The Path through the Heavens: A LitRPG Wuxia Series (The Heavenly Throne Book 6)

by Yuri Ajin

  Someone is controlling this corpse, maintaining a low level of energy in it so that it’s impossible to detect.

  Without hesitating, Kai swung the swords he had quickly summoned from his Ring. Merging, the two crimson stripes shot out at the headless corpse, but it managed to dodge with amazing agility and then continued running toward its prey.

  It’s strong...

  The Field of Superiority and the Cold Void enveloped the area around the young cultivator. His opponent slowed down as it crashed into it.

  In two quick leaps, Kai was near his target. His swords were supposed to turn the headless corpse into minced meat, but his opponent was incredibly strong and easily blocked his swords with its bare palms.

  Kai activated the Body Gates in retaliation and unleashed the full power of his Source. His swords were covered with crimson-black flames, and his body shimmered from the blue particles of the Cold Void, while his violet eyes seemed to glow even brighter.

  The Field of Superiority focused on his target, tuned in by the gravitational influence of the Forces of Space. The creature, which didn’t even have a System description, was supposed to be immobilized, but instead it was thrown into the swamp’s murky waters.

  The force surrounding Kai’s swords burst. He prepared the Space Destroying Sweep.

  But the creature wasn’t going to wait for him to attack. Realizing that its opponent was stronger than he seemed, it disappeared, and then appeared in front of Kai and kicked him in the stomach.

  Kai activated the technique the moment it struck, but the kick was strong enough to throw him backward and damage some of his internal organs.

  Spitting out blood, Kai looked around. The creature was gone.

  Where is it?

  He didn’t have to wait long for his answer. The creature appeared directly above him.

  It can teleport?!

  Kai sent another scarlet attack at it. However, it didn’t even touch the strange creature.

  He needed to try harder. What he needed was Life Rampage that would match their level of strength and allow him to engage his opponent in close combat.

  In the blink of an eye, he approached the creature and brought down his blades.

  They kept exchanging blows, both trying to crush their opponent. Kai knew that if it weren’t for his regeneration, he would’ve already died.

  However, the undead woman wasn’t so simple to defeat either. Kai attempted to cut the tentacle on the creature’s back but the corpse anticipated his attacks and kept dodging. Even when he managed to cut through the tentacle, it didn’t stop. It only slowed down for a bit, and then re-connected with it.

  In the end, it was Kai’s mastery that won over brute force. He managed to chip at the creature until he chopped it into pieces.

  Finally dead. He sighed a breath of relief.

  The chime of bells suddenly filled the air.

  “You can wield a sword...” said a child’s voice.

  Kai turned around and saw a little girl in a scarlet dress, with golden bells in her snow-white hair. Her sudden appearance alarmed him. He couldn’t see her with his energy vision or even sense her with his aura. He could only rely on his sight and hearing, as well as... a faint feeling of someone else’s will.

  “Who are you?” Kai asked.

  “This is a nice cut.” Squatting down, the girl began to examine the creature’s head that suddenly appeared under her feet. An’na had beheaded the woman miles away from this place. “But it wasn’t you who made it...” She shook her head.

  “Who are you?” Kai repeated.

  She just smiled. Standing up, she brushed off her dress and looked Kai directly in the eyes, making him feel an invisible, sharp blade at his throat.

  “I can’t tell you my name yet.” She sighed. “But I can help you. Just take my hand.” In the blink of an eye, she was next to Kai, stretching her hand out to him.

  He froze. He didn’t even have time to understand when she managed to get close to him.

  “Take your hand?” he asked, taking a step back.

  Tilting her head, she lowered her hand, but the smile was still there.

  “I understand. You’re still afraid. You’re not ready yet. But that’s okay.” She stood on her toes. “I don’t go back on my word... We’ll see each other again in the Abode...” She said before disappearing without a trace.

  In the next instant, everything around him went black. All sounds disappeared, and he couldn’t feel his own body. Swaying, he began to fall...

