Chapter 17
Zemin points his sword at Fu Ju, a dark glint in his eyes. They begin circling each other, both waiting for an opening. I stand on shaky legs as I compose myself. I can feel the bruises and aches across my body more clearly now. I retreat closer to the [Secret Realm] just as the clashing of metal rings out. My head whips to Zemin and Fu Ju locked in a clash, the swords screech before whipping apart. Sparks fly as the swords clash again, illuminating the silent camp for less than a second. The temperature begins to rise around me as Zemin’s Qi grows. It starts as regular refined Qi before changing into a roaring flame that bursts within his veins and rages in his heart. His sword ignites as he attacks, the flame dancing off the blade as it becomes a winding pair of dragons scorching across the air. Fu Ju retaliates unleashing a gust of wind that swirls around his sword, shredding anything that comes close. With a mighty thrust, the swirl of wind explodes out of the tip of his sword. A raging twister sweeps out the entire campsite as it consumes the twin fire dragons, shredding them to pieces.
The following explosion causes me to tumble backward. The entire camp is devastated as I pick myself back, looking around for Zemin or Fu Ju. I spot Fu Ju standing alone with destruction laid out around him, his demonic eyes glow with power and evil. Zemin lands near me, throwing one of my arms over his shoulder. Without waiting, he leaps into the sky towards the [Secret Realm] portal. I look behind us and see Fu Ju gaining on us now that he sees us in the open. With the last burst of speed I can manage, I leap with Zemin through the portal and into the [Secret Realm]. Going through the portal is strange, like wading through a slime. Just as we enter, we exit the other side with a thud. My vision is blurry at first, becoming clearer as Zemin grabs my arm and pulls me up. I blink a couple of times as the world comes back into complete focus. We have arrived at a lake, glowing with Qi. The very air here is thick with Qi, with vibrant plants and trees littering the space. It’s almost alien how abundant it feels here.
“Where is this?” I can’t help but look around in awe at the scenery around me.
“We are inside the [Secret Realm], right at it’s entrance. Come, we need to find Martial Sister Fang as soon as possible.” He clips off at a steady pace to the west. With no other choice, I follow behind, trying to navigate around the forest we enter. The trees have a different shade of bark compared to the ones outside, a kind of blueish color with strange purple leaves and vines wrapping around them and dangling from their branches. Strange glowing light flutters across the forest, illuminating portions of the plant life around us. Flowers of vibrant reds, purples, blues, pinks, and yellows with roots and bushes bursting with fruit and berries. Creatures I have never seen before scamper and run through the tops of the branches, chittering and squeaking. One creature looks like a rodent from the past that went extinct, it was called a squirrel I think.
We come to a clearing with a group of disciples from various sects, all gathered together with their own sect. The disciples eye each other as they converse in hushed whispers. The tension in the air is thick and could be cut with a knife. One wrong move or word could cause it to explode. But from what was the big question, though there aren’t any obvious signs aside from the suspicion they all have for each other. Zemin joins a group of sect disciples, each one present is supposed to be a [Core Disciple] of the sect. They ignore me as Zemin joins in a conversation, leaving me alone to slump against a large boulder. I finally catch my breath after running that hard, truth be told, part of me is still shaking from that [Demonic Qi] Fu Ju released. The way it felt to be near it, the evil it permeates. It’s a sickening energy I never want to see or feel again. But I know that one day very soon, I’ll have to face it again. My thoughts are interrupted by a force knocking me sideways.
“Peter! Thank goodness Martial Brother Chen found you in time.” Something must have happened for Yijun and Zemin to be addressing each other this way.
“Yijun, what's happening? Why is everyone here so on edge?” She grimaces, a hard glint coming to her eyes as her jaw clenches in anger.
“It was the [Orange Cloud Sect], they launched an ambush against us as soon as we entered. Every [Core Disciple] had [Demonic Qi] and used a forbidden demonic art, [Demonic Blood Burst Art]. A cultivation art that uses the blood of the practitioner’s victims as a kind of bath to temper the body and fill the body with [Deminc Qi]. Not only does it refine the body to heal quickly, but it also numbs one to pain the more they practice it. There were more of us than them, but they left a crack of mistrust in our groups.”
