The City of Marble (2)

Bam! Boom! Crash!

Weapons clashed and the buildings around the two fighting started to receive damage.

"Damn cultivator!" The Inquisitor gnashed his teeth while bringing out another Imperial Arms.

The Imperium was wealthy, they had an arrangement with the Weapon Master Sect; their wealth was immense and their weaponry endless. Most Inquisitors mastered at least 20 different weapons in their lifetime.

In their fight, Cain didn't go all out and the Inquisitor hadn't brought out his trump cards yet, the two were at a standstill.

'The other groups will be here a few hours from now, I have to finish this.' Cain wanted to preserve as much energy as possible but knew it was impossible against such a fierce opponent.

"Argh!" A bone spear flew and hit Cain in the chest, blood spilled and stained the marble buildings as he retreated. Crimson colors splattered across multiple homes, creating art similar to graffiti, and the Inquisitor the artist.

"Come back here!" The Inquisitor didn't retreat, pressing forward relentlessly.

Knives, spears, arrows, darts, all types of projectiles whizzed past Cain, some hitting him in the back and increasing the facets at which his blood poured out.

'Haah...hah....damn it all.' Cain was losing too much blood. He could already feel it, his veins bulged as something moved within. The mist was hungry, its nutrients being lost under the Inquisitor's assault.

Blood was the medium of the mist, it was also how it was fed, without blood, the mist would devour Cain for all he was. It was unfortunate the mist came to life, the nature of Animum and the lack of control Cain had when directing the core led to the development which now threatened him.

'Why did this have to happen to me, I've never heard of an ability gaining a mind of its own. What is my luck!'

Another bone spear found itself in his back, tearing his flesh.

"Fuck!"

The bone weapons created by the Inquisitor were dangerous, they were released by a strange bow made from the wing bones of different birds.

Each time the drawstring was pulled back, a projectile of bone would be formed, once the bone projectile hit its target, it would grow and seep into the victim's marrow, causing unbearable pain as well as restricting the skeleton's movement.

Cain could still move because he was flying and didn't need to move his body to a high degree. At his current pace, he was going to escape. Yet, the Inquisitor pulled back the string and once he saw the materialized projectile he grinned from ear to ear like a maniac.

"Hehehe! Take this!"

The drawstring retracted and sent out a massive lance.

'That's a projectile?!' Cain was bewildered.

Instinctually, he teleported, he had to. However, he could only teleport in one direction, this was due to another artifact the Inquisitor had. The direction he could go was of course towards the Inquisitor.

Materializing in front of the man encased in bone, Cain readied himself and unleashed the might of Bloodletter. The Inquisitor was prepared, he was planning for this turn of events.

Bone knuckles thumped against red steel. Cain winced and pulled away, his bones were protruding from his knuckles and they only continued to grow out of his skin.

The Inquisitor's weapons were those of the Bone Dao, he could not only create bone and reinforce his bones but affect his opponents as well. All of these effects came from the many Spiritual tools he had on him.

Cain was unable to stop this, none of the Souls he'd harnessed dealt with bones, he could only wrap his arm in webbing to stop the obstruction. He then stopped the spread by internally raising the heat in his body. He already noticed the tool used to create this effect held hints of the bone and plague Dao. Cain knew all too well that when facing a plague, you burn it with fire.

'I'm running out of Spiritual Qi, to think I would ever....' Cain's attention was put on his dantian.

"I got you now!" A massive hammer formed in the Inquisitor's hand as he brought it down on Cain. Unable to dodge, Cain was hit and gave no resistance, getting sent down into the depths of marble.

Walls collapsed and a loud crash caused a slight tremor in the surroundings.

"Haha! I killed the Imperial Demon! I can return to the Imperium! Mission complete!" The Inquisitor let out a breath of air, relief flooding over him.

He hit Cain with all he had, he was confident he destroyed all his bones and caused a massive amount of internal damage, forgetting his original mission. 

Not a sound came from below, it seemed Cain had truly died.

Cough Cough

"Damn it...cough....my body's a mess, I have to recuperate.' The Inquisitor didn't know Cain was a master of his body, even suppressing his strength to the max, his remnant vitality was enough for him to survive that last strike.

"Cough....I need to find food...." Cain wasn't referring to the normal kind of food but food that walked on two legs and could independently think, humans.

...

"Ice Spear!" Zoe screamed.

A two-sided ice spike condensed and launched at a young man in a different Sect's robes. The spike pierced their heart and they died.

"Phew. Master said to head to the center, which way is that?"

Zoe was one of the many seeds her sect brought into the Marble City. She was briefed on what to do beforehand, knowing that strength rules in a place like this. 

To people like Zoe, this Inheritance was the most dangerous one, even Enlightenment Stage Experts came running into this place, and no one wished to let the weak get a slice of such a delicious pie.

Luckily, Zoe had only fought Founding Stage cultivators so far.

In recent years, she was able to reach the First Step Growth Stage, getting an Innate Spell and another soul, an Ice Spirit.

"I should head that way, there's the fog master talked about. I need to meet Master near the center of the city at a tower with the green segment on its north side....north side." Zoe flew away, focusing on the directions she was told.

...

"Heavenly Sword Saint, we have no amenity! Please stop! Argh!"

A cultivator in the Peak of the Growth Stage died, split in half. Fang Yuan stood over their corpse, his gaze cold and callus.

'Dear disciple, even if the world hates you, I will forever be on your side. To think the answer to your problem would be here.....' Fang Yuan looked into the haze in the distance, he could almost see the tower of every color imaginable.

He shifted his eyes to his right and saw a massive building built similar to a church, unlike the others around it, it depicted an evil nature, with statues of gargoyles and marble hell hounds prowling the area.

"The World Bane's inheritance. The Demonic Cultivator who came from another world...."

In all the history of the Spirit Lands, there was one person who declared himself from another world, similarly, he had the nickname of people like him. A demon who killed to study the world, a person wishing to return home, a cultivator who dealt in space and time.

He was the Lord of the Hourglass, The Evermoving Sand of Space and Time, The One who was Everywhere and Nowhere—Edward Chambers, the only Time Celestial in history, a man with another home.

With the inheritance of such a person, Fang Yuan was sure to find the answer he was looking for. The Lord of the Hourglass was known for his experimentation in human lives, looking for a way home.

He died before he could realize his dream, his residence leaving behind his inheritance for those who could survive his tests.

To this day, no cultivator passed, and all of those who tried were dead.

'For my Disciple, I will bath the world in blood! My beliefs are nothing before my duty to protect my one and only disciple!' Fang Yuan was filled with determination.