PtM Book 17 - Chapter 54: Bloodstorm Unleashed

1/3 this week!

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Seventeen cultivators simultaneously unleashing their auras and law projections caused the void to tremble. Spatial tempests picked up, carrying away the dregs of planar dust that were now all but useless to Cha Ming.

The laws of reality were superseded. The various elements fell under the control of their representative cultivators, who enforced a bubble of law control around themselves while sabotaging their neighbors and preventing them from mobilizing techniques.

“I think this battlefield needs a bit of reorganizing,” said Oster. He activated several powerful skills that swept over the surrounding area, bringing into being obstacles and traps and fortifications beneficial to his team.

He then raised his hand and cut downward. “Partition!”

Cha Ming saw himself drifting toward unfavorable matchups as space itself was reshuffled. If this kept up, the weaker combatants on their side would be exposed to the enemy’s more powerful fighters.

“In your dreams,” Huxian said, stepping forward. An eight-tailed fox projection appeared behind him, and two laws asserted themselves over the battlefield. They stretched out and folded space such that not only were Oster’s rearrangements canceled, they were also reversed in Cha Ming and friends’ favor.

As Huxian and Oster struggled for control, several mighty auras settled on the battlefield. High Priestess Undine cast a powerful blessing as Jadefall and Wu exerted their double auras.

“Must we fight so?” A soft sigh echoed through the battlefield. Cha Ming felt his fighting intent reduce and his momentum weaken.

“You think I’ll let you use poison in my presence?” Baleful Vision said, filling their location with purelight. The violet mist that had snuck beside them unnoticed was burned away.

“Perhaps Violet Rose can’t poison you, but can you do anything about your own inadequacies?” asked Cao Wenluan.

Worthless, worthless, worthless! Your feelings, your values, are worthless! Bend the knee. Bend the knee! Bend the knee and be saved.

“There’s nothing wrong with a little self-correction,” said Cha Ming, holding up a bunch of flames. “You should try it sometime.” He tossed the Heartforge Spirit Flame into the sky, lighting it up like a beacon. It did not eradicate Cao Wenluan’s aura but lit a fire inside each of his allies, strengthening their confidence and self-worth using Cao Wenluan’s doubt as a foil.

Each of them had their own specialties. Xing Tianlong and Soul Eater overwhelmed Wei Longshen in the realm of souls, and Cao Wenluan’s arrogance was difficult to displace. Dark Tooth’s murderous rage and Violet Rose’s insidiousness were complementary to Cao Wenluan’s auras. They canceled out advantages Cha Ming and friends had managed to obtain via Cha Ming’s Heartforge Spirit Flame.

Next came law projections.

Autumn’s Call’s law projections were related to the four seasons, but when he tried to assert dominance over time, Huxian’s demon Dao laws revoked his authority. And when he tried to exert control over the elements, Cha Ming firmly shut him down.

Cha Ming’s own two laws pressed down on the battlefield. Bound Energy Canvas was the bane of all energy, regardless of its source. Shattered Form was the bane of matter, regardless of its origins.

The burden on his allies lessened significantly, while their opponents’ expressions turned grim. “You hid yourself deeply, Clear Sky,” Oster said. “Are you sure you’ve only reached the early law-stitching realm?”

“I’m sure,” Cha Ming confirmed. “Because if I was a middle law-stitching cultivator, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. You wouldn’t even be able to run.”

Thanks to his Crumbling Canvas Domain, time was on their side. Cha Ming’s laws were superior to any other on the battlefield, and as such, no one could resist the slow but steady leaching of energy from their bodies, or their crumbling armor, weapons, and artifacts. As long as Cha Ming survived, all he’d need to do was hide nearby and evade their attacks. They would only be able to wait for death.

“Don’t worry, everything is under control,” Oster assured his allies. They seemed like simple words, but Cha Ming could feel them working their magic through spiritual laws.

It seems Harid Dej’s ranker skills can’t be underestimated, Cha Ming thought. Not only do they allow her rankers to manifest powers in multiple elements, but they’re also more focused than law projections.

In such a high-profile battle, Cha Ming would not be able to divert much attention. He painted a likeness of the Five Point Monarchs in the Clear Sky World using planar fragments and summoned them onto the battlefield. These were early-rank paintings, but since they were built from Clearmist and planar materials, they possessed comparable strength to Heartforge Realm cultivators. The elements rioted over the battlefield and tore apart several carefully contained spatial boundaries.

