>>6434343

When you felt someone grab your ankle and before you reflexively kicked them off, looked down to see the so called innocent witch with a look of determination so strong it was almost like looking in a mirror, her eyes were bloodshot and just the pulse of ghostly yin qi from your palm to her chest had frayed the edges of her visible veins gray

"A moment...a moment longer, Grandmaster Huanliuxue" She hoarsely rasped, and won herself a fond smile as you grabbed her by the back of her robe, grinning and purring in delight.

"A brush with death and you come back to grab hold of the hem of her robe? You've got the right mindset for the Ghost Dao at lest, Heh" You say as you hold her up like a kitten, Heng rubbing the back of his neck as a few, smarter but less courageous cultivators separate themselves from the crowd and place themselves behind the human and less obviously ghosty members of your sect who were also in attendance. Senlin Zheren trotted over and place their snout on the witch's forhead

"Temperance, the soul is willing, but the body is frail" He warns softly "Your enthusiasm speaks of the quality of your character, but yours is a body not yet ready to be cut from their body. A moment longer, and my master shall instead have a new courtier in her kingdom instead of your sect having a living student. Patience"

"My deer student is right, the shock of a second out of body experience would kill you, who still clings to her mortal vessel as tightly as a kitten does their mother's teat" You tease, while giving her a second warning "But tell me your name, I think I might need to ask the Weiwupo if I can keep my hands on you for a few seasons, to really refine that spirit of yours"

"This witch has forsaken her old name! This witch is called Suinǚwū (Sparrow Witch, 雟女巫 )!" She declared weakly, as blood began to trickle out of her nose, with concerning black specks. Was it tradition for witch's to go around renaming themselves witch? Monu, Weiwupo, now Suinuwu? She was probably from Suiqi, with that name.

"Excellent, I'll keep an eye on you, girl" You laugh, but it is quick to fade as you see that there is a line forming besides you, and who is grabbing hold of your sleeve like a child begging for a toy, but Baifenchi? And who is right behind her but Senshi-Shiti! And dragged behind him? Coffin Maker Wen being pulled to the front by Mao Yue! who has betrayed Niu by dragging her along with Wen, seemingly excited to experience a passing touch from death! And they're not the only ones, there are brave volunteers from every sect! Actually, now that you've craned your neck, everyone attending this class has gotten into line! Even the ones who were so frightened they were hiding behind a girl like Yue!

D..did you actually infect everyone with your appreciation for most things related to death and ghosts? Was the next generation of cultivators in Chuan going to be a macabre bunch?
Cont

>>6434344

Were your habits and sense of aesthetics going to become fashionable?! Well you couldn't exactly back down after the display or go back on your words. Well, you could, since the only risk would be annoying your fellow sect heads or disappointing some weaklings, but a ruler who broke their promises was no liege worth following! Realizing it would take awhile to give everyone here a ten or so second out of body experience, you needed to move up the speech you intending to give after you indulged the one or two weirdos in the crowd who wanted to know what being a ghost felt like. You just hadn't expected so many to come over to your way of thinking and understand the delight of swaying between the line of life and death and blurring so quickly!

"I'm interested in see how your approach to the dao of ghosts differs from my own" You tell them, wagging a finger as you drop Suinuwu on Zehren's back "come find me after you find your graveside footing, then we'll talk!"

"Yes! Great Ghost Queen Huanliuxue!" Dozens of voices respond, including Baifenchi and Senshi-shiti, who think its funny, you can tell by the looks on both their faces. Sighing heavily, you swipe and hold Baifenchi's squirming soul, feeling like the moth is enjoying the experience a little too much even for a fellow deathly minded ghost cultivator!

Senshi-Shiti by comparison, has a much calmer and more demure soul, and you can tell he is studying every moment. Unlike Baifenchi, who was just enjoying them!

And once you're done giving the flock of young daoist's out of body experiences, what do you do right before Xue Long and Star shooters match starts, Huanliuxue?

>Make a show of shittalking Star Shooter, since every already knows you've marked him as your rival in the tournament!

>Make a wager with Monu on whether her son will win or not, a friendly little bet between mother and daughter

>Warn the other sect heads to keep a close eye on their students and stop them from doing anything suicidal or stupid like entering the underworld before their body has acclimated to it

>Tell both Long and Star shooter what the other party is capable of in a fight, to make it more interesting

>Write in

>>6434345
>Tell both Long and Star shooter what the other party is capable of in a fight, to make it more interesting

>>6434345
>>Warn the other sect heads to keep a close eye on their students and stop them from doing anything suicidal or stupid like entering the underworld before their body has acclimated to it
Guys, guys, we might have made some of your dudes kind of kill (themselves) crazy, look out.

>>6434345
>Tell both Long and Star shooter what the other party is capable of in a fight, to make it more interesting
>Warn the other sect heads to keep a close eye on their students and stop them from doing anything suicidal or stupid like entering the underworld before their body has acclimated to it
While we don't care too much about what most of them do, it would suck if the Fa brothers or other allied sect students died because we kindled their interests too hard.

>>6434345
>Warn the other sect heads to keep a close eye on their students and stop them from doing anything suicidal or stupid like entering the underworld before their body has acclimated to it

>>6434345
>Warn the other sect heads to keep a close eye on their students and stop them from doing anything suicidal or stupid like entering the underworld before their body has acclimated to it
no turning yourself into a corpse so you can possess your own body

>>6434345
>Warn the other sect heads to keep a close eye on their students and stop them from doing anything suicidal or stupid like entering the underworld before their body has acclimated to it

>>6434345
>>Warn the other sect heads to keep a close eye on their students and stop them from doing anything suicidal or stupid like entering the underworld before their body has acclimated to it

so are you guys going to cultivate to the next level anytime soon? Hasn't it been like two real years or something now since you reached golden core?

>>6435444
Probably not soon, no.

We'll likely take on the sunlit ffucker with a full realm disadvantage.

>>6435444
We can probably find some time to at least hit a bottleneck in GC before fighting the Ling, but yeah the issue of taking on so many obligations and promises hit hard

>>6435444
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YP461QOq28

>>6435444
this is normal for cultivation stories, sometimes it takes many years irl just to ascend one more level

Ending the vote, tallying the result now.

Tell both long and Star shoot what the other party is capable of in a fight, to make it more interesting: 2

Warn the other sect heads to keep a close eye on their students and stop them from doing anything suicidal or stupid like entering the underworld before their body has acclimated to it: 6

So you'll warn the other sect heads to keep a close eye on their students, in case they do something suicidally dangerous like diving into the yellow spring before their bodies/ souls are ready for it.

Update will arrive shortly

Exhausted, more mentally than spiritually, you drag your legs forward to keep from giving into the feline urge to flop on your side and take a nap, since the last round is about to start and the teachers of the students you'd just slapped on the back and sent stumbling down the Dao of ghosts deserves at least a quick warning and reminder to keep a close eye on these future ghost cultivators; So they don't do something suicidally stupid like trying to dive in the yellow springs before they've grown accustomed to the chill of the grave or trying to tame wild and fierce spirits and deranged hungry ghosts!

"I trust the Fa twins to keep a leash on any of their junior martial siblings" Master Su tells you as he and Monu sit down for a cup of tea with Lian Tianhua and Jinse-Shayu, who had recovered from his bout with the storm courting Shandian. Tianhua's eyes sharpen and Lord Xia strokes the beard on his chin thoughtfully "Though perhaps, Huanliuxue, they could accompany you on your planned underworld excursion with the white jade devil opposing army, so if they have an affinity with ghosts, they may become as mentors for their fellows"

"Maybe I should join that venture! I've been needing to advance my cultivation, it is shameful for a mother to be left behind by her daughter, Heh-Heh-Heh" Monu chuckles, as she sips at a cocktail of poisons and potent liquor "Though, I do have a few destinations in mind...lots of our senior most students have already left to break their own bottlenecks. Maybe my place to do so will be hell"

"I'll need to keep a close eye on my students and the elders, Autumn master would undoubtfully seek to use them to his own gain. He already has been trying to muster the courage to ask to accompany you on your future trip to hell, so he can expand the plot of underworld herbs growing in our most sacred gardens" Tianhua scowled as she glanced to Xia "And you, lord Sea, seem like you're plotting"

"The weakest of my clan and sect have benefitted before from Huanliuxue's passing interest in them" He chuckled "And I believe, that as sailors and seamen by heart, we'll have a unique advantage. There are many watery graves and shipwrecks across the summer sea"

"You may own the sea, but it is not your pet, remember that Lord Xia" Su warned gently before stroking his own, much longer and much whiter beard in thought "And perhaps, I should begin to work on my cultivation once more, now that my sect has been firmly established and is flourishing"

The conversation with the other elders, is about as cordially and quick as it was with your mother and fellow alliance heads.
Cont

>>6435706

Shandian, whose normal form of cultivation is suicidal and who is an unrepentant gambler, understood the need to acclimate his students to Ghostly Yin Qi if they sought the Dao of ghosts, but you think that meant tossing them into cursed tombs rather than tying iron rods on their back and telling them to go hike during a thunderstorm or whatever it was the storm mountain shrine sect did to cultivate.

Weiwupo just smiled mysteriously an alluded to the natural caution of witches. Shidi Xiudao made a similar claim to Jinse-Shayu, just replace shipwrecks with lost, swamp swallowed villages. Disi-Ling Huofeng wondered outloud if this would be an golden finger to use against the Main Ling Branch. And the rest of the grandmasters gave their gratitude and assured you they'd keep a close, watchful eye on their students. Except Whore Qiao, cause you didn't tell her and hoped the ghost obsessed students you'd just given her would cause a rift in her sect! You also told your Buddhist friends, even though none of them attended the class, just to be nice and to have a quick, friendly chat with the shaved headed baldies, since you'd been so busy with daoist politics you hadn't had time for the nice Monks.

And you had a feeling that would continue, since even the sect heads you had a cooler relationship with seemed like they meant to say "Bribe Huanliuxue to set my disciples straights" when they said "I'll keep a watchful eye on their progress". But that was something that would bother future Huanliuxue. And right now, present Huanliuxue had a match to watch. One she had been waiting for, and that you were excited to see how it turned out

"Stripped of their wisdom, the frost has began to melt on the Xue Clan, but what will be revealed beneath. The new sect head of the Winter Blossoming Sect, Xue Long enters the ring to regain some of his family's lost honor and face" Old five colors introduces as Long, who is technically your brother, enters the ring like a ghost roused from their grave, with floating, ethereal movements, followed by a cloud of mist and snow.

"And bearing the name of a subordinate of the red star, Xing Sheshou (Star Shooter, 星射手), is as unknown as the four other mystery golden core cultivators. Will he be the second to advance, or will he like all but one of his peers stumble and falter against a more renowned opponent", and to the former god's credit, he looked greatly humbled, not just by Five Colors lessons, but from seeing proof of just how coddled he and his friends were, and how much their remaining, innate strength had carried them in their fights. There was a cold, steel certainty in his eyes.

"I must ask, why you sound so excited, master" Hong yawned "Don't you hate both of them? Who are you rooting for? Do you just want to see them maul eachother?"
Cont

>>6435707

"Obviously" Bo chuckled "That's exactly what's gotten our master so fired up! She even declared that Star shooting guy her target! And didn't she kill Xue's father? Blow him up? Maybe she's already seen how Shooting wins"

"No idiot" Niu said, wearily "Master just enjoys watching fights, she's studying, because she has a brain. A great, brilliant brain, unlike you"

Wang Wencheng stayed out of the argument while Mao Yue petted you, with your explicit permission. Clicking your fangs, you commanded your human disciples, since most of the newest ones were still practicing the basics of cultivation or preparing to start their cultivation at this hour.

"Quiet, pay attention, this fight will not be so simple" You scold all of them, as Long, with tired, Monuish eyes, exchanged glances with the irritated and tightly wound Star Shooter

"Hopefully, whichever of us wins, will meet their match before the finals" Xue Long hummed "Fighting Huanliuxue would just make us look like weaklings to the mundane public"

"Why are you competing if you've already given up?" Star Shooter snapped "Don't you have any pride"

"As a Xue, I've lost much of it. And I'm a realist. I've forgiven what grudges I could, but I know I am no match from her. I don't know if any of us are. Huanliuxue is a different breed. I could never beat my father, even in his half dead state. Rogue, you must have heard of the supreme master of defense" Xue Long begins to lecture the apparently younger star shooter "His name may have lost much of the respect it once held, but none could say his renown of an unkillable opponent was not earned. She turned my father in a firework show, and my eldest, strongest son, she didn't even leave behind a body. Huanliuxue fought to survive, and fights to win. I am not sure of your background but..."

Star shooter's mouth opened than quickly shut "I'll admit, I have no real battle experience. Neither did my four peers. Your words have wisdom, even if your sect had the honor stripped away from them. Huanliuxue is the peak we must scale, even at this level. But just because she's far above us, doesn't mean we shouldn't try"

"And I will fight with all my spirit, to avenge my son, if nothing else. But I do not think I will win" Xue Long chuckled "I am no peerless master of defensive magic. Nor did I find a niche in my sects' laws, like my sons have done. And even with her revealing a few of her techniques, the mystery of her style remains as vast as the night sky. But, even if I fight as excellently as possible, I'll still look like a weakling at the end. But, if we lose earlier, we'll look more impressive. A funny paradox, no?"

"Well, be thankful, because I will make you look very impressive" Star Shooter laughs "And will avenge your son on your behalf"
Cont

>>6435708

"And whatever grudge you have against my adopted sister, I shall fulfil in your stead, Chivalrous rogue" Xue Long chuckled as he held out a hand and conjured a staff of pure ice "Let us begin, without delay"

Placing one paw over the other, you watched the shadow theater Wucai projected in the sky like a hawk. The whole audience was silent as a parade of corpses, everyone from beggars to highborn nobles and mountain hermits and venerable elder cultivators watched with rapt attention. Most of them wondering what Star Shooter had done to earn the attention and enmity of the great Huanliuxue

On the stretch of moon prepared for the fights, Xue Long spread out his hands, thick frost and sheets of ice crawling up to his shoulders as he partially transmuted his limbs into the same super cooled ice Laohue had started to turn into uncontrollably. Star Shooter strung his bow with a strand of his hair, lighting it with teal and azure light. He carried no quiver and no arrows, and his bow was clearly made from one of the branches of YOUR spirit wood grove. You'd have to shake some reimbursement for the damages out of his pockets, after the fight

Xue Long remains stationary, eyes flashing bright blue as snow began to fall over the moon. Star Shooter drew his bow's string and sent a single arrow, a pale shadow of the one he shot into your side when you snuck into the heavens. It shot through the empty space like a bolt of divine retribution. Then Star Shooter leapt and dodged, acting extremely cautiously as, five paces in front of Long, the arrow was intercepted by a snowflake shaped protection spell. The Qi arrow split, and a dozen more protection spells appeared. Star Shooter fired off arrow after arrow, hopping back each time as Xue Long swung his staff, keeping pace with him and creating sudden, snap freezes where Star Shooter had been standing a second before, calmly moving through a corridor of protection spells that...despite his humble description, looked damn close to Xue Laohue's level of defense

Except.

He had been half dead. Long grit his teeth and suddenly burst into powder snow, as a small, flicker of golden tinged flame appeared on his shoulder. A second later, you saw that Star Shooter, having learned a lesson from the three defeats and one win of his fellow former deities, had laid a trap of his own, and created a shoddy formation around Xue Long out of his failed shootings. It was rough, novice, but backed up by the power he retained? It created a pillar of heavenly light where Long had been before he used his powder snow retreat. A great, storm of sword sized hail bullets shot at Star Shooter, who pulled back the hair string of his bow as far as he could and launched pillar sized bolts of Qi. They were rough around the edges, the technique was unrefined, like all of the four other gods.
Cont

>>6435709

But it had improved from the shot he'd hit you with. He, rather than sulking or being confident that HE could win with what inheritance he'd clung onto, had been training. You lift up your head, and smile as you realize you can barely recognize the arrogant and worthless trash god he'd been when you met him face to face the first time a few days ago.

Their lessons with Wucai and the losses they'd suffered, had really brought him down to earth. And you could tell from a glance at where the other four sat, that they'd also been properly humbled and realize their place in the mortal world. Good.

And, Star Shooter, in particular, was fighting with a certain, dogged determination. He got hit by three icicles, and started to be encased by it, as Xue Long began to call down the blizzard, and rather than running, used a movement technique that involved creating star bursts, that resembled the explosive power and kicks of Xiannu, hopping between them, while firing arrows as Long calmly erected his wall of barrier spells, turning to powder snow and blowing along with the flows of his magical blizzard while sending slabs and spears of ice so cold they could flash freeze a wildfire.

Both of them were taking hits. Long's defense wasn't flawless, and he wasn't used to fighting an archer as mobile as Star Shooter was proving to be, and Star Shooter, was only staving off becoming an icicle because he was moving fast enough to blast off the sheets of ice. Then, when it looked like Long had him cornered and trapped, he started to move and fight like Jie Wang rather than Xiannu, rather than relying on speed and explosive force like she had, he was now running and hopping between his arrows of pure spiritual energy, answering Long's ice prison with a mimic of his ice needle hail. And Long hopped back, force to change tactics and his approach. Suddenly, he was moving like the feminine Xue Meilin, dodging and dancing around the assault rather than enduring it.

