The Black Forest And The School Of Cultivation

There was a faint path leading into the forest that they and many others followed but it became narrower and narrower the further they went. Eventually, Feng Huao remarks,d "Hey I Don't think anyone is near us anymore." 

Jietang turned around "Oh, yeah you're right. Where did they go?"

 Feng looked around but nothing then looked down "Ah, seems the path is no longer present." 

Jietang followed his gaze to see nothing but leaves and branches beneath their feet. "What should we do?" 

Feng shrugged "Just continue forward I suppose we at least have the directional skills for that I'm sure." Just then they heard a shout followed by a loud bang they crouched down and listened silently. All around them they began to hear strange noises they struggled to make it out at first but a cold sweat gripped them when they realized what it was. Groaning and the sound of feet moving fast through the woods surrounded them Jietang realized he had stopped breathing and opened his mouth to take a breath but Feng raised a hand to cover it he put a finger to his lips and Jietang saw what was making the noise. A pale man with decayed, withered features walked slowly past them one of its arms was hanging grotesquely from a thread of decayed muscle. the creature turned and Jietang saw where its eyes were there were hollow craters and its nose was not present, however, the creature's ears twitched and he saw its nose was about to flair by a twitch just under the creature's eye sockets. he silently cast a spell to conceal their scent, the creature got closer, so close that Jietang could have reached out and touched it. however, after it seemed to not notice them it turned away and shot off with speed that should not be possible for a normal person, much less a withered body. Jietang and Feng both sucked in the air before casting spells that would silence their breathing and allow them to communicate telepathically, in case of another close call. 

Feng wiped the sweat from his brow and mentally told Jietang "Jiangshi... but these are not like the ones I've heard of..." 

Jietang nodded "They wore no talisman on their head, as well they moved much too quickly. Seeing as the Jiangshi usually have a master or controller, they must be under the control of someone, or something, very powerful." 

Feng nodded and was going to suggest they press forward, but there was no need for that. Behind them, they heard a scream echoing through the cold night air. 

the pair moved from tree to tree. all around them, Jiangshi shot toward any source of noise, to their right there was constant noise and flashes of light, it seemed there was a group making a stand there. Jietang turned to Feng and told him. "I'm going to see what's going on over there." 

Feng nodded "Stay Silent. we don't know if they're winning." 

Jietang climbed the tallest tree near them and looked over to see about ten people on top of a small hill. they were firing magic into the hoard that surrounded them. As grim of a situation they had fortified the outcrop with a wall of ice which prevented the undead from reaching them, and with time they would likely prevail. Jietang was satisfied and was about to head back down to let Feng know but heard a screeching sound of something moving fast through the air he heard a shout and saw the people below begin to fire the magic up to the sky. One bolt of fire arched across the sky and illuminated a massive silver horn. Jietang felt true paralyzing fear as he watched on as the creature's body came into focus. A Jiaolong A dragon that had lost its horns and this one seemed to be cursed as its body bore several festering wounds. however, its eyes were locked on the people below a wave of heat pulsed through the air, in the dragon's maw a ball of intense, Black fire was forming, below a man held his arms out and a massive wave of ice shot up to the dragon. the dragon exhaled and the ice melted instantly, and the area below was burnt to a crisp people and Jiangshi included. As the smoke began to fade and Jietang wiped his eyes he saw more Jiangshi running to the site of the explosion. As they reached where the people had been, he began to hear sickening crunching noises. He gagged silently and descended the tree. 

Below Feng waited leaning up against a tree. He looked at Jietang with a pleading look in his eyes. Jietang merely shook his head and the pair continued forward, Leaving the smoldering bodies behind. Jietang grimly marched forward wanting nothing more than to get as far away from the creatures as possible, he walked for a long while but eventually, Feng decided to catch up and he grabbed his arm. "What happened?" 

Jietang looked down and clenched his fists. "The Jiangshi are the least of our problems, a Jiaolong resides over this forest, if I had to guess it is also the one controlling the Jiangshi." 

Feng looked stunned "A Jiaolong? This far from the sea? Are you certain? and even so, Jiaolong usually remains neutral or at least territorial to humans." 

