Beasts Repelled, the Valley Safe

I stared at the figure on the ridge. He stood high above, the talisman plaque at his fingertips turning to ash and drifting away on the wind. He did not look at me, merely turned and left as though he had never appeared.

I did not pursue him.

My body had already reached its limit. My left hand would not stop trembling, and even gripping my blade took effort. That battle had drained more than half my spiritual power; every movement now made my meridians feel taut. I took a deep breath, forced myself to calm down, and dealt with what was before me first.

My spiritual sense swept out, finding no further abnormal fluctuations within ten miles. The soil on the northern slope had stopped churning, and the rock layers beneath the eastern cliff had fallen silent as well. I withdrew my senses, and my legs gave out, nearly sending me to my knees. I hurriedly grabbed Flowing Abyss to steady myself.

"Stream Demon," I said, my voice somewhat hoarse. "Can you still hold on?"

The translucent figure in the shallow puddle swayed faintly in response. Its glow was far dimmer than before, nearly blending into the muddy water. The feathered bird stood atop a broken stone, its left wing wrapped in a spiritual leaf. Blood still seeped through, yet it did not cry out once.

I pulled out the basic healing runes the system had rewarded me with. I had earned them from answering questions a few days ago and had not used them until now. There was no time to save them as a contingency. I activated them immediately, and two faint lights flew toward the Stream Demon and the feathered bird.

The runes landed on them, rippling with a pale cyan glow. The Stream Demon's body gradually brightened, while the bird's wing stopped dripping blood. The mist cicada rested on a broken branch, its wings trembling slightly at a faster frequency than before. It should have been fine.

"Thank you." The Stream Demon's voice was soft, like wind passing over water.

I nodded without saying anything. At a time like this, words were less useful than doing something practical.

I turned toward the northern slope. The Wood Spirit's true body leaned crookedly, a split running through its trunk and more than half its branches broken. It had been responsible for tangling the frontmost ferocious beasts and had endured the greatest pressure. I walked over, pressed my hand against its roots, and slowly fed it my remaining spiritual power.

"Hold on. Don't fall."

Its remaining leaves swayed, as though nodding.

The rock lizard emerged from the soil three times. The last time, it knocked twice against the ground—short and firm. There were no more tremors. I knew it was confirming that the underground was safe. The little fellow had always been cautious and would not jump to conclusions.

I let out a breath, but I did not lower my guard. The look in that leader's eyes before it left had been wrong. It did not seem completely controlled; rather, it seemed... forced to carry out orders. And the energy lingering in that black mist reminded me of someone.

Ancestor Kunpeng.

The moment that name surfaced, my heart sank. If he truly was pulling the strings behind this, then this attack was not the end. It was only the beginning.

But there was no use thinking about that now. The most urgent matter was restoring the valley until it could be defended again.

I took out the fragment of the Earth Vein Guidance Map. I had obtained it during the last secret realm expedition but had never had the chance to study it. Now it was finally useful. When I opened it, I saw several intersecting lines marked with phrases like "spiritual vein direction" and "node reset." There was much I could not understand, but fortunately, Zhen Yuanzi had taught me some basics.

I took out the Mystic Light Mirror and placed it at the formation core. With its reflective surface facing upward, I activated the restriction. A beam of white light shot out and shone into the earth. Soon, I sensed a faint tremor beneath my feet, as if something had been activated.

"Wood Spirit, extend your main root here."

It understood what I meant. A thick root slowly emerged from the ground and approached the beam from the Mystic Light Mirror. I guided spiritual power into the mirror, and the white light extended downward along the root as though clearing a clogged passage.

A few minutes later, I sensed a weak current of spiritual energy beginning to flow. It was unstable, but at least there was some improvement.

"That's enough for now," I said. "Rest."

The Wood Spirit withdrew its root and stood quietly in place, no longer swaying.

I looked around. The battlefield was still a complete mess. Broken stones littered the ground, scorched earth gave off lingering smoke, and vines were tangled with ice layers like a knotted rope. The fragment of the Spirit-Gathering Formation Diagram was buried beneath it all. Fortunately, it had not been completely destroyed; only one edge had been burned.

I dug it out, blew away the ash, and tucked it into my clothes. I would repair it when I had time.

"Everyone, listen up." I raised my voice. "We're entering rotating alert duty. Rock Lizard, keep monitoring underground. Mist Cicada, send a report every half hour. Feathered Bird, patrol the skies. Stream Demon, control the water and guard against sudden fires. Wood Spirit, restore your true body and be ready to set up barriers at any time."

No one objected. They returned to their positions one by one. They were not moving quickly, but they were moving.

I returned to the ruins at the center, planted Flowing Abyss into the ground, and sat down against it. The spirit beast came over and lay beside me, panting heavily. It was wounded too, with several patches of fur singed black, but it could still walk and fight.

I reached out and stroked its head. It rubbed against my palm.

[Composite Defense Completion: 87%. Reward settlement in progress.]

[Obtained: three Beginner Healing Pills, ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones, one jade slip of Introduction to Basic Formations]

I was not in a hurry to claim them. Those items were important, but they could wait. What I needed most right now was time to recover.

I closed my eyes and tried to circulate the Nine Revolutions Profound Origin Art. Spiritual power moved slowly through my meridians, like water returning to a dried-up riverbed. With every cycle, I could feel a trace of recovery, though it was painfully slow.

About an hour later, the sky had fully brightened. Morning mist drifted in from the valley entrance, covering the scorched earth. Strangely, tender shoots had sprouted from the burned ground. Their green was almost dazzling, yet they were undeniably real.

I opened my eyes and stared at those new sprouts, suddenly filled with an indescribable feeling.

We had won this battle. The valley still stood.

But I knew this peace was only temporary.

The distant outline of the ridge was clearly visible—the place where that man had stood earlier. Why had he shown himself? Why had he destroyed the talisman plaque? Was it to silence someone, or... a warning?

As I was thinking, another system notification appeared:

[Abnormal residual energy detected. Its source highly matches incidents related to "Northern Desolation Secrets." Begin question challenge?]

I stared at that line without moving.

Answering questions might reveal clues, but it could also expose more. If the questions involved Ancestor Kunpeng, I did not dare imagine the punishment for getting them wrong.

Just then, the rock lizard knocked twice beneath the eastern cliff.

It was not the warning rhythm.

My eyes snapped open, and I looked north.

A small black dot was moving across the hillside, drawing closer and closer. Only when it crawled into the brighter light did I see clearly—a dead ferocious beast cub, suspended from a broken branch with a tree limb.

Its chest had been cut open, with a stone stuffed inside. Several words were carved on the stone's surface:

"Next time, it'll be you."