Chapter 111: The calm after lighting
Silence lingered after the battle.
For the first time since entering the Rift, there was no rumble of thunder—only the soft hiss of dissipating energy. The clouds had parted just enough for sunlight to pierce through, staining the broken sky-bridges in gold.
Li Ming exhaled slowly, the tension easing from his shoulders. "Everyone alive?"
"Barely," Bai Guo answered, wings drooping as he perched on a cracked boulder. "My feathers are now seventy-percent static and thirty-percent trauma."
Xue Yan brushed soot from her sleeve. "That was exhilarating."
Then she glanced down at her singed boot. "...Mostly."
Lan Yue wiped her blade clean and slid it into its sheath. "No injuries that will delay movement. We should secure the crystal and leave before the Rift resets its cycle."
Yun Rou’s lotus dissolved beneath her feet as she touched the ground, vines retreating back into her sleeves. "It won’t reset immediately, but she’s right. The Rift breathes—when it exhales, everything we’ve defeated reforms."
Li Ming tilted his head. "So... this place literally gets angry if we stay too long?"
"Angry isn’t the word," Yun Rou said softly. "Hungry fits better."
---
The Heart of the Rift floated between them, pulsing gently—each beat echoing faintly inside their chests. The crystal was clear at first glance, but within it swirled a storm condensed into miniature—lightning flickering through faint, cloud-like wisps.
Bai Guo squinted. "So this shiny death-orb is why we almost got vaporized?"
Lan Yue nodded. "The Heart is an ancient fragment of sky-essence. The sect sends teams here every few years to collect it—its energy stabilizes barrier formations across the continent."
Li Ming’s brows furrowed. "Wait, so we risked our lives... for a glorified battery?"
Yun Rou smiled faintly. "A battery that powers the border seals keeping half the demonic realm out of our world. So yes, fairly important."
"Right," Li Ming said. "So we can’t accidentally drop it into the wrong hands. Or pot."
Xue Yan raised an eyebrow. "Pot?"
"Long story involving medicine, unintended breakthroughs, and moral trauma," Bai Guo said before Li Ming could stop him.
---
The group began their descent along a jagged ridge of floating stones, each one humming with residual energy. Occasionally, arcs of lightning crackled between them, forcing everyone to time their steps with precision.
Lan Yue took the lead, eyes sharp. "Stay close. The lower currents are unstable."
Li Ming followed, clutching the sealed crystal under one arm. "Define unstable."
As if on cue, a gust of wind spun sideways, nearly tossing Bai Guo into the abyss. He squawked, flapping frantically before landing upside-down on Li Ming’s head.
"Like that," Lan Yue said without looking back.
---
They finally reached a floating platform that shimmered with faint golden runes—the same gateway they’d used to enter the Rift.
The runes pulsed once, recognizing the crystal’s presence.
Yun Rou placed her hand over the formation. "It’s responding. The exit will open soon."
Xue Yan looked back toward the now-quiet storm. "Strange. It’s beautiful when it’s not trying to kill us."
Li Ming smiled wryly. "You say that like most things around us aren’t beautiful and trying to kill us."
Bai Guo hopped off his shoulder. "Welcome to cultivation life: ninety-percent scenery, ten-percent survival."
The formation’s glow intensified.
A low hum filled the air—then, with a flash of light, the Rift folded around them, and the world inverted.
---
When the light faded, they stood once more on solid ground—the sect’s northern plateau, the sky above clear and endless. Disciples and elders waited near the platform, expressions shifting from relief to shock as they saw who stepped out first.
The Medicine Master himself approached, hands clasped behind his back. His gaze swept over the group, pausing briefly on the crystal in Li Ming’s hand.
"You retrieved it," he said simply.
Li Ming straightened. "Yes, Master. The Heart of the Rift."
The master nodded once. "Good. You’ve all done well. But..." his eyes narrowed slightly, "...I sense the Rift’s energy clinging to you still."
Li Ming blinked. "That’s bad, right?"
"Not yet," the master said. "But it means the Rift took interest. Its will doesn’t fade easily."
Bai Guo’s feathers fluffed up. "Define ’took interest’ before I faint."
Lan Yue exhaled. "It means our next mission won’t be peaceful."
---
The master turned, his robes stirring in the wind. "Rest for now. A storm always leaves something behind... and soon, we’ll find out what the Sky Rift left in you."
Li Ming glanced down at his hands—tiny arcs of lightning still danced faintly across his fingertips.
