Chapter 333 - Truths and Lies (XIX) (Patreon)

Those... certainly were words.

It wasn't words so much that made me wanna run as far away as possible as it was the sheer magnitude of Qi that suddenly seemed to pour out of every inch of that man's body.

His robes began to shine in an ashen glow as winds stirred around his visage, all so while he spread out his arms widely--immediately, several dozen daggers manifested out of thin air, but they were... odd.

Unstable, almost, as they seemed to be vibrating in place, as though the world didn't accept them.

[--Eternity wishes to intercede and end 'Dance of the Daggers' art]

[Calculating Cost...]

[Do you wish to spend 25,000 Creation Points to allow Eternity to act?]

... yeah, sure, I've got millions in the bank. What's 25,000--as if! Go away, you dumb system!

And you... you carpet, rug, whatever you are! Aah, why, why did you have to 'reveal' yourself to me?!! Ugh, whatever. Forget that.

The kids are all on the shore, looking up at Long Tao anxiously. Can he win? I... don't know. I believe that old monster can do many things, but the sheer discrepancy in realms is far too much. If it truly was possible to leap so many realms, then what's even the point of them?

Something tells me that the only reason the kids can even fight with people far above their realm is simply because the 'quality' of cultivators here is pretty much rock bottom.

But the Sage... is a different story.

Even if he does have a 'wound', or whatever it is, he's only the second person I've ever met to have had a Dao Title--that old woman being the first.

The system would not abruptly include it if it didn't mean something.

Speaking of the old woman... she's here, too, though hidden in the sky. I don't know why I can see her while nobody else seems to be able to--I don't think she knows I can see her, but... agh, all of this is pointless.

Can I somehow help Long Tao? The only thing I can think of is the mirror--but I can't fly that far up. Or jump. And even if I could, I'd be nowhere near fast enough.

Do I put my faith in him? In the fact that he's likely an old, cautious monster that would never do anything if the success wasn't guaranteed?

Ah, whatever.

Go on, you old monster.

Show me what you got.

My little panic attack (haven't had one in a while, now that I think about it? Wow!) was interrupted by the song of Qi that made me deaf--the sheer burst of energy coming from above barreled me backwards toward the shore where Wan Lan and Xi Zhao caught me.

The lake's waters, at the same time, erupted into massive pillars and waves, clashing as though they were playing out the worst storm of all time.

Up above, colors bled out like there was a prism refracting them; both Long Tao and the Sage were mere blurs, shuttling about like arrays of light across the distance. One was ashen and black, drifting swiftly yet gracefully, while the other was dull gray, seeming on the edge of collapse... yet never quite collapsing.

No matter how much I tried to focus, I... I just couldn't keep up.

I'd only catch glimpses of the sprays of blood--and they all seemed to be coming from Long Tao, and not the Sage.

At some point, I realized my palms were wet; looking down, I'd unconsciously dug my fingernails so deep into them that they'd started to bleed.

Honestly... this might be the most scared I ever felt in this world. I mean, I was terrified plenty of times, but that was simply due to the circumstances. Now... I'm just scared that something will happen to that old gremlin. For better or worse, I'd actually quantify him as my best friend in this world, however little sense it made.

Shadows erupted violently all of a sudden, hundreds of daggers of darkness swirling outward like arrows, curling around Long Tao and heading directly toward us.

"Get behind!!" I quickly yelled at the kids but... that's not what they did. Rather, it was the opposite.

Light's tendrils wrapped around my waist and yanked me back as they all stepped in front of me, Qi around them surging into a storm.

Wan Lan and Dai Xiu's figures began to tremble as a strange, transparent hue bled off their edges; Rayce, just behind them, tore apart two sheets of paper as a burst of strange, teal color shot up from his fingertips like water, curling around into a vast sheen of light just in front of us.

At the same time, Light's figure began to float, plumes of violet erupting from her back and fanning out into the shape of wings--she floated about fifteen feet above us, wings spanning nearly forty feet in each direction, all while thousands, no, tens of thousands of tendrils split from the center of the wings, shooting in every direction.

Lastly, Xi Zhao grasped the handle of the sword and, his entire right arm shaking rather violently; veins were bulging and blood vessels visibly bursting.

... they are nuts.

No, seriously; why are they so stubbornly annoying?!!

The daggers came and they welcomed them--layers of defenses shattered, explosions echoing and repelling outwards, but we remained safe.

"Xi Zhao, protect Master at all cost!"

One of the girls said it, though which one... I couldn't tell.

Their figures were wholly doused in the glow of colors, as that strange sheen began to morph into... something. A visage. An ethereal image hanging above them.

--wait just a goddamn second.

THOSE TWO ARE BREAKING THROUGH INTO THE SPIRIT MANIFESTATION REALM?!! RIGHT NOW?!!

Rayce suddenly collapsed, having just torn yet another sheet--misty white flew from it, routing around us all and covering us.

Xi Zhao drew the sword out and I watched in abject horror as his entire arm shattered, from shoulder to wrist, becoming a mangled mess of flesh, blood, and bone. Yet the attack that came forth from the shining blade was a visage of horror, the plumes of white writhing around the edge of coalesced array of Sword Qi.

He bit his lip to stop himself from screaming, though still fell on his knees as the sword fell next to him; but his attack flew out, majestic and grand, causing ripples in void to billow out sideways, and meeting yet another salvo of daggers directly, disintegrating them all as though they were made of paper.

The white plumes bloomed into a scorching bird that hacked its way through the encroaching darkness, rendering it null.

"HELP BROTHER TAO!!"

Okay, that was Dai Xiu, for sure--she screamed so loudly that I felt my ears ring, as both her and Wan Lan converged into a deluge of colors, shooting upward like the falling (rising?) stars, leaving behind them streaks of light.

... someone, anyone, please, tell me what the hell just happened?!