  A second later, he opened his eyes, once again looking at the creature’s remains.

  Was that a dream? Confused, he asked Rune’Tan. “Did you see that? Did you see the girl?”

  “No. But I felt someone else’s will.”

  “Do you know what that was?”

  “Of course. You were kidnapped, boy. Someone forcibly invited you into their spirit world, and you failed to protect yourself. Since that person didn’t wish you harm, your spirit protection didn’t activate either.”

  Chapter 6

  THE END OF THE CLOUD TRIAL

  When Kai came back, he found An’na unharmed but slightly out of breath, with nearly a dozen charred bodies lying around her.

  “So that’s your second element,” he noted. He knew that a genius like An’na had to have another element aside from the Path of Sword.

  She shrugged.

  “I would’ve killed them all with my blade, but the corpses keep regenerating even when they’re chopped to pieces,” she said. “It was easier to burn them.”

  “Perhaps the Yin concept helped me finish mine off. I weaved it with sword energy and strengthened the blade with it,” he explained.

  “And because of you, I still ended up covered in mud!” An’na pouted. “I told you that it would’ve been better if we chose another place to exit.”

  “There aren’t many suitable places. And this is the closest one.” Kai raised his hands. “Aren’t you a cultivator? Are you seriously afraid of getting a little dirty?”

  She snorted, and, turning away, started walking.

  “We need to go in that direction,” Kai said, pointing behind her.

  An’na stopped, slowly turned around, and headed where he was pointing as if nothing had happened. Sighing, Kai started walking as well.

  “We need to be extra careful now,” he said after a minute. “The thing that controls these creatures is deep under the swamp. It might attack again.”

  “I know... I’m not dumb,” An’na muttered.

  Staying constantly vigilant, Kai reflected on the battle. He couldn’t help but be impressed by An’na’s strength. He barely managed to defeat one creature. At his best, he might be able to fight against two. Maybe he could deal with five if he used his Sword Spirit, but that was still too little and paled in comparison to what she had done. She didn’t just deal with thirteen of these creatures in such a short time; she also did it without much difficulty, spending only a bit of her strength.

  He knew well that An’na was insanely powerful. And since they weren’t slaves anymore and their strength wasn’t limited by collars, he had no chance of defeating her. At least not until he finally became an Exorcist.

  Kai slowly realized how weak he actually was...

  ***

  While Kai’s squad was heading toward one of the few points where the pocket dimension was connected to the outside world, another group of cultivators was just beginning to think of how to find a way out.

  “You bastard! Septus, I swear I’ll kill you!” Bane cursed aloud. “You’re lucky that I need you, you absolute piece of trash...” he quietly hissed.

  Bane and his team were in the jungle near the foot of the volcano. He was healing the wounds that Kai had inflicted on him during their short duel.

  How was that scum able to fight on equal terms with me? Could it be an artifact? Bane wondered but dismissed the thought. Although he had a short fuse, he wasn’t a fool. No. Considering that he easily resisted
my Master’s Will, his foundation must be very good. He really is a genius… How many points did he get? Eight point five? A solid nine? But the assessment only shows the quality of development, it doesn’t take personal abilities and progress in Forces into account. Apparently, this freak has both an unusual bloodline and great knowledge of the elements. God damn it, he’s better than Septus and me in the Path of Sword. I can’t believe that such a person exists... It must be destiny that we met. I’m the one who’s supposed to kill him. Father always said that I’d feel it when I met my nemesis. And here he is… His death will let me make a leap in my cultivation! I can’t lose this fight!

  He grinned. His hand shone with a mix of Forces and energy.

  I’m sure that someone like him will find a way out of here, which means that we’ll meet in the Abode... There, I’ll prove my strength by killing him…

  His train of thought was interrupted when someone’s aura entered the area. There was a rustle, and then one of his subordinates got out of the jungle.

  “Elder brother.” Eroan, one of the servants of the great elven family who was chosen to help Bane as a member of his team, bowed respectfully. “We found Vaeril.”

