Battle At The Vagrant Woods (Eight)

The invisible rare energy surrounding Ming Ren brought forth visions of the past. He couldn't move or speak, and everything happened as if in a single moment. Elder Li stood between two other Spirit Gate cultivators, his body bloodied and spiritual energy spent, "... you honorless bastards from the Sunflower Pavilion, someday you will pay for your sins!"

"Hahaha, don't speak nonsense, old thing. Die knowing your clan will disappear soon," the young-looking cultivator carried a well-made spear and wore a gaudy robe with an embroidered sunflower emblem. He thrust forward and elder Li blocked, but the other enemy pierced him from behind with his bare hands. That cultivator also wore a sunflower embroidered robe and had long flowing white hair.

Elder Li spurted a mouthful of blood and died gazing with resentment at the two traitors behind the Spirit Gate cultivators. His own kin. They avoided his eyes even at the last moment, having walked a path of no return.

"What, having second thoughts?" The young-looking cultivator intimidated them with his aura, making them tremble in fear and shake their heads, "You know what to do."

The two traitors of the Bright Clan nodded in a hurry. They took out weapons and wounded themselves, running back to the clan.

"Wouldn't it be better to kill them?" The white-haired cultivator said.

"They still have uses. Besides, we grabbed this one alone with their help, wouldn't it be too mean to kill them?" The young-looking one viciously smiled. The white-haired cultivator didn't answer, he knew too well how vicious his comrade was. Reward? As long as they were useful, dying painlessly would be their reward.

*

The vision switched to Ming Ren laying down on the bed in a peaceful slumber. His mother, Yu Ming, opened the door to three youths, Ming Bo, Ming Lan, and Ming Qiu, and left them alone. She had bags under her eyes and lost a lot of weight.

"Brother, I will find a way, hang in there," determination filled Min Qiu's eyes.

"Me too!"

"Me too!" Ming Bo and Ming Lan clenched their fists.

"I'm going into closed-door cultivation, I have the True Element of Light! I feel like I can find another one, this time I'll break through for sure. Watch me, brother!" After a while, the youths went their ways. Ming Qiu entered secluded cultivation for several months, while Ming Bo and Ming Lan competed and won many tournaments in Bluecloud and the neighboring cities. The scene changed to Min Qiu cultivating, a dark shaped shadowlike spiritual Qi flowing from his body.

True Element of Darkness!

Ming Qiu laughed out loud, "I did it, brother! Dual elements, light and darkness!"

Having opposing elements of true light and darkness was the sign of a once in ten thousand years genius. Matching and controlling opposing elements opened an array of possibilities that required a lot more effort, and yet Ming Qiu didn't lose himself, continuing to cultivate until he found the door to the Spirit Sea Realm. He stopped when someone knocked on the door to his chambers, "Enter!"

An elder in the clan came in looking distressed and bowed. It was the same cultivator Ming Ren saw when elder Li died, "Qiu'er, bad news, it's about your father. The patriarch wants you to come..."

Ming Qiu's father fought in the province war together with Ming Ren's father. The youth got up right away, "Father?! elder, let's go!"

Even the traitorous elder with cultivation at the sixth layer of the Spirit Sea Realm couldn't underestimate Ming Qiu's reflexes in a normal situation, but the youth had no reason to raise his guard against kin. The elder struck viciously, aiming at the spirit sea, throwing an unconscious Ming Qiu to the ground with the impact.

"You were truly a genius, but I have no choice..." The elder was about to finish the job when a strong pressure bore down on him.

"You, what did you do?!" The bright patriarch appeared in a flash yet too late to save his favorite pupil. A wave of bright spiritual Qi hit the elder, slamming him to the ground, powerless to resist a Spirit Gate cultivator. The patriarch checked Ming Qiu's condition while more people arrived with the commotion, including Ming Zan.

"Patriarch, how is he?"

"...How could the Heavens be so cruel? His spirit sea has almost shattered, the meridians took too much damage. Such a vicious attack!" The patriarch knew Ming Qiu would never be the same without heaven-defying medicine, "Grab that traitor, find out everything!"

The elders moved to apprehend the traitorous elder, but he had already taken his own life. Blood dripped from his mouth as the powerful poison spread.

**

The scene suddenly changed to a girl and an old woman speeding through a forest, "Granny, what about grandfather…?"

"Forget about that person, we're both dead because of him. That old fool!" If he didn't meet them at the agreed spot it meant the worst. When she found out what he did and would do it was too late to stop him. As his closest kin, they would be subject to scrutiny and torture even if they had nothing to do with it. Would she gamble their life on it?

The grandmother halted, placing the hand in front of the granddaughter to stop, "Listen, if something happens, keep running. You know where to go, silly girl? Radiant Bridge City!"

"Granny, but you..." The girl worried.

"Humpft, silly girl, you stay safe. Let me worry about these old bones," they reached a point in the woods where two cloaked men waited.

"Only you?" One of them asked. The grandmother nodded.

"Easier than we thought."

"Hehe, the granddaughter is pretty too!" The other one said.

"You… is the Silver Clan going back on their word?" The woman gritted her teeth.

They laughed as a few other figures came out from the woods, "Traitors deserve to die!"

"Silly girl, you know what to do." The girl trembled but nodded. The grandmother circulated Qi and quickly threw hidden weapons, catching the two in the front by surprise. One got hit in the chest but the other dodged.

"How da-!!" The old lady wasted no time and appeared in front of him using the [Bright Step Movement Art], striking with the elbow at his stomach. The girl dashed using the opening her grandmother created, and the other figures rushed after her. The grandmother threw hidden weapons in a frenzy, and they had no choice but to surround her.

"Tough old woman, kill her first!" They banded together, striking repeatedly. The old lady refused to die even after blood dripped from her left eye and her face became disfigured.

"This woman.. you.. just die already!" Near the end, they feared her tenacity, and even half-dead dared not underestimate her.

'I guess it has been long enough… silly girl, be safe…' The old lady fought to her last breath, killing two of the figures before death and even wounding the others. The girl ran without looking behind, tears streaking down her beautiful face. Her grandfather betrayed the clan, her grandmother died to save her. No matter what, she had to survive.

***

The scene changed again to a gathering of cultivators from the Bright Clan. Anger and hatred inflated their emotions.

"We know it's the Silver Clan! Are we truly going to let them get away?"

"We can't do anything without the patriarch's command."

Ming Zan acted the most dejected, "This won't do, they crippled our hope! We can't let this go unpunished!"

"What do you suggest we do, then?"

"We go to the Silver Clan, make them lose face," Ming Zan edged them on, "Or we won't have any left ourselves!"

After discussing, the cultivators went to the Silver Clan. Ming Zan kept fueling the flames of rage until a fight broke out and dozens died. The White Clan, Cloud Clan, and City Lord's Mansion intervened. The Bright Clan was demoted to a fifth-ranked influence, and later on, expelled from the Soaring Country. The clan decided to move but human greed didn't disappear easily.

****

In another scene, Ming Zan led Ming Bo, Ming Lan, and dozens of bodyguards to the last tournament before departure from the Soaring Country. It was an important tournament with good resources as prizes. The youths also hoped to put a bright display and maybe earn favor back with the overlord. The entourage carried many people to guard a few juniors, which showed the importance the patriarch put on them since Ming Qiu's cultivation was crippled.

"Let's win again!" Ming Bo cheered his sister on.

"Um!" Ming Lan matured a lot, no longer acting spoiled. The twins received the pressure of carrying the clan's entire hope.

The bodyguard in the lead shouted instants before an arrow pierced his throat, "Watch out, amb-"

Cultivators rushed in from every corner, forcing the Bright Clan bodyguards to fight back. Soon they were outmatched, the attacking group too strong. Ming Zan immediately warned the clan by crushing a jade symbol. Those were expensive, but with the clan on high alert, every elder carried one. Ming Bo and Ming Lan fought bravely against Spirit Sea cultivators, but they were still at the Body Tempering Realm peak. An enemy held Ming Lan by the throat and she couldn't get loose.

"Talented, and a beauty! This one is mine!" The cultivator grinned.

"Lan!!" Ming Bo struggled to fight through the enemies and reach his sister until a sword pierced his heart.

"NoooOOOoOOOOOoo!" Ming Lan cried.

Yet Ming Bo didn't die right away. His heart bled, but he glared at his enemies, "I… I curse you all… I CURSE YOU ALL!"

His dying scream sent shivers down the cultivator's spine, and the one holding Ming Lan froze. Another cultivator gritted his teeth and cut Ming Bo head off.

"You, what have you done!" Again the bright patriarch appeared in a flash, dozens of elders behind him. He flinched seeing the bloodbath and his dead disciple, "All of you… die!!"

A bright torrent of Qi stormed out from his punch and spread, hitting dozens of people at once. The cultivator holding Ming Lan took the biggest blow, screaming in pain as he dropped the girl.

