Chapter [B4] 23 — A Lord’s Duty


    Lord Zhou had never hated the Heavens. The Heavens simply were, they were all that which governed over the world, the unseen force that guided the hand of life and brought insights and strength to those who sought to pursue its depths. And yet… in this moment he could not help but hate them a little.


    Heavenly Qi poured into him, pushing him onto a pedestal that was not truly his to take. He felt the power seeping into his core, filling his soul to the brim and more kept appearing, yet there was no time to consciously consolidate any of it. Even if he survived this encounter, his cultivation would be crippled from the strain of the mantle the heaven sought to put upon his shoulders.


    And yet, he grasped his de, letting his Qi seep out. The glint of the sun shone on its edge. He had a peculiar Qi. Light Qi. Or more rightfully, sr Qi. It was not amon element to attune oneself too, but he felt it zing inside of him now with the strength of the sun.


    The heavens roared above, tribtion clouds swirling, yet they did not seem focused on him in any way. Zhou did not pay it much mind, far greater things on his mind. The demon in front of him had grown tired of waiting, of ying the games, the tides of this battle had changed without a word being spoken and though Lord Zhou felt like he would topple over with the amount of heavenly Qi flooding into his body, it also demanded a ce to go, and he quite conveniently had a target right in front of him.


    He stepped, shing at the demon with his de as he arrived in a blink, de striking the creature’s ws. There was that sinister pulse as corruption flowed out form the creature, but Lord Zhou pulled his de back, his own Qi and the Qi of the heavens protecting his sword.


    The heavens rumbled, the first bolt striking down just as he stepped back, just barely missing him as they struck the demon who stood unphased, except for the slight burn on its skin and clothes. Lord Zeng struck this time, moving forward as the man’s ming spear shot forward, the demon moved fast, almost too fast for Lord Zhou to see if not for his body rapidly growing in power even as he simply stood there. The other lord’s weapon crumbled in an instant against the demon’s miasma, and Lord Zhou had to rush in and block another strike that would’ve struck down Lord Zeng.


    The man was powerful, but as the torrential flood of Qi told Lord Zhou, a Divinity’s power was simply in a different realm, one not so easily achieved. The man would not be able to help in this fight, the man was best served elsewhere. Lord Zhou moved with the man, gaining some distance as he spoke to him.


    “Brother Zeng listen to me. I’m going to break the creature’s domain and I need you to use that moment to escape. Gather your armies and prepare your men, get them somewhere safe and retreat the front lines. This entire ce is going to be left in shambles.”


    Much to Lord Zhou’s credit, the man only took one look at the demon and killed the conflict inside of him. That exchange had no doubt struck at his pride, he was no lousy warrior after all, but they all knew the reality of this battle, it had been suicide from the start, and the man knew that he’d only hinder Lord Zhou as things were.The man nodded, and Lord Zhou turned. He focused the utterly <em>absurd </em>amount of Qi around him and let it ripple outwards, a crack formed in the demon’s domain as Lord Zeng slipped out, before the domain around him re-established itself.


    With just the two of them remaining, Lord Zhou focused on the creature once more.


    “I do not understand you humans,” the demon said, watching him. “Why let that man go, it only dys the inevitable. He is weak, do you not choose your ranks based on strength? You were weak too, but you are stronger now, why not escape yourself?”


    “Because strength is not the only thing that matters in this world. But I do not expect you to understand that,” Lord Zhou said, leveling his de ahead of him. He channeled his Qi, multiple techniques ring as light red and more clones of him appeared. It was the art Zhou Fang had used as well, but there was one crucial difference. These were not illusions, but reflections of reality instead.


    <strong>“Sr Domain: Blinding Skies” </strong>Lord Zhou said, giving name to his domain as the heavens themselves trembled and then the clouds of tribtions began to part, rays of light piercing the demonic domain, battling it, and finding pieces crumbling.


    “I’ve been trying to understand you a little. But perhaps that was foolish. I hope you will not bore me as much as the other one did,” the demon said, and then the creature struck.


    Lord Zhou swept in, the two meeting in between as his de struck against the creature’s ws. The impact shattered reality itself, cracks appearing in the world before sealing themselves. Lord Zhou continued to pour more and more Qi, cycling it through his pathways a reflection followed after his strike, and the demon was forced to intercept, and then another, and then another, before they vanished.


