Cult of the Sacred Runes

Chapter 87 – Woods

“What’s going on?” Ye Wei’s body only froze for a brief moment, but it would be a moment that he would never forget.

When the iron talisman shone the silver light and created a forcefield, Ye Wei felt as if he was stuck in a sea of quicksand. Even simple actions like wiggling his fingers became an impossible task.

He looked at the levitating talisman, and a picture was slowly coming together.

“The silver light created by the iron talisman had a mysterious way to cover the area around it in an invisible force field!” Ye Wei looked shocked. There was no doubt now how precious this simple iron amulet was.

The spectral ape which was as strong as a condensed prime Warrior was immobilized by the force field. Just from this one could tell how valuable this piece of metal was.

Shortly after the force field was created by the talisman, Ye Wei realized he could now slowly move his hands and legs even though the ape remained completely motionless.

“Phew!” Ye Wei’s excitement subsided, and he then switched his focus to the Ragefire Ape in front of him.

“What happened?!” Lu Chao was shocked by the scene. Even though the whole time he was a bit far away to be able to see everything in detail, he knew what had caused this force field, ‘Ye Wei’s talisman was able to handle the black flame and it can hold the ape still?’

‘Legends say that there are few people who could survive the rage of a Ragefire Ape and those who meet one perish!’ Lu Chao remembered what he had been told as he glanced at the old bones scattered around the stone monument. He felt disappointed and upset for not having the same sort of the defensive medium-grade scroll that Ye Wei used previously to block Lu Chao’s dagger before fighting the ape. He definitely could use something like that right now to protect his body from the heat of the flames and then he could retrieve the mystic arms.

‘There is no way to find out how long this force field is going to last. I have to finish off this ape while I can!’ Ye Wei put the defensive scroll back into his bag and took out an offensive medium-grade scroll.

‘The strength of the Ragefire Ape could be compared to the condensed prime Warrior, and even a forbidden Spirit stance from these low-grade scrolls wouldn’t leave a scratch on him!‘

Without hesitation Ye Wei unrolled the offensive scroll and with a sound of tearing fabric, the scroll was ripped.

“Zoom!”

Several hundred fluorescent runes appeared above the sea of black flames, shining like stars in the dark night sky. Instantly, they transformed into a turquoise spectral bow

“Low-level Myst stance – Arrowstorm!”

Ye Wei could feel the raw power of the stance inscribed in the scroll by its master. Even though the power was not his own, he was still able to control it.

“Kill!” Ye Wei said while staring coldly at the spectral Ragefire Ape. The moment he thought about attacking the beast, the turquoise bow’s bowstring vibrated violently.

“Woosh! Woosh! Woosh!”

Round after round, hundreds of arrows flew in the black ape’s direction like a shower of rain pouring down over him. They easily penetrated the spectral beast leaving a ton of black holes where the arrows went through.

In the end, this ape in front of Ye Wei was only a ghost summoned to protect these weapons. Its defensive abilities were lackluster compared to the real thing.

Suppressed by the talisman, the Ragefire Ape was still not able to move an inch. It was not able to defend itself against this Myst stance. Moments after the arrows connected to the target, the semi-transparent body started to rapidly fade.

As the ape started to fade, the black flame also began to disappear. Both the ape and the flame were made from Qi, and the moment Ye Wei broke the stance, the beast and the fire were destined to disperse.

“Three-star medium-grade mystic arm!” After the black flame disappeared, Ye Wei slowly walked towards the black rod Lu Chao threw at him. He extended his arm and grabbed the rod.

Holding the black rod, Ye Wei’s eyes widened. There was undisguised shock and excitement on his childish face.

Of course, Ye Wei knew that the rod was a mystic arm, but he could never imagine that it was actually a three-star medium-grade mystic arm!

He had already gotten medium-grade mystic arms earlier from the repository, but they were just one-star mystic arms; they were nothing compared to the black rod!.

A three-star medium-grade mystic arm was worth more than three one-star medium-grade arms combined, and its power too was more than the three lesser quality medium-grade arms put together. There was an immense sense of excitement in Ye Wei’s heart. He was very much aware of the value of what he was holding.

One-star medium-grade mystic arms stored simple low-level Myst stances, while three-star medium-grade mystic arms stored advanced low-level Myst stances. Some of the better quality three-star medium-grade mystic arms could even store peak low-level Myst stances!

Simple level Myst stances are a whole level less powerful than advanced level Myst stances!

This three-star medium-grade mystic arm in Ye Wei’s hand was unmistakably a high quality mystic arm, and the stance within – Ragefire Ape was a peak low-level Myst stance!

Mystic arms can be activated as long as the user’s Qi lasts, unlike mystic scrolls which are one-time use.

‘No wonder why the Ragefire Ape was so strong!’ Ye Wei finally understood why the scroll he tore could hardly withstand the ape’s fists.

“Lu Chao, this date will be engraved on your tomb; I will not let you go!” Ye Wei realized Lu Chao threw the rod at him so the ape would fight him. He was angered by Lu’s cowardly actions. Ye Wei’s face was turning pale as he was walking on the last of the fading flame towards where Lu Chao was.

Seeing that Ye Wei defeated the black ape, Lu Chao was both shocked and angry. He didn’t expect Ye Wei to have so many trump cards up his sleeves. Looking at Ye Wei slowly collecting the three mystic arms and putting them in his bag, Lu Chao’s heart was quickly overflowing with jealous.

