Han Bei watched in shock as the lord of bones descended to the bottom of the ravine. involuntary a question escaped his lips, " How are you here? ". As the ancient man stood straight his ghoulish figure grew younger and the 4 massive swords of bone that floated around him shrunk down a bit. " No thanks to you, you wretched thief." The lord of bones judged Han Bei, not with maddening flame in his eyes but chilling blood lust, " There shall be no mercy for you as you live and suffer for my amusement alone! Slowly I will take away your sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch for all the things you have taken and destroyed. That will be your atonement, that's what you deserve! "
Han Bei met the verdict with a maddening roar as he found no words that could refute it. Yet at the same time he knew that needed to clear his mind of any distractions, because Han Bei sensed that, now, he faced a foe that will give no leeway.
The lord of bones didn't betray Han Bei's expectations. He waved his arm and 1 of the flying swords that lazily floated around him shot forward with impressive speed. " Move, move! " Han Bei ordered his body while the condemnation still echoed inside his skull. As the deadly blade got closer the world turned silent. All the annoying, bothersome things disappeared and suddenly Han Bei's world consisted of a single thing, a single person. " Wei Lung, the Lord of Bones, " he softly muttered the name of his foe.
Corpse raised his right arm and shielded his head from the incoming sword. The flying weapon pushed Han Bei a step back and left a deep cut as it clashed against his refined flesh before it returned beside the lord of bones. Han Bei's breathing was still erratic but now he focused his gaze upon the foe before him. " You have me now, I'm all yours. Now let's see if fate will dance to your tune. " The lord of bones snorted, " Big words from a petty little thing. " But despite his apparent arrogance, the sword cultivator renewed his murderous efforts with even greater intensity.
With a great enemy before him, Han Bei's mind now worked as fast as lightning, " I have to get close, I have nothing that can kill the old ghost from a distance. " But as soon as Han Bei took a step forward he was met with 2 flying swords. Corpse quickly ducked underneath the 1st blade as it whizzed over his head while he used brute force and battered the 2nd blade away. Another cut appeared on Han Bei's arm but still not even a drop of blood left his body, something that the sword cultivator noticed.
" Good, " Wei Lung declared as the 2 flying swords returned to his side. " It seems you won't die easily and that will make your punishment that much greater. " Han Bei grimly retorted, " There will be no punishment for you, only death. "
" Arrogance! " screamed the lord of bones as he grew older and lost his temper while his power grew. " Here it comes again, " Han Bei predicted as 3 flying swords shot forward as fast as lighting, but this time he was ready [ghost leap]. Corpse channeled qi through his legs and the ground crumbled as the movement technique brought him forward. The flying swords passed him by a hairbreadth but in the end, they stabbed through empty air while the lord of bones was just in range for a good punch or 2.
Han Bei wasted neither time nor words as he tried to strike the sword cultivator down with the 1st blow, but Wei Lung was no spring chicken. The Lord of bones rained in his temper and as his age decreased the last flying sword landed in his hands and he parried the attack. Not discouraged Han Bei attacked again and again. Each time with greater intensity and focus, but as every strike missed its mark the difference between the 2 fighters soon became apparent.
The sleeves of Han Bei's green robe were soon torn away as was the skin that covered his arms. His limbs had turned scarlet from the countless clashes with the bone blade while the blue robe of his foe was in a pristine condition." Heavens damn it he is good, " Han Bei inwardly cursed as he failed to land even a single successful punch. " Something has to change, otherwise I'm nothing but meat on the chopping block. " Endurance was what allowed Han Bei to maintain a deadlock that blocked his opponent from using the rest of the flying swords, but a single look at the unconcerned face of his foe told Han Bei a simple fact. " I fuck up once and I'm dead. " The balance wouldn't hold and Han Bei doubted that he could endure his head getting lopped off. As the familiar blade of the reaper hung over his head he knew he had to think of something.
All of Han Bei's attacks were limited to quick jabs and strikes as he feared that anything else would give his opponent too much of an opening. Fear and despair threatened to consume his mind, but more than that Han Bei felt bitter. That he was reduced to this. Forced to run, forced to use craven tactics, and now forced to fight to the death in some nameless hole in the ground. " Not fair, " he declared. " Not fair that I alone feel this bitter."
