It chilled Alex to see a living foe using defenses he before had only to contend with on a dummy, but all the same, the damage to his foe’s crotch had gotten through.
Perception check made!
Then Alex smiled even as his arms were forced from their sockets one awful millimeter at a time, his foe holding him in such contempt as to slowly pull him apart at arm’s length. But instead of piteous howls for mercy, all the infernal cultivator earned for his torments were grimaced lips dribbling caustic brew, Alex still, somehow, finding the strength to cock his legs back and twist his body, gambling his life and arms on sheer desperation, before lashing out with both feet against the giant’s face.
Insight gained! Adderstrike is the ultimate thrusting attack, whether by spear, fist, or in your case, shins! And what says thrust more than a double heel strike to the jaw? Feet of fury indeed!
In the moment of contact, your strike point is invulnerable. With your entire body the blade that strikes, even your tortured arms are invulnerable and will not be pulled free of your torso as you reach maximum extension, bursting free of your foe!
You have had a breakthrough in your comprehension of Adderstrike! Adderstrike is now Rank 4!
Jerking out of the giant’s awful grip as both feet smashed against teeth and bone, his foe crying out and stumbling back.
Finesse check made! Back on your feet! Strength check made! Your shoulders are still in their sockets! 20 damage and 2 additional Light Wounds suffered! Combat penalties muted by battle-frenzy!
And Alex flipped back to his feet just in time to dodge a massive fist that would have torn off his jaw, if it had connected.
The bloody monster howled; broken nose, shattered teeth, and wobbly stance making it clear that even his infernal ward had limits, though trying to pierce it without Qi strikes was almost futile. But Alex’s reserves had already dipped significantly, and despite chaining so many deadly attacks together, Alex had suffered nearly as much as his monstrous foe.
“I will kill you, worm!” Feng Quan roared, massive hands reaching for the young cultivator once more.
And Alex let him, understanding in that moment the one attack sure to penetrate his foe’s defenses.
Dodging one fist that could have shattered his sternum, Alex forced himself to charge inside Feng Quan’s guard as if readying himself for a headbutt, a heartbeat away from being gripped in a vice that would surely spell his end.
“You can’t escape me now, fool! Qi strikes will always fail when all your limbs are pinned!” The giant laughed as he grabbed Alex once more, savoring the look in Alex’s face, inches from his own as he squeezed him tight.
You have suffered 1 Medium Wound! Rib fractured! 30 Damage taken. Vitality check made! Spine intact! Breath held!
Alex smiled through the pain and spat his black gift down the chuckling giant’s throat.
Perception check made!
Spit and jump!
The giant’s eyes bulged, hands spasming, now clawing at his own throat. And before he could scream his life away, Alex had already darted back.
Just as two streams of fire blasted the ground where he had been standing, setting Feng Quan ablaze.
Save for mathematics, Alex had found so many classes an endless drag. But geometry, angles, architecture, all that had fascinated him.
So, for him, it was second nature to triangulate how best to strike the fire-wielding nemesis who had sought to set him ablaze.
The hideously repugnant fallen monk cackled behind the swirling shield of flame he had just summoned, warding his body as effectively as any Roman scutum ever could. And Alex had no doubt that if he dared to touch that swirling disk of flame, his fingers would be seared to the bone.
"Come, fool! Face me at your peril. I will burn you to ash! Or run. Run as fast as you can. Let's see if you can outrun hellfire itself!"
Bullrush! Bullrush!
Adderstrike!
You have suffered 15 damage and 1 Light Wound.
His first Bullrush sent him 10 feet behind and 15 feet to the left of the fallen monk.
The second jump allowed him to smash into his confused foe’s back, fist-first, behind that vicious looking shield of fire, scalding his flesh even from behind his target, though he thought it a more than fair trade.
Alex could feel the man’s bones shatter as his fist sent the infernal fire mage flying to the ground where Feng Quan was writhing and gurgling, clenching his throat as Alex's awful poison dissolved flesh from bone, its caustic fumes searing the diabolic cultivator’s lungs, and it was only his inhuman power, a half-step away from Silver, that had allowed the monster to live this long.
You have critically struck your enemy!
Gazing at his writhing foes with furious hate, Alex showed them not a shred of mercy, quickly reclaiming his ji and hammering down with his half-moon blade in great Oberhau strikes, first striking the gasping mage whose hands had been flickering with flame a split second from erupting, cleaving through the cultist’s skull in a shower of brain and blood.
But before Alex could raise his fangtian ji yet again, he was knocked near unconscious, the dying giant’s backhand blow still powerful enough to send him flying back, skidding across the ground.
Save versus Stunning Blow made! You have suffered 30 damage and one Medium Wound! You are under the effects of multiple hairline rib fractures and a Mild Concussion! Combat penalties reduced by battle-frenzy! Your finesse has temporarily been lowered by 1 point.
He groaned, knowing that even with his now dented armor, he had cracked another rib.
But the giant could spare no more energy for his foe, crumpled to his knees once more, gasping like a bellows, desperately pumping air into his almost completely seared lungs.
Coldly, Alex stared at his enemy, fresh poison coating his ji once more.
Feng Quan’s eyes widened as he saw death approach, too weak even to stand, let alone use whatever body cultivation technique that had given him such resilience before.
“Wait!” The monster whispered between desperate gasps of air. “It doesn’t have to end this way. You want gold? We have chests full of it! This is Princess Cui Chan whose caravan we ambushed and destroyed, the handful of Silver guards no match for our master! You crave power? Of course you do. All cultivators do! And what academy would take on a Ruidian like you? But our master can give you power. Unlimited—”
Adderstrike!
Alex glared coldly at the monster who was blinking disjointedly at Alex as he tried to focus on the ji that had just blasted through his skull. Alex abruptly wrenched it back and leaped away in a shower of brain and blood as the mystic ball and chain exploded against the ground, his nemesis having summoned one last burst of Qi before Alex cleaved his life free.
Alex took a deep, shuddering breath, his chest and skull throbbing with pain, fighting off waves of nausea and dizziness as his battle-frenzy drained away, trying to process all that had happened, realizing he only had 2 Qi and a fraction of his health remaining. He didn’t dare rely on his drained reserves any longer.
He had no idea where his sword went, but somehow, his fangtian ji was in his trembling grip once more. He turned to the captives, even now gazing at him with desperate, pleading eyes.
“Help us! Please, we beg of you!”
“One of Lord Song’s champions, he must be.”
His trembling hands struggled with the locks binding the desperate captives after he tore the key free of the fallen monk’s corpse, paying absolutely no attention to coins of gold, platinum, or the oddly glowing pearls spilling free of the man’s neck purse. It was then that the captives got a good long look at the wide blue eyes and silver blond hair of their benefactor, slipping free of his now dented bronze helm. So different from their own.
A Ruidian, come to their rescue.
Yet only twice did he receive glares of contempt from men dressed in finest silks, the rest of the survivors, nobles and servants alike, having nothing but tears of gratitude and word
s of praise for his daring rescue.
And all the while, Alex felt the weight of that vile rift and the monstrous claw still struggling to rip through, like a pressure upon his soul. The death of his two foes had done nothing to close it.
Worse, he could still hear the terrible battle beyond the keep, fearing that whatever monster or infernal cultivator had taken out whatever Silver bodyguards this royal caravan had been protected by, it would be too much even for his master, no matter that he had finally torn aside his cloak of geniality, allowing his deadly killing intent to shine forth.
But would even that be enough against infernalists?
Alex gave a desperate sigh of relief as yet another rusted manacle popped open. A young man of about fourteen, dressed in the most exquisite silken attire Alex had ever seen, shed tears of gratitude as he was led away by several powerful-looking men.
Alex quickly pointed back the way he had come. "If you're going to leave without me, go that way! There's a trail of bodies that will lead the way to the exit! And as for weapons..." he hesitated only a moment before summoning forth two boar spears, an extra ji, and two pike that were far too large to be much good once they got to the winding passageways, as well as a dozen of the dao he had claimed.
He wasted not another second, despite the wide-eyed gazes his cornucopia of weapons brought him.
Then the boy’s voice rang out. “Please, hero! Save my sister!”
Alex jerked his head in the direction the boy was pointing, his eyes widening with horror as the hideous claw wrapped itself around one of the remaining victims, a strikingly beautiful girl of perhaps 20, now gazing at Alex with wide, terrified eyes.
“Help me!”
Alex gasped, a sudden frisson in his soul. His heart lurched with terror for the helpless girl now shrieking as the vile abomination effortlessly yanked her free of the chain that had been binding her to the pentagram, slowly dragging her back to the nightmare rift.
A malicious sentience, even now savoring her desperate final screams before her doom was sealed for all eternity.
Alex screamed in horror, in furious desperation, wishing he knew how to close that terrible rift.
Before blinking and shuddering as it suddenly hit him.
Seeing as never before the crackling weave of tainted Qi holding it in place, sensing the terrible storm of power stabilizing the gate, before gazing at his ring, an idea as daring as it was mad crackling to life.
And even as he took his first step towards the gate, WiFu’s voice rang inside his ear.
"It will cost you everything, Disciple. Your life, and the wonderful sanctuary you worked so diligently to procure.”
Alex flashed a bittersweet smile. “Thank you for showing me the way, WiFu.”
You have slain 20 soldiers and 3 Bronze-ranked cultivators. Do you wish to claim their potential?
“Yes!” He screamed in that heartbeat, knowing he was gambling with his very existence when, instead of allowing it to flow through him naturally, he focused the fearsome storm of power roaring through his soul at his Sixth Meridian Gateway in a single hot flash, imagining all that potency searing through that massive blockage of pearlescent Qi like a laser melting through steel.
The explosion of suddenly released Qi threatened to destroy his gift, but he had already focused his power.
Bullrush!
Alex was now before the howling rift, snarling with hate at the hideous demonic gaze meeting his own from beyond the gate, the archdemon roaring as it flapped its wings in a perpetual storm of wind and woe, thousands of shrieking souls and cackling demons swooping like endless bats in the background as far as the eye could see.
“Your soul is mine, mortal!”
The words crashed into Alex’s mind as the flood of Qi threatened to destroy him from within.
Then Alex laughed as he jumped into the howling storm of crimson death, thrusting his now glowing weapon into the hideous maw of his enemy as it chomped down upon his flesh. “WiFu sends his regards, asshole!”
Before releasing all the pent-up wild energy within him, all the stored Qi of creation and destruction, sufficient to power a tiny, miniature sun within his private garden, and every bit of matter his priceless Divine treasure had held, understanding in that instant the terrible transformation of matter and energy about to occur.
Releasing it all in an inconceivable flash of power as his fangtian ji pierced a duke of Hell, instantly rupturing the gate between the mortal realm and the fallen realm below.
And perhaps he had imagined the look of supreme gratitude in the face of the girl he had saved with a spiritual sense that transcended mere sight, her brother looking on in stupefaction and awe as the horrific demons racing toward the gate between worlds howled in despair.
Gone in an instant.
For Alex had already been transformed into pure Wu Wei.
Searing the nightmarish hellscape like a phoenix reborn.
The final sacrifice of a piece a certain trickster god had put into play, over a thousand years ago.
Epilogue
It was a scene of utter devastation.
The massive fortress of bleeding sap and tortured wood was collapsing upon itself.
The stump-laden clearing just beyond was hip-deep in a sea of fallen diabolists and demonic cultivators, gazing up at the skies with the thousand-yard stares of the dead. The bloated black tongues and looks of wide-eyed horror worn by so many made it clear that poison had been their downfall, whereas others had limbs sliced free by streams of caustic acid so potent the flesh around the injuries had melted to a soup of liquefied flesh and bone.
Only two opponents remained upright.
