Chapter 155: You Will Fight Me

~~~

When the temple appears on the horizon, Chang Gong and Chang Zhiyu can only look at it with tears in their eyes.

The brothers do not know how long it has been since they were dropped in the Dead Plains. Their attempts to keep track of time have long since stopped. Though they are both capable Inner Disciples that work in the Division of Internal Disputes, the pair has almost died several times already. To impossibly powerful Spirit Beasts. To bizarre geography. To unpredictable weather conditions. Their journey across the Dead Plains has been one nightmare after another.

The robes that mark them as disciples of the Eternal Flame Clan, usually beautiful and pristine, are now stained with dirt and dried blood. Their faces shine with sweat, and they are so tired they have to lean on each other for support.

They are undeniably a pathetic sight.

It had been ten of them at the start of their journey. Only the two of them remain now. The others are either dead or abandoned the quest along the way. The Chang brothers do not know what became of the latter group, but they’d like to believe they made it back safely to the Crimson Cloud Empire. Regardless of alliances, no one deserves to die in the Dead Plains. That is what this experience has taught them.

The closer they get to the temple, the quicker their steps become, eagerness getting the best of them. Soon, they are no longer leaning on each other but running as fast as their tired bodies are capable of. This cannot wait. It cannot be done with patience. Before them lies the culmination of all their trials! The proof of their success!

They stop.

A soft, haunting melody whispers in their ears. The brothers immediately move to stand with their backs to each other, ready to defend themselves.

“Greetings.”

A girl appears between them and the temple. She sits on the grass with a guqin laid out before her. She looks small and delicate, with brown eyes and hair. Like them, she wears the robes of an Inner Disciple of the Eternal Flame Clan, though hers are in far better condition.

Upon taking a closer look, Chang Gong notices the many imperfections in the cloth. It is not that she has not experienced her fair share of hardships. However, unlike them, she has had time to wash and clean herself.

She is in the Ninth Level of the Spirit Realm.

“You are from Lord Feng Shang’s faction.”

Their breath is caught in their throat. The girl says it as an absolute fact. There is no room for them to even think about denying it.

“Here.”

She reaches into her robes and tosses something at them, her song never wavering. The Chang brothers reflexively leap back, expecting an attack. None comes. Instead, they are left staring at the two small rocks that now lie a few feet away from them.

Chang Gong’s eyes widen.

“Are those-?”

“They are the temple stones you have come for,” the girl says. “Take them and leave, followers of Lord Feng Shang.”

Chang Gong does not move to pick up the stones. Instead, he aims a suspicious look at the girl, one that is mirrored by his brother.

“How do we know they are actually temple stones?”

The girl’s expression does not change, yet the Chang brothers feel she is decidedly unimpressed with them.

“Try breaking them if you wish to. Their hardness should be evidence enough,” she says in a dull monotone, as if that should have been obvious. “Now, once again, do take those and leave.”

“Leave? We barely got here alive!” Chang Zhiyu says, too tired to care that the one he is speaking to is obviously stronger than him. “You might as well be sending us to our deaths!”

The girl stops playing.

The Chang brothers immediately step back.

“A valid point,” she says. A small sack appears in her hand, and she tosses it to them. This time, Chang Gong catches it without thinking. “The medicine there will replenish your strength. There is enough for you to make the journey back. Of course, you can choose to stay here, but if you do…”

She pauses. The girl’s aura does not increase to oppress them with its force. Instead, she diminishes it, and by doing so, allows them to feel the dozens of auras lying in wait inside the temple. The brothers had been so focused on the girl that, in their tired state, they completely missed them.

“Make no mistake. If you stay, you will do so as our prisoners.”

The music begins playing once more.

“Which will it be?”

~~~

Fan Bingbing finds Qing Jin in his chambers. Her fellow disciple sits on the floor while refining several ingredients at once, his aura gently rising around him. Direct Resonance is what Elder Geng called it during the banquet. It is undoubtedly an impressive sight. Many disciples would stay silent out of fear of disrupting Qing Jin’s concentration, but Fan Bingbing knows there is no need for that.

Qing Jin’s concentration is not the sort of thing that can be broken by a few sentences.

“Two disciples from Lord Feng Shang’s faction came by earlier today.”

“Which offer did they take?”

As expected, Qing Jin answers without stopping his work or even opening his eyes. He is already moving to the next stage and mixing the ingredients.

“They took the first offer. I gave them supplies and sent them on their way.”

Whenever a disciple finds the temple, they are given two choices. If they are fellow members of Lord Feng Gui’s faction, they can either leave with a stone after resting or stay in the temple with them until they are all ready to make the journey back.

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

If they are from Lord Feng Shang’s faction, they can either leave with the stone and some supplies, or they can choose to stay as prisoners. So far, nearly all of them have taken the first choice, which is a good thing. If enough of them were to gather here, they may start getting ideas and cause trouble.

“Good. Anything else?”

“Brother Ten was talking about staying here for good earlier today.”

“Again?” Qing Jin sighs. “Tell him to stop. The Dead Plains are not safe for us. The moment we start thinking of this place as our home is the moment when the Dead Plains will expel us. Or worse.”

In this temple, they have found shelter and an environment rich in ambient Qi. There are plenty of Spirit Beasts for them to hunt. Even more so now that their numbers have grown. Thanks to Qing Jin and the other members of the Apothecary, pills are easy enough to make. Already their power has increased substantially.

It is not rare for someone like Ten Zichun to start getting ideas as a result. As someone who comes from nothing, there is nothing tying him to the Eternal Flame Clan, especially after everything that has happened recently. He is hardly the only one who thinks that way. Why go back to the Eternal Flame Clan when staying here might benefit them more?

However, Qing Jin will hear none of that. On this matter, he is adamant in a way that is almost strange. Qing Jin seems certain that they should not indulge in the act of thinking of the Eye as their home. It goes well beyond superstition and caution.

He knows something. That much is obvious to Fan Bingbing. It is hardly the first time Qing Jin somehow knows things most people don’t. Despite having no ties to any of the major powers within the Empire, Qing Jin’s education is exceedingly profound. On his chosen fields, Fan Bingbing dares say he will not lose even to masters with centuries of experience.

After all, most people cannot unlock meridians.

Qing Jin did not tell her he was doing it, but she is not like the other five who were too weak, stunned, and awed by everything that had happened to notice. While the others may attribute their increased cultivation speed to the Dead Plains, she knows the real cause.

Qing Jin hasn’t unlocked the meridians of those who arrived later, nor has he approached any of those who helped defeat Qu Rou to reveal what he has done. Both are good moves on his part. It is not a skill that one should advertise.