Chapter 24 – Beyond

  His Foundation core cracked.

  Diyuan had a whirl of thoughts going through his head.

  He was somewhere he knew not.

  It was day when it should have been night.

  A mountain existed where it shouldn’t

  Spiritual energy in the air was thin enough that cultivation would have been a pain in the early years. And now, the three-month timer had begun.

  Three months until his core exploded.

  But that wasn’t even the worst of it. Going beyond the Tribulation Shroud was, in part, to find something that had lightning essence. Some spiritual plant or demonic beast part that could have survived a strike from the tribulation lightning would be necessary to help solve his Foundation core problem. And yet, the current view that Diyuan saw was a world that had not been struck once by any such lightning. It looked like he was still inside the Tribulation Shroud—no devastation or destruction. Could there even be lightning essence for him to use?

  Well, that wouldn’t be a problem at all if he could simply create his Spiritweave core using the pure weaves of spirit energy. He just needed to do it within three months.

  Diyuan walked away from the Tribulation Shroud’s walls, where the lightning continuously struck the ground. The dead ground eventually changed into dry dirt, with patches of grass and weeds. He walked on, curious as to what he would find beyond the Shroud.

  A cracked Foundation core would normally be a significant problem, even when excluding the threat of it exploding. It would disrupt artes and cause other cultivation problems. However, for Diyuan, those would be minor fluctuations since his control of spirit energy went beyond the normal Foundation cultivator. It might be a problem in the future, when the cracks continued to worsen; but for now, he was still fine.

  As he trotted on he would look over at the mountain that should not have been there. Everything else could have been explained away with some assumption, but not that mountain.

  It took about three hours of walking before he found something. He crouched down, brushing at the dirt. There was a mark. Or rather, several tracks.

  Signs of life. No, rather, signs of people.

  Footprints. Horses and people. And something that had two wheels. A wagon? Carriage? Some cart?

  “How can this be?” Diyuan asked. It was known that the tribulation thunder destroyed the world. It had wiped out and killed all people because of the crimes against non-cultivators.

  But wait, wasn’t there another theory?

  Diyuan took out the booklet from his storage ring that his Uncle Xunran had given him. According to the missing researcher, Deng Fuchen of the Lianhua clan, the lightning didn’t necessarily kill non-cultivators. Uncle Xunran had assumed that the researcher could have gotten hit by the lightning and was transported to the other side of the Tribulation Shroud.

  Diyuan decided to follow the tracks while reading the booklet at the same time.

  He flipped through the pages. The researcher had used information based on records located in the different clans, including the Records Hall of the Zhengyi clan. The information went into details about the normal tribulation thunder, the Tribulation Shroud lightning, and of those who survived the world’s end. Apparently, the death of a non-cultivator hit by a Tribulation Shroud lightning wasn’t the same as a cultivator. In Deng Fuchen’s booklet, he differentiated this lightning as Judgement Lightning, which was what the Tribulation Shroud consisted of.

  For a non-cultivator hit by Judgement Lightning, their body would become white as light before disappearing. For a cultivator, a corpse would be left behind. This fed the evidence that non-cultivators were transported elsewhere by the lightning. Of course, a counter argument was that a cultivator’s body was more resilient, therefore leaving a body behind could be expected. But during the days of normal tribulation thunder, which came down when someone broke through to the Dharma great realm, there had been instances where non-cultivators died during the event. They had a corpse.

  Considering that Judgement Lightning rained down to destroy the world for the very reason of the mistreatment of mortals, it would make sense if the lightning didn’t kill the very people it accused immortals of harming.

  Diyuan continued to flip through the booklet. It was more references and more commentary on why the theory might be true. But it also admitted problems. It was common knowledge that the world-ending event destroyed everything: buildings, trees, animals, demonic beasts, and so on. There was even a record mentioning how a mountain was obliterated into nothingness. One record in the Celing clan, though unreliable, even stated that a dark void remained where the world was struck. It claimed there was no existence where the heavens judged with finality.

  If mortals back then were “transported,” where would they have been brought to? There was no “other side” of the Tribulation Shroud since it didn’t exist yet at the start of the apocalypse.

  There was a small tidbit mentioning how a precursor of the world’s end was a permanent lightning storm at one part of the world. But back then, no one knew it was the first sign that the heavens were about to judge the world.

  Diyuan looked back towards the mountain he had seen in the distance when he came over on this side of the Shroud. Even if their maps were somehow wrong, such a mountain would have had its legs within the Shroud for them to know about it. Yet, there it stood despite logic claiming it shouldn’t.

  A couple more hours passed as he followed the tracks, which moved south, where the patches of weeds slowly vanished into a dry wasteland expanse. The ground cracked and opened up into multiple mini-ravine paths below, allowing enough room for people to walk into as long as they were comfortable with being surrounded by jagged cliff walls. Why would anyone bring a two-wheeled cart into this area? It was bound to slow them down.

