DDD Chapter 134: Allies of Convenience (Patreon)

A cultivator wearing the gray and white uniform of the Thousand Blade Sect regarded me with resentment as he disappeared in a flash of white light. I felt no small measure of satisfaction. If I counted the man and woman that I encountered when I first arrived in the Myriad Landscapes Painting, then that was the tenth opponent I had defeated in the past few hours. Most of them had been in mid Foundation Establishment, earning me a decent sum of points.

I stood in the middle of a flat, rocky plain. There was nothing around me except barren stone and an incessant, howling wind. It was hot here, though not quite on the level of the Howling Desert province or Flame Fiend Peak. It was about afternoon now, though it was difficult to tell for sure without a sun for reference. Off to my side, not too far from my current position, was an obfuscation array that I had set up using my Black Tortoise Array Set.

After defeating the man and woman that I encountered when I first arrived in the Myriad Landscapes Painting, I wandered about for a bit searching for opponents to fight. It took me less than an hour to find three mid Foundation Establishment cultivators, one after the other, with each one traveling on their own. I defeated all three in turn, though each fight required a lot of effort on my part.

After fighting three grueling battles in a row, I changed my strategy. While I enjoyed testing myself against powerful opponents in battles of strength and skill, I knew it wasn’t viable in the long-term. There just wasn’t enough time between each battle for me to rest and recover my strength. If I wanted to make it to the end of the Rising Heroes Tournament, or at least earn enough points to rank within the top twenty five, then I needed to fight smarter.

To that end, I resorted to ambushes and other underhanded tactics. This worked remarkably well. After some trial and error, I found a tactic that hadn’t failed me yet. First, I would set up an obfuscation array with my Black Tortoise Array Set. Second, I would hide my flying sword inside the array. Third, I would search for a suitable target and lead them back to my trap.

Due to my early Foundation Establishment cultivation base, a lot of the other participants viewed me as easy prey. I used this to my advantage by exchanging a few blows with them and then “fleeing” when I started to lose. My opponents would give chase. I would then lead them to my obfuscation array and strike at them with my flying sword in a sneak attack. That was how I defeated most of my opponents. Afterwards, I would find another location to set up my trap and do it all over again.

However, I decided it was time to change strategies once more. The reason why this one worked so well was because my opponents kept underestimating me. That wouldn’t last forever. Sooner or later, I would either find someone too strong for me to defeat regardless of whatever tricks I pulled, or I would find someone with more caution than pride.

Besides, while leading my opponents into a trap was effective, it wasn’t as fun as fighting them outright. Maybe I should just go back to picking fights with every participant I came across. Afterwards, I could hide and rest within an obfuscation array. However, I didn’t know if that would allow me to earn enough points to rank within the top twenty five.

In the end, I dismantled my obfuscation array and put away my Black Tortoise Array Set, before heading out on my flying carpet. I would think of something while on the move. With all the participants hunting one another, remaining in one place was a bad idea. Not that flying around was any better. Still, the wind in my hair felt nice.

As I flew about, I pulled my Seeking Mirror out of my storage ring. It was a magic treasure that I obtained while in the Violet Desert hidden realm. It showed me a detailed map of the landscape within a hundred miles of my current location. During my time in the Myriad Landscapes Painting, my Seeking Mirror had proven invaluable. It showed me the best places for me to set up my traps.

I studied the map and realized that I would soon reach a new area of the Myriad Landscapes Painting. It appeared that a vast forest bordered this rocky plain. Perfect.

I put my Seeking Mirror away and flew towards the forest. Soon, my destination appeared on the horizon. The forest consisted entirely of fir trees. Each one stood hundreds of feet tall, with massive trunks. When I drew close enough, a sharp but pleasant scent filled my nostrils. A thick underbrush blanketed the forest floor.

However, just as I reached the border of the forest, I noticed a commotion with my spirit sense. I took a closer look and saw a group of four cultivators fighting one another. No. Three of them were ganging up on the fourth.

