Devastation.
That was the one word that came to Yingyue's mind as she watched Xinyue tear through the dragons like a natural disaster, so fast she gave them no time to regenerate.
The very ground shook with their roars, agonized and haunting, but Xinyue did not stop shredding even their shreds to shreds.
The creatures had no blood, they seemed to have been born out of the sea, their bodies like solid, fleshy water.
However, the Saintess of the Silver Blade knew that these things were not the real threat, rather the one that had summoned and was now controlling them from within the sea was. She made a hand sign, and a glowing orb of spiritual energy condensed in her palm, absorbing the water splashing into the air like a vacuum. Xinyue fired it as a projectile into the sea,in the spot between the six "dragons".
Surprisingly, there was no effect,as if the attack had been neutralized midway. No, it had definitely been neutralized.
Xinyue narrowed her eyes. Whatever could neutralize her attack was not to be trifled with.
Standing on Banlu, she reached into her robes, pulled out a long, crystalline flute, and began to play.
As she played, she channelled spiritual energy through the entrancing music. This tune was one of the toughest Meng clan spells to master, because it required a high level of concentration. Its purpose was to infiltrate the mind of the target hearing the music.
Though casting the spell drained a large amount of spiritual energy, it was nothing the Saintess of the Silver Blade couldn't handle.
The being in the waters, however, turned out to be something the Saintess really could not handle. As soon as the music established a mental link between Xinyue and this being, bright blue eyes flashed in the Saintess' mind.
Instantly,a strange wave of terror crashed into her. Irrational trepidation flooded her heart, which was suddenly slamming against her ribcage as if it wanted to burst out of her chest. Dread paralyzed her limbs, and before she knew what was happening, she had lost her balance and was falling at full speed towards the sea, Banlu falling with her.
What was going on? Why couldn't she move? Just what on earth was that thing?
Move, she urged herself. Xinyue, move!
But she couldn't, and the waters were getting closer and closer. Suddenly,a gentle warmth enveloped her. Gentle hands reached for her, one at her back, the other behind her knees, successfully catching her bridal style.
Xinyue looked up into a familiar face.
"Sect leader"she said, astonished.
"One must be careful, Maiden Meng".
He was wearing his usual smile, as he pushed Banlu into her hand.
"You have done well. Return to the shore. I'll take care of the rest".
No. Xinyue absolutely did not want anyone to find themselves battling with that thing, whatever it was.
"Sect leader...".
"Is Maiden Meng worried for my safety?".
"Well...".
His tone was kind as usual, but for some reason Xinyue immediately felt that worrying about him was the most unnecessary action in the world. She found herself feeling sheepish.
"This disciple will return to the shore, Sect leader".
Without further delay, she mounted Banlu and hurried back to Yingyue's side.
When her foster sister was secure in her arms, Xinyue still could not help looking anxiously up at Pan Junjie.
The Sect leader hovered above the waters, looking completely unruffled. He made some hand signs, and a golden circle appeared in the sky, covering the whole breadth of the sea.
It was exceedingly majestic, with intricate writings and symbols no one could fathom.
Instantly, the sea began to rise in spirals towards the circle.
Xinyue could hardly believe it. Before her very eyes, Junjie purified the water tainted by the mysterious being,then placed a seal turning the bottom of the sea into a prison before returning the rest of the water back into the sea. All of this he did in a matter of minutes.
Xinyue gaped.
He really was on an entirely different level.
Now the creature could neither leave the sea nor wreck any havoc, however badly it wanted to.
And just like that, the mission at Haibin town had ended.
*
*
*
Elder Pan was the head of the Pan clan elders, the father to Pan Junjie and grandfather to Pan Yuchen. The members of the Pan sect very rarely ever saw him, as he was always away on one trip or the other. But, on hearing of the incident at Haibin town, he had cut his current travel short and hurried back to the Mist Oasis for a talk with his son.
He certainly did not expect to hear laughter emanating from Junjie's office as he ascended the spotless snow white stairs, approaching the door.
"Shixiong began learning how to write at age two?! Wow, I certainly would have run off if it were me"a girl's voice was saying.
Junjie chuckled.
"I did that all the time when I was little, running from lessons and hiding from my tutors"he responded.
"Let me guess, he never got birthday presents either?".
"Well, you're right...".
"No birthday presents?"Yingyue sounded horrified by the very idea"seriously?".
"Presents aren't exactly a custom around here...".
That was when Elder Pan opened the door to behold a sight he not only considered ridiculous, but unsightly as well. Junjie sat at his desk, writing. By his side sat Yingyue, busily making his hair into braids so ugly Elder Pan nearly spat out blood.
"Junjie!".
The Sect leader looked up,a smile at the corners of his lips.
"Father".
At the sound of this, Yingyue looked up,then scrambled to her feet and bowed quickly.
"Elder Pan".
He did not respond. Instead he looked at her in a way that made her conclude that Yuchen must have gotten glaring lessons from this man.
