20 The Sun Made of Lightning

The red stars were dim and the moon was hidden, the surrounding woods were pitch black and yet Wei had never seen so clearly.

He was barely a wisp, almost all of his mental qi having disappeared when he entered the False God's body for those few moments and yet he didn't regret it. Those few moments had shown him a new world of possibilities. He had left behind the mortal world, but still, his thoughts were influenced by it. The raw power of the False God had changed everything.

Now he didn't only see cultivation as a cure for his illness but a world of wonder and possibilities.

What does one experience to attain such power?

The two cultivators stared at each other the False God floating calmly in the sky and the one he referred to as Ancestor standing on the ground. As the seconds trickled by Wei noticed that he felt a pull coming from another source far away.

The mirror was calling him back. It seemed as though his experience would soon come to an end.

Do something! Anything!

As if in response to Wei's thought the False god spoke "You're doing what you always do. Testing the water, but not half as well as you did a century ago. What happened to you? Have you gone senile?

"I could defeat you instantly. Without you being able to mount the slightest resistance; it is within my power to do so. I'm giving you a chance to fight and struggle one last time due to your former prestige and power. I remember when I had just entered the sect so many years ago, everyone spoke of what a powerful existence you were. Today I want to fight the man in those legends.

"If you still insist on wasting time with these small mind games then I will crush you here and now and get my answers anyway." The threat was said casually but Wei could feel the heavy intent behind it. It was a clear and direct threat, spoken with the confidence of one who had done something similar many times.

The ancestor smiled in response. "I'm so curious what happened to you since you escaped the sect all those years ago in disgrace. How did you transform from a sniveling coward to someone with the moniker 'the invincible one.' How does that happen and why are you here?" He asked full of curiosity.

"The knowledge of how I came to be who I am today would be of no use to you. Your mind has decayed and your will is weak. You don't have what it takes to regain your former glory." The False god said.

"Is that so? What makes you so sure? Have you also become a master of divination – one of the fabled seers?" The ancestor asked voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Sadly becoming a seer is beyond me. I am, however, always on the lookout for obscure knowledge. I knew there was a reason powerful cultivators didn't just possess others when their lifespans came to an end. I just never knew the consequences were so harsh.

"How does it feel for your soul to constantly be falling apart bit by bit?" The False God asked.

"It's not so bad. Sometimes I almost forget all about it. Usually, it only hurts when I cultivate for too long without rest." The ancestor responded easily.

"So I'm weak-willed and senile am I? That makes me even more interested in why you would plan all of this just to meet me. Surely you didn't make such a big spectacle and lure me here just to insult me, right Meng Rui?"

"I'm glad you were arrogant enough to come here despite knowing it was a trap, it saves me the trouble of having to hunt you down." The False God said his tone showing his rising impatience.

"Do you know what I've been doing while you gained strength and carved out a legend for yourself?" the ancestor's voice was bursting with enthusiasm, that of a person anxious to share a great secret. "I've been traveling all over the world; I've visited all of the famous regions and learned so many new things.

"It reminded me of my youth so long ago. I felt the nostalgia of one who is about to die, and then to my delighted surprise, a miracle happened. I found a village out in the middle of nowhere, full of old cultivators hiding together, all learning a secret soul strengthening technique.

"Can you believe it? So, of course, I killed them all and took it. You can't believe the happiness I felt when my soul started mending.

"It was pure bliss. And now a scant few years later I run into you. I'm glad I waited; otherwise, I would've possessed someone whose talent was surely inferior to yours. Is this fate I wonder?" he said exuding happiness.

"I don't believe in fate and if you do then your fate is a sad one, only one of us will be leaving here alive and it won't be you. Perhaps if you had simply ignored your curiosity and kept your arrogance in check you could've had a second chance at life. However, now that you're here I will have what I came for." The False God said.

The ancestor sighed waving his walking stick back and forth.

"Do you really believe I fear you? To me, it doesn't if they call you invincible or if your true qi is as large as the sea. To me, you will always be the little coward who disappointed his master and came crying to me for guidance.

"Besides even If I can't possess you, I can escape. When I decide to leave no one can stop me. Stop with the empty threats and tell me what you want." The ancestor said.

"I want to take your slab of the altar as well as your signet ring. That's what I want."

Immediately a massive wave of qi erupted from the ancestor "How do you know about the gate?" He asked voice trembling.

"As you know I've always been curious and the gate is so intriguing that it has become an important project of mine so —"

The ancestor didn't' let him finish, immediately flying through the air and attacking the False God.

Finally, it's happening.

While the information divulged by the False God and the ancestor was interesting Wei was more interested in finally seeing cultivators' powers first hand.

