Mana 5 Chapter 16 (Patreon)

I needed to wrap up the battle with the eight-eyed freak in front of me before I was left behind.

“Dance!” The spider-like man in front of me screamed, swinging his chain weapons. They seemed to fill the air, whipping about. Whatever technique he used to control them was masterful. They moved such that my range of motion was incredibly limited, unless I wanted to take a hit.

Frustrated, I decided that between those options, I’d have to take a hit if I wanted to end things quickly.

Ducking under one chain, I darted away. Unfortunately, the chain swung closer, clipping my leg and wrapping around it faster than I could react.

It pulled tight, squeezing my leg.

I slapped the chain with the full might of my own strength and shattered it, but the delay was enough for another chain to wrap around my left arm.

“You can’t escape my web.” He mocked me.

And he was right. The further away I was, the more of a challenge it was to reach him. But he was also limited by his chains. They kept him relatively stationary while he swung them about.

Pushing off the rock, I hurtled towards him like a dragon breaking free of the sea.

He threw up chains to block me, but this close to him, his options were limited.

My clawed gauntlets flashed, cutting the chains as I struck him again.

This time, he didn’t have the surprise advantage, and my attack struck true, blasting him off his perch.

He shifted his focus to land safely, releasing me of the chains that still wrapped around me.

I felt others approach around me, and they weren’t on my side. Ming Feng and the Blueheavens cultivators had successfully made it out, but that meant I was alone among the three other groups.

“It seems even the lone dragon can be taken out by a pack of lions.” The Leon family cultivator held a massive sword over his shoulder. “Truly an incredible bloodline you possess there.”

I stood on the stone over them as they surrounded me. Most would be stressed in that moment, but the Heavenly Dragon was reveling in it. It enjoyed standing above the others.

“Now, don’t be hasty, Lee.” The Yutu girl spoke, and the others paused. “I’m Jade. Your bloodline is something I haven’t seen before, and I doubt such a potent power would go unknown. Which ancient family do you belong to?”

“I’m about to be married into the Su Family.” There was no reason to lie.

“Su Family?” Jade looked around, seemingly unfamiliar with that family. “I’m sorry, but you could do far better than that. Why don’t you abandon your obligation to Ming Feng and come with me? I’d be happy to take you under the Yutu family name.” Jade batted her eyes at me.

She was a pretty, delicate thing. And my chances didn’t look great at the moment, but I was feeling far too independent to bow down and change allegiances.

“I’m afraid I keep my promises. So, that puts the next move up to you. Do you really want to go against me?” I replied.

Lee Leon laughed, responding. “Do you really think you can fight all of us?”

The eight-eyed cultivator was squaring up on my last side as the Yutu and Leon family made space for the Zhi family in this encirclement.

“You should consider my offer. I’ll bring you into my group, and you’ll be protected in this situation and as we explore the phoenix’s tomb.” Jade offered again.

“I’m more interested in the opportunity to fight all of you at once.” A part of me knew that was stupid, but the heavenly dragon bloodline coursing through my veins was giving me some sort of arrogant high. I couldn’t resist seeing how I would measure up against the three cultivators.

“Battle crazed maniac.” Jade spat. “But fine. Have it your way. What a waste of a powerful bloodline.” She sprang off the ground, nearly teleporting up next to me as her legs lashed out, leaving an image of a crescent moon behind. I turned, dodging the powerful kick that made my hair flutter.

She extended her legs higher towards the end of the kick, trying to bring her heel down upon my head.

I dodged back, her heel slamming on the rock I’d been standing on. Her hit had been powerful enough that it cracked the incredibly tough stone. I cringed at what my head would have looked like if that had hit.

“I thought you wanted to play. Quit dodging.” Her legs flashed out again, and just as I was about to counter, I could feel the back of my neck tingle. I parried her leg, using the force to push me to the side just as a massive golden sword sliced through the space I’d been in.

“You said you wanted to fight all of us at once.” Lee thrust his oversized sword at me, forcing me back again.

