Pendulum of fate part.., p.1
Pendulum of Fate - Part 1, page 1
part #14 of Painting the Mists Series
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Painting the Mists
Dedication
Previously in Echoes of Divinity: Book 13 of Painting the Mists
Prologue
Chapter 1: Practice
Chapter 2: Rewards
Chapter 3: Refining Divinity
Chapter 4: A Hand Once Burned
Chapter 5: Patriarch Sky Piercer
Chapter 6: Titanvale
Chapter 7: First Impressions
Chapter 8: Secrets
Chapter 9: Complications (1)
Chapter 10: Complications (2)
Chapter 11: Tangled Webs (1)
Chapter 12: Tangled Webs (2)
Chapter 13: Tangled Webs (3)
Chapter 14: Resolution
Chapter 15: Signstone
Chapter 16: Border Skirmish (1)
Chapter 17: Border Skirmish (2)
Chapter 18: Heartflame
Chapter 19: Innovation
Chapter 20: A Flower Called Memory
Chapter 21: The Cost of Remembrance
Chapter 22: Hunter
Chapter 23: Evolution
Chapter 24: Unconventional Warfare (1)
Chapter 25: Unconventional Warfare (2)
Chapter 26: Old Debts
Author’s Note
A Note to Readers
Further Reading
The Cultivation Systems
The Pendulum of Fate
Book 14 of Painting the Mists
Patrick G. Laplante
Copyright © 2020 by Patrick G. Laplante
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of brief quotations in a book. Requests for permission should be addressed to the publisher.
Pendulum of Fate – Part 1 is a work of fiction. Names, organizations, places, and incidents portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual, events, locales, or persons is purely coincidental.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Published by: Patrick G. Laplante
Editing and Interior Design by: Crystal Watanabe, Pikko’s House
Cover Illustration and Design by: Fajareka
First edition, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-989578-24-7
Thank you to my beta readers: Aljoscha Volk, Drew Kennedy, John Wilson, Peter Zandvliet, and Carson Tews.
Special thanks to: Wen Xing, Félise Xing Laplante, Anna Laplante, Albert Laplante, and my family and friends, who continue to support me.
Other Painting the Mists Books:
Clear Sky
Blood Moon
Light in the Darkness
Pure Jade
Corrupted Crimson
Kindling
Shifting Tides
Shattered Lands
Edge of Oblivion
Words of Creation
Crown of the Starry Sky
Claddings of Light
Echoes of Divinity
Pendulum of Fate – Part 2 (Forthcoming)
To my daughter, Félise, who was born this January.
Previously in Echoes of Divinity:
Book 13 of Painting the Mists
Three years have passed since Cha Ming’s arrival in Verdant Crossroads. Huxian has long since set out to pursue advancement quests with his friends, leaving Cha Ming to a quiet life of teaching and instruction. As much as he would like to continue this sort of life, he knows he can’t. For one, he’s stuck as a false rune-gathering cultivator due to complications from his three extra rune carvings. Moreover, he’s promised Sun Wukong a new body, and an opportunity has just presented itself.
Cha Ming embarks on a quest to retrieve lost artifacts in the ancient city of Kerava. The leader of the expedition is Shakkanah, High Priestess of the Runebound Clan, and the master of his student Drezil. They join forces with the Star-Eye Clan and the Iridescent Clan, as well as the Church of Jezeriah, with whom they have a tense relationship, before setting out into the desert.
The Sacred Desert does not allow flight and wears away at travelers’ energy stores. It also requires intermittent stops during its frequent sandstorms. After an initial two-week trek and the discovery of a stowaway, Graceful Twilight, they arrive at Desert’s Blessing. There, they discover the artifact they are seeking has been stolen. They are forced to join up with the Daoist outcasts of the Mendin republics, the Frozen Lotus Sect, who are fortunate enough to have a compass that can pursue the artifact thieves. They also discover that the thieves are led by none other than an acquaintance of Cha Ming’s, Mi Fei, who now goes by the name Yu Wen.
