Interlude 4
It had been many, many years, yet the sound of countless birds chirping frantically and the black blade sounding as though it split the ground when it collided with the ground were unforgettable. Every blow was heavy and scary. In the end, God fell into an unimaginable, unforgiveable abyss. He couldn’t put his finger on the reason for his defeat.
Snapping back to reality, he threw away the bone on hand. He was thirsty again. He cast his blood-red gaze into the darkness, searching for more lives that could supply him with power.
The Central Plain’s martial world was unprepared for the demon’s invasion. While he was able to leave a trail of infernos and corpses in his path, someone had yet to have an answer to the threat he posed due to his speed. He was akin to a bolt of lightning zipping straight to the core.
He couldn’t remember how many people he had killed or how much blood he had drank. He only remembered the insatiable thirst he had deep in his bones, the instinct propelling him to search for power. He was well aware where his power was hidden; the bones he dug up, the holes in the ground and the corpses he treaded over told him that his unmatched power lied in mayhem.
“Don’t you think it’s rude to barge into Mount Lu in the middle of the night without our permission?”
The thirsty demon was sure he heard two people despite being in a dark, dense forest. He could sense their essence that was superior to ordinary folks. One of them was a tall guy, but the bags under his eyes made it seem as if he’d been walking for hundreds of kilometres, while the other was a middle-aged man who was also tall and dressed plain but tidily. Despite his attire suggesting he was erudite, he sported an unfettered smile.
It was ridiculous for a predator to waste its breath on its prey, yet the blue-adorned scholar said, “You must be the demon indiscriminately massacring people along the path of Jiangnan. I’ve been wondering who was capable of fighting Zhan Qiu and then Xian Suiyue only days apart, and still managed to scorch the earth and kill thousands. I guess I shouldn’t have assumed it was the work of a human being.”
The smell of something burning was unmissable due to the flames, while the smell of blood pervaded the air.
The middle-aged man clapped. “I thought the demon used sorcery, but it’s just martial arts. Let us put him down.”
Ling Fengxing replied, “Provisional Patriarch, he is tough.”
“That doesn’t change the task. How am I supposed to continue managing Jiangnan if I can’t do as much as Jiangnan road’s overseer?” The middle-aged man smiled as though there was zero tension.
“Are you going to personally fight?”
“Why not?” The man patted the sword at his sash, but he looked worried for once. “But we treat swords as a symbol of glory and honour at Mount Lu Sword Sanctuary. We’ve lost Five Elders, and King Yao isn’t here, so I’m having a headache figuring out how I should fight.”
Ling Fengxing scoffed under his breath. He remembered the provisional patriarch was sitting around with a group of members roasting meat when Five Elders was stolen. He never mentioned Five Elders after rushing to the scene to save him. When Ling Shaoxuan went to request a job, he was in the middle of arguing about salaries with the gardener, so he mindlessly smashed Ling Shaoxuan in the face with King Yao and told him to bug off. Yet, here he was talking about swords being a symbol of glory and honour.
The older man snapped a tree branch and passed it over. “Not going to show me something?”
The swordsman crowned as Mount Lu’s top swordsman smiled. “Against someone who has reached Divine Realm, I can only use my sword to protect Provisional Patriarch.”
The demon unleashed a spurt of fire energy. Irrespective of what they said, his goal never changed.
“In that case, this is my only choice.” The older man thoughtlessly clapped, then quietly called, “Men.”
Resembling an ocean wave, hundreds of swordsmen emerged from the shadows. All of them wore different expressions, showed different emotions and looked unidentical, but they all strangely shared similar auras.
As hundreds of swords emerged from their sheaths, the demon’s fire met their blades head on. It was akin to a hail of swords trying to put out an inferno trying to scorch the earth. Furious after being assaulted in this manner for the first time, the demon belted at the heavens, enveloping himself in golden energy. In two swings of his arms, seven swordsmen bled from every orifice in their bodies. No organs, flesh or bones were intact upon taking damage.
Seven more swordsmen jumped in as soon as the demon put away seven, enraging him. Their swords were powerless against his golden energy, yet the pitiful humans thought they could overcome their weakness through sheer numbers. The demon viewed their belief as the apex of idiocy because he once made the same mistake; it was as if he could see their fear and refusal to admit defeat. Howbeit, they didn’t cower and flee when he displayed how dominant he truly was. No matter how many he demolished, another wave would charge at him. The furious demon lost his patience expanded the radius of his fire.
“Stack,” instructed the older man.
The dispersed swordsmen moved even faster than before to stack themselves, effectively creating a wall of shields to disperse the flames over a bigger surface area and rendering the flames harmless.
Watching the battle closely, Ling Fengxing queried, “Are you sure we do not need Xuezhao’s help?”
“I tried, but he wants to sleep.”
“We have already lost thirteen people.”
“In what universe can you take down Divine Realm adept without sacrifices?”
“Don’t even think about running!” the older man yelled.
Twenty-odd swords shone brighter than before, and the demon who tried to vault out of the formation was forced to descend. Although it was impossible to identify each person a part of the formation, it was easy to see there were differences in proficiency between them despite them all being in the same generation. The swordsmen selected for the formation weren’t haphazardly picked.
“One Divine Realm adept can match one thousand enemies; however, that is his limit if he is stalled. Any more than that and he will perish. Man’s power is limited. That is the law of nature that confines all men. Uncle Feng, remember to harshly beat me when we get back.” The scholar didn’t just watch the demon trying to survive under duress, but he also checked the corpses of the swordsmen who’d never rise again. Every time a member of Mount Lu perished, he requested Ling Fengxing beat him. That was his way of reminding himself that he couldn’t mindlessly sacrifice lives.
“… I will.” Ling Fengxing tried to sound happy.
“You say that every time, but you are never harsh enough.”
Ling Fengxing smiled at the jibe. “Stop making things hard for me, Provisional Patriarch. This old one is the only one on the mountain who would dare touch you.”
The scratched and bleeding demon trapped in the formation started to feel strangely frustrated the same way he felt that fateful day many, many years ago. For a moment, he thought he heard the sound of a collision akin to thunder clap and saw a black blade flit through the sky. Suddenly, the flames intensified to the point that they went from leaking through the wall of swords to tearing it apart.
The demon doused in flames levitated towards the ether using the two flame wings that sprouted from his back.
“Since when did humans fly…?” muttered Ling Fengxing.
The middle-aged man voiced, “That’s Ximen Chuideng’s exclusive discipline. You can only grow flame wings when you push Agni Twelve Heavens to its absolute limit. You won’t be able to soar like birds, of course, but, combined with elite qinggong, he’ll be able to fly over three hundred metres without needing a break. In the world of qinggong, there’s no other discipline that can surpass it when it comes to overcoming walls or bodies of water. Ximen Chuideng used it back then to infiltrate the Imperial City. This man is likely affiliated with Divine Moon Cult. Prepare the next formation!”
Not one of the swordsmen panicked despite what they saw. They orderly executed their instructions, but the demon had no will to fight. The demon spread his wings and flew off, leaving behind innumerable lit feathers to fall and disperse.
The middle-aged man – Ling Yaoshi – knew someone was about to suffer as he watched the streak of light speed across the dark canvas.
Mount Lu Sword Sanctuary lost seventeen swordsmen, and eighty-three more were suffered damage. As they were the group to take the least damage since the demon’s invasion, their reputation saw a resurgence.
The fire demon was off to his final destination after obtaining the most potent power.
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