"It is fine uncle Gui, please restrain your anger. Lady Annchi, this a straightforward deal, not a complicated matter. If you have no interest, then I will leave the city first thing in the morning and be on my way." Said Amon, already losing interest in the whole matter due to Annchi's attitude.
Annchi glanced at her sister, Ning. She was right. The man will just come back here when he can handle everything on his own instead of working with them if they are uncooperative or disingenuous.
On the other hand, Ning did not like where this whole matter is going. "What about helping Ling?"
Amon shrugged. "I can't do it without a grade four, Lapis Lazuli. My method will kill her if we can't immediately start healing her using the law of rejuvenation. I can draw the runes, a relatively decent grade four Source seal, but I'm not versed in healing or any applicable restoration law. Therefore, I need a Lapis Lazuli to power the seal and provide the necessary access to the natural law of rejuvenation."
"What nonsense are you uttering? Do we look like imbeciles to you? A Lapis Lazuli provides access to one of the elemental laws, the law of water. Are you an idiot or just a fraud?" Sneered Nuan.
Amon looked at Nuan like he was looking at a monkey, he gazed at Ning and her elder sister, they both appeared to be on the same page as Nuan. Amon opened his mouth to speak several times, but he could not find the right words to express the stupidity of the situation he found himself in.
"Help me out here Ning, if I were to approach the ruling sovereign Count of this Cai County, I find myself in, would he say the same thing as your master? A Lapis Lazuli has nothing to do with the law of rejuvenation?" Asked Amon hoping beyond hope that he was not dealing with an entire nation that lacked any modicum of proper knowledge of the Profound Ethereal Way.
"I have never met him, but this is a piece of common knowledge across the continent. Ten Gemstones, Ten Laws. A Lapis Lazuli has always been a water law gemstone, the law of rejuvenation you speak of is entirely foreign to us, we never heard of it before nor a Lapis Lazuli has anything to do with it." Said Ning.
Amon peered up at the clouds in the sky, baffled. How can a common knowledge across the Ring Galaxy be something unknown here? He was not sure if this is a local problem or a planet-wide problem.
"Say, Ning, have you ever held a knitting ball in your hands?" Asked Amon.
Ning tilted her head cutely, not understanding where Amon is going with his question.
Locking eyes with Ning, Amon spoke. "Reality and the cosmos are wrapped around itself, just like a knitting ball, but bigger and infinitely more complex. The universe and all of its laws are interlinked, interlocked, and compartmentalized in a way that allows the existence of everything we can observe or sense.
Water is the nectar of life; it profoundly represents more than just its physical appearance or outer properties. You are a cultivator, so you can use Source to nourish yourself for extended periods. However, take little Ling and lock her in a room for three days without any water. I want you to picture her in your mind, sprawled on the ground, dehydrated and on the verge of death, what will a fresh cup of water do to her?" Said Amon.
"Rejuvenate her..." The words came out of her mouth naturally, and without Ning's control, it seemed so obvious, yet she has never once realized such a simple, yet profound truth about something she consumes and interacts with multiple times per day.
The one that was truly shaken was not Ning or Nuan, but Annchi. Her head immediately dropped down, and she went into a sporadic state of deep comprehension. A faint blue light covered Annchi's body, it was clear as day to Amon's eyes of Entropy. Annchi's Source started leaving her body through her Profound Entrances, rotating around her, then heading towards her heart.
Sighing, Amon now understood Annchi's hostility and hatred. If her secret was exposed, then death may be the only way out for herself and her loved ones. She had to be extraordinarily careful, no one could know she was a rare existence in the cultivation world, encompassing an Ether core in her heart. Annchi was a noble, a being capable of becoming a monarch that rule over her entire race if she was allowed to grow.
The ultimate goal of cultivation or sorcery is to become the physical expression of one of the laws of nature, a monarch. However, no matter how much a cultivator tried to comprehend a specific law and dedicate their entire life to it, they will eventually face an impossible to surmount wall, stopping them from progressing forward and limiting their potential forever. It is the way of the universe, a balancing act, no one could become a monarch without being a noble, without having an Ether core in their heart embodying the natural law they pursue.
Amon now knew Annchi is a noble, and her law is the law of water, evident by what happened when a profound truth concerning water was revealed to her. If this fact was exposed, then she will be hunted down for her Ether core and body. It can all be stolen, torn out of her heart, and raped out of her in the lower realms. Until the day she stands at the top of the Nine Mortal Realms, able to defend herself and her loved ones, no one can know about her secret.
The former Phoenix stood up. "Let us leave her alone and not disturb her good fortune."
Ning followed Amon, and held his wrist, staring at his gray-blueish eyes. Amon faintly smiled; the intuitive girl figured out that Amon grasped her sister's secret. Lowering himself to her height, he whispered in her ears. "Naughty Ning'er, when I asked you what do you know about nobles, you feigned ignorance. It is alright though, I understand, I used to be one myself. Your sister's secret is safe with me, it shall never leave my heart."