“Huxian is controller,” Cha Ming said to his allies. “He controls the battlefield, so he should call the shots.”

“You think he can call the shots with me around?” Oster said. “Naïve!” Space twisted once more as he tried rearranging the battlefield once again. Huxian fought back with his own ideal arrangement. In the end, they could only compromise, and were separated via spatial laws into relatively fair matchups.

Jadefall and Wu were transported to a separate space to face Martin and Undine. Wei Longshen and Soul Eater were natural enemies, so neither Huxian nor Oster hesitated to pit them against one another.

It was inevitable that one matchup be unfair. Space realigned multiple times before finally, Baleful Vision and White Mirage’s opponents were determined. They found themselves facing Violet Rose, Dark Tooth, and Autumn’s Call.

Fortunately, Cha Ming had already summoned the Five Point Monarch paintings. He sent them to assist Baleful Vision and White Mirage. Their intelligence wasn’t high, but with only a bit of direction, they would be able to offset the one-person difference.

Petros was a wildcard sniper, and a very tricky opponent in this battle. Oster took it upon himself to restrain him. This left Cha Ming and Huxian to face off against Cao Wenluan and Xing Tianlong.

“How brave of you both, to fight against our two strongest,” Xing Tianlong said. “I see that neither of you have broken through to middle law stitching.” Darkness, destruction, and spiritual energy converged upon his Yin Dragon Spear. His Yang Phoenix Buckler, Cha Ming noticed, had transformed. It was now a dark phoenix that manifested as a complementary armguard, leaving one hand free to cast spiritual incantations.

Cao Wenluan held up his blade in a military salute. “It’s been quite a while since our last true battle, Clear Sky. Let’s see if you’ve improved since the entrance trials.” He took a step forward, and a wild and authoritative aura filled the air. He could not conquer the entire battlefield, but he could certainly assert his will on this battle.

Cha Ming stepped forward to meet him. Not because he wanted to. Cao Wenluan’s aura was terrible because it forced you to respond. If you didn’t, you would never regain the initiative.

He’s strong, Cha Ming thought. Much stronger than he let on. He had no doubt that Cao Wenluan had attained violet-gold standard in every applicable metric.

Annoyingly, Oster meddled in their battle once again. The space between Huxian and Cha Ming widened. On paper, this was a hindrance to Cha Ming and Huxian, who were connected by a bond of equals, but seeing that Oster had given up authority in other parts of the battlefield to make it happen, Cha Ming and Huxian accepted the arrangement.

Cha Ming did not want to expose all his cards at the outset, especially since their opponents would gradually weaken under the influence of his Crumbling Canvas. But Cao Wenluan’s challenge demanded an answer.

He took three steps forward and painted in wind, then in lightning, then in blood. A bloodstorm painting encircled Cao Wenluan, tying up his blade as Cha Ming summoned a projection of the Sky-Propping Pillar.

“Constrict,” Cha Ming commanded. Clear runes joined with the bloodstorm painting, creating three mountains, one of each element. He recreated Bloodstorm Gorge, but with a twist. This gorge was a prison that could trap even gods for all eternity. Karmic connections began appearing between the composite painting and Cao Wenluan, freezing him in place as Cha Ming stepped above him with the Sky-Propping Pillar.

Cha Ming swung down with all his strength. Wind, lightning, and blood converged. All three of his wing pairs lit up as he activated Triune Soulburn.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Cao Wenluan’s blade shattered as he blocked, and his chest plate buckled under the impact. The collision sent him flying backward fifty meters. And when he tried to batch his breath, Cha Ming took a Clear Rune Step to appear above him and attack him once again.

This time, Cao Wenluan did the smart thing and evaded. The domineering aura he’d tried to build up scattered in an instant. It was that or suffer serious injuries. The Sky-Propping Pillar, he soon discovered, was not a normal weapon. Where it moved, it distorted the void and shattered space.

“I was promised a fair fight,” Cha Ming said. “If this is all you have, then get lost!”

