Chapter 14 - The Crystal's Secret

Xin Yang studied the mysterious sky-blue crystal as if it were a new, puzzling beast. About the length of his hand, it emitted a strange pressure that felt constrained, as if vast power were trapped within its flawless depths. Probing it with his qi led to a blinding, skull-splitting headache and blackness.

He woke with a start, disoriented and unsure how long had passed. The headache lingered as an echo, warning him to utmost caution. Yet he had to understand this crystal and its secrets, no matter the cost. Power beyond his sect's—power to forge his own fate—was within his grasp, if he could but seize it.

Cautious re-testing led to a vision of two old men in azure and gold robes laughing together in some long-ago place. The azure-clad man held a twin of Xin Yang's crystal and did something—activated it?—before a cultivation technique manual rested in his hands. He performed another action, and the manual vanished into then was ejected from the crystal.

"Crystal of Time," words whispered in Xin Yang's mind. This ancient, peerless artifact could manipulate time, but how? Excitement and confusion warred as he contemplated the implications. With time control came power beyond current imagining ... but how to access it? Careful experimentation was needed, however draining or dangerous. Growth, understanding, demanded sacrifice.

He hurtled to Ye Meng's room and hammered on the door. "Your technique, now, no time to explain!"

Ye Meng answered, blinking at Xin Yang's urgency, but did not hesitate to offer what was asked. His trust warmed even as it burdened. Xin Yang tried replicating what he'd seen, sending his qi into the Crystal of Time as it touched Ye Meng's proffered technique manual.

The crystal shone with blinding, ominous blue light, and the paper vanished from between Xin Yang's fingers. His qi drained at a rate that left him lightheaded and chilled, but he persevered with eyes shut in fierce concentration and hands clutching the artifact. There—a half-hour of staunch, draining focus later, the light died and the crystal ejected a new manual into his waiting, unsteady grasp.

The "Origin of Desolation" manual's contents were unreadable save for the changed name on its ancient cover, penned in an era-lost script. Xin Yang had uncovered a secret of the crystal, but its full capabilities and cost remained shrouded in unknowns—and so did doubt if he had the strength and skill to uncover them. He would need his companions' willing aid, and truth. Explain he must, so long as they swore to prize his trust as he did theirs and keep sacred what they were shown. The power this crystal could win them was worth that vow and any sacrifice, if they dared seize destiny side by side.

Xin Yang rested and recovered, strength returning with his determination. The crystal's power was his to harness, and his friends' aid would be pivotal—if they could accept and shoulder the truth.

He went to Bai Lihua and asked for her cultivation technique manual. Wariness flashed through her eyes at the request's strangeness, but she handed it over without hesitation. Xin Yang bore the Crystal of Time down on the paper, steeling himself for the drain, and was engulfed in blinding blue light as the text vanished within.

Minutes trickled into nearly an hour with no change. Apprehension climbed as Xin Yang's flagging stamina did battle with doubts. But then the light extinguished and the crystal ejected a new manual.

Her "Jade Illusions Mantra" became the stronger "Nine Cycles Illusions Mantra"

Bai Lihua accepted it in confused wonder, gaze seeking Xin Yang's. He told her to examine its contents, and astonishment widened her eyes as she read. "This is a Heaven-grade technique, but how—?"

He explained the Crystal of Time, power and price. She pledged secrecy for power to stand by him, wrath kindling at his enduring the danger and drain alone. He must never face such peril without her and Ye Meng to support him, whatever came of mastering this unimaginable artifact.

Xin Yang upgraded his own techniques, finding them left unenhanced. The crystal's powers had limits or particularities not yet understood. But with time and united effort, more secrets would be pried from its vaults.

The movement technique summoned. Within his training field, Xin Yang grasped "Divine Void Step," vanishing and appearing within three meters. Mastery would transcend such meager range, but in patience and practice lay achievement. Life was more than cultivation and sect strictures. He craved adventure, the wider world, his companions at his side.

"I'll walk my ancestors' path, explore the unseen world. Uncover secrets and arcane oddities. Who'll join in striding the myriad miles?"

When he asked, Ye Meng and Bai Lihua shared grins of iron, devotion, and longing. They owed him much and would grow strong exploring the world, finding their places and purposes. To adventure together would honor unbreakable bonds. In one voice they avowed, "We'll join you!"