CG Chapter 168: The Village That Never Was
That sense of danger came not from within the illusory walls of this dream, but from the world outside of Wei Ji Village. It happened in a span of time that seemed to stretch for a millennium, yet in reality, it passed in less than the time it took for one to exhale a breath of air.
At that moment, Aretius knew he didn't have the luxury of time to decide; he needed to act, and he had to move now.
Tick-Tock! Tick-Tock! Tick-Tock!
From a state of grim, opaque, and suffocating coldness to one of disarray and chaos.
The loud, soul-piercing sound of three consecutive blasts following each other as if in sync caused the once-lively Wei Ji Village to fall into complete silence.
This silence, however, wasn't one of peace, but the silence that followed a scene that seemed to come out of a folktale sung by elders to scare off their unruly children.
Destruction and utter ruin. No, this wasn't mere destruction, as the once-bustling village full of people was no more. In its place, only three stood: the duo of prodigies and Aretius, who was far away from them.
This all seemed like a dream, but if an eagle-eyed master had been there only a few moments earlier, he would have seen it all.
...
The moment Aretius perceived that danger, knowing his fate was sealed, he didn't hesitate for even a second.
Standing in his place, Aretius's jade-like hands flickered in a masterful motion, as if he were recreating the scene of an immortal master plucking the strings of a zither.
From an unknown place, nine gold coins were scattered in a seemingly random order.
He said in a voice unheard by anyone but himself, "The eight ripen into the nine."
If you looked closely, you would notice that they formed the shape of the Eight Trigrams, representing each of the eight elements. In the same breath, he smashed his right hand against his chest with full force.
Around him, a ring depicting the Eight Trigrams and eight elements formed.
However, there was an extra coin that should have otherwise caused the array's essence to scatter. Contrary to one's belief, the ninth piece didn't cause any disharmony; instead, it improved on the original essence, transforming it from the Eight Trigrams into the Nine Palaces. By adding a ninth variable as the heart of the array, one could twist the static laws of nature, becoming an immortal of Heaven and Earth.
This transformation was akin to a snake shedding its scales, becoming a dragon.
He struck his own chest. Spatting a mouthful of stagnant, violet blood at each of the Nine Palaces nodes.
Aretius's fingers flashed with blinding speed, not leaving behind a single trace. In less than a breath, his two pinky fingers locked together at a grotesque angle.
He uttered, "The Nine-Palace Dragon-Gate Seal!"
Following the strangely familiar movements, his fingers formed a seal as he began to chant:
"Heaven and Earth, Sacred and Divine.
The Eight Lands are Supreme, the Nine Palaces Eternal.
The Human Dao is Perishing; the Immortals are Unfeeling.
The Three Flowers are Everlasting; the Yin is Never-lasting.
All between Heaven and Earth are One."
"Gate of the Greater Realm, heed my command! Expel the virtuous and restrain the celestials!"
As the final word came out of his mouth, a violet aura akin to that of his own blood flashed blindingly for a breath before vanishing in the next, and with it, he evaporated from the place as if he had never been there.
All of this took a long time to describe, but it actually happened in less than the time it took an autumn cicada to flap its wings.
It was an ironic twist of fate. Despite Aretius doing everything he could perfectly to the last detail, and being only one step away from the duo, he still failed at the last moment.
Before his eyes, the scene wasn't of destruction, but nothingness. The Wei Ji Village was no more, nor was the Fog they witnessed before stepping inside; everything truly seemed like a long, suffocating dream, one where the dream and reality overlapped.
In its place, only the confused duo stood. As they awoke from that long dream, they began to question if they had truly escaped or if they were still inside of the jail that was the Wei Ji Village.
The thing that left them most puzzled, however, was: where was everyone they had met? From the two clans to the servants, and from the servants to everyone they had met there, without any exception, all of them had disappeared.
The breathing, living people that they had interacted with just moments ago had now vanished into thin air as if they had never been there, with no trace of them in Heaven or Earth.
As they were lost in their own thoughts, Aretius had something else on his mind; his gaze was glued to the sky. During his escape, he witnessed that the strikes that he felt were an imminent threat less than a moment ago; all came from one man.
Above them, a single man stood on top of a crane, having shot the three arrows that caused the Village and the Fog to disperse.
What was even more absurd, however, was that the archer appeared to be blind, having a painted ribbon over his eyes.
The man stood on top of a similarly sightless colossal crane. He carried himself with an ethereal, still feel. Standing tall atop the crane, his bony white robes hid his thin yet toned figure.
That robe of his gave him a scholarly aura, with patterns flowing through it. Crimson red and ink black strokes appeared on the edges of his robe.
That didn't give him justice, still, as the giant bow behind his back and the devastation he left behind spoke of his true nature.
Before he could ponder the identity of this person, he heard screams and shouts from the duo.
Their surprise at seeing this person almost made them seem like they had forgotten everything that had happened to them within Wei Ji Village.
"Soul-Piercing Crane of Mount Dong Yun!"
The words of the duo seemed to have reignited a memory Aretius had heard during his stroll in the city of Black Cloud. This man in front of his eyes was none other than the rising dragon of White Cloud Pavilion, known as the Soul-Piercing Crane.
A blind man who could see what others couldn't see. A boy stripped of his sight during his youth, yet was able to not only avoid falling behind but also become the central prodigy of one of the highest sects among the three hundred schools.