The group of three were disciples of the same sect from what I saw. They all wore blue and white robes. The fourth cultivator wore the white and gold robes of Celestial Warrior Hall and wielded a sword that glowed with golden light. In fact, now that I took a closer look, I realized that I knew this person. It was Byron Gold Flame, who I once fought in a duel. I knew he was participating in the Rising Heroes Tournament, though I hadn’t seen him since the day the Dawnfire departed from the Dawn and Dusk Sect.

Cultivator Byron held his own for now, but he wouldn’t last for long. He was in early Foundation Establishment, while all of his opponents were in mid Foundation Establishment. Not only was he outnumbered, but each of his opponents had a higher cultivation base than him. He had little chance of winning. Despite this, Cultivator Byron wore a calm and composed expression on his face as he fought.

For a moment, I considered leaving. After all, I didn’t owe Cultivator Byron anything. Nor did I hold him in high regard, given what happened between us. Why should I help him? If anything, I should take advantage of this scenario to earn myself more points.

On the other hand, Cultivator Byron could prove to be a valuable ally, assuming I could trust him. Together, the two of us could deal with threats that neither of us could handle alone. We couldn’t share points, since only the one who got the killing blow could earn the point for eliminating someone, but we could come to some sort of arrangement. 

In the end, I decided to help Cultivator Byron. There were some practical benefits, yes. Not only that, but the two of us were part of the same sect. Despite my personal feeling towards the man, I should at least attempt to aid him. Besides, after his opponents eliminated him, they would come after me. I wasn’t confident in my chances of defeating three mid Foundation Establishment cultivators at the same time. Together, the odds of us winning were much higher.

And if Cultivator Byron betrayed me afterwards, I would make him pay for it.

I flew towards Cultivator Byron and the others. A yellow barrier sprang into existence around me as I activated my stone necklace magic treasure. At the same time, I pulled my flying sword out of my storage ring. When I drew close enough, I launched it towards the opponent closest to me. In this case, it was a female cultivator who specialized in using water mystic arts. Even as I watched, she summoned a dragon made of water and launched it at Cultivator Byron.

However, just before the water dragon reached him, the female cultivator noticed my flying sword and redirected her attack to intercept it. The two clashed in an explosion of water and mist. My flying sword destroyed the water dragon, but stopped dead in its tracks. This gave the female cultivator enough time to summon a blue barrier around her.

“You finish that one off!” she called out to her companions. “I’ll deal with the newcomer!”

With that, the female cultivator flew towards me while her companions attacked Cultivator Byron with renewed fervor. Despite this, Cultivator Byron remained unflustered. He used Armor of the Celestial Warrior and continued to hold his own.

I tried to attack the female cultivator again with my flying sword, but she pulled a pair of flying chakrams out of her storage ring. She used one to fend off my flying sword and attacked me with the other one. I pulled my steel buckler magic treasure out of my storage ring and used it to block the flying chakram. Our weapons clashed, the sound ringing out. Neither one of us could overpower the other. We were at a stalemate.

As this went on, I tried to close the distance between the female cultivator and I. However, she backed away from me and summoned a water dragon to attack me from a distance. I dodged it, but it turned around and attacked me from behind. This water dragon was similar to my Fire Serpent mystic art, but far more powerful.

Thus, I found myself in an unfavorable position. My opponent kept backing away from me, leaving me unable to attack her up close. Whenever I sped up, she matched my speed. Without my flying sword, I didn’t have many options to attack from a distance. This left her free to attack me with impunity. There was my Burning Cloud Breath mystic art, but it wouldn’t reach her. Besides, it was better for dealing with large groups of enemies than individuals.

As I dodged another swipe from the water dragon, I decided to use something I had held in reserve since the Rising Heroes Tournament started: my Soul Thorn Dagger mystic art. It was my hidden weapon, yes. However, keeping it hidden without ever actually using it was a waste.

