Thousand Year Trap

The western stare-off continued and the tension in the air slowly increased. The leaking intent of hostility from the two Cultivators was becoming unbearable. But, to my surprise, I realized it was Jian Tian who was getting nervous.The arrogant Sect master had finally found his match."Time to leave or die?" He spoke, his voice trembling a bit at first, but then it stabilized and his eyes focused. "If you think I wasn't prepared for you, old man, you are sorely mistaken."A sword appeared beside him.A blade twice his height and as wide as his body. Purple metal glistened with power, greedily absorbing all the surrounding Qi. At a certain point, it began emitting light, an eerie bright pink that nearly made blood freeze in my veins. Dots of light appeared around it and a galaxy soon began to form.I wasn't sure if that was just an illusion or if it was all real. My eyes couldn't distinguish between the two, and I dared not use my other senses for fear of them being fried."Isn't it nice? My Star Fury?" Jian Tian smiled while looking at the blade. He completely disregarded the old man who was staring daggers at him."You are not worthy of a Divine weapon." The man growled."Oh? You dare say that? Then how come I'm the one using it?" The Star Fury moved at his command and the stars shifted with it, seemingly locked in space around it. The Avatar of Jian Tian came into being and gripped the blade. It appeared just right in its giant hands while the extra limbs disappeared to reinforce its body."Using it is a bold word. If the relic of the ancient past truly accepted you as its master, then why don't you dare touch it?"Jian Tian's face twisted into an angry snarl and the old man grinned. His words hit the mark."A worm pretending to be a Dragon. How laughable. I should teach a Junior like you a lesson."A shield appeared from thin air and the old man gripped it. A spike grew on one side and the metal merged with his hand. It became like a wide gauntlet, and it too, began glowing with power."If you think…" Jian Tian hissed. "That you can win against me just because you are slightly stronger, you are bound to be left disappointed. Today you die, old man!""Come at me then! Show me what a stolen weapon can do!" The old man shouted in reply."Die!"***I don't know what happened after that. I just know I woke up with a splitting headache and painful ringing in my ears. The land around me was devastated. Not a single blade of grass was left standing for as far as the eye could see. The forest was gone, replaced with a barren battlefield. The ground turned to mud beneath my feet, slick with blood, and I struggled to stand as the earth tried to swallow my massive weight.As I healed, and my sight and hearing improved, I noticed the dome of the Sect in the far distance. The air was quiet and a cold wind blew through the land.The first days of winter came, and with them the cold and ice.I exhaled and saw my breath turn white. I did not actually feel the cold since my body was always toasty warm, but the scenery was one of frigid devastation.I tried to take a step, but as I pulled my foot out of the mud, the other one sank deeper. I tried to form a foothold out of Qi, but then I realized it refused to move.I tried again, and with greater force, and my Qi finally stirred. I mean, it moved just fine inside my body, but for some reason, it refused to exit, at least at first. I pushed against the resistance, and some energy trickled out, but it was so… unstable.As soon as it formed, the conjured step crumbled and decayed. That's when I realized the air itself was filled with foreign energy interfering with mine. I opened my Arcane Eyes and was nearly knocked over by what I saw. Around me was a field of chaos. A chaotic mess of energies so dense, I struggled to comprehend. It was as if I was trying to blow a bubble at the bottom of the ocean. My energy was getting crushed from all sides.I closed my eyes momentarily and stirred my Soul to action. I had expanded greatly since the start of the conflict, and it was expanding and growing still, devouring all that Soul Essence. Well, I used that hunger, that drive it had, to push my Qi, to energize it, to force it to move.It expanded from my body, yet remained close, and with great effort, I formed a foothold strong enough to not immediately crumble. I took a step, and then another, and soon I was out of the slippery bog trying to suck me deeper.Every step required tremendous effort and every second my mind wanted to relax, but I couldn't let it. The force with which I was maintaining my conjuration, you would think I was commanding at least 80% of my Qi, and not a mere fraction of a percent.The space around me was as rigid as a diamond, so there was no hope of me ever flying back, not that I would do it even if I could. Attracting attention seemed like a really bad idea judging by the circumstances.As I came closer and saw the grand barrier, one thing was abundantly clear. The Star Fury still hung in the sky, held by the pure