Star shooter, shot a twirling arrow of fire through a dragon of frost and snow that shot out of Xue Long's sleeve mid dance, as he fanned up winds in the void with two swan feather fans. And then, he switched from aping Jie Wang's techniques and fighting style, to Sheng Mao. Now both were moving with grace and elegances, Star shooter gliding on his enemies gale, while Long dance and wove his pet snow storm into the airless winds he commanded. It was really quite beautiful to watch, like a planned performance. Xue Long was casting spells as he dodged, creating arrays and summoning wind and ice, while Star shooter flew and maneuvered like a songbird eluding a hawk, firing arrows where he could while switching between his own style of archery and adaptations of his peers and friends own, mostly self taught martial arts.
Cont

>>6435710

And next up was Diqui Lang. The one other winner, mostly cause Shidi Xiudao cared more about fighting honorably than winning. And that meant star shooter closed up, switching to an aggressive, close range style of archery, as he cleared his way with a few, sudden flashes of heavenly light and arrows of pure fire, before shooting down like an arrow across the empty space, surviving Xue Long's response through easy to break protection spells. And its here where his inexperience becomes an advantage, the others did try to improve themselves and train, but they hadn't watched four whole matches to understand exactly how they were lacking as fighters. And while you still look down on them, for the time they had, the other four had performed better than you thought they would, despite being born with ever blessing and then losing every blessing. They had learned and tried to better themselves, they just didn't have enough understanding or preparation.

Xue Long, having been expecting a fight at a distance, whipped his sleeves around and tried to retreat and make new distance, so he could cast his long, complex spells and form his arrays to gradually overwhelm Star Shooter, not like an avalanche like his father, but like a slow, seeping cold, sapping away energy and life.

But then, after dozens of exchanged volleys and dodged spells and arrows, Star Shooter started the finale. He trick shotted, not aiming for Xue Long, but instead, adapting on the fly, learning from the matches not involving his fellow former gods and from observing Xue Long during his rapid and panicked flight between the grinding swarms of icicles, shot an arrow to deflect off of one of his own protection spells

Xue Long wasn't a peerless master of defensive magics, he made a mistake in the heat of the moment, focusing more on evading and getting away from the fast approaching star shooter. A Qi arrow fragmented and the blast peppered him in the back, then a follow up attack, only the size of a knife struck his shoulder. Star Shooter shot forward, then Xue Long smiled queerly and

"That's Monu's Kaoliang wine!" You hissed, barring your fangs "He's fought like his father, and one of his sons, now he's fighting like Xue Ming, the courageous and praiseworthy drunkard you'd cut down. And that, caught star shooter, who knew little to nothing of affairs beneath the heavens off guard. Breathing out, feeling robbed and bitter that your brother would deny you the chance to truly beat humility into Star Shooter's head, even if he's already hammered quite a few nails of it himself, you watched, pouting and flicking your tail as Xue Long, downing the entire bottle that could knock out a dragon in one go.
Cont

>>6435711

And then proceeded to hand Star Shooter his ass on a golden plate, first breaking the bow he carried with a quivering palm, knocking him off balance with a sweep kick, and then beginning a staggering barrage of punches and kicks as he teetered and dodge the arrows he shot from his palms and the Qi explosions he set off with palm strikes and high knees. In close quarters...neither were experts, but Xue Long held and advantage, and Star Shooter, bruised, pummeled and bleeding, shut his eyes, furrowed his brow and grimaced as Xue Long continued to smack him around like an abusive husband

"It's over" You say, before catching your breath in your throat and yowling in outrage as you saw Star Shooter go slack, relax and raise up his shoulders as he held out his hands limply, looking half Jiangshi and...and half cat

THAT WAS YOUR STYLE! YOUR GHOSTLY FELINE MARTIAL ARTS!YOUR PRECIOUS, MOST TREASURED TECHNIQUE! THE FIRST ONE YOU INVENTED! THAT PERVET WAS MIMICKING YOUR MARTIAL ARTS! HE MUST'VE PEEPED! WATCHED YOU DURING YOUR LATE NIGHT DRILLS! THE FREAK! DEVIANT! SICKO! PERVERT!

And suddenly as you raged and hissed, you realized your disciples had evacuated the private seating, and were peeking their heads through the door leading in. Except Hong, who was blindly looking in the other direct

Xue Long looked confused for a moment, before Star Shooter patted down his hand, and using redirection tossed him off balance and then swiped down his other hand, turning around his moment before he could regain his footing. Then, rather than fighting like a god or cultivator, Star Shooter, like Xue Long, fought like a drunk.

And hit him in the liver. There was a delay, then a fire work sparkle of light as he, condensing the movement of his opponent into one spot, hit him with a move like Xiannu's explosive strikes. A point blank Qi Arrow shot from the palm of his hands, imbued with fire Qi rather than remnant Heavenly Qi or Celestial Energies. And backed up by a furious, open palm paw strike

Xue Long's face paled, his eyes rolled back, as his liver, already weakened by the apparently enchanted bottle of Kaoliang liquor he drank, was severely damage. Reeling from intense pain, he tried to regain his footing, cheeks puffed out. Then, Star Shooter, ran up leapt into the air and slammed both of his heels into his stomach in a drop kick

It wasn't a skillful move. Nothing special. But from the liver strike and the effects of the drink he needed to enter a drunken state, Xue Long doubled over, spewed out a bright red mixture of blood and Kaoliang liquor, with splatters of slick, oil like impurities, raised up a hand, tried to flash one more handsign to retaliate with a spell. And fell to the ground. Star Shooter collasped, in a cold sweat.
Cont

>>6435712

And right over his shoulder, one edge of the crater exploded into a massive pillar of ice that froze the moon dust and rocks before they could blast into space.

"In the last possible moment" You snarl, still furious about that bastard daring to use your martial art in a fight!

"...Xing Sheshou Wins!" Wucai declares, unable to disguise his pride as he, in his hermit disguise, threw up both of his fists. Clearly, the two of you were cheering for different horses at the end!

Double Vote

How do you react, openly, to the outcome of the fight

>By congratulating Star Shooter when he returns, and giving the audience a show with a glimpse of one of your realized auras (Which one?)

>Telling Xue Long he fought well, but he shouldn't have tried to honor his son, when he wasn't a drunken master like Ming was

>By throwing a tantrum, because you're angry he won with YOUR moves!

>Show Star Shooter how that toss and counter strike was actually supposed to be performed

>Write in

And how do you prepare for you upcoming 1 v 2, Huanliuxue?

>Don't need to! Let Weiwupo and Jiebaifeng get ready, cause you're going to kick their ass

>Practice your archery, since no one knows you can use a bow

>Make it interesting, and leave your body in the stands, as you fight them as a pure Sin Eater/ Stillborn's Nursemaid

>Move the arena for round 2 too an asteroid belt, and do some quick training with your cosmic abilities/ Lunar Qi

>Drink a lot of blood to supercharge your Carmine Mysticism

>Gather and take as many drugs as you possibly can, like you did when you killed the crow demon king!

>Write in

>>6435712
>peeking their heads through the door leading in. Except Hong, who was blindly looking in the other direct
kek fucking mint

>>6435713
>>By throwing a tantrum, because you're angry he won with YOUR moves!
He's a rat, not a cat. He has no right. "If you can't beat em join em mehmehmehmeh" fuck you, sky boy.

>Drink a lot of blood to supercharge your Carmine Mysticism
I have a plan. When we go into the arena and as we wait for the match to begin we turn our body into a blood puppet shell and transmute the interior (us) into blood, then we seep into the moon soil through the puppet's feet as a liquid so we can move freely in the soft material without displacing it. While we're hidden we reposition closer to one of them and reform our body under the ground and burst forth from it to ambush them immediately when the match begins. Something only possible because the moon is so light and soft compared to real dirt.

It'll also force people to be hyperaware of such tricks later which will elevate their tension and split their attention. A two-fold ploy.

>>6435713
>Throwing a Tantrum
>Drink a lot of blood

We're saving the bow for that fuck, star shooter.

*fart noise
It actually could have been simple but you rather make it hard. Helllllooooo

>>6435713
>Write-in
>Stewing silently in outrage, cultivating and preparing your grudge toward the wretch who would dare claim glory with the fruits of your labor
He has learned much, but we have a few lessons of our own to teach him.
Painful ones.
>Drink a lot of blood to supercharge your Carmine Mysticism
We should focus on our strengths, and this is probably the most serious preparation we can make that isn't downing loads of drugs.

>>6435883
Supporting, no need to outwardly rage

>>6435883
I can support this instead of >>6435780

Fury is the only appropriate reaction to someone stealing our techniques

>>6435713
>By congratulating Star Shooter when he returns, and giving the audience a show with a glimpse of one of your realized auras

the ghostly one, we have already given some of its secrets away, bet to keep everyone guessing about the others

>Drink a lot of blood to supercharge your Carmine Mysticism

>>6435713
Supporting >>6435883. Huan is a classy lady. She might be a fickle, whimsical creature, but throwing a tantrum in front of everyone is a bit too childish. Better to plot how to bully him in the future.

>>6435713
>By throwing a tantrum, because you're angry he won with YOUR moves!
>>Drink a lot of blood to supercharge your Carmine Mysticism

>>6435713
>>6435883
Support
didn't even think we'd want to throw a tantrum anyway, considering we also ape techniques from others, seems pretty lame to get upset about especially when we teach stuff we do as well

>>6436168
I think it's less that he stole OUR technique and more the HE stole our technique if you catch my drift. People tend to be less lenient with people they dislike, sometimes outright hypocritical.

File: 1670129170613944.jpg (1.06 MB, 1800x2400)

1.06 MB JPG

Meant to do this yesterday, juniors, but I got hit with sudden nausea while reading and needed to lie down.

Ending the vote, tallying the result now

Throw a tantrum:2

Stew silently in outrage and use it to prepare a grudge: 5

Congratulate star shooter: 1
__

Drink a lot of blood to supercharge your Carmine Mysticism: 8

So you'll stew in outrage to cultivate and refine your grudge against Star shooter, and fill up on condensed blood to super charge your carmine mysticism before entering the ring

update will arrive shortly

Breathing out, you restrain and leash your outrage and pique. Simmering it down and exhaling the excess enmity as a dark, sparking cloud of grudge energy as you students cautiously return to your side as you stretch out your claws and scratch the floor in front of you as you tail remains puffed up and swishing through the air like a threatening cobra. Where was that bastards celestial pride? Sure you learned Archery to humiliate him with his own expertise, but you at least sought out different styles of bowmanship! You didn't directly copy his style! He still resented you for "Causing" his fall from grace, you know he did. You tasted his grudge! It was pathetic and an insult that he of all people would use your technique. He wanted to beat you, to both avenge himself and prove his worthiness and make a new source of pride for himself after realizing his whole godhood was a punchline to a bad joke. It was understandable. What was detestable was that, instead of taking inspiration, instead of trying to match you in your realm with his own flavor and style, he was paradoxically proud and shameless enough to copy your martial arts. Not asking to be trained from someone who'd mocked and belittled him, that was understandable, but then to turn around and secretly practice their techniques was low. Lower than worms!

He was once a general in a divine army. Royalty! Even if the nine heavens were a bunch of trash, he still had once had nobility. This was the same as you kneeling on the street, begging for copper cash! in his hands, those feline motions were mockery! Insult! The other four fought, and three lost on their own merits. But when Star Shooter was pushed to the edge of the ring, he took a move out of the book of someone he was opposed to, without any adjustment or finesse. It was the same as him stealing your clothes or a fish from your mouth! Unashamed robbery. It was the same as if Whore Qiao aped your fashion after saying you had flees and rutted with corpses! It was the principle of the matter, as well as who was doing it! It wasn't just an insult, it was a betrayal of principles! If you opposed someone, resented them, hated them, copy their techniques with complete accuracy was not only mockery but a surrender of one's own ideals! It might've been a moment of weakness, but in a fight, one showed their guts and face, one way or another.

Breathing out, you wore a placid, serene smile, a facade hiding the boiling spite bubbling and steaming inside of you as you turned to Blind Hong, and knowing his senses were sharper than the others save for sight, for obvious reasons, you gave him a command as you stood and sauntered out of the private seating platform.
Cont

>>6437069

"Summon Renshu and Ruolan, Houmougui as well. Tell them to enter the storeroom in the bottom of the garden's castle, and empty forty four barrels of the blood we gathered at the slaughter outside Suiqi, and to pour it into the empty bath in the western hall" You tell him with a saccharine sweet tone as you stretch out your back and flick your tail once more "And tell my carmine descendants to vacate and leave me alone while I prepare for my next match, if they behave, they can indulge on the remnant blood left behind"

Ruolan, Renshu and Houmogui all three greet you as you walk, already undressed and in your fully human form, to the specially prepared bathhouse. The air is aromatic with a deeply rich iron tang, like you'd wandered into an ill kept butcher shop instead of a well appointed bath. The air was sticky, sickly sweet with the richness of the refined and condensed blood, the air itself tinged read from the sheer quantity of purified blood qi in the air. All three of your carmine mystic descendants' eyes were glowing crimson as they stood, waiting for your arrival like prim and proper servants.

"The pool is primarily made of Xue blood, Master" Ruolan said softly, eyes aglow with mirthful madness "I couldn't forget the nose of the vintage or the cooling effect"

"Which will have a bonus effect of acting as a skincare product" Renshu tittered, hiding his mouth behind his drooping sleeves like an suspiciously loose and nimble Jiangshi "But, I also included some blood that was gathered from that sea monster you slew"

"And I was told by these two to toss in Ling blood. Smelled like sunshine and cinnamon!" Houmogui raised her voice proudly

"Frost, Sun and Monstrosity. All powerful reagents" You cackle, rubbing your hands together "Leave me, I'll need to soak it through my skin and drench my hair in it, before I can consume it and make it my power. That old hag and old war dog won't know what hit them! No one living has encountered a true ancestor of carmine mysticism; Let alone the one ancestor of pure carmine mysticism, let alone fought one, when they've swallowed up a sea of blood!"

"It'll be a bloodbath, in and out of the ring" Ruolan joked and tittered happily "Be careful not to overindulge"

"I know my limits" You reassure her, patting her on her head "Now, leave me to my bath"

The bathfilled with blood was dark red it almost looked like a pool of ink, dipping a toe on the surface, the pool rippled languidly, wobbling like jelly. Lowering your whole, bare leg in. The sensation of the still steaming blood washing against and around it sent a shiver of delight up your spine and once you slipped all the way in and settled at the bottom, it took a few moments to regain your clarity of thought as the vitality of the stolen life force around you seeped into your skin and soaked into your hair.

There was something pleasantly primal about resting inside a great body of hot blood.
Cont

>>6437070

Like you were scratching an itch so old you'd forgotten about it, like you were nestled by the reeds of a gently flowing river or held in tiny, trembling arms. But there a promise of power in the comfort . You could sense, both as a carmine mystic and cultivate, the power that surrounded you. If you took time to digest the blood, you might progress your cultivation, but you were using it to boost your carmine mysticism and the innate abilities it brought you, storing it in your veins, flesh, skin, hair and marrow.

Kicking your legs lazily, you did a few laps through the thickening pool of blood, meditating and centering your self as the dense blood slowly flowed through your pores and drenched and dyed your hair a fresh coat of crimson. Peeling open the skin under your wrists and arms, and above your ankles and on the back of your legs, you released your arteries from when they were set in your body, letting them flow and stretch out like roots or slithering eels as you continued to flow and move with the currents you churned up as countless, hair fine veins spread out from the tears in your body and began to absorb and draw in the pool of blood. It was intoxicating. Heady. Electrifying. Like cultivating rich Qi, but different. You'd drank blood before, eaten flesh before, but never this much or this high quality.

To stop yourself from bloating, tearing at the seams or bursting like an over filled tick, you stored the blood you were drawing into yourself, through artery, veins, pores, hair and now your mouth which was gaping like a catfish's as you settled back to the bottom of the bath; You began to further condense and refine the blood through a gradual blood alchemical process, pushing and squashing it in on itself until it became less like jelly and more like a hard, squishable gem. Which only your harder than spider demon silk veins could comfortably contain without being scratched or torn open as it formed tiny, razor sharped crystals of ultra refined and purified blood that slowly began to dissipate throughout your veins and body.

A old breed Carmine Mystic would've gotten lost in their gluttony, but a Pure Mystic like yourself, just felt the pleasant and energizing rush of being overfilled with life force without losing control or composure. Leaving behind only a few drops of blood, you shook your hair, which had a sheen like it was constantly dripping with freshly spilled blood, sparkling with dim shooting star light, and held up your arms. The sun kissed skin, was flushed and reddened, and the veins under it were fattened and squirming as they struggled to contain the extreme excess of blood. Most of it would be burned off in the fight to come, but you might have enough to make some progress to your next rank of a golden core.
Cont

>>6437072

And looking at a mirror, you saw the whites your eyes were also dyed red, making it along with your reddened skin and pulsing veins, a little difficult to disguise your preparations.

Smirking, and deciding to lean into the appearance of a matriarch of blood sorcerers, you dress yourself in a flowing robe of blood, looking like the petals of a razor edged rose, rather than donning your spider demon silk armor, before pulling your hair back to show off your tapered ear, putting a red gem of super condensed blood to mimic a piercing on the notched and shorter of the pair, wiggling it before smiling in a way to show off the fang like teeth in your smile. Wearing only blood as protection and fashion, you glided out of the bath and headed to the arena.

The crowd, Weiwupo and Jiebaifeng were waiting for you, and from a glance you could tell that they had made their own preparations. the Weiwupo wasn't dressed in her usual fashion, save for her goofy, wide brimmed hat, but rather the dress of a practice adventurer, with leather belts covered with crystal and glass bottles and golden cases that rattled with pills and spirit medicines. She also had four straw dolls tied to her hip and the broom she held was different, with long, coffin nails hammered along its length. A long, wave bladed dagger was sheathed at her hip, along with a whip woven out of grey and white hairs. She looked less like a classic ideal of witch, and more like the reality of won. It was like taking a glimpse into her past, or seeing her trying to relive it. And you noted she had an opium pipe of similar fashion to monu, stuck in her hair like a pin.

