168 Tai's Figh

Right as the Purple Origin Sect's barrier shattered, Sect Leader Ying's floating mountain started to rapidly shrink in size. In just seconds, it became smaller than a fist.

Ed watched as the now fist-sized mountain returned to an exhausted Sect Leader Ying's hands. She was gasping heavily for air and sweating all over. Clearly she had used up a large amount of mana in forcing it against the barrier. It was rather surprising to see that such a massive object could shrink to such a small size. Granted, it was probably that size originally and had instead only grown large temporarily.

With the barrier finally shattered, the real battle could now begin. Just as Ying was about to order a charge, something unexpected happened. A shrunken human head rolled down Mount Dongling and landed in front of the Seven Sect Alliance cultivators. The head appeared malnourished, as if the person that had been killed had been starved to death.

"Wang Shu?!" A Water Snake cultivator yelled in shock as he picked up the head. His face quickly turned grim. "Wang Shu was one of our cultivators that we couldn't get out in time."

Suddenly, several thousand more shrunken heads were tossed down the mountain all at once, all of them seeming to be the deceased from the Seven Sect Alliance. Most of the heads were from the Water Snake Sect. There were also quite a few Earth Dust Sect heads despite them not having shown up for the war.

The army of cultivators grew increasingly enraged at the sight of their mistreated comrades. Was this how prisoners of war were supposed to be treated? Their comrades had been trapped in the Purple Origin Sect from the beginning and didn't even get a chance to participate! They were innocent!

Ed watched on without care. 'Those must be the prisoners they kept in the training rooms. Did they lose their usefulness now that the barrier is down?' He rubbed his chin. 'The way they shrunk... is it because of the sacrifice chant Dupe had talked about?'

Right as the army was about to charge, another cultivator questioned those around him. "Hey, why aren't there any Fire Dragon Sect heads amongst these?"

"Huh?" Another replied in confusion and took a look. His face quickly turned ugly as he realized that something was wrong, but the realization came too late.

"AHHH!!!" A high-pitched shriek rang from the back of the battlefield. The army of cultivators curiously turned around, causing nearly all of their eyes to widen in shock.

Tai had transformed into his chimera form, covering his body in intimidating red scales and dark Camazotz bat wings. His hand had penetrated directly into Ying's chest, right where her heart should be.

Shockingly, Ying was still alive. Despite her heart being impaled and blood pouring from her lips, she grinned. "You're still too young to challenge me. Behold my law, absolute zero!" A freezing blue energy radiated from her body, spreading out hundreds of meters in all directions. Wherever the energy reached, everything living and nonliving froze. However, it was not the type of frozen energy that covered others in ice. Instead, it was as if time had simply stopped moving for those affected.

'Interesting.' Ed continued watching from a distance away. 'Did she lower the temperature to the point that particles can no longer move? Perhaps that's one of the best possible laws related to the path of water?'

Every cultivator near Ying stood completely still, appearing like living statues. Tai was also frozen, however, there was a slight smile on his face. Suddenly, a red-hot energy radiated from his body, pushing back the freezing energy that had engulfed him. He quickly regained his movement, allowing him to leisurely stretch his body.

"You! How?!" Ying yelled in shock.

"If there's an absolute cold, then there naturally must be an absolute hot." He grinned. "A law built upon the foundation of the laws of 13 elders. I got quite lucky in getting exactly what I needed."

"Tsk." Ying clicked her tongue. The blood from her lips vanished, and her body transformed into water. She reformed a few meters away and appeared completely unharmed.

The raging heat from Tai and calm cold from Ying were now competing against each other, bathing their surroundings in beautiful red and blue light. However, the sight was anything but beautiful for those nearby. Any that met with the blue light became completely frozen in place. But the even worse fate was the red light, which immediately incinerated them to ash. In the center of the two cultivators, where the hot and cold lights met, space was continuously being torn apart. The world itself couldn't seem to handle the conflict at all. What looked like small black holes continuously appeared and disappeared amongst the rips in space.

Ed stared in disbelief at the sight. 'To think Tai had reached this level from abusing Camazotz's powers...' He could now see why Tai had been unable to control himself. He would need to be careful in the future, lest he fall to the same temptation and destroy his own mana-core in the process.

Right at that movement, all of the cultivators within the army were either distracted by the unexpected fight or the pile of heads that had been rolled down the mountain. It was like a signal had been passed through the army. A Fire Dragon Sect cultivator hurriedly covered his body in flames and attacked the Water Snake and Dark Phoenix cultivators within his team. He managed to burn one to death while heavily wounding the other. This scene repeated itself throughout the entire army.

"TRAITORS!" Panicked shouts echoed across the battlefield. "The Fire Dragon Sect has betrayed us! Kill them!"

The Lightning Eel, Light Tiger, and Wind Hawk cultivators on the front-lines turned around in confusion, trying to grasp ahold of the situation. That distraction would be a fatal mistake, as cultivators from the Purple Origin Sect treated it as their signal to rush down the mountain. The Fire Dragon Sect members that had remained within the Purple Origin Sect were next to them, and together, they attacked the front-lines.

