Chương 20: That Escalated

Further into the forest, the shadows began to weave together as a massive creature of writhing shadows formed.

"Ah, the water sect is falling, and with that, my oath to remain here is broken." A deep, inhuman laugh rang out from the forest. Lia stumbled through the forest, running deeper and deeper into qi beast territory. Tears streaked down her face and loud sobs burst from her lips. Emotions were so much stronger and rawer in the female body. Tim on Earth sat with tears streaming down his face. Riku was beside him, giving him a hug. Seeing the usually flustered and jovial Tim like this was shocking for her.

Something truly bad must have happened in the cultivation world, she thought. Val was on a flying sword speeding west when his communicator lit up.

"Sir, we have lost team 3. We also registered a level 8 Foundation Establishment attack. It's as if a level 8 went all out in one attack." Val's expression darkened as he processed this information.

"Level 8? That's impossible. Lia was confirmed as level 1." He paused, his mind racing through possibilities.

"Unless... the artifact incident was entirely fabricated." His jaw clenched.

"Change course. Head to the last known location of team 3. And send word to the elders we may have underestimated our target." Meanwhile, deeper in the beast territory, ancient things that had slumbered for decades were beginning to stir. The massive release of qi from Lia's desperate attack had sent ripples through the spiritual energy of the entire region. Lia stumbled on a branch and fell to the ground. She had managed to get another 30 kilometers away, but the qi overexertion was taking its toll.

She was a sitting duck without any qi. Her dantian was starting to pull qi from the surroundings, but at a reduced rate. It had been qi-burned from the massive release. Lia looked around desperately for somewhere to hide. A small crevice in a hill caught her eye. Stumbling up the hill, she found it was just large enough for a human to enter lying down. She started crawling down it, trying to get deeper and deeper into the earth.

The Flowing Water Sect's Nascent Soul elder, Master Tianlong, stood defiantly as the protective barrier finally shattered like glass around him. The massive orb of water qi above his head churned with the power of centuries of cultivation, but even he knew it wouldn't be enough against two enemy Nascent Soul cultivators and an entire sect's worth of attackers.

"So the Flaming Saber Sect finally shows its true colors," he said, his voice carrying across the ruins of his home.

"Attacking under false pretenses, murdering innocents. You've fallen far from the righteous path." The silver-haired woman descended from the ark, her pristine white robes untouched by the destruction around her.

"Righteousness is a luxury, old friend. Resources are survival. Your sect has grown complacent, weak. It's time for new management." Behind her, hundreds of Flaming Saber disciples poured into the sect grounds, systematically hunting down any remaining Water Sect members. The screams echoed off the mountain walls as they butchered the flowing water sect members. Meanwhile, Lia found the crevice opened up further into a large cave heading downwards. She sped up, crawling and scuttling further and further down.

Tim wasn't a seasoned warrior. The fear to stay alive made Lia scuttle and crawl like an animal deeper and deeper into the earth for protection. Master Tianlong saw his disciples getting slaughtered below him as Master Cho tried to lead a charge out to escape. Tianlong looked to the sky.

"Sorry, ancestors," he whispered. Lowering his hand, he screamed out, "The oath that binds you is broken!" as the water qi orb tore through the center of the sect, destroying a massive array buried below the Sect Master's tower. The ark fired a massive beam from its tip, tearing the Flowing Water Sect's Nascent Soul level cultivator in half in an instant. The beam continued through, off into space. The two Flaming Saber Sect Nascent Soul cultivators couldn't understand why he didn't fight more.

It wasn't until a huge qi wave spread out from the forest. The massive qi wave that erupted from the forest hit everyone like a physical blow. Even the Nascent Soul cultivators on the ark stumbled, their expressions shifting from triumph to alarm as they felt the ancient power awakening.

"What have you done?" the silver-haired woman hissed, her composure finally cracking. But Master Tianlong was already fading, his life force spent. With his dying breath, he smiled grimly.

"The forest's... beast king... was bound by our... ancient pact. Now he... is free..." The forest exploded into chaos as creatures that had been wild now seemed driven under a greater will and began to emerge. Thousands of qi beasts started to move in a coordinated horde towards the burning Flowing Water Sect. Val, racing toward team 3's last known position, felt his flying sword suddenly veer off course as spiritual winds beyond his control caught him. Below, the forest canopy was writhing like a living thing.

