At the Nine Heaven Sword Sect
"Two months! It has been two months!"
Elder Han Yue's roar shook the mountain peaks. He drew his blade in a fit of manic fury and slashed at the horizon. A massive white arc of energy tore through the air, decapitating a nearby pillar mountain. Rocks and trees tumbled into the abyss below.
"I lost him… Su Qingmei! My own successor! The boy I raised with my own hands to become my successor!"
Han Yue panted, his eyes bloodshot. But as he stood in the wreckage, a cold fear began to replace his anger.
If the Grand Elder returns from his journey and sees this… the loss of the sect's disciples, no treasure, only failure… he will have my head.
"The messenger you sent to the front lines has returned with nothing but silence," a deep, melodic voice said from behind him. "In fact, almost everyone is dead."
Han Yue spun around, his heart jumping. He hadn't sensed a single ripple in the air.
Standing there was a man in robes as black as a starless night,his robes were floating like the trace of cloud. The man's aura was like a deep ocean, still, but capable of crushing anything in its depths. Elder Wei Rulong.
A peak Core Formation master, Han Yue thought, sweating. I didn't even feel him approach. I have to play this carefully.
"Elder Wei," Han Yue greated slightly, forcing a smile. "What brings a man of your status to my humble dome?"
"I was passing by," Wei Rulong said, his eyes scanning the fallen mountain peak. "I thought a war had started. But I see it is merely a worried man." He paused, his gaze sharpening. "Tell me… Is there something that could make an elder like you worry, Or perhaps The mission you were giving was a failure. Elder Han Yue whisper, bastard you are asking to mush question. Huh... Okay what truly happened in the Forbidden Mountain?"
...Han Yue knew he couldn't hide the truth from Wei Rulong. He explained everything, the missing disciples, the seal,how they couldn't get through it,and the complete lack of information.
Wei Rulong stroked his chin, a mysterious glint in his eyes. "You said Su Qingmei asked to visit a small village thirty kilometers from the mountain before you sent him into the mountain?"
"Yes. A mere peasant settlement."
"Think, Han Yue." Wei Rulong stepped closer, his aura pressing down like a physical weight. "In all our centuries of history, have we ever mapped a village in that forest?"
Han Yue froze.
"No," Wei Rulong continued. "So why is it there? Perhaps they aren't peasants. Perhaps they know the secret path into that mountain."
Han Yue's eyes widened. Then a wide, predatory grin spread across his face.
"Hahaha! I was a fool! The village is the key!" He deeply Thank you senior. Know,"Thank you, Elder Wei. I know exactly what to do now!"
Wei Rulong nodded. "I was happy to help."
He turned and walked away, a thin, dark smile appearing on his lips as he whispered to himself:
"Yes, keep working, Han Yue. The more you dig, the more you prepare the way for me. You are the perfect stepping stone."
Deep Within the Forbidden Tunnel
BOOM!
Wang Fang's body was a blur of motion. He leaped into the air, his Qi spiraling around his arm in a blazing golden aura. As he punched, a faint, glowing 'S' of white smoke trailed behind his fist, marking the trajectory of his power.
The air itself seemed to shatter.
Five Tri-Void Soul Devourers were caught in the blast, their bodies disintegrating like burnt paper as Wang Fang's fist carved through them like a comet. He landed lightly, creating a gap.
"Now! Go!" Wang Fang barked.
Ye Heimin burst forward like a rocket. He had claimed a high-quality sword from a fallen disciple, and now that his cultivation had reached the Qi Gathering Realm, he was a force of nature. He injected his Qi into the blade, causing it to hum with lethal energy.
Slash!
A thin arc of blue light shot from the sword, slicing through three more creatures with ease.
"Are these things actually this weak?" Ye Heimin laughed, wiping dust from his face. "They feel like paper!"
"They're weak because your Qi stops them from regenerating," Wang Fang said, leaning against the damp wall. "The book was right. Without their immortality, they're just targets."
"Damn, let's rest," Ye Heimin said, sitting down heavily. "I'm beat."
Wang Fang sat beside him, watching the others. Further down the tunnel, Mo Xuan, Bai Lu, and He Sun were fighting with newfound desperation. Mo Xuan took off a head with a clean strike; Bai Lu hacked at legs; He Sun drove his blade through chests.
"They're actually getting better," Ye Heimin muttered. He glanced at Wang Fang. "Hey, scene those two as refine Tri-Void Soul Devourer. Yeah, I wonder how many hours we have been fighting anyway?"
"Six hundred and seventy-two," Wang Fang replied instantly.
Ye Heimin stared at him, his mouth hanging open. "What? What do you mean?"
"You heard me. I've been keeping track of every second, every minute, since we walked into this hole."
"Six hundred… that's nearly a month!" Ye Heimin stood up, looking at Wang Fang like he was staring at a monster. "How do you even do that? You're a genius! Forget being a warrior, you should have been an Alchemist with a brain that fast!"
Wang Fang didn't answer. He couldn't explain that in his past life, time was measured by digital clocks and technology, not by the position of the sun.
"The next area is just ahead," Wang Fang said, standing up. "But first, Ye Heimin, since you're the strongest at Qi Gathering, use your Spiritual Sense. Scan the tunnel."
Ye Heimin closed his eyes, concentrating his energy. A faint ripple of power moved out from his forehead, echoing through the stones. After a moment, he exhaled.
"It's clear for now. No danger ahead."
"Good," Wang Fang said, his eyes darkening as he looked into the abyss. "Then we wait for the others. Then we move deeper.