  He walked on, now jumping past the tops of the jagged cliffs and taking shortcuts that the cart wouldn’t be able to take. He had wanted to find civilization by finding these people and talking to them, but he started to suspect things weren’t as simple. In any case, he was almost upon them.

  Diyuan heard them before he saw them. The creaking of a wooden object inside one of the deeper paths of the thin mini-ravine. He would peek in on them first.

  Diyuan had a clear vantage point on them. There were a total of five men guarding the two wheeled carriage on the bottom side. The carriage itself had drapes over the windows, covering whoever was inside. A single horse pulled it, sometimes barely fitting through the thinner areas.

  They were moving quickly, like they were afraid something would pounce on them at any moment. Strange, then, that they had no one watching from atop the jagged cliffs on each side. Perhaps they trusted its natural cover.

  For these five, only one was at level 3 Foundation. He was quite old considering his cultivation level. He seemed to be at least 40 years old, with a bit of grey to his short beard.

  The rest were below that. Based on their breaths, it seemed like they were either level 1 Foundation or level 2 Foundation. They each had spears in their hands or on their backs. The youngest, who looked no older than 17-years old, had a larger pack on his back that clinked with each step; he would be their mule. That would be cumbersome; why not use storage rings? Or even have the horse carry it?

  Their clothes were slightly different from Diyuan’s multi-layered robes. They had layered tunics with a reinforced vest. Some had forearm bracers, others had a leather chest guard. The level 3 Foundation cultivator had a cape and a shield on his back, along with a sword to his hip to go with the spear he carried. They each had ropes on their sides, along with a small pack.

  Again, why not just throw it into a storage ring?

  As for the single person in the carriage, they were a non-cultivator.

  “Did I say yet that I don’t like this path,” one of the men said.

  The others grunted as a response.

  “Just focus on walking,” the level 3 Foundation cultivator said. “And try not to talk so much. If a Lionsmane Stalker catches us because of you, we’ll leave you behind.”

  The men gave a good laugh at the comment. Diyuan narrowed his eyes. Lionsmane Stalker? He supposed that could be a demonic beast, but Diyuan had not heard of it before and he had gone through the bestiary book in the Records Hall. But if it was, that meant demonic beasts weren’t extinct in the open world, like it was within the Tribulation Shroud.

  Due to the comment about the Lionsmane Stalker, the youngest started looking around, almost anxious that it may have jinxed them. He turned and started walking backwards, to see if anything was hunting them. He paused when he saw Diyuan standing above looking down.

  Diyuan didn’t try to hide at all.

  The young man pointed. “T-t-th-th…there!”

  The other four pivoted sharply, turning to face Diyuan. The carriage came to a stop. Their spears were ready in an instant, locking on him.

  Diyuan saluted with his fist-in-palm. “Greetings.”

  They didn’t move at first, gauging the situation. Diyuan had a mind to check their martial skill level. Just because their cultivation was low didn’t mean they had no weapons that could cut him, with spirit artifacts and the like. However, seeing as how their center of balance was off due to the uneven ground, or the way the held themselves in general, Diyuan had a hard time believing they posed him any threat at all.

  The level 3 Foundation cultivator stepped forward. “Who are you and why are you here?”

  “I am Yuhan Diyuan. I followed your tracks. I am looking to find the nearest town or city.”

  A small murmur passed between them. “Are you with the Virtuous Wind Sect?”

  Sect? There were sects on this side of the Shroud? A place where immortals gathered and grew together? A place where some could ascend to the upper world?

  “I am not with that sect. I travel alone and I am looking to find the nearest city,” Diyuan said.

  Diyuan saw the curtain move inside the carriage window. The level 3 Foundation cultivator stepped up next to it, where he and the person inside had a whispered conversation. It was too quiet to hear from a normal sense, but Diyuan simply increased his hearing to listen in. It wasn’t that difficult to do from this distance.

  “What’s going on out there?” A mature woman’s voice asked.

  “We’ve been ambushed by a wayfarer,” the man said. “He’s been tracking us. Could be a scout from the Niu family. Looks only slightly older than Yibei.” He nodded to the youngest pack mule among them. “He has no weapons, so I’m thinking about killing him to be safe.”

  Diyuan found that amusing.

  “He has no weapons?” she asked, confused.

  “None that I can see. But he’s weaker than us. He saluted with his greeting.”

  Hm? What was this nonsense about him being weaker because he saluted? Even without that, they should be able to sense that he was level 5 Foundation at minimum.

  “And he’s in Burnt Lands by himself? Does that sound like the Niu family to you?” Her voice had a tone of impatience to it.

  The older man hesitated. “But just in case, we can’t send him off. If the Niu family knew we were here, it’d be a dangerous for you.”

  “So? Bring him along and keep an eye on him. Don’t just kill him because you’re unsure, and I am not inclined to leave him to the Lionsmane Stalkers. We’re not savages.”

