After With-Heaven had returned to the world of the living from Hades, the first thing he did was to travel to the hometown of the lady from whom he had been parted shortly before dying. He had told her to wait for him for one year, and if he should not return in that time, then to remarry, but by the time he reached the town, a mere ten days remained before the year was up. The lady and her parents honored his instructions and she remained unmarried, but the story had really gotten around, so the house was crowded with suitors waiting for the year to be up. When With-Heaven's regal steed galloped into the house's front courtyard flanked by Tiger-God and Green-Steppe, the suitors--fifteen in total--already knew who it was. Every art of persuasion and intimidation they used to keep him from going any further, even drawing weapons at one point. The suitors looked willing to kill him if they needed to, but With-Heaven, unfazed, merely dismounted his horse, drew his sword and spoke thus: "Gentlemen, had I gotten here ten days later, I would have honored your rights without a second thought. But by the grace of the gods, here I am. The lady whose hand you seek is already married." His winsome face and the two steel eyes that adorned it sent the suitors into quiet reflection. His commanding voice lingered in their ears. They knew that if the rumors were true, then the man standing in front of them was a man who had been to Hades and back. After taking a second look at the glowing sword in his right hand, they thought better and, putting away their weapons, yielded the way to him. With-Heaven replaced his sword and went inside to meet with the lady's father. He said to With-Heaven: "The marriage between my daughter and that demon prince was forced upon us, it means nothing to me or to her. And apparently she tried to flee from his grasp, getting lost in the mountains where she would have died if not for you. She is much better off with you." After everything was put in order, they were married.
After enjoying a couple weeks' rest with his wife, With-Heaven recruited builders to start work on a new stronghold about ten miles from his wife's hometown. When the local chieftains and warlords saw this dignified edifice going up, they wondered with anxiety what new lord this was and whether or not he meant to proclaim empire over them. But when they found out it was With-Heaven, the man who had slain the hated demon prince Loves-Battle, they flocked to the doors of his stronghold to offer him their service and fealty. Over eighty local lordlings did so; so quickly did they join their countries to his, that before his stronghold was even complete, With-Heaven had the ability to field five thousand irregular warriors. He designated Tiger-God and Green-Steppe as generals and put them in charge of fifteen hundred men each, while he took the remaining two thousand.
Shortly before the stronghold was finished, With-Heaven said thus to his brothers: "Very soon we will be able to set out on campaigns again, but one very important thing is missing: the old weapons we loved to do battle with before we were killed. My Shadowbrand is an especially profound treasure, and I don't think anything could replace it." Tiger-God replied: "No weapon was more dear to me than my dagger-ax." And Green-Steppe: "My longbow is made from divine wood that doesn't decay. It's an heirloom, too." Tiger-God rejoined: "While the season is still not ripe for campaigns, let me go on a journey to retrieve our weapons. With a hundred men as escort, I am confident I can divine their resting place, or take them from the hands of whatever fellow has appropriated them." With-Heaven said to him: "Do so." And Tiger-God rounded up a hundred men on horseback and set off.
He spent about a month traveling to the site where they were slain by Loves-Danger with a mind to ask the locals if they saw the demon army leaving with any great-looking weapons. When he got there, he met someone who had been watching the battle that day, who said thus: "I did not see them leaving with any especially excellent-looking weapons. I would reckon they destroyed all the weapons they captured that day, as is that particular tribe's custom, but I did see them sink a few steel crates to the bottom of the Stone River. I did wonder if they had sealed weapons in those crates, either in defiance of the custom, or because the weapons were impossible to destroy for whatever reason. At any rate, they think it unlucky to walk around with their slain foes' weapons and want to rid themselves of such things in any way possible." Tiger-God thanked the man for his candid report, rewarded him with a fine new hunting cloak, then set up camp on the bank of the Stone River. He commanded divers to scour the depths of the river for the metal crates, but even after several days they were unable to find anything. Frustrated by this, Tiger-God one night slept on the banks of the river in hope of meeting the spirit of the river in a dream. It happened just as he had hoped, he saw the glowing spirit descend in lordly attire. Saluting the spirit, he said thus: "Spirit, this is your river, is it not." The spirit replied: "That it is." Tiger-God said: "I have reason to believe that a few items I am searching for are buried beneath the sediment in one of the corners of your river." And the spirit: "If you are referring to the steel crates that those demon fiends dumped here, I can certify that they are indeed buried at the bottom of my river." And Tiger-God: "Spirit, if you would deign to dislodge those crates and discover them to the eye, that my men can drag them out, I swear that I will construct a new shrine for you at the very spot where this body of mine is now sleeping." The spirit said: "I will vouchsafe as much. Tomorrow morning I will make the flow languid for one day, and during that time the sediment will be clear." When he woke up the next morning Tiger-God saw that the river was clear, and he sent out the divers, who had no problem spotting the three steel crates. Sturdy ropes were fastened to the crates and teams of men put their strength together to pull them out of the water. Tiger-God smashed the crates with boulders to open them and, sure enough, the weapons of him and his brothers were inside, waterlogged but undamaged. True to his word, he then had a seemly shrine put up on the spot where he had slept that night using funds out of his own coffer.
