Nine Paths of Asura-Original Wuxia

Chapter 165-Ten Incense Sticks of Time

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"Your concealment technique is useless here! The Hell's heat permeates everything! Someone like you cannot hide from us!" The closest demon, a late Divine Way beast with three horns cried. His rough hands grasped for the hem of Lineir's robe. However...

"AHHHHHHHH!!!" His voice was penetrating even in the nightmarish chorus of chasing demons. Instead of seizing the edge of the robe as he intended, Lineir's blade had flickered, the reverse edge suddenly sharpening to lop off his hand.

Reverse Edge!

"At this moment I can rely on only one thing against this many enemies! The Heaven's Edge style." Lineir declared as he continued to dash forward dodging everywhere and heading deeper into the Hells with heedless abandon. The demons chasing him were all in the Divine Realm, the Celestial Captains had not even seen fit to chase him and had stayed for the invasion. They cared little if he headed deeper into the Hells. Once they saw he was not trying to escape to report the invasion they let him go. After all he was only rushing deeper to his death!

"Left! Left! Right! Dodge up!" Mei called out and Lineir constantly changed directions according to her Divine Sense. At this point though the magma tunnels were endless, he was beginning to enter populated demon territory and was encountering demons from in front as well as the countless ones still chasing him.

PUCHI!

A slain demon fell in two halves as Lineir walked through him and was marked by a bloody mist. His face was still calm, the kind of desperate face one has when they know death is near. In those moments...he experienced a state which can only be described as endless. In his Madness he became less and less "human" tapping deeper and deeper into the Lightning, Darkness, and Madness inside of himself. He could not truly unleash his Madness Rain in the torrid environment of the Hells but a sort of drizzling mist accompanied him, created by his will and the blood of the demons he cut down. Within it he found he could hide for a breath and relocate himself, buying precious time while the horde behind him grew confused.

"It's no good. I cannot shake them here. Everytime they find me instantly, this damn detection formation!" Lineir swore as yet again he was immediately targeted. His robes were burnt in many places, his face charred with dried blood and soot. The only reason he was alive still was because of the amazing evasion techniques he had, the defensive advantage of the Flame Qi Wings, his bone scythes, and his tenacious body. That combined with the Heaven's Edge style allowed him to dance around staying just one step ahead of the demons at every turn. But with each encounter, he grew weaker. This was no longer a battle of power, it was a battle of attrition! And if he should encounter a powerful late Celestial Realm warrior wandering the Hells? He would almost certainly have to use the Asura Strike to get past him. At that moment he would be defenseless and torn apart from behind. "Please...don't let there be any strong warriors in my way!"

"Kiddo, keep going. Just listen to my voice." Mei whispered soothing things to LIneir. She was like a coach, he sunk deep into the back of his head, as he fully focused on using the Heaven's Edge style to its full potential. With every dodge, every close shave, he grew more familiar with it. He focused almost exclusively on its evasion techniques and the components which were meant to tie up and confuse other enemies. For offense he relied on the Darkness Lightning Strike to conserve Qi.

"I...I can do this. No...hah...hah...don't think! ALL I NEED IS TO KILL!" His words rang out as he flickered and rolled in the air, alighting on the ceiling upside down. He didn't care if up was down, he caved in the skull of a demon which had managed to catch up and kicked its body into the closest pursuers while running down the tunnel on the ceiling! Behind him the whoops of the pursuing demons chased him even faster than their owners. They were enjoying this! There was nowhere for the intruder to go and they had been waiting to slaughter and wage war for generations! Now they had a proper hunt!

"Yaaah! I love this feeling. My blood is boiling. Thank you human scum. Run more, run until your heart gives out ahahahah!" One demon called out in utter ecstasy. In a sort of berserk rage the demons almost didn't want this to end, though there would be no greater satisfaction than to be the one to catch Lineir. For hours on end they ran after him, whittled him down, chipping away at him.

"This disciple of mine...he's really doing it. He's mastering the basics of the Heaven's Edge style. This life or death situation is almost like...training? I don't believe this." Mei was astonished by the rate Lineir was improving. In this final situation he had grown so proficient in the Heavens Edge style that he could flawlessly chain his offensive moves into the defensive evasion techniques to cut down wandering demons and evade the horde. Gradually his Qi expenditure rate actually was decreasing! Five hours...ten hours...15 hours...20 hours...an entire day! He was still running!

"Hah...hah...hah...all I need....is kill...." Lineir was still mumbling his mantra as he dashed along. He had turned off conscious thought focusing one hundred percent of his mind on listening to Mei's instructions and mastering Heaven's Edge. This was life or death tempering at its finest! The fires of the Hells were forging him into a killing machine. Suddenly he was awakened by a change in his instructions.

"Kiddo...don't stop now but it's here! In front of us! I can feel it, the last item to resurrect my true body, we've found it at last!" Mei transmitted and Lineir blinked. He had not been aware of how much time had passed in his near unconscious state but now that he thought about it he had been running and killing demons for more than a whole day!

"But where is it Mei? What am I looking for?" Lineir asked as he did not see anything ahead. He scanned furiously as the tunnel opened up into a small magma pond.

"At the bottom of the pond!" Mei cried and Lineir dashed forwards and leapt directly into the lava!

Sssssssshuuuuaa plop!!

He entered a golden world of merrily dancing lava. At the bottom of the pond he spotted it. It was a Divine Lotus! The petals were like red ruby leaves and the stem seemed carved from jade by an amazing flawless artisan. However as it waved gently in the currents of magma only then would you realize that it was truly a naturally occurring miracle plant! With its petals over a meter wide, it appeared as if it could swallow a man inside!

"There! The Flame Heart Lotus! Pluck it quickly! We must seize it!" Mei yelled and Lineir immediately shot forwards with a push of his wings. Taking the black blade he severed it at the base of the beautiful jadelike stem with one cut! Immediately he stored it in his spatial ring and rose back to the surface of the pond.

"I have it! Mei, can you regain your body now?" Lineir was jubilant but apprehensive as demons began to burst into the chamber with the pond. He immediately fled to the opposite side of the pond and out another exit. The demons continued to chase though maintaining some distance at the corners. Over the many hours Lineir had ambushed them several times when the tunnel turned and blocked him from view. Though their bloodlust was not abated, they had grown more cautious.

"Hahaha human, come and die!" They taunted but he ignored them. All he cared about was the words he would hear from the one and only important voice in his head.

"Well... it's simple except..." Mei hesitated and Lineir impatiently called out while fleeing furiously,

"Well what? Can't you just perform the technique? What's wrong?" He said as he felt numerous wounds on his body itch and sap his strength. While he had yet to suffer any major injuries he had accumulated a terrifying number of minor cuts and fractures which covered his entire body. Even if his Qi reserves had balanced out he would still be overwhelmed soon as he had no time to rest and recover.

"Well...the thing is, the resurrectiontechnique...it takes the time for ten incense sticks to burn. It has to remake abody of my level after all."     

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