6.21 - Siegebreaker

Across the field outside Iron Gate City, He Yu locked eyes with Sha Xiang for the first time in decades. She had changed during that time, to be certain, but she was also much the same as she’d always been. Yes, her advancement to Divine Body Attainment had perfected her, much like it had him. Her spirit still held the same rage and contempt as always, however. Even now, she sneered at him from atop her flying sword on the far side of the barren field.

“This is even better than I’d hoped,” she said. Her voice carried across the distance, sounding as though she stood only an arm’s length away.

Tan Zihao stood next to He Yu on the golden cloud, burly arms crossed over his massive chest. “Can’t say I’m impressed with that one,” he said. “I’d like a chance to test myself against the other, though.”

He Yu could see why. Floating a short distance away from Sha Xiang was the right hand of the empress himself. Long Tingguang’s appearance was one that matched the feeling of his spirit. Dark, severe, and bristling with the promise of violence.

“You interfere in matters that do not concern either of you,” said Long Tingguang with a voice deep and rich. He spoke as one used to obedience from those who heard him. He clasped his fist in salute before he continued. “King Tan Zihao of the Jade Kingdom. It is an honor to finally meet you. However, you have no authority here. These lands are not yours and this battle is between subjects of Empress Jin. Withdraw and there shall be no violence between us.”

The old tiger let out a thunderous laugh. “I am here to aid the Li. I’m sure one such as yourself must have realized this already.”

“And what about him?” Sha Xiang demanded, jerking her chin at He Yu. “Is he just here to die?”

“I’m here for you,” He Yu said. “You’ve lain siege to Iron Gate City. From what I can tell, they’ve violated no laws of the empire. They defend only what is there’s by right. Li Renshu aided me in my time of need, and Zhang Lifen takes refuge within. I will repay my debts and honor my obligations to my marital family.”

“Empress Jin ordered my martial father to deal with Zhang Lifen, Ren Huang, and Yi Xiurong. Then we are to bring the west to heel, to restore order,” she shot back. “Lord Long gave that task to me. So that I can prove myself, both to him and to Empress Jin. That’s what I intend to do.”

So that explained things. Why, despite his presence, Long Tingguang hadn’t gotten personally involved in the siege. It was likely that he was mostly here to observe. To see how Sha Xiang would handle things without his interference. And to ensure anyone strong enough to sweep her away—like Li Renshu—couldn’t do so.

“Then I’m here to put an end to it,” He Yu said. “Sha Xiang, I challenge you to an exchange of techniques.”

Sha Xiang looked to Long Tingguang, who merely nodded in return. “It’s your funeral,” she said.

“Show her your nature,” Tan Zihao said to him. “I’ll make sure the other one stays out of it.”

Although He Yu wasn’t certain that was entirely necessary, he appreciated the gesture, regardless. He leaped off the cloud and caught himself with the Sky Dragon’s Flight. Sha Xiang had already landed on the plain outside Iron Gate City, several li from the walls. Much like she had before he’d faced her in the arena all those years ago, she hopped from one foot to the other. This time, her spirit rolled off her like a plume of sickly yellow smoke. Even as he landed across the cracked and molten ground from her, He Yu could feel the press of her killing intent.

“You’ve brought this upon yourself,” he said as he released his spirit.

The sky turned dark. Black clouds, angry and flashing with the light of heaven, spread out above the plain outside Iron Gate City. The wind kicked up around the both of them, whipping at the hem of He Yu’s robe. The air filled with the scent and promise of rain, and the acrid odor of a summer thunderstorm. Behind He Yu, the infinite stair of the Heavenly Palace rose to the clouds. A relentless drumbeat pulsed in time to the rising storm. Lightning flashed, and an azure dragon coiled around the world.

