Multiple engravings seared their forms into the air. The old lady swung her arm down toward the ground.
"Capture!"
The golden writings burst into a bright light. Ropes of qi shot toward Jin. Jagged screams sounded as wind burst away from the binds.
Jin pivoted to his side, his blade stuck in each bind precisely, deflecting them into the ground. The ropes morphed into golden pikes of qi, harpooning through the ground.
The old lady cut out a gash into the fabric of the atmosphere. At her command, the pikes of qi melted into the ground.
A dry crunch roared as monolithic fangs, the size of houses, ripped through the ground. Jin stood still and drew his sword backward; a dense layer of qi coated his weapon. The jaws snapped shut over his body, burying him in a mound of earth.
Before the old woman could find the time to draw out another sigil, a pillar of red sword qi thrust toward her.
The nib of her pen creaked as she held Jin's qi in place; golden qi seeped out from its tip.
The jaws of earth shattered into dust. Jin covered the twenty paces between them in a single step.
A grin crept onto the old woman's face. She twisted her wrist, wringing out the pillar of qi. The concentrated sword qi tore away at its seams; its contents cut at the surrounding field indiscriminately.
Jin kicked off the ground, retreating as he fended off his own qi. The old woman extended her left arm to the corpses of the coalition members Zhuge Jin killed.
Ear-splitting howls resounded; three headless corpses flew, limply, to the woman's extended arm.
The sharp edge of her pen cut through their skin as she branded their flesh. "I, Ling Tai, draw upon the authority of the Yaoguai. Rescind your bodies."
The golden engravings over the corpses' skin turned to a sludge-like black. Jin, pushed back thirty paces to her left, destroyed the last of the unstable qi.
His brows furrowed as he witnessed murky qi ensconcing corpses.
Whatever that is, I'm not letting it happen.
His sword arm extended over to his right; he mumbled under his breath. "Body for qi."
A red chain wrapped around his arm; his qi sword quadrupled in size.
A blinding flash of qi enveloped the air. A thick band of qi ablated all things in front of it. Tufts of earth were ripped out of the ground and scorched into fine ash.
The strike collided with the old woman, Ling Tai, and the three corpses. Just then a wall of pitch black was erected in the strike's path.
The sustained screeches of the air dulled. Air saturated in the colour of blood dimmed. Ling Tai stood unharmed.
As for the three corpses…
A dull thud sounded as the foremost corpse crashed into the ground, revealing only layers of muscle beneath its flayed skin.
The two corpses behind it were unharmed as well. However, a realisation struck Jin: He stared at the two beings that protected Ling Tai. His coarse voice was tinged with surprise.
"Rakshasas…?"
Corroded layers of iron, painted in dull colours. Their flesh was engraved with depictions of cruelty against all things.
Clumps of lustrous flesh climbed to their vacant necks, reforming their heads.
Jin lowered his stance immediately; the red chains over his arms shattered. Ling Tai called out to the demons.
"One of you will protect me. The other will handle the ant coming from the west. Remember, don't kill him."
The demons nodded silently. "Don't summon us without proper equipment next time. This dingy sword doesn't suit our status—"
The ground beneath them exploded into pieces. Within less than a second of detection, Vera crossed two li and reached Jin.
His body pivoted mid-air as he swung his halberd down. Metal creaked and cried as his blade struck one of the Rakshasa's arms.
The demon stared at Vera in surprise, his arms fashioned into blades holding the halberd back.
From the other side, Jin leapt forward; his physique grew in size by multiple times, and a new set of red chains formed over his body. A deafening clash shook the earth as his sword cut half into the other Rakshsasa arm. Ling Tai hurriedly dashed backward; she pointed her pen toward the demon fighting Jin and drew multiple engravings in the air.
The borders of the engravings broke open and melted into each other. They shot forward into the demon's body.
"Grant Tan Lan strength and speed."
At her words, the engravings turned black and seeped into the demon Tan Lan's body. His flesh clumped into bolts that shot out at Jin.