By the time he reconvened with With-Heaven and Green-Steppe, the stronghold was already finished, and a small town had grown up around it complete with cobbled walls, paved roads and ten-fathom-tall watchtowers. The other two were just as pleased as he was to have their old weapons back in their hands. With-Heaven was puzzled when he heard the report that the enemy may have tried and failed to destroy the weapons. He said: "Maybe our weapons are protected by Heaven so as to be indestructible, but I wouldn't like to test that." Tiger-God quipped: "No better test for a weapon than battle. The years will tell us."
A few weeks later the seasons turned and the weather became favorable for campaigns. With his army of five thousand, With-Heaven did numerous tours through the neighboring districts of the Southland. In those places many human tribes resided who were well disposed to them, so much so that they contributed warriors of their own. With-Heaven easily won them over to his cause by promising them wealth, land and the safe travel that would naturally result from subduing demon tribes and bands of robbers. By the time of their first clash with a hostile force, With-Heaven commanded nearly nine thousand men. When he led them into battle, like grass bent by the wind, the foes would fold at his feet, and vast victories were his. Over fifty tribes of demons and half as many bands of robbers were pacified in the first season alone, and With-Heaven returned to his stronghold in a grand procession. Five auspicious years passed just like this. In that time, With-Heaven's town grew nearly ten times, becoming a center for traders and craftsmen, and in all matters of statecraft, law and religion, the people great and small deferred to the will and adjudication of With-Heaven and his brothers.
With-Heaven's wife bore him three children--two girls and one boy--in that time. The girls were so pretty that even while they were still in swaddling clothes, one could be sure that they would grow up to be great beauties. The boy's face really took after his father's, and when With-Heaven looked at him, he pictured him one day holding the Shadowbrand and leading warriors into battle. The sight of his wife and children as they sat under a shady canopy stirred his heart deeply; he thought: "In propagating my blood, I may have propagated his, but I have made what is his my own in doing so. It is my blood now, not his! They are my children, not his grandchildren! No longer am I ashamed of this blood, for I have purified it." Reflecting on how quickly he was rising in the world, With-Heaven knew in his heart that there would come a day when he would meet his own father on the field of battle, and when that day comes, they would be reconciled by the sword.
The seasons turned a couple more times. By then news of With-Heaven's ascendant principality had spread far and wide, and it was the cause of brooding among demons near and far. Since so many had been routed, subjugated and put to the sword by With-Heaven, several major demon chieftains wished heartily for his destruction. But when the demon king Loves-Danger heard that the man he killed had risen from the grave, he vowed not to die until he had slain him a second time and destroyed everything he had created. He told his retainers: "For now, we will gather our strength, solicit help from our allies, and recruit more men. After one year's time, we will march on his country and lay it to waste." But the demon king's chain of influence was filled with many a wagging tongue, and word that he was planning a great war soon made it to With-Heaven and his brothers. With-Heaven said: "If the rumors are true, then everything you see before you will be gone in a year's time. Unless we multiply our cultivation a few fold, we will not be able to defeat him, and he will kill us again. We have numbers now, but numbers can bring us only so far. When it comes down to single combat (and we all know it will), numbers do not mean anything. Brothers, what do you think?" Green-Steppe spoke next: "In our service are dozens of lordlings and minor chieftains, but very few of them match us in strength and cunning. Why not search the nearby lands for martial heroes who share our hatred for the demon king and enter alliance with them." But Tiger-God said in response: "That will not do. If there were any soul in this corner of the world who was both strong enough and had the will to, he would have already killed the demon king himself, or joined a band of similar men, but there is no such band to be spoken of. All the righteous warriors just pick off the petty demons when they can, and when the demon king's entourage sweeps through, they hide knowing well they cannot match him. If anyone can kill him, it will have to be us." Green-Steppe said: "Elder brother, what if we solicited help from your father, Lord Tengir? I know you are your own man and do not claim association with him anymore, but there are few men who have slain more demons than him and his esteemed retainers. The alliance would only be temporary--to stave off a common foe." With-Heaven would not even listen to this proposition; Tiger-God was against it too. Their deliberation had come to no conclusion by the time they dispersed.