I shaped my spirit sense into a barbed blade and attacked the female cultivator with all of my mental strength. My strike moved at the speed of thought and reached her in an instant. It slipped past her blue barrier with ease. However, the moment it touched her forehead, she disappeared in a flash of white light.

I stopped and stared at the spot where the female cultivator had been, flabbergasted by what just transpired. I wasn’t the only one either. Cultivator Byron and the female cultivator’s two companions stopped fighting for a moment and stared as well.

My Soul Thorn Dagger defeated the female cultivator in an instant. Were mental mystic arts that powerful? Or was Soul Thorn Dagger special somehow? Regardless, I was glad that Mom taught me Soul Aegis Shield, so I could protect my mind from such attacks.

With the female cultivator dealt with, I turned my attention to her two companions. Both were men. One specialized in ice mystic arts. He formed shards of ice in the air around him, before launching them at Cultivator Byron. The other one wielded a sword. His stances were fluid, changing from one form to another. His attacks resembled a raging torrent, ferocious and fierce. His defenses resembled a still lake, one that swallowed and neutralized Cultivator Byron’s strikes.

Together, the two of them made for a good team. Even without the female cultivator’s aid, they suppressed Cultivator Byron. However, now that I was here, the tide had changed.

As I flew towards them, the two men snapped out of their daze. The sword cultivator turned to face me, while the ice cultivator kept Cultivator Byron occupied. I launched my flying sword at the sword cultivator, though he deflected my attack with ease. He retaliated by pulling his own flying sword out of his storage ring and launching it at me. I used my steel buckler to block it.

However, to my surprise, the flying sword continued to attack me as if it were being wielded by a person. Its movements were beautiful and graceful, but deadly. I struggled to keep it at bay with my steel buckler. This sword cultivator was far more adept at wielding a flying sword than I could ever hope to be. I was a little envious, but only a little. After all, I doubt he could punch as hard as I could.

While the flying sword distracted me, the sword cultivator closed the distance between us. I tried to attack him with my own flying sword, but my attempts were laughably crude in comparison. He didn’t slow down at all. When the sword cultivator reached me, it felt like I was being attacked by two opponents.

Still, this wasn’t enough to overwhelm me. As skilled as this sword cultivator was, I had faced stronger opponents. Besides, I wanted to test out the strength of my Soul Thorn Dagger.

I used Wind Dash Shoulder Slam. The sword cultivator slashed at me with his sword. However, just before I reached him, I used Soul Thorn Dagger. The barbed blade made from my spirit sense reached his forehead in an instant, and he disappeared in a flash of white light.

A smile stretched across my face as I caught myself with my flying carpet. What a waste. I should have been using Soul Thorn Dagger this entire time instead of a flying sword that I wasn’t even that adept at wielding.

I turned to deal with the last enemy. However, I needn’t have bothered. In that moment, Cultivator Byron defeated the ice cultivator by slashing at the latter’s neck with his sword. After the ice cultivator disappeared in a flash of white light, Cultivator Byron turned towards me.

My nerves grew taut with tension, and for a moment I thought we would come to blows. I was tempted to attack him, due to our history with one another. However, I held back. As for Cultivator Byron, his calm and composed expression made it difficult to read him. Would he attack me? That was the question.

The answer, it turned out, was no. When Cultivator Byron’s sword stopped glowing, my tension dissipated and I let out a breath I had been holding in. While I remained wary of him, I didn’t think he would attack. Not yet, at least.

“Thank you for your assistance, Cultivator Darian,” Cultivator Byron said in an even voice. “If you hadn’t intervened when you had, those three would have eliminated me.”

I shook my head.

“No need to thank me,” I said, “I only intervened because I feared they would come after me next. You are much less of a threat than they were.”

Cultivator Byron nodded.

“I understand.” He said. “Nonetheless, I am grateful for your help. I will repay you when I get the opportunity to.”

I narrowed my eyes at him.

“You’re different from how I remember you, Cultivator Byron.” I said. “What happened to the arrogant young master from before?”

Cultivator Byron let out a self-deprecating chuckle.

