Ashlock felt locked out, and he didn't like it. Sneaking a single root under Nightshade City to that restaurant near the Eternal Pursuit Pavilion's mountain so he could make the portal for Stella and Diana had been risky enough. The mountain was the closest thing to a military base that he had seen so far in this world.
It wasn't the Soul Fire Realm guards at the gates or any walls that made the place impenetrable. It was the endless layers upon layers of formations that simply defied logical sense. To Ashlock's spiritual sense, the mountain may as well be a black hole. If he tried to get close, he felt his vision grow blurry and his Qi getting drawn into the greedy formation that was sucking up all the Qi for miles around. It was why he had felt comfortable with creating a portal so nearby as it was masked by the rivers of Qi being drawn to the mountain.
"No wonder the Duskwalker and Lunarshade families built their homes a few mountains away. There would be no point in cultivating within the center of Nightshade City." Ashlock mused. Since he couldn't watch Stella or Diana, he scoped out the place some more and found the two prominent families' residences. Naturally, he didn't dare get too close for now, especially to the Lunarshade family run by a 6th-stage Nascent Soul Realm cultivator.
Ashlock watched the sun descend behind the Eternal Pursuit Pavilion's mountain from the city's outskirts. The evening was turning to dusk.
"Now that I think about it some more, I bet that drawing in all the Qi for miles around is a feature of the defensive formation. Since it sucks in all the nearby Qi to power itself, trying to launch a siege would be impossible as the attackers would have the Qi forcefully sucked out of their long-range attacks." Ashlock hummed to himself in thought, "Mhm, even with the amount of Qi it's drawing in, it still shouldn't be enough to power so many layers of formations that cover an entire mountain. Are they consuming piles of spirit stones every day? Or perhaps they found a way to tap directly into the leyline? The only other option is having a bunch of Elders sitting in a room and feeding the formation, but there's no way that's the case."
Ashlock stopped mumbling and tried to keep busy by carefully expanding his roots around the city's outskirts and the prominent families' mountains. He would slowly take over the city one root at a time. "Maybe I should plant a few of my offspring in secluded locations? Or will that raise issues? What if I spent some of our earnings and bought up some houses with gardens? That way, people can't raise a fuss if well-behaved demonic trees pop up, right?"
Ashlock sighed as his thoughts drifted. He felt on edge no matter how hard he tried to distract himself. He was especially worried about Stella. Not because of her questionable personality or tendency to cause fights but because of her affinity.
"Red Vine Peak is rife with spatial Qi due to my presence, so she can easily and freely wield spatial Qi. The only other places she has fought were in Mystic Realms drenched with spatial Qi. But out here? She is like a fish out of water."
Ashlock moved his view closer to the mountain peak, and once again, as he got closer, he felt the view of the jade pavilions blur and a distinct tug as if someone was trying to pull out his eye.
"I just want to see inside this stupid defensive formation," Ashlock grumbled, "I wonder what Stella and Diana are up to. I hope they haven't gotten into any trouble."
***
"That girl is trouble," Seth commented as a person strode into the arena without a mask, showing off their deep violet eyes and silver-tinted black hair. A purple-tinted aura wreathed her body, giving her a ghostly presence that Stella had never seen before.
"Why?" Stella asked. She sat on a bench close to the arena alongside Diana and Seth. The no-kill zone defensive formation still bore down on her, so she couldn't perceive much about the girl as her spiritual sense was heavily suppressed. However, Stella had been told that the inside of the arena was free of suppression so that cultivators could fight at their maximum capacity. The defensive formation acted as a barrier around the arena, protecting the spectators.
"Elysia Mystshroud is a rather notorious Crimson Tracker, you could say." Seth explained, "Her fame gives us the advantage of knowing her capabilities and record."
"Huh? I thought they hid people's names here."
"They do. These people are either participating with fake names or arrogant enough like Elysia to use their real ones."
"Oh, I see," Stella nodded. "So what is Elysia's record and strength?"
"She is somewhere in the mid stages of the Star Core Realm and cultivates Mystic Qi. Her record is said to be forty-seven wins and a single loss." Seth turned and said seriously, "Stay away from the Mystshroud family. They are a bunch of lunatics and operate more like a cult."
Stella took the warning to heart, but she had never heard of such a Qi type before. "What even is Mystic Qi?"