As I moved backwards, chains swung down, threatening to envelop me.

Frustrated by the constant attacks from behind, I gathered my strength and struck behind me, once again blasting back the eight-eyed cultivator.

The minor break in the fight allowed me to draw a half circle with my foot and square my hips. “What are you all waiting for?”

Bloodlines blossomed on each of their foreheads, and the pressure around me redoubled.

Jade appeared at my side, her legs a blur as she struck. At the same time, Lee swung his gold sword, trying to cleave me in two.

Striking out with both palms, I blasted each of their attacks away. I stood tall and firm as my heavenly dragon bloodline demanded of me. But I knew the truth. I wasn’t going to win this battle. If it continued how it was going, they would wear me down.

Xiaobai’s words tickled the back of my head. I drew deep from my bloodlines, grasping onto a second bloodline. I wanted something to pair with the raw might of the heavenly dragon, something that would allow me to stand here and win. Michelle’s black tortoise bloodline came to mind. I needed its strength.

I’ve seen her use it to withstand multiple attacks from cultivators at her own level and not budge an inch. In this situation, it was perfect.

A second bloodline blossomed on my forehead, and my body strained under the pressure of controlling two bloodlines at the same time. It felt like I was bursting at the seams, almost like my blood would crack my skin and escape.

“T-two?!” The eight-eyed cultivator screamed. “Impossible. How can you use two at the same time?”

“Quiet down. Look at him; it is nearly killing him just keeping them active.” Lee pointed out.

Jade licked her lips at me, as if I was some sort of prize. “Leave him alive. I want him.”

Small pin pricks of void dotted the edge of my clawed gauntlets as I lashed out at Jade. She met my challenge with another of those magnificent kicks, only this time, she created green armor with her cultivation to cover her shin.

Our exchange was explosive, and we both were forced to take steps back. I only took one to steady myself, but Jade took almost a dozen before her feet were solidly on the ground. Her jade armor was marred by my claws, and I spotted a bit of blood seeping between the cracks.

“Incredible.” She gasped. “Take him down.” She thrust a finger at me. It would seem three on one wasn’t enough of an advantage for them.

The other cultivators that had traveled in with the three groups moved forward, upping the attacks against me.

Attacks rained down on me, but the black tortoise bloodline showed its strength. My body felt like a temple made of steel, and the attacks were reduced to hits I could withstand for a time. Though even this strength had its limits.

I launched slow punches filled with the mingled power of my two bloodlines and scattered the rank and file cultivators.

But the hits felt endless as dozens of cultivators poured over me, trying to wear me down.

Minor cuts and bruises were piling up on me as numbers won out. Blood poured out of these tiny cuts as my bloodlines created additional pressure inside of me.

I wasn’t going to be able to last. The heavenly dragon bloodline, despite its potency, had made me too arrogant.

Pushing down on that bloodline, I replaced it with something else. I felt Aurora’s savage Kunpeng bloodline come to life, calling to me, and I replaced the black tortoise with the nine-tailed fox.

I regretted it for a moment the second I did it. My heart felt like it was going to explode and pain radiated through my body as my body swelled with the large shift. The pain continued, but became slightly more manageable. I didn’t have time to examine how stupid that move had been; it was time for flight, not fight.

As attacks continued to rain down on me, I made my move. I went from an unstoppable juggernaut to a slippery fox with more drive to survive than anything else.

“Where’d he go?” People shouted as I blinked out of the chaos into the shadow of the rocks.

“There,” I was spotted quickly by the large number of eyes, but they were too slow. I was already slipping through the void again before attacks rained down where I had been standing.

But the movement wasn’t without its cost. The fighting and the change in bloodlines had left my body incredibly weak. I wasn’t entirely sure I could survive another blow.

My survival instinct raging, I used that fear to drive my body forward. I flitted away erratically, blinking into new shadows only to be discovered by the mass of cultivators again.

Jade Yutu was there in an instant, those legs of hers like powerful springs as another kick nearly took my head.

