บท 42: Battle Afar II - Obliteration Lotus.
A crackle sounded out as the wind was blasted away from a step on the ground, the branches and bushes nearby almost went flying from the force and many birds and bats resting in the trees were startled awake and began chirping madly from being rudely awakened, yet they couldn't find the cause.
This was happened multiple times every second, like a firecracker going off in succession Chao Shi was forcing himself through the thickets of the forest with little care for obstacles, his eyes filled with sharp light as he hunted down his target.
He no longer needed to use the compass, he could feel the thick river of baleful qi flowing over his skin heading towards something ahead, it was a like a beacon of filth in a clear pool.
Soon enough, he could hear the tapping of footsteps ahead of him, they were heavy but not as heavy as his, the person ahead had picked up his pace since splitting up, either he didn't need to worry about the other group or was happy to get rid of the dead weight that was slowing him down.
Chao Shi felt it would be the latter.
He drew closer and closer, not caring for traps or ambushes, he would pierce through them all the same; Quickly the target came into view, a long black cloak covering his body, yet his figure was short and stout, the strength he kicked off the ground with betrayed his strength as a cultivator of a later stage.
*BANG* Chao Shi didn't waste any more time, his arm shot out to the side, becoming covered In a thinly veiled silver aura forming the shape of a simple blade, he swung towards the man as he launched himself by erupting his qi at his feet.
The man responded as if he had eyes on the back of his head, stopping in place and spinning around, a long staff in hand he smacked it on the ground while staring Chao Shi in the eyes.
"STOP!" He yelled.
And Chao Shi did so, the two skidded in the dirt until they halted to a stop, the two seemingly glaring at each-other.
The man began sweating while he grit his teeth, like he was holding a load that exceeded his strength, Chao Shi stood perfectly still with his stance frozen in time, his form picturesque like a statue.
Yet the stalemate was soon broken, the man yelled while coughing up blood, his face lightly pale.
Chao Shi began moving again at that very moment, like the play button had been hit on a paused video he burst with momentum, arriving upon his target without delay and slashing horizontally across his body.
*CIIIING*
The man recovered in time to block the strike with his staff, the aura covered hand merely grinded its way along its length before Chao Shi backed off once more, his eyebrows twitching.
'That's not a normal staff, any sort of mortal metal would have been sliced through cleanly' He concluded while staring at the man's 'face'.
He had taken a stance, preparing for Chao Shi's next attack, his face was also adorned with a black mask, yet his was slightly different to the others, it was a half mask, so his lower face wasn't covered, and not just that there was a third slot in the forehead that wasn't present on the others, inside was a hideous vertical eye with a white pupil and sclera of various colours.
'A siren's eye, so that's what I was, that explains how the beast tide was formed as well'.
The eye was created as part of a technique that formed a type of brainwashing mind control, it wasn't easy to get a hold of as you needed the eye of a Siren Bat to make it in the first place, and they were both terrifying and hard to find.
They were terrifying because they hypnotised any sort of beast that came near their home, creating an army of mindless drones that both defended their lair and obtained prey for them, working until their death eventually becoming prey themselves, they were physically strong as well due to all the nutrients that they get fed with, at the very least the saving grace is that they have a short breeding period and a long gestation rate.
However, Chao Shi didn't care much for this eye, he had already been attacked by its effects and broke through it, causing a backlash to hit the man in front of him, he wouldn't use it again since it would have even less of an effect, and it would hurt the man even more.
The man knew this all too well, which is why he had taken stance with his staff.
The breeze blew for only a second before the two clashed once more, sparks began to fly throughout the forest almost lighting it up like a bonfire.
Upper body, left thigh, neck, left foot, left arm, the strikes from Chao Shi rained upon the man like a torrential downpour causing him to sweat immensely.
Each strike the man barely managed to parry with his long staff, which was surprisingly durable, yet after a full minute of clashing it began to be full of light chips and scratches causing his expression under the mask to darken.
Suddenly, his body exploded with a mountain of baleful qi, causing Chao Shi to feel a sense of disgust as he was drowned in it, he struck heavily with his blade aura, yet the staff that had been parrying his blows barely before swung a multitude of times faster than before, causing his to switch to a block.
*BANG*
He was struck, though he defended perfectly, his body was sent flying off balance through the air, yet he managed to right himself with a flip before landing and a grinding halt on the dirt, he locked on to his opponent again.
He could see black veins encroaching underneath the mans skin like poisonous parasites infecting their prey.
Chao Shi's eyes grew colder.
A technique that consumed baleful qi to greatly reinforce ones body, it was well known and reviled, Chao Shi could feel the thick black qi being emitted and consumed, he could tell that it was formed through the suffering of thousands, he felt sick to his stomach.
*SLAM* The man's staff hit the ground all of a sudden, and beneath Chao Shi's feet the earth began to distort.
