Six People Walking

While the three remaining members of the five-person group were still gripped by terror, Li Junshan had already ridden a Xenomorph several hundred meters away. He left only one Xenomorph lying in ambush around them, waiting for the next sneak attack.

Launching another attack when the enemy had already noticed and raised their guard would have been extremely unwise. After all, that "young master," whom Li Junshan had not taken seriously at first, was a Grand Battle Master, and there was also a mage of unknown rank watching hungrily from the side.

This kind of game—killing enemies from the shadows, like a cat toying with mice—left Li Junshan somewhat excited.

"Damn, I lost a magic Xenomorph." Li Junshan hid beneath a tree to avoid the rain, his heart aching. Up to now, he had already lost two Xenomorphs, and three more were badly wounded. Aside from the Black Dragon Xenomorph, he had only five Xenomorphs left that he could command.

He touched his chest, and Li Junshan finally felt a little better. Two more Space Rings had been added to the cord hanging there.

The sound of rain gradually lessened. Before long, the downpour stopped, and soon the dark clouds in the sky slowly scattered as well. The forest did not seem much brighter, however; evening had already arrived.

At that moment, Li Junshan received the mental signal sent by that Xenomorph. The three people had already set out, and they were moving very quickly.

After ordering that Xenomorph to follow them, Li Junshan mounted the Xenomorph standing guard nearby, then released three more Xenomorphs to cover the left, right, and rear from a distance. He kept one in his Space Ring as a trump card, then ran forward.

The entrance to Blood Canyon was extremely narrow, less than a hundred meters wide, with towering cliffs rising into the clouds on both sides. A dozen or so burly men in black stood in a line, firmly blocking the entrance.

"Why hasn't a single person come even now?"

An old man with white hair, dressed in a moon-white robe, sat on a huge boulder at the entrance and asked with a frown.

The leading burly man in black immediately ran up to the boulder and said respectfully, "Two people came through on the first day, one Archmage and one Battle Master. Four more came on the second day, but later they inevitably started fighting and all withdrew back into the forest. No one has come over these past few days."

No sooner had the burly man finished speaking than three people ran out of the forest, their faces full of terror and unease, as if they were being chased by a level-nine magical beast. Only when they saw the crowd did they calm down and slowly walk over.

These three were none other than the last three survivors of the five-person group Li Junshan had been hunting all the way. Over the following two days, the three stayed close to one another every step of the way. At night, they would keep against the cliff by the edge of the forest and find an open area with no weeds or trees to rest. They did not close their eyes once. When they grew utterly exhausted, they would take a kind of green potion, and their spirits would immediately recover to normal.

Li Junshan had tried having a Xenomorph ambush them once, and the result was that the Xenomorph's tailbone was chopped in half by that "young master." Fortunately, the "young master" had no intention of pursuing it, or he would definitely have lost another Xenomorph.

"He must be just like Lei Xuan. Even though this 'young master' only has the blue battle aura of a Grand Battle Master, his strength definitely isn't that simple."

Not wanting the Xenomorphs to suffer any more damage, Li Junshan could only follow the three from a distance. When they moved forward, he moved forward with them; when they rested, he rested too. They did not run into anyone else, and just like that, he and the group of three reached the entrance to Blood Canyon one after the other.

After putting away the Xenomorphs, Li Junshan swaggered out behind them.

"Four people now." The white-haired old man nodded and said loudly, "Wait off to the side for a while. There are still six slots. If more people come, hmph, you'll have to think of a way to deal with it yourselves."

The three exchanged glances, then walked beneath the boulder and stood there to rest. Li Junshan went over and sat down beside them, took out a piece of dried meat, and began gnawing on it.

"You... have you seen any very strange magical beasts behind us?" The young priestess could not help asking Li Junshan.

Li Junshan pretended not to hear and continued eating on his own.

At that moment, the mage glanced at Li Junshan, then leaned down and whispered something to the "young master" and the young priestess. When the three looked at Li Junshan again, flames of anger had appeared in their eyes.

Li Junshan unhurriedly finished eating the dried meat, then took out a bottle of green fruit wine and began drinking. This wine was similar to the fruit wine he had drunk before, its flavor very clear, crisp, fragrant, and sweet.

Night gradually darkened. The white-haired old man sitting on the boulder was clearly growing impatient. He opened his mouth and was just about to say something when he suddenly raised his head and looked toward the distant forest.

A thin youth walked out of the forest. He walked very slowly, and very steadily, as though the ground were covered in sharp spikes that would pierce the soles of his feet if he was the slightest bit careless.

Li Junshan's brows rose slightly. He recognized this youth. It was the blond youth from the Bywater Empire who had entered the forest ahead of him.

"I didn't expect him to survive too." Li Junshan was somewhat surprised. After all, this youth did not look much older than himself.

Under the guidance of that burly man, the blond youth also came to the side of the boulder where Li Junshan and the others were staying. He did not sit either, merely leaned lightly against it.

Just as the blond youth leaned against the boulder, a burly man in gray also strode out of the forest. His messy red hair was like burning flames, his face covered with beard, and his square face was filled with fortitude. His sharp gaze carried imposing authority whenever he looked around. His arms were much longer than an ordinary person's, almost hanging down to his knees, and a broad sword as wide as a hand was stuck across his back.

"Go rest over there for a while," the burly man in charge of receiving them said to the gray-clothed man, then raised his head and looked toward the forest again.