At a loss about what he should do, With-Heaven spent the next couple weeks praying to Heaven in the mountains. One night as he slumbered in a half-cave, he saw a dream where a celestial being came down from the night sky. The being had the face of a young man, had long white hair and fluttering white robes. He said to With-Heaven: "Goes-With-Heaven, son of Lord Tengir, the Gods on High, seeing that you are overcome by anxiety, wanted to send word to you that they will assure your victory in the coming conflict against the demon king Loves-Danger. They say you have shown that, when all is said and done, true to your name, you are on the side of Heaven. But they have seen also that inside you there is a wild and wayward coefficient Daemon, under whose sway you have been guilty of a number of sins which you have not yet expiated. The Gods of Heaven promise this victory to you, but they say that if you do not straighten yourself out and purify your sins, it will be the last victory you will ever gain." With-Heaven was shocked by these words, he shouted: "What sins, say the Gods of Heaven, am I guilty of? Tell me!" The celestial's response was: "The Gods of Heaven have only said so much." And he vanished in a cloud of mist. Thereupon the dream faded and With-Heaven woke up. His heart racing, he calmed himself with a swig of wine from his gourd. He thought back to that day so many years ago in his thirteenth year, when he violated the sanctity of his sister's person and proceeded to wreck havoc on the settled lands controlled by his father. He thought: "I was only acting on instinct. When the tiger tears into a deer, he makes a mess, sure, but is that really a sin? If Heaven pronounces my instincts sinful, wherefore did it give them to me in the first place?" He sat up till dawn.
When he returned home, the only ones he confided his dream in were his brothers and his wife. However, he left out the part about expiating his sins. His brothers were very delighted to hear that Heaven intended to have them triumph over Loves-Danger, and this news made them all the more eager to cultivate themselves and the army, to recruit more men and to manufacture more weapons and armor. The army grew stronger, more numerous and more well-equipped with each passing day, and at the same time, the cultivation of the three brothers and many of their prominent commanders increased exponentially. This went on for an entire year, until they received word that the demon king Loves-Danger was on the march with an army of fifteen thousand, apparently a confederation of three major tribes and a dozen minor ones put together by the king. The army boasted over twenty champions.
With-Heaven told Tiger-God to remain at the stronghold with four thousand warriors, while he and Green-Steppe took six thousand to confront the enemy in the opening battles. As soon as the two converging armies were within each other's range of sight, Loves-Danger commanded his son named Loves-Archery to take half the warriors, nearly seven thousand in total, and take on With-Heaven. Pushing forward, he swiftly arrayed the warriors under him with intention to give battle, then rode out in front of the ranks on his ashen horse.
