PtM Book 17 - Chapter 40: Renegades

2/3 this week ^^

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Wei Longshen flickered through the forest like a phantom, stepping on unbroken branches and lightly packed leaves, leaving no trace of his passage. Tree trunks and boulders did not hinder him, for his body had no flesh to speak of.

His destination was beneath a barren cliff that leaned precariously over a tranquil lake, where a ‘solid’ patch of stone blocked a narrow cave entrance. A burning arrow shot towards his face the moment he entered. But Wei Longshen didn’t panic. Petros Sullivan’s reflexes were a thing of legend, and the arrow disintegrated with centimeters to spare.

“You do realize,” said Wei Longshen to the archer, “that the slightest slip-up would leave me debilitated or dead?”

“It’s better to be safe than sorry,” said Petros. “Also, I doubt I could wound you so easily.”

Admittedly, Wei Longshen was still in phantom form, and as such would be spared from the brunt of the arrow. “It’s the principle of the thing,” Wei Longshen said. “You actions are very unsafe.”

“I’m very consistent in my approach,” Petros said “I do this every time, and my allies know what to9 expect. Besides, should I be taking chances given who’s chasing us. Now are you going to keep complaining or should we move this conversation into the shelter? Dinner’s just about ready.”

Wei Longshen’s stomach growled at the mention of dinner. “I suppose I could use a meal.” When was the last time he’d eaten? Two weeks ago? Three? Wei Longshen followed Petros to the back of the cave, to a small void rift concealed by a cleverly placed boulder.

The two cultivators slipped through that rift, braving void space for a brief second before entering another cave. This one was simple but homely. A fire crackled merrily at the center, roasting an entire wild boar, skewered vegetables, and a large pot of nutritious congee.

Baleful Vision and Wu were carving pieces from the boar while White Mirage and Wu kept a careful vigil over their surroundings. Even completely enclosed by stone, they couldn’t discount the possibility of discovery.

The group shared a quick meal before Wei Longshen spoke of what he’d discovered on his journey. “They’ve finally discovered our general location,” he reported. “The smokescreen that I laid down four days ago was seen through by one of their seers.

“From there, they discovered one of our informants, who confessed. They’re closing in on this mountain range as we speak. I give it a day, perhaps two at most. We need to leave.”

“That’s a little quicker than we thought,” Petros said. “Did that miser, Undine, decide to perform another seeking ritual?”

“I’m uncertain as to the nature of the seer,” Wei Longshen said. “And I have worse news – I’m low on spirits and have no way to replenish them. I won’t be able to perform another spiritual concealment ritual.”

“Then let’s fight,” Jadefall said, her voice brimming with confidence.

“Let’s not fight…,” said Wu. “I hate fighting.”

“I am also against direct conflict,” Petros said. “You’ve just broken through to early fusion and early law stitching, which is a great boost to our strength, but our enemies are too numerous and too powerful.”

With Jadefall and Wu at early fusion, their entire team had around the same level of cultivation. In theory, that meant they could individually match a Tier 1 sect master. In practice, they were surrounded and unable to fully display their strength.

“We should retreat to the Primordial Gloom Region,” Baleful Vision said. “The demons there will protect us. Cao Wenluan won’t be able to do anything about them.”

“If you have any ideas on how to cross half the planet with our teleportation nodes marked and guarded, I’m all ears,” Wei Longshen said. “Moreover, you’re grossly underestimating Cao Wenluan. A quarter of his army is stationed near the Primordial Gloom Region – do you really think that’s something we can deal with?”

“He’s right, my love,” White Mirage said to Baleful Vision. “I know you hate being on the back foot, but we have no choice for now. We must endure a little longer.”

“There’s danger to the east and the west, and the barrier prevents us from going too far northward,” said Wei Longshen. “The only viable option for us to flee is southward.”

“Oster will have taken this into consideration” Petros said.

“Agreed,” said Wei Longshen. “But there’s a lot of ground to cover, and we have many tricks left up our sleeves. Here in enemy territory, we can’t do much, but in the blight, we’ll at least take away our enemy’s homefield advantage.”

“Which takes us to the heart of the matter, the event that triggered all of this,” Petros said. “Have you discovered anything more? Anything that can help us?”

“All I know is that the fiends aren’t spawning as quickly as they used to,” Wei Longshen said. “Furthermore, it’s been confirmed that the blight is retreating.”

“But the blight hasn’t retreated in a thousand years,” Jadefall said.

Wei Longshen shrugged. “Stranger things have happened. Moreover, I was able to confirm through secondary sources that Cha Ming and Huxian’s rankings have increased yet again. The two of them have reached fiftieth place overall on the Heartforge Rankings, and their rank is still climbing.”

