Chapter 23: The Tang Mountains
On top of the Immortal Devil Sect. The White Devil, Bai Gu Jing alongside the old man, who is the Patriarch of the Immortal Devil Sect, could be seen standing together, they gazed far off into the distance, observing the lush and verdant mountains in front of them.
In the old man's hand could be seen a cup of green tea, he sipped it from time to time as he occasionally looked towards the sky.
The sun was setting, the two men couldn't help but look over and enjoy the splendid sight in front of them. The brilliant rays of the sunlight bathed the mountain's lush vegetation in all multitutde of colors, giving the surrounding trees and grass a silky hue of orange tinged with red.
The sight was absolutely dazzlingly and mesmerizing, however, a touch of sadness could be seen in Bai Gu Jing's face. Slowly but surely, the sun hid behind the horizon, no longer basking the world in it's warm light.
The curtain of the night fell, bathing the world in darkness... The lanterns of the Immortal Devil Sect lit up one by one, illuminating the area once again.
Countless cultivators flew over the two men's heads, yet strangely enough no one seemed to notice their presence.
The Patriarch let out a long sigh that seemed to encompass with it all hardships of life.
"White Bones, do you think eternal life is possible?"
Bai Gu Jing was startled by the question, both of them were standing here for hours, completely silent and observing nature's beauty in it's fullness, it was only now that one of them decided to speak.
He looked towards his older brother with a strange expression, however, before he could open his mouth to speak,, the Patriarch said.
"It's okay, I know your answer. You don't have to say it."
"Old Brother..."
The two men stood there, on top of the Immortal Devil Sect, contemplating life and the secrets to eternal life.
Both of them lived for god knows how long, they were old monsters who can strike fear and trepidation into people's hearts, in fact, they were but mere clones of a mighty figure who existed in ancient times.
However, no matter whether it'd be the mighty figure, Bai Gu Jing or the Immortal Devil Sect's Patriarch, they were nothing but ants compared to the cruel passage of time.
They tried all possible means to extend their life, going as far as sacrificing people's longevity to increase theirs, yet they were at their wits' end.
They don't have any time left, only a mere sixty-year cycle before perishing, yet they were unyielding... They did not give up because the person they've been waiting for finally came!
"His name is Ximen Wei, right?" Asked the Patriarch.
"Yes, he's the one we've been waiting for..." Replied the White Devil.
"Good, he's already cultivating our magic.. Slowly but surely the grand plan will begin, chaos will ensue and a calamity will befall the Qi World.. However, for eternal life, everything is worth it!"
Ever since Ximen Wei left the Green Lotus City, only a month has passed. Yet lots of things happened in that interval of time. Most notably, the opening of Ximen Wei's seventh Extraordinary Meridian.
After spending countless hours traversing terrain and dangerous forests, Ximen Wei stood in front of the Tang Mountain range.
Countless majestic mountain peaks towered high up into the skys, their tips obscured by the clouds. Vegetation was everywhere, everything was lush and green, national parks in Earth couldn't even compare to what stood in front of Ximen Wei.
The fauna here was rich and multi-varied, Ximen Wei can already see all sorts of birds flying up in the sky, some of them were regular animals and some of them were low-level harmless Qi Beasts.
Ximen Wei clenched his fists as he realized that now, it's only a matter of days before he gets to the Immortal Devil Sect!
Once he gets there, he'll have access to the sect's resources and cultivation materials, and he won't have to worry about enemies or pursuers, he'll be able to cultivate peacefully and enjoy the protection offered by the sect.
It was night, Ximen Wei judged it was too dangerous to go into the mountains at this time. He climbled a nearby tree on the outskirts and decided to spend the night there.
Atop a thick branch, Ximen Wei's small figure sat cross-legged, contemplating the White Devil's legacy and trying his absolute best to gain enlightenment of his magic.
Because just last night, he had a dream.
Bai Gu Jing was floating in the sky, staring at four men covered in white shining armor, each one of these men was in his thirties and emitted righteous sagely auras, on the chest area, they had an emblem depicting a red lily.
It was not your typical red-colored wood lily, instead it was the arabian red lily, it had six large petals that stood out.
The four men looked at the White Devil warily, each one of them had their brows furrowed and wore a serious expression. One of them, seemingly the leader, opened his mouth and shouted.
"Demon! Today I act in behalf of the Nine Mountains Immortal Sect to uphold justice and act as a judge of Heaven and Earth to administer your punishment. Your actions has brought you the penalty of death, and therefore the sect will spare no resources to strike you down."
The demon surnamed Bai laughed manically as if he heard the funniest joke, his hair swayed in the air and his blood-stained robe fluttered alongside the wind. He eyed the white-armored man who just spoke with derision ridicule.
"What hypocrisy, I've slaughtered countless people and annihilated more than sects... yet you guys didn't act, however the moment I murder the Nine Mountains Immortal Sect Leader's sole child, I get hundreds of thousands of cultivators sent my way... Even going as far as to deploy four Qi Lords!"
