shf... shf... shf...
[Forest of Guluan]
"Haah... Haa... Huuu... ", Akelus dragged his bone dry leg, dark green blood gushing from his bleeding arm. Sweating profusely, his robes drenched. Parts around his clot were turning green, rotting. His face partially burnt and his hair slightly charred.
He took a pill, which just seemed to have lost it's effects, other than seemingly controlling some of the green poison's spread. His open wounds were not closing. There was a pink aura cutting at his wounds. Akelus took out some bandages from his golden ring and started wrapping it around his arm, to stop the bleeding.
"There he is!... GET HIM!!!", yelled a Murim Warrior pointing at the bushes. The rest of the platoon readied their weapons. Akelus leaped forward, limping at an incredible pace. His eyes gleaming and bleeding.
The platoon charged forward, blowing a warhorn.
BWROON!!!
A powerful roar rumbled across the vast stretches of the [Forest of Guluan]. Several platoons were signaled. They charged forward towards the source, while blowing more warhorns.
BWROON!!! BWROON!!! BWROOHN!!!...
"Found him." Tang Jieshu said with a cold glint in his eyes.
"Right then, Let's get on with it.", Sect Leader Zhang declared.
"No, you will stay, and... that's final.", said Dongfang Kongbu." You will intervene, only when Akelus refuses to co-operate, because then we would kill him anyway."
Dongfang Zhang just glared at both Demon Kongbu and Patriarch Jieshu, then sighed.
"I will tail that thief. Demon Kongbu will take to the skies, while presumably Sect Leader Ren will help me trap Akelus, but Feng Ren do remember no killing, till he is co-operating." said Tang Jieshu
"Yes, Tang Patriarch, Sect leader Ren will help you", assured Dongfang Zhang, with a smile.
********** ********* ***********
BWROON!!!
[Forest of Guluan]
"DAMN IT ALL!!!", yelled Akelus, as he kept limping through the forest.
"This is exactly the opposite of what I wanted!!!, Where did it go wrong?!?, he thought." Things are bad as it is, good thing the Forbidden City is not involved yet. WAIT!!!, what am I thinking... positive thoughts... positive thoughts. I can get through this. Yes, I can."
His eyes gleamed.
[Pathfinder]
Several arrows appeared around him most of them red, some grey spots, but fortunately a grey string of arrows leading a path out.
"Not great, yes...", Akelus grimaced." But!.. I have worked with worse."
Akelus turned assimilating his Qi to his fist, and then slammed it into the ground sending a shockwave of golden Qi, momentarily dissipating the relentlessly charging horde.
Trees were uprooted and soldiers were sent flying away, the ground beneath crumbled and quaked.
"The sovereigns are immensely enraged. DON'T LET HIM GET AWAY!!!", yelled a Tang clansman, rallying his people behind.
"YAAARGH", everyone charged towards Akelus unhindered and determined.
"Fuck", grimaced Akelus, as he limped away, shooting golden beams of Qi at the mob.
The horde still, rallied on with it's relentless charge. Some got hit while rest rushed forth unrelenting and determined.
A dark green [Aura of Nature] started spreading across the [Forest of Guluan]. The shadows grew darker and murkier. The aura festered on the wounded soldiers.
"What the...", a soldier wondered, as the aura patched his wounds with green tissues.
Delighted at the sight of the patched up wound, he exclaimed, "THE HEAVENS ARE WITH U-".
Suddenly, thick vines sprouted forth rooting the soldier and the people around him. The green tissue grew and festered, sprouting on him, draining his life force to a husk. Vines entered the festering green tissues, drawing the soldiers to the ground, eating them alive.
[Pathfinder]
Lot of the red arrows around Akelus started turning grey. A extremely Magenta mark on him.
"What is happening...", as Akelus looked around, he could see a dark Green Aura trying to surround him. {An intense sense of dread}
He quickly surrounded himself with ethereal golden Qi , warding off the Dark Green Aura.
"Just focus on getting out of here, Akelus.", he thought, as a dark-silver shadow loomed over him.
He bolted forward, hopping on one foot. Leaping and rolling all the while evading the murky green aura surrounding him.
Patriarch Jieshu swooped from above, gliding along the wind, forming two vicious pale blue orbs on his palms. The orbs spun into a vortex spraying murky white-blue fluid on the forest, leaving behind a trail of corroding trees and soldiers alike, eroding the very land beneath. Infesting the forest.
The forest started to rumble and wail loudly. It's ground grumbling and shaking. A vicious green aura surrounding it, violently containing the spread of the poison.
Demon Kongbu assimilated dark red Qi, aura around him started getting heavy. Condensing his demonified Qi into an Orb, dyeing the sky red.
He flung it to the ground.
BOOM!!!
Pulsating red waves of energy rampaged through the forest, uprooting trees, burning the ground, flattening the entire area. Huge gusts of wind and mist blew past the forest.
Akelus staggered against the roaring winds, his eyes gleaming. His face pale and his body exhausted. Cold dread reflecting on his eyes, fearing the outcome of this situation. One last time-
[Pathfinder]
The entire area was pitch black. A black mark had appeared on Akelus.
