Critical: Ages Below Critical - Chapter 14.2

Chapter 14: Skirt of the Goddess (Part 2)


The soul beasts that broke through the surface of the waters cover the skies. The dripping sea water morphs into rain drops that fall towards the ground. The large and small black dots move around in the sky far away. Qi Ling stares through the pure white water plant enveloping them at the apocalyptic scene outside. He hears nothing in his ears apart from Tianshu Youhua’s breathing. It felt like the calmness of a forest after a blizzard. Qi Ling reaches out a hand and caresses the tendril-like water plant gently. He finds it unbelievable. “What are these white water plants?” He murmurs to himself. He didn’t think that someone, let alone Tianshu Youhua, would reply him.

“These are not water plants. When you look at them closely, you’d realize that they are strand after strand of silk. If I guessed correctly, these silk actually make up one very famous soul weapon known as the “Skirt of the Goddess”. What makes it so spectacular is that, due to the interweaving of these silk, they move even without the wind, and in the area shrouded by the silk, any indirect attacks are invalid. For example, my soul weapon, the arrows from that the enormous bow of ice are considered to be indirect forms of attack. To the Skirt of the Goddess, all these are ineffective.” Tianshu Youhua reaches out to caress the white silk that seems to be moving as if being pushed by the waves. The jealousy is obvious in her gaze.

“If it can only withstand against indirect attacks, then what’s the point. Won’t it be useless if the enemy comes nearer and attacks you directly? Won’t it be better if you wore a stronger armour. Maybe when the knife comes down you’d be able to last for a while longer.” Qi Ling glances in confusion at Tianshu Youhua.

“Although the nature of the weapon is a shield, but the Skirt of the Goddess is actually a transforming shield. It not only considers bows and arrows and other form of distant attacks as indirect attacks, but also attacks of the elements, such as morphing the element of water into ice arrows, ice blades, ice vines and others. It also includes water in liquid form, so man-made tsunamis and other forms of attack are also considered to be indirect. Even the attack of soul beasts is considered to be indirect. To put it plainly, the Skirt of the Goddess uses its ridiculously unreasonable nature of weapon and forcefully labels anything other than the attack of the soul master’s soul powers as indirect attacks. This is the reason why it has always been seen as one of the most powerful shields in the territories of Aslan. It even out-ranks Nether’s shield, Mirror of Dead Souls, that can be labeled as an attacking weapon.”

“Then what can harm the owner of this weapon?” Qi Ling asks seriously.

“Cutting with a knife, stabbing with a sword, biting with your teeth, kicking with your feet. Understand now?” Tianshu Youhua glares at Qi Ling angrily, but instantly blushes when she sees his handsome face only a few inches from hers.

“So amazing!” Qi Ling draws a deep breath, but as if suddenly remembering something, his face falls almost immediately after, “Then the half of a darned sword I retrieved from the Grave of the Souls seems like a kid’s toy in comparison to the Skirt of the Goddess……” However, he then remembered that his talent is unlimited soul weapons, so he can bug Yin Chen until he succumbs and lends the Skirt of the Goddess to him for self-defense. That sounds pretty good too. Thinking about that, he becomes arrogant again, “Then again, how come you know so much?”

“Didn’t I already tell you long ago that I’m an aristocrat with royal blood? Every single person in my family were officials that assisted the monarch. My mother was directly responsible for all the information and historical records of the territories of Aslan, and so I know a thing or two about basically everything that happened here. You’re a peasant and know nothing about the soul bending world, so of course you don’t know the status of the royal family in the territories of Aslan.

“I’ll put it simply for you. The royal system that the royalty represents and the soul bending system that the lords represent are like the relationship between the country and the military. The lords rule over the soul masters who protect the country like an army, and the royal family rules over the civilians who are not part of the soul bending world. The current monarch ruling over Aslan is ‘Ice King’ Alcaeus. Legends state that his abilities are neck to neck with the Top Lord Xiuchuan Dizang, and that his soul’s return circuit differs form those on the lords’ bodies. As to what the difference is, I’m not sure. However, what I can confirm is that it must be rare and unimaginable. Then again, in the royal family, only the Ice Kind has the soul powers that are of a lord’s level, the others are only soul master-leveled. And so, just factoring in soul powers, the lords and disciples are above the royal family when put together……as for the Silver Priests, they’re like the religious system of the country. The three of them are the deities in the hearts of soul masters.”