Trying to move in the direction opposite of Ming Feng and the other cultivators, I darted across the craggy landscape. I didn’t want to draw the ambush closer back down upon my wives.

As I blinked into one shadow, I froze for just a moment. I hadn’t been expecting the two eyes that were now blazing in front of me. Fire began to fill the eyes of a dark silhouette. Regaining myself, I darted away.

“There! We have him.” The other cultivators screamed, seeming to mistake the figure for me. They rained down attacks.

In response, a bipedal creature with ash grey skin and flames in its eyes shot out of the shadows and opened its mouth wide, biting into one of the cultivators.

Two more beasts shot out behind it. The cultivators changed tactics, focusing on the beasts and working to fight them.

The creatures were twice the size of a human. Hunched over, their skin was just as bleak as the surrounding rocks. But what had really gotten to me was their eyes. They were like two living flames. When they’d stared back at me, they’d held no soul, no flicker of actual life.

I was mesmerized for a moment before realizing my opportunity. This was my chance to slink into the shadows before they took the beasts down and refocused on me. I took it, moving quickly into the shadows.

As I moved, I processed what I’d seen.

Those ash beasts had been terrifying. Most creatures I’d encountered had an intelligence and some form of self preservation. These just seemed to be on a rampage from what I’d watched. They fought more akin to a dying crocodile beast; their focus was more on killing than surviving.

I made a mental note that the shard was a dangerous place that may not go by the rules I was used to. I needed to watch out for the other cultivators as well as what I encountered in the world.

There had been the expectation to fight a few cultivators within the shard, but I hadn’t expected them to team up. I was disappointed in just how quickly the other major ancient families had decided to separate the Feng Family from the prize of this shard.

Back in the mortal world, we may not have gone out of our way to help another sect progress, but we wouldn’t have tried to stop another cultivator from progressing out of sheer spite. The challenge was to build greater power than the other, not limit them.

There was a competition in the immortal world that seemed to revolve around the bloodlines. As that power faded with each generation, they were each desperately trying to hold on to it.

Another one of the ash beasts leapt out of a dark crevase as I passed. It wasn’t time to fight and draw attention to myself, I slipped back into the void traveling over the landscape.

The bleak stone and the smell of blood pervasive in the air made this place a place of nightmares. You never knew when something else would pop out of a dark corner to attack. High up in the sky, there was no sun or moon. Just faint twilight dusting the shard with faint light.

My body strained under the power of using two bloodlines as I quickly traveled far away from the sight of the ambush and the chasing cultivators.

I was kicking myself a bit for showing the families my use of multiple bloodlines. No doubt it would generate more talk and put a spotlight on me I didn’t want. I knew they had seen the first two, and I knew at least a few had spotted the second two. There’d be talk after they finished the ash beasts.

Word would get out about my multifaceted bloodline, and I wasn’t sure how the reactions would stack up. I assumed some would be like Jade Yutu and try to entice me into their family. But I also knew others would be like Lee Leon and cut me down to eliminate the threat. While the former wasn’t ideal, it certainly was preferred. I could only hope most families leaned that way.

I made another move through the shadows, pausing as my body grew weary.

Reaching out my senses, I confirmed again that I wasn’t being followed. Having not sensed any other cultivators for a while, I released my dual bloodlines and sagged against the rocks.

Aurora pushed on her ring, and I let her out.

“Master.” She sat down next to me. “You need to rest.”

“Where?” I looked over the bleak landscape. My eyes naturally searched the shadows created by the massive pillars of dark stone, looking for little fiery eyes to indicate more beasts..

“Right here.” She patted her thighs. “I’ll keep watch and help you heal.”

Nodding in the smallest movements I could, I released my other three mana beasts. If I were going to relax, I’d like more people on watch to help her.

As they took up spots around me, I felt a new type of calm wash over me. They were always with me, supporting me. I could rely on them.

None of them spoke a word, seeming to know I needed rest. Instead, they just took up their guard spots and scanned around.

It let my mind rest, focusing on directing Aurora’s life mana through my body.

