Unsettled by the things he said, the four humans picked a spot not far yet not too close to the hedge and set up a defensive array. Not daring to cleanse the effects of the island's curse, Erlang stood by Hou Yi vigilantly. Her hand holding his elbow without taking their junior's presences into consideration at all. Her nails nearly digging into his arm due to the scare they suffered. As, even without saying it out loud, the attack he suffered was a hundred percent dosed with a life threatening poison. If he was at his usual state of being, perhaps he wouldn't have suffered so much. But the reality of the matter was that he wasn't. At this thought, Erlang's eyes nearly spilled over with a new round of tears.
However, rather than crying helplessly, she lowered her head and stubbornly circulated her spiritual essence throughout his body silently. Easing his discomfort but never able to remove that stain in his dantai. Hou Yi neither stopped her nor encouraged her, only soothing her under his breath with helplessness in his heart. Toward his comforting, Erlang only murmured hoarsely, "Even if I am not as good as cousin, I still carry the bloodline of a healer's family." Without the heart to deny her efforts, Hou Yi quieted down and let her do as she pleased. Occasionally reaching up to brush her hair from her face.
Lost in thought, Da Chuanli privately asked Jiang Tengyi who was in a subtle daze by his side through spiritual link. "Tengyi, will your people interfere now that your seniors are injured?" Snapping out of it, he took a glance at his senior sister and brother before hurriedly looking away giving the two a bit of privacy. "...I don't know. My master never stated to me the extent of their orders nor did he mention how many would follow us." He paused, then added bit more cautiously and hesitantly. "In our sect, since the great war, the Patriarch would be assigned a group of shadow guards handpicked by either himself or the sect master. Each one mastering the qualities and techniques handed down for generations."
"-Five people. Five Ideals. Even I am not privy to who is part of this group until I am of age and qualified to inherit my position." As he already spilled this information which should never have entered the ears of an outsider Jiang Tengyi's tension lessened somewhat. "Loyalty, Honor, Mastery, Harmony, and Obscurity. Though our members strive for these values, in reality those who show potential for inheriting a certain ability have long been separated into another branch. Senior brother Yilin himself trained with the Ancestor for several years before returning after the previous Leader's passing. Each Elder upholds a seat for these values as well, however, when the previous generation had been..."
He fell into a heavy silence before he continued speaking, a hint more glumly as he recalled those desperate times. "...-The successors fell from those seniors to the prevailing ones who play as my current Shadow Guards." Da Chuanli with understanding, avoided looking over to the two cultivators who were important disciples themselves much to his surprise. As instead of being sent to the frontline, these accomplished individuals had been sent to protect Jiang Tengyi. The strange hierarchy slowly coming together into a complete picture. It only made sense now why, though intelligent and capable, the two also seemed a bit too inexperienced to be protecting Jiang Tengyi alone.
Da Chuanli's eyes flicker with a strange light, asking his friend without reservations, as the other trusted him enough to tell him these things. Not hiding his doubts from him, "Then, logically, one of the three left are capable of entering without harm." Although he had panicked seeing his senior wounded to such a degree, Jiang Tengyi also held the same hope as Da Chuanli and nodded slowly. Brows furrowing, he murmured with some suspicions he hadn't voiced till now. "Chuanli isn't it odd? Why set up such a strange array? An island hidden beyond the ocean horizons, pulling in cultivators at random but never allowing them within the deepest parts. Wouldn't traveling deeper prove less beneficial to cultivators and more advantageous towards them? But they put up such a vicious array to keep us out instead."
Da Chuanli didn't dismiss his suspicions, also finding it odd. Usually arrays like this were set to herd people to the center where countless traps and dangers lay in their path. However, they hardly encountered anything until the hexed hedge. What kind of place had they stumbled upon?
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*Hiss~The blade in their hand cut swiftly and ruthlessly, even as countless tiny serpents swarmed her there was not a single hint of remorse within their heart as he cut them from head to tail. Curved, straight, diagonal, it didn't matter. His sword found a way, crying out with each swing. Somewhat impatient, the man with red jade on his waist impeccably signed a sigil towards to seemingly empty space beside him. His left hand moving familiarly tracing an heirloom of the coiling serpent swallowing a pearl. As another wave of swarming little snakes brainlessly attempt to swarm him again, the man took a calm step into the invisible barrier like slipping into a resilient pocket of air.
Looking over his shoulder, he saw those vicious snakes crash into the barrier without fear completely smashing to their deaths. *THUNK*THUNKTHUNKTHUNK!! Not bothering to wait for the splatters to completely disperse he began venturing deeper into the pocket space. For a moment, he peered at the surface. Detecting the oddity of this small realm, much less reserved than An Xing in announcing it's dominance over her surroundings. From every corner, she could feel it ooze an old and sensitive sovereignty. Like a tentative beast unsure of what this creature who was not quite beast and not quite human wanted by forcing their way inside when they were purposely ignored.
