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

Chapter 127 Specters

Ithilix stared at the hieroglyphs upon the door ahead of them as her antennae twitched. "This one senses a powerful formation on the door. This one does not believe we can force it," she said.

"Hmm..." Pan Tian said, "Jie, be alert for whatever's making that sound. It'll be on us soon. Ithilix, can you sense how we might open the door?"

Before Ithilix could respond, the statue of the red woman spoke.

"You've come a long way, my students," it said, "you've struck down elusive evil. You've overcome the impossible and gambled like a fox. You've blazed like a beacon when alone in the darkness. Even with my manipulations to give you a worthy challenge, you've never failed to make this academy proud. You're among the strongest and most talented students this academy has ever trained. With the courage to stand where others would bow and the wisdom to scurry like a mouse when needed...

"Now, I give you your final challenge. A test of strength, cunning, and battle sense. As is right for true cultivators. Succeed and the way shall be opened. Fail, and your bones will join others that they may serve in finding worthier cultivators."

The statue flared with red energy and the obelisks at the corners of the dais lit up. Their runes glowed a deep, rich red as bones rattled and clattered with metal beneath them.

Jie peered over the edge into the pit. Her electric blue eyes widened as the enormous mounds of bones swirled with pulsing red energy and assembled into countless skeletons of a variety of species wielding all manner of rusted, ancient weaponry. As they assembled, their auras flared to un-life, and red energy burned like fire around their bones. It was impossible to tell their numbers, packed on top of each other as they were. The majority of their auras ranged from the ninth star of the Adept rank to the third star of the Expert rank. With a few a star or two higher mixed in. Jie was confident that her friends could take on even the strongest of them as long as they didn't get overwhelmed by sheer numbers. And she wouldn't let that happen.

The skeletons leaped onto the walls of the pit and climbed up with the speed of cultivators.

For a final test, it was far from the most dangerous thing they'd faced, and Jie noticed herself smirking.

Then, another pulse of red energy washed over the room, and a chorus of echoing wails cried out. Creatures of boiling, almost-liquid red energy flew up through the ranks of skeletons, leaving ghostly trails in the air behind them as they hurtled toward Jie and her friends.

"Specters! They'll suck out our life force! Kill them!" Pan Tian cried as the first of the creatures rose above the lip of the pit.

The specters opened their ghostly mouths in impossibly wide yawns and sucked ribbons of green, vibrant energy out of Jie and her friends.

Waves of nausea and dizziness crashed over Jie as she felt her strength draining away.

"Kill them..." Pan Tian said, her voice sounding fainter by the second as streaks of gray spread through her hair.

A burning ache spread through Jie's bones as she formed a dragonfist and lashed out at the closest specter. Her fist passed through it as though it were made of slimy cobwebs that made her skin crawl.

The specter gripped her arm with slender, fluid fingers and pulled itself along Jie's arm. Jie tried to throw it off her arm and away from her, but her arm moved through the center of its chest like water. It brought its yawning mouth only an inch away from her face as it sucked out her life force.

Xue lit up with an ethereal white glow and pounced on a specter, ripping it to pieces and Jie reached for that very same power within her. The one she'd used against the ghosts in the tower. Her skin wrinkled and grew spotted with every passing second and she felt tired. So very tired as she desperately tried to activate the power...