A Thousand Li: the First Stop: A Xanxia Cultivation Series

by Tao Wong

  Words of consent rang out from the group.

  Chao Kun frowned and turned to Wu Ying. “Not you. Or you, Liu Tsong. Those who have not trained in our formations should stay behind. You will be our last line of defense with Elder Wei. Ru Ping, watch the injured.”

  Wu Ying’s fists clenched, frustration at being excluded boiling in his chest.

  Chao Kun did not wait for his acknowledgement, instead turning around and walking forward, stretching and rotating his shoulders to loosen tight muscles. As the taotei continued its headlong rush, the martial specialist took off as well, bare feet digging into the earth. The closer Chao Kun got to the monster, the more the wind flowed around him, wrapping and tugging at his bound hair. Beside Chao Kun, a few steps behind, Li Yao and Tou He ran. The remaining cultivators spread out.

  As Chao Kun closed with the monster, he jumped, one hand pulling back to throw a punch. The taotei pushed upward with its front legs, bouncing up to snatch the cultivator from the air. A sudden gust caught Chao Kun, pushing him higher and allowing the cultivator to dodge the attack and land his own. The impact of fist on green-grey skin sounded like a hammer smashing into hardwood, muffled and loud, and it forced the taotei to stop. As a wood-air-aspected individual, Chao Kun’s ability was extremely flexible.

  As the taotei stilled, Li Yao exploded forward in a thrust that glanced off a horn. The spearhead scraped the monster’s skin, her attack attracting the monster’s attention. A hopping jump nearly caught Li Yao, the creature’s explosion throwing the dodging cultivator into the air. Before the monster could continue its attack, Chao Kun was on it, throwing a series of short, air-encrusted whirlwind fists into its side before he flipped back.

  Even as the monster bunched its legs to follow Chao Kun, Tou He, thus far ignored, thrust his quarterstaff at the monster’s hide, making the monster stutter to a stop again. The monk caught the staff as it rebounded and spun the weapon around in a rising blow that caught the lunging monster as it recovered. As the monster flipped over, Tou He slid backward, his feet digging furrows in the earth as the energy of the attack dissipated. Tou He’s style, the Mountain Resides, might not be particularly powerful, but it excelled at defense.

  Even as the three cultivators fought to trade off on attracting the demon’s attention, the other cultivators arrived on its flanks. A dao-wielder brought his sabre down on its back thigh, cutting a long furrow. Another, using a halberd, missed his strike and lopped off a horn instead. As the taotei whirled on them, Tou He pounded on its body and sides with his staff, attracting its attention again—only to watch his precious staff get bitten in half. Before the monster could finish the job, Li Yao was there with her staff, threatening its eyes with her point.

  The cultivators fought and distracted the monster like the highly trained martial artists they were. Without the element of surprise, the taotei found dealing with the martial specialists more difficult. Left behind, Wu Ying, Liu Tsong, and Elder Wei watched the fight.

  “They are doing well,” Wu Ying said, to break the silence.

  “For now. They are burning their chi at an astounding rate to keep up with the taotei,” Elder Wei commented coldly. “Your friend, the monk, is even burning his life force.”

  Wu Ying jerked at her words, narrowing his eyes on Tou He. His friend was engulfed in a shimmering heatwave. Burning one’s life force should have only been possible at the Energy Storage stage—but those who were fire-aspected had the ability to do so even at the lowest level. After all, burning was what fire did.

  “You idiot,” Wu Ying whispered in horror.

  Life force, lifeblood, was something individuals had a limited amount of. Some herbs, some medicines, could recover the lifeblood to some degree, but it could never be entirely replaced. Mortals had a limited lifespan. Burning one’s lifeblood was tantamount to reducing one’s time on earth, cutting short one’s chance of immortality.

  “He is right,” Liu Tsong said as she placed her hand on Wu Ying’s shoulder. “This is no time for half-measures. If we do not buy the Elders enough time, we will all fall.”

