Lineir sped towards Brackenrock city extremely quickly. Along the way, he marveled that what had once taken him endless time to traverse on foot was reduced to mere minutes in the air. He had truly changed. That being said, his Qi was consumed at a prodigious rate using the phoenix wings to fly. It was a technique which he had absorbed from the divine memories of the phoenix and was not naturally suited to him. Indeed, his mastery of fire Qi was much lesser than his natural darkness and lightning elements. However, his cultivation had been greatly enhanced after his experiences in the Chosen Cup Trials and the sudden mergence of the Red Qi. His stamina had qualitatively increased greatly. What had once taxed him greatly was now merely an inconvenience.
"Hehe this is great. I want to see the looks on those old geezers faces when I land in the middle of Brackenrock City and burn the White Horizon Sect headquarters to the ground!" Lineir grinned with an evil delight at the thought. However... Fate had a different story in store for him. When he soared into sight of the city he opened his mouth aghast!
"What the...the city's already burning??!!!!" He gasped as he realized the entire city was burning! Even the very rock walls were alight! Running through the city were numerous undead waving fearsome weapons. In the distance he could see the Old City, had been transformed into a hellish pit! The broken city had turned into a flaming hell! Millions of undead rushed about with no sense of order but even still, many had overwhelmed Brackenrock City's gates and penetrated inside! The White Horizon Sect's headquarters were not yet alight but were surrounded by burning buildings and besieged by undead on all sides! Lineir instantly tore through the air arriving at the location at the hovel he used to live in with his sister! It was already burnt through but there was no trace of his sister, Yiu! Lineir didn't even spare a moment to mourn the loss of the only home he had ever known, he immediately took off and reappeared at the tavern his sister used to bartend at. He once again found it in flames, the roof falling in the inhabitants gone! Fearing the worse, Lineir was at his wits end! It was at this moment that Mei's experience voice rang in Lineir's head like a cool breeze calming a fire,
"Kiddo, I cannot detect the aura of your sister in Brackenrock City. As a matter of fact, I believe she has not been here for some time." Mei said. She quickly told Lineir to create a tracking inscription on the ground. In an instant Lineir drew up the inscription and Mei told him how to activate it and interpreted the results,
"Hmmm...kiddo I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is, your sister has indeed long since left this area. The bad news is, the last place her aura can be detected is at the teleportation array of the White Horizon Sect!" Mei read her results and Lineir felt a rush of rage!
"I don't care who they think they are, I have killed Chosen who wouldn't even accept their patriarch as a servant for washing their feet! The White Horizon Sect will die today and not by some undead, they will die by my hand and mine alone!"
Whoosh!
Lineir spread his wings and took to the skies. In an instant he was at the White Horizon Sect headquarters. The defensive array formation which kept out the flaming undead prowling the rest of the seemingly abandoned city was on the brink of collapse when Lineir let out a single slash of his blade.
Shua! Crackle!
Chi Chi Chi!
Instantly a chain of Lightning Qi sprung from the tip of Mei's blade to the nearest undead and then the next and the next! Instantly every undead in a huge radius was incinerated by this lightning and Lineir alone stood outside the defense array! For a second, there was silence and then numerous cheers erupted from inside the White Horizon Sect's headquarters!
"Hooray! We're saved!"
"Esteemed expert, I wonder what sect sends aid?"
"Thank you so much for saving our lives, we all owe you our lives today!"
The white robed disciples of the White Horizon Sect began to come out of hiding and clasp their hands to Lineir. However, instead of waiting for the defense formation to power down, LIneir smiled wickedly and pointed his sword directly at the White Horizon Sect Patriarch who had just come out.
"What has happened to Brackenrock City? Why have the undead overrun this city. Additionally, I am looking for a mortal girl. She was last seen entering your teleportation array, her name is Yiu. Where is she, you have ten seconds to answer."
Suddenly, the patriarch of the White Horizon Sect realized that something was amiss here with their "savior". He clasped his hands and began to spout information!
"Esteemed one, some force has set the Old City aflame! This forced the many undead residing there out and they broke through this city's defenses! We tried to hold but our forces were insufficient! The flaming undead have even set much of Brackenrock City aflame, and without your timely intervention, we would not have been able to hold! As for the matter of a mortal girl...you must understand, this lowly one's hands are tied, it is an internal affair of The White Horizon Sect and we are merely a branch, we cannot divulge this information lightly! If you would but give this one a second to communicate with the main sect I am sure we can work something out...AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHH!"
The patriarch of the White Horizon Sect let out a scream as Lineir simply stepped through the defensive array of the sect as if it wasn't there. He then grasped the Patriarch by the top of his head and asked Mei,
"Mei, do you know any good soul searching techniques? Preferably one which causes quite a bit of pain and draws out all the details perfectly?" Lineir chuckled evilly. Mei replied,
"Certainly kiddo, I know plenty....here's one..." However, before she could transmit the technique to Lineir, Mizuchi suddenly chimed in!
"Ohhhh oh!! I love soul searching! Let me do it, you want information on this Yiu girl right? Don't worry, master used to let me do this all the time, thank god, I've been so bored!" Before Lineir could even protest, the White Horizon Sect patriarch's eyes rolled up and he slumped in Lineir's grasp like a broken puppet. He was utterly drained and he twitched uncontrollably as his entire life was extracted by Mizuchi's mysterious methods.
"Hehehehe so much fun! Ah yes, here it is. Oh....oh dear...I hope this Yiu wasn't anyone important to you. It seems this whole town has been empty for some time. They offered up every mortal in this city to the main sect branch some time ago. That's why their teleportation array is out of energy and they are stuck here right now." Mizuchi began to parse through the memories of the patriarch.
"Why?" Lineir demanded.
"Hmmm this idiot has no idea. It seems the orders came down from the main branch, this guy was just following orders. You'll have to go to the main branch to find out. Their teleportation array is in perfect working order, just needs a few spirit stones to work. I suggest you use that. Oh..and just so you know...it's probably already too late for the one you're looking for. In my experience, mortals being abducted en masse is usually for some sort of sacrifice. Hahahaha, better hurry, how exciting!" Mizuchi carelessly stepped all over Lineir's feelings with her words, but he didn't care. Instantly his rage reached towering heights, right now his rage alone could climb a Pillar!
"You piece of **** low life scum offered my sister as a sacrifice?!! Time to die scum! I'll be sending the rest of your sect to join you soon so don't let that stop you from descending to the deepest layers of the Nine Hells!" Lineir's red eyes glared and suddenly the snakelike hydra burst out of his mouth and extended around like a whip! It pierced through all of the White Horizon Sect members standing around and punched holes in their Second Hearts devouring them whole! His rage not in the least bit sated in his empty revenge Lineir stepped into the White Horizon Sect headquarters and powered up the teleportation array without hesitation. As it activated and he left the mystery of the burning city behind he prepared to engage in true wanton slaughter! If it was as he feared and his sister was not alive anymore...then he would send her killers to the underworld to atone for their crimes!
"Yiu.....wait for me....I'm sorry for taking so long, I'm coming!"