Jiebaifeng, however, was dressed less like a general as he had been in his first match, and while still wearing pieces of a uniform clearly belonging to the White Jade devil opposing army, he was mostly dressed in armor made out of demon and hell corrupted monster parts, resembling more a hunter of the underworld himself. And wearing what had to be quite a few treasures of his sect. And he didn't bring the spear that was adorned with a devil skull trophy. No, now he wielded a sword that was as large as he was tall, and nearly as wide, which had a full, horned and winged skeleton acting as the hilt, guard and backing. He wore a facemask made of pure white jade and had his greying hair tied up in a martial, warrior style. And from his back, ran a coat of white scales and rubbery skin. A combined hide of snake and toad demons.

"I see, you've also taken the liberty of changing your style, girl" Weiwupo smirked, as she looked you up and down "I'm not sure if fighting us nude is an insult or a show of respect. That blood...is interesting, child, never seen anything like it. Just your style, mixing beauty with the grotesque"
Cont

>>6437073

"There's a holy aura to the blood your soaked in" Jiebaifeng, much more stoically remarked, speaking like this was a business transaction rather than a fight "It is enlightening, how you turn what is Taboo hallowed. You wear your techniques proudly, I hope our sects can become greater friends in the future"

"Naked? Don't you see my lovely new dress of dripping blood" You cackle "And it should be, it is a special blend, refined and purified. I am wearing power, Weiwupo. Just as you are dressed in tricks and charms. And you're probably sensing, now that you're up close, that I'm a living well spring of pure blood Qi"

"We've all prepared in excess" Jiebaifeng says with a twinkle in his eyes "Like we were going to war against five armies. This, is how cultivators of our levels should fight. You've shown us that before, Huanliuxue, in your slaying of Xue Laohue. But to be personally considered a threat deserving of you going all out...is thrilling"

"Tch, that's cause you're with Weiwupo, Uncle" You cackle as Weiwupo tipped down the brim of her hat

"I'd say you were more arrogant than your mother, girl, but your name so highly honored and venerated, is a warning. Happy Bloodshed, Huanliuxue. You might be many years my junior, but both me and this Jiebaifeng together might not combine to make a deadly threat" She hummed before grinning "But we can try and teach you to respect your elders, can't we?

"Let nothing go unsaid. I am honored to fight you, even if it is as part of a two man team" Jiebaifeng said with a bow, as both the innocent witch court and white jade devil oppossing army who had been at eachother's throats last round these two fought in, cheered loudly

"Likewise" The Weiwupo said "She reduced me to only the third most prominent witch in Chuan! I need to win back my original title, or else I can't call myself the Weiwupo anymore, Heh"

"Teach me respect? Hah! I know you two have more tricks up your sleeves than you let on to the world, I respect that you've got brains enough to realize I'm the apex predator here, and I respect that you didn't come unprepared! All that needs to be said, has been" You tell them, gesturing with a flick of your sleeve towards the tear leading to space "Now, let's begin"

"To the victor, glory" Jiebaifeng said

"I'll teach you manners" The Weiwupo sneered, without any unkindness or venom. Smirking, you sauntered off after them, hearing the supporting cheers of your students who hadn't left to strengthen themselves and your followers in the crowd, and more than a few Buddhists and nobles. but loudest was the cheering of your mother, Monu, even if her yelling for you to kick their asses wasn't exactly dignified
Cont

>>6437075

The two elders fly to the moon, you rush after them, because you can sense their killing intent even though they try to hide it. They'll rush to attack you together the moment you reach the Lunar Arena on the Moon's surface. So you need to figure out how to defend yourself and launch a decisive counter attack!

Double Vote !

Which Aura do you use/ manifest,

> Ill Omen: Halve the effects of enemy auras/ Brings misfortune to opponents. Counter type

> Primordial Remnant: Greatly increase physique/ Boost Beast Evolutions a tier higher/ reduce damage received/ Scales damage based on damage received or healed. Aura of terror/ awe/ access to ancestral techniques. Self Buff Type

>Queen of beasts and ghosts: Weakens human and living opponents/ Strengthens beasts and ghost allies/ Bends weaker beasts and ghosts to your will + boosts their and the aura wielders bestial / ghostly attributes/ Summons illusory allies if none are presented/ boosts Stamina, vitality, spirituality. Army type

>True Ancestor of pure carmine mysticism: Prevents hostile healing/ Empowers blood based techniques and carmine mystic abilities + Evolutions, increasing as more blood is shed. Passively drain blood, causing instant death to weak foes. Passive healing effect. Empowers + Subordinates are Carmine mystics. Can corrupt mortals and weaker cultivators into carmine mystics. Specialized/ Ancestral type

>Dying Time: Distorts, quickens the flow of time. Weaker opponents age rapidly, Equal/ stronger foes have their stamina/ vitality sapped. Reduces DCs, expands crit range to 90 to 100. Contains user and foes in an altered space. Critical hits can apply debuffs, deal more damage and other effects. Duelist type

And how do you defend yourself, Huanliuxue

>By immediately manifesting your aura completely, releasing it completely and shrouding the moon in it (Reaction + Willpower Trial. DC 90. DC reduced because neither opponent possess Aura Manifestation Technique, like Yanyu or Huan do)

>Activating the blood red lightning cat step and several physical cultivation techniques/ self buffs and dodging their assault (Agility + Speed trial. DC 85)

> Turn into a red eyed jiangshi and use the element of surprise to throw them off their game (Carmine Mystic Trial. DC 95 (Cosmic or Verdant?)

>Target Weiwupo with the eye stealing grasp (Speed + Martial Trial. DC 160)

>Write in

Juniors, wanna guess the aura types/ effects of Weiwupo and Jiebaifeng?

>>6437077
Given we are going to be leaning heavy on the Blood. .

>True ancestor of Blood

>Cosmic red eyed Jiangashi

These two should self buff.

The old witch I bet has a similar trickster to Aura of I'll omen

>>6437077
>True Ancestor of pure carmine mysticism: Prevents hostile healing/ Empowers blood based techniques and carmine mystic abilities + Evolutions, increasing as more blood is shed. Passively drain blood, causing instant death to weak foes. Passive healing effect. Empowers + Subordinates are Carmine mystics. Can corrupt mortals and weaker cultivators into carmine mystics. Specialized/ Ancestral type
> Turn into a red eyed jiangshi and use the element of surprise to throw them off their game (Carmine Mystic Trial. DC 95 (Cosmic or Verdant?)

>>6437077
>>6437084
cosmic

>>6437025
>I got hit with sudden nausea while reading and needed to lie down.
It do be happening sometimes. At least you didn't need to throw up.

>>6437077
>>True Ancestor of pure carmine mysticism: Prevents hostile healing/ Empowers blood based techniques and carmine mystic abilities + Evolutions, increasing as more blood is shed. Passively drain blood, causing instant death to weak foes. Passive healing effect. Empowers + Subordinates are Carmine mystics. Can corrupt mortals and weaker cultivators into carmine mystics. Specialized/ Ancestral type
Double down, like compounding interest. Buff the buff.

>Activating the blood red lightning cat step and several physical cultivation techniques/ self buffs and dodging their assault (Agility + Speed trial. DC 85)
They want to act fast, so we just have to act faster, obviously. Simple math.

>auras
I'm guessing Weiwupo has something the buffs spellcasting, particularly hexes or curses. And Jiebaifeng I'd guess has a nullifying AoE type against corruption especially.

I'm not seeing any real need to go fancy, or any trickery we can drop to fuck up the guys.

I've got a counterattack idea in the idea. Sending out a red mist of blood to cover them, so we can throw a few "Crimson bouques of flowers" darts through them.
This then later sets up a field of active blood that they will forget about once our next attack begins and this has done nothing, at which point we herd them back in and trigger another trap from the rear.

But that's not a dodge.

>>6437077
>True Ancestor of pure carmine mysticism
Naturally, for a heavy blood loadout.
>By immediately manifesting your aura completely, releasing it completely and shrouding the moon in it (Reaction + Willpower Trial. DC 90. DC reduced because neither opponent possess Aura Manifestation Technique, like Yanyu or Huan do)
Neither of them having Aura Manifestation makes this a huge advantage to exploit, one we'll probably need as they unleash their bags of tricks.

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>>6437070
So we're a vampire True Ancestor now. Neat.

>>6437077
>>True Ancestor of pure carmine mysticism: Prevents hostile healing/ Empowers blood based techniques and carmine mystic abilities + Evolutions, increasing as more blood is shed. Passively drain blood, causing instant death to weak foes. Passive healing effect. Empowers + Subordinates are Carmine mystics. Can corrupt mortals and weaker cultivators into carmine mystics. Specialized/ Ancestral type
Of course

>Activating the blood red lightning cat step and several physical cultivation techniques/ self buffs and dodging their assault (Agility + Speed trial. DC 85)

>>6437077
>>6437082 +1

>>6437077
>True Ancestor of pure carmine mysticism: Prevents hostile healing/ Empowers blood based techniques and carmine mystic abilities + Evolutions, increasing as more blood is shed. Passively drain blood, causing instant death to weak foes. Passive healing effect. Empowers + Subordinates are Carmine mystics. Can corrupt mortals and weaker cultivators into carmine mystics. Specialized/ Ancestral type
>Verdant Jiangshi

>Juniors, wanna guess the aura types/ effects of Weiwupo and Jiebaifeng?
Weiwupo I imagine having something akin to Ill Omen, while Jiebaifeng would have a army type aura that would weaken those with bad karma/evil spirit and empower allies with good karma

>>6437077
>>True Ancestor of pure carmine mysticism: Prevents hostile healing/ Empowers blood based techniques and carmine mystic abilities + Evolutions, increasing as more blood is shed. Passively drain blood, causing instant death to weak foes. Passive healing effect. Empowers + Subordinates are Carmine mystics. Can corrupt mortals and weaker cultivators into carmine mystics. Specialized/ Ancestral type
this or dying time

> Turn into a red eyed jiangshi and use the element of surprise to throw them off their game (Carmine Mystic Trial. DC 95 (Cosmic or Verdant?)
We are on the moon, so cosmic will be more powerful here

Hmm.

Grandfather, Does anyone else in our alliance that we know of have a better core than 3rd.
Yanyu has a 2nd tier, but surely some of the gardeners have some talent?

>>6437077
>>True Ancestor of pure carmine mysticism: Prevents hostile healing/ Empowers blood based techniques and carmine mystic abilities + Evolutions, increasing as more blood is shed. Passively drain blood, causing instant death to weak foes. Passive healing effect. Empowers + Subordinates are Carmine mystics. Can corrupt mortals and weaker cultivators into carmine mystics. Specialized/ Ancestral type
We started our preparations into this direction and should go through with it.

> Turn into a red eyed jiangshi and use the element of surprise to throw them off their game (Carmine Mystic Trial. DC 95 (Cosmic or Verdant?)
> Cosmic
I really like the cosmic vampire theme. It also makes me rethink if maybe rejecting the previous, solar-opposed path to divinity was maybe wrong? We could become a C'Tan.

>>6437979
As a vocal supporter of that path, it gave a lot of benefits that I think are no brainers.
But our path to ascendancy should really be extensions of our Law. Ghost grudges and a secondary aid of Blood Life.

Sun killing diety ain't all that.

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Ending the vote, tallying the result now. I'm doing this so late cause I dropped one of my favorite tea cups two days ago, Juniors, and that made my blood flow in reverse

True Ancestor of Pure Carmine Mysticism: 9

Dying time:1
___

Turn into a red eyed Jiangshi: 6
- Cosmic path: 5
- Verdant path:1

Immediately manifest your aura completely:1

Active the blood red lightning cat step + some physical boosting techniques: 2

So you'll go into the fight with the true ancestor of pure carmine mysticism and transform into a Red eyed Jiangshi to counter Weiwupo and Jiebaifeng's initial assault

Intermediate update will arrive shortly

>>6437098
Huan did single handedly reinvent/ purify Carmine Mysticism, after all

>>6437783
They do, but besides Luli, they're all non combatants and none have a core higher than 3 (Tianhua is equal with the two senior elders in the sect)

>>6438737
I was wondering where Tianhua was cultivation wise, non-combat sect and all so I imagine they'd be on the lower side of power

"It still takes this old witch's breath away" Weiwupo mutters before the air dragged through the portal vanishes entirely to the void, her crow's feet ringed eyes reflecting the countless, colorfully hued stars twinkling in the black abyss beyond the claw rip in space

"A view mortal eyes were never permitted to view" Jiebaifeng waxes poetic "It is a sign of the changing era that so many can walk above the heavens, and for something as slight as a cultivatiors tournament"

You shrug your shoulders, the rose petal like flows of blooding shifting as you change the aura you're manifesting, a sanguine regality oozing out of you as the flow of pure blood qi bubbling out of your cultivation base and twin cores increases in volume and rapidity as your eyes flashes as crimson as the bleeding moonlight trapped in your hair as a imperious smirk tugs at the corners of your lips. The Weiwupo and Jiebaifeng immediately notice the shift in your aura, as they feel the inheritance and mandate of Carmine Mysticism surging out of you, thicker than any killing intent or battle readiness. Like the clouds of a split open sky that is raining blood, they wear expressions like they had just wandered into a court of pure carmine mystics, having attained stations higher than the heavens themselves, with you seated as is your proper place at the highest and most privileged of thrones. Their veins pulse under their aged skin, and their eyes narrow as the mere presence of the progenitor of the new strain and style of Carmine Mysticism beckons the very blood coursing under their hides to treachery, to betray its containers and rip itself from their living veins. They stiffen their shoulders, instinctively and hold their heads rod straight as they resist the urge to kneel and prostrate themselves before imperial authority, ancestral might and the presence of a predator of everything that bleeds.

"Barring your fangs already, Bloodshed?" Jiebaifeng reprimands, the armored war mask covering his jaw rattling as a warrior's bravado reveals itself across his expression, his eyes twinkling like polished white jade as behind him, you sense his own leaking aura. His, is a radiant light, reflected, captured and honed into a razor edge. A purifying, White Jade Radiance that issues forth from within his dao heart like the flames of a pyre, lashing and snapping at every impurity and corruption around him like a host of rabid, starved dogs! His Aura is that of a cleansing pyre, refined into a general's saber. It is the august presence of a demon hunting maniac, refined into a gentleman's air. How fitting for one of the officers of the White Jade Devil Opposing Army!
Cont

>>6438746

"Youngsters like her know no manners unless they're whipped into them!" the Weiwupo snaps eyes blood shot and wilds, as you see her aura. It is a temple built upon foundations, constantly improved through inheritance. No mere soothsaying dabbler's shack, she is cloaked in a miasma of curses and hexes, of inherited taboos and a history of charms both benevolent and wicked. It is a mire of sorcery and witchcraft, and the current Weiwupo stands as the last in a line of nail stricken straw dolls, bearing the accumulated knowledge and technique of her forebearers. Like the last insect left in a Gu Jar. Truly, she deserves the epithet of Weiwupo!

But both of their auras combine can not suppress or repress your majestic aura as the one True Ancestor of Pure Carmine Mysticism! They stand as strangers in the court of the blood soaked queen, rattling their sabers and barring their fangs and claws as fanged shadows and flashing crimson eyes glare down at them with amused contempt as your demeanor and bearing changes to match that of the matriarch and master of the few, true carmine mystics you have allowed to exist beneath the heavens and your shadow!

The three of you do not reach the end of the bridge of hard moonlight, as the clashing of three auras and the domineering presence drawing out the blood from their aged, dusty veins, fired up the old timers so much that they decide they must pick their battlefield to have a chance of winning. And you welcome them to try, if that is what it takes for them to dare to challenge you upon your Carmine Throne. Above the moon, the might of the forebearer of blood sorcery spreads out and expands to eclipse the stars, dyeing all of them in view and even the blank, black emptiness with a scarlet tint as your existence as a Pure Carmine Mystic is not only revealed but reveled in!

The White Jade Radiance burns bright, as if it intends to outshine the stars and banish the blood red miasma surrounding its master, while by its side, the history of hexes is repeated as the very airless space is covered in curses written by unseen hands and muttering voices!
Cont

>>6438747
_
Fateful Encounter!: The Weiwupo and Jaibaifeng!

Enemy Aura! Weiwupo: Vessel of the Great Witch: Sorcery/ Spell casting power increased, enemy sorcery/ magic decreased, Curses and hexes strengthened further than other magics, curses cast passively . Crit fails reactivated, Crit fail range expanded to 1-5. Chance of losing control/ being possessed by past Weiwupos. Aura owner takes more damage from physical attacks but gains an extreme resistance to curses and purifying arts.

Enemy Aura!: Jaibaifeng: Overwhelming White Jade Radiance: The aura acts as an AOE, dealing constant damage and repressing enemy Qi, with greater effect against demonic, evil or corrupt targets. Taboo and Demonic techniques are weakened. Users sword techniques damage body, mind and soul, User's physical attributes are strengthened. User at risk of going berserk/ suffering backlash from the overwhelming purity of their own aura, but grows stronger the closer to the edge they become

Huanliuxue is the boss of this encounter!
Boss Theme: https://youtu.be/nBAE3AECbCI
_

And you threw out your arms, as the two old times, whose blood was already beading at their arms like cold sweat turned on their heels in unison. The Weiwupo held four coffin nails, two in each hand, clenched between her first, second and third fingers. Jiebaifeng, now blazing like a lit wick in a pure white fire, kicked off the air and flew towards you, the edge of his man sized blade coated with white radiance that glinted menacingly

And your face cracked, drops of blood oozing out and flowing up as hairline cracks rand down to your collarbone and down your arms, a great rend splitting down your torso to your belly before splitting at your hips as great, crimson crystal sprang out and pushed apart the cracks as the white of your eyes flushed blood red, the yellow in them glowing like full, harvest moons as your pupils rounded from crescents and turned wide as you immediately performed the transformation technique to turn yourself into a Red Eyed Jiangshi of the Cosmic Path of Pure Carmine Mysticism!