Before Tianshu Youhua finishes her sentence, the relaxed silk that surrounds them suddenly thickens and shoots towards the skies as if being blown by the wind. In the blink of an eye, they become white silk sheets a dozen meters tall. QI Ling’s gaze follows the flowing cloth and sees that the first wave of monstrous soul beasts has began their attack. The large sheet of silk starts to roll, as if layers upon layers of white flower petals, it wraps them in its center.



The first to be attacked are of course Nether and Shen Yin, both the ones standing at the forefront. Although there are countless soul beasts, but for people of their level, it may be impossible to speedily destroy these soul beasts but they can still easily protect themselves. In addition, do not forget that both of them are corroders, one relying on destroying soul beast’s soul’s seal to increase his soul powers, the other can withstand injuries that will only perfect her soul’s return circuit even more. And so, something like this uprising of soul beasts can be disastrous to others, but to the two of them, it’s like a practice arena for them to increase their soul powers drastically.

Nether stands against the wind, his hands capturing the air where the soul beasts were attacking. Continuous screeches can be heard across the sky, sounding like hell on earth. Lord’s seals of various sizes emerge from different parts of the bodies of the soul beasts before bursting into golden pieces. The uncountable golden dust mixes with the beasts’ blood in the air as they are sucked towards Nether’s palms.

A wild look of elation graces Nether’s handsome yet evil face. His pupils are blurred in his half-conscious state, the excitement of critical chaos. And Shen Yin beside him has a mocking smile on her face despite the typoon-like surge of soul powers attacking her. 
She resists the attacks in a lazy manner, always maintain the equilibrium of allowing herself to be harmed to the extend where not only she is not fatally injured but also allowing her soul powers to increase exponentially. The golden carvings cover her body. They glow in the dim lighting; the flow resembling golden distributaries.

Ni Hong stands a close distance from them. At this moment, Thalia has rushed after Lianquan towards the depths of the island and so there is only Ni Hong to counter the millions of soul beasts. However, it is obvious that Thalia is very aware of his true abilities, which makes her leave restfully. Or should we say, the one that we should be worried about are these soul beasts that are on the brink of insanity. Because to a certain extent, Ni Hong is no different from a beast. In face, he is even more cold-blooded, more cruel and more territorial than any beast. Looking from Qi Ling and Youhua’s location, although the soul beasts have tremendous forces, but when compared to Ni Hong, they seem to be doddering. As Ni Hong is much too fast, it is as if countless bolts of orange lightning are flashing across the sky. What these bolts of lightning leave behind are the bodies of soul beasts being torn into countless pieces. The blood of the beasts that fall from the sky covers Ni Hong, turning him into a mass-murding devil. And yet, the innocent tenderness and lost pureness remains on his face. His angel-like features even makes Tianshu Youhua feel for him, “His attacks are the most direct and most primitive. Even godly-leveled soul weapons like the Skirt of the Goddess can’t hold up against this kind of direct attacks.” She stares at Ni Hong’s typhoon-like stance at destroying the incoming soul beasts as she tells Qi Ling.

When the herd of beast bypass Ni Hong, they charge towards Qi La. However, after getting through Nether, Shen Yin and Ni Hong, these two lines of defense, the combat capacity of these soul beasts have diminished, and even the numbers dwindled from carpeting the skies to the sporadic few. And so, when Qi La unleashes his unrivaled array beneath his feet, all the soul beasts that rush into its vicinity suddenly becomes sleepwalking monsters in slow motion. Qi La’s movements are still light and agile, his moves are precise and at east. His handsome features as if gifted by the heavens, coupled with his stable and quick, dance-like movements causes Qi Ling and Youhua to stare at him in awe.

“Is this……the legendary abilities of the previous Top Lord……? This is so terrifying……” Tianshu Youhua is dumbfounded.

Lastly, the soul beasts that rush towards Yin Chen are defeated easily by the variety of soul weapons that Yin Chen carelessly puts into his hands. Qi Ling watches as Yin Chen twists his body and pulls a crystal clear thin sword out from the sleeves of his long robe. Through the process of thrusting this blade into the herd of soul beasts, in the blink of an eye, the sword splits into two, four, and an array of swords fill the space between the heavens and earth like a large school of deep sea whitebait swimming at lightning speed, leaving behind blood and flesh in their wake. Unstoppable. When they turn to return to Yin Chen, they fuse together one by one and finally in its original state, Yin Chen puts it away. Qi Ling cries out: “Yin Chen! I’d never look down on you again! It’s no wonder you’re the Grand Angel!”

