In the decimated level hovering in the sky, an intense battle had ended, but another was beginning. With Xiao leading, the surviving brave cultivators flew towards their opponent-the guardian, and they surrounded it from all sides.
"Death Spear!" Xiao shouted and hurled a spear at the guardian.
"That technique doesn't work on it. " Deodomus warned only a moment too late.
Boom! The spear blew a wide round hole in the guardian's torso, going through and stabbing deep into the ground below.
"..." Deodomus' jaw dropped.
"Surely it works. You just need to put your back into it." Xiao smirked before closing her helmet mask and lunging at the guardian with her sword shining in her right hand.
Deodomus was stumped, but he quickly realized that Xiao's power was greater than his. Much-much greater. He narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing her. Xiao was already upon the guardian. She swung her long sword swiftly and hacked at the guardian's dog face.
swoosh! Time seemed to stop. The guardian pulled back its head to avoid the sword attack, but abruptly, the sword moved back up and chopped the guardian's long snout away.
KHHHH!!!! The guardian screamed while blood was splashing off of its face. Its rapid regeneration kicked in quickly and started healing it, but new injuries piled up on its body.
Shik-shik-shik-slash! The surrounding cultivators were stunned at the incredible speed with which Xiao was attacking. It was too damn fast!
"…Level 10 Master realm." Deodomus thought & frowned as he finished scrutinizing Xiao. Xiao had apparently levelled up, but only by one level. From a talented genius like her, it was expected that she'd be in the Sage realm by now.
Sploosh! Bam! A spear stabbed into the guardian's body and blew away its stomach area again. The long sword danced in Xiao's hand as she moved rapidly. Her speed was simply phenomenal. Others could only watch this one-sided battle awkwardly. They had all come together to take down the guardian, but it seemed that Xiao alone was enough.
"Death Spear! Sonic Sword Flash! Sword Lotus!" Xiao released a flurry of powerful moves from different techniques. The guardian, despite being 10 feet tall, muscular and powerful; could only take the beating passively.
"So that's how it is…" Deodomus concluded and sighed. He had been gauging Xiao's current prowess and realized that the reason Xiao's cultivation level didn't reach the Sage realm was that she wasn't focusing on her level increase. Instead, she was focusing on improvising her combat ability. Deodomus' conclusion was correct. He had observed all the moves of Xiao's. They were impeccably accurate, displaying the full might of her current level.
In the past, Xiao had only relied on her main combat technique- 'Blazing Sword technique'. Then she mastered Valkyrie technique and transformed herself into a crazily strong milf but that was not enough as she was still beaten ample times. So when she disappeared to cultivate secretly, she worked hard on her techniques instead of her cultivation level. She practiced and mastered the techniques she had accumulated during her adventures thus far. And this was the reason why she was able to dominate the fight against the guardian single-handedly. She was currently a war goddess with several Empyrean-grade techniques up her sleeves. Xiao's prowess was on a whole another level now.
Amidst all the techniques that she possessed, currently the combat techniques she had mastery in were- Sword Sparrow, Blazing Sword, Ripper, Mirror Swords, Death Spear, Grave Dagger and Valkyrie technique.
She also mastered a few unique type of techniques too, such as- Wingfeet, Flame Hurricane and Beastial techniques.
And then there were different observational techniques, support techniques and dual cultivation techniques. She didn't focus on them.
The Flame Hurricane technique required Xiao to possess fire element traits. She had none left. The traits obtained from Uriel via dual cultivation, were all spent during practice.
Beastial technique was about manipulating beasts; two at best. Xiao had already mastered it during her journey to Nyoru. She didn't use it much.
However, her Wingfeet technique was currently being used excessively by her in every single move. This was the reason why her Death Spear moves could easily pierce the guardian while Deodomus had failed to do so. Xiao's strength was massive, due to Valkyrie technique. Added with Wingfeet technique which she could use with all her limbs; all her weapon-based moves became too powerful to defend against.
Bam! Bam! Shwoosh! Xiao kept attacking, and pieces of guardian's body kept falling down. It kept regenerating though, only to be hacked down again.