energy giant. The battle was over and nobody spoke.I slowly trudged over, not willing to miss anything, even if that meant the end for me. Not like I could escape. The land was completely locked down and with my speed and power, I could never hope to run away. I was walking at a Mortal's pace, the least I could do was stand on my feet and see the war to its conclusion. Because, if it was not already over, the grand finale was just around the corner.I came closer, as close as I could, and then collapsed, still far away from the safety of the barrier. It somehow survived all the destruction thrown at it, but judging by what I saw, it wasn't going to last much longer.Tiny dots of light began reforming around the massive sword, and despite Jian Tian looking like he had just gone through a meat grinder, he was the only one left standing.The Star Fury kept sucking in energy from the air, and I could physically feel the pressure each of those tiny dots of light represented. It would not be a stretch to say that a small nuke would probably feel less threatening than those motes of utter annihilation.As I looked at them it felt like my throat was getting squeezed by a vice and I suddenly felt the urge to vomit. My entire being felt so ill, I could not describe the agony I was experiencing. The nausea and disorientation were something even my instant regeneration could not counter and it felt way worse than any pain I ever experienced prior, even though it didn't hurt.If that was how dying felt, oh god, I wanted to be dead, if nothing else just to escape it.The Star Fury shifted and aimed at the Sect.But the final attack never came. Instead, the ground inside the Sect split open. Like the gates of hell swinging wide, the mountain just split vertically, and an old man soundlessly rose from its depths.He had long, white hair, a beard that would reach the ground, if he was not floating, and a pristine white robe that fit loosely over his thin frame. Even from such a distance I could see the frailty of his body.His expression was grand and without emotion, yet he felt so..."Haaaah…" Jian Tian loudly sighed and looked at the old man. "So I was tricked. You are still alive, ancestor Li Gama Bawles.""Surprise." The old man answered in a flat tone. He rose higher and exited the barrier, standing face-to-face with the enemy.They just stood there, in the sky, yet their mere presence was devastating. I couldn't mobilize even a smidgen of my Qi and was forced to kneel in the mud, my large transformed body unable to move."My people told me you had died. We even felt it." Jian Tian finally said, sick of the long silence."A small trick for one such as I. How could you have known the difference between one in the Ninth Sky, and someone who had touched the Divine?" The elderly man answered, and there was even a hint of a smile. "You are all too weak, after all."Jian Tian gritted his teeth and flared his Aura. The Avatar beside him moved. "Even though I am hurt, this much is nothing. When this battle ends, there will only be one victor. Me." The growing lights around the Star Fury intensified. I felt like I was going to die.The old man waved his hand casually. "Come on now, young one, we both know that is not true." The colossal energy dispersed like smoke in the wind, and I took a deep breath as sweat began to gather on my forehead. "You see, I have long since waited for this moment. Ever since our two Sects were established, yours was a thorn in my side."He smiled for the first time. "You are aware of how our Cultivation works. Do you know what my first beast was? A turtle. And do you know what their specialty is? It's patience. They grow slowly over hundreds of years, never stopping, and outlasting everything. And let me tell you, if you thought your plans with that army behind your back were something impressive, you should have seen mine."Jian Tian tensed. "What army?"Ancestor Li Burst out laughing like he had heard the funniest joke in the world. "That army, of course."He waved his hand, and the space behind Jian Tian seemingly shattered, revealing lines of hundreds of floating Cultivators.The old man gave a knowing nod. "Oh, I had long since known about your growing army of Sky Realm Cultivators, and though they are not all that strong, you did well to keep them hidden from the world. It is impressive, I'll give you that. It must have cost you a lot." Ancestor Li grinned."So you have known..." Jian Tian said and his expression hardened.Mind you, I couldn't see or hear all these things, but the extreme Intent those two were putting out there was more than enough to tell exactly what was going on. And it was fascinating."But even if they aren't the best… You alone cannot fight us all, even if you had touched upon the Divine. You at most got a glimpse of it.""Ah, a smart man, though your intelligence does not actually impress me. See, while you are kind of right, you forgot where you stand. While you are right, that I cannot slaughter you all by myself, and while it is true that my people