A flame lit up in Cao Wenluan’s heart. Unlike the beacon inspiring Cha Ming’s friends, it fed upon Cao Wenluan’s hopes and dreams and reinforced his failings and doubts.

Cao Wenluan wiped a trickle of blood off his lips. “Good. Very good! In terms of raw power, I’m not your match.” His figure blurred and appeared directly behind Cha Ming, who broke into a cloud of bloodstorm energy to evade. Despite his quick thinking, Cao Wenluan still managed slice his back and neck, opening a wound that refused to heal, even with the help of World Phoenix Rising.

Cha Ming could only banish the Sky-Propping Pillar and summon the Clear Sky Brush in its large form. He painted a storm that met Cao Wenluan’s. They were forced to pull back without a victor.

“In terms of power, I’m not your match,” Cao Wenluan said. “In terms of speed, we are equal. But what about special techniques?” He slashed with his sword, producing a blade of black qi. He then slashed several more times, superimposing that single strike until it became a large rift that destabilized Oster and Huxian’s battlefield projections.

“You want to compare special techniques?” Cha Ming said. He responded by painting three runic circles, one of lightning, one of wind, and one of blood. Likenesses of Luther, Coral, and Disaster appeared inside them. Their presence filled local space with apocalyptic energies that, like Cao Wenluan’s own attack, threatened to tear space apart.

“Seven Hells Obliteration!” Cao Wenluan shouted. His seventh blade strike merged with the black scar of superimposed destructive energies and launched it forward.

“Bloodstorm Apocalypse!” Cha Ming shouted, merging the three runic circles together into a Bloodstorm Panther that pounced at the blade projection with no regard for its safety.

Having realized that a direct confrontation was pointless, they parted ways and shot for different areas on the battlefield. Cao Wenluan went to reinforce his three allies, who’d fallen short due to Cha Ming’s Five Point Monarch paintings, while Cha Ming chose to target Soul Eater.

Baleful Vision and White Mirage, sensing Cao Wenluan’s imminent arrival, did not hesitate to initiate their fusion transformations. Color bled from White Mirage’s surroundings. Conversely, Baleful Vision’s light amplified all colors. The collision of these opposite forces tore apart Violet Rose’s spells and Autumn’s Call’s four-seasons magic.

“Dark Tooth, quit wasting your time on paintings!” Cao Wenluan shouted as he arrived on location. He shattered the Five Point Monarchs, leaving the two tigers no choice but to flee.

“Petros, buy them time!” Cha Ming shouted. Petros redirected his precious arrows to force Cao Wenluan into hiding, but this, in turn, gave Oster a chance to meddle. A green flame portal appeared before Cha Ming, placing him directly in front of Cao Wenluan, just as he was cutting downward.

“Oh no you don’t,” Huxian said.

“You can’t switch him out. I won’t let you,” said Oster.

“I can’t switch him out, but can you stop me from going anywhere I please?” Huxian said. He tried to teleport away, but a spear sliced down and disrupted his movements.

“Hecan’t, but I can,” Xing Tianlong said.

Cha Ming brought up the Sky-Propping Pillar to block Cao Wenluan’s attack but was stunned to discover that he was a step too late. Autumn’s Call had slowed time for a split second, enabling Cao Wenluan to slip through his guard.

Since it was impossible to dodge, Cha Ming accepted the exchange. He channeled a portion of the destructive energies through clear runes and used Clear Rune Defense to redirect a portion of the damage. The blade passed straight through his chest, but he regenerated instantly thanks to his Clearmist.

“Petros, where’s that covering fire?” Cha Ming said, only to fall prey to the same trap once again. The combination of slowing and destruction was far too effective. Petros was naturally aware of Cha Ming’s plight, but instead of supporting Cha Ming, he turned his attention to Huxian’s opponent, Xing Tianlong.

“Tianlong, how do you feel about Golden Crows?” Petros called out. A piercing cry accompanied an arrow as it flew across the battlefield. Xing Tianlong had no choice but to divert his attention away from Huxian to block it, as doing otherwise would be inviting destruction.

Interrupting Xing Tianlong wasn’t easy, and it would be a while before Petros could unleash an arrow with such power again. But it was enough of an interruption that Huxian was able to pierce the void and appear beside Autumn’s Call. He shaped space into hundreds of incomparably sharp daggers.

