Dungeons of the Divine (Blue Phoenix Book 2) (53 page)

A snort could be heard from Hui Yue’s mouth as the phoenix could not help but laugh slightly due to the words spoken by Hui Yue.

‘I have no intention for us to die just yet,’ The phoenix said with a smirk. ‘I might be weaker than this guy when it comes to raw power, however, I am a divine beast. I have some things this man will never possess.’

Without giving any further explanation, Lan Feng stomped the ground and with unmeasureable speed he once more charged at the many experts in front of him. Some were Kings who managed to push through the door, others were Emperors who managed to survive Little Dragon’s attack earlier and were healed.

Blood splattered on the walls and the ground; heads were severed left and right as though they posed no difficulty for the phoenix. His previous white hair had turned red, dyed by the blood of his enemies. The beautiful white and blue robe was similarly turned red from blood. Even his blue eyes had a mist of red appearing within as the red mist roiled within him. It struggled to burst outwards, wishing to partake in the bloody massacre.

At first, Zhong Fai was taken by surprise. Seeing Hui Yue charge forward, the general had expected that the phoenix would have him as his goal, however, at the last moment the bird changed his destination and rushed right past him. He rushed towards the many experts within the room slaughtering mercilessly which only made the fighting more desperate.

Seeing Hui Yue, even though Zhong Fai knew that he was stronger, a shiver of excitement ran through his entire body as he looked at the blood colored opponent who finally focused his attention towards him.

While Hui Yue and Lan Feng managed to get rid of many of the experts, Xu Piao and Xie Lan had been pushed away from the door. Both of them were now standing in front of Sha Yun and Wang Ju Long, protecting the two girls from the hordes of King ranked experts which had entered through the door. Both of them had sweat dripping from their forehead, their teeth were clenched tight, and their Wu Wei gushed from their bodies. They formed one attack after another as they pushing back any who came forward.

They did not come out of defending the door undamaged. Xu Piao had a superficial sword wound on his chest, however, his arm and leg had been punctured straight through and only by relying on the healing from Wang Ju Long was he still able to stand.

Xie Lan was not in much better condition. Her hair was disheveled and a cut appeared on her beautiful face from her eye all the way across her face. But there was no sadness in her eyes only determination to keep fighting for the cause her master chose to believe in.

While these two were fighting, the battle between  Little Dragon and the commander had become desperate; neither side willing to bow down and both sides fighting hard. One of the dragons had vanished only to be replaced by a new one, however, while both dragons were still a beautiful bright golden color, one of the sledgehammers belonging to the commander was turning more and more transparent. A sign that he was about to run out of Wu Wei, something which caused great joy to finally surge within the tired dragon and man.

Seeing that he was an advantage, Xu Piao and Xie Lan moved further into the room, closer and closer to Little Dragon. Everyone’s faces were filled with displeasure, desperation, anger, and sadness as they understood that for them to escape the strongest in their group would have to stay behind to keep the many experts from chasing after them. And that someone was Hui Yue.

Hui Yue saw how the horde of King ranked experts appeared from the doorway he once more charged at Zhong Fai. His intent was on making another smooth pass only to massacre even more Kings, however, as soon as he attempted to the air in front of him was suddenly cut through by a sharp ray of light. This made Hui Yue’s hair stand on end and his entire being stopped in its tracks.

“Do you really think I’ll fall for the same trick twice?” Zhong Fai suddenly asked with a curious expression on his face as another golden ray of light shot towards Hui Yue.

Activating Velocity Flow was something which took a minimum amount of power from Hui Yue, however, the ability was created by a King ranked expert and was considered a High King ranked skill. A skill which was constantly improving with every passing rank. As Lan Feng was a Saint he was capable of using the skill to it’s fullest potential, increasing his speed by an amazing amount. This made him so fast that the only person within the room capable of actually seeing him was Zhong Fai. Everyone else was only able to catch a blur passed them by. A blur which often severed heads or punctured hearts.

“I actually had no intention to participate in this battle,” Zhong Fai said suddenly, his voice able to be heard by anyone within the room and caused the commander’s face to darken considerably. It caused the faces of his friends to lighten up.

Hui Yue and Lan Feng were not satisfied with this, though, they both understood that it was not likely that he would stay away from the battle. As they suspected, after only a few moments the young general continued,

“I did not plan to participate, but looking at how strong you are Hui Yue, I really cannot help but be eager to test my own strength against yours!”

Having heard what he said, Lan Feng instantly screamed at his friends within their minds, “LEAVE! Quick! Leave as soon as possible, leave this to me, just GET AWAY!”

