Chapter 156 (Patreon)

Would you believe it if I said I caught a cold right after I said we were resuming our regular schedule? Cause I sure as hell don't. I guess it's thematically more appropriate that the regular schedule starts back up on Monday. Anyway I'm feeling better now. This chapter has been brought to you by ibuprofen, vitamin gummies, and Pear Cinnamon Red Bull.

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As Ninth-Layer Liquid Meridians, Qiong Qi and Lu Aotian had reached the top of the pyramid and exchanged half a hundred rounds by the time Bao Si reached the summit.

Qiong Qi placed himself protectively in front of a meditating Rattan Armor soldier sitting within a glowing white circle while Lu Aotian prowled the edges at the center of his feral pack. Predators of all kingdoms sprung the red liquid qi pooling like blood at his feet and threw themselves into the deadly garden Qiong Qi conjured. A hundred thick vines unfurled from his armor and strangled the qi beasts as they tried to gnaw through them. An errant vine sprung from within the mess like a striking snake towards Lu Aotian, who impassively stared it down as it was devoured into nothingness before ever reaching him. His only reaction was to  lift a finger and send a snarling tiger pouncing through the air to be evaporated by a fireball that sprouted from the red lotus on Qiong Qi’s shoulder.

To the inexperienced eye, they were in a stalemate. To Bao Si, who had been surrounded by superior talents her whole life, they were merely in a lull in the fighting. What to weaker cultivators would be intense combat had long since become the minimum standard for the two Ninth-Layers.

Bao Si noted that the eye of the rebel’s Formation wasn’t placed inside the altar building where it would be better protected but outside. She wasn’t given any more time to ponder the reasons, however. As she arrived, Lu Aotian and Qiong Qi glanced at her. Lu Aotian twitched his finger and peeled off two Third-Layer Liquid Meridian wolves from his horde to leap at her. Her Gu bristled. A mental command saw it tailor its miasma into a virulent qi-dispersing toxin while simultaneously releasing it in a high-pressure stream of liquid miasma. The wolves were pierced, and veins of murky purple-black poison streaked through their red bodies, destabilizing their forms. Her Gu extended and caught the wolves in its enlarged mandibles, ripping them in half and devouring the mixture of red qi and miasma.

Bao Si frowned at the feedback she received from the Centipede Gu choking down Lu Aotian’s bestial qi. As she had feared while watching him fight Chen Haoran, it was an energy that devoured. It scoured whatever it touched like scavengers picking clean a corpse till not even the bones were left. Lu Aotian was unfortunately a hard counter to Gu. While her Gu could take in the qi after sterilizing it with miasma, it wasn’t an efficient process, and it would be easy for them to be overwhelmed if she was not careful. Such was the case with all the true counters for Gu, the list was small but each was devastatingly effective. It was part of the reason she decided to follow after Qiong Qi. So long as Lu Aotian was alive she wouldn’t be able to use her Gu to their maximum effectiveness.

Lu Aotian coldly snorted seeing his qi beasts were devoured. “I’m beginning to tire of your kind.”

“The feeling is mutual,” Qiong Qi retorted. He strung up his great bow and accurately placed an arrow through the gap of vines and snarling animals.

Lu Aotian ducked, fire flaring at his feet, and accelerated in a single red line of qi. Two massive bears reared up out his back and pinned the vines beneath their bulk while he darted around the side, keeping close to the altar building. Qiong Qi leaped to meet him, his bowstring detaching and turning into a thin silk whip that disappeared from sight when he cracked it.

What happened next was difficult for her to follow. She could hear three distinct whip cracks and saw Lu Aotian swipe the air three times with red claws and back off before she’d even finished blinking. It was a humbling reminder. Surmounting the difference in Layers and challenging a peak Ninth-Layer was theoretically more feasible than doing the same across Realms, but it was like discussing whether it would be easier to climb the tallest mountain or fly to Heaven. One might absolutely be more realistic than the other, but the difficulty of the task was still enormous. Bao Si was out of place in this fight.

Lu Aotian knew it as well. Disengaging from Qiong Qi, he swung right and made a play toward her. Qiong Qi snapped his whip back into a bow, and his lotuses sprouted two spikes of fire and ice that he pulled into arrows. A stampede of beasts surged in Lu Aotian’s wake and turned around to obstruct his shot. Bao Si bent her knees and with a flood of qi, sprinted to Qiong Qi’s side. A risky move that would leave her easily exposed.  Her Gu screeched and flew ahead to screen Lu Aotian’s approach with a cloud of miasma. The cloud dispersed in the next second as Lu Aotian covered himself in liquid qi and barreled toward her Gu. It gathered together a sphere of miasma within its mandibles. Bao Si could see the sneer form on his face. It wasn’t an uncommon emotion in those who thought they had nothing to fear from a shaman.

