Everyone could feel their hair fluttering along with the winds, but the remaining parts of their bodies froze up. A weak earthquake happened to poke the lands at that specific moment, disrupting the rhythmic sounds of their irregular breathings.
Shock, bewilderment and confusion radiated out of their eyes. By only using one attack, this strange man had completely shattered their logical understandings, distorted their definitions of the possible.
The Cult’s disciple trembled the most from everyone present. In normal circumstances, she would have fled, running as far as she could from this horrifying existence. Alas, her near-death experience had clouded her thoughts.
She may have been the strongest amongst them, but in the end she was only a Qi Seeking Realm Cultivator; the lowest cultivating realm.
Still trying to wake herself up from this terrible nightmare, she could only watch as Jack dropped over his knees, burying both of his fists into the ground and generating an even stronger quake than the previous one. Strange white lights and diagrams appeared all over the visible parts of his skin, giving him an otherworldly appearance.
Solidifying essence suddenly sprung out from underneath the portal, constructing a barrier that effectively sealed their only means of escape. The lights and diagrams disappeared as soon as the barrier formed, returning back to his normal form.
The monks from the temple didn’t appreciate this move from his part. They wasted no time in summoning their staffs, coordinating an attack together aimed at a particular spot. The barrier shivered a bit under the pressure of their combined forces, but no visible damage was done.
One of the fatties frowned, not amused by this little show. He dashed forward, stopping just before Jack. “What’s the big idea? Do you honestly believe you can take us all on? You, the weakest from all of us?
Jack didn’t respond, staring blankly in his face, expression as cold as ever.
The fatty let out a sigh of annoyance, now joined in by another female fatty.
“Big Bro, this skinny man doesn’t know how scary Big Bro can be when he is angry. Look at his face, he can’t even talk because he has exhausted his essence.”
The Cult’s cultivator couldn’t believe her ears. “Get the hell out of there!”
Before they could react to her warning, the duo felt two clamps pressing over their necks. One moment they wanted to struggle, next moment they had turned into two shining statues.
Jack seemed like a demon as he stared at them for a while. He proceeded by punching and kicking them several times, crushing the statues into tiny pieces of white rocks that scattered all over the place.
The rest looked on with incredulous eyes as the remains began melting soon after, revealing the most gruesome scene of their lives.
“H-he a-actually k-killed them?!” A female cultivator from the Hidden Hands Sect screamed, literally sobbing behind the lone male cultivator from her own sect.
Expressions started to turn dark as everyone discarded their differences, forming a temporary alliance consisting of the remaining three from Flower Valley, the Cult’s disciple, Lady Bai and her mate, the five monks and the three from the Hidden Sect.
The five monks prepared their weapons, nodding at each other. They charged forward together.
Two of them darted behind Jack, while another two assumed their positions up in the front. Meanwhile, the remaining one acrobatically jumped over, blocking Jack’s route from above.
All of them yelled together, preparing to unleash their most formidable formation.
Their roars resounded, immediately replaced by howls of anguish as five golden bolts erupted from Jack’s body, incinerating the group on the spot before they could do anything else.
Their bodies dropped down one by one, the scent of burned flesh suffocating the air.
Jack remained impassive as he casually walked through the middle of their corpses, taking aim towards his next target.
Lady Bai’s eyes rounded up. She agitatedly banged her weapon against the barrier, but there wasn’t much she could do in that weak condition of hers.
She heaved heavily, leaning her back against the barrier. From her position, she could observe the shadow of death creeping closer and closer.
Desperation flared, tears streaming out of her eyes. She didn’t want to die, not in such a cruel way. She was a sweet and young maiden, yet to experience what life had to offer.
“Help me!” Her frantic eyes shifted left and right, looking at the others. “Someone! Please save me!”
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
The others heard her pleas, but their minds were still having a hard time trying to digest the death of those five. Feeling hopeless, Lady Bai fell on her knees, removing a part of her dress. “Don’t kill me! I’ll give you anything you want! I’ll do anything you ask of me!”
Jack paused, gazing at her for a moment. He proceeded by placing his finger against her forehead.
About to fire a lightning bolt, help arrived from the most unexpected source. The Cult’s cultivator had assimilated herself out of thin air, firing a powerful blood beam from behind. The attack pierced straight through Jack’s back, cutting a visible hole through his chest.
Jack coughed out blood, swinging his hand and trying to grab his attacker, but the red-haired cultivator had already retreated to safety.
Seeing the injured Jack, everyone’s eyes suddenly flashed with hope; maybe this man wasn’t invincible after all.
Lady Bai too seemed to recover herself. Feeling guilty for the crises she had unleashed, she utilised her remaining ice essence, sealing the distracted Jack inside a boulder of ice.
She then fell unconscious on the ground.
Her companion immediately noticed this, advancing forward and taking her body away from the area, running randomly to a safer place.
The atmosphere remained tense as the rest observed the glittering ice sculpture.