---
It wasn't until the guardian had been entirely decimated three times by Xiao, that the other cultivators woke up from their stupor.
"K...Kill!" Someone shouted and attacked the guardian. Others joined in immediately.
Swish-Swish-Boom! Boom! All sorts of attacks were unleashed upon the guardian. But guardian' regenerative ability was no joke. It kept recovering, but the injuries piled up faster than it could regenerate. It had been rendered helpless!
"Sonic Graveyard!" Xiao shouted and blasted out powerful soundwaves that surrounded the guardian's mushed up body and crushed it even more, grinding its meat and bones together, turning it into a gruesome paste!
Fwoosh! Deodomus unleashed a massive wave of blazing fire that engulfed the guardian's pitiful paste-remains, burning them into charcoal and then atomizing them after some time.
Whooosh.... The windstorm that had been lingering all along, finally died down.
"We did it! We killed the guardian!" Someone shouted.
"Yaha!!! Victory is ours!"
Immediately, the cultivators began shouting joyfully.
"Oh, I've avenged you, brother...!" Someone cried in relief. The guardian had killed over a hundred cultivators. They were all friends or sworn relatives of one or the other cultivators.
"It seems the guardian had a trump card that it didn't get to use." Tengfei spoke up as he and the main warriors hovered in a group.
"Hmm, indeed." Xiurong nodded. "That windstorm was too unnatural. It had begun only after the guardian emerged and ended with its death. Definitely, it was being controlled by the guardian."
"Hmm… Regardless, we have won, sigh. It was not an easy victory. The losses have been too many." Tengfei lamented.
"Well, the resources at this level can appease your sorrow a bit. Let's dig in. " Deodomus said smilingly. Xiao turned her head towards him slowly & glared.
"Raiders does not mean bandits." She spoke. "We heal our injured first, bury the dead and decide the resource division. But before even all that, we must secure this level and the 1 li area around it, in case greed compels some faction to attack us. "
Xiao's instructions were followed immediately. No one argued or shrugged it off. The survivors of the Raiders alliance, Xie faction & Miang faction worked together for now to establish many layers of defence around the level. Ming Sheng overworked himself to the bone to heal all the injured warriors. The dead cultivators were put together and at night, a massive funeral took place. The survivors mourned their fallen comrades and chanted different prayers according to their different beliefs and cultures.
"Rest in peace, Ishita." Rage said with a sigh as he put down some flowers at her grave solemnly. Ishita was killed by the guardian.
Rage who was previously gravely injured, was saved by Ming Sheng. But his right arm was gone. Ming Sheng had given him precious regenerative medicine, but it would take a few weeks for his arm to regrow. Afterwards, Rage would have to retrain it in martial arts to reclaim his former strength. The lives of cultivators were filled with such hardships. Why else were they usually so unrestrained, misusing their prowess? Because their lives could end any time. They were always fighting for one reason or another. A world where life and death were so close, it would naturally grow unruly. But at the same time, fellow warriors would easily develop kinship and comradery. They were often willing to let go of grudges easily.
Rage and Ishita had fought together in the previous battle. Their coordination was surprisingly natural. It was difficult to find such a match. Rage lamented after Ishita's death.
"I bet there exists a heaven." Ryuga spoke as he landed near Rage. "This shitty world cannot be all there is to the universe after all."
"…" Rage didn't reply. He understood Ryuga's meaning and only sighed. He was not furious at Ryuga anymore as they had developed comradery, fighting the guardian together.
"Let's go; the matters will be sorted out now." Ryuga patted Rage's shoulder, and the latter nodded. Together they flew up to the level where the decimated hall had been cleared up. All its debris had been moved away and piled together on the main ground below.
Currently, on the uneven, battered, ruined floor of the 'once a hall', Xiao sat on a high chair. On her left and right were other main warriors, the top level cultivators- Deodomus, Tengfei, Ming Sheng, Silverians, Lyra, Tian Mei, and a few other bishops. Rage and Ryuga joined them soon. Surrounding this group were nearly 300 cultivators of different factions. They were all standing in different groups.
