(MC POV)
"You guys got everything you need?" I asked, looking at my disciples who were all gathered in front of me.
All of them answered affirmatively, though it wasn't really that big of an issue even if they forgot something since we can come back to this Plane whenever we want with me here.
We were all gathered in the room that Tatiana had given me for the duration of my stay, the High Maiden and her people were also there to see us off.
Once we were done with the Cloud Plane, we would be returning home directly from there so we wouldn't be seeing them for some time. Unless circumstances call for it, I don't think we would be coming back here any time soon.
"Please come back anytime, Founding God. This place is your home after all," Tatiana told me with an innocent smile, as though reading my thoughts.
Guiying cleared her throat quite loudly behind her, obviously not amused by her statement.
Behind her were Alpha and the rest of the youkai maids who also raised an eyebrow at her words. The four of them would be helping the empress escort those Dark Sect members back home so we would be parting ways here as well.
Luna, on the other hand, ignored her and waved to me, "Come home quickly Husband! Remember not to talk to any strangers there! Everyone there is not worth your time!"
I smiled wryly, "I'll keep that in mind, Luna. Thank you once again for the hospitality, Tatiana. And Guiying, I'll see you back home soon."
Not wanting to start another fight between them, I quickly made my escape with my disciples.
I did manage to catch the sight of Guiying flashing Tatiana a triumphant grin before I teleported my disciples and myself away though.
The scenery around us changed into the inside of a cave where a small pool of clear water was also located. The only light source came from luminous mushrooms that dotted around the walls of the cave.
Tsuki looked around her, "This is… The Cloud Plane?"
"It looks… Simple… It feels a little anticlimactic…" Diao Chan commented.
I chuckled, "We're just in a random cave right now, but this is the Cloud Plane."
Honestly, this wasn't just a random cave but the cave I had first found myself in when I escaped from the Spiritual Plane in my other life. I remember just trying my best to recuperate in this cave after surviving Luna's tortures until hunger finally drove me to step out into this forsaken Plane.
This time, I'm not the helpless person I was before and there's actually a few scores I want to settle, starting with this cave.
Lian Li clapped her hands together, "As expected of Master! To be able to teleport all of us to another Plane so easily!"
I can't even refute that since her words were true, there was no way any normal Practitioner could have done what I just did. Thus I resorted to patting her head and hearing her squeal cutely.
"Papa! Papa! Glowy mushrooms!" Cai Hong giggled, pointing at the fungi.
"Nnn, they're safe to eat but I'd rather you not, Cai Hong."
"Okies~"
Kiyomi stretched out her palm and a pale blue flame the size of a soccer ball appeared.
"Hmmm… Roughly the same as the Spiritual Plane? No… The Quark concentration feels a little bit thicker…"
"About five percent more," I informed her, having confirmed that fact with omniscience. "That is to say… Most of the people in this Plane should not be our match here, but as I had warned, do not be arrogant because of that."
"Ara, ara? Do not worry Master~ We care not about such things when the only one we think about is you. Ufufufufu~" Manami giggled, her tail curling around my thigh possessively.
I patted her head, "As long as none of you get complacent. Anyway, shall we get out of this cave first?"
My disciples followed me out of the exit that led to a large cavern, the exit being a hole that one needed to crawl through on their hands and knees but no way I'm letting my disciples do that so I enlarged it to man sized.
We came out into a large cavern with a hole in its ceiling that allowed sunlight to stream in, a small tree was growing where the sunlight was hitting the cavern floor.
Right then, something moved from the corner of the cavern, revealing itself to be a giant bear with flaming red fur that was well over ten metres in height even on all fours. It rose up on its hind legs and roared at us, no doubt furious that we dared trespass in its territory.
Ah yes, I remember you. I barely escaped with my life when I encountered you back then. I almost managed to sneak past you when the sound of me kicking a loose stone woke you up and you proceeded to chase me out of the cave after slashing at me with your claws.
If it weren't for the fact that the various tortures Luna had inflicted upon me had hardened my body somewhat, I would have been sliced into two.
I still remember the laugh it bellowed when it saw me scrambling to my feet to escape, it was obviously having fun playing with me than actually trying to kill me.
Basically, it's an asshole.
My disciples were just about to cut down the bear when I held up my hand to stop them.
"Wait. All of you stand back, this guy is mine."
"Eh? There's no need for Master to deal with a small fry like this," Eris pointed out, her sword already held at her side.
I shook my head, "It's fine, I just have something against this bear personally so let me handle it."
My disciples were a little confused but did not argue after that and obediently stepped back, letting me advance on the bear alone.
It looked a little surprised that the small human in front of it had chosen to step forward instead of running away, an action that piqued its curiosity a little.
Its curiosity was replaced with anger when I gave it the finger, even for a bear it seemed to understand that the gesture was not a compliment.
The bear raised up its right paw and swung it at me, aiming to smash me into meat paste.
I did nothing and simply let the paw hit me, the attack sending out a small shockwave that threw up a small dust cloud upon impact.
Aside from ruffling my clothes a little which Xun Guan quickly fixed, the attack did nothing to me.
I stared at the bear, giving it time to realise the difference in our strength before I grabbed the paw that it had used to hit me.
With a squeeze of my fingers, the entire paw was crushed down to the bone, compressing the entire paw into the size of a stick.
The bear howled in pain and tried to pull its paw back, only to be yanked back by me and causing its head to crash onto the ground.
I pressed my foot on top of its head, giving it time to look up at me with fear when it knew of its fate.
"I might have let you go if you didn't try to act tough, but blame the you of another life that pissed me off," I whispered, loud enough that only the bear could hear.
I didn't care if it understood me or not, but it was quite clear to it that it's not going to live past today.
I held the bear still as I pushed my foot down, the bear trying and failing to escape as the pressure of my foot slowly crushed its skull.
I didn't want my disciples to see this as a cruel torture so I had slowed down time for the two of us. Here, I was taking my time to crush its head but to them, it would look like I had stomped on it instantly and put it out of its misery quickly.
About ten minutes of our time passed before its skull finally fractured, its head caving in and the broken pieces of bone piercing straight into its brain under my foot.
Letting it writhe for a few more moments, I finally let it die after pushing my foot the rest of the way, allowing it one final whimper before it breathed its last.
I stepped back and cleansed myself of its blood before turning back to my disciples.
I was a little concerned they might realise I was unnecessarily cruel but that thought was blown away when they started clapping enthusiastically for me.
"Aniue, so cool!"
"Papa, strongest!"
"Ahhhnn~ Master step on me too!"
Ok, now you're all just embarrassing me…
Let's just get out of here ok?
