Chapter 109: Unafraid
The three Patriarchs of the Modern Sects respective divisions were accompanied by Wenjun Long, who trailed a significant distance behind them due to the heft of his bulky rock armor. All present had unprecedentedly solemn expressions as they flew in the direction of the Nayun Forest.
Not a single word was exchanged during their journey, for it was not a company among friends that they shared. Once, they were bitter rivals. Now, they were forcibly united under the banner of the same sect.
However, did that statement still hold true?
Nascent Soul Cultivators like Wenjun Long were used to the slow, meandering passage of time. Notable events did happen and were celebrated with pomp, but more often than not years went by before the next disciple discovered a new pill formula that was actually useful or a particularly valuable Natural Treasure that could be reseeded was found in the wild.
Since Yao Shens meteoric rise though, it felt like miracles had become a weekly occurrence. Not in a thousand years would Wenjun Long have imagined that Yao Shen, a cultivator who had originally climbed his way up from some no-name village, would defeat a Soul Emperor of the Demonic Path. Moreover, if the Light Path visitors words were to be believed, Gavril Arkael of the Ancient Codex was no ordinary Soul Emperor, but rather, one that was to be feared and avoided.
How had Yao Shen done it? Had he employed some underhanded means or was he concealing some other source of great power? Wenjun Long would have pondered upon the matter longer if it mattered. He had not only received the full backing of his own legacy family, but also had access to the entire Divine Mountain Sects resources in his hayday.
Even with all those benefits, all those blessings Wenjun Long could not replicate Yao Shens accomplishments.
So it merited the question- were they truly being forced to fight under the banner of the Modern Sect?
A Demonic Path Soul Emperor who was willing to flout all norms of both the pact and honor amongst cultivators held a grudge against them. Regardless of what Wujing Yang of the Tower of Radiance claimed or said, his arrival had been far too late to have served in the Azlak Plains defense.
Without Yao Shens decision to step forward, what would the casualties have looked like?
Perhaps if he was a century younger, Wenjun Long would have lamented his own weakness and resolved to rectify it. Now, he was capable of seeing the world for what it was. He would die if he chose to try and ascend to the rank of Soul Emperor. Unless Kang Long encountered a fortuitous encounter of his own, the result would likely be the same.
And now Yao Shen had hit him with the final nail in the coffin. Wenjun Longs ancestors had greatly regretted the tragedy that had transpired with the Dwarf Scholar, Vondar. However, they were cultivators of the Earth first and foremost, the ones closest to Mother Nature it would be a lie to claim that they did not wish to forge an armor out of one of its rarest ores.
They had tried. His ancestors had tried a plethora of methods and techniques, passing down their experiences through word of mouth. From a variety of different forging techniques to years spent researching alloys that could neutralize the sensitivity of lumenite and even going as far as to attempt to search for remnants of ancient civilizations in hopes of deciphering Greater Runes to aid in their efforts.
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Subsequent generations had aided in their cause, tackling the conundrum with the zeal of a scholar, perhaps ironically like how Vondar would have approached the challenge. By the time Wenjun Longs generation was in its heyday though, mining Lumenite Ore sounded closer to fantasy rather than reality an echo of the past resounding within the walls of the diminished Divine Mountain.
Yao Shen had sent a single missive that had overturned Wenjun Longs certainty in that inherited belief.
The Dwarven Artifact that Yao Shen had claimed from the Serenity Mountainhold should have allowed him to at most, mine the Lumenite Ore without any direct consequence. Though the exact specifics of the Dwarven Artifact remained unknown to Wenjun Long, he had studied it long enough to deduce that its functioning involved the clever use of Greater Runescript even if it refused to acknowledge him or any of his ancestors that had tried to elicit a response from the artifact spirit.
When Yao Shen had asked Kang Long to arrange for a forging instructor, namely, Elder Tianjian Shuan, Wenjun Long had not thought much of it.
Elder Tianjian was talented in his own rights, but he was not even made aware as to the reason why Yao Shen felt the need to abruptly learn the Dao of Forging.
And not even the Shuan Legacy Familys inherited forging techniques were profound enough to let a complete novice forge one of the most volatile metals on all of Ionea.
When Yao Shen had requested for a forge to be placed within the Lumenite Mine, it had admittedly given Wenjun Long some pause. Ultimately though, he had chalked it up to a desire to practice near the source, perhaps acclimatize himself to the absurd Qi-Density that Lumenite possessed.
All his beliefs were logical and based on what Wenjun Long believed to be fact.
All his beliefs shattered when he opened the letter Yao Shen had hand-delivered through his first true disciple, Shadow.
The armor is forged. Come to the periphery of the Nayun Forests territory. Be prepared for combat.
That was all that was written in the missive. Less than a paragraph, yet it had shaken Wenjun Long more than anything else Yao Shen had accomplished.
As their procession neared the Nayun Forest, the three Patriarchs leading the charge came to an abrupt halt.
Wenjun Long too, managed to contain his momentum despite the bulky armor he was required to equip for his combat style to be effective.
They all turned their gazes eastward, where a flare of powerful Qi had revealed itself to them.
A familiar Qi signature that belonged to a Soul Emperor they all knew.
Ten minutes later, they looked upon the exact spot where the Qi Signature had been broadcasted from, observing from a distance. They were leery to approach any closer, for Yao Shen had explicitly told them to prepare for combat.
What had happened? Was it the Demons that had invaded or perhaps a spiritual beast that was giving Yao Shen trouble? Or perhaps something else entirely.
Good! A deep, slightly distorted voice rumbled in appreciation. Before they saw the approaching presence, their presence could be heard by the clinking and clanging of metallic armor.
Wenjun Long gasped, his hand cradling his chest as he took in an entire, fully-forged set of Lumenite Armor in his gaze.
Yao Shens eyes glinted with amusement as he took in the Patriarchs, both current and former, from behind two eye-slits.
He outstretched his hands in opposing directions, before speaking, You have come prepared with your pseudo Nascent Soul Artifacts. Now, strike me at the peak of your power....as one.
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