Spikes formed of solid dirt pierced at him from all sides, so he jumped up into the air to escape, yet as he did so the man struck the ground once more, and the ground near him balled up before shooting out at the speed of a bullet!
Chao Shi was in a precarious position, in the air he had no way to dodge- or so one might think, yet the moment the bullets of stone would have hit him, he merely stepped on the air like it was solid ground and moved out of the way.
Visible frustration could be seen on the man's face as he increased the number of bullets flying at Chao Shi, but no matter how many were shot none of them could land, even the few that got near were destroyed by his aura.
In no time Chao Shi has made his way to the front of the man, who responded by stamping on the ground causing a wall of rock to shoot up between them.
Chao Shi responded by raising his aura filled hand, as it increased in density and length.
And then, a single flash lit the area.
<<Titanic Art – Great Divide>>
The rock wall and everything for a full thirty meters split in half, creating a large groove in the terrain, a calm eyed Chao Shi stood at the grooves source with his hand pointing downwards, he then began walking down through it, towards the man.
He had tried to defend against the large attack with his staff, but it had been rent cleanly in half, which lessened the damage but left a large gash from the top right of his torso, all the way down to his left thigh, he was on the ground on his rear cringing in pain.
He heard the footsteps and stared at Chao Shi approaching and fear filled his continence, he began shivering and attempting to back away.
Chao Shi swung his hand, sending a wave of aura towards the man.
"Agggggggh!" The aura hit his limbs, deeply cutting them and stopping him from moving causing him to gutturally scream with pain.
"Speak, why have you filth decided to go on this rampage now?" He questioned the man.
The man struggled with pain as he heard Chao Shi speak, he stopped moving for a second before he began to speak.
"Filth… Filth… Filth…! Yes! Ahahahahahahaha! Filth, we're filth!" HE seemed to lose his mind as he repeated the word causing Chao Shi to frown but not speak.
"Chao Shi… Sword Prodigy, Blessed Child… they sent you after us… how ironic! Bastards!"
"What does that have to do with anything?" Chao Shi didn't feel like listening to mere ramblings.
"Do you know me?!" The man asked, sitting up as his mask fell off.
The question stumped Chao Shi, but he stared at the man's face with confusion for a minute as silence settled on them, eventually light of recognition filled his eyes.
"You… Wen Ju?" He indeed recognised the man.
"He knows… he knows! Of course, he knows…" The man muttered.
Chao Shi knew his face for one reason, he was a wanted man, a collective bounty was set on him by the cultivation community by a prominent family in the earth region.
He was a traitor of the Trembling Earth Sect! He had killed a fellow sect member in cold blood for a valuable item and then disappeared.
"Stop wasting time, who you are doesn't matter, just explain why you made these attacks" Chao Shi pointed the sword aura towards the man's neck.
"Hehehe… those bastards twisted it, that pompous fuck attacked me when he found out I'd discovered a high-quality pure yin material, and I killed him because of it, yet his family twisted it like I planned the attack and stole HIS item".
Chao Shi merely listened, this kind of story wasn't too surprising, injustice was quite common in the world of cultivation, unfortunately.
"I was chased down, sent on the verge of death multiple times… then I found them, the black sect that took me in, guided me on the only path I had left to take… tell me, was I wrong?"
"Yes" Chao Shi answered immediately.
"Of course, you can say that…" Wen Ju seemed to realise that nothing he said would earn him pity or a second chance.
He flopped to the ground, letting his black tainted blood pour out of his wounds on to the earth.
"This world is a cage, no matter what we do, even if we became stronger than 'him', nothing would happen" Tears began pouring from his eyes.
"It was over for me, for us, so we just thought we would try one last time".
Everything clicked inside of Chao Shi's head, as if he had connected everything to the greater picture, one that only he and a few others knew of.
"I see" He approached, preparing to deal the finishing blow.
Wen Ju watched the approaching aura, as if it was a heavenly blade sending him to a peaceful rest.
Yet in that single moment, something changed; his expression distorted as panic rose in his expression.
"No- No- NO! Kill me, NOW, KILL ME!" He screeched at Chao Shi, who rushed to finish the job, his blade swung down towards Wen Ju's next to behead him, yet before he landed his hit-
*DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO*
A burst of baleful qi, far stronger than before exploded out of Wen Ju's body, forcefully sending Chao Shi flying away.
'A planted trigger mechanism?!' Chao Shi regretted not finishing the job earlier, it was clear this wasn't willingly activated by Wen Ju, but rather was triggered when it sensed his will to die.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-GHHHHHHHHHHHHH-UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
A screech echoed in the storm of black that ravaged the surroundings, breaking trees and disintegrating the rocks and ground, the human voice steadily becoming something far from human.
Chao Shi grimly watched the maelstrom from afar, fully well knowing what was growing inside.
It was a last resort for cultivators that grew using baleful qi as a core energy, using every last ounce of it permanently change and empower their body, causing them to experience explosive growth at the cost of one thing.
