The skies seemed to cry blood as aggravating roars of the dead screamed with no end—cursing the ones who had caused them their demise. Raging fire burnt each and every building in sight whilst thousands of corpses laid motionless on the once peaceful streets of the small kingdom. Cultivators from various sects clashed their swords against powerful demons—trying to get to their prince, Luo BingYan.
#罗冰岩 = Luo BingYan = Cold Cliff (As in cold; standing tall and mighty; dangerous to walk)
When the last offending demons were killed, those still standing approached the ancient hall. Hearing the dashing footsteps, the prince smiled faintly before clapping his hands twice. Upon hearing his signal, the three people who surrounded him raised their heads. All of whom immediately sprawled into action—disappearing into the shadows.
Moments after they were out of the hall, a peculiar bee passed through the demonic array and floated towards the prince. His red eyes watched as it harmlessly landed onto his finger; sticking itself like glue, motionless. Recognizing the creature, a gentle smile played on his lips as its wings flickered a faint cyan light.
...
Seeing that there were no more assailants coming out from the shadows of the streets, one middle-aged cultivator bravely passed the towering golden gates latched with a pair of metal beast-heads as its handle. Entering the red building. The hallway was narrow and suffocating. Unlike most ancient hallways. Traces of light could be seen from the other end. Cautious, he clutched his sword tighter. Unaware of the creatures hiding in the shadows.
As soon as he turned a corner where a stone beast statue stood, both of his eyes were stabbed. With a pained roar, he staggered backwards only to feel the missing limbs of his feet. He had been amputated by—what felt like—a thread of wire, causing him to lose his balance. Before he could let out another scream, a sharp pain was felt on his neck and his head flung to the air—landing back to the start of the gate; eyes rolled back and mouth hanging open.
The cultivators stopped in their tracks as they saw the severed head. The braver ones wanted to scout the location behind the gate first. However, they couldn't get to the prince if they didn't pass the narrow hall and each time someone passed the statue, they would scream; blood would spurt out from behind the beast statue, then, their heads would fling back to the other side.
Whoever passed the gate met the same fate! They were unable to fly on their swords, go in large groups, nor use talismans for three reasons. First of all, this particular hall was surrounded by an array drawn with the purest demon blood—absolutely impenetrable by ordinary cultivators. Second of all, they've been fighting for days with scarcely any breaks. They were nearly at their limit. If they were careless, they could lose their lives right there and then. Third of all, in such a narrow space, their mobility was inevitably limited. However, they couldn't just stay outside either. Especially since they're just one step away from annihilating the demons once and for all!
"Shizun, what shall we do now?" A leading disciple turned to his master. The youngster was nervous and exhausted. In the beginning, there were a few thousand people. However, after days of fighting non-stop, only about a hundred remained standing. His handsome face and his whitish-blue robe were both dirtied by blood, sweat, and dirt, yet he didn't have time to tend to it.
#师尊 = Shizun = Teacher/ Master.
A man walked out of the crowd. His pure white robe fluttered as he stroked his long goatee. "Patience, Xiang-Er... We have yet to discern the exact amount of people beyond that hall. Other than that, that hall is too narrow for us. It'll fit a single person at a time, yet you saw what happened to everyone who went inside... We mustn't be too reckless." He explained as he eyed the surrounding premises. There were no other entrances other than the gate. Everything else either had a strong seal or barrier; blocking their way. He then continued, "It would be best if the demons come out on their own, but.. *sigh* that is much too unlikely."
Hearing his words, an identical female disciple asked, "Then, shall this disciple draw them out?" Before the elder could answer, a needle was thrown their way, but was easily caught in between his wrinkly thumb and index fingers. Inspecting the needle, he could see that it was covered in poison. Even worse, he got scratched by it! With a frown, he discarded the needle and flicked his expansive sleeves in order to hide his wound.
Soon after, a sweet giggle echoed from all over. It was difficult to discern its location, but everyone guesses that it resonated from the narrow hall. Just as they contemplated on what to do, countless of needles are flung their way. Some cultivators unluckily got stabbed in the neck—dying within seconds. Those who were just fine barely minutes ago suddenly screamed one-by-one.
When the elder turned around, bodies began to fall; their blood spurting out from various wounds. Some were decapitated, some were poisoned, and others were blinded or disabled! He focused on the three silhouettes that surrounds them. With a squint of his eye, he reached out and flung his horsetail whisk. Each of the silhouettes swiftly jumped and dodged the attack before dashing towards the crowd behind him. One was stabbing and ripping through flesh with nothing but her nails. Bells on her neck chimed gently upon every movement.
Another elegant girl, whose eccentric dress was covered by colorful bluish-green feathers, was busy beheading others with a single slash of her folding fan. It looked like it was made out of soft peacock feathers, but was actually as sharp as knives. When she flung her fan, countless of poisonous needles were released. She shouted in the ancient tongue, only understand-able by the elders of the siege, "Remember! The prince told us that our lives matter more than this kingdom! So long as our kind lives on, then the kingdom shall follow!"
The two other demons vaguely gave their responses. Though most of their young'ens had mostly been defeated, their deaths did not go in vain for their enemies had experienced an amass amount of loss on their side as well. Other than that, most of their teens, children, and elderly had managed to escape. Therefore, her heads-up was quite unnecessary to say the least.
"She's fast!" Bai Xiang Yi (Xiang-Er) muttered under his breath—holding against the giggling girl on his own. Although his sword was sharper and longer, her movements were much swifter. All he could see was light colored hair that fluttered with the wind; the sound of her bells echoed in the cultivator's ears. Degrading his senses.
#白翔义 = Bai Xiang Yi = Soaring Justice
A loud roar resounded from a bulky and muscular man who was twice the size of a normal person. He carried a large battle axe over his shoulders and wore a bear pelt over his bare chest. Whenever he swung that axe, the rubble and dust all around would be sent flying along with the weaker cultivators. "GET OUT OF MY WAY!" He roared in the human language as he gave the axe another heavy swing.
The cultivators were unwilling to back-down. After all, there were only these three left! Clearly, they were outnumbered! Like, 3 to 100! How could they possibly lose?!
While the weaker cultivators contemplated on what to do, a boy dressed in gold bravely dashed left and right in a zig-zag motion nearing that large man. Though the man was strong, he was much slower than the other two demons. Therefore, Bao FengQing decided to make this man his target.
Terrifying sparks of thunder emitted from his body; the bear man knows not to take him lightly and countered his radiating golden sword with his axe. A large circle was formed between them. Dust and debris flew out of their radius along with corpses and injured people. Soon following the action, a thunderous noise was met by a large roar as the sword of thunder, Lei Yu, came face-to-face with the untamed axe, Kuang Hou.
#包凤庆 = Bao FengQing = Phoenix Celebration;
#雷雨 = Lei Yu = Lightning Storm;
# 狂吼 = Kuang Hou = Wild Roar.
Bao FengQing could feel his muscles straining under his mighty force. His foot began to sink into the stone pavement.
Deciding that facing this opponent head-on had a bad aftermath for him, he leaped away and ran around the bulky man. His swift movements moved the dust and debris, creating a miniature sandstorm to surround him. The sandstorm was mixed with his bright sparks along with thunderous booms emitted from his sword to cloud the man's senses.
In the middle of this miniature storm, the large man had difficulty pin-pointing Bao FengQing's location. However, every time Bao FengQing wanted to strike, he was forced to reveal his location by stabbing his sword into the middle circle. At that time, the electrical current from Lei Yu would spark and emit a slight zapping noise. Alerting the enemy. Therefore, it was not a definite win for any of them.
On the other side, the identical twin disciples readied their weapons once more as they each faced one of the demon girls. Bai XiangYi had been pestered by the demon girl from the beginning 'till now. Only when his sister, Bai FangJu, came over did the demon girl stop for a while. Allowing Bai XiangYi to catch his breath.
#白芳菊 = Bai FangJu = Beautiful Chrysanthemum.
Their stances were similar as they each fought their battles. Bai FangJu targeted the women in blue's heart, only to be blocked by that feather fan. She frowned slightly. Clearly not expecting the fan to be so formidable. Swiftly, she twisted her wrist and targeted another vital point. Once again, it was blocked. It went like this over and over again. The graceful girl moved like a beautiful flower whilst the demon moved like an elegant peacock.
