The Rise of the Divine Oracle

Chapter 176 - By Any Means Necessary

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Wangji knew something was off.

Even in deep sleep, he felt like someone was calling him.

He opened his eyes and was almost blinded by Wuxian's glowing hair. His soul-bond was having a vision while sleeping, so he slowly inches away, letting go of the tight embrace he had on him.

He waited patiently for Wuxian to snap out of it, slightly mesmerized by the tiny glowing sparks filling their room. He sometimes wonders why the deities made Wuxian's hair glow and spark while he was having a vision. Zewu Jun's working theory is to stun those around him. If an enemy was present they would be too busy enjoying the good feeling coming from the sparks to interrupt the Oracle.

Wangji snapped out of his musing when Wuxian screamed, jumped out of bed and almost ran out of the room half naked. Wangji grabbed the smaller man by the waist, hauling him up and into his lap while pinning his struggling limbs.

Wuxian was whimpering and pushing, trying to get out of Wangji's grip. The taller man shushes him, trying his best to calm his freaked out mate: "Wei Ying, you are safe. Calm down."

Wuxian struggles for a few more seconds then runs out of steam. He sobs, burying his face into Wangji's bare chest mumbling nonsense as his mate tries to calm him.

After a few more minutes, Wangji leans back to wipe the tears off of his clingy soul-bond and asks calmly: "Are you alright?"

Wuxian shakes his head.

Wangji: "Was it a bad vision?"

Wuxian nods, sniffing and hiding his face in Wangji's neck.

The taller man wraps his arms around his soul-bond and hums their song to comfort him.

After a long time, Wuxian settled enough to whisper: "He's killing people."

Wangji stops humming and looks down: "Who?"

Wuxian sniffs: "Biming."

Wangji was confused: "He's trying to collect more souls?"

A soft sob escapes Wuxian: "No. He's doing it for another reason."

Wangji felt Wuxian shiver and pats his back: "Do you know why?"

Wuxian: "His father told him to. They want to force my hand into helping Biming obtain a first-class weapon."

Wangji blinks a few times, a little confused until he remembers: "The Pegasus Crystal?"

Wuxian nods.

When the sun rises, Wangji calls for an emergency meeting. All the teachers and senior disciples were present as Wuxian tried his best to describe his last vision.

Zewu Jun rubs his chin: "Is this the future or did it already happen?"

Wuxian looks sadly at him: "Both. He's in a killing spree as we speak."

Qiren: "Do you know where he is now?"

Wuxian shakes his head: "I was too stunned to look for clues. He can be anywhere."

Liwei: "I can send the Finders to check his progress and report back. If we are to stop him, we need to know where to start."

Qiren nods to him and he steps out to coordinate the search.

Keeper Daozi: "Pardon my confusion, Treasure Wei. How is he killing this many people without someone stopping him? There are many cultivators around. Surely someone is strong enough to stop one man."

Wuxian: "He can disappear at will. It's hard to fight someone you cannot aim at."

Yuxio: "You've been to the other dimension. Does that mean you can shift and find him there?"

Wuxian shakes his head: "I can only follow if he takes me. I am not a Wraith."

Silence washes over the place as everyone sits and tries to think of a game plan.

Taiho stands up: "Master Wei, how does the faceless man know that we have the Pegasus Crystal?"

Wuxian rubs his nose: "His father told him. From my understanding, the Wraith roam the earth and can watch us but not interact with us. They are invisible to us but they can see us. Cloud Recesses is warded against the Wraith. They cannot enter our home. But we found the Pegasus Crystal outside. He might have seen me create Touming; Jingyi's sword."

Jingyi: "If he saw you make it, then he should know that you do not control who's worthy of this transformation. The spirits trapped inside are."

Wuxian purses his lips: "The dead can be swayed, Jingyi. Since they died unjustly and in vain, they know that type of pain. They will not wish it on others."

Ran: "You think Biming's father is forcing the spirits' will by playing to their weakness."

Zewu Jun: "No. The Wraith King is playing with Brother Wei's weakness to sway the spirits."

Wuxian's eyes widened. He was surprised by Zewu Jun's blunt claim: "What?"

Zewu Jun smiles sadly at him: "You cannot stand idly by as the faceless man murders people and only you can speak to the dead. He is playing you."

Wuxian felt a cold shiver run through him. His brother was right.

He swallows hard: "That doesn't change the limited options he's giving us. We either stop him or placate him."

Mianmian speaks up: "You can't possibly consider turning his weapon!"

Wangji reaches over and holds his soul-bond's hand: "He will not. We will find another way."

Wuxian smiles at his soul-bond strong support.

Taiho was still confused: "When we find the faceless man, what are we supposed to do?"

Jinhai steps from behind Wuxian, earning a few glares from those present: "I will kill the bastard and end this."

Wuxian grabs his arm and pushes him behind before anyone protests his presence.

He takes a deep breath and looks at the people around him as they wait patiently for his command. He honestly doesn't know what will happen but he has faith that the deities created him for a reason.

He stands and says with as much conviction as he can muster: "We have to stop Biming.. by any means necessary."

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