The group traverses the canyons between the celestial mountain range with renewed vigor. Their skin practically glows and their movements seem smoother, the ease with which they travel through the difficult terrain having greatly increased. Even An despite having yet to awaken seems to have benefited from the springs. Overall the mood is light until the very moment Suwan sighs and shakes her head.
"Oh, I really hoped it wouldn't come to this." She says sadly while turning to face Twelve. "Keep them safe alright? This'll take me a while."
"This one shall not allow them to lay so much as a finger on any of us."
Song gives her a grateful nod before looking at a spot in the distance. Zhi and Yating trade a concerned glance while Mu simply looks annoyed. While the pugilist can't quite see what is going on she is able to intuit it. She stretches her arms and protectively steps in front of An. The fierce look in her eyes causes the girls to still and raise their guard. Song makes a mental note to lecture them about subtlety when this is over. She draws her blade and points it to a point in the distance.
"Stop skulking, Zri. Face me or get lost."
"Hmph, unfilial to the end." The wizened old man exclaims while appearing in front of them. He gleams like a blade in the process of being drawn, the inch of steel visible above the sheath reflecting the sun and promising violence. Yating's breath catches in her throat, while the others lack the knowledge of images she at least knows what such a thing signifies. "I shall extend you the courtesy of fighting in private so our battle does not cause your disciples harm. Our Zri clan shall stand guard."
A group of men appears shortly after him and move to surround the group. Song spits before looking back at the patriarch.
"Let's get this over with, lead the way."
The man rises into the air and heads off into the distance, his Nascent Soul cultivation allowing him to fly without the use of tools. Suwan scoffs. She briefly looks back to offer a reassuring wink to her companions before manifesting a pair of golden wings. She flaps them a single time and bursts into the air, the wind pressure buffeting everyone in the surroundings. They fly in silence for mere moments before landing atop a mountain peak kilometers away.
"This is your last chance, Wan Su. Hand over the Blade of Song and we shall bother you no further. Refuse and your lives are forfeit."
"Mighty kind of you, there's really only one way I can answer that now can't I? Go fuck yourself you fool. I despise you but I had really hoped you at least had the foresight not to be blinded by your greed. But no, you had to go and threaten my disciples."
"You are alone, Wan Su. Even if your outrageous words of being the Infernal Blade's disciples are true you know she will not move to aid you. Others will come for the sword and you cannot always be on your guard. Hand it over and rid yourself of this problem lest it causes the death of those you hold dear once more."
The patriarch replies in a wistful tone. Suwan bristles at his hypocrisy, perhaps she would if not believe his words at least believe his sincerity had it not been for the gleam in his eyes and the crooked grin atop his lips. His actions are motivated by one thing and one thing alone, greed.
"Right back at you, last chance to back out old man, I won't be able to afford to leave ends untied if you decide to do this."
"Your companions will die the moment you raise arms against me." He threatens while raising a simple wooden stick with a single rune upon it. She laughs hollowly upon recognizing it, such sticks always come in pairs, when one breaks so does the other.
"Do it then, signal them. It's not my side that'll die."
It is clear to them both the time for words is over. Patriarch Zri snaps the stick and draws his blade. The motion sends an ethereal crescent flying towards Suwan. She shatters it with a swing of her own. One blade meets the other with a thunderous crash blowing the top of the mountain apart.
Their auras clash for dominance, each blow struck skewing the odds to one side or the other. Song manifests her ten thousand blades and fires them within the same heartbeat. Zri’s sword gleams ever brighter seeming to suck the colors out of the world around it. His arm moves like a blur, all ten thousand blades deflected just in time for Song’s blade to crash into his guard and smash him into the ground.
She follows him down with a burst of fire from her feet. Just in time she manages to duck to the side as an ethereal silver flash rends the side of the mountain. Losing track of him for a moment in the dust their impacts have kicked up combined with his domain’s masking she inhales deeply and exhales a burst of fire setting the land ablaze for dozens of meters around.
She barely manages to turn and swing her blade to parry the man's strike, no more than the slightest of singes visible on his visage when he bursts from the sea of flames and thrusts at her back. Thunder resounds at the clash of steel and blows them apart, each coming to a stop more than a dozen meters away. Suwan grins cockily seeing him fly back further despite her counter being hurried. The man sheaths his blade and takes a stance, fingers tight around the hilt of his sword. His eyes glow with single minded focus and his lips part in a snarl revealing gritted teeth.
Her hesitation long gone, Song flaps her golden wings and unleashes a burst of fire from her feet to rocket towards him.
Zri draws his blade, meeting her attack with a silver slash. She brute forces her way through. The remainder of his strike bisects the forest behind her while she swings horizontally at neck height. His eyes widen. Of all the things that could have happened he had not expected her to barely be slowed by his signature attack. The elder barely manages to lean back in time for his beard to be severed instead of his head.
