Dungeons of the Divine (Blue Phoenix Book 2) (22 page)

”It’s our turn now!” Hui Yue said, as behind him four people could be seen taking a step forward. Wang Ju Long made a few incantations with her hands then picked up a seed which she crushed in her hands, allowing the dust suddenly flow towards the opposing men.

Seeing the dust rushing towards them, serious expressions were visible on the faces of the previously masked team and the leader grabbed two of the Silver Edged Sword’s men, one hand around each of their necks, then used them to shield him and the others against the dust.

This dust was swiftly blocked by the two men, and after having done so the leader threw them off the stage where they released bloodcurdling screams as their body were convulsing. Healers with the Wood element rushed to heal the now disqualified men.

Having seen how dangerous the dust was, a vigilant expression appeared on the faces of their opponents as they drew their weapons. While the majority of the masked men were using broadswords the leader had a sword in each hand and a menacing aura spread out, it was pure killing intent. Everyone could tell these weapons were bathed in blood.

As he looked at the opposition Hui Yue frowned slightly, he did not wish to go head to head against these men, but fortunately they were no longer unscathed like before. Their clothes and masks were all burnt and some wounds had appeared on their skin not only superficial wounds, but a few serious burns were apparent on the ones standing at the back.

“Wu,” Hui Yue called out in a very low voice, “Although I said not to use it, I think we cannot afford to not use them.” Having said that, excitement shone within his black eyes and Hui Yue almost laughed at the look on Deng Wu’s face. He was truly and utterly excited about getting to display his skills.

With fluid motions, the four inscription patterns which were floating around Deng Wu all vanished only to be replaced by another four, these four were, however, completely different and their menacing aura was in no way inferior to that of the opponents.

The inscription pattern was completely black and was made with dried blood and the paper had turned blood red because of what was sealed within.

Releasing his spiritual energy, Deng Wu spread open his arms and one word escaped his lips, “Devour!”. A silvery light shone from Deng Wu’s body into the four inscriptions and four shadows appeared, landing on the ground.

These shadows were over two meters tall and three meters wide their size took up a great deal of space on the stage and they all opened their mouths to howl. As soon as the shadows opened their mouths, the audience heard a soul rending howl, instead a tremor ran through the ground shaking the entire arena.

Surprise was evident in everyone’s eyes, as they looked at shadows which were clearly Black Wolves from within the tunnel, but these were like nothing they had seen before. These were not living wolves but shadows. These were beastly soul shadows!

Shock was evident within the eyes of the leader of the masked group, but he clenched his fists as he barked orders to the others. Facing a soul shadow head on was the worst thing one could do.

Only spiritual arts or those who possessed Wu Wei who would be capable of defeating the soul shadows, but at the same time they had to constantly watch out for the wolves and their attacks.

The size of the wolves was also a great benefit for Hui Yue and his friends as they formed a nice divide, separating the three teams, with no one willing to walk near them. But just as Hui Yue was feeling safe, he saw a shining silvery light take over the stage and with great displeasure saw how the opposing team all held each other’s hands before a large five colored flame appeared between the five of them.

Each of the mercenaries had a different elemental affinity, and having drawn upon their combined affinities they created a five colored flame which continuously grew in size. The power it held was large enough to explode the entire stage, not to mention the soul shadows.

“Off the stage!” Hui Yue yelled after making a quick decision. Although he had never seen anyone work together in that way before, Hui Yue was not willing to test it as imminent danger was hanging right above them. And although Sha Yun and Deng Wu looked at Hui Yue with eyes begging to continue, they quickly understood Hui Yue was serious and without saying anything they jumped off the stage.

This flame was nothing like Hui Yue’s flame which consisted of one element alone. This was an elemental flame, birthed from the fusion of all five elements and no matter what Hui Yue did to protect them, it would not be enough.

Winning second place was far better than seeing any of his friends die, even he himself was likely to die, so he made the decision to forfeit.

Although Hui Yue wished to win as much as everyone else, his aim in joining this competition was to gain some coin and fame. He had already been contacted by the Dragon Corps and given the first mission so for him, possibly facing injury was something they could not afford.

Having jumped off the stage, Hui Yue noticed an ice cold gleam within Zhou Long’s eyes as he smiled and lifted his hand. A golden light shone from his fingertips and surrounded the elemental flame along with the beastly soul shadows. Clenching his hand, the wolves let out yet another soundless howl which caused tremors to run through the arena before they slowly vanished into thin air, becoming one with the essence of the heavens and the earth.

Along with the wolves, the elemental flame was completely destroyed by the simple clench of Zhou Long’s hand causing Hui Yue to narrow his eyes. Due to the destruction of the elemental flame, a rebound of energy ran through the entire masked group and a few of them ended up spitting out blood while collapsing on the floor. It was no way to treat a winning team.

“Congratulations to the Masked Murderers,” Zhou Long said with a fake smile on his face as he spoke to the audience, “I bring you your winners!”. It was obvious that the host was mad yet no one in the audience noticed anything. They did, however, notice the leader who was still on the stage, his face pale and his hands shaking slightly.

“I think second place deserves a round of applause for managing to survive the entire battle!” Zhou Long continued, but the audience booed at Hui Yue instead, causing a wry smile to appear on the young man’s face.

It was to be expected that they were booing at them. The first half of the battle was between the two other groups where Hui Yue and his friends did nothing but observe. After that he created one explosion and as the fight was about to finally begin with the beastly soul shadows and the multi-colored flame, they gave up.

Giving up just as the fight was about to get interesting was definitely something which the audience disliked, but Hui Yue could care less as he bowed towards Zhou Long and after which he turned around and left the stage. No one wished for the losers to hang around after all.

Moving back to the courtyard, multiple thoughts were flowing through Hui Yue’s mind. It was obvious that the masked cultivators were part of the Dragon Corps, as Hui Yue noticed the captain’s emblem on his chest below the burnt clothes of the leader, not to mention the interaction between Zhou Long and the group.

Although Hui Yue was able to determine that the masked cultivators were from the Dragon Corps, he was getting a headache trying to think why Zhou Long wished for Hui Yue to win, along with his friendly behavior earlier.

Now, Hui Yue once more was wondering what was happening with the Dwelling Demon Beast. Was it truly waking up, or was it being woken up for the sake of creating an event? Why would everything happen just as Hui Yue appeared, and how come the Dragon Corps, whom Hui Yue at first wished to avoid, wanted to please him?

Hui Yue could not grasp what was happening, and his eyes showed confusion as he was leaving the area quickly making his way towards the courtyard only to see that Xu Piao was waiting for him.

Looking at the man, Hui Yue wondered for a moment whether or not he had told Zhou Long about Hui Yue being from the world above. Upon closer inspection, it seemed as though Zhou Long and Xu Piao did not have a lot in common neither did they interact much with each other, but Hui Yue could not leave any possibilities out.

Nodding to Xu Piao but not speaking , Hui Yue moved into the courtyard where he sat down instantly, entering meditation. This time it was not for the sake of cultivating but clearing his mind allowing for easier understanding of what happened.

They had entered Cave’s End cavern at the start where they had been moving around for quite awhile to save Sun. During this time, they had killed and hidden an entire group sent from the Dragon Corps, but that was the only interaction they had with the Dragon Corps before entering the Demon Dwellings Cave where Zhou Long was incredibly friendly towards Hui Yue from the beginning.

Having spoken with Xu Piao and told him that they were from above, the man paid great attention to Hui Yue and his group, yet his excitement seemed to be more like a man who was wishing to experience the world above for himself rather than selling the information to others.

No matter how Hui Yue thought about it, he was unaware of how and why Zhou Long, a high ranked expert, would suddenly gain interest in Hui Yue, but all he could do was stay vigilant and try to escape from him as soon as possible.

At least Zhou Long was friendly, and Hui Yue was quite certain that Xu Piao would not in any way become hostile which in the end made the decision for him.

As he opened his eyes, Hui Yue saw that all his friends surrounded him and they were curiously waiting to hear what answer he had decided upon. Although they all had a say in what happened, they long since decided to follow Hui Yue, causing his words to be law.

“Get some rest,” Hui Yue said with a sigh, noticing that Xu Piao and Xie Lan were watching at the back. The look on Xu Piao’s face was filled with worry for which decision Hui Yue would make.

“We will join Zhou Long to see this Dwelling Demon Beast,” Hui Yue said with a sigh. He knew that his friends were looking forward to the beast hunt, and having seen how easily Zhou Long extinguished the elemental flame, which would have annihilated at least some of Hui Yue’s team, he knew that there was no way to run away from the man. It was better to stay on his good side and hopefully get some clues as to why such a high ranked expert cared for Hui Yue, who as far as he was concerned had nothing to do with the Dragon Corps.

Hearing Hui Yue’s words, everyone had big smiles on their faces as they excitedly started talking about the hunt. Although they all were aware of the dangers, none of them wanted to wallow in worry and instead they were filled with excitement. It did not take long before they were busy with either cultivating or preparing for the beast hunt in their own ways.

Xu Piao was as thrilled as any, as he too wished to participate in the hunt, however he felt that something was not quite right looking at the worried expression on Hui Yue’s face. Xu Piao could not prevent a bad feeling from emerging in his heart.

