40. Obtaining Power II
Clay cautiously approached the entrance.
The layout of the prison consisted of twelve interfacing cells and there was only one exit.
(Did you feel that?)
(Where did that come from?)
(Rwar!)
(Rwar!)
Despite the voices and dogs barking outside, Clay composed himself and looked up towards entrance looks like a metallic trap door.
Clay climbed the stairs. He could feel his feet trembling.
As he slowly lifted the hatch to peek outside, the sight of a hound bounded to a nearby tree greeted him.
(Rwar!)
(Rwar!)
Clay panicked and immediately closed the door and retreated downstairs and run towards the opposite end hoping to see secret passage.
“Be careful and don’t let your guard down.”
Clay turned around. With the trap door being opened, the other side is fully illuminated followed by two cultivators descending the stair.
When he saw them drew their weapons, Clay gritted his teeth then bravely stepped forward and released Qi Projection Hands.
“Die!!!!”
Similar to how he killed his torturer, he squeezed the two cultivators to death.
Clay did not have time to be amazed by his strength as he felt there was another man upstairs that he needed to kill as well.
(Elder, there is something wrong with the prison.)
Clay discarded his fear and rushed towards the entrance and when he was outside, he released four hands and grabbed the cultivator including the hounds.
Meanwhile, around a hundred meters away from the underground prison, two men are currently having tea. They none other than the sword practitioner from Violet Sword Sect and the other is an Early Core Formation expert they invited to perform Soul Search.
As they were discussing the details of the transaction, their friendly talk was disrupted not because of the ruckus but they both felt a powerful ripple of energy. They both can tell if it is a beast or a Nascent expert but they cannot identify this unknown force.
Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
"I hope this friend will not take offense."
The sword cultivator elder was the first to move and when he arrived, he was greeted with a corpse of a junior and a sight of a boy who has just released three dead hounds, all squished to death by unusual Qi Projections.
The old man has no doubts he is looking at the same boy whom they wanted Soul Searched. Two days ago, they restored the boy’s meridians and as to what happened, he does not know and he would like to know.
In the face of an unknown power, he is still confident with his skills and if it turns out to be dangerous, then he will just retreat.
The old man walked towards Clay and as soon as Clay attacked, he summoned his sword and slashed towards the speeding Qi Projection Hands.
BOOM!
The two forces collided creating gusts of winds and just when the old man thought he repelled the attack, something grabbed his body and when he looked up, he saw a giant thumb pressed against his skull.
QUISHKK!!!
Blood and brain matters scattered and fell to the ground.
With the death of the old man and the hounds, the yard got quieter and Clay could hear his heartbeat.
Clay gasped for air thinking he killed everyone but as soon as he turned around, a strong pressured surrounded his body causing him to fell on his knees.
Clay did not panic and assessed his situation.
He has some familiarity with this kind of pressure as he experienced it before when Dal In abandoned him. It is a form of an intangible aura that restricts his movement.
“Here I thought you are strong.”
Clay could not move but he can tell there is another cultivator floating above him.
It is none other than the Core Formation expert who was invited to perform Soul Search on Clay.
A minute ago, he was tempted to see where the unknown power is coming from but when he saw the old man rushed out, he stood on the side and let someone test the waters.
He wanted to retreat when the old man squished to death but when he saw how Clay reacted to the pressure from his aura, his confidence was restored.
“Now, will you tell me the secrets of your powers I should I take it from you by force?”
The Core Formation expert landed then looked at Clay one more time. He wanted to attack Clay from a distance and weaken him before approaching his target however, he changed his mind. With his discerning eyes, he is certain Clay is but a lowly Qi Condensation practitioner so he is inclined to believe that Clay is using an artifact and he did not want to accidently destroy a heavenly treasure.
However, no matter how much he searched Clay using his divine sense, he could not feel any form or treasure nor artifacts from Clay.
“I’ll just search your soul.” The Core Formation expert smirked and approached Clay but when he ten feet away, he saw the same Qi Projection that killed the old man materialized from Clay’s spine and grabbed him by surprise.
SWISH!
The Core Formation expert knew he made a mistake so immediately reinforced his body with his Qi.
“You dare attack me? See how I’ll extract your soul and everyone related to you!” The man shouted in anger while maintaining a barrier around his body.
“Release me!” The man struggled as he looked for an opening however when he lifted his head, he was horrified as another Qi Projection Hand grabbed his head. He wanted to beg for his life but it was too late as his head was separated from his body.
Thud!
Clay did not lower his guard and when he looked around for any potential danger, he saw a wrinkled gardener who just threw his trowel and ran.
Clay wanted to go after him but when he saw the agitated face of the gardener, he felt reluctant and confused especially that the man is not a cultivator.
Clay wanted to escape but when he saw a sword lying on the grass, he got reminded and looted everyone’s spatial ring before leaving the area.