“A lot has happened in the years since our duel.” He said in a wry voice. “Would you care to hear my story? I can tell you, after we find a place to rest. I need to recover my strength. If not, we can part ways here.”

I took a closer look at Cultivator Byron. He looked a little pale and haggard. I didn’t know how long he fought with the group of three cultivators, but it took its toll on him. Again, I was tempted to attack him. In his weakened state, he was no match for me. However, I held back once again.

“Very well,” I said, “Let us go.”

With that, the two of us went to find a place to rest.

***

Using my Seeking Mirror, I found a thick cluster of trees within the forest. Once we reached the cluster, Cultivator Byron and I landed in the branches of one of the trees. It was thick enough to hold both of us without breaking. Afterwards, we set up several defensive and obfuscation arrays to hide our presence.

Once we were as safe as we could be in these circumstances, Cultivator Byron ate a Qi Restoration Pill before sitting down to meditate. I kept an eye on our surroundings, just in case someone found our little hiding spot. It was unlikely, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

After Cultivator Byron recovered some of his strength, he opened his eyes.

“Thank you for watching over me, Cultivator Darian.” He said. “I know that you don’t like me, so I’m even more grateful for your help.”

I snorted.

“That’s an understatement,” I said, “You harassed Cultivator Aneira and made life difficult for her.”

Cultivator Byron nodded with a troubled expression on his face.

“Yes.” He said. “I regret my actions from those days. Looking back on it now, I realize how much of a fool I had been back then.” His expression cleared up. “However, the consequences of my actions led me to becoming the man I am today. So, at least some good came of it.”

I pulled a cushion out of my storage ring and sat down. It took a little effort to find my balance, since the tree branch we were on wasn’t that wide, but I managed.

“What happened to you?” I asked.

His answer would determine whether or not I would propose an alliance with him. If his story didn’t satisfy me, I would just eliminate him here and now. After all, people didn’t just change out of nowhere. This could all be an elaborate act on his part.

“After our duel,” Cultivator Byron began, “My family was furious with me. My actions had tainted the Gold Flame name. We had always been leaders within Celestial Warrior Hall, righteous and above reproach. I ruined that.” His expression darkened. “So, my family sent me off to the Caves of Punishment.”

I let out a whistle. As the name suggested, the Caves of Punishment was where the Dawn and Dusk Sect sent its troublemakers and rule breakers. While I hadn’t visited them myself, I had heard of them. Located within a cliff side, the Caves of Punishment were small, cramped prison cells that were exposed to the elements. It was burning hot during the day, and freezing cold at night. On top of that, there was a constant howling wind. Those imprisoned there never got a moment’s peace.

“I hated it there.” Cultivator Byron continued. “I could never rest, not really. Whenever I slept, it was always in short bursts. Neither could I cultivate. The qi in that place was thin and threadbare. All I could do was sit there and stew in my own resentment.” He shook his head. “In the beginning, I resented everyone and everything. I blamed others for my imprisonment. Cultivator Aneira, You, my family. The only person I didn’t blame was myself, even though it was my own fault that I ended up in that place. However, back then I believed otherwise.”

I frowned at him.

“What changed?” I asked.

Cultivator Byron chuckled.

“I had a moment of… Self-awareness, you might call it.” He said. “One day, I asked myself if things would have turned out this way if I had acted differently. I rejected the notion right away. In my mind, things would have ended the same because everyone was out to get me.” He gave me a wry look. “I went a little crazy in that place. At some point, I even considered myself the victim of some grand conspiracy. I think I even came close to forming a heart demon.”

I didn’t know what to say to that, so I kept my mouth shut.

“However,” Cultivator Byron continued, “Despite my attempts to ignore it, that thought remained lodged in my mind. What if I had done things differently? It repeated in my mind over and over again. It plagued me for months on end. After a while, I gave in and considered how events might have played out.” He paused. “It took me a while, but in the end I realized that I ended up in the Caves of Punishment due to my own actions. I hurt those around me and tarnished my family’s name, all because of my own pride and arrogance. It was a painful realization, one that took me a long time to accept. Afterwards, I swore to do better. To be better.” He chuckled. “You know what the funniest part is?”

