Chun Dai didn’t wait for a single second before making a decisive move.

“Follow me.” He said to the crowd of flabbergasted youths, still picking themselves off of the ground after his sudden display of power. “It is time to end this.” He concluded with a sense of determined finality emanating from his voice.

The storm of spiritual energy that had come from his body returned in full force as the veil that had been hanging over their temporary hideout to keep their presences concealed was lifted, leaving them completely exposed to the beast lord’s peculiar methods of detection.

But that did not matter, because the crimson clad swordsman had no intention of hiding anymore, let alone running away.

His pride as a disciple of the Golden Peak sect, as a swordsman, and most of all as a cultivator had been tarnished and trampled by the cursed beast’s cowardly machinations, but no more.

Chun Dai’s intentions were crystal clear, shining through his aura like a beacon that even the blindest of mortals would have been able to pick up on. A cold fury brewed beneath the surface of his steely visage, a sign of the coming storm, kept in check only by the swordsman’s impeccable discipline.

With nothing more than a small gesture, the stone wall separating him from the wider space of the hidden world simply ceased to exist, cleaved away by the core disciple’s supremely sharp will.

The crimson clad swordsman took a single step forward, a completely mundane and deliberate action made for the benefit of his charges, who had immediately froze once he’d flexed his power once again. Briefly, he settled his attention over them, watching as they snapped out of their stupor through his spiritual senses, before he simply vanished, moving so fast that they couldn’t even sense him.

Despite that, a clear trail of energy was left where he’d once been, a road of spiritual bread crumbs that would lead them towards their ultimate battle for their freedom from the cunning beast that had trapped them all here.

The young disciples scrambled to gather whatever weapons, equipment, or other assortments of items they would need for the coming battle, setting off from the cut open remains of their humble hideout in record time.

There was no light of hope or tears of desperation on their faces, only the determined and focused gazes of warriors who were ready to fight for their lives.

>>>

Chun Dai flew through the air at breakneck speeds, having left behind the barrier of sound almost immediately after his take off.

Normally, the shockwave created by such a rapid acceleration would’ve left even a cultivator of the Worldly realm such as him seeing stars, which would have made it far too dangerous to try considering he was right in the middle of enemy territory, but he’d long ago learned how to circumvent the limits set upon him by the Heavens by shunting the result of his more extreme feats into his Domain.

After all, how could a mundane explosion of air and sound ever hope to disrupt the metaphysical manifestation of his own World?

Putting that aside, what this actually meant was that he was going to meet his opponent face to face in a matter of seconds.

His stoic visage broke into a worried frown, the difference in expressions so infinitesimally small that only his leader, Guan Hui Chen, would have been able to notice the discrepancies.

Chun Dai did not hold any illusions about his condition, he was far from being in his best form.

While the remedy concocted by the young Fen boy had been of high quality and had done its job at scrubbing his physical body clean from the taint that had pervaded every corner of his body, just as the youngsters had planned, alongside a few other residual impurities he had failed to notice even before the mission, that had still left him with the poison nestled deep within his spirit to deal with.

With its source destroyed, the Golden Peak cultivator had been able to quickly eradicate most of the spiritual poison from his infected system, which had been an instant relief for his internal flow of energy. But part of it still lingered, suckling upon his soul, his Inner World, like a parasitic plant, desperate to survive even when it already knew it would fade away and die once its roots had been cut off.

This left him in a precarious situation. The poison had seeped in too deeply for him to just cut it all away alongside the compromised fragments of his soul, as that would cripple his Inner World and possibly leave him with no way of advancing further upon his Path. He needed time to get rid of it safely, time he didn’t have. Either that or a healer at his realm, or even higher.

Wouldn’t that have made things so much simpler…

The omnipresent aura that had been crudely sewn together with the fabric of reality of the Hidden World slowly grew more and more condensed, which probably meant he was nearing the time of reckoning.

His spiritual senses, stretched as far as he could manage in his condition, picked up on his approaching mark, moving slower than him and still many kilometers away.

