Chapter 8: The Undead Village Final Arc
The altar had been lit with candles, right under the feet of that ominous statue, servings of blood had been made.
Guang Zhen had been tied against a pillar, he witnessed the rituals of the villagers bowing to the statue of the demon lord and lighting incensed sticks as if it were something holy.
He observed silently, he tried to understand his situation and figure out what had happened to young Shuanfeng, since he was no where to be seen ever since that sword fight.
He was worried, he pulled at the ropes for a bit to access his chances but no avail, they had been fastened too tightly for his own good.
The villagers seemed more active down here rather than when they were on the surface.
"We have the perfect candidate"
He clearly heard one of the villagers commenting, which had him wondering if it was him they referred to.
It had only been a few moments into wondering that a group of villagers stepped forward all hurdled up around a dressed up figure.
Guang Zhen tried to peak through but no avail, the crowd was too much.
This little procession walked upto the altar until everyone stepped back letting this veiled figure dressed in scarlet red clothes as if a bride stood there.
Though the figure was too tall for a woman, he assumed it was a man until a shock left him terrorized. The figure lifted the veil that covered his face.
It was Qi Shuanfeng.
What was wrong with him though? Why was he standing amongst them?
Guang Zhen was horrified... What if Shuanfeng was in with these people along?
What were they going to do to him?
Yet a part of him still stood by the belief that Shuanfeng wouldn't descend to such a level of disgrace.
He saw the man's eyes accidentally, it appeared the latter was in a daze. He didn't seem to be blinking that much.
"Meifeng?! Meifeng! I request you! Become conscious of your surroundings!" Guang Zhen yelled the first thing when ShuanFeng came into his view.
He tried to call the other out but instead; all it did was infuriate the villagers, one of whom came and kicked Guang Zhen in the gut.
" Remain silent! " He spat.
Guang Zhen coughed a bit at the blunt force of the hit, he wasn't easily fazed but it did hurt "Have you any knowledge whom you dare hurt?"
Guang Zhen seemed to get annoyed, though what he said only left a moment of silence after which everyone started laughing.
To Guang Zhen's surprise, out of the mob, the innkeeper stepped forward with a wide curved grin.
"Indeed we do, nothing is a greater vessel for the devil than the vessel of gods" She mumbled quite gleefully.
It all came to Guang Zhen's realization, what they had meant by the perfect candidate. These lunatics were about to make a sacrifice to the devil lord.
A normal sacrifice wouldn't do much impact but if someone from the royal line bestowed by the spirituality of the gods were to be sacrificed... It would be a worthy and strong vessel..
"Do you know the consequences of what you are doing?" Guang Zhen asked in horror.
"What do you suppose?"
Back at the palace Guang Yun sat restless upon his bed whilst Lady Tianshi had paid him a visit to explain the plans that had been made during the meeting and how Guang Yun were to accompany Huo Yi in running the Instruction division.
Guang Yun could barely maintain attention which worried Lady Tianshi as well.
"Are you worried about Prince Huo Yi and Lady XiaoLi?" Lady Tianshi finally inquired "I heard both of them departed last night after the prince paid you a visit"
"Lady, it appears my brother and Prince Qi ShuanFeng walked into a trap laid by the villagers" Guang Yun explained, for some reason he felt Lady Tianshi worthy enough to be trusted upon.
"Villagers? I had heard tis the villagers who had been in turmoil, how did the reversal of situations happen?" Lady Tianshi were as much surprised as Huo Yi when he first heard of it.
"It appears we had been misguided all along, what appears to be a village in distress, is actually a cult" Guang Yun told. Lady Tianshi was taken by surprise.
"How do you know?" She asked, demanding more insight on the situation.
"The time I was there and Prince Huo Yi left me alone, the inn keeper came to serve me tea, after that my vision felt hazy, I felt my consciousness leave me.." Guang gave a detailed explanation using gestures as well
"I saw a few people enter the room and they debated upon how to take me back unnoticed before my companion returns, since they didn't have much time; the innkeeper then grabbed my mouth and forced something disgusting in, I do not recall more then that, except that Prince Huo Yi saved me"
"It appears, they forced demonic matter within you, this type of demon sounds like a water type, it posseses anything liquid and enters your body through consumption, tell me, does the village supposedly have a well?" Lady Tianshi inquired to which Guang Yun nodded.
