Nine Paths of Asura-Original Wuxia

Chapter 154-The Storm Coming

Let's see where this story takes us!

Boom Boom Boom Boom!!

Four Hematomas detonated in simultaneous explosions which pummeled the Rotwings on one side! Even with their wings curled protectively around their wasted bodies, they still took heavy damage and were blown away. Just like that the squad broke through the encirclement amidst the shrieks and flew through the sky towards Lineir!

"Yes! This way!" Lineir yelled as he simultaneously fended off several Divine Realm Undead which had been attracted by his Qi infused shout. Only moments later there was a terrifying howl,

AWWUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!

This howl was so deep it was practically a hum but make no mistake it caused a primordial instinctual fear in all things living. Even the Rotwings showed signs of distress and flew in circles as if birds in a panic. In the cultivator world, oftentimes things echoed the mortal world. For instance, the predator prey relationship. Everything has to eat but there is always a bigger fish. However, in the cultivator world...the scale of this relationship experienced wild variations!

Shuuuuuuuuwuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuushuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuwuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!

"There he is!" Ting suddenly pointed and the cultivator's landed on a rooftop next to Lineir. He quickly headed downstairs.

"Hurry! We need to get below! This building has a basement, it should protect us! Follow me!"

Lineir slammed open the door and led the way downstairs. There was a long long winding staircase as the rooftop was several hundred meters high. 

Taka!

The slim youth dove off the top of the banister shooting into free-fall. Sensing the urgency of the situation the rest of the squad followed also jumping off and shooting downwards.

"What's the rush? Is something happening? Do you know what that howling is?" Ting asked. Lineir transmitted as they fell flight after flight, the stairs appearing to spiral into the sky as they dropped down to the earth,

"I saw something. Have you noticed the thickness of the Death Qi has been increasing? It's so thick in the distance that it obscures our cultivator sight and Divine Sense." He said and Ting nodded. She had noticed that.

"But why does that matter?" 

"When I was separated I caught sight of the haze which appears to be drifting towards us. However, from my vantage point while fighting the Rotwings I could see that it is actually a column of fog. Additionally, the column is massive and spiraling slowly. It is like a twister in a storm." Lineir said and De cut in,

"Ah yes it must be a Nethertwister, Daoist Lineir perhaps you're overreacting. A Nethertwister is awe inspiring and an amazing creation but it is not overly dangerous to us."

"The thing is...I saw something in the Nethertwister. Are they supposed to have hands? And are those hands supposed to be the size of this building...?"

"Wha...?"

"You can't be..."

"..."

Shocked silence greeted Lineirs words, the only sound the wind in their ears as they fell deeper into the building. A few seconds later they landed on the bottom floor. Yu grabbed Lineir's shoulder and looked into his dead serious eyes as he turned,

"You're sure?" 

"Yes. I am certain. There is a creature in that Nethertwister and it is absolutely massive. No matter if it has no understanding of the Laws, it could crush us without even trying! And it seems to be coming this way!" He said as he ran along, "We can watch from here. There's a basement over there which we can hide in if it comes. Let us pray that it does not."

Shuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuwuuuuuuuuuuuuwuuuuuuuuuuuuuuwuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuushuuuuuuuuuuuuwuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!

The mournful howls from the Nethertwister grew closer and now that the squad had a clear moment where they could focus on the big picture instead of defending against Undead and Rotwings they saw the wall of mist approaching. It appeared like a typhoon from the mortal world. 

One of the weaker members Ping commented as it came,

"I once knew a man who was caught in a storm like that. He died without even leaving a body to bury. Additionally, the entire Spirit Ship he was traveling on was also destroyed without a trace. They never even found a splinter to bury. Perhaps we should run instead of hiding here. These buildings may not hold!" He looked around for support and several of the squad members showed some thoughtfulness at his words.

"Lineir, what do you think?" Yu asked, "Remember our mission. We cannot turn away too far here or we will miss the best timing to enter the Pillar." 

Lineir traced the windowsill. Then he pointed outside,

"These buildings are strange aren't they? While I was alone I had some time to examine them. Then it struck me that many things in this place are tossed about, there is debris in certain places but for the most places these buildings are either completely destroyed or standing tall."

As Lineir was explaining Ping grew antsy,

"So what? We should leave now. Or else this building will be debris as well! Everyone, are we going to gamble our lives or the mission on this Divine Realm kid we just met?" He said but Lineir put up a finger in the air,

"Hold on. Let me finish. The buildings are either completely destroyed or perfectly as if someone had swept them clean. Doesn't that strike you as odd? The Undead would not destroy random property often without any living prey to chase they would not move. So you would expect the buildings to naturally fall apart over the years as the enchantments fail. There would be a good balance of partially destroyed houses and then some less destroyed ones as well as completely destroyed ones. Not this weird situation where only some of the buildings are destroyed and the rest are fine." Lineir said. 

"Whatever, everyone, I am leaving! I will complete the mission another way but there's no way in hell I am staying to see this storm through! Who's with me?" Ping declared before Lineir could finish. Yu was nodding his head thoughtfully,

"Lineir...you're saying these buildings have survived similar storms in the past? Perhaps they are built to do so even?" He said and Lineir nodded as he stared out at the ever encroaching wall of fog. It was now so large that it was easily visible and one could see the mist swirling slightly. Except it was so large that the slight swirl mean't that close up the winds must be moving at incredible speeds!

Shuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuwuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuwuuuuuuuuuwuuuuuuuuuuuuuwuuuuuuuuuuuuuuwuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuwuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuwuuuuuuuuuuuuuuwuuuuuwuuuuuuu

"Exactly, and this building is one of the buildings which has been swept clean on the inside. I checked the basement. Everything in there is undisturbed, it even has furniture! If we take cover in there we should be perfectly safe. If we are caught outside however...we will be swept clean away with the rubble on the streets!"