Tianshu Youhua looks at the hyperactive Qi Ling beside her before turning to look at Yin Chen who seems to be standing on a hill of soul weapon treasures. Surprised, she thinks, “Yin Chen’s whereabouts for the past few years has always been strange, almost no one can contact him. Unless in the past few years, he’s been constantly gathering various soul weapons that have been lost in the realm since the ancient times? If that is the case, then his actual strength is horrifying……in addition, no one knows if these soul weapons are currently empty or if they are already inhabited by unknown soul beasts.” Tianshu Youhua’s face ashen as she thinks about this.

Occasionally, one or two heavily wounded soul beasts manage to break through the layers upon layers of web casted by elite of soul bending in the world and barely manage to appear before Qi Ling and Tianshu Youhua. Tianshu Youhua scoffs coldly before turning to bring out her large bow. With a few loud smacks, three sharp arrows of ice appear in her hands. The soul beasts moving in from the distance drops the instant Tianshu Youhua releases the bowstring. Later on, Tianshu Youhua even realizes that she need not even take action herself. When soul beasts flew into the territory of the skirt, one of the silk strands will flow gently towards the beasts. The moment the silk comes into contact with the soul beasts, it morphs into a ball of white mist before dissipating in the air. Tianshu Youhua bites down her surprise as she stares at the few dozen large pieces of silk cloth surrounding Qi Ling and her.

“They seem to be no threat at all……” Qi Ling lets out a sigh of relief before putting down his half-blade sword and sticking it into the ground beside his feet.

“You’re thinking of it much too simply. You’re underestimating the gift of the Fifth Lord and disciple. Look into the distance at that dense concentration of soul beasts. The ones you’ve just witnessed are only the first wave of the weakest ones. Have you ever calculated how many soul beasts there are in the surrounding waters……” Tianshu Youhua stares at the second wave of incoming soul beasts. Her face is pale and her expression is tense.




Drip-----

Drip-----

Occasionally, the sound of dripping water echoes in the dark cave. Lianquan pulls in her Resurrection Chain, wrapping it around her arm. The sharp tip of the chain hangs lightly at her wrist. She injects soul powers into the chain and a soft white glow emits from the head, resembling two illuminated jewels that light the way for her.

She glances at the water droplets that dripped from the rocks above her head and frowns. The droplets are blood red. She thinks about the fact that she is currently going through the inside of the Immortal Lord and she feels a chill run down her spine. However, she does not pause. Trying her hardest to detect the location of Xiliuer from the chain, she roars ahead. She knows that Guishan Fenghun has just transferred a large amount of soul powers to her and that what remains in his body won’t hold up for long. Once his soul powers are not enough to maintain the hypnosis of such a large area of soul beasts and the beasts lose control, Rennes may end up in ruins due to its close distance to the surrounding waters.

However, the deeper she goes, the more unsettled she becomes. The fear clouds her heart; with her speed, she should have reached the centre of the island long ago or she may even have passed through the entire island, however, what lies before her is still bottomless darkness. What’s more is her detection of Xiliuer’s soul powers are uncertain, sometimes close, other times far. At times strong, other times weak. As if sometimes it’s far away and other times so near it feels like someone blowing against your ear. Lianquan stands in the small area that her chain illuminates. Fear seizes her heart.

“Ai yah, Xiliuer, turns out you’re so amazing, even I underestimated you.” Thalia stands in the darkness. Her body and her dark dress are engulfed in pitch darkness. Only her white pupils clouded in a white storm glows like a ghoul in the darkness as she stares hard into a certain direction. “You can actually change the location of your lord’s seal at will across such a large area. Turned the entire inside of the island into a ‘Maze Array’, even me, the lord who understands the usage of soul powers the most and the more accurate across the entire island can barely do something like this to such an extent!”

Thalia’s gaze turns in the darkness. The white blizzard in her eyes intensifies, as if it is going to surge out of her eyes and engulf the heavens and earth, “However,” a devious smile appears on her face in the darkness, “I still caught you!”

After saying that, she shoots towards the depth of the island like a black shadow.



Tinkle-----

Lianquan stops suddenly when the chain in her hand suddenly trembles towards a certain direction. She stabilizes herself. As expected, the chain vibrates again before twisting explosively all of a sudden. In the darkness, the chain twists and turns in the complex terrain, tugging her forth. A gentle and low male voice calls from the darkness, “follow it”.

