Pathway

Cao Wang activated the teleportation seal and sent his daughter into the opened portal with a shoveof his palm. He could have gone with his daughter, but his depleted Chi wouldn't allow them to go far with a mask. They would have been followed easily and killed before they could reach the Last Sages Sect.

As Wang Xiu was sent flying into the portal, she turned her head to take a last glance at her father. It was at this time that she saw a young looking man with blue-black hair and dark blue eyes appeared out of the thin air. He was holding a silver glaive. That was the face of the one who had mortally wounded her father. How could she forget his face? He and his father had been friends with her own father at the valley of Righteous World. But they had betrayed her father and killedl him. How could she forget that?

Elder Wang Xiu stared at the man in front of her in burning fury.

"Lang Hai!"

" So, you remembered me, Wang Xiu. I'm highly honoured."

Lang Hai happily nodded before patting his robe.

"It took me thousands of years to locate you, Wang Xiu. I've searched far and wide. It was very painful to see you escaped that day. Very painful. But fortunately, my path was redirected to you."

"Why, Lang Hai?"

He looked at elder Wang Xiu with knitted brows.

"Why what?"

She returned the look with burning anger and slowly shook her head.

"You killed my father, Lang Hai."

He watched elder Wang Xiu with a bitter smile on his face.

"Cao Wang? Pfft. His death was on him. You see, I had nothing against your father. After all, he was a valley keeper. However, he should've faced his own task. But no, he had to get involved in m matter. So, he paid for it. His fault."

He shrugged and extended his left hand.

"Hand over the artifact, Wang Xiu. And I'll consider letting you leave."

With eyes burning with anger, elder Wang Xiu took out her sword, Light-Flex. With two downward swipes, sent two blades of radiant blue lights towards Lang Hai. He raised his glaive and blocked them in quick succession. Only to find Cao Wang Xiu appeared before him after using eternal light steps, forcing him to raise his glaive, hurriedly. 

They continued to exchange numerous deadly swords moves as their swords clashed ferociously. After several minutes, Cao Wang Xiu light-stepped backward. Before Lang Hai could follow her position, numerous images of her came at him from different angles. All the images were launching different sword moves. 

"The Thousand Heavenly Immortals?"

Asked Lang Hai as he looked at elder Wang Xiu in utter disbelief. He quickly summoned the power of his divine fire eagle and released rings of red liquid fire. The rings collided with the sword moves creating massive energy field. His glaive was also moving with ferocious speed as he continued to block the images that passed through the rings. By the time the energy receded, only two images of elder Wang Xiu were left attacking Lang Hai. But he managed to hold them off and dispersed the last image. The true elder Wang Xiu streaked back to her original position.

"It was truly remarkable for you to have learned such a move. It really caught me off guard. If it was the old me, I could have been in mortal danger. You even forced me to use the Two Worlds Liquid fire."

Elder Wang Xiu didn't answer him, but lifted her sword over her head and released it. The sword shot into the sky before projecting downward. A blinding red light spread around the sword from its pointed edge.

The Divine Vermilion.

This was her most powerful mystical art. Once the sword started to descend, the opponent would never be able to hide from it, but had to face it.

Lang Hai couldn't believe a cultivator at the Yinlong stage of the martial art, and the early stage of nascent soul in cultivation could be that powerful. He raised his glaive which had visible throbbing red veins and was beginning to make a loud thumping sounds. He hit the base of the glaive on the ground, stationing it upright with the bladed side facing upward.

He clasped his hands together and the glaive turned into a massive glaive of liquid fire. And almost instantly, he opened his hands. The massive fire glaive shot upward to meet the descending massive red sword light.

They collided and the impact was extremely frightful. If it had happened on the ground, the whole village and its vicinity would have turned to dust. Still the effect had dangerous effect on the village. Many houses were knocked down and the whole village was turned red. Even the vicinity of the village was affected.

Both the sword and the glaive returned to their owners.

He shook his head slowly with a sigh.

"I never saw that coming. The Divine Vermilion. Two powerful arts you have shown me and twice you have forced my hands. Now, I can no longer hold back."

Lang Hai took one giant step and disappeared.

"Oath Of The Fallen Souls!"

Elder Wang Xiu exclaimed in utter alarm.

The Oath of the Fallen Souls was a martial arts move that could only be executed by an artist of a Qingzhong [world master] level at the least. The move would make its executioner pass through the body and soul of the opponent. By the time the martial move executioner appeared behind the opponent, the opponent's would've been long dead. While the lifeless body would still be standing. Nonetheless, the move consumed high amount of energy and a level of the body strength.

Elder Wang Xiu realised that her opponent must have reached the Qingzhong[world sovran] level as a martial artist while she was at the Yinlong[silver dragon] level. She knew it would mean her death to take this attack head-on. She learned from Blood-Blade about Lang Hai being a late stage golden core, but she never expected a move like that. It was a martial move which only a few martial artists on the mortal plane could master. 

Quickly, she took out the Jaded-Life seal, a life saving seal, and activated it. Then, she raised her sword and used her most powerful mystical arts technique, the Timeless Guardians Light, to barricade herself. 

The Jaded-Life heavenly seal was supposed to be used twice, but by the time Lang Hai appeared behind her, it had completely disintegrated.

Elder Wang Xiu was on one knee with blood trickling down the side of her mouth.  She realized she couldn't defeat him in martial arts. Maybe, she should have used the escape seal given to her by Blood Blade. But at least, she now knew the level of power of her opponent. He wasn't a cultivator she could face in her current stage.

She knew she couldn't withstand him in both martial and mystical arts, but her anger wouldn't let her be. They had betrayed her family and killed her father. They had to pay for it. She turned around slightly to look at the man behind her.

"Why?"

"Are you still asking me why?"

Lang Hai shook his head and took out the other two fragments of the Frozen Ember Pearl. He made the hand gestures and the two fragments ascended into the midair and started to vibrate. Shortly, the third in the hand of elder Wang Xiu flew began to hum. But she had no will and strength to keep it silent. After few seconds, it flew out and joined the other two to form a whole pearl.

"The Frozen Ember Pearl."

He flew up and caught it before descending.

Elder Wang Xiu stared at him with more burning anger.

"You and your father killed my father because of this?"

"No Wang Xiu, my father wasn't after this. He was after what was under the pillar. The Legacy Of Dawn. He managed to get it and people won't know it's gone anyway."

He shook his head as he gave a faint smile.

"My father? No, Wang Xiu. It was all me. Do you even know what this is, Wang Xiu? Well, it doesn't matter. I'll tell you. You'll die soon anyway."

He looked at the pearl in his hand smiling.

"They said this pearl was an ice luminous treasure, that it was an artifact only for the water element cultivators especially the ice element affiliated. Oh, how wrong they are. This is as good as a luminous treasure. This is my way through the heavenly tribulations."

Then, he glanced at her, frowning.

"I can't let you live, Wang Xiu. You are this powerful now. How strong will you be in the future? I can't allow you to come after me, Wang Xiu."

He jumped into the air and spun his glaive as he descended to deliver the killing blow.

Ju Feng, who was knocked flying from the impact of the collision, tried to do something to help Cao Wang Xiu. Only for him to scream in agony, knowing there was basically nothing he could do. He was simply incapacitated. The situation was already another death knocking on his door. 

Elder Wang Xiu looked at him and others with defiance as she activated the seal given to him by Blood Blade. At this time, a flaming sword was colliding with the throbbing glaive.