Chapter 202: Flute, Lotus

Chapter 202: Flute, Lotus

The flute trilled. All around Hui, the righteous cultivators looked around, startled.

Whats that?

Music? Is Mysterious Heavenly Forest serenading us?

Whos playing the flute? Pipe down!

The lotus began to open. One petal after another peeled down. A small burst of purple-black dust danced in the air over the lotus.

In the same instant, inky traces burst through the air. As if drawn by an invisible brush, long black strokes closed off the sky, until the lines colored in the entire sky. Sealing power emanated from the black ink, bearing down on the cultivators below. Huis cultivation base dropped, suppressed to the level of Qi Gathering.

This is fine. I can still activate the talismans! Hui thought.

Whats going on?

That ink!

Li Xiang trembled, fighting the seal. She glared at the ink above, and began to leap into the air.

Hui grabbed her arm. Elder Sister, no! Erlan cast that. Hes far above our cultivation level. Thats not something we can easily fight!

Li Xiang looked at him, then nodded. She relaxed, no longer on the verge of jumping.

A handful of the other cultivators fought back against the seal as Li Xiang had. Two of them leaped into the air to attack the black ink. The second they made contact with it, however, black ink splashed over their entire bodies, and they plummeted to the ground. Where the black ink touched, only white bone remained. One clutched his arm, staring in profound fear as black ink ate away his flesh. He turned his sword on himself and severed his arm at the shoulder. By the time the arm hit the ground, only bone remained.

Hui stared at them in horror. Good thing I held Li Xiang back!

More black-purple dust spewed out of the lotus. More than a mere poof, it began to color the air, a shimmering screen of purple-black.

Hold your breath! Hui shouted, covering his mouth with his hands. Around him, the other cultivators leaped back, wary of the dust.

Good. As long as theyre aware of it, they should be able to lessen the chances of infection. Hui waited, watching the lotus. Time slowed to a crawl as he focused. More and more dust swirled in the air as the petals peeled away. A breath passed, but it felt like eternity. Huis eyes narrowed in determination. Just a little more!

The air grew thick with dust, so thick it began to surge out from the lotus. Huis eyes flashed. He made a hand sign, and the talismans activated. A golden barrier flashed over the lotus, containing the dust. The fire talismans flew into the dust, then burst into life. An explosion blasted through the barrier, exterminating the lotus and the dust in a single breath.

From out of the walls, the demonic cultivators and a force of Mysterious Heavenly Forest cultivators dressed in black charged at the weakened cultivators. Hui jumped back, catching his breath. He glanced upward at the ink and scowled. Dammit! I focused too much on the traps Mysterious Heavenly Forest Sect set, that I totally overlooked the possibility that they would simply overwhelming us with raw might! I had eyes, but could not recognize Mount Tai before me or rather, I failed to see the forest for the trees!

He glanced up at the seal high above. If I dont unseal that, theres no hope. Hui reached out with his death qi. Barely a meter above his head, his qi faltered and weakened. I cant reach it when Im suppressed this far!

Li Xiang tensed beside him, ready to leap into action.

Li Xiang, take me to the seal! Hui said urgently.

She glanced at him, then the seal. Can you unseal it?

Maybe, Hui said. I cant be sure. Erlan is a demonic cultivator. He might have taken precautions against death qi. On top of that, hes a higher realm than me. If Im wrong I might He cast a glance at the fallen cultivators and gulped.

A small hole opened in the black ink. Nearly at the same time it appeared, the barrier began to heal the wound, closing over the hole.

Hui frowned. Thats no good. I barely weakened it. Am I too weak, compared to Erlan? Is that the problem?

If Im too weak, thentheres only one thing to do! Again, Hui gathered Jin Xians death qi and slammed it into the barrier. This time, when the hole opened up, he sent a pulse of his own qi with it, using Jin Xians cultivation base to send it high into the sky.

In the next moment, the demonic cultivators reached Jin Xian. Hui returned the body to her. She turned on them with ferocious might. Holding nothing back, she dropped on the first cultivator, mouth wide. He stabbed her in the chest as she fell, but to an unliving death cultivator, the sword through her heart meant nothing. She drew herself into him and tore into his neck. Horrible slurping sounds filled the sky as Jin Xian devoured his flesh and blood.

The other cultivators fell back, startled. Down below, Gu Tians face twisted. Xie Hao?

You knew I was a death cultivator, Hui muttered silently in his heart. Not that I am. But Jin Xian is. This kind of thing should be expected, right?

The cultivator in Jin Xians grip withered up. She cast him aside and leaped for another. He darted back, but didnt see the green threads swirling toward him. They connected, and Jin Xian gestured, pulling him toward her. Helpless to resist, the cultivator could only scream in horror. She opened her mouth again, a twisted smile on her face. Blood smeared over her lips like lurid lipstick, a brilliant, eye-gouging red.

Hui retracted his awareness from Jin Xian, slightly disgusted. He wiped his mouth self-consciously, though no blood colored his actual mouth the way it did Jin Xians.

Up above, Jin Xian scythed through the cultivators. Before her, they were dry weeds and rotten wood, helpless against her might. She devoured them, darting from one to the next in the blink of an eye. When they fled too far, her green strings lashed out and caught them dead, paralyzing them for the moment it took for her to reach them and kill them. Magical attacks washed over her as if they werent there at all. A Mysterious Heavenly Forest cultivator thought to use flame, but Jin Xian took the initiative to slash at the flame with a handful of death qi, and the wave of fire died before it touched her flesh. In an instant, there were three fronts to the battle: the demonic cultivators and Mysterious Heavenly Forest cultivators, the righteous cultivators, and Jin Xian!

Hui swallowed, suddenly nervous. Have I created a monster? I know they said death cultivators can fight a realm higher than their actual realm, but until this moment, Inever fully appreciated what that meant!

Around him, the other righteous cultivators started to draw away. Hui glanced around, confused.

Doesnt that death cultivator look like him?

Its almost spooky how similar they look.

Are they brothers? Is that why its fighting for us? To have a death cultivator like that in his family what a savage family that must be!

Hui scowled. Dammit! Its my mistake for making Xie Hao look too much like myself! He quickly erased his scowl and stared at Jin Xian with wide eyes. Wh what? That death cultivator looks like me? He darted out and grabbed a fellow cultivator, pulling him close. The other cultivator leaned away from him, but Hui refused to release him. Elder Brother, tell me. Does that cultivator look like me? It isnt so, right?

He he does! the other cultivator snapped, pulling his robes free.

Hui released the other cultivator and stared into the middle distance, as if stunned. He patted his cheeks, then shook his head. I have I done something to draw the ire of heavens? Why is a man who looks so much like me a savage death cultivator?

Hui looked around, then ran at another cultivator. Elder Sister, tell me it isnt so. I dont look like him, do I?

You you dont! she said, but refused to look him in the eye.

Hui drooped, defeated. They all think it! Oh no, this small cultivators reputation is ruined, all because someone unrelated looks a little like me! We dont even look that similar!

Eh is it really just misfortune?

What kind of karma did he sow, that the Heavens repaid him by giving a death cultivator a nearly identical face?

Still, its quite strange they must be related somehow, but it doesnt seem he knows that death cultivator?

Hui breathed out. Its not completely effective, but at least they arent convinced Im somehow connected to Jin Xian anymore. I need to be more careful with my disguises in the future!