Sha Xiang took a staggering half-step backward. In the clarity of the Peerless Judgment, He Yu saw the momentary flash of uncertainty—and fear—in her eyes. It was gone as fast as it had come, however, and she released her own spirit in response to his challenge. The earth broke apart beneath her feet, spewing forth great plumes of toxic smoke and molten stone. Heat beat against He Yu’s skin, even as the rain fell and hissed against the ground. Within the depths of Sha Xiang’s volcanic field, stalked the bestial demon core, twisted and wrong and filled with want. The thing was far more defined than it had been last he faced her, a sign as true as any that she’d mastered the Jin Xifeng’s “gift.”

With a sweep of his guandao, He Yu called down heaven. The winds rose around him, as the Five Crescent Winds joined the storm, and the flashing sheets of lightning poured destruction upon the expanse of Sha Xiang’s spirit. If it hadn’t been for his tribulation against the Monarch of Sky’s Throne, He Yu wouldn’t have been prepared for the power he unleashed with that single formation of technique. It was like nothing he’d ever called before, reminding him more of the battle over the Shrouded Peaks Sect than anything he’d ever fought himself.

The crashing beat of a distant drum accompanied each strike from the heavens. Their sheer number doubled and combined, rising to a crescendo that ripped great chunks out of the earth. Although Sha Xiang’s molten spirit flowed into the newly created fissures, the rock cooled and hardened within a moment, as the deluge of He Yu’s storm smothered her flames and molten fury.

He Yu stood atop the infinite stair and gazed down over the field of fire below. Sha Xiang glared up at him, all the hatred she’d held and allowed to rot her spirit pouring off her like a thick, oily smoke. Once more, he swept forth his guandao. As he did, he called the pillars of the Empyrean Ninefold Body Tempering. Lightning arced between them and along their length. With each flash, another drumbeat. With each sweep or thrust of his weapon, another gouge on the land. Another flow of molten earth, another gout of steam as the rain continued its relentless downpour.

Billowing clouds of choking yellow smoke rose around the Heavenly Palace. Molten rock oozed around its foundations, and a shadowy black beast beat against countless disks of the Spring Rain Mirror. Chunks of earth, practically the size of mountains, ripped free from the ground, and flew into the storm—thrown at the gates of the Heavenly Palace like boulders flung by impossibly vast engines of war. They battered the gates and the stair, but the palace held. Strengthened by the Empyrean Ninefold Body Tempering, and warded by the Spring Rain Mirror, He Yu endured Sha Xiang’s assault. Endured, and returned everything that she’d given.

The shadowy beast of blood and want leaped into the storm, only to find itself gripped in Shenlong’s great, world encompassing jaws. The demon core thrashed in the dragon’s grip, roaring in pain as great sprays of molten blood erupted from its wounds. Finally, it wrestled itself free and rejoined with its master. Sha Xiang and the beast both launched another assault at He Yu atop the Heavenly Palace. Again, he beat them back.

Cradled on the winds of the Sky Dragon’s flight, He Yu gazed down upon the ruined land outside the walls of Iron Gate City. Gazed down on Sha Xiang, bloodied and half-broken, cradling one limp and useless arm as she glared up at him. He held his guandao in one hand, the scintillating arcs of heaven’s light dancing along its length. A gentle breeze tugged at his robes, but all around him, the storm still raged. Still drenched the earth. Peals of thunder boomed around him, following the relentless, staccato flash of lightning.

How long they’d fought, he couldn’t have rightly said. The sun had moved, but that was the only evidence of time’s passing. Given the previous battles he’d fought against the likes of Tan Qingsheng, days could have passed. Perhaps even weeks, or more. But his dantian still held massive reserves of qi, and his meridians felt none of the strain.

The only evidence of the battle lay in the devastation it had wrought. Floodwaters beat against the walls and gates of Iron Gate City. Craters—blasted open by He Yu’s lightning, or torn from the earth by Sha Xiang’s arts—filled with water or molten earth. A river of flame ran through a ravine that hadn’t been there before the battle. The storm still raged overhead, and the earth was covered in a thick blanked of poison yellow smoke.

