The Path of the Strongest Mortal, page 3
Fortunately, the wolves didn’t immediately notice the newcomers, which gave Shacks and Kai a chance for a surprise attack.
Shacks fired several shots from his bow and Kai rushed into close combat, armed with two blue swords made from the ice of the Cold Void.
Seeing the swords, Shacks and the giant couldn’t immediately believe their eyes. Of all those present, only the two of them could comprehend that the strange element of Kai’s swords was of Royal rank. They also simultaneously realized that Kai possessed the Force of Fusion. And that came as a shock for them, considering his stage of development.
Coming to his senses a moment later, Shacks grinned and, with excitement in his eyes, rushed to the nearest monster. The giant decided to join the battle, too.
***
Eighteen and a half hours passed. The battle continued.
There were only six of them left — Kai, Shacks, the giant, Menlian, and two other elves. Each of them was beaten and covered with dark spots. On their last ounces of strength; they all fought together, forgetting about the recent hostility. They had a mutual goal, and they were smart enough to unite in order to survive.
The wolves kept coming at them over and over again, continuing to strive for the Emerald Water.
However, everything changed in a minute. Wanting to buy at least a little time and take a break, Menlian launched a powerful massive attack that instantly destroyed the wolves’ armor. Reforming the armor and their shape usually lasted up to three seconds. Only this time, things didn’t go according to plan.
Twenty-five blobs suddenly merged, becoming a huge vortex, which quickly transformed into one gigantic wolf. Fortunately, it didn’t use energy or Forces and relied only on physical attacks.
“We have to kill it and then continue to attack in turns while it recovers. That way each of us can take a break!” Shacks shouted as he put a quarter of all of his remaining ki into his bow, firing a powerful shot. Like a green bolt of lightning, the arrow sliced through space, reaching the monster in the blink of an eye.
The wolf swung its paw to repel the attack, which was a mistake.
The giant jumped at it, clasping his muscular arms around its neck in a death grip. At the same moment, three elves approached the wolf’s paws, preparing to attack.
The opportunity was perfect, but the creature wasn’t going to give up. It was about to use its trump card when its body shuddered and froze in place.
Dozens of icicles suddenly burst out of the ground, making their way through the monster’s body and partially covering it with ice. Only one thing could do that — the Cold Void. It was not for nothing that it was a concept of a higher Force.
Kai was able to immobilize the enemy in order to give his allies a moment to strike. However, his strength wasn’t enough to freeze one smaller wolf for long, let alone a giant one.
Still, the attack was successful. The wolf’s limbs were gone, and half of its muzzle had been torn off. Everyone expected it to start recovering again. But…
The spikes on its back were suddenly filled with power, and then it exploded.
The wolf had destroyed itself, releasing a lot of debris infused with its power. The group, fortunately, managed to protect the bowl, but not themselves.
The giant took the hardest hit. Three dark shards were stuck in his broad back. Shacks wasn’t lucky either — his right shoulder was pierced through and a huge black spot appeared in that place. As for Kai, he was able to defend himself with the Cold Void, and Menlian was insanely lucky and didn’t get hurt at all. However, the other two elves were instantly killed.
And twenty-five wolves were at it again.
“Let’s create a barrier, I’ll strengthen it!” Kai shouted.
The others exchanged glances and nodded. The giant, Shacks, and Menlian formed three different barriers that overlapped one another.
In the next instant, Kai released all available Cold Void particles that then enveloped the three-layered dome that covered them.
Without the latter, it was useless. When the cultivators first tried to protect themselves in this way, and even trap the wolves inside the dome, all this turned out to be pointless, since the monsters easily overcame such an obstacle by destroying themselves and appearing in a new place.
However, with the support of the Cold Void, their defense became more effective.
“I can hold out for an hour and a half,” Kai said.
The wolves continued to fight against the barrier, but there was nothing they could do.
Time passed. The four cultivators sat in a lotus position, concentrating on maintaining the protective dome until they suddenly felt a surge of unusual energy. Sharply opening their eyes and looking away, they saw that the Emerald Water was no longer coming from the well. The process had finally ended, and after a couple of minutes, everyone heard the platform descend.
It instantly picked up the bowl and then began to rise without waiting for anyone. The four of them still tried to jump on it. The first to do this was Menlian. The others were about to follow him, when a barrier appeared in front of them, unexpectedly surrounding the entire elevator.
“Good luck staying alive, bastards!” The elf grinned, looking at his bewildered allies. “A-ha-ha-ha...”
And no sooner did the trio break through the barrier to rush to Menlian when an explosion rang out behind them. The dome suddenly shattered. And this happened because the elf had oversaturated his barrier with energy, thereby destroying both it and the neighboring ones.
The monsters rushed at them the moment the barrier fell. Since the use of the Forces of Space was limited in the Abyss due to the fog, Kai couldn’t even teleport to the elevator.
Thus, the three of them remained below the ground.
Exhausted and surrounded by many enemies, with the mocking laughter rapidly receding...
Chapter 3
THE CONCEPT OF YIN
The platform was gone. As was the Emerald Water, and, to the relief of the wounded trio, the wolves. The darkness had settled down and returned to its previous state. It was all over.
