Nine Paths of Asura-Original Wuxia

Chapter 40 - Ascending the Pillar

When someone challenges you to a fight in spanish harlem....in other news I burnt a hole in a towel today making mac and cheese....I suck at cooking

"Bloody Hells, how large is this pillar!" Lineir had been nonstop trying to ascend the base for a month now. Progress however... was slow at best. Lineir doubted that he had even made it more than five percent of the way up the visible portion of the pillar. Why was this? There were several reasons. The first was that the pillar was incomparably huge. It literally stretched past the clouds. However, that wasn't all. If it just went straight up, the journey would be long, but not impossibly so. The problem lay in that the pillar was not a straight climb up! It spiraled around itself as a spring might, ring after great ring, up into the Heavens. Thus the true length one needed to climb was far greater than it would be if the pillar went straight up. Almost triple the distance! This sheer distance would take even strong powers of the land like patriarchs an enormously long amount of time to traverse.

While the distances involved in climbing the pillar were immense, just ascending it was child's play. Since it spiraled around, the top was in fact a wide walkable path so one could walk up it. But throughout this, traps and constructs abounded, and had to be avoided. Sometimes backtracking was necessary as golems and shifting mechanisms, which were far beyond Lineir's power, appeared. Worse still, Lineir had a nagging suspicion that the pillar had not revealed all of its perils yet. There was something off. The atmosphere didn't feel right. It was as if the higher Lineir went, the worse the invisible feeling of dread got.

"Mei do you sense something odd about this pillar? I feel strange, like a great pressure is bearing down on me."

Mei suggested,

"Don't worry, disciple, the oxygen level is probably decreasing. While it might be uncomfortable, your cultivation is strong enough to withstand worse. Endure!"

However, despite Mei's consolation, Lineir still felt off. This pillar was far too massive and mysterious. Who created such a thing, and why? The gods? Did he dare try to reach the top, even if he could? There were many stories of mortals who had tried to step above to the Heavens. Most had not ended well. At that moment however, a terrifying creature came in to view on the path ahead. Strange whirling noises came as unknown gears grinded underneath a silver metallic skin. It stood only one and a half meters tall, but was incomparably thick with wide limbs a meter around, and a body two meters wide.

"Shoot a golem! The path behind me took me five hours to pass. Mei, I'm going to try to test this one's strength, going back and finding another way around will take too long!" With that, Lineir rushed in with his fists and launched a vicious elbow, all the while keeping a close eye on the golem. He was waiting for it to make a suspicious move. As he approached, the whirring noise grew louder, but the golem simply stood still.

"Perhaps its rusted and cannot move? Everything here seems old. No, I must be cautious, whoever built this had an incredible grasp of the workings of metal. I cannot underestimate this golem." As his elbow had almost reached the skin, he allowed his bone scythes to slide out, a lethal blade suddenly thrusting directly at the golem's silver head.

At the base of the pillar, the leaders of the great sects had all sent out scouts and were currently trying to avoid conflict with each other while securing as much information about the pillar as possible. In the Fiery Haze Sect, A red-yellow clothed scout was reporting back to the Patriarch.

"Patriarch Goldive, the pillar is safe to ascend, there doesn't appear to be any formations or enchantments which prevent entry whatsoever. However, several traps have been discovered, most of which have already been activated. Obviously the other sects have also sent scouts and have triggered some of the traps. However, it is impossible to determine when these traps were triggered. While no major great sects were in the area when the pillar formed, it cannot be guaranteed that some wandering eccentrics or rogue cultivators have not already entered the pillar. It is simply impossible to know. Thus I suggest that we, the Fiery Haze Sect, immediately enter the pillar. This way, we will not be too late to fight for any benefits or treasures which might appear on such a godly site." Done with his report, the scout saluted and stood there awaiting the Patriarch's orders. At the same time, various other great sects were having similar conversations. They answered as Goldive did,