A full week had passed since the bizarre abduction by the creeping bivalve. The capital of the Violet Deep returned to its usual bustling rhythm and Li Yu found a highly productive way to pass the ti.
He and Malos had set up a small open air shop near the grand beast market. A simple wooden sign hung above their stall reading ‘The Quiet Physician and The Shouting Assistant.’
Li Yu wanted to further his experience in treating beasts. Healing foreign injuries and diagnosing complex spiritual blockages gave him a much deeper understanding of the laws of life and destruction. Every patient was a new puzzle that helped him refine his control over his Qi and expanded his own mind.
Malos was more than happy to be his assistant. The Demon Lord stood at the front of the stall and was wearing a pristine white apron over his dark robes. He loudly advertised, demanded respect and assisted Li Yu when needed. He was also occasionally throwing silk towels at the passing rchants who stared for too long.
"Bring forth the next patient!" Malos bellowed across the crowded market. "The supre doctor is ready to nd your broken scales and align your chaotic cores! Do not push! The Shouting Assistant will maintain absolute order!"
Li Yu sat calmly behind a wide stone table. A nervous rchant brought forward a large armored crab that was violently foaming at the mouth. Li Yu placed his hand on the thick shell and sent a gentle pulse of his sensory Qi into the beast.
He quickly found a twisted water ridian causing the severe issue. He used a tiny fraction of Void Qi to isolate the blockage and gently flushed it away with a surge of life energy and water Qi. The crab stopped foaming and snapped its claws happily after a few monts.
"A flawless execution of the hidden dical arts!" Malos cheered loudly while snatching a bag of spirit stones from the grateful rchant. Li Yu told him that the service was free but Malos insisted that collect so spirit stones so he could tell his daughter how much he had made since he parted from her. "Next!"
They spent hours treating minor ailnts and major internal blockages. It was peaceful work but both found it to be quite enjoyable. Right in the middle of the day, the sun was shining brightly over the sparkling violet ocean. Li Yu was just finishing up a consultation with a sick, glowing squid when the sky suddenly darkened.
A massive shadow fell over the capital. Li Yu looked up and his eyes narrowed sharply.
Very far away near the distant horizon the sky seed to tear completely open. A colossal teor engulfed in roaring flas was falling from the heavens. It streaked across the sky leaving a thick towering trail of black smoke and burning Qi in its wake.
The blazing rock slamd into a distant place.
Several seconds later the entire realm shook upon its impact. The crash generated an earthquake that rattled the dark coral cliffs of the capital. Massive waves surged against the lower docks. Protective arrays flared to life across the city absorbing the kinetic shockwaves of the distant crash.
The citizens in the market stopped and stared at the horizon in stunned silence.
"Well that is certainly not a passing rainstorm." Malos noted the obvious while adjusting his white apron. He squinted his dark eyes trying to peer through the distant smoke. "We should go investigate imdiately."
"There is no need to rush," Li Yu replied calmly while wiping his hands on a clean towel. "Sovereign Morven will surely send his elite scouts to find out what just landed. We can easily find out through him later tonight. Let us finish the queue first."
Malos sighed dramatically but agreed. They finished up their shift for the day. They treated the remaining aquatic beasts before packing up their wooden stall and heading back up the winding paths toward the upper palace.
Inside Li Yu’s Koi Sanctuary, when the teor struck the distant ocean in the outside world, Khaos took notice. He was currently in his crab form and he opened his dark ancient eyes. He turned his head and looked directly in the direction of the teor impact as though he could see straight through to it.
"That woman cannot seem to wait anymore," Khaos said softly to himself. His voice carried a mix of amusent and recognition. "Either that or the realms are more chaotic now than I thought but if that were the case I would certainly know about it. The shadows have not moved that far yet."
He watched the invisible ripples of energy fade.
"So it must be that she is simply too impatient or is more annoyed now." Khaos continued his internal musing. "She was always quite fierce and incredibly hot headed. Dropping a mountain from the sky is exactly her style. I wonder what she is up to this ti."
Khaos let out a quiet breath. He did not sense any imdiate threat to his own plans. He closed his dark eyes and went back to his silent ditation, doing nothing to intervene.
That evening Li Yu and Malos arrived at the grand dining hall of the upper palace. Morven was already waiting for them alongside his three elite generals. A large holographic projection made of glowing blue Qi hovered over the center of the heavy dining table.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Sure enough, Morven had the exact information they were wondering about.
"Our scouts returned with news about what fell from the sky." Morven announced while gesturing to the floating projection. "The teor that struck was not a treasure, destructive technique or weapon. It was a massive mountain. It embedded itself into the ground where it landed and there was no other destruction from it. Like it stopped right before the ground and then fused with it."
The water Qi shifted to show the shape of the towering stone monolith. But the rock itself was not the most surprising part of the report.
"There is soone trapped at the bottom of it." Morven explained while his expression twisted into a look of disbelief.
The projection zood in on the base of the mountain. Crushed beneath the unimaginable weight of the stone was a middle aged man. Only his head and his heavily muscled arms were visible. He had wild dark hair and a thick rough beard.
