“Senior Ge got him!” one of the returned cultivators said, enthusiastic in his admiration.
Spurred on by the success of their leaders, the remaining pair of cultivators around the taotei launched their attacks. A crossbow bolt, enhanced by chi, dug into one backleg as the metal-aspected attack sent the bolt-head spinning. The remaining attacker chose to attack the ground the taotei was enmeshed within, water flooding and mixing with the earth and making the creature sink deeper.
Trapped, the taotei attempted to free itself a few times. Enraged, the creature raised its giant mouth to the sky and opened it. Expecting another roar, Wu Ying was surprised to see instead a black ball of energy forming in front of the monster’s mouth.
“What…?”
“Hold your auras tight!” Elder Wei commanded even as her fingers flicked and twisted in front of her.
The black ball of chi, rather than exploding, collapsed into a smaller ball. Chi, at first floating toward the cultivating Elders, changed direction and flooded toward the ball. The two attacking cultivators screamed as aspected chi erupted from their bodies, stolen away. Even Wu Ying, standing a distance away, felt how the monster’s attack tugged at his aura, seeking to steal his chi.
The attack lasted for three breaths before the taotei snapped its mouth forward and swallowed the much larger ball of black chi. Having consumed the chi, the taotei glowed for a moment then used its forelegs to propel itself out of the mudhole with a backward hop. Earth and mud erupted, splattering the twitching forms of the nearest cultivators.
“It comes,” Elder Wei spoke, her voice still cold.
As Wu Ying watched, she levitated her cauldron while the remaining injured, tired, and chi-bereft cultivators readied themselves for the monster.
Slavering, fang-ridden mouth. A four-legged green-grey monster. Hunger given form. Black blood fell from numerous surface wounds and one major stab wound, poisoning the earth as the monster rushed forward. Even its blood hungrily absorbed the chi from the ground where it landed. As the taotei approached, its movements were off-beat, front and hindlegs moving at different intervals as the creature suffered from the concussion it had received.
Wu Ying crouched low, hand on his still-sheathed sword, aura drawn as close and tight as he could. He watched the monster lope past him, ignoring the low-cultivation threat. Better prey lay ahead. Wu Ying’s friends, his sect mates, and the Elder. All who stood in a much-shortened line behind a floating metallic pill cauldron.
The demon hopped, and the cauldron flew to meet it. When the creature tried to shift direction, Elder Wei flicked her fingers, expertly anticipating the taotei’s intentions. The resounding crash sent the cauldron rebounding into the ground to plow a furrow in the earth. As for the taotei, its claws scrabbled on loose earth as it sought purchase.
The remaining cultivators launched their attacks, concentrated chi striking the monster’s body. Fire burned, ice froze, air pierced, earth and metal pinned and sought vitals. The monster shook its head, the weak attacks doing little but annoying it. It bound forward to be met by spear, staff, and sword, the cultivators fighting to keep the monster at bay.
And Wu Ying sneaked closer, seeking the perfect strike.
“Hold the line,” Elder Wei snapped as she saw another cultivator bashed aside.
The cultivator landed awkwardly, his femur cracking with a snap. The Elder jerked her fingers upward, the cauldron flying into the sky then crashing down on the taotei’s forehead.
“Now!” Wu Ying shouted, too excited to stay silent. He drew his jian as he dashed forward, covering the last few meters as he pulled on the chi in the bracer. His eyes locked on the open wound created by Li Yao as the taotei stilled.
The Sword’s Truth.
Wu Ying felt his lips peel back in a wolfish grin as his sword, glowing with contained power, neared the taotei’s body and the open wound. He saw the opening, the gap. And then it disappeared as a fang-filled maw filled his gaze.
“No!” Wu Ying snarled.
Instinct had Wu Ying release the built-up chi attack. The beam of metal-aspected chi punched into the softer flesh of the demon’s mouth, making it snap it shut. The motion shattered Wu Ying’s sword as it was caught within, forcing Wu Ying to slam into the now-closed mouth. As he fell onto the ground, Wu Ying let out a low groan.
“Wu Ying!” Tou He shouted as he rushed to aid his friend.
The taotei lowered its head again, intent on consuming the audacious fly that had attacked it. Wu Ying surged upward, instinct driving his next attack. The First Fist—a single, focused punch that put the entirety of Wu Ying’s body behind it. All the rage, all the anger, all his intent. Focused into a single spot, down through two knuckles.
The punch caught the edge of the taotei’s gumline, hitting both teeth and gums, throwing Wu Ying back as he skidded across churned earth. Feet that barely escaped the closing jaws were torn apart as razor-sharp teeth tore at his shins and the tops of his feet. As Wu Ying slid to a stop, a hand grabbed his collar and hauled him back.
“Thanks!” Wu Ying said as he staggered to his bloody feet.
Robbed of its prey, the taotei moved to chase but was blocked by a spinning, bisected staff. Liu Tsong’s metal-aspected attack struck from strange angles, driving the monster back as Liu Tsong invested her staff with her chi. For a few moments, the creature retreated under her sudden onslaught.
Then the dented pill cauldron fell on it again. The taotei dodged the clumsy attack, managing to get most of its body away. As the taotei regained its balance, Elder Wei coughed, blood dotting her lips as the exertion from the numerous attacks rebounded.
“How much longer?” Tou He asked as he leaned against his borrowed staff. The cultivator was too pale, and Wu Ying could tell it was taking all his strength to stand.
“I don’t know.” Wu Ying looked down, feeling earth under one foot, and realized he had lost one of his shoes. Wu Ying kicked off the other, wincing as the pain from his torn legs shot up his body. He shook it aside as he retrieved another sword. “Can you go on?”
“Can you?”
Wu Ying offered his friend a half-smile before he took off after the taotei. The battle between the remaining cultivators had already robbed them of the other two still-active cultivators. Only Liu Tsong and Elder Wei still stood, though Wu Ying saw the limping form of Senior Ge returning in the distance.
Too long.
Too late.
As he ran, Wu Ying tried to gauge the monster. The wound in its mouth had already closed. The wound in its side released a trickle of blood when it moved. The other wounds, other than the concussion, were entirely superficial. At least four dead, many more injured and maybe dead. And together, they had managed to annoy the creature.
A snap. A scream. Liu Tsong staggered back, her arm bleeding as she tore it from the creature’s mouth before it finished biting through. She fell backward, blood gushing from the mangled ruins of her left arm as she struck the acupoints leading to it, sealing her blood flow.
The pill cauldron fell, but instead of hitting the monster, it fell upside down and landed on Liu Tsong, covering her. A moment later, the taotei rammed the cauldron, sending it and Liu Tsong spinning away. A cry behind Wu Ying spoke of Elder Wei’s injury, leaving Wu Ying and Tou He to stand before the monster.
For a moment, left alone, the taotei looked from side to side as if it was confused. Provided no immediate threat, its basic instinct took over and the taotei turned toward the most delectable prize—the unmoving forms of the Elders. Wu Ying shifted his body, putting himself between the taotei and the Elders. Even as the group fought the monster, the concentration of chi among the cultivating Elders grew ever more intense.
“Just a little more,” Wu Ying said. He was not sure to whom he was speaking. Perhaps he was trying to comfort himself.