Su Mei was confused as she recollected Wei Wuyin's account of the Myriad War Dao Palace. When she did, she discovered a few, minor differences. The ghost wasn't blue, but red and the name was different. Were these places different?
"Choose your Dao," the red-skinned old ghost repeated. His smile was forever present while his voice remained monotone and robotic.
Su Mei had already considered her choice long ago. She said, "The Material Dao." Unlike Wei Wuyin who chose the Weapon Dao, she wanted to forge her own path. She had taken the saber to emulate Wei Wuyin, but if she merely followed his path, then she would never be useful. Furthermore, she too had ambitions and a deep-seated hunger to become an expert.
"Please choose amongst the three thousand Material Daos."
Su Mei said without hesitation, "Darkness Dao." When this was said, the red-skinned old ghost nodded and vanished. Before her, the ninety-nine steps started to release strands of dark-colored mist. It seemed to be void-black, truly without the presence of light.
She stepped forward and the world around her became dark, her senses started to be overtaken, and her lifeforce felt suppressed. Darkness was a truly abhorrent energy. It was not simply the absence of light. It was the suppression of all energy until only darkness remained.
All within true darkness was suppressed until it became darkness.
However, her heart remained steady as she started to walk forward. This was her trial, and she wanted to perceive and birth this profound Qi. This would be her start into her own path.
-----
Bai Lin soared freely within the skies. She flipped and rolled, gliding here and there. These were maneuvers she couldn't perform while carrying Wei Wuyin and Su Mei, so she didn't hold back. Her actions, the trail of golden light from her tail, and her pristine and delicately white feathers.
The crowd below was awed, kids and adults pointing and conversing about Bai Lin's beauty and elegance. However, the height she was and the speed she traveled meant they could only look from afar. Bai Lin enjoyed the stares, and her newfound strength caused her confidence to soar.
When she was alone for those years without Wei Wuyin, she was forced to hide and cow in fear of being captured, but she could kill Mortal Gods with ease! As her intelligence grew, so did her understanding of her accomplishments.
She could be considered a powerhouse. Moreover, Wei Wuyin was a peak powerhouse that feared no one. His arrogant display in front of the Jade Lotus Sect was still etched in the depths of her heart, an astonishing amount of pride resided there.
Kree!
She noticed a river and dove down, landing at the edge. She saw her beautiful appearance in the reflection of the rushing waters. Her golden eyes and beak were defining features, and each feather was as white as possible, without a speck of dust or dirt.
As she checked her side profiles, reveling in her good looks, there was a sound of soft steps behind her. Her ears perked, noticing immediately. She acted ignorant as she used her beak to gulp some water from the river.
"Now!" A rough-sounding voice resounded, filled with power and authority. A tall man with bulging muscles lunged from behind a boulder, his hands clutching a large metallic net.
He wasn't the only one. A figure shot into the air, his hands weaving through handseals as his qi erupted.
「Water Art: Stream Bindings」
The river that Bai Lin was currently drinking had twenty nearby minor explosions on its surface. From each explosive spot, strings of water that looked like small, flowing rivers manifested that reached at least fifty feet in length and two fingers in thickness. They were fast as they wrapped around Bai Lin's wings, neck, and legs.
The art was exceptionally quick, surprising even Bai Lin as she was almost immediately restrained. The net soon was thrown. Its metallic design looked like closely-knitted mesh. It arrived above Bai Lin in an instant.
Bai Lin was enraged, but also her bright, golden eyes flashed with disdain. These individuals overestimate themselves. If it were her ten years ago, perhaps she wouldn't resist and await rescue or an opportunity. Luckily, she was not living in the past but living in the now.
And now, she was powerful.
Kree!
Her entire body erupted in fiery, blazing golden flames that instantly turned the water restraints into water vapor, and the metallic net couldn't even last before melting. She brandished her wings, causing a torrent of wind to pick up and push back all her attackers.
"What?!" The figure in the air, who executed the water art, was shocked as his body was sent flying in the distance. As for the one with the net, he was too close, so when Bai Lin erupted in flames, he was turned into ash.
