After they passed through the golden passage, light and shadow shifted before their eyes.
A primeval forest of towering ancient trees stretched before them, its canopy blotting out the sky and sun, its vines entwined like snakes.
Booms rang endlessly through the forest. Trees toppled in swathes, the light of runes repeatedly exploded, and several charred gullies had been plowed into the ground.
Shi Hou sat cross-legged on Big Red's broad back, holding a coarse earthenware bowl.
The bowl held a seasoning base he had prepared by repeatedly grinding spirit beans with crimson flame peppers, a specialty of the Hundred Broken Mountains. Red oil seeped out, and its spicy fragrance assailed his nose.
He held a short wooden pestle and pounded away at an unhurried pace.
"Thump, thump, thump."
His rhythm was even and his force precise, exactly like his usual touch when chopping meat.
With every stroke, another layer of heat rose from the red oil in the bowl.
Shi Hou lowered his head to sniff it and frowned slightly.
Still not quite there. The bean paste hasn't fermented thoroughly enough. It's missing a layer of lingering sweetness.
"Clear out at once! The Martial King Manor is capturing a Primordial Remnant. Bystanders must not interfere!"
An utterly overbearing shout came from the forest.
Shi Hao, riding near the front of Big Red's neck, stretched lazily and turned to look into the forest.
Several youths in brocade robes had formed an array and were surrounding and attacking a mutated beast that radiated purple light.
It was a purple marten, roughly ten feet long, its body covered in wounds deep enough to expose bone. Blood stained its fur, and its vitality had dwindled to almost nothing.
The brocade-clad youths held treasure weapons, weaving lightning into a net that trapped the purple