An hour and a half passed.
Walking slowly in the pitch darkness, Kai concentrated on the Forces of Space. Using them, he created waves, thanks to which he could, like a bat, use echolocation and explore his surroundings.
He remembered Menlian mentioning that the Abyss was a network of underground caves. If that was true, they were somehow connected. And since their group had been sent to Abyss No. 6. that meant there were at least five more wells somewhere nearby. The slaves were being sent to different areas at different times, therefore, it was likely that the wells were activated at different times as well. So, there was a chance that another group of slaves was going through their own hell right now. If they managed to find them and join them, they could go to the surface with them.
Besides looking for an escape route, Kai was interested in something else — the dark energy. The fog seemed somehow familiar, which was why he decided to investigate it. And to do that, he headed in the direction from which, according to his gut, this dark fog was coming from.
To protect Shacks and the giant, who, unlike him, couldn’t block the darkness, he hid them in the Night Space, away from the fog and its negative effects. They had received many wounds during the battle, so they could hardly move on their own now.
Kai wandered alone through the tunnels until he finally reached a remarkably huge cave, divided in two by a rapid underground river. Seven tunnels led from the hall to, he assumed, other wells. The last tunnel was located across the river, on the other side of the cave, and seemed to lead even deeper underground. It was from there that a powerful stream of dark fog flowed, which meant that the source of this force was somewhere down in the tunnels.
Approaching the river and sitting down next to it, Kai peered into the water using his energy vision.
“Poison…” he muttered after a pause, shaking his head. “A rather vile one... How long has this river been saturated with it? It’s so thick from it... A single drop would be enough to instantly kill a Mind Stage cultivator...”
Rising to his feet, he activated the Forces of Space, leaped over the river in one smooth jump, and found himself on the other side, right next to the tunnel. Having sent a wave inside it to explore it, he frowned in frustration — the tunnel was so densely filled with the dark energy that it easily absorbed his ki and Forces.
I won’t be able to get down there... The fight has worn me out, and now my energy control isn’t as good... I guess I’ll stay here for now...
Having sat near the entrance to the tunnel, Kai closed his eyes and concentrated on the surrounding darkness. An hour and a half later, he woke up.
Just as I thought... I knew this thing felt familiar from the very beginning. Who would’ve guessed that this darkness was nothing more than a cluster of Yin particles? Hmm, I should examine it more closely...
Concentrating, he activated the Yin-Yang Ghost Tattoo. Serpentine lines of darkness and shining light appeared on his skin and slithered down his arms, coiling around them, and formed mystical symbols.
“Yin Concentration,” he whispered.
A small black sphere appeared near his left shoulder. Focusing on it, he began to explore it with the help of his aura, while simultaneously studying the Tattoo. As it turned out, Yin Concentration was a kind of special storage that could, besides containing the particles of this concept, also strengthen them.
Suddenly opening his eyes, he stared at the tunnel leading to the source of Yin. It was too dangerous for him to go down right now, but he couldn’t help but take advantage of being so close to the power’s source. Taking the sphere into his hand, he directed it toward the tunnel. Almost immediately, it began to suck in all the Yin bursting from the ground in a rapid stream.
Very soon, the concentration of dark fog inside the cave dropped to almost zero. However, Yin still continued to flow out of the tunnel even after the sphere had been filled to the brim with it. It was clear that there was a colossal amount of it down there.
In less than a minute, the cave was again filled with the dark fog.
Bringing the sphere closer to his face, Kai took a good look at it. After a couple of minutes of contemplation, he sighed and put it aside. Using the Cold Void to create a protective barrier around himself, he began to prepare for a long meditation.
He was in the perfect place to learn more about the concept of Yin. He had a huge amount of foreign particles of Yin Concentration, which he could use as if they were a rather powerful Particle of Wisdom, which he did.
Focusing his aura on the sphere floating in front of his face, Kai entered his soul world, activated Ultimate Focus and the Gates of Mind, and began meditating.
***
Fifteen hours later, Kai woke up. The ice barrier that surrounded him was almost completely destroyed by the dark fog, and he felt very tired. Maintaining the Night Space, the Tattoo, the Yin Concentration, and everything else wasn’t easy. Especially after twenty hours of grueling battle.
It was getting harder and harder to control energy, and he was tired both mentally and physically.
Realizing that it was time to get out of the cave, he stopped meditating. He had received an energy signal from Shacks who was probably worried about his long absence. Since he couldn’t leave the Night Space without destroying it, the archer wasn’t able to find out what was happening outside.
Unsummoning the black sphere of Yin Concentration, Kai listened to his soul, which was connected with the Yin Yang Ghost Tattoo, and then nodded slightly.
It turns out that both Concentrations are in the Source, right next to the soul when they’re inactive. And they continue to store the absorbed particles inside themselves until I use them. Interesting…
He opened the System messages menu and checked the last couple of ones.
Attention!
Your understanding of the Yin Concept has reached the peak level of the first layer.