  There was a moment of silence. Diyuan saw a note held up for the man to read. Diyuan couldn’t get a look on it himself.

  “Yes, my lady.” The older man said slowly. He turned his focus to Diyuan, nodding. “You may come with us. We don’t have any spare weapons, but if anything unsavory pops up, just stick by us.”

  Diyuan saluted again and jumped down into the path. The two-wheeled carriage pressed on, tilting and bumping against every rock and crack. It must be rather uncomfortable inside. This was not the route a “lady” would take. It seemed like they were avoiding this Niu family. None of that was his problem; he would reach civilization and then learn what he could about this side of the Shroud.

  Diyuan came up to their youngest, who he suspected was Yibei, as mentioned earlier by the man. Yibei was trailing a little behind the rest in the rear and constantly needed to adjust the pack that slipped every now and then. Diyuan matched his pace. “Tell me about this Virtuous Wind Sect.”

  He gave a look to Diyuan that made it seem like he was about to get in trouble. He kept quiet, not responding.

  The leader of the escort guards spoke up, however. “They are the righteous sect of this region. Whenever some great evil spawns up, the immortals from the Sect come down from their mountain and slay it. And right now, word is that the demonic beasts have been rampaging recently. Should be taking care of any stray Lionsmane Stalkers in these parts.”

  It seemed like the term “immortals” might be used more regularly around here. Most people, though not all, didn’t use that word in the Tribulation Shroud since it wasn’t possible to ascend to the upper world.

  “Y-yeah!” The young guard Yibei spoke up, taking the conversation as approval for him to speak. “And if w-we’re lucky, w-we’ll see s-some of their Jade B-Beauties!”

  Several of the guards in front scowled at their youngest, who quickly looked down, ashamed.

  “Jade Beauties?” Diyuan raised a brow.

  But the word must have had a deeper meaning because no one spoke after, and several looked at the carriage. Diyuan was curious if the woman inside would speak up and lash out or something. But nothing happened.

  Eventually, the path became too much to move at any quick pace, so they had to slow down, guiding the horse in a sluggish walk. Night started to settle and they found an opening to set up camp. It was surrounded by jagged cliffs, which gave natural cover for the fire they lit. A pot was brought out from Yibei’s pack and they cooked food over the fire. Each person found a rock to sit on. The leader of this group brought the food to the carriage, where the woman ate it inside, her face hidden from view.

  Diyuan declined any meal himself, as he needed none. The level 3 Foundation guard would also need less food, since he had formed his core. The others had small banter, where Diyuan ended up learning the names of the guards. The level 3 Foundation guard was named Captain Guang. He kept watch while the others took turns to sleep.

  Diyuan needed no sleep either, so he rested off to the side, poking at his cracked Foundation core. He had three months left until it detonated. He started trying to pull out the pure threads from the ever-absorbing vortex, which had not slowed down despite the thinner spiritual energy. He weaved it into a core, but it always failed for the same reason; he simply couldn’t connect the combined threads to each other.

  His previous analogy still worked: it was like trying to build a house by throwing the necessary parts into a tornado. The vortex he pulled the pure threads out of would always give a different level of force to each thread, making it impossible to control and connect them all as needed.

  Perhaps someone would know more on the topic, like this Virtuous Wind Sect, or some other group on this side of the Shroud. He had over four million spirit stones, so a generous gift could get him inside anyone’s doors.

  Day broke with no unexpected encounters. They pressed on once more, continuing down a preset path that had been identified ahead of time. At one point, when they stopped for the noon lunch, they could hear a roar in the distance.

  “Blasted Lionsmane Stalker,” one of the guards said.

  Diyuan took the opportunity to learn about this demonic beast that was unknown to him. “What is the Lionsmane Stalker? What does it do?”

  The guards kept to themselves when Diyuan spoke, leaving any conversation with him to their leader.

  Captain Guang answered. “Think lions, but their limbs are human arms like ours. Not very fast, but their claws work well against rock walls. They can jump from wall to wall, cutting and ripping people in their way. Worst enemy to run across in the Burnt Lands.” He held up his spear and tapped it on the ground. “Spears are your best bet against them.”

  “Unless you’re one of the immortals,” another guard said.

  “Obviously, ox-brain,” a different one spoke.

  They packed up the lunch kit and continued their journey. Diyuan tried to ask about immortals or nearby areas, but no one answered him. He did hear the silent whispering of two guards wondering if “the wayfarer’s acting was really that bad?” Without getting any responses, he settled to have a silent journey.

  Diyuan overheard the reports given to the lady inside the carriage. They were expected to be out of the Burnt Lands by tomorrow morning, where they’ll reach the city of Fengpo from the south. At this point, Diyuan could probably leave and find Fengpo on his own.

  However, his thoughts were interrupted when he heard some rhythmic scraping in the distance. Something was coming their way. Their entire path had always been between the short jagged lands that stretched up, which gave them cover, but it also prevented them from seeing any incoming threats.