“Then it’s obvious,” said Petros. “They’re responsible for what’s happening in the blight. The timing is too coincidental.”

“Oster Fireblight, Cao Wenluan, and Xing Tianlong seem to have come to this same conclusion,” said Wei Longshen. “Thus their sudden attack. Without fiends to fight, they have no way to increase their rankings.”

“Except killing us all,” Wu pointed out.

“I think capture is more efficient,” Baleful Vision said. “There are too many ways for us to manipulate our points and resources otherwise.”

“Our point are also meager in comparison to Cha Ming’s and Huxian’s,” Wei Longshen said drily. “To be honest, I’m regretting signing our original agreement. We should never have exempted bonus point and fiend kills from the points sharing calculation.”

It was clear from Cao Wenluan and Oster Fireblight’s actions that the intent was to capture them alive and not kill them. By using them as hostages, they would be able to extort points from Cha Ming and Huxian for their release.

Capturing someone alive was far more difficult than directly killing them, which was why they’d escaped for so long. As long as they could hold out until Cha Ming and Huxian got back, they would be fine.

“I purchased some of the latest maps of the blight on this trip,” Wei Longshen said, distributing a few jade slips. “There are many paths that we can take, and I’ve highlighted a few potential rendezvous points using the usual encryption system.” He then took out a few blight-safe transmission jades. “These are clean, to my knowledge, but you should only use them in emergency situations. Our enemies will have ways to intercept our communications, even in the blight. Has Eight Directions contacted either of you?”

“Not since three months ago,” said Wu.

“Very well,” Wei Longshen said. “Our next step will be formulating a plan to travel the blight. I’ll make another trip for supplies, time permitting. But before that…” He stopped speaking and rose his hand. The cave fell silent, exposing a steady droning sound that was quickly growing in volume.

The droning was beyond the range of normal transcendent hearing, but Wei Longshen, who cultivated sound laws, was able to pick them out. “Can anyone else hear that?”

“Hear what?” Petros asked.

“I did,” said Jadefall. “There’s something that sounds like sandpaper roughing up the mountains. Also, there’s something big that’s hitting it. I felt an earthquake running throughout the entire range.”

Thunk. This time they all felt it. Whatever it was, it was getting closer.

“Everyone, stay calm,” Wei Longshen said. “We’ll leave through the emergency exits we arranged. Follow the emergency evacuation plan. Petros and White Mirage, stay with me to buy time. Jadefall, Wu, and Baleful Vision, flee as fast as you can. We’ll rendezvous in the blight.”

“I’ll stay,” Baleful Vision said, only to get smacked upside the head by White Mirage. “What was that for?”

“Stop being silly and follow the plan,” White Mirage said. “You’re terrible at running, so you’ll only ruin things for the rest of us.”

“I’ll have you know that I’m extremely quick,” Baleful Vision said.

“But you light up the entire sky whenever you use your abilities,” Petros muttered under his breath.

“Enough!” Wei Longshen said. “We’ve already discussed this. Follow the plan. And if it’s between death and captivity, just surrender. They’ll need us in good health if they want to use us against Clear Sky and Eight Directions.”

The mountain they’d hidden inside was not a large one but breaking through thousands of meters of rock and metal was a time-consuming process. The thunking gradually grew louder, and soon, it was accompanied by an abrasive noise. Sand.

Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. THUNK. BOOM! Their shelter was suddenly blown apart. A wave of sand rushed in and collided with their law projections.

A crimson wind then pushed away the sand, revealing a colossal creature with six legs and two cavernous mouths. It was a tamed elemental, and atop it stood twenty cultivators, including a familiar face: Sect Master Sacred Earth.

To his left was a large blood lotus a full kilometer wide. Abbot True Blood stood atop it with thirty of his monks, all reciting blood-chilling mantras.

To Sect Master Sacred Earth’s right was a tempest elemental, though instead of the typical azure coloring, this one was crimson. Hundreds of golden chains were fastened to its neck, its many wings, and its limbs. Elder Crimson Tempest stood atop it, along with only a dozen early law stitching cultivators.

“Sect masters,” Wei Longshen greeted. “Elders. I was hoping you’d do me the favor of overlooking our presence.”

“As much as we would like to, we have a lot of mouths to feed in the monastery,” Abbot True Blood said. “I can only stretch the budget so far.”

