Chapter 91: It Has Three

Chapter 91: It Has Three

From the moment the flood dragons had emerged from the cauldrons, to the instant that Kun Peng flew away over the horizon, only a few short minutes had passed.

After the fighting was over, the Dragon-Phoenix Sect and the other groups on the beach stood there in shock, almost uncertain if what they had witnessed were real or not.

However, the evidence left behind of the fighting was anything but illusory. And yet, that evidence was mostly superficial damage to the soft ground at the base of the mountain. The next heavy rain that came along would likely wash away all traces of the momentous battle which had just been fought.

After unleashing the power of the Phoenix Crown and the Wind Sabre, Bao felt drained. There was also a pain deep inside of her that left her quite unsettled. Placing the Phoenix Crown back in its box, she sheathed the Wind Sabre and handed it to Ma Ge. Then she sat down cross-legged in front of Sunan to meditate.

Sunan was also in the middle of meditating as he attempted to expel the poison from his body.

As more disciples hurried over to stand guard over the two of them, Mao Yun and Tie Gangwen took charge, sending Profound Masters out to confirm that the other Bone Slicers had been defeated, as well as to calm the ordinary members of the sect and confirm that no one had been injured.

Soon, the Profound Masters began to regroup near Sunan and Bao, where an atmosphere of tense anxiety began to mount. Murmured whispers could be heard occasionally as the Profound Masters discussed the events which had just played out.

“Do you think there are more Bone Slicers nearby?”

“Doubtful. That group was likely stationed in the prison itself and slipped out to prepare their little trap. They were trying to crush us with those dragons, not get involved in a real fight.”

“What are the Dragon Sovereign and Phoenix Sovereign doing?”

“I heard that the Dragon Sovereign was poisoned. I’m not sure about the Phoenix Sovereign. Maybe she’s helping him with the poison?”

“Perhaps she’s just recovering from that incredible technique from earlier.”

“What was that white and blue light?”

“She was using the Phoenix Crown and the Wind Sabre together. Can you believe that power? I wonder if anybody who uses those two items together could wield power like that…?”

Some time later, Bao opened her eyes and rose to her feet. Upon looking around at the small crowd surrounding her and Sunan, she said, “Are we prepared to leave?”

“Yes, Phoenix Sovereign,” Tie Gangwen replied.

It was at that point that Sun Mai’s voice could be heard, “Phoenix Sovereign, may I have a word?”

**

Sunan recovered roughly an hour after he had first slipped into deep meditation. Almost immediately, Bao and Sunan pulled him to the side for a private discussion.

It wasn’t long after that that Sunan called out, “Dragon Lords and Claws of the Phoenix, we will begin the evacuation as previously planned, within the hour. Prepare to move out. Mao Yun, Tie Gangwen, Wang Tian, Li Runfa, come with us.”

Without any further explanation, Bao, Sunan and Sun Mai drew upon their Qinggong to speed back in the direction of the fortress.

The group of four whom Sunan had called out didn’t hesitate to follow. As for Li Runfa, he was not skilled in Qinggong, so Wang Tian grabbed his forearm and pulled him along. Seemingly within the blink of an eye, the entire group of six was gone.

The leaders of the sect immediately began to break into the various groups that would head in different directions away from Heart’s Ridge.

**

“How did you find out about the magic door?” Sunan asked as they hurried through the dim corridors of the prison. The lamps they carried cast strange shadows in all directions, making the place seem quite eerie.

Sun Mai didn’t respond for a very long moment. “I can’t tell you.”

Sunan glanced over at him in surprise. “Can’t tell me?”

Sun Mai ran his hand across his pate, which was already starting to show a bit of a shadow from his hair growing back. “You’ll have to trust me on this Sunan. Besides, I have more things to tell you that will make this magical door seem like nothing.”

Unsure of what to make of Sun Mai’s claim, Sunan simply lapsed into silence.

Eventually, they reached an iron door with the numbers 456 carved into the rock above it. It was a sturdy door secured with a heavy padlock that members of the Dragon-Phoenix Sect had attempted unsuccessfully to break open during the evacuation of the prison. There were many such areas within the prison. After all, the sect’s mission had been to rescue their friends and family, not loot the fortress.

Without any hesitation, Sun Mai pulled an iron key out of the sleeve of his robe, which he used to unlock the padlock. Then he pushed the door open and entered, holding out the lamp in front of him.

The room was empty except for a single item, a long, sturdy wooden chest.

Mao Yun was the one to step forward an open it, to reveal a collection of six long metal bars, some of which were straight, and some of which were curved. From the grooves and tongues that could be seen at the ends of each of the bars, it was obvious that they were designed to interlock.

Mao Yun looked over his shoulder at Sun Mai, then Sunan and Bao.