    Raising his de, he let a pulse of Qi rise to the sky as he expanded his technique, letting sr Qi mix into the heavenly qi, the two intertwined, forming an intertwined dance of power before he shot it into the skies.


    Rays of light show down from the skies like bolts as the demon weaved through them, Lord Zhou moved in closer, shing with his de as the demon delfected another strike. Corruption rose around the creature, like a maddening swarm of rot and rust, little shards of rusted metal conjoining together to form a rotten de around in his grasps which the demon swung.


    The world cut itself from the strike… no it did not cut itself. The cut was simply a push, the corrosion simply festered reality, forming waves that crashed into Lord Zhou as reality pieced itself back together with a powerful pulse pushing him back.


    The demon shot forward, de of rust swinging once more. Lord Zhou let sr Qi and heavenly Qi gather around him, a blinding sh of light gathering as he shot it towards the demon.


    The beastughed as the beam burned its body, which then quickly began to repair itself. The demon roared, power surging as the world around them began to crumble. Lord Zhou shot forward, body zing with light as Qi flowed into him with like a tsunami that would not be barred by anything, he moved light, moving in an instant as his de struck, cutting through the demon, sting him backwards as the de of light cut the dark domain open. The demon cackled, dark blood gushing from its body as it mmed but Lord Zhou did not relent, shooting after the creature immediately.


    He continued to cycle his Chi. His domain whirred on the horizon, power surging. His aura was focused on the beast and he let the cold me within him blossom. Surging rage rose within him as he let it all expand outwards into his de. He would cut the demon down. He would cut it, and this domain and all that was in its path.


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    He let that intent soak into his de, let that mingle with the heavenly Qi and his sr Qi till the two became one and the same. Lord Zhou did not note the Qi taking upon his will, did not notice the way the world shifted around him even if only briefly, he simply became one with that intent. To cut that which was in front of him, and he let it manifest through his de.


    Light expanded outwards, the world shing bright as the demon stared. The dark domain around shuddered for a long, slow moment as Lord Zhou stood there in the skies, and then stared down at its chest, a deep cut on its chest that poured blood. But this one did not heal, this one did not mend, because it was not a wound of the flesh.


    He’d cut the creature’s soul.


    Lord Zhou coughed blood, finding surprise rising within him. He looked down at his hand, and found it trembly and forcibly grabbed it with his other arm. The heavens continued to rumble and he cursed himself for not having been able to bisect the creature entirely. His time was running short. This power was breaking him apart.


    He could feel it now, feel the mantle of Divinity, it wanted to be worn, it wanted to twist him into something he was not. He could adhere, he could be the earth that the empire had lost, and yet, it would not be him, it would not be his path, and it would certainly not be an earned Divinity, and that kind of change would corrupt him, bringing him off his path, on a path towards an end he could not imagine would ever end up going anywhere.


    No, this was not him, he could not ept this path. Nor it’s false immortality. He had seen the truth, seen the path, he had known, they all knew to an extent, but the truth had a way of shattering lies unlike anything else, it would not take hold, for he could not close his eyes once now that they had been opened, and so he bore the cost of such power, and it took its price in blood.


    The demon remained still, almost as if in shock as to why it wasn’t healing, it gave Lord Zhou a moment to recover. He took that moment to gather his strength and prepare another strike.


    But then the demon’s face twisted.


    “You cut me…” it said, in disbelief, and then it snarled. <strong><em>“You CUT me?!”</em></strong>


    The terrible creature rushed, striking at Lord Zhou’s de with a terrible power. Pirs of light shot down from the skies as Lord Zhou struck back with des of light, but the creature had lost all pretense of civility, the true demon within it escaping outwards. It rushed towards Lord Zhou, body cracking and corroding, as a demonic beast escaped the shell of the divinity, a terrible power within it. His de crumbled at the touch of the beast as it grabbed Lord Zhou, mming him into the earth. The ground began to wither, Lord Zhou’s life force drianing as the creature’s empty sockets looked down.


    <strong><em>“I will END you.” </em></strong>Itmanded, certain in its truth. Lord Zhou tried to gather his power, the heavens roared, sending down a terrible strike upon the creature but he simple roared, and Lord Zhou found his body crumbling.


