《The Road I Was Walked Upon : Prologue》 Chapter 1 - Three Rolling Stones Chapter 1 - Three Rolling Stones In a dark cavern somewhere in the Shuru Mountains... "Behind you, another one!" A voice rang out in warning as a grotesque eight-legged creature creeped up behind a girl in white flowing clothes. Her alluring face shifted into a frown as she quickly looked up - not towards the creature, but the source of the voice. The spider acted during this moment of presumed carelessness. It screeched and threw its body towards the figure in white. As light fell on it through a hole in the ceiling, a frame as tall as a man and wide as many was revealed. A sickening crunch rang out. Blood flowed down its hideous maw. But was it the girl''s? "Huaap!" The spider was flipped over to a side, and the girl appeared, stuck to its abdomen by means of a hand dug into its meaty underside. Her clothes remained fair except for the sleeve, which was now stained green from the wound. As she pulled her hand free, the drenched cloth tore to reveal underneath... an unexpectedly muscular forearm. It wasn''t bulky, but the rippling strength contained within was visible at a glance. It drew a stark contrast with her face, which was alluring enough to cause a war among nations. But with her musculature, perhaps even a village marrying her off would have to pay a hearty dowry. Realising that half her arm was left uncovered, the frown on the girl''s face deepened as she gave the nearby carcass an angry kick. She then yelled back to the man who had warned her before, "Do you think you need to tell me, Ma?" ''Ah, her sleeve... poor spiders...'' thought the tanned young man named Ma. However, he didn''t get a chance to open his mouth again. "Help..." came a whisper, nearly indiscernible among the screeches echoing in the cavern. Siha Ma shifted his gaze towards the source of the voice, while keeping one eye on his own foe. "Sha!" exclaimed Siha Ma. He was seeing the robed figure of his friend flitting between life and death as two dozen hairy legs assaulted him from impossible angles. "At least shout by how much crap you''re in. Sis, help him! I can barely handle this one." Siha Ma''s own sword couldn''t penetrate the carapace of his foe in any short time. He tried to get below it or go around more than once, but the damned thing stuck close to the ground and relied on its appendages to fight. He was stuck! And while Siha Ma could only watch on, the robed figure was in a place full of opportunity for death, able to cling to life by relying on his treasure set of twenty needles. As he deflected the claims at his life he could not avoid, the strain on his vast mental energies worsened, and he continued to sustain minor wounds. "H-Honey! I''m coming!" cried out the girl, her frown giving way to worry''s visage. ''Such a form of address... What would the spiders think?'' joked Siha Ma to himself. Although they faced strong foes, both of their abilities were better not scoffed at. As for Wang Du, the girl rushed towards her "honey" with giant, inhuman leaps that left cracks on the grey stone floor disproportionate to her size. ''Ah, is this the gracefulness of immortals?'' thought Siha Ma, before turning serious in a moment. ''However, it is fortunate that Sis is here with us. Both Sha''s weapon and mine are no good against this many spiders. But she should just be able to-'' And right then, as if unwilling to remain mere thought, his expectations rushed to become reality. The girl neared a spider and threw a fist at it. It almost looked comical until, combined with her momentum, the fist penetrated with a crunch and a squelch until she was stuck up to her elbow. With a cute shout of exertion, she swung that arm, and the spider along with it, smashing it into another one of the fiends. Both went flying but it left the girl gasping for a good ten seconds. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. However, she wasn''t worried about the third grey spider. Yan Sha loomed above it like a hurricane at coast. Perhaps the foolish creature thought it had an upperhand, six to be exact. But man had wit, and man had tools. The needles fought its limbs two-for-one, which still left four that the robed figure devoted to a continuous assault on its many eyes. It took a little longer to spill its brain than what it took for the other spider to rush back, but the difference was covered by the girl, whose casual blows left cracks beneath its grey hair. Only two now remained, one against each man, and adding to the three killed before, it would amount to seven carcasses in a few moments, as they had crushed a couple of them before being ambushed. When put at a disadvantage, Spirit Monstrosities such as these would choose to flee. But these maddened freaks just kept on coming. Yet their efforts were in vain. Outnumbered, the grotesque being lasted not much longer. As the three regrouped, Wang Du sat down to rest for a moment. She pulled the most weight in the fight and swallowed mouthfuls of air to show it. Although they were in a hurry, punctuality wouldn''t help save their asses if they got ambushed again. Yan Sha, however spent his mind was, kept vigilance nearby. "Sis, can''t you keep going? Although spider-kin are known to store their prey for some time, pondering of her fate worries me." "Ma, you... you know it might be too late, right? The villagers said she got lost a day ago. Even though we found this place..." She