Slaying

Lu Zhenshan was the first to stride forward. His steps were steady and powerful, each footfall firm enough to leave a shallow print in the gray-brown earth.

His domain had already spread. A heavy presence radiated from him like a moving mountain, bearing down with a pressure that seemed impossible to shake.

Luo Qingluan's figure flickered beside him, then vanished into the gray haze.

She was so fast that Xu Wuyi's eyes caught only a blurred afterimage before he lost all trace of her.

He knew she had slipped toward the canyon and was using her innate gift for concealment to pinpoint Mongen's location.

Xu Wuyi did not move yet. He stood where he was, closed his eyes, and sank his awareness into his Sea of Consciousness.

The pale-blue Heart of Order began to turn slowly. His domain spread without a sound, reaching outward from him to cover nearly thirty meters.

Within that range, he could sense the faint vibration of every grain of sand, the slightest shift in every current of air, and the life auras given off by the distant Sky Wolf warriors.

Those auras were densely packed deep in the canyon.

He started toward the canyon at an unhurried pace, every step sure.

He held the Prairie Fire Spear in his right hand, its tip pointing down. The dark-gold patterns along its shaft gleamed coldly in the dim light.

The ground beneath his feet grew rougher, changing from flat wasteland to rolling hills, then from hills to steep slopes.

Millions of years of wind and erosion had left the rocks riddled with fine cracks. They gave faint crunches underfoot.

After about ten minutes, the canyon entrance came into view.

It was a long, narrow cleft between steep rock walls. Pits and fissures of varying depths covered them