Skyfire Avenue - Chapter 693

Chapter 693

Chapter 693: Life and Death

Just then Lan Jue felt his shirt tightened . When he turned around, he saw a pair of lilly-white hands gripping his clothes .

“Qianlin!” Lan Jue gasped in surprise .

Ever since falling into this state Qianlin could perform basic functions, but this was the first time she’d taken the initiative . However, her eyes still bore that dull look .

Lan Jue tried to loosen her grip but she just held on tighter . He tried to convince her to let him go but she would not be swayed .

Tears had begun to well up in Lan Jue’s eyes . He pursed his lips, and after a moment sighed . “Alright, we stay together . Life or death, no matter what happens, we don’t separate . ” He dropped his head and kissed her lips . The tell-tale light surrounded them and when it was gone, so was Zhou Qianlin . Lan Jue felt his Discipline surge to its peak .

A few minutes later Zeus-1’s cargo hold opened and two figures emerged; Lan Jue and the Pharmacist . They didn’t wear their mechas, they would be too conspicuous . Instead they relied on their protogenic understanding to protect them from the vacuum of space .

“Sis, why did you want to come? Did you sense something?” Lan Jue asked her .

The Pharmacist’s calm expression fractured, revealing uncertainty beneath . Her body shook ever so slightly .

“What is it?” Lan Jue asked, concerned .

She was silent for a time, fighting with herself to maintain calm . She bit her lower lip . “I felt… I felt it . ”

He didn’t understand . “It? What do you mean?”

She sighed . “Ultus!”

“Ultus?” Lan Jue gaped at her . “First of the Banishing Blades… the one your husband bore?”

She nodded .

Lan Jue stared at her in shock . “One of the planets?”

Again, she nodded . “The largest one . I’m sure of it, Ultus is somewhere inside . If you don’t believe me, channel your consciousness through Captus . You’ll feel it, too . ”

Lan Jue nodded and shut his eyes, searching his feelings .

His mind sunk into the mystical blade . Therein was a world of marvels, thick with the sword’s power . Reality existed in tiers, constantly emerging and collapsing before his eyes . Among it all was a faint sense, immortal essence so broad and profound that it seemed to permeate everything, its end and beginning .

This was the root of the Banishing Blades’ power . Therein he found Captus, shivering . He sensed it, felt it calling to something far away in the ethereal reality they inhabited . He could also sense Occisus and Demortus close by .

Lan Jue gasped . She was right, the sword was there . But that meant her husband…

His eyes opened and he turned his attention toward the Pharmacist . Her eyes were wet, and tears were suspended in space between them .

She had spent so many years, desperately searching for any news of her lost love . Now she had it, but it was news of his death . If Ultus was somewhere inside the alien planet then the chances her husband still lived were minuscule .

“Sis, it’s alright . Maybe –“  Lan Jue tried to find the words to comfort her .

She waved her hand . “It’s fine, I’ve prepared for this day . I knew I was just lying to myself by hoping he’d come home . How could he still live? I just never thought it would be these cursed aliens that killed him! No matter the cost, I am going to get that sword back . It’s the only thing he left behind . ”

“I’ll help you!” Lan Jue replied without hesitation .

She paused, staring at him with glistening eyes . Three simple words, but they were a solemn promise . Both of them had seen the strength of these monsters with their own eyes and still Lan Jue was eager to help . It was moving beyond words .

Lan Jue went on . “Do you have a plan? Maybe some way to awaken the sword?”

“No one would know better than Yongye or Xuanyuan, you should ask them,” she replied .

“Alright!” Lan Jue wasted no time in seeking out the White Blademaster and asking for his help .

Jun Yongye appeared at his side in a flash of light . His first action was to stare at the distant planets . He had been awakened when Lan Jue entered the sword’s dimension and had also felt Ultus’ presence .

“Yongye, we believe Ultus is inside the alien planet . Is there any way we could call it out?” Lan Jue’s voice was low and serious .

Jun Yongye furrowed his eyebrows in thought . “Ultus… yes . That is Ultus’ aura I sense . But it is sealed by some great power . I can also feel that the whole of its power has been stimulated . Strong… Ultus is the first of us . Individually it is just as powerful as any of the other blades, but it is the only one with knowledge of the Banishing Stance . If you could recapture it, the Stance may be achievable . ”

“I’ve only ever heard of the Banishing Stance in tales and legends,” Lan Jue said . “Is it really that strong?”

Yongye chuckled politely . “The realms of gods have gone from this universe, but I can tell you that even the Three Pure Ones would be turned to dust if faced with the Banishing Stance . With the Blades at its center this Stance could create an entirely new universe . Is that ‘strong’?”

Lan Jur gaped at him . He could see the fervent light glint in Jun Yongye’s eyes .

“So how do we get it back?” He asked .

Yongye replied in low, even tones . “It’s difficult . We can locate its specific location by tracking its aura, but only a sword’s master can control it . We can find it, but we can’t take it away, to do so you would need to kill its master . The one spot of good news is that the swords cannot harm each other . You’re protected from Ultus’ power . ”

Lan Jue was going to continue his line of questioning when suddenly he stopped . The Pharmacist had grabbed his arm, and he turned to look at her .

She had recovered from her momentary sadness . “There’s no rush . Now we know Ultus has fallen into the hands of the enemy . Once we break through to Paragon and can command the swords’ power more fully it won’t be difficult to track this planet down . If we reach the level of Jue Di, with our three Banishing Blades the planets would not seem so insurmountable . ”

Inwardly, Lan Jue was moved by her words . After discovering her husband’s weapon, no one would be more eager to recover it than her . She knew it was a terrible risk to try it now! To attempt it at their level of power would be like a moth leaping into the flames .

“Sister, no matter what and no matter when, when you’re ready to get that sword I’ll be right by your side . ” Lan Jue’s promise was full of determination and passion .

She smiled at him and gently nodded her head . “Alright, we have a mission to complete . Let’s get back as soon as we can, we have a lot of information to share with the East . Everything we experienced out here will be important . ”

“Yeah,” he said with a nod .

The two of them raced ahead, approaching the planet while being careful to keep their approach hidden . But their target wasn’t one of the planets, but a straggling alien . If they could grab one and bring it back alive their mission would be a success . At their strength it shouldn’t be very difficult . The key was not to attract the attention of the planets .

In the vast expanse of the universe, humans were infinitesimally small and hard to pick out . Lan Jue and the Pharmacist found a suitable place to lay in wait for their prey . Their protogenic mastery was more than enough to hide from an alien, even a wave or two .

Their chance came a little more than an hour later .

A saucer-type alien came floating by, majestically flitting through space like a jellyfish in the ocean . In its wake was another, smaller creature . It looked like a beetle with a dark purple shell, and stretched ten meters long .

Lan Jue had seen this kind before . Compared to its other interplanetary cousins it was very small and easy to overlook . However, it would be a mistake to underestimate it because of its size . Its armor was strong, and moved quick as lightning . In battle three spines jutted from its mouth that it used as weapons . Lan Jue had seen one bite through an asteroid three hundred meters across .

That seemed to be their specialty, cutting through asteroids . They were like mites that hid themselves on the bodies of larger aliens .

It was formidable in both attack and defense, certainly nod bottom of the barrel when it came to the alien hierarchy . But it was small, and that made it easier to capture .

“That’s the one,” Lan Jue gestured toward it .

“Alright, I’ll follow your lead . ” The Pharmacist replied .

The Pharmacist and Occisus were potent killers – not best suited for taking prisoners . Lan Jue would have to do most of the work .

He wasted no time . In a blink he was racing forward toward their target .