"You dare-"
His words are cut off when ten thousand qi constructs take shape, his efforts to parry are for naught when they form not into blades but into wisps of flame. They fly towards him in a stream and explode sending him further and further back until he crashes into the mountainside steaming and charred. She follows him through the smoke and severs his hands before impaling him on her blade. Zri coughs blood and glares up at her defiantly.
"You are a fool Wan Su, you cannot kill me. You have only doomed yourself. You cannot protect your little pity projects forever, I shall kill them one by one until none are left!"
She shakes her head. It is indeed true that a Nascent Soul cultivator cannot be slain so easily, even should their body perish their soul can live on until it can find a new host or even recreate their body entirely. While those at this fabled realm are capable of sensing their own soul they do not yet have the ability to see any other souls leaving them unable to strike each other down permanently. The golden flames coating the mountainside crackle as she speaks.
"Have you forgotten my master's immortal title?"
"Immortal Soulfire!" For the first time a hint of fear shows in his eyes. "Impossible! None but her have ever managed to manifest that aspect of the flames of Song."
"I do not need to see your soul if there is no way I can miss it."
The flames rising ever higher melting stone and flesh alike. With a desperate cry the patriarch tears himself free and pushes all of his Qi into his flight to flee. The moment he does he finds himself in an immense cavern. Shadows obscure a massive form, its serpentine eyes glaring down at the injured old man imperiously. The patriarch’s breath catches in his throat when he finds himself unable to contest Suwan’s domain. He gathers every last scrap of his qi into his form, turning his body into his blade in a final attempt to cut his way out. The cavern rumbles when the giant being behind him speaks.
“Goodbye, Zri.”
A golden light illuminates the cavern revealing a greenish golden dragon’s bulging torso. The glow travels up the beast's throat before billowing from its mouth with the fury of a thousand suns. The elder’s skin melts and evaporates. His bones blacken and crack before turning to ash. A horrendous metaphysical scream resounds within Suwan’s spiritual palace as even his soul is burned to nothing. By the time Song releases her domain the sole evidence left of the patriarch’s existence is the small ring she removed from his finger before annihilating him entirely. She bends down to pick up some ash, ruefully rubbing it between her fingertips before blowing it away and watching it scatter. Without further ado she returns to her companions finding them staring at Twelve with a shell shocked expression.
“Welcome back, Sister Suwan.”
“Thanks, I'm back.” She smiles ruefully, shoulders sagging as if she were carrying the weight of the world. She rubs her temple and sighs. “Right, gather around y’all. I’ll share some final instructions before I need to go take care of things- ”
“Huh, you’re leaving master? Are we holding you back? A thousand apologies, this lowly Gao Mu promises to redouble her efforts to grow stronger, please don’t go.”
“If you’d have let me finish,” Suwan chuckles while patting the top of Mu’s head. “You’d have heard I’ll be back. There’s some matters I'll need to take care of, permanently. We’ll meet back up near the Ke clan’s capital once I'm done with them, it shouldn’t take all too long.”
She sits down cross legged with her chin on her palm and her elbow on her knee while waving them over. “First things first some basics before we finish crossing into their lands. We’re not going through official routes so we should be able to avoid most posturing and suspicion at the border but there’s still things you’ll need to know once you’re fully within the Ke clan’s territory. As far as clans go they’re not the most tyrannical but they are still vassals of the White Rose Sect so don’t drop your guard. The White Rose Sect’s leadership is mostly ice cultivators. Now the thing about an ice affinity is it makes you callous and prone to scheming so if you run into any of them step lightly lest you get caught up in them. Well, you should be fine so long as Twelve is around but I'd prefer if you managed to keep a low profile for now, we’re gonna have a way harder time if the sect gets wind people of mine or Twelve’s level are within their domain. Twelve, can I count on you to keep them safe?”
“This one shall protect them as if they were her own children. This one shall prove she would be a good mother.” Twelve replies while using her hands to pull her eyelids up and down as if she were fluttering her lashes. Suwan can’t help but snort. “Thank you. I’ll try not to take too long.” She adds before pushing herself up, turning on her heel and flying off, unsure whether she’d be able to stop herself from merely putting the matter aside to languor in the comfort of her companions if she’d delayed even a second longer.
“Query: Has Sister Suwan provided anyone present with the currency required to accommodate a stay until her return?”
An awkward silence falls over the group.
Well if they are flat broke then that is actually a good way to avoid attention. Sluming it with mortals is a great way to avoid cultivators and their bullshit.
And this, children, is why everyone should have at least one OP AOE ability.