Chaos ensued as the battles broke out everywhere. The natural advantages of the Seven Sect Alliance had been crushed in nearly an instant. Ying was occupied with Tai and couldn't spare any help to the army. Especially as she had exhausted most of her mana controlling the mountain artifact earlier. Li, Xia, and Wan were still busy dealing with Sect Leader Fang in the skies. If one of them stepped away, then the others would no longer be able to hold him back. That just left Dongfeng free to help, however, that was about to change.

A raging inferno of fire flew out from the Purple Origin Sect. "GAHAHA!" His laugh mightily echoed through the skies. "Dongfeng!" He shouted at spotting the familiar cultivator. "It's been a long time since we've had a bout! Shall we go for a round or two?"

"Sect Master Long!" A Fire Dragon Sect member yelled excitedly.

"Sect Master Long is back! He's still alive!" Another echoed.

Similar shouts of surprised delight spread throughout the battlefield. Morale rapidly skyrocketed within the ranks of the Fire Dragon Sect, causing the war to become even more one-sided. With Sect Master Long having returned to fight Dongfeng, the battles amongst the elites had reached a stalemate. However, the battle between the ordinary cultivators was clearly being dominated by the Purple Origin Sect and Fire Dragon Sect.

The surroundings were a mess of elemental energy storms and bodies as the battle grew in intensity. Haru watched silently while standing next to Ed. His fist was clenched in anger as he stared at the Purple Origin Sect. It seemed he blamed them for Hina's death, which was somewhat reasonable as it had been their formation that had caused it. "Sensei." He looked up to Ed, his eyes pleading to let him go.

"You want to fight the Purple Origin Sect members?" He asked. "It'll likely get you killed."

"I know." Haru nodded. "I know, but it's the only way I feel I can live with myself." His eyes turned red from rage as he continued glaring at the Purple Origin Sect members.

"Suit yourself." Ed shrugged. "I won't be a part of it though. As of this moment, you are no longer my student, nor do you hold any ties to me. I won't help you or save you. This path is yours alone to walk."

"I understand. Thank you." Haru bowed respectfully. However, deep inside, he held a small amount of resentment towards Ed. This had all only happened because his sensei had jumped into the battle early and fallen unconscious into enemy territory. He didn't like feeling this way about his sensei, but he had little control over his emotions. He felt it was best to just leave and walk his own path. It was a path of vengeance, but it was also the path of a coward. He was afraid to confront his sensei and even more afraid to confront himself, so he chose to confront the only enemy he could easily blame that was just in front of him.

A blue light covered Haru's body, and he disappeared into the battlefield. Wherever he moved, the severed heads and limbs of Purple Origin Sect cultivators were left behind. His green longsword even seemed to absorb the blood of his enemies along the way, and it left a trail of flowers in their wake.

[WHY DID YOU GO AND DO THAT?!] Silvery-red Ed shouted from within his consciousness.

'It was going to happen one way or another.' Blue Ed replied through thought. 'Besides, I don't really care whether Haru is my student or not. Who knows? This may even be good for his future growth.'

[COLD BASTARD!] Silvery-red Ed complained.

[I agree.] Reddish-blue Ed chimed in. [He was such a good student! He even saved our life you know?]

[Keke. Why not let me out to have some fun instead?] Reddish-black Ed interrupted. [My powers are perfect for a battlefield like this.]

'No.' Blue Ed shook his head. 'I have other matters to attend to.' He turned towards Flair. "Come with me."

"Mm." She nodded, seeming to already know where they were going.

Ice pushed Ed forward as he quickly left the battlefield behind. Flair followed behind him using her jetpack.

...

Several hours later.

'Should almost be there...' Ed thought as he continued pushing forward. He was headed for the Light Tiger Sect, which was the closest one nearby. According to the information he had learned during his time in China, the Light Tiger Sect was located in a valley just west of Shanghai, placing it directly south of the battle at the Purple Origin Sect. Right now, the sect should be nearly empty, easily allowing him to swoop in and capture their cultivation archives. Such a resource would be a great boon for Harmony and allow him to grow the strength of his forces even more in the future.

"I see it." Flair suddenly said as her eyes lit up with white light.

"Where?" Ed asked. "I don't see it."

"It's hidden..." She replied. "It looks like a formation is bending the light around it, blending it into the surroundings."

"Seems like every sect hides their own ancient artifacts..." He rubbed his chin. 'I wonder why America doesn't have any... Maybe the natives didn't cultivate before European colonists arrived? Or maybe any remnants were destroyed? Will any of the Indian nations or European nations have ancient artifacts?'

Flair abruptly stopped and gestured for Ed to do so as well. "They've set up traps." She said while still examining the invisible structure with her glowing eyes. After a few seconds, she smiled. "I found the entrance. Follow me."

'I knew her powers would come in handy eventually.' He thought as he followed her. The two took several steps forward, and to the outside world, it looked like they had simply vanished.