The two stared at each other conclusively, they finally knew what it was...
On the other side it was trouble enough for Huo Yi to bring a carriage with him just to pretend that his sister had accompanied him.
Just half way through the entrance, he felt his vision blurring out.
"Jie.. Stop, let me handle this" He whined to himself. He tied the carriage somewhere outside the entrance of the village and only proceeded with a single horse.
Though by the time he entered, he'd already fallen asleep and Huo XiaoLi had awakened.
"Rest first, you made a journey all night" She spoke to herself softly and pulled at the leash of the horse, letting it enter the bounds of the village.
The whole place appeared empty, she sabotaged alot of doors and places on her way but it was as if no one ever inhabited this land.
In the underground temple, Guang Zhen had still not given up on trying to call out young Shuanfeng only resulting in him getting beaten.
"What have you done to him?" Guang Zhen felt devastated at Shuanfeng's lack of response and lashed at the villagers
"We have simply given him a gift" The innkeeper chose to respond while one of the men punched Guang Zhen.
"You are deluded, I cannot fathom as to why you would submit to the devil... But let me tell you, nothing good shall come out of this!" Guang Zhen kept taking the blows to his stomach, yet he maintained his stature.
He could use his spiritual powers but containing them in this place would be very hard. He could make this place crumble if he'd summon the lightning. His powers weren't suitable for this situation, they'd cause more damage than aid him. His only option was to get Shuanfeng to regain consciousness.
"Old Yanli, it's time" A woman addressed the innkeeper.
The name clicked to Guang Zhen's memory.
"YanLi?" Guang Zhen reiterated looking surprised "Were you not dead?"
The old lady grinned and turned to him "Who said I was alive?" she whispered as her pupils dilated and eventually the blackness spread within her eye until her whole eyes were gleaming in black.
She then turned away leaving the shocked Guang Zhen and proceeding to leave with her followers.
She went upto the altar and made a bow.
The people stayed behind and bowed as well. Qi Shuanfeng also sat upon his knees.
She grabbed one of the bloody knives at the altar.
"NO NO NO NO STOP!" Guang Zhen panicked as the knife was pointed at Shuanfeng's heart
The woman raised the knife with a curved grin.
"MAY YOUR SACRIFICE BE ETERNAL"
A huge flash of lightning fell upon the ground which distracted Huo XiaoLi's rampage.
The sky immediately turned cloudy and a storm whirled up.
A huge stroke of lightning fell upon the well of the village leaving a huge hole in the ground.
Huo XiaoLi had to take cover, the storm turned violent and the lightning kept striking at the ground, to which the ground shook in wrath.
Huo XiaoLi felt confused yet she proceeded towards the huge whirlhole that had formed in the ground crushing everything to bits of sand particles. She carefully proceeded towards the whirlhole looking deep down in the ground where tints of light could be seen.
She knew something was underground and that there must be a way to get in there.
Yet there was no time to wait. The lightning strikes were getting more and more abnormal and violent.
She rampaged the nearest house and started breaking everything down looking for a way but there was none.
Out of frustration she kicked at a wooden cupboard making it rock. Though she felt a little whiff of air coming from the ground when she kicked.
Her expression changed, she sat on the ground immediately peaking under the cupboard and saw a trap door.
Struggling with the weight of the cupboard, she tried her best to push it but it appeared heavier than she thought it would, all it could do was rock in one place.
She emptied the contents of her cupboard and tried to push eventually making it move a little. She wasn't frial looking either, her muscles tightened and she gritted her teeth hard pushing at the closet refusing to give in until the closet moved. After finally being able to move it atleast enough for her to fit in. She stabbed at the wooden door, stomping it and breaking it; exposing the stairs underneath.
She slipped in and stepped down the stairs by laying on them and slowly pushing herself in until she was at an enough height to stand. It was dark but she was accustomed to the blindness. She let her spiritual powers run through the track before her prior to stepping forward. Until her spiritual powers ran upto a dead end with a vision of cave; on the other end of which was a huge temple.
She stood at one place letting her spiritual powers travel into the cave and witnessing alot of villagers struck down by both lightning and the debris of the surface of the ground which had fallen on them.