Roll 2d100. DC 90. DC reduced by Aura (Strength: No Blood Shed). Bo5

>>6438743
And you'd be right, they don't teach martial arts. They're a sect of healers, gardeners and alchemists. But they are incredibly wealthy and have a lot of cultivation resources cause they make the best medicine/ cultivation aids in Chuan.

Rolled 9, 62 = 71 (2d100)

>>6438748
Time for Huan to freak out the audience for a second time

Rolled 63, 99 = 162 (2d100)

>>6438748
huh, so tier 3 is the minimum for "strong head"

>>6438769
Mmmmm, 72 over the DC.
Some people getting their ass kicked.

Just a warning, juniors, might not immediately update after the fifth and last roll comes in. Might be busy with chores or have fallen back asleep, either is a possibility

Rolled 70, 48 = 118 (2d100)

>>6438748
Oh yeah, Hardblood Arts!

Rolled 39, 78 = 117 (2d100)

>>6438748
I'm rolling again.

Rolled 51, 97 = 148 (2d100)

>>6438748
gonna roll again so we can get going once Gramps wakes up

Rolled 96, 93 = 189 (2d100)

>>6438748
I am late, but I will roll for funsies.

>>6438832
Shame the roll is wasted. But 7 dos ain't bad.

9 dos with 1 off 10 isn't that shitty.

>>6438832
my impatience has robbed us of greater heights

>>6438839
Alas we do not double the DC in the face of two opponents. The funniest of outcomes.

>>6438851
Don't sweat it. If I'm being honest I had just woken up kek nothing wrong with trying when it's been hours.

So, we absolutely need to cripple the Weiwupo as our first priority. Expanding our critfail range to 1-5 is insanely dangerous with all the dice we roll.
With 2d100 Bo5 that means we have a 40.126% chance of hitting at least one critfail whenever we roll.

>>6438769
Stellar Success! 70 Over DC

Update will arrive shortly.

Sorry for taking so long, juniors, I laid down to watch tv while waiting and woke up several hours later

The cracks across your body widen, the blood red crystals spread as space distorts and a melodic, chiming noise echos with every snap of flesh and break off bone as your smile grows wider and more manic, eyes swirling with distorted shades of red as you stare down the greatsword wielding warrior and hexed nails holding witch as the gems growing out of your own veins, formed from the excess of blood contained within your body juts and stabs as it crawls over your eyes, obscuring the moonlit madness leaking out of them as it covers your face like a natural armor. With just your lower jaw exposed and your hair flowing behind you with blood gem crystals growing out from within its whorls and curls, your arms full separate, snapping apart at irregular, asymmetrical points as they're, along with torso down to your hips, covering in the same blood born crystal. Severing all four limbs, distortions and cuts in space keeps them attached mysteriously as drops of blood harden to form fiercer fangs under your smile with a loud, definite snap your transformation into a cosmic red eyed Jiangshi is complete, and the crystals smooth out over the pieces of you like a hard, crimson shell, looking more more refined and elegant than the randomly jutting and growing spires they'd started out as

Catching both The Weiwupo and Jiebaifeng off guard, as from their point of view, you just suddenly exploded into a swarm of blood red crystals and body parts half consumed and buried in the same, unknown and probably quiet scary substance. Jiebaifeng immediately ducks behind the sword that was hugged by the skeleton of a demon, while Weiwupo's hand shoots down to her hip, groping for a straw doll as the bloody haze spread throughout the stars deepens as your pieces are randomly jostled and thrown around between the cuts made in space, flickering and teleporting and rearranging as you try to get used to controlling the disconnected pieces of yourself without getting tangled up in your own intent.

And you realize, the stray shards that snapped off or splintered when the cracks grew wide enough to chop you into several, uneven pieces, were still made of your blood. And with how much you drank before the fight, both of your opponents were caught in a cloud of needles, knives, fangs, claws and cutting dust. And with a thought, you kept them on the backfoot as the swarm of bleeding crystals swirled and began to swarm. Jiebaifeng's defenses were already raised and Weiwupo tossed out a paper talisman that expanded to form a three layered protection spell "Bubble". But both were scratched, scraped and scoured from the storm. And more importantly than the trickle of blood extracted from the storm of slicing blood jewels, they were distracted and forced to guard against an area wide attack. Which meant they were completely unguarded, from, say a clawing or biting from behind
Cont

>>6439016

Weiwupo stuffed as you bit into her shoulders, cackling. She suddenly turned into a bundle of straw in a vaguely human shape, appearing on a fragment of comet where she'd nailed a doll while you were distracted with the really strange but not unpleasant sensation of being snapped apart at your joints like a doll yourself. She winced, a deep red pool spreading on the shoulder of her torn robes, blood streams flowing out from the wound as your head cracked and turned briefly into a swarm of scarlet star dust. As one of your hands thrust from behind Jiebaifeng's guard, and buried the wicked talons that had covered your nails deep into his side, slipping past his armor before it vanished through a distortion is space

Recombining, your arms, legs and head were separated from your body through distortions, seeming to vanish and reppear out of red blurs that bled out of the crystalline growths covering and armoring your body like a sleek, form fitting armor , giving you a very weird and alien appearance; Especially with the band of red, smooth crystals covering your eyes and upper face. Grinning, you lifted up your arms, one going upwards and the other extending downwards and briefly splitting down the middle of the hand before pressing back together. And with a gesture you stopped the cloud of blood red shards as Jiebaifeng and the Weiwupo both bled, their wounds draining out rapidly as you didn't allow them the chance to catch their breath, adapt or strike back!

Weiwupo and Jiebaifeng are both bleeding grievously

And how did you attack them, Huanliuxue?

>Stop the Weiwupo from setting up any more straw doll substitutions and focus your assault on her, appearing a disappearing through rifts in space and blood (Martial + Carmine Mystic trial. Initial DC 75 (Initial DC reduced by Aura: Bloodshed level: Murder) (Following DCs will be adjusted based on the outcome of the first roll)

>Jaibeifang's aura and martial prowess is far more dangerous to you than a curse! Grudges are your domain after all, confuse his sense and expose him to the Lunatic Eyes! (Magic + Carmine Mystic Trial. Initial DC 95 (Intial DC adjusted by Aura: Bloodshed level: Murder and enemy Auras) (Following DCs will be adjusted based on the outcome of the first roll)

>Throw Weiwupo off her game by also performing Emnity Incarnation, using Monu's still smoldering grudge against the late Xue Laohue (Magic Trial. Initial DC 120 (DC raised by enemy aura) (Following DCs will be adjusted based on the outcome of the first roll)

>Expel some of the blood you drank and transmute it corrosive, and teleport it between rifts in space to spread across the stellar battlefield while commanding it with blood control (Magic/ Carmine Mystic Trial. DC 90 (DC Adjusted by Aura Bloodshed Level: Murder and enemy auras)

>Write in

>>6439017
>Stop the Weiwupo from doing her bullshit, and focus our assault on her.
>Suppliment our assault with Blood-body buff and shooting star stampede.

>>6439017
>Stop the Weiwupo from setting up any more straw doll substitutions and focus your assault on her, appearing a disappearing through rifts in space and blood (Martial + Carmine Mystic trial. Initial DC 75 (Initial DC reduced by Aura: Bloodshed level: Murder) (Following DCs will be adjusted based on the outcome of the first roll)
just try and copy that mr archer

>Stop the Weiwupo from setting up any more straw doll substitutions and focus your assault on her, appearing a disappearing through rifts in space and blood (Martial + Carmine Mystic trial. Initial DC 75 (Initial DC reduced by Aura: Bloodshed level: Murder) (Following DCs will be adjusted based on the outcome of the first roll)
Sooo, just tossing this out there, I wonder if there is a way to "hide" within Jiebaifeng's aura to briefly nullify Weiwupo's critfail bullshit, even if it would probably be painful.

>>6439017
>Stop the Weiwupo from setting up any more straw doll substitutions and focus your assault on her, appearing a disappearing through rifts in space and blood (Martial + Carmine Mystic trial. Initial DC 75 (Initial DC reduced by Aura: Bloodshed level: Murder) (Following DCs will be adjusted based on the outcome of the first roll)

>>6439017
>Stop the Weiwupo from setting up any more straw doll substitutions and focus your assault on her, appearing a disappearing through rifts in space and blood (Martial + Carmine Mystic trial. Initial DC 75 (Initial DC reduced by Aura: Bloodshed level: Murder) (Following DCs will be adjusted based on the outcome of the first roll)

>>6439017
>Stop the Weiwupo from setting up any more straw doll substitutions and focus your assault on her, appearing a disappearing through rifts in space and blood (Martial + Carmine Mystic trial. Initial DC 75 (Initial DC reduced by Aura: Bloodshed level: Murder) (Following DCs will be adjusted based on the outcome of the first roll)
and I'll support the bit from >>6439022 if it'll make a difference when it's time to roll

>>6439017
>>Stop the Weiwupo from setting up any more straw doll substitutions and focus your assault on her, appearing a disappearing through rifts in space and blood (Martial + Carmine Mystic trial. Initial DC 75 (Initial DC reduced by Aura: Bloodshed level: Murder) (Following DCs will be adjusted based on the outcome of the first roll)

I'll try to get the update out today, but so far juniors I've been having a rough day. My only pair of headphones spontaneously disassembled themselves and I'm not sure I can get replacements before the day is done. Which has really made my blood flow in reverse (Not as much as accidentally slapping one of my favorite tea cups to the ground, but still, its given me a headache)

>>6440197
My condolences Grandfather.

Ending and tallying the vote now, cause I'm not longer too upset to write even though I still don't have headphones

Stop the Weiwupo from setting up any more straw doll substitutions and focus your assault on her, appearing a disappearing through rifts in space and blood:7
-Suppliment our assault with Blood-body buff and shooting star stampede:1

Complete agreement to focus/ gank the witch!

Intermediate update will arrive shortly

>>6440203
Still need to find a new tea cup that can fill the void in my dao heart that my favourite one has left...and get a new pair of headphones

In an instant, your eyes hidden behind a visor of blood red crystal flick from the bigger immediate threat that Jiebaifeng poses with his oversized, demon bone backed sword and onto the Weiwupo, who is much more composed than any old woman should be after nearly having her jugular torn out by someone else's, admittedly fang like, razor sharp teeth. Jiebaifeng is already trying to stem the bleeding, eyes set on you warily as he tries to anticipate your next move, which isn't an easy task even for a master with some battle experience like himself, since how can one predict the next move of an opponent who is slipping in an out of tears and fissures in space and has turned from a single target into, effectively, a bunch of asteroids with no clear center of gravity tying them to one position.

Weiwupo on the other hand, while she is keeping an eye on you, she isn't concerned with her injury or the torrent of blood slowly spilling out of the bite mark on her neck, no, she's turned the injury to her advantage. The great witch isn't so innocent at all if she's willing to use her own blood as a material to empower her own hexes. She's the real danger, you've learned and mastered enough curses to know that giving her room to breath is a bad idea. She avoided crippling damage with that straw doll of hers, and you can tell that she is trusting Jiebaifeng to keep you occupied so she set up more straw dolls substitutes now that she's felt your fangs.

And if she is able to place them, she's effectively bought herself nine or more lives to throw away, which would put even the peerless you at a supreme disadvantage. One problem with these two old timers unspoken plan. You don't need to move across space to traverse it. And with a flick of your wrist, you can claw a path forward and appear beside her. And if that doesn't work, you can just use her own blood as a medium to get in range to break that old hag's hip! Smiling, you throw out an arm, the limb shooting off like a comet as it rends and shortens the space between you and Weiwupo, which you feint as a sudden strike against the guarding Jiebaifeng. And as he guards with his sword, you gather your free floating limbs and body parts back together and blink out of sight through claw like tears in space and...

Roll 2d100. DC 75. Bo5

Rolled 94, 23 = 117 (2d100)

>>6440449

Rolled 85, 33 = 118 (2d100)

>>6440445
>Still need to find a new tea cup that can fill the void in my dao heart that my favourite one has left.
The obvious solution is to take up pottery and make your own.

>>6440449
Anyway, watch this drive.

Rolled 87, 33 = 120 (2d100)

>>6440449
Rollan

Rolled 25, 30 = 55 (2d100)

>>6440449

Rolled 82, 44 = 126 (2d100)

>>6440449
>rolling again...

>>6440498
Great Success! Nearly exactly fifty over the target

next Update will arrive shortly

Appear in front of and behind her. The Weiwupo's eyes widen beneath her wide brimmed hat as she pulls it back and sweeps a broom soaked in her own blood at the clawed hand swiping out of nothing at her as she hops backwards. Right into a kick you whip out as your lower half emerges from a different path slipped between the slices of space. There is a whip crack sound as you kick her hard in the back and she, showing unusual agility for a woman her age, rolls with the strike and summersaults over it. And then curses and hisses a whispered profanity as she sees that you're still right in front of her, having reassembled, resembling a living, bleeding star as you spin her as she tries to block with her broom handle and you instead grab it and give her a twirl.

Sending her flying, she pulls a paper talisman and centers a spell array around floating iron nails, but when she gets ready to release the two spells, she sees you're gone again. Until you pounce up from underneath her. She gives a silent yell silenced by the void, and Jaibaifeng flies from where one of your hands hand was keeping him occupied to try and intercept you and take the pressure off his teammate.

But when he swings out a comet cleaving beam of sword light, you separate, scattering your limbs as your head cackles and winks out into a pool of blood that Weiwupo had spread across space, before it can freeze. And then, right as he turns, swinging to catch a two handed counter attack you launched at his back, feigning again, you stomp a foot onto the Weiwupo's back before she can straddle her broom and get flying. Her eyes blacken as she whips around, swinging a great flame from the end of her brooms and commanding two straw doll puppets to try and latch on your legs. But you simply kick off of one of them and tap your toe against her brow. Her eyes boggle and start to uncoordinated and wobble in their sockets as you hit a pressure point and also prod her head with a toe that has turned to solid, carmine mysticism empowered crystal. She recoils, back bending as the one strike cracks her skull and create an ugly, nearly black bruise to spread across her wrinkled brow.

Jiebaifeng, tosses his sword and grapples with both of his hands, forcing you to kick off of Weiwupo again, or else get your legs cut in half vertically. However, you blink one of your hands away as he holds it, drilling a gap in space to reach out and snatch the Weiwupo by the back of her knuck, like scruffing a misbehaving kitten as you bring you head, torso and legs back together as she, kicks and squirms, not having any time to cast spells or mutter curses, let alone stab a straw doll somewhere far away to run away to.

Her eyes meet yours, still disoriented and out of focus, but then her lips part and you snarl, sensing the curse being born on her tongue. And it is a really nasty one, the sort that, even though she has no breath to make a sound, makes your spine tingle.

It is a heart targeting hex!
Cont

>>6440508

And as she begins to utter it, Jiebaifeng begins to crush the hand you left grappling with his own hands and using it as a focus to set the rest of you on fire! And just being near him has started to melt the hardened blood covering the hand he's intent on breaking every bone inside of! These old timers fight like they've got a thousand years left to live and the youth to enjoy it when they're cornered! And despite bleeding heavily, they haven't started slowing down or running out of steam yet. And besides Weiwupo's own mouth, an invisible presence behind her head starts chanting a curse to scramble your brains and dull your wits

Martial + Speed trial. DC 92. Best out of five

Rolled 63, 54 = 117 (2d100)

>>6440509

Rolled 93, 62 = 155 (2d100)

>>6440509

Rolled 84, 25 = 109 (2d100)

>>6440509
I refuse to be cursed AGAIN. How dare she.

Still waiting on two more votes, but no rush

Rolled 89, 24 = 113 (2d100)

>>6440509
our heart is way stronger than that lady

>>6440530
Rolls, not votes lol

Rolled 3, 21 = 24 (2d100)

>>6440509

>>6440536
It happened

>>6440536
Ah damn it

>>6440512
Fantastic success! 60 Over DC and

>>6440536
But a crit fail adds a wrinkle!

How exciting.

Update will arrive shortly

Feeling a flicker of indignation, you force more and more blood to accumulate into your arms. Both the one wrestling with Jiebaifeng to keep him from saving Weiwupo's wrinkly hide and the one holding the grey witch by her scruff. And mustering both your natural and blood boosted strength, the muscles on both of the free floating limbs burst out, growing and cracking the carapace of resplendent carmine crystals, which quickly grew to cover the arms as they were strengthened and bloated to greater size from the sudden injection of condensed and refined blood shed from cultivators!

With a palm that resembled an ogre's more than a fighting, warrior princesses, you broke the grapple and slapped Jiebaifeng away, he shielded himself at the last second with a snow white barrier spell that cracked and snapped, blood dripping from behind his warmask as he reached out and stalled his uncontrolled flight via the handle of his ridiculous, oversized sword. Weiwupo however, you instead tossed away, immediately shutting up her attempt to cast a spell as the invisible presence continue chanting their own hex on you as you redirected the blood flowing between cosmic space to drain out of the ends of both of your arms to avoid wasting too much of it as you shifted your grip around the Weiwupo. Moving your hand down from her neck to her waist you caught her before she could reorient herself or escape and slammed her into a wall of super hardened, star light infused blood, fractals and rainbow lights scattering behind her as she spat up blood.

The aura she'd chosen had boosted her mysticism to the detriment of her physical durability and fortitude. She'd used a different cultivation Aura during her fight with Jiebaifeng. Unfortunately, her assumption that you'd fight the demon hunter or fight both of them at the same time like an arrogant fool was proving to be her downfall.

