Chapter 5 Artefacts and Scary Facts

~

Six Deathlands shadowcasters stood in front of a cave, all dressed in red outfits. They were waiting for their devil to take action to avoid dying without knowing how since they were not informed about the Cave of Undead. Among them stood Feng smiled with a grim expression.

The environment was made up of sand, sand and more sand! A desert. The sun stood up in the sky, burning the whole place with its heat, not for once pitying the already barren land.

Feng walked towards the cave and muttered a spell, "Open Undead." It was a spell to open the cave-a mystical code.

Boom!

There was a rumble and a black portal materialized in front of the cave. The portal was made up of a spiralling circle with strange symbols on it.

The shadowcasters proceeded into the cave, walking behind Feng. Inside the cave was magnificent. It wasn't like a cave but like a palace! Words could barely describe its grandeur and splendour. Its architecture looked divine, dispelling divine vigor, the golden walls, pillars, floor and roof shimmering with glory. There many boxes in the cave-mystical artefacts or treasures.

"Do not touch anything," Feng said. "Only an item can be taken once in a while or you'll risk being trapped here forever and consumed by the evil spirits which lurk around here."

Evil spirits? The shadowcasters couldn't help but tremble. This was sure problematic. They were more like ninjas, well versed in ninja arts. What if an evil spirit were to attack them? What would their ninja arts do? They would be doomed!

Sigh...Feng looked at the fearful shadowcasters, reading their thoughts. They are not informed or would know she was a master of mystical art and could deal with evil spirits as well!

A jewel box stood on a high squared stone, clearly separated from the other artefacts to signify its importance (or power). The stone stood atop a very high podium with stairs ascending onto it.

Feng peered at the box with suspicion. Strange. If the artefact was as powerful as Elite Ming claimed, why isn't there any protection? Or was there one which was hidden?

She drew out a boomerang and injected her chi into it, flinging it towards the box.

Whoosh!

The boomerang spun with great speed, leaving behind a blur of blue hue.

Boom!

It collided with an invisible force, vanishing without trace instantly.

"A barrier," Feng said. She had many mystical items on her so it wouldn't be problematic removing the barrier.

The shadowcasters waited anticipation as she raised up her right hand and pulled at the air. Her hand glowed, emitting an aura which seemed to suck in life from every living being around. She then opened her hand, allowing a red hue to seep out towards the barrier.

Boom!

There was an explosion which caused the caused the invisible barrier to glow before fading into nothingness. She had easily destroyed the barrier.

Just as the barrier was destroyed, the whole cave became unnaturally hot! The shadowcasters didn't just feel hot but felt their spirits heating up as well!

This is problematic...Feng thought, sensing an evil presence.

In front of the box, a figure appeared from the void. It had three heads with seven horns on each of them. Its were red and fiery, emitting an ember glow. It had a body made of fire which seemed to burn the chi of every living thing. It had no hands or legs-just three heads and a body. An evil spirit!

"..."

The shadowcasters were plagued with fear that they didn't know what action to take. The evil spirit was influencing everyone.

It opened its mouths, emitting fire which swept across the whole cave. It didn't burn their physical body but their spirit bodies!

The shadowcasters couldn't even scream as they had lost all lucidity in them. Their spirits were burning, gradually disintegrating into nothingness.

"Nullification!"

Feng mustered all her strength and shouted the spell. Her body was immediately blanketed by a force which dispelled the attacks before she could collapse like the other shadowcasters.

Sizzle!

She watched as they all melted, transforming into lumps of smouldering coals. Her eyes moved back to the evil spirit which was now glaring at her.

I was not informed...she thought, prepared for a battle with the evil spirit. The barrier didn't protect the mystical artefact-it was actually put in place to seal the mystical artefact and the evil spirit! Now that the barrier was gone, the evil spirit was free as well.

The evil spirit's mouths curved up into a smile, smouldering liquid dropping from them.

"You..." "...are..." "...too..." "...deformed..." "...to..." "...fight..." "...me!"

The words came out of the different mouths, one after the other. The babel of voices were ethereal, blanketing the whole place with fear.

~

Dao was curious why the Elite had summoned him. He had the Book of Plots, so what else does he want?

"The book can tell the future as well as control events. Sigh...I've only seen the future but cannot control anything," Elite Hong said. "And you know what the future says?"

I'm not informed...Dao wanted to say but held his mouth. Did the Elite think he was a seer?

"No, Elite."

"The future says that Feng is already in the Cave of Undead, getting a mystical item which allows user to manipulate all powers. The book doesn't say she'll get it, so saddle up and get to the Cave of Undead."

"Yes, Elite," Dao said and left.

~

"Can I come?" Qi asked, watching Dao mount his white horse.