Ning opened her mouth to speak, but a finger on her lips stopped her. "There is no need for threats, warnings, or any of that ugly business. If I understood your gift well enough, then I presume you had seen it when you observed me for the first time. The cold, indifferent, infinite void. Tell me, does such an existence respond to threats? No, I did not think so. You have my word, the word of Amon Enigma Black-Sun, that is all you will ever need to be assured."
Ning let go of Amon's wrist and let him leave. Nuan stood next to her disciple. "He must die."
"No, my sister's secret is safe with him, he won't expose her or sell her for any price." Said Ning.
"You can't be serious, Ning, you..."
"Master, please trust me. I won't ever risk either of my sisters' lives, and I would gladly trade my life for both of them, they are what remains in this world of my mother. Enigma has given me his word, and he will die before he let it slip, every fiber of my beings knows it to be the absolute truth." Pleaded Ning.
Nuan caressed Ning's head lovingly. "I do trust you, my disciple. However, this is bigger than either of us, we cannot gamble the fate and future of our Eternal Rain Palace on a man's word because you are worried that somehow killing him is an even bigger problem."
Ning held the hem of her dress tightly. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her unnaturally, neutral face showed a definite hint of grief. She turned around and headed towards her father, who did not move from his seat.
"Father...I have a request." Said Ning softly.
***
Outside Lilium City, in front of the ancient circular platform, late at night.
"I was told I might find you here." Said Yao Gui as he approached the platform Amon was sitting on.
Amon turned around and covered his eyes from the bright lantern Gui was carrying. "Uncle Gui, what are you doing here?"
The middle-aged man sat down next to Amon. "Is this place that exciting? You skipped both lunch and dinner for it. Your meals are awaiting you in your room."
Amon ran a hand through his hair. "I can't help it, puzzles like this one has always fascinated me. I will be leaving Lilium city soon to find a permanent home for myself, I thought I should spend as much time as I could here before I go."
"You are not willing to work with my daughters anymore?" Said Gui.
"It is not that I'm not willing, it is that your eldest might try to claim my life. I don't think you can stop her or Nuan from trying to kill me." Said Amon.
"You don't seem to be worried about it? From my understanding, they are far more powerful than you." Said Gui.
Amon placed a hand over his heart. Thinking about what he knew about Prime Ethereal Treasures. He surmised that if he is pushed to a corner, he could sacrifice a portion of his soul to power the Heart of Entropy to preserve his life. It would be an enormous price to pay, but it is far better than dying.
"No. I'm not, whatever may happen will happen." Said Amon, confident.
"I see. Tell me about your parents, where are they currently?" Said Gui.
Amon frowned. "Far away from here, unfortunately unreachable."
"What do they do for a living? Are they practitioners of the Profound too?" Said Gui.
Amon nodded. "Yes. My mother is the current matriarch of my clan, and my father is the head of the Order he belongs too."
"Oh? What kind of Order does your father run?" Said Gui.
"The Order of Untainted Zealots. They are prominent devils' hunters. Concerned with protecting the purity of the Ether and removal of any vile devil." Said Amon.
"Devils? They are real?" Said Gui.
"Hmm. I don't think you are thinking of the word devil the same way I am. If you did not know, the energy that cultivators spend their lives collecting, compressing, and enriching themselves with could be stolen using many despicable methods. At higher cultivation ranks, specifically, after the Nine Mortal Realms, forcefully taking a cultivator's energy taint and corrupt the robber.
They become contaminated, an abomination, a devil. They don't care who they hurt or what price they have to pay; they only care about rising through the ranks as fast as possible regardless of the fact they are no longer themselves due to their corruption. The Order of Untainted Zealots actively hunts such devils down and put them to the ground, that's basically my father's life long mission. To rid the world of all devils," said Amon.
"That sounds very noble. Do you plan to follow your father's footsteps?" Said Gui.
"I was trained for it and prepared for it, but I did not have the stomach for it. The word Zealot in my father's Order name and title is no joke, and the matter of devils is not always straightforward. I prefer to explore the world and unravel its secrets. In my free time, being a master and a teacher is something I'm fond of too." Said Amon.
Yao Gui's chuckled. "A teacher, eh? You had revealed to me more than you did when I asked you before."
Amon shrugged. "Forgive me, I don't mean to be secretive or mysterious. The world I belong to is vastly different than what cultivators here appears to be used to, and explaining myself to them without sounding insane is more trouble than I care for. You saw for yourself what happened earlier with the lovely ladies. What are common knowledge and common sense to me is profound truths to them."
"You make it sound like you are from a completely different realm rather than hailing from an isolated part of our continent, a secretive clan of some sort. No wonder my eldest was warry of you, the more you reveal, the more questions I have. Don't get me wrong, I do not question your integrity or motives, you have already proven yourself to be of high moral standards. I had to literally drag you by the hand and force you to be my guest when you wanted to just leave after delivering my baby girl safely." Said Gui.
Amon chuckled. "Well then it is getting late, let us return, and tomorrow I will kindly request you point me towards your nation's capital for me to find a proper sect to join."
Yao Gui placed a hand on Amon's shoulder, forcing the former Phoenix to lock eyes with him. "Young hero Amon, I, Yao Gui, wish to join you and my daughter, Yao Ning, as husband and wife. What say you?"