Standing tip toe on the cracked end of your own arm, that was still ogre sized and completely coated in gems that shined like freshly spilt blood, you looked down at her as you ground and pressed her against the breaking shards of the wall, fully intending to break it or her, whichever came first. It might not be flashy and could be called crude, but the point of a fight was too win quickly, and you knew that if you gave this hag any chance to breathe or plan her next move, it'd be a lot harder to beat her or her partner. She had too many tricks up her sleeves! You didn't want to end up in the titanic hands she'd summoned to try and snap Jiebaifeng's limbs as if he were a toy doll!

However, the look of shock and panic on the older timer's face flicker, like she'd fainted. And you began to release your grip as suddenly, her entire demeanor changed! Possession! The crushing weight had made the old hag pass out, and that meant....The spirits of the previous holders of her title had gotten an open door and invitation to take the reins of her unconscious body!
Cont

>>6440546
Shit! Fuck! you'd just made winning more complicated for yourself! You knew, generally, what this Weiwupo could do, but her predecessors were complete unknown territory to you.

Did that second, passive hex actually affect you?! You strained your ears as pressed the witch down, wincing as your other arm started to burn and both began to shrink as you winded down the blood doping and muscle growing technique you'd used, a combination of blood alchemy and Carmine Mystic principles, and could hear a bunch of voice chanting. Including the Current Weiwupo!

"You crafty old bitch!" You declared, realizing it wasn't a failure on your part, not entirely! And that the intelligence reducing hex hadn't managed to stick! She'd just taken the chance after feeling herself grow faint from being pressed and crushed like a worm to let one of her ancestors try their shot to beat you! You moved to slam the witch back down into the wall to send her flying when you teetered and felt light headed

The witch had jabbed a single finger into your palm that had grabbed hold of and ground her against the wall of your own solidified blood. With long, droopy hair and a much younger looking face, Languid, salted fish looking eyes stared up at you from beneath the Weiwupo's hat as a sleepily smug smirk crossed her lips as she coughed up more blood.

A sleep toxin?

Snarling for a moment, you smirked as you realized this Weiwupo from the past wasn't any more informed as the current holder of the title! SHE TRIED TO USE A BLOODBORN TOXIN! BLOOD WAS YOUR DOMAIN! YOURS TO COMMAND! However, as you began to purge the blood and command it to turn around an attack the Possessed Weiwupo, you suddenly got a bad feeling. And then a sharp pain as your other hand that was keeping Jiebaifeng occupied suddenly snapped back to your side with a bone knive stabbed through its palm. And connected to it was a chain.

Had to work quick! Before the better fighter of the two yanked himself to your side or else ripped your arm apart!

Carmine Mysticism/ Blood control trial. DC 95 (DC reduced by aura: Aura: Bloodshed level: Murder). Best of 5

>>6440547
2d100 as usual, of course

Rolled 9, 48 = 57 (2d100)

>>6440547
Panikkk!

Rolled 9, 15 = 24 (2d100)

>>6440536
reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

>>6440547
We should shock Weiwupo's heart with the blood pumping through it. Like a defibrillator. That'll knock all this "I'm half dead" possession stuff outta her real quick. Manually stimulated hearts hurt like a son of a bitch. Easily enough to force someone back to full consciousness. Also cause she's cheating, she's supposed to fight us, not her hundred grannies. For shame. No I'm not bitter that she's basically got her own version of one of our favorite tricks. Not in the slightest. Not at all.

Rolled 44, 58 = 102 (2d100)

>>6440547

Rolled 71, 33 = 104 (2d100)

>>6440547
>

>>6440571
it's. . . technically a pass.

>>6440576
Maybe the fifth roll will be better

>>6440582
Someone had better roll in 30 mins

Rolled 64, 29 = 93 (2d100)

>>6440547
aaaaaaaaaaaaa

>>6440571
Success!

Update will arrive shortly

With a twitch of your veins, hidden and buried under flesh and crystal, you forcefully eject the contaminated and tainted blood that the Weiwupo's ancestor injected through a small crack in the palm of your hand that had been slamming her head and back against the wall of your hardened blood. It swirls around you, a nebula of purple and black tinted blood, coagulating and drying as you extract the poison before it can reach your heart or spread throughout your body. You don't have to measure carefully, since you absorbed enough excess and Qi rich blood that you can spill a lot of your own blood without any concern. Glowering, with crystal tipped veins dangling from your crystalline wrist, your body connected through streams of blood held in place by strange gravity instead of just wormholes formed from the breaks in your body.

However, before you can extend you control to the witch you'd been tossing and bashing around like a punching bag, you feel a strong tug on your other arm as the little rot infecting your blood is purged and healed by the vapor and mist of blood that had been spilt and sprayed around every from the battle. The Weiwupo, still under control of one of the previous title holders remains upon the pane of bleeding, cracked star glass blinking rapidly and trying to get their bearings as you feel a curse reach you from the chanting mantras of the Weiwupo's ancestral aura. They'd tried to take advantage of your drugged state that you'd successfully avoided to inflict a rotting hex on you, and with the overflowing vitality, you're able to contain and suppress the wicked words that would've seen a lesser cultivator reduced to walking mound of rotting slug and sloughing flesh. It was a potent curse, but it was also strongly Deathly Yin aligned, so even without the constant source of healing provided by the bloody air of your aura, it wouldn't have had much of an effect and would've at worse poisoned you, slowed you or caused you to take gradual, but persistence damage. In short, an annoyance. But only because the set up for the hex had failed

What hadn't failed was Jiebaifeng's counter attack, since despite his age, he hadn't slacked and kept his physique up to the strict, militant standards of his sect and surpassed them. And since you had to reconnect your body to quickly purge the venom on your veins, he didn't just drag one of your arms, but all of you in your ethereal, gem like beauty.

Snarling, eyes hidden behind a solid veil of crystals, you spun around and grabbed hold of the chain he was using to drag you to him. Rather than his oversized sword, he now had a set of white metal bands and spikes set over his knuckles. His blade, was floating beside him, waiting to be used.

And at the moment, since the Weiwupo had taken heavy damage and with the current soul in the pilot seat playing catch up and trying to figure out left from right, you could switch your focus to Jiebaifeng!
Cont

>>6440605

Who was in need of a beat down to! Since his piercing of your palm was one of the reasons the present Weiwupo's gambit had paid off! And the boiling, scalding feeling of getting close to him, causing the stellar shell covering your skin to crack and melt, is only making you all the more happy to give this uncle a spanking!

And how would you beat him down, Huanliuxue?
>Use more cosmic aligned powers and alien Jiangshi traits to keep him on the backfoot while you attack him (Martial/ Magic + Carmine mystic trial. Initial DC 105 (DC reduced by Aura. Bloodshed level: Multiple Murders)

>Burn some of the blood you bathed in to push your strength past even your limits and overpower him to swing him like a mace at the stunned Weiwupo! (Strength Trial. Initial DC 85)

>Stop playing nice and manifest your aura completely (Reaction + Willpower Trial. Initial DC 90. DC reduced because neither opponent possess Aura Manifestation Technique)

>Remain calm, and wait until he pulls you in to hit him with the Wild Beast Disorder technique to drive him berserk! (Martial Trial. Initial DC 120)

>Write in

>>6440607
We do a little bit of Trickery.

>Plant a dying grudge shield on his back THEN
>burn some blood to swing him like a Mace at the sunned Weiwupo

Multiply the damage

>>6440607
>Stop playing nice and manifest your aura completely (Reaction + Willpower Trial. Initial DC 90. DC reduced because neither opponent possess Aura Manifestation Technique)

>>6440607
Remain calm, and wait until he pulls you in to hit him with the Wild Beast Disorder technique to drive him berserk! (Martial Trial. Initial DC 120)
For such a disciplined martial artist this would be a massive blow to his capabilities.

>>6440607
>Remain calm, and wait until he pulls you in to hit him with the Wild Beast Disorder technique to drive him berserk! (Martial Trial. Initial DC 120)

>>6440607
>>Stop playing nice and manifest your aura completely (Reaction + Willpower Trial. Initial DC 90. DC reduced because neither opponent possess Aura Manifestation Technique)
I would be against driving him berserk, it may have the unintended side of effect of also making him harder to put down when we are trying to strike down the witch

>>6440607
>Burn some of the blood you bathed in to push your strength past even your limits and overpower him to swing him like a mace at the stunned Weiwupo! (Strength Trial. Initial DC 85)
>Grudge shield write-in
Oh no you don't Grandpa, we're not getting distracted from bullying the real threat.

>>6440741
I agree with the observation that driving Jiebaifeng berserk isn't the best move while we're juggling two opponents at once.

>>6440607
Supporting >>6440611
time to create baseball as a sport in Chuan.

>>6440607
>>6440611
+1

File: 1660178839081137.jpg (39 KB, 424x600)

39 KB JPG

Ending the vote, tallying result now. Got headphones again! So I can listen to music while writing, and play the demonic horse scripture

Place a grudge shield on his back: 4

Blood dope and use Jiebaifeng as a meteor hammer: 4

Stop playing nice and manifest your aura completely: 2

Remain calm, and wait until he pulls you in to hit him with the Wild Beast Disorder technique to drive him berserk!: 1

Alright! The write in gets in, so you'll try to place one on his back AND buff up before swinging Jiebaifeng at Weiwupo

Which will increase the DC a little

Update will arrive shortly

However, you are no mere brute! You're a master! A genius prodigy! Oh it'd be easy to just strengthen your muscles beyond the limits of even a refined carmine mystic and ascendant magical beast like yourself, grab hold of the chain sticking out of your palm, swing Jiebaifeng around like a strawdoll, before slamming him like a meteor hammer directly into the stunned Weiwupo...whichever Weiwupo is currently possessing the body. Maybe if you hit her hard enough, the current Weiwupo will snap back awake for a moment or two before falling back unconcious, heh-heh.

Yes, while that would be...immensely satisfying, it is too crude and thus beneath you. For multiple reasons. Instead, you'll grab hold of the chain, pull him close and move your ears to sneakily place a Dying Grudge Shield (垂死怨怼㕹,Chuísǐyuànduìfá) Spell on his back, before swinging him around like a meteor hammer for enough rotations so you'll hit the Weiwupo with the explosively reactive barrier spell! That is much more befitting a cultivator of your skill, station and breeding! Sure, simpletons might not notice the difference between this attack and your first idea, but that's cause they're swine with dog shit for brains!

Roll 2d100. DC 92. Best out of 5

Rolled 23, 75 = 98 (2d100)

>>6441927

Rolled 65, 62 = 127 (2d100)

>>6441927
Woot

Rolled 79, 37 = 116 (2d100)

>>6441927
I'm ROLLING AGAIN

Rolled 97, 82 = 179 (2d100)

>>6441927

>>6441953
About 8 dos by my count.

Hillarious. Boink.

Rolled 45, 29 = 74 (2d100)

>>6441927
rolling again

>>6441953
HEAVEN TOPPLING SUCCESS
80 and just short of 90 over the target!

Update will arrive shortly

It is as subtle as a cat's footstep, a brief flicker of resentment, roiling black static wavering across Jiebaifeng's back as the old soldiers eyes widen with shock as he sees the the melting blood crystal shell coating your arms crack and burst as the veins in your arm, briefly, are unable to contain the super dense surge of condensed and Qi saturated blood pulsing through them as you wrap every strand, every fiber and every atom of muscle in your arms with blood Qi while simultaneously blood doping and squeezing as much adrenaline and vitality into your bloodstream as you possibly can. The crystal coating covering fragments and turns into a veil like wing hanging down your back and between you arms as you hands and arms, broken apart, suddenly piece back together and tighten, condensing as the muscles, bones and blood below transmute into pure, stellar blood spirit stone. And gain the raw power of every life drained and poured into that bath from the battle of Suiqi, as well as that of Weiwupo. AND JIEBAIFENG!

You wrench your arms back, snapping them apart at the elbow from the sheer force, as you pull the old general out of his flight and spin him around over your head, faster than lighting, faster than death! Imperceptible to even eyes that have glimpsed what lies beyond Mount Tai! Faster! Faster than even gods know! Like the all mighty bang that birthed the universe. Jiebaifeng whistles, producing sound as his body cuts through the void with every rotation, the sheer force generated churning up and tossing winds through the airless space and creating brief whirlpools of gravity as you spin round and round and round, you arms slowly evaporating from the sheer strain of mustering and containing so much strength, turning to comet trail pink mist from the speed you're twirling your opponent around at.

And then you swing him against the stunned Weiwupo. There is, briefly, a crack through the void. And then it shatters. You shattered the void. Literally! No longer is that boast merely a figure of speech! The impact and explosion of the dying grudge shield colliding with the unready Weiwupo, actually tears apart the fabric of nothingness, the stellar void, and sends spider web cracks as rainbow lights issue out from whatever lies behind nothing. Then, once the frozen moment of unseen colors, unknown sounds and strange radiation passes. There is a truly titanic explosion, a crimson flash of black destructive Yin and crackling grudge energy and raw power & force that sends the scattered stars and asteroids flying like pieces of a broken pot dropped from a high table!.

For a moment, you're worried you'd hit Weiwupo so hard and created such a large, destructive blast of the primordial essence of destruction yourself, that there wasn't even dust left of the old witch. However, your Vein Hunting Eye (血管猎-眼睛, Xuèguǎnliè-yǎnjing) confirms she's survived the impact
Cont

>>6441967

She and Jiebaifeng had just been thrown and blasted stellar leagues away from the point above the moon where'd you been fighting. And judging from their heartbeat, the Weiwupo is either unconscious or in a coma! With a firework like strike, you'd knocked out one of your two opponents! BY USING THE OTHER ONE AS A BLUGEON! The rush of successfully pulling off that move, is more intoxicating and heady than opium, fresh blood or the deepest waters of the yellow springs!

However, you're quickly knocked back down into the moment and shaken out of your warrior's reverie and the brush you had with understanding fight maniacs like Aodasheng, when you sense a killing intent that rival's Ao's own and a madness that peers Xiongji. And in that moment, as you turn to face the source, you realize that Jiebaifeng has gone completely berserk and has been possessed by the righteous rage and vengeance that had kept him alive as an Orphan in the wasteland of the forge devil's furnace until the White Jade Devil Opposing army found him and recivilized and tamed his raging heart.

And you know that's what happened, because an immense, sky eclisping wave of grudge miasma slams into you like typhoon. The blood stone shell on your arms softens as the blood fueled strengthening techniques cut short and you release the sheathe of pure blood Qi around your slowly decrystalizing muscle fibers and bones to stop them from turning into Bleeding Star Dust. And there isn't any blood to further "Evolve' your cosmic red eyed jiangshi transformation, cause any Weiwupo or Jiebaifeng shed had stopped existing when the void cracking explosion went off!

But, the remaining competition had to be on his last legs. Your august, carmine mystical aura was sealing any sort of healing he was capable of...or it would, once he blindly and berserkly threw himself back into the range of your aura. Which wouldn't take long, considering your peerlessly high quality golden and beast cores! But that had the consequence of not giving you more than a blink of time to strategize how you'd avoid getting mauled by the berserk demon slayer

And what do you come up with, Huanliuxue?

>Just play keep away and hope he wears out his stamina and collapses (Agility + Speed trial. DC 155)

>Charge towards him and take his own grudge against devils to drown him in his own resentment (Magic Trial. DC 120)

>Reach out and try to assert control over his veins and blood, and teleport it out of his body (Carmine Mysticism/ Blood Control Trial. DC 85. (DC reduced by Aura. Bloodshed level: Multiple Murders) )

>NOW manifest your aura while he's mentally weak and completely bloodthirsty! (Reaction + Willpower Trial. Initial DC 90. DC reduced because neither opponent possess Aura Manifestation Technique. Chance of converting Jiebaifeng into a Pure Carmine Mystic Descendant of Huanliuxue)

>Write in

Congratulations, you rolled high enough on the initial step of the trial to complete it instantly!

>>6441968
>Congratulations, you rolled high enough on the initial step of the trial to complete it instantly!
So it is possible to learn things from bullying our lessers really REALLY hard. FU! Come here! kek

>Reach out and try to assert control over his veins and blood, and teleport it out of his body (Carmine Mysticism/ Blood Control Trial. DC 85. (DC reduced by Aura. Bloodshed level: Multiple Murders) )
I would vote to abuse the hell out of the fact he can't really do anything about the aura, but I'd feel bad about changing his bloodline like that in this competition. Maybe if he'd asked us to do it, or if he was truly our foe and I didn't give a shit about what happened to him. But this is just a tournament. We only need to go 100% on the BowBoy.

>>6441968
>Reach out and try to assert control over his veins and blood, and teleport it out of his body (Carmine Mysticism/ Blood Control Trial. DC 85. (DC reduced by Aura. Bloodshed level: Multiple Murders) )

>>6441979
>But this is just a tournament. We only need to go 100% on the BowBoy.
How many of the people here can even conceive that Huan still isn't giving it her all when beating up two Golden Core Grandmasters?
Regardless, I'm sure after this tournament everyone who decided to try for peace will be greatly relieved knowing they dodged facing the force of nature that is Huanliuxue.

>>6441968
>Teleport his blood out of his body

We can sample his grudges later.

>>6441983
>greatly relieved knowing they dodged facing the force of nature that is Huanliuxue.
>"Fight Huanliuexue? You do not fight Huanliuxue any more than you fight a hurricane, or a wildfire, or an earthquake. You can not battle with a disaster, merely do all you can to survive and hope it misses you in its passage." - excerpt from 'the accounts of the fall of snow and ash: records of the wars of the Xue and Ling'
Honestly. I wonder how many of the masters are beginning to glimpse the seemingly abyssal depths of Huan's capacity for her namesake right now. I wonder if Yaonan is going to be pouty that she missed out on this tournament just because she was born the wrong kind of Ling and thus wasn't given an invite. Think she might kill an uncle or two out of spite?