He smelled familiar, but he also smelled like prey. Not quite used to her spiritual trace, the realm could only turn another blind eye unsure of how to treat this guest without word from it's master. Seeing as it didn't intend on attacking her anymore, Chao Bai silently sheath her sword. Though she wasn't expecting to be welcomed, being ignored was a decent conclusion too. However, at the thought of the humans still inside with her, her heart still fluttered a bit anxiously. Lifting a communication jade from her lapel, she tried contacting Hou Yi and Erlang once more only for the spell to turn another blank response. Stiffening, she shut her eyes and sent out her spiritual sense without reservation to find their location. But, how could it be that easy?
Although the realm didn't kick her out, it still sent her a cold repulsion deliberately mixing up her senses sending her somewhat reeling back. A violently bout of dizziness sent her divine sense spiraling out of control nearly causing her to vomit. Chao Bai grit her teeth, hand to her mouth biting down savagely on her bottom lip whilst sending the rebelling realm a dark look. So be it. You do not acknowledge me? I will make it so you have no choice but to look at me. Taking out her sword, her expression mixed with resentment and a half sneer, silver flexed in the limited light within the water. A smear of red in the blue. The male's gaze sharpened like steel.
Pursing his lips, he spun like a dancer and with all his might, raw sword energy pulses through the waters rivaling the island's. *crack-!Channeling straight through her sword into the barrier, sending a shuttering rumble throughout the entire realm, followed by the furious roar of the earth. The barrier, as if human, took a deep and sharp intake of water creating a minor whirlpool in the space she stabbed. Voracious ice eating at the barrier starting from the blade's entry point, like a virus taking a hold of it's host. Cracking below, thrashing waters above, water pressure from further within the array. The tip of the blade nearly shattered, only staying together by pure and clear crystals running through it's cracks. Showing it's true dissonance with it's current wielder in reverence of her abilities.
"As the only surviving child of Lord Qingyan-" Chao Bai gave a sharp order, her locks of brown hair turning silver like paint traveling throughout every strand. Though her body kept the same shape, her simple features slowly melded into a more familiar one with eyes like the sharp ends of a dewdrop. Her low voice, lightening and yet growing increasingly chilling. The realm pushing with all it's might to squeeze the human back out from it's entrance, not knowing it had underestimated their presence. Blocking the hole with both a wall and her own body, Chao Bai didn't let it easily solve it's minor injury so easily, on purpose to distract it from attacking the humans onshore. She nearly chuckled in the face of it's fury, snow eyes curling, "-this Heir challenges the Lord for my rightful Authority."
*Hmmmm-!!!! The hum of an invisible blade. Knowing she wouldn't be able to face this blow, the serpent in human skin swayed to the song of it's own volition. Finger's twitching in harmony with a formless melody, Chao Bai, like plucking the strings of a large instrument, taps each veiled blade with the tip of her fingers. Absorbing just enough force to propel her out of the way in the open sea with ease, true to her nature. Like riding the waves, her movements were leisurely and effortless. Until, pushed back enough, the dancing ribbon bared it's fangs turning into a deadly weapon, and ruthlessly sinking another sword deep into the barrier.
A low rasp, and a resounding thunk like the pop of a large bottle cap. *CLUNK! Even if it wanted to, it couldn't spare any attention on the humans within anymore. Lashes fluttering, Chao Bai only managed to surface just before the upheaval of the sea floor clipping her arm and directly chipping off a scale which succeeded in darkening her features. Taking another spare sword from her spacial ring, she channeled all her force into shattering the earth shooting towards her at the velocity of a viper. With a single swing, the wind mourned with the tinkle of icicles forming and shattering constantly sharpening into a large wave of sword energy.
Spiltting the small hill of mud and dense muck which fell back to the water with the shattered sword, leaving the woman still standing before the falling debris. Similar to the tidal wave in An Xing but this time unfavored by the land she intruded upon, a rumble of the earth led all, whether human or not to tense and peer into the sky. Holding their breaths and widening their eyes. Sharpening their senses, hoping to catch that threatening thunderious roar of raw sword intent which had threated to spilt the sky with it's cry. "-!" None, more disturbed than Ling Da Chuanli. His lungs strained with the effort, focused on the direction the explosion occured with his hands clenched so tightly they nearly drew blood.
As Jiang Tengyi made to cast the artifact given to him by Feng Shucchang, at some point Erlang and Hou Yi had risen to their side. "Senior?" Hou Yi directly stayed his hand, confusing him as their expression only showed relief. Erlang's eyes notably brighten as she steadied the man beside her, relaxing her tense shoulders somewhat. "They're here." They? Jiang Tengyi's brows furrow, and he hesitated as he tried to place exactly who her seniors would be so relieved to see. Someone in their sect who could envoke such a daunting crackle of sword energy powerful enough to cause that audible thunder. Even with sharpened eyesight, Da Chuanli stared without blinking in order to not miss a single detail.
Only managing to catch a mass of grey and brown torn asunder by a terrifying streak of white and blue. Like the flames of eternal winter crashing into summer without warning. A chilly blast of wind similar to those of crashing waves into hanging cliffsides finally caught up with them sending their clothes somewhat out of place. And, it was only now that Jiang Tengyi's eyes widen with both shock and distress. Impossible! Isn't she still resting at Tianzheng? Biting his bottom lip, Jiang Tengyi was stuck between demanding an explanation and hiding the identity of the new arrival to Da Chuanli. No...Wait, when did his junior sister master the sword?