He shouted: "Before the main event begins, why don't we give our men a spectacle to get their blood pumping. Who is brave enough to face me in single combat before the eyes of all the skillful warriors lined up here today." Then he took his longbow--which, as his name might suggest, was his weapon of choice--and fired a single missile into a tree that looked to be a hundred fathoms away. It appeared to all that he had shot randomly into the leaves, until the body of a crow, impaled by the missile, tumbled from the branches. Green-Steppe, flourishing his own longbow, rode out to receive the challenge. He said: "You have proven that you are a fine hunter, now show me whether you are a fine warrior." And they fought. Within twenty minutes, each man had expended his entire quiver, so the duel was put on hold while they replenished their arrows, and they fought again. They ended up having to replenish their arrows three times, but so agile were they both that in that time not a single arrow hit home. Green-Steppe said: "This is taking far too long; at this rate, the warriors are going to fall asleep before our match is decided. Instead of fruitlessly hurling missiles at each other, why don't we have a contest of disc shooting, and whoever wins may take the other's head." Loves-Archery's response was: "Agreed." A man from each side was brought into the field and given ten discs to throw. They were both blindfolded to ensure that when they threw, they knew not which lord was shooting. Green-Steppe went first, then they alternated. Each man shot all ten of his targets. Loves-Archery shouted: "I've got it, what if we did this: Each man takes turns launching an arrow into the sky, and the other must intercept it with his own, and whoever fails first, loses and must surrender his head." And Green-Steppe: "Fine by me. But let me stipulate that every shot must be made above the head--no shooting at the ground to cheat." And Loves-Archery: "Agreed." So they stood at about fifty fathoms' distance from one another, and began shooting. Every time Green-Steppe launched an arrow, Loves-Archery's expert aim brought it straight to the ground, and vice versa. After this had gone on for a while, Loves-Archery, feeling clever, turned around and discharged his arrow with great force in the opposite direction, thinking: "There's no way he will be able to intercept that!" Green-Steppe saw what he was up to. He rode a few feet to the side and shot his arrow at a very low angle. It flew not even a couple inches away from Loves-Archery's face, and because of how fast it was flying it barely intercepted the other arrow three or four feet above the ground.
But by now the men on both sides of the field had gotten very rowdy. Shouts rose from With-Heaven's army that Loves-Archery had cheated, and these were met with curses and insults from the other side. Even if the two commanders wanted to continue their duel, there was no way, for both sides were beginning to tear into each other. They called it a draw. Green-Steppe regrouped with his brother and gave orders to advance. Very soon the ground was strewn with fallen men and horses, and it was impossible to say which side was winning.
When the tide of the war began to shift against Loves-Archery, and his formation was on the retreat, Loves-Danger, sensing his son's failure, drove the remainder of the warriors to reinforce him. When he was in range of With-Heaven's army, he began to conjure pillars of fire and hurl them, destroying dozens at a time. With-Heaven and Green-Steppe could not hold the ground any longer; they retreated quickly and walled themselves up in the stronghold, losing one third of their men. Loves-Danger commanded his generals to invest the stronghold. As he had done before, he conjured spheres of flame to demolish it, but before he could do so, Tiger-God had an adept shaman cast an illusion that made the stronghold appear a hundred and fifty fathoms to the west of where it actually was. When the spheres of flame came soaring at the illusory stronghold, most of them crashed and exploded uselessly on the earth, but a few that were aimed too high went far enough to strike the demon king's men arrayed on the opposite side, burning scores of them to death. The demon king had expended all his spirit before he figured out what had happened, and when he found out, he was so indignant that he commanded all sides to advance in spite of the skyful of arrows he knew would soon be upon them. By that time the illusion had faded and the enemies were beginning to crowd around the real stronghold, raising ladders to overcome the walls. Arrows and rocks raining down checked them, and they made little progress. Loves-Danger personally led a contingent of expert fighters to the front gate of the stronghold and began hacking away at it with his sword. The gates were made of steel, so they did not buckle so easily, but since he possessed supernatural strength, his blows shook the entire compound, terrifying the troops inside.
When it seemed certain that the demon army would gain entry at any moment, With-Heaven spied a second army marching on the northern horizon. When it got closer, he saw it was fairly small and the standards that fluttered above it bore the insignia of his father, Tengir. Loves-Danger saw the other army too, and knowing at once it was hostile he sent his son Loves-Archery to confront it. This army of just over two and a half thousand men was lead by Thousand-Horse, son of Tengir and elder brother to With-Heaven. At mid afternoon he fought a duel with Loves-Archery and slew him after sixteen rounds. Then, having picked off the generals and commanders attached to Loves-Archery, he set upon the rear guard of the demon army, killing several generals and even a few of Loves-Danger's champions. His army, though few in number, was advanced in cultivation. Hundreds of demon warriors were killed as it carved a line straight to the northern wall of the stronghold, partially lifting the siege. Thousand-Horse requested access to the stronghold to have a few words with With-Heaven. When With-Heaven learned who it was, he allowed him to enter provided he and his entourage checked their weapons at the door.