are in a bad shape, this land is still mine."The old ancestor laughed and spread his arms wide. "Nobody, not even a single Soul except mine, knows of the secrets this mountain holds. I have created this place, do you think I did not foresee an invasion? Haha! That was the first thing I prepared against."The ground began to rumble and pillars of stones, filled with incredible runes and magic, rose from the ground. Across the ruined battlefield, they rose, hundreds, thousands of them."For millennia, they laid dormant, feeding upon the celestial energies of this land. It is now time for the world to see, the largest Formation in existence!"The pillars lit up, and everything froze in place. The chaotic mess of Qi in the air suddenly shifted, becoming orderly. The air itself began to glow with gentle white light."What are you doing?! You'll destroy everything if you attack with that! If we fight you to the death, then we'll both lose!" Jian Tian suddenly shouted, his voice sounding panicked."Oh, then it's good that I won't kill a single one of you, isn't it? Well, not directly anyway.""...What?""See, I had been preparing for this for a thousand years." The old ancestor smiled, his expression carrying a clear delight like something heavy had just rolled off his shoulders. "All my people carry a badge that will protect them, leaving them out of my creation's reach. But you… You all will go on a little journey. Not the land, not my people. Just you. You and your filthy lot. You will go on an adventure somewhere far, far away. Far enough away that you will never be coming back."His smile then turned into a grin, and I could practically feel the wicked gaze, even though it was not turned at me. "You brought your army to my doorstep. What will happen to your home when it will be gone?""You-!""Don't worry, I'll take good care of your Sect and your women. Your treasures will be of great help to allow me to forge the body of a god. This one is already somewhat used up. And don't worry about the Essence, I won't demand much. After all, I had already gathered plenty.""You bastard!" Jian Tian exploded in anger and fought against the restrictions imposed on him. "Kill this old man!" He roared.The mass of warriors moved as one and surrounded their leader, pouring their energy into the massive sword. They alone couldn't do a thing, but focusing their power through a catalyst was something else entirely.The galaxy of glowing stars reformed around the blade, even stronger than before. The Star Fury painted the sky in a shade of purple light as a power of cataclysmic proportions leaked out of it."Prepare to die, old man!" Jian Tian roared and swiped down with his hand. Almost in slow motion, the stars began to move, slowly at first, and then ever faster. Each of them contained enough energy to obliterate an early Sky Realm Cultivator, yet there were thousands of them."Heh… I don't think so." Ancestor Li Gama Bawles flicked his hand to the side, and the sky split apart.The pillars glowed and arrays formed in the air all around us. Behind every enemy Cultivator, a complex matrix of runes came into being and I stared wide-eyed as the falling stars were swallowed without a trace by the rupture in the sky."It's time for you all to leave."The runes glowed and expanded from the middle as a portal formed around every Sword Cultivator present. They tried to scream, they tried to move, but they were locked in place.Even Jian Tian struggled, and he almost escaped with his superior strength, but then ancestor Li Gama Bawles appeared before him and gave him a backhanded slap. It wasn't even that strong, it's just that it came out of nowhere, and the man lost concentration for a split second because of it, which was enough to be swallowed by the portal behind him."Safe travels!" The ancestor smiled and as the portal closed he began to cackle. One by one the Sword Cultivators were sucked into their own portals, never to be seen again. "Let's hope you don't get torn apart by the energies inside, I didn't exactly test the portals for safety. Hahaha!"The man sure liked to shit talk. But I guess I would be the same if I was preparing a trap for a thousand freaking years!The old dude was crazy, that much was clear.I shook my head, well, tried to, but then I realized I was locked in place too.[Huh?]I suddenly saw a light shining behind me and then felt a weirdly powerful tug. My eyes expanded wide as saucers as I realized what was happening.[Wait… Wait, wait, wait! I'm on your side! I have a badge, I have…] My voice trailed off as the pull became stronger and I felt spatial distortions coming from the dark portal behind me. I realized, to my horror, that I must have lost my badge… again![Faaaaaaaa-!]The edges of my perception were swallowed by blackness and the window to the outside world quickly shrunk as I was engulfed by the portal. I couldn't resist at all. The last thing I could do before my body began getting torn apart by the wild energy, was loudly curse.[Son of a bi-!]Then everything went black.