"A-Yue, could you leave us?".
"Of course, Dage. I mean, yes, Sect leader. I mean..."Yingyue stuttered, sneaking another look at the Elder.
That look was really sending jitters up her spine.
"I'll excuse myself now".
She practically fled from the office.
Junjie chuckled lightly before he rose to salute his father.
"Father".
"Junjie".
The two of them sat at opposite sides of the desk, and Junjie laid what he was writing aside.
"You returned early, Father".
"I heard about Haibin town".
"Oh,"Junjie proceeded to unravel the horrible braids that were Yingyue's handwork"the situation has been handled already, though".
"Tell me everything".
"It was Yuan Siyu".
Elder Pan drew a sharp breath. His deepest worries had just been confirmed.
"Yuan Siyu. 'The fallen dragon'. I thought she had disappeared for good. We all did. Or at least,we hoped. But... how can you be sure it really was her?".
"It was. I got the accounts of the students who were originally sent on that mission. Blue eyes, they said. She was able to turn Meng Xinyue's mind infiltration spell on her, neutralized a highly destructive attack of hers,awakened and manipulated a fierce corpse that could hold its own against Yuchen in a house far away from the sea, and materialized dragons with sea matter as their bodies".
"If that was all she did,then she's not at her full strength".
"She isn't,"Junjie agreed"she had tainted the waters of the sea with her essence, allowing her to absorb the spiritual essence of the people who used water from the sea,in order to recover all of her spiritual energy. Thankfully, she cannot continue to do so anymore. I have sealed her away properly".
"All those years ago, after the death of the demon king,his pets disappeared to unknown locations. First that giant snake appeared, and now Yuan Siyu too, even though she had been asleep this whole time. Does this mean that the other two pets will awaken soon, as well?".
"I've been considering that possibility. There is one more thing. Just before she drained her victims, Yuan Siyu showed them a vision of the demon king Huang Yichen, standing at a river of blood".
Elder Pan's eyes widened at that.
"She showed them a vision of her master? Could it be that the pets are awakening, because Huang Yichen is awakening too?".
"My thoughts exactly".
"That would be...".
Elder Pan's voice trailed off,as if he was afraid to complete the statement.
That would spell another bloodbath, another age of tyranny. And possibly, the end of the cultivation world.
"I don't think she intended to show them the vision, though. But since she had established a connection through the tainted water, her clearest memory was inadvertently shared with them"Junjie added.
"That makes sense".
Elder Pan pondered for a while, then asked.
"Why,then, did Yuan Siyu not launch any obvious attack until our students went there?".
"I believe something triggered her".
"Something? Like what?".
"What triggers violence in placid ghosts? Blood, for one".
"Blood?".
"Meng Yingyue was bitten by a dog right before she charged into the sea to rescue a drowning child. She bled into the sea".
"Meng Yingyue"Elder Pan repeated, his tone dripping with displeasure.
"Father?".
"Why was Meng Yingyue at Haibin town?".
"She was accompanying Yuchen, on my instructions".
"You let her accompany Yuchen?"Elder Pan's face was already changing color.
"Father?Is something wrong?".
"Wrong? Yuchen should not be made to mix with the likes of her!".
Junjie frowned slightly.
"I don't understand. A-Yue can be a bit of a handful sometimes, but she's just a child at play, really".
"A-Yue?"the older man repeated"you call her that? I tried to ignore it, but...why do you keep her by your side?".
"I'm not bored anymore when she's with me"Junjie shrugged.
"You... you know whose daughter she is, don't you?".
Junjie thought he might laugh. So that was the problem!
"She's Meng Lanfen's daughter, I know. She is not Meng Lanfen, though".
Meng Lanfen, AKA Madame Meng had been a student at the Pan sect in her youth.
A student in Elder Pan's class, to be specific. Elder Pan never spoke of it, but it was clear that something had happened during that time. Something that made him utterly abhor her, even though she was once very close friends with Yuchen's late mother.
"You should not judge Yingyue because of her mother, Father. That would not be fair at all".
Elder Pan did not respond to that for a while. Finally he rose.
"I don't want her anywhere near Yuchen. Do you understand?".
Junjie merely smiled.
"Let me see you off, Father".
*
*
*
Elder Pan arrived at Haibin in the dead of the night. Just as he had planned, nobody saw him. Nobody would know he had been there.
He stepped towards the sea, held his arm over the water and made a cut on his still firm flesh.
His blood flowed freely into the water, but nothing happened. Usually, even though they could not escape,a typical ghost would show at least the most minor reaction. Yet, he could feel Yuan Siyu enough to know that she was not reacting in the slightest.
Elder Pan withdrew his arm, his suspicion confirmed. It wasn't that Yuan Siyu was triggered by blood. Rather, it took Meng Yingyue's blood in particular for her to forget about hiding and show herself.
Meng Yingyue's blood, and nobody else's.
Elder Pan's expression turned grim. Just what had Meng Lanfen done?