“Letting you go is not out of the question, Wei Longshen,” Sect Master Sacred Earth said. “You just need to tell us where Clear Sky and Eight Directions are, and what they are currently doing. If you do that, and swear an oath that the information is truthful, we’ll let you leave and not pursue you for a full three days.”

“I’m sure you are aware of our sect’s difficulties,” Elder Crimson Tempest said. “Please surrender, Wei Longshen. Don’t make us fight you.”

“I’m afraid I have no information to give you,” said Wei Longshen. He summoned his flute and began to play a battle trill that filled the nearest hundred kilometers. Spirits poured out from his memorial tablet, and they were joined by spirits of the earth and spirits of nature.

This first melody was called Invocation of the Forgotten, and Wei Longshen overlaid with with Requiem of the Lost. The combined melody attacked all those who did not belong. Namely, these cultivators, in what should have been their territory.

The sect masters and the more powerful elders resisted, but many of the weaker cultivators bled from their ears, eyes, and noses. Artifacts shattered, greatly weakening the spell formation they’ll all carefully arranged to capture them.

“They’ve set up a standard encirclement,” Wei Longshen said to his companions. “I’ve already sent out spirits to scout them have marked out their locations. What say you both. Should we fight?”

“Let’s fight!” said his two companions. Petros pulled out an oversized golden bow. Nine dark suns rose over his head, with a tenth bright sun at the center. A runic pattern lit up on his skin, joining with his bow to produce a blazing arrow that tore through the air towards the huge blood lotus.

The monks responded by summoning scriptures of blood, which joined together to produce nine-layered shield. Petros’s arrow shattered the first three shields, then slowed down after hitting the fourth and fifth shields. As for the sixth shield, the arrow could not pierce it.

“As expected,” said Petros. “They finally saw through this arrow.” Then shrugged. “Oh well. Explode!” The arrow detonated, destroying all but the last shield and wounding several monks. But then a large gourd at the back opened, releasing a river of bright red blood that healed their injuries and regenerated their scriptures.

“You’re a bad matchup for the monks, Petros,” Wei Longshen said. “Fight the tempest elemental as planned.” The archer answered an affirmative and started unloading on the chained tempest elemental.

The Azure Tempest Sect was great at speed and offense, but terrible at defense. Thanks to his covering fire, Wei Longshen and White Mirage were able to focus on their much slower enemies, the monks and the Sacred Earth Sect.

Slow but strong, Wei Longshen thought, as the six-limbed sand elemental slammed a tentacle onto Wei Longshen, He summoned a shield of sound to blast through the sand and disrupt it before it could start wearing away at its defenses.

“Spirit titans, assemble!” Wei Longshen shouted. By now, he’d accumulated several hundred spirit behemoths. They got together in groups of a hundred and eight, temporarily merging into eight-meter-tall creatures of spiritual devastation.

The sand elemental tried to send these titans flying but was unable to damage them. The titans flew past the elemental and proceeded to attack the cultivators controlling it.

“Break formation!” Sacred Earth shouted. The sand elemental exploded, then reformed into nine flying islands of sacred earth. Each island gave off a holy aura that Wei Longshen’s spirit titans found troublesome to pass through.

“A few holy islands won’t be enough to fight me off,” Wei Longshen said. “Have a taste of my shatter-stone melody.” He played several sharp notes that matched the resonant frequency of the nearest island and exploded it. He caught two more islands before the sacred earth sect was able to adjust, but by then, many holes had opened up in their encirclement.

Sect Master Sacred Earth was one of the strongest cultivators in the Puppet Lightning Region. When it became clear that no one else could block the spirit titans, he personally intervened. He punched one using nothing but brute force. Sacred fist collided with spirit titan, and this time, it was the titan who went sprawling backwards.

Not far away, White Mirage was giving the True Blood Monastery cultivators no small amount of trouble. They relied on mantras and raw physical strength to do battle, which wasn’t very useful against her stealthy attacks.

“Why don’t you and your blood lotus join them?” White Mirage asked Abbot True Blood.

“So you can copy that technique as well?” said Abbot True Blood. “I don’t think so.”

White Mirage laughed. “I don’t need to see it to copy it, True Blood. I just need to imagine it.” She formed hand seals and spat out a mouthful of bright white blood, which she used to paint an illusory copy of the blood lotus. “I imagine that this attack is a soul attack. I imagine that when its pedals bloom, your blood will run still. I imagine that when the flower opens, your souls will tremble, and your lives will extinguish. First layer, open!” The white lotus unfurled, rending a dozen monks unconscious. “Second layer, open!” Another group of monks were knocked unconscious, and the rest weren’t feeling very good.