>>6441989
she does that recreationally anyway doesn't she? maybe she'll get a few more when she goes at it again this time

>>6441968
>Charge towards him and take his own grudge against devils to drown him in his own resentment (Magic Trial. DC 120)
Let's not use the carmine aura because it'd be a super dick move to convert someone without their consent. If he wants it he can always ask us later.

>>6441968
>Charge towards him and take his own grudge against devils to drown him in his own resentment (Magic Trial. DC 120)
>Use Cat's Court: Spiteful Blood Legacy to call back the specters of demons Jiebaifeng has slain to assist in holding him down
We probably have enough blood collected to paint half the moon red, and he has to have slain hundreds in the past so we have plenty of material to work with in that area.
Either way this is now the second question Huan is asking everyone who has the poor luck of facing her: can you find a way to withstand or avoid the incomprehensible levels of damage she can deal out?

>>6441968
>Reach out and try to assert control over his veins and blood, and teleport it out of his body (Carmine Mysticism/ Blood Control Trial. DC 85. (DC reduced by Aura. Bloodshed level: Multiple Murders) )

Ending the vote, tallying its result now

Reach out and try to assert control over his veins and blood, and teleport it out of his body : 4

Charge towards him and take his own grudge against devils to drown him in his own resentment : 2

Use Cat's Court: Spiteful Blood Legacy to call back the specters of demons Jiebaifeng has slain to assist in holding him down:1

So you'll try to explode the blood out of Jiebaifeng's body

Intermediate update will arrive shortly

>>6441983
>>6441989
Until facing Huanliuxue, they could excuse Laohue dying violently as "He was half a popsicle", but standing in front of The Graveyard Queen is an entirely different experience than hearing about her deeds. A real jolt of reality that most of her arrogance isn't misplaced

And also, if you remember from Weiwupo and Jiebaifeng's fight, both of them made a critical error fighting Huan.

Specifically quoting from the commentary of that round

>"He's right, they're conserving power and only using techniques and spells that match what the other has already performed" Feiqing notes

>"They're being cautious, which would have them dead if they fought either our master or Xiannu" Qiang, dully and rather cynically noted

>"They're fighting like that, because they're of the prior generation or the one before that" You tell them "They aren't used to being pressured, but they are now. What will decide who wins will be..."


And Huan IS pressure when she starts rolling. And having the element of surprise/ secret techniques up her sleeve, also certainly helps

But a blink was all you needed. He was bleeding. He had been since you'd adopted the aura of a Carmine Mystic Monarch rather than that of a Herald of Ill Omen. And being charged by the moon's light from below, having your carmine mystic powers and Blood Qi fueled techniques and spells strengthened even further by the bloodshed above that lunar glow, has vastly increased the range and influence of your Blood Control.

And your blood control was already refined enough naturally that you don't need a moonlight buff or the bearings of a true ancestor to control blood without "Infecting it" with your own Pure Blood Qi. You haven't had to for sometime, well before you learned how to change the aura your cores produced. So all you need to do to counter the berserk demon hunter, since you can't imagine he'll be able to keep rampaging if his veins ran completely dry or keep up fighting if his blood suddenly explodes out of him, is reach out and grasp his blood and command it to erupt out of his system violently! That should be enough to at least stall him, if not knock him out immediately!

Unless there exists a kind of demon with a grasp on blood control as refined and profound as your own. Because even if Jiebaifeng was born into an era of peace, his sect hasn't completely forgotten the lessons of the past. And remember just how terrifying devils can be. So if there is a demon like that...even if he's berserk, the white jade berserker might be able to instinctively defend himself

Ah well

Only one way to find out. And that's to try!

Roll 2d100. DC 85. Best out of five

Rolled 86, 54 = 140 (2d100)

>>6443155

Rolled 80, 50 = 130 (2d100)

>>6443155

Rolled 28, 8 = 36 (2d100)

>>6443155

Rolled 73, 40 = 113 (2d100)

>>6443155

Rolled 95, 67 = 162 (2d100)

>>6443155

>>6443207
Stellar Success!

70 over DC, and real close to being 80 over

Update will arrive shortly. Sorry for taking an hour, got distracted

Activating the Vein Hunting Eye and pushing yours to their absolute limits, two streams of bloody tears floating from your tear ducts like sparking lightning or smoke as a great swell of Blood Qi paints the black void of space above the world a deep, crimson swathe, like some unknown existence swiped a massive paintbrush across a canvas soaked in black ink. Your heart trembles, different faucets and crystalline cracks forming in it as it becomes a furnace for the blood you're burning to further augment your blood control via rapidly refining and producing Blood Qi to power the technique. You create a closed, repeating loop from the palms of your hands to the your heart, and beneath the gem-like veneer ad armor, the veins in your limbs, separated via special fissures and connected through streams of mud thick blood, begin to crystalize again, turning to scarlet jade as pink and carmine vapor and sparkling lights spill out from the cracks in your red eyed jiangshi transformation as the Blood Potency you're wielding and the cosmic powers you're commanding and soaking crimson react, resonate and for a second, it is like your own palms are touching Jiebaifeng's hearts, his lungs, caressing his throat and patting his arms and legs to rouse up the arteries beneath his skin.

It is hard to describe what you're feeling. It is like his veins have become yours. Like the brief, phantom sense of having an arm cut off, or what Fu must've felt all the times he's been decapitated and survived. Or like when you extract your veins to turn into whips or when you step outside of your body and act as a ghost.

Countless, invisible whisker like threads connect his veins to your hands, which you raise up like you're putting on a puppet show, your red eyes flashing as the red smear across space condenses and turns into a physical, bleeding mist of manifested blood qi bringing warmth and life to the airless, bleak stellar space.

Jiebaifeng is approaching, rapidly, barely slowing down despite bleeding heavily and having a mystical force tugging, grabbing and pulling hard on everyone of his veins, great, small and artery. In your minds eye, a mad ghost with a cracked skull appears. Xiongji, too wild for Ao or you to really control. Murderous intent and bloodthirst incarnate, in a way the sword maniacs in attendance could only dream of attaining.

Jiebaifeng's current state greatly resembles that Rampaging Rooster. It is a mindless, construct of pure rage and anger. And you realize, as drops of his blood apparate and flicker onto your tongue through hairline cracks in space that you can taste the source of that rage.

A grudge he's kept burning from his childhood. That seen him reach golden core and the position of elder, to gain the reputation as one of the strongest of one of the sects that's remembered to sharpen their claws. The same as Fu's. A Son's vendetta against his father's killer. But much stronger and active, living.
Cont

>>6443222

Did devils kill his entire family? Probably. And not being able to track the demons to hell have allowed the resentment to fester and become a seed of strength.
And madness

It is the tweak to his aura that made it different from when he fought Weiwupo. By meditating on that vendetta unfulfilled, he allowed himself to turn into a catastrophe of righteous rage. A storm without direction.

Your confident smile tugs a bit wider, as you stop hesitating and trying to hold him back or gradually bleed him dry. You clench your fists, and in the void ahead, between the dancing stars and flying comets and swirling nebulas and streams of stardust, there is a violent, bloody geyser. You can imagine how the White Jade Devil Opposing Grunts are reacting, but unlike them, you know that didn't kill Jiebaifeng. Gruesomely wounded him, sure, but it wasn't lethal. And it didn't stop him.

So you pulled your clenched fists apart, two more spurts of blood visible across vast cosmic leagues. And you could still feel The devil hunters unrelenting killing intent and berserk rage. Snapping your fingers four times, twice on each hands, you targeted the joints of his ankles and wrists, trying to make him stumble or cripple him by directly attacked his arteries. But there's barely any blood left for you too work with that hasn't already been blasted or forcefully ripped out of his body!

And as you continue snapping your fingers and tugging with your other hand, the literal sea of blood drained out of the elder begins to boil. Visibly. As a sun flare hot white star begins to twinkle inside of it and you can't help back let out a crocking cackle of amazement, sounding very much like your mother or a toad as you realize just how resilient this old fart is! You never thought he'd be as easy to knock out as Weiwupo, who'd been so arrogant as to drain her vitality to boost her spellcasting, but this is ridiculous! You've exploded most of the blood in his body! Is a mummified, living corpse burning with white lightning going to come flying out of that cloud of boiling blood?! That's a scary mental image! Scary! Even for you!

Blood Control + Reaction Trial. DC 94 (DC reduced by Aura. Bloodshed level: Massacre ) (DC increased due to Opponent's berserk/ empowered state). Roll 2d100. Best out of 5

Rolled 34, 67 = 101 (2d100)

>>6443225

Rolled 99, 87 = 186 (2d100)

>>6443225
I can't wait to see 5 colors narration of this

Rolled 16, 6 = 22 (2d100)

>>6443225

File: Sanjuro blood spray.gif (2.14 MB, 640x272)

2.14 MB GIF

>>6443229
90 over holy shit, he's gonna be a sprinkler system once we're done with him

Rolled 18, 11 = 29 (2d100)

>>6443225
I guess I'll just -

>>6443229
Do nothing because this guy already did holy shit

Just need one more roll

Rolled 5, 31 = 36 (2d100)

>>6443225
>>6443251

>>6443253
Luckily, Weiwupo's aura is inactive cause she got forcefully unpossessed and knocked the fuck out

Sooooo

>>6443229
HEAVENS SHAKING SUCCESS! 90 OVER TARGET

that's going to fucking hurt.

Update will arrive shortly

But you kind of want to see it. But not enough to risk dismemberment or a decapitation. You can sense that great sword of his reacting to his rage, so you decide to cut short this fight before the berserk devil killer can go wild or he can get control of himself and unleash some of his actually power techniques and lethal attacks. Your hands flash, and spilt down the middle, connected by a bloody, glittering veil as they form into two separate pairs each, each hand flashing hand signs as they replace the lost digits with crystal pieces made of rapidly hardening steaming blood.

The visor or blocker covering your eyes unfolds, revealing four eyes of pure carmine light, all of them locking onto the maddened Jiebaifeng as he clears who knows how many leagues in a blink, observing every vital point and drop of blood still crawling through his drained veins as you rapidly cast forty four alchemical formations within the boiling pool of blood the wild demon hunter is shooting through like a bolt of white, divine retribution. Each is an attack against him, altering and transforming his own blood. Some wrap around like tentacles or chains, others turn it acidic or poisonous, others super heat or super cool it, each is a radical change of the blood, a total eclipse of chaotic, protean potential wrapping around and pulling the berserk elder back into the depths of a sea of blood that is turning into a bizarre, alien landscape contained within an undulating, pulsing sphere of lifeforce and fluid.

You'd taken inspiration from his own partner in the fight, and on the fly created a sealing technique only a master of blood alchemy in a cosmic red eyed jiangshi transformation could perform. And even then, the circumstances and set up needed were strict as hell! Enough blood to form a biosphere of altered reality, potent enough blood and abundant enough blood qi to work the dozens of spells and alchemical formulae with just hand signs alone and no additional tools, magical or not. The easiest pre-requisite was easy access to Cosmic Qi. And considering you're above, and empowered by the moon due to your Blood Moon Evolution, could be skipped since it is as obvious as the caster being alive and breathing, Heh-Heh-Heh.

But Jiebaifeng still fights, and drags the self contained planet formed of his own, mutated blood, pulling it along like a meteor as he flies towards you. Cracking your neck, the four eyes blazing on the "visor" covering your upper face reposition, refocus and form a vague lotus pattern as you redouble your efforts, a third pair of arms forming themselves from spare blood spirit gems out of the top of your shoulders to triple the handsigns and thus spells and blood refinements you can cast in a second.

Leagues rapidly turn to meters and then feet as you focus every spell on freezing, hardening, sealing and compressing the blood. The meteor of shed blood, begins to slow and turn opalescent as it dries and hardens
Cont

>>6443262

Inches away, there's a flash of white, and you lift your head as you clap your six hands together. A familiar, oversized greatsword stops, a half an inch from striking edge first against the gemstones covering your real, human eyes. You blink. And see Jiebaifeng's arm sticking out of the completely crystalized planetoid of blood, then narrow all four of them that bloomed on the visor, and for good measure, with a flick of your fingers and invisible force, slam your trapped opponent and the mutated blood world prison he's caged in, into the moon, shattering a masterpiece of blood refinement and stellar arrays to make certain the durable old bastard will stay down.

Gliding on a moonlit red veil of evaporating blood gemstone dust, you fly down to the impact crater, and kick the old fart a few times with your heel to make sure he isn't playing dead or actually died. He grunts, exhausted and bled dry. Its only then you breathe a sigh of relief, slouching forward before remembering your nobility and standing iron rod straight as you pump your fist in the air and roar a eerie, unearthly warcry in victory!

Two against one is barely a bump in the road for the Great Huanliuxue!

And now that the fight is over, what do you do, Huanliuxue?

>Drag Weiwupo and Jiebaifeng back to earth, and tell them both exactly why they lost

>Hear Five colors commentary and add some of your own, refusing to explain exactly what you turned into at the start of the match

>Decide to, while you're still on "Screen", give Pure Carmine Mysticism and Blood Arts a better reputation by openly declaring the strength of both

>Find Diqui Yang and Yanyu, and thank the later for teaching you about Aura Manifestation, when you specifically did not actually manifest yours during the match

>Write in

>>6443263
>Hear Five colors commentary and add some of your own, refusing to explain exactly what you turned into at the start of the match
>Find Diqui Yang and Yanyu, and thank the later for teaching you about Aura Manifestation, when you specifically did not actually manifest yours during the match

>>6443263
>>Drag Weiwupo and Jiebaifeng back to earth, and tell them both exactly why they lost

>>6443263
I support >>6443274

It's good fun.

>>6443263
>Drag Weiwupo and Jiebaifeng back to earth, and tell them both exactly why they lost

>Hear Five colors commentary and add some of your own, refusing to explain exactly what you turned into at the start of the match

>>6443263
>Drag Weiwupo and Jiebaifeng back to earth, and tell them both exactly why they lost
>Hear Five colors commentary and add some of your own, refusing to explain exactly what you turned into at the start of the match
Also, serious props to Jiebaifeng for living by his vengeance. We can totally appreciate someone who used his grudges to drive himself to greatness.

>>6443263
>Drag Weiwupo and Jiebaifeng back to earth, and tell them both exactly why they lost
>Decide to, while you're still on "Screen", give Pure Carmine Mysticism and Blood Arts a better reputation by openly declaring the strength of both
> Collect Jiebaifeng's blood

>>6443263
>Hear Five colors commentary and add some of your own, refusing to explain exactly what you turned into at the start of the match
>Find Diqui Yang and Yanyu, and thank the later for teaching you about Aura Manifestation, when you specifically did not actually manifest yours during the match
Props to the two of them for giving it their all, and a pity good luck to Diqui Yang for how he's about to be walloped.

>>6443263
>Drag Weiwupo and Jiebaifeng back to earth, and tell them both exactly why they lost
>Hear Five colors commentary and add some of your own, refusing to explain exactly what you turned into at the start of the match
>Find Diqui Yang and Yanyu, and thank the later for teaching you about Aura Manifestation, when you specifically did not actually manifest yours during the match
I'm greedy

File: 1712387678453402.png (15 KB, 990x780)

15 KB PNG

Ending the vote, tallying the result now. Sorry for my tardiness, Juniors.

Hear Five colors commentary and add some of your own, refusing to explain exactly what you turned into at the start of the match:6

Find Diqui Yang and Yanyu, and thank the later for teaching you about Aura Manifestation, when you specifically did not actually manifest yours during the match: 4

Drag Weiwupo and Jiebaifeng back to earth, and tell them both exactly why they lost: 5

Decide to, while you're still on "Screen", give Pure Carmine Mysticism and Blood Arts a better reputation by openly declaring the strength of both:1

Collect Jiebaiffeng's blood:1

So you'll drag Weiwupo and Jiebaifeng by thewir ears back to earth, telling them exactly why they lost
Hear Grandpa Five Colors commentary and add some of your own, refusing to explain exactly what a red eyed jiangshi is to the crowd

Before finding the Contestants for the next round and thank Yanyu for teaching you about Aura Manifestation, when you specifically didn't use that technique at all in the fight

Update will arrive shortly

How there's no time to waste reveling in your victory. Five Colors might be watching the skies, but the last thing you want to do is linger around above the heavens long enough for one god with more offense than sense to make an attempt on your illustrious life. And since littering is unbecoming of a monarch, you quickly clean up after yourself. Tossing the unconscious Jiebaifeng over your shoulder, you take flight, deactivating your Red Eyed Jiangshi state as you soar through the stars, tracking down the lifeforce and heartbeat of Weiwupo. Who you find, far away, gently drifting like a drowned corpse, buckled over and yet somehow still wearing her ridiculous wide brimmed, floppy hat. You grab her by the scruff of her robes, and knowing that even golden core masters need to take a breath, quickly travel back to earth so they can refill their lungs.

And with a quick shock of Pure Blood Qi and one of the simplest techniques of your healing arts, you rouse them from a state of dead unconsciousness. Jiebaifeng sits up, looking hung over as he rubs his forehead, wincing as he feels every bruise and cracked bone, instantly understanding that he's lost while you sit on your haunches over him. Weiwupo, wakes up much less gracefully, eyes darting and mouth opening to ask "Did we win" before the question dies on her tongue as she sees the smirk on your face.

