Nomadic Lands

The howls echoed through the darkness, one after another, coming simultaneously from all directions.

Shadow flipped in through the entrance between the rocks, his short sword already drawn, its blade gleaming cold and white in the moonlight.

His movements were light, making almost no sound, but his grip on the sword was tighter than usual.

"How many?" Li Xuan asked in a low voice.

"At least three," Shadow said. "Their positions are uncertain. They're hunting us."

Shi Yong was roused, his hand already reaching for the hilt of his heavy saber.

He was no stranger to vigilance while sleeping; it was a habit forged on the battlefields of the Northern Territory.

Li Xuan tilted his head and listened.

The howls were drawing closer.

There was something unnaturally sharp in the sound, like metal scraping against metal, or wind blowing through hollow bones.

He had heard that sound before—in Iron Wall City, on the night the barbarian shaman summoned the Wolf Soul.

"They're not living creatures," he said quietly.

Shadow nodded. "They're Wolf Souls sent out by Gurqin."

Shi Yong's expression shifted. "Wasn't his clone destroyed? How are there still more?"

"The clone was destroyed, but the power it scattered remains," Li Xuan said. "The people from the Shadow Division said Gurqin spent thirty years extending his tendrils everywhere. Those Wolf Souls and shadows are the eyes he sent out. Destroying the clone didn't make them disappear... They'll continue carrying out their final command."

"What command?"

Li Xuan did not answer, but he could guess.

Before Gurqin's clone died, it had said, "The real me is still..."

Still where? Deep in the Northern Territory—in the Black Abyss.

The final command of those scattered Wolf Souls and shadows had to be guarding the road leading to the Black Abyss, or killing anyone who tried to approach.

"They've found us," Shadow said. "Should we retreat?"

Li Xuan shook his head. "We can't retreat anymore. The fact that they've surrounded us means they've already locked onto our position. If we run back, they'll only chase us down. Better to wait here and fight on our terms."

He looked at Shi Yong and Su Ying.

"Shi Yong, hold the entrance between the rocks. Su Ying, stay behind me. Don't come out."

Shi Yong nodded, holding the heavy saber across his body as he crouched at the entrance.

His burly frame nearly blocked the entire opening.

Li Xuan drew the Blood Wolf Saber, its blade gleaming with a dark-red sheen in the moonlight.

He circulated the Red Sun Scripture. A faint layer of Crimson Gold Flame surfaced in his palm, then spread along the hilt and onto the blade, wrapping around the entire saber.

The Blood Wolf Saber had originally been a famous barbarian weapon, belonging to the yin attribute. But after being wrapped in Red Sun Qi, the cold yin energy within the blade was suppressed, replaced by a scorching heat.

Shadow glanced at him without speaking, merely shifting half a step aside to make room for him to strike.

The howls suddenly stopped.

The surroundings fell into deathly silence.

Even the wind stopped.

Not even the sand moved anymore.

The silence was unnatural, as if an invisible hand had covered every sound.

Li Xuan held his breath, spreading his soul perception to its limit.

Twenty paces ahead to the left—something was there.

Fifteen paces ahead to the right—something was there.

Ten paces directly ahead—

It was coming.

An Ethereal Green Shadow sprang from the darkness, moving as swiftly as lightning!

Li Xuan had been ready.

He stepped forward half a pace and swept the Blood Wolf Saber diagonally upward. The Crimson Gold Flame trailing from the blade carved an arc through the air and struck the shadow's flank.

"Sss—!"

A sharp hiss exploded through the night.

The blade had struck the shadow, and the Ethereal Green light around its body flickered violently, like a lamp about to go out.

It crashed to the ground, rolled twice, then climbed back up.

It was a wolf.

No, not a wolf. It was a full size larger than an ordinary wolf, its entire body shrouded in Ethereal Green mist, two Green Fires burning in its eye sockets.

Its body was not made of flesh and blood. It was translucent, as if condensed from smoke and light.

A Wolf Soul.

It had the same origin as the giant wolf from that night in Iron Wall City, but it was far smaller and weaker.