"Shut up demon, you have no right to rebuke!"
"That's right, we won't tolerate your atrocious acts anymore!"
"A barbaric serial killer like you shouldn't exist under this sky!"
Multiple insults were hurled at the White Devil, yet Bai Gu Jing didn't seem to care, his body brimmed with energy as he lifted up his finger towards the four Qi Lords, then he looked towards at a point in space.... Ximen Wei shook as he realized that Bai Gu Jing was looking directly at him!
"Successor, look at this move carefully... Emprint it in your body and soul, it's called..."
A terrifying energy was building up around Bai Gu Jing's pointed finger, heaven shook and earth rumbled, spatial cracks could even be seen around the area.
"Devilish Paroxysm."
Then the dream went dark... yet the two words kept echoing in Ximen Wei's ears.
"Devilish Paroxysm"
"Devilish Paroxysm.."
"Devilish Paroxysm...."
Atop the tree, Ximen Wei couldn't quite grasp the feeling he got from the dream, whenever he thinks of Devilish Paroxysm, his emotions will flare up violently and he will outbreak with an overwhelming desire to kill and commit slaughter.
Even his eyes couldn't help but become blood-shot, tinged with a bit of crazed mania.
However, it was still within' his limits, his mental state was honed after living two lifetimes so this sudden outbreak of demonic emotions can be suppressed easily.
Sitting cross-legged, Ximen Wei decided to stop contemplating the White Devil's legacy and meditate until dawn, his breakthrough was near and in the following days, he'll breakthrough to the second level of Qi Trainees, becoming on par with the red-haired young master from the Song Family.
The night was serene and quiet, nothing out of the ordinary happened in the outskirts of the Tang Mountains, ever since coming into this world, Ximen Wei had a time riddled with troubles and hardships, however, for the first time, he felt tranquil and at peace.
His thoughts wandered mindlessly onto god know where, he thought of his hardships when he came into this world, he had to help his biological father and pluck the land.
He thought he was going to spend the rest of his life like this, living a farmer life just like his biological parents... However, the day came where soldiers ruthlessly assaulted the villagers and violated them in such a way that even death won't be able to atone of their sins.
Women and children were taken into an unknown place, put up as slaves in underground markets, Ximen Wei had to bear with hunger and dehydration for a while before someone purchased him.
He was taken by someone whose practices were questionable to the prosperous and successful Green Lotus City, he can still remember the beautiful sky lanterns that illuminated the starry sky, however the situation he's in made him unable to admire the city's beauty.
Due to a stroke of luck, he managed to escape Song Peizhi's clutches and slowly he made his way to one of the most brutal and lawless places in Green Lotus City, the Criminal District.
He spent two full years there, doing petty theft and sometimes cleaning up the crime scene left behind by the organization heads and official members.
At first he had to stay in one of those run-down buildings to hide from the night's biting cold, then go to the streets and beg for money.
He lived such a lifestyle for a long time, before finding a chance to join one of the small newly formed gangs in the Criminal District, the Long gang!
Only one adult managed the gang, and that was Long Gen, the rest of the members were homeless children just like Ximen Wei, he handed out tasks, mostly about stealing from people or spying on certain individuals, the rewards were handsome, Long Gen gave out food and water for the children if they did their tasks successfully.
Naturally, with the strong instinct to survive, Ximen Wei took advantage of everything Long Gen provided, whenever a task was announced, he was the first to claim it, and he made sure to do it efficiently and quickly.
As a result, he gained valuable experience that made him proficient in fields ranging from stealing to spying, he became a master at pickpocketing and a master at acting poor and pitiful.
Then the day came when the Green Lotus City's authorities and chain of comand decided to do a purge, cleaning up the parasites that infested the city's underground districts.
Almost the entirety of the Criminal District's denizens died, only a handful of people survived, most of them being the Overlords and some important members of certain gangs and organizations.
Ximen Wei was picked up by the Song family, thrown into their "special" dungeon. Then he found the Qi Scroll, an elementary level Qi Condensation Manual imbued with a strand of Qi that allowed Ximen Wei to walk on the path of cultivation.
It opened his Extraordinary Meridians, and made him officially a Qi Trainee, giving him power that's borderline inhumane, able to bend metal and punch holes through walls.
The rest is history, he escaped and finally, after many hurdles and thorny experiences, he made his way here, atop the oak tree, only couple days away from entering the Immortal Devil Sect's territory.
Once he gets there, all he'll have to do is show the medallion provided to him by Long Gen, and his entry will be guaranteed!
Plus, even if the medallion given to him by Long Gen proves to not be helpful, Ximen Wei was still confident that they'll accept him in as a disciple if he showed genuine interest in the sect.
Why? Because he was a 10 year old Qi Trainee who opened seven Extraordinary Meridians, in fact, he's going to open his eight Extraordinary Meridian soon.
