novelraw Chapter 225 - 224 - Karma is a Blade
Chapter 225 - 224 - Karma is a Blade
"What will we do now?" Nimon was sweating in fear as powerful auras pressured him on all sides of the pavilions around his group. They were the various heads and heirs of noble houses of Altair. They saw only their own doom as the banquet progressed.
Their new King had alliances with great powers of 2 out of the 3 continents and invited the last power from Rith as well! Any plans or machinations they felt capable of pulling off normally were dust in front of the various cultivators around them.
"Here is another round of drinks." A gorgeous woman suddenly came around with a tray of drinks the nobles happily took. Those that had their heirs with them let them indulge as well. It was that depressing of a day for them.
"Surely we can overcome this usurper! He is an outsider to our ways!" Ba was delusional and quite drunk so they ignored him but his sentiment was shared by them all. They were wondering if they could sneak any of the servants away to relieve their stress when Ba suddenly keeled over.
Nimon was sneering but the blood drained from his face as his body felt lethargic and Qi no longer flowed in his meridians.
"What is going–" One of the younger sons was in shock but all of them could see the truth in each other's faces. They were no longer able to sense Qi!
"Gentlemen, my client would like to speak with you." A man with white hair suddenly appeared but no one outside of their pavilion seemed to even sense him. They wanted to object but the world went black for them all before a dim stone room came back.
"What is going on?! Where are we?! How dare you touch us!" Nimon was using anger to keep his fear at bay but the large stone room was very familiar to him. He had been there more than once to deal with 'dissidents' that stood up for a woman's independence or trying to hide a family member from the nobles.
"He he he, I would like to say this will be quick but I am instructed to take my time. First, however–" The man in white looked around as more rips appeared in the air to deposit every level of government and merchants native to Altair. Strange people in robes and hoods silently chained them all up but Nimon could see pale skin and sweat clear on them all.
"F-forgive me! I only wanted to have some fun Lead–" Nimon saw a rather scarred man begging to the white haired man but the calmly smiling face never moved as a fist smashed into the begging fool's stomach.
Blood was caught up but not much else.
"I really underestimated the lengths he prepared but a client gets what they want so long as our safety is not threatened. I must say former 12, I did not know you spent so much time in this backwater." Nimon felt all blood drain from his face as he heard how the scarred man was addressed. The royal assassin rumored to exist was from the Shadow Sect.
The power displayed and the brutal efficiency matched the rumors heard over the millenia about the sect so many whispered about. Altair was unusual in that backwater powers usually can't get the attention of such a sect, yet clearly one of their members had offered his services in exchange for some product.
"Now, most of you are here and I am surprised how easily you were sealed. Normally, people are a bit more cautious about being given drinks. How much did that man plan?" Amusement came from the man's voice as he summoned a chair with a jade slip.
"Who hired you?" Nimon wanted to kill the idiotic boy that asked that but the man merely looked at him as if he was very slow. Others in the room had already known the moment they saw all the people present.
"Moving on, my client is a bit angry, more than I think you realized, but I have good news. None of you are going to die." Relief appeared on many faces but not a single head of a noble house relaxed. They understood there were far worse things than death.
A large table appeared and one pill vial after another began to fill it until there was one for every person in the room. It was close to 200 but then Nimon saw the man hold a jade stone up while a smile stretched from ear to ear.
"It seems your counterparts in the rest of your country are a bit more aware. You had a lot of people trying to run for the border with their 'property' in tow. Honestly, how has this country existed for so long with such incompetence?" Despite the derogatory words, the man's face looked amused the whole time.
"W-what do you mean?" Ba was sobering up but the man merely waved the question away. Afterall, they were in their own predicament.
"It is not important. It just means my client is more on point with his idea than I thought. Now, you may not all recognize this pill but make no mistake, you have a choice. It was very important to my client that you have a choice." The man motioned to a few of the strange silent figures to distribute the vials to each person.
"T-this is the Living Death Pill!" Nimon was certain as well but the confirmation was good to know. The pill was mostly black with virulent green veins faintly visible up close. It was named appropriately when concerning cultivators.
A mortal could eat the pill and suffer no ill effects but they could never cultivate ever. A cultivator eating it, on the other hand, would suffer a fate far worse than death. Their meridians would be ruptured as Qi was forced out and their dantian shattered beyond any hope of repair.
The thing that would be worse was that the pill only affected the cultivation system in the body. It would leave the flesh intact but all hope of benefits from cultivation would be stopped. If one had lived for centuries, your age would progress dramatically and only the remainder of a normal mortal life remained.
To a cultivator, it was a living death in that they were not killed but they were no longer a cultivator.
"I see some do not understand but before I explain the pill, let me tell you your options. The pill in front of you, obviously, is one option. Take it and you can walk from this place never to hear from me ever again." Nimon was tempted right there as he knew the Shadow Sect could be far more terrifying but he did not want to be a pathetic mortal.
"The other option is to simply swear the following to Heaven and Earth: I swear to never touch or look at another woman ever again so long as I live. I will also defend to the death anyone that threatens a mortal or less powerful woman in front of me." Nimon blanched as that fate was even worse than the pill! He was at least not restricted from activities if he was mortal.
"There is one more. This one, though, I will admit is unlikely to be accepted. You can keep your cultivation and not have to swear any oath if you drink this elixir." A vial as black as the deepest night was before the man on the table. Nimon noted a look of discomfort was on the man's face which actually made Nimon want him not to explain it.