didn''t continue, but her tone forebode a gritty result to the ordeal. "...Of course, Sis. But didn''t I make a promise to her mother that we''d find her? It is against what I believe in to let a poor thing like her die in vain." Having made his stance clear, Siha Ma stood quiet, a practiced smile, which contradicted his words, was plastered upon his brown face. "What is the Shu Clan thinking? Sending children to gather spirit herbs in this mountain is nigh murder..." Flicking a rock in frustration, Wang Du grumbled. The projectile, small as it was, met its end as a thousand pieces shooting away from the cavern wall. Seeing them both turn silent, Yan Sha spoke up to mediate. "It isn''t their fault. With Shu Nan being of age sixty this year and still stuck at the 6th Layer, their only hope is to nurture a new leader. Annoyed as you may be, Du-" she blushed a little with how he addressed her"- their circumstance is Master''s concern. As for you, Ma... "Let your sister rest. The seven we slayed shared a similar size, and so it worries me that a progenitor may lurk nearby. To have a brood reach the strength of 6th Layer as a collective, we are looking at a fearsome opponent. We will need her strength if we are to flee in such a situation. "Not to mention... didn''t you see how crazed those spiders were? Spirit Monstrosities know to retreat when outmatched. Yet the seventh kept coming at me. I''d have suggested we leave if I didn''t know you better, Ma." The reason within his friend''s voice convinced Siha Ma. He pestered Wang Du no more, and instead focused on recovering his strength. The girl, on the other hand, grumbled a little before taking out a strip of cloth to cover her missing sleeves. She also took out a wooden cylinderical container from the bag on her waist. Within, a white cream was revealed. Without ceremony, she grabbed Siha Ma''s arms and began applying the spirit medicine. However, just as the conversation fell to a lull, the ground began to shake; it was imperceptible at first but grew more noticeable by the moment. The girl was the first to frown, followed shortly by the robed figure. She put her ear to the ground, and as consequence of not letting go of Siha Ma''s arms, pulled him to the ground as well. "Something is coming!" Two voices rang out; one panicked and the other unhurried. Whatever was coming clearly cared for punctuality more than they did. Only a moment passed before a wall tens of meters away burst outwards toward them, showering them with rocks. Chapter 2 - Rolling Too Hard Unhindered by the rock formation came hulking out a body, ancestor to the ones that lay there dead. Against the dark cavern wall it was a graffiti of preposterous aesthetic, taller than any man a mother ever gave birth to. As the dust began to settle, the spirit cultivators looked up at this freak of nature with dread settling in on their tired faces. It seemed Yan Sha''s worries would not melt away for nothing. At this moment, something stirred within Siha Ma''s heart. Something that gave rise to a pang of anxiety. The wide cavern narrowed in his vision as it came to be focused upon the human figure protruding over the creature''s horrid face; almost centaur-like in appearance if not for the great disparity in their sizes. He could not tell what suffering the little girl had been through, only that it had left a decrepit corpse, skinless, now held between the creature''s fangs. This elicited a change in his bearing as his companions turned to look at him. After its spectacular entry, the giant spirit monstrosity had taken a pause to measure up its would-be victims. Sensing the abundant vital energy that its prey emanated, it threw aside the mummified corpse with no ceremony and rushed to battle; the hunt was on! As the towering figure hurtled towards them, Wang Du and Yan Sha spared no words before jumping back and away from Siha Ma, who stood with his fists clenched; a noble spirit - unseen by the naked eye - had shrouded him. He looked straight ahead, unflinching and belying his recent demeanour. Planting their feet into the ground, the duo focused their gazes on the massive foe, and then the friend that stood against. This friend had promised to bring the girl back safely. The promise was broken; blood streamed down a corner of his mouth. An energy similar to Spiritual Qi, but far stronger, rose from his body. It was Dao Qi! And this made him a Daoist! If Heaven and Earth together could give rise to Qi, then so could the Path, Dao! Each Daoist differed from another, and in spiritual weakness Siha Ma had always been able to find momentary physical strength. It was the Dao Spell that belonged only to him - Vengeance. Dao Spells all had marvellous effects, but they were exclusive to Daoists, for such spells required the elusive Dao Qi to operate. It was a privilege neither Yan Sha nor Wang Du had. No shout arose from Siha Ma''s throat, but inside his mind a rumble spread, as he called upon his sword to glow with cold radiance. His Path was Justice. He was the Judge and he was the Executioner. It was unreasonable, but it was Dao! When his promise had been broken, he had been pushed back on his Path, suffering an injury to his Dao cultivation. It was just the way things were, and he would have to deal with its detriments later. Filled with mysterious power, he ran headlong to meet the spirit monstrosity in batte. And although the creature sensed the change in him, it was too crazed, and too stupid, to care. It bore down with the intent to crush; its momentum was such it would turn a hundred needle treasures and their user to paste if the latter was unfortunate enough to meet it head-on. No bodily cultivator - man or woman - could tackle it either. Still one man and his sword dared scheme of its demise. As the creature dawned upon him, Siha Ma swung hard with both hands as the cold radiance erupted from his instrument of execution. Where metal met monster, anxiety was born in the hearts of his two supporters against their will; reason tried to pacify their minds by beckoning the memories they held of the spell. