83. Newcomers
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Back at the Arena, Lord Mo was learning a few important lessons under Lord Huo's heavy hand.
Despite the staggering difference in their levels, Lord Mo poured his all into the fight, but it was like hurling eggs at a rock, as Lord Huo hadn't moved a single muscle, yet his sword moved on its own, easily blocking or deflecting all Lord Mo's most powerful attacks.
'Is this the difference in our levels?!' Lord Mo thought with some dismay.
His own pride made him fight Lord Huo with his own strength, but since that wasn't working, he suddenly pulled out a talisman which moved to hover before him.
'If I can't reach the height, I will climb over all to get there!' The talisman suddenly expanded into a large house-sized talisman, and the force surrounding shook their entire surrounding.
Then the talisman zipped towards Lord Huo.
"Hmm?" Lord Huo finally moved- or rather, his eyelids finally moved, widening slightly, but again, his sword did the work, blocking the talisman in a powerlock.
"Oh? You've gotten your hands on something interesting." Lord Huo observed, and Lord Mo smirked.
"Hmph! How do you like it?" The talisman was one of the gifts from the immortals, and if it met its target, it was powerful enough to destroy three entire cities!
But...
"Nonsense." Lord Huo's sword spun and trails of bright orange light emanated from it, moving to surround the talisman, which shrunk and exploded under the sudden pressure, nearly destroying the Arena.
Lord Mo was pushed back by the blast, but Lord Huo remained safe within a shield.
"Borrowed strength remains borrowed strength, and something like this is only frightening if it hits." Lord Huo calmly stated.
'I can't lose here!' Lord Mo thought, and brought out another immortal level talisman.
But Lord Huo instantly saw through his intent.
"I can't let you activate any of those strange talismans within the city." Lord Huo spoke, and faster than a blink, he finally moved, effortlessly seizing the talisman before Lord Mo could do anything.
However, Lord Mo had a back up plan and he instantly activated a hidden trap, leaping away as Lord Huo was locked within a cylindrical seal with strange, man-eating flowers.
But then...
"Hmph. You're actually looking away during a fight?" Lord Huo's voice came from behind Lord Mo, and he swivelled in shock to find Lord Huo untouched, as his afterimage vanished from within the trap!
Lord Huo had merely toyed with him before now, but after that trap, Lord Huo sent a merciless arc of qi at him, which flung him right through the Arena's barrier and into a nearby building.
Before Lord Mo could recover, the next attack hit him, and he found himself hurtled far across Yue City, towards the forest.
He rose to his knees, hacking worrying amounts of blood, and Lord Huo appeared before him.
"Remain kneeling and surrender yourself!" Lord Huo reprimanded. "The Wulin won't go easy on you, but I can at least make arrangements for your family!"
"It's too late! There's no turning back for me now!" Lord Mo performed a shaky hand seal, and a black pulsing pill surrounded by red flames appeared.
Lord Huo's eyes narrowed at the pill. "Eight-core demon pill?! Greedy...! How dirty have you gotten your hands?!!"
But Lord Mo laughed. "Heh! If I swallow this, I will attain impossible power!"
He was now beyond reason. "I will lose a few levels of my cultivation, but I don't care! I'll make today your yearly death anniversary!"
He swallowed the pill without thought, and roared in pain as unbelievable power surged through him, tearing his sleeves and making his muscles bulge.
Bright red and purple lights surrounded him, alternating in criss-crossing swirls as he raged, and he was lifted into the air, his clothes changing to a stark black and red.
The lights vanished and he stood in the air, dark circles around his eyes as he glared down at Lord Huo. "Sect Leader, permit me to demonstrate true power to you!"
His scythe appeared in his hand, now looking deadlier than ever, with strange black markings along its long handle and crescent-shaped blade.
In a swift move, he swung the scythe, and a dense arc of deadly black aura headed straight for Lord Huo.
Lord Huo easily blocked it with a shield, but Lord Mo was suddenly behind him, swinging for his head.
Lord Huo swivelled and his sword met the scythe, sending a large shockwave fanning outward around them.
The two crossed swords for a while, their clashes destroying the landscape and trees around, and Lord Mo was seemingly at an advantage, pushing Lord Huo into the forest.
"What's the matter?!" Lord Mo taunted as they came to a clearing. "I thought you were one of the Mortal Realm's strongest!"
He charged his scythe full of qi, brought it down in a decisive swing, but Lord Huo smirked.
"Hmph." He lifted a hand in a one hand seal. "Activate..."
There was a mild burst of aura around them, and Lord Mo suddenly froze, and his entire body felt sluggish.
His movements had become extremely slow!
"You -...! What... did... you... do...?!" He demanded, and even his words came out as slowly as he was moving.
Lord Huo smiled and landed, moving at normal speed.