The journey through the desert is a lengthy one. Cha Ming, impressed by Shakkanah’s teachings on formations, continues to learn from her. The Runebound Clan are fanatics about training, and each day consists of pulling desert-faring ships, sparring, and further studying his runecraft.
The Runebound Clan is known for the runes on its members’ skin called bindings. When Cha Ming attempts to copy these bindings, he finds himself faced with a difficult choice: cut off his arm or pursue a different body cultivation path and become one of them. He takes the name Majana and must learn to use his body again from the beginning. By doing so, he deepens his knowledge of runes and masters precious binding skills. Unfortunately, these skills are of little help when they encounter the true masterminds behind the thefts in Desert’s Blessing: two devilish gold rankers called Locke and Trevonay who worship the dark goddess, Harid Dej.
Cha Ming refuses to believe Yu Wen’s partnership with these two evil men is voluntary. Since both gold rankers can fight their entire team to a standstill, Cha Ming is forced to innovate a new weapon, an alchemical talisman he calls a God-Slaying Talisman.
It’s too late to call for reinforcements and too late to turn back. They cannot allow Locke and Trevonay to reach the city first. Their quarry carves a bloody path through the desert, razing a small Runebound Clan settlement in the process. There, Cha Ming discovers the source of a substance called sacred sand, which was used to create the markings of the Runebound Clan on his body: it is left behind upon the death of each member of the Runebound Clan.
In another part of the continent, Huxian and friends journey to the Ba Desert Sea to communicate with Huxian’s ancestor. Mr. Mountain is dying. In order to save him, they embark on a daring journey. The key is dungeon cores, which they first use as bait to attract a gold-ranked team headed by Augustus March. Their goal: to take over the central dungeon of the Sacred Shanarah Desert, the Necropolis. The original plan is for their team to betray their human counterparts, but they grow closer throughout the journey, making this increasingly difficult.
A half year into the journey in the desert, Cha Ming and the others finally reach the ruins of Kerava. The city is contaminated with madness-inducing mists, and everyone is separated upon entering. There is no way out. Cha Ming first encounters Frozen Rain and proceeds to congregate with Graceful Twilight, Merenthal, and Priest Justin. They encounter members of their own party and the opposing party that have completely succumbed to the madness in the labyrinth.
Eventually, they happen upon a battlefield where a saint of the Church of Jezeriah was killed. Bishop Hammond wishes to pursue the killer, Yu Wen, and her accomplice, the gold ranker called Trevonay. They agree to participate, but Cha Ming sneaks out with the assistance of Graceful Twilight. He is finally reunited with the reincarnation of his lover. Unfortunately, the magician called Locke is determined to kill him. Cha Ming repels him by striking him point blank with the God-Slaying Talisman.
While Cha Ming is unconscious and on the brink of death, Yu Wen recovers the remainder of her past memories, including her previous relationship with Cha Ming. The spirit of the Clear Sky Brush, sensing her pure intentions, allows her entry into the Clear Sky World to treat Cha Ming’s injuries. She assists him in recovering until he is up to full strength, never revealing she remembers her past life in the process.
They exit the Clear Sky World and reenter the labyrinth, where they encounter Bloodfur, Shadow Sight, and Xiao Bai in addition to their previous companions. They proceed deeper in the labyrinth, where they find a broken door. They fix the door and enter it, only to discover that the previous labyrinth was a trap, and at its center lies the true ancient city of Kerava.
The mists are thicker in the city, and they seek to drive a wedge between the Church of Jezeriah, the demons, and the Daoists. Fortunately, Shakkanah has achieved a breakthrough and has everyone agree to a temporary truce. The priority is to reach the source of the curse before the followers of the dark church do, for if they retrieve the artifacts sealing the curse before patching up the seals, the results will be catastrophic.
Upon arriving at the temple, they discover the dark church’s team dead and the two slayers unconscious. They are quickly overcome with a new surge of maddening mists seeking to have them forget their very existence. Cha Ming finds himself in his previous life, and Yu Wen finds herself in her previous incarnation.