  None of the guards prepared or checked what it might be. In fact, Diyuan suspected they might not have heard the scrapings at all. Only after a few moments did the horse get spooked, attempting to back up and escape. The guards kept it still and Captain Guang looked around to see if there was an external disturbance.

  Standing atop a short-jagged cliff was what could only be the demonic beast Lionsmane Stalker. The earlier description was accurate: a lion with human arms for all four of its furred limbs. Though, rather than human hands, it extended into thick metallic claws that scrapped the ground it walked on. It stepped forward, latching itself to the jagged cliff wall, defying the weight of gravity as it walked sideways.

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  “Get in position!” Captain Guang shouted.

  All the guards had a spear in their hands within a second. They ran to their captain, one calling back to Yibei to watch the horse. The four front guards got into a battle formation, spear tips pointed up. The Lionsmane Stalker jumped from one wall to the next, its tail lashing at a spear. Diyuan only noticed then that the tail ended with a metallic sharp blade. Captain Guang had his shield out in his other hand, block the tail as it jumped past the spears again.

  Diyuan watched from the side, unmoving. Yibei stood guard by the carriage. The thin curtains inside ruffled as the woman peeked to watch. The shadow of her face was indistinguishable.

  Unexpectedly, the Lionsmane Stalker jumped onto the shield, rather than the wall again. It landed, being held up by Captain Guang’s straining muscles, and lashed with its tail while everyone’s spears stabbed at it. The tail tip sliced into Captain Guang’s thigh, causing him to stumble. The demonic beast jumped off and back at the wall, its own blood now coating the fur where the spears hit.

  It must be an incredibly weak demonic beast, seeing as how its opponents were only at the level 1 or level 2 Foundation realm and still managed to get wounded by them.

  Captain Guang shouted out orders, and the formation changed slightly, keeping the weakened demonic beast at bay.

  Another set of scraping sounds came, slightly quieter and located behind them.

  There was a second Stalker.

  No one had noticed it. Diyuan looked over and saw its shadow on the wall of their mini-ravine. Should he help?

  Diyuan cleared his throat, getting Yibei’s attention. He motioned with his eyes at the new shadow. Yibei followed the direction and finally looked up to see the second Lionsmane Stalker. To his credit, he wasn’t frightened off.

  “A s-s-second one!” Yibei shouted. He dropped the pack on the ground and stepped forward to defend the carriage by himself.

  Unfortunately, his words weren’t heard by the shouting and the combat of the first group. They still hadn’t noticed the second Stalker.

  That didn’t deter Yibei, the level 1 Foundation cultivator. He ran forward to face the enemy alone. Since he was going to be heroic, Diyuan decided to aid him a little.

  Diyuan’s Limitless Body granted him some neat tricks with his artes, some of which could be used on other people. His limitless Bonegrit Dreadflesh could give an ally its defensive capabilities and even transfer damage back to Diyuan. That wasn’t something he had to do in a real situation as he had always been alone, so this would be a first. He had the arte ready as he watched Yibei strike up as the demonic beast that jumped down into their field.

  Diyuan expected Yibei to have some martial skills, considering his confidence, but that was completely off. The second demonic beast jumped off one wall to another, slicing its tail at Yibei, who did practically nothing to dodge or parry it. It hit the guy’s arm and perhaps would have carved a hole in it; instead, Diyuan felt a small heat press into his own body as limitless Bonegrit Dreadflesh passed a portion of the damage to him.

  Yibei noticed something when the wound he received was only a scratch. That emboldened him further to recklessly attack his foe, letting the claws and tail cut at him when the demonic beast jumped past him. Diyuan was experimenting the limitless arte himself, to see how the damage transfer interacted with his own personal Bonegrit Dreadflesh.

  The carriage curtain moved. The woman inside was watching Diyuan through the thin fabric, rather than the battle. He wasn’t doing anything other than watching the battle unfold; she wouldn’t be able to detect his involvement, he didn’t think. But it wasn’t just her: Captain Guang eyed the situation and noticed Yibei fighting alone. Yet, after glancing at the carriage and at Diyuan, he gave no instruction to help.

  Diyuan continued to watch Yibei’s fight. In short time, Yibei’s skills increased.

  Yup. That’s what happens when you face a real opponent.

  Yibei’s spear thrust became slightly more accurate and his response to the claws and tail swipes were a bit faster—though he still got hit a lot.

  However, Diyuan sensed his spiritual energy drain from using limitless Bonegrit Dreadflesh. That wasn’t something he had to worry about before, but since he had already been nearly drained dry inside the Carcass Grotto, he still hadn’t fully recovered. A swift end to this battle would be good.

  Diyuan saw the perfect moment to apply limitless Stunlock Bind, locking the demonic beast from moving as it flew through the air. Yibei stumbled into the opportunity as his spear shoved forward, piercing its body. The stunned beast hit the wall with its face, sliding down with a thud. It did not get back up.