The arrogance.

Her second Gu peeled off her skin and released a jet of miasma that pierced Lu Aotian’s liquid qi cover. The sneer was wiped off his face as his reflexes kicked in and he narrowly avoided having a hole drilled through his head. Her second Centipede Gu dropped the sphere of gaseous miasma atop his head. At the same time, two arrows of twirling ice and fire arrived and merged into one, targeting the small of Lu Aotian’s back.

The explosion released was large, fire, poison, and freezing cold winds intertwining into a force that lifted Bao Si off her feet and into the air. A net of vines caught her fall and gently lowered her next to Qiong Qi. He nodded to her, but his gaze was rooted on the smoke. A second later, it billowed, and Lu Aotian escaped from it. His uniform was singed, and his shoulders dusted with frost, but otherwise, he was unharmed. He popped a pill into his mouth, an Earth-Rank judging by its surface, and spat out a black tar that fizzled as it hit the ground.

“Are any of your spells able to affect him?” Qiong Qi asked her.

A good question. She tuned herself to her Gu, both of them. Miasma and qi mixed together to create an energy that wasn’t quite either. Lu Aotian had a protective inner armor he revealed during his fight with Chen Haoran, it was this she targeted. The magic curled invisibly from her and through her Gu.

The spell broke.

“One, two, or three makes no difference to me,” Lu Aotian said. “Do not assume that more Gu makes you more of a threat.”

“I don’t need to assume,” Bao Si replied.

It wasn’t cheek. Perhaps Lu Aotian might not be threatened by one potential Death Curse, but even the Sunset Emperor tried his best to avoid two. Bao Si was the weakest one here, but that did not mean she was any less dangerous than they were. Even Lu Aotian’s qi wasn’t impossible for her to get around eventually after she had time to adjust to it. She cursed Xie Jin again for damn near crippling himself. It might have been necessary, but his Gu and experience with Lu Aotian’s qi would be useful right now.

Qiong Qi let out a chuckle when Lu Aotian didn’t respond. “I have heard of you before, Lu Aotian. Your reputation. Your rumors. I was looking forward to crossing blades with you. Now I’m not sure whether to be relieved or disappointed.”

Lu Aotian scoffed. “Spare me your lies. I’ve met hens like you before. All plume and pure scavenger. You’re not here for me.” He flicked his head down toward the sound of the rebels fighting the Garrison officers. “I don’t even think you’re here for them.”

A screeching sound of metal on metal filled the air, loud enough to be felt within their bodies. The Formation Controller behind them groaned, and the Executioner Sword groaned with him, cutting off several black nerve tentacles and slightly rising into the air.

“Do I need to be here for dead men?” Qiong Qi triumphantly asked. “Perhaps if Pan Gong were the one up here right now, I would be in trouble. But you? Oh, I can stop you.”

Lu Aotian shook his head and sighed. “I can’t even muster the will to care about you.” He looked to the sky. “Make no mistake, I will kill you for that, but I’ve just so thoroughly embarrassed myself in this damned Secret Realm that it all feels so pointless. I have never been this frustrated and humiliated in my life. Even scavengers like you think they have a chance now.” He sighed again and looked at Qiong Qi with eyes so disdainful they became pity. “Let it be known, you damn scavenger. My humiliations today resulted from the surprising strength of my opponents. You are not those men. You are, in fact, the least interesting thing in this whole affair.”

Qiong Qi scowled, and Bao Si frowned. Not that she cared for the rebel being insulted, however. Something was wrong. It made sense for Qiong Qi to be talking so much. He was expressly trying to stall. Lu Aotian taking the time to insult him was exactly what he wanted. His anger was so fake it was political. What didn’t make sense was why Lu Aotian was going along with it. He was the one with no time to waste. The Formation Controller had already begun reasserting control. Had Qiong Qi truly gotten to him? Or was it arrogance?

“Do not forget his Crystal Transformation artifact,” Bao Si warned. She didn’t sense any large buildup of qi from him but she didn’t know what else he could be waiting for.

“It’s obviously a protection artifact,” Qiong Qi dismissed. “No one is going to give their heir something that takes time to aim and activate and risk them being instantly killed by a faster Crystal Transformation Realm. I’d welcome him to use it.”

