Corrupted Crimson

by Patrick Laplante

  Cha Ming’s expression turned cold. He widened his combat formation until it encapsulated the crowd of devils. He imbued it with his Devil-Sealing Intent, which rapidly eroded the malevolent aura around them. Meanwhile, Huxian’s aura of purification and devouring superimposed with a new aura released from the three stars shining on each of his three tails. The stars summoned a domain of Judgmental Lightning and Smothering Swamp, which was mediated by a gentle wind.

  As the domains clashed, the devils charged as they used their consumption abilities. The core-formation devils activated black tattoos that burned and propelled their cultivations up to early core formation. They clashed with the demon beasts and the Alabaster Group’s forces. Silverwing, Huxian, and Lei Jiang tied up several core-formation devils each while Luo Xuehua and the Alabaster Group’s forces clashed against the lesser devils.

  Blades of wind and iridescent lightning fought against devouring vortexes and ice lotuses. Earthen spikes assaulted Huxian as he batted away scores of devilish minions. Meanwhile, the Alabaster Group was a flurry of wind, earth, ice, and metal. Their superior strength evenly matched the veritable salvo of devilish attacks.

  “Do you think you can hurt me as you are now?” Zhou Li said as he walked toward Cha Ming. His aura surged, and Cha Ming’s eyes narrowed as he realized that Zhou Li was a middle-core-formation cultivator. In addition, he didn’t reek of evil like the devils did; his Eyes of Pure Jade detected not a trace of merit or sin on the mysterious man’s body.

  Zhou Li suddenly summoned black flames, which formed two black dragons that dove toward Cha Ming. He sent out six flying swords that slashed at Cha Ming as he dodged using his superior speed.

  Cha Ming used his battle armor to avoid the multiple attacks and shrank the Clear Sky Staff as he attacked with his Swift Staff Art. He became a blur of black and white as he struck at Zhou Li with dozens of staff strikes per second. These blows were deflected by seven black flame shields that easily predicted his movements. Before long, Cha Ming was forced to withdraw from the two black flame dragons and the six black flying swords.

  “You’re nothing but a cripple, and you’ll never amount to anything in life,” Zhou Li said. “It’s too bad you didn’t take my advice to heart.”

  He held his hands out and summoned another four black flame dragons. They charged at Cha Ming, who was already breathing heavily.

  “Sibi, you dare to throw yourself into the Spirit-Sealing Pagoda?” Gong Lan said as she slashed at the crimson-robed monk with a saber of light.

  Sibi snorted and whispered a distorted mantra. Crimson characters shot out from his lips and instantly destroyed the saber. “I’m honored that the new World Tree Master knows my name,” Sibi said.

  He took out a small rosary filled with crimson beads. He muttered in a distorted voice, causing the prayer beads to shoot out and surround Gong Lan, suppressing her Buddhist powers.

  Gong Lan summoned her own rosary. Ten thousand and eighty blessed pearls burst apart and quickly fought back against Sibi’s attack.

  The distracting shower of crimson and gold caused Sibi to disappear. Gong Lan frowned as a shiver ran down her spine. She summoned three blades of light behind her, which warded off a sharp crimson claw that was headed her way. Seeing that his attack was rebuffed, Sibi summoned a long scroll covered in cryptic crimson characters. Gong Lan decisively summoned back the 10,080-pearl rosary, which orbited around her like an impenetrable shield and fought back the crimson scripture.

  “I am indeed no match for you in the outside world,” Sibi said, calling back his vestment. “But our true battlefield is different. Our true battlefield is the place where I was born. Do you dare to follow?”

  His figure turned into a crimson mist, which surged toward the jade seal. Although ten percent of the seal had previously been unfettered by the three monks, the ground they had gained began rapidly receding.

  “It’s your move now, World Tree Master,” Sibi’s voice said from inside the seal. “You can’t save the Song Kingdom without fighting the corruption. Will you run, like your master wanted to, or will you do what I did and face the corruption head on?”

  Gong Lan gritted her teeth and stepped forward.

