Molting the Mortal Coil

Chapter 185: Stand

The flood dragon impostor that was Sage drew in a breath before seemingly spitting rapidly towards the corners of the room. As he did, translucent silk threads shot out at high speed and attached to the walls. Then he changed position and repeated his actions, moving quickly it took only a few seconds for the upper portion of the room to be interwoven with many layers of webbing. The blue color of the fog in the room was set as such to blend in with his Cerulean Cloud technique, hiding him from Grey Beards spiritual sense.

Grey Beard had taken to slashing out randomly, he had his sole remaining Clan member at his back and was striking out into every other direction in the room. The Clan member behind him was using all of his energy to form an energy blade, sweeping it back and forth around the two of them to keep just a small area around them clear of the ant swarm. Sages right eye was still a hole into the void, it was the only way he could avoid being struck by Grey Beards wild attacks. He was nowhere near fast enough to dodge the incoming blades let alone gauge their trajectory without the help of the Timeless Eyes.

Just then, the ants started to act unusual. They had been simply swarming in from every direction mindlessly, surrounding the two and attempting to overrun them. All of a sudden they pulled back and started to organize. Splitting into four different groups that moved in unison like the points of a compass. They moved just out of range of where the Tang Clan cultivators energy blade could strike. Whichever direction the cultivator was facing the ants behind him would start to advance. As soon as he turned towards them, they immediately retreated again. The cultivator began to strike out at them, but because of the ants being at his maximum range and retreating immediately the number he killed with each swing was drastically reduced. Instead of killing them by the dozens with each swipe he was now only killing a handful.

The cultivator realised they were making him waste his energy so he tried to hold back only find out that when he didnt turn to attack the ones encroaching from behind then the ones in front of him started to slowly advance. To either side they even began to move in a single file line, minimizing the number of them that could be hit. The cultivator still had to clean them off when they climbed onto his body, but now his strikes could only hit a few at a time. The ants were perfectly turning it into a battle of attrition. Their array kept them from knowing where the best breakthrough point was, while the large insects drew their attention and forced them to act defensively.

This may be working for now, but they just have to hold on until reinforcements show up and then Im dead.

Sage knew he was fighting the clock so he couldnt afford to drag this out. He had only made it look like a battle of attrition, it was actually just an elaborate distraction. The obscuring fog, the endless army of ants, mantis assassins, and centipede shock troops. Individually, none of them were a threat to Grey Beard. He could handle each problem with a wave of his hand. On the other hand, when they were combined it started to give him trouble. None of them were truly threatening to him, but he was more worried about his men and those from the Violent Fist Sect. Each of the threats werent dangerous to him, but they drew his attention and focus.

Show yourself! You think all this nonsense is going to save you? Youre just digging yourself a deeper hole. Submit now and I promise youll get a clean death. If you keep this going youll suffer from torture you couldnt imagine.

Grey Beard felt a sudden breeze and slashed through a cloud of something, motes of little white fluff parting to either side and floating around aimlessly. Fearing poison, he slashed a few more times, creating a wind of his own to dissipate and push away the cloud and all the nearby air. Even while doing so he had to deal with the assaults of the insects. Beheading a Mantis that appeared behind him, and then stabbing between the eyes of an Centipede that came from the side. Feeling a sudden sense of danger he dove backwards, tackling the final Tang Clan cultivator. The two of them rolling on the ground as a small object fell from the ceiling where they were standing. A small wicker sphere it burst apart in mid-air from which dozens of Thorn Cloud Hornets flew in every direction, letting loose their alpha strikes. Poisoned thorns firing in every direction, the hornets even killing each other with the number of spines that flew out. Grey Beard slashed through the incoming spines, cutting down thousands of them with one huge wave of sword Qi.

The cultivator behind him suddenly screamed, tree roots as thick as a thigh burst forth from the wall and wrapped around him. Layering over him like thousands of thick ropes, pinning the man to the wall and covering his face, rapidly sealing him up. Grey Beard started to slash at the roots, but was interrupted by another sneak attack. Flying Knives flew towards him, a dozen of them, his hand moving in a flurry. Flicking his wrist to whip the sword blade out and knock aside the knives. Spinning aside, one of them nicked his cheek, while another cut a small gash on his shin. Immediately he felt something wrong and disconnected the parts of his body around the cuts. A cultivator who had formed his golden core could build a whole new body for themselves out of energy, something like cutting off and isolating the blood flow to a specific spot was easy. Even as he was tossing out more waves of sword qi to free the Tang Clan member, slay the large insects, and push back the ant wave, he was isolating his blood and the poison there.

Unfortunately for him, the poison didnt target the body. It traveled like lightning through Grey Beards meridians, traveling through his body till it reached his forehead. The poison sunk into his spiritual sea, causing a sudden storm of black rain. At the instant when Grey Beard felt the rain falling upon his soul, he also sensed more incoming danger. More of those flying knives flew towards him from one direction, but he felt something else from the opposite direction. He couldnt see it, but he could feel it, slicing through the air like a blade. Leaping into the air, he avoiding the blade while swatting away the knives. His clothing taking a couple more nicks in the process, he created a large energy arm to push against the wall and dodge to the side in mid-air, avoiding a few more of those huge blades. When his foot finally touched down, he felt something wrong. He couldnt focus on it, because the knives and slicing blades kept coming, weaving between the waves of insects and ants. Grey Beard even had to abandon the Tang Clan cultivator, the attacks kept increasing in intensity, until suddenly he felt something enter his spiritual sea.

Grey Beards soul formed a sword, condensed out of his spirit power, he flew towards the invader. That invader looked just like a ghostly version of the cultivator who had killed Tang Zhelan and Grey Beard roared in defiance. The black rain didnt affect his soul, but when it fell upon his sword it started to sizzle, causing pits and cracks in the solid spirit power. His enemy started to grow, getting larger and larger. The two of them were floating in the air over a large dark sea, the clouds above them roiling, crackling with thunder. The black rain turning into a terrible storm, mirroring the emotions that the old man was feeling. He swung his sword, smashing it against a giant fist, the sword shattering to bits and leaving him defenseless.

The giant spread his hand and a huge palm came crashing down upon him, causing his soul to crack. Thin fractures spreading through his soul like a shattered window pane. The giant opened his mouth, revealing huge fangs, its mouth seemed to unhinge and his throat stretched open like a snake.

Grey Beards body fell to the ground, his eyes dull and lifeless.