Jietang simply nodded at this speculation "Yes, now are we going to continue moving, or are we to become food for the Jiangshi?" 

Feng snapped out of his thoughts and with a curt nod the pair continued forward. they came upon a large wall of vines. they looked to either side but there was no way past, Thus they must go through. Feng looked to Jietang for advice on how they should proceed. Jietang conjured a small blade of fire and raised it to the vine, however on contact, the vines erupted in massive flames burning Jietang and knocking him down. "Argh! Shit." all around they heard growling and crunching of underbrush. the vines were down so the pair exchanged a look before sprinting through. four Jiangshi followed closely behind Feng turned to face and conjured a magical blade of wood which shot out from a nearby tree and pierced a Jiangshi lifting it into the air where it growled and flailed aimlessly. the remaining Jiangshi vaulted the newfound obstacle and more poured through the whole the vines, Jietang had been channeling magic this whole time and with a roar unleashed a blast of fire that destroyed all of the Jiangshi which poured through the open hole, with another grunt he channeled earth magic which lifted the ground to cover the hole, on the other side he heard the Jiangshi pounding on the wall to little effect. Meanwhile, Feng engaged in close-quarters combat with the remaining Jiangshi, out of the three he had knocked one back before they reached him with a blast of wind magic it staggered to its feet moving much slower now that its bones had been fractured by the blast. The remaining two were the real threat and swung looping scratches with their wickedly elongated nails, Feng weaved and channeled a slash of wind magic slicing off the arm of one of the Jiangshi. It staggered back growling before Jumping back in headfirst to be bisected by another slash of wind. The other Jiangshi leaped into the air coming down with a two-handed slam it was easily avoided and Feng channeled nature's magic to produce a spear of wood and earth. The Jiangshi lunged in Feng parried a slash and caught the creature's bite with the spear he turned the spear over fast and flipped the creature onto its back, he then stomped on its neck and lower jaw forcing it to release the spear. Then he raised the spear and drove the point through the creature's skull and midsection destroying its mind and spiritual core. He was then knocked off his feat by the third Jiangshi who charged him, he held it at bay with his spear shaft but it began to crack and give way, at this point Jietang had closed the hole and turned to see what Feng was doing, he saw the predicament he was in and rushed over to help. He kicked the creature off with the help of extra strength from an enchantment spell. Feng stood and the two channeled wind magic and fire magic Respectively creating a powerful reaction that blasted the creature away. The pair exchanged a smile before turning and fleeing. The foliage became denser and denser they clawed their way through the pair heard an eerie wooshing sound above and sped up their pace forward, to Jietangs dismay they fell out into an open field and a booming voice surrounded them. "I SEE YOU." Jietang turned looking to the skies and saw two red eyes peering down from above. He pushed Feng to the side and jumped away as the Jiaolong shot in mouth wide open he got out of the way and the creature devoured the land they had stood on moments before. The creature turned to face him and with nothing else to do he channeled a disc of fire that spun rapidly, Seeing this Feng imbued him with his wind magic causing the flames to grow in heat and the velocity of rotation to grow. The dragon shot in again and he threw the disc it cut alongside the inside of the beast's mouth and ripped along its side and once again Jietang got out of the way, this time by a hair's breadth. Black pus seeped out of the dragon's wound and Jietang began to charge another disc, however, the magic fizzled and he collapsed to the ground "JIETANG!" Feng cried in horror. What might be called a grin passed over the Jiao Long's face "Such Troublesome Children." It opened its maw and a red hint of flame began to make itself visible in its throat. Feng ran in front of Jietang who looked up with a grim expression on his face "Run you fool, you wish to die here?" Feng shook his head "Today we do not die." He clasped his hands together in an odd gesture and opened his mouth but went silent at the sight of a new figure that had come before them. "Oh, this is unexpected." a gout of fire shot out from the dragon's mouth cutting the man short and forcing Jietang and Feng to close their eyes. Jietang felt the heat pulsing all around them for a moment, when the sensation faded he opened his eyes to see the old man standing in front of him. The man smiled and pointed a finger at the dragon. "Now as I was