  “You can’t!” the bodhi seed said as it appeared in front of her. “It’s exactly what they want you to do. It’s too difficult to kill you in the outside world, but they know I can’t protect you inside the seal.”

  “Even if it’s what they want me to do, how can I possibly back down?” Gong Lan argued. She looked over to the three monks, who were doing their best to restrain the expanding corruption. She knew they wouldn’t last long. They had already staked their lives on this mission—shouldn’t she do the same?

  “As this plane’s guardian, you’re much more important than the mortals in this kingdom,” the bodhi seed said. “It’s better that ten Song Kingdoms fall instead of you.”

  “And why did you choose me in the first place?” Gong Lan shot back.

  “I chose you because of the purity of your soul,” the bodhi seed said. “It’s too difficult to find someone with your spirit and character. If you fall, I won’t be able to find anyone else to take your place.”

  Gong Lan shook her head. “If I can’t even defend the Song Kingdom, how can I possibly protect the plane? This is part of who I am. Don’t try and stop me.”

  She walked over to the crimson-colored seal and whispered the Mantra of Faith. Beautiful golden characters shot out from her mouth and floated in midair. She continued speaking until 108 characters came together like a small rosary. Then she sent out the 10,080 pearls. They joined together with the 108 characters and danced around the seal, whose rate of corruption rapidly slowed.

  Sighing, Gong Lan sat down before the seal. Her golden soul left her body and followed Sibi’s.

  “It’s your move,” she whispered. She was surrounded by an endless field of crimson and millions of vengeful souls. They licked their lips and pounced toward her.

  “Do you know why I do what I do?” Zhou Li said as he threw tendrils of black flame over to Cha Ming. They bypassed his defenses and assaulted the resplendent jade vestment on his soul, which was protected by a white barrier.

  Meanwhile, Cha Ming’s Icy Hell Grand Formation slightly restricted Zhou Li’s movements. He tried to capitalize on this and swung out with alternating Swift Strikes and Heavy Quaking Strikes.

  The superimposed benefits of his Stormchaser formation, his black-and-white armor, and his natural flight abilities as a core-formation cultivator and marrow-refining cultivator gave him unsurpassed speed within his realm. Despite this enormous advantage, Zhou Li still managed to defend against one blow after another. Cha Ming had sorely underestimated the man’s prophetic abilities.

  “It’s all because of revenge, you see,” Zhou Li said. “My people lived happy lives on this plane, doing whatever they pleased and working hard to improve their lot in life. The pursuit of happiness was the maxim of the plane, and despite being ruled by devils, the world was a peaceful place filled with millions of good-aligned cultivators.”

  His movements were relaxed and exact. Each one of his footsteps carried him out of harm’s way as he predicted Cha Ming’s movements one after another. Where he couldn’t, he swung out a flaming black sword and deflected the Clear Sky Pillar. The half dozen black flame dragons pursued Cha Ming and sealed his movements.

  “It was all destroyed overnight by the jade emperor’s minions,” Zhou Li said. His hands rapidly formed seals, and black flames congregated and assembled into a script Cha Ming’s recognized as the fragment of someone’s story. It shot out at him and struck his resplendent soul, which fought hard to defend against what he now recognized as a curse. A soothing white light from the Clear Sky Brush burst out and banished the darkness.

  Cha Ming used the opening granted by his defense to land a direct blow. Zhou Li coughed up blood as the residual force of Cha Ming’s staff bypassed his qi shields and ravaged his internal organs.

&n
bsp; “And now I know why the higher-ups put such a large bounty on you,” Zhou Li said. “The destiny surrounding you is ridiculous. You even have a soul-bound treasure? How unfair can fate be?”

  While Cha Ming grew increasingly surprised by what Zhou Li knew, he didn’t speak for fear of getting lured into whatever mental game the man was playing.

  How are things going on your end? Cha Ming asked Huxian.

  It’s going well, Huxian said. Give us an incense time, and we should be able to mop them up. The three-tailed fox and his friend were dominating the battlefield. Huxian’s five suppressions, combined with his and Cha Ming’s Devil-Sealing Intent, had given them an absolute advantage. Scores of lesser devils had already fallen while a few core-formation devils were severely wounded.

