Dual Cultivation: I Summon Villainesses of Mythic Era-Chapter 64: The arrogant Dao Executor

"I am Zhi Mei, the Holy Templar sent by the Dao Temple".

" My existence and my blade belong to the Executor. I have finally found you, my Lord."

Huojin slowly opened his heterochromatic eyes and stared at the woman kneeling before him with a contempt that seemed natural.

His gaze then slid toward BaiShe, who stood slightly behind, hands clasped behind his back. The Celestial Judge displayed his permanent half-smile.

"You arrive at the perfect moment, Holy Templar".

"The Dao has heard my demands. My progress is rapid, but the path ahead is still long."

BaiShe stepped forward, showing a benevolent and respectful smile.

"Brother Huojin... or should I say, Lord Executor ?" began BaiShe in a honeyed tone.

"This young scholar is relieved to see that Miss Mei has finally found the one she was looking for. If my modest help was useful for this meeting, I am more than honored. And sorry for the unfortunate incident.

Huojin stood up slowly.

The symbol on his forehead shone brighter, exerting an invisible pressure on BaiShe. As the Executor carrying the memories of thousands of predecessors, he perceived BaiShe not as a threat his ego prevented it but as a simple tool.

"Xuan BaiShe", pronounced Huojin while looking down on him. "The matters that now concern us exceed your prerogatives as a mere family heir."

He made a gesture with his hand, as if shooing away an insignificant fly.

"I no longer need you. You may leave", he ordered dryly.

BaiShe bowed his head, his face remaining a mask of scholarly impartiality.

He savored inwardly Huojin’s arrogance. The more the Executor believed himself powerful, the more delicious his fall would be when the time came to devour him.

"I understand perfectly, Lord Huojin. The mission of Heaven is a priority", replied BaiShe with flawless courtesy.

"Since my presence is no longer required, I will withdraw and pray for your future success."

Consequently, BaiShe turned around and left the pavilion with fluid grace. Zhi Mei cast a brief glance toward him, a hint of guilt crossing her mind as she remembered their journey, but she quickly redirected her attention to Huojin.

Once BaiShe’s silhouette had evaporated into the garden mist, Huojin turned toward Zhi Mei, his expression becoming more serious.

"Stand up", he said. "We have a lot to do."

Zhi Mei straightened up, observing the perfect features of her master. "My Lord, the Temple awaits your return to the Upper Realms to perfect your awakening. The threat of the Devourer grows stronger every day."

Huojin shook his head.

"Not yet. The Temple is too far away and the upper heavens are filled with prying eyes", he explained with cunning inherited from his past lives. "Until now, I was not strong enough to undertake what I planned. My Dantian was too young, my meridians too narrow to contain the fullness of my authority. But with you by my side, everything changes. Your Overlord power will serve as my shield."

Zhi Mei bowed her head again. "Tell me your orders, my Lord."

"We will head all the way south, beyond the ruins of the Purple Mist Forest", declared Huojin, his heterochromatic eyes staring at an invisible point on the horizon.

"In one of my previous lives, I had left some hidden arrangements. Relics and sources of pure essence that only the Executor can open. These arrangements can help me become more powerful. "

He approached the window, observing the peaks. His ambition was not limited to killing the Devourer.

He wanted to keep his divine power forever, refusing to become a simple mortal again once his mission was accomplished.

Because once the Devourer was killed, Huojin would lose all his power and return to how he was before.

Zhi Mei, although troubled by the arrogance in the Chosen One’s words, questioned nothing. For her, the will of the Executor was the will of the Dao.

"I will escort you to the south, no matter the obstacles or the Rakshasas that stand in our way", she swore.

...

* Deep Ruins of the Southern Forest*

The air grew heavier and heavier as Huojin and Zhi Mei advanced toward the southern confines of the kingdom.

The lush vegetation had given way to petrified trees whose skeletal branches seemed to want to claw at the purple sky.

Huojin walked a few steps behind Mei nonchalantly, his hands clasped behind his back.

He knew that this area was imbued with a particularly corrosive Khao, a sign that high-ranking Rakshasas were lurking nearby.

Suddenly, Zhi Mei stopped and raised a hand to signal him not to move. In front of them, the space seemed to distort.

They were Rakshasas, but unlike the ones encountered before, these wore five horns on their porcelain masks, and the last one, taller than the others, proudly displayed six.

"Step back, my Lord !" ordered Zhi Mei in a firm voice, her azure blue Qi exploding instantly around her.

Huojin did not step back. He simply adjusted his posture. "Do your duty, Templar. Show me why the Temple chose you to escort me."

She dashed forward like lightning toward the group of monsters.

< Arts : Thorny Lotus >

With a simple movement of her palms, she projected devastating shockwaves in the form of sharp lotus petals.

The first five-horned Rakshasa did not even have time to raise his claws; his chest exploded under the impact, spraying black and fetid blood that evaporated instantly upon contact with the Sidhe’s purifying Qi.

The six-horned Rakshasa let out a guttural roar and projected a purple Khao laser from his mask.

Zhi Mei pivoted with supernatural grace, avoiding the attack by a few millimeters before counterattacking.

She struck the monster in the face, shattering his porcelain mask and sinking her fingers into his putrefied flesh.

She followed with a circular kick that cleanly severed another attacker’s arm.

The forest echoed with the sound of crushed bones and the creatures’ agonized cries.

"Not bad."

Huojin observed the massacre with detachment. A few minutes later, the Templar stood in the middle of mutilated corpses.

"It’s done, Lord Huojin",

" You took your time... Let’s go", replied Huojin without even granting her a glance.

They continued their progression to the foot of a steep cliff. Hidden behind a curtain of roots.

the entrance of a cave appeared... As they approached, they found themselves facing a monumental door, carved directly into the rock.

A complex seal blocked all access, a barrier that even an Overlord would have had difficulty shaking with brute force.

"This door... it is sealed by the Dao itself", murmured Zhi Mei, extending a hand to feel the spiritual pressure emanating from it.

"I fear that my arts will not be enough to unlock such a mechanism."

Huojin advanced with tranquil confidence, his heterochromatic eyes staring at the runes with recognition.

"It’s because this door was not made to be forced."