"He claims his na is Garrick," Morven continued. "And he claims to be a Garrick. It is a really tough and powerful creature geared entirely toward physical toughness and physical strength. He was shouting at the scouts the entire ti they were there. He claims he was cheated by older people and he constantly complains about the gross injustice of being captured by them."
"A Garrick?" Malos repeated while stroking his chin. "Those beasts have raw brawling power. Their armor is virtually impenetrable at the sa level."
"He certainly has an incredibly high opinion of himself." One of the generals grunted while crossing his arms. "He calls himself with the title ‘Great Sage with No Equal’. He demanded our scouts bow to him and dig him out."
Morven and his generals scoffed loudly at the sheer arrogance of the title. Malos burst into a loud booming and laugh. Li Yu, however, stared at the projection and felt a sudden sharp pang of envy.
He was jealous that the na was so grand. Great Sage with No Equal was an incredibly dominating title. anwhile, he was walking around the capital known as the ‘Quiet Physician’ and the ‘Slow Clam Man’. He realized he really needed to work on his public branding.
"There is another strange detail," Morven pointed at the top of the projected mountain. Glowing golden letters were carved deeply into the stone peak. "There is a ssage written above the mountain. It reads "A mothers love is a blessing for one but a curse for one's enemies." We don’t really understand what a statent like that is doing on such a mountain.”
The group stared at the words in silence.
No one knew what it was supposed to an. The aning of the words was clear enough but nobody could figure out why those specific words were carved there or who the mother in question was. It seed like a deeply personal warning attached to a very public execution of power.
"What does this Garrick actually want?" Li Yu asked while taking a seat at the table and pouring himself a cup of tea.
"He wants to be let out obviously" Morven snorted. "The man at the bottom says the chosen one is the only person who can free him. He is telling anyone who will listen to co up and try their luck at touching the mountain. He says he will have to serve the one who frees him. All the while complaining about the injustice of it all."
Morven took a deep drink of his wine. "He tries to sweeten the deal to get people to act faster. He tells everyone to hurry up because with his help they could rule this entire world easily."
"Does anyone actually believe him?" Malos asked with a wide grin.
"No one really believes the words of a man who is currently trapped under a rock," Morven replied as he was shaking his head. "If he was truly powerful enough to rule the world he would not be stuck. But you know how the people in this realm are. The promise of a legendary servant is too tempting to ignore."
Morven waved his massive hand and the projection vanished into mist. "No one in the short ti that the mountain has appeared has succeeded yet but everyone that knows seems to be heading there to try their luck. It won’t be long before the entire realm knows. The surrounding area is already filling up with ambitious cultivators hoping to claim the beast."
Malos practically vibrated with excitent. The Lord of Foresight loved chaotic gatherings and bizarre mysteries. He slamd his hands on the table and looked at Li Yu.
"We must go!" Malos declared loudly. "A Garrick trapped under a mountain and offering world domination to whoever touches a rock? This is the exact kind of nonsense we excel at investigating!"
Li Yu nodded slowly. He was curious about the beast and the strange inscription on the mountain. He wanted to see what kind of power could casually drop a mountain from the sky. But he also recognized the reality of the situation.
"We can go," Li Yu agreed calmly. "But there is no rush. If it truly requires a chosen one like he claims, then the mountain is not going anywhere. We will not miss out by getting a good night of sleep first. We can decide to go in the morning."
Malos looked slightly disappointed that they were not leaving imdiately but Morven nodded in firm agreent.
"A wise decision," Morven said. "I still have things I need to do here first. I will prepare a royal vessel for us. We will travel in comfort and show the borders the true strength of the Violet Deep."
The next morning the capital docks were a scene of grand organized chaos.
Sovereign Morven stood on the deck of a massive warship. The vessel was forged from dark ironwood, various tals and heavily reinforced with oceanic defensive arrays. Li Yu and Malos stood beside him and were looking out over the water. A few of Morven's trusted generals, commanders and elite troops manned the massive cannons and navigation runes.
The team was incredibly excited to go see this bizarre spectacle for themselves. But they were not traveling alone.
Looking behind the royal warship, Li Yu saw the sky ocean filled with sails and Qi powered formations. Thousands of other ships were gathered in tow, forming a massive sprawling armada that stretched back toward the horizon. rchants, wandering cultivators and sect leaders had all flocked to the capital when they heard the Sovereign was setting out for the fallen mountain.
The realm was notoriously dangerous. Since they would have the protection of Morven traveling at the head of the fleet, this was a great ti for everyone else to safely traverse the distance and try their own luck at freeing the trapped sage.
It felt like a grand festival mixed with a chaotic gold rush. The air was filled with shouts of excitent and the loud hum of spiritual arrays powering up. Morven raised his hand and gave the signal to depart.
The massive warship humd with power and surged forward. It was cutting smoothly through the skies. The grand procession left the capital behind and was heading straight toward the fallen teor and the arrogant Garrick trapped beneath it.
Reviews
All reviews (0)