  “If you weren’t so lukewarm about everything, if you had passion, you’d probably be able to accomplish something in life,” Zhou Li said. “It’s a pity, really.” He formed hand seals again, preparing to send another curse.

  Cha Ming ignored his taunts and sent another staff strike at the defenseless Zhou Li.

  The man dodged in his usual pattern. He predicted Cha Ming’s Swift Staff Art, blocking it with a Black Flame Shield. He narrowly avoided a Quake Staff by pushing himself to the side with a black flame dragon. After half the hand seals were formed, he switched up his movements.

  Sensing an opportunity, Cha Ming shrank the Clear Sky Pillar and slashed out with a Rapid Sword Staff. Seven Black Flame Shields superimposed as Zhou Li rushed toward Cha Ming, who was forced to sidestep and bat the pale man toward the crowd of devilish cultivators. Zhou Li grinned as he turned around and unleashed the curse on another target: Huxian.

  Cha Ming felt the effects of the curse almost immediately. His bodily strength lowered by a full sub-realm while his qi began leaking out at a rapid rate and his black-and-white armor crumbled to nothing. Meanwhile, Huxian’s three stars disappeared along with their corresponding suppressions. The large fox shrank down to half his size while his physical strength was cut in half.

  Due to their soul contract, he and Huxian shared karma. He instantly understood that this extended to curses and that Zhou Li had targeted his one weakness—Huxian’s soul. Zhou Li didn’t stand still after landing the curse, and neither did he keep talking. He instantly lunged at Cha Ming with a sword of black flame and began a fierce counterattack. The six black flame dragons joined in a circle and suppressed Cha Ming’s Icy Hell Grand Formation while his Black Flame Shields transformed into chains of black flames.

  “You’re such a nice guy, Cha Ming,” Zhou Li said. “It’s a pity you chose the wrong side.”

  His biting sword attacks rapidly made progress and finally found a crack in Cha Ming’s defenses. A large black gash appeared on Cha Ming’s chest.

  Chapter 35: Exposing the Plot

  “Prince Tian, the final preparations have been made,” a man said. The vicious-looking man had a hooked nose and short black hair. He wore the black cloak and black medallion of the Obsidian Syndicate. “When will you be requiring our services?”

  “In one hour,” Prince Tian said. “Be at your positions by the appointed time. And be sure not to miss.”

  The man grunted and disappeared into the shadows. A superior cultivator like him wasn’t cheap—it was fortunate that someone else was footing the bill.

  Prince Tian carefully ran his thumb along the black-and-gold medallion around his chest. The system had notified him that his petition to appoint a marshal had been rejected by Marshal Feng. Seeing as he had killed the original Marshal Feng, there was only one possibility—his son had somehow become the second marshal, one who could veto all his commands.

  Seeing as it was now impossible to play a safe game, today was the day he would put all his cards on the table. While the new marshal was busy fighting fires in the south, he would consolidate the capital in one fell swoop.

  A soft knocking sound roused him from his thoughts. “Come in,” Prince Tian said. Three men wearing red-and-gold cloaks walked in and saluted him. “Has everything been arranged?”

  “Yes,” General Zhang said hesitantly. “However, there have been murmurs among the troops. General Tang, Marshal Feng’s second-in-command, has been especially vocal. He claims that his brother was promoted to deputy marshal, and that Marshal Feng was assassinated by none other than yourself. A fifth of our troops have defected and holed themselves up in the north of the city.”

  Prince Tian sighed. “Why is the capital filled with traitors and madmen? It’s good that he defected—it saves me the trouble of uprooting him later. The truth of the matter is that I sent Marshal Feng to the southern wall to shore up our defenses. General Tang has simply inverted black and white and hidden his lies in a grain of truth.”

  As he spoke, the three generals’ eyes reddened slightly, and they became especially docile and obedient.

  “I knew it was preposterous that General Feng could get promoted to marshal so quickly,” General Dong said. “The boy might be good, but not that good.”