At the wound Li Xuan had inflicted, Crimson Gold Flame burned fiercely, devouring the Ethereal Green mist bit by bit.

The Wolf Soul let out a pained hiss and desperately clawed at the wound, trying to extinguish the flames. Instead, the flames only grew larger.

Li Xuan gave it no chance.

He crossed the distance in one step and struck again, aiming the Blood Wolf Saber at the Wolf Soul's skull.

The Wolf Soul tried to dodge, but its body had already been scorched by Red Sun Qi, slowing it greatly.

The blade cleaved through the back of its neck. Crimson Gold Flame exploded, and the Wolf Soul released a shrill howl. Its entire body shattered with a boom, becoming countless Ethereal Green motes that scattered into the night wind.

[Wolf Soul (Remnant Soul) killed, Potential Points +2]

The other two had already arrived.

The one on the left lunged at Shi Yong from the side, while the one on the right circled above the rock fissure, intending to attack from overhead.

Shi Yong let out a low growl and swept his heavy saber across. The blade struck the left Wolf Soul's foreleg, but its body was translucent. The heavy saber cut into it like cotton, leaving only a shallow gash. The Wolf Soul's claws had already reached Shi Yong's face—

Shadow struck.

His short sword stabbed into the Wolf Soul's neck from the side. There was no true qi on the blade, but it was coated in a layer of something dark.

The instant the blade pierced it, the Wolf Soul's body abruptly stiffened. Its green light flickered madly, as if something had pinned it in place.

"Cut off its head!" Shadow barked.

Li Xuan was already moving. The Blood Wolf Saber swept across, Crimson Gold Flame slicing through the Wolf Soul's neck. Its head flew up, and its body shattered.

The second one was dead.

[Wolf Soul (Remnant Soul) killed, Potential Points +2]

The final one pounced from above.

Su Ying let out a scream and swung the War Hammer overhead.

The hammerhead smashed into the Wolf Soul's abdomen. The immense force sent it flying into a nearby boulder. The boulder broke apart, and several cracks split the Wolf Soul's body as well.

Li Xuan caught up and drove his saber through its chest.

The third one was dead.

[Wolf Soul (Remnant Soul) killed, Potential Points +2]

The night wind began blowing again.

The rustling sound returned to their ears.

Everything returned to normal, as if the battle moments ago had never happened.

Shi Yong panted heavily as he lowered his head to inspect the shallow mark on the edge of his heavy saber, then cursed.

Li Xuan sheathed his saber and scanned the surroundings.

There were no more green lights in the darkness.

But he knew this was only the beginning.

"They were probing the way," he said. "Those three Wolf Souls didn't come to kill us. They came to confirm our position."

Shadow nodded. "There will be more afterward."

Shi Yong's face turned grim. "Then what do we do? Go back?"

"Going back won't change anything," Li Xuan said. "We've already entered their range. Even fifty li back, we'd still be inside it. We might as well keep heading north."

He looked at Shadow. "How far is the Black Abyss?"

Shadow thought for a moment. "At our current speed, five more days."

"Five days." Li Xuan repeated the words, tightening his grip on the hilt. "That gives them plenty of time to send wave after wave."

"Can't we take a detour?" Su Ying asked softly.

Shadow shook his head. "There's no way around it. The north is the barbarians' nomadic lands. To the east are the salt flats—no water or food, and a person would collapse after three days. To the west are mountains, cliffs, and steep precipices. With two Body Tempering Realm cultivators like you along, we won't get through."

He paused. "There's only one road: cross the nomadic lands and pass between the barbarian tribes."

Shi Yong cursed. "Barbarian tribes? Wouldn't that be walking straight to our deaths?"

"We don't necessarily have to fight," Li Xuan said. "The barbarians aren't of one mind. The Blood Wolf Tribe, Blood Eagle Tribe, White Wolf Tribe, Black Bear Tribe... They have grudges among themselves too. As long as we avoid the major tribes and pass through the gaps between the smaller ones, we may not be discovered."