  On the other side, Captain Guang and his team managed to kill their Lionsmane Stalker as well. Several of them were bleeding here and there, but nothing dramatic. They finally turned and noticed the other battlefield.

  “A second Lionsmane Stalker!” One guard shouted.

  Captain Guang quickly limped over to check on the situation. They all saw how Diyuan stood off to the side, weaponless and not part of either battlefield. They also saw the cut marks on Yibei’s body that started to seep a little. Yibei was breathing heavily and held his spear so tight that his hands were turning white.

  “Yibei, did you kill this Stalker by yourself?” Captain Guang asked, disbelieving.

  The young cultivator slowly nodded. “I-I’m not s-sure what happened. I j-just fought.”

  Diyuan examined his own body. There were no visible wounds. The Lionsmane Stalker was probably around level 3 Foundation. The level difference between Diyuan and it was great enough that he could probably catch its attacks with his bare hands without a problem, even without using Bonegrit Dreadflesh. He had let Yibei get a few cut marks, lest they really question what was happening. But just in case it left a bruise due to his experimenting, he decided to heal himself with limitless Benediction Balm. If any wounds bypassed his defenses through the transfer, he would learn it soon enough.

  The healing arte began to wash over him, giving him a nice warm feeling. No wounds were detected. Strangely, it also took a look at his cracked Foundation core. Not that it could do anything about that. His Yuhan family’s healing arte was capable of several things, but repairing a core was not one of them. Only special energy could do that, which was usually done by refining specific ingredients into a pill.

  Years before, his core had shattered completely, but it had reformed once he was given the Limitless Elixir by Ancestor Tianhou. That elixir had given him some neat benefits.

  And it was about to give him one more.

  Limitless Benediction Balm touched the cracked Foundation core and restored it. The cracks were repaired, becoming fully whole again. However, after that little effort, his arte broke, causing limitless Benediction Balm to enter a three-day exhaustion period, unable to be used again until it recharged.

  Huh. Didn’t expect that.

  Diyuan had discussed the idea of repairing the core using pills, but Venerate Grouch Huizhong dismissed the idea since pills wouldn’t do anything for a core that was in a continuous-absorption state.

  But that brought about a big question: what did it mean in regards to his three-month time limit? Diyuan could sense that his core was still teetering at the edge, ready to detonate as it continuously absorbed energy from the vortex pulling in spiritual energy. However, this small fix to his core helped stay the tide, if only a little. Perhaps it meant his three-month time limit had been extended? But it might not mean his overall problem was solved. He still needed to make a Spiritweave core so that he could turn off the “lodestone” effect of the Foundation core, which was the reason the celestial essence was being absorbed in the first place.

  Even with the fix on the crack, the core was absorbing more than it could handle. It was going to crack again soon, perhaps even in a couple of days. Diyuan would keep healing it until he no longer could.

  For now, he didn’t have any healing capabilities available due to the recharge period; something for him to keep in mind.

  The four guards surrounded Yibei, patting him on the back and praising him.

  “Who would have thought the bearer of misfortune himself would face against a demonic beast single handedly! You must have used your life’s entire fortune just to pierce it true just right.”

  “Yibei! How did you do it?”

  Yibei’s face lit up brightly, with all the older men giving him credit. It reminded Diyuan of when he was surrounded by the Watchers, where they touted him up as well. Actually, hadn’t Diyuan also been 17-years old at that time? It was around then when he first stepped out of the Reflections Pagoda and visited Uncle Xunran and practiced with the Watchers.

  For that reason alone, Diyuan liked this Yibei guy. He was unskilled, but brave.

  The wounded patched up using wraps and Captain Guang took a healing pill. A low-grade healing pill, based on its single line. That wouldn’t heal effectively but the wound wasn’t critical either, so it didn’t matter too much. Perhaps pills were rare in general? The other wounded guards didn’t take one for themselves. Captain Guang sat and meditated to absorb the weak pill. The others had soft whispers about what had happened.

  “I thought the Virtuous Wind Sect was supposed to be fighting the Lionsmane Stalkers?”

  “Don’t look at me. Maybe those two got past somehow. Gaoshe was the one who told us the info, so it should be pretty reliable.”

  After Captain Guang finished meditating, they continued on. The guards started taking turns sharing the camp pack, which gave some reprieve to Yibei. And yet, no one went to scout or check their surroundings. Diyuan had a hard time believe anyone could be a guard “captain” and not keep an eye on their surroundings. If Diyuan wasn’t here, what would have happened to Yibei? That young guy would have been maimed, if not died outright.

  Since he was here, he may as well stick with them until they reached Fengpo city.

  “Captain Guang,” Diyuan called out. “Why don’t you have periodic scouts looking out for you?”