He could no longer afford to not focus fully on the expert in front of him. The two experts stared at each other as ripples of energy spread out from both of them. Before Zhong Fai was able to do anything a horrendous howl rang out from Hui Yue’s throat. The features of the young man were rapidly changing.

His legs turned to the hind legs of a wolf. A long wolf-like tail grew from his tailbone, and fur started to appear on his skin. Oddly, though, his arms turned to talons, and his hair became feathers. The red mist was roiling around his body. This time, it was not Hui Yue who was in control of the body, but Lan Feng. The phoenix abused the small demon core within his dantian cave alongside the red mist-like energy which allowed for himself to transform.

The pain from the transformation was excruciating, and due to it a howl sounded from his throat. The body soon finished its transformation and unlike when Hui Yue used the red mist, Lan Feng was completely capable of keeping the energy under control. His blue eyes were now seen atop of a beak, his hair was ice-blue feathers, and his arms had turned to talons. He looked as though he was a half wolf half phoenix. A beast which no one had ever seen before. The eyes of Zhong Fai grew in astonishment, and his smile rapidly increased involuntarily.

“How marvelous!” He exclaimed before the small orb of golden light in his hand jumped into the air where it instantly exploded into tens of thousands of golden rays. These rays killed anyone they came into contact with.

By now, Sha Yun and Wang Ju Long managed to reach the stairs. Behind them was Deng Wu who managed to grab a King ranked expert whom he used as a shield, but just as Xie Lan saw the golden rays of light she knew  that it was impossible for her to find King ranked experts for both her and Xu Piao. As she saw the look of horror which appeared on his face, she instantly threw herself in front of him; the golden ray went straight through her heart, and just as she fell to the ground a satisfying smile appeared on her face before her eyes were devoid of all life. Her lips were still smiling slightly as her soul dissipated into thin air.

Xu Piao’s eyes were round and filled with disbelief as he with shaking hands took her into his arms, however before he had the time to truly comprehend the loss he had just suffered, Hui Yue yelled at him in his mind once more. As Hui Yue saw yet another golden light orb appear in Zhong Fai’s hand.

‘Run! Get away from here! Go away, and make sure to live life for her too!’

Hearing the voice within his mind, the disbelieving eyes suddenly turned serious. With a nod of his head, he quickly flicked his hand and placed her within a storage stone; after which he followed Sha Yun, Wang Ju Long, and Deng Wu up the Stairs of Hope.

Every King ranked expert within the room no longer tried to advance, instead, they tried to escape from the room where Hui Yue once more allowed for golden light to gather around his body, and the golden rays of light were easily blocked.

Zhong Fai whistled upon seeing how easily the golden light was blocked, and he brought forth a Wu Wei sword. The sword was around a meter and a half long and thirty centimeters wide. It was a huge broadsword, but Lan Feng showed no signs of despair he just met it head on. His talons blocking the hit as an astounding boom sounded out, ripples of energy caused the entire castle to tremble.

Blow after blow was traded, but whereas Lan Feng was using all the power he could muster Zhong Fai was seemingly having fun, and playing around during the battle.

Just as Lan Feng’s patience was about to end and he was going to use all his Wu Wei to attack the entire room suddenly stood still. A cold sphere surrounded them and it was as though they were in a world of their own, in a domain which seemed to center around Zhong Fai.

Small specs of snow started to fall within the domain, and no one was capable of moving even an inch. Even Lan Feng was completely trapped within the domain, his eyes vigilant as he looked at the Frozen General who slowly strode towards him.

A playful smile was still evident on his face, but Zhong Fai lifted his hand and clenched it. As soon as he did, the entire building trembled once more, and the Stairs of Hope started collapsing. Seeing the fear in Hui Yue’s eyes as he wondered whether or not his friends were safe somehow caused an even bigger smile to appear on Zhong Fai’s face.

“Listen up Hui Yue, I know you can hear me inside that mysterious beast shape you’ve taken. Today I’ll let you leave, but I won’t let you go with your friends. Find another way out of here, but do so on your own. Anyone you befriend I’ll kill.”

Having said that, Zhong Fai looked at the many King ranked experts who had overheard their conversation and with a clench of his other hand every single King ranked expert within the room burst open as though someone had smashed them with a giant hand. Blood sprayed everywhere, even more blood than Lan Feng had shed earlier.

Seeing Zhong Fai withdraw the powerful domain, Hui Yue did not wait around to see whether or not he would change his opinion. He rushed towards the location where he knew he could enter the next tunnel-system.

Deng Wu let Little Dragon stay in control as they rushed up the Stairs of Hope, all of them running to once more see the rays of the sun; to see the endless skies and the heavens above.