"I'm one of the strongest mortals, but I'm old and petty! So 'permit me to demonstrate true pettiness to you'!" He said, returning Lord Mo's words to him.
Lord Huo's sword vanished and an elegant red and white fan appeared in his hand as a confused Lord Mo fell slowly.
"Hmph. You thought you were pushing me back, but I was leading you here." Lord Huo explained. "We suspected immortals or demons might get involved, so Xiaofeng and I set up a formation here, just in case."
It was the same speed formation Luoyin had created for the first stage of the tournament!
"I must say I'm impressed by that young fellow, Zhang Luoyin... To create something so powerful! Whereas I'm ashamed to acknowledge you're from my sect. How dare you join hands with demons?
"And one might ignore your greed, but it's compounded by foolishness! You truly believe an eight-core demon pill will only cost a bit of cultivation?! It would take four Astral Tier alchemists to craft a pill strong enough to clear demon pill residue from a mortal's body...
"And if this particular one is not cleared in a few hours, it will be too late! Your core and meridians will slowly be destroyed, and you'll be dead in half a month!"
"Im... pos... si... ble...!!" Lord Mo yelled, his eyes a true mirror of fear.
But Lord Huo simply scoffed.
"Speak, and your family might be spared at least! Who gave you the demon pill and those talismans?!"
Lord Mo opened his mouth to speak, but a sudden vine lashed out towards him, attempting to kill him.
Lord Huo moved quickly and deflected the vine, yanking Lord Mo into a barrier, as an unbelievably beautiful woman suddenly appeared before them.
It was Qin Yuelian.
~"Kill them."~ The cloaked lady's voice entered her head, and she smiled- a smile which made Lord Huo and Lord Mo envision the most resplendent of gardens, surrounded by a sea of flowers, filling the air with the most beautiful scents...
Unknown to them, they were both in a trance, as flowers showered down around them, and Qin Yuelian smiled wickedly when Lord Huo's barrier slowly faded away.
'Hmph.' One of the flowers transformed into a blade and she grasped it, swinging it to deal a killing blow on Lord Huo, but the blade met with an even stronger golden shield which slightly pushed her back.
"Who dares interfere?!" She swivelled, but an oppressive aura suddenly swirled around her.
"I don't know when it became the Floral deity's turn to intrude on the affairs of Mortals." Another Immortal said, descending into the clearing, his robes and hair settling around him.
"G- Grand Immortal Kai Zhen!" Qin Yuelian stared in shock at the elegant immortal who held a golden whip, and was dressed in gold and white, a mischievous smile on his face.
Kai Zhen waved a hand, fortifying the golden barrier he had hastily cast around Lord Huo and Lord Mo.
Qin Yuelian growled. "How dare you ruin my good deeds!" She stretched out a hand, and a flurry of poisonous flowers shot at Kai Zhen. "Did you forget we're both Grand Immortals?!"
But Kai Zhen cracked his whip, and the flowers all disintegrated. "You must realize at all times that despite levels, stages are to be considered." He reminded her, a pleasant smile on his face, and a gold halo appeared behind his head.
Much like the ring seals for mortals, this halo appeared at an immortal's will, merely as a form of intimidation, and Kai Zhen's halo had the character for sì (four), beneath which was the character for Bā (eight).
Amongst immortals, there were only five known cultivation tiers... Transcendent Tier, Sky Tier, Saint Tier, Universal Tier, and Eternal Tier.
These tiers were represented by numbers One to Five, which was why High Immortals who were in the third tier- the Saint Tier, carried jade tokens with the character for Sān (Three) on them.
But scaling each tier was near impossible, and Grand Immortals were in the fourth tier- the Universal Tier, which had ten stages.
Qin Yuelian was in the third stage, but Kai Zhen was in the eighth stage!
~"Run!"~ The cloaked lady's telepathic order suddenly entered her head, and Qin Yuelian instantly vanished, but when she reappeared at the cliff, the cloaked lady was no longer there, and another immortal awaited her.
This was a much older immortal with long silvery white beards and hair, gleaming against his sweeping sea-blue robes.
"Hao. One just escaped, and another appears." He said, his blank expression contrasting Kai Zhen's mischievous look.
He was High Grand Immortal Bao, one of the only known immortals in the Eternal Tier!
Qin Yuelian's eyes widened in realization and she attempted to flee again, but Immortal Bao held out a hand, and she zapped to him, her throat in his hand.
She was raised in the air, her feet kicking beneath her, and she struggled, clawing at his hand, but he lightly tightened his grip.
"A mere child in the Universal Tier... You're not strong enough to be the mastermind we've been looking for. Speak. Who is behind you?"
But she suddenly disappeared from his grasp, making his eyes narrow as a dense demonic aura filled the air.
'The Demon King's aura...?'
It appeared their hidden enemies were more powerful than they realized...
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