With a shrug of her feathers, removing the molten liquid metal from her feathers, unharmed, her golden eyes saw the speck of ash that was her attacker. She smiled with contempt.
Phuuu!
A sound reminiscent of a dart gun's firing resounded, causing Bai Lin's ears to perk up. She turned to see a needle enter her golden shroud, but it was met with the same fate as the net, melting into nothing. A little bit away from her was a woman, her eyes filled with shock as she saw her dart be rendered useless.
"Impossible! That's a Blaze-Resistant Tranquilizer Dart…" these darts were useful against fire-type beasts, capable of existing in unusually high-temperatures.
Kree!
Bai Lin did not show mercy because the perpetrator was female. Her golden eyes released concentrated fiery rays that traveled to her chest in a blink. Before she could even move, she was obliterated into dust.
"We are the Beast-Taming Sect, how could a measly crane that consumed a Golden Phoenix Fruit be capable of resisting our capture?" An older man descended. He wore orange robes with the emblem of a man riding a western-style dragon. It's lizard-like form was menacing yet graceful.
Bai Lin's eyes narrowed slightly. This old man's aura was quite strong. While she was confident of her strength, she didn't think herself invincible. She was about to fly off to seek Wei Wuyin.
Unfortunately, it was too late.
「Bloodline Flame Suppression Formation」
"Formation: Activate!" She heard a cacophony of voices from males, females, young and old arise from all directions. A brilliant, bright orange light erupted in all directions like towers. Her heart trembled with anxiety. She felt that she needed to escape.
Without hesitating any longer, she erupted with a wide-range beam of golden fiery energies in hopes to incinerate all comers. However, the old man coldly snorted and executed a single handseal, causing the world to briefly tremble.
「Spiritual Spell: Beast's Mind-Echo」
She felt dizzy, her bloodline feeling as if it was suppressed somehow while a ceaselessly resounding echo smashed her senses. Her golden light and flames were doused, and her eyes became somewhat dull. She had never felt so suppressed before.
kree…
She tried to cry out, in hopes that Wei Wuyin would hear. Unfortunately, she had flown too far in her fun.
Clink!
Before she knew it, the old man arrived and placed a shackle to her neck, while slipping a muzzle and shades over her mouth and eyes. She couldn't cry or see any longer. The weakness of her body overtook her as she felt her mind bombarded by all sorts of spiritual spells until she completely lost consciousness.
"Such a tough one," the old man grinned. Their losses weren't nearly as great as their gains. This crane had consumed a Golden Phoenix Fruit and awakened her innate bloodline. Fortunately, she hadn't undergone Ancestral Awakening, otherwise they'd be all dead.
Soon numerous steps arrived, revealing the nearly a hundred people that had worked in conjunction to execute that powerful formation. They all wore the colors and unique attire of the Beast-Taming Sect, sporting their emblem.
A short, stout young man excitedly approached the elder, his eyes flashing with immense jubilation as he stared at Bai Lin's entrapped form. "Elder Kai, this beast doesn't have a spiritual brand! We're so lucky."
A spiritual brand was often used to enslave beasts and force their obedience. It was used when wild beasts were captured, but Bai Lin was nurtured since birth in the Scarlet Solaris Sect and given to Wei Wuyin at a rather young age, so she didn't need a spiritual brand.
Elder Kai laughed, the joy infectious as others joined in. Looking at him clearly, he was tall, thin, middle-aged, with thin lips and large eyes. "We're quite lucky. We've been searching for this beast since hearing about it in the Xin Country. Who would've thought it would be spotted in the Hidden Shadow Domain, our domain!"
Bai Lin had awakened her bloodline abilities in the Xin Country, near the Eden Earth Sect, but she stayed in hiding and away from humans for too long. They had nearly forgotten about her until reports came in that she was freely traveling near their sect's headquarters.
It was like a pie fell from the sky and landed on your lap. How could you not take it? Even if others could resist the temptation, they definitely could not.
"We're the foremost experts in beast nurturing and taming, with a beast that actually has the potential for Ancestral Awakening, the heavens are helping us!" They were all too happy.
"We return to the sect immediately!" Elder Kai announced. In moments, everyone got ready to transport Bai Lin to the sect.