Myriad Rivers to the Sea

Chapter 899: The Inverted Sword

Zhan and Talia hovered high above the artificial mist of Gilded Fate City and prepared for their descent. They knew Li Yu possessed sharp instincts and an uncanny powerful soul so they took extreme precautions to conceal their true identities. Zhan channeled his cultivation and sealed his soul signature deep within his core. He wrapped his tall frame in a thick layer of distorted spatial light that completely blurred his body into a vague silhouette. Talia mirrored his actions and cloaked her armor and her void viper aura in a shroud of impenetrable shadows.

Li Canghai and Zhan Tielan did not need to hide their entire bodies. They utilized their manipulation techniques to blur only their facial features just as they had done during their previous encounters at Hope Fortress. They wanted to maintain the facade of the distant seniors.

The four titans descended through the thick mist and landed silently in the private courtyard of the Cloud Ascendant Inn.

Li Yu was sitting at the stone table in the center of the courtyard and nursing a cup of warm tea. He had just returned and was processing his time in the different realm. He felt the sudden shift in ambient air pressure and looked up.

He froze in his seat and his eyes widened in disbelief. He instantly recognized the imposing armor and the distinct physical presence of the two figures standing in his courtyard. It was the two commanders he had met during the rescue mission. He remembered their immense power from their previous brief encounter and held a respect for both of them as they shouldered the sky for others.

While Li Yu stared at his unexpected guests a suffocating panic erupted in the shadows surrounding the inn.

Fenric and Oram were stationed in the void just outside the courtyard walls. The two ancient Wardens were accompanied by the five elite shadow protectors. They had followed Li Yu back to the city to ensure his safety while he rested but their protective perimeter was effortlessly breached. The sudden arrival of four entities possessing unfathomable power caused the spatial fabric around the wardens to lock up entirely.

Fenric felt a cold sweat break out across his heavy brow. He could not move his armored fingers. Oram stood frozen beside him while his composure shattered into a million pieces. The five shadows were paralyzed by the density of the auras pressing down on the area. They were the apex predators of the Eidolon Court but right now they felt like helpless infants staring up at towering mountain peaks.

'Why did it become so difficult to protect this kid all of a sudden?' Fenric complained internally while his heart hammered against his ribs. He remembered the early days of their assignment when the greatest threat to Li Yu was them getting bored. 'I truly miss the days when he just lazed around and did not do much of anything.'

Oram managed to push through the crushing pressure just enough to activate a secure communication jade hidden in his sleeve. He routed an emergency spiritual transmission directly to the central keep.

Haelan and Jhyra answered the frantic call almost immediately.

"Ancestors preserve us." Oram whispered through the jade link while his voice trembled. "There are four people here who we cannot handle. They bypassed all our defensive arrays and landed directly in the courtyard of the Grand Envoy. We are completely outclassed. What are your orders?"

Haelan and Jhyra stood in the central keep and exchanged a look of stunned realization. They had wondered who the four were visiting when they stopped for their diplomatic courtesy call. Finding out that the titans were personally seeking out Li Yu shifted their terror into confusion.

"Do nothing." Jhyra commanded firmly through the jade link. "Do not engage them and do not reveal yourselves. They stated they were here to visit a junior and they hold no hostile intent toward our realm. Keep a safe distance and simply observe. If you attack them, you will doom us all."

Oram severed the connection and signaled for the wardens and the shadows to stand down and remain perfectly still.

Down in the courtyard Li Canghai slowly turned his blurred face toward the eastern wall. He looked directly at the empty space where Oram and Fenric were hiding. The commander offered a slow and deliberate nod in their direction. It was a silent announcement that he knew exactly where the hidden Eidolon protectors were stationed and that he came in peace.

Oram swallowed hard and offered a rigid bow in return even though he knew he remained invisible to the naked eye. Li Yu recovered from his initial shock and quickly stood up from the stone table. He pushed his own chaotic thoughts aside and assumed the role of a respectful junior.

"Seniors." Li Yu greeted them while offering a deep formal bow. "It is an honor to see you both again. Please come and sit down."

He gestured toward the stone table and hurriedly brought out fresh cups to pour them tea. His heart was beating rapidly against his ribs and a bright spark of excitement ignited within his chest.

