Dispel the Clouds and See the Sun

8. The Battle Starts!

A life-or-death confrontation with unforeseen consequences

CRASH! BOOM! Rumble rumble rumble, the giant divine statue jumped inside that deep, freezing cold canyon, overturning rivers and seas, truly earth-shattering in a spectacular mess. Nowadays it was called Xiezi He She Valley, or "valley of scorpions and snakes", a barren, desolate land, which on the last centuries had been swallowed by the Gobi Desert.

Thousands of years ago, on this land sat a rich and prosperous kingdom, the homeland of their enemy. That's why Xie Lian determined this is where his hideout would be, and wanted to give him a great display of power using the statue. Sure enough, they saw a tall, dark figure. Waiting.

"You like toppling divine statues, let's see how you feel, being toppled by one", Xie Lian's voice echoed loudly on those tall rocky walls. He then jumped off to the ground.

The man smiled coldly, replying, "Your Highness The Crown Prince of XianLe. I was waiting for you."

Hua Cheng snorted, "I don't think you were, but you don't look surprised, I give you that."

"Jin Huang, The Golden Emperor, ruler of the Heavenly Court on the previous dynasty – "

"The dynasty wiped by Jun Wu, yes, whose remains were buried at the foundation of Heavenly Court. Only, unlike my fellow gods, I didn't die a dog's death, as you can see." He gave Xie Lian and party a light bow, acknowledging them, "Crimson Rain Sought Flower. General Nan Yang, General Xuan Zhen. I'm afraid the four of you won't be enough to stop me."

Xie Lian smiled modestly as usual and said, "Don't be too sure."

That man was tall and good-looking, with white skin and very black hair and eyes; dressed entirely in gold, and wearing a mianguan, a twelve-tasselled crown. He clearly had an imposing presence just like Jun Wu; only Jun Wu was as cold as jade, while Jin Huang had an oppressive, fiery aura. His weapon was a golden mao, a spear with a snake-like, curvy spearhead.

He smiled condescendingly, "Jun Wu wouldn't forget me, I was only presumed dead; I had all the time in the world to do a Heavenly Demonic Cultivation, well a few thousands of years at least. But I'm not after Jun Wu. That'd be thinking too small."

"You want to take the heavenly throne", Xie Lian simply said, "You will have to defeat me first, but I guess you know that." He then removed Tayang from his sleeves, and assumed a battle stance.

Jin Huang gave a long chuckle, "I will defeat you, Xie Lian. You're Jun Wu's heir, you defeated him. Let alone him telling you all about me; that his spiritual armoury accepted and allowed you to enter and get my old sword says it all."

Mu Qing humphed, "What makes you think the heaven officials would want you as emperor, after all the damage you caused them?"

"General Xuan Zhen please", Jin Huang replied warmly, "Do they know it was me, or do they think it was Crimson Rain Sought Flower, being that the reason you're all here? After defeating you, I can easily point out your unhealthy relationship with the Ghost Realm, of Xie Lian in particular. I will discredit him; the gods will receive their "saviour" with open arms!"

"Disturb the waters to catch a fish", Hua Cheng said; indeed Jin Huang was profiting greatly from the chaos and confusion he caused at toppling statues and burning temples!

He laughed as if what Hua Cheng had just said was truly amusing, and added, "The gods at the Heavenly Court fancy themselves in a great battle between good and evil, where they're on the good side of course! Only what's good and righteous being highly questionable... "

"We're here to dispel the clouds and see the sun, restore justice", Xie Lian said, adding, "Aren't we wasting our breaths?"

Suddenly, a thick cloud of wraith butterflies engulfed Jin Huang, Hua Cheng pffting a laugh, "That's it Gege! Shoot first and ask questions later that's what I always say".