One of them was hunched over, his inconceivably massive frame covered in demonic scales and flame, a fearsome sight that would make entire regiments shake with terror. The other was a sleekly built man of indeterminate age with the body of a gymnast and the cold gaze of a killer, surrounded by a deadly green aura. He held a long whip of crackling green flame in his left hand, and a blazing rune in the shape of a shield in his right.
“You think your paltry magics can affect one such as I, mortal scum?" roared the demonic cultivator, the last shreds of his humanity ripped away, offhandedly flicking away the green rune his opponent lobbed in his direction. "You were a fool cross the Nameless Lord and interfere with our plans! I will have your soul for this, mortal wretch!"
The abomination roared, letting loose with a deep breath of flame.
Liu Jian hardly seemed phased, leaping away a half-second before the flame had even touched the ground, as if his calculating eyes and combat mastery had allowed him to predict the attack before his foe had even committed.
Then again, the Dragon Breath technique wasn't known for its subtlety.
Strangely, the former alchemist who now seemed anything but a humble crafter under the thumb of a gang of cutthroats only smiled as yet another one of his crackling runes was deflected away from the beast.
Then he began to run, so fast his feet seemed to blur.
Not away from the hideous abomination, but around him, his foe plodding forward with powerful stomps that made the ground tremble as the giant pivoted around, as he had throughout the entire fight, the ground around the demonic cultivator covered with the still crackling runes he had so easily flicked away.
Liu Jian flashed a coldly satisfied smile.
The trap was set.
Then his eyes widened in sudden horror as he spotted a stream of men and women fleeing from the compound, immediately pulling in his Qi before he melted flesh off the bones of those he had never expected to see alive again.
The abomination roared, glaring at the humans.
“My captives. Freed! No. No, this must not be! You will all perish, here and now!”
The monster’s lungs inflated with hell’s flame once more, prince and princess frozen where they stood before the demonic Qi sent their party crashing to the ichor-covered ground.
Liu Jian lashed out wit
h his caustic whip of acid, the tendril stretching an incredible length due to his infusion of Qi, revealing the true strength of his weapon only in his moment of desperation, distracting the hellion as the magical whip blasted through its central-most eye.
The nightmare beast twisted and howled, one massive clawed hand ripping Liu Jian’s priceless artifact free, the other shooting balls of fire that exploded where Liu Jian had been just moments before, the entire area now bathed in flame.
And it was all the former alchemist could do to scream out the final words of his spell that he had allowed to build for endless minutes, leading his nemesis on a deadly dance of deception, each deflected rune only now showing its true purpose.
“Demon of ash and woe,
I abjure thee!
Demon of flame and despair,
I abjure thee!
Fallen cultivator daring the forbidden path,
I abjure thee forevermore!
You shall never again walk the Golden Realms, no matter how many times you are reborn!
The taint of your fallen soul will forever after pull you back to hell!”
The massive abomination’s remaining eyes widened as the green runes surrounding it suddenly crackled to life, eldritch chains suddenly erupting from all seven runes.
They slammed the howling, thrashing demon to the ground, binding his limbs so tightly that he could barely move.
The demonic cultivator roared and howled, thrashing for all it was worth. "No! This is impossible! You cannot do this. You do not have the power to do this!" He then caught sight of those humans only now stumbling to their feet as the demon's killing aura was suppressed. "The prince and princess should be serving my master in Hell even now! My men have failed me. My pawns have failed me! I will have my revenge!"
And for a heartbeat, it seemed as if the beast would tear free.
The bright blue sky dimmed with clouds of woe. The demons’ eyes blazed a baleful yellow, and for just a heartbeat, the chains seemed to weaken and fade.
And the beautiful girl Alex had risked his life to rescue looked on in horror, a dozen truths clicking together in heartbeats, her mind blazing as fast as that of any child born of her ancient house could be expected to, truths both hidden, tragic, and ugly revealed to her.
Silver Fox & The Western Hero: Warrior Reborn: A LitRPG/Wuxia Novel - Book 1 Page 42