He looked at Shadow. "Do you have a map?"

Shadow pulled a hide map from his robes and spread it on the ground. It depicted a crude topographical map, with the approximate locations of several tribes marked on it.

"The Shadow Division drew this three years ago." Shadow pointed to several marks on the map. "The Blood Wolf Tribe is here, the Blood Eagle Tribe is here, and the White Wolf Tribe is here. These three are major tribes, each with more than ten thousand people. There are buffer zones between them, roughly ten li wide. No one lives there, but scouts patrol them."

"Then we'll take the buffer zones," Li Xuan said. "Rest during the day and travel at night. If we encounter scouts, hide if we can. If we can't, finish the fight quickly."

Shi Yong stared at the map in silence for a while before suddenly asking, "Which tribe's territory is Gurqin's true body in?"

Shadow's finger moved north, passing the marks of the three tribes before stopping at a blank region at the northernmost edge of the map.

"Here," he said. "It belongs to no tribe. The barbarians call it the Forbidden Land. Even they don't enter it."

"Why?"

"Because no one who enters has ever come back," Shadow said. "It's been that way for three hundred years. Gurqin choosing that place as his lair wasn't a coincidence—that place already had something wrong with it."

Li Xuan stared at the blank region as Red Sun Qi slowly circulated through his body.

"Rest until dawn," he said. "We'll begin traveling tomorrow night."

The next day, the four of them hid in a cave deep within Stone Rubble Beach.

The cave was small, barely large enough to fit four people. A boulder blocked most of the entrance, leaving only a narrow gap for ventilation. Shadow scattered some powder at the entrance, supposedly ground from the feces of a certain Demonic Beast, to conceal their scent.

Li Xuan sat cross-legged at the very back, meditating with his eyes closed.

After arriving in the Northern Territory, he discovered that he needed less sleep.

When the Red Sun Scripture circulated, Pure Yang Qi nourished his entire body, including his brain.

He could go three days without sleep and never feel tired.

At mid-afternoon, Shadow suddenly opened his eyes.

"Someone's here."

Li Xuan immediately rose, his hand pressing against the hilt of his saber.

Shadow raised one finger, signaling silence. He listened for a moment, then peered outside through the crack at the entrance.

Outside, several figures were approaching across Stone Rubble Beach.

Barbarians.

There were four of them, all male, dressed in leather robes with curved sabers and bows hanging from their waists.

They moved slowly, evidently on patrol.

The one in front carried a Bone Staff and bore the markings of a shaman.

Li Xuan held his breath.

The four barbarians passed twenty paces from the cave without looking in their direction.

The one at the very back suddenly stopped and twitched his nose several times, as if smelling something.

Shadow's fingers tightened around his sword hilt.

Li Xuan's saber was already half drawn.

The barbarian sniffed a few more times, shook his head, and caught up with his companions.

The four figures gradually vanished into the depths of Stone Rubble Beach.

Shadow released his grip on the sword and exhaled.

"A patrol," he said in a lowered voice. "Once a day, at irregular times. It seems the barbarians already know someone has entered their territory."

"Has our trail been exposed?" Shi Yong asked, now awake as he rubbed his eyes.

"Not necessarily," Shadow said. "It could also be a routine patrol. The barbarian higher-ups should already know that Gurqin's clone was destroyed. They'll increase their vigilance."

Li Xuan looked at the map. "How far is the nearest tribe?"

"Thirty li north. There's a small Blood Wolf Tribe camp, with around two hundred people." Shadow pointed to a mark on the map. "Another sixty li north is the buffer zone between the Blood Wolf Tribe and the White Wolf Tribe. We have to cross that buffer zone to continue north."

"A camp of two hundred people. Do they have scouts?"

"They do. They patrol within a ten-li radius."

Li Xuan thought for a moment. "We'll leave tonight and first circle around the camp. If we can avoid it, we will. If we can't, we'll wait for a gap in the patrols and pass through."

After night fell, the four of them set out.