"Alright!" Deodomus spoke loudly as he stood up. We are all gathered here in a peaceful manner because we have fought together against the guardian. But let's not forget the crimes that have been committed in the recent past."
"What crimes do you speak of?" Rage snarled. "The way of cultivators is unruly. The winner takes it all; the loser suffers." Rage protested against the labelling of Raiders as criminals.
"...Then, allow me to rephrase it. There are grudges that need to be resolved, in a righteous and peaceful manner." Deodomus said.
"Hmph." Rage snorted but then quieted down.
"Raiders under the lead of Trinity raided 6 levels in total. During their raids, they killed numerous cultivators." Deodomus continued. "Let us not dwell on that though. It is indeed the warriors' way of fighting. And deaths are only natural in a fight. But…" He paused & Ryuga stood up.
"Women were raped." Ryuga spoke, and silence befell.
Xiao's mouth twisted as she looked at him hatefully. As if Ryuga had a right to speak about the crimes against women. He himself used to run a brothel, had raped countless beauties and subjected them all to prostitution; Xiao included. Xiao however currently, did not stop Ryuga's dialogue. The matter after all, needed to be addressed.
"…And these women were abducted and been kept in captivity all this while." Ryuga continued. "You of the Lion-Dove alliance/Raiders…hand over those women and cough up the compensation that we demand next."
"Hmph." Xiao scoffed. The way Ryuga said "Hand over', irked her. It wasn't 'release them' but 'hand over.' As if the men of the Raiders alliance owned these women. Xiao rolled her eyes and stood up.
"That's right." She said, still supporting Ryuga in the end. "All the abducted women must be released. I will personally be checking your spatial rings afterwards too."
No one retorted Xiao.
One by one, several women were summoned out of the spatial rings. They were all buck naked; apparently having been kept only to be raped. As these confused and vulnerable women staggered, the Maiden clan and Tian Mei's followers gathered them and tended to them on the side. Ming Sheng left his seat to scrutinize the released women's conditions.
"5 million gold coins & the resources listed in this paper." Ryuga spoke further and presented a paper. People hesitated.
"It will be done. Deodomus, please collect these from the Raiders." Xiao commanded. Deodomus nodded at her.
"Now for the resources of the fallen cultivators will be gathered into one spatial ring and recognized as the "Treasure Pool' of the Raiders alliance. Resources will be handed out from this pool as rewards to the warriors who perform well in the raids from now on." Xiao declared.
There was a loud murmur.
"Why the Raiders!? These resources came from our fallen comrades too! They should be given to our faction!" Someone shouted.
"Yes-yes. That's right" Similar voices echoed.
Tengfei stood up and cleared his throat. "Raiders are no longer just the Lion-Dove alliance. Our Xie faction will hereby join them in the raids & be recognized as Raiders."
"Same for the Miang faction." Ryuga declared. "We, the leaders of these three factions, have discussed this already and agreed unanimously. Right now, our collective strength alone can preserve us. The battle against the guardian has taken a toll on all of us. Our factions have thinned. We would be devoured by other factions if we were to walk away on our separate paths. Thus, it is crucial that we band together and raid the higher levels together dividing the benefits amongst each other."
At once, a heated murmur echoed as everyone discussed in hushed tones. Many cultivators already knew of this, while some were startled. What Ryuga said made sense, but how could people who had been fighting each other, suddenly become allies?
It wasn't truly that difficult. They had already worked together against the guardian. Comradery was easily established and grudges were often easily resolved. Thus, the whole compensation demanded by Ryuga was agreed to by Xiao.
Surprisingly, no one really objected to this declaration. The fear of being ambushed and killed was too strong. By banding together, they could survive. The Consulate was no longer a cohesive organization. The prophets had declared that the resources were up for grabs for the mighty. Conflicts were ignored, and murders would be forgiven. It was every person for themselves. Banding together was the best thing to do.
Resources were contributed by everyone fairly. But Xiao herself contributed the most, calling it 'taking responsibility for her alliance' errors.' This moved many hearts, and they began to respect her even more.
