Book 2: Chapter 84: Nothing but a Glimpse |
Meng Li stood at the top of the mountain where her current base was located. Her servant, the old bag of bones, stood only a few feet away, struggling to stand as power unlike anything he had ever experienced shook the mountain they were on. Black flames sprouted in the air in a chaotic rhythm that threatened to suffocate the very air of anything breathable.
Not that she or the guy behind her needed it.
I keep forgetting his name Zi Pen? Zi Ken? Zi Ren? Doesnt really matter, does it? Old bag of bones is good enough.
Both of them stood there silently as Hei Gu let his presence fill the world just enough for the very strongest members of the planet to sense it. It just so happened the old man was part of that bunch as unexpectedly as that was. Meng Li found him pathetically weak, yet here he was with just enough potential and cultivation to know that someone was threatening the very existence of their planet in a covert manner unlike their first Calamity before the Original Calamity that invited her over here.
Just the thought of him being anything worthwhile made her skin crawl.
Lady Meng Li, he breathed his words out, struggling to speak properly now that he could sense Hei Gus presence. Is this the Calamity youve been seeking? The one that has been terrorizing us for more than half a century?
Meng Li gave him the side eye.
Seems like he is still pretty blind. To think the Black Dragon is anything near the one that invited me? Even after witnessing the wall of Qi he sent?
No. No he is not.
Zi Zhen choked on his own spit. A third Calamity? How is that even possible? Why hasnt he attacked you or the Original One? What is so special about this world that so many of you want to consume it? What does it contain that we have been missing for so long?
Meng Li shook her head and refused to respond. She was in no mood for him to badger her with a thousand asinine questions.
She needed to focus and figure out just how powerful it was compared to Hei Gu. If they were anywhere close, maybe the arrogant dragon could harm him just enough for her to take advantage? Kill the injured one between them? Or maybe the Ancient would be pleased she hadnt sided with an outsider and she could finally approach him with all of her baked goods and treats
Zi Zhen screamed as the world rumbled again. He dropped to his knees and struggled to keep his head up as another presence made itself known.
Meng Li hid her shock.
Yet, no matter how hard she tried, she could not eliminate the tremble of her hands within the long sleeves. Meng Li pressed them hard under her bosom. Illusion Qi of a higher level than even Hei Gu washed over the mountain, following the intentional pressure Hei Gu made sure to leave around her. A reminder that he would return after slaughtering any sign of defense.
More so to kill her afterward for potentially lying and tricking him.
A-Another person? When did they arrive? How? The entrance to this world screams whenever anyone is close. The entire barrier shakes and trembles when someone enters too.
There was a brief exchange as both illusion Qi and Hei Gus tyrannical power clashed against one another. Neither one was trying to escalate the issue for now, though it was only a matter of time before it would likely be taken off the planet. A fight until one of them died and the other could finally come back down to devour the planet in its entirety to recover and grow even stronger.
Meng Li blinked as the illusion Qi vanished, leaving Hei Gu alone.
It was too sudden to have been a retreat and not violent enough of a surge from the tyrannical black flames to have been a defeat. It had run away? Escaped so suddenly? How did it disappear so abruptly? That type of power should not have been capable of something like that.
Yet, here she was.
Meng Li stepped closer to the edge and focused hard on the location she sensed Hei Gu. She could see his form floating above a patch of forest that had been destroyed by the small encounter with the illusion Qis user. Under him was the old ghost he noticed while so far above in the world''s atmosphere. She searched but was incapable of finding the second person that had been there fighting.
They vanished and hid their cultivation near perfectly.
Huh? Who is that?
Meng Li saw a group huddling together. Her eyes instantly went to the youngest two. The fire of their cores burned bright, yet that wasnt what she noticed about them at all.
How the hell is their skin so smooth
She blinked as she caught the whiff of deep endless woods that struck her senses. Purity unquestionable.
An ancient being.
A primordial presence of eras bygone.
A predecessor to even the most aged beings.
An Ancient Being, Preдеcessor of the Primordial Eras, was an apt description she could not get out of her head. It felt right for some reason.
Meng Li let her vision wonder until she saw the frame of a tall man with eyes that glimmered like the stars
She collapsed as the being made eye contact with her. Dropping to her knees, losing her vision, and struggling not to fall down the edge of the mountain side. Her cultivation shook as Hei Gu landed before the Ancient. Yet, she had no mind for him. She struggled to keep her Dao alive. Her core threatened to unravel as eyes filled with endless anger and wrath covered the skies.
Meng Li had committed a crime. She had looked where she had no right.
The old man shouted behind her and Hei Gus very being was shattered.
His core vanished.
The tyrannical Dao crushed into nothingness.
Everything about him ceased to exist to both of their senses.
Curiosity burned within her soul to reach out again and see what had happened, but the threat to her very life was an effective method to prevent it from consuming her.
What happened, Lady Meng Li? Where did the owner of the Black Flames go? Zi Zhen nearly shouted his questions.
Meng Li was too weak to reprimand his tone. Hes likely dead.
H-How? I dont understand.
She shook her head and struggled to rise to her feet. Stumbling back and forth and nearly topping off the mountain side. Meng Li ignored the confused looking old man and slowly limped her way down the mountain path. Fighting was not an option. Her very existence, no matter if her father arrived or the entire sect revolved around one thing and one thing only.
I need to bake sweets worthy of an Elder Ancient How the fuck do I do that?
Meng Li paused half way down. Zi Zhen had been following her the entire way. She remembered something vital. Say Have you heard anything from your agents?
No, Lady Meng Li.
They need to stay clear! Im not about to die because of some idiots ridiculous plot! Not after seeing Hei Gu get stomped within seconds of appearing.
Go. Find them. Return them to me in perfect condition. Dont harm them either. I need them alive to question and study the effects of being around such a being for so long. Meng Li couldnt even press her Dao upon the little old insect. She glared at him instead to make sure the message got across.
Zi Zhen bowed low before her. Yes, Lady Meng Li. Then vanished from his spot.
I hope the Ancient hates the way he looks and ends up killing him out of spite.