Han Bei couldn't rise up to the challenge, so he chose to drag his opponent down to the abyss instead so his next attack wasn't aimed at the lord of bones. It looked no different from any other punch that Han Bei threw many times before but as the Lord of Bones aimed his sword to divert the strike Han Bei channeled qi through his hand and his half-pale, half-scarlet fingers wrapped around the blade [ death grip ]. Wei Lung's expression strained only for a second as he attempted to free his weapon but when it didn't budge he immediately let go of his bone sword and retreated. " Petty tricks! " the Lord of bones arrogantly declared.
Han Bei sensed the 3 flying bone swords that passed over his head as they returned to their master and he did nothing to obstruct them, instead he channeled a technique of his own.[yin soldiers]. Green gloomy qi left Han Bei's body and transformed into 4 distinct human-like phantoms. " Go! " Han Bei ordered and the 4 ghosts turned into green streaks.
The flying swords beside the lord of bones intercepted the phantoms and as Wei Lung channeled more power into his weapons they were surrounded by a pale glow. 3 ghosts faded away as they were cut down but the last phantom, pushed forward by Han Bei's will ruthlessly slammed into the Lord of bones.
The Lord of bones clutched his chest in pain and for a moment his expression turned strained. That was the limit of damage Han Bei could cause with a single ghost, at least with his current level of cultivation, but he wasn't disappointed. Wei Lung's breathing became erratic, his hair slowly grew longer and he spoke with barely restrained fury " You, you, you dare! "
Han Bei's response was simple [yin soldiers]. Han Bei tightly held on to the bone blade in his grasp and manifested another set of ghosts. Much like before the lord of bones failed to destroy a single phantom that managed to reach him. Wei Lung's movements became wooden and stiff while wrinkled skin loosely hung over his thin frame.
But Han Bei wasn't satisfied, not yet. " Come on, get angry! " Even as his qi reserves dwindled he manifested a ghost after ghost. Corpse now outmaneuvered the lord of bones at every turn and he sensed the frustration that grew inside his opponent. Every strike that Han Bei evaded, each attack that he landed, no matter how insignificant, enraged the Lord of bones and the sword cultivator descended further into madness. Han Bei relentlessly battered the sword cultivator with ghosts. Wei Lung's power increased with each passing second but his defenses dwindled with the loss of fine control and thanks to that more of Han Bei's yin soldiers found their way to their target. " Get angry for this corpse, " Han Bei demanded until the bone sword he tightly held on slipped from his grasp and returned to the lord of bones.
The Lord of bones looked like an avatar of the grim reaper and his weapons changed to match that disposition. surrounded by a pale light the white bone swords violently expanded until the ravine became too small to contain them. The previously precise swordwork turned into a malicious storm of blades that wished to tear the world asunder.
Despite everything, for the 1st time Han Bei somewhat related with how the almost white maiden must have felt, as he looked at the lord of bones with an equal measure of amazement and disappointment. " What power, what great power, " he thought. " He's close to the 3rd realm, Heavens perhaps he even reached it yet, " It was everything else about the man that Han Bei found disagreeable, " You're a broken thing, with a broken mind and body. " It was hard to tell if the lord of bones even understood what Han Bei said as he just released a string of unintelligible curses, that's the only thing that had left Wei Lung's mouth for a while now.
" Those things could easily end me, " Han Bei readily admitted as he watched the massive bone blades. " But it doesn't matter if they can't touch me. " He fought the lord of Scavenger planes no more, now he fought nothing but a snarling mad beast with great white claws.
Han Bei locked eyes with the desolate sword cultivator and despite the insanity, he found there was also a will quite similar to his own. Corpse released a long sigh and ripped of his tattered robe, " It's time to end this! " Terrible malice and hatred washed over the surroundings as the Lord of Bones screeched, " DIIIIIIE! "
As Wei Lung's screech came to an end the 1st of the great flying swords came for Corpse. The earth splintered and rained as the flying sword fell like a white bolt of lighting and impaled Han Bei's shadow, half a second too late to touch the real thing, while Corpse moved toward his foe.
