent's hiss.

Within the clouds, Light-Deceiving's blade was forcibly stretched into a winding streak of lightning. It coursed and coiled between the cloud banks like a flood serpent of pure gold and white, stirring the dark clouds across the sky into darting electric snakes and rolling, muffled thunder.

At the same time, the phantom of an old, blackened tree slowly emerged behind Li Fuchan.

Its trunk was charred black from top to bottom, its rugged branches like iron. Yet it no longer swayed unsteadily as it once had. This time, it had not been lodged in a borrowed vessel, but had manifested on its own through Transformation, and thus stood firmly behind him.

In the mountains below, the monsters were each enjoying themselves.

A green-skinned monster squatted beside a stream, holding a mortal upside down by an ankle in each claw. With its head tilted, it argued with its companion, "This one's tender. We ought to steam it."

"You know fuck-all. Steam it and all the blood runs out. Tear it apart raw, and drink the blood while it's hot."

Nearby, several lesser monsters surrounded a mother and child. In no hurry to sink their teeth in, they poked at the tears on the child's face. Each time the child cried, they burst into laughter, mimicking the sobs with strange shrieks for their own amusement.

A long-snouted monster rummaged through