"It's one of the more obscure Qi types that leans heavily into Dao comprehensions and visualizations. Mystic Qi is only created when a person believes in something so strongly that they can manifest it into reality." Seth explained, "You will see in a moment, but the easiest way to describe it is calling them summoners of their imagination and belief. Mystic cultivators' summons grow stronger as more people believe in their power, hence the whole cult thing and their eagerness to show off in public settings like this."
"Honorable Iron Seekers of the Eternal Pursuit Pavilion," a voice thundered through the arena, carried through the formations. "Elysia Mystshroud of the Crimson Trackers, sitting at a record of 47 wins and a single loss, is now open to challenge. For every victory achieved today, she will ascend closer to the rank of a Jade Sentinel. However, anyone capable of adding a loss to her record will be promoted to the Crimson Trackers with immediate effect!"
Elysia looked around with a smirk hanging at the edges of her lips as if inviting the challenge.
"So what if her power is a little strange," Diana tilted her head to Seth, "I don't see how that makes her troublesome? Is her high cultivation stage the main issue? I can imagine someone of that strength being far above most Iron Seekers."
"That's part of it, but in her specific case, the record of nearly fifty wins in a row is the main driver of her power," Seth said. "The more people she wins against, the stronger the belief in her summons becomes, and the stronger she gets, the more she wins. It's a self-feeding cycle. Her only loss was her first-ever battle. Once she got the ball rolling, nobody has been able to stop her."
Seth sighed, "Looks like nobody will be passing today. You got really bad luck, Diana. I am sorry."
Diana laughed, "Don't count me out just yet."
"Could the first challenger please make their way to the arena?"
Stella glanced to the other side of the arena and saw a person emerge from a hole in the wall that was sealed up behind them. They wore a mask and cloak like everyone else, but their hood was pulled down, showing off their icy blue hair.
"Ivor Frostveil takes the stage. With zero wins and three losses, this will be his fourth attempt at rising the ranks. Please wait while the arena is adjusted to facilitate fair competition..."
The arena trembled as the ground below the two contestants rose a few meters. The bare arena that looked like a sand pit began flooding with water. Once the water reached the two mounds that the cultivators stood on, the water flash froze, turning the arena into a frozen wasteland.
"How is this fair?" Stella squinted at the area as her spiritual senses were blocked, "Where is the mystic Qi for Elysia?"
"It's something that cannot be created on a whim," Seth said, "The Pavilion attempts to make the fights as fair as possible, but they are not gods."
"The battle will now begin! Remember, the intentional killing of the other contestant will count as a loss!"
"Elysia, today will be the day I finally—" Ivor was cut off as he was forced to kneel.
Star Core pressure? Stella's eyes widened. "How is she strong enough to force him to kneel so easily? Is Ivor really weak?"
"No." Seth replied, "Ivor should be a freshly ascended Star Core. The gap between the two shouldn't be this vast, but this is Elysia we are talking about. Her presence carries the weight of her god."
Elysia rose up into the air via a column of purple smoke. Her eyes glowed with power as a giant ritual circle that took up half the arena manifested into existence below her, and she began chanting."
"O' creature that dwells beyond the veil of our reality,
Heed my call and traverse the endless blight.
Through the swirling chaos of time's untold decay,
Emerge from my consciousness, manifest and devour!"
The ritual circle began spinning and pulsing faster and faster as a strange, chilling dread overtook the arena. Ivor Frostveil slowly pushed himself to his feet under the pressure as blood trickled from the corner of his lips. His face was also red as his blood vessels tried to break free from his forehead.
"Crazy bitch," Ivor cursed as he raised his hand, and with a flick, a giant ice spike surged toward the defenseless Elysia, who was busy chanting and pouring power into the ritual.
Elysia sneered and casually slapped the attack away with the back of her hand with such force that the whole spike shattered downward as if it were made of glass, and the ground around Ivor exploded, sending him flying into the wall.
The ritual circle stopped spinning and slowly grew as if trying to consume the entire space.
"By the sigils of the ancients, I continue my bloodline's legacy,
To serve the ones who came before.
In the name of the lost, the forbidden, and the unseen,
I command you break the seal, come forth, and intervene."
Whispers and screams that twisted the mind reverberated like a chorus of misery from the ritual circle. Within the darkness, something began to emerge.
"There is only one way to beat a ritualist." Seth leaned forward and rested his chin on the back of his hands, "Stop them before the ritual completes, or run away. Unfortunately for Ivor, the ritual is complete, and he has nowhere to run. He's already dead."
Stella looked at the arena. Ivor was slumped against the far wall as the eerie purple smoke filled with harrowing screams crept closer. His eyes widened with fear, and he was trying to stand back up, but his leg was likely broken alongside many of his ribs as he howled in pain.