Sun Mai stepped forward and glanced at the bars. “Let’s set it up. It should only take a moment.”

Sure enough, assembling the bars was a simple task, and within moments, a large door frame stood tall in the middle of the stone chamber. It was wide enough for three men to enter on horseback, and stood on its own with no need of support.

“It looks a lot less impressive than I imagined,” Li Runfa said. “How do we use it?”

Sun Mai reached out and put his hand onto the surface of the door, then closed his eyes. A moment passed, whereupon a smile appeared on his lips.

“She was right,” he murmured in a voice so soft no one could make out clearly what he had said.

“Sun Mai?” Sunan asked.

Sun Mai looked up. “It’s simple. Any Profound Master can activate the door with little more than a thought. In terms of where it can lead, the possibilities are many. As far as I can tell, I can open the other end of the door in any location that I have visited in the past, and any location where the door has been.”

A few stifled gasps could be heard.

“Why don’t we use it to get the sect back to the palace?” Tie Gangwen asked.

“Based on everything we know,” Wang Tian replied, “the magical doors can only be used once. Wouldn’t it be better to use it… offensively?”

Sun Mai lowered his hand. “My thoughts exactly. Our plan to get the sect to safety is still a good one. With this door in our hands, I think the time has come to discuss something of utmost importance.” He looked at Sunan. “Your dream.” Then at Bao. “And your poem.”

**

The two divisions of the Dragon-Phoenix Sect mostly went separate ways, taking their friends and loved ones with them. A small group consisting mostly of other martial artists such as Blackleaf and Kind Devil Fuling commandeered the boats in the harbor. The Pure Phoenix Division headed south to infiltrate Xuanlu, and perhaps, Huisheng. The Golden Dragon Division would head up the Southern Fei River toward Zun Shan.

And there were other scattered groups from both divisions who headed in other directions. The current plan was for the sect to temporarily vanish from the world.

Everyone from the ranking officers to the ordinary non-martial artists from the outer sect, were all anxious to get away from Heart’s Ridge. As such, no one needed any persuading to hurry off in whichever directions they had been assigned.

Because of that, few people noticed something strange happening. After emerging again from the prison, Mao Yun and Tie Gangwen began to circulate among the leadership figures of the sect, both the Profound Masters and others among the most skilled and powerful fighters….

By the time the sun set, the beachy land between the mountains and the bay were empty. The two divisions of the sect were gone, leaving only a lonely wind behind to caress the battered and broken evidence of the spectacular battle.

**

Roughly an hour north of the city of Yu Zhing was a cave network that, many years ago, had been an oft-used way station and supply depot for one of the criminal gangs that operated in the city.

It was the very same cave network were Bao and Mao Yun had spent the night when they fled Yu Zhing all those years ago.

For years, the caves had been completely abandoned, but after the Dragon-Phoenix Sect began to carry out operations in the major cities of the empire, it had been refitted and expanded for use in the operations of the local secret societies. Only about two years before, when the entire martial world was burning with passion under the leadership of the Timeless Master, one particularly ambitious local leader had expanded the caves, hoping to build a small army to use to overthrow the government in Yu Zhing. Later, after the death of the Timeless Master, when many martial artists had scattered and gone into hiding, the caves had been abandoned again.

Now, it became the gathering place of the most powerful martial artists in the world.

It started with a small group of seven, including Bao, Sunan, Mao Yun, Wang Tian, Tie Gangwen, Sun Mai and Li Runfa. Strictly speaking, Li Runfa couldn’t be considered a powerful martial artists: his skills lay in other areas.

More of the leaders and top fighters in the sect began to show up a few days later. One by one, they were assigned housing within the caves, with a few, mostly Eyes of the Phoenix, being sent into the city disguised as beggars or merchants to gather intelligence.

Over the course of the following two weeks, roughly a thousand of the Dragon-Phoenix Sect’s most famous and powerful figures arrived.

None among the group knew exactly why they were gathering in Yu Zhing, at least, not yet. One night, after all the other members of the sect who had been ordered to come to Yu Zhing had arrived, the small group who had originally discovered the magical door had a meeting in the most secure area in the cave network.

“Now that the elites are gathered,” Sun Mai said, “we can finally begin training.”

“We also need more information about Yao Gong Palace,” Bao said. “We have the magical door, which can get us inside, but we don’t even know the layout of the place, let alone who or what we’ll be facing once we’re on the inside.”

“My Eyes of the Phoenix can be of some help,” Wang Tian said. “Why don’t we send a pair up into the mountains to survey and scout the area?”

“That won’t be necessary,” Li Runfa said quietly. “After all the years, the time has come to reveal a secret that only the Dragon Sovereign and Phoenix Sovereign ever knew.” As all eyes in the room came to rest on him, he continued, “The Dragon-Phoenix Sect doesn’t have two divisions. It has three.”