Beware Of Chicken

Book 5: Chapter 35: No Holding Back

Book 5: Chapter 35: No Holding Back

Purple eyes. Freckles. Green hair. The shape of the nose... Ri Zu’s mind was still in turmoil as she ran through the corridors. That man. Their enemy. He was so familiar. There was no coincidence here.

He was related to Ri Zu’s Master somehow. She saw his nose scenting the air—which was how he had known about them and sounded the alarm. And from the way he had looked at Ri Zu... he too knew of their connection. The recognition in his eyes had been too much.

A relative of her Master was their enemy.

It kept her mind going around in a loop, examining every fact during that brief moment that they had met—Ri Zu shoved the thought away again. She had to focus. Her friends needed her.

Ri Zu grimaced and reached out to the little threads connecting her to the shadowy helpers who were similarly sprinting through the complex. The little rats toiled, swiftly constructing in Ri Zu’s mind a map of every corridor they had slunk down. Little red eyes observed the base—they saw the thunder of feet and the clank of chitin as Artificial Demons rushed towards them.

“Left at this junction!” Ri Zu shouted as they got closer to the complex’s prison section.

It was the only place it could be the smell of blood, stress, pain, and excrement had been too strong for it to be any other place. But what had truly cemented things was the faint familiarity. It had nearly been hidden, but there were the barest traces of the scent of the Shrouded Mountain Sect.

Ri Zu prayed that the cultivators within were fit to fight, because if they weren't... things were going to get messier than they currently were.

“They’ve cut us off! No way to skirt around!” Ri Zu shouted.

Her words slowed the mad sprint forward as they made to receive the enemy.

The rumbling of feet reached a fever pitch. From the darkness burst the first of their foes. Ri Zu grimaced at the sight of the Artificial Demons. They were twisted mockeries of men. Ri Zu felt sick just looking at the trauma that had been done to their once human bodies. Their breaths wheezed and rattled. Black carapace and spines stuck out randomly from their forms. Many had their cheeks ripped and split to expose more teeth.

And yet... they moved with disturbing fluidity and predatory grace, their eyes locked directly on them. Ri Zu’s hands went to her needles. Silver light formed around Bi De. Yun Ren clutched Summer’s Sky tighter. Yushang's sword cut a furrow along the ground as she let it drop to the side, preparing for a rising slash. Han, Shao Heng, and Fenxian all sparked with electricity. Yingwen let out a snarling breath. Spooks lowered his head, stepping in front with his antlers lowered like lances.

[Cursed Fire of Da Ji]

And then the Artificial Demons all burst into flame.

It came from within them, ghostly blue fire that erupted from their eye sockets and out of their mouths, their wheezy, chuckling laughter turning instantly to choked screams as they clawed at their throats and eyes; their bodies turning into living pyres of ghost-flame.

Their group smashed into the writhing Artificial Demons and simply ran them over, continuing on their way.

“Thank you, Nezan,” Bi De said, and the fox chuckled.

“This is a test no longer. Now, we do all we can to survive,” Nezan said in his true form. He was a great white beast that filled the hallway, and his words were a low rumble. Ri Zu had been so stuck in her own head that she hadn’t noticed, and she chastised herself for it. Ri Zu honestly hadn’t expected the fox to suddenly attack... but the test was over. They were fighting for their lives now, instead of showing their skills for Shen Yu. “Speed is of the essence. We do not know if our foe’s leaders will be retreating, or trying to end us as their master fights Shen Yu—and the strongest of them was in the Earth Realm.”

The words were another splash of cold water to the face. Ri Zu thought she knew desperation. The Dueling Peaks, she thought, was the worst it could get.

This had swiftly surpassed that experience in the way it made her heart thunder in her chest. If she was in her rat form right now she might have been cowering under Bi De’s coat.

But she forced herself forward, to keep on running. Ri Zu had said she was brave, that she could handle everything Bi De could, and she would not be quitting now.

“If they come for us, is there any way you can hold him off?” Bi De asked Nezan as they moved as fast as they could.

“It will be difficult. If his nose is like Little Mei’s then it will be a losing battle. Illusions are rather useless against those who can see through them. It would be utterly impossible if I had only half my power, but... well. I went back and got the rest of me while you were all in the Sect. It seemed wrong to be half, instead of whole, while my nephew was infiltrating the Shrouded Mountain Sect. It's still not the best odds, but I shall do what I can, get you close to the prison, then make a stand.”