The 2nd sword swept at Han Bei horizontally unbothered by the walls and the ground of the nameless ravine as it cut through everything like paper and left behind large piles of rubble. Han Bei leaped over the weapon with the reaction time of a beast rather than a man. Yet it still wasn't enough as the weapon's sharp edge managed to separate Han Bei from his toes.
The 3rd flying sword came but a moment later and threatened to split him into 2 nice vertical halves. Han Bei threw his body to the side, yet still, he felt his right arm detach from his elbow as the weapon went through his body like water. Han Bei stumbled and his momentum faltered.
The last flying sword hovered above Wei Lung and Han Bei knew if he allowed the sword cultivator to attack it was going to be his end. So he gathered every last bit of qi he had and created the single strongest ghost he could. Perhaps, on pure instinct, the last ghost Han Bei manifested resembled the very 1st he refined.
A mere second. Han Bei's gloomy qi wormed through Wei Lung's body and it delayed the lord of bones for a mere second. Han Bei didn't waste that chance, he narrowly avoided being cut in half for the second time that day as he moved straight for the lord of bones.
The giant blade stabbed through the earth until the only thing that remained visible was the massive hilt. The lord of bones attempted to flee through the air, but his thin frame created a pit in the ground as Han Bei shoulder-charged into him.
Han Bei readied his remaining arm for the final strike, " This is it, I end it here and now. " Yet as a bitter, sorrowful voice entered his ears Han Bei hesitated. " Am I to be butchered here in this squalid place, as my forces were, as my family was, will there be no flame to honor us? " Wei Lung asked.
Han Bei opened his mouth. He wanted to say either something domineering or profound but any and all words suddenly escaped him. So he just awkwardly stood there with his mouth wide open and fist raised high. It was a decision he very quickly came to regret.
Wei Lung's voice suddenly became malevolent, " If not, die for this lord! " Muscles and bones shifted underneath Wei Lung's skin as his ribs extended outside of his chest like claws of some beast. Han Bei looked dumbfounded, His gut, his lungs, his legs, all were pierced. All thoughts of anything but single-minded destructive fury left his mind as he saw just how close one of the extended bones was to piercing his aperture. " You hateful old fuck! "
Han Bei's blow landed with the fury of a storm. The lord of bones was sent flying with his refined bones shattered and his neck twisted backward. Han Bei fell to his knees at the same time as Wei Lung's body hit the ground. Han Bei watched as life drained from the eyes of his foe. Still hateful, still unforgiving. Han Bei released a single growl of frustration, " Damn you, and damn your organization you twice cursed bastard. "
As some semblance of calm returned to Han Bei he pulled out the pieces of bone still stuck in his body and winced at how close one of them came to hitting his aperture. " Never again will I allow myself to be powerless, never again, " he swore to himself, unsure if he thought of the past or the present.
After he pulled out all the bone fragments from his body he went to look for his severed appendages but finding them only soured his mood further. Foul black smoke engulfed his severed arm, as it decayed right in front of his eyes. The smoke smelt of death and instinctively Han Bei wanted to look away, yet he forced himself to watch. Han Bei knew so little of his own body that he couldn't afford to look away.
His stomach turned as flesh crumbled and bone turned to dust. The dreadful black smoke engulfed his poor limb until nothing remained. A grim reminder from the heavens that his new condition did not free him from death. " So much for the undying physique, " he mocked himself. " But at least now I know what's going to happen if someone lopped off my head. "
As his eyes observed death, his stomach craved life. And even if Han Bei didn't look at the source of his craving he was painfully aware of where to find them. Thoughts of fresh, tender meat filled his mind while drool filled his mouth. But this time hunger didn't overtake his mind, he was fully aware of what he was about to do.
He dragged himself towards the source of fading life. The closer he got, the more he hoped something would stand in his path or someone stopped him, but even that desire soon disappeared. He reached the body of the broken lord that looked at his killer with hateful dead eyes. Han Bei couldn't meet that gaze, it chilled his soul, yet he was still attracted to the blood that pooled beneath Wei Lung.
