Chapter 138: The Man-Eating Koi Fish
“How'd it happen?” asked an expert in the Illuminating Soul Realm.
Wilson's face darkened with fury as he raved, “I don't know! There's something off about him. He took my life vitality manifestations and strengthened one of the wolves, giving it an astonishing speed! I'll go back to finish him off.”
Shaking her head, which sent her abundant hair swinging back and forth, the lady objected, “No, if you do it now, you will draw the attention of the two giant puppets, and all the time we've put in, our efforts would be a waste. We don't want that.”
“So, we just let him follow us here?” asked one of the men, as he gave an angry look.
“We'll have plenty of time to get rid of him after we get in the inner doors. That isn't too difficult for us, is it?” snapped the long-haired woman with a sneer.
The brat had easily killed Yves and Leon. He had some unusual tricks. But, so what? He was nothing compared to the masters of the Illuminating Soul Realm.
“Good, that's settled then; Mr. Huang, you and Seymour will kill him as soon as we are admitted into the inner sanctum,” ordered the lady with the long hair.
After reaching an agreement on how to proceed, they ignored Zen. The woman held out a hand, and dozens of incantations appeared in midair. A strong draft blew past them as the incantations darted to everyone's head.
The incantations allowed people to move faster, making everyone's speed increase over thirty percent.
The square stretched before them for dozens of miles, but, the companions reached the inner door in an instant because of how fast they were.
Relieved they were finally within the inner doors, everyone let out a long sigh. The price of the trip had been a steep one with so many lives lost during the journey.
A scowl was remained on Wilson's furious face as he thought about how he wanted to crush the masked boy with his bare hands.
“Well now, there's no need to wait since the boy wants to follow us. We'll just finish him here,” commented the long-haired woman, almost giddy with excitement.
Wilson snorted coldly, “There are so many paths he could choose, but, he's demon-bent on his ruin. But, since his wish is to perish, this place will be his tomb!”
Standing next to Wilson was a man dressed in a green robe. The man in green was an expert among those in the Illuminating Soul Realm. His name was Seymour, and at that moment he was ready and waiting for his chance to settle a killing strike on the boy as well.
These two experts from the Illuminating Soul Realm would've been plenty to handle the boy, except this was the fairy palace.
Due to the location, there were far too many variables to take for granted they would be victorious. Prudence demanded they avoid any more trouble.
Moments later Zen came through the inner doors wearing a mask, with an enormous wolf walking alongside him. The wolf had been Wilson's two black wolves, until Zen merged them into one which was twice the size of the originals.
“Are you guys waiting for me?” asked Zen as he grinned.
“If I were you, I wouldn't be taking this so lightly. As a man half-step into the nature level, you should pride on your ability. Still you are not good enough to survive our attack,” stated Wilson in a deep voice. For some inexplicable reason, his stomach knotted in apprehension when he saw the grin on the masked boy's face.
“He's bluffing. Cut the garbage and let's get this over,” said Seymour sneering. Poised to strike, a green light covering his body began to blink.
“Hold up,” announced Zen while he waved his hand. When he was sure he had their attention, his smile broadened and he said to Wilson, “Did you notice there's something I didn't bring with me?”
A puzzled look crossed Wilson's face as he stiffened. Wilson had witnessed Zen made three wolves under his control. If Wilson remembered correctly, there was a black wolf missing. Before passing through the inner door, the savage black wolf was also beside the masked boy, fiercer and faster than the wolves Wilson had summoned.
“We've journeyed with the same goal, and I for one, see no reason for us to turn against each other. You have noticed that I strengthened the black wolf, and then I left it outside. Your lightning leopard couldn't compare to the giant puppets, but, if you wish, I can use the black wolf and lure the giant puppets here. Now, I am guessing, no one wants that, right?” Zen's voice was flat as he asked.
Zen had used a Phoenix Crystal to strengthen the black wolf, and then left it by the large square on the other side of the doorway. Even though the wolf wasn't right next to Zen, it was still under his control, and with lighting speed it would be a simple matter to lure the giant puppets there.
Since with one word from Zen, two giant puppets would be lured in and no one there would survive, the men stopped to think things through before laying a hand on Zen.
“You asked for it!” shouted Wilson. His temper ignited by Zen's words.
“Such a clever boy!” commented the woman with long hair, as she shot Zen a venomous look. Her beautiful eyes were murderously cold. “I have to say, that's actually really smart. Normally, there isn't a place for a man who hasn't entered the nature level, but… you've got a good point. If we don't cooperate, more trouble will plague us while we are at the fairy palace.”