  “Are you suggesting I’m not doing my job properly?” Captain Guang asked. A few of the other guards looked at him with a disapproving stare.

  Diyuan wouldn’t be deterred. “Yes. None of you realized that a second demonic beast was there. If Yibei wasn’t lucky, you just might not have a lady to guard anymore.”

  There was a period of silence. Captain Guang looked over at the carriage, as if he was looking to it for instructions. When the woman inside said nothing, the captain gave orders for one of the guards to keep an eye out above the short cliffs.

  The day ended without further events. According to their timeline, which had been delayed due to the attack and recovery time, they should be arriving at Fengpo sometime in the afternoon. He refused the share of food again, which got them whispering when they thought he couldn’t hear.

  “Why hasn’t he taken a bite at all? Do you think he’s at the Core Creation stage?”

  “If he was, he’d be as strong as Captain Guang. Why didn’t he fight and leave it to Yibei? You know how bad that could have been?”

  They murmured on. Diyuan didn’t let it show on his face, but he was slightly confused. Captain Guang was at the “Core Creation” stage? He was level 3 Foundation, which was when the Foundation core formed. Did they use a different terminology for level 3 Foundation?

  Morning arrived and they broke camp again. The woman inside the carriage had not stepped out once for fresh air or to stretch her legs. If she remained inside because he was here, he might feel a little guilty.

  The chosen scout for the day came back in a rush.

  “Three Lionsmane Stalkers coming our way!” He shouted as he joined up with the rest.

  Captain Guang’s jaw tensed. He looked over at his team and then at Yibei. It was likely that the captain was trying to figure out how to split the team to fight against three demonic beasts, and if Yibei’s miracle could happen a second time. But in the end, that didn’t matter.

  “Three!? What is the Virtuous Wind Sect doing?” one complained.

  “Enough—that kind of talk is pointless now,” Captain Guang barked.

  “Young Master Yuhan Diyuan,” the voice inside the carriage calmly called out. Diyuan had almost forgotten he had told them his name, seeing as how they didn’t hold conversation with him too much.

  “I’m here,” Diyuan responded. He took several steps towards the carriage but stopped when it seemed like Captain Guang would tackle him if he came close enough to be able to pull at the carriage curtains.

  “I am willing to pay you if you can help us with the Lionsmane Stalker situation,” the woman said calmly.

  Diyuan raised a brow. “How can I help if I have no weapon?”

  “Captain Guang, please give him your sword.”

  Without hesitation, Captain Guang took the sword from his side and held it out for Diyuan to take.

  Diyuan must have given himself away somehow. Or perhaps they were able to tell that his cultivation level was at least level 5 Foundation. In either case, handling the weak Stalkers wasn’t really a problem.

  He took the sword and felt its weight in his hand. It was a poor-quality sword compared to his own black cold steel. No matter. “I don’t need pay. I need information.”

  “Deal,” she said.

  Captain Guang pivoted. “We’ll split into three teams. I’ll take one by myself. The rest of you take the second and—”

  “No need for all of that,” Diyuan said. He rested the sword on his shoulder and looked up at the raised ground, hearing the scraping noises coming closer. “I will take all three.”

  He could hear the three coming from different directions, but he could also hear who would reach them first. Diyuan casually walked where the first would appear. The claws scraping the dry ground was now upon them.

  The first Lionsmane Stalker revealed itself and immediately jumped to the opposite cliff wall. Diyuan leaped up, facing the flat of the sword to block the tail swipe. While still in the air, he took hold of the tail and let the demonic beast pull him with it. He twisted and spun his body, landing on the opposite wall right next to it and stabbed it in the head with the borrowed sword.

  Diyuan jumped off the wall to the other side, as if he was a Lionsmane Stalker himself. The second demonic beast appeared and jumped out to meet him. Claws and a tail swipe were blocked by Diyuan’s sword. The two landed on opposite walls and leaped out again against each other. Diyuan expertly twisted his body and sliced through the top of the demonic beast while dodging its tail. It crashed into the wall, dead.

  He landed on the wall and jumped off once more, with enough power for him to land on top of the other side to face the final Lionsmane Stalker beyond everyone’s view. It paused, gauged the situation, and turned to run away. Diyuan stunned it with limitless Stunlock Bind and threw out his Wind’s Edge spirit artifact, piercing its skull. He recalled his weapon back to his hand to make it disappear into his storage ring once more.

  Diyuan turned to the edge of the cliff and jumped down, landing gracefully. He returned the sword back to Captain Guang, who shared the same expression as the others by having his jaw slack. The entire sequence had finished in a matter of moments.

  “Time for my questions,” Diyuan said as he walked up next to the carriage curtain, his breath even, like the exertion meant nothing to him. Captain Guang didn’t act like he was about to tackle him this time.

  “Of course,” the woman inside said, as calm as ever. Had she expected his swift victory? “Young Master, what questions do you have for me?”