"No," Dao said bluntly. Pulling the reins, he rode off amidst a trail of dust.

Qi smiled after he was gone. Another white horse was tied to a pole, grazing. A little adventure will not hurt. He approached the horse and untied it.

"Where are you off to, Qi?" it was Sun, Qi's friend at the barrack. His beady, suspicious eyes peered at Qi, sizing him from head to toe.

"The Regent's training me. He rode off and asked me to track him. A hunter aside from fighting, must learn how to hunt," Qi lied. He was surprised at this newly developed talent. It made him chuckle silently.

"Just make sure you don't try to escape or you'd end up a slave when you're caught," Sun said.

"..."

This is problematic...Qi thought. If one was planning to escape it was clear impossible. The hunters would catch you before you even escape!

"I won't," he hopped on the horse and rode away.

Sigh...Sun exhaled. He's lying to me.

~

The evil spirit transformed into a fiery whirlpool, spiralling towards Feng in bid to suck her into it and eventually burn her spirit.

Seeing this, Feng quickly chanted:

"Spirits not of light,

creatures of darkness

Possession is forbidden,

Dominance is dismantled!"

This was a spell she'd created for herself-a spell for situations like this.

A sacred light blanketed the whole cave, feeling it with holy aura. The light radiated, engulfing the evil spirit in an instant.

"Ah!"

Shrieks came from the mouths of the evil spirit as its body began cracking, yellow liquids seeping out.

Boom!

The evil spirit exploded, destroyed by the sacred light.

The light dimmed and Everywhere became normal. Feng sighed and turned to look at the ember coals on the ground. The evil spirit was very powerful. In an instant it had killed all her shadowcasters. If not for her knowledge in mysticism, she would have been killed. This knowledge had helped her create hundreds of spells-two which she had used in the battle.

The first was the nullification spell which was able to nullify any attack, making them ineffective. The second was from the Light domain, able to purge any evil creature that was not sacred or holy.

"I'm sure informed," She praised herself as she walked towards the mystical item. Taking the black box, she curved her lips into a wide smile.

"Not so fast," a voice sounded from behind her.

She turned to look, her face dissolving into a frown the moment she saw the person. It was the regent rumoured to be the most dangerous in the six kingdoms-Regent Dao. He was standing at the front of the portal-the entrance of the cave.

"You may be the best regent in all six kingdoms but I'm definitely the overall," Feng said.

"What gives you the courage that you can defeat me? Your powers? You being a devil?" Dao wore a grim expression, talking with vigor. "Then you're definitely not informed."

Pa!

He exerted strength into his legs and leapt towards Feng. Increasing his momentum, he channeled his chi into his right hand.

Pa!

He struck the air vehemently, making the whole cave shake violently. Bluish energy spread forth, enveloping the whole cave at instantaneous momentum.

Feng calmly smiled, "Nullification!"

The bluish energy vanished immediately but not the attacker-he was just an inch from Feng. He struck at her, tearing through the air.

Pa!

His hand struck a barrier which sent him flying backwards, towards a pillar. Controlling his body weight, he made himself as light as feather. He somersaulted, turning himself over so that his feet hit the pillar.

Tap!

His feet kicked off the surface of the pillar. Using this, he ricocheted into the air. His hands emitted orange hues which lit up the whole area.

Seeing this, Feng didn't hesitate anymore. She opened her mouth, an ethereal voice escaping it.

"Distort!"

Dao watched as the hues emitted on his hands vanished, appearing around Feng's hands. He wasn't shocked but grinned deeply. He had expected this. Maintaining his momentum, he soared towards the roof of the cave. He did another somersault and kicked off the surface of the roof with feet.

Puff!

He vanished and appeared behind Feng who was caught off guard. She had thought Dao was only a mystical martial arts user. She never thought he would use mysticism to cloak his future attacks, making him unpredictable. Feng had a way of always knowing the future attacks of her enemies but in this case, she had absolutely no premonition! The other party knew as much as she did in mysticism!

Pa!

Before she could react, Dao's punch slammed into her torso. This attack would have torn through her stomach, rupturing her internal organs.

Almost at the same time, Feng made Dao's hand vanished. Then, she dispelled the attack from her body.

Dao didn't retreat even though his right hand had mysteriously vanished and blood was spewing out of the ruptured flesh. Using his left hand, he punched the ground.

Pa!

White energies streaked through the ground towards Feng. Surrounding her, they formed a barrier. This was a barrier which could restrain enemies for as long as the user could keep them.

"..."

Feng was shocked as she realized she couldn't use her powers. This regent was sure problematic. He isn't as simple as he looks.

Raising up his hands, bluish energies formed around Dao. They solidified to form chains which whipped at the barrier, tearing through it.

