By the time Xue Yang reaches the infirmary, he's drenched but exhilarated. His knee was bleeding so badly, and the pain had been bothering him to the extent that he wished he could do something about it, so he stood for a moment, concentrating.

While the wind whipped around him, and the cool, clean rain sank through his robes to cleanse his skin, Xue Yang retreated into the deepest recesses of his mind and connected with his golden core, which thrummed with vitality. He remembered the oneness he'd felt during those wonderful weeks of solitude when he had discovered this miraculous aid and how much of a benefit it was. The strengthening of his golden core opened up new channels of thought in his mind, and so Xue Yang deliberately used that skill to heal himself. He remembered his Baba telling him that the power to kill, to take a life, was something sacred. And that it should not be used frivolously unless one had the power to give life back.

All because power should be maintained within a balance.

And if that's the case, and if Xue Yang can injure himself (however pathetically), then theoretically, he should be able to heal himself.

When the skin knits itself back together, his spiritual energy reinforcing the nerves and the veins of blood to heal once again, Xue Yang yells with surprise, his fists shooting up in the air with jubilation!

He did it!

How amazing was that?

He lifts up the cotton of his trouser leg and examines the pinkish skin excitedly, marvelling when even the scar fades away. Carefully, he scrubs the material together so that the reddish stain is washed away into something less alarming.

He's just about to move on when the doors of the infirmary slam open and Healer Fei runs out.

"Xue Yang! Find your Baba! Tell him, the traitor is already in Cloud Recesses!"

********************

EARLIER THAT SAME DAY: CHEN SHI (7am to 9am)

For the first time in his life, Wei Ying is awake purposefully before a reasonable time, and he and Lan Zhan are waiting for Lan Qiren to arrive with the five pieces of the Yin Iron. The sky looks dark, threatening rolling clouds merging high above them with the odd, inconsistent flash of lightning illuminating the mountain peaks far away in the distance. The world is coloured in shades of black, white and grey as they sit down on the ground, in the centre of a huge circle cleared of grass and any obstacles that could even accidentally change any of the characters that will be drawn.

Lan Zhan is sitting in a lotus position, meditating next to him.

He's focusing on the time, the unrelenting seconds that slide into minutes marking the change from *Mao Shi to Chen Shi. (*Rabbit to Dragon).

The sun rose a few hours ago and yet, it is still dark because of the heavy clouds.

Wei Ying's knee bounces and he's filled with nervous energy, going over what he will begin to draw out on the ground soon. He goes over and over the arrays he has marked out on paper, hours of poring over different alternatives with his mother and then agreeing on the best one.

But if it rains before they begin, that will be a problem. Once the arrays are activated, nothing will stop them from doing what they should, but at this point, everything is only theoretical.

He feels more than sees, when Lan Zhan opens his beautiful golden eyes and turns to him.

"It is time."

Wei Ying shivers, standing up. He gives Lan Zhan a hand up, and hearing a noise, they turn to see Uncle Qiren arriving. He comes closer and from his sleeves, he withdraws five separate qiankun pouches.

Lan Zhan and Wei Ying bow to him as greetings are exchanged, and then Wei Ying takes a deep breath and holds his hand out.

No matter what happens today, their lives will change forever.

*************

The sword, black with malice and ill intent, is planted into the soft ground using spiritual energy. Wei Ying has missed this, the stretching of his qi to new boundaries and using his newly developed powerful core for a specific intention. One containment array has already been drawn, preventing any resentment energy from leaking into the ground.

Thunder rumbles ominously above them as if the gods are watching them, too.

Now that the lynchpin has been established, rooted into its place, Wei Ying can begin the lengthy process of drawing out the other minor and major arrays.

"We are facing East?" Lan Qiren asks him. He's also studied the works of Cangse Sanren and her son, trying to look for flaws with fresh eyes at their invitation. So far, it's looking good.

"Hm. Contrary to popular opinion, the East is where the most power lies." Wei Ying works silently now, followed by Lan Zhan and Shifu.

Now that the focal point of the whole operation is in place, the rest of the arrays can be drawn out. At exactly the north eastern point, the first smaller containment array is marked outside one that specifies the destruction of whatever is trapped within. Wei Ying draws the others at the south east, south west and north west points. Then he draws the most important arrays central to each of the arrays which will contain the remaining four pieces of Yin Iron. These will act as batteries to power all the arrays drawn out, so that they will distribute a level and consistent spiritual energy. If for any reason, such as switching any tired cultivators out for freshly energised ones, they will have the precious few seconds to do so without interrupting the energy feed.

It is Lan Zhan's brilliant mind that suggested implanting the original array formula to counteract the amount of cultivators needed to actively destroy the Yin Iron and the black sword.

The concentrated spiritual energy is supposed to hit the black sword directly, which will repel it with equal strength, thus shooting down the connecting channels to each of the four separate Yin Iron pieces, effectively shattering them. The rebound of excess energy should take care of the sword, and the containment array around the outside of the whole configuration should control any backlash.

Theoretically, the plan is sound.

All the symbols and characters are drawn with care, proving that Wei Ying, if motivated enough, can write beautifully. Once he finishes, he asks Lan Qiren to come and check his work alongside Lan Zhan. He deliberately takes longer breaths, calming his own inner turmoil. He knows without a doubt, if this design works, they will successfully be able to destroy these evil artefacts. But if something goes wrong, there's a possibility of killing every single person here.

They have a quarter of a shichen to begin, exactly half an hour to win the grace and protection of the Celestial Dragon, before Si Shi, the time frame ruled by the Celestial Snake.

"It is ready," Lan Qiren announces, stepping out of the array.

Wei Ying and Lan Zhan follow him out and face the other thirty one cultivators, ready to sacrifice their lives. Each one has been informed of the risk their involvement means, and as strong cultivators, they are ready.

Alongside Lan Qiren, Wei Ying and Lan Zhan bow towards all the people gathered to help them here.

Then they take their places as Wei Ying delivers each of the four Yin Iron pieces within their containment arrays. Lan Zhan hands him each qiankun pouch, and the dangerous metal is tipped out onto the ground without touching them.

Lan Qiren stands at the Eastern point, Wen Tang Changpu is on his right at the Northern point, opposite Nie XiongMeng who is powering the Western point. Jin-Furen, Acting Sect Leader, is going to operate the Southern battery. Their four most powerful cultivators are established at the rooted compass points, with another eight next strongest cultivators powering the containment arrays drawn out around the separate Yin Iron pieces. Eight more cultivators stand behind them as a backup, ready to be called into action as soon as the array is activated, should they be needed.

Theoretically, the initial eight cultivators should be enough, but it remains impossible to predict exactly how much spiritual energy will be needed. But Wei Ying is a realist and his private opinion is that all thirty-two cultivators will be needed.

Once everyone is standing in their positions, Wei Ying grabs Lan Zhan and they step outside of the entire containment array, in between Lan Qiren and Nie XiongMeng.

Lan Qiren glances at his friends, and at Jin-Furen, and he nods. When they nod back, tension etched on all of their faces, he gives the order to begin.