Ren steps forward on the floating terrace, and the cold approval on his face sharpens into something predatory. The higher realm’s qi hums around Li Wu like a live wire.
Ren
You were never meant to merely survive it. That lattice was always an anchor, and you are the best vessel I found.
The crimson lines beneath Li Wu’s skin answer with a faint pulse, as if recognizing their maker. Chen goes rigid. Master Wei stares, stunned into silence.
Chen
He planned this from the beginning... all the answers, all the guidance...
Master Wei
You used us. You used Li Wu as fuel for the gate.
Ren
Fuel is a crude word. He is the only one here with the strength to carry it. The lattice needed a living battery, and Li Wu fit perfectly.
The terrace trembles under the strain. The gateway behind them throbs in time with Li Wu’s meridians, as if waiting for a command only Ren expects him to obey.
✓ Quest Accepted
Sever the lattice anchor
“Can I use the higher realm's qi to detach it from my meridians and instead attach it to the higher realm's qi?”
YES, BUT (Likely, rolled 61)
Li Wu attempts to shift the burden of the lattice, but the higher realm's qi is too volatile to serve as a stable host. The energy recoils, binding itself even tighter to his meridians as the gateway shudders in protest.
“I focus inward and use the reasoning of my new cultivation level to fully understand the golden scroll and its contents.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +1)
Li Wu lets the roaming qi settle and studies the scroll’s hidden pulse. The golden script unfolds in his mind, not as words, but as a lattice of intent and breath.
Li Wu
The sequence is not a lock, it is a path.
Meaning clicks into place. The scroll does not command the gate, it teaches how to ride its pressure without being crushed by it.
Ren
So he sees it too. Good.
The crimson lattice on Li Wu’s skin stops thrashing for a breath, then mirrors the scroll’s rhythm. Beneath the terrace, the chamber gives a low groan, and the gateway’s calm vortex steadies.
Chen
What did you find?
Master Wei
Speak plainly. Can it be cut, or must it be borne?
The answer settles in Li Wu’s meridians with cold clarity, as if the scroll has finished reading him back.
“I use the knowledge of the scroll to ride the pressure of the gate and free myself from its burden.”
SUCCESS (Good Meditation, rolled -1)
Li Wu follows the scroll’s rhythm into his meridians and lets the pressure pass through instead of against him. The crimson lattice loosens its grip, then slips free of the gate’s pull with a sharp shiver.
A thin crack of light snaps across the terrace floor, and the strain under his chest drains away all at once. The gateway steadies, while the chamber below answers with a deeper groan.
The burden leaves Li Wu, but it does not vanish cleanly. A hot sting runs along his left forearm, and a bead of blood falls to the stone.
Li Wu
The lattice is off my meridians. It still clings to the seal.
Chen
You did it. Is it broken?
Master Wei
No. Look at the mark. He has cut himself loose, not the anchor.
Ren
Good. Now you know where the true knot sits.
“I synchronize myself with the rhythm of the path and gateway and form a seal with my hands allowing the anchor to gently slide off myself and silde into the gateway as its new anchor”
SUCCESS (Good Meditation, rolled +0)
Li Wu cups his hands before his chest, fingers shaping the scroll’s rhythm into a tight, silent frame. His breathing settles into the gateway’s pulse, and the crimson lattice begins to drift, loosening from his meridians.
The mark peels away in a thin, trembling thread and slides into the vortex. The gate accepts it at once, the glow deepening as if the seal finds its new home.
A hot line bites along Li Wu’s left forearm where the lattice was severed from flesh. Blood beads, then smears across his fingers, but his core stays clear.
Li Wu
It has left my meridians. The gate has it now.
Chen
Then the anchor is off you.
Master Wei
Off him, yes. But look, the portal is taking the strain.
Ren
Good. Now the threshold knows where to bite.
The terrace shudders once. The chamber below gives a heavy groan through the stone, and the gateway holds, newly weighted by Li Wu’s seal.
Quest Complete
Sever the lattice anchor
Skill Upgrade: Meditation Good→Great