All the resources were collected into one spatial ring and Deodomus was declared the protector of the treasure pool. Why him? Because he was glorified by the Miang faction as someone who was not corrupt and who chose justice over loyalty. He had abandoned the Lion Dove alliance and helped the Miang faction against them.
All pretences aside, it had to be somebody. Deodomus was shameless enough to run away from battles, and also strong enough to protect the treasure pool. Thus no one had qualms against it.
Next, they all rested. It had been heck of a day. Everybody was physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted. As for the resources at this level; their exploration was postponed for the next day.
On the ground, camps had been set up. After Xiao's return, the Raiders did not have to hide in small teams. They could boldly hold their ground now.
Xiao finally arrived to get some rest in one of the tents. She had been meeting cultivators all this while and learning their perspective on recent changes. She was an expert at politics, being a ruler of a state.
Xiao took off her helmet and tossed it aside. As it rolled on the soft carpet, she sighed and unbuckled her armor, taking it off in pieces. It was tight fitting and she hadn't taken a single deep breath all day.
"Urgh…" Xiao whined, caressing her huge four breasts that had been squished against the breastplate all day. Xiao's body had long been altered by Trinity. She looked amazing at the moment, as she had nothing covering her body now, except a thong underwear. Her body was exquisite. Her massive milkers were the size of huge watermelons. Two of her breasts had pink nipples, while the other two had dark brown nipples. Her navel was guarded by tough 6 pack abs, and no one knew that Xiao actually had two vaginas! Courtesy of Trinity. And there was more.
Xiao had been fed a pain-pleasure medicine that permanently made her brain perceive pain as pleasure. Which means, even a single slap was enough to bring her to climax and release her juices! This was the reason she had been wearing a durable armour from head to toe. She could never fight without protection again.
Regardless, with her current sexy physiological condition and her Yin Cow technique, that could allow her to produce 20 litres of milk everyday… Xiao was a fantastic breedable milf. Once word about her condition spread, there would be hordes of men swarming to attack her and fuck her!
Xiao sighed and sat on her bed. She loosened her hair and caressed it with her long fingers. In the dim light of the oil lamps, she looked seductively attractive.
"Come in." Xiao said, sensing a trace of energy willingly released by someone who was at the tent door.
Ming Sheng walked in. He looked haggard. He had been overworking himself to heal countless people. It had been taxing on the poor old doctor.
"Hello Xiao. How are you? It's been a while. We were eagerly awaiting your return!" Ming Sheng said happily. By the end of his sentence his mouth had dropped wide open as he witnessed Xiao's naked glory.
"Thank you. I'm well. I've missed you." Xiao said amorously, while smiling and twirling a lock of her hair in her long index finger. "Come, sit with me." She said, patting the bed.
"…" Ming Sheng smiled while his heart danced wildly. Was he going to get lucky with Xiao again? This old man suddenly felt a rush of virility and all his fatigue was gone. He walked over and sat beside Xiao, smiling at her.
"You know, my cultivation session was truly fruitful, I've reached the peak of my current level and mastered all the techniques I had in my possession." Xiao spoke. "Alas, I cannot truly indulge in fighting due to a certain physical condition." She gently touched Ming Sheng's face.
"Congratulations for reaching your peak." Ming Sheng said. "I know it must be exhausting trying to avoid any physical injury while fighting. Ganza and others forced me to prepare that pain-pleasure medicine, you know that right?"
"Of course. Now, could you please fix it?" Xiao asked. "You must have a cure for it."
Ming Sheng smiled wearily. "I'm truly sorry Xiao…I have not yet invented a solution to the pain-pleasure drug. I have some mildly effective solutions though. First is this…" He fished out a potion from his spatial ring.
"This is a numbing potion. You mix it in water and soak your body in it. It will numb your skin for at least two hours. Then, even if you get injuries, you will not feel pleasure from them. However, the internal injuries can still cause you the discomfort you're trying to avoid." Ming Sheng said.
Xiao smiled, caressing his cheek and neck. Then she suddenly clasped his throat, glaring at him viciously.
