novelraw Chapter 977 - 976 - Nowhere to Hide
Chapter 977 - 976 - Nowhere to Hide
Lind was surprised by the reactions of the formations and the identification token Delenn used. He also noted she omitted her name that time but it still worked. Many questions came to mind but he would look into it later.
He quietly used his harmony to reach out and find his enemy. Celestial Qi no longer worked once more as Kun City was not stable above 90% which only confirmed his theory.
Still, unlike anyone currently alive, the taint did not impede him at all! His aura expanded to the shock of all yet it was only a distraction from his harmony.
His Immortal aura would not find what he wanted alone.
He frowned as he felt weak responses revealing many more agents but it was only about 4% of the population, yet he could roughly discern they were in places of power for the most part. It was extremely clear the network was efficient enough to satisfy their needs based on 3 attempts to kill him.
It made him curious though. Why were they desperate to kill him?
The few inquiries he made confirmed experts were attacked but no one had really gotten the information as to why.
Alchemists, formation masters, refiners, and so forth were all killed or attacked at one point but not consistently. If they survived, they would hide for a time but not be attacked again.
So why was he such a target?
Triple Maesters, as they called them, were no doubt rare but they did exist. One was rather famous far to the north from what Delenn told him and sought out by all for their expertise.
Yet, that person was alive and well with no rumor of even an attempt on their life. Why?
He added it to the list of questions as he finally looked to his left. It was the street leading back to the common areas but he had found his target!
"I am off." His figure vanished as space was casually torn open! He missed the shocked looks on Bernard and other's faces but Delenn did not. She was not totally confused until she checked her badge and was shocked as well.
None of the stabilization Law Bindings nor formations had reacted at all! Even without invoking her authority, Lind could tear through space without being impeded?!
Lind, unaware of all that he left in his wake as the world shifted around him. He found himself in a rather respectable area of the city. It was clean and moderate traffic for the middle of the day.
Hawkers called out their goods or some stalls simply displayed examples of their wares but his eyes narrowed in on a break between the 2 markets. One side had the smell of good food and the sound of conversation but the other had more negotiations and materials being hawked actively as loudly as possible.
Right between the 2, was an alley that no one else seemed to see. He smirked as he realized why.
It was a rather clever perception ward rather than invisibility or illusion. In such a busy market place with a clear break, it was easy to get eyes to move past something one wanted to hide in the open.
The only reason he was not affected was because of Annabelle and her illusions. Compared to her work that could mimic real life, the perception ward was child's play.
He moved through the crowd but not a single person reacted to his fine robes or aura. It was like he did not exist! Yet people would move around him smoothly as if they could see him!
"Annabelle is a genius no matter how far ahead I might get." For all he had advanced his weaving, she still left him in the dust with her formations.
He passed through the ward and felt something he had not felt in a long time. Pure Fiend Qi!
The taint was entirely gone!
There was no Immortal Qi at all, only Fiend Qi. He quickly examined the walls around him but frowned. It seemed like it was a side effect of something nearby rather than a Fiend itself.
He followed his senses and smirked at the various traps and misdirection formations that tried to affect him but it all used Fiend Qi.
It may as well have been air for all it worked on him.
He paused about halfway down the alley as he found what he was looking for. A section of the wall had been engraved with a weaving he had not seen in a very long time.
The struggle in the Law Binding had revealed the various abuses weaving could be put to but it also showed how the 2 surviving Fiends pushed the boundaries of what weaving could be used for to manipulate the puppets they pretended ruled their respective powers.
One of those was protecting entrances to the real centers of power.
Lind's fingers lit up with emerald light and he easily reconfigured the seal until a section swung inward to reveal steps leading down into the earth.
He moved down and realized something was missing. There was not a single attack formation or weaving at all. He frowned as that seemed like a glaring omission but he tested Celestial Qi and was shocked at the result.
He could weave with it but trying to form it into an Art failed miserably. Even with Fiend Qi drowning out the tainted Qi, he still could not use it!