I made one cycle and mentally cringed as I took stock of the damage. My body was a complete mess. Bruises covered me where capillaries had burst from the pressure of activating the dual bloodlines.

And small tears covered the valves of my heart between the chambers.

The sort of damage I’d inflicted with the dual bloodlines was something that would typically occur over years of treating your body poorly, and I had managed it in minutes.

I knew that healing my heart would be a delicate process, so I ignored the bruises and put my full focus into mending the tears.

Once again, I was thankful for Aurora’s life mana. With the combined effort of Aurora and I, after some time and cycles, we were able to largely heal it.

Searching my body, additional issues that had seemed minor in comparison gained my focus. Blood welled up inside my muscles, and I had to not only repair the damage, but slowly drain the blood pooling out towards my hands. I cut my finger, allowing it to dribble out onto the stone. Adding my blood to the scent that pervaded the air.

And there’s always a ripple effect. With the loss of blood, I needed to keep replenishing it within myself.

It was a tedious process to heal myself that took far longer than I would have liked. I was thankful to have my mana beasts watching out and buying me the time. They were a boon in so many ways.

“Master, I think it would help you restore yourself if you ate.” Aurora advised me as we started to push the limits of our life mana.

I nodded. I had a massive reserve of cooked mana beast meat in my spatial ring that I’d stored during my time in the hunting ground.

Pulling out some jerky I had made from a fourth rank bull, I tore into it chewable hunks of meat. “Quinn, can you return to the shared soul space and communicate with my wives? Tell them I’m okay.”

I felt particularly vulnerable out among the dark rocks. Meditating to talk to them was a luxury I didn’t have.

“One moment.” Quinn shot back into her ring.

I waited patiently for a few minutes, sitting up and watching the surroundings with my mana beasts before Quinn returned.

“I was able to talk to Michelle. They hate that they left you behind, but they hadn’t realized it until they were clear of the fighting. At that point, re-entering seemed too dangerous, so they trusted you could get yourself out.” Quinn’s face mirrored Michelle’s remorseful look perfectly.

“What about them? Where are they headed?” I asked.

“There’s a tomb somewhere at the center of this shard. All the families will fight for a while on the surface, but in the end, the tomb is the goal. We should meet up there.”

“Good, then I’ll just have to make my way there on my own. It might even be easier than traveling in a big group.” I was just glad they were okay.

If my girls were okay, that meant Ming Feng had held her group together and was heading to the tomb on their own.

I wondered if the three families that had targeted Ming Feng were the only ones in the shard that felt that way, or if we’d have a bigger problem as we reached the tomb.

For the moment, I needed to get moving. “Girls, back in your rings.” They all disappeared without question, and I was left alone among the dark rocks once again.

Spinning in place, I looked for a landmark I could use to determine my location, but all the tall rocky peaks looked the same.

I’d have to climb one to get a better idea which way to head for the center of the shard.

Picking one that seemed the tallest near me, I raced along the dark stone, sticking to the crevices and keeping my eyes open for more ash beasts.

I met two smaller beasts along the way. They went down easily with a single swing of my sword. Both of them collapsed into a pile of ashes when they died.

It was almost as if the Ash Beasts were just piles of ash brought to life.

Pausing in my movement, I realized that in a shard where the phoenix once lived, that would make perfect sense. It fit with the legends I’d heard in the past, though it took ‘rising from the ashes’ in a different way.

Moving once again, I finally made it to the pillar I’d been looking for and scaled the rocks with ease.

At the top, I could see nearly the entire shard landscape laid out before me.

The entire place was the same cold, desolate rocks. It was like everything else had been worn away, leaving only oddly tall and rocky peaks with ground covered in cracks and crevices.

One spot stuck out against the monotone landscape. Far in front of me was a golden radiance shining up into the sky like a beacon. I wasn’t sure if I should be happy or concerned. It was so easy to find. It wouldn’t take long for the other families to target it as well.

And sure enough, I could make out small movements of others among the cracked landscape, like fleas on an oxes back, bouncing along and moving towards the tomb.