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. And as reason had foretold, their worries turned to sighs as the man and beast met in a fantastic contest of strength. Each tumbling back for a second, regained their footing and began exchanging blows torrid of the other''s blood. His sword was still unable to cut through its carapace, so he used it as a club to counter what limbs his foe threw at him. Yet it seemed fervor would carry him only so far. Crevices were snaking their way onto the metal that held death at bay. "Judgement!" The sword began to cave, but its master wouldn''t let it. Aura heightening, he fed into his weapon a Qi flow near-akin to half-step Foundation Establishment, a far cry from his usual 7th layer. And with their foe''s momentum halted, Yan Sha and Wang Du hurried within range of their own specialities: the former behind it in an attempt to divide its attention, and the latter, in her simplicity, on top of it, raining down blows that visibly shook the creature. Yan Sha soon found out how futile his efforts were. The needles were fast and made to pierce; the force they carried was not enough to annoy the crazed thing. Moreover, he had no spell to force his Qi flow beyond his cultivation at the 8th layer. Thus, leaving instinct to govern his robed body, he shifted his thoughts and senses to encompass the battlefield. His sword-bearing ally had entered a state of immersion in his Dao and could not think about much else, while consideration of tactics was an activity foreign to the girl with immense fleshly strength. Only Yan Sha''s mind held sway over the outcome of the battle. With the cracks on his ally''s sword counting down to the arrival of the reaper, he began to look for the path to victory in this battle without wits. And it wasn''t long before he witnessed the towering figure roll once to the side, bringing abrupt pause to the booms ringing atop it, and causing their perpetrator to land beside him. He spared no glance for the beautiful face, for in that moment he had seen the light. Under the hulking mass of the creature was the path to hell; it was where its weakness lay as well. If it was on its back long enough, Siha Ma would sunder its vitals by means of his unreasonable strength. Holding a hand out to his right, palm towards Wang Du, he said in his usual low voice, "Hold this rope as you climb back up. Annoy the thing so it begins to roll, then jump to the other side and pull the rope down." "And not tie its legs instead? You could manage to flit among them if I protect you," came back the inquiry. Although she expressed doubt, Wang Du still followed his plan; she jumped pulling along the rope that glowed with motes of light as it exited the pouch on Yan Sha''s waist, which was special in its own right for being able to hold an item far larger than its volume. Hurried footsteps rang out below Yan Sha as he moved near the cavern wall to the right of their foe. "The magical rope is part of the emergency supplies. It already requires some luck for it to hold the creature in place long enough." Lacking in the way of pure strength, he instead commanded his flying needles to pin the rope to the ground, each one seperated about a meter. Fourty meters away from the monster he stood, his back to the cavern wall. Yan Sha did not believe in a higher power, only deeper schemes. It was what his Master had taught him: "Believe in your eyes. If you must believe in your heart, have it believe in someone whose eyes you can trust." And at that moment, as he stood seperated from his allies by the hulking mass of grey, he believed in the plan laid out before his eyes, and he believed in his allies with his heart. As he used this short while to divine what fruit his plan would bear, the gate to his own Path opened an inch further. Chapter 3 - Two in the Hole Chapter 3 - Two in the Hole Wang Du didn''t have many thoughts in her mind, wishing to preoccupy it with the task at hand instead. Neither did she lament her brother''s loss of control, which forced them to stay and fight. Having the keenest senses of the three, she was confident in the success of her part of the plan. A portion of her strength was enough to send her flying through the air. As she landed atop the humongous spider''s back, she once again took in the sight of a hairy grey shell that spread out around her. The earth beneath her danced to a rhythm of death, shifting from limb to limb. As one ally had come up with the plan, the other had been matching their foe blow-for-blow, metal-to-limb. ''Well, honey, here it goes.'' She had pulled the rope along from behind the monstrosity, and now its other end had moved a quarter circle to the right. In close vicinity of her fist, which she pulled back, a hard to describe fluctuation occured. The air became heavy, flowing