Han Bei hesitated because it suddenly dawned on him what awaited beyond this point. He was at a crossroad. A single step back led back to the righteous, a single step forward to the demonic. A single decision that might just decide where his path would lead him. A decision so great not even the hunger for life could blunt his mind.
There was so much to consider. The cold gazes of his dead brothers and sisters pushed him forward while the feelings of guilt pulled backward. " No," he internally shouted. " This is my choice to make. Neither fate nor destiny can make it for me, only I alone can choose where my path leads, none can take this decision from me. " So Han Bei emptied his mind and, If only for a moment, he once more turned into that Corpse that knew nothing of vengeance and wasn't choked by a sense of dishonor, and he looked toward the apex. It was hidden and phantoms of foes old and new barred his way forward. He thought of the things he would have to sacrifice just to reach it, and an answer emerged in his mind.
Han Bei closed his eyes and all signs of uncertainty were gone from his face. " If I made a mistake tonight so be it, at least I know it was my mistake to make, but never again will I allow myself to fall so low. " Once more Corpse consumed the flesh of man and his body filled with life, for cultivators had no greater sin than to be powerless.
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By the time Han Bei returned to his cave-dwelling no injuries could be found on his body, not even scars were left to commemorate the battle he won. In fact, one might say he felt better than before. The only thing that seemingly suffered was his clothing, again.
Fire still coursed through Han Bei even after he healed, it spread from his stomach to every other part of his body and made his flesh stronger, but it was nothing like the body refining cultivation described in the manual he got from the old monk.
Han Bei's body should have been strengthened layer by layer: skin, muscle, bone. Instead, his whole body experienced a simultaneous change like it was some sort of a spirit treasure being refined. He sighed, " I suppose I should feel lucky but I just don't give a damn. "
He slumped against the boulder that covered the entrance of his cave-dwelling and he seemed so very tired." Hopefully, that old thing left some wine for me. " Han Bei just closed his eyes when he heard footsteps and an old saying appeared in his mind, " Think of the devil and he shall appear. "
The old monk was just as loud and as active as before. " Congratulations, little corpse. It was a magnificent victory. " Han Bei just had enough energy for a half-hearted smirk. " Magnificent, sure. " The old monk raised an eyebrow, " Are you dissatisfied with the results? " Han Bei shook his head, " Oh the results were splendid, It's all else that fell to the wayside. Honor, integrity, courage. For a time I lost all of them. " Han Bei chuckled in a hollow manner, " The lord of bones should have given me his thanks, going after my head might have been the most righteous thing he had ever done. "
The old monk hesitated for a while before he spoke again, but his tone lacked its usual frivolity. " What if you don't have to lose anything anymore? " Han Bei turned his head and asked, " How? " The old monk continued, " Power, little corpse. If you have power all else will follow. " The old monk fished out a familiar-looking demonic chalice and presented it to Han Bei. It was the very same that ended the almost white maiden.
Normally Han Bei would have had a load of questions about how the old monk got his hands on that heaven damned thing, but now there was only one. " Will it make me stronger? " The old monk made no promises, " There is only a chance." And that was the only thing Han Bei needed. He gently grasped the chalice from the old monk's hands and channeled power into it. Several nails pierced his hands. He was surprised at how easily they pierced his flesh and despite how thick his blood was the demonic chalice still greedily drunk from him.
The surroundings became colder as dark power seeped out of cracks in the ground and crevices in the walls, beckoned there by the demonic power inside the chalice. Phantom shapes formed and called out in hunger but it was not their power to take. The longer Han Bei held the chalice, the more he could feel his body become weaker but any disappointment he held was swept away by the power that gathered between his fingers.
The demonic chalice emanated grey smoke-like qi that the undead found infinitely desirable, and even Han Bei felt certain attraction towards it. Before anything truly dangerous appeared Han Bei inhaled the gray smoke and absorbed it inside his aperture. There was no need to refine it, like a tonic it meshed with his qi and strengthened it. Han Bei closed his eyes and he felt his spirit cultivation rise. He drunk from the poisoned chalice and it tasted so very bitter and so very sweet.
