Hui walked up to the hostages. “Where is the barrier?”
“Stop! Not another step. You can enter, but you can’t exit!” Tian Mo shouted.
Hui paused. He knelt, pressing his hands against the ground, and sent his qi forth.
Barely an inch in front of him, his qi hit another structure. Hui quickly examined it, then sighed. Boring. Just an ordinary barrier. Barely worth talking about.
Tian Mo blinked. Did… Did Gui Hui just sigh? Is it that hopeless? “Can nothing be done? Run and fetch the instr—”
Black feathered over the air in front of Hui. It spread quickly, wrapping around the entire space that enclosed his fellow disciples. Where the black passed, the barrier peeled away, and in a few moments, it fell away entirely.
“—uctors…” Tian Mo said, flagging mid-sentence.
“Elder Brother is indeed a genius! Yes, yes, we should get the instructors. Ah, though, you might not be able to. I think we might be locked in here. Perhaps… a spatial lock, of some description?” Hui suggested. From the way no one can break in, not even Tseng Caihong or one of the Tier Masters… well, based on the logic of the novels of my world, a spatial lock is a reasonable option!
Spatial locks are usually based on the principles of space, one of the more advanced concepts, and only available to those who choose to cultivate the principles of space. Thus, destroying a spatial lock is also limited to those either more powerful than the caster… which, given that the caster could be an ancient artifact, might not be possible—or someone else with a deep comprehension of space, which none of the Tier Masters struck me as. If we were locked in here through a spatial lock, it explains why Tseng Caihong hasn’t come to investigate the resentment demons being freed yet!
“A spatial lock…?” Tian Mo’s brows furrowed.
Is that more than a disciple my age should know…? Oh well, it’s fine. I’ll just grow the legend of the Southern Sect Conference! “Tian Mo doesn’t know? Ah, I guess it might be considered an advanced topic by some lowly sects. Spatial locks can be cast by someone with a deep comprehension of space… putting it simply, they lock down an area of space.”
Tian Mo frowned, brows furrowing deeper. “I don’t understand.”
“Mmm, well, it isn’t important now. What we should do now is break away from this battle and find a place to safely hide until the spatial lock—or whatever locks us in here—wears off. I’m sure the Tier Masters are working hard to free us, so surely as long as we survive for a while, we’ll be able to break out with their help!” Hui said, clenching his fist.
Actually, I have no faith in the Tier Masters. But as long as I can find a quiet place, somewhere where my fellow disciples won’t be in danger and where I won’t have to worry about them, I can at least investigate whatever’s keeping the Tier Masters out—and presumably, us in—and maybe, possibly… even, break out!
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
I wouldn’t dare assure my fellow disciples that I could break out, no, no. Not this small cultivator! After all, if it is truly a spatial lock, I have no more comprehension of those than anyone else here. But, well, comprehension starts with investigation! I’ll use this as an opportunity to investigate the spatial lock, or whatever structure is locking us in.
This is all incredibly valuable information. What I have on my hands right now is lock that can hold out Tseng Caihong and the Tier Masters… or at the very least, a barrier that can evade their detection! What a bonus that would be for me! The things I could do with that knowledge! Ahh, I’m excited just thinking about it! Yes, yes, now that everyone’s safe, let’s scurry off to a safe space so this small cultivator can study the lock.
In the end, I’m not that worried about breaking out. I’ve thought from the start that Ai Tuzi looked like she was waiting for something to end, and I still think that. It’s likely that whatever she’s using to have this effect can only function for a limited time… or can only function for a limited time at her current cultivation level. Either way, the end effect is the same. As long as we bunker down, we should be able to escape! At this point, it’s a waiting game.
The other disciples quickly escaped the barrier and huddled around Hui.
“What next?” Meimei asked.
“It’s obvious! Get help!” Tian Mo argued. “Even if it’s useless, we have to try!”
Hui shook his head. “Elder Brother, although I respect your genius idea, I must repeat that I don’t think we should. We need to escape and hide first. Escape and hide! The Tier Masters should have noticed that something is strange by now. If we escape and hide, and have faith, they’ll come find us in no time.”
Tian Mo frowned. “But…”
Meimei pushed him aside. “Tian Mo, are you stupid? Gui Hui, what happened? How did you reach fourth stage? Why can you fly now? What happened? What good fortune did you come across while you were away?”
“I… was tutored personally by Jizhi Zhimei!” Hui said truthfully. Yes, yes. That’s all that happened!
Meimei frowned. “She’s that good at teaching? I thought she was a horrible teacher. Don’t most of her disciples di—”
Tian Mo nudged Meimei mid-word. “Meimei, hush.”
Hui whirled. What did she almost say? Her disciples die…?
Well, but most of them can’t handle looking at her without going mad. Yes, yes. I’m in no danger. After all, I’m immune to her beauty!
Er, but she is also the leader of the assassin tier… I can’t take her lightly. In the end, she’s still a fearsome cultivator, ninth stage, borderline Immortal. I shouldn’t assume that she’s no threat to me, just because I don’t go insane from her beauty. In fact, a single flick of her wrist could destroy a small bug like me!
Phew! To think, I wasn’t taking Jizhi Zhimei seriously enough! Oh dear, oh dear. I’ll have to continue to watch myself.
Hui put his hand on the tree branch he’d used to fly over on and fed life qi into it. The tree branch grew into a massive tree. “Everyone, climb on. I’ll fly us away. Oh—someone grab Zhang Zhisho!”
One of the children ran backward and grabbed their instructor. Another joined them, and together, the two of them carried her onto Hui’s tree.
“Everyone on?” Hui asked, looking around.
Tian Mo nodded. “All on!”
Hui turned. “Let’s go!”
Behind them, Ai Tuzi pointed after them. “Stop them!”
The demons jumped up, struggling to escape the resentment demons. Leaping on them in their distraction, the resentment demons closed in. They bore the demons back down to the ground and grappled them in place.
Frustrated, Ai Tuzi growled to herself. She raced after Hui and the other children, leaving the resentment demons behind.