  Hearing the woman’s voice got everyone out of their stupor. They hauled the two demonic beast bodies out of the way. The horse and the two-wheeled carriage moved forward at the behest of the escort guards, who kept a distance away from Diyuan but also couldn’t help but take a look at him every now and then.

  “How did you know I was someone who could help against the demonic beasts?” Diyuan asked.

  “I suspected it from the start. Ah, and please don’t laugh, but Captain Guang isn’t as incompetent as I made him appear to be.”

  Why would Diyuan laugh? “What do you mean?”

  “I wanted to see what you would do. If you were one of the Niu family’s people, I suspected you would have reported back as soon as you found us. But since you were here in the dangerous Burnt Lands, unarmed, I couldn’t help but wonder if you had a different allegiance and had some mastery of your own. One thing we learned is that you are not from around here, else you wouldn’t have asked our captain to scout above, as that is what invited the Stalkers in the first place. I asked Captain Guang to allow for some freedom for you to reveal yourself.”

  Hm. A lesson learned.

  “Your instructions put Yibei’s life at risk,” Diyuan said.

  “I was watching, and would have changed my orders depending on your facial expressions.”

  “Oh?” So she was watching him during the fight for such a reason? “And what did my facial express say?”

  He heard her reposition herself in the carriage. “Calm. Far too calm. And your eyes would judge the situation in a way that reminded me of my Right Guardian.” She leaned closer to the curtain, the silhouette of her head appeared—but with an unexpected feature that resided on top of it. “It is my job to see people.”

  Horns!?

  Diyuan kept his facial expression straight. While he couldn’t see clearly through the curtains, she most certainly had something that humans did not. The horns split into parts, so maybe they were antlers instead. It was short and only a few inches off the forehead. He pretended he didn’t see it, or simply thought it was normal.

  Afterall, while he was on this side of the Shroud, he didn’t know what people thought about the Tribulation Shroud in general. If someone suddenly appeared and started treating every normal thing as a surprise, and such a person just happened to appear next to the Shroud, wouldn’t they think he came from within it?

  A whispered conversation was happening between some of the escort guards, with Diyuan being the topic.

  “The way he moved,” one guard hushed to another, “he’s definitely beyond Core Creation, don’t you think?”

  “Definitely at the Great Tempering stage at the least.”

  “Well, if not the Great Tempering, then he’d be Perfect Harmony.”

  “At that age?”

  “Rich families. Also, if he really was Perfect Harmony, wouldn’t he be able to listen in on our conversations?”

  The two guards slowly turned to look at Diyuan, then straightened and kept walking without speaking another word.

  He had gained more information about their naming conventions based on that conversation. Level 5 Foundation was the level where a cultivator could start adjusting their senses, sharpening them more than normal. If he wanted to actively hear better, he would be able to do it. That would be their “Perfect Harmony” stage; made sense, as level 5 Foundation was the perfect stage to advance to the Spiritweave great realm. And that naturally would make the “Great Tempering” stage be level 4 Foundation.

  Numbers were far easier to remember.

  “I knew it,” the woman said with a note of confidence.

  “Hm?” Diyuan looked over at her.

  “You were not at all surprised by these.” She reached up and touched the antlers. “Anyone else would have run off, crying some abomination word or another; even going further to the point of accusing me of being the reason for the upcoming demonic beast wave. They would do so not knowing I fell for a scheme. But I take it you are already aware that these will soon vanish.”

  Oh. So the antlers aren’t normal?

  “Since you already knew I’m innocent of any demonic activity, then you must want to be on good terms with me.” She leaned closer to the curtain, the antlers pushing at it. “A proper introduction is in order, though you must already know who I am. I am Mei Yi. If my benefactor wishes a favor, he need only meet me where everyone knows to come.”

  At this point, Diyuan wasn’t sure if he shouldn’t just clear things up. Or maybe he could gain more if they assumed positive intent from him? She thought him as some savior who wanted to be on her good graces, so for now, maybe he would just continue pretending.

  But since she figured he wasn’t from these parts, he could ask certain questions freely. “Can you tell me about the Virtuous Wind Sect? Or any sects in general in these parts? What are they like? How does one get in contact with such people?”

  “Hmm, there are two major sects in the region: the Virtuous Wind Sect and the Supreme Sun Sect. The Supreme Sun Sect has been in lockdown for the last half decade, so don’t expect anything there. As for the Virtuous Wind Sect, they come around and recruit talents every so many years. You won’t be able to visit them directly as they have a fog array spell set up, blocking access.”

  Mei Yi went into more details about sects. The general rule was that if anyone wanted to walk the path of cultivation seriously, joining or having the backing of a sect was required. Any family who viewed themselves as powerful could hardly compare to the heritage of a sect. Strong independent forces might pass down artes or skills, but they could never equal the variety and quality available at these sects.

  Hmm… A centralized place where cultivators could grow and learn. He wondered if he could solve some of his problems by visiting such a place.