Nezan’s voice was utterly calm as he discussed his own possible death. Yun Ren grimaced.

“Then we all must do everything we can,” Bi De said. “Nezan—”

Whatever Bi De was about to say Ri Zu couldn’t hear, as there was a sudden ripping sensation in her chest. What felt like part of her suddenly died, as one of her shadowy helpers perished.

“He's coming,” Ri Zu gasped.

=====================================

Yulong struggled to keep his breathing under control. Today just was not his day. Their base getting invaded was extremely unfortunate, but something they had contingencies for.

Their base getting invaded by an Imperial Realm Cultivator... not so much. If his Master hadn’t arrived earlier today, they all would have been killed and their great work all for naught. Maybe Yulong would have been able to escape, but sacrificing everything in the base would have been a truly devastating blow.

Luck. Luck had preserved them. No wonder his Master always said it was the most important thing. Even now, two titans of cultivation clashed with enough force to nearly cause Yulong to have a nosebleed.

That was not a fight he could interfere in—but he had every confidence in his Master. Instead, his attention was consumed by the other shock.

So he was utterly unprepared when the door flew off its hinges. Bi De barely kicked it into the ceiling.

An Artificial Demon, at the Fourth Stage of the Spiritual Realm, tore out of the doorway. Bi De prepared to kill the mindless thing, focusing his will, and lashing out with a crescent of energy.

[Hellflame Slash]

Instead, the crescent of energy was intercepted by a technique. Both detonated. Yet instead of instantly charging through the center of the smoke, instead the Artificial Demon dashed along the ceiling.

Needles from Ri Zu and bolts of lightning rose to meet it.

“For Heavenly Demon!” the thing shouted, in a warm, gleeful voice, a massive smile on his face as it leapt around the strikes, dodging with exquisite skill. Then, it blurred.

Bi De stomped the ground at the same time, forcing himself to move.

Which was the only reason why Han did not lose his head. Instead, he barely managed to throw himself out of the way as Bi De slowed the strike. Slowed, but did not stop. His leg buckled as the creature hit Bi De as hard as Zang Sheng had. Bi De’s bones groaned in protest, and the silver armour on his leg cracked.

His eyes met the eyes of the Artificial Demon. They were full of glee—and awareness. They sparked with intelligence and life.

“Go!” Bi De commanded. “Stick to the plan!”

He did not need to say it twice. The others bolted for the door. The Artificial Demon’s eyes locked onto the movement.

[The Rising of the Crescent Moon]

This time, it was the Artificial Demon’s turn to be thrown back. Its head snapped to the side as Bi De rose into the air and launched it down another hallway.

“Strong!” the Artificial Demon said as it stopped itself, its voice guttural and halting. “East Wind Kill, make Heavenly Demon happy!”

More and more chitin expanded out of its body. Its Qi roared, blazing like a bonfire, and it launched itself forward again.

Bi De coated himself in moonlight. Unlike every other Artificial Demon they had met so far, this one was skilled. Even if it was a bit sloppy, it was undeniably a warrior, rather than a beast. Bi De wove around its strikes as the creature fought with all its might, trying to cut him down.

Bi De’s own strikes hammered home into black chitin, cracking its armor plate, and sending dark, hissing blood flying through the air. Silver burns formed at the epicenter of each strike—but the pure light was swiftly snuffed out by the darkness that poured out of the wounds, healing the broken plates.

Its eyes were focused and clear... and it was learning. Each moment they fought, the Artificial Demon was refining itself. Each moment they battled, it got better.

Bi De let out a breath. Conserving energy here would be foolish. It was two Stages ahead of him. It was skilled, and it was strong and fast. He needed this creature dead now.

With a mighty kick, he brought some breathing room.

His body turned silver and then shifted. Another part of himself formed, his body so black he seemed to drink in the light.

Then, both parts of himself overlaid one body.

He had glimpsed the first part of this technique against Zang Sheng, and he had refined it under Master Forest Sweeper and Shen Yu.

Even now, it was not perfect. Yet it was good enough.

Darkness and light. Heaven and Earth. The Moon and the Sun.

The demon launched itself forward. Its arm, now a blade of black chitin coated in sword intent, swung down.

Bi De clapped his hands together. He changed.

A sword driven by demonic muscle and Spiritual Realm Qi met a budding swirl of black and white.

[Wheel of Eternity, First Form]

The Demon blinked in confusion.

“Birdie—?”

The tide of light silenced it.