Chun Dai stopped in place, floating in the air motionlessly as if he’d been affixed to the air with a hammer and nails, his eyes closing briefly as he reached for the existence resting at the center of his soul.

Suddenly, his vision shifted, his outward sense of self becoming muted as his mind receded deep into his being. Towering waves crashed through him and against each other, raising so high in the overcast sky that they would have been able to swallow the entirety of his sect’s home. Rain prickled at his skin, or rather at the skin of the avatar he’d materialized inside his Inner World.

A wild, tempestuous sea stretched as far as the eye could see and even further beyond, untamed and supremely dangerous. A dark abyss, cold and merciless.

But the sea of his inner world was not the blue of limpid water, but the dull metallic grey of a sword, a cultivator’s most trustworthy companion.

For every single drop of grey falling from the skies or churning amidst the waves was nothing more than the sharpest of blades.

And yet not.

The color was there, but only that. They were still just drops of liquid, so how could they be blades?

Simple, it didn’t have to make sense.

Inside his Inner World, it was Chun Dai’s will that shaped reality, that acted as both the smallest unit of matter and the force which kept this small world together. Water could be water while also being a collection of blades as long as he willed it so, ready to tear into anything unfortunate enough to come into its path.

But as beautiful as he found the sight of his Inner World, he hadn’t visited it just to sightsee.

The taint was there, hidden deep within the murky waters, but the core disciple ignored it for the moment. With an effort of will, he reached for the entirety of his Inner World, grasping the inherent will that acted as its foundation, and then started funneling its power into reality.

Chun Dai’s eyes opened slowly, the roaring of waves of steel following him as he returned to reality. The power of his Inner World flowed through his flesh and his aura, coming together as his Domain expanded all around him.

For a moment, the sight of the wild sea and the unending forests dotted by enormous rock formations overlapped, before the power of the Heavens reasserted itself, pushing against his Domain and limiting its influence.

The core disciple hummed to himself as he flexed his Domain tentatively. It was always easier to use the power of his Domain outside of the real world, as the Heavens would keep a less suffocating hold on a hidden space’s fabric of reality.

An angry chittering sound brought him out of his contemplation, the presence he’d been tracking having finally reached his position.

The beast lord stood in the air before him, its dozens of legs waving erratically as if it were trying to swim through the sky. The wound the crimson clad swordsman had inflicted upon it in retaliation was still present, in the form of a line of discolored carapace that ran through the left side of its body.

Some of the legs that he’d cut off back then had been replaced, but half of the beast's ruptured eyes were still ruined.

He'd had his own way of messing with the thing's healing, a delicate working of Intent and Domain that prevented the body from fixing itself naturally and which could only be expunged through the use of one's own Intent. Something that left a spiritual beast at a disadvantage as their feral minds tended to not be as adept as humans at manipulating their will.

Chun Dai unsheathed the blade resting at his hip, the single edged saber sliding smoothly out of its scabbard. Beads of steely water gathered on the surface of the weapon, like mist condensing on a cold surface during winter, as the swordsman called fort the power of his Inner World in preparation for the coming battle.

The core disciple could sense the beast doing much the same, an oppressive and sticky, for lack of a better word, sensation emanating from the giant spider. The feel of its Domain gave the crimson clad swordsman some insight into the multi legged monster's Inner World, as for a single moment the sight of a narrow cave, twisting on itself in mind bending ways, covered in strands of webbing, imposed itself upon the world.

The image lingered for a full second before disappearing, a display that made the swordsman raise an eyebrow dismissively towards the spider who had just tried to intimidate him.

As a silent response, Chun Dai decided to take the initiative and make the first move.

With a flick of his sword bearing hand, the core disciple threw a casual slash at his opponent, cutting a nearby mountain in two.

>>>

There is a rhythm to the world.

A beat, a cadence, a tempo.

Huang Lei heard it loud and clear as she stepped forward, directing a blade of wind into clearing a path for her and her fellow disciples.

The giant spiders in front of her all cried out as one in agony in their skin crawling chittering as they were torn apart, giving the noble cultivator a much needed breather.

Another step carried her towards more opponents as her companions covered her back from any of the loathsome beasts who would try to strike at her.