She focused further, letting her powers run about checking for survivors until her spark turned towards a broken statue in the middle of the temple, shattered to the point of being unrecognizable. Infront of which sat Guang Zhen in disheveled clothing with a bleeding Qi ShuanFeng in his lap.
His eyes turned to the spark and he put it out between his fist.
Huo XiaoLi lost track of the guidance spark after that and she proceeded to run forward physically.
What had happened to Qi ShuanFeng? Why did Guang Zhen do that?
She also realized that the lightning might have been due to Guang Zhen's power going rogue since lightning was a spiritual tool of the Guangs.
She broke through and tied her blindfold before coming out of the cave and stepping into the temple.
She rushed to Guang Zhen's side who almost slashed at her with his sword not letting anyone near ShuanFeng.
"First Guang Prince, it is I, Huo XiaoLi!" XiaoLi declared out loud trying to make the other realize his surroundings "PRINCE GUANG ZHEN!"
She yelled making him snap out, the lightning strikes became less frequent as he did. He looked around seeing everything collapse as he was protectively holding ShuanFeng.
XiaoLi then proceeded by Guang Zhen's side.
"He's fine... He just fainted.." Guang Zhen's voice trembled.
Huo XiaoLi could only wonder why he was lying like this because she could clearly see behind the cloth that his robes were bloody and there was a stab wound at ShuanFeng's heart.
Though to her surprise, the stab wound closed up on its own until there was no evident mark there.
Something was going on, for a fatal wound to close on it own and Guang Zhen lying to her saying that ShuanFeng has only fainted...
She couldn't obviously say out loud that she'd seen it all.
"What are you doing...help us up" Guang Zhen broke XiaoLi's doubtful moment.
She shook her head and helped hold Qi ShuanFeng from one arm, taking it upon her shoulder whilst Guang Zhen took his other arm.
The two lifted him and tried to walk, Huo XiaoLi led them to the path through which she'd entered and they eventually came back to the surface.
The Lightening had stopped by now.
Though streams of black energy was running about the whole place.
"The woman, Yanli, had followers... They conjured her evil spirit... She's taking revenge against the village and making an offering to the demon lord..." Guang Zhen mumbled as he walked out with XiaoLi.
XiaoLi listened silently, she whistled and her horse came storming through.
She helped ShuanFeng on the horse and Guang Zhen climbed up behind him, holding him.
"Outside the entrance of the village, there's a horse with a carriage, take the carriage and leave this horse there..." XiaoLi told him.
"What about you?" Guang Zhen asked.
"My brother and I shall clean this village" Huo XiaoLi replied.
"Your brother is here too? Won't you both need two horses to come back?" Guang Zhen inquired, if he were to take the other horse and the carriage then these two would be left with a single horse..
Would it really be enough?
Come to think of it, he couldn't see Prince Huo Yi anywhere... If he did come, where was he?
His mind was rushing with many questions that Huo XiaoLi chose not to answer, she pulled the horse's leash for him and it started to gallop away leaving her facing the village.
Guang Zhen looked back multiple times until a cloud of dust made Huo XiaoLi disappear from his vision.
He himself disappeared from her vision as well.
"Why are you lying?"
She mumbled looking at the trail Guang Zhen left behind.
Guang Zhen reached the entrance somehow, he was almost at his limit, it seemed he'd been injured too and there was a certain weakness appearing within him.
He spotted the carriage and got off, carefully pulling ShuanFeng off as well.
He didn't have much energy, so he struggled with dragging and pushing the other into the carriage. He sat by the wheels, breathing hard.
XiaoLi's horse started grazing about, so he let it be and somehow climbed at the horse with the carriage.
"You'll be okay, MeiFeng"
He spoke with a dry expression looking back at the carriage.
Huo XiaoLi went back to the temple.
"Do you know, how it feels to be burnt alive?"
The old woman standing with her back towards XiaoLi, facing the broken statue mumbled.
"It's not nearly as painful as not being able to see the child you waited nine months to meet... " She whispered "to feel it kick and struggle inside your burning body...to feel it slowly and painfully suffocate to death.. What did he do to deserve this?"
"Weren't you burned for your own crimes, your child suffered because of you" Huo XiaoLi responded.