Incredible. How powerful is Yin here if I’ve been able to move from the initial to the peak level so quickly? In comparison to this, my past achievements with Cold Void look ridiculous. He smiled slightly, after which his emotions were sharply suppressed. Is it really all thanks to my eyes and the Favorite of the Forces achievement? If that’s the case, I could master the Yin Concept in no time. I just need to come down here more often to replenish its supply.
He retrieved the black sphere from his stomach and placed it in front of him. When the Night Space grew enough to let a grown man in, Kai teleported inside, and immediately found Shacks and the giant, both of which were sitting in the center of the area. And although they had managed to get some rest after the battle, their bodies were still heavily saturated with Yin, which was now slowly killing them.
Sensing Kai’s approach, Shacks opened his eyes.
“You’ve been gone for a long time.” He tried to smile, but only managed to grimace. He was in pain.
“I’ve studied this dark fog,” Kai replied calmly. “And I think I can help you.”
Shacks started to arch an eyebrow in surprise but immediately stopped. All his strength was focused on resisting the darkness, which was why even the slightest movement caused him a lot of pain. It was no wonder that those slaves back on the surface could barely breathe, let alone do anything else.
“You surprise me, as always.” He spoke with difficulty. “I’m glad that there’s a silver lining to this shitty cloud.”
Without answering, Kai nodded toward the giant.
“What about him?”
“That explosion messed him up bad. It looks like he had to go into very deep meditation.”
Looking at the giant’s body through the energy spectrum, Kai was about to ask something, when Shacks, as if reading his thoughts, answered.
“We can’t get rid of the darkness, but we can distract it, thereby postponing our inevitable demise. All you need to do is circulate the Forces in your body, especially in those places where most of it is located.”
Kai nodded. He had seen this when he used his energy vision.
“Good. I’ll help you.”
“I owe you, once again...” Shacks chuckled. “Will you use that ice thing? It seems that that’s the only thing that can affect the damned darkness...”
“No,” Kai replied, surprising him. “Now, calm down your energy and Forces. I need you to relax. Don’t resist it.”
Shacks glanced warily at Kai. But, after a little hesitation, he still nodded and did as told, deciding to trust his ally.
He stopped suppressing Yin with his Forces, and it immediately proceeded to destroy his body. Luckily for Shacks, he didn’t have time to feel the excruciating pain that overcame him. Kai’s hands suddenly became covered with a black and white tattoo, and a dark sphere appeared in his left palm. A moment later, it began spinning, drawing in the darkness that was firmly embedded in Shacks’ and the giant’s wounds.
Thirty seconds later, it was all over.
“But you said stop resisting,” Shacks whispered. “And the big guy’s still meditating.”
“His mind has sunk too deep, so it’d be dangerous to wake him. I had to take the risk,” Kai replied, breathing hard, his face covered in sweat. He had done his best to help the giant since he didn’t calm his ki and Forces. Fortunately, the giant’s mind didn’t actively fight against Yin, which allowed Kai to carefully extract it.
“I see,” Shacks began to rise slowly, feeling the strength returning to his body. “Thank you...”
Glancing to the right, Kai discovered a spatial distortion that only he could see. It was a hidden area within the Night Space where he had put the Jade and the scroll. He stared at the spot for a good couple of seconds when he felt a sudden pain in his chest.
Kai grimaced as he touched the bloodied bandages. By this time, he understood that it was the Yin’s power that prevented his body from healing.
The darkness in his wound was more powerful than the one surrounding him. In fact, it seemed to him that it wasn’t even just Yin, but the Higher Force that gave rise to this concept. But neither masters nor mortals could tame it. And despite his incredible power of regeneration, even it couldn’t fully deal with a wound like this one. Luckily for him, the Calm Body Potion was still active, which was, at this point, the only thing keeping him on his feet and preventing Yin from destroying his body. But this precarious state of delicate balance wouldn’t last long. And the weaker the Potion’s effects grew, the closer Kai was to being on the verge of death, yet again. He needed to do something about it as soon as possible.
Yin Concentration could absorb any neutral type of Yin, but the one in Kai’s wound contained traces of a demon’s will. Fortunately, the fiend seemed uninterested — or unable — to keep this imprint fueled, due to which it gradually dissipated.
Kai understood that the darkness in his wound was many times more powerful than the one of the Abyss, which was why he’d need to reach at least the initial level of understanding of the Yin Concept’s third layer if he planned on doing anything about it. But since he could easily die much earlier than he could get to this level, he needed to come up with another solution. At least a temporary one.
He had an idea of cutting off the edges of the wound, but that turned out to be impossible to do.
Firstly, the dark energy had corrupted not only his physical body, but also the energy one — the acupuncture points, the meridians, and the Source.
Secondly, a small part of the demon’s Yin had penetrated much deeper into his body. When he had cut off a piece of skin, the dark energy that was there flowed even deeper into his body, which only worsened the situation. To make the matter even worse, the removed flesh didn’t even recover in the end.
The third possible way of salvation could be his energy-controlling ability. But that turned out to be unsuccessful, too. The Yin particles embedded in his chest were so heavy that it was impossible to remove them with ki alone.
