?Dodging was out of the question, there was no s.p.a.ce to stand on, and flight was impossible with the spatial distortion of this place. So as the claws of the beast were coming at me, all I could do was kick at it with both feet to separate ourselves even a few feet apart.
Thanks to the quick reaction, I was able to push us away from the creature who fell far faster and heavier than us in a crescendo of screams and wails that one could only hear in nightmares.
"NOW WHAT!" Old Fu shouted.
I guess he was waiting for my plan.
Thinking of gripping at the walls with a sword and slowing yourself down like you see in hero movies of old would have been the dumbest idea ever. Not only will you be bounced off immediately once you get closer to the wall you will never have enough force or power to even grip at the wall in that fraction of a second. Also, even if by some miracle I was able to do that, the weight of nine people on the ropes will just pull us out of the wall breaking it.
"We use the uprising wind to slow us down!" I shouted back.
The soldiers all understood. Basically, we need a parachute, and if we can't go up, at least we slow our fall.
My hoverboard's jet thrusters would have been more than enough to carry us out of here, but the heavy disturbance of Qi inside this gorge was just too much for any Qi object, tool, or spell to function. So we had to do it the good old way. Makes.h.i.+ft parachutes out of our own robes and the spare ones in our possession.
"Get any spare cloth, robe or anything you have in your holding bag and use it as a parachute. The wind pressure will help reduce our speed!" I shouted at the cultivators.
"WOULD A TENT WORK?!" one of the cultivators said.
"That would be even better than a robe!" I shouted back.
Since they were soldiers, a tent was bound to be in their holding bag. The soldiers then immediately began pulling their tents grabbing them by the for corners and making makes.h.i.+ft parachutes.
Our speeds were immediately decreased by ma.s.sive margins as not only were we slowed down thanks to the parachutes. Usually that would still not guarantee our survival from the fall. But due to the sheer power of the uprising wind, the makes.h.i.+ft parachutes' effectiveness was multiplied several folds and our speed slowed down to the speed of a falling feather.
"Well, that worked out!" I said loudly as the wind was too loud for us to even talk normally.
"We're not out of the trenches yet, we don't know what may be down underneath us," said Old Fu.
"The wind is clean, and it isn't humid, there should be no water or anything dangerous down, or even rotting," I replied. "But you're right, everyone keeps your eyes peeled for any dangers!"
The way down was nowhere to be seen and we're probably going to be in free fall for a very long while.
***
Back on the above world, far to the east of the continent, where the land of the Lord of Lords spreads. There was the Lord of Lords' region.
As a mighty person of the Vast Expanse, his territory also seemed to grasp his essence and power. Here lived some of the mightiest beasts of the Beyond.
From phoenixes and dragons, to three legged golden crows and Kilis that roamed the world. However, these beasts were hidden from the sight of cultivators, as they too didn't wish to incur the wrath of the Lord of Lords.
They lived in harmony with nature away from the eyes of cultivators, and many of these mythical beasts would take an unnatural interest in the human world. Enough for them to change their bodies and physics to match that of a human and mingle and mix with them.
And one of these beasts was now interested in this new Emperor Stage cultivator that just entered the Lord of Lords' territory.
The banner carrier arrived to the gate of the Lord of Lords' sect. The entirety of the sect was built between nine ma.s.sive mountains with one mountain centered around the other eight.
The mountains acted as a bastion and natural protective barrier and on the top of each peak was a ma.s.sive palace.
But all these mountains failed to compare to the one in the middle since the middle mountain dwarfed all of the other eight.
Zhang Tian couldn't help but gasp at the sheer size of these mountains. They were of an absurdly grand size that he would almost think of them as the very pillars of the beyond itself carrying the weight of the heavens from falling against the earth itself.
"There are nine mountains that belong to the Lord of Lords' sect. The Middle one is private and under no circ.u.mstances unless specified by one of the eight grand chamberlains that any of you is to even step a foot on it. It is the personal territory of the Lord of Lords and those who try to sneak in will die a brutal death." Said the banner carrier.
The cultivators behind Zhang Tian gazed upon the mountain and noticed many cultivators and mortals even prostrating in front of this mountain.
One of them asked, "What do mortals have to do with the Lord of Lords?" he asked.
"Everyone who comes to the Mountain of Wors.h.i.+p and bows their head to the Lord of Lords will have their wishes or issues solved. The Lord of Lords can choose those he wish to aid and a.s.sist by his own will and decorum. The more pious and the more one wors.h.i.+ps the more chances they'll have in meeting with the Lord of Lords. It matters not if one is a mortal or a world shattering cultivators, all are equal in the eyes of the Lord," said the Banner Holder.
"Anyone can receive gifts from the Lord of Lords?" asked one cultivator.
"Yes, but be warned, your wish may come true but not as you may expect," said the Banner Holder.
Another cultivator asked "What if one wishes to become mighty and power, what if one wishes to have power to grasp the world. Can they also come and wors.h.i.+p?" he said.
"They can, we had many of those, look," said the banner holder as he pointed.
There they were, husks and bodies, corpses even, skeletons of prostrating people that were kneeling and will kneel forevermore.
"Once you start wors.h.i.+pping, depending on one's wish, their time will be either long or short. Once on the Wors.h.i.+pping grounds the destinies of seekers unfold, shaped by the nature of their desires.
For those who approach with humble hearts, seeking solace or healing for their loved ones, time seems to warp as they bow and wors.h.i.+p. In their devotion, they traverse what feels like eternal ages before standing in the presence of the Lord of Lords while in fact it isn't even a breath of time only their patience through that eternal solitude will reward them with a meeting with the Lord of Lords and his blessing.
While others who harbor illness and evilness in their heart those whose desires are tainted with malice, and insatiable greed. Some audacious enough to be even driven by a wish to rival the might of the Lord of Lords, their prostration becomes a harrowing descent into decay. Their bodies wither, and life escapes them, for their entire existence is insufficient to pay the toll of such audacious wishes of theirs. That is the price of hubris, and that is the price one must pay for their blasphemy."
"Anyone can wors.h.i.+p? Even the followers?" Zhang Tian asked.
"Yes, even you, newcomers, you can stand there, not only that it is encouraged to do so. Go and prostrate yourself but don't try and overtake the people there, wors.h.i.+p the lord, meet with them and your questions shall be answered. But as I said, if you harbor ill intentions in your heart it is best that you don't approach the mountain lest you find yourself among the corpses, not knowing when you died."
Zhang Tian's eyes glistened. He was a man of knowledge, and would always seek to understand the incomprehensible and the estranged. He would delve into the mundane and into the mystical, and what was in front of him was something that was new and something he had never seen before.
So, he excused himself among all the other cultivators and went toward the mountain.
"Crazy, who does he think he is?" one of the newcomers spoke, "Watch him turn to a corpse the moment he puts his head down. He thinks he is pure, no one here is pure…" the cultivator scuffed.
One glance form the Banner Holder had the man shut up.
"Among all cultivators, he is the only cultivator who had the courage to go seek the Lord of Lords. He didn't hide and shy away like you, so don't discuss his courage, the rest of you, follow me…"