The full moon shined brightly in the darkness covered sky above the Scattered Leaf Village. Yin Hui stood outside the village gate, regretful that he was going to leave without saying good bye to the energetic Yu Zhuwa. He wished that he could have stayed a bit longer, but did not want to take his chances. Even if Yu Mingxi rejected Tang Bian"s offer, Yin Hui had already shown his face. Once Tang Bian returned to the capital, the news about his disappearance as well as the secrets he held would be revealed. With Tang Bian"s intelligence, he would no doubt put the pieces together and post a capture order throughout the province."Leaving so soon?"
Yin Hui"s pupils shrank when he heard the voice. He turned around and was shocked to find Yu Mingxi standing only an arm"s length away. Yin Hui quickly clasped his hands and gave a deep bow.
"My apologies Lady Yu, I didn"t see you there. Thank you for your hospitality, but I have something urgent to attend to and must leave."
"You can drop the act Yin Hui. I know who you are and where you come from. The cursed child of the Yin Clan. Your birth was said to be the reason for the clan"s downfall." Yu Mingxi no longer had the pleasant smile she had when Yin Hui first met her. Right now her face was stern and completely focused.
"Tch..." Yin Hui took a large leap back and touched his bag of holding. He pulled out the ball of incomplete demonic qi and aimed it threateningly at Yu Mingxi.
"I was completely unaware of her presence until now. She"s a cultivator, but what is her cultivation base? She knows of my origin as well. Is she going to capture me and present me to Tang Bian as a sign of goodwill when he returns?"
Yu Mingxi stood there silently, her gaze fixed on the black ma.s.s of darkness in Yin Hui"s hand. She sensed a very aggressive force within it, but it was held back by many seals.
"Interesting, it really is demonic qi. It"s incomplete though, which makes it very unstable even by the standards of demonic qi. Those seals were probably placed by some expert so that it can be used as some kind of life saving treasure."
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A faint smile appeared on Yu Mingxi"s face.
"Yin Hui. Putting that ma.s.s of incomplete demonic qi into account, how high do you think your chances are at escaping?" As soon as she finished speaking, a powerful oppressive might emitted from her body.
Yin Hui stumbled backwards and coughed out a mouthful of blood.
"What is this pressure? Is this just from releasing the power of her cultivation? Or is it some kind of technique?"
After suppressing Yin Hui for few seconds, Yu Mingxi retracted her oppressive might.
"Surely you now understand that you have no control over the situation. If I wish to take you in, you will not be able to resist."
Yin Hui grit his teeth and spat out the remaining blood in his mouth.
"Lady Yu, while I may not be able to escape form you directly, I can if you are distracted." Yin Hui raised the ball of incomplete demonic qi into the air.
"I presume this village is made up mostly of mortals. If I were to release this ma.s.s of incomplete demonic qi inside, you will not have time to both catch me and protect the villagers." Yin Hui circulated some qi energy into his body and a black aura began to emerge. Combined with his fierce violet eyes, he looked like a demon who would truly ma.s.sacre a village without hesitation.
Of course, this was all an act. Even if Yin Hui had the opportunity to trade the lives of innocent villagers for his own life he would never do it. As someone who grew up at the bottom of the social ladder, he understood what it was like to be used by the powerful. However, in desperate times like the one he was in now, empty threats had it"s uses. After all, with his demonic appearance and fiendish aura, there was a chance he could persuade Yu Mingxi to back down.
A loud cackle exited Yu Mingxi"s mouth. She tapped her staff on the ground twice and gave a nod of approval.
"Very good, I can see how a young man such as yourself has gotten this far. You are quick-witted and decisive. Furthermore, you know how to maximize the use of your a.s.sets, even in the face of stronger opponents."
Yu Mingxi tapped her staff hard on the ground. A tremor could be felt within the earth as the ground beneath Yin Hui"s feet erupted. The dirt and rock surrounded him, forming a dome that sealed him inside. Yin Hui tried to break out, but the dirt and rock mix had instantaneously hardened.
"This is a martial skill called Living Earth. It uses spiritual energy to manipulate the earth and instantly harden it."
"If you can get out of that dome within an hour you may leave. However, you are not allowed to use that ma.s.s of incomplete demonic qi. If you cannot escape, then I will imprison you here with an even greater skill and hand you over to the Tang when they return." Yu Mingxi tapped her staff on the ground once more. A chair made of hardened earth formed behind her. She took a seat and silently watched to see what Yin Hui would do.
Inside the earth dome, Yin Hui was completely enraged.
"Not allowed to use the demonic qi?! What am I supposed to do then? I just became a cultivator this afternoon, I don"t have anything else!"