Her slender shoulders lowered as she dipped forward with her upper body, swaying sideways as she moved as if she were trying to dodge the wind itself. Her right hand trailed behind her, waving her colored battle fan in complex patterns that helped her guide her spiritual energy properly.

Her body twisted in a move that took advantage of every muscle in her body. Her feet planted themselves to the ground, rooted in place just like the once tall trees that had been felled all around them, her calves tensed in strain, pushing against the ground as her form spun in a graceful pirouette. A twist of her spiritually refined thighs added power to the motion and another twist of her finely robed chest further directed it. Finally, she raised her shoulders and pulled back her fan with all of her strength.

Her feet left the soil beneath her for a moment as she lept into the air, pirouetting once more to gather just a bit more power.

A graceful, exquisite movement, like that of a master dancer performing on a stage.

Trailing just behind her battle fan, a current of air followed her every move growing in power and magnitude as she directed her invisible dance partner. Her right arm soared with impossible might at her side, fully outstretched and heralding the ruin of all that stood before her.

Two of the horse sized spiders were waiting for her, flanked by dozens of their inferior brethren. One was a single stage behind her, at the fourth, while the other was at third.

With a flick of her wrist, Huang Lei gave one last direction to the raging gale dancing behind her, sending a tornado of raging blades of wind towards the monsters with way too many limbs.

She did not hold the same burning disdain for their existence that Yu Xiang did, but after having to deal with them so many times for the past days she had started to understand what he found so loathsome about their presence.

Another, final twist of her hand closed her fan with a resounding 'tack', a sound that was immediately drowned out by the roar of burning flames.

Her latest move had ignited the wind blades she'd been leading around, unleashing an inferno of staggering proportions on her enemies.

The two actually threatening beasts were almost instantly cut apart and burnt to a crisp before they were swallowed by the raging firestorm she had unleashed.

She sagged for a second, momentarily dazed by the not insignificant expenditure of spiritual energy, but as she was in the middle of a battlefield, she could not let herself relax even for just a minute.

She popped one of the pills Lin Fen had distributed amongst their group into her mouth and let out a sigh of relief as her reserves slowly started replenishing themselves. After that, she once again moved towards one of the non crippled spiritual beasts.

Her latest victims were not the first and certainly would not be the last she felled today, there were dozens of other such spiritual spiders roaming around their battlefield, although thankfully none of them were at a higher stage than her.

The trail left behind by Chun Dai had guided the group of inner disciples right into the middle of a warzone. An entire forest had been eradicated, alongside many of the jutting rock formations that littered the hidden world. Fissured leading deep into the earth had been carved into the dirt, some even large enough that they needed to jump not to fall into them.

This was the true power of a cultivator. The power to reshape their environment with their fury and command enough might to make the heavens shake.

What a frightening yet awe inspiring sight had their older friend left behind. And to think, just a few hours ago he'd been curled up in a damp hollowed out cavern, laying around for the past week, too injured to so much as take a step outside their hideout in fear of what would happen if he didn't keep the poison inside of his body in check.

The Worldly Realm truly was the real line that separated the chaff from the true cultivators, those willing to follow their own path to eternity no matter where it took them.

Her natal sect had not been as secretive about the details of higher realms as the Golden Peak sect, so she somewhat understand what exactly a battle between two such beings meant. She still remembered her father teaching her what it truly meant to be a cultivator, someone willing to tear themselves away from the world created by the Heavens to make her own.

A battle between two beings in the Worldly Realm was a collision of mind, body, and soul.

Two opposing worlds, worldviews set against one another, fueled by the will and Intent of their creators. A titanic clash that could reshape the world for miles around them if they decided to go all out.

And all of it began with one's Path.

Huang Lei clenched her jaw as she fought her way through the horde of multi legged beasts, dancing through blood and gore, her every step following a song played by the world and directed by her soul.

She'd already been on the way to taking the first step upon her chosen Path, even before this unfortunate mission, but now, pushed to her limits, fighting for her life and the lives of her new friends, she truly started to grow closer and closer to that epiphany.