Jin sharply snapped his body and retreated, avoiding the needles. The chains on his body broke like glass.
He whipped his sword to the side and stared at the Tan Lan. "I thought your puny race learnt to crawl after the war at the Blood Sea."
A scowl creaked onto Tan Lan's face. His right arm moulded itself into a battle axe, and his left turned into a shield.
"Ke Wang put that slave to sleep quickly. If you're too late, I might kill this bastard."
The demon who was holding Vera in place, Ke Wang, grunted. "There are shards of bone in this corpse vessel's organs. You're going to have to pull your own weight, Tan Lan."
Ke Wang swung his arm out, throwing Vera backward. His limbs turned into jagged tridents as he walked over to Vera.
Ling Tai, who stood at the back rank, waved her pen in the air and drew three more sigils.
"Poison. Thin air. Yaoguai's intent."
The writings burst open; their qi seeped into the atmosphere, changing its very composition.
Jin noticed immediately; the pressure inside his body increased and his senses dizzied. However, the most significant effect was the cold grasp over his flesh. A dense, evil intent permeated space.
It was as though the devil himself peered at him from the skies.
Tan Lan entered a battle stance. The sharp edges of his battle axe scraped against his shield.
"Without that evil god, your race would still be slaves. That too will end once we get your blood."
Three chains wrapped themselves around Jin's body as he pivoted to his side, his sword pointed at Tan Lan's neck.
"If you could fight like you talk, maybe your immortals wouldn't have died at the Ascender's hands."
At that moment their fight began. Ling Tai shot out a flurry of engravings while Tan Lan slashed at Jin, preventing him from approaching Ling Tai.
***
Vera rested the shaft of his halberd over his shoulder. He gripped the base with both hands and leant forward.
Ke Wang shot forward, his trident arms thrust toward Vera's neck. Bones creaked as Vera jerked his head to the side, barely avoiding the thrust. With an explosive motion he hurled the halberd off his shoulder, smashing into the Rakshasa.
A heavy crack echoed as the flat end of his halberd struck Ke Wang's elbow.
His left arm slipped away from the shaft and pressed into Ke Wang's chest. White flames flooded from the pit of his palm, melting the top layer of skin. Just then blood spurted out of Vera's hand. The wet snap of the bones in his hand echoed as a pike shot out from Ke Wang's chest.
Vera's expression tightened from the pain. He stepped closer to Ke Wang and pushed him into the ground.
Debris rose from the earth as Ke Wang's four-thousand-jin body bounced off it. The halberd, unobstructed by Ke Wang's elbow, swung into the ground, flattening the metallic spires on the demon's skin.
Ke Wang swung his arm at Vera's face, from the ground. Despite Vera snapping his head back to avoid the blow, the sharp edges of the weapon sheared a chunk of flesh away from his jaw.
Ke Wang kicked the halberd off his chest and rolled backward. The flattened spires on his chest regenerated in a second's time. He covered his grin with his forearm as he stared at the gash across Vera's cheek.
"You have such a bright smile!" The trident on his right arm morphed into a curved blade. He mimed cutting into Vera's chest.
"I wonder if your heart is as big as your smile?"
Vera raised his finger to his cheek and seared the gash shut with fire. His skin bubbled as it melted shut, releasing the acrid odour of burning flesh.
The mark of the Qilin smouldered over his back, releasing copious amounts of Samadhi fire into his body.
Lines of qi seeped into Vera's bones, mimicking the Taowu cannon's instructions.
Fire isn't working properly. The air is thinning.
Ke Wang closed the ten paces between them with a single step. His blade arm sliced through the air, its sheer speed merging every strike into one blur. Unable to observe the blade's movements, Vera retreated pace by pace. Aspartese's armour fended off each slash; nonetheless, the impact of each blow still made its way through.
At first Vera could only retreat without any resistance to the speed. However, as each blow passed, a heat bloomed in the right bottom half of his head.