"huh.." She huffed mockingly "do you think it's fair to be labeled as a witch just because my child doesn't have a father...?"
"What do you mean.." Huo XiaoLi halted.
"You see, the merchant who fathered my child was already married to a woman, to avoid the charges of adultery he purposely blamed me of being a witch, he said this child should never be born.. For it is a reminder of his sin..." She laughed mockingly "Do you know whose body am I possessing?"
Huo XiaoLi shook her head.
"This is the merchant's mother, who made the whole village turn against me.. Who incited them to burn the witch along with her sinful child" She said scratching hard at her old face.
Huo XiaoLi became distracted feeling somewhat saddened for the woman when suddenly the woman launched herself at Huo XiaoLi, making her react defensively.
"Too soft! You're too soft!" The woman laughed frantically.
"Was anything you said true at all?" Huo XiaoLi said; her sword tightly blocking the woman's knife.
"Maybe or maybe not, I'm a demon afterall" The woman grinned widely and made a series of attacks, kicking and slashing from various directions, XiaoLi was completely on defensive.
The black energy molted up and the people lying dead on the ground suddenly started standing up while oozing dark energy.
Huo XiaoLi had to combat with multiple attackers at the same time from all directions. She had fine sword work, it allowed her to take down alot of demons at the same time.
"What do you want?" Huo XiaoLi asked whilst huffing from all the movement.
"Me? I want destruction, him? I do not know!" She laughed.
Him? XiaoLi was only pondering upon her words when the broken statue behind the woman started repairing by itself.
XiaoLi's eyes widened, the statue of the demon lord erected before her eyes.
"Are you scared? Haha, donot worry, it's not actually the devil lord himself" The woman spoke mockingly as black energy emitted from the statue and spread in all directions, entering the dead bodies of the people.
All of them began hoarding around XiaoLi.
She realized that the statue must be the true medium of possession, alot of demons had been accumulated within the statue making it stronger.
Attacking at the statue, she obliterated it into a million pieces but no avail, it reconstructed itself.
"You have a good timing, let us make you a sacrifice!" The old woman laughed and attacked at XiaoLi, stabbing her shoulder while she was dealing with ten other demons.
The stab sent a chill within XiaoLi, she fell back and felt her head and heart throbbing hard.
The chill made her a twist her neck twice over, she seemed to be having a hard time breathing.
One of the demons raised their swords aiming at her neck.
"HOW DARE YOU"
The voice of both a man and a woman came out of XiaoLi at the same time, making it sound like a horrible demonic scream which even had the demons confused.
Within a few seconds, her body began to change, she took the blind fold off with her eyes closed.
The changes in her body made even the demons frozen as they witnessed her turn from a woman to a man.
Though it wasn't until he opened his eyes that the demons shuddered.
The demon holding the sword, dropped it to the ground and got on its knees, trembling.
"What's going on?" The woman seemed confused, watching all of the demons fall to their knees one by one and bow down.
Huo Yi....with glowing scarlet eyes, proceeded to walk forth as the bowing demons trembled before him.
She also backed off trembling, the demons hoarding over the statue all began to escape.
Huo Yi held the woman by her neck and grabbed at her arm pulling it physically till he tore her flesh little by little making her scream incoherently, completely ripping off her arm from her shoulder.
The woman's eyes bulged out from the excruciating pain of her arm being torn off as he made a gory mess out of her before dropping her lifeless body on the ground.
"Come forth"
Huo Yi whispered as a figure came out from behind the statue.
In light, the figure dressed in black robes had a handsome face, looking like a man in his late twenties with little horns on his head and a tail that emerged from a tear in his robe.
He stepped down in amazement and went upto Huo Yi.
"Finally found you.. "
A huge earthquake shook the ground, making Guang Zhen become suddenly conscious, he'd almost passed out and was about to fall from the horse.
He immediately corrected his posture and looked back at a distance. A huge flame had engulfed the whole village behind him. His eyes widened, the flames did not spread to the forest but it appeared as if only the village was burning down due to that enormous power.
He presumed it to be done by either of the Huo siblings, fire being their forte.
He pulled at the leash harder wanting to escape with the other prince as he occasionally turned his face back and watched the demise of village...
The village engulfed in flames crumbled to dust little by little and completely became ashes...
The Undead Village had perished...
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone