Seven Falls of Tribulation (1)
"Impossible!" The elders all cried at the same time. "He couldn't possibly have the forbidden legacy! We've never detected any traces of it since the last time it manifested mere months ago!"
Following Jun Meng Chen's call, the leftmost spear trembled, golden inscriptions traveling down its length to converge on the tip. The arrays behind it began to collide as they merged into a single, unintelligible diagram that struck the base of the spear.
Upon contact, the diagram scattered into a storm of symbols in the Divine Script, engraving themselves onto the shaft of the spear and causing it to shake violently. As the last symbol engraved itself onto the spearpoint, the spear released a black brilliance, and a mournful, bitter cry could be heard from within.
"For my resentment, I cry."
With Jun Meng Chen's voice, the spear shot forward towards Chen Jiang. Startled, Chen Jiang could only slap his palm against the cobalt belt coiled around his waist, summoning forth the entirety of his divine essence reserves.
Commanding the amassed divine essence to wrap around his arms, Chen Jiang roared as he crossed his arms before his chest. With a guttural cry, the coiled divine essence spiraled from his arms to create an entangled web of numerous streams of divine essence to twist around the spear in hopes of hampering its movement.
Unfortunately, the spectating immortals and elders could only spot a thin streak of light as the spear ignored the incoming web and embedded itself into the ground before Chen Jiang. With a quiet hiss, the inscriptions unraveled themselves to pool at the spearpoint, forming a small crystal bead of unknown material.
"Shi-"
Before anyone could react, the bead detonated as the spear disintegrated into strands of the Divine Script. From within the small bead no bigger than a grain of sand exploded forth an unstoppable tide of divine essence, instantly enveloping the entire cavity and even covering the straggled immortals near its edge.
The elders spectating from within the Divine Palace couldn't penetrate the shroud of divine essence, only able to see a dense mist blocking their vision.
Gazing at the astounding sight before him, Jun Meng Chen couldn't help but release an admiring sigh. Throughout the entire clearing, there was no immortal in sight, only eighty glowing inscriptions of spiritual beasts, weaponry, armor, and miscellaneous items decorating the cavity.
Even Chen Jiang had been reduced to his immortal's construct, a royal seal upturned on the ground. Closing his eyes, Jun Meng Chen could hear the faint whispers of the immortals' souls as they inevitably entered a recuperative slumber of unknown duration.
"Just…what was that?"
"Did he say 'Caladbolg'…the one in the legends?"
"Damn, a slumber again…."
"Just how!? My construct was supposed to be strongest…it was the royal seal of the Divine Palace!"
Among the final laments and sighs of the slumbering immortals, Jun Meng Chen could hear Chen Jiang's cries of disagreement and irreconciliation. Gazing at the now dim royal seal on the ground, he couldn't help but feel a sinister thought well up within him, accompanied by the urge to wreak havoc.
Extending his hand once more, Jun Meng Chen felt the sheath surge with warmth, with words appearing in his mind akin to whimsical suggestions. Shrugging his shoulders, Jun Meng Chen opened his mouth to recite the sheath's provided words.
"For my hate, I cry."
The second spear shot forth to land in the same location as the first, another bead exploding just like the first. To his surprise, Jun Meng Chen could see several cracks emerge in a few of the immortals' constructs nearby, causing him to stem the flow of suggestions from the sheath.
Waving his arm to dissipate the spears hovering above him, Jun Meng Chen sheathed the sword in his hand, forcing the sheath at his waist to fall silent.
"Chen Jiang, do you feel unreconciled?"
Approaching the royal seal, Jun Meng Chen noticed that deep fissures raced alongside the seal's surface. Tapping the seal twice, he lightly sighed.
Chen Jiang was merely four hundred years in age, hence his construct was far less stable than the other immortals who had fallen. Perhaps, he wouldn't recover for more than several millennia, for such extensive damage occurred at an early stage of development.
Shaking his head, Jun Meng Chen departed from the selection grounds, heading for his courtyard.
Of course, now that he had left the smokescreen created by the first spear, the elders at the Divine Palace would immediately chase him down to investigate.
Not even five minutes had passed before Jun Meng Chen was surrounded by seven Pavilion Heads. However, not a single one displayed inclination of seeking revenge, merely a deep seeded interest.
"Jun Meng Chen. What was that technique you cast back then?" spoke an elderly man. Dressed in greyed hemp robes, with drooping eyebrows and a long beard, the old man was the Pavilion of Rest, Hong Zun.
"Exactly, I heard the incantation, 'Caladbolg'. What is going on, just how can you incorporate such a phrase into a technique?"
A mature woman joined in, her pursed lips and expectant eyes directed towards Jun Meng Chen. Following the two Pavilion Heads, the rest of the elders pitched in their own questions, causing Jun Meng Chen to be enveloped in a swarm of words. Unsure of how to exactly reply, Jun Meng Chen mulled for a short moment before speaking.
"Answering the Pavilion Heads, I merely consolidated my experiences outside whilst tempering my domain. Just a byproduct of my observations and a moment of impulse."
"The concept of 'Caladbolg' is impossible to integrate into a mere, whimsical technique. A legacy must be used as a primer at best. Where did you encounter such an experience? Who gave it to you, and how?"
The woman interjected, her voice causing Jun Meng Chen to frown. Helpless, he repeated his words once more. He couldn't expose the sheath's assistance in forming the spears!
