2 The heavens shall always offer a way out !Are you brave enough to take it?

With the passage of time ,the path ahead began to clear the gigantic trees that clustered over it began to retreat ever so slightly as if they were afraid of the being to whose abode that the path led to.

The hitherto vigorous rain began to slow down to a stand still each drop that fell on the forest floor could be heard quite clearly as the only interruptions in an overwhelming silence .

The quietness was eerie , all subduing save being interspersed by the occasional crunching of bark in response to a footstep or a light drop of rain

.Even in his muddled state Yu Feng had now realized that something was wrong but try as he might his feet refused to obey him carrying him ever onward , his heart was thumping wildly da-dump ,da-dump , each beat in tandem to the rhythm of his footsteps .

The ominous foreboding that he now felt allowed to him to at last remove the veil before his eyes , the cage that he had trapped himself in.He know felt a strange fear as one would were he the victim of an event so supernatural as that !

But long experience had thought him that fear would do him no good , especially at a time like this

. There were beings who prayed on that very fear , they relished it , enjoying every moment of their prey's torment who knew what exactly fate had in store for them .

Being afraid would simply be playing into their hands and his fear would leave him naught but paralyzed unable to do anything save watch himself be devoured

. Yu Feng was not ready to die just yet. Even if every waking moment was a torment from which there seemed to be no escape he wished for salvation on his own terms , certainly not at the claws of a Demonic Beast!

Yet despite of his various attempts , including mobilizing what little strength he had left there had been no observable change at all

.Yu Feng was after all only a trivial body refinement cultivator who had not even opened his meridian channels.

Perhaps if he had been able to control spiritual energy he might have been able to escape , but even back then when he was at his peak he had yet to reach that stage and as for now that was simply impossible!

Myriad emotions sped rapidly through his conflicted mind and eventually he was forced to conclude the futility of resistance

.Yet he maintained a calm demeanor of one who would could remain steady even if the world were to collapse around him at that very instant , for he was aware that only by keeping a cool mind and by steadying his thoughts could he find a way to remedy his current situation.

Thus in this manner Yu Feng walked on towards what seemed to be his impending doom.

Soon after he found out that while being engrossed in his thoughts the dense vegetation had given way to a clearing of sorts .

Unlike other regions of the forest his clearing was quite bare with nothing to adorn it save for rocks of various sizes and the occasional gritty bush that managed to survive despite of the adverse conditions of its residence

For this was the abode of the flood dragon and every aspect of his foul being was embodied in it .

His stench covered the land, covering it with the putrid stench of rancid flesh unable to be washed away even by an infinitude of rain.

His venom had seeped deep into it , turning it barren and unwholesome destroying whatever beauty it had to begin with .

But none of it now was the concern of Yu Feng for at last he was able to see the being from whence his summons came in all of its terrifying magnificence

In the exact center of the vast clearing there lay an enormous cavern right in the middle of a hillock.

The cavern was nothing but an opening in the cliff which seemed to be like a black hole swallowing any light hat fell upon it and radiating only gloom and despair in return.

It was to this cavern that Yu Feng now found himself being led to and despite his calm exterior he couldn't stop the terror from seizing his heart and freezing his bones with a deep chill

Yu Feng found however to his gratitude that the malevolent force that had been steering him stopped when he reached in front of the cave.

He was finally in control of his body again !.Yet he did not chose to do anything rash for he was well aware that since that beast had been able to lead him all the way here it could very well do the same again, fleeing might only serve to make the situation even worse.

Yu Feng was unaware that his decision had saved his life for a while.

For deep inside the cave the dragon had been observing each of his actions .

To a being of the experience and caliber that it possessed it could almost read all of his thoughts merely by observing his face itself ! To it Yu Feng was nothing more than an open book and observing his expressions passed for a nice way to pass the time

It saw through the various changes in each of his expressions and gave a grudging snort of approval to his decision to not flee.

Yu Feng who was waiting outside in trepidation then suddenly heard a voice akin to a lightning thundering in an empty sky

.