Strikes that would leave gashes across his unprotected skin now only left shallow wounds. Ke Wang didn't miss this change. The bone in his upper arm shrank and thickened; his forearm grew in length. The blood on his bladed arm burnt off as he slashed even faster.
But there was a cost to this change…
Sharp clangs sounded in the air as the bladed arm struck Vera's halberd. Its morphed structure allowed for faster movements; however, it lost a significant portion of its strength. Vera's retreat halted.
His eyes widened, losing focus. Blade paths slowed down at the edge of his eyes; his skull pulsed, reacting to each movement without thought.
The hooked edge of his halberd caught onto one of the trident's tongs. A whistle blew past his ears as he swivelled away from Ke Wang's sword path.
Muscles over his torso strained as he yanked Ke Wang with the tongs over his arm and flung him to the ground.
The dense red qi that enveloped Vera's body clawed its way into his wounds, changing the very structure of his body.
As the qi grew scant, the cloud over Vera's mind weakened.
I can feel it.
Since the start of his fight with Li Yue and Gang Wu, his body started to change violently. The taint that infected him…
It's disappearing.
The moon's visage was being overrun by clouds. Vera dashed over to Ke Wang; his halberd shifted to an overhead stance and crashed down.
The nodes of qi in Vera's bones shattered violently under the pressure from within. Ke Wang rolled over hurriedly; nonetheless, the strike crushed through his iron skin, exposing the black blood running inside his body.
The corpse he took over was already injured by Jin's kick; with the immense pressure from Vera's strike, his torso was immobilised.
Pinned to the ground, his arms moulded into pikes that shot out at Vera. Locked in place by his halberd, Vera twisted to his side.
The pikes gouged off a chunk of his arm and shoulder. With gritted teeth, he leant into his halberd; his right leg slipped forward. New nodes of qi formed over the pressure points in his bones.
Was this how I did it?
He dashed forward, using his weapon as a vaulting pole. Fault lines cracked through the ground as he burst toward Tan Lan and Jin, who fought 40 paces in front of him, with Ke Wang still skewered to his halberd.
The metallic skin on Ke Wang's chest gripped at Vera's halberd, prying it out of his chest. Just then, Vera swung his halberd overhead. The snapping of his bones, tendons, and muscles drummed at his ears.
Vera let out a guttural scream as he flung Ke Wang over to where Jin and Tan Lan were fighting.
The last of the red qi in his body seeped into his flesh. Vera screamed, "Run away, Jin!"
As per the manual of the Inverted Heavens, once the stage of evolution was reached…
Thunder climbed through the clouds.
Imperious, thick bolts of lightning. Golden qi filled his body, holding his structure in place. The pressure had immobilised him.
His momentum flung him over to where Ke Wang had landed.
Jin stared at the scene with a blank expression as he took multiple steps back. "What the hell is he doing?"
Vera, with what strength he had remaining, grabbed onto Ke Wang's body. Qi seared through Vera, fortifying his flesh.
Tan Lan walked over with a grin plastered over his face.
"Ke Wang, this slave seems to like you quite a bit. To think he would hug you in the midst of battle."
Ke Wang screamed back at Tan Lan. His jagged metal skin contorted into a terrifying scowl. "Get this damn brat off me before I fucking kill you!"
Vera looked at the sky in surprise. The clouds should've overrun the moon, and thunder should've struck by now. Yet all he saw was a starless night sky.
Did I misread the situation?
Tan Lan looked at Jin, who'd retreated, fending off Ling Tai's spells. "All right. I'll help—"
A single point of qi shone as bright as a star. Streaks of blue burst from its surface, consuming the ground with an endless stream.
Even Ling Tai, a Fourth Synergy master, was taken aback by the sheer force of the energy.
She hurriedly set up barriers through engravings to protect herself from the energy. Her eyes widened as she observed the breath of the tribulation.
Jin, who'd retreated at Vera's request, stilled at the sight. The waves of cascading air hurled his body back multiple paces.