"It was just a mere imitation of what I saw a few months ago," Jun Meng Chen spoke. Referring to the incident that had shocked the Immortal Realm, he proceeded to embellish where he had 'chanced' on such an enlightening encounter.
"Back then, all I saw was a grey spear launched towards the void. Unassuming in appearance yet possessing such destructive ability, even the Divine Script was warped by its passage. All I have attempted to do was to recreate such a technique, and the preliminary selection was the first time I utilized it in combat."
"Where did you witness such a spectacle?" one of the elders interrupted, his voice quivering in agitation. "Tell us, quickly!"
"All I remember was that it was near the Blaze Mountain Domain. At that time, I was busy reporting the results of a coordinated skirmish, so I do not know the exact location."
Jun Meng Chen replied, his voice even and unchanging. Inwardly, he was suppressing a cold sweat, for he could sense the elders' frustration increasing. If they all lashed out at him, he would fall into a slumber, and the sheath's secrets would be exposed.
Gritting his teeth, Jun Meng Chen repeated his statements without any deviation, forcing the elders to relent with unresigned annoyance. Watching his figure depart, they immediately relayed a signal towards the rest of the Pavilion Heads to track Jun Meng Chen's every movement.
With information of an incomparable legacy at stake, even Jun Dong Min was unable to resist himself from joining in on the investigation.
-
Fleeing to his courtyard, Jun Meng Chen rushed towards the inner sanctuary, slamming the doors shut and reactivating the concealment array. Hastily, he thoroughly scanned his body and soul for any tracking imprints, not even sparing his immortal's construct.
Only after he confirmed that there truly was none, he heaved a sigh of relief and allowed himself to slump into a nearby chair.
Releasing the sheath from his waist belt and holding it before his eyes. Jun Meng Chen watched the leather disguise melt away to reveal the pristine, cloud-like silk surface. Grasping it with one hand and gazing at the stand of which it had originally laid on, Jun Meng Chen sat in a blank daze, pondering on whether to relinquish the sheath, or to keep it with him.
Stroking the soft silk, Jun Meng Chen gradually fell into a daydream. Without his awareness, the sheath began to exude a light mist, with scarlet inscriptions formed on its surface, faint but with the distinct reek of blood.
With a start, Jun Meng Chen awoke to find himself surrounded by a dense mist. Whenever he attempted to gaze beyond the hazed barrier, a fierce headache would erupt, causing himself to stagger and sway.
Extricating his gaze from the misty barrier, Jun Meng Chen carefully surveyed his surroundings, and jumped in surprise.
All around Jun Meng Chen was nothing but the vast expanse of the void. The inner sanctum, the sword stand and his chair, all had disappeared.
Above, below, to the sides, front and back, the view was the complete same. However, what unnerved Jun Meng Chen was that he could sense a faint ripple within the void, an indistinct rip in the space before him.
Out of sole curiosity, Jun Meng Chen directed a stream of divine essence towards where he assumed was the spatial tear, intending to probe around. To his surprise, the spatial tear ignored the incoming divine essence, and Jun Meng Chen could sense it shrinking in volume.
Ignoring his better conscience, Jun Meng Chen carefully walked towards the tear, reaching out with his right hand. What intrigued him was that unlike the divine essence he had probed with, his hand entered the tear without any impediment, and he could even feel the undercurrents within.
Unable to contain his curiosity, Jun Meng Chen pushed at the spatial tear, and within moments, his entire body had merged within.
The moment his entire body passed through the spatial tear, Jun Meng Chen's surroundings had changed entirely. The dense mist had vanished to reveal an enormous metallic disk with a myriad of inscriptions activating and deactivating on its surface.
When tapping the sole of his foot onto the disk's surface, Jun Meng Chen discovered that the disk was a complete piece of an unknown material, and even had its own gravitational attraction despite its thinly spread structure. A soft clink akin to falling gold coins echoed throughout with each step.
Raising his head, Jun Meng Chen noticed that the disk was a standalone object floating in the void, without any stabilizing dimension to house the disk within. Turning around, he could see the original emptiness of the void glaring back at him, except now he wasn't alone on the disk. Before him stood a young girl, appearing no older than the tender age of fifteen.
Barefoot, dressed only in a light purple gown that extended to her ankles. Vibrant, silk-like black hair cascaded down towards her ankles, her snow-white skin soft and tantalizing, almost like the masterpiece delicacy; open to see, but forbidden to touch.
With her thin eyebrows, delicate cheeks, and violet-gold irises, Jun Meng Chen couldn't describe the girl before him in any other form than calling her a beautiful deity. However, her sudden appearance caused him to become alert, and his gaze quickly became withdrawn, wary for any movement.
As if to sorely disappoint him, the girl before him only parted her lips, a soft whisper ringing in his ears like pleasant wind chimes.
"Why have you come…? What do you seek…to come here?"
Hearing the girl speak, Jun Meng Chen slightly relaxed his guard, his cold expression warming by the slightest margin. However, her next words replaced his just obtained calm with a deep fear.
"...my sheath…to dare flaunt mine…as thy property. To dare call upon my…
As her words finished, the space behind the girl warped, and Jun Meng Chen could see seven grey, unassuming spears frozen in space above her. As his senses screamed danger and pupils constricted, Jun Meng Chen discovered that his body refused.