[Bright Fist - Storm, Human Tier Spirit Sea Technique]

It was only a low-grade human tier art from the Spirit Sea Realm that used spiritual energy to increase reach but it had great power. Ming Ren's heaven tier Body Tempering arts could also reach a similar level of power if used by the patriarch.

"Patriarch!" Ming Zan approached, bowing. His clothes showed signs of a hard fight, but he had been acting in a play. Ming Lan got up right away and held her headless dead brother, weeping in sorrow. The patriarch reached his hand out to comfort her but then clenched his fists instead.

The bright patriarch swept the area with spiritual sense and frowned, "So this is your doing."

"Hahaha, old thing, your time is near!" The young-looking Spirit Gate cultivator with the sunflower embroidered robe came out from the shadows while the long white-haired cultivator encircled from behind, cutting their retreat. The bright patriarch had a blaze in his eyes, and every single cultivator from the Bright Clan steeled their minds. The time to die had come.

"You shouldn't have come to save these juniors," a silver-haired patriarch walked in, armed with two silvery long swords. Three Spirit Gate cultivators.

"You bastard surnamed Yin, at least you had the guts to show yourself! Come and take my head if you dare!" The bright patriarch roared while his Qi was about to explode.

"Snort, why did you come, silver head? He is mine!" The spear-wielding cultivator complained.

"He is strong, don't underestimate him," the silver patriarch would not gamble at this point. He bet everything on this attack. If the bright patriarch escaped, they would have to live on high alert.

"You stay away!" The Sunflower Pavilion cultivator stabbed with blinding speed even from a distance, and the tip of the spear transformed into a spiral of sharp Qi.

[Sunflower Pavilion Art, Earth Tier Spirit Sea Technique - Spear Whirlwind]

The bright patriarch could have dodged but Ming Zan and Ming Lan also stood in the area of effect. He stepped forward and struck with [Bright Fist - Storm], colliding with the enemy attack and dissipating the Qi Spiral with brute force.

"What...?!" The spear wielder looked flabbergasted.

The patriarch took some damage but stood firm, "Good, fierce art. You, however, lack a thousand years of training."

"Sigh, you're still too green. That attack struck the weak flow of Qi in your spear whirlwind perfectly. You would be no match without the better art!" The silver patriarch poked his sore spot.

"You bastard, this is not over!" A spirit gate with a circular shape and surrounded by mystic runes formed above the cultivator's head. Yet at that moment…

...Ming Zan stabbed the bright patriarch in the back with a poisoned sword. The cultivators from the Bright Clan widened their mouths in disbelief, and even the two from the Sunflower Pavilion couldn't believe their eyes.

"...You!" The bright patriarch hit Ming Zan square in the chest, pushing him away. His white robes were dyed in red, the metallic smell filling the air yet again. Ming Zan had cultivation at the eight layer of the Spirit Sea Realm. Without his guard up, the patriarch had no way of blocking the attack in time. The Sunflower Pavilion spear wielder glared at the silver patriarch, but couldn't despise his ways. He could have done the same.

"Ming Zan! You!! How dare you harm the patriarch!" The cultivators from the Bright Clan wanted to kill the traitor, but with a Spirit Gate cultivator behind they didn't dare move. More cultivators from the Silver Clan and Sunflower Pavilion approached.

"Patriarch!!!" Ming Lan looked at him with teary eyes.

The bright patriarch gazed at the skies, coughing blood, wondering if the Bright Clan would perish in his age. He didn't know exactly how grand the clan was in the past but heard glorious tales from his elders. He looked at Ming Lan, still holding her dead brother, smiled, and patted her head.

'As long as the scripture exists…' The air suddenly sizzled. With burning spiritual energy and life essence, an enormous amount of energy shook the earth around the patriarch, transforming in a spiral. The enemy Spirit Gate cultivators thought he wanted one last desperate attack and readied themselves, "My Bright Clan will not perish!"

Two spirit gates formed above his head. The first had a circular shape adorned with mystic runes and didn't look special. The second one shone brightly, shaped in a rectangular portal of pure and intense light.

"Rare gate!" The Spirit Gate cultivators almost drooled, greed taking over their hearts in an instant. A cultivator could sometimes absorb a rare gate when its owner died.

"Kill him!" The three of them attacked, but it was already too late. The bright gate shot a beam of light into Ming Lan, transforming the girl and the lifeless body of her brother into a streak of light, disappearing from their sights in a flash.

'Ming Lan, the scripture is yours… the future of the clan is in your hands…' The gate lost its light and crumbled, together with the bright patriarch's last breath of life.