Her deadly dance became more ferocious, more domineering, as she took center stage, her allies, and enemies both becoming nothing more than her backup dancers, swaying to and fro in tune with her movements.

The entire battle became a sublime performance where she took on the role of the lead actress, her every move changing the face of their conflict.

Her companions crowded around her in a circle at her unspoken command, finding their way there as if by complete chance, ignorant that she'd guided them around by controlling the tempo of their battle.

Right here, right now, at the center of everything, she really started to understand what it meant to be the lead, to be the one whose movements carried the power to bend the world to her dance, to her soul.

Closer and closer she came to the culmination of all of her efforts, the birth of her Path.

Which is exactly when an explosion sent her and her companions tumbling through the air head over heels.

Huang Lei landed on her feet with an annoyed huff, her battle fan raising to her face and fanning her features, twisted in annoyance as they were. But before she could take a look at what exactly had interrupted her show, a wave of exhaustion overtook her, almost sending her to her knees as she stumbled in place.

Lost as she was in the throes of her Path she had let herself go astray, expending spiritual energy like it was going out of style with not a care in the world.

Quickly, she shoved a couple of pills down her gullet, swallowing loudly in a rather unladylike manner that would've made her appalled in different circumstances.

It was all and good to improve in the midst of battle, but she couldn't afford to drop to the ground after using up all of her strength because she had been too lost in her own little world.

Huang Lei sighed. She only hoped this entire ordeal would come to an end sooner rather than later.

>>>

Yu Xiang frowned in concern, his tight lipped grimace being echoed by all of his companions.

Their eyes were firmly set on the site of the explosion that had sent them all tumbling to the dirt, and what they'd found left them all anxious.

Chun Dai stood battle ready with his sword held forward in his hand, his crimson robes looking worn and tattered as warm blood mixed with the red hues of his uniform.

In front of him, separated only by a few hundred meters of emptied ground, was the overgrown pest that had become the bane of their existence, looking worse for wear as many of its spindly legs had been chopped off and its dark carapace was mottled with gaping furrows.

At first sight, it might seem like the crimson clad swordsman was at an advantage, but a second inspection would quickly lead one to realize that despite the many seemingly grave wounds taken by the spiritual beast it was losing far less of its lifeblood compared to its opponent, something it no doubt had to thank its dark carapace for.

Furthermore, as the two enemies stood silently in front of each other, the air was filled with energy, their presences twisting in ways he had not known was possible as their auras twisted the very space between them.

Chun Dai was losing.

Yu didn't know how he could tell, but to his spiritual senses, it was painfully obvious that the swordsman was on the backfoot, his aura occasionally weakening for no more than a fraction of a second, but still long enough for the big bastard to take a metaphorical step forward.

If things kept going as they were, then the young reincarnator did not doubt that their worst case scenario would become reality.

They needed to do something.

"I have a plan." Yu said out loud to his fellow disciples.

They turned towards him as one, the light of hope still not wholly extinguished from their eyes. "Is it a good plan?" Zheng Yin demanded, her reddened skin making her almost look like some kind of oriental ogre.

The green eyed cultivator smiled helplessly. "It's a plan."

The wild haired young woman snorted, while her cousin shrugged her shoulders at her side. "Still better than nothing, I guess. What do you need me to do?"

Yu Xiang eyed all of his companions, meeting all of their gazes with his own. "I want you all to keep the spiders away from me, and if possible, take as much of their attention away from brother Chun as you can."

Then his eyes settled on his rival. "I need your help."

His companions spread in a circle all around the two of them, not wasting any time as the spiritual beasts suddenly remembered that they were supposed to kill them.

Su Rong held his gaze for a few seconds, seeming to study the young reincarnator's hardened expression with such intensity that someone might have started to believe it held the deepest secrets of the universe. "What is it that you want from me, Xiang?" He said, waving his amputated arm around. "Want me to act as bait or something? Not like I'm much better for more than that..." He bit off bitterly.

"Su Rong, you don't like me." Yu said matter of factly, which caused the gruff disciple to give him a weak glare, without any of the usual heat. "I'd go as far as to say that you dislike me, and to be completely honest I don't really like you all that much either."