He smiled under his breath.
"Guess the Rift wasn’t done with us after all."
---
"Hold still," the Medicine Hall attendant said, already looking like he regretted his job.
Li Ming sat cross-legged on a jade platform as glowing talismans floated around him, measuring his Qi flow.
"I am holding still," Li Ming said.
The attendant frowned. "Then why does your Qi diagram look like a thunderstorm having an identity crisis?"
Li Ming blinked. "Because it’s Tuesday?"
A spark shot from one of the talismans and zapped the man’s sleeve. He yelped and dropped his brush.
From across the room, Bai Guo cackled. "Descendant, even your diagnostics come with lightning damage!"
"Not helping," Li Ming muttered, waving off the sparks before the scroll caught fire.
---
Meanwhile, Lan Yue sat on another platform, utterly composed, her results glowing in perfect harmony.
The examiner nearby nodded, impressed. "Impeccable control, Lady Lan Yue. As expected."
Xue Yan leaned over from her table, munching on a candied fruit. "Oh wow, your results even look pretty. Mine looks like a bonfire on vacation."
Yun Rou sighed beside her, vines coiling loosely around her arms. "At least yours isn’t still smoking."
Xue Yan grinned. "That’s only because I blew on it."
The vine-wrapped girl just stared at her. "...That’s not reassuring."
---
Across the hall, Li Ming tried to sneak off his platform.
The attendant immediately snapped, "Don’t move! The readings aren’t stable yet!"
"I think stability left when the talisman tried to bite me!" Li Ming shot back.
Sure enough, one of the glowing seals sparked again and zipped around his head like an angry bee.
Bai Guo squawked from the rafters. "Run, descendant! It’s evolving!"
"Not again!" Li Ming yelped, dodging left as the talisman chased him.
Lan Yue rubbed her temples. "You could simply dispel it."
"Oh, right," he said—then clapped his hands together, dispersing his Qi. The talisman fizzled and fell like a stunned moth.
Xue Yan applauded lazily. "Ten out of ten for form. Three for intelligence."
"Thank you," Li Ming said flatly. "That’s a passing grade."
---
Moments later, the Medicine Master entered — calm, unreadable, and terrifyingly quiet.
The entire room straightened instantly.
He surveyed the chaotic hall: burned tables, flickering Qi fields, Bai Guo hanging upside-down from a ceiling beam.
"...Progress, I assume?" the master asked dryly.
Li Ming pointed weakly at the extinguished talisman. "Controlled chaos, Master."
Bai Guo muttered, "Very controlled. Only three near-deaths this time."
The master’s gaze shifted to Li Ming. "You absorbed a trace of Rift lightning, didn’t you?"
Li Ming scratched his head. "Define trace."
The master sighed. "The kind that turns half my equipment into fireworks."
---
He finally handed Li Ming a small jade vial. "Drink this. It’ll stabilize your Qi circuit."
Li Ming uncorked it, sniffed—then looked suspicious. "It smells like old socks and vinegar."
"That’s how you know it’s working," the master said evenly.
Bai Guo leaned over. "Or how you know you’re about to ascend involuntarily."
Ignoring him, Li Ming downed the potion in one gulp.
Instantly, his hair puffed up like a thundercloud.
Everyone froze.
Li Ming blinked, sparks dancing between his bangs. "...I feel tingly."
Xue Yan burst out laughing so hard she dropped her candy. "You look like a lightning hedgehog!"
Lan Yue covered her mouth to hide a smirk. "At least you’re consistent."
Bai Guo flopped onto his back, wheezing. "Descendant! You’ve finally achieved peak static cultivation!"
---
The master pinched the bridge of his nose. "You’ll live. Probably. But avoid direct contact with water for three days."
"Why?" Li Ming asked.
The master looked up at the nearest lantern just as a random spark leapt from Li Ming’s hair and zapped it out.
"That," he said flatly, "is why."
---
By sunset, the group gathered outside the Medicine Hall — singed, exhausted, but laughing.
Lan Yue folded her arms. "Well, that could’ve gone worse."
"Yeah," Xue Yan said, grinning. "Could’ve exploded."
Yun Rou frowned. "Please don’t give him ideas."
Li Ming sighed dramatically. "I’m surrounded by critics."
Bai Guo perched on his shoulder. "Correction — survivors."
For the first time since entering the Rift, they all laughed together — the tension gone, the air light again.
Above them, the last streaks of lightning faded into dusk.
To be continued...