"Tch, suppose I forgot my age", She tries to save face as she sits up and checks her pulse "And overestimated our host's curiosity"

"I'd already seen you fight once, thinking I'd escalate before going all out, was the cause of both of your downfall" You say as the old witch turns away haughtily while Jiebaifeng nods slowly "You're old, and the dust of tradition and expectation settled over your bones. That was your mistake, you expected me to fight like the peers from your generation"

"It felt more like a demon hunt than a spar" Jiebaifeng admits "I was too late too bring out everything I had, I was treating you like Weiwupo"

"...I'll admit, I thought you'd be distracted with the tougher piece of meat" Weiwupo hissed through her teeth "And give me time to chart my spell. Arrogant of me"

"As was thinking an older witch could save you from the beating I gave you. You might've put on a better show if you threw everything you had at me, rather than observing and measuring the force I brought to bear" You tell them, as Jiebaifeng shot a confused glance to Weiwupo "Though, you did at least both know you were outmatched, along, judging from the differences in your auras from your match to ours"

"A last resort of the bearers of this venerable name of mine. A gamble" Weiwupo chuckles, proudly "And I assume that which ever Weiwupo briefly emerged, had as little idea of what you'd become as I had"

"Power in exchange for reason, was the only means to beat unreasonable power. I see, even my wildest self, was lacking compared to the ferocity of Huanliuxe" Jiebaifeng observed
Cont

>>6444950

"It was a weakness I noticed in both of you, you're old fashioned and only use as much strength as you need to win, which requires time to study. I just didn't give you time to realize what it'd take to beat me" You tell them with a snicker "Get yourself some hot tea and snacks, and reflect upon this painful lesson. Hesitation and caution like that will just you killed in this new, wilder era"

And with that said, you hop up, transform in your feline shape, and proudly prance back to the arena, where Ling Wucai is still commentating on the match, since he's had to slow it down for the audience. and you decide to listen to his commentary on key points, before leaping up to add some of your own observations.

"...With a single motion, the Weiwupo of the Innocent witch court is wiped out! Having been harassed and chased down like a field mouse by the transformed Huanliuxue, she is blasted across the night sky! Vanishing in a void shattering flash of white! Jiebaifeng has been used like a meteor hammer, with a explosive grudge hidden upon his back! The officer of the demon slaying sect has been turned into a brutal weapon"

The innocent witch court, collectively gasps or hiss, some of the younger witches looking up to see if they could see the star in the morning sky that seemed to have been created when their grandmaster got struck with a force explosive enough to disperse the clouds and turn mountains to molehills. The White Jade Devil Opposing army is silent. The opposite could be said of your followers and students, both of whom are cheering their lungs out or observing with a certain, smug attitude that they seem to have inherited from you.

"We observe, the unfairness of preparation and the worlds apart between the qualitive levels of Golden Cores, expertly formed" Wucai continued "Huanliuxue had entered the arena, drenched in the blood of cultivators and immortals, and while her opponents have centuries of experience over her, they lacked the instinctive ferocity of a wild beast! And to observe the next step of the match, we must look between two points across leagues of space, and watch as Jiebaifeng goes berserk and Huanliuxue begins the weaving of a layered curse upon him!"

You only then realize just how fast Jiebaifeng had shot through the sky, as you, passively, float up beside Five Colors in his hermit disguise
Cont

>>6444951

"Not a curse. Blood Manipulation. I expelled Jiebaifeng's boiling blood once it became clear to me, merely freezing it in place wouldn't stop him" You explain adroitly as Wucai smiled as you rolled through the air around him, stretching out and yawning as the breeze carried you "I was able to do this because of the first move I took in the match, the technique I used boosted the range of my blood control quite substantially. Among other effects and powers granted, Heh-Heh-Heh. It is quite the potent transformation technique, but as you can clearly see, being drained of most of his blood wasn't enough to stall the White Flame Phoenix"

"A concept lost on most of the crowd, considering how the primary practitioners of the history have been lost to most of the mortal realm's history, Huanliuxue" Wucai explains "Though I admit that it took my well traveled self a moment to identify that technique of yours. It was a variation I was unfamiliar with before today, and I am sure most of its mysteries remain secret to all but you. But now that you are here, might you explain the finishing move?"

"Forty four different transmutations and mutations, combined with astral and cosmic energy to transform the sea of Blood Jiebaifeng produced into a prison realm. Something I came up with in the moment, and that was the safest way to wear out the berserk elder however as you can see" you explain, smirking as the god looked at you amusedly as the moment you stopped Jiebaifeng dead in his tracks "He didn't stop fighting, nor struggling"

"Which is why you repeated the earlier move of turning him into a meteor hammer, and slammed him into the moon like a comet. No mercy for your elders" He chuckled "But that is the ferocity necessary to win a fight against a fellow golden core, even if one eclipses the other in power and had made better preparations"

"Exactly, Exactly" You agree, nodding rapidly as you start to "feel" the excess blood you consumed, and all of the life force and vitality it brought with it, now that you're no longer in the middle of a high level fight against two opponents "It might've seemed like it was over in a flash, but to the three of us it was a real fight"

"Thank you for your observations, Huanliuxue" Five colors bids you farewell as you sluggishly float away to avoid the energy building inside of you making you energetic enough to lose your grace and composure.

You're going to have to run around or do something to burn all of this energy, before you make a fool out of yourself acting like an over stimulated kitten!

Luckily, you find the next rounds' stars sitting together outside of the arena, Yanyu with her husband and sons and Diqui Yang with Xiannu and God Lance. The three former deities nearly jump out of their skin as you land beside them, and ignore them to speak with the big whale tossing woman.
Cont

>>6444952

"Lady Yanyu, I have to thank you for reminding of the obscure technique of Aura Manifestation" Is how you greet her, as she calmly cuts the roasted fish in front of her, as her husband, Lord Xia, glances between you and the skies and her sons, as is proper, kneel before their liege and master

"Which you didn't make use of, once, despite being outnumbered" Yanyu points out

"Wasn't necessary" You explain "And the aura I produced in the moment, would've had unseemly side effects"

"As expected of the woman who subjugated our sect" She chuckles "I noticed your aura was different as well, as was your look. But I don't think many jade beauties would be envious of that shapechanging technique of yours"

"Only because they lack taste!" You declare with a laugh "And I'm curious to see how your opponent handles the crushing depths of the sea"

"It would be shameful if we lost to the man who beat our rivals" Lord Xia said as Yanyu's eyes sharpened as she focused on Diqui Lang, like a shark watching an injured swimmer. The largest of the former gods nervously tugged at his collar.

"Magnanimous and ever beneficent Huanliuxue, may this novice, unaware of the scope of the sea that is the world of cultivation ask for his senior's advice?" Diqui Lang, clearly pained at asking you for advice and pointers said, all but groveling at your paws as Xiannu looks like she bit into a lemon and Shen Mao stares straight ahead like a statue.

Do you give Diqui Lang any advice before his fight with Yanyu, Huanliuxue?

>Continue to ignore the three former deities, since you're upset with one of their number at the moment

>"Don't let her manifest her aura, surely you're capable of that much"

>"To be fair, I'll give Yanyu advice to beat you bloody for every pointer I give you. Still want to learn?"

>"Sea and earth are connected. If you've earned your name, that is enough for you to beat her"

>"Hmm, I'll tell you in exchange for Xiannu, I need to a playmate to burn off some energy, you see, Heh-Heh-Heh"

>Write in

>>6444953
>You are not her match, and you won your own match because Shidi valued his Honour over an "unseemly" way to win.
>Remember an anchor has a weight and a Chain.

I don't like earth breaker or have any reason to give him any tips. So I will be benevolent and remind him to watch out for the loose chain part of her anchor weapon.

>Yanyu, consider what your way needs to advance and let me know after the match. Talents like yours should be nurtured.
>I'll go place some more bets with the other grandmasters on you, I'm betting on you Shark matron.

ez spirit stones. To avoid slowing down the tourney with more votes, it's just spirit stones I want to bet.

>>6444956
Which, you know, would be even funnier if she just swaps out her anchor weapon for a secondary.

and for an amount. . . 1000 spirit stones, doubling the amount would be nice but other people might not notice the disparity in skills. . . but they probably recognise aura-manifesting as an edge.

>>6444953
>"To be fair, I'll give Yanyu advice to beat you bloody for every pointer I give you. Still want to learn?"
I don't mind helping him, but I also don't want to be unfair. Besides, it's not like Yanyu will need our advice anyway.

>>6444953
>"To be fair, I'll give Yanyu advice to beat you bloody for every pointer I give you. Still want to learn?"

>>6444953
>"To be fair, I'll give Yanyu advice to beat you bloody for every pointer I give you. Still want to learn?"

>>6444953
>Sea and earth are connected. If you've earned your name, that is enough for you to beat her"

>>6444953
>"To be fair, I'll give Yanyu advice to beat you bloody for every pointer I give you. Still want to learn?"
>Bet some spirit stones

Ending the vote, tallying its result now.

You are not her match, and you won your own match because Shidi valued his Honour over an "unseemly" way to win.+ Remember an anchor has a weight and a Chain.:1

Yanyu, consider what your way needs to advance and let me know after the match. Talents like yours should be nurtured. + I'll go place some more bets with the other grandmasters on you, I'm betting on you Shark matron.:1


"To be fair, I'll give Yanyu advice to beat you bloody for every pointer I give you. Still want to learn?": 4

Sea and earth are connected. If you've earned your name, that is enough for you to beat her":1

Bet some spirit stones: 2

So you'll tell Lang you'll give Yanyu advice for every piece of it you give to him.

Update will arrive shortly

And while seeing a god, even a fallen, former one, kowtow and scrape before you on their hands and knees pleading for help was greatly pleasing and stroked and tickled your pride, you didn't think there was any advice you could give to Diqui Lang that could help him. And more importantly, the idiot was asking you to work against one of your subordinates! A just ruler would never undermine one of their underlings just because someone appeased their ego by debasing themselves and offering as much face as Lang was! Besides, while you didn't know her well, you were fond of Yanyu. She was an interesting woman and not just because of her size.

And more than her being the subject of a growing curiosity of yours, or her being your underling, you were also the host of the tournament. And while it was natural for a cat like yourself to be arbitrary and fickle, pressing down one hand to balance the scales of a fight would tarnish the first event held by your illustrious palace unless. A playful, amused smile played across your mouth as your tail flicked and you raised a paw, eyes squinted mischievously as the three former gods present all shivered at once.

"To be fair, I'll give Yanyu advice to beat you bloody for every pointer I give you" You offer with a purr in your throat as Diqui Lang looks like he'd just been forced to eat gravel and call it rice or take a bite of a rotten lemon as Red Shark laughed uproariously at his mother's opponent, Yanyu and the two other gods remained silent.

"Still want to learn?" You ask as he winced and looked around helplessly

"She does not need assistance to best me" He admitted, his red cheeks flushed a shade or two away from your own fur "I shan't court death any further"

"I do not, but that is because you are unrefined, untested. All the weight of the sea is pointless if it isn't directed properly" Yanyu said dully "And while your sense of fairness is admirable, Huanliuxue, I would have refused any help you would've given"

Diqui Lang looked hopeful, so you crushed his rising expectations before he could get annoying

"Then I wouldn't offer any at all. In tournaments, some contenders get father than they should for one reason or another. You can't expect every fight in life to be fair, or most of them. Most of them will be unfair, one way or another. Teach this as a learning experience" You say, staring directly at Diqui Lang in a way that would've been asking for a fight if he were a cat too. Xiannu crossed her arms, but judging from that look on her face, she had a abundant understanding of the words you were saying Heh-Heh-Heh.

"Yanyu is right, we expected to be carried by our natural talent" Shen Mao said heavily "But without experience, real experience, we're unable to properly wield the power we have. We're...."

"Coddled, Sheltered, Naive, Immature..." You start offering terms

"Inexperienced" Shen Mao says through gritted teeth "Only one of us passed by our own merits, and only by a hair"
Cont

>>6446111

"a whisker" Red shark sneered, Xiannu looked like she wanted to punch his head off, but wilted and held her hands to her legs as her Fiery gaze passed over Yanyu who was still calmly eating

"I..could've won by my own merits" Diqui Lang said weakly, sniffling and looking like he was on the verge of tears "I can win, I just need to cross a vast sea. I've always been a good swimmer"

Shen Mao and Xiannu looked at him like he was a sickly boy saying he'd be a great warrior one day, before falling into a coughing fit. It was almost enough to make you pity the big idiot. Even if it was misplaced and he'd tossed it away just moments ago, he was still clearly clinging to his pride.

"Well, I just wanted to drop by and give my thanks to Yanyu and give my well wishes that the upcoming match is an entertaining one" You say, turning around and flicking your tail haughtily as you go to leave and wait for the match to begin.

But is there anything you do before then, Huanliuxue?

>You won't win much since she is the favourite to win, but bet on Yanyu winning

>Offer Xiannu and Shen Mao the honor of sitting next to you and watching the match with your students

>Ambush five colors and tell him how happy you are that the five former gods are actually learning and growing as people

>Decide to be a bit mean and have your worshipers put on a show about one of your adventures before the match begins

>Write in

>>6446112
>>Ambush five colors and tell him how happy you are that the five former gods are actually learning and growing as people
I don't know how you did it but damn, they're actually behaving like PEOPLE now. Incredible.

>>6446112
>Ambush five colors and tell him how happy you are that the five former gods are actually learning and growing as people

>>6446112
>Bet a good thousand on Yanyu
>Ambush five colours.

>>6446112
>Ambush five colors and tell him how happy you are that the five former gods are actually learning and growing as people
Goddamn I feel bad for Diqui Lang. But Huan is 100% correct that it's unrealistic to expect battles to be equal. If you want to be a big boy cultivator, that means meeting impossible odds by sucking it up and contriving a way to win anyway.

>>6446112
>Ambush five colors and tell him how happy you are that the five former gods are actually learning and growing as people
>Offer Xiannu and Shen Mao the honor of sitting next to you and watching the match with your students
first bit is showing we are doing the job he asked (make sure these idiots learn how to live as proper people and cultivators) second bit is us doing it by giving a visual example of what they currently lack.

>>6446112
>Ambush five colors and tell him how happy you are that the five former gods are actually learning and growing as people
>Offer Xiannu and Shen Mao the honor of sitting next to you and watching the match with your students

I'll switch from>>6446265 to >>6446290 because it's probably a good way to show that we aren't being sharp to be mean.

Ending the vote, tallying the result now.

Ambush five colors and tell him how happy you are that the five former gods are actually learning and growing as people: 6

Bet a thousand spirit stones on Yanyu: 1

Offer Xiannu and Shen Mao the honor of sitting next to you and watching the match with your students:3

So you'll offer Xiannu and Shen Mao the honor watching the next match with you, but before hearing their answer, will ambush five colors and tell him how happy you are that the gods are learning to be people

update will arrive shortly

"And" You say, eyes flashing over to the other two gods present, smiling as Xiannu grimaces and Shen Mao looks away, looking like he's desperately hoping you're only addressing the short brat to his side, but that hope crumbles as you say "Xiannu, Shen Mao, I extend an invitation to my private seating to attend the next match with me, alongside some of my students, to watch if Diqui Lang has what it takes to cross the Summer Sea"

Red Shark repressed a chuckle as Diqui Lang looked enviously at the bottle of liquor the heir of the Xia was sipping from, rater crudely, straight from the bottle. Xiannu's face started to redden, almost as ruddy as Lang's own before Shen Mao shot her a look and she winced and grimaced, scowling as she forced a smile on her face and you could tell she also realized it'd be a bad idea to snap at the woman who kicked her ass. And with such elegance and style!

"Thank you for the honor, I'll consider it. We'll have to talk to the rest of our group first, Right, Mao?" She says through clenched teeth as Shen Mao nodded

"Can we extend the invitation to the two remaining members of our party?" He asked and you shot him a dismissive, imperious look "Ah, just the two of us then. Then we will need to discuss it with them first before we can accept"

"The spirit of fairness or some crap" Xiannu said, bouncing her shoulders in a shrug before looking away like she'd had her collar pulled as you focused on her and smirked.

"I hope you will accept. Refusing such a high honor wouldn't only look arrogant, but it'd make the rest of Chuan's cultivators think they're pigheaded fools" You titter as you saunter away, flicking your tail "And besides that loss of face, refusing would just me sad. And no would want that surely"

Xiannu looked like her head was about to explode off of her neck, a vein popped and one eye twitching as Shen Mao bowed his head.

"But, you have to ask your fellows first, so it is up to them in the end, if I'll be delighted or not. But remember, this is a rare chance to gain some experience and wisdom" You tell them with a smile as you vanish into the shadows of a nearby alley cutting through the living space of your garden.

And quickly search out the well disguise signature of divinity radiating from old uncle five colors and pounce at him as you watch him feeding a dried fish to one of your subjects. The magical house cat quickly falls into praising you with delight and offering you the half eat treat as Five Colors, suddenly is behind you and chewing on one of the dried fish himself, still disguise as the dingy, dirty hermit like you asked him to

"Huanliuxue. I see you're feeling playful" He greeted you

"Well I am in a good mood" You say, glancing at the other cat and using your existence as a wild princess and wellspring of primordial beast essence to wordlessly order them away, which they happily did, bounding away and declaring they had met their liege
Cont

>>6447278

"After all, those bratty gods are starting to learn and grow"

"Do you want to be praised? They still have much to learn under you, though they have made rapid progress and learned humility, they are still, as you said. Brats" He said as he flicked the fish around in his mouth "But this tournament and your own performance in it, as well as the masters of the stagnant age before your own, have shown them a reality that my lecturing and reprimands could never have revealed to them. And I saw you extended and invitation to the former youngest martial god and the lost heir of the Shen house. They will accept, even if the little firecracker is still tending to her wounded pride. And feeling the beating you gave her"

"She's a hothead, but she isn't a complete idiot. I think she knows I'm not a bully. I just can be a bit harsh of teacher every now and again" You say as Five colors nods, and plops another dried fish into his mouth

"That is why you are an excellent teacher. You are willing to push your students right up until they snap and give them chances to find solutions and ways forward, while the cultivators practicing "Orthodox" methods, are far more strict but also overly coddling to their prized pupils. You, are not afraid to damage the stars you collect" He says, popping the head off of one of his dried sardines "In fact, I've noted a few who have the potential to rapidly reach golden core, perhaps even in the journeys they've set out on. As you had done"

"Oh?" You say, and before you can ask for names

"Also, that prospect that was a demon in their past life has flayed a tax collector in a village north of storm mountain" He said, amusedly "I think he heard of the stories the poor spread about the "Divine guardian" of Chuan, Hmh"


"He's going to be traveling awhile if he thinks that's alone makes him a hero of virtue" You snort, shaking your head "What else has he done?"