  “Excellent.” Bane grinned. “Let’s go.”

  While he was recovering, two of his servants who had previously fought Ailenx and managed to survive the gravitational blow thanks to their protective amulets, roamed around the jungle in order to find either Septus or his servant.

  Walking behind Eroan, Bane avoided the natural traps, which he could see thanks to one of his artifacts. He was an aristocrat, after all, so he could afford the best items.

  A quarter of an hour later, the two cultivators got out of the jungle, getting out at a rocky area near the foot of the volcano.

  A couple of elves stood near a small boulder. One of them was Bane’s servant, Neldor, and the other Septus’ — Vaeril, the elf that everyone had mistaken for Shacks.

  “Elder brother.” Neldor bowed. “He still hasn’t come to his senses. It seems that he’s still...”

  “I can check for myself! Move!” Bane pushed away his servant, approaching the elf sitting by the stone.

  Grabbing the poor beaten Vaeril by the neck, he raised him off the ground.

  “Please, don’t kill me...”

  “This nonsense again,” Bane muttered through clenched teeth, glancing into the elf’s foggy eyes. “Where are the keys of the collar?” he asked sharply and looked at Neldor.

  “I believe Lord Septus has them.”

  “Shit!” Bane spat, tightening his grip, because of which Vaeril jerked and squeaked. “Quiet, scum!” Bane looked at him menacingly.

  After a few seconds, Bane made a decision. Throwing the shaking Vaeril back down, he gave an order.

  “Don’t move. Otherwise, I swear, when this is all over, I’ll throw you into this volcano!”

  Taking out a sword and a small paper amulet from his Ring, Bane pierced the artifact. The paper instantly flashed, turned to ash, and covered the blade, the handle, and Bane’s hand.

  Feeling the strength increase, he swung his blade and managed to cut the collar. It fell off from Vaeril’s neck and energy started filling his body again.

  “Useless...” Bane grimaced. “He regained his strength, but the technique is still active. Okay...” He sighed and then turned to Neldor. “You! Help this fool come to his senses. I don’t want to see this pathetic state anymore. What are you waiting for?! Move it!”

  “Yes, elder brother,” Neldor, who had just been pushed aside, answered listlessly.

  Unlike the head of their team, Neldor wasn’t an aristocrat. He was born a commoner, and attracted the attention of a great family thanks to his talent. He agreed to become a servant for them but he didn’t imagine that he’d have to obey Bane, who was infamous for being vile and malicious. However, he had no right to refuse. Thanks to his talent, he had the right to refer to Bane as elder brother, instead of master, and he also bore the family name.

  Approaching Vaeril, he placed his palms on his head. He was one of the few participants in the Cloud Trial who knew Purification. It was a low-rank technique and it didn’t require the use of Forces. However, it was still a very complicated technique to perform, and came with many conditions.

  There were a series of steps, and the technique had to be activated very slowly in order to carefully dispel a technique affecting the cultivator and not harm them. Biting his lip, Neldor accelerated the flow of ki in the weaving technique, hoping not to damage Vaeril’s mind.

  “Aaaaaaaa!” the elf shouted in agony, his face and limbs twitching.

  After a few seconds, it was over. Neldor breathed a sigh of relief. Vaeril was unharmed.

  “Where am I?” the elf asked.

  “Shut up and listen!” Bane put his foot on his shoulder.

  “Lord Bane?” Vaeril muttered, still confused.

  “Correct.” He grinned. “But we didn’t save you so that you could ask questions. Activate your mark and find Septus.”

  Vaeril wanted to ask so many questions since he had no recollection of anything because of Shacks’ technique, but he stopped. Officially, he couldn’t disobey Bane. Not that he would even if he could.

  The next part of Bane’s plan was rather simple. He knew that Septus had also ended up in the pocket dimension, and his cousin was the only one familiar with the Forces of the Path of Space. The easiest way to get out of here was to find him before he escaped on his own, and the quickest way to do that was through the search mark. Fortunately, he now had one of Septus’ servants at hand.