That was true but Bao Si couldn’t shake off her worry.

“Do you really believe that?” Lu Aotian asked. “If I had a protection treasure, it would have activated when that lizard bastard was about to kill me, don’t you think? It would be strange if it didn’t.” Lu Aotian’s qi spiked, erupting into a climbing tower of frenzied animals.

Bao Si tensed. Light bloomed in Qiong Qi’s lotuses.

“In fact-” Lu Aotian suddenly stopped. His qi abruptly collapsed back into himself, leaving Bao Si and Lu Aotian floundering in the sudden calm.

“For the record, I was lying. I would have absolutely killed that lizard bastard were it not for that Six-Eyed freak interrupting for his plan,” Lu Aotian said. He looked over at the stairs.

Bao Si followed his gaze as her Gu chittered warnings. Pan Gong ascended the steps, and her blood ran cold. The meaning of Pan Gong being here would have been obvious enough, even without seeing the armored body he was carrying speared on a tusk like some macabre flag. She didn’t need to use her sense to know it was Chen Haoran, but she didn’t want to know it was him. He was so confident. So self-assured in fighting beyond his level with one of the most dangerous Garrison captains, and for some reason, she had believed him.

Pan Gong casually tossed Chen Haoran’s body, but with his strength, he was still sent soaring through the air. Bao Si stepped forward to catch him.

Qiong Qi’s reached out to grab her, anxiety filling his voice. “Don’t! It’s a distraction!”

Her Gu screeched warnings to her, wrapping around her protectively as Pan Gong and Lu Aotian became blurs to her sense. The distraction wasn’t meant for her, however. Pan Gong blitzed past her and buried his fist into Qiong Qi’s chest while Lu Aotian raked red claws across his back. A single cry of pain was all Qiong Qi allowed himself as he was rapidly spun by the opposing forces and thrown to the ground. Hundreds of vines exploded from his armor and surrounded them. The Bewitching Lotus of Ice and Fire spread their petals wide, and a hundred more bloomed on the vines. The three Ninth-Layers disappeared in a dual firestorm and blizzard.

Bao Si pulled Chen Haoran in front of her and braced herself with qi to block the aftershocks with his armor. Pressed close against him, she could hear a slight groan as his armor was buffeted with fire and rock-sized chunks of ice. He was still alive, good. Her position gave her a prime view of his sunken chest, and the tusk pierced into his heart. Not good. He wouldn’t be alive much longer if she didn’t remove the tusk, and he’d leak liquid qi like a ruptured waterskin if she did. She patted him down for his storage bag, but it was missing. No doubt Pan Gong had it. She didn’t bother to run a deeper check. It was pointless. She simply didn’t have enough qi to heal Chen Haoran and remain combat-ready. She carefully laid him down and brushed her fingers over his half-lidded eyes.

She would have to get the qi elsewhere.

The fire and frost cleared to reveal Qiong Qi back on his feet. His whipbow cracked like lightning and left shallow cuts in Pan Gong’s arms as he defended, trampling vines underfoot and shrugging off heat and cold. On the other side, Lu Aotian’s uniform had been burned down to his inner armor. A wall of vines loomed over him, covered in lotuses that mixed ice and fire into rains of flaming hail that Lu Aotian navigated through like a jungle cat.

Lu Aotian was out. His qi was too difficult to absorb. Pan Gong, on the other hand, shared the same root as Chen Haoran. Bao Si narrowed her eyes and bit her tongue, spitting concentrated blood essence onto her Gu, pouring greater strength into them. Qi and miasma swirled, and her Centipede Gu swirled with them, one head biting the end of the other and creating a circle. Bao Si raised her hand to the center of the circle and twisted it as if she were using a key to open a lock. She felt abruptly empty as a chunk of her energy suddenly disappeared.

The Centipede Wheel began to turn.

Pan Gong and Lu Aotian snapped their heads toward her. Pan Gong immediately disappeared from sight. Qiong Qi threw out a hand, and Pan Gong appeared briefly as vines wrapped around his ankles, then disappeared again as he tore through them. Bao Si had severely underestimated just how fast Pan Gong was. It was a mistake that would cost her life. The screaming of all her senses and intuition providing her just enough time for a final thought.

He really doesn’t look that fast.

Pan Gong appeared again, his outstretched hand in the air. There was surprise in his eyes. His hand was bounced away before it could touch her.

