A membrane of water covered Wu Jian's wounds, stopping them from bleeding as his Qi moved to fix his lung. As an element, water wasn't the best at healing, but it would serve as a stop gap until he had time to rest and focus on fixing his injuries.
Beams of light shot towards him by the hundreds, but water now covered the ground with a thin layer left over from his previous attack. He lifted an equal number of large droplets up to meet each beam and made the Gao elders' attacks redirect themselves as they passed through them. The mental strain was greater when using this method to block them, but it saved on Qi so he was forced to overclock his brain. His enemies seemed content with wearing him down as they let loose volley after volley of the beams, making him defend against them in the same way each time.
Eventually, it started to get too much. A beam slipped through his wall of droplets and pierced through his arm, making him grit his teeth in pain, which caused him to let a few more through the net. His Qi flared at his torment, once again covering him in a cocoon of water that redirected the rest of the Gao's attacks, and he used this moment of respite to recover.
"Give up now and we'll grant you a swift death."
The refined man sneered at the Wu Patriarch. The rain of light intensified, evaporating some of his cocoon. He was still being bathed in the glass-like light from the Gao cultivator who he had chased here, so every loss in the water reserves under his control was permanent as he had almost drained the area dry. With every moment that passed, the situation was looking more and more dire. Still, he kept his calm and continued to stall, a plan forming in his mind and being adjusted as the combat went on.
"I would if I was a cowards like you Gao dogs. Four Nascent Soul elders sent to deal with one small patriarch. Have you no shame?"
Wu Jian taunted, the enemies' torrent intensifying once again in response.
"Hah, history will paint you as the coward. Running away from your clan at the moment where it needs you most? Truly, you are the one with no shame."
The Gao man threatened. Using his anger, the Wu Patriarch gathered his barrier together into one large sword, which he shot towards the offending cultivator. Squares of water leapt up to defend him from the others' attacks temporarily whilst he launched himself forwards along with his conjured weapon. The middle aged man tried to get out of the way, but the branches of the trees always seemed to be where he didn't want them, causing him to stumble and start flying instead of running, a slower method of evasion at their realm of cultivation. All too soon, the Wu Patriarch was upon him, swinging his real and created blades towards him from opposite sides. An armour of solid light appeared on the man, just in time, shattering the blade of water but being cut straight through by the Qi infused metal one.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
The sword glowed blue as it dug into its victim's side, cutting through skin and bone like butter until it lodged itself within him. Water flowed down Wu Jian's arm and onto the blade, gathering along the edge where it exploded outwards in blades of water. The Gao elder's organs were shredded as his near mortal body failed to withstand the onslaught, leaving him barely clinging onto life. His face contorted in pain and rage as he lashed out in front of him, the whole of his remaining Qi reserves being drained to fuel this single attack.
An armour of light, thicker than the one he had used to defend himself, formed around Wu Jian's body, crushing inwards as the patriarch struggled to break free. Luckily, the glass like light had to stop being directed towards him lest it make their ally's attack brittle, so Wu Jian was able to create a barrier of water along his kin that covered him like a tight body suit. His Qi depleted rapidly, leaving him feeling dizzy at using so much at once, and his bones creaked under the force. Seeing no other option, his bell exited his soul sea, chiming to bring the crushing armour to a state of calm, halting its motion. With an exertion of his will, he destroyed the armour and created as much water as he could before the glass like light fell upon him again.
His divine sense detected the dead man's Nascent Soul still within his body, but he was unable to truly finish him off as an onslaught of beams rained back down on him. His bell chimed but it did nothing, the beams having no substance to affect, unlike the solid light of the armour. So, he formed a partial shield in a curve in front of his body. Suddenly, alarm bells blared in his head as his divine sense picked up a presence right next to him. The hooded figure appeared with dagger in hand, aiming for Wu Jian's heart once again. The target in question just grinned as this happened, half of the water he had just created being left as a trap behind him for this exact reason. Snakes of water curled up the assailant's body, constricting them and restraining the arm holding the dagger so that it could not pierce its victim.
"We shall now act."
A collection of voices spoke into the Wu Patriarch's head, and five wills descended onto the battlefield. Each bared the aura of a half-step Nascent Soul master but were bolstered by an extremely intimate connection to the surrounding area. The world bent at their whims as they locked onto the hooded cultivator, trees leaning over to cut him with their branches and the ground giving way beneath their feet to entrap them. Then, the assassin's soul came under attack.
With the added strength from their connections, the wills' soul attacks reached the Mid Nascent Soul Stage, so they overwhelmed the figure's same stage cultivation base with quantity and the element of surprise. The attacked person let out a cry as they felt something give, becoming panicked when they realised what that something was. Their Nascent Soul, the thing that powered their cultivation and gave them a second chance at life, crumbled under the assault. They wailed, a deep, long, mournful wail as their cultivation dropped to the early stage of the Nascent Soul Realm and continued to fall further by the second. Their colleagues retreated in terror as they fell to the Peak of Core Formation and finally managed to stabilise it so that it wouldn't drop even further.
With the assailant's new strength, the water snakes quickly crushed the life out of them. The wills then locked onto the Nascent Soul of the first dead Gao elder that was hiding within his own corpse. Seeing the danger, he quickly fled, turning into streak of light and retreating to behind his fellow clansmen. His appearance was different to when he was alive, looking more like his own son and being translucent in consistency. Wu Jian quickly ignored him as a threat, Nascent Souls becoming closer with their Dao but loosing access to their Qi and Body cultivations. The wills materialised into ethereal figures behind him, faceless and without any defining features.
"Do you still wish to fight?"
He questioned the Gao elders. Seeing the opportunity, they banded together to launch a large, sustained beam of light. The Wu Patriarch went to defend himself but then realised that he was not the target, the barrier sealing them all in the area was. A gap was forced open in it and his enemies fled, flying away as fast as they could, but not without leaving a few parting words.
"You have cost the Gao Clan dearly this day. Be prepared for the consequences."
The lithe woman said, and then they were gone.