Lu Chao stood on a bluestone, observing the mesmerizing fading flames from a distance. The fresh wound on his face made him look that much more aggressive.

“You must have sustained some injuries! I refuse to believe you are completely fine after all those crushing blows from the ape, and everything else I have used against you!” Lu Chao could not stop thinking about how Ye Wei was bleeding out of his mouth. He desperately wanted revenge.

Lu Chao stepped heavily on the bluestone and launched himself towards the stone monument. His target was the two remaining mystic arms buried in the ground.

“What? You want more? Do you have a death wish?” The fire of anger in Ye Wei’s eyes was now burning brighter than the fading black flames, seeing that Lu Chao was aggressively leaping in his direction. Ye Wei couldn’t help himself from taking action.

In the end, Lu Chao was a seven-star Warrior; he was stronger than Ye Wei in every possible way, and if Lu Chao wanted to escape, Ye Wei would need to use another scroll to catch up. But greed was one of Lu Chao’s dominant traits, ‘If I run now, this kid will have two more mystic arms in his pockets! Hasn’t he taken enough from me already?’ Lu Chao’s mind was filled with envy. If there were a chance to deny Ye Wei from getting his hands on more treasures, he would not miss it.

Lu Chao and Ye Wei were on the course to collide with each other.

When the distance between Ye Wei and Lu Chao had reduced to merely ten meters, the black flame completely vanished. Lu Chao channeled all his Qi into the three-inch dagger he clenched firmly onto. It once again created a Qi hurricane which Lu Chao directed towards Ye Wei. He was trying to keep Ye Wei busy as he went for the mystic arms.

“Do you think I will give you a second chance?” Ye Wei asked as he tore a medium-grade scroll.

Because Lu Chao was a seven-star Warrior despite him wasting quite a bit of Qi fighting Ye Wei, he took the chance to recover his strength while Ye Wei was fighting the Ragefire Ape. With that bit of Qi he recovered, he activated the stance within his dagger again.

“Myst stance – Green Breeze Blade!” There was a cold glint in Ye Wei’s eyes as he attacked the approaching Lu Chao.

The fearsome Myst stance dug a groove into the ground while flying low and closing in on its target.

The wind blade smashed onto the three-inch dagger knocking it off its course then continued to fly at Lu Chao.

‘It’s within arm’s reach!’ Lu Chao thought as he extended his arm towards the scarlet blade. When his fingertips touched the rough cold hilt of the weapon the wind blade of Ye Wei’s got uncomfortably close.

‘Damn it!’ Lu Chao pulled back and activated a defensive Spirit stance for protection. It would be useless to lay his arm onto the weapon if he only had one hand to hold it with.

Ye Wei caught Lu Chao in an awkward position and because of this Lu Chao lost his balance while trying to dodge the wind blade. Ye Wei seized the chance and after a grunt flung the wind blade back towards Lu Chao’s body.

It only took a split second for Ye Wei to change the blade’s direction and moments after, it connected with Lu Chao torso!

The defensive Spirit stance immediately shattered, and Lu Chao was sent flying while spitting blood out of his mouth.

Ye Wei’s wind blade did not land on a weak spot of Lu Chao’s body, though if it had, there was no doubt Lu Chao would be in pieces now.

Looking at the heavily injured Lu Chao, Ye Wei was still hesitant while walking towards the weakened foe. Lu Chao was exactly the kind of person who would play dead and strike with a sucker punch when his opponent least expected.

“Please forgive me! Let me live! If you don’t kill me, I will give you everything valuable I have on me... And I... I am the strongest youngster of my family. You can probably fetch a hundred thousand, no more like two hundred thousand silver if you return me to them safely!” Lu Chao saw that Ye Wei was unrolling a scroll, so he crawled backwards as he murmured and begged for mercy.

“If you kill me, my family will find you and avenge my death!”

“You really think I will let you live?” Ye Wei said in a cold voice. If he were not cautious while he was dealing with Lu Chao, he would have died because of Lu Chao’s vicious schemes. Even if killing was the very last thing Ye Wei would do, when dealing with scumbags like Lu Chao it’s better to be safe than sorry. In some situations to end someone’s life is the only way to survive.

“Die!” Lu Chao widened his bloodshot eyes. His facial expression was twisted as he squeezed the last of his strength and threw hundreds of black, poisonous needles at Ye Wei.

Ye Wei was prepared for a dirty trick all along, and when he saw the slightest arm movement from Lu Chao he had already leaped to the side and therefore dodged the needles.

Using the window of opportunity while Ye Wei was dodging, Lu Chao stood up and threw himself into the woods next to the swamp.

“Damn!” Just as Ye Wei was about to activate a scroll to catch Lu Chao the loud cry of a beast echoed throughout the woods shaking every leaf in sight.

Ye Wei’s face went pale, and he dismissed the idea of pursuing him. ‘What kind of beast could have a fearsome presence like this...’

Soon after the beast’s roar, a chilling scream was heard from behind the trees; it was unmistakably Lu Chao’s voice. The scream quickly died down, and it was followed by the sound of bones cracking and a beast ripping flesh.

Ye Wei gasped in fear, ‘I think Lu Chao walked into a wild beast’s territory...’