I shook my head.

“As soon as I accepted my faults and resolved to become a better person, I broke through to Foundation Establishment.” Cultivator Byron said. “It should have been impossible in those circumstances, yet it happened. I couldn’t believe it. After a while, I took it as a sign from the heavens. Ever since then, I’ve kept my promise to myself and I’ve even worked to right the wrongs I committed.” He nodded at me. “This includes apologizing to you and Cultivator Aneira. I’ve been meaning to do it for a while now, but I haven’t had the opportunity until now.” He paused. “Well, that was a lie. To be honest, I was afraid. Confronting one’s own shortcomings is never easy.”

With that, Cultivator Byron stood up and gave me a martial salute.

“I apologize, Cultivator Darian,” he said, still saluting, “For the way I treated you when we first met. I hope you find it in your heart to forgive me. However, even if you don’t, I apologize nonetheless. It is the least I can do.”

I stared at Cultivator Byron with wide eyes. As he told his story, I remained skeptical of him and his motives. However, the sincerity in his voice led me to believe that he meant it. This Cultivator Byron wasn’t the same one I once knew. Any lingering anger and resentment I held towards him dissipated into nothingness. That didn’t mean I felt any warmth towards him. It just meant that I no longer held any ill will towards him.

“Very well.” I said. “I accept your apology, Cultivator Byron.” I shook my head. “Besides, I’m not one who deserves an apology from you. If anything, I benefited from your actions.”

Cultivator Byron stood up straight and chuckled.

“True.” He said, before his mirth faded away. “Now I just need to apologize to Cultivator Aneira. However, this won’t be an easy endeavor. After what happened, Elder Celine forbade me from approaching Cultivator Aneira again.”

Elder Celine was Cultivator Aneira’s master. Like her disciple, she had a Pure Yin Physique. This gave her an advantage when it came to cultivation, but she also suffered a lot of hardship because of it. Those with Pure Yin Physiques were the ideal partners for dual cultivation. They also made for ideal human cauldrons. As such, they were often targeted by those who wished to take advantage of them.

This was why Elder Celine was so protective of Cultivator Aneira. She regarded almost everyone as a threat to her disciple. This included me, even though I had no interest in Cultivator Aneira or her Pure Yin Physique. She was my friend. Nothing more, nothing less.

“Are you asking me to intercede on your behalf?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at Cultivator Byron.

He blinked at me in surprise.

“No,” he said, “The thought never crossed my mind. This is my burden to bear. Asking others for help defeats the whole purpose. Otherwise, I would’ve asked my family.”

I studied him for several moments, before nodding.

“Very well.” I said. “With that out of the way, I have a proposal for you, Cultivator Byron.”

He nodded.

“You want us to work together to hunt down and eliminate other participants.” He stated.

It was my turn to blink at Cultivator Byron in surprise.

“How…?” I asked.

Cultivator Byron raised an eyebrow at me.

“It was obvious,” he said, “You wanted something from me. Otherwise, you would have either eliminated me from the tournament or left me alone altogether.”

That… Was a fair point. It was obvious, now that he pointed it out.

“In that case, I won’t beat around the bush.” I said. “Are you interested in working together for the remainder of the Rising Heroes Tournament, Cultivator Byron?”

He mulled it over for a moment, before nodding.

“Yes.” He said. “How shall we divide the points? Only killing blows count, so we can’t share them.” He gestured to me. “How about this? As repayment for helping me earlier, for every three opponents we face, you get two points while I get one. Are you amenable to this?”

I planned on splitting the points evenly. That seemed like the fairest deal to me. However, if Cultivator Byron wanted to give me two thirds of the points we earned, I wasn’t going to say no.

“That sounds good to me.” I grinned at him. “Partners?”

Cultivator Byron nodded.

“Partners.”