Chapter 148: I Will Never Insult People

~~~

They cook the worm over a campfire.

Not all of it, of course. The corpse of the All-Devouring Worm is a mountain of flesh. More than one even. Eating it all is far beyond their capabilities.

It is also not particularly appetizing. Alas, there are no poor meals for the hungry stomach, and the All-Devouring Worm makes for an exceptionally nutritious one. Its core may have been destroyed, and most of its Qi lost, but its flesh is still that of a creature in the Earth Realm. For people as exhausted as them, there is no better source of sustenance. They’d be foolish not to take advantage of it.

Indeed, it proves to be the final push a few of their number need to enter the Spirit Realm.

“I’ll never insult people by calling them worms again!” One disciple cries out, joyous at his breakthrough.

“Shh! Don’t be so loud,” says another, and not without reason.

The Rusted Plains are no longer empty. A veritable multitude of Spirit Beasts has gathered around the worm’s corpse to feast. The disciples of the Eternal Flame Clan slept on top of the dead worm and woke up to find themselves surrounded. Luckily, the Spirit Beasts do not seem hostile. The worm’s corpse provides so much food there is no need for them to fight over it.

Still, they do not want to test the limits of this truce by calling too much attention to themselves.

“We cannot stay here for long,” Liu Jin decides to start with the obvious. “More and more Spirit Beasts will be drawn by the corpse. Some of them will be more violent than others. It is only a matter of time until one attacks.”

Though he does not raise his voice too much, he immediately has the attention of the disciples present.

“Last night, we were able to see the stars. We know which direction is north now,” he adds. “That should help us make our way to the Eye of the Plains.”

“We lost some supplies fighting the bugs,” points out Fan Bingbing. “That will make our trip harder.”

“The bugs…. Those are… still in there, aren’t they?” asks a dark-haired disciple. He looks at the corpse they are on with wary eyes and shivers. “I agree with Brother Qing. We should leave this place before those get out.”

“We have some time before that happens,” Liu Jin reassures him. “Let’s rest and harvest some more worm meat before leaving. We’ll travel by night until we find a shelter.”

“I thought we were to go to the Eye of the Plains as fast as possible?” asks a bald disciple. His interjection is a hesitant one, as if he is not sure whether he is allowed to speak up.

“We will not make it to the Eye of the Plains if we are not all fully recovered,” Liu Jin counters. “The Dead Plains are full of all manner of dangers.”

As soon as he says that, a new presence enters their field of awareness. It is not the sudden intrusion of the All-Devouring Worm. This Qi is still miles away. Though smaller, this aura is far more controlled, denoting a higher degree of intelligence.

He speaks.

“This Duke has decided on his next meal. You are welcome to take some flesh with you, but this Duke has no desire to eat alongside you.”

Every single face around Liu Jin pales. Even Fan Bingbing’s usually unflappable expression cracks as the Qi of a single person reaches them from miles away to deliver his message. The Spirit Beasts do not handle things any better. They turn around and flee immediately, abandoning their source of food. Many are flattened and killed in the ensuing stampede.

“Re..” The bald disciple tries to say it only for his voice to give out. And who can blame him?

The Qi they all thought was smaller than that of the All-Devouring Worm only felt that way due to the distance and the cultivator’s control. Now that his Qi has washed over them, they understand precisely what it is they are dealing with.

Renegade Realm, Fifth Level.

One of the many mad warriors that wanders the Dead Plains.

“We leave.” Liu Jin rises to his feet. “Now.”

They still have not fully recovered from the fight inside the worm. A few have yet to fully stabilize after their breakthrough. Venturing further into the plains will put them in great danger.

Not a single one objects.

The disciples of the Eternal Flame Clan flee into the horizon.

~~~

The first viable shelter they find is a cave just a few miles away. They pass it by. It is far too close to the Renegade’s presence for their linking. It takes them a full day of walking to find another place that suits their needs. This one is not a cave, but a formation of red rocks eroded away by the wind into something loosely resembling an arc. It provides a rudimentary roof over their heads, and they move some of the rocks lying around to serve as walls. The protection they give is not ideal but necessary nonetheless.

It has been raining for the past several hours. The rain falls so heavily it forms a thick curtain of water that significantly limits visibility. The fallen rain flows across the ground, creating multiple rivers all over the Rusted Plains, completely changing the appearance of the place.

Despite how harshly the rain falls and how quickly the rivers flow across the hot land, the inside of their little shelter is almost entirely silent. Many of the disciples are shivering, but not because of the cold.

At last, one speaks.

“I can’t believe we ran into a Renegade.”

That seems to be the trigger. Within moments, the disciples are all talking over each other.

“I had never even seen a Renegade before!”

“I thought being eaten would be the worst thing that happened to us here!”

“I have lost decades of my lifespan! I’m sure of it!”

“I thought he’d eat us!”

The last comment draws more than a few odd looks towards the speaker, who immediately blushes.

“Eat us?” Fan Bingbing echoes. She blinks twice with almost deliberate slowness. “Why would you think he’d eat us?”

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“Because… that’s what Renegades do, isn’t it?” The disciple looks around, trying and failing to find any support. “They are mad… Right? I didn’t even think they talked!”

“Of course, they can talk,” Liu Jin says. “The madness of the Renegade Realm does not set in right away. It is a gradual process that a cultivator can overcome with mental and spiritual fortitude. Otherwise, we would have no Emperors.”

“Forgive his ignorance, Brother Qing,” a bald disciple tells him. “He’s from a minor Sect, so his education is not the best.”

The disciple’s face bristles. “Minor? The Bright Phantasm Sect is the greatest in Night Forest Nation!”

The bald disciple scoffs. “Being the best in a country that doesn’t matter doesn’t matter. That you can boast of it just reflects poorly on you.”

As the two disciples start bickering, Liu Jin pays a little more attention to the former member of the Bright Phantasm Sect. He had not noticed it before, but his hair is somewhat blue and his features oddly reminiscent of Wong Shou’s. Perhaps he is a distant relative?

“Regardless, Brother Qing is right,” Fan Bingbing says. “One does not lose their sanity upon entering the Renegade Realm. A person who has just entered the Renegade Realm will be little different from how they were before doing so.”

“We still send them to Pyre’s End,” notes another disciple.

“For safety, not because they are an immediate threat,” counters Fan Bingbing. “Renegades that do not lose their way are remarkably rare, but they exist. The one we just met was on the Fifth Level of the Renegade Realm, yet he did not seem to have lost his sanity.”

“He was sane enough to warn us to stay away from him, at least,” Liu Jin says. He hums as he looks up and rubs his chin. “He called himself a duke.”