The sound of crashing thunder engulfed the echoes of the battlefield. A sound so overwhelming, Jin's eardrums burst open.
The tribulation continued for another five breaths. Its sheer breadth and immensity formed a dense pit in the ground.
Vera lay on the scorched earth, his consciousness long gone. A thick halo of golden qi wafted over him, by some miracle keeping him alive.
The two Rakshasas caught in the strike had long since turned to ash. Despite their overwhelming strength, their vessels were degraded Second Synergy vessels. Ablated by qi, the authority of Yaoguai was stripped from their bodies, ending their descent.
Marks of vitrification ran red through the ground. Boulders buried within the earth turned to shattered glass.
Ling Tai's barriers finally gave way. She let out a low breath.
"This one is definitely worth taking back." Her fingers still trembling from the sight, she turned to Jin with her pen raised.
"Give up already. Your body is already failing, and your qi will run out before mine. If you let go of your sword, I'll let you keep your limbs at least."
Despite his dislike for the old hag, Jin knew she wasn't lying. In his fight against Tan Lan and her, he'd taken multiple blows. The longer this fight went on, the worse his situation would be.
His sword fell to the ground with a dull thud.
If the kid is willing to go that far...
Ling Tai smiled at this sight. "You made the right choice. Come here and let me seal your meridians. I promise you won't be treated harshly."
However, Jin didn't share her understanding of what had just happened. His hand shifted to the second sword on his belt. As he touched the cloth that wrapped the sword in place, multiple chains emerged over his body and shattered simultaneously.
Ling Tai's expression contorted into a grimace. Her fingers trembled violently.
"You!... You aren't at the Second—"
Jin cut her off mid-speech. He spat blood at the ground and turned to her. "Be glad; you'll get to see the sword that will allow Ying Xiong to rest in peace. Now shut up and die, you ugly bitch."
Not a word of rebuttal. Her body split into two halves; her widened eyes still stared at the sword Jin had revealed.
The echoes of the battlefield returned to Jin. His second sword was already returned to its sheath, wrapped in cloth and bound by prayer beads.
He lay flat on the ground; as his eyes drifted to the sound of battle, a subtle smile crept onto his face.
"We're winning, brat."
***
Cold winds brushed against the palace walls. Pristine white pillars with the visage of a divine beast etched onto its surface stretched into the horizon.
Within the gates of this monolithic palace, sat upon the clouds, twenty beings sat in court.
The air was dense with qi. A woman sat upon the foremost seat of the palace; her eyes contained a sea of divine flame.
Samadhi True Fire.
Dense strings of qi were woven into a tunic that veiled her body.
The other nineteen Ninth Synergy masters knelt in front of her. One of her followers recited information he had received recently.
"Divine Qilin. I have received word of the dragon clan's prodigy."
He held out a piece of parchment to the Divine Qilin. The air currents picked up the parchment from his hands and brought it over to her.
"Go on."
At her command, the man continued.
"Longwang has accepted the blood of the Divine Dragon after his return from the lower world."
Just then a minuscule fluctuation manifested in the Divine Qilin's qi. The nineteen attendants trembled at the sight.
Their blood ran cold.
For an Immortal's qi to fluctuate, the situation must be grave. Rumbles shook the palace violently.
The Divine Qilin grasped the air. At her movement, the rumbling in the palace halted.
The foremost attendant turned to the others. His pressure, as a master toeing the line of Immortality, bore down on the remaining attendants.
"Who interfered with a test of the heavens?!" His nostrils flared up as he glared at the rest. The Divine Qilin extended her hand, gesturing for the man to restrain himself.
"Forget about this matter. It isn't related to you."
Beneath her blank expression, her lips curled into a smile. Her gaze stretched to a desolate forest, adorned with blood and guts, hundreds of thousands of li away from her palace. The myriad mountains and clouds between them were unable to restrain her sight.
Your descendant has arrived, ascender. I wonder what your child has planned for him.