“Is it over?” A Hidden Hand female disciple asked.
Nobody replied to her question as they kept switching their eyes from the barrier to the ice sculpture. Both showed no signs of weakening.
After a while, the Cult’s cultivator detected abnormal movements coming from within the ice. She immediately yelled with all the force she could muster. “Everyone! Attack with everything you’ve got!”
Her voice had yet to die as numerous techniques began raining down on the ice structure, generating a series of explosions. The Cult’s cultivator didn’t appear satisfied by the magnitude of the attack, summoning her ultimate heavenly scripture.
“4th Art of the Crimson Sea Scripture, Purification Rain!”
The moment she finished her chant, her vision faded along with the lights of the realm. The ground rumbled while the sky turned red, showering down red acidic rains that corroded anything that came into contact with.
Thanks to her optimal control, the others weren’t affected by her attack.
Silence reigned as everyone waited for the elements to settle down, revealing a number of red coloured lakes. The tension couldn’t be any higher, every person surveying the area for the slightest movement.
Seeing that Jack had disappeared without a trace, smiles soon appeared on their faces. The red-haired cultivator cleaned the sweat from her forehead, letting out a sigh of relief. It seemed that this nightmare was truly over.
The three fatties grouped together, sorrowfully glancing at their now dead companions, or what remained of them. So many lives had been tragically lost because of this man. Not wanting to stay inside the Counterbalance Realm any longer, they approached the barrier, on the way discussing how they were going to explain everything to Big Boss.
About to punch the barrier, strange vines suddenly emerged from the sand, coiling up against their legs.
“What in the world?” The three tried to free themselves out of these weird things. But not only they didn’t manage to do that, but they soon found themselves wholly entrapped inside these vines that kept climbing from the underground in endless waves.
The trio cried in despair, restricted by their bulky sizes that only made it easier for the vines to immobilise them. Amidst their screams and struggles, their eyes soon began losing colours. Their bodies slowly shrunk, eventually becoming mere skin and bones.
It was then that ripples started forming on one of the lakes.
The submerged Jack slowly emerged, his eyes similar to a prince of the underworld about to execute his next victim. His upper half laid bare, blood still oozing out from the hole inside his chest. He flipped his hands, forcing the vines to retreat as he switched back to his solidifying essence.
The Cult’s cultivator appeared without motivation, at the same time conveying an apologetic expression towards the remaining three from the Hidden Hand Sect. She then used her last remaining essence to vanish in the air and flee the area.
The male cultivator couldn’t stop trembling. He slammed out a chessboard, hastily placing black and white pieces in a particular pattern. He then bit his tongue, spilling blood all over the board.
“1st Art: Seal of Xiangqi!”
The gravity surrounding Jack suddenly amplified, sending him down on one knee.
“2nd Art: Sixteen Pains of the Mind!”
Not even a moment had passed when metaphysical forces infiltrated Jack’s mind, forcing veins to crop up all over his face. His face expressed no pain however.
The male cultivator trembled with agony, coughing out more blood. He kept staring at Jack, praying the heavens that this fanatic would remain trapped inside his arts.
Unfortunately for him, the inhibited Jack still showed signs of movement, albeit each step was done with great difficulty. Golden lightning bolts would occasionally arise from his body, just for them to be immediately suppressed by the power of the arts.
The Hidden Hand’s Cultivator addressed his companions without having the strength to look at them. “Run... I can’t keep him… at bay...”
The two female cultivators shook their heads, both summoning a zither. Strong melodies played out as they banged the zithers together, producing an aerial shockwave that travelled towards Jack, pulling out rocks from below along the way.
The shockwave roared as it slammed against Jack’s chest, forcing him to tilt his head to the side, spraying out blood from his nostrils.
The duo heaved, somewhat shocked by the physical endurance of this man.
Meanwhile, the male cultivator coughed out more blood, feeling his power waning. In actuality, he should have fainted long ago, but his determination to keep on living had allowed him to surpass his limits. Exhausting his last energies, his body leaned forward, dropping over the chessboard and spilling out some of the chess pieces.
The moment the martial arts dissipated, Jack rushed ahead, shooting two lightning bolts that finished the guy and burned alive one of the female cultivators.
He then extended his crackling finger towards his last target, the same woman that had cried earlier. Tears couldn’t stop flowing from her eyes, closing them as she awaited her demise.
But her supposed demise never occurred.
After a while, she opened her eyes, just to realise that Jack had disappeared, much to her dumbfoundedness. She limped forward, mouth open. Confused, she walked around, not knowing where to go, or what to do.
She shifted her watery eyes over the barrier of despair. It stood supreme shining brightly around the portal, now decorated by the corpses of many.
Unable to take it any longer, she let out a prolonged cry of agony.
As her shouts echoed out over the barren lands, the mysterious Jack unleashed his maximum speed, following an exact track. It was faint, but he could finally detect the spiritual aura of the real Jack again.