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“What did they even say?”
“They said that no matter where we run, they have people to watch us every step of the way. Now none of the sects can trust each other since they believe there are spies amongst us even in this moment. We have not made any progress in our exploration of the [Secret Realm]. I sent Martial Brother Chen to fetch you before something happened outside as well.” Her voice is racked with emotion and worry. It’s hard to not be emotional in this situation, the disciples outside have no way to be warned of the danger. The bird sent by Coachman Cai earlier will take a bit of time to reach the sect so we are on our own for now. I look back at the [Core Disciples] of the sect, each radiating with Qi and power. But none seem to have enough to take on the [Demonic Qi] I felt from Fu Ju. Truth be told, they only feel strong enough to take on the disciples that had gathered there. Thankfully, we have superior numbers in this fight with all the sects combined here. Though, I never expected the [Orange Cloud Sect] to act so fast. After catching my breath for a bit, I get up to join Yijun and Zemin discussing with the other [Core Disciples].
“This is a disgrace to all cultivators!” A burly young man with wild hair roars in outrage. He wears a modified version of the uniform with the sleeves cut off. It fits loosely on him despite his obvious size with an emblom of the [Forge Hall] on the left side, a flame with stars as the fuel.
“We are all in agreement on that Geng De, what matters now is finding out how to bring the sects here together again.” Yijun radiates a cold aura as her eyes shine with cool intelligence. Geng De grunts in return, crossing his arms.
“It will be a difficult task to bring them back together again, the words of the demonic cultivators are heavily weighed on all of us. To not know who to trust is a dangerous situation.” A tall lean young man speaks up this time. His clothes resemble that of a scholar than a cultivator. A long flowing robe in the colors of the sect with a fan in his hand. His hair is tied tightly into a ponytail, leaving his sharp features open to be admired. He wears a gentle smile despite the atmosphere. The emblom for the [Pill Hall] sits on the left side of his robe. He must be the [Core Disciple] Liu Jun, I’ve seen him in passing sometimes making pills.
“We are evenly numbered, we can just fight them ourselves.” The doll-faced girl twirls a knife in her fingers as her voice drips with violence. She stands shorter than the rest of the disciples with a small frame that makes her look fragile. Her uniform is very well kept with a curved blade surrounded by a set of stars on the left side. She’s changed her hair from a pair of buns on either side. Now that I get a better look at the weapons she’s carrying, each one is some form of blade.
“Even if we fight them with even numbers, or with those gathered here, they didn’t seem to be even trying when we fought the first time. We need to make an actual plan before we move.” A middle-aged interjects, an outlier compared to younger disciples. His hair is cut short and slicked back with a five-a-clock shadow. His uniform is messy with a robe thrown around his shoulders and a sword he rests his hand on at his hip. The emblem on his uniform is not one I’ve seen before in the sect, a large star above a tower. He has an easy smile on his face as the other disciples murmur their agreement. Yijun and Zemin lead the conversation as they debate on the next steps. I walk over to a clear spot and sit down. The scene of watching Coachman Cai being killed flashes in my mind. I didn’t know him well, but to see a teammate for the mission torn apart is never easy. I take this chance to begin cultivating, every bit of strength is going to be important.
“Hey! You!” A large man a head taller than me approaches me, veins bulging in his neck and a wild look in his eyes. He stomps over to me, clearly looking for a fight from the way his fists are clenched at his side.
“Yes? Is there something you want from me?” I sit calmly as he lumbers up, Qi radiating off him. Without warning he yanks me up off the ground by the shirt, holding me up high at arm's length. His grip is like iron as it tightens, making it a bit difficult to breathe.
“Are you one of those spies?! Trying to sell our location to those filthy demons?! Who are you?!” He shakes me a bit as he yells in my face, spit hitting me. Anger flares in me, leaking my Qi and psychic energy. He flinches at the sudden amount of energy coming off me. With [Telekinesis] I reinforce my hand as I grab his wrist, crushing it with a sickening crunch. His scream cuts through the tension of the camp, causing the powder keg to ignite.