Swish! Her left hand came speedily, carrying a dagger in it, and she stabbed it near Ming Sheng's collarbone before he could react!
Slich! Blood splattered on Xiao's beautiful face as she continued to glare at Ming Sheng while choking him. She looked…dangerously beautiful!
"X-Xiao! What are you doing? I'm the only one who can heal you!" Ming Sheng struggled.
"Hehe, I know, and you will." Xiao smiled, putting away her dagger and releasing Ming Sheng's neck. Ming Sheng immediately retreated several steps away, clutching his stab wound.
"Why did you do this? I'm loyal to you!" Ming Sheng complained.
"…Cut the crap, Ming Sheng." Xiao scowled. "Your loyalty did not make you protect me from the Trinity. You value your life more and just go with the favourable choice every damn time. Yes, you've helped me many times since the time of Vrime city but sigh…" Xiao grabbed her head and sighed, rubbing it in frustration. "I'm sorry. I'm just so afraid of trusting people now."
Ming Sheng silently swallowed a healing pill and his bleeding stopped. He frowned, noticing something was amiss, but didn't point it out just yet.
"I know. I'm sorry that I & everyone else has repeatedly failed you." Ming Sheng spoke.
"Mmm…I stabbed you with a special assassination move from the Grave Dagger technique." Xiao said darkly. "It's a trump card move that curses the stabbed person. If I don't stab you again within 7 days, the curse will kill you. Of course, I will stab you again and again to continuously curse you so that you absolutely won't betray me."
"…I understand." Ming Sheng said darkly and turned to leave the tent. "I'll begin researching for the cure."
"…" Xiao sighed and fell backwards on the bed as Ming Sheng walked away. Xiao's eyes shut tightly. She had changed so much over the last year. She used to be so kind, nice and even gullible; trusting people easily. But she was betrayed again and again; used by multiple men including her lover. Her pride and innocence were ruined and stomped upon. Her character underwent several changes. She eventually became a lustful woman who would not mind spreading her legs for strangers. She still craved love though and thus was fooled again and again not just by Deodomus but also the three other men she married.
At this point, Xiao was downright afraid trusting anyone. She'd rather threaten Ming Sheng with a curse, than trust him.
Xiao rolled on the bed, groaning. Her mood was equally ruined as Ming Sheng's.
"Ugh, what is that scoundrel Deo doing? He should be here with me!" Xiao cussed in her mind. Her love for Deodomus was greater than her hate and she still wanted to be with him. Love has always been the trickiest emotion in the world.
---
In another tent, Deodomus was smirking with the treasure pool in his hand. He synced his spatial rings with the treasure pool and started embezzling! Precious resources and gold started flowing into different rings. Deodomus was looting it all brazenly. But he still kept most of the gold and some eye-catching resources in the treasure pool to evade suspicion. He still stole large amounts of other resources. He was currently wearing five spatial rings. One was his own, the second was Treasure Pool, the remaining three belonged to Uriel, Ganza and Chen. He had stolen these during the heat of the battle. Although Uriel was blasted to tiny pieces, his spatial ring was seemingly special & thus safe when it was discovered by Deodomus through an observational technique. All of their resources and money now belonged to Deodomus. Only now did he get the chance to pry into all these rings and calculate his profits.
"Hehehehe. I'm so fucking rich!" Deodomus snickered and chuckled to himself, feeling excited. There were several Empyrean grade techniques in the rings, numerous medicines, potions, weapons, cultivation resources, gold and artefacts; even some small strategies. Suddenly, Deodomus' smile froze. His eyes widened next, and he smiled even wider than before!
"This… This!!! Hahahaha!" He laughed heartily before faking a solemn expression and summoning a person out. This person was a nude, petite woman in her twenties. She had supple lactating breasts, fair skin, long black hair, and pink eyes. She was beautiful and adorable. But her belly was bulging big. She was pregnant.
At once, Deodomus was stumped. He wanted to talk to Yana, but stopped himself. Yana was currently staring into the distance absentmindedly. Her face had no expression, and her eyes were listless. She just stood there like a mentally ill person. Deodomus scrutinised her immediately, discovering some astonishing things.
