Chapter 122

  Choices in Life (IV)

  Duan Luoyang stepped out of the void rather gracefully and invisibly, his sharp, azure-blue eyes immediately focusing on ashes and dust where there used to be trees.

  He'd felt it, just so briefly, a ringing of Dao--when something of its make is awoken into the world. It passed as quickly as it appeared, and it took him an entire day to even locate where it happened, but he finally found it--just outside some small, nameless town in the middle of nothing-matters-nowhere.

  There was quite an audience, some four or five hundred people, all marveling at the missing parts of the forest. He walked among them as though a ghost, with none noticing.

  However, he paused rather abruptly and frowned---there was nothing.

  Not a trace.

  No... even less than not a trace. Whoever was here before him literally used the Laws of Dao to unmake whatever transpired here. Rather, Duan Luoyang suspected that even his Master would be as stupefied as he was at the moment.

  There was possibly only one figure in the entire Immortal Sword Haven that could do something like this--their First Ancestor, said to be residing in the depths of the Sect. However, nobody had seen him for over five hundred years, and there were whispers that he had returned to the cycle.

  More so than confusion, he felt... fear. It wasn't a common occurrence for him--as someone who was just a tiny small step away from becoming a Demigod, there were very few things in the world that could scare him. However, the existence of someone who could so casually interact with the Laws of Dao... it forespoke to something much greater:

  A new era.

  Any tome, old and even older, codified ages per their beginnings--there was always an event, often so minor that it felt inconsequential, that began the dominos falling, leading to the upheaval and carnage that reshuffled the world's order.

  Just as he was about to head into the town to see whether anyone would stand out, a voice rang out in his mind.

  "Luo, where are you?"

  "Master!" he replied in kind. "I am investigating something. Did anything happen?"

  "You need to hurry back to the grave," the voice said. "The spear bastards are bullying our children."

  "Right away, Master!"

  All tension slowly faded from his body; he was but a speck of dust on the cosmic scale of Dao. Why was he even considering tangling up with someone like that? It was none of his business.

  His figure faded into the void, faint distortions visible here and there, each spanning over ten miles of distance. The world remained entirely oblivious to him, for he was a ghost.

  **

  Something was rather off, she felt.

  Standing by the thinning barrier of red, her instincts were telling her to back away. No, not just to back away--to run away.

  But it didn't make any sense.

  Even the Grandmasters of the Arraying Heavens Sect have confirmed that it was merely a siphon formation--feed it enough blood, and it would go away. And, per appearances, they were correct. But why... why did she feel like running away?

  "It is a siphon formation," a voice that she hadn't heard in a long while rang out inside her head.

  "M-Master! You're awake!"

  "Not for long; I've woken up to warn you."

  "Warn me?"

  "The formation is one of the more infamous makes of Devilfiends, an ancient race of Demons that once nearly destroyed one of the Heavens," the voice was rather weak and echoey, but she hung onto its every word. "While the barrier will fade with enough blood, the crux is where that blood is going."

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  "Where is it going?"

  "If we are lucky, into a corpse long since disintegrated; if not, into one of the Demons that feed on the blood, and the amount required to dissolve the barrier is the amount required to awaken it."

  "Eh? Alright, I've heard enough!" She exclaimed inwardly, standing up and eyeing those around her warily. "You're telling me to run like there's a dragon chasing my bountiful little bottom, no?"

  "..."

  "Ah! Master, please, don't go to sleep!"

  "I am not asleep; I am merely awestruck at the Heavens that have bound us. No, I suggest that you don't run."

  "Oh? You think I can beat the Demon's ass and reap all the rewards?"

  "In about fifty thousand years, perhaps."

  "... Master. You are starting to annoy me a bit. If there's a Demon hiding in there, why would I stay here just to die?"

  "Because I sensed something."

  "What?"

  "Resonance of Dao. Whoever caused it is likely to come here. You need to find them, and you need to wake me up when you do. They may have a way for me to regain my body. Remember, Xing'er--under no circumstances should you enter past the barrier. Simply search for anyone who doesn't seem to belong... and wake me up..."

  The voice faded, growing weaker and weaker with each letter, until it was completely gone.

  Xing Yahui frowned, looking around yet again.

  Her Master seldom requested things--that was why she liked her more than those stooges at the Soul Sanctuary who constantly demanded things from her, such as coming here to hunt for some forsaken relics--and yet now, she not only requested... she all but pleaded.

  Her Master was never wrong--if she felt resonance of Dao, then it must have happened.

  But... none of the morons standing here looked like they could resonate with a lyre, let alone Dao.

  Furthermore, though she was fearful of the danger within the barrier, she was also... curious. Her thick, bushy eyebrows danced at the sight of the vermillion membrane, wondering just what magnificent--albeit terrifying--Demon resided within. Maybe her Master was wrong? Maybe the Demon was supremely weak, and even feeding on blood wouldn't make it much stronger?

  If she could somehow eat its core...

  She found herself almost salivating as she licked her lips, quickly pulling herself to reality.

  No!

  Safety was the number one priority! While these other morons throw themselves into the fire thinking they're the Heavenly Chosen, she will simply see if there's a minimally dangerous opportunity, snag it, and then run away!

  And if not? Well, she would still run away, just feeling a bit more embittered.

  "Hey, Yahui," a familiar voice sounded out from behind her and she barely held herself back from groaning.

  "Senior Brother Yu?"

  "Junior Sister, have I not asked you to call me Brother Bao?"

  "I wouldn't dare, Senior Brother," she quickly said. "I am entirely unworthy!" She was already in a slightly foul mood since her Master practically told her there'd be no treasures to grab here, and now this guy showed up...

  "Haah, fine, be it so." Yu Bao was handsome--if any other female Disciple of the Soul Sanctuary was approached by him like this, they'd likely fall to their knees. But she couldn't care less; he may be handsome, with a perfect jawline and a perfect nose and a pair of almost star-like eyes, and he may be tall and muscular, but he was also vile. And a proper stalker in the making, it seemed. "There seems to be a fight brewing; I was wondering whether you'd like to join me and watch the show?"

  "A fight?" she perked up. "Who's fighting?"

  "Spear and Sword Havens," he replied with a smile.

  "Hah! Let's go, let's go!" she ushered. "I hope they poke a thousand holes in each other and die while screaming in agony!"

  "..."

  "I mean, let us go over and prevent unnecessary death..."