144 Ascension (2/2)
Since that experience the king's appetite for governing had disappeared. Opting to forgo his duties and enter closed door cultivation.
Committing all the resources at his disposal into research, in order to gain the strength and knowledge needed to enter a higher plain.
A person's lifespan was limited to only a thousand years on this mortal plane, which was a drop in the bucket compared to the higher planes, plus it was impossible to pass the peak of the saint realm without being devoured by the black energy of the mortal plane.
With the new information he had gained, ruling the kingdom became an anchor weighing him down, burdening him with petty disputes of weak mortals oblivious to the greater dangers of the world.
The crown he had once desired the most and had been his proudest accomplishment, quickly became an unwelcomed obligation he tried to avoid at all cost.
Now with a stroke of cruel irony, it was the thing his sons desired most, walking in their father's footsteps and causing their irreconcilable hatred for each other.
***
Hartley had brought Fu Jianu and Shao Law to accompany him and Zhi Ruo on this trip.
Being 1st layer xantians, the mountain peak was out of the range of their perceptive awareness, they complained about not being able to see anything clearly.
Hartley's heightened senses and his awareness as a saint, allowed him to see most of what was happening at the peak, keeping them informed.
Then they witnessed the most awe inspiring sight, a streak of blinding white lightning flashed across the sky under the king's control.
Illuminating his silhouette and pushing the falling snow aside.
For those few seconds everyone saw the image of the majestic king in all his splendour, hair and robe billowing in the freezing wind.
Inducing jubilant roars of cheers from the gathered crowd. The teenagers adding their screams and cheers to the furore.
After that, the scene returned to normal, with the snow pouring down from the heavens again.
But that one moment was enough to last most a lifetime.
Nothing happened for the following hour, until the princes and their saints departed from the peak in opposite directions.
Soon after the mountain started to rumble, snow began slipping down its steep incline, threatening an avalanche.
”It's beginning.” Shouted the noble dressed in an extravagant white fur-coat, quickly mounting his horse and backing up to a safe distance, followed by the majority of spectators, Hartley and company included.
Stationed a couple miles away Hartley watched keenly.
A lightning domain big enough to encase the whole peak suddenly formed atop the mountain, blinding rays of white radiated out with an incredibly powerful presence, drastically brightening the gloomy sky.
The snap, crackle, and pops of the pure white electricity could be heard from two miles away. Producing a low frequency buzz that hummed, sending vibrations through the mountain.
Boom!
An explosion that threatened to topple the mountain sounded out like thunder.
Rocks, snow and shattered ice went blossoming out, spat miles into the sky like a volcano belching ash.
The scattered crowd still managed to generate audible gasps of alarm, shielding their eyes from the blinding white.
Contrasting serpent-like coils of black energy burst into life, swimming through the white electricity, flattening the peak and smashing the glaciers into ice cubes, leaving a smouldering scar across the length of the mountain.
The king shot upwards from the chaos like a missile through the swaying snow, travelling in his domain on a bolt of lightning towards the heavens, thick ropes of black energy twisted and lashed at his back, producing white sparks that flew everywhere.
As soon as the King was close to piercing the clouds, the black energy grew more turbulent, appearing from every direction, determined to bound him to the mortal realm.
The bright light of the king's lightning domain tangled and fought the repressive writhing black energy, creating a trail of sparks until the king blinked out of sight, leaving bright sparkles twinkling in the air.
The only thing visible was the after-images of the roiling black energy stretching to the sky as if chasing the king, then disappearing through the grey clouds.
Simultaneously a stream of loose boulders vaulted down the sides of the rattling mountain, picking up momentum along the way like an unstoppable landslide.
This triggered an avalanche at the same time, which brought even louder rumbles..
Luckily most had already scampered to safety before a massive sheet of compact snow came catapulting down to the foot of the mountain, hitting the floor and bursting into a million fragments of ice.
An assortment of debris followed closely behind, crashing into the earth with enough impact and noise to wake the dead.
Snowflakes and dust danced through the air, moving with the cold breath of the gusty wind, colouring the entire mountain white.
Stifling the weak waning daylight with the grey gloom of the evening sky and falling snow.
Ten minutes went by before things settled, the relieved spectators were finally able to breathe freely when nothing else dramatic happened.
”The king must have ascended. If he had failed he would have been captured by the black energy and spat back down from the heavens like last time.”
Murmurs began to break out amongst the scattered onlookers, who had come hoping to witness a monumental moment. With that goal achieved, it was time to regroup.
Trails of chaotic footprints were scattered far and wide as the different factions went their separate ways to report the day's events.
Hartley stood in place eyes up looking at the cloud, many couldn't see the complex intricacies of what had happened but he did.
He closed his eyes to digest the information. Knowing that one day he would likely venture on that same journey.
Only by ascending to a higher plain could one surpass the saint realm and become a demi god.
He Recalled that the king didn't just open a spatial crack and attempted to ascend directly.
Instead he had used his full power to compress his lightning domain, launching himself to break free from the atmosphere before entering a spatial crack.
Waiting for the perfect moment, using his momentum and control over the lightning element to slice a smooth path through the raucous black energy that was waiting in ambush.
Satisfied with the day's events, Hartley and company cut a direct path across the snow and headed for the western hills, trudging through the ankle deep snow wearing nothing but cotton robes.
Today these representatives of the western hills had caught the eye of many present, it would surely be hectic and chaotic across the capital in the coming days.