Nodding, Zen's smile spread, widening to reveal a row of gleaming white teeth before he commented, “Yes, that's the spirit. It's not cool for us to fight with each other.”
Zen's speech left the crowd speechless, from those in the nature level to the experts of the Illuminating Soul Realm and made them wonder where this kid got the nerve to talk like that. Even in the face of terrifying dangers, Zen remained calm allowing him to analyze the situation and counter possible attacks on him.
Such order was admirable and frightening at the same time.
Although the members from the top seven noble clans were unhappy with this unexpected twist, scowling ungracefully, for now, they abandoned the original plan, since if they tried to kill Zen, they wouldn't stand a chance of surviving.
That wasn't to say they'd accepted Zen as a teammate. It was all they could do to tolerate his presence, but, before dealing with Zen, they would have to check this place out.
Between the outer and inner doors was an empty, yet huge square which they'd explored thoroughly.
Behind the inner door things were vastly different.
After going through the doorway, a path paved in jade crossing over a pond came into view.
To an immortal in the Fairy Palace, it might be a pond, but, it was more like a huge lake to Zen.
“A pill refining workshop!”
“And a weapon refining workshop!”
“Look! A scrolls pavilion!”
Many of the greedy-eyed men screamed as they glanced around.
Smack dab in the center of the long path was a small pavilion as tall as a mountain. Branching out from the jade path were seven roads, each in a different direction, and leading to various refining workshops.
Pills, weapons, just how many treasures were there?
None of them could imagine.
There was only one certainty, and that was they had found a treasure trove of things that would benefit them greatly.
“Ah-ha!”
One of the Illuminating Soul Realm experts exclaimed as he bolted like the wind in one direction.
The Fairy Palace was fraught with so much danger that a tenuous coalition bound the top seven noble clans together, but, now that they saw the treasures laid out before them, their alliance instantly crumbled. Each greedy man knew whoever reached it first would have the upper hand.
Avarice turned their heads. Several members of the top seven noble clans followed closely behind the first man.
But, after a few hundred feet down the jade path, something strange happened to the first man.
Ripples spread across the surface of the pond before a red koi fish rose from the water.
Koi fish weren't a rarity to the noble clans who had numerous koi fish in their courtyard lakes.
Common koi fish were five, six inches long, with some big ones reaching ten inches.
However, the koi fish swimming below was gigantic and measured far more than one hundred feet long.
At first, the fish calmly stared at the lead man, its eyes bulging. Suddenly, the koi fish flipped its tail above the surface, and in the next moment, it leaped at the man.
There were no weak men in the Illuminating Soul Realm, add to that, this man, in particular, was a master in the Illuminating Soul Realm with instinctively quick reflexes. He saw the shadow as it rose over his head and immediately looked up. All he saw though was something gigantic was rushing at him from above, and he summoned his life vitality in an attempt to dodge to one side.
It was at that moment that the seemingly meek koi fish opened its mouth.
Koi fish didn't usually have teeth, but this one had a mouth full of serrated teeth. It was a frightful scene watching the lovely koi fish transforming into such a hideous, creepy monster.
After summoning his life vitality, he moved in a flash, making it impossible for the koi fish to bite him. When the fish missed, it rolled over on the path and plunged back into the water.
Onlookers stood in their trackers, startled by the scene and visibly relaxed when the man dodged the koi's attack. The episode reminded them they needed to be on guard at the fairy palace.
As the crowd collectively let out a sigh of relief, they heard splashing from every direction.
Looking around, the group saw dozens of koi fish leaping through the air.
The Illuminating Soul Realm master panicked for a moment, unsure of what he should do in this situation.
“Fly!” shouted one of the many spectators, reminding him.
When an initiate entered the Illuminating Soul Realm, that person would be gifted the knowledge of how to burn life vitality to soar in the air.
Given the courage, the illuminating realm master could get away from the koi fish, except, he hadn't been in a struggle to survive ever and his mind went blank with panic, like most of the noble clan men present.
It was only after being reminded that he remembered and with life vitality burning behind him, he shot straight up in the air.
But, his actions were too late.
The dozens of koi fish slammed into him midair, and they all fell from the sky. He crashed into the path with those fish landing smack on top of him and blocking most of the road.
All that could be heard were screams of pain from the man as those fish dropped down on him before diving back into the pond.
When the chaos ended, nothing remained on the path except blood. The man's body was gone.