Their life itself.
The storm began to die down, and at the eye of the tempest a large figure stood, it was no longer human.
Its skin was pitch black with crimson veins bulging from underneath the sickly and flaky skin, its arms and hands hideously disproportionate, the fingers and palms exactly like those of a humans creating an uncanny sight, its legs were short and stocky while its neck was hunched, leading to a hideous head composed of squirming 'faces' all vying to become the main.
It turned its bulky body, turning to face Chao Shi and suddenly bulking up its leg muscles.
*Bang* the earth beneath its feet was crushed as its weighty body began charging towards the smaller enemy.
It quickly approached, swiping its massive palms in an attempt to swat Chao Shi who dodged it effortlessly, watching it carry forward with its momentum, crashing into trees and rocks as it went destroying them with its body weight.
'Its clumsy, this clearly isn't an actual attempt to kill me' He stared at the grotesque figure pulling itself up after falling over and turn back to him.
'It's said that those that take this form are tortured as their souls are soaked in the pain and suffering of those the baleful qi was taken from, this is a clear punishment.'
"Suffering in turn of failure…" He spoke to himself, feeling disgusted at the logic.
The monster prepared to charge at him again.
"I won't draw this out any longer" He had made a decision as his hand reached for the sword resting on his back, the one he hadn't drawn a single time throughout the fight.
Suddenly, his qi peaked as his eyes shone with a silverly light that emanated with sharpness, it seemed a translucent aura filled his body as the wind began whipping back and forth, the ground beneath him seemed to have become shaved as if cut with a sculpting tool and anything that entered a range around him, be it leaf, or stone was ground to dust.
*STOMP* *STOMP* *STOMP*
The monster closed in with literal tonnes of momentum behind its large body, yet Chao Shi stood still with an unbelievably calm aura surrounding him.
It was lucky for the monster that it couldn't feel fear.
"Die for me" A calm whisper echoed throughout the area as the monster was a few meters from him, he drew the sword.
A bright, silver light enveloped the area, as if some heavenly treasure was being birthed.
In a single instant, a large life like silver lotus was born, carrying the stunning beauty of the heavens itself, just a single glance would take the breaths of thousands, yet it hid a deadly side that was obscured by its pretty exterior.
Each petal was a collection powerful strikes.
Each paradigm was a superimposed petal.
The lotus was a universe of blades, formed in an instant.
A technique born from the hands of Chao Shi himself, the embodiment of his swordsmanship.
Its beauty and its deadliness.
<<Four Paradigms Lotus>> The blooming lotus was pictured in his head.
The monster was enveloped by the light, and it wasn't merely injured, nor mortally wounded.
Bit by bit, the monsters body disintegrated, until the last piece was wiped from existence.
This was the techniques true form; Yun Hua's was a mere imitation born from admiration.
Soon, the light receded.
And nothing was left, not a single piece of the monster remained to tell of its existence, it was turned to dust by the blades.
*Click* The sword was sheathed, Chao Shi exhaled.
He stared at the now empty area; his eyes filled with a sense of melancholy.
He had not used his sword before, because he wanted to keep Wen Ju alive to question him which he had succeeded in doing, but that wasn't the only reason.
He couldn't hold back, he wouldn't let himself do so, when he was done with an enemy, there wouldn't be a spec of them left.
He found it pitiful.
He shook his head, stretching his limbs.
'We're done for now anyway'.
"Senior Shi!" A voiced echoed from behind him.
He turned to see Bai Shun running towards him.
"Senior Shi, did you use it?!" He asked the moment he reached Chao Shi, eyes sparkling.
"I had to" He responded with a slight shrug.
"Was the enemy that strong?! I wish I could have seen it…" Bai Shun was surprised, yet he was sad he'd missed it.
"Well… not quite, never-mind me what about you, did everything go well?"
"Ah, it was easy, they seemed to be controlled by something so their attacks were too simple and they weren't too strong themselves" He explained.
"That makes sense, I'll explain what I experienced on the way, lets head back for now we can still assist the village if they're still defending" Chao Shi began walking away, Bai Shun nodded and began to follow him yet all of a sudden-
**Crack**
A slight sound echoed out from the robes of the two causing them to freeze.
They then frantically dug something out of their robes, cradling it in their arms.
A small stone with a symbol on it, it had split in half.
It was a life stone; it showed the vital status of someone if they made it with their blood.
This one belonged to Yun Hua.
Bai Shun was shocked to the core, his pupils fully dilated as he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"Y-Yun Hua…?" He questioned what he was seeing.
On the other hand-
*BANG*
Without hesitation, with a trace of rage that hadn't been there before, Chao Shi set out back towards Greengate Village.
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ShiroN3K0
ShiroN3K0 This one is longer than usual, since i didn't want to split this fight up in to two.
Longest chapter since the first, oops.
Anyway, thanks for reading, comments and feedback is appreciated!
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