"Even without spiritual sense, I can tell the power stored in that ritual circle should far surpass anything Ivor can conjure up in that condition." Diana sat back and crossed her arms, "It's over."
Ivor, unaware of their thoughts, seemed determined to keep going.
Poor guy. He will have to do ten missions all over again. Stella could see the determination in his refusal to surrender, but this match was heavily one-sided.
"I serve and worship the old one with my entire mind and being. So come forth, show your power, and crush the foolish mortal who rejects your existence." Elysia said coldly as her eyes dimmed.
Something not of this realm slowly hauled itself out from the ritual circle. It seemed to defy the laws imposed by the realm on how things should appear as its body of shifting shadows and tentacles constantly moved and changed as if not entirely present in this dimension.
Ugh, it's an ugly thing. Stella had a slight headache as her mind tried and failed to comprehend what she was looking at. The tentacles that comprised most of its massive body were covered in crazed eyes and mouths filled with rows of serrated teeth dripping with a viscous dark fluid.
"S-Stay back!" Ivor shouted as the ice around him cracked and surged up. He tried to create multiple walls, but the summon monster's tentacles smashed through them effortlessly.
"Don't look if you want to keep your sanity." Seth trembled as he looked straight at his feet.
Stella exchanged a glance with Diana over Seth's lowered head.
"Compared to Neptune, don't you think it's kinda cute?" Diana asked with a laugh.
Stella glanced back at the monster. Now that she got a second look, it was like a cute puppy compared to the cosmic horrors that made up Maple's family. If Nepture and Mars were planet eaters, this thing was nothing but a chained pet to a little girl.
"Yeah, I almost feel bad for it." Stella leaned back in her chair and listened to the sound of smashing ice as Ivor desperately tried to prevent the monster's advance.
"Take his limbs," Elysia commanded from atop her column of smoke behind the looming monster, "So he may do nothing but stay put and revere you."
"No... please." Ivor shouted, "Stop, stop!"
His cries came a moment too late. Four tentacles smashed through his final layer of ice and pinned him to the wall.
"I give up! I concede!" Ivor cried out.
"The winner has been decided. Elysia Mystshroud has achieved her 48th consecutive victory against Ivor Frostveil."
Stella felt a massive flow of Qi, followed by an ear-ringing howl from the monster as immense pressure descended on the arena.
Did they activate the defensive formation? Stella wondered as she saw the monster helplessly pushed back to where it had come from, and Elysiawas forced to the ground from her purple smoke pillar.
"Relax, I wasn't going to kill him." Elysia curled her hair behind her ear, but her sickening smile told a different story.
Ivor fell to the ground face-first in a pool of blood with nothing to hold him up. All of his limbs were gone, so he was helpless to even kneel.
Elysia strode over and planted her foot on the back of his head, driving his bloodied face into the sand, "This is the position you should have assumed when you gazed upon the glory of the old one. Do you understand, weakling?"
Ivor tilted his head to the side and spat out blood, "Fuck you and your stupid old one, you crazy bitch."
"A shame." Elysia reached down and gripped Ivor by the hair. He screamed as she held him up with one hand and wrapped her fingers around his neck with her other, "The old one accepts the worship of all. Even foul-mouthed bastards like you. I took away your limbs so you would know your place, but it seems you have no need for a voice either."
Ivor gasped out as Elysia tightened her grip.
"As the duel has concluded, the arena is currently a no-kill zone. If you kill Ivor Frostveil, you will be exiled, Elysia Mystshroud."
Elysia clicked her tongue and threw Ivor into the wall as if he were a sack of rotten potatoes. "Fine. Bring on the next Iron Seeker weakling. I must get through at least ten today to satisfy my god." She returned to her starting position, and Ivor was dragged away by an arena representative, leaving a thick trail of scarlet in the frozen sand.
Diana stood up.
"You're up next?" Stella asked.
"I think so." Diana shrugged.
"Don't go," Seth insisted. "Elysia is worse than a demon! Even if leaving here will void the advantage of your recommendation letter, at least you will keep your perfect record, your dignity, and all your limbs!"
"Worse than a demon, huh?" Diana snorted, "I'll be the judge of that."
***
Diana stood at the opposite end of the arena and stared down Elysia. Without the defensive formation suppressing her, she felt she could finally breathe.