He wondered why these incredibly busy and important commanders would travel across the cosmos to find him. He dared to hope that he had made a good impression on them and they were taking an interest in him.

The four of them took their seats around the table. Zhan and Talia remained silent observers while they evaluated the young man who had once been their leader in the very distant past.

Canghai accepted the cup of tea and held it gently in his hands. He hated the necessary deception but he forced himself to play his part.

"Li Yu." Canghai started while his voice carried a calm and authoritative tone. "We have not come here for a social visit. We are here on a specific errand for my master."

Canghai gestured toward the blurred silhouette of Zhan sitting beside him. "My master requires a specific artifact for his martial arts testing. I gifted you a ceremonial blade during our last meeting and we need to borrow it back for his test. Once he is done, he will give it back to you. I am sorry for the inconvenience."

The bright spark of excitement in Li Yu's chest extinguished instantly. The disappointment was heavy and bitter instead. They had not come for him at all. They had simply come to retrieve a valuable item because a higher authority demanded it. He felt foolish for assuming these legendary commanders had traveled all this way just to see a junior like him.

"I understand Senior." Li Yu replied quietly while masking his disappointment with a polite nod.

He reached inward and retrieved Gilded Calamity. The scabbard hummed slightly as he pulled it out and placed it gently on the center of the stone table. Zhan reached out and grabbed the hilt. He felt a familiar and resonance pulse through his palm as his sword intent connected with the dormant artifact.

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Talia watched the exchange and noticed the heavy sorrow lingering in Tielan's eyes. She knew the parents desperately wanted to spend a few quiet moments alone with their son without the suffocating presence of others hovering over them. Talia reached out and tapped Zhan on his armored shoulder.

"We have what we came for." Talia said softly while her melodic voice was disguised by her shadowy aura. "Let us test it elsewhere."

Zhan understood the silent request. He stood up from the stone table and secured Gilded Calamity to his side.

"I will return the blade once my theories are confirmed." Zhan stated vaguely to the table.

Before Zhan stepped into the void he extended his sword intent outward like a massive invisible net. He gripped the spatial fabric surrounding the courtyard and forcefully scooped up the two Core Wardens and the five shadow protectors hiding in the perimeter.

The seven Eidolon experts did not even have time to gasp before they were violently yanked out of their concealment and dragged into a spatial tear alongside Zhan and Talia. The courtyard was instantly cleared of all hidden observers and suffocating auras. Zhan had forcibly evicted the spies to ensure Li Yu and his disguised parents had true privacy.

Canghai let out a slow breath as the heavy pressure of his master vanished. He looked across the table at his son and felt a deep ache in his chest.

"I do not know how long his testing will take." Canghai said while offering a sincere and humble apology. "I am sorry for this intrusion, Li Yu. I gave you that sword as a parting gift and now I am forced to retrieve it on behalf of my elders. It is highly embarrassing and poorly handled on my part."

"Please do not apologize, Senior." Li Yu shook his head quickly and offered a reassuring smile. "It is just a sword. If your master requires it for his cultivation then it belongs with him. I truly do not mind. I am just glad to see that both of you are safe from the front lines."

Tielan smiled warmly beneath her blurred light barrier and reached out to gently touch Li Yu's hand in apology. It was a fleeting and comforting gesture that carried a thousand unspoken words of maternal love.

They sat together in the quiet courtyard and shared a brief pocket of peace away from the demands of the cosmos.

Far away from the opulent streets of Gilded Fate City, a jagged spatial tear ripped open the sky above a desolate and lifeless region.

Zhan and Talia stepped out onto the barren grey dust. A second later, the seven Eidolon experts were unceremoniously dumped onto the ground behind them. Fenric and Oram scrambled to their feet while the five shadows drew their weapons in a panic. They were deeply terrified by the casual display of spatial manipulation.

Zhan ignored the trembling guards entirely as he walked a few paces away and drew Gilded Calamity from its golden scabbard. He planted the heavy blade into the grey dust and closed his metallic eyes.

He channeled his overwhelming Heaven Severing intent directly into the weapon.

His consciousness was violently pulled from the physical world and dragged into the mental landscape of the sword. The transition was familiar but the welcoming atmosphere was entirely absent.

Zhan materialized in the center of the ancient battlefield and looked up at the heavy crimson sky. The ground was littered with the broken weapons of fallen warriors and the smell of rust choked the air just as he had remembered it thousands of years ago..

