Spirit Nest Disaster (2)

The land shook more violently than before, alerting all those inside the Spirit Nest of the presence of danger. However, perhaps more than the disciples, it was the elders who panicked at the scene. It should have been easy to simply open the gates to the Spirit Nest and evacuate them, but the entrance had been sealed by some unknown force.

"We need to rescue them!"

"But how? The gates are closed shut."

"Have we tested to see if the ancestor could open it?"

"It wouldn't make a difference. Whatever's sealing the gate is too complex. If we try to force it open it might destroy the connection between here and the Spirit Nest."

"But what other choice do we have?"

"Does anyone know what's happening?!"

The disorder had reached a level where even the High elder had to come out, but there was little change in the situation. The High elder was also worried about his disciple that was still trapped inside the Spirit Nest, and desperately wanted to rescue him, but their hands were tied.

'Do we have no choice but to rely on a miracle?'

Meanwhile, in the Spirit Nest, Miss Spirit dragged herself out from Shui's chest pocket and stared in the direction of the source of the roar.

"I have horrible news and I have decent news, which would you like to hear first?"

"What's the decent-"

"Anyways, the horrible news is that it's gotten more excited than I originally expected."

"Oh, kay, what does that mean?"

"It means it won't sit back and wait for the food to crawl into its mouth, it'll hunt for it directly."

"Ugh, so I guess we can't hope for it to stay in place and focus on those already there. How much time do we have now?"

"I'm not sure. It seems to have a decent understanding of spatial laws so we probably won't be able to out-run it as long as we're in here, and I can't open a portal for us and keep us away from it at the same time."

Shui stayed silent for a while as he digested this horrible news. The situation had seemed dire enough but now they were basically trapped like rats.

"And the decent news?"

"Now that it's focusing more on eating it won't be as focused on observing the fluctuations of space. In other words, it'll be easier for me to get us out of here."

"Good."

"Shui?"

"Yes?"

Since he was having a serious conversation with Miss Spirit, Shui had only now noticed that Kate was looking at him with confusion.

"Don't we need to leave?"

As he was faced by Kate's concerned gaze, Shui's heart shook. He already knew what his next step should be, but looking at her made this even harder on him since he knew she would feel worse than he would. Still, he put her down and held her shoulders with a grave expression.

"Kate, I need you to stay here."

"Huh?"

"Miss Spirit, please show yourself."

As she had an inkling as to what Shui was planning, the red spirit complied and allowed Kate to see her. While Kate's eyes opened wide at the sudden appearance of a beautiful spirit, Miss Spirit openly spoke with Shui so that Kate could hear them.

"...I hope you're not planning what I think you are."

"Is there any better choice?"

"..."

The red spirit couldn't respond because she knew as well as he did that his plan was the best way to ensure that both he and Kate could get away.

"What are you two talking about?"

At this moment, Kate chose to enter their conversation since it seemed like it would influence her as well. She was still shaken by the unexpected presence of Miss Spirit, but she had gained some resistance to surprises due to her long relationship with Shui.

When Shui returned his gaze from the red spirit to Kate, she stiffened due to the foreboding feeling she got from the look in his eyes.

"Kate, this is a friend of mine. I want you to stay with her. When she opens a portal to get us out of here, I want you to enter it."

"That's, wait, what about you?"

"...I need to make sure that you can escape."

"Shui!"

Kate grabbed his outstretched arms and looked at him with a pained expression.

"The one who made that roar, can you defeat it?"

"Have some faith, I can confidently say that even the sect master wouldn't necessarily be my match. It's just that this enemy is a little tricky. I'm not sure that I'll be able to protect you and fight it at the same time."

His claim to be stronger than the sect master would only be laughed off by anyone else, he would surely also get in trouble if someone other than Kate heard him. But Kate believed in him. Her heart told her that he wasn't shamelessly boasting, however, there was still a fear that that she couldn't explain. Nonetheless, understanding that she would only be a burden if she asked to go with him, Kate suppressed this fear and kissed Shui on his cheek.

"Definitely make it back to me. No matter what, okay."

"Of course."

Shui then glanced at the red spirit and flashed a smirk before turning around.

"Don't die. I still need you to restore my power."

"Yeah, don't worry. I promised that I would pay you back for your help."

Once Shui dashed towards the source of the roar, Kate looked at the red spirit and asked nervously, "Do you think he'll really make it back?"

Truthfully, the red spirit couldn't answer 'yes' with certainty, but she still patted her head with both heads and said, "Have faith. He wouldn't want you to be sad."

As Kate nodded in acceptance, Miss Spirit held out her hands and began grasping the space around them so that she could create a breach for them to escape through. This process would require majority of her focus, but she was still able to spare enough to also keep an eye on Shui.

With Shui's top speed, it took mere seconds for him to return to the cave where the disciples had gathered. Few remained outside the cave even after the sudden roar, but one of those few attacked Shui as soon as he appeared.

"You dare return after disgracing the young master!"

'Tch, one of that guy's lackeys.'

The one who attacked him was only at the peak of Soul Realm so Shui kept him at bay with only a barrier. Though another swing of his arm would likely be enough to deal with him, he didn't want to waste a single drop of his energy.

"Damn! Damn! Why is this so hard?!"

Since his voice was also rather annoying, Shui was going to silence him with his martial intent, but a chill that went all over his body forced him to remember why he was here.

Shui quickly removed his barrier and retreated, however the one attacking him thought that this was a chance and chased after him.

"You won't get away this time!"

Shui thought that he was like a pesky bug, but thanks to his persistence he was able to escape certain death. Without the tiniest of signs, the ground around the cave broke apart as a massive figure emerged. And needless to say, anyone who was in the area had died instantly.