Armored hands clutched her shoulders. A beaten figure stood tall before her, blocking Pan Gong with his back. Bao Si stared into the reflective surface of Chen Haoran’s helmet and saw the fear and relief in her own face.

She really almost died with such a disgusting look.

Depredation of Three Killers

The Centipede Wheel spun, and Pan Gong bellowed in pain. Bubbles emerged in his skin and violently exploded. Two auras emerged from it. One was yellow qi. The other was rich blood essence. Pan Gong gave a great shout, and the auras condensed, trying to return to his body.

The Centipede Wheel spun.

The auras were forcefully ripped away from his skin and more. Mouth, nose, eyes, and ears saw liquid qi and blood essence escaping from them and the rest of his orifices. Both substances were dragged into the Centipede Wheel and collected into separate swirling masses in the center, slowly diffusing outward in circular patterns into the Gu. Bao Si lowered her hand and the Centipede Wheel dropped. Pan Gong sped away before he could be trapped within it. Bao Si fed more energy into the Wheel to keep up the theft but Pan Gong retreated all the way to the opposite edge of the pyramid and out of range.

She turned the Wheel onto Lu Aotian instead. He scowled and snarled and his qi and essence emerged from him doing much the same, as if his entire being was made of a menagerie of monsters. A horde of qi beasts flooded out and charged toward the Centipede Wheel attempting to overwhelm it.

Masses of vines appeared to obstruct them. Qiong Qi turned his whip on himself and cut off the vines growing from his armor. It triggered a mass wilting first in the lotus flowers and then the vines beneath. Their elemental energies however intensified in their radiance. A solid wall of fire followed by an equally sized wall of ice annihilated Lu Aotian’s horde and forced back the feral cultivator to Pan Gong’s side at the edge of the pyramid.

Chen Haoran buckled.

“Chen Haoran!” Bao Si grabbed him.

“The Three Worm Sutra,” came Qiong Qi’s strained voice. He had been hit hard in the exchange but still stared at Bao Si as if seeing her for the first time. “I suspected you were following Granny Three Worm’s path but to think the Black Bones had hidden so deeply. Gods above. Is that the real reason you were chosen?”

Bao Si ignored him because Chen Haoran was showing her new depths to his foolishness by pulling out the tusk in his chest.

She hastily covered the hole with her hands to stop as much liquid qi as she could from escaping. Her qi twirled in the pattern of a healing technique to try and repair his heart while the rest went into keeping the Depredations of Three Killers active in case the Garrison Captains tried to take advantage of the moment.

They didn’t. Pan Gong frowned and stared at Chen Haoran while Lu Aotian scowled beside him.

Lu Aotian finally snapped. “Pan Gong, you sloppy son of a bitch.”

“It was a fatal wound,” Pan Gong calmly replied.

Bao Si stopped her healing technique. It wasn’t necessary. Impossibly, she could feel a beating heart. She slowly took back her hands from smooth skin instead of a bloody hole.

“For a lesser cultivator, perhaps,” Chen Haoran said. He let go of her shoulders and took two steps away, standing on his own. “Isn’t that right, Pan Gong?”

“I underestimated how powerful your regenerative ability is,” Pan Gong said. “I’ve learned something today.”

“You should have gone for the head,” Chen Haoran said.

“You’re wearing a helmet.”

Chen Haoran paused and then patted his head as if he had indeed forgotten he was wearing a helmet. “So I am.”

A flash of yellow flew from the steps and snaked along the ground toward Chen Haoran before anyone could react. It soon revealed itself as a yellow dragon of liquid qi carrying a chest plate in its tail. The dragon roared, lunged into Chen Haoran’s chest, and merged with him. In the next breath he took, Bao Si could feel the air shift as a large amount of qi was drawn to a single point all at once. Chen Haoran’s sunken chest filled up with the sound of popping bones and a loud squelch of organs being regrown and pushed back into place.

When he exhaled, it was with the sound of a dragon’s roar that overrode the sound of combat and death and even made the Centipede Wheel stutter in its revolutions. To cap off his miraculous recovery, the missing chest plate of Chen Haoran’s armor clicked into place. Bao Si was forced to take a step back, repulsed, as blue ripples emerged from Chen Haoran’s head and feet and flowed across the Heaven-Rank armor, illuminating mysterious symbols hidden in the depths of the polished silver.

Chen Haoran slammed his armored fists together and nodded in satisfaction.“Right. Round Two. I’mma need my storage bag back. ”

He beckoned Pan Gong.

“Now come here and run these hands.”