A struggle between immortals was truly a struggle to shake both heaven and earth. And now that He Yu had finally stepped into that last triad of advancement, the power he brought to bear was truly that of a spirit capable of remaking the world.

He Yu looked down with the Peerless Judgment of an emperor, and what he saw, he pitied. For all her rage, for all her pride, for all her stolen power, Sha Xiang was nothing before him. Yes, she’d advanced. Yes, she’d mastered that demonic parasite she’d been given so long ago. She’d even managed to earn the esteem of Long Tingguang, and by extension, that of Jin Xifeng herself. But what had it amounted to?

“I’d expected more,” He Yu said.

Sha Xiang’s killing intent washed over the world, the cold sharpness of it pressing down like a knife. He Yu brushed it aside with a thought. “I still have enough fight left to bury you,” she growled. The shadow of her demon core squirmed as it layered itself over her limbs, adding a disconcerting bulk to her silhouette.

“No,” he said. “I don’t think you do.”

He meant it. In the countless exchanges of strikes and techniques, she hadn’t once landed a good, solid hit on him. The Spring Rain Mirror turned aside the greater part of her attacks, whether they came from fist or technique. What he didn’t simply block with his defensive technique, he dodged. The Empyrean Ninefold Body Tempering gave him more than enough speed compared to her. More than enough speed that even against her quick and precise style of fighting, he was the faster. Then, anything that he couldn’t avoid—usually a strike coming from the demon core itself after Sha Xiang distracted him with a feint—he endured. The galvanic shimmer of his skin toughened him past even formation scripted steel, and his bones were tougher than entire mountains.

What he couldn’t understand was just how far he’s surpassed her. Wasn’t the demon core supposed to allow its master to fight beyond their advancement? When Kong Huizhong had stood against the combined strength of Yi Xiurong and Zhang Lifen, that had certainly been the case from what he’d seen. Zhang Lifen’s letter had said Sha Xiang had been more than a match for all three of the former core disciples. Had he truly become so much stronger with his advancement to Divine Body Attainment? Or had her breakthrough simply been of such lower quality than his own, that there seemed an entire realm’s difference between them, now?

“I now see why my empress wanted you hunted down before you could grow any stronger,” said Long Tingguang. He hovered across from He Yu, standing on his flying sword. He held a jian in an easy, practiced grip. His killing intent spiked against He Yu’s spirit. This was truly a foe beyond him. “As much as I wanted to allow Sha Xiang her chance at satisfaction, Empress Jin instructed me to allow for no more failure. It seems I must deal with you myself.”

A pit lined with bloody blades opened like a devouring and endless maw. Shadow and metal and blood rushed for He Yu in an overwhelming mass of qi and killing intent. He threw up the Spring Rain Mirror and cycled the Empyrean Ninefold Body Tempering, even as he coughed up a mouthful of blood. Even as he knew it wasn’t enough. Just being this close to an immortal at the Divine Soul Apotheosis stage made it difficult to maintain his techniques. He couldn’t stand against this monster.

A golden spear met a jian formed of shadows and blood. Hanging over the world was a blazing black sun. A massive tiger, large enough to simply step over the walls of Iron Gate City itself, stalked across the ruined field. It roared, and shook the foundations of the world. Then it laughed.

“I had hoped you’d show your teeth,” said Tan Zihao. “Now we can see who’s the stronger. The mighty Tan Zihao, or the sniveling lackey of a false empress.” His spirit released was easily equal to that of Long Tingguang. He held a golden-tipped spear. The tassel just behind the head a brilliant vermilion. The expression on the king’s face was one of excitement and exhilaration. “He Yu, go finish that other one. I told you I wouldn’t let the empress’s lap dog interfere.”

He Yu didn’t need to be told twice. After nodding this thanks to Tan Zihao, he blasted towards Sha Xiang just as she bit down on a medicinal pill.