Although they all missed the endless sky and despite Xu Piao wishing to see what it was like, none of the members of the group were feeling particularly thrilled or happy at the moment.

Xie Lan died as she jumped in front of Xu Piao, saving his life at the last moment. All of them left behind Hui Yue within the dark caves, and none of them knew how he would manage to escape, but none of them truly felt that their friend would die.

Each step they took on the stairs felt heavy, feeling as though they were missing something important. Only Wang Ju Long seemed to have steeled her determination. She grit her teeth as she put power behind her steps, rushing so fast that she even overtook Deng Wu.

“Don’t slow down!” She yelled at the friends that were behind her, “Yue said that he would meet up with us at the capital. He gave us an important task with the Laws. How will we accomplish this if we keep on like this?” She asked her temper fuming. She too felt miserable for having left Hui Yue behind, however, she understood that there truly had been no other option available for them.

Hearing what she said everyone nodded their heads, everyone apart from Xu Piao whose eyes were still red. He felt sadness from deep within, however, he too understood that right now was not the time to be wallowing in sadness, nor pity. The world was such that only the strong survive. The fact that Xie Lan died was proof that she had met a stronger foe, that was the world. Today alone, Xie Lan also killed many cultivators, that she too laid down her life was nothing to be truly surprised about.

Ascending the stairs took what felt like forever, and after half a day the group of four finally made their way up the stairs. All four just stood there staring at the beautiful blue sky high above them. Looking at the sky it was around noon. All of them were gaping at the blue summer sky, slack-jawed as they looked around them, only to find that they were right next to a massive castle.

All of them had rapidly beating hearts, their eyes reflected the blue sky from above. Xu Piao felt as though he was in another world, and he became dazed while the friends who finally returned home turned ecstatic. This was a completely different feeling than constantly having a roof above them, they could let go of the feeling of being held prisoner.

Although they lost Xie Lan and left behind Hui Yue, the group felt the fresh air around them, and they were unable to not stop and savor the crisp air. Looking at the massive castle to the side,

“This should be Center Castle,” Deng Wu said as an uncomfortable feeling filled him; a feeling which he got from Little Dragon.

“I think we need to leave,” Deng Wu said with a quiet voice. Everyone nodded, as they started looking around for a road which led away.

There were numerous roads and without thinking, the group quickly picked one close by and started to descend from the mountain range in which the center palace was located.

The road they picked led them to a small forest. They soon left the road and started looking for a location where they could do exactly what Hui Yue had asked of them. The sooner they managed to deal with it, the sooner they could return to the capital and wait for Hui Yue, who had promised to arrive there.

Within the mountains, the group found a forest which seemed to be devoid of life. No matter how much they traveled, no sign of life was visible. The only creatures they saw on their way were magical beasts, beasts which Xu Piao had never seen before. However, the young man was not energetic nor happy enough to observe all the wonders of the upper world. What filled his mind was grief and sadness after having lost Xie Lan.

The magical beasts around them were all around the Master rank, and the group of cultivators were more than capable of protecting themselves as they made their way through the forest until they finally found a large clearing. A clearing where the ground was covered with grass and flowers. A small river was running through it, and it had carved its way through the ground slowly eroding the banks and growing in size.

On this blanket of grass and flowers, Wang Ju Long and Sha Yun picked up their memory stones after which they placed down one Law after another. All of whom were still in a deep slumber.

These Laws were impossible to wake up with the strength the girls possessed so, instead, they attentively watched over them both day and night. Minute after minute went by slowly, but the two girls were filled with determination to ensure that the task they were given by Hui Yue was seen through to the end.

While the two girls were busy watching over and taking care of the laws, Xu Piao paid no attention towards these actions of the youngsters, instead, he found a place within the clearing where he put down Xie Lan and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. He then wielded Wu Wei and dug a deep grave.

Xu Piao kept talking to Xie Lan as though she could hear him. He spoke about how they had met each other when they were children and about the mischief they caused as kids.

He spoke about how they had grown up, always been by each other’s side, and how they had gone to school, relying on no one other than themselves.

The story continued as his trembling voice spoke about how they arrived at the mercenary company and together fought their way to the ranks of Guild Master. How no matter which task it was, Xie Lan had always been by his side, the woman never complaining only assisting.

Eventually, Xu Piao apologized to the silent Xie Lan, apologized that he had not listened to her. That although he was now in the world above, the endless sky was meaningless now that she was no longer by his side.

At this point determination appeared in his eyes and he slapped himself hard.

“I know that you would scold me, where you still here.” He said with tears welling up in his eyes, “I will now live the life you gave me, and I will never forget that this life belongs to you. Stay in the netherworld and one day I’ll come to you. Hopefully, we can both be reincarnated together.”