  Following the order, Vaeril activated the mark. As it turned out, his master was near the edge of the island, far to the west.

  “I also saw some incredibly bright treasure, Lord Bane. It’s ten miles away from us,” Vaeril added.

  “Excellent.” Bane grinned. Greed filled him almost immediately. “We’ll grab that, too. Lead the way. Don’t worry. I’ll reward you if the treasure is worthwhile.”

  Half an hour passed. At first, the elves assumed that they’d quickly get there, but they didn’t realize that their goal was at the top of the mountain. They had to climb to the very active volcano’s mouth.

  They walked about halfway to the top when they noticed a lava river ending in a lava lake near a cliff. Seven monsters were gathered around it — Lava Monkey Guards — giant creatures that had brown stone instead of skin. Their eyes were filled with fire. They were all Titans of different levels.

  Glancing into the center of the lake, Bane licked his lips.

  [Hidden Valley Flame Lotus]

  Rank: ???

  Access denied. Your stage of development is not high enough.

  Quality: Medium

  An Imperial-rank flower of medium quality! Bane almost shouted and grinned. Yes, even Divine Stage cultivators would fight for such a treasure! Holy Heavens! I wish I could use it for myself! But I’m still too weak for such a plant, and I’m also not on the Path of Fire. It’s a pity... Although, there might be something in the Abode I could exchange it for... I have to get it! Finally, the Heavens have rewarded me for all the trials!

  “There are almost twice as many monsters than us, but they’re just stupid beasts. The most they can do is to use energy and the Forces of Lava. We’ll win, no problem,” he commented, looking at the others.

  “Master, isn’t this a bit too risky?” Vaeril dared to ask. “Who knows what traps might be there...”

  Bane’s face was stone cold but a peculiar light flickered in his eyes.

  “No. I have an artifact. It tracks unnaturally created spots of neutral energy and Forces.” Bane replied. “So, do as I ask. The sooner we deal with this, the faster we can go find Septus.”

  Twitching slightly, Vaeril nodded.

  “Good. I’ll activate the invisibility amulet, and then we’ll attack.”

  Having approached the monsters, they attacked with their strongest techniques, aiming to kill the lava beasts. The released energy
and Forces immediately dispelled the invisibility, but that didn’t matter anymore. Four Titans were defeated instantly, and three more were dealt with in just a minute.

  “Perfect!” Bane smiled. “Eroan, you’ll go take the flower. Here’s the amulet of suppression. Activate it three feet away from it.”

  “As you say, elder brother.” He bowed, accepting the artifact.

  He was the only warrior on the Path of Wind in their group. Thanks to that, he could float a couple of feet above the ground, which meant he could fly to the center of the lake.

  He slowly rose, approaching the edge; unfortunately, he wasn’t destined to reach it.

  A giant stone palm caught him, turning him into a bloody smear. The ground shook. An extremely talented member of a great aristocratic family, a powerful Exorcist, was swatted like a mosquito.

  And no one had time to react.

  The remaining three elves felt a new aura, which nobody had noticed before. They all slowly raised their heads to see a colossal Lava Monkey King, a Tyrant Stage monster. It was very close to becoming a Holy Beast and gaining the ability to transform into a human.

  A second later, Bane realized what was going on. His heart skipped a beat.

  How did we not feel it?! And where did this monster come from?! It couldn’t have developed that much in a pocket dimension!

  Meanwhile, the Monkey King slowly rose to its full height of a seven-story building. Having glanced at the pitiful insects who dared to try to steal its treasure, the giant bared its fangs in a mocking smile.

  With a sharp and incredibly fast movement, it grabbed the nearest Exorcist before he could even defend himself. His bones cracked in the monster’s grip but he didn’t die immediately.

  He suddenly felt that he was released and flying through the air. He saw how the creature opened its mouth under him. He wanted to use one of his flying techniques to save himself but the powerful stream of energy that came from the creature didn’t let him. The beast swallowed him. It was all over in a few seconds.