  “Take the Niu family for example,” Mei Yi said, “they are the strongest family in Fengpo city, but even they have no influence over the neighboring city of Yelan. In any case, there should have been Virtuous Wind Sect members in these parts due to rumors of a demonic beast wave…but we’ve seen two attacks against us already…”

  Diyuan thought about his next question. His mind went to the Tribulation Shroud and the mountain he saw that shouldn’t have been there. The world map he knew didn’t match what he had seen, so that was one of the key things he wanted to know.

  “Is there a map that I could have?” Diyuan asked. “Could be local, regional, or world based.”

  “Fu Yibei,” Mei Yi called out. The young man trotted over. “Do you have a map on you? Or a book with a map in it?”

  “N-no, M-Madam,” Yibei said. “Left t-them back b-before we left.”

  “When we reach Fengpo, I want you to give a map to Young Master Yuhan.”

  “Y-yes!” He saluted both her and Diyuan before going back to his spot.

  Once Diyuan got a map, he would be able to compare it with the world he knew existed beyond the Tribulation Shroud. Even if the mountains had been obliterated, at least the continents and oceans should resemble one another to some degree.

  “It’s a shame for Fu Yibei,” Mei Yi said.

  “A shame? What is?”

  “Fu Yibei is infamous for his misfortune. Does someone as scrawny as him look like he belongs among the escort team here?”

  Diyuan could almost feel her eyes peer into him through the curtain.

  Mei Yi took his silence as agreement. “He was set with his life. Engaged to a renowned family, ready to become a proper scholar and teacher. But he, along with many others, got poisoned by a toxic plant.” Mei Yi sighed. “His father used a fortune to bring him to a distant doctor for a cure, but little did they know, the immortal disciple of the Divine All-Healer just happened to pass by Fengpo when Fu Yibei wasn’t there, and healed everyone who was poisoned. To make matters worse, our poor Fu Yibei couldn’t get healed by that quack doctor they went to. And now, his chosen life path ended. No one would bring on a teacher who stuttered.”

  “His stutter is a result of poison?” Diyuan asked.

  “Yes. There should be an antidote for it, but the one needed has a pretty cost, as do all immortal things.”

  Diyuan looked over at Yibei, who was happily taking his turn with the camp pack. If it was a poison, couldn’t Diyuan use limitless Pungent Poison Purifier to cure it? Or maybe enough time passed that it did something to the body, so perhaps limitless Benediction Balm would help out?

  The thought was interrupted. One of the scouts returned in a hurry. They had the same expression that told Diyuan it was going to be similar news as last time.

  “Lionsmane Stalkers! And not just a few! A dozen, at least, looking for their missing members no doubt. A pack leader is among them, big enough that I think it has a real demonic beast core. They’ll be upon us before long.”

  The escort guards shuffled concerned expressions. Captain Guang’s face became fierce. The people turned towards their captain and glanced at Diyuan.

  “Since you’ve been lovely company, Mei Yi, I will take care of this too,” Diyuan said as he walked up towards one of the high walls, preparing to jump up.

  “Wait!” Captain Guang called out. “If one of them has a demonic beast core, then teamwork is needed!”

  Until now, Diyuan wasn’t even aware that there could be demonic beasts without a core. But in the event it was stronger than expected, he still had his mid-grade talismans to help.

  Diyuan jumped up, reaching the top of the wall with ease.

  “Wait! My sword!” Captain Guang shouted, holding it up.

  But Diyuan walked on, waving dismissively. He was going to use his black cold steel sword for this one.

  He saw the threat that came their way. The dry wasteland had many mini-ravines and giant cracks, but the dozen Lionsmane Stalkers jumped over them effortlessly. There was one bigger than the rest, almost three times the size and with more blade-like objects coming out of its head and limbs. They saw him and changed their trajectory from an aimless scout to a full-on charge.

  Now that’s a proper demonic beast.

  Diyuan made a mid-grade talisman appear in his hand from his storage ring. While he didn’t doubt he could take on the regular sized ones, he couldn’t be sure he could distract them all from attacking the group below him. As he was getting ready to place the talisman, he realized something felt off about it. It was almost as if the talisman was…dead.

  Curious, Diyuan attempted to activate the mid-grade talisman.

  Nothing.

  He tried again and again. Nothing. While mid-grade talismans could only activate when someone was in the Spiritweave realm, he had made it work just fine in the Carcass Grotto with his limitless Mesmer’s Echo. Was he missing something? He made the mid-grade disappear and brought out a low-grade talisman. This was something he could use at the Foundation realm just fine.

  And yet, nothing. Even the low-grade talisman wouldn’t activate when he tried.

  For whatever reason, talismans weren’t working at all.

  As the large demonic beast charged closer, Diyuan couldn’t help but wonder if its strength could be equal to the Giant Poison Toad. If so, without mid-grade talismans, Diyuan would struggle to even penetrate its skin.