“My lord, I’m trapped!” Violet Rose shouted.

“Focus, my lord!” Autumn’s Call shouted. “Remember White Mirage!”

Cao Wenluan had to cancel his third attack against Cha Ming and retreat to the side. He shattered the spatial glass spikes assaulting his companions but was surprised to discover that Huxian was no longer there. Only a small sphere remained.

“It’s a trap!” he shouted, but too late. The Mobius Labyrinth appeared around the three, completely sealing them off from the outside world.

Thanks to Huxian, three enemy combatants were sealed. A trap like this wouldn’t work a second time, and neither would it contain Cao Wenluan for very long. Already, the spherical labyrinth was showing signs of breaking down.

Baleful Vision and White Mirage had turned around to face Dark Tooth, but the berserker had entered an uncontrollable rage. It took their combined strength to hold him back. Cha Ming scanned the battlefield before making a quick decision. “Bring me to Wei Longshen’s side and take care of Martin if you can.”

“Sure thing, boss,” Huxian said. He pressed space with one hand and opened up a physical portal, which he used to override Oster’s battlefield control. And Oster, who was once again suffering from Petros’s focused fire, was unable to stop him.

Cha Ming stepped through the portal and appeared next to Soul Eater. He and Wei Longshen were fighting it out, and both looked worse for wear.

“Cha Ming, look out!” Wei Longshen shouted. A gush of spiritual energy enveloped Cha Ming and attempted to pull his soul out of his body.

Against anyone else, such an attack would be extremely effective. Soul attacks were insidious and difficult to fight against. But Cha Ming was different. His divine, law, and spiritual natures were one and the same. Soul Eater wasn’t just trying to devour a single soul, but an entire world.

Xing Tianlong had already recovered from Petros’s shot, and although Oster could not teleport him across the battlefield, Huxian could not directly hinder him. He was already halfway to Cha Ming and Wei Longshen’s position.

“Longshen! Do it!” Cha Ming shouted.

Wei Longshen threw out his memorial tablet and shattered it, summoning a projection of the Yellow River. Several spirit behemoths and three spirit titans emerged one after another, and each one crashed through Soul Eater for a fraction of a second.

Using such an attack on someone like Soul Eater was normally impossible, since he would devour any souls sent his way. But by shattering his memorial tablet and summoning the Yellow River, Wei Longshen had directly invoked Yama’s protection for these souls. They could no longer be touched by anything short of fiendish interference.

Cha Ming would never let such an opportunity slip him by. He used Clear Rune Step to appear beside Soul Eater and summoned the Sky-Propping Pillar before smashing down on him. Soul Eater’s body exploded into tens of thousands of ochre-colored motes of spiritual energy.

“Don’t let any of them escape!” Wei Longshen warned. His spirits destroyed half of the motes of ochre light before expending themselves. As for the rest, they scattered in all eight directions to find an opportunity to re-form.

Unfortunately for them, they were up against Cha Ming. A large Star Void Cauldron appeared and began to suck these precious spiritual materials inside it. Heartforge Spirit Flames refined the spiritual matter, wiping away all hints of will belonging to Soul Eater.

Cha Ming was about to finish off the devilish cultivator once and for all when suddenly, an unholy light lit up the area, repelling him, and Soul Eater, who’d been beaten within an inch of his life, suddenly appeared, good as new!

Unfortunately, he had no time to ponder why this was the case. Attacking Soul Eater had required Cha Ming to leave himself defenseless against Xing Tianlong’s attack. Now that Soul Eater had recovered, he had nothing to show for his efforts. Moreover, it was clear from the strange glow on Xing Tianlong’s spear that this was not a normal attack.

Cha Ming mobilized Clear Rune Defense and prepared to dissipate as much energy from this attack as possible, but to his surprise, the spear never reached him. It bounced off a shield of golden energy, giving Cha Ming the time he needed to adopt a defensive position.

Of course, Cha Ming realized. Undine saved Soul Eater, so Wu was able to save me. It’s actually pretty difficult to die on this battlefield with such potent cultivators supporting us.

For similar reasons, Dark Tooth was still fighting strong, despite facing the combined attack of Baleful Vision and White Mirage. Attacking Undine directly would solve this problem, but with Martin here, that was impossible. His defenses and vitality were too high, and his damage redirection skills were impossible to interrupt.