Lianquan’s heart trembles as she rushes forth.

At the end of the chain is a large carven. Lianquan raises her head and realizes that she can barely see the roof. The cave is so spacious that it is hard to imagine that such a large space can exist inside the island, so wide and tall that one will worry that it may collapse at any moment. And there is even a light source in the cave, illuminating everything in it. The light source is blood-red and lava-like. Lianquan spends time searching only to realize that the source of light comes from a large round rock situated in the middle of the cave. It is as tall as two persons and the red light emits from the insides of this rock. It is as if the light source has a life of its own, the brightness changing at the pace of breathing.

“May I ask if you are the Sixth Lord, Xiliuer? I am here to find you! May I ask if this is you?” Guishan Lianquan stands in the centre of the large carven, lost as she glances around.

“You have already found me. It’s just that, why did you provoke all these monsters?” From the depths of the darkness, the gentle male voice sounds again.

“My brother and I had no other choice. Our gift happens to be the ability to command soul beasts over a large area, if not for this, perhaps us siblings would have died long ago……actually I do not know the situation of the battle outside. Lord, please save my brother. He came for you!”

“Oh, I wasn’t talking about those soul beasts you’ve controlled……” Xiliuer’s voice sounds a tad bit solemn in the darkness, “What I’m saying is, those people going against your brother at the moment, they are the real monsters……including the one that tailed you to the depths of the island. If you really want to compare, she’s probably the monster within these monsters……it’s been over a dozen years, I wonder how many of these things have been born in Aslan……”

“The monster……that tailed me?” Guishan Lianquan’s heart sinks. In the endless darkness, she can almost feel the air of ghouls. In the next second, the metamorphic rocks on the sides of the path she had been on before suddenly shifts and cracks, closing in speedily. The path she has taken a moment before disappears immediately.

“I am able to delay the time she takes to find us,” Xiliuer says, “But it’s sooner or later that she finds us.” In the rising and falling dim red light, the male’s low voice is exceedingly tender, and yet, it betrays his sense of tiresome solitude and hoarseness.



In the darkness, Thalia’s eyes that had been a blizzard of white before suddenly clears up. She looks at the path that had closed before her eyes and chuckles coldly. She raises a thin hard to cover her shy smile before muttering: “Hey, Xiliuer, seems like I underestimated you. Then again……you really underestimated me too. Heh heh.” After saying that, she lifts her head and white mist surges out from her eyes.

She raises a hand so delicate it seems to be carved from porcelain and caresses the cold black rock wall beside her. A few thin strands of gold spreads from her fingertips to the darkness of the wall. In the blink of an eye, the golden imprints intertwine like palm prints and grew like vines with a life of their own, devouring an entire wall of rocks. Thalia’s pupils tighten and an explosion erupts from her palm. The entire rock wall collapses instantly, the rocks breaking apart into small pebbles according to the golden pattern. The strong stench of blood permeates the cave……

“I wonder if it hurts……” Thalia covers her mouth and giggles. After giggling, she tips her toes and continues on through the hole from the explosion.



“How did you do that?” Lianquan asks in surprise, “Us lords and disciples of Aslan can only control the element of water. Such mountains and rocks can only be controlled by lords of earth, how can you……”

“Little girl, what do you think I’ve been doing for over a dozen years? I believe you already know that this entire island is my body, and these rocks have long become my skeleton and muscles. My blood and nerves run throughout this entire island. Me moving rocks here is as simple as you moving your own toes.”

“Lord, since it’s like this, then you must save my brother, he has so much to tell you, the two of us risked our lives to find you!”

“Ah, I already told you, everyone out there are monsters. The speed of evolution of the Aslan’s lord’s soul powers and gifts in this period of time completely exceeded my expectations. If it was the me from before, I may be able to hold up against them but just. However, I exhausted much soul powers and energy in the past dozen years in order to become one with this island. And so, with my abilities now, within this cave and island, they can’t kill me. Their killing capacity is much lower than my ability to regenerate, however, if I were to go out and rescue someone, I have no chances of winning against any……”

“Okay……then I will rescue him myself.” Guishan Lianquan calms down suddenly. Two drops of tears roll from her eyes, but her voice remains stable just like her brother, “I came in to pass on the words of my brother, after telling you what he wants to say, I hope that you will send me out.”