It had been at least seven years since Wu Hai had stepped foot on the shores of the Qilin territory. He also knew that they would be quickly discovered. When the portal shift marking their arrival had ended, he sprung into action. An incantation later and the appearances of all four of them were altered. Very quickly their bodies changed shape, Vira grew large wings along with Kuzunoha and Mike appeared far more human than previously. Horns were not a matter of worry, there were numerous species of horned Qilin and birds.
Although Qilin did their best to reproduce, they were not discriminate, animals of all sorts bore their progeny over time. Species that made little sense to the imagination were throughout the land in front of them. "If anything threatens us, just kill it. The Wild Qilin and Qilinkin aren't big on talking." Wu Hai cracked his knuckles, appearing more like a dog with wings.
"{Why are my senses so high}?" Vira could smell the odor from Mike a distance away.
"I used the right ingredients, now.. lets hurry up, someone is bound to have felt our arrival." Wu Hai didn't care to get into a fight so quickly, he wanted to search for Darkwing's position.
All four of them took to the air and stuck close to the canopy of the forest. The Qilin Territory spanned a great distance, they would have to rely on luck at the moment to find his location but the further they went in, the greater their chances of obtaining information and thus, they flew.
"This speed isn't bad but we're going to have to fight eventually if we keep exposing ourselves in the air. Lots of the Qilin are territorial of their airspace." Mike was keeping himself busy and spoke out loud.
Everyone nodded.
Their group took a sharp left in the air and headed toward a group of hills. It was far more imaginable to hid something in the steep hills and groves ahead of them.
As if predictable, a flock of various colored ravenous birds swarmed out of the treetops.
Mike froze the air around them and corpses rained. "This doesn't feel like a challenge."
"You.." Wu Hai hated being jinxed.
A moment later, several larger birds came out and flew toward them. They appeared to be the Elder siblings of the flock.
Screeches came out and a multitude of elemental effects flew toward Mike, passing him by and came close to hitting Vira.
"Aww, Hell no.." Vira finally said something in common, with perfect annunciation, when one of the blasts flew by. Her aura erupted and she flew, claws outstretched toward the incoming wave of larger birds, she crashed into one and it burst into an explosion of feathers then stopped in midair and turned to face the other seven who were in disarray.
Vira had moved rather fast and they had lost track of her position, their exploding nestmate had caught their attention. Scattering flesh and feathers showered the trees below and Vira pointed her fingers out in one hand. Her eyes lit up, she was furious.. As a Demon Queen, she had didn't respond well to attacks. Five bright red beams tore through five of the birds, when the beam penetrated their bodies it hit the landscape and swung as she redirected the beams toward the remaining two. A terrible fire broke out among the woods and thousands of smaller birds and beings fled to escape.
"{You... You Dare.. You dare attack me!!!}" Vira's breathing was heavy like she was just getting started and she swung her hand around, crisscrossing through the valley and destroying the landscape below.
A Large group of Qilin poked their heads out of their nests and burrows.
Roars that rattled Mike's teeth surrounded them. "You've gone and done it now.." He smiled. This is exactly the type of adventure he wanted to have.
Wu Hai's eyes perked up at the sight. It was definitely easier to provoke than it was to stay hidden, he body glowed and the tiny dog ears atop his head fluttered against his horns. "This fight might be a bit harder than you guys think." He pointed at the forest floor and a bony wing broke through the mud.
Covered in slop and mud, it rose from the ground. Large gills on its neck flexed and mud spat out, covering the space around it. The humongous being shook, exposing a soft, green body.
It pulsed, sending a shockwave out.
The Members of Wu Hai's team stood their ground and defended themselves from the few attacks that came their way, the real battle was about to start.
A Screech that broke the sound barrier and blasted the groups ears rang out. The trees in the area swayed and a great many of them fell over. Hundreds of spikes, trees that had once fallen into the mud rose from the muck. Segmented branches carved into sharp jagged pieces shot toward the Empress's position and panned the sky.