  Even as Liu Tsong spoke, Wu Ying saw another weapon shatter. The unlucky cultivator was saved by a last-minute explosion of air, one formed by a timely fist from Chao Kun. That further exhausted the tired cultivator, making him stumble. Only the intervention of another cultivator striking the taotei with a flame-covered mace saved Chao Kun as he pulled back, cradling his fist. The now-swordless guard recovered and drew another weapon from his storage ring, jumping back into the fight as the taotei focused on another cultivator. Even from this distance, Wu Ying could tell the new weapon was less powerful, less sharp. A backup weapon.

  “When it breaks through, I shall assault it with my cauldron,” Elder Wei said, her voice still dispassionate as if she were detailing a pill formula. “The attack should allow us some modicum of protection. Liu Tsong and Wu Ying, you must do your best to finish it.”

  Wu Ying winced. Winning the fight seemed impossible. After all, if the nearly dozen martial specialists, working together, could do little but harass and lightly injure the taotei, what could the three of them do?

  “Elder, perhaps we should be the distraction?” Liu Tsong offered.

  “No. My cauldron can suffer more damage than you can,” Elder Wei said. “While I can control the pill cauldron to defend and attack, its attacks are less powerful and concentrated. Sufficient for my purposes most times, but against the taotei, unlikely to be sufficient.”

  Even as the group spoke, the battle between the martial specialists and the monster was coming to a close. A sudden twist of the creature’s back as it planted its front legs threw the demon’s spike-ridden hindquarters into an unsuspecting cultivator. Impaled, the martial specialist plunged his short jian into the creature’s hindlegs before expiring.

  In the distance, a pair of martial specialists helped each other retreat. One limped on a shattered leg, the other’s face covered with blood with a strip of flesh hanging off his side. Of the twelve initial cultivators, seven still stood, the final two lying still on the churned earth. As a cultivator fell, the taotei unleashed a howl, filling the clearing with its unwashed, malodorous breath.

  “Tou He, Jin Ya, Ou Shen, fall back. We four will use the Green Yin Leaf formation,” Chao Kun ordered, re-ordering the remnant group.

  Even as he spoke, Chao Kun dashed forward to meet the taotei’s charge, a well-timed uppercut catching the lunging bite. The wind-boosted attack threw back the monster, forcing it to wiggle on its sloped back to regain its feet. As Chao Kun retreated, he shook his right fist. Dripping blood flew upward and around his fist, staining the swirling tornado around his hand with blood.

  As the named cultivators retreated, Wu Ying turned his gaze to the still Elders. Both sat in silence, the chi in the atmosphere around them so thick it was visible. Around Elder Po, a silver-white halo of power twisted, emerging from the ground and sky. Elder Li was likewise covered by the darker brown-and-yellow chi of the earth. In the glow of the concentrated atmospheric chi, Wu Ying could not help but notice the pair’s auric presence had increased even further.

  “Wu Ying.”

  “Yes, Elder Wei?” Wu Ying said, turning his gaze back to the woman.

  “Your aura control. Exert it to the maximum. Hold yourself back and launch your attack when you are given the opportunity. If you have no aura, the creature might ignore you,” Elder Wei said.

  “Yes, Elder.”

  Liu Tsong offered Wu Ying a half-smile as he stepped away from them. If he was going to launch a sneak attack, it would be better for him to give himself more space. Next, Wu Ying steadied his breathing, drawing his aura tight along his body and closing off the leaks as best he could.

  Tou He, retreating with the others, offered Wu Ying a frown as he passed his friend. The ex-monk was pale, as if he had been lying at the bottom of an ice-cold lake for hours. Eyes which were often filled with laughter and life looked dead, unfocused, as Tou He stumbled to a stop, one
hand gesturing futilely. Tou He looked at his empty hand blankly before he took a proffered staff without a word.

  Another roar and Wu Ying turned around to watch with horror as Li Yao was bashed aside. Snow that had gathered around her body escaped as Li Yao lost control of her chi, the green-robed cultivator tumbling through shrubs and dirt before coming to a sudden rest. The taotei roared in triumph and shook its body. Accumulated ice, formed from a strike right below its rib, shattered and the pieces ejected. Doing so left a gaping wound that poured blood, the first effective strike of the battle.