"All units, return to the ark immediately!" came the panicked voice through his communicator.

"We have a monster wave approaching!" Sirens blared in the massive spaceship. A Golden Core member overseeing its operation saw hundreds of thousands of signatures lighting up the screen. That wasn't what terrified him the most. A Nascent Soul energy level 4 alert flashed on the screen, approaching. Both of the Flaming Sect elders were level 2.

"Turn starboard, start charging the obliterator cannon."

"Sir, we just fired it will take 5 minutes." the weapons master replied.

"Charge the ancillary cannons, start thrusters in reverse. We will have a coordinated retreat." Captian Zhou replied.

"Captain," a lower cultivator called out, "if we don't stop them, there's no resistance until the Iron Hand Sect. Dozens of cities will be lost." The Golden Core captain's face was grim as he processed the magnitude of what was approaching.

"Patch me through to sector command, now!" Static crackled before a voice responded: "Captain Zhou, report."

"Sir, we have a catastrophic situation. The beast king has been unleashed Nascent Soul level 4, leading what appears to be the entire eastern beast territory in a coordinated assault. Our current position is untenable." A long pause.

"Casualties?" The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"None yet. We will be starting a fighting retreat. But if this horde reaches populated areas..." Captain Zhou looked at the display showing the massive swarm of red dots moving like a tide.

"Conservative estimate: half a million civilian deaths in the first wave alone." Below in the crevice turned cave, Lia felt the ground trembling as countless beasts thundered overhead. The qi in the air was so thick it was almost suffocating. Her hiding spot suddenly seemed far less secure as she realized she was directly in the path of an ancient monster's rampage. Luckily, her drained dantian showed almost no qi signature to the horde passing above.

Riku held Tim tighter as his body shook with fear from the Level 4 Nascent Soul beast passing overhead.

"Tim, please, you're scaring me. What's happening over there?" On the ark, Val received new orders that made his blood run cold: "All personnel, mission parameters have changed. Priority one: evacuate all Flaming Saber Sect members immediately. The beast king cannot be contained." The silver-haired elder's voice cut through the chaos: "Prepare for emergency departure. Signal all allied sects Code Heaven's Fall. The southeastern territories are lost."

The massive ark began to reverse with thousands of qi cannons unleashing barrages on the approaching hordes. A small craft shot out from the burning Flowing Water Sect. Master Cho had gathered some remaining disciples and was making a run for it. The crimson sword Nascent Soul cultivator was going to swing at it when sirens blared from the ark as four huge waves of dark shadow qi tore through the sky towards it like a giant ethereal claw.

Two struck the shields of the ark, causing them to flicker, while the two Flaming Saber Sect Nascent Soul cultivators had to deflect one each. The massive shadow claws dissipated after striking the ark's shields, but their message was clear. Something far more dangerous than any sect war was now in play. The Beast King's presence loomed over the battlefield like a living nightmare, its spiritual pressure so intense that even Golden Core cultivators felt like insects in comparison.

"Emergency protocols!" the silver-haired elder shouted as the ark's hull groaned under the strain of deflecting the attack.

"Full retreat, maximum speed!" But the Beast King was already moving. Through the forest canopy, a shape the size of a mountain began to rise. Its writhing shadows given form, with eyes like burning stars and claws that could rend reality itself. This wasn't just a powerful qi beast; this was something that predated the current cultivation era entirely. Val, still racing back toward the ark on his flying sword, felt his mount faltering as the spiritual pressure increased.

Below him, the forest floor churned with thousands of lesser beasts, all moving with unnatural coordination. His communicator crackled with panicked voices:"Team Seven is gone they're everywhere!"

"The beasts are attacking in coordinated tactics!"

"Captain, we're reading qi signatures approaching late Golden Core level throughout the horde!" Deep in her earthen hiding place, Lia started racing faster down the ancient cave into the earth. Captain Zhou watched his displays with growing horror as the beast horde's true scope became apparent.

"Sir, the formation extends beyond our sensor range. Conservative estimate: over two million individual beasts, with at least fifty at Golden Core level or above." The crimson-robed elder materialized on the bridge, his Nascent Soul aura barely contained.

"Status of the obliterator cannon?"

