As more and more grim news came in, Zae Zin Nim could only cultivate and hope that it was enough. After so long pushing through Earth Soul, she finally read a value of 99% in her soul, which was the highest that she could theoretically attain. According to the standard path, she should absorb all the cultivation resources she had in order to push her over the limit and attain Sky Soul.
Instead she remained seated and continued condensing the qi within her dantian.
The news of Yangix triumphing was interrupted by a strange story, rumors of him being spurned by the sacred dragons of the Heavenly Mountains and Lakes. Of course he claimed to be superior to such dragons, and some believed him, but the mere fact that the story was being spread mattered. It was also rumored that the patriarch of the Coiling Island Sect had challenged him over it, because the patriarch had disappeared overnight.
That combination of rumors made Zae Zin Nim hope, even though she was reading between the lines. The disruption to Yangix's steady conquering of the continent meant that he ceased his pushing into the Western Wastes and Eastern Plains, so it bought her time regardless of the reason. He had made a proclamation that he would send his four underlings to each rule a quarter of the continent, but had instead kept them close.
Just when she was beginning to spiral into worry, she felt a familiar monstrous presence. It might not be dignified of her, but no one else was present to see the matriarch throw herself at Kai and wrap her arms around his neck.
"I don't know how much it slowed him down," Kai said while still holding her, "but I sabotaged what I could and I came back with some qi in the form of essence."
"And you killed Xir Xan Khan's father?" she had to ask.
"Ate him, actually. I'm not sure what to do with all this qi in my soul..."
Zae Zin Nim pulled back to examine her husband more carefully. The qi essence he'd absorbed had brought him up to the peak of the Nascent Foundation stage, 99% just like her. She realized that they might well be able to extend their progress with dual cultivation, which was an extremely tempting possibility....
But she kept thinking about what Yangix had said, about their Nascent Foundation being a false version of the true thing. All of her studies suggested that it was a potentially important time, particularly for someone like Kai who might be on a different path.
"Kai, I have a... strange recommendation," she said nervously. "I know you need to break through to Earth Soul, and I even recommended it. But... I think you should wait."
"Okay." There was no hesitation, he simply agreed. Kai's hands enfolded hers and he rubbed the back of her wrist gently. "You think I can do something different?"
"Perhaps, but I haven't figured out the details yet. Your cultivation path may be difficult, because you always make everything difficult." She realized too late that it sounded like she was insulting him and reached out to touch his chest. "I will find a solution, I promise. Don't use the new qi essence in your soul, either, and keep cultivating. We'll need it all."
"You mean you're planning on an even bigger breakthrough than normal? Is that what you're doing with your own soul?"
She smiled as she realized that he understood. Of course Kai wouldn't be offended by her heretical ideas of disobeying the normal rules of cultivation. That meant that he was trusting in her, however, and doubled the pressure on her to find the truth.
"I have something else for you." Kai reached into his robes instead of his spatial ring, which made sense when he instead handed her a different spatial ring. "I took this from the Coiling Island patriarch. He probably didn't carry his vault resources with him, but it might still include some of the things your father was trading for, right? I figure if your hand in marriage was being traded for resources, you deserve them now."
"Oh..." Zae Zin Nim took the ring, which was heavy with the feelings that rushed through her. She would never have imagined that her husband had remembered those minor details of her marriage pact, from before he had even been her husband. The fact that he had thought of her even in the midst of his fight made the idea of dual cultivation much more tempting.
"Are you alright?" he asked gently.
"I just... you are tempting me." Zae Zin Nim put both hands on his chest and pushed him back slightly. "Kai, I love you dearly, but I think I need to cultivate on my own to break through."
"Will you be okay here? I could go back to the Heavenly Mountains and Lakes, or even head to the Southern Rivers. There was some talk of Yangix heading there, so it might not hurt to lure him that way to give you more time."
"Thank you, but I will be fine. This invader is much less violent than the others... I think you should go to Rosemount. Not just because Omilaena needs your help, but because you still need more strength. I'll bring cultivation solutions for both of us, just... wait for me."
"Alright." Kai smiled gently and kissed her, and Zae Zin Nim indulged in that, at least. But it wasn't long before she was left alone to contemplate her own path.
First she searched the spatial ring she had been given, sorting through the various resources from the Coiling Island Sect. Strange to think that she had once been traded for resources like these and had come so far. A few of them might be useful, but for the most part, she was on her own in finding the way forward.
In her father's time, the Brightwind Pagoda had always been filled with people. He had his harem fawning over him, courtiers flattering, and entertainment at all times - she hated that falsely exuberant atmosphere that served under him.