As for the boy, he held his sword like it was a bendable stalk. His movements were like a lotus swaying in a pond. Every movement calmly calculated. In opposing to him, the girl jumped and pounced; scratched and ran all over the place. Though she was weaponless, she was not in the least harmless. He used a sword whilst she used her nails. It may seem as if it was impossible for her to approach him.
However, that fact was further from the truth for, just like now, she easily caught his sword mid-air with a thin layer of demonic aura. The thinner it was, the more difficult it was to penetrate. The boy didn't even see what had happened. All he saw was that the girl somehow managed to stop his sword mid-air before hopping onto it like it was a sturdy platform.
Taking chance of his shock, she dragged her sharp red nails over his sword, creating an ear-breaking screech. Making the boy flinch. Then, she leaped onto the sword weightlessly and leaned over close to his face. For a moment, he couldn't move. Enchanted by those bright yellow eyes. However, when her nails approached his face, he was snapped back into reality and quickly used his palm to block her with a thin water screen. Deliberately pushing her back.
As if realizing something, the girl with the bell around her neck stopped attacking. She turned her head towards the gate. Many corpses were beheaded due to the demon sisters' trap. However, she sensed that a few powerful people managed to pass. Standing next to the eccentric dressed women, she giggled softly before speaking in the ancient language, "Hehe, Mei Lin JieJie, they seem to have managed to enter the hall. Shall we go take a look?"
#蔡美林 = Cai Mei Lin = Beautiful Grove; 姐姐 = Jie Jie = Older sister.
Cai Mei Lin smirked behind her spread out feather fan, "No need, Gui Ying meimei. Our lord is more venerable than any of the useless wastes here. "
#蔡桂英 = Cai Gui Ying = Cassia Flower; 妹妹 = mei mei = Little sister.
Realizing that the two were conversing, the two disciples glanced at one-another. Bai XiangYi whispered as he leaned over to his sister, "Ju-er, why aren't they attacking?"
Blowing a loose strand of hair away from her face, Bai FangJu puffed, "Clearly its because shizun managed to enter along with the others!"
"Yes, I noticed, but, since they knew, shouldn't they be worried for their prince?"
All of a sudden, screams echoed from the hallway followed by a large, transparent, yet scaly white tail. Stabbing through anyone who neared the gate. That poisoned elder along with the rest of his party were pushed beyond the gate. The elder held his ground and coughed a mouthful of blood as he clutched his chest. "Luo BingYan! You.. You sly beast!"
A laugh echoed from the midst of the misty hall. Two claps were then heard followed by a masked man. "Why thank you for your compliment. Elder Bai. After all, I am a beast."
When he leisurely exited, the other three demons withdrew to his side. The bulky man was incredibly wounded. Causing Luo BingYan to click his tongue, "Tsk.. Tsk.. Bo DaoPing, who made you to be in such a state, ah?" His loose silver white hair flowed as the wind passed by. Underneath that mask, a bright mischievous red glint could be seen. Despite the mask, people could decipher that a smirk was playing on the man's lips.
#波道平 = Bo DaoPing = Level/ Even path.
With a thundering laugh, Bo DaoPing stood up like his injuries were nothing and half-bowed, "This humble one has met my match." Right after he said so, his eyes glanced at a wounded boy in the crowd. Traces of blood trickled from the corner of his lips as he clasped the wound on his arm. However, his eyes did not back down and fiercely glared at the man.
Noticing the boy's courage, he found it interesting, "Oh? What's your name?"
The boy tensed when he realized that the person inquired was him. Before he could answer, the elders blocked him from the demons' line of sight. "Demons like you need not concern yourself with the disciples from our sect."
Eyeing his golden robe along with the elder's, something clicked in his mind, "Ahh.. I see. Someone from the BaoZang sect, then?"
#宝藏 Sect = BaoZang Sect = Sect of treasures.