The voice was extremely harsh like a knife scraping across stone .The voice was quite loud enough to be heard all the way out to the end of the hearing and upon hearing it one could easily become aware of both the tremendous power and the great malice of its emitter

."Unlike the majority of your cowardly race you seem to have enough courage to face down this eminence

That is quite admirable . But the might of this eminence is not something the likes of you , a mundane human who has not even reached the Manifestation Realm and unable to manipulate his qi freely can withstand

.

A mere breath of mine is enough to snuff out your soul , all traces of your existence shall be erased from this world!

Rejoice ! In reward for your bravery or is it your foolishness this eminence cannot quite tell them apart " here it roared with a laughter akin to the sound of gnashing rocks It continued after its raucous taunt

"This Eminence shall grant you with a relatively painless death! Be glad for such a honor is not easily bestowed ,even to the greatest of the so called experts of your race".

The hideous dragon burst into cackles once more that were if any even more hideous than its visage

Yu Feng on the contrary to the dragon's expectations did not show any panic outwardly.

He took a deep breath to calm his racing heart and stared calmly at the gigantic crimson eyes that were the only sources of light in the great maw of darkness.

For the dragon had while conversing managed to creep to the edge of the cave , slithering across slime and rock alike invisible but the sounds that it made were enough to send shivers down anyone's spine .

To be fair Yu Feng was quite scared, to be at the whims of a horrendous creature as that, realizing that one wrong step could get him into the very same monster's belly slowly being digested could fill anybody with a deep terror

.However Yu Feng knew that he had to think with a cool head now if he were to survive this situation .

Experience of fighting in many battles gave him some confidence to make his way out as the saying went "Heroes come to the front in desperate times " .The mark of a true hero did not lie in his great strength but in his ability to turn any situation to his advantage as a true son of Heaven.

Yu Feng met his eyes with those of the dragon and said "I am naturally quite grateful to be provided with such an honor .Yet I would rather not if it were the same to you O! Great one" he said in a servile tone yet one not lacking any dignity

"You seemed to have learned to flatter quite well , but such a trait is quite expected being a member of the shameless human race.

Yet no amount of flattery is going to save you .The heavens have decided to end your journey here and now itself.

Cease your futile resistance! I as one of the Four great overlords of the Great Forest Of Disasters shall be the one to enforce their decision "

Yu Feng did not lose heart so easily he continued in his attempts without paying any heed to the Dargon's retorts

"

O !Lord! Being at the beck and call of the Heavens does not suit one of your exalted status ! Release me and show your magnanimity , Release me and show your majesty ,Show to the world the fact you are not merely a puppet of the Heavens!

Release me and I shall spread word of your greatness throughout the length and breadth of this land!"

"Empty promises !" suddenly the crouching dragon sat up with a great roar accompanied by the sound of clashing rocks and finally Yu Feng was able to see the dragon in all of its terrifying glory

A gigantic monster with a head like a hideous snake with crimson eyes in vertical slits and a mass of teeth speckled with remnants of past meals. Its flesh purple,its body a weird cross between a fish ,a snake and a lizard becoming quite undecipherable .Its lower body however was unable to be seen hidden deep within the cave

The dragon like all experts of its stage had a personal heart demon , a reverse scale that prevented it from moving any further in the path of the Great Dao . Yu Feng's response had touched at this very reverse scale .How could it let it lie?

"You think I am unaware of what you speak! I have dwelled in this forest since before the first of your kind walked abroad in this world!

The way of the great Dao is a way against the Heavens itself! You a mere mortal without any significant prowess would never understand !

The higher you reach the harder you find it is to move any further !The heavens forbid defiance in any form and all of us bear the mark of its punishment in some form or the other the mark that is known to the experts of your race as the Great Tribulations!

You can never understand the profound sea of misery when you realize all of your hard efforts are for naught! The cruel sky that prohibits you from leaping across that one gate transforming you into a true dragon! The feeling of being torn apart when you realize that the way ahead has been closed!"

Yu Feng listened to the dragon's rants without any change of expression in his face .He gave a sigh of resignation and resigned himself to his fate.Escape was all but a distant dream now .His horrendous fate had finally caught up to him at last.He could not do a thing .Not a single da** thing!