like lead and locking her fist in place at its apex, as if afraid of its descent, and the destruction that would be wrought. But it was useless. The fist descended as the layers of air locking it in place shook. A deafening sound erupted from where the fist met the grey earth. Then another one. And another. Each blow was like a shot from a cannon. But unlike a cannon Wang Du stuck to the same spot with her feet, as if the reactionary force was meaningless to her. Her face flushed and her breathing roughened. Each punch was like the stomp of an elephant or a boulder crashing from high on above. To conserve her strength awaiting the unforeseen, she hadn''t yet given the task her all. But as the wind pushed her white robe taut against her skin, it gave view to the muscles rippling beneath. And even though she knew she was alone on the grey expanse, her fist couldn''t help but shake from a feeling resembling shame. She scowled as the redness left her face. Giving vent to this feeling, a shout of frustration erupted from her throat, suppressing the uneasiness in her heart that felt worse than even the feeling of death that permeated the air. "Hell! Just! Die! Already! You piece of shiiiiit!!" Each word was punctuated with a blow, the last curse followed by a twist of the waist that had her looking halfway to the back. It seemed to do the trick; the spider''s limbs on the left erupted with strength at the same moment, sending it rolling towards the lower end of the rope. Wang Du jumped to the other side, gasping from her previous effort, and pulling the glowing rope taut, when suddenly, her hand loosened in realisation. To the right of the creature stood Yan Sha. Going in, she hadn''t paid mind to which way the creature would choose to roll in. Now, it had chosen to go towards the shorter expanse of cavern floor. The monstrosity was mid-roll, and Yan Sha''s life would be forfeit in its completion. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.Anxious was her heart and careless was her mind, until the voice behind the plan reached her ears. "I''ll be fine, Du. We need to give Ma the time he needs. Now, Pull!" The voice renewed no strength of hers, but it bolstered her heart. Wang Du pushed away the sullied thoughts. She wasn''t a Foundation Establishment cultivator who could see afar without the eyes, so in this moment, she could only trust. She pulled the rope hard over the underside of the creature that was now facing the ceiling. Captured with its back to the stone, it flailed around, stressing the glowing vine the rope was made of. But the trap held firm for the moment. Her companion with the cracked sword rushed forth and jumped upon it. Unleashing the cold fury that had been building upon the former resistance by the creature''s many limbs, he began to tear it apart. Strike after strike sundered the spider. Foul-smelling green blood drenched him, to which he paid no mind. The vitality of the arachnid was to be praised. Each blow was strong enough to seperate even one of Wang Du''s own arms, yet many together could not give the crazed thing respite from its existence. And as it struggled, she would feel the rope loosen by a meter time and again. Each time she would step further back to make up for the difference. And each time she would feel as if her beloved''s life was counting down by the length of the rope that was being lost. But however wild the struggle was, however strained the rope became, Wang Du felt hope emerge in her heart. Only for the causal inevitability of human suffering to shatter it, as the battle turned tides again. The entirety of the noble aura that shrouded Siha Ma gathered upon his sword, which he stabbed downwards. In imminent conclusion, it dropped like a dragon descending to the earth as it disappeared upto the hilt but for a few inches. Yet the tenacity of its victim outlived the sword''s. It burst into shards of metal that further ruptured the foul insides of the creature. The hilt and protruding metal were no different, raining down upon the one that had brought it to collapse. Instinct protected his vitals by offering his arms instead, and as the shrapnel took the sacrifice, he was blown many feet away. Wang Du saw his visage change as his aura dropped to a weakened state and the Dao Qi dissipated. But before she could consider losing the rope to save her ally, the creature slammed its back onto the ground in its greatest show of strength so far. Resilient as it may be, the earth couldn''t hold back the peternatural monstrosity from defying its fate. Cracks spread along the stone of the cavern, reaching in every direction but Wang Du''s, who stood far away with her strength applied to the trap. In the end the spider had been unable to finish its roll, but it still took the two males with it as a chasm opened into the ground. In the last moments before the upturned creature and the executioner lying fainted upon it disappeared from her vision, she saw a robed figure run up the cavern wall opposite of her. Alas! The wall crumbled along with the final vestiges of hope in her heart. The men and the monster fell down the gaping maw of the earth a distance she could not fathom, into a darkness she could not dispel. Chapter 4 - Falling, Far and Close By Chapter 4 - Falling, Far and Close By The tunnel to the depths of the earth was bizarre. A journey down that began in darkness soon changed in ways unforeseen. The walls below had a metallic sheen