The clashes were too fast for Wei to keep a track of, clearly, the False God had been holding back a lot of power in the earlier fight against the other weaker cultivators. Still, Wei was not to be deterred. He focused all of his sights on trying to catch a glimpse of the cultivators and as the pull on him from the mirror became stronger so too did his eyesight.

I have less time here now, but at least I'm barely able to follow the fight. It's worth it!

The False God and ancestor fought furiously causing massive shockwaves to erupt with every exchange. The False God flew swiftly through the air swinging his axe and trying to hack the ancestor in two. The ancestor calmly defended himself, his walking stick and hand glowing silver, intercepting False God's axe time and again.

What a powerful technique! What beautiful movements!

Having felt the False Gods power Wei longed to know what technique the ancestor had used to make both his aged hand and flimsy walking stick capable of contending with such raw power.

The fight grew more and more intense the False God using more and more brute power but being unable to pierce the ancestor's defense. Suddenly the roles switched and the ancestor was on the attack. His walking stick sped up to match the axe while his now unoccupied silver hand continuously sought to disembowel the False god.

The stalemate continued the ancestor akin to a raging river, the False God a steady bolder. Still the stalemate could not last, and finally, the speed about which the ancestor had boasted about started to come into effect. Water started to erode rock. The ancestor moved smooth as water, flowing around the False God's powerful slashes and dancing around his angry swings.

Slowly the fight started to tilt in the ancestors' favor. "What's wrong Meng Rui, already tired? "Why are you fighting like a mortal brute? Where are your vaunted strength and quicksilver speed?

"Stop letting a senile old man run circles around you and fight properly." As his taunt echoed out the ancestor increased his speed further forming dozens of afterimages and attacking the False God from seemingly every direction.

The excitement of the fight and the sheer speed and power made Wei's eyes widen in wonder.

What speed and strength. It's to be expected of the False God but this old ancestor is no joke. How fast is he even moving?

Wei knew he would find no answers to the questions he sought while in this illusion but he still thirsted for them all the same. Having never taken his attention off the fight Wei was annoyed when the call from the mirror interrupted him. It's happening sooner than I thought, I'm running out of mental qi faster observing this fight.

Looking at 'himself'' Wei saw that the sliver of mental qi that was his body had started to dim and fray around the edges.

The ancestor seemed to have the False god on the ropes when his demeanor changed. "You really have deteriorated." With a careless swipe of his hand the surrounding trees and stone shattered and the shockwaves sent the ancestor crashing into the ground.

The False god sighed. "I was hoping you would do something, anything that could've made me feel justified about my fear for you in the past, yet there is none so far. Still, if there is anything my journey has taught me it is that you should never underestimate your opponents. Especially old freaks such as yourself.

"You have something right? Some type of trump card" Wei could hear the barely suppressed excitement.

The ancestor swung his walking stick around idly, a happy grin stretching his weather-worn cheeks. "Of course I do. We aren't going to end this little bout with a bit of brawling. No, I have something very special for you. I have progressed so much since possessing your master. It is only coupled with his innate talent that my powerful perception could truly shine. I could have never done it on my own."

The False god remained still neither his body nor his masked face given insight into his state of mind.

The ancestors' smile widened at the lack of response to his taunt. With exaggerated care, he laid his staff on the floor and slowly floated up from the ground until he was at eye level with the False god.

Abruptly a powerful wave of true qi erupted out of his body scattering all the debris in his surroundings away from him. The ancestor threw his head back and roared towards the sky his hands raised as if in supplication.

"Wherever I tread thunder dogs my steps, heavens wrath, descend now and heed my call!"

Wei watched wide-eyed as the ancestor roared like a madman leaving himself wide open to attack.

However, the False god made no moves instead patiently waiting for the ancestor to attack.

Wei, however, was not so stoic and moved closer to see the what the ancestor was doing. The ancestors' left hand shook and turned back to normal losing its silver sheen.

Almost instantly afterword a sound like glass breaking rang out and the ancestors' hands were clad in silver, this time of a darker shade with hints of gold.

Small wisps of azure qi wafted off of the ancestors silver – gold hands and Wei saw his knees buckle as if unable to resist some massive weight.

What is he doing? Wei thought puzzled after not seeing anything happening.

"Descend!" The ancestor roared his voice accompanied by the rumble of thunder. A huge flash of light exploded into existence above his outstretched hands.

Even Wei who was invulnerable in his mental qi avatar instinctively closed his eyes to avoid being blinded. When he opened his eyes it was no longer night.

Did the False god really win this fight and establish his legend here?

Wei couldn't help but question Zixin's previous words, even with the power he felt from the False god he couldn't see how he could win.

For above the ancestors' hands was a sun made of lightning.