The borderlands, Stone Desert Prefecture, Sword Pass.
Vicious winds gusted, and sand and haze filled the sky. Everywhere the eye fell was desolation, with scarcely a soul in sight. Here and there stood the remnants of villages and towns, already empty of inhabitants.
The terrain was dry, its sandy soil faintly tinged red. Mutilated corpses were piled into small mountains-men and women, old and young alike. Those at the top had shriveled in the windblown sand, their flesh withered away to leave stark white bones, while those below were soaked in blood and crushed together, impossible to separate.
Occasionally, evil creatures followed the scent of blood and settled beside these corpse mountains to meditate and cultivate. When thirsty, they scooped up handfuls of bloody water; when hungry, they gnawed on a few broken bodies.
Clouds parted on the horizon, and a streak of Sword Radiance descended like an enraged dragon, slaughtering these evil creatures in all their varied forms. Then torrents of purplish-black fire poured down from the sky, reducing the towering corpse mountains to drifting ash.
Xu Xuan sheathed his sword and slowly descended. Beside him, Lü Guan said nothing, his expression so dark it seemed water might drip from it.
"Cultivators did this."
Xu Xuan lowered his voice, looking farther north.
"The Six Prefectures used to be fairly prosperous. They were close to Heavenwater, and there were plenty of Immortal Dao sects. But when the Liao army came slaughtering its way through all those years ago, those cultivators scattered like birds and beasts. Mortals, however, could hardly flee. The Liao army was largely savage in its conduct when it attacked, and so..."
Lü Guan's figure blurred, as though about to vanish into the sand and haze. Moonlight swept past, spreading peace and stillness over the area and clearing