The burly man in gray walked to the side of the boulder and glanced at the others. His eyes suddenly lit up, and he ran over to Li Junshan in a few steps.

Li Junshan looked at him warily, only to hear the burly man in gray say, "Little brother, do you have any stronger liquor? I came from far away, and I've already drunk all the liquor I prepared."

"So he's a drunkard." Li Junshan thought to himself. When he had come, he had prepared quite a bit of food and wine. Seeing that this burly man in gray seemed rather forthright, he casually took a crystal bottle from his Space Ring and tossed it to him.

The burly man in gray caught it, pulled out the wooden stopper, tilted his head back, and took a big swig. His eyes immediately lit up.

"Haha, I never thought I'd be able to drink my homeland's Blazing Red Lips here. Good, good, good!" The burly man in gray did not care that the people from Blood Canyon were present and burst into loud laughter, his voice like muffled thunder.

It was no wonder the burly man in gray was so wildly delighted. Blazing Red Lips was strong, fragrant, and mellow. It was produced in the far northern Buhari Desert, and the round trip alone covered several thousand li. Its price could no longer be measured in gold coins.

Perhaps because his body had been modified by Xenomorph genes, Li Junshan would not get drunk no matter what wine from this world he drank. Aside from fruit wine, other wines instead tasted bland to him; only Blazing Red Lips could stimulate his throat a little. This bottle of Blazing Red Lips had been given to Li Junshan by Duke Aldrich before he set out, and the duke had repeatedly warned him that if he grew sleepy in a perilous situation, a few sips could refresh him, but he absolutely must not drink too much.

Li Junshan had merely grabbed something at random, not expecting to give away the most precious Blazing Red Lips. Since he had already handed it over, there was certainly no reason to ask for it back. Seeing the burly man in gray drink with such hearty satisfaction, he could not help smiling faintly.

"Little brother, not bad. Your temper suits my taste very well." The burly man in gray emptied the bottle of Blazing Red Lips in just a few gulps, casually tossed the crystal bottle aside, and smiled as he stretched out a palm as large as a cattail fan toward Li Junshan. "My name is Robin. I'm from the far northern Buhari Desert."

Li Junshan did not rebuff his enthusiasm. He stood, reached out, and lightly shook his hand. "Nicholas, from the Lans Empire. Mm, you can call me Xiaoshan."

"You were a lot closer." The burly man in gray, Robin, withdrew his hand and sat beside Li Junshan, sighing. "Just hurrying here took me over a month."

Li Junshan smiled faintly and sat beside Robin. At that moment, he noticed that although Robin's clothes were old and worn, they had been washed very clean. Forget bloodstains—even a single crease could not be seen on the gray shirt.

"You didn't run into anyone attacking you on the way?" Li Junshan asked, a little curious.

Robin laughed and said, "How could I not? On the first day, I ran into four people who tried to attack me, and I dealt with them all. Over the next few days, I found it too troublesome, so I found a stone cave to sleep in. During that time, I sent three people packing, and only hurried over this afternoon."

"Uh." Li Junshan was instantly speechless. Robin made it sound very easy, but to actually do it, how could he not have a certain level of strength?

"Time is up." The white-haired old man raised his head and looked at the setting sun over the western mountains, then stood and shouted, "Begin clearing the field. If there are still people inside, drive them all out of Blood Canyon. From today onward, the canyon will be sealed as usual."

The dozen or so burly men standing below all answered respectfully, then swiftly darted into the forest. Each of their rapidly moving bodies left behind blue afterimages of battle aura—they were all at the rank of Grand Battle Master.

More brutal with every year. I never thought thirty-four people would come this year, yet only six would pass. The white-haired old man mused inwardly, then drifted up from the boulder and flew toward the depths of the narrow valley. He was a mage.

"Follow me." The burly man in the lead beckoned to the somewhat excited Li Junshan and the others, then led the way toward the narrow valley.

The narrow valley was like a wine bottle. Its entrance was extremely tight, but the farther in they went, the wider it became. The flat stone ground was incomparably smooth, without a single blade of grass growing on it.

"What profession are you?" Robin grew a little bored as they walked, so he asked Li Junshan. Anyone who could make it this far was definitely no pushover. Seeing that Li Junshan was only fifteen or sixteen, and that his body looked rather thin, Robin could not help feeling curious.

"Summoner." Li Junshan had no intention of hiding it from him either.

"Then your summoned beast must be really powerful. I thought you were a mage at first." Robin clicked his tongue as he spoke, then asked the blond youth beside them, "And you?"

"Assassin," the blond youth replied coldly, without even glancing at him.

"No wonder you survived. In this kind of environment, assassins really do have an easier time staying alive. What's your name? Where are you from?" Robin asked again.

"Bywater Empire, Blondi." The blond youth still looked like a chunk of thousand-year-old ice, sparing words like gold.

"About as far away as me." Robin nodded. Seeing the blond youth Blondi's expression, he stopped talking.

The three-person group lagged more than ten meters behind them, whispering to one another the whole time, though no one knew what they were saying.

Before long, they discovered that a cliff appeared at the end of the narrow valley, towering into the clouds and looking extremely precipitous, which left them all somewhat surprised. Only when they drew closer did they realize there was actually a bend there. They also heard the clamor of voices. Following the bend around and taking a look, the whole group could not help freezing in place.