"Three minutes to full charge, but sir even a direct hit might not stop something at that level." Through the massive viewing ports, they could see the Beast King fully emerging from the forest. It stood nearly a kilometer tall, its form constantly shifting between solid matter and living shadow. Where it stepped, the very ground began to change, becoming tainted by shadow qi itself. Captain Zhou, in a somber tone, said, "Prepare to fire main qi reactor core."

"But sir, the value alone is one-fourth of our sect. Not only that, the designs are ancient and we may not even find another." Captain Zhou's face was pale as he processed the magnitude of the decision.

"Sir, if we fire the reactor core, we'll lose offensive and defensive capabilities. Only thrust will remain. We'll be sitting ducks." The crimson-robed elder's jaw tightened.

"Calculate trajectory for maximum damage to the Beast King's center mass. We fire in ninety seconds."

"But Elder Wuxian""No buts!" Elder Wuxian's aura flared, causing several junior crew members to stagger.

"That thing reaches the Iron Fist territories and we're looking at the end of civilization on this continent as we know it. One ark's worth of resources is nothing compared to that." Below in her cave, Lia felt the qi pressure intensifying as more and more powerful beasts passed overhead. Spatial rifts started splitting open in random locations. This amount of qi was tearing open wounds that had healed in space. Back on Earth, Tim's body went completely rigid.

Riku watched in alarm as his breathing became shallow and rapid.

"Tim? Tim, you can do this—I believe in you!" she whispered urgently, not daring to speak louder in case it disrupted whatever was happening in the other world. On the ark's bridge, the countdown began.

"Sixty seconds to core firing... fifty-nine... fifty-eight..." The Beast King's massive head turned toward the ark, and for one terrifying moment, its burning star-eyes seemed to look directly through the hull at each individual crew member. When it opened its maw, the roar that emerged shattered windows in cities hundreds of miles away.

"Thirty seconds..." Captain Zhou's voice cracked.

"Sir, it's... it's looking right at us." Elder Wuxian stepped forward, his hands beginning to glow with Nascent Soul level qi.

"Then we make sure this shot counts. Prepare for the shockwave. Brace for impact," was repeated over the comms. Val, still racing toward the ark on his failing flying sword, could see cultivators fleeing past it. His communicator crackled with a direct order: "All personnel, this is Elder Wuxian. Prepare for core firing in ten seconds. Any cultivator above Foundation Establishment level, use whatever movement techniques you have to get clear. This is not a drill."

"Ten... nine... eight..." The countdown echoed across every communication channel. The Beast King began to move with impossible speed for something so massive, shadow qi erupting from its form like living tendrils reaching toward the ark.

"Five... four... three..."

"Two... one... FIRE!" The entire ark convulsed as its reactor core which was a concentrated ball of pure qi energy contained by insanely fast rotating spirit steel fired forth. It was something that held the power to send a ship across the galaxy. It hit dead center of the beast, and then a beam of white-hot destruction that turned night to day across half the continent exploded out. Lia felt a deep sense of dread when she spotted a spatial rift splitting open in the cave ahead.

Without a second thought, she dove into it. The shockwave tore through the ark without any sound but so much pure light. The shockwave from the reactor core explosion rippled outward in complete silence, a wall of pure destructive energy that vaporized everything in its path. The Beast King's roar cut off abruptly as the concentrated qi beam struck its center mass, and for a moment that felt like eternity, the world held its breath. Then reality reasserted itself with devastating force.

The explosion was visible from space. A miniature star born and dying in the span of seconds. The forest for hundreds of miles around was instantly reduced to ash and glass. Mountains were leveled, and the very air seemed to catch fire as spiritual energy ran wild through the atmosphere. On the ark, emergency sirens wailed as the ship began to fall from the sky, its power systems completely dead. Captain Zhou gripped his command console as the massive vessel tilted dangerously.

"Emergency protocols!" he shouted over the chaos.

"All Golden Core cultivators to reactor room. We need to power this ship to stay afloat!" Elder Wuxian, blood streaming from his nose and ears, staggered to the observation deck. Through the cracked viewing ports, he could see the beast king still lived. It was a mess half the shadows seemed to be lifeless as it dripped blood and shadows. It limped back into the greater forests, disappearing in the distance.