“Must you force me?” Abbot True Blood said. “Very well, since you insist, I won’t hold back. Blood Heart Melody!” The lotus thumped like a beating heart, shaking all those present on the battlefield. Then it thumped a second time, shattering White Mirage’s lotus. When the heart thumped a second time, White Mirage shattered, and Abbot True Blood realized he’d been duped. She appeared next to Abbot True Blood’s second in command and stabbed him in the back, stopping just shy of a fatal blow.

White Mirage was an assassin, and when she struck, it was devastating. Abbot True Blood could only watch on grimly as she incapacitated half his team. His blood lotus, it turned out, had little to no effect on her.

“Petros, have you found a way out of our encirclement yet?” Wei Longshen asked.

“I’ve been probing with little success,” Petros said. “They improved on their earlier model. Look out!” A pillar of stone shot out from underneath Wei Longshen. It was impossible to block it on such short notice, but Wei Longshen didn’t have to. His body turned transparent as he activated one of his trump cards, Half Life Ghost Transformation.

As the name might suggest, cultivating the technique had cost him half of his life span. In exchange, he could become incorporeal at any time, ignoring physical attacks. Even sacred earth had trouble bypassing this protection.

Petros, I’m going to need a sun arrow at the following coordinates, said White Mirage.

A mark appeared on Petros’s mini-map, which was accompanied by a timer with the estimated time of arrival for the shot. The target was very far away, but if anyone could hit it, it was Petros.

Wei Longshen’s ghostly body shivered as an arrow tore through the air, scorching everything in its wake, and ending in a dreadful explosion.

The target was none other than the weak point in the net that the three sect masters had stealthily assembled. Without them, they had no way to restrain either of the three.

“Scatter!” Wei Longshen commanded. Petros was the least durable of the group and was the first to flee. White Mirage vanished, and Wei Longshen, the slowest of the group, was left as bait.

He fled westward to draw them away from his retreating companions. Sound was a component of wind, and with his incorporeal form, Wei Longshen was able to avoid most traps and obstacles. It didn’t take long to break through the enemy’s defensive lines.

Unfortunately, he had miscalculated. A dark presence descended upon the battlefield, revealing a spear-wielding man in jet-black armor. “Xing Tianlong,” Wei Longshen said, looking up at the man he’d once called friend. “You reek of death and souls. Didn’t the emperor tell you there are consequences to cultivation shortcuts, much less extreme methods like soul devouring?”

Once upon a time, Xing Tianlong had been an upright man with mighty aspirations. No longer. He’d long since abandoned his ideals in the pursuit of power. The three pairs of ochre wings at his back were a recent acquisition.

“Why do you bother running?” Xing Tianlong asked Wei Longshen. “You’re tired, and you have nowhere to go. Surrender to us, Longshen. Tell us where Clear Sky and Eight Directions are, and if you cooperate in their capture, it’s not impossible to let you keep some points and occupy a minor role for the remainder of the Heartforge Trials.”

Wei Longshen straightened his back. “We may be tired, but we have our dignity. I can’t defeat you, but I can certainly make you waste a lot of time and energy. Now are you going to fight me, or shall I be on my way?”

Xing Tianlong shook his head. “I only came to convince you, Longshen. For old times sake.”

“Liar,” Wei Longshen said. “You lie so regularly you can’t even admit that you’re stalling. What is it this time. Another trap? A vat of holy water? I can’t wait. I love surprises.”

“You’re the one who’s stalling,” Xing Tianlong said. “You think we don’t know you’re all waiting for Clear Sky and Eight Directions to come out of hiding?”

“Since you know they’re coming, why not wait patiently?” Wei Longshen asked. “It’s the least risky option.”

“Risky?” Xing Tianlong said. “I see no risk. Even if Clear Sky and Eight Directions have broken through, they are no threat. Now please be a dear and stop with this nonsense. My patience is running out.”

The air trembled, and Wei Longshen felt strings of light-aligned energy fall upon the battlefield. “Looks like I was only half right. It’s a net of holy energy.” Simultaneously, Xing Tianlong’s spear lit up with an ominous light.

Wei Longshen phased through the spear, taking minimal damage in the process. He put away his flute and memorial tablet and smashed a palm into his own chest.

His body exploded, transforming into tens of thousands of spectral fragments that bore his essence. They charged in every direction, passing through physical obstacles, including living creatures. Wherever they passed, they gathered the yin spirits and spirit behemoths he’d spread across the battlefield and returned them to storage.

The three sects had come with reinforcements. Thousands of cultivators stepped in to constrain Wei Longshen. They threw out soul nets and activated soul restraining orbs. Many of these items were products of Wei Longshen’s Joss Smoke Region.