  “It won’t be long,” General Si said. “Thank you for alleviating our concerns, Prince Tian. We’ll disseminate the news momentarily and quell the rumors.”

  “Thank you for your hard work, generals,” Prince Tian said.

  The generals soon left, leaving Prince Tian to his brooding. The next step was the most important in his quest to conquer the Song Kingdom. It was a gamble that would either make or break his efforts over the past two decades.

  “Prince Lei, urgent news to report!” a soldier said as he rushed through the battlefield. “Following Marshal Feng’s disappearance, a rumor has spread that his son was promoted to marshal in the south. Furthermore, Marshal Yong’s disappearance was confirmed. In a more recent announcement, the crown prince has declared that he sent Marshal Feng to the south to defend the border, thus the confusion.”

  Prince Lei was covered in soot and grime. “What of the recent troop movements?” he said as they repelled the last of an enemy invasion.

  “They are going as planned,” the soldier said. “Unfortunately, our movements have become increasingly difficult. Prince Tian has consolidated his power over the military in the city. There is no longer the indecision that was there back when Marshal Feng was in Songjing or Marshal Yong was in the south. Only General Tang’s small group of military troops to the north remain undecided.”

  As Prince Lei overlooked the battlefield from above, he noticed large troop movements near Central Square. “Double back!” he yelled.

  Their troops abandoned their pursuit of enemy stragglers and narrowly avoided enemy troop movements, which tried to cut them off from their headquarters. However, this interception was also part of a much larger movement—their enemies had bypassed their patrols and completely surrounded the Jade Bamboo Auction House.

  “How is this possible?” Prince Lei exclaimed. “Our royal father and his protectors are here. Attacking the auction house is tantamount to treason.” He rushed into the auction house and summoned his generals. “Rally the troops, mercenaries, and nobles,” Prince Lei ordered. “Even if this is a false alarm, we can’t risk it. My brother wouldn’t act like this unless he has a plan.” He then entered the war room, where Wang Jun sat nursing a cup of hot tea.

  “What are your thoughts?” Prince Lei said to Wang Jun.

  “I’m not sure,” Wang Jun said. “It’s better to be safe than sorry, and I have a bad feeling about this. It might be prudent to alert the royal uncles. Unfortunately, I have something to take care of that requires my undivided attention. You may use my forces as you see fit, save for Protector Ren, Elder Bai, Hei Ling, and Li Ming.”

  Prince Lei shook his head. “What could possibly be more important than defending our headquarters?”

  “You know me,” Wang Jun said, smiling grimly. “If I’m preoccupied, it definitely involves a large amount of money.”

  Core-formation cultivators from both forces met in midair just outside the Jade Bamboo Auction House
. The slaughtering formations were fully active, ready to strike at any moment. Meanwhile, the mercenaries and Prince Lei’s allies stood guard just outside the large building.

  “You have a lot of nerve attacking this place when our royal father is sleeping inside,” Prince Lei said to his somber-looking brother. “Have you decided to accelerate your succession by killing him as well? Do you think the war to the south is a sufficient justification?”

  “You’ve always had a way with words, brother,” Prince Tian said. “Times are turbulent, and we need firm leadership. Your treacherous behavior undermines the stability of the kingdom, and for that, you must die.”

  “Attack if you will,” Prince Tian shrugged. “I’m sure the royal uncles will make their stances clear once you make your move.”

  “As you wish,” Prince Tian said. “Soldiers, assemble the formations!”

  “Sir!” the troops replied.

  Several groups of nine hundred men joined together under the guidance of several core-formation generals. Massive red flood dragons appeared above them, ready to strike at Prince Lei’s forces at any moment.

  “Activate the formations!” Prince Lei yelled. The six slaughtering formations in the Jade Bamboo Auction House activated. “Ready your weapons!” he shouted.

  The mercenaries, nobles, and private forces readied their combat techniques.

  “Attack!” Prince Tian yelled. The red flood dragons rushed, crashing into Prince Lei’s forces. Core-formation cultivators defended with the support of hundreds of unorganized foundation-establishment cultivators. Tiny elemental phantoms and weapon projections clashed against the dragons and repelled them.