Everytime he thought he narrowed down the issues of the Corruption, a new facet would turn up to flummox all his assumptions.
He filed it away as he walked down and found a rather simple complex laid out under the street. He found ancient defenses that were so old he would need to use epochs to measure it compared to the few billion Kun City felt to him.
"So, you were here before they settled the city or whatever came before?" He spoke to the empty air but only silence answered him.
He found a few Fiend resources but frowned as they seemed to be very poor. The metal felt just wrong to his senses but at the same time he felt like the Qi inside it was falling apart slowly before his very eyes.
What was doing that?
The rooms were not large enough to hide anyone at all from sight, yet they were empty. Still he glanced over into a corner where a hearth was set. It was not for warmth but for cooking.
"One of those, eh? I suppose you enjoy eating as much as we do, but your choice of food leaves much to be desired. Beasts at least are part of our cycle, not yours." He waved his hand with an emerald wave that made air shimmer to reveal a darkly beautiful man.
His ash gray skin and white hair were flush with youth but Lind frowned at what he saw. Rather than hiding, the Fiend was integrated into an artifact!
It had 2 metal leads pierced into his skull with more in his limbs while 2 massive clamps held his body upright against some kind of apparatus he had never encountered before.
He saw it was the source of Fiend Qi but it was not coming from the Fiend, but from strange orbs inserted into slots along the bottom of the artifact.
He carefully approached but the Fiend never responded and Lind slowly began to grasp he was slightly off. The agents were working for the Fiends but the one in front of him was a relay!
"You can hear me so I will make this very clear. You may think you are safe, but you are not. You have no idea what I can do!" His limbs grew and scales appeared before his claws ripped into the chest of the Fiend.
A barrier flared but it may as well have been simple glass for all it stopped him.
His harmony flared and his crystal lit up far more brightly than before as he grasped onto the bond he felt at long last was familiar. A true thrall was before him that had been mostly converted!
"FOUND YOU!" His mind followed the connection until he was far to the west and felt desperation but he would not let his enemy escape.
[SHOW ME!] His mind broke through the defenses and found a distorted image of a dark hallway and he felt terror. What confused him, though, was not fear of Lind, but of something else.
The Fiend was begging but he could not make it out as it was talking too fast. He then saw a shadow block the vision and felt power on par with his own!
[Interloper. Your family is dead. Your friends are dead. All you care for will be consumed by us.] A female voice spoke but Lind sneered. His eyes blazed with emerald light as he roared.
A pillar of emerald flames shot up in Kun City but rather than destruction, every cultivator in all directions felt refreshed!
Far to the west, deep in mountainous territory, a roar shook the area and an ephemeral dragon appeared!
It seemed to struggle against something but for a brief moment, the Heavens rumbled in joy before the dragon vanished!
Lind was sent flying back but he was mostly unharmed. The backlash of his attempt showed his current limits and the massive size of the 2nd layer!
It was larger than the 1st!
He had been too far away to really unleash his strength but he also felt something attack him. He had been forced to pull back or be injured, yet he smiled.
"I know where you are now! I am coming for you and there is nowhere for you to hide!" He had revealed himself a bit but not enough for them to learn a damn thing. The threats were useless as only the children and Delenn were with him. He felt very confident they would shock the Fiends if they sent attacks at them.
The Fiend was now burnt away by his flames and the artifact shattered as the Fiend Qi dispersed quickly. He sighed as he converted the most dangerous items with his harmony before tearing through space back to the inn.
He was tired and needed to reflect on what he had learned. The other end of the connection was odd. It had a mystery even beyond being the facility he was looking for. The brief glimpse of that hallway disturbed him for some reason.
He left the lair as his harmony finished neutralizing the Fiend Qi and materials. The world was tainted but he could fight against it. He would fight it and find the facility that caused the Corruption.
After that, hopefully, he could restore the current layer as well. The weight of the world felt so damned heavy but he shrugged it off as he returned to the inn. He noticed the crowd was gone and simply returned to his suite without comment. Rest called him and then planning. Lots of planning.