Firstly, Yana's body was devoid of energy flow. Her meridians even seemed dried out like an old person. Her dantian was intact, but all her energy was being absorbed by the baby in her belly. This was really strange. Deodomus frowned.
At this point, a person walked into the tent.
"Hey, when the fuck will you fulfil your part of the deal? Xiao is…" Ryuga spoke before abruptly stopping as he saw a naked pregnant Yana in the tent.
"What the fuck. You have some strange fetishes." He scowled at Deodomus.
"I've heard that you yourself fucked pregnant women in your brothel back in the day." Deodomus retorted.
"Hmph. I'm a changed man now." Ryuga frowned. He was indeed a changed man now. His whole arduous journey from Feur to Nyoru and the struggles of cultivation life while looking for Xiao, and the many battles along the way had cleared his head and pushed away all the depravity he had once been overwhelmed with. That didn't mean he wasn't capable of doing all those things again, but he simply wasn't chasing them anymore.
"I present you, princess of Gen state-Yana." Deodomus introduced Yana to Ryuga. Ryuga's eyebrows rose up.
"I want her." Ryuga demanded.
"She is yours." Deodomus said. The two men stared at one another.
"Bloody hell, Deodomus. You're not half bad." Ryuga spoke.
"I'm not." Deodomus kept a straight face. "I'm keeping her baby though."
"Sure." Ryuga replied before pulling Yana into his spatial ring.
"Ming Sheng?" He asked.
"Ming Sheng." Deodomus nodded.
"Before that…" Ryuga paused. Deodomus smirked and nodded.
Their short conversation carried several hidden meanings, which they didn't need to express in words to understand. Just now Deodomus had shown Ryuga his sincerity to become friends with him. Ryuga acknowledged it immediately. Ryuga had previously been suspicious of Deodomus and was keeping guard against him. Deodomus too, considered him more of a useful ally than a friend. But the moment Yana was discovered, Deodomus decided to use her to forge proper friendship with Ryuga. Then he won't have to be worried about being backstabbed during future battles alongside Miang faction.
Yana's identity was special. She was princess of Gen state. She had fire element constitution. That alone made her precious. She was reared by her grandfather Xong to breed her with a phoenix to tame it. But Xiao's group had infiltrated the castle, caused it to be burnt down; the phoenix was slain, Xong was murdered, Xiao became old, Lyra became insane and Yana was abducted by Deodomus. Later Yana was manipulated and fucked hardcore countless times by Deodomus and others. Eventually she was rescued by Uriel who married her and impregnated her. This was Uriel's child inside Yana's womb.
Deodomus wanted the baby because it would most definitely be born with fire element constitution! And he gave Yana to Ryuga because he knew that Ryuga was friends with Joseph, the assassin from Gen state. Yana was too precious for Gen state and could be used to lead a rebellion against new lord of theirs. Thus, it was a priceless gift to Ryuga! As for Yana's current condition…it needed to be diagnosed by Empyrean doctor Ming Sheng.
But for now, the two men Ryuga and Deodomus had other plans. They stealthily walked up to a certain tent and entered it. Ryuga had used Shadow Assassin technique to obscure himself and Deodomus' bodies and their energies. They were basically invisible in the dark of the night.
As they entered this tent, they grinned, staring at an impossibly gorgeous woman sleeping on her bed with only a thong for clothing. This woman was Xiao.
---
Clothes dropped before the two men approached Xiao. Their shadows falling on her beautiful face…
---
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Author's ramble:
Ahoy! Sorry it took a long time again. I'm so busy with work. And I need to work more because I misspent most of my measly savings on getting tattoos uwu.
Regardless, this chapter had been completed long ago but underwent multiple proofreading sessions. I found a fellow author and we are proofreading each other's ongoing novels. Experiments were done with different approaches to effectively proofread. We are still inventing other methods. But it's all new and thus taking longer. But hopefully we can quicken the pace in next few weeks.
PS those of you who were in discord but don't use it…such accounts frequently get hacked. There were 3 such cases this month in my server alone. So, you might wanna look into that.