"Split a snake demon who tried to tempt him to sin in two" Ling Wucai answered "And chased as fox devil out of a shrine of yours, it is remarkable how exciting his wandering has already become, when it start so shortly ago"

You nod and five colors smiles and asks "is there anything else you'd like to talk about? I'd just finished having tea with the Gege Sisters and am still in talkative mood, Red Fur"

Well, Huanliuxue?

>"Nope. There's a fight I wanna watch, Uncle"

>Ask him directly which of your students have the chance to shoot to the top like you did

>"Uncle. I wanna hear some stories about Zhizun Moxin. Before she became, ya know, the embodiment of evil"

>"I want to bring a ghost back to being flesh and blood, but I need treasures. One divine, one demonic, and one heavenly. I've some ides where to find them but...."

>Write in

>>6447279
>"I want to bring a ghost back to being flesh and blood, but I need treasures. One divine, one demonic, and one heavenly. I've some ides where to find them but...."

>>6447279
>"Uncle. I wanna hear some stories about Zhizun Moxin. Before she became, ya know, the embodiment of evil"

>>6447279
>"Uncle. I wanna hear some stories about Zhizun Moxin. Before she became, ya know, the embodiment of evil"

>>6447279
>I think she knows I'm not a bully.
I feel we've definitely done bully-adjacent activities more than once.
>"I want to bring a ghost back to being flesh and blood, but I need treasures. One divine, one demonic, and one heavenly. I've some ides where to find them but...."
MAN, I want to hear the Supreme Devil Mind story, but also a lead on at the very least a heavenly treasure (demonic should be easy, divine in the middle but probably in somewhere in our Crypt or maybe through that ancient map we have) would be great

So on post tournament plans.

We have to go to hell.
Go to war in two seasons.
Train our new disciples for that war.

I don't think we have time for personal meditation.

>>6447708
We can probably do some cultivating in hell during our trip at that little spot we claimed for ourselves, that or get some experience producing and fighting with hellfire to bridge the power gap (plus using our massive garden in our second base for drug materials) since there's no way the Ling aren't full of sin after everything they've done.

>>6447781
Cultivation takes months/Years. So I really don't advise we persue it.

Hellfire is a shout, If we can integrate that into some of our techniques it would undoubtably be useful.
Punishment explosives/breath?

. . Flaming poison blood?

>>6447279
>"Uncle. I wanna hear some stories about Zhizun Moxin. Before she became, ya know, the embodiment of evil"

File: 1712441376486306.png (357 KB, 709x506)

357 KB PNG

Ending the vote, tallying its result now. Sorry juniors, didn't notice the tie had been broken...and I spent too much of yesterday grinding the demonic horse scripture and reading Dungeon Crawler Carl (Fun book, btw. A friend promised me a cultivator shows up in later volumes)

"I want to bring a ghost back to being flesh and blood, but I need treasures. One divine, one demonic, and one heavenly. I've some ides where to find them but....": 2

"Uncle. I wanna hear some stories about Zhizun Moxin. Before she became, ya know, the embodiment of evil":3

So you'll ask Ling Wucai about his wife, before she became the supreme devil mind

Update will arrive shortly

>>6447389
Huan knows she has to, lol

I've been re reading old threads.

And thinking about the former emperor's brother Mao Cat smile.

Lord Chuan, now king, will be the next Emperor of the former empire.because we will it so.
A mao's loyalty seems very useful, so extending an offer of joining the house of Chuan and having them be vassals over the Ling lands we are about to deprive of their divine protectors is an idea.

You consider the offer and what you'd want to talk about, chewing on it like a piece of fat. You could ask about the location of one of the treasures needed to perform the red dust revival. But where would be the fun in that? The Adventure? It'd be like rolling over, showing your belly and begging for treats instead of hunting for it yourself or being served delicacies as a matter of course! What's the point of getting a treasure if there wasn't a story or struggle behind it? Mewling for handouts was lame, and utterly unbecoming of a ruler such as yourself. But there was something you were interested in, especially after the frozen moment of time you'd found deep in the most still and dead places of the underworld. Asking it might be courting death, but you were curious what the monster that haunted the world and minds of mortals, cultivators and gods had been like before she became that great, world conquering evil that had lead to the ruin of far more than just your own kind.

"Uncle, I wanna hear stories bout Zhizun Moxin" You say, sweetly and cutely as Ling Wucai stiffens, his eyes narrowing as a flash of reflexive anger and killing intent snaps over your head before he restrains his rage, which can easily churn up world destroying disasters and shake the heavens themselves, and without too great a nervous tremble to your voice add "Before she became, ya know, the embodiment of evil"

"Do you expect me to tell you that you and her were alike, or as different as night and day?" He asked softly, eyes still squinted like a viper's as he speaks, as calm as a morning breeze "The truth is, the only qualities you share are that you are ambitious and that you are ruthless. You crave power for a grandiose purpose, to right an injustice and create a kingdom where none was before. You, despite your circumstances, avoided temptation and refused easy paths to power because you deemed them beneath you or too wicked to accept. She had achieved everything a cultivator could dream off and still craved more, greater power, greater authority. Her ambition was a different breed than yours, but...that is not what you asked, you wish to know her as she was, before she was consumed by her own hubris and hunger for power"

"Do you not think that she was lead down that path?" You asked, tongue wagging without you meaning to speak. Wucai's expression contorted into an expression of deep pain

"Often, for decades, centuries I'd meditated on what could've lead to her moral degeneration, to so fully embrace evil and cruelty for its own sake, what was the seed of madness that replaced that kind fairy I raced to immortality with...the Devil Mind. And, the only truth I've found is she took the first step herself" He answers sorrowfully, the heavens turning grey and cracking with thunder as a single tear rolls down his cheek "The demons that corrupted her, were her own heart demons. Something in her childhood, or simply her blood drove her to"

Cont

>>6448409

His voice stalls and he shakes his head "I to would be called a villain by many I knew, Cultivators only follow their own three views and heart's laws. Hers were simply different. I would be called ruthless by the modern daoist, but for her, it took her ages, generations to reveal how low she'd stoop to attain greater heights. To delve to the depths of hell to fly higher than all nine heavens. To tutor demons in foulness and sin, to be embraced by those wretches as their own monarch. She took the first step, it was not practicing demonic cultivation or even devouring souls or breaking through barriers unknown to even the gods of the era. That was the seed of the madness, the day in our youth, I've decided, when she cut down another cultivator to take their cultivation materials. Rare treasures. It could've been called self defense but...this is not what you asked"

You feel guilty for churning up the memories of a love that Five colors had buried deeply and began to get a view of the woman behind the legend. And while five colors didn't see much resemblance between the two of you, you did. And you knew she had a fondness for cats like yourself. And you had been tempted, once or twice, to ignore your instinct to be good and kind to...well, take the first step. You'd been walking a fine balance between breaking tradition and shattering taboos. You told yourself you were simply too great and talented to need a crutch like devouring souls...but you drank blood and grudges without a hint of shame. Where was that line drawn, that the devil mind crossed. You disagreed with her widowers belief that it was one cross road killing. But was it earlier or later? Was she mortal or a god when she took the first step.

"I remember when we first met. It was in a recruitment drive by a sect long gone. I..I can't recall the name. It had been so important then. A immortal was attending, the sect head and founder. She was nobility, with high expectations, she'd been prophesized and ear marked for a place in the world of cultivation. Me? I didn't even have a family name" Five color's story drew you out of your musings, and you listened, ears sticking straight up as your notched one drooped despite trying to stand at attention like its twin "I was mocked, overlooked, but she was kind to me, even then. Gentle. She taught me my numbers and my letters and how to read, before we'd finished our trial to be welcomed as initiates into that sect whose name has been lost to even my memory"

"Princess and the Pauper" You hummed and her smirked, eyes distance and dreamy

"You'd think it was the start of our friendship, but how she raged and seethed when my spiritual roots were tested and suddenly the boy with no expectations was the first to be given his token, while the girl raised from near birth, the second" He chuckled low and reach out a hand to gently pat between your ears "Your own roots are off a similar quality and type, but not the exact same"
Cont

>>6448410

"My mother told me as such, when I was just starting out" You answer, trying very, very hard to restrain your pride "Transient and Fickle"

"And highly prized, if the method to extract and implant spirit roots existed, you and I would've lived very different lives " He said, before bitterly added "Well, you wouldn't have, until recently, you were hunted and thought of as a monster"

"So, you and your wife were rivals before you were friends?" You asked and he smirked

"There was a step between that. Passion can spring and blossom from seeds besides affection" He said and you couldn't help but call him dirty old uncle in your mind "But we were fierce rivals, for much of our shared childhood. Another key difference between her and you, is that you have no lack of caution and she was born with none. Yet from what I know of you, you'll also take risk that others would call courting death. The difference is, you understand you're playing with your life. She...never seemed to know or at least care. See, she never valued life. Not truly, her own included. I wouldn't call her cutthroat, she was just a girl then, but looking back"

"The signs of what she'd become had shown on her coat for a long time?" You ask and he nodded gravely

"Hindsight uncovers more truth than even the Buddha's eye" He said bitterly, shaking his head as he tapped his chin "A thousand memories put together, reveal what had gone unnoticed. She wasn't heartless, far from it. She wept for friends killed in training or battles against other sects, but only as much as she'd cry over a broken tea pot. She valued life only as much as it meant to her, only for what it mattered, and didn't believe it held intrinsic value beyond that. But telling you the qualities of what had caused her future villainy, is not what you asked. You wished to know about what she was before she lost her mind and heart"

You lay down as Five colors lifts his chin up and shuts his eyes.

"She was fiercely loyal. She and I might've squabbled, but she'd defend my honor long before we could call ourselves friends. She was proud, but she didn't rest on her accomplishments, she was always moving forward, always improving, tirelessly. She wasn't tender, nor was she cruel but she was fair. She had conviction, she just lacked limits. She was obedient to her betters, but only followed the rules they enforced. These aren't traits unique to her, they were common to cultivators of our time" He explained softly "But what was uncommon, was how forgiving she was. She was quick to kill, but she didn't hold grudges. She was often called merciful, because she'd forgot or simply stop caring about a slight or offense that she had answered lethally before. While quick to anger and quick to forgive and quick and hungry to advance, she planned every step of her cultivation, in intricate, obsessive detail. It was something she did with everything, she had a strict schedule. And my lazy nature outraged her"
Cont

>>6448411

Chuckling, he shook his head "She was also strangely Naive. She could sniff out a conspiracy against her, but she could also be tricked and scammed into buying garbage from a street hawker or spend a year trying to avoid a fortune sold to her by an old opium addict. She had odd superstitions, and could get lost in thought when she wasn't studying or practicing. It was cute, but for a decade I wondered if her easily fooled nature had been that seed of darkness...Oddly enough, no. Even when she began consorting with demons, she skillfully evaded their own attempts to corrupt her. It was by her own hand and design she became the supreme devil mind and...and yet! I remember her still getting fooled like that girl I knew! Some simpleton king got her to stall her horde long enough for his citizens to run for the hills, by claiming he could read palms! She tore him to pieces once she realize the fortune had no way of passing, but she still fell for it! And no one remembers this about her! That is what hurts my wounded heart the most, the girl she was, is completely forgotten. Even you do not know her original name. No one remembers that she wasn't the embodiment of evil, even in the end, even at her most crazed and megalomaniacal. When I drove my spear through her heart, she was still the woman I loved"

Five colors eyes flashed every color of the rainbow as a spark of grudge lightning ran the length of his hand, stopping on the middle finger of it.

"Every aspect, every quality that had brought us close, remained within her. They weren't even overshadowed by the evil that she'd become. They were present, and clear. The proud and foolish woman I knew, loved and married, hadn't been erased. She'd never changed. She never valued life, of others or her own. She was willing to kill for nothing and forgive great offenses, even attempts on her life, if it suited her. She was arbitrary. Easily fooled yet hard to really deceive. Loyal to those who earned it, even if they were demons. And never betrayed herself or her convictions. And never idle or content. Like anyone, her character was full of contradictions. Yet only her worst traits have been remembered, only the trauma that her actions caused. She was a lunatic, a madwoman, a genocidal maniac, but she chose to be such, in pursuit of power even I could only imagine" He raved, eyes flashing with lighting that began to darken as his voice became truly divine as you watched the skies, wondering if he was about to start a second night of a thousand catastrophes, before he breathed out, an a great wind blew down the mountain side, clearing the rain, lightning and clouds, as his eyes dimmed and he once again looked like an ordinary, old man "But she did try. And her conquest of hell itself and rampage across heaven and earth, was merely a step in the attempt. But you did not ask me of that. Did you know she couldn't eat noodles right? She couldn't slurp them without whipping them into her face!"
Cont

>>6448412

" She could be bribed with sweets, even when she was several centuries old. She couldn't help but adopt every critter she ran into! She..." he frowned "She was beloved by your kind. Even to the end. She was the seed of corruption that gave Ascended Beasts the moniker Demonic Beast. Her and her alone. But they did so out of loyalty. Shared loyalty. It was the same for the devils she had unified, I think. She also couldn't keep a plant alive. I had to farm her share of spirit grasses and plants, anything green she touched withered and died", Five colors kept talking and talking "She was actually the one to suggest I take the name Ling, and write it as Tomb, it was a joke. Because we always joked, her, I and our long dead companions, that I'd be the first to go. I had so many brushes with death and yet"

He swept a gaze that encompassed Heaven, Earth and the Underworld

"I alone remain" He said, looking every year of his unknowably vast age before he suddenly sharpened, and wore a smile that was far too cat like for your comfort as he asked "There, I believe that is enough to satiate your boundless curiosity, Junior. Though, it is only fair, since you delved into my love life, that I ask the same"

Oh no! Run Run! Need to run! Need to flee! The old bastard was going to corner you and ask

"Do you have any mates in mind, Huanliuxue? I know your standards are high, but I doubt the rumors spread by the jealous and small minded hold any weight of truth to them, but I am curious myself, as any grandfather would be, about whom his granddaughter intends to court"

You keep smiling, but a silent scream rings in your ear as you start to cry and consider just fleeing to the moon or teleporting straight to hell to escape this old uncle's uncomfortable questioning! And you brought it on yourself! You'd opened old wounds and asked about this uncle's true love, and now he turned the question back against you. Shit. Fuck! Dammit! It was your own doing! And there was no escape!

What do you do, Huanliuxue!

>The only thing you can! ATTACK! this is a life or death scenario! (Martial trial. DC 200)

>Decide to torture Five Colors by describing your tastes in excruciating detail.

>"Aodasheng. There is some truth to those rumors, Heh-He.. Wait didn't I answer that too easily?"

>"Hmmm, I don't think they exist yet. No Tom is my equal, yet. Yinying would probably cry if I said that, Heh"

>"...Might've killed him, he might've been evil and grotesque, but that crow king was charming in his own way, I guess"

>Write in

>>6448413
>Attack!
>Blind him with blood, throw pollen in his face, teleport.

I do this, solely because it's the funniest possible option.
I don't even really want to succeed, the image of Huan being held up by the scruff of her neck is hillarious.

Hmm so what qualities.
Well they have to be able to keep up.
Have to be strong.
Need to be strong willed and principled in their own way to clash with our imperial mandate.
Preferably dead or at least practicing a macabre law

>>6448413
>The only thing you can! ATTACK! this is a life or death scenario! (Martial trial. DC 200)
we will lose, but it is the funniest answer. but also old five colors really has that old man sorrow even after achieving godhood.

>>6448413
>Panic, stammer, teleport away

>>6448392
Oooh dungeon crawler Carl, I think you'll like her highness Princess Donut
>>6448413
>The only thing you can! ATTACK! this is a life or death scenario! (Martial trial. DC 200)

>>6448413
>The only thing you can! ATTACK! this is a life or death scenario! (Martial trial. DC 200)

>>6448413
>>6448477
>Panic, stammer, teleport away
Kek, supporting. No way it'll work, but he's the only one who can casually break our composure like that.

>>6448423
I don't think they specifically need to be dead or heretical, but rather just have a respect for heretical daos.
Unrelated note, Ao is great but I definitely remember Monu's warning that you shouldn't let attraction blind you to what the person is actually like.

>>6448423
if it wasn't for crow king being a kid murderer he was pretty chill

>>6448547
Honestly, I might respect an aggressively orthodox cultivator like Xue.

The important part is an unbending conviction of where they draw the line and not going for them.


regarding Ao. He's a thief. Arrogant. Unrestrained. soul eating murderer, with a massive retribution streak.
not terribly many deal breakers

>>6448549
Kinda charming I suppose. But the kid hurting agenda makes it a none starter

>>6448423
I am willing to change to just
>Stammering and teleporting away

Because teleporting different places and him already being there is also very funny.

>>6448551
to my recollection he didn't target kids specifically, just more ate em when the opportunity arose