It was then that Cao Wenluan, Autumn’s Call, and Violet Rose broke through Huxian’s Mobius Labyrinth. The artifact he’d painstakingly built over the past six decades was reduced to nothing but rubble.

What was worse, they had nothing to show for it. Cha Ming was currently fending off Xing Tianlong’s spear strikes with the Sky-Propping Pillar, while Wei Longshen and Soul Eater continued their battle. Wei Longshen had lost his spirits, while Soul Eater seemed diminished in some way.

Cha Ming transmitted his thoughts to Huxian. Undine was the pillar holding up the entire enemy team, but with Martin’s support, there was nothing they could do about it. It was virtually impossible for any of them to directly kill him in one blow, but that didn’t mean there was no way restrain him.

I think I saw hints of time and creation laws in that spell of hers, Cha Ming said. She also seems quite drained. I don’t think she can use a spell like that too often.

Makes sense, Huxian said. Now all we need to do is find me another Mobius Labyrinth. Then we can do it all over again.

The biggest problem is our imbalance in manpower, Cha Ming continued. You’re suffering the brunt of it right now. But if we can eliminate someone from the battlefield, we’ll open up many possibilities.

Tried that, didn’t work, Huxian said.

Well, there are some things that are difficult to fight against, Cha Ming said. Ninesky?

Boss? Ninesky said.

Let’s do it, said Cha Ming. Erasure Style.

Cha Ming transformed into a cloud of Clearmist that took the shape of a runic serpent. It coiled around Xing Tianlong, immobilizing him temporarily. Against someone of his caliber, Cha Ming would only be able to hold on for a few seconds, but it was enough to make a difference.

While Cha Ming tied down Xing Tianlong, Ninesky painted ribbons of black ink around Soul Eater. They cut into his arms, leaving deep gouges where flesh and spiritual energy had once been. And unlike past times, the flesh did not regrow.

“Are you insane?” Xing Tianlong said. “Using true destruction in an actual battle?” He was one of the few who understood what Cha Ming had done. After all, he’d personally erased a planar fragment using fiendish tools; if not for the benefit he’d brought to the plane, it would never have forgiven him.

“Mind your own business,” Cha Ming said, accelerating the rate at which he laid down black lines. He painted a few broad strokes and directly erased one of Soul Eater’s arms and one of his legs.

The price he paid was a deep one. A large crack appeared on the Sky-Propping Pillar inside his inner world, joining another three existing cracks. He could faintly tell that this pillar could accommodate five cracks in total. Any more than that, and Cha Ming’s inner universe would collapse.

Cultivators at their level did not strictly need arms and legs, but it would definitely affect their fighting prowess. Wei Longshen was able to swiftly grasp Soul Eater’s weakness, pulverizing him, body and soul. Yet another wave of unholy light came their way, but as predicted, Soul Eater’s arm and leg did not grow back. They no longer existed. Not in this time and space, at any rate.

Wei Longshen was not one to pass up on such a golden opportunity. While the enemy was still confused, he unleashed a powerful Soul-Rending Melody, slaying Soul Eater a second time.

Xing Tianlong burst out of Cha Ming’s Clear Rune Constriction technique just in time to see this. “Abandon him, he’s useless now!” Xing Tianlong shouted. “Clear Sky used true destruction on him. The backlash won’t be light.”

“Give up on him, or there will be consequences!” Cao Wenluan shouted.

But Undine did not heed his warnings. This time, Soul Eater remained dead.

Cha Ming received confirmation via his mission jade. He received a large infusion of points for slaying Soul Eater, and the total was split evenly amongst them, as per their agreement.

Losing Soul Eater greatly upset the balance of the battlefield. Xing Tianlong tried to claim Wei Longshen’s life in revenge but was unable to pierce the latter’s spectral defenses.

“In case you were all wondering, I can’t do that again,” Cha Ming communicated to the rest of his team. “At least, not lightly.”

“There’s no need to do anything risky,” Wei Longshen said. “With me here, it will be difficult for Oster to act. Petros, focus on taking out priority targets.”

“I don’t really see the point, to be honest,” Petros said. “Undine is able to undo most of our damage, and our cultivation realms are lower than our opponents’. We won’t be able to outlast them.”