A 10 year old child, who is a Level 2 Qi Trainee with eight Extraordinary Meridian is a treasure to any sect or organization, they'll be viewed as VIPs and be granted with the honory titles of Dao Children and Chosen.
Dawn came, Ximen Wei jumped off the tree and brushed off the dust from his clothes. He spent a good night sleeping, he looked towards the grand Tang Mountains with the intent to map out a road before he continues his journey.
The Tang Mountain range were like a series of swords embedded in the ground, the deeper you go, the longer the swords become, each mountain peak was like the tip of a sharp sword, covered in frost and snow, while the mountain peaks in the deeper regions of the Tang Mountains towered so high up in the sky they were obscured by the clouds.
That's the impression Ximen Wei got when he looked at the Tang Mountains, far off in the distance, there was a narrow paved road that lead up towards the mountain peaks, into the deeper regions of the mountain range.
If Ximen Wei didn't pay enough attention, he would've easily overlooked it.
Every other area was littered with trees, dangerous cliffs, etc... The paved road is the only way to traverse the mountain range without having to spend time climbing and dealing with the fauna here.
With no other choice, Ximen Wei headed towards the paved road in the far distance.
Meanwhile, a cavalry of men wearing the emblem of the Song family arrived at the carnage of the village that Ximen Wei wiped.
They got off their horses and started performing augury and other investigative methods, they looked at the wounds of the dead villagers then looked at Shao Rong's dead corpse, studying it carefully and meticulously, making sure not a single detail evade their search.
One of them was a Level 2 Qi Trainee, his hands were busy performing incantation gestures and investigative Qi Techniques were casted one after another.
Finally, after the time it takes an incense stick to burn, they all came to the same conclusion regarding what happened here.
"A Qi cultivator went on a killing spree here, the village had a Level 1 Qi Trainee who stayed here, yet he was unable to stop the massacre and died in the process."
The men were listening carefully to what the Level 2 Qi Trainee was saying.
"The culprit's energy is awfully similar to the Immortal Devil Sect's cultivators, I suspect he's an Immortal Devil Sect cultivator."
The Song family Qi cultivator sighed heavily as he stared in the direction of the Desolate Astral Forest.
"Inform the Patriarch of this matter, maybe he's related to the death of our Young Master."
The men nodded in affirmation, one of them wrote something in a small piece of paper then tied it to a pigeon's legs, before releasing it in the direction of the Desolate Astral Forest.
"Currently, the Patriarch and the family elders are busy investigating the cause of our Young Master's death.. They are in the Desolate Astral Forest, searching every nook and cranny of it. We'll continue investigating nearby villages and await further orders."
...
On the shores of the Devil Swamp, ten men stood upright watching a bunch of workers looking for clues and investigating the surroundings.
All the ten men wore white robes that had the emblem of the Song family on their sleeves, and two of them stood out from the rest, they wore white robes like the rest but they were decorated with golden bands that ran across their shoulders all the way to the back, indicating their illustrious status.
They had red hair and both were middle-aged, they resembled each other greatly and everyone looked at them with reverence and fear, they were a pair of father and son who were the back-bones of the entire Song Family, they were the Song Family Patriarch and the Song Family Head respectively!
The Rank 1 Qi Expert Family Patriarch, Song Laohu, and the Level 3 Qi Trainee Family Head, Song Longwei!
One was a tiger and the other was a dragon!
They were currently watching the family workers investigate and look for clues about their dead successor.. Quite some time passed before one of the workers suddenly said loudly.
"I've found something!"
Instantly, both the father and son pair ran towards the workers, both of them wore expectant gazes as they looked at the clue in the worker's hand.
It was a patch of blood-stained cloth!
Song Laohu grabbed the patch of cloth from his hand and closed his eyes, something happened that was beyond the comprehension levels of mortals and even Qi Trainees as an image of a certain person slowly formed in the air.
Upon seeing the images, people went into a commotion as they realized who this was.
"It's Dongfang! I recognize him! He's one of the deputy officers of the dungeon and a close subordinate to the young master!"
"Yes that's him! I remember him hanging out with the young master a lot of times."
Seeing that they've finally found a clue, Song Laohu heaved a sigh of relief because he realized that he's getting closer and closer to finding out the culprit who killed his grandson... and retrieving back the precious Qi Artifact of the Song family.
He waved his sleeve, and yet again another magical technique occurred in front of the onlookers, time seemed as if it was rewinding as the scattered energy in the surroundings formed back.
Performing augury and more investigative techniques, the people here found out that a heaven shaking fight occurred between an Immortal Devil Sect cultivator and Dongfang, eventually resulting in an explosion that obliterated Dongfang, only leaving behind a scrap of his cloth.
However, Song Laohu frowned because he realized that, not a single sniff of energy belonged to his grandson here, it seemed as if he wasn't even here.
Song Longwei approached his father and asked in a quiet tone.
"Who?"
Song Loahu remained silent for a minute before replying to his son.
"An Immortal Devil Sect miscreant..."
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