"What? We don"t have the time for you to obtain the flower right now!" Nightin advised as he prepared to leave the place, only to realise that Ash who he was going to drag along was currently smiling at him.
Right when Nightin was feeling perplexed and was about to ask Ash the question, the timer in his mind told him that it"s time as his sword slashed forward, into the place where the barrier was at its weakest
Clang
A resounding sound travelled into their ears as a whirling portal of green appeared before them, above it wrote the word "exit". Ash doubted if it was safe, but heaved a sigh of relief when he noticed that Nightin was smiling unnaturally towards the portal as he took one step towards it, a heavy step.
"Ash, are you going to stay here to search for the flower before leaving? The portal will only last for around three hundred more breaths and if you stay beyond that timing, I"m afraid that I won"t be able to help you unless the both of us grow much stronger, strong enough to contend against half step demiG.o.ds." Nightin cautioned, a small curve forming on his lips.
"Don"t worry, the flower is just a few hundred metres away from here, concealing itself among the hydralias near the swamp floor surface, afraid to see light or they might steal its last glory which had been trying to bless us cultivators for as long as it exists, only for our greed to consume us and turn against the flower that brought about elements and laws into our world." Ash says, his face twisting in anger at the mention of those consumed by greed, but breaks out into a smile at the mention of the flower.
Without the flower, the cultivation world will be one where weapons and martial technique are the deciding factor to determine the winner, but intents and laws and the natural elements are the reason why this world even exists in vibrant colours.
"Ash, please make it out alive. I"m not the only one who needs you, just know that your mentor needs you, your soldier needs you and the future needs us. You should have noticed by now, but all those whose cultivation base that is at least of the DemiG.o.d realm are hiding some secret from us." Nightin says before stepping into the portal, vanis.h.i.+ng before Ash eyes with a zwoop.
Travelling through the portal, Nightin felt like an eternity had pa.s.sed, but he was sure that only a split second had pa.s.sed in the actual world, which is why the teleportation portals from the Ancient Origin era are known to be a mystery until now, the time flow within the s.p.a.ce warp for teleportation is actually slowed down miraculously.
Feeling the sensation of warm air and the scorching sun rays, Nightin knows that he has returned to the actual cultivation world where he truly belongs.
The ground beneath him feels familiar, his eyes wander around in search of the person he"s afraid to meet, he knows that the meeting is a must, but what if Lancelot regrets his decision and leaves?
"Sect master… I"m here." Lancelot says from behind, his voice rigid as his eyes dart away from Nightin, confused as to why he"s trying to avoid Nightin himself.
"Lancelot. You want an answer?" Nightin asks rhetorically, his eyes gradually s.h.i.+fting to meet Lancelot eyes that have turned a shade of yellowish blue.
"Why did you leave the sect all of a sudden and burden me with the role of being the sect master suddenly without leaving behind any words? Do you know how much the whole sect has suffered when we"re supposed to take charge suddenly? Have you ever spared a thought for our feelings about your sudden departure without even saying a goodbye?" Lancelot bursts a chunk of questions at once, his tone getting quicker and more aggressive with each pa.s.sing question.
"You don"t and you won"t understand. I had to leave in order to grow stronger and rid evil of this world, I intended to bring you guys along but I wasn"t able to for the sake of the better cause, you guys still needed the time to ready yourselves and develop before following me into the battlefield." Nightin replies, his tone harsh and determined to his conviction.
"And you really think that what you think is the best for us is what we really want the most? We know that you want to maintain peace in this world and that you have your own goals, we all know that you have your own ambitions while trying to give us the room needed for improvement without restricting us." Lancelot reb.u.t.ted fiercely as streaks of lightning floods the ground, the ground beneath him rupturing as lightning spikes up from underneath.
"Wow wow wow, what a surprise to see such a happy reunion between master and disciple here. Are you sure that you two won"t want to reunite in h.e.l.l instead and talk things out without worrying about having to injure each other?" The voice of a sinister man sounds off, iridescent violet lances protruding out from his back as they took on their respective forms.
It wasn"t just a dangerous stranger that was standing before them, it was one that gave the feeling of helplessness where they couldn"t even resist against, they stand no chance against a DemiG.o.d of unknown strength with just their current cultivation.
"How about this, let"s play a game shall we?" Caps asks as he retracts two of his lances, while the other two takes on the form of an arrow and a bow respectively.
"Just what is it that you want? Captive?" Nightin questions back dauntlessly, even stressing on that one word which p.i.s.ses Caps off, a shame he can never wash off just like a birthmark.
Caps wrinkled his eyebrows for a moment, before deciding that it was pointless to argue back as he starts his show, "now then, who among the two of you will step out first to contest for survival?"
But never in Caps wildest dreams would he have expected that the master and disciple would be so selfless, whenever he plays this trick up his sleeve in the past, it would always result in the two stepping out at the same time and when the other dies, the survivor will be left to wallow in despair all alone by him or herself.
Vzzt Vzzt
"How about this? I"ll give the two of you another offer. The person who survives will be given the chance to comprehend a divine technique which I"ve created." Caps tempted.
"Don"t you think that you"re being too foolish?" Lancelot says as lightning coils around his spear, his body arching backwards as he makes use of the momentum to increase the power of the attack.
"Tribulation lightning arc!"
Since it"s a losing battle that you"re heading into, then I"ll make the foolish decision of sheathing my sword for you.
His wings appear alongside the hundreds of arrow swords, half black and half white as they dance along with the flames and wind, waiting for their controller to strike.
"Wrath of the Phoenix!"
Unlike previous times, the flames were contained within the samsara sword while the wind contained it from the outside and enveloped the sword, it possessed speed and power and coupled with the arrows, the attacks chained and flew towards their target.
"Don"t you know why you can only know those secrets in the DemiG.o.d realm? It"s because even the strongest Great Saint won"t ever be a match for the weakest DemiG.o.d who has awakened their Demi force, a force that possessed the abilities to crush a ocean of spirit energy with a drop of Demi energy. An energy that belongs to celestial beings close to G.o.ds."
"Haven"t you heard the phrase that "with overconfidence comes failure"?" Nightin taunts back, only to realise the Caps was being serious.
With just a wave of his arm, the slight bit of Demi energy he released crushed their attacks without the slightest bit of resistance, the difference in strength was akin to comparing a mortal to a G.o.d in the mundane world, it"s a gap that can never be breached.
"You may be strong, but have you heard about the seven miracles of the Hepta Violet flower which you"ve been plotting and scheming for?" The voice of a young man comes from behind them, one full of confidence.
"What are you thinking here? Leave now before things get worse!" Nightin warns, but Caps smirks and laughed without holding back in the slightest "Haha Haha, it doesn"t really matter since all of you are going to die here today anyways, in my hands."