The fiery cultivator growled out a curse before opening his mouth, his eyes now glaring daggers at his face. "What is this? Some kind of last confession before we are all sent out on our next life?"

Yu Xiang shook his head. "No, Su Rong, I'm just saying what we both already knew out loud." His gaze then turned sharp, pinning the other youth in place. "We can't stand each other, but I need your help anyways. I need you to trust me, to lend me your power, your Intent, for this to succeed." He finished, offering the taller cultivator his hand for a shake.

Su Rong looked at it like it would bite him for a second before he swallowed his pride and grabbed him with his sole remaining hand.

Their auras slammed against one another, intermingling roughly and unevenly. This was no true melding of auras like the one Yu could achieve with Lin Fen, but just an inferior replica possible only because of Yu Xiang's familiarity with the practice and his extremely meticulous control over his spiritual energy.

This melding was in place for the sole purpose of sharing energy, no more and no less.

Yu Xiang closed his eyes as he gathered power in his hands, his senses pulling away from the world as he gave his all to the creation of his technique.

[Piercing Fulmination]

Lightning came to life in his grasp, a long luminous strand that danced in the semi corporeal form of a spear. Yu Xiang added more and more spiritual energy to the technique, siphoning both his own reserves and that of his self proclaimed rival.

Yu Xiang frowned as the technique reached its boosted state, having grown to the size of a jousting lance and holding as much power as he'd ever dared to put in the technique in a single construct.

As it was, pushing any more energy into it would just make it break down and explode in their face, so Yu Xiang began to draw upon his and Su Rong's intent, seeking to contain and corral all of their combined energy.

Slowly he crammed more and more power into that single spear, the writhing thing growing more and more metaphysically heavy and hard to control.

Beads of sweat formed on his skin, his teeth grinding against each other as the young reincarnator used every shred of his concentration to keep his spiritual art from breaking apart.

Soon enough, sooner than he wanted, he reached his limit, holding in his hands a thick, flagpole length mass of writhing strands of lightning.

Not enough, he told himself, he needed it to be more powerful, only that way would his technique be able to wound the beast lord, and give Chun Dai a chance to launch a counterattack.

This wasn't working, he suddenly realized, the form of this art was not made to hold this much wild energy. So, what he needed to do was change the form of the technique.

With all of his and Su Rong's combined Intent, the green eyed cultivator willed an impossibility into reality.

Become firm, he told the raging lightning, be still, be whole, be solid.

But his own energy, having taken the form of a natural phenomenon, raged against his will so hard that his control over the technique almost slipped.

The world grew firmer around the enormous construct of golden lightning, as if to actively deny his wishes, working against his Intent to keep the natural order of the world. There was no such thing as solid lightning, it wasn't real, it wasn't possible, and as such could not be brought into existence, no matter how much he wanted it.

Yu Xiang refused this reality.

His emerald eyes glowed as he brought the entirety of their combined Intent together, fighting against the world and the Heavens to enact his will and make his desire into reality.

Blood flowed from his nostrils and from between his teeth, the strain of his mental and spiritual battle directly impacting his body.

Yu Xiang's eyes narrowed, his gaze rising to the skies as something else started burning inside of him. Spite.

The Heavens wished to see him fail, to die today alongside his companions in this cursed hellhole populated by disgusting demons.

He wouldn't let it, he would defy it.

Su Rong fell to his knees as Yu Xiang let out a guttural roar from deep within his chest, the glow of his spear suddenly becoming blinding and drowning out his surroundings for but a moment.

A wheeze escaped the young reincarnator as he almost followed his rival to the ground, but he caught himself just before he fell on his face, leaning heavily on the solid object that had suddenly appeared in his grasp.

A crystalline spear was planted in the ground, acting as his support, standing as long as he was tall, shining the vivid gold of clear topaz and with a heart of pale red burning at its center.

Yu Xiang could not help but smile in satisfaction at what he'd managed to create, even as his blood slowly dribbled from all the orifices of his head.