Chapter 63 – Lost and Found

  Elder Mu Yanyu stood in silence, her arms folded within the sleeves of her blue robes as she stared out over the smouldering remains of the Hollow Stream Sect. Ash and broken stone stretched across the ruins, and little remained aside from the scars of battle.

  Her beautiful face was expressionless and unapproachable, but there was a faint tension around her eyes that spoke of her conflicted feelings.

  Footsteps approached her hastily from behind, and the sound of boots crunching against blackened gravel announced the arrival of Elder Shen. He stepped out from the haze of smoke and dust, his robes streaked with soot, while his usually calm face was drawn tight with urgency.

  “Vice Sect Master Mu, we have found something.” He called out to her as he offered a shallow bow.

  Her head turned to look at him immediately, and even Elder Shen could detect the anticipation of good news in her eyes.

  “While we were combing through the ruins, a disciple found signs of a collapsed tunnel beneath one of the pavilions. The area had caved in during the battle, but we suspect it ran the length of the Sect, and directly beneath the crater where Jun De was last seen.”

  “If he were shielded from the explosion, but pushed into the earth…” Elder Shen trailed off.

  Elder Mu’s expression shifted the moment Elder Shen finished speaking. The rigid, calm mask that had settled over her since the battle cracked, revealing her true emotions. There was worry, excitement and a few other feelings that even Mu Yanyu didn’t understand.

  “Show me.” Elder Mu said, her voice stiff and taut.

  Elder Shen turned and led her quickly through the ruined grounds, past shattered walls and collapsed buildings. They reached a scorched and half-buried pavilion near the southern ridge of the Sect, where several Inner Sect Disciples had cleared away some of the rubble.

  A shallow depression in the earth marked the caved-in tunnel entrance, and even from the surface, Elder Mu could feel a lingering pressure from some unknown source. She extended her spiritual sense into the earth, but it was suddenly extinguished.

  “There’s a formation. Something meant to block sensing techniques and unauthorized entry. It’s been damaged in the attack, but is still operational.” Elder Mu murmured.

  Without another word, she stepped forward while the others retreated. Her long robes swept around her as she drew her sword from her storage ring and channelled her Qi. The blade gleamed a silver-blue in the pale morning light.

  With a flick of her wrist, a pulse of power surged through the air. The sword released a beam of piercing energy that was refined, controlled and utterly devastating. It stabbed into the ground like a spear thrown from the heavens.

  A moment later, the earth trembled, and a hole was bored clean through the rubble that revealed a path into the depths. Whatever remained of the barrier that had been protecting the entrance was no match for the concentrated power of a Mid-Stage Core Formation Cultivator.

  Mu Yanyu stepped down into the passage without hesitation, with Elder Shen following close behind. The air was thick with the scent of scorched stone and the faint traces of the energy she had released.

  The pair descended into what had once been a sealed vault, which was now fully exposed. A broken protective array crackled feebly across the entrance, and Elder Mu shattered it with a flick of her sleeve.

  Inside, the vault was pristine. Where she had expected to find the Hollow Stream Sect's most treasured items, there was nothing left.

  “This wasn’t the work of the Demonic Cultivators. I suspect the Sect Elders used what they could during the attack.” Mu Yanyu whispered, more to herself than Elder Shen. A vault like this, even in a minor Sect, would be filled with materials and items of interest.

  “Jun De may have been here. He has a talent for finding items of interest. The boy is steeped in luck.” Elder Shen replied.

  “He was here. I can sense the residual energy of a talisman I gave him.” Elder Mu replied. She could feel it strongly near a pile of stone and dirt that had collapsed a section of the wall. She moved past a large stone table, or possibly an altar at the center of the room, and ran her hand along its length.

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  She could feel a faint warmth from the stone, and to her eyes, it glowed with a golden light that represented Jun De’s spiritual energy.

  The pair left the vault through another hallway and came to a dead end. There were symbols and markings on the walls and ground, and Elder Mu moved to inspect them closely.

  “This is a teleportation array, an emergency escape mechanism in the event of the Sect falling. It has been recently used.” Her eyes narrowed.

  Elder Shen approached and nodded.

  “If the tunnel collapsed, and Jun De was trapped within, this would be his only way out. Can we repair it?” Elder Shen asked.

  “It is barely holding together, but it can be repaired.” Elder Mu pressed her palm to the edge of the Array and let her Qi flow into the cracked formation. The runes sputtered to life for a moment, enough to show her a flicker of the destination, before fading away.