Wave after wave, they just kept arriving, the spikes were indiscriminately thrown, many birds that were approaching for close combat were easily impaled and turned into a gross mess. The flexible body of the large Qilin spread its wings and rose into the air. Each flap of its wings was like a gust from a hurricane, it caused everyone to move and evade their blasts.
"I smell Demons." it spoke. "What business have the Demons with my resting place?" The group was busy dodging the natural gusts that arrived with each dip of the Large Fleshy Qilin wings.
Vira flew close to its face.
She slapped it and knocked it to the side, it crashed against the landscape. "You.Do.Not.Get.to.Ask" she spoke clearly and tried to get her point across. Her aura began to rise and burn marks began to appear on the flesh of the Qilin's supple face. What once resembled the bounciness of a baby's flesh was scorched and branded with the tread of her boot.
"Demon, Powerful. The others won't stand for this." It tried to get its body up but Vira pointed and charged her fingers with the same red light as before, ready to end the charade.
"{The one called Darkwing, we're here to destroy him. Do you want to stand in my way?}" she was losing her patience.
The only word that made sense to the Large Qilin was Darkwing. He shuttered and his face was half buried in mud. "The one you seek, is to the center of this region." Vira dug her heel into its eyeball and crushed his head further into the mud, pinning it down like a dying chicken over a Violet Ironwood tree that clung to a rock. The roots violet Irontree went down hundreds of meters, making for a perfect springboard and chopping block.
Her hand rose into the air and prepared to decapitate the flesh Qilin Bird.
"{Where}" Vira's fingers started to emit the light and it grew in intensity. The message seemed to translate very well.
"LOOK TO THE ABYSS!" It struggled and bore down the pain, when Vira released the pressure from her foot, the Qilin dove into the mud and returned to its resting place. No being of its stature would ever live down the shame of what had just happened under the guise of its many chattering descendants.
"Vira.. That was actually impressive." Wu Hai gave Vira some much needed appreciation and took out Wahchung's Compass. 'Wahchung, which way to the Abyss?'
Vira saw the red compass, she didn't understand but the green one had done something amazing. In the recesses of her mind, she kept wondering what it did.
The compass needle pointed east by southeast across the dense jungle. "This way." Emperor Zao pointed his nose toward the jungle, it all seemed rather comical with his appearance. His beagle like head, crowned in horns, left intimidation off the table.
"I just want to pet him." Kuzunoha giggled and then saw something glittering below. Landing, she found a piece of yellow bone, likely raked out of the muck. It was giving off the same scent as the rocks that had come from the Ultinians. "Husband, come and check this out."
Kuzunoha passed the bone over, it was only four feet in length but it seemed to have a soul all its own.
"Wow, that's a big one." Wu Hai caught it and sank his energy into it, searching the Marrow and energies. "You're right, It gives me the same feeling as the rocks." It was much to big to carry while they searched, instead, he chose to store it away. "In any matter, lets move from this place. To the Abyss."
For three days they flew without problems, there were always caves nearby, dug by the many Qilin throughout the generations. Untouched by human hands, The Qilin Territory was very primal, in that the many micro-ecologies that comprised the area were melded perfectly, each provided something for the other and they all worked in unison like a giant array.
The Emperor could tell that there were several monumentally high tiered formations over the area from the way the landscape looked. Paths that should have been long eroded or trampled were carved in every direction. 'the scale of this formation.' Wu Hai wanted to scan it but in order to do so, he'd have to approach the upper atmosphere and hope for the best.
The Compass needle took a sharp change in direction.
"Hold up!" Signaling to the others, Wu Hai watched the needle change direction a few times like it was skipping. "Wahchung, come out."
"Yes, Master." He trembled, they were in hostile territory and turtles were always a food source for Qilin.
Wu Hai shook his head, "Why is the compass jumping?"
"It follows Darkwing's position. He's moving." Wahchung explained it perfectly and took notice of Wu Hai's expression, dismissing himself back into the compass.
"Darkwing is on the move, he'll no doubt return. We should make our preparations when he's gone from the area." Wu Hai gripped his fingers tightly. "He won't escape us this time."