saying, before I was so RUDELY interrupted, what are you doing in my exam field." the dragon let out a low growl "Who are you... to ask a Jiaolong what he is doing somewhere." the old man let his grin widen. "You? A Jiaolong? You're nothing more than a pathetic husk." The dragon roared and shot in the man caught the nose of the dragon stopping it dead in its tracks. "Let's take this somewhere safe." the pair shot up to the sky, and Jietang and Feng followed them with their eyes. the pair eventually stopped flying the dragon shook off the old man smiled and shot at the dragon landing a punch that knocked the dragon into the earth, shaking it badly. it rose and the man landed on its nose so he could look it dead in the eye. "I will ask once more. What are you doing in my exam field." the JiaoLong's eyes widened with pure rage, pulsing with red light it opened its mouth to say "You WILL DIE SLOWLY FOR THIS YOU WORM!" the old man smiled slyly "Now coming from something that is called a wyrm, that is a true low-blow." with that he jumped off of the creature's nose landing directly in front of it he pinched the creatures mouth shut with one hand and the creature began to glow brighter and brighter red until it looked like it was about to burst. "MMMPH! DIE!" the wyrm erupted into an explosive fountain of red energy which Jietang and Feng felt even with as far away as the Dragon had been. they rushed over to the site of the explosion emerging from the dust with a cough the old man came, Unscathed albeit for a few specks of dirt on his pristine white robe. The old man's eternally smiling face was unnerving to Jietang who asked. "Excuse me, sir, who are you?" the old man tilted his head "Why, I am the Retired 9th divine general and teacher of the starting class this year at the cultivation school Liu Wei at your service, you'll be happy to know you aren't the only ones who arrive. there were two others." Jietang was shocked at the man's identity and at the news only two had survived. he thought back to the massive crowd that had been there when they first arrived. "What was this? is the selection like this every year?" Liu shook his head "No. the Jiangshi are one of my favorites to use, however, they were strengthened by the Dragon, they would normally be very easy to handle and would be much slower. and of course, I have no idea why that Jiaolong was there." Jietang shook his head to clear it "I-" Liu's eye flitted to the side and he shot off at lightning-quick speeds grabbing something he had seen. "Aaaaaah. I see." He emerged from the dust cloud he had created by moving holding a large Centipede in his hand "A Cursed Gu Centipede. Hundreds are brought into the world, simply to fight one another. The victor has a parasitic curse placed on it forcing it to occupy a host's body. Its poison eats away the host from the inside until it decays past survivable conditions, at which point the Centipede must find a new host." with that he dangled the centipede above his mouth before dropping it in and swallowing it whole. "Additionally, one of the best sources of pure cultivation energy. As the insects themselves have cultivated by fighting each other to the death countless times." the old man began de-aging before their eyes until he reached maybe the physical age of about 35 Jietang and Feng looked on in stunned silence the old man shrugged and gingerly began to walk off "Come." 

The group arrived at a building of impossible scale it towered in every direction leaving Jietang to wonder silently about how they couldn't have seen it from the outside. As if reading his thought Liu spoke. "The School is not hidden. if I was not with you the school would not be in this location, it exists separately from space and time so when I or another who has the 'key' is not present, the school will fade away." Jietang and Feng could only silently admire the craftsmanship of the building as well as the methods used to protect it. in a training yard to their right, they saw Military recruits drilling intense body training to break through. they walked past another room where many were meditating or consuming knowledge through text to break through mentally. it was nighttime and Liu remarked. "Students of cultivation are eventually able to reach a level where they can train all day and night and past that point it is almost necessary if you wish to reach that level." He smiled vaguely. "You two however are not there yet. For now, you have earned yourselves a night's rest." he showed them to a flight of stairs that led up to their room he opened their door for them and waved goodbye, shutting them in once they were inside. it conveniently had two beds ready and several homely ornaments leading him to wonder if the room had somehow been created specifically to suit the two of them. But he was too tired for that now. he flopped into his bed Feng did the same and the two were out in moments.