But under her, the Brightwind Pagoda was empty except for one woman seated alone.
.
..
.
With her tour of Rosemount over, Omilaena sat alone atop a mountain, focusing on the Insanity sitting in her lap. She still had the Whispering Death contained within multiple layers of her power, and she used a remote location just in case, but she was beginning to gain more confidence with it now.
Illnesses and poisons had some characteristics in common, especially as both were really broad categories only grouped together by their effects. The Whispering Death was primarily an animal illness: she had determined that it entered through the skin and then, once it overcame all defenses, dealt such a large shock to internal organs that it caused death. She couldn't do anything with the infection component, but the particles that actually caused death were a poison, or at least close enough for her.
That was an extraordinary breakthrough that would have gotten her praised under any other circumstances, but here it wasn't enough. She had a final poison that could take her over the edge, but she wanted more than simply intensifying her own poison. Somehow she needed to merge the poison with her body and match the partial transformation she had done with the Final Metal.
And that... that was a much taller order.
Her soul was balanced, she believed, with every capacity occupied by different powers that nonetheless worked together. For a time she feared that the ice qi from her cultivation could never merge with the others, but she thought she could overcome that, since it was localized in the qi ink within her arm.
Could she actually merge them all? Omilaena had a lot of theories, but it seemed like she would need another source of power, and she was running out of sources. Even though the situation in the Commonwealth had been stable for weeks, she knew it couldn't last forever, and her Physique transformation couldn't be accomplished instantaneously.
Before she could come to a solution, Ceryyn appeared beside her in a rush of teleportation. Omilaena automatically smiled at her, but the elf wasn't smiling back.
"The council want to see you," Ceryyn said in a grim voice. "Things have turned bad. They're shaken. It's... I admit, it seems horrible..."
"What's happened?" Omilaena asked, sealing her ice qi and rising to join the elven woman.
"The invaders were doing what invaders usually do, but then..." Ceryyn wrapped her arms around herself miserably. "Jonijix raped an elven woman. He said... that she was the first person he'd seen worth fucking. Some of her relatives sneaked her away, but he didn't care, he..."
"He's coming north to the Elven Expanse." Omilaena nodded grimly. "I can't say that I expected exactly this, but I knew it was a possibility."
"This is bad. Most of the elders believe you about how strong the invaders are, but..."
"So they're willing to meet with me. Let's go before it's too late."
Lesser people might have been intimidated by entering the great hall of the elven elders, but Omilaena had done so multiple times already, mostly to convince them to give her things. If anything, this was a grimmer meeting than all that came before it. The elves didn't attempt to awe her this time, because at least some of them understood the threat.
There was still a little pomp and circumstance, small talk about Darkmist Island, the elders generally trying to convince her that they weren't afraid. But they couldn't keep it up for long before they finally let Omilaena speak.
"The invaders come from a world where everything is fully phased," Omilaena explained, "including soul and presence phases. So people here look dull and unattractive to them... except for those of you who have developed your abilities. I'm afraid that unnatural beauty is going to make you a target."
"Presence is not merely beauty," one of the elders snapped. "We can concentrate a force that-"
"I'm not trivializing that, but these invaders have challenged everyone." Omilaena folded her arms and raked her gaze across the council. "I warned the Empress, I warned the Windlord, and now I'm warning you. You've been reliant on phased abilities for too long, but just phasing won't be enough."
"What are you proposing?" It was Elder Graveylin, somewhat more composed than the others, but perhaps even grimmer because she had faced off with powers that had other phases. "Even if we can assemble all three great powers..."
"No, you need a new one: me." It was a mark of how far she'd come that no one laughed at her. Omilaena raised her hand and began forming a phased needle, letting them all feel its power. "I can fight the invaders on even footing, I'm just at a disadvantage. I'm close to a breakthrough that could bring me up to their strength."
"You're already absurdly strong," one of the older elders said. "Presuming you can do what you say, you expect us to sacrifice power and resources to make you even stronger than us?"
"Don't be childish. Who are you going to trust... invaders who have already made their intentions clear? The powers that have been your rivals for decades? Or someone who has pulled your asses out of the fire over and over again?"
The elders responded with a cold silence, many looking at one another with disguised nervousness. Omilaena fully expected them to make her leave so they could confer privately, pretending that their situation wasn't grim and preserving some pride. But to her surprise, it wasn't long before Elder Graveylin stepped forward and lowered her head.
"We will help you if we can," she said. "What do you need?"
"Actually..." Omilaena smiled as her plans came together. "I need all of you."