“What the fuck was that?!” Zhou Long slammed his fist into the table, his eyes flashed with anger and his previously friendly features were nowhere to be seen.

In front of him were five men, the five men who had previously won the tournament. “But sir,” The leader opened his mouth, an indignant expression on his face, “He was a necromancer. If we allowed for him to touch us we would have died.”

“Then die!” Zhou Long continued, anger clearly evident by his expression. “I said you could kill the others, but touching the white-haired boy was not permitted! We received a message from headquarters that he is sacred! That he is needed by one of the great generals!”

The more Zhou Long thought about it the angrier he became. He planned it perfectly. He had ordered the group to kill some of Hui Yue’s companions, but that elemental flame would have seriously injured the man he was supposed to protect.

A sigh escaped Zhou Long as he closed his eyes pinching the back of his nose. Sitting still for a moment, the five men in front of him were all quiet none of them daring to move even the slightest, let alone speak.

“Don’t mess up when we go for the Demon Dwelling Beast. I was told to get rid of his followers and make sure he stays in the Dragon Corps until his lordship, the Frozen General, comes to collect him. If you mess this up, it is your lives which are on the line.”

Having said that, Zhou Long waved his hand dismissively and without waiting for further instructions the group of five rushed out the door leaving Zhou Long alone within the office.

Opening his eyes, Zhou Long sighed once more as he picked up a memory stone from his desk and placed it to his forehead. A light shone as he put it to his forehead and pictures of Hui Yue appeared along with a written message,
‘S
tranger with unknown origins. If a group of four appears in your cave, make sure to check their background. If the group contains this man make sure to guide him to headquarters. Killing his companions will give an increased reward.’

Looking out the window, Zhou Long had a small smile on his face as he stood up and walked out from within his office while whistling a cheerful song.

….

Hui Yue was seated in meditation as he suddenly felt danger appearing right by his side.His eyes shot open, only to see that Zhou Long was seated by his side with a friendly smile on his face as if he did not notice the frantic expression on Hui Yue’s face.

Narrowing his eyes, Hui Yue was once more convinced that Zhou Long truly had no intention of harming him, still his friendliness was in some ways even more terrifying than those with open enmity. Enmity was something which could spring from nothing, but friendliness was something one usually had to earn first.

“You made a good decision at the tournament,” Zhou Long said with a big smile on his face “That elemental flame was definitely a nasty ability, if you had not stepped off the stage, who knows what would have happened. But those soul shadow wolves were definitely quite impressive in their own right!”

Listening to Zhou Long, Hui Yue could not help but feel that something was definitely not right, but he said nothing as he listened only to the words of the man from the Dragon Corps.

Zhou Long was dangerous. He was definitely stronger than both Xie Lan and Xu Piao. In many ways his strength was similar to Lan Feng, and although Hui Yue knew it was unlikely that Zhou Long was as strong as Lan Feng, he could not be far behind.

Lan Feng was Hui Yue’s hidden trump card. He was the strength Hui Yue would never display if he had his way, and it was also the reason that he dared to follow Zhou Long towards the Demon Dwelling Beast.

Should the worst happen, then he would have to rely on Lan Feng and Deng Wu on Little Dragon. If the four of them worked together, then it was highly likely that they could get rid of Zhou Long, however it was only his assessment. It relied on how much Wu Wei Lan Feng had managed to refine and the phoenix completely refused to answer any questions which Hui Yue asked.

In general Lan Feng was not talking to Hui Yue unless it was important. For the most part he sat down in a deep trance within the dantian cave, a golden light emitted from his soul as he withdrew both spiritual energy from the spiritual energy sea and Qi from the Qi swirl.

With an sigh, Hui Yue put a smile on his face as he looked at Zhou Long, but he vigilantly kept his senses at an all-time high.

“No reason to be so worried,” Zhou Long said as he looked at Hui Yue. His face was all smiles and even an apologetic expression was evident on his face. His eyes genuinely curious as he observed Hui Yue waking up from his deep meditation.

“Let me tell you a secret,” Zhou Long continued, “The masked men were actually my men, but they were not supposed to have used that elemental flame. That is an attack which is reserved for life-threatening situations and considering you had not killed anyone before, I was certain that you would not have killed my men either. I thoroughly scolded them and they apologized deeply!”

Hui Yue laughed a friendly quiet laugh, “Do not worry,” he assured Zhou Long, “It was our defeat. In the end your men were stronger than us, they deserved to win.”

Hearing Hui Yue taking it lightly, a genuine smile appeared on Zhou Long’s face and gratitude was seen in his eyes. It was obvious that the older man had feared that Hui Yue would go against him, or no longer wanting to join the team when they went to slay the Demon Dwelling Beast.