The nights in the Northern Territory were bitterly cold, the wind cutting their faces like knives. Su Ying wrapped her padded coat tightly around herself, but her lips still turned purple from the cold. Shi Yong had thick skin and abundant flesh, so he felt little, merely rubbing his hands nonstop.

Shadow led the way, stopping every so often to check their direction. He did not use a fire starter, relying entirely on the moonlight and starlight to guide him. Li Xuan followed five paces behind, the Blood Wolf Saber already drawn. Red Sun Qi circulated through his body, ready to strike at any moment.

After two hours of walking, Shadow suddenly stopped and crouched down.

Li Xuan crouched as well.

Ahead, a faint point of fire glimmered in the darkness.

It was not a campfire, but a torch.

Three figures swayed within the firelight.

Barbarian scouts.

"Three," Shadow whispered so softly that he could barely be heard. "Should we go around?"

Li Xuan studied the terrain. The scouts stood beside a dried-up riverbed, with open ground on both sides and nowhere to hide. Going around would require them to circle at least two li outward, and there might be other scouts over there.

"We can't go around," he said. "We fight. Finish it quickly."

Shadow did not hesitate. He nodded.

Li Xuan made a hand signal—Shi Yong and Su Ying stayed where they were while he and Shadow moved ahead.

The two of them circled in from opposite sides, their footsteps light as cats'. Shadow moved faster, like a strand of black smoke, drifting silently to within ten paces behind the scouts.

Li Xuan circled around to the other side, ending up at roughly the same distance.

He nodded at Shadow.

Shadow moved.

The short sword stabbed into the first scout's nape from behind. The man crumpled to the ground without making a sound.

Li Xuan struck at the same time. The Blood Wolf Saber swept horizontally, its edge slicing across the second scout's throat. Blood sprayed out and was carried away by the night wind.

The third scout reacted, opening his mouth to shout...

Shadow's short sword was already pressed against his throat.

"Don't move." Shadow spoke in the barbarian tongue. His voice was soft, but carried great force.

The scout froze, his eyes filled with terror.

Li Xuan stepped forward and asked in the barbarian tongue, "Where is Gurqin?"

The scout's eyes widened. His lips trembled, but he said nothing.

Shadow pushed the short sword forward another half inch. The tip pierced the skin, and a bead of blood welled up.

"It's... it's in the Black Abyss." The scout finally spoke, his voice shaking. "The forbidden ground... north of here... No one dares go..."

"How do we get there?"

"Head north... keep going north... five days... There's a Black Mountain... It's right beneath the mountain..." The scout's breathing grew increasingly hurried. "Please... don't kill me..."

Li Xuan glanced at Shadow.

Shadow withdrew the sword and struck the scout across the back of the neck with his palm.

The man passed out.

"Not kill him?" Shadow asked.

"Killing him would be pointless." Li Xuan said, "Knocking him out can buy us several hours. By the time they find him, we'll already be far away."

The two returned to Shi Yong and Su Ying, then continued north.

For the next three days, they hid in caves or ruins during the day and traveled at night.

They encountered scout patrols four times. Twice, they skirted around them; twice, they ended up clashing.

Fortunately, both times they were small groups of scouts, only two or three men, and they did not alert the main force.

Each time, Li Xuan wrapped the blade in Red Sun Qi, ensuring that no trace of sinister cold energy remained and preventing the barbarian shamans from sensing it.

On the third night, they finally crossed the buffer zone between the Blood Wolf Tribe and the White Wolf Tribe.

Ahead lay terrain of an entirely different kind.

The Stone Rubble Beach and saline-alkali land were gone, replaced by a plain of black rock. The rocks were black, the sand was black, and even the stars reflected on the ground became dim gray.

The air was thick with the smell of sulfur, mixed with a sweet, rotten fishiness.

Shadow stopped and looked ahead.

"We're here," he said. "The edge of the Black Abyss."

Li Xuan stepped forward and looked north.

In the darkness, a black rise could just barely be seen along the horizon.

It was a scar across the earth, and also resembled the gaping maw of some colossal beast.

Inside his body, the Red Sun Qi suddenly surged violently.