The brash and arrogant spirit of Gilded Calamity was sitting atop his massive mound of broken swords. He looked down at the new arrival and scowled heavily.

"Who dares intrude on my domain with such a foul and aggressive intent?" The spirit boomed as his voice echoed like thunder across the endless graveyard. He did not immediately recognize the entity standing before him because Zhan was no longer the struggling insect he had trained in the Ferine Realm.

Zhan stood at the base of the mound and let out a booming laugh that shook the very foundations of the mental space.

"Am I worthy now?!" Zhan shouted out of nowhere and right back at Gilded Calamity with a fierce and joyful challenge.

He did not hold anything back. Zhan unleashed his full and unrestricted sword intent. It was the accumulated power of a cultivator who had spent thousands of years fighting at the peak of the cosmos. It was the intent of the Heaven Severing Ancestor of the Li Clan.

The heavy crimson sky above them shattered like fragile glass under the immense pressure. The endless graveyard of broken weapons was violently swept away by a hurricane of slicing Qi. The spirit of Gilded Calamity was knocked off his mound and sent tumbling backward across the shifting ground.

The mental landscape inverted completely. Gilded Calamity was no longer the master of the domain. He was forcibly pulled into Zhan's sword space.

The red sky was replaced by a suffocating and starry sky. The ground beneath their feet morphed into towering mountains composed entirely of massive beast corpses. There were shattered bodies as far as the eye could see. Sticking out of the gruesome mountains were thousands of pristine bone swords that hummed with lethal, slaughter intent.

The spirit pushed himself up from the ground and stared at his new surroundings in stunned silence. He was completely suppressed by the oppressive atmosphere. He looked up at the now metallic green warrior standing atop the highest mountain of corpses and was even more stunned.

"It cannot be." The spirit muttered while his arrogant bravado crumbled. He pointed a trembling finger at the familiar figure and aura. "You are the bug from just days ago! The mantis who nearly killed himself trying to learn the Third Step!"

"I am." Zhan confirmed while crossing his scythe arms over his chest. His voice carried the weight of someone who had been fighting for far too long.

The spirit was thoroughly confused. His mind struggled to process the impossibility of the situation. "How did you become so strong so fast? It has barely been a few weeks since I last saw you. This level of cultivation requires the passage of eras!"

Zhan floated down from the mountain of corpses and landed softly in front of the stunned spirit. He had deliberately stayed far away from Gilded Calamity once he learned the sword had manifested its spirit within the Li Clan.

He did not want to mess with the timeline or risk altering his own past by interacting with his former teacher prematurely. But the time was finally here and he could speak freely.

"It has not been a few weeks for me." Zhan explained with a nostalgic smile. "I lived through those eras. You gave me a command to find the Li Family when I was strong enough to travel the cosmos. I honored your request and I joined their ranks. I spent thousands of years forging my intent and guarding their legacy. I waited a very long time for this moment to show you how far I’ve come."

The spirit stared at the Heaven Severing Ancestor and the pieces slowly clicked into place. Zhan channeled his oppressive aura and forced the spirit to drop to one knee under the crushing weight. "And now it is your turn to shut your mouth and listen to me."

The spirit grunted under the pressure but he offered a wry smile. The dynamic had come full circle. He had spent their previous encounters calling the mantis a weak bug and threatening to crush him. Now the insect had evolved into a dragon and the spirit was the one kneeling.

Zhan began to explain to Gilded Calamity what he thought had happened and everything that he had been through.

"What kind of freak is my and your master?" The spirit asked while shaking his head in bewildered amusement. "To stumble backward through time and now here you are."

"He is indeed a freak." Zhan agreed as he released the pressure and allowed the spirit to stand back up. "But he is a good person and he helped me back then. Even though our time was short, he set me on the path to where I am today."

Zhan dismissed his terrifying sword space and allowed the mental landscape to settle into a calm and quiet stone courtyard. He summoned a low wooden table and two cushions as he gestured for his old teacher to sit down.

The Heaven Severing Ancestor and the spirit of Gilded Calamity sat together in the quiet space. They put aside the titles and the crushing power dynamics to share their experiences. They sat next to one another and chatted about the passage of eras, the bloody wars they had fought and so many other things.