Suddenly, it came to him. There was one technique that Yin Hui could try that he hadn"t had the time to practice until now. Even though Yin Hui couldn"t see a thing inside the earth dome it didn"t matter. He retracted his fist and got into the stance of the Wind Bullet.
"While I haven"t actually seen the Wind Bullet itself, I know what it feels like. It seems that it is a martial skill that shoots a blast of highly pressurized air at the opponent. I a.s.sume the method is to condense air into your fist at high pressure using spirit energy. If Tao Shou could use it and I have his cultivation, I should be able to do it too!"
Yin Hui closed his eyes and focused qi into his fist. The earth dome was almost air tight, so there wasn"t a lot of air to use. To compensate, Yin Hui had to condense the air multiple times. However, due to his inexperience, he couldn"t condense it enough to produce the true Wind Bullet. Whenever he punched out, it would come out as a qi-imbued strike, rather than the air cannon Tao Shou made.
Normally, this would be fine as his attacks were strong enough to crack the hardened earth that comprised the dome. Unfortunately, whenever a small hole was made through the dome Yu Mingxi patched it back up.
Yin Hui cursed under his breath.
"That old hag! I guess I have to break all in one move. This technique involves condensing air. To get the desired effect, I need to either condense a small amount of air many times, or condense a large amount of air a few times. Since I can"t condense the limited amount of air in this dome enough times, I"ll simply get more air!"
"Yu Mingxi! I"m running out of air, can you open a few tiny holes within the dome?" Yin Hui shouted.
Yu Mingxi had a disappointed expression on her face. 45 minutes had already pa.s.sed and Yin Hui barely made any progress.
"Did I misjudge this boy? Even if he is a Spirit Waking cultivator with no aspects, I thought he would have some other hidden tricks up his sleeve. Oh well, times almost up. A few holes at this point shouldn"t change much." Yu Mingxi pointed towards the dome and multiple finger sized holes appeared on the surface.
10 minutes of silence pa.s.sed. Yu Mingxi sighed and stood up. It appeared that Yin Hui truly had no method of escape. She got up and was about to undo the earth dome when she heard sizzling coming from inside.
Boom~~
The sound of an air cannon echoed through the air as a large beam of wind blasted the earth dome open. The beam kept going, heading towards Yu Mingxi who was standing right in front of it.
Yu Mingxi stuck out a palm with her free hand. The powerful pressurized air of the Wind Bullet split into two halves that diverged to the sides, leaving the village unaffected.
Yin Hui walked out of the remains of the dome in triumph. Immediately after, he dropped to one knee. Utilizing so much spiritual qi in such a short amount of time was completely drained him, especially since it was his first time using it in such a manner.
Tap Tap Tap~~
"Well done! I a.s.sume that was the first martial skill you have ever produced. Once you"ve learned a spell as well, you will have officially become a First Aspect Spirit Waking Cultivator." Yu Mingxi praised.
"In that case, I"m free to go right?" Yin Hui said between puffs of air.
"If that is your desire then yes. You may rest in the village tonight and head out at sunrise tommorow. Let me ask you this though, do you know where you want to go next?"
Yin Hui was silent. He had no map, no guide, and no plan. In his mind, he was just going to wander until he found another town, and hope that they were not affiliated with the Tang Clan.
"I"ll have you know that with the current status of the province, all settlements are on alert. The chances are pretty low that you"ll find a village as accepting as ours again. Also, with your meager abilities and demonic cultivation that involves devouring souls, it will be very unlikely that you will be accepted into a sect."
"What are you suggesting then?" Yin Hui asked.
"From what I"ve just witnessed, I believe that you are someone special. Not only that, but Yu Zhuwa is quite fond of you. You need a teacher right? This old woman has a few tricks she can pa.s.s on to a capable youngster."
Yu Mingxi extended a hand towards the kneeling Yin Hui. The pleasant grandmotherly smile had also returned.
"What about the Tang Clan? Aren"t you going to accept their offer for protection?" Yin Hui was still cautious. Even if Yu Mingxi was strong, the reward of a capture order could attract many powerful experts.
"I never said I would accept their offer. Based on what I"ve heard from other villages, their occupation comes with quite a few negatives I"m not willing to bear. I have a feeling I know why they want to recruit a small village such as ours, and it"s definitely not out of the goodness of their hearts." Yu Mingxi rea.s.sured.
Yin Hui stared into Yu Mingxi"s eyes, trying to find the slightest hint of deception. He found none.
"I accept..." Placing his trust on Yu Mingxi, Yin Hui sighed and collapsed to the ground. His consciousness fading into darkness.