“Don’t be a negative Nancy, Petros,” Cha Ming said.

“I’m just saying we need a concrete plan,” said the hunter. “Martin needs to go, or else we can give up on killing anyone else. Does anyone disagree?” No one did, so he shared his solution. “Jadefall, lock him down, and I’ll take him out. Clear Sky, you come to me. I won’t be in any shape to act after this.”

Unlike their opponents, Cha Ming’s group had absolute trust in each other, and weren’t on the lookout for backstabbing or betrayals. Jadefall activated her fusion transformation and stomped, stunning Martin for a full second.

Cha Ming raced to Petros’s side and arrived just in time to see that all nine suns normally floating above his head had collapsed into a single black sun at their center. Petros was pouring every ounce of his power, every bit of his divine and spiritual energy, and even his law projections, into a single arrow.

This was a type of all-or-nothing technique. Petros hadn’t been exaggerating—without spending a huge amount of time of time recovering, he wouldn’t even be able to pick up a bow, let alone do battle.

He launched that arrow across the battlefield, breaking through hastily assembled defenses and striking the ground between Undine and Martin. Jadefall was also caught in the blast, but thanks to an empowered Xuanwu Shield, she was able to keep her life.

Martin and Undine were less fortunate, however. Undine had to resist Petros’s explosive arrow while also preparing a major healing spell. Martin was taking damage from two sources—the explosion, as well as any damage that was reciprocated to him through his bond with Undine.

The explosion was the single most destructive attack Cha Ming had ever witnessed, and if he hadn’t seen it in person, he would have doubted Petros was capable of it. But the results spoke for themselves. Undine’s shields were broken apart. Being one of the frailer ranker classes, she would not be able to survive without assistance.

Petros had once explained to Cha Ming that a shield guard was more than just a protector. They took their duty extremely seriously and would lay their lives down to protect their charge without any hesitation.

Flash after flash of golden light marked the activation of skills, but it wasn’t long before they ran out. Martin’s flesh started to burn and no longer regenerated, and still, the fire had not yet abated.

Cha Ming caught the powerless Petros. “The key to dealing with them is dealing lethal damage to both of them at exactly the same time,” Petros said. “She can’t save both herself and Martin, and those healing spells can only do so much.”

Cha Ming frowned. “That’s an obvious loophole. You’d think his class would have a way to deal with it.”

“It does,” Petros said. “But use enough brute force…”

Both Undine and Martin had reached a critical state in just a few seconds. The explosion was abating, but not quickly enough. Undine was clearly trying her best to save her shield guard, despite the dangerous situation, but it came to a point that it was obvious that neither of them were going to make it.

It fell to Martin to act. As a shield guard, it was his duty to protect his assigned priestess, no matter the consequences. A flash of golden light enveloped him as he activated the last skill he would ever use. His spirit transformed into a devilish protector that hovered around the tear-stained Undine, rendering her immune from all damage for the next few seconds.

The remnants of the explosion faded, revealing only Undine. She tearfully clutched at a silver medallion and stared hatefully across the battlefield.

“Oh, come on,” Petros said. “Why didn’t I get any points? I clearly killed him!”

“I’m pretty sure he committed suicide, Petros,” Cha Ming said. “Now, are you going to enter the Clear Sky World, or am I going to have to make you?”

Petros reluctantly retreated, leaving each side with seven combatants. Cha Ming’s faction now had an advantage in numbers and in morale. Two of their enemies were dead, though to accomplish this, Cha Ming had paid a large price. Huxian had lost an important self-created artifact, and Petros was out of the battle.

But no one had died, and Petros was now under Cha Ming’s protection. And unless they were able to kill Cha Ming’s companions before he could rescue them, they could keep trading off teammates in a similar fashion.

Oster realized this almost immediately. In such a situation, leaving lone targets was inadvisable. The battlefield shifted and shook as he made changes to their battle lines, and Huxian, under serious pressure from Cao Wenluan, had to compromise.

They found themselves on a flat, two-dimensional battlefield with no enhancements or obstacles. All seven members of each team had been transported beside one another.

“Wenluan, you’re the only one who can keep Clear Sky in check, so do so,” Oster said. “Tianlong—I want that soul piper dead!”