Three months passed in the Dream realm, and things had both changed and yet stayed the sa. The Dream realm had beco increasingly volatile, changing drastically at any given mont. That caused a whole new set of problems.
Previously, the Dream realm was dangerous because the dreams might try to steal a life to co to life on their own. Now, though, the dreams themselves beca dangerous, posing danger even to immortals!
As a result, the number of casualties within the Dream realm began to rise, but not just from the actions of the Dream realm alone. Countless races started actively sleeping, hoping that their dreams would get them pulled into the Dream realm.
During the old days, the chances of getting pulled into the Dream realm via dreaming was actually quite low, but it was never 0. Nowadays, the chances were decently high. Although the realm was no longer actively kidnapping people like it did the mont it was opened, it still tried to pull people into it when it could.
Lex didn't care about any of that. He continued to search, and with the help of the Henali and the Humanoid Alliance, almost 90% of all staff and guests had already been found. By now, over 300 Dao Lords had entered the Dream realm via the taverns, and though the Dao Lords were separated into their own section of the realm, they still played a huge role in finding the people.
But the more people they found, the more Lex was convinced that sothing was amiss because there was no sign of Almira anywhere. He was the one with the Masterless technique so why had she disappeared?
At least he finally got a lead on Qawain. In all the years that Lex had known him, Qawain was the silent and relatively mysterious one. He kept his thoughts hidden, appeared like a peaceful, suburban dad, taking care of his family and his wife... a suburban dad with a secret past covered in blood.
Now, though, as Lex followed his trail, he saw a side of Qawain that he hadn't seen before. It went without saying that Qawain was a master of sword intent, and unlike Lex, he was a purist. He did not mix his intent with anything else, nor did he rely on brute strength to make the intent any stronger. He rely acted with intent, and used his intent to carve out the reality he wanted to see.
In this case, the reality he was carving happened to be several bodies, and the reality he wanted to see was the death of whoever those bodies belonged to.
Once Lex found a trail, it beca incredibly easy to follow the very obvious trail left behind by Qawain, to the point where even throughout the ever changing Dream realm, it took only a couple of days to track him down.
When Lex finally spotted him, Qawain was standing alone, surrounded by six figures, each one of a different race. However, all six of them had one and only one similarity - all of them were emitting an incredibly strong sword intent!
Lex's sudden arrival went unnoticed because he had arrived discreetly, and made no moves to intervene. He had no idea what the situation was. Besides, he could always act once the need arose.
"Have you not thought about my offer?" asked the upright lizard standing right in front of Qawain. "The Nine Swords Sect would make a good ho for one such as you."
Qawain looked at the lizard, and then the elders.
"Likewise, the graveyard would make a good ho for you," Qawain said in an eerily calm voice.
"Fellow cultivator, as a sword, you are incomplete without a wielder. Why the insistence on going solo? One as talented as you, in the hands of the right swordsman, could even hope to see the Dao one day," spoke a monkey wearing a daoists robe.
Qawain looked at the monkey with indifferent eyes, not offended or provoked by his words.
"Persistence is not always a positive trait. Learn to back away when it is good for you," said Qawain, his tone the sa as before. However, unlike before, the look in his eyes was no longer so indifferent. His patience was running thin- sothing Lex hardly ever saw.
"Fellow Daoist, it is clear to that you are not open to our previous suggestions. However, please allow to make another proposal. I would still like to invite you to the Nine Swords Sect, not as a sword to be used, but as a powerful Daoist treading the sword path. Allow to exchange a blow with you to demonstrate the power of our sect, so that you may rember it."
The one speaking this ti was from a race that Lex wasn't too familiar with. His body looked humanoid, but was made entirely of a dark, smooth wood like material. He had no eyes or ears, or even lips, so it was clear that he was speaking via his spirit sense.
Slowly, and carefully, he withdrew a sword so as to show Qawain that he was not attacking in secret. Qawain also unfolded his arms as he readied himself for the attack, while Lex also summoned Naraka. If there was even a hint of foul
play...
The wooden guy grabbed the sword with both hands and nodded towards Qawain before launching his attack. There was no strength packed in the attack itself, but the skill with which he controlled his sword intent was telling. Qawain held out two fingers and clashed against the sword intent as he was wielding a sword himself, and surprisingly, wasn't able to cut through it so easily. It took quite a few seconds for him to cut through the attack.
Qawain's expression changed as he looked at the wooden guy, and similarly, the expression of all six swordsn changed as they looked at Qawain. Both sides had greatly underestimated the other.
"I am already a part of another group. I cannot join your sect," Qawain said directly, rejecting the man once more.
"The Sect doesn't care about external attachnts. Unless you're a part of an enemy sect or organisation, the sect will not discriminate against you for having a past. The path of swordsn is not pedantic like that. If you wish to find the sect, you can follow this sword."
The wooden guy threw out a dagger, though Lex supposed it could just be a miniature sword. Not all organisations were blessed with convenient tokens
like the Inns keys.
Qawain grabbed the sword, and put it inside his spatial ring. He had no intentions of using it at all, but he wanted to get rid of these guys first. So of the six swordsn looked at him with reluctance, but it was obvious that they were not strong enough to subdue him if they tried. Just as they were about to head out, though, a powerful sword intent suddenly erupted in the sky
above them.
All of them reacted instantly, blocking the attack, but how easily was it to block Lex? After all, he was not a sword purist. He had no compunctions about
adding small and petty tricks into his attacks.
All six of the swordsn were pushed back, their bodies infiltrated by a powerful, corroding energy, though fortunately they were not hard. Qawain, oddly enough, managed to block the attack easily, as if the attack that had
struck him was extrely weak.
The Red Moon Devil appeared in the sky and looked down on the swordsn,
and then sneered.
"So much pride for those so weak. Try relying on your own sword instead of
the backing of your sect once in a while," he said, his words more lethal than his attack, striking the six right in their hearts. If they didn't quickly realize that his words were attacks too, and neutralise the effect, then their sword hearts would beco compromised, and their sword intent would weaken! Of course, they could also naturally overco the verbal attack if their sword
heart and resolve was strong enough. If that was the case, they'd beco only stronger from this encounter. Whether or not that actually happened, though, only ti could tell.
While he spoke to them, he also extended his spirit sense to Qawain and questioned him, telling him about his identity and asking him if he knew why soone might be targeting Almira. Qawain, unfortunately, had no living enemies, and had no idea why soone might want to target her.
In a re split second, the two of them finished their conversation, and the Red
Moon Devil vanished. Qawain looked at the six swordsn with pity in his eyes, and then left as well. Lex had passed him a compass back to the Inn, but until Almira was found, he wouldn't be leaving.
Lex was continuing his search while pondering over his exchange with Qawain when sothing happened that he hadn't expected at all.
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