บท 12: Immortal Devil Sect
After spending quite some time navigating through the maze, Ximen Wei finally reached the exit area, when he finally looked up, his eyes shrank as he was astonished by the sight in front of them.
It was a large, spacious hall with rows of statues both in the right and the left, each statues depicting former Patriarchs of the Song Family, glorious people who performed meritorious deeds and services to Western Wen. In fact, each and every single one of these persons are extraordinary people who have long shed their mortal coil and achieved Qi Ascension, becoming illustrious figures feared by many.
Because of that, this hall had this kind of oppressive, heavy aura that made it hard for people to breath. However, that wasn't what made Ximen Wei's eyes shrink, but rather the sight of 30 soldiers guarding the entrance.
And most importantly, the tyrannical aura of 3 Qi Cultivators, one of whom is a terrifying Level 2 Qi Trainee!
Ximen Wei had this ominous feeling that, if he didn't leave this place for the next couple hours, then he would stay here in this dampy old dungeon forever, never to see the light of the sun ever again.
At this moment, he knew that he underestimated the situation he put himself in! After all, he's inexperienced and has only been in this new world for a short time. He underestimated the threat of Qi Cultivators, and how seriously the Noble Family take it!
To them, it seemed as if a formidable expert invaded their dungeon, their ancestral ground, their home!
To them, this was a slap to the face, a humiliation that can only be washed with blood!
If it were not for the carnage that is happening in the Criminal Distirct, then the Song Family would have deployed even more experts, even more soldiers, and it may have possibly deployed a Rank 1 Qi Expert!
This is the Song Family's bottom line, to them, prestige and face is everything, they won't tolerate anyone crossing that line.
Ximen Wei didn't mull over the matter too much, after all, escaping is his priority. His strategy earlier served to fake his own death and divert the enemy's attention. He grabbed the Elementary Qi Condensation Manual and very quickly memorized the mnemonic for stealth, he very much needed a Qi Technique that'll allow him to hide from the enemy for a while.
His hands flashed in an incantation gesture as he unleashed a Qi Technique with all the power he could muster.
"Qi Technique - Cloaking!"
Qi Particles of the Dark element converged around Ximen Wei's body, wrapping around him and transforming into some sort of cloak. As Ximen Wei observed the movement of Qi Particles, he understood a lot of things that were previously shrouded in mist and very quickly gained enlightenment about the inner workings of Qi Techniques.
'So this techniques stirs the surrounding Qi Particles of the Dark element to cover my body and therefore, absorb all the Qi Particles of the Light element, making me blend well in the shadows and suppresses my aura, sound and smell!'
Gradually, Ximen Wei began to understand the ways of Qi Cultivation better and better, but he didn't have time to think about cultivation and Qi Techniques either! He quickly and most importantly, stealthly, made his way behind one of the statues and hid there. Observing what is happening and waiting for an opportunity to slip past the "army" that is stationed there.
After waiting for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, most of the 30-men army dispersed, entering the dungeon to search for the culprit, only two Qi Cultivators remained. One of them was Old Mao, the other was the mysterious, red-haired Level 2 Qi Trainee!
Despite that, Ximen Wei was not confident to battle what remained behind either! Even if only 5 ordinary people remained behind, he would find difficulty fighting them. Let alone Qi Cultivators and a team of 10 armored and well-equipped guards...
By this time, Ximen Wei was getting nervous. The sensation of crisis is growing stronger and stronger, his energy reserves are getting depleted each passing second, and he's finding it harder and harder to keep his Qi Technique going.
If his Qi Cloaking Technique dissipates, then he'll be in big trouble. The senses of Qi Cultivators are beyond ordinary, and they'll definitely notice him.
Soon enough, Dongfang came running, once he saw Old Mao and the red-haired Cultivator, he wore an expression of joy as he headed towards them. They very quickly engaged in discussion, and soon the two of them frowned. After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, the red-haired cultivator exited the dungeon alongside Dongfang, while 6 out of the 10 guards entered it, leaving behind only Old Mao and 4 guards who wore shining silver armor that stood out compared to rest.
Ximen Wei knew this was the chance he's been waiting for, he gripped his dagger tightly and forced himself to unleash one Qi Technique after another to empower himself.
"Qi Technique - Strengthen!"
Qi Particles brimming with life force converged around Ximen Wei and entered through his nose, mouth, ears, eyes and all his pores, elevating his physical strength to unprecedented degrees. Despite being in the body of a child, he is capable of crushing rocks as easily as flipping his hands.
"Qi Technique - Sharpen!"
More Qi Particles of unknown type converged, but this time, instead of going to Ximen Wei, they went straight to his weapon. Making it shine brightly and sinisterly, when Ximen Wei looked at his dagger, he felt threatened and handled it more carefully, he felt as if this empowered dagger could cut through anything.
Despite casting two Qi Techniques, Ximen Wei felt that it was not enough to assure victory, so he coughed up a mouthful of blood as he performed an incantation gesture.