I never realized how much I relied on my spiritual sense until it was robbed from me. Diana cracked her knuckles and rolled her shoulders. This was not going to be an easy fight. I reached the 4th stage of the Star Core Realm recently, and from the Qi fluctuations reaching me from here, I would guess Elysia is of similar strength. If I used my bloodline, I would win with ease, but showing I am a demon would be less than ideal.
"Raven takes the stage. With zero wins and zero losses, this will be her first attempt at rising the ranks. Please wait while the arena is adjusted to facilitate fair competition."
The ground rumbled as the mound below Diana's feet lowered, the ice melted, and the arena returned to its neutral self.
I guess they couldn't summon any demonic mist Qi for me.
"The battle will now begin! Remember, the intentional killing of the other contestant will count as a loss!"
"Raven? Only cowards use fake names," Elysia sneered as she rose into the air, and that purple smoke spread out to begin the summoning ritual. However, this time, it didn't spin or pulse. The twisted howls and screams that made Diana's mind shudder started straight away.
Does resummoning that monster not take as long the second time? Diana wondered but didn't wish to find out. As Seth had advised, she planned to end this fast. Crouching down, Diana poured Qi into her artifact boots, causing them to become ethereal.
"O' creature that dwells beyond the veil of our reality—"
Blurring forward, Diana arrived before Elysia and enjoyed how her constant smirk was replaced with an expression of surprise and fear. "Don't bite your tongue," Diana said as she reeled back and planted her fist straight into Elysia's face, sending her plummeting to the ground in a shower of sand.
Unwilling to reveal her wings, Diana dropped to the ground nearby and walked toward Elysia. As expected, the girl hadn't suffered much. If I had used my claws, I could have pierced her brain, but then I would have been disqualified for killing. Tsk, it's such a pain holding back.
Elysia stood up and brushed the sand off her cloak, "A sneak attack befitting of an Iron Seeker. I thought you were a newbie, so I went easy, but it seems I underestimated you." Elysia's eyes glowed with power, and with a sneer, she pointed at Diana, "Now, kneel."
What the... Diana felt a mountain of pressure press down on her shoulders, almost on Ashlock's level, when he was slightly annoyed. Was this really enough to make Ivor kneel? Diana wondered as the ground beneath her cracked.
Elysia raised a brow, "You can still stand?"
"There are few I would kneel before," Diana said casually as her nails elongated into claws within the folds of her cloak, and she felt her fangs grow behind her mask as she tapped into her strength as a demon to walk forward. "And you are certainly not one of them."
"You dare stand before a servant of the old one? The insolence," Elysia clapped her hands, and her hair began floating as power flowed out of her and into the ritual circle. The otherworldly screams from behind grew louder as the creature began to emerge.
I need to finish this up quickly. Diana blurred toward Elysia with the help of her boots, and before the crazy cultist could even react, Diana had her hand gripping her neck and tackled her to the ground.
"Surrender, or I will strangle you until the life leaves your eyes," Diana hissed, and for the first time, Elysia looked genuinely scared as she was strangled against the sand. But even after the roles were reversed, the crazy girl refused.
"The old one will save me even if I die," Elysia gasped as Diana's claws drew blood. The worst part is that her words were half correct; the monster had finished emerging from the ritual and loomed over them.
"Call it off," Diana insisted, "I can snap your neck faster than it can impale me."
Elysia grinned with crazed eyes, "We both know you won't do that. Life as an exile is one of certain death."
Diana's eyes widened as she realized the fatal flaw with this arena. No matter how fair they tried to make it, the rules and environment would benefit some more than others. As a summoner who relied on a ritual, Elysia benefited greatly from the rules. She was like a god here since she couldn't die while her guard was down during the summoning, and the opponent couldn't run away or group up on her.
"It seems you understand now," Elysia laughed despite her situation, "Once the ritual is complete, there is only one way to win. You have to kill the old one."
Diana reeled back her other hand and delivered the most brutal slap of her life, almost knocking the daylights out of Elysia. With her incapacitated, Diana stood up and turned to the monster from another plane of existence.
It looks like I will have to reveal that I am a demon to win. Diana sighed as she cycled her demonic Qi and felt the power flow through her body.
"Diana?"
"What?" Diana paused. That hadn't been the announcer's voice.
It had echoed straight into her mind, which she only experienced when talking to Ashlock and the Worldwalkers. Glancing up, she noticed the monster wasn't attacking. Its tentacles shifted to the side, revealing a giant green eye.
"Your name is Diana, right?"
The monster was speaking to her, and it somehow knew her name.
