Chapter 74: Enemy
The Nascent Soul Elders that had been engaged in their respective duties along with Yao Shen moved with such haste that the ground beneath them, irrespective of whether it was actually ground or the floor of an Apartment unit in construction, cracked. The disciples that had been around at the time got to experience the true reaction time of cultivators that had transcended the mortal stage and stepped into the realm of the soul.
Yao Shen stood at the helm of their formation, flanked by Wenyan Ren to his left and Huoxing You, the head of the sacred forge and Yao Shens instructor, to his right. Liuxian Xun, the Flame Division Elder that he had come to appreciate and Tianjian Shuan trailed a little behind them.
As the only Earth Cultivation specialist among them, Tianjian Shuan would form the backbone of their formation by providing them defense, while Liuxian Xun was too young compared to the cultivators he stood in presence of to stand in the first line of offense.
There had been no communication between them to establish this formation and neither was any required. The Righteous Path Cultivators, for all their faults, knew how to come together when faced with an unknown, external threat.
They were all capable enough of self-assessing their capabilities and knowing what role they had to play in such a situation.
In a moments time, they had cleared All-Havens construction site before abruptly halting their acceleration. They floated a little above the grasslands, having stopped a safe distance away from the silhouette that had been waiting for them outside the city.
Yao Shens visage was a mask of cold composure as he took in the cultivator that had called him out.
His skin was pale, paler than it had any right to be. If the man before him had been a mortal, Yao Shen would have declared his pallid complexion to be inches away from death. He was tall, even for a cultivator. High-cheekbones, a sharp jawline and a body chiseled to perfection; his tightly corded muscles speaking of the innate strength contained within.
The man wore no shirt, his bare flesh exposed to the elements. Had that been all, Yao Shen would not have been alarmed to this extent.
Rivulets of blood used the mans visage and upper body as a canvas, intersecting and diverging to form complex patterns. Some resembled fractals, others runescript and a few, formations, but Yao Shens gaze couldnt make any sense of the meaning contained within. His face, in particular, was marred by criss-crossing blood tattoos that continued to lightly flow along the established path.
His lower body was covered by coarsely fashioned animal-hide pants and equally roughly made moccasins.
Who are you? Yao Shen finally asked, his body primed to call upon his domain the moment the cultivator before him moved in the slightest.
There was silence as the cultivator considered the question with a thoughtful expression on his face.
The Elders in Yao Shens presence remained silent, their expressions unmistakably grim and their weapons drawn.
So stiff, he replied with a sigh. Why are you wasting your own time with questions you already know the answer to? he added.
Yao Shen refused to show an emotional response to the world, instead studying the cloud of emotion that was all but smothering the man before him.
Malice. Pure, unadulterated malice.
Why are you here then, demon? Yao Shen asked, still not having drawn his sword.
The man chuckled at that.
I heard that this written-off land managed to produce a Soul Emperor. An Esoteric Dao Cultivator, at that! He giddily responded. Could you imagine my surprise? Theres barely any ambient qi in this land and even those fogies dont care about what happens to the Azlak Plains. And yet, you did it, There was a fervent glee in his gaze as he said those words, one that made Yao Shens heart sink.
Leave, Yao Shen stated.
I will, as long as you agree to fight me, A wide grin tugged at the mans heavily tattooed visage as he finally declared his intent.
The pact forbids Soul Emperor level combatants from engaging in combat, Yao Shens qi-empowered voice was loud enough to cover the entire city. If the cultivators within didnt know that something was seriously amiss about this entire situation, they would now.
The Pact? The Demonic Cultivator asked, before bursting into a malevolent laughter. The obvious provocation in his words should not have caused the unease in Yao Shens heart to deepen, but it did. Do you know why the Pact was created? he asked.
Yao Shen did not answer.
The demonic cultivator clicked his tongue.
If you hide behind the pact, then indeed, I cant touch you. But do you know what the problem with invoking the pact is? The Demonic Cultivator cocked his head as he asked, the mockery in his gaze obvious.
It wasnt designed to protect weaklings! The Demon screamed maniacally.
A Soul Emperor level wind blade, two Nascent Soul level wind arrows and three flaming arrows were unleashed by the righteous path group in quick succession.
Blood Escape, The Demonic Path cultivator muttered under his breath and Yao Shen and the other Elders watched as he exploded into a mist of blood before the attacks could land.
The blood mist shifted and the attacks sailed harmlessly past it.
Only Yao Shen was fast enough to react to the mists terrifying speed. Three more wind blades were unleashed in quick succession, but it was simply too easy for the blood mist to evade.
And then, Yao Shen was out of time.
He couldnt fire off any attacks because the mist was rapidly heading towards All-Haven, even as hundreds of cultivators split off and fled into every direction, hoping that the enemy could not intercept all paths.
You dare! Yao Shen bellowed as he moved to give chase at the very limits of the speed that he could currently manage.
Never had he felt so enraged before.
Never had he felt such unmitigated hatred before.
Never before had he felt so.
Powerless.
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