“Hurry! Don’t worry about those behind you; we will deal with them! Get to the sect gates!” Abby yelled as rebel earthers flocked behind her.

Summoning her water whips, Abby quickly lashed out, disarming the pursuing Bloodthorne Cultivators and thrashing them into the ground.

They knew about their plans now.

It was evident from the way the rebel earthers were gathering that they would be found out eventually, but Abby had hoped that things would take longer for the Bloodthorne cultivators to notice.

The talisman in Abby’s robes flittered out, and the symbols on its page came to life with an infusion of Abby’s Qi. There was an immediate pickup.

“Is everyone in position?” Sun Cai questioned on the other end.

“We are nearly there, but the Wood cultivators still need more time to get the ropes to the bottom of the mountain. They still haven't found the bottom.”

Sun Cai clicked his teeth and made a decision.

“Start sending down as many people as the Wood cultivators can handle. We need to get people down there before the real battle starts.”

Abby nodded to herself and was about to end the communication when Sun Cai’s grave voice filtered through.

“Oh no.” Sun Cai said.

Suddenly, the communication talisman in Abby’s hand burned up, a sign of Sun Cai's talisman being destroyed.

“Oh no? What do you mean, oh no!?” Abby questioned at the fading pieces of talisman, but the answer found her as a booming sound echoed to the lowest rungs of the sect. Her attention bolted to two figures racing in the sky above the sect.

One was Sun Cai, with flaming wings extending from his back that made him seem like a miniature sun, rebelling against the moon that shone above him.

The other was Gou Da, whose sceptre loomed above him in another strike.

Boom!

A cascade of fireworks littered the sky as the two Gateway Formation Cultivators rocketed attacks at each other at incredible speeds. Their strikes caused Abby’s eyes to glow as she tried to keep track of their moving figures.

She watched as Sun Cai unleashed a firestorm of the simple fireballs Arden was so proud of, but in countless amounts that fired towards Gou Da. In response, the sheen of Gou Da’s skin turned into a dark metallic that allowed him to burst through the fire, unleashing a sceptre strike that thudded against Sun Cai’s defending arms.

“That’s a big oh no,” Abby mumbled, and her body was already shifting to the top of the mountain. If they were to follow their plan, they needed to take out the leaders, but only once the people were in the violet mist to counteract The Matron’s death curse.

"Will I make it in time?"

Thinking on her feet, Abby knew that she had to buy time and that Sun Cai was likely thinking the same thing. The only unexpected element was if Arden was using his brain or if he was panicking.

“Older brothers can be so unreliable without their younger sisters.” Abby joked, but with too much tension to make it believable. Her feet barely touched the ground as she weaved through and around buildings; there was no sense in worrying about another sect’s architecture to get to the top, where the Gou Brother’s base of operations remained. Abby was halfway there when an echoing voice rang out from the sky.

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“Draw your weapon, Sun Cai! Do you really think you can defeat me without it?” Gou Da mocked.

Abby watched Sun Cai grit his teeth, and the flaming wings on his back curled inwards, funnelling into Sun Cai’s hand as a flaming sword. Sun Cai launched toward Gou Da with a battle cry, who smiled and greeted the flaming sword with his metal sceptre. There was a screeching clash as the two parted on equal strengths, but Gou Da seemed content with the outcome.

“That’s more like it! Draw out all your power, Sun Cai! You’re going to need it!” Then, with an ominous smile, Gou Da’s sleeves blasted apart, revealing a set of glowing tattoos on his body. With a pious scream, Gou Da set his plan in motion.

“Matron! Bless your believers with the power to overcome! Show the world your strength through us!”

Scream!

Abby swung her head around and quickly dashed away as a Bloodthorne Cultivator found and clawed at her. Behind them, more were seen clutching their heads, feeling immense pain as the crimson pill inside of them activated. Abby watched the cultivator’s eyes turn bloodshot, and the rationale behind their moves lessened into bestial attacks.

Above Abby, Gou Da’s grand laughter flitted across the air.

“Come! Let us face one another like old times!”

*****

My feet shifted as I dodged one of Gou Jia’s daggers, earning enough space for my sword to crack the earth in a downward strike. Of course, Gou Jia excelled in evading my attacks and counterattacking once I had made them. But, I had been learning the hard way that this left him open to counterattacks of his own.

My grip on the Mountain Sealing Sword lessened with one hand, and it extended out, impaling itself on one of Gou Jia’s daggers in exchange for latching onto it. My leg went to kick out his knees, hoping to deal some blow that would impact his speed.

My eyes tracked Gou Jia as he flipped over me, letting go of the dagger that impaled my hand and reaching with his other to slash against my neck. My earthen armour shifted away from the non-vitals, reinforcing the area that I knew he wanted me to protect, but with little choice when I remembered the times the dagger managed to slash through my regular armour.

I shifted forward at the same time, hoping that the distance and my displayed vulnerability would be too tempting for Gou Jia to pass up.

Shink!

The dagger strike fell short, only nicking off a piece of earthen armour that regenerated when I passed through The Matron’s barrier.

I could pass through the barrier unharmed, but my connection with the violet mist would be disconnected, which put me at around half my usual combat prowess against Gou Jia. It wasn't enough.

When I looked behind me, Gou Jia had retreated too, preparing for the moment I re-entered the barrier to try and get to The Matron Seed. Staring him down with a pained expression, I ripped the dagger from my hand and threw it to the floor.

I continued staring at Gou Jia, watching the blood running along his body harden and merge into another of the daggers. The wounds I had inflicted in our battle quickly healed on both sides as crimson particles and violet mist went to work like a dedicated nurse.

“You’re stalling,” I called out to Gou Jia, who nodded.

“We both know there’s no reason for me to face you at a disadvantage when I can simply maintain the higher ground.” Gou Jia confirmed.

I was at a disadvantage in power once the violet mist was removed from me. A fact that I wouldn't say I liked being reminded of every time I clashed inside the barrier.

I had tried launching projectiles using my vibrations from outside, but Gou Jia’s speed enabled an evasive response, and the cobblestones protected The Matron Seed from any outside interference. The few times I had tried launching the projectiles into the hole at the top of the cobblestone dome didn’t result in any lingering damage, as The Matron Seed’s root likely battered the attacks to pieces.

“In a battle of attrition, I win,” I announced, hoping the fact was true as much as I hoped it would make Gou Jia do something stupid. Unfortunately, Gou Jia was much more intelligent than his younger brother.

“Do you? By all means, come and try to win.” Gou Jia taunted.

Suddenly, the cobblestones had a red glow flitter across them, and a horrendous scream echoed out from the Matron Seed inside. I planted my sword before me, and the earth gathered around me, shielding me from the cry as I formed an earthen ball.

Once the screaming stopped, the earthen ball disbanded, and my eyes lost track of where Gou Jia was. A faint sense of danger slipped across my neck, and with a subtle step to the side, the dagger missed its target. I reacted a moment later, but it was too late as Gou Jia sprung back inside the cobblestone barrier.

Tsk, tsk.

“I was hoping that you would end things there. No matter, you are too late, I’m afraid.” Gou Jia turned away from me and stepped onto the cobblestone pathway.

“You were right; I am stalling. But it might not be for the reason you think.”

Gou Jia turned and sliced apart the earthen projectile I launched.

It was worth a shot.

“It should be about time for it to appear.”

Gou Jia smiled and looked up past where the mountain shrouded our vision.