Jinxi Po was firing arrows all around him, while trails of light fired back at him. Both the crystals and arrows had very high hit rates, but the silvery metal of the rifles were far less durable than the expensive and powerful armor that Jinxi Po wore. In just a few seconds the rifles were all broken while the man’s armor was still spotless.

Jinxi Po grabbed his now tattered black robe and tore it from his shoulders. Underneath the robes he was wearing a slim suit over his whole body. It had a sort of resemblance to a wetsuit, but inlaid with hard plates over places that didn’t have to flex. Sage couldn’t help but admire the skill of the craftsman who built it. As the last Shard Rifle was destroyed, the two of them spontaneously stopped fighting, taking a moment to appreciate their enemy. For Sage, it was the calm before the storm, the battle had already been decided. Did Jinxi Po feel the same way?

The man drew back his bow and rose to his full height, pulling the bow back into the shape of a full moon. It was a common saying in this world, describing the shape of the bow being closest to a circle that it could make. It was exceedingly strange without an arrow, but upon the full draw being achieved an arrow literally appeared upon the bow. Just like Sage’s crossbows, this bow must have its own storage space and there was no need to fumble about to nock an arrow to it manually.

The arrow this time was exceedingly unusual. It gave off its own fluctuation of power, which seemed to amplify when Jinxi Po poured in his own Qi. It also felt like it was drawing in the power of heaven and earth, gathering a cloak of law energy around itself. The jet black arrow had a brilliant blood red tip that looked carved out of a single tooth the size of a dagger. A blood red fang attached to a glossy black arrow shaft and finished with black feather fletching. The shaft of the arrows was releasing a dim red light with an uneven pattern and Sage could just barely make out many tiny array symbols upon it. This arrow was quite unlike the others the man had fired and Sage could only imagine how expensive this one shot would be.

Suddenly, the immense source of energy disappeared. That huge power gathering upon the arrows vanished without a trace and the red fang flashed like a miniature sun. It released a blinding light and most would assume the arrow would strike while they were overwhelmed. When the flash ended, the arrow was still on the bow, but it certainly didn’t feel like it. It had no presence or power to it, completely subverting the sense of danger that a cultivator would normally feel from all things. It suddenly disappeared from the bow and then the bow twanged, snapped back to shape. These two events happening seemingly out of sync with each other was disconcerting, especially when combined with the lacking sense of danger. Sage had never been one of those vicious fighters who relied upon their sharp sense of danger to battle their way to the top. He had never relied upon his intuition or combat sense to battle as he just wasn’t experienced or talented enough. He was no great warlord with preternatural perception.

Sage took every opportunity to cheat that he could. He saw into the future and knew just when that arrow would strike him. He tried out multiple responses, testing the future result and even finding the perfect timing to intercept that incoming arrow. He lifted his legs and pulled back his chelicerae, opening his ‘mouth’ and releasing a stream of burning lava. Even as mysterious as that arrow was, it couldn’t travel up a river of high pressure lava indefinitely. Sage’s Thermal Law slowly peeled away the layer of law around the arrow. The wind law that made it move so erratically was burnt away, but the tip of the arrow had what felt like a dozen different laws upon it and they pierced through the Thermal Law without stopping.

Sage caught that red fang upon his shoulder, though he realized that it was far more similar to a hip at this point. The first joint connecting one of his legs to his cephalothorax was struck. The arrow punched right through, ruining the function of his joint and also punching a hole clean through the other side. A small river of fluids spilled from these twin punctures, and Sage felt the leg was now pretty much useless. A third limb had now been heavily injured. If Jinxi Po could keep up this pace, Sage would definitely not last long!

Jinxi Po was breathing a bit hard after that astounding arrow, but he suddenly noticed something was amiss. He spun and fired an arrow to his rear, then another to his left and right. Then he rolled and fired again. Three arrows this time. Back, front, and back again. Then he leapt into the air, twisting and flipping through the air and firing more arrows. He flitted around to the left and right, performing a dozen different acrobatic maneuvers and firing all around him as he did.

A normal person would only see Jinxi Po flipping and flying around in the air while carrying a bow, while only high level cultivators would truly be able to capture what was going on. The arrows shot from his bow at high speed, aimed at many dark silhouettes that had suddenly appeared around him. He flipped and tucked his body, spinning and twisting to try to escape their encirclement while also dodging hidden weapons and firing arrows back at his attackers.

Sage used some of his remaining limbs to start weaving. The claws at the ends of his legs reached back and grabbed the silk from his spinnerets, pulling them out and forming it into a net-like shape. Compared to the size of his body, the net was small and useless, but for a human it was immense. He flung his leg and the fifty foot wide net was tossed over Jinxi Po, who had just shot through a gap between two purple shadows. Sage had watched carefully, waiting for the opening that his Foresight showed to him. Jinxi Po used up both powerful boosts from his movement technique and was also in the middle of an acrobatic maneuver. The net fell around him and the brilliant light of his armor flared up to rip it to shreds. Then, one of those purple shadows touched his back.

The man continued his acrobatic move dodging the other attacks and then skidding across the ground. He fell from the air, and somehow landed himself on a patch of ground in a small clearing. There were no tree roots protruding from this area which he’d somehow identified and then found just enough speed to land here. Even so, it was already too late for him.

Purple Shadows appeared all around this clearing. Only after they all stopped moving for a while was it finally apparent what these shadows were. They were not shadows at all, but human shaped figures surrounded by dark purple armor. At least it looked like armor at first glance until it became clear that the purple armor was partially translucent. It wasn’t armor at all, but a layer of energy around their bodies. Their faces were all covered by full face masks with only cutouts for their eyes. Each of the masks was a stylized snake, with varying identifying features upon them.

Jinxi Po suddenly fell to his knees and then the many figures surrounding him dashed forward. They struck him from all around, pulling back when he struck back in defense while those behind him pushed forward. The poor man was surrounded from every direction and mobbed. Some of the purple figures leapt onto him from behind and pinned him to the ground. The man roared in defiance, and a vicious shockwave shot out from him in all directions. The purple figures were all blasted backwards and those closest to him coughed up blood. It dripped from the bottom edge of their masks when they climbed back up to their feet to watch Jinxi Po pass out.

These many purple figures then turned towards the giant spider and kneeled down on one knee. They bowed and then called out in unison, “We greet the head!”

That giant spider reached out one leg over Jinxi Po and he disappeared from sight. A moment later, the fifty purple figures disappeared as well. Then the giant spider vanished from sight and the pink gas slowly faded from around all the trees in the forest. The poison was not gone, merely restrained. These trees had to expend their stored energy to release such a thick layer of gas, so once the combat was finished Sage allowed them to relax again.

At a certain secluded corner of that forest, Sage had returned to his human form and was sitting with his back up to a large rock and resting from that vicious battle. With the help of his faster healing ability along with healing pills his external wounds had been sealed up. They weren’t fully healed, but it was enough for him to not be bleeding everywhere. His internal organs were a little more shaken up, but the higher level healing pills would help him recover faster. He was currently meditating to circulate energy through his body and help to distribute the effects of the pills.

Yet, none of this mattered all that much to him as all his focus was elsewhere, aimed upon the events of another world.