  A flicker of motion in the sky. As Chao Kun dropped, he sheathed his fist in a spike of air and blood. Glimpses of wood could be seen beneath as the bracers he wore extended under the control of his chi. He landed the blow above the taotei’s sloping forehead, his air-powered chi dispersing as it met hardened skin, the wood spike shattering on the bone beneath. But behind the initial attack, Chao Kun’s fist continued forward. Under the blow, the earth beneath the taotei crumpled, grass and plants exploding upward from around the monster. The resulting impact and rebound threw Chao Kun’s limp body gracelessly through the air.

  Forced into the ground, the taotei blinked beady, confused eyes. The monster moved its front feet, pulling one foot out of the sucking ground before flopping it bonelessly back on the churned earth. A low, pitiful whine erupted from its mouth. From its nose, a slow trickle of blood appeared.

  “Senior Ge got him!” one of the returned cultivators said, enthusiastic in his admiration.

  Spurred on by the success of their leaders, the remaining pair of cultivators around the taotei launched their attacks. A crossbow bolt, enhanced by chi, dug into one backleg as the metal-aspected attack sent the bolt-head spinning. The remaining attacker chose to attack the ground the taotei was enmeshed within, water flooding and mixing with the earth and making the creature sink deeper.

  Trapped, the taotei attempted to free itself a few times. Enraged, the creature raised its giant mouth to the sky and opened it. Expecting another roar, Wu Ying was surprised to see instead a black ball of energy forming in front of the monster’s mouth.

  “What…?”

  “Hold your auras tight!” Elder Wei commanded even as her fingers flicked and twisted in front of her.

  The black ball of chi, rather than exploding, collapsed into a smaller ball. Chi, at first floating toward the cultivating Elders, changed direction and flooded toward the ball. The two attacking cultivators screamed as aspected chi erupted from their bodies, stolen away. Even Wu Ying, standing a distance away, felt how the monster’s attack tugged at his aura, seeking to steal his chi.

  The attack lasted for three breaths before the taotei snapped its mouth forward and swallowed the much larger ball of black chi. Having consumed the chi, the taotei glowed for a moment then used its forelegs to propel itself out of the mudhole with a backward hop. Earth and mud erupted, splattering the twitching forms of the nearest cultivators.

  “It comes,” Elder Wei spoke, her voice still cold.

  As Wu Ying watched, she levitated her cauldron while the remaining injured, tired, and chi-bereft cultivators readied themselves for the monster.

  Slavering, fang-ridden mouth. A four-legged green-grey monster. Hunger given form. Black blood fell from numerous surface wounds and one major stab wound, poisoning the earth as the monster rushed forward. Even its blood hungrily absorbed the chi from the ground where it landed. As the taotei approached, its movements were off-beat, front and hindlegs moving at different intervals as the creature suffered from the concussion it had received.

  Wu Ying crouched low, hand on his still-sheathed sword, aura drawn as close and tight as he could. He watched the monster lope past him, ignoring the low-cultivation threat. Better prey lay ahead. Wu Ying’s friends, his sect mates, and the Elder. All who stood in a much-shortened line behind a floating metallic pill cauldron.

  The demon hopped, and the cauldron flew to meet it. When the creature tried to shift direction, Elder Wei flicked her fingers, expertly anticipating the taotei’s intentions. The resounding crash sent the cauldron rebounding into the ground to plow a furrow in the earth. As for the taotei, its claws scrabbled on loose earth as it sought purchase.

  The remaining cultivators launched their attacks, concentrated chi striking the monster’s body. Fire burned, ice froze, air pierced, earth and metal pinned and sought vitals. The monster shook its head, the weak attacks doing little but annoying it. It bound forward to be met by spear, staff, and sword, the cultivators fighting to keep the monster at bay.

  And Wu Ying sneaked closer, seeking the perfect strike.

  “Hold the line,” Elder Wei snapped as she saw another cultivator bashed aside.

  The cultivator landed awkwardly, his femur cracking with a snap. The Elder jerked her fingers upward, the cauldron flying into the sky then crashing down on the taotei’s forehead.

  “Now!” Wu Ying shouted, too excited to stay silent. He drew his jian as he dashed forward, covering the last few meters as he pulled on the chi in the bracer. His eyes locked on the open wound created by Li Yao as the taotei stilled.

  The Sword’s Truth.

  Wu Ying felt his lips peel back in a wolfish grin as his sword, glowing with contained power, neared the taotei’s body and the open wound. He saw the opening, the gap. And then it disappeared as a fang-filled maw filled his gaze.

