Maryam slowly began to break down her flesh and bones into formless masses of highly energized tissue. Due to its constant tempering by her explosive energy, it was far purer than any other cultivator's would be at this stage.
It was very sturdy and difficult to dissolve. Maryam went about the task methodically and carefully.
She divided her focus. Part of her concentrated on keeping her mind alive, while the other began to rebuild her body, piece by piece.
Fueled by the vast stores of energy in the yin and yang treasures, impossibly complex networks of energy formed intricate scaffolds which drew her cells along them. The cells flowed to their destinations and began to form new flesh, being purified and strengthened all the while.
Vestigial organs were eliminated. Tendons were shifted. The structures of bones were changed so that they were stronger, harder, and more durable.
Everything moved and was arranged according to Maryam's will.
She kept the general shape of Song High's face and body. The woman who died for her to live deserved at least that much respect.
The immortal watched Maryam as she worked, occasionally with a slightly lifted eyebrow.
Several weeks passed. Maryam body had been fully regrown now. Nerves and vessels interwove throughout it, forming a perfectly balanced system for the absorption, circulation, and release of her blood and soul energy.
She opened her eyes. The immortal was staring at her.
"I think you are quite mad," he said.
This was not the normal method of progressing through the Bodily Rebirth stage. After all, it was entire cultivation stage, not a single transformation.
Cultivators would typically rebuild their body in small portions. Gradually, they would refine and rearrange these sections one at a time to avoid dying due to vital chunks of their body not operating.
There was still huge potential for issues to arise when reforming vital organs, so the bodily rebirth stage could be extremely dangerous even under standard circumstances.
Breaking down and reforming one's entire body in a single go was unheard of. To do it, a cultivator would have to use their energy alone to replicate their usual bodily functions.
Attempting to consciously do the work of trillions of cells with the attention of a single mind would be considered insane, and not unfairly so.
"I'm not mad," Maryam said, "I know my limits."
The man just laughed.
"So, who did it? I don't know of any immortals that would bury a city," Maryam asked.
"Try guessing," the man smiled wryly.
"Theodore?"
The Lord of Peace nodded.
"The Immortal Darkness. It's been a very long time since he was called by his true name. But he was your brother, wasn't he?"
"Yes. And my murderer."
"I know. Or I'd never have let you set foot in here. Your sect held a trial for him; it was quite the news item."
"It seems he is stronger than I remembered. But if he had the determination to kill me, his own blood sister, then it makes sense that he'd come this far."
"My power could stop him from crushing my city into nothing, so he came up with an alternate solution."
It seemed that Theodore was still full of innovative ideas.
"Then, the inhabitants?" Maryam's eyes flicked upwards.
"It's as you've guessed. This is something you can help me with."
They talked a bit more and then Maryam left. The Lord of Peace gave her a fire-natured treasure that could keep a lower-stage cultivator comfortably alive for months in the ancient city. It was valuable to neither of them, but it would give her an easy explanation for how she survived without returning to the group.
She supressed her energy down to the realm of peak Core Creation. Even sect elders would likely have difficulty noticing easily, let alone someone like Nalema.
Maryam's emotional state was a mixture of satisfaction with her breakthrough and concern due to her brother. She was so distracted that when she ran into a pair of cultivators who tried to extort her, she simply handed over the fire-natured treasure.
She didn't need it in her possession in order to explain her survival; it was enough to say she gave it to her peers. Anyone doubtful could easily verify what happened. Her usual hot temper was seemingly nowhere to be found.
The disciples were satisfied with her cooperativeness and cheerfully lead her back to Nalema's group.
Maryam rested by the heater in the center of their camp. She traded with a disciple for some food and had her first proper-tasting meal in weeks.
While she had been gone, disciples from the sect had gone through and looted most of the houses on the outskirts and were gradually sweeping their way towards the heart of the city.
Maryam wasn't worried about the city's core. While the Lord of Peace had some difficulties that prevented him from leaving the city, he was still an immortal. And among immortals, he was far from weak.
Even if multiple entire sects combined decided to mount an assault on him and the section he had focused on protecting, the only fait awaiting them would be complete and utter annihilation at his hands.
As she was relaxing and enjoying the food, she heard a commotion coming from the tents.
The disciples who had taken her fire-natured treasure were talking with a peak Core Creation stage cultivator who appeared to be of higher status.
Maryam sighed. It seemed that her life was doomed to be interesting.
To be entirely fair, she should have perhaps handed over a less valuable treasure. A momentary lapse in vigilance indeed had consequences.
The man approached her. She vaguely remembered him as one of the people who were looking at her with bad intentions after she first joined the group.
He sneered and asked how she had survived in the harsh conditions of the city.
She responded with her story about finding the fire-natured treasure.
"Oh? That little trinket you gave my friends? Surely, you aren't telling me that was everything, right?"
Maryam was still feeling unusually placid.
"It is the most valuable thing you could get from me. Just walk away."
The man grabbed Maryam by the chin, trying to tilt her head up. He was probably about to say something along the lines of "Listen, girlie," combined with a fair dose of threats.
Maryam felt her temper flare back to life. She was about to jump up and slam her fist into the bottom of the man's chin—a proper uppercut—when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
Something about the presence made her blazing temper cool again.
It was Nalema. With on hand, she touched Maryam on the shoulder to reassure her, and with the other, she pulled the man's hand off Maryam's chin and held it in place.
"It isn't good for people in the same sect to fight," she said, "We should all be kind to each other."
The man looked indignant for a second and then, after looking at Nalema's pretty face, calmed down. After stealing a quick look at Nalema's full chest, the man went slightly red.
"Miss Nalema, I am really sorry. This is a misunderstanding."
Nalema looked at Maryam. Maryam nodded. She had no interest in asking a stranger to deal with her trivial problems.
"It's true. I gave it to them willingly," Maryam said.
Nalema still looked suspicious.
"Alright," she said, "Perusu, I'll talk to you later. Don't do something like this again."
Perusu looked a little abashed and assured Nalema that he'd definitely listen to her.
Nalema's arm still rested on Maryam's shoulder. She looked down at Maryam and smiled a little.
Maryam now knew why Nalema's presence felt so familiar. It felt like it belonged to someone she knew.
"Autumn," said Maryam, like she was calling a name.
She did not miss the guilt that briefly flashed through Nalema's eyes.
"What are you talking about?" Nalema asked, tensely.
"I was thinking, after we leave the city, it will be Autumn soon. It's my favorite season."
"Yes, it's a beautiful season. Quite tragic, too. The death of each year's life so that the next spring can flourish. I often wish so much didn't have to die."
Nalema was not Autumn, that was certain. Maryam would never make that mistake. Besides, Nalema's personality was entirely off. But she was now sure that the strange feeling she had about Nalema was related to Autumn.
Perhaps she would ask Autumn about it the next time they met.