Their demon companions sense their struggle and help them. Huxian does so by strengthening their bond of equals. Cha Ming soul is wounded in the process, however, and he only survives with the assistance of the spirit of the Clear Sky Brush, who introduces herself as Ninesky. His soul is shattered and broken, but Cha Ming uses his prior experience mending his body to comprehend the concepts of true breaking and mending. He rebuilds his spiritual sea so that it’s stronger than ever, pulling himself out from under the effects of the curse.
Yu Wen and Cha Ming are the only ones able to wake, and Locke and Trevonay have vanished. So, too, have Bishop Hammond, Priest Justin, and Graceful Twilight. Fearing the worst, they enter the depths of the temple where the curse is sealed. Bishop Hammond is engaged in a fierce battle with Priest Justin. Bishop Hammond’s body has been possessed by his goddess via Divine Descent in order to prevent the corrupted Priest Justin from achieving his goals. The curse has destroyed his mind and possessed him, prompting him to drain away Graceful Twilight’s ink and life force. She is half dead and barely holding on.
If Priest Justin prevails, the curse will erupt from the seal. Cha Ming and Yu Wen enter the barrier protecting the Scales of Sanctity in order to help Jezeriah’s avatar. In doing so, they fix the broken immortal artifact, prompting Yu Wen to bind it as a soul-bound treasure. The battle quickly reverses, and Jezeriah is the victor.
Alas, the seal is badly broken and must be fixed. Jezeriah has the method but not the strength to do so. She passes the task on to Cha Ming and Yu Wen. Unfortunately, the seal is reinforced with a field of Grandmist, and Cha Ming’s body is not strong enough to withstand it. Although Mr. Mountain is currently in danger, Cha Ming is forced to break through to the Muscle Empowering Realm. Thanks to the runic bindings on his skin and ample sacred sand, he is able to break through to the middle-muscle-empowering realm.
He enters the curse’s seal alongside Yu Wen. Subduing the droplet of demon emperor blood fueling the seal is easy with the Ninesky Seals. Things get complicated when Yu Wen reveals that her soul-bound treasure can siphon off part of the cursed blood droplet and use it to upgrade treasures, which includes inkwell jades.
She quickly produces a dozen immortal crystals, allowing both her and Cha Ming to enter the real rune-gathering realm and solidify their false runes, greatly strengthening their powers. They dare not do more. They proceed to start healing over the curse’s seal. Unfortunately, the greedy Clear Sky Brush has other plans. This catches them by surprise and drains half of the remaining demon emperor blood droplet, waking it from its slumber.
The power of a demon emperor can’t be questioned. Even after sleeping for a hundred thousand years, the blood droplet contains far too much power. Yu Wen and Cha Ming barely hold on, Yu Wen with her treasure-upgrading artifact, and Cha Ming by attaining a deeper comprehension of the five demon ancestors’ techniques and fusing them via painting. He channels Grandmist through his brush and paints temporary living demons that completely crush the drop of cursed blood and the curse it contains.
Unfortunately, space is crushed as a result. They are forced to escape after retrieving the sealing artifacts. They emerge to find Locke and Trevonay engaged in combat with the rest of their group, and it’s not going well. All sides notice the collapsing space and offer a truce. Locke and Trevonay force Yu Wen back to their side, since her soul-bound treasure is far too valuable.
Yu Wen will have none of this. She attacks them with God-Slaying Talismans and suffers backlash from the devil contract binding her. The rest of them combine forces to knock Locke and Trevonay into the growing spatial fissure. Now they have everything they came for—artifacts of great power—but the pocket realm containing Kerava will soon consume them.
Elsewhere in the Shanarah Desert, Huxian and friends enter the Necropolis with their gold-ranked adventurer team. They grow closer throughout the delve and confess their initial intention to betray them. Augustus’s team is not surprised, as they are actually composed entirely of former traitors. They agree to proceed with a plan to help Mr. Mountain.