Whip!

They lashed at Feng, rupturing her muscles. The impact sent her crashing into the wall with a loud thud. Lying in her pool of blood, she groaned.

"You don't think I'm that simple, do you?" Dao asked, his grin becoming deeper. He raised up his hands and sent the chains lashing at Feng again.

"Nothingness!"

Immediately, dark tentacles shot out of nothingness. They wrapped themselves around the bluish chains, dispelling them.

"..."

Dao couldn't help but gape in shock. This was an attack from the domain of Abyss! There was nothing he could do to physically defend against such attack. All he would have to do is to dodge the attack.

Whip!

The tentacles lashed at him, sucking air into nothingness.

Pa!

He leaped into the air at supernatural speed, dodging the tentacles. Each time he dodged and they hit a spot, dark ripples were produced.

Seeing that Dao could not even attack again, she smiled. He was so obsessed with dodging that he isn't focused. This would be her trump card!

"Corruption!"

Dark, illusory palms shot out of the ground. They moved towards Dao, trying to grab him. Once they grabbed him, his chi would be corrupted and this would make him die without knowing how.

Whoosh!

Feng was about to grab Dao with the hands when sensed another presence. Smiling, she sent a tentacle lashing at the assailant.

Pa!

It was Qi. The tentacle had lashed his chest, rupturing it. He crashed to the wall and fell down, a dark hue emanating from his injured chest. He would die in no time but had to use this moment to protect the Regent. He groaned in pain and fused his chi into his fists.

Pa!

He struck the ground, releasing bluish energies which surged towards Feng. The energies moved at tremendous speed, shattering the ground as they approached her.

"Nullification!"

The attack was nullified and vanished instantly.

Feng then sent a wall of darkness towards Qi. This darkness would absorb him into nothingness!

Seizing the chance, Dao managed to dodge the attacks and land on the ground. He then raised up his hands, several glowing blades appearing all over his body. The blades were a mystical item he had obtained from one of his raids several years ago. Actually, this mystical item was just one blade which could be replicated infinitely. This blade was called the 'Killer'. It had the ability of nullifying the opponent's powers if the opponent was in a close distance.

Whoosh!

Dao sent the Killer blades flying towards Feng, surrounding her. They spun, producing dark hues.

Immediately, Feng lost her powers and the all of darkness which had enveloped Qi's legs disappeared.

Qi who had already lost his legs was unconscious, bleeding profusely. But before that he had seen the blades.

Feng remained calm, not bothered about what she was faced with. Smiling, she said, "You're the one not informed."

Whoosh!

The blades converged at Feng, piercing her at all angles. There were screams and then silence. Feng stood like a statue, her flesh ruptured with crimson blood spewing out, splattering the ground and wall. The blades had stabbed her eyes, nose, mouth, ears and anywhere you could probably imagine!

Dao retracted the blades towards his body, fusing them into one before placing it in an invisible sheath.

Plop!

Feng's body parts collapsed, one after the other. The whole floor was covered with flesh and blood, making it a horrible sight.

Dao walked towards the unconscious Qi, grabbed him and hoisted him to his shoulder. By now the portal was fading. If he ran, it was possible that he wouldn't reach it in time. Vanishing out of the cave without going through the portal was also clearly impossible! Enveloping himself in darkness he vanished and appeared before the portal. With a leap, he landed outside the cave just as the portal vanished.

Sigh...Dao heaved a sigh of relief. Any delay would have made him become trapped in the cave forever.

Turning his attention to Qi, he touched the lad. A faint light surged through his body, making him convulse. In an instant, his legs began growing back.

"I'm definitely informed," Dao smiled, watching the lad's face become more relaxed from the healing. He then placed him on his horse, mounted it and rode away, galloping with speed.

~

A figure appeared into the desert. Feng. She had a wide smile as she stared into empty space, "He's definitely not informed."

She'd devised a means to escape prior to her expedition. This plan would allow her to escape despite the level of threat. She'd already swapped locations with one of her clones the moment Dao appeared. Thus even if he killed the clone, he wouldn't kill her.

This showed that both of them were well informed of their powers. With a smile, she vanished.

Author's note:

Good day readers! I've been wanting to communicate with you guys but kept forgetting 😌 Well, I spotted a problem in one of the chapters. Hmmm....which one? 🧐 Oh! Chapter two.

There was an object used to surpress Tao's chi. It's a chinese term which when translated into English is 'Chi Surpressor' 😏 I just noticed the first word was translated as five ascaris (*****) while the other was left alone-Gong. It wasn't my doing and I have a solution. I'll spell the word, letter by letter 😊

F_______A______L_______U________N

Gong!

That's it 😌

Thanks readers for following my work. You'll remain in my heart ❤️