"Qi Technique - Bedevilment!"
The Elementary Qi Condensation Manual Ximen Wei got in his prison cell includes 6 Qi Techniques, all of them revolve around combat, except two.
One is Cloaking which increases one's stealth and hides his aura, and the other one, the final technique of this Qi Condensation Manual, is Qi Bedevilment!
It is a mysterious and profound technique, there is actually no description of it whatsoever in the Qi Condensation Manual, only the mnemonics and the incantations gestures needed to perform it. Plus it takes a lot of energy and Qi reserves to use it, and not only that, it uses up one's blood as fuel too.
Ximen Wei's face paled as all the blood in his body boiled and then got sucked out of nowhere, his mind reeled as an unprecedented headache hit him, making it seem as if his brain is on the verge of splitting.
Then, his mind was overwhelmed by the feelings of rage and hatred, and consequently lost the feelings to all his five senses, the only thing that remained was an intense desire to kill and slaughter his way out of this place.
He gripped his empowered dagger tightly as he looked at Old Mao with bloodshot eyes, right now, only one thing existed in his mind, and that was to KILL!
Right now, Ximen Wei could be considered to be at his most powerful, peak state ever. With four Qi Techniques empowering him, he lunged at Old Mao.
Very swiftly, the dagger was embedded in Old Mao's back, unleashing carnage and chaos in his internal organs and Extraordinary Meridians, but Ximen Wei was not done yet, he gripped the dagger ever so tightly and slashed it upwards, opening up a huge gaping wound on Old Mao's back.
Before Old Mao could let out any screams, Ximen Wei viciously kicked him with his legs, sending him flying towards one of the statues. After that, Ximen Wei turned and threw his dagger towards one of the guards, embedding it in his neck.
Such viciousness, such accuracy and such skills made the remaining three guards freeze in their places, they took combat postures as they prepared themselves for the formidable opponent who just appeared.
Ximen Wei in his bedeviled state, turned to look towards the other three guards, eyes bloodshot, he charged towards one of them as he threw his fist.
"Qi Technique - IRON FISST!!!"
Dark crimson blood flowed out of Ximen Wei's eyes, nose, ears and mouth due to overusing his Qi Techniques.
BOOOM!!
The guard's armor caved in by Ximen Wei's fist as he was sent flying, blood spraying out of his mouth, the power of Ximen Wei's fist sent his mind and internal organs reeling, he was badly injured but, apparently the fist was not enough to kill him.
Fortunately for him, his companions acted quickly, one of them sent his sword slashing towards Ximen Wei, inflicting a grave wound on him.
A deep long gash that oozed with contaminated blood could be seen on Ximen Wei's back, but apparently, it was not fatal and in fact, Ximen Wei didn't even seem to notice.
His small frame turned to look at the guard who just wounded him, his hands flashed in an incantation gesture as he viciously smiled, blood oozing out of all his pores.
"Qi Technique - Enfeeble!"
"Qi Technique - Iron Fist!"
The guard's face fell as looked upon the three fists descending upon him, he knew if those hit him, then he would be doomed to die.
POW! POW! POW!
The first fist strike almost shattered his silver armor, the second one completely shattered it and seriously injured the guard, and finally the third one pulverized his torso, leaving behind only limbs and a head who wore an expression of mixed terror and pain.
Then, Ximen Wei turned his head to look at the last one, his expression an absolute carnage, to the last guard, it looked as if a devil was looking at him.
Ximen Wei smiled viciously as he picked the sword that was laying on the ground and moved towards the remaining guard, but before he could take any step further, he coughed three mouthfuls of blood as the effects of the Qi Techniques he cast upon himself faded away.
When the effects of Strengthen faded, he felt an unprecedented sense of weakness wash over him, his legs felt wobbly and he couldn't even keep a tight grip on the sword in his hand.
When the effects of Bedevilment faded, he no longer felt numb but instead, immense pain washed over his mind as it threatened to split it open, he regained clarity and the headaches he felt were indescribable.
He swayed over and was on the verge of collapse, the remaining guard felt apprehensive and was hesitant whether to move forward and strike this little devil down while he's weak, or run for his life.
After all, he saw that, in the blink of an eye, this devil incarnate striked down four elite members of the Song Family, one of whom is a revered Qi Cultivator!
After observing Ximen Wei for couple seconds, he confirmed that Ximen Wei was not feigning weakness and in fact, was on the verge of collapse, so he steeled his mind and went in for the kill.
All of a sudden, all Ximen Wei could see was a sword slashing upon him.
For him, everything turned dark except this sword, and all he could do was put up his arms in an attempt to guard himself.
He underestimated these guards as well, each one of them is an elite among elites, and their battle prowess put them way above average people. In fact, the regular guards inside the dungeon could not compare to them at all, whether that'd be in terms of swordsmanship, equipment and viciousness, these silver armored guards excel in every aspect.
