Molting the Mortal Coil

Chapter 184: Caught

The waves of deadly sword energy flashed out from the old man with terrifying frequency. The first and most powerful of them was heading directly towards Sage. The old man had decided to solve that problem first and foremost before his follow up attacks were sent through the air towards the giant dragonflies and swarms of hornets. Directly in front of that first sword wave a huge black worm appeared. Its head expanded, opening like an umbrella had been shoved into its mouth, spreading wide and completely enveloping the incoming slash.

The giant worm seemed to shiver and a portion of it seemed to expand. Just like a snake swallowing something too large part of it inflated. Just as quickly the inflated part was moving, traveling down the length of its body and down to its tail. The worms tail pointed upwards and thread of violent energy shot into the sky like a flare. The worm seemed a bit sluggish after that, closing its mouth and laying down on the ground. Grey Beard realized his initial strike on Sage was a failure. While the rest of his sword combination had struck down a dozen other bugs, his true target was unharmed.

Sage, on the other hand, was pouring energy into the huge metal disk on top of the workbench. The Warp Worm hed summoned buying him just enough time to finish his preparation. Hed brought out the Formation Machine, the sealed workshop door gave him just enough time to reconfigure the formation plates along and bring forth all his insects. He threw out another Warp Worm, this one landing in front of the first and catching the second sword Qi attack that Grey Beard sent towards him. Sage could already see that this action infuriated the Core Formation cultivator, the old man using a movement technique to appear to be in three different places at once. Dashing towards Sage with his sword poised to strike.

The mere act of planning an action would clarify the many possibilities he saw with the Timeless Eyes. If he aimed at one of the three clones hed see his attack flying through it, all he had to do was change his plan and target the next clone. It wasted time, but he could flawlessly find which one was the real body. Sage tossed a small vial towards each of the three clones, making Grey Beard think he was attacking all the clones at the same time.

Grey Beard sneered, finding the response silly. The three clones dashed towards Sage from the left, right, and center. Each of them merely ducking their head and easily avoiding the flying vials. Sage flicked his arm in the direction of one of the vials and a nearly invisible line flashed through the air smashing the vial apart. The contents of the vial burst outwards and splashed onto Grey Beards back. Reacting instantly, the old man shed his outer layer of clothing, tossing up his sword, rolling on the ground and leaving his outer robes behind. The old man caught his sword and stared back at Sage.

Release.

The old man didnt understand why Sage would say such a thing until he saw a strange symbol glowing on Sages forehead. At that time the Formation Machine had also finished its activation and a thick mist spread forth from it. The mist was a strange cyan blue color, instantly flooding the workshop and billowing out into the streets. Covering the whole block in a thick cloud of fog within just seconds. Some of the Violent Fist Sect members immediately tried to leave only to have the mist in front of them solidify. The fog cloud became a solid object, but spongy like a huge balloon. They were bounced back into the depths of the mist, tossed around till they lost track of their position. The fog then starting to cloud their mind and disorient them.

The Formation Machine had been reconfigured as a trapping array, switching between different modes depending on how the ones inside acted. If they moved too far away it brought them back in, then tried to disorient them. For those staying obediently inside it merely obscured their senses, saving energy. At the spot near the workshop door where Sage had first tossed out a vial that was misinterpreted as poison, there was the sensation of motion. The vial wasnt a poison, it was a scent marker. The liquid was avoided by all, but the scent marker was actually a colorless gas that clung to clothing and hair while dissolving rapidly on other types of surfaces. Even strong cultivators would have a hard time noticing it in the heat of battle. Sage threw out the liquid as a distraction, the marker gas was already coating the vial and spreading through the crowd.

With the thick fog, none of the cultivators would see them coming. A veritable curtain of ants crawled down the walls, marching both into and outside of the workshop. The Violent Fist Sect members were caught completely unaware, they had their guards up against attacks from above. They didnt even notice the ants until they were already climbing up their legs. Flicking them off or shaking their legs like normal insects didnt work, they had to strike them directly or use Qi Techniques upon them. Each of the ants was as strong as a rank 1 cultivator. While that was an utter weakling in comparison to them, the ants were swarming them by the hundreds. A few of them who had reached Formation Building had an easier time releasing energy from their bodies to form weapons or attacks. They called out to their Sect members to try to regroup.

Inside the workshop, the men that Grey Beard brought with him were distracted by their battle with the Chameleon Mantids and got swarmed by the ants. Grey Beard was furious, taking out his rage on the two groggy Warp Worms. Dodging around the shields that were their open mouths, he then beheaded them with a couple swipes of his sword. At the same time, Sage disappeared, a huge silhouette taking his place. The seal on his forehead had been released and his true body was exposed. A thick black serpent, two feet wide and twenty feet long, black scales glimmering, lit only by the strange blue fog that flooded the area. The row of sword like spines on its back cut through the air like knives, the huge serpent slowly circling around Grey Beard.

As a five star Formation Master, Sages Formation Plates could only stand up against a rank 4 cultivator. Against someone as strong as Grey Beard, he had to put it all on the line and rely upon his true body. The only chance he had was to call on his full power, he could only hope that the Obscuring formations would be strong enough to keep his secrets from being spread. Even in his real body, Sage was outclassed. His huge body slithered away from where Grey Beard was at, releasing a half-dozen Steel Silk Centipedes. The demolition team barreled outwards, smashing into the workbenches and finding out they were very tough and secured to the ground. A few of the Centipedes were thus stalled and made into targets while the others crawled over the obstructions, their blade like forelimbs slicing towards the Tang Clan cultivators. Two of the Centipedes that had stumbled were killed almost instantly, but so was one of the Tang Clan members.

At the same time, Sages claws sunk into the walls, carrying him upwards. His serpentine body twining around the rafters of the workshop, buying him a bit more time.