  “He is not far. It will be more timely to go and retrieve him myself rather than repair the array. Go with the others and take the ship back to the Sect. I will travel alone to find Jun De.”

  Page Break

  “Now, where the hell am I?” Jun De said as he looked around.

  He was standing in the courtyard of a remote estate. It was quiet, with only the soft rustling of the wind in the trees to greet him.

  Stone walls surrounded the estate, and it appeared to be nestled on the outskirts of a large city. From the designs on the gates and the banners that hung on the walls, this estate belonged to the Hollow Stream Sect.

  “Is this a safehouse or a private residence of the Sect leadership?” Jun De wondered aloud.

  Whatever its purpose had been, it was abandoned now. There were no guards or disciples. He couldn’t sense a single presence within the entire estate.

  Jun De briefly explored the estate, but it appeared to have been picked clean. The storage rooms were empty, and the cultivation chambers were dormant. Whatever value the place had was gone now.

  He wasn’t sure if this was the work of demonic cultivators or if someone local had taken advantage of the chaos to make a profit. Regardless, Jun De didn’t want to stick around for long in case someone else came to search for treasures.

  At the back of the estate, Jun De found a small bathing pool fed by a spiritual spring. The water was warm and clear, with a faint mist rising off of it where it met the cool night air. He stripped out of his tattered Tranquil Mountain Sect robes that had been ruined in the battle, and stepped into the water.

  The warmth of the pool soaked into his skin, easing the remaining aches in his muscles that the pills couldn’t fully remove, and washing away the blood, dirt and exhaustion that clung to him.

  For a long time, Jun De didn’t move. He floated in silence and stared up at the night sky above. Despite the fact that he had no idea where he was, and if anyone would be searching for him, he was too tired to get up.

  When he finally mustered the energy to rise from the water, he dried himself off with a wave of his hand and a brief surge of Qi and dressed in the only clothing he had in his storage bag. His Sect robes were ruined, and his spares were in his chambers at the Sect.

  Putting on the white robes that he had worn when he arrived in this world, he decided that he couldn’t risk staying in the estate for too long, not when he had a storage ring full of spirit stones.

  Resolved, he opened the gate and stepped out into the city beyond just as the moon began to set and the sun rose.

  The city beyond the remote estate was larger than Jun De expected, with high, fortified walls and wide stone streets that were already bustling with activity despite the early hour.

  Jun De, dressed in his white robes that enhanced his appearance, drew attention as he walked. His young age, combined with his higher than average cultivation and his good looks, caught the eye of others as he walked.

  After walking for a short time, Jun De stepped into a small, refined restaurant that had two stories with tables that overlooked a busy street. It was quiet inside, however, and filled with the smell of expensive tea and delicious food.

  Sitting at a table, Jun De spoke with a waiter and ordered a pot of Emerald Spring Jadeleaf Tea that cost a spirit stone per pot, and a dish of sliced meat, rice and vegetables.

  The waiter, who was an older cultivator in the 1st level of Qi Condensation, struck up a conversation with Jun De as he ordered.

  “You’re not from around here, Fellow Daoist.” The waiter remarked as he poured the steaming tea.

  “I’m from Nan Ao City.” Jun De said, recalling the name of the place where he had first appeared in this world. He wanted to make sure this place was safe before revealing he was a disciple of the Tranquil Mountain Sect.

  For all he knew, this place may have been aligned with his Sect’s enemies, and he was in the belly of the beast.

  “That’s quite far! You’ve come at a good time, though. It’s peaceful here, not like other places in the region. No one would dare try anything in Yunlai city, City Lord Han made an example of the last group that tried. He turned them to ash right in front of the city gate! No one’s tried anything again after that.”

  Jun De listened intently as he sipped his tea.

  He learned that he was in Yunlai City, a place that wasn’t affiliated with any particular Sect. The Hollow Stream Sect, along with a dozen other minor Sects, maintained estates here due to the fact that it was safe since it was ruled by a Nascent Soul expert, and a major trade hub in cultivation resources.

  “Does the Tranquil Mountain Sect have any Disciples here? They came to Nan Ao City when I was there and I would like to know more about them.” Jun De asked, trying to appear casual.

  “Not that I know of. The bigger Sects tend to keep to themselves, and City Lord Han wouldn’t want to show favouritism by giving them land here.”

  “That’s too bad.” Jun De said sadly, shaking his head.

  “So, is there anything interesting to do here?”