The other guard who got his armor caved in got up as well, he was coughing up blood everywhere and knew he was seriously injured. He looked at Ximen Wei's impending doom, and a look of derision could be seen on his face.
And surprisingly, Old Mao got up as as well, he was so weak he couldn't maintain his balance and fell over multiple times, the stab wound from the dagger was so deep it injured him very badly, to the level where that wound is life-threatening.
But thanks to the rich vitality of Qi Cultivators, he hung to life, and was now observing Ximen Wei putting up his arms to defend himself. His eyes shrank as he realized who sneak attacked him earlier, and even rubbed them a few times to confirm whether what he's seeing is real or not.
As for Ximen Wei, he gritted his teeth as he unleashed a Qi Technique after another, sacrificing his Qi and Blood and burning his very life essence, all for the tiny chance for escaping.
"Qi Technique - Strengthen!"
"Qi Technique - STRENGTHEN!!"
"Qi Technique - STRENGTHEEEENNNNN!!!"
Blood madly oozed out of Ximen Wei's mouth, nose, eyes and ears. Now Ximen Wei looks threatening and vicious to the extreme, he almost looks like a blood divinity but despite that, the guard did not stop and in fact increased the strength in his attack.
The sword strike slashed down towards Ximen Wei's arms, threatening to chop them off, but fortunately, because of the Strength Qi Particles in his body, the sword stopped right in the middle of the bones, if it went down any further, Ximen Wei's arms would have fallen off.
When Ximen Wei saw that he stopped the sword strike, he sighed a sigh of relief as he very quickly backed off and made his way towards the entrance.
He could not stay here any longer, the ruckus of the fight just now must've alerted some people for sure. Plus, he knew that when the effects of the Qi Techniques stopped, he would be overwhelmed by a sense of weakness, and will probably straight up faint.
He has to find a safe place to rest in, or else his life would end right here.
When Old Mao saw this, he tried to get up but fell down to his knees, he knew that he couldn't do anything in his current state so he mustered all the Qi and Energy in his body to imbue his vocal chords with Qi.
He screamed, his voice shaking the entire hall: "WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING??"
His voice attack was so strong it resembled claps of thunder as it rumbled out towards Ximen Wei, nearly making him tumble and fall over.
More blood oozed out of Ximen Wei's pores due to the voice attack and yet, he kept going, never looking back until he finally exited the hall.
The remaining guard unfortunately could not catch up, after all, a mortal's speed is slow compared to a cultivator, especially an empowered cultivator.
When Ximen Wei exited the gate, he found himself looking at an enormous wrought iron gate, on the other side, a district of the Green Lotus City could be seen, but unfortunately it was controlled by the Song Family. However, Ximen Wei didn't care, he didn't even hesitate to run straight towards the iron gate and rip it open with his bare hands.
He already did this once to the iron bars in his prison cell, so he did the same to this wrought iron gate, he bended the bars open and made a run for it.
Some guards noticed him, and started chasing him but he paid no heed to them.
He kept running and running until he shook off his pursuers, and finally, he found a corner in one of remote districts, and he just hid there, drinking some potions he looted from the dungeon in attempt to recover his injuries before the effects of the empowerement faded away.
Finally, after two minutes passed, the effects of his Qi Techniques faded away, and he straight up fainted due to the weakness that washed over him.
Meanwhile, Long Gen was in a meeting with the Overlords of the Criminal District, the big shots of the underground!
Each one of these Overlords is a formidable Rank 1 Qi Expert who possesses formidable strength and the head of an entire organization, despite that, they looked at Long Gen with reverence and respect. They listened carefully to every word he said and even paid careful attention to them.
After all, what they are looking at is a Rank 2 Qi Expert, an existence who is waaay above them. The differences between Levels in the Qi Trainees stage is not that huge, and actually that gap between Levels could be crossed if one has a formidable foundation, however, the gaps between each rank in the Qi Expertise stage is as big as the difference between Heaven and Earth. Subsequently, the higher your rank in this stage, the more difficult you'll find it to achieve a breakthrough.
As a result, people with higher ranks are deemed as formidable and legendary figures who who strike fear and awe in others, and are therefore respected by many others.
Long Gen looked at the ancient hourglass on the table before he turned towards the Criminal Overlords.
"The reinforcements should be here any minute. The Immortal Devil Sect will not tolerate Western Wen's behavior, we shall claim Green Lotus City as ours and exterminate the Noble Familities, if Western Wen dares to interfere, then don't blame us if we retaliate!"
Somewhere far away, figures cloaked in black robes could be seen running through the forests, their speed is so immense it is almost impossible to keep track on them with your eyes. Everywhere they go, they leave behind after-images that make your head dizzy.
Not only that, these black cloaked figures emanate auras beyond extraordinary, auras that are very tyrannical and terrifying.
Apparently... Something big is happening.
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