Myriad Rivers to the Sea

Chapter 873: A New Team Member

The mantis crouched low and was preparing for another explosive charge. Li Yu lowered Star Crusher and took a deep breath. He had tested his physical limits and found a rare opponent that could match him but physical force was not all that Li Yu could do.The emerald predator did not waste anymore time after sizing up Li Yu. It launched itself forward, riding a surge of sword intent. Its scythe-like arms crossed in a deadly scissors motion and were aiming to decapitate the human intruder in a single swift strike.

Li Yu did not raise his heavy iron staff to block. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and tapped into a different well of power. He channeled his soul power. He unleashed a focused soul attack, sending an invisible spear of mental energy directly at the charging beast.

The impact was immediate and dramatic.

The mantis possessed a biological armor hardened against physical blows and Qi but had no natural defense against a soul attack. Only the defensive soul techniques that it knew and the strength of its soul were the only things standing in the way. The insectoid beast let out a sharp and clicking screech of genuine agony. Its multifaceted eyes dimmed and its forward momentum collapsed. The fierce sword intent wrapping its scythes flickered and faded as its focus shattered.

The mantis stumbled with its sharp claws tearing up the dirt as it tried to regain its balance. Li Yu smiled upon seeing the immediate result but did not give it the chance to recover. He raised his free hand and summoned his Void Qi. The dark and destructive energy coalesced rapidly in his palm, forming his trusty abyssal javelin.

He dashed forward, bypassing the creature's faltering guard and slammed the blunt end of the abyssal javelin into the mantis's chest. He trusted that the creature’s strong defense from before would protect it enough so that he would not kill it with such a strike. The void energy flared and neutralized the residual sword intent clinging to the emerald carapace.

The mantis was sent flying backward and it crashed hard into a thick bamboo stalk, splintering the massive green wood. Before the beast could stand, Li Yu was already standing over it.

He pushed Star Crusher against the chest of the mantis and the void power began to spread throughout its body. It quickly suppressed the mantis's innate Qi, rendering its deadly natural weapons useless.

"Submit." Li Yu commanded the beast.

The mantis thrashed wildly against the void bindings as it clicked its mandibles in furious defiance. Its multifaceted eyes glaring up at him with unyielding pride and aggression. It was a swordsman born of the wild and surrendering to an opponent felt like a betrayal of its very nature. It refused to yield.

Li Yu sighed internally when he saw it not willing to submit. Li Yu reached deep into his foundation and unleashed his full killing intent. This was not the simple and primal hunger of a wild beast. This was the accumulated and suffocating pressure of a cultivator who had survived battlefields, slaughtered thousands of enemies and walked through death. Several life times of killing intent as well as all of the hidden and suppressed killing rage underneath Li Yu’s normally claimed appearance erupted outward.

The air in the clearing turned freezing cold and a heavy, suffocating shadow descended upon the mantis. The sheer weight of Li Yu's killing intent simulated the sensation of impending death.

‘How could such a young being have such a heavy killing intent? What has he been through?’ The mantis thought to itself in panic. It felt a blade resting directly against the creature's soul.

The mantis froze and the frantic thrashing ceased. The beast felt the undeniable certainty that the human standing above it could erase its existence if it kept going. The pride of a swordsman was strong but the survival instinct of a living being finally won out.

The emerald carapace relaxed and the creature lowered its triangular head to the dirt in a universal gesture of submission.

"I yield."

The voice was sharp and carried a metallic resonance but the words were clear. Li Yu blinked in mild surprise. He had expected the beast to communicate through simple intent but the mantis spoke with practiced ease.

Li Yu dispersed the void restrictions and took a step back, giving the creature room to rise.

"You can speak?" Li Yu noted while putting Star Crusher away. He was not worried that the beast would go back on its word, he trusted his instincts and he also trusted his own strength without a weapon.

The mantis pushed itself up onto its feet and it brushed the dirt from its emerald carapace. It stood tall and it kept its scythes lowered in a non threatening posture.

"Of course I can, who can’t." The mantis replied, its tone remarkably direct and straight faced. "I am Zhan. I am a Heaven Severing Mantis."

"A Heaven Severing Mantis?" Li Yu repeated the name and noted the grand title. "Is that the name of your species? Or your clan?"

"I have no clan." Zhan stated bluntly. "I named myself and I named my species. I am the only one of my kind as far as I know."

Li Yu listened with growing interest as Zhan explained his origins. The mantis revealed that he had not been born with such a terrifying aura and skills. He had hatched as a common insectoid beast in a secluded valley far to the north.

However, that valley was a sword intent burial ground. It was an ancient and unmarked expanse where the very rocks and soil radiated a dense, slicing energy left behind by some long forgotten sword master or war. Zhan did not really know as he was never able to figure out the origins of the sword intent even though he searched for years.

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Zhan had spent centuries living in that valley and bathing in the residual energy. His simple minded obsession with the sharp aura caused his body to mutate and evolve over that time. He absorbed the sword intent into his biology, transforming his forelimbs into living blades and eventually ascending to the Law Seed realm.

His personality was almost a direct reflection of his environment. Zhan was a straightforward person, much like a sword. He did not care for territory disputes, hoarding wealth or building a clan. He only cared about pushing his sword intent, his sword domain and his sword techniques to the next level.

"You defeated me." Zhan said as his multifaceted eyes focused on Li Yu. "You hold my life now. What is your demand?"

"I need a guide." Li Yu explained to Zhan. "I need someone who can navigate the borders of this realm and help me avoid unnecessary conflicts. In exchange, I will not kill you and you may find opportunities to further your martial path by traveling with me. Once I leave this place, you will be freed. I know it is quite unfair to you but I promise to do my best to make sure you are well rewarded during this time."