to them, and a green glow as if of haunted moss. Falling down, Yan Sha had snatched the glowing rope and pulled himself along and over to the grey and green surfboard. For it was like traversing the angry ocean; they hadn''t been in free fall for more than a hundred meters, before the tunnel began to take angry bends; although these protrusions would batter the body of the spider, gravity held them in its grip, unwilling to let go before they were introduced face-first to the eventual death by falling that awaited them. Yan Sha had already grabbed his unconscious ally in a show of forethought, and together they rode the shrieking monstrosity towards their shared fate. *** When Siha Ma came to, his vision was hazy and mind muddled. He felt incongruent with his body, and he felt a weakness in his arms he hadn''t felt for a long time. As his vision cleared, his arms moved beyond his control, bringing to sight a pair of pure hands. He had outgrown them long ago, and even the color wasn''t this fair after years of challenging the sun. Yet here they were, memories long gone by. A woman picked him up, and her tough hands under his arms gave off a sense of warmth a meter apart. Once he became a cultivator, nightmares had never haunted him. Yet now, the past was playing out before his eyes once again, and he was forced to watch. The woman turned him around and her face came to view. She had hard features which, upon seeing him smile, melted into a grin. With a calloused hand, she held an earthen pot to his mouth. Inside scant water remained, shimmering in the hot, dark room. And as the boy smiled and drank, the man trapped inside him cried. Not because he knew these few mouthfuls would be all that would pass the boy''s throat for a long while, but because he knew how fragile the woman''s warmth was. That woman was his mother. Her cracked lips looked as if they''d hurt, but she still smiled down upon him. It was only when her gaze left for the man sitting besides did that smile die to a frown. A kind smile was over his gaunt and weathered features. That man was his father.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. "Little Ma, when your mother and I leave, don''t go out of the house. We''ll be back soon, and there will be more water to drink." The child tilted his head before nodding. He was still unwise and the despair in his father''s voice passed by his ears uncaught. The boy had stayed silent, but the man yelled, aware of the futility of his actions. The warmth of his parents filled his heart, but to him this was still a nightmare. He could not grab his mother''s arm as she let him down. He could not grab his father''s leg as he got up to leave. He could not tell his mother and father he''d rather die in this draught with them, than have them leave and never come back. He could not give them hope that an immortal would arrive in a few days, taking them away. He could only watch them leave. Siha Ma was helpless. The door shut behind them. In the next two days it didn''t open again, until the boy broke his promise, and placed his feet on the threshold of the house, the threshold of fate. The boy left the house, but he would be waiting all his life. He ran to the only place known to him, where the people lived behind a fence and scowled at him whenever he passed by with his parents. His parents hadn''t told him, but it was the place they had gone to steal water. He cut his feet running over the sand and rock and fed his parched throat air too dry. By a miracle yet to be revealed as too cruel, his bloodied feet carried his gaunt figure to the entrance of the village. He was afraid of everything around him on the way, so he had run there with his gaze pinned to the ground. And it was when he saw the two patches of crimson red, that he looked up and saw them for the last time. Their faces were beaten to an unrecognisable pulp, but the pain that tore at his feeble heart ensured their identity. How the man inside wished he could cover the boy''s eyes, or turn his head away, from the mangled limbs of their father and mother. On two wooden crosses, the corpses of the untouchables were bound for the world to see, their bodies drained of blood by the weight of the water they had stolen. They had sullied the village well in their life, yet in death their blood would not sully the village ground. Outside the village entrance they would serve as a warning to the filth that dared consider itself the same kind of human as those born pure. Daoists often called dreams akin to treasure boxes, unlocking which could help reveal the secrets of Heaven and Earth. But for Siha Ma, the dream held only punishment. Mind undone by the injustice he was suffering, the boy blacked out, and the man with him. *** "Up, are we?" Waking up to the present, Siha Ma felt the warmth of his friend''s back against his chest. It served to counter the pain that racked his entire body. The boy who was now grown up plastered a grin to his face. "We really did a number on that thing, huh? It was crazy." "Mhm," uttered Yan Sha, sensing the smile in his friend''s words, the friend who''d always smile. Yan Sha trudged along metallic walls of green as his feet limped to a fixed beat. A tear, born of the pain that racked his mind, rolled down the boy¡¯s face onto the shoulder of the man who carried him; it stayed there as dew on his robe, between the closest of friends the distance too long for the wetness to be discerned.