The battle with the final boss is fierce, but thanks to Cha Ming’s God-Slaying Talismans, they are able to make it. Unfortunately, they suffer grievous injuries, and thanks to a curse from the desert itself, they are greatly weakened. It just so happens that this is when Cha Ming breaks through, triggering their group’s tribulation.
Not one, but two tribulations arrive, thanks to the desert’s curse. Huxian tries to defend Mr. Mountain but is unable to do so. Augustus sweeps in to save the day but nearly dies at the hands of the tribulation. He only survives by obtaining an angelic endowment through self-sacrifice. They barely survive.
Their goals are not yet achieved. After all, they’ve come for Mr. Mountain, who is on the brink of death. Huxian obtains control of the dungeon’s core and uses a hundred thousand years of stored energy to create a massive volcano. The volcano destroys the curse of undeath plaguing the Sacred Shanarah Desert, and using the central volcano as a base and the excess energy from destroying the curse, Huxian terraforms the Shanarah Desert into a mountainous region. The resulting influx of demonic energy allows them to promote many sub-realms, but most importantly, creates enough mountainous energy to save Mr. Mountain.
Cha Ming and his team await their deaths in the collapsing pocket realm. They are doomed without external aid. Huxian’s timely breakthrough allows him to possess Cha Ming and create a large teleportation formation.
Unfortunately, the teleportation is not strong enough. Shakkanah entrusts Cha Ming with Drezil and sacrifices her life to create Life Sand and fuel the formation. They break through the pocket realm just in time. On their way out, the Inkwell Plane blesses all the demons in their group. They become inkborn.
The quest is at an end. The artifacts are secured, and the devils are gone. Two of the sacred deserts have completely changed and are no longer inhospitable now that their curses are broken. Cha Ming invites Yu Wen to return to Verdant Crossroads, as she is not welcome elsewhere in the Mendin republics.
Great changes are sure to welcome them.
Prologue
In the void straddling the Inkwell Plane, a tiny fissure appeared. It was a hairline crack, barely noticeable among the spatial tempests and the shards of spatial glass native to the area. Even so, the stench of the material world traveled quickly, and the creatures of the void that feasted upon such sources assembled like starving minnows.
Unfortunately for said creatures, a black-robed figure emerged from the other side and resealed the gap just as quickly as it had opened. He was not weak—could not be weak—because he wasn’t immediately torn to shreds by the spatial turbulence inherent to this plane of existence.
“Off with you,” the figure said, and the creatures ceased to be. They didn’t die but faded into the obscurity of void space.
“Voidspawn,” the man muttered disdainfully. “Such pitiful creatures, wouldn’t you say, Mr. Mao Mao?”
Yes, the black-and-white cat on his shoulder was Mr. Mao Mao. Who else could this man be but Elder Ling, who also went by Daoist West Sea or West Sea Guardian or other annoying titles. Neither the cat nor the old man were bothered by the void, because very little in this place could threaten them.
“Meow!” the cat said loudly.
“Quite right,” Elder Ling agreed. “We shouldn’t waste time we don’t have.” They were on an important mission. Elder Ling kicked off a pane of spatial glass and propelled himself through void space, using a compact turtle-shell-like shield like an umbrella to keep annoying corrosive essences and spatial shards at bay.
The requirements of Elder Ling’s mission were quite straightforward. First, find the missing Dao Lord Blackwater, the oldest remnant of the Inkwell Clan and the nominal leader of the fractured Inky Sea Sect. After that… well, he would have to see. It really depended on his mood at the time, and whether Dao Lord Blackwater was cooperative.
“If only the void wasn’t so darned dreary…” Elder muttered. Mr. Mao Mao nudged his neck and purred, and everything was right again.
The void was a cold and uncaring place. Very few cultivators traveled the void, whether Daoist, demon, or otherwise, because far too many things could kill them, and extended exposure would result in certain death. Void travel was something usually practiced around initial or early law stitching for Daoists and middle shell marking or middle fusion for demigods and demons.