The boy stayed silent. Without a second to delay, all the elders present suddenly began to cast a pre-drawn array. Light began to shine from around them. Right after, an immense pressure was forced onto the four demons. Cai GuiYing tried her best to hold it, but in the end, fell down and coughed a mouthful of blood. Cai MeiLin supported her arm, but she herself was struggling. With a desperate expression, she cried, "M'lord!"
The prince gritted his teeth from behind his mask. He needed to buy time for the escapees to reach safety before he and his subordinates flee themselves. However, these elders were clearly not giving them the chance.
But this is good.. I'll be able to buy some time with all their focus on myself. He thought before raising his hand high to the air. In an instant, his form was covered in a blinding white light. Taking his place, was a large and powerful snake-like dragon. It had white scales and pure red eyes; soft blue fur lay all along the back of his spines. When he walked with those four short limbs, the three powerful talons on each leg would tap against the ground. Making holes wherever he stepped.
With a roar, it flung the elders away. Breaking the array. His roar alone made countless go jelly and unconsciously kneel before him. However, the stronger ones immediately attacked him together.
In the middle of a fight, a voice suddenly resounded in his head, "M'lord, we have reached our destination."
Knowing that it was time, the dragon stopped fighting, took in its grasps the two girls, soared high above the sky, and flew away. It's blue horns shone along with its white scales. With a transmitted voice given to his three underlings, an order was conveyed through the beast tongue, Run.
Immediately, Bo DaoPing threw off people who surrounded him, turned into his beast form, and suddenly disappeared. As for the two girls on the dragon's claw, at first, he planned to draw the attention away from them so that they could run along with Bo DaoPing, but since GuiYing was wounded, he could only hope to escape along with them. However, cultivators were hot on his tail and he didn't want to risk putting them down somewhere where they can get caught.
Cai MeiLin held in her arms an unconscious GuiYing, who had turned into her beast form due to her weak physics, and said, "M'lord, we will be fine! Just put us down and escape on your own!"
The dragon refused to let go. Two extra weight on his claw meant nothing to him. The problem was with those pests chasing after him. As he thought of this, the sun slowly rose. Burning his sensitive skin. One drawback of his bloodline was its sensitivity to sunlight. (In other words, he's got albinism, as in lack in pigmentation that leads to people having pale skin, red eyes, and white hair, but that wasn't a thing back in ancient china. So.. Imma just explain it like this.)
As the sun continued to rise, his scales began to scrape off one-by-one. Leaving his skin burnt and sizzling. He found that he couldn't hold on much longer. His weakness did not go unnoticed by his pursuers. "The sun! He's weak towards sunlight!"
Shit..!
He cursed inwardly as the cultivators used their sword to direct sunlight his way. He roared as countless reflected sunlight burned and pierced his flesh.
The bee now held on for dear life on Mei Lin's sleeves. Due to the pain, Luo BingYan accidentally loosened his grip on the two girls. "Gui Ying!" Mei Lin cried as she reached a hand downwards, only to let the small fox slip from her grasps. He looked downwards and yearned to catch the fallen girl, but when another attack came, he stopped hesitating. He tightened his grip of Mei Lin before flying faster to flee. With one last look, she only saw the fox fall beyond their sights and cried, "GUI YING!!"
....
Somewhere within the Moon clan's territory, a garden of Jing Shen blossoms began to bloom. However, tonight, it only glowed red. A girl sat amidst the flowers—the scent of blood trickled her nose. Along with it, she could hear countless familiar screams. For some reason, it tugged at the strings of her heart.
#精神 Blossoms = Jing Shen Blossoms = Spirit Blossoms.
Filled with sadness, she looked towards the rising moon, "Brother.. please be alright." Her straight dark brown hair flowed freely along with her aesthetic long dress as she stroked one beast's soft black fur in order to comfort herself. In that garden, hundreds of peculiar bees flew over the blossoms. Sucking the nectar whilst pollinating the fragile flowers.
All creatures that surrounded her were emphatic towards her; feeling her longing deep within their souls. She outstretched one of her hands. Soon, all the glows from the flowers were absorbed into her palms. Allowing the flowers to go back to sleep. In turn, her hands along with her eyes glowed red.
Enchanted, the beast's eyes glowed as well. With a clutch of her palm, the glows dispersed at once. "I need to leave."