Zhan considered the terms for a brief moment before giving a sharp nod. It was indeed unfair to him as Li Yu was using him but having lived in such a world as this, it was better terms than he normally would have gotten after losing.

They formed a mutual soul contract soon after without much other discussion. Li Yu extended a thread of his soul power and Zhan met it with his own. Because Li Yu respected the creature's martial pride, he did not force a slave seal.

The contract was bound by mutual respect. Zhan would serve as a guide and a guard but Li Yu could not force the mantis to do anything that crossed his bottom line, such as abandoning his sword path or committing meaningless suicide.

Once the contract settled into their minds, Li Yu felt a subtle connection to his new companion. Zhan was officially technically his servant but the mantis still retained some of his autonomy. Li Yu would in turn do his best not to take advantage of Zhan more than he already was doing.

"Since you are now following me against your will, I will give you a meeting gift. I have learned from my elders that this is the proper way to do things." Li Yu said as he remembered back to how he was met with gifts when meeting respective elders. He accessed his Koi Sanctuary and was sifting through the vast treasuries he had looted from defeated sects and fallen enemies over his long adventures.

After a bit of time, he pulled out a long and beautifully crafted weapon. The scabbard was made of dark blue wood and the hilt was wrapped in silver cord. Li Yu drew the blade, revealing a gleaming edge that hummed with a cold and seemingly stellar energy.

"This is Starfall Edge." Li Yu said while holding the weapon out. Thankfully the name of the sword was on the scabbard. "It is a sword forged from some sort of star iron. It carries a natural affinity for sharp Qi."

Zhan’s triangular head tilted as his multifaceted eyes widened in a rare display of intense emotion. He stared at the weapon with open reverence.

"A masterpiece!" Zhan clicked his mandibles in excitement. "Following a master like you might not be so bad after all. A sword of this quality and power is incredibly hard to find in these lands."

Li Yu smiled and was glad that the gift was well received. He tried finding the best sword he could in his collection to give to this sword fanatic. Li Yu didn’t use swords himself so they had always been sitting here collecting dust, waiting for him to trade or sell them away. But a practical question immediately came to his mind.

"I am glad you like it." Li Yu said while looking at Zhan's natural anatomy. "But your arms are scythes. To put it bluntly, you do not have hands. How exactly do you wield a physical sword?"

Zhan did not answer with words, instead he simply focused his gaze on Starfall Edge. A sharp pulse of sword intent radiated from the mantis. The sword trembled in Li Yu's hand and then it floated smoothly into the air. Starfall Edge hovered beside Zhan and was moving with fluid grace as if held by an invisible master swordsman.

"I use sword control." Zhan explained with his tone indicating it was the most obvious answer in the world. "I do not need to hold a blade to wield it. My intent serves as my hands."

Li Yu nodded and was impressed by the high level application of Qi manipulation. It was a refined technique that required focus and skill.

"There is one more thing." Li Yu said as he was bringing the conversation back to his primary goal. "Can you sense the invisible borders of the territories here? The lines drawn by the other beasts?"

Zhan let out a sound that resembled a scoff. "Of course. The scent of claiming Qi and the pressure of a marked domain are as loud as thunder. Isn't it very easy for you to feel?"

Li Yu could only shake his head. "No. I do not have the natural instincts of a beast. To me, the land is just open dirt and trees. That is why I need you."

Zhan seemed mildly surprised by this revelation but he accepted it without further question. A master who possessed terrifying soul attacks and void energy but could not smell a border was a strange contradiction but Zhan’s simple minded nature allowed him to brush past it.

"Before we move on," Li Yu pointed toward the direction the turtle and the primate had fled. "Who were those two beasts you were chasing earlier? Did they provoke you?"

"I do not know who they were." Zhan answered plainly, the floating Starfall Edge returning to its scabbard. He then strapped it to his carapace using what looked like woven vine. "They came crashing into my territory and I thought they were thieves trying to steal from me so I attacked them."

Li Yu stared at him. "You chased them with lethal force just because they ran through your clearing?"

"Does a person need a reason to attack intruders coming into their home?" Zhan asked with his head tilting again in genuine confusion.

Li Yu sighed. The territorial logic of this realm was deeply ingrained in every creature, even one that grew up isolated and was a martial genius like Zhan. To them, borders were sacred and trespassing was an immediate declaration of war without any further reason behind it.

"No." Li Yu conceded the point. "But we are done fighting for today. We should both rest before heading off. Lead the way to your home."

Zhan nodded and turned around, leading Li Yu through the thick bamboo forest.

They walked for a short distance before arriving at the base of a massive stone hill. The side of the hill had been carved out to form a spacious and airy cave. The entrance and the interior walls were covered in thousands of deep, overlapping slash marks. It was clear that Zhan had carved his own home using nothing but his scythes, turning the stone into a training ground for his sword intent.

Li Yu found a clean spot near the center of the cave and sat down. He waved his hand, bringing out a small assortment of cooked food, dried fruits and a jug of fine wine from his storage ring.

Zhan watched the human provisions with curiosity. The mantis retrieved several large slabs of raw, high grade beast meat he had hunted earlier in the week from his personal storage space that high level beasts had.

They sat together in the quiet cave and shared their resources with one another. Li Yu offered Zhan a bowl of the sweet wine and Zhan offered Li Yu a portion of the rich and energy dense meat.

As Li Yu ate the food and listened to the wind rustling the bamboo outside, he felt a sense of steady accomplishment. He had successfully secured a powerful guide and gained a seemingly straightforward companion. His journey through the unseen lines of the wild lands was finally going to become much smoother.