Having said this, Xu Piao laid down Xie Lan ever so gently within the grave. Then he moved the ground over her as he buried his best friend. Using his strength he found a boulder which he placed upon the grave. Using Wu Wei, he managed to cut a beautiful figurine on which the words “Never forgotten and always loved,” were etched.

After having buried Xie Lan, Xu Piao stayed in front of her grave for countless days and nights, keeping vigil, ensuring that no one could harm her final memory.

While Xu Piao was busy keeping vigil, Sha Yun, Deng Wu, and Wang Ju Long were keeping watch over the Laws. One law after another woke up, and their eyes were filled with shock and astonishment as they saw that they no longer were trapped within a room, but instead were looking at beautiful flowers and trees.

Each and every one of these Laws were told what happened, and each and every one of them were allowed to start their new life. They were allowed to visit places they had never seen before and travel throughout the entire world where their powers changed the lives of every creature and plant alive.

One after another these Laws set out into the world. Their eyes were filled with excitement and gratitude, and each law formed their own goals for their life.

Finally, the last Law awoke and set off into the distance. Four days passed this way. Within these four days, Xu Piao had not moved an inch, however, now that none of the Laws were left the previous Guild Master stood up, his eyes filled with determination.

“We are going to the capital to wait for Hui Yue right?” Xu Piao asked. The three people in front of him all nodded in unison. Seeing this, Xu Piao nodded his head, and with one last glance at the grave  he one more bowed deeply towards the carved stone. Xu Piao turned around and followed behind the three youngsters as they left the forest and started to descend down the mountain range.

….

While the friends were following Hui Yue’s advice and helping the Laws regain their freedom, the young white-haired man was rushing through the Dragon Corps headquarters.

There was panic everywhere. There was no longer any high ranked guards within the entire cave, and many mercenaries were using this to their advantage. They were stealing and trashing everything in the city. The experts of the various prominent families had to step in, and everyone was astonished wondering where the commander and the Dragon Corps were.

During this chaos, Hui Yue made his way through the main office of the Dragon Corps. He watched low ranked experts running from one side of the building to the other looking for experts or anyone who knew where the experts might be.

Completely ignoring them, Hui Yue rushed forward, rushing towards a place he knew all too well. He was headed towards the place where one could enter the other tunnels. His aim was to reach the tunnel which led towards Shenyuan; led towards Lan Feng’s old home.

Arriving at the tunnel, no one dared stop Hui Yue when he showed his A rank emblem. Without looking behind, Hui Yue rushed through the entrance towards the tunnel-system which led to the tunnels below Shenyuan; the tunnels which led to Lan Feng’s father.

….

The tunnel-system which Hui Yue entered was in many ways similar to that of the Dragon Tunnels, however, it was not exactly the same. The Vermilion Bird Tunnels did not have a corps like the Dragon Corps, instead, it was controlled by a royal family which overlooked the entire tunnel-system. Every cave within the system was considered a fiefdom, looked after by Dukes.

The Royal Kingdom of the Vermillion Bird was the official name of the tunnel-system, and the royal guards were all dressed in red cloaks. They were visible within every cave of the kingdom.

The Royal Kingdom of the Vermillion Bird was beautiful and well looked after. One of the caves was a whole sea that had small islands. A sea one traveled through on boats.

There were caves in which the sun never rose, and others were there was no moon. There were caves filled with forests where the inhabitants would hunt and sell the wild game for money.

There were caves where the entire area was used for agriculture and others which were filled with cities and earned their money from merchants.

Although mercenaries did exist within these caves, not many were seen. Those who were, lived their lives within the tunnels hunting down demon beasts.  

Hui Yue journeyed through one cave after another, within him was Lan Feng and the two, man and divine beast, kept a low profile as they traveled. They hunted in every tunnel they went through and eventually he reached the final cave in the system.

‘Follow my guidelines,’ Lan Feng said with a sigh. The two of them had traveled constantly for one year as the only thing on their mind was to get through the tunnels as quickly as they could. Hui Yue’s heart started beating erratically, he was excited upon hearing what Lan Feng said because it meant that they would finally be able to view the endless sky once more. To head back to the capital where his friends were waiting.

Following Lan Feng’s orders, Hui Yue stood in front of a wall and closed his eyes as he placed his hands on the wall. This created a suction force, which then sucked in Hui Yue. He once more found himself in an entirely empty tunnel. A tunnel much like the one they used when they first entered the tunnels. Eagerness appeared as he rushed towards the entrance, rush towards the light at the end of the tunnel.