"The pill is the Living Death as mentioned. It will strip you of cultivation ability forever and leave you a mortal, but this elixir has no name. Its contents are in fact a secret of my client. It will allow you to remain a cultivator but you will no longer have any concept or ability to feel desire. It will no longer function at all in fact." Nimon wanted to wail but Ba felt the need to be indignant.
"What kind of choices are those? What would be the point of living without enjoying it?!" Dark laughter came from the man as he placed the jade slip down. A flickering image appeared and all recognized their new king looking out at them with a dark look on his face.
"If you are seeing this, someone wants to know why I am doing this. Honestly, I had wondered how to achieve my goal but killing you all would not achieve that. Cultivators enact slaughters everyday without making any changes but the very concept of Altair must be extinguished." Lind's image paced before he began to relay his journey to the capital and truly understand what had been done to the people of Altair.
"When I had time to prepare for the Trial of Stone I decided to offer you the same choice you gave your people. You made them submit without any recourse and treated half your people like disposable tools. You have had your 'fun.' Now it is time to pay. Karma is a blade and I cut the future away that held any hope for you all." There was no forgiveness or mercy in those eyes. The reports of a scholarly man were wholly inadequate. This was a monster!
"One final thing, just in case you thought I am simply focusing my rage on Altair. Crown Prince Ryu agreed to my terms. I do not forget a debt, not one." The image flickered and all the men in the stone chamber tried to break the shackles holding them or offer bribes to the cloaked people near them.
Nimon was the only one who gave up. The day they used the treaties to isolate Lind Frey was the day Altair's fate was sealed. Tears fell as he pointed at the pill in front of him. He would become a mortal but his freedom to choose how to live was still his down that path.
The white haired man smiled in understanding and pointed to one of his followers. Several followed Nimon's example and pain like they never contemplated seared through their bodies. The previous lethargy of the body was nothing compared to how heavy his limbs were now.
The Living Death Pill expunged all benefits of cultivation. It meant if one used their Qi to supplant actual training of the body, the support was gone entirely. Nimon was not a small person at all and never realized how heavy he had become.
Based on his features, he had only a handful of decades left at best but as he went to leave the exit remained sealed.
"Once all have chosen, you will be free to go, but until then, relax and enjoy the show." The calm smile left an impression on Nimon he knew would haunt him to his dying day. As he looked around the dank and cold chamber, he knew he was seeing the death of Altair.
⬧⬧⬧⬧
The arena at the heart of Darkmoor Kingdom was not only a place for nobles to stake their claim in the hierarchy, it was also a place of punishment. The normally cheering crowds were absent as a line of relatively unknown but still powerful Diamond Tiers were led up to a wooden stage.
Blood was stained heavily into the wood. It was an ancient artifact made by demons long ago for the very purpose of drawing out karma. Of all creatures that walked Heaven and Earth, demons understood karma far better than the other races.
To refine demonic elements required an understanding of karma to begin with or the demon soul could not properly form. The true depths of the Dao were left for later in cultivation but now, the Queen had called to account a group that had served her loyally for centuries.
She was nearing the peak of tier 1 Sky Realm but a final duty had been called and she held a massive broadsword in her hand as it weighed nothing to her. Her armor glistened in the sunlit afternoon making her a dark goddess as her vibrant green hair floated on the wind.
The solemn atmosphere was mostly due to her presence in the arena as it had been over a century since the Goddess of Blood had graced the sands.
"Some years ago, my hands were tied by our honor as overlord of Sarth. At that time a truly honorable woman was made to sacrifice herself to save our honor and preserve the honor of her Empire." The demons on the wooden stage made no objection nor defense. They in fact looked proud to be there.
"Your majesty, I implore you once more that to give in to the whims of a child–" One of the members of the court raised his voice but her cold stare made him stumble as he was only a mid Diamond Tier. He could not withstand her power.
"A number of years is not how a warrior is measured but their accomplishments. A 6 elemental was a useless cultivator, but he changed that and the cultivation world entirely. They could not become World Realms, but now he has changed that!.." Queen Darkmoor listed off the many accomplishments both famous and not well known of Lind Frey, but she left the last revelation for the end.
She summoned out one of the bottles her son had used from the Lotus Empire teleportation array to get to her. All auras washed over it and were shocked. Demonic Qi elixir. It was a demonic Qi elixir at peak grade 3!
"Lind Frey has found a way to allow our Kingdom to stand as equals to our rivals. He did not extract the price before you, but only promised to never hold back so long as justice was done for Jia Teng. I presented the facts to these brave men and women of my Kingdom and they chose to follow that honorable woman to the grave." Her sword swung up and Qi blazed along its length.
It seemed to scream in the air and many shivered in their seats to see the wailing slice attack once more. The line of demons on the wooden artifact died without even a whisper of protest. Their blood flowed into the wood and it began to glow.
"All cheer for our subjects that have been added to the sacrificial altar!" The Queen raised her bloody sword and the crowd finally exploded in cheers but they were not calling for death and violence but actual cheering of the dead to find honor in their next life.
"My debts are paid boy, but do not think I will forget this." The Queen kept the last words to herself as she cleaned her blade and flew back to her throne. The games resumed shortly after to the enjoyment of the crowds.