Worrying about that Zhou Long could not help but ask him, “You are still interested in joining us for the hunt later on right?”. A small worry could be seen within his eyes, and Hui Yue was once more assured that this man wished to build a friendship with him, but once again no reason was apparent causing even more doubt to arise within Hui Yue’s heart. Something odd was going on for sure.

“We will gladly join the hunt,” Hui Yue said smiling and a slight excitement shining in his eyes, “My friends are looking forward to this hunt. It is quite astonishing that we were so lucky as to arrive in this cave just as the legendary beast which the cave is named for is about to wake up.”

“If you don’t mind, I would like to invite Guild Master Xu Piao and his attendant Xie Lan? We are good friends and it would truly be wonderful to have more people helping.” Hui Yue continued speaking, his face not revealing even the slightest bit of hesitation nor worry.

Seeing that Hui Yue wished to bring the Guild Master Zhou Long was slightly taken aback, but he quickly collected his thoughts and both him and Hui Yue were smiling at each other. One trying his best to be friendly while the other tried his best to gain even the slightest hint as to what Zhou Long was up to.

“Of course it would be our honor to have the Guild Master and his attendant join us,” Zhou Long said after a few moments of consideration, “Both are experts of the upper dantian, they will be a great asset to our hunt.”

Hearing the answer, Hui Yue breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing that Zhou Long had hesitated,just for a slight moment, this was enough to see that Xu Piao had not informed Zhou Long about him causing his suspicions to be raised even more.

Smiling at each other Zhou Long finally stood up and with a polite nod walked towards the exit , leaving behind a contemplating Hui Yue.

….

Zhong Fai was seated within the frozen castle, a rare smile was evident upon his face. In front of him was a crusader who was kowtowing.

The crusader arrived earlier, bringing with him a memory stone which was the reason for Zhong Fai’s good mood. Placing the memory stone on his forehead, he once more saw the recording of Hui Yue’s appearance being revealed during the tournament.

The smile on Zhong Fai’s face grew larger as he once more watched the recording, completely ignoring the man on the ground.

Only one crusader had returned, while the others were still stuck within the underground world. Ensuring that every cave got the memo had taken a lot more time than expected. Despite this

Zhong Fai did not care how much his followers had to rush about, as long as he got what he wanted there was nothing else he cared about. His year long hunt had finally come to an end.

Musing to himself laughter rung out through the quiet frozen castle as Zhong Fai placed the memory stone within his pocket, dismissing the crusader who had been kowtowing the whole time.

….

The next few days went by in a flash as Hui Yue and his friends spent all their time preparing for the hunt. Xu Piao was no longer residing within the Guild Master’s office, instead he spent the majority of his time in the same courtyard as Hui Yue and his friends.

Seeing Xu Piao and Xie Lan sparring against each other, Hui Yue understood perfectly well the sheer gap in power between them. Wu Wei was like nothing else he knew. It did not rely on the elements nor did it rely on Qi. It fully relied on the balance one found and their ability to merge with the world.

The profoundness contained in Wu Wei was not something Hui Yue spent a lot of time looking into because he himself had no way of producing the energy. Instead he focused on analyzing the spiritual energy that filled up his spiritual energy sea.

Knowing that Xu Piao and Zhou Long had nothing to do with each other, Hui Yue was doing his best to befriend Xu Piao, just as he did everything to befriend Hui Yue. Their friendship was built on mutual understanding.

While Xu Piao was befriending Hui Yue for the sake of perhaps one day entering the outside world, Hui Yue befriended the former for the sake of having two King ranked experts protecting his back.

Should Zhou Long suddenly change his opinion and no longer wished to be so friendly.

Xie Lan was the only one within the courtyard who was unhappy with the way things were progressing. At first she had felt as if she had let Xu Piao down, since he had lent her to ensure their win, but in the end she did absolutely nothing for their sake.

This feeling of letting down her master was one she had a hard time swallowing, and every time she looked at Hui Yue she was reminded of her failure, causing the beautiful girl to constantly frown.

Xu Piao had long since told her that it was fine that they did not win, especially since it seemed as though Hui Yue was not bothered at all. Although he wanted to win first place he was fine with second, as their residence and food were paid by the Mercenary Guild, money was no longer an issue for the group.

Although winning did not matter to Hui Yue. He did spend his beast cores to buy weapons and hopefully the rest of their fortune would last them until they once again were in a tunnel.

Another thing which made Hui Yue more complacent was the fact that he was going to assist the Dragon Corps in getting rid of the demon. A beast so great that the entire cave was named after it was surely enormous and filled with treasures. Even if the Dragon Corps took its beast core, Hui Yue was certain that they would get their share of bones, meat, and fur. Maybe even some horns or feathers. Believing so, wealth was currently no issue for Hui Yue and his friends.