Right on cue, Feng Xin shot a few spiritual light arrows, and Mu Qing blasted him too; however, he was immediately surrounded by that strange black cloud they saw on the Royal Holy Pavilion, which seemed to swallow butterflies and spiritual energy at once. These attacks were of course a decoy, so Xie Lian could check his reflexes and spiritual power, and search for openings.

"I'll be your opponent", Xie Lian said with a neutral tone, as everybody wasn't already with swords drawn and bows bent, in a state of mutual hostility.

"However, this sword won't do much, let me tell you", Jin Huang replied.

Xie Lian lunged at him, with lightning speed and quick on his feet, performing several attacks in a blinding sequence; each time it was blocked, a flash of light shone, like fierce sunrays against cold metal. Right when blocked, he swiftly jumped back to avoid counter-attacks, truly like a dancer swirling her long silky sleeves. Both of them were just too fast!

"Your Highness, you're good", Jin Huang admitted, "Fast, precise, with the economy of motion of the highly cultivated. But", he chuckled, "I'm sure you were counting on Tayang's powers against me. Maybe this was suggested by Jun Wu himself? Either way Your Highness, you're courting death."

They were indeed well-matched in speed and power, going at each other relentlessly, strike after strike, unstopping clangs of metal against metal; and indeed Xie Lian wasn't feeling any particular advantage in using Tayang. It was a high-class divine sword, no doubt about that, but for what he saw, it was the same as using Fang Xin.

Hua Cheng snorted, "You're the one courting death you useless trash", and suddenly a flash of glimmering silver light was seen left and right; but not even that cursed blade of misfortune E'Ming at its full speed and power could touch Jin Huan.

Feng Xin shot a few more arrows, and, throwing his bow aside, unsheathed Hong Jing and jumped with Xie Lian; Mu Qing also joined the fight with his long and heavy zhanmadao, blocking Jin Huang's golden mao. Still the four of them wasn't enough, and that man dressed in gold was fighting as fast and as tirelessly as ever, as if fighting martial gods and supreme ghost kings was nothing.

"You see now, we're as different as heaven and earth", he said scornfully.

Hua Cheng snorted back, and kept exchanging insults with Jin Huang in his nonchalant, rude way; Feng Xin and Mu Qing joined him, realising he was willing to create a distraction so Xie Lian could focus while swirling around, find an opening and strike. He'd only need to strike once.

"How could an old fart like you not know that His Highness is unrivalled under heaven?", Hua Cheng said, "His skills as a martial artist, and his spiritual powers are endless."

"His Highness is indeed impressive", Jin Huang admitted, "But his main strength is also his very weakness. How about it Your Highness?", he paused, then said, "I kill you with a borrowed knife?"

He lunged at Xie Lian, fast as lightening, shooting Hua Cheng an amused glance; Xie Lian stepped back, and by a fraction of second the snake-like spearhead of his mao didn't slit his throat. However, Jin Huang wasn't aiming for Xie Lian's neck, but rather for the chain he had around it, the one with that crystal clear ring on it, the one Hua Cheng had given him long ago!

The chain snapped, and the ring flew high in the air; Jin Huang twisted his arm to smack it with his mao's blade, and smashed it to pieces! Only a spiritual weapon like his mao could break that diamond ring. Everything was horrifyingly too fast, Xie Lian's vision was all in a blur; the ring was destroyed, Hua Cheng's bone ashes scattering around, and being blown away!

Getting rid of his ashes, the ghost would dissolve and its soul disintegrate, Hua Cheng, as the boy San Lang, had told Xie Lian long ago when they first met at the back of an oxcart. He had also said, pffting a laugh, if it were me, I'd have no regrets giving away my ashes. Who cares if they want me to disintegrate or just scatter the ashes for fun!

Xie Lian froze, his whole body tensed and numbed, and, before his very eyes, the figure of Hua Cheng dissolved, disappearing into thin air like dust in the wind.

"SAN LANG!", he screamed; his knees buckled, and Xie Lian slumped on the floor.

SAN LANG! Don't – 😭😭😭

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