After giving vent to his frustration in his mind he finally composed himself and replied serenely"I may certainly know not of what you speak,Yet I am more than well aware of the feeling of being ripped apart and unable to do a thing

Until now I believed that I was the only one who had to experience such a cursed fate ! Of watching my own Dao sever in front of my own eyes !

But now I realize that others too share the same fate as mine,Perhaps this is the true fate of all under the Heavens .The Great Dao seems to be nothing more than a scam!

Thus if that is the case there is no point in resisting any further If my sacrifice can alleviate your pain then so be it! I do not have much left to live for anyways"

The dragon until then in a fuming rage suddenly stopped its thunderous snorts , bent forward and peered curiously with one of its gigantic crimson eyes at the measly human in front of it which had the audacity to say that it understood it's pain

"You are a strange one Indeed !I would give you that ! Never fear though your sacrifice shall not be in vain! Your worthless life and useless Dao shall at last amount to something ""in my belly"the dragon bared its fangs and appeared to be ready to pounce just as Yu Feng closed his eyes .

There was no point in hoping anymore .He felt that holding on to some hope would only prove to be quite detrimental,Since there was no other way he decide to get it over with.

Yet the regrets of his past left behind refused to dissipate leaving him in a state of misery once more from which there was no fleeing.The chains of his past bonded him tight refusing to let go of him as at last he believed he faced salvation

But he was quite wrong in that regard it seemed that the Heavens were unwilling to accept him just yet.For soon a voice could be heard it was not overly pleasant , a voice of an old man well past his prime but which yield traces of its once majesty and power that could seem to summon the very clouds and the rain itself.

To Yu Feng this voice would eventually be far more melodious than the singing of orioles For it would be this voice that would give him a new lease of life again in every sense of the word.

The voice cried with a hearty laughter"And here I was thinking I found a lad who was to my liking at long last ! The Great Dao worthless? It being the source of misery? I have never heard such a joke in my entire lifespan and a long one it has been indeed !

Each cultivator is but like a man drift on a boat drifting in the vast ocean that is the Great Dao! Naturally like any other voyages there may those who have smooth sailings and others fall prey to vicious storms.

But it is those who can survive those very storms can last long enough to see the vast treasure lands on the other side! And a little storm has done you in ""tut,tut""whatever has the world come to now !

And as for you dragon, you are naught but a worm covering in a deep hole afraid to come out lest it be stung.But covering inside is not going to do a thing .

In fact it is the reason why you lie here even now when the rest of your comrades have long since ascended!"

Hearing the words spoken by the voice the Dragon roared in anger and turned its wrath towards what appeared to be the source of the voice and began to crawl slow , measured steps in that direction with each massive step of it deeper than the one before and making a thunderous noise while crushing the land underneath.

The steps were carefully taken so as to show its prestige and cast fear in the mind of the hateful speaker It was not afraid of Yu Feng escaping since it had by now placed its mark on him allowing it to track him with impunity .Thus even if he chose to flee he could not go much farther any way.

The pressing need now was for it to solve the owner of the voice .It had never been so insulted in the many years of its existence! yet it was aware that the cultivation of the owner was not low indeed and it might take much effort to do the same.

After one last regretful look back at its prey it continued to move forward in the direction of the voice . But unbeknownst to it a silhouette had appeared by Yu Feng's side right under its nose!

Yu Feng had by now opened his eyes .He was quite astounded by the sudden course of events and almost jumped out of his skin when he saw an old man standing next to him appearing as it seemed to him out of thin air

.He was about to yell out of instinct when he found a wrinkled yet firm hand being pressed against his mouth."Hush! lad! After all the effort it took me to lure that worm away too "The old man whose appearance was indistinct seemed to frown for a while and then his face hazy in the dim light had a bright smile alight upon it "It seems the mark that the worm placed on you was only so-so any more and we would not have had enough time ,come kid let's talk in an another place"

After that Yu Feng felt himself being tugged by another mystical force again this one on a much larger scale as the world appeared to vanish before his eyes.

The last things that he heard was the old man saying"Remember Lad! While we practitioners are never the sort to believe in miracles .We do make our own sometimes, those are the only ones we believe in ! The heavens shall always offer a way out !Are you brave enough to take that ?" before everything went black.