    His core began to be drained and no matter how much Qi the heavens flooded him with, his body simply was at its limit. Standing toe to toe with this creature had been all he could’ve done and now the vessel was breaking. His skin cracked, his body breaking, breath struck as the terrible creature snarled.


    Lord Zhou reached out wing the dirt, finding only dust and ask in his fingers. A terribly hot searing de pressed against his soul, and he felt a will imposing itself against his soul.


    <strong><em>“ept,” </em></strong>the will spoke and for a moment, Lord Zhou found himself staring in awe at the vague silhouette of the very heavens as his world was drowned out.


    He reached out towards it, towards that beacon of power, with it, he could fight back, with it, he had a chance to win, to end this terrible creature.


    And yet, his hand stilled. He stared at the price, the price that such immortality demanded, he felt it in his soul, felt the power there, of what it would rob him of.


    It would rob him of his soul.


    There was no crueler price to be paid for a cultivator. To lose your soul, it was the price those deathless had paid, for their immortality. That this divinity had paid as well, that all of them paid, to be imprisoned, to be turned into something false. It would kill him. His living corpse may yet be alive, be there for his son, to be a lord to his people, to save the lives he so wished to, but his soul would be gone and he’d forever live with that knowledge.


    But was that price not worth it? If he could just save them all, if he could just prevent all of this.


    Lord Zhou reached out towards that burning light, to that ce he had only ever dreamed of, that surging pulse of divine power.


    And found another presence hold him back.


    He felt it in his chest, the little thread that tied him to the boy. He had reject his path, he was too old, too set in his ways, but there was still a tie, he was connected, like fate itself was, to that boy’s world, and it pulled him back, towards a separate path, a different kind of immortality. One that also exacted a price, but one that was true.


    Lord Zhou opened his eyes. His body was dying. In truth, he should’ve already been dead by now. It was the sheer force of the heavens keeping him alive as they flooded him with power, forcing him to live, to fight, for their will and yet he could not, his body was turning to dust, his life was gone into the terrible beast as their powers collided and the monster continued to grow.


    And yet, Lord Zhou found himself at the truth he had not thought to utter. The truth at the end of all paths. It was simply his vessel that was unfit, but what need did the immortal soul have of such things?


    Thus, with a pulse of Qi, of what little that remained still under his control, he reached into his soul, around his navel at the ce which all cultivators knew intimately. His dantian.


    And he shattered it.


    The world itself shivered, somewhere in the distance he heard beasts crying out, and for a long moment, it seemed like the heavens themselves regarded him with silent respect as Lord Zhou found nearly a century of power that was held within his soul escape out of the crumbling vessel.


    The world lit itself on fire as a sun manifested within it.


    The demon roared, its body burning under the torrent of mes and light. The entire world held its breath as Lord Zhou’s body copsed, terrible power rising from it. That light consumed the world, consumed all in its path, the demon’s body copsed under the weight of the zing soul that escaped the confines of its vessel as the heavens themselves watched in awe.


    Lord Zhou watched, as if somewhere distant and far, his body was gone and his soul burned with mes, consuming the demon and leaving nothing but ashes as it did, all the power he’d ever obtained now flooded him as his consciousness expanded, to something greater than he was, something greater.


    His soul ascended to the heavens, regarding the world like the very sun as that power dissipated itself into the very world. He watched as the light spread across the skies, storms being banished and the world turned as for a moment, the sun shone bright across allnds around the world.


    He felt the torrent of Qi within him, felt it seeking a ce and he found himself giving it the path it wanted. A call came for him, an old path, but also a new one, he understood in this moment, understood so much more than he ever had, but the Primordial Qi of the beyond did not pull him, they had a im, he knew, and he could not stay for long, but there was just one ce, just one ce where he would be able to wait a little while longer.


    And so Lord Zhou flew, and he flew across the world, a shooting star that marched across the sky, chasing that single thread and he moved like light, arriving in an instant as his soul sank into that eternal Divine Tree, and the legacy of an era lost flourished, leave of light scattering across the seventh peak as the sun shone upon it from the skies.


    There would be a price, as there always was, but in this moment, he could let himself relish the sense of unity that he felt as he became one with the world.


    And yet another piece of the cycle was mended.