The Great Wilderness Beast Tide

"Damn it! The Blood Grudge Cult really is dirt poor. They don't even have a single decent spirit medicine. They're poorer than you can imagine. The only thing worth anything is this sword, which is at least usable. Still, this map looks pretty good. A Vermillion Fruit Tree that's almost ripe... Looks like I'll have to make a trip to the Great Wilderness." Half an hour later, Ye Yun emerged from the empty treasury carrying a plain black longsword, his face full of displeasure. No wonder there hadn't even been anyone guarding the treasury—it was practically empty.

Looking at the deserted courtyard, Ye Yun's lips curled slightly as he murmured, "You're the first demonic cult I've encountered since coming down the mountain, and the first one I've ever met in my life. In light of that, I've decided to give you a big present. But I'd better get farther away first. It wouldn't do if everyone receiving it ran off."

A few minutes later, a thick mass of dark clouds quickly gathered over Fusang City. Driven by a strong wind, they slowly drifted toward the Blood Grudge Cult's headquarters, merging with the surrounding clouds along the way and growing larger and darker. As the clouds neared the cult's headquarters, lightning flashed through their black depths from time to time. Once they had completely covered the headquarters, Ye Yun, several hundred meters away, changed his hand seals and gave a low shout. At his command, bolts of lightning rained down from the distant clouds. Even Ye Yun, the one who'd set it all in motion, felt his scalp prickle at the sheer density of the strikes. It was like watching a downpour.

"Holy crap! All I did was let the thunderclouds merge with some nearby clouds and delay casting the spell a little. I never expected the spell's power to increase this much. No, it's not that the spell got stronger. My spell only served as a guide; it isn't what's actually unleashing this power. I've already lost control of the thunderclouds, which means they're acting entirely according to nature now. Tsk, tsk, what kind of sin did the Blood Grudge Cult commit to win such a huge prize? Whatever. I'd better go find that Vermillion Fruit Tree. That's the real treasure!"

Ye Yun was genuinely shocked. He hadn't expected his sudden inspiration to lead to such dire consequences. But there were no people within several hundred meters of the Blood Grudge Cult, so he didn't have to worry about injuring any bystanders. Once the shock wore off, Ye Yun dusted himself off and left. The cultists weren't good people anyway. He'd seen a large quantity of Corpse Dissolving Blood Grudge in their treasury, and the clues he'd found earlier pointed to them being responsible for the massacre in Heyang City. So even if every last member of the Blood Grudge Cult died, it wouldn't bother him.

After leaving Fusang City, Ye Yun followed the map's directions and hurried toward the Great Wilderness. A week later, he finally reached its border city. Amusingly, the city was simply called Border City.

The Great Wilderness was a vast, boundless wasteland. Though enormous, it was hardly suitable for human habitation. Danger lurked everywhere; even an inconspicuous little blade of grass might take someone's life. As a result, hardly anyone came here. But there were gains to be had as well as losses. Though desolate and full of danger, the region's unique geography had given rise to countless strange spirit medicines and exotic beasts. Many cultivators came to the Great Wilderness in search of opportunities. The Vermillion Fruit Tree on Ye Yun's map stood on a cliff in the outer reaches.

Compared with other cities, Border City wasn't as prosperous, but it was more imposing than any city Ye Yun had ever seen. Its walls alone stood nearly twenty zhang tall. And what did twenty zhang mean? A low-ceilinged story was about three meters high, while one zhang was about 3.3 meters. In other words, Border City's walls were almost as tall as a twenty-story building.

"How imposing. But why build the walls so high? Nobody comes here to attack the city." Standing before the city gate, which was more than twenty meters tall, Ye Yun looked up at its ancient-looking walls and couldn't help muttering under his breath.

Just then, a voice suddenly sounded beside him. "Brother, is this your first time in Border City?"

The unexpected voice startled Ye Yun. He turned and saw a young man in his twenties dressed like a scholar.

Though Ye Yun didn't know who the other man was, he politely nodded in agreement.

"No wonder." The young man smiled and continued, "Brother, no one may attack Border City, but demonic beasts do. And you've arrived at just the right time. Every October, the beasts in the Great Wilderness begin gathering into herds of their own accord. Around the winter solstice, led by the demonic beasts of the Great Wilderness, they come to attack the city. The imperial court sends a large army to defend it every year, and cultivators from all over come here voluntarily to hunt the beasts. Haven't you noticed there are a lot of cultivators in Border City?"

"There's really something like that? So the beast tide will arrive in less than a month?" Ye Yun couldn't quite believe it. This was just like a monster siege from a video game!

The young man smiled. "The world is vast, and strange things abound. What's so surprising about that? By the way, brother, my name is Liu Yi. I'm a disciple of the Qingxuan Sect. Which sect are you from?"

"Me? My name's Ye Yun. I'm... I'm a rogue cultivator. I came here to try my luck." Ye Yun had been about to give his sect as the Qingyun Sect, but at the last moment he forced himself to change his answer. When he said he was just a rogue cultivator, he clearly saw a look of disdain flash in Liu Yi's eyes. The man's attitude changed instantly; after chatting for a couple of minutes, he made an excuse and left.

"What... was that about?" Ye Yun's head was full of questions. What was the point of coming over to exchange a few polite words, only to leave right away?

Just then, a man in his thirties with a scruffy beard and coarse linen clothes walked over. Smiling, he said to Ye Yun, "You'll get used to it, brother. We rogue cultivators are weak, so it's only natural that the others don't want to team up with us to leave the city and hunt monsters or search for treasure. You look impressive, and I'm sure you're pretty strong. I'm a rogue cultivator too, but I've reached the second level of Qi Cultivation. How about teaming up?"

"Second level of Qi Cultivation? That should be equivalent to the second level of Jade Purity, right? Every sect in the Zhu Xian World has its own system of cultivation ranks. It's hard to judge someone's strength if you don't know how they compare."

After thinking it over, Ye Yun shook his head and declined the man's invitation with a smile. "Thanks, big brother, but I've only just reached the first level of Qi Cultivation. I came here to try my luck, not to make a big name for myself. With the beasts in the Great Wilderness already starting to gather, I'm planning to hunt a few around the outskirts and sell them for some money. I'll head into the Great Wilderness after the beast tide passes. I don't want to hold you back." Ye Yun cupped his hands, then turned and left.

Although he'd learned quite a bit from those two men, Ye Yun still wasn't entirely convinced, so he asked around some more. It turned out the situation was exactly as described. The imperial army had already arrived and begun sweeping the outskirts in groups. Most of Border City's residents had also evacuated. Aside from the army, the city was now filled mostly with cultivators and martial artists who'd come from far and wide.

Thanks to "Memories of the Old Days" for the donation. The name finally showed up this time! Thanks for the support, brother!