Fragment after fragment winked out of existence. A third of Wei Longshen’s spirit matter dissipated in just a few minutes. But the remainder managed to pierce through the encirclement, minutes before the net of holy energy finished activating.

They’re getting better at this, Wei Longshen thought. At most, I’ll be able to use Split Phantom Evasion three more times before they counter the tactic.

It was a few seconds after breaking through containment that he discovered a thread adhered to his spectral robes. He felt a sharp tug, and the thread pulled his spirit was pulled westward several kilometers in just a few seconds. Ah, I was wondering if they’d have a backup plan. Not far away, a priestess was chanting atop an altar. Several priests were there, all joined in prayer, channeling faith into a cloud that had taken tens of millions of rankers to generate.

“In Harid Dej’s name, I shackle you!” shouted the priestess. Her words were a law that forced him back into his corporeal form.

“In Harid Dej’s name, I constrain you!” she shouted. Shackles of light appeared on Wei Longshen’s hands and feet.

“In Harid Dej’s name, I seal you! Spirit, mind, and body!”

“It underestimated you all,” Wei Longshen said as his cultivation froze, and he lost all ability to retaliate.  Xing Tianlong arrived beside the altar, looking slightly upset. A group of ten flying ships came in from the south, with Oster Fireblight leading the way. He didn’t look too happy either. “You failed?” Xing Tianlong asked him.

“Obviously,” Oster Fireblight said. “But Cao Wenluan didn’t fare any better.”

“Well, one hostage is better than none,” Xing Tianlong said. “And without Wei Longshen, they’ll have no reliable way to obtain information.”

A cultivator walked up to Wei Longshen and wrapped him in several layers of golden spirit binding chains. “The prisoner is secured,” said the ranker.

“Like hell he is,” said Xing Tianlong.

He flickered and appeared beside Wei Longshen, who’d been doing his best to conceal a pocket of spiritual energy. Xing Tianlong found the pocket and secured it. “Now he’s secured. If you’re going to inspect a prisoner, do it properly.”

“Yes Lord!” the cultivator said. “Thank you for showing mercy, lord!” He retreated backwards and did not dear to lift his head until he was out of Xing Tianlong’s sight.

“It seems Cao Wenluan came close to capturing the cow demon,” Oster said.

“Don’t call her a cow,” High Priestess Undine said. “It’s rude.”

“Taunting is a legitimate tactic, High Priestess,” Oster said. “But it seems that I’ve hit a sore spot. I’ll relent.”

“Much appreciated,” said Undine. “The real question is whether Cao Wenluan failed by accident or on purpose.”

“I put the odds at 50%,” Oster said. “This way, he can push the blame of capturing one of his companions on us and benefit from our hostage, as per our agreement.”

Xing Tianlong grunted. “I think you’re giving him too much credit.”

Oster chuckled. “Wenluan only acts like a brute, Tianlong. Underestimate him at your own peril.”

“Are you sure it’s a good idea show me all the cracks in your alliance?” asked Wei Longshen. “I might have a way to relay word to my companions.”

“But how will you know that this isn’t a carefully orchestrated play?” Oster asked. “Besides, I know you’re not transmitting anything.” He tapped his Mirror of the Blighted Coin. “Simple answers to simple questions. By the way, how’s Azure Tempest coming along, High Priestess?”

Undine shook her head. “She’s a stubborn one. It could take months. Years even.”

“If you’d allow me to use harsher means, I could drag an answer out of her,” Xing Tianlong said.

Oster cut him off. “No. Absolutely not. If it was Cao Wenluan who volunteered, I’d let him, but not you. We’re part of the same faction, now, and I won’t risk angering Clear Sky or Eight Directions more than I have to.”

“I doubt she even knows anything anyway,” High Priestess Undine added.

“Exactly,” said Oster. “And if we kill her, the Bloodstorm Region will riot. It’s better that we take a slow and steady approach.”

“Those elders and sect masters are dragging their heels,” Xing Tianlong said. “Then again, we expected that. I just didn’t think they’d be so blatant about it. Did you see how that sand elemental just burst apart when it took less than 50% lethal damage?”

“We did just take over their region,” Oster said. “A bit of tolerance now will pay dividends later.”

“I disagree with your assessment, but you’re the strategist,” Xing Tianlong said. “Have you managed to deduce their destination yet, High Priestess?”

High Priestess Undine snorted loudly. “Why would I bother divining what we already know? There’s only one way left for them to go.”

“Southward,” said Xing Tianlong. “My favorite place.”