Path Of The Dragon (A Dark Fantasy Cultivation Wuxia Xianxia Progression Series)

Chapter 119 Crystalline Lotus

Jie roared and cycled lightning step with what little remained of her energy as she whipped her arm out, hurling one of her blood swords toward the distracted mummy like a javelin.

His gaze snapped back to her too late and his eyes flared with green fire as he tried to evade the strike. He was too slow. The crystalline sword penetrated the dry flesh of his stomach as the hilt caught on his desiccated body, preventing the sword from going all the way through and driving him back into the metal pipe behind him. The crystalline blade penetrated the pipe with a shriek of tortured metal and pinned him against the pipe.

He roared and gripped the hilt of the blade. He grunted as he tried to pull it out of him and free himself but failed to do so.

His burning glare settled on Jie and his fiery eyes seemed to fill with pure spite as he raised his hand and hissed, causing the wall of runic spheres to angle toward Jie's friends.

"No!" Jie snarled and threw her remaining sword at him.

The blade whipped through the air in a red flash and caught the mummy in his throat.

The blade sheered through his neck and embedded itself in the pipe, decapitating him even as it held his head in place upon its hilt like a shelf.

His headless body slumped forward, his bony fingers still gripping the hilt of the blade impaling his stomach as bright green fire gushed out of his neck stump, splattering the floor with unnatural flames. Slowly, the fire in his eyes died out until only wisps of smoke curled from the dark sockets. The runic spheres hovering in the air turned unstable and detonated in a chaotic mess of purple and black energy. The shockwaves of the blast washed over Jie and her friends but they were too far away to harm them.

Jie wavered as her lightning step skill sputtered out and the world seemed to spin. Strangely, she thought she ought to say something quippy like a hero in the occasional movies she'd watched, but only panting breaths escaped her lips as she collapsed to her knees with absolute exhaustion.

"Jie!" Pan Tian and Ithilix cried in unison as they and Xue rushed over to her.

Pan Tian popped a healing pill into Jie's mouth. It melted on her tongue, the healing energies pouring through her body and down her throat. Aches and pains she hadn't been aware of faded away. Though, it did little to reduce her exhaustion.

"Thanks," Jie said between panting breaths as she cultivated and began restoring some of her qi.

Xue nuzzled her neck and Jie stroked him. He brushed himself against her, then padded around, inspecting each of the mummies and making very sure they were dead.

"Did you just kill four ninth star Expert ranked cultivators?" Pan Tian asked.

"And their pet snakes," Jie said.

"How?" Pan Tian asked.

"Hit them very hard," Jie said between breaths.

Ithilix giggled. "Are you truly surprised at this point?" she asked.

"I suppose not... I'm sorry we couldn't help you more. Thanks for saving us," Pan Tian said.

Jie nodded. "Always," she said.

"She must be drained... the building has left the ground. This one expects it has lit up. Noctilith will be here soon," Ithilix said.

"Sorry," Jie said.

Ithilix lifted her up. "This one only meant that it would be wise to lock the door while the pr-- Jie recovers," she said.

"That's a good point," Pan Tian said. She slammed and locked the door as Ithilix helped Jie walk across the glowing transparent floor toward the crystalline lotus bud that dominated the room. Purple light streamed down on it from the circle above and the bud swelled with power. It clicked and whirred as it unfolded into a beautiful lotus with a wide platform in the center.