"Hahaha... That was quiet a chase you gave us there, Akelus, I am Impressed!!!", exclaimed Dongfang Kongbu. "You almost got away." he smirked sarcastically.
"You have nowhere left to run, cur. Surrender now.", said Tang Jieshu, hovering in the sky. "Cooperate and we will spare your miserable life."
Akelus looked back at the forest, he was near the edge. Freedom was just few miles ahead.
"Don't even think about it.", warned the Wudang Sect leader Feng Ren, stepping out of the shadows with his sword gleaming white. "Today is the day you will be brought to justice."
"Hahahaha!!!", Akelus roared. "Justice!!! Justice, you say. There is no justice here. All I see is the ever righteous Orthodox sect siding with Demons and the ever pompous Great Clans ganging up on a lonesome wanderer, a vagabond. There is no Justice here, it's all a farce, a hoax."
Akelus sighed, anxiety and fear overwhelming him, he said, "I will never surrender."
The tension rose, and Sect Leader Dongfang Zhang, strode out in the open. "We should have killed him a long time ago, there is no use reasoning with someone who is this far-gone." he said, as he readied his blade.
But before anyone could act, Akelus quickly threw out a silver ring to the ground, and lunged up high. And as he was running, he yelled, "I might be far-gone, but I am not crazy enough to fight all of you at once!!!"
"He is lying!!!", exclaimed Tang Jieshu. "There is no way he would abandon his spoils, AFTER HIM!!!"
He dashed after him, but then stopped. Dongfang Kongbu, Dongfang Zhang and even Feng Ren, all were rooted, not budging an inch, never taking their eyes off the silver ring.
"With Akelus, we can never be sure.", said the Demon Kongbu, with a grim look on his face.
"He maybe telling the truth, or not." continued Alliance master Zhang. "There is no harm in confirming things."
"He will get away by that time!", exclaimed Patriarch Jieshu.
"So you can go after him. We will stay here and check this ring.", said Alliance master Zhang, never taking his eyes off the ring.
Tang Jieshu swallowed his anger with bloodshot eyes. As he dashed after Akelus.
The forest started rumbling loudly, a very dark and murky green aura started surrounding it. Pale grey mist started blowing from the ground, several corpses crawled out of it, growling and screeching. The had pale grey skin with wood bark covering their hands, face, and backs.
These corpses turned their head, surrounding all the five warriors. They howled in unision as they charged wildly towards all the five warriors.
The forest swayed as it's ground started to rumble, as if it were roaring and mocking.
"The Jiangshi!!!", yelled Dongfang Kongbu."Hold your ground!!!"
Alliance Master Dongfang Zhang and Sect Leader Feng Ren readied their blades, holding them high.
All the three struck simultaneously, sending forth waves of pure Qi and destruction, slicing, cutting and butchering everything as they made their way towards the silver ring.
The land beneath them rose and rumbled. Their feet sunk within the ground rooting them, several vines sprouted forth binding them, while the Jiangshi surrounded them cackling, growling and howling.
Patriarch Tang Jeishu chased after Akelus, roaring in rage and fury.
"STOP COWARD!!!"
Akelus just kept limping forward ignoring the Patriarch's Temper. Straining his eyes, which were gleaming bright, desperately trying to find a way out.
[Pathfinder]
Nothing, other than a black mark over his head. There was a similar mark over the Tang Patriarch's head as well.
The land beneath rose and rumbled. The ground became muddy like a swamp. The trees around came alive, shrubs started to grow wildly, the grass grew into sharp spikes. The forest raged and whirled.
More vines sprouted, spreading wildly binding everything it touched. It surrounded Patriarch Jieshu, restraining him and dragging him away. He sunk into the land as the forest devoured his life force to a husk.
Akelus kept leaping forward, hopping on one leg. Forest's edge was a few miles away.
The forest of Guluan was viciously trying to surround him. Trees swaying wildly, shrubs were growing violently, the grass blades sharp as ever. The sprouted vines furiously trying to bind Akelus. It was as if the whole forest had come to life.
A mighty green aura tried to surround Akelus, while he desperately held on to his life by warding it with his own Golden Qi. His eyes were gleaming, only this time with a bright azure light.
[Pathfinder]
A line of Azure blue arrows appeared in front of Akelus, leading him out of the forest.
Akelus instinctively followed it, jumping over the shrubs, skidding across the vines, swinging by the trees. All the while having a dark-silver shadow looming over his head.
The forest was closing in, the exit was being blocked by it. Akelus bolted forward, leaping. Ignoring the lashes from the shrubs, the sharp edges of the grass and the swinging trees. He was desperately running for his life evading every vine trying to hold him back, and avoiding being devoured by the land beneath.
He crossed the edge, leaping forward getting out of that blasted Forest, just as it closed off the exit.
Akelus stabilized his Qi, and calmed himself down. He checked his golden ring. Everything seemed to be in order.
"AHA!!!, I am free!!!", Akelus roared, as exhaustion hit him. He staggered a bit and then fell.
A man descended, clad in the robes of a monk. It was one of the seven Dragons.
The Divine Lotus Haoqi Xin.
As Akelus' conscious was fading away, he heard the monk say:
"Amitabul"
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