  “No!” Wu Ying snarled.

  Instinct had Wu Ying release the built-up chi attack. The beam of metal-aspected chi punched into the softer flesh of the demon’s mouth, making it snap it shut. The motion shattered Wu Ying’s sword as it was caught within, forcing Wu Ying to slam into the now-closed mouth. As he fell onto the ground, Wu Ying let out a low groan.

  “Wu Ying!” Tou He shouted as he rushed to aid his friend.

  The taotei lowered its head again, intent on consuming the audacious fly that had attacked it. Wu Ying surged upward, instinct driving his next attack. The First Fist—a single, focused punch that put the entirety of Wu Ying’s body behind it. All the rage, all the anger, all his intent. Focused into a single spot, down through two knuckles.

  The punch caught the edge of the taotei’s gumline, hitting both teeth and gums, throwing Wu Ying back as he skidded across churned earth. Feet that barely escaped the closing jaws were torn apart as razor-sharp teeth tore at his shins and the tops of his feet. As Wu Ying slid to a stop, a hand grabbed his collar and hauled him back.

  “Thanks!” Wu Ying said as he staggered to his bloody feet.

  Robbed of its prey, the taotei moved to chase but was blocked by a spinning, bisected staff. Liu Tsong’s metal-aspected attack struck from strange angles, driving the monster back as Liu Tsong invested her staff with her chi. For a few moments, the creature retreated under her sudden onslaught.

  Then the dented pill cauldron fell on it again. The taotei dodged the clumsy attack, managing to get most of its body away. As the taotei regained its balance, Elder Wei coughed, blood dotting her lips as the exertion from the numerous attacks rebounded.

  “How much longer?” Tou He asked as he leaned against his borrowed staff. The cultivator was too pale, and Wu Ying could tell it was taking all his strength to stand.

  “I don’t know.” Wu Ying looked down, feeling earth under one foot, and realized he had lost one of his shoes. Wu Ying kicked off the other, wincing as the pain from his torn legs shot up his body. He shook it aside as he retrieved another sword. “Can you go on?”

  “Can you?”

  Wu Ying offered his friend a half-smile before he took off after the taotei. The battle between the remaining cultivators had already robbed them of the other two still-active cultivators. Only Liu Tsong and Elder Wei still stood, though Wu Ying saw the limping form of Senior Ge returning in the distance.

  Too long.

  Too late.

  As he ran, Wu Ying tried to gauge the monster. The wound in its mouth had already closed. The wound in its side released a trickle of blood when i
t moved. The other wounds, other than the concussion, were entirely superficial. At least four dead, many more injured and maybe dead. And together, they had managed to annoy the creature.

  A snap. A scream. Liu Tsong staggered back, her arm bleeding as she tore it from the creature’s mouth before it finished biting through. She fell backward, blood gushing from the mangled ruins of her left arm as she struck the acupoints leading to it, sealing her blood flow.

  The pill cauldron fell, but instead of hitting the monster, it fell upside down and landed on Liu Tsong, covering her. A moment later, the taotei rammed the cauldron, sending it and Liu Tsong spinning away. A cry behind Wu Ying spoke of Elder Wei’s injury, leaving Wu Ying and Tou He to stand before the monster.

  For a moment, left alone, the taotei looked from side to side as if it was confused. Provided no immediate threat, its basic instinct took over and the taotei turned toward the most delectable prize—the unmoving forms of the Elders. Wu Ying shifted his body, putting himself between the taotei and the Elders. Even as the group fought the monster, the concentration of chi among the cultivating Elders grew ever more intense.

  “Just a little more,” Wu Ying said. He was not sure to whom he was speaking. Perhaps he was trying to comfort himself.

  “I’ll stop it,” Tou He, by his side, announced. The ex-monk lowered his borrowed staff, tottering forward before firming his stance.

  Before Wu Ying could object, the taotei launched itself at them. Tou He jumped too, staff at first sliding through his front arm before he finished throwing his backhand forward, both arms exchanging places as the monk’s body stretched. It was a perfect motion, a perfect attack. It struck the jumping creature’s lower body and sent Tou He flying backward into the ground as his attack rebounded.