Chapter 427: 402 Pointing the Way

"Sshhh—"

In the mountain forest at night, cold light flickered.

A rat larger than a stone was split open head-on by someone; before it even hit the ground, it had already turned into black smoke and dissipated.

A foul odor remained in the air, only to dissipate immediately after.

The mountains in the dark night were like an endless sea, capable of easily dissolving any dirty water or turbid currents.

"Another one. There are too many Fierce Beasts around here."

Black Widow shook her head and casually put away the blade in her sleeve.

She had always used Soul-Startling Silk, but manipulating such soft silk in the dark was too taxing on the eyes; it was not as convenient as a blade or gun.

It was not just her; the group all held weapons in their hands, clearing the way as they advanced, except for Meng Huazhou, who held a compass and muttered to himself while staring at the needle and various patterns on it.

It was now the dead of night; the group had been in Xishan for half a day, from afternoon to evening, from dusk to deep night.

At first, Golden Mountain was fine, though the mountains were high and the paths dangerous and narrow; these experts naturally did not fear this, and even the two guides walