Chapter 30 – Strolling Around, Collecting Treasures

  Ren Qiu stood at the heart of the chaotic battlefield. With each wave of the folding fan he held in his right hand, red-gold flames would sweep outward in an arc and sear through the twisted bodies of the Corpse Puppets that lunged at him.

  He could feel his Dantian emptying quickly from his efforts, and he popped a Qi Replenishing Pill into his mouth to recover. Ren Qiu could feel the pill dissolve on his tongue, and a flood of Qi flowed through his meridians before gathering in his Dantian, brushing up against the barrier, keeping him from the 3rd Level.

  All around him, Tranquil Mountain Sect Disciples in the 2nd and 3rd levels of Qi Condensation fought in tight formations. Some used swords to slash their enemies, others spiritual artifacts, talismans or other techniques, but they all wore the same blue robes.

  Interspersed between the Disciples were men and women wearing bright red robes who fought with fire techniques. They were members of his Ren Clan, who had banded together with the Tranquil Mountain Sect in order to survive the night and search for opportunities.

  They were all in a valley of shattered stone and grey dirt, with the air filled with dust kicked up by techniques and the movements of hundreds of Cultivators.

  Flames clashed with the dark spiritual energy surrounding the Corpse Puppets, and screams filled the valley as the sickly red light of the blood moon in the sky bathed everything below in its unnatural brilliance.

  Ren Qiu’s right sleeve was torn and blood-soaked through his robes from a number of wounds that hadn’t yet been healed by the pills he had consumed. He could barely feel his left side after taking a blow from a large Corpse Puppet that he hadn’t been able to avoid, but he could still move and fight.

  “Blazing Crane Claw!” Ren Qiu shouted as he thrust his left hand forward. Five thin arcs of fire slashed across an approaching Corpse Puppet, sending it crumbling into ashes.

  Ren Qiu’s breath was ragged, his Qi nearly spent once again, but he refused to fall here. His pride refused to allow him to falter, not in front of his Clan or his Sect.

  He was just pulling out another pill from his storage bag when he heard a scream nearby. What caught his attention was the fact that it didn’t come from a corpse but from a Cultivator. There was a flash of silver light, and a Sect Disciple crumpled nearby with a sword buried in his back.

  From the northern ridge, a new wave of people appeared. They were all dressed in different styles and colours of clothing, with faces hard with desperation and ruthlessness.

  They attacked the Sect Disciples with techniques that were rough and brutal, and they surged toward the weakened and fighting Disciples like wolves spotting wounded prey.

  “Ambush!” Someone shouted. The Rogue Cultivators had waited until they had nearly destroyed all the Corpse Puppets before launching their attack, and the lines of Ren Qiu’s allies broke as people were cut down all around the valley.

  The Corpse Puppets surged forward again; now Ren Qiu and the others were caught between the living and the dead.

  Ren Qiu barely dodged a wild sword strike and retaliated with a burst of flame from his folding fan that engulfed another Cultivator in a spiral of fire. His opponent fled backwards while Ren Qiu spat out a mouthful of blood.

  Ignoring the pain from his Dantian, Ren Qiu drew more Qi from his nearly empty well and pressed forward.

  Page Break

  The air was thick with the smell of blood, and the cracked stones were smeared with blackened ash from the remains of Corpse Puppets. The sky above was a deep crimson, while the Blood Moon hung directly overhead where Mei Lian and Lin Yue fought for their lives.

  There was only a single Corpse Puppet left, but it moved with terrifying speed, and its strength was beyond what either of them could handle.

  They had easily defeated the 1st level Corpse Puppets and could hold their only against the 2nd Level. But this was a 3rd Level of Qi Condensation Puppet, and even coordinating their efforts was too much for them.

  Mei Lian intercepted its charge with her sword, meeting the Puppet’s clenched fist with a metallic clang that rang across the battlefield. The impact bent her sword and nearly snapped her wrists.

  She was thrown back like a broken kite and crashed into a boulder, her back striking hard, and blood sprayed from her lips as her lungs struggled to pull in the air.

  “So strong!” She hissed as she collapsed onto the ground. Her entire body throbbed in protest while her bones felt like they were on the verge of fracturing.

  A few feet away from her, Lin Yue stood her ground. Her robes were torn and bloody, and her normally pleasant expression had shifted into deathly seriousness.

  She pulled out a stack of paper talismans from the sleeve of her robes and threw them in a wide arc.

  “Flame Seal! Thunder Binding! Piercing Wind” Each talisman activated with a burst of energy. Fire scorched the Puppet’s side, lightning chains wrapped around its arms, and wind blades slashed across its chest.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  But the Puppet still walked toward them.

  Mei Lian coughed and pushed herself to her knees. Her fingers fumbled at the storage pouch on her side and pulled out one of the Qi Gathering Pills Jun De had given her. The round pill gleamed softly in her palm, and she could smell medicinal herbs.

  Without hesitation, she placed it on her tongue.

  As it dissolved, she felt a surge of warmth fill her Dantian, like sunlight blooming behind her ribs. The stagnant dregs of Qi that remained in her Dantian churned to life, flowing through her meridians with clarity and speed she had never known.

  Her pain dulled slightly, replaced by a growing pressure that indicated she was on the edge of a breakthrough.

  She lifted her sword one more, burning with new determination.

  ‘Thank you, Jun De. I hope you are safe.’

  Page Break

  Jun De walked through the barren landscape with the blood-red and black flag slung casually over his shoulder. The wind howled faintly in the distance, but it barely stirred his robes. The earth around him was dry and cracked, and Jun De had quickly grown tired of staring at the desolation.

  “I wish I was back at the Sect.” Jun De repeated for the thousandth time. He was sick of this place, of the lack of rain and water, how everything was black or grey or red. He wanted to see trees and listen to the wind rustling the leaves instead of blowing dust into the air.

  At least the attacks by the Corpse Puppets had stopped since he picked up the flag.

  Where everyone else was fighting tooth and nail to survive, Jun De’s journey through the inheritance site was peaceful. The flag deterred any of the mindless Puppets like a blazing torch drives away darkness.

  As for Rogue Cultivators, Jun De didn’t see a single person for weeks.

  Jun De would pause and rest occasionally, settling cross-legged on his cultivation mat beside a rock outcropping or shaded from the angry, red sun by a boulder. He would place the flagstaff in the ground, driving it deep enough to hold it upright, while he meditated and let his Qi circulate calmly.

  He didn’t break through, but Jun De was getting better at cycling the Qi inside of him. He would make fewer mistakes and grew more proficient in the Tranquil Cultivation Method.

  “I think I’m finally getting the hang of Cultivation.” Jun De said to himself proudly as he stood up and placed the mat back into his storage back, picked up the flag and set off in a random direction once again.

  During one of his rests, Jun De noticed a faint glimmer of something metallic beneath a small pile of rubble. Removing the rocks, he found an old, rusted sword that held faint traces of Qi. He slipped it into his storage bag before moving on.

  On another day, he found a tarnished bracelet covered in grime, and he wasn’t able to see the patterns remaining on the surface, but he could feel it when he ran his fingers along the outside.

  The most interesting thing he found was a simple storage bag half-buried beneath a cracked slab of earth. Inside it were a few Qi Recovery Pills, some grey and brown robes, and a handful of spiritual stones.

  Jun De lifted one of the spirit stones out of the bag and studied it with fascination. It was like a small, translucent crystal pebble that was filled with swirling motes of spiritual energy. It shimmered in the dim light before he carefully placed it in his own bag, along with all the other items.

  “Someone must have lost this during the storm. Finders keepers!” Jun De muttered happily. He hadn’t seen a spirit stone before, but he knew they were valuable. A single stone might be worth a few thousand contribution points, and that was for the lowest-quality ones!

  Time passed slowly, and nearly a full month drifted by without Jun De encountering a single soul. The solitude and loneliness were fraying Jun De’s nerves, and he was almost desperate to find something, anything, to break the monotony.

  “Finally!” Jun De exclaimed as he saw something interesting on the horizon.

  It was an ancient pavilion, half-sunken into the ground. Its structure was cloaked in spiritual restrictions that shimmered faintly in the light of the red sky.

  Coming up to the edge of the restrictions, Jun De was about to judge whether they could be bypassed or broken when the flag on his shoulder reacted.

  Dark tendrils of Qi extended from its cloth, writhing and sinking into the restrictions like a key slipping into a lock. The restrictions groaned and shimmered before releasing with a faint sigh and a small gust of wind.

  “Restrictions, meet Cheat Item!” Jun De said happily as he stepped inside and walked up the few remaining steps to the simple interior.

  There was nothing inside apart from a single stone pedestal at the center. Jun De found two jade pill boxes and a jade slip resting on the surface. They were completely untouched by time or dust, appearing to have just been placed there moments ago.

  Jun De cautiously reached out to touch the first item, wincing in anticipation at some negative reaction. But thankfully, nothing happened.

  Letting out a relieved breath, Jun De picked up the first box and opened it. He had barely lifted the cover when his nose was assaulted by the intense smell of medicine and herbs. Spiritual Qi surged in the area, and Jun De instinctively closed the box.

  “Good stuff!” Jun De said, despite having no idea what the pill was. He placed it in his storage bag before reaching out the second.

  When he opened the jade box, a scent unlike anything he had ever experienced before assailed him. His Qi went frantic inside his Dantian, and even the clouds above began to churn at the sudden influx of spiritual energy.

  Jun De spat out a mouthful of blood as the backlash from his rampaging Qi struck him. He closed the box immediately and panted as if he had just run a marathon. His Qi gradually settled, and Jun De looked at the box in his hand warily.

  “I don’t know what you are, but I won’t be doing that again.” Jun De whispered. He placed the box inside his bag and wiped the blood from his mouth before looking at the last item.

  The Jade Slip rested on the stone surface, completely innocent and innocuous, as if it were tempting him to place it against his forward and inject his Qi into the item to learn its secrets.

  “Nope, fool me once, you bastard!” Jun De cursed. Gingerly, he picked up the slip with his fingers tips and dropped it into his storage bag, all while expecting it to suddenly attack him.

  Luckily, it was as harmless as it appeared, and Jun De successfully stored it away.

  “I’ll leave all this to the Elders to sort out.” Jun De said, confident that it should be left to someone more experienced.

  “Well, where to now?” Jun De said, turning back toward the entrance to the pavilion and walking down the steps. The Flag fluttered merrily behind him, and Jun De had no doubt that he could travel anywhere in the site without trouble.

  Jun De had barely set foot on the ground when he felt a tremor pass through the earth, and a blinding flash of white light erupted from the ancient pavilion. The blood moon overhead shattered into motes of crimson, and the dark clouds scattered.

  All across the inheritance site, cultivators vanished as their bodies were swept up by the energy.

  Outside, the Elders watched as hundreds, then thousands of cultivators suddenly appeared across the plains in front of the former Inheritance Site.

  As for Jun De, he had barely recovered from the sudden teleportation when a familiar voice called out to him.

  “Senior Brother Jun!”