With-Heaven had these words to say to his elder brother: "Brother, let us not waste words. I want you to take your little army and go back where you came from, for this is my fight and mine alone. Even if I needed your help, I would decline it, since I know you are here on errand for your father, who would have us all reconciled one way or another." Thousand-Horse replied: "I am not here on errand, but came of my own free intention. I did not even ask our father's permission, nor did I tell him where I was going or when. But a few nights ago bright Heaven intimated to me in a dream that my brother would need my help. In that same dream Heaven showed me that you are not evil, that although you count yourself an enemy of our father just as the demons do, you are the enemy of the demons too. Your existence is like a spark of lightning flittering over an endless void, like a gale of wind breaking upon a frozen, lifeless mountain. You are a force to be reckoned with, yet you stand at a most precarious pass and are confused whether to go left or right. Surely this cannot go on for long. Heaven did not command me to come save you, only showed me the peril you were in, and it was not only out of a feeling of familial loyalty (despite all that has happened) that I have come to you, but also of camaraderie in our common struggle for Heavenly righteousness. You say this is your fight alone, but the fight for righteousness is the fight of all who are righteous. Those who fight for righteousness have all of their sins liquidated, you know." With-Heaven said: "Is it the righteousness of Heaven you are fighting for, or the righteousness of your father proposed under the name of Heaven?" Thousand-Horse said: "It is the righteousness of our father bequeathed by Heaven. But as brothers whose destiny it is to stand guard around one selfsame hearth, it is the righteousness of us all." With-Heaven said: "You speak well, but your eye fails to penetrate my heart. Perhaps it is because I am so shrouded by the smoke from the flames in my own soul. No matter, let us join hands in battle this once. Even after this there will be no association between me and Lord Tengir." The two brothers saluted one another and left the meeting-room to resume fighting.
But by that time Loves-Danger had ceased to strike the stronghold's gates, his heed removed to the army of Thousand-Horse which had just bored a ghastly hole in his formation. He gathered his elite warriors and champions and began pushing into the northern side where Thousand-Horse had seized ground. Thousand-Horse's steel-willed warriors checked them until he himself showed up, and With-Heaven was by his side. The former cut down rows of enemies with his Galaxy Sword, while the latter charred them with his Shadowbrand. Six demon champions challenged the pair of brothers, but all six were slain in less than ten rounds. A couple other champions challenged them too but were severely wounded and had to withdraw. Seeing as he had no more champions to spare, Loves-Danger rode at the brothers on his demonic steed and began slashing with his sword, which was twice the length of the Shadowbrand. The combat against Loves-Danger was still going strong after dusk; all other combat froze to render it the attention it was due. In between conjurations of flame and smoke, round after round, Loves-Danger tried with all his spirit and might to land a blow with his sword and failed; instead it caught the tip of With-Heaven's Shadowbrand or else was swatted away by Thousand-Horse's own blade, yet these two could scarcely even approach their foe, who was protected at the center of a blossom of black and red. But they had enough stamina to fight for days if they needed to. Even as the battle bled into the early hours of morning, their veins and lungs were as though constantly refilled by spirit from an invisible source. Eventually the demon king had no energy left to spare for conjurations, and he was now relying on nothing but the rigor of his muscles and sinews and the sharpness of his blade.
When the sky was beginning to lighten but the sun had yet to reveal itself, With-Heaven and Thousand-Horse had Loves-Danger surrounded, and he was thrashing to repel them. Tiger-God and Green-Steppe had already rebuffed the enemy warriors that surrounded them and had killed them by the thousands. Loves-Danger's commanders wanted to ask him to retreat, but though they waved flags signalling that they wished to hold council with him, so engrossed was he in the combat that he paid them no heed. Only he kept slashing ferociously. Single-mindedly he would kill them both, then regroup with his army, ride the momentum north and vanquish the country of Tengir. But this thread of will which had become his sole reality was only stringing him up and drawing him towards the ground. When With-Heaven landed a blow on his thick skin, he recoiled. He had a powerful body, sure, but that was the first blow. More followed, some from With-Heaven, others from Thousand-Horse, each bigger and deeper than the last. Each time the blade stung, it was colder and colder. Each time he was smitten to the ground, he got up slower and slower. Right as the sun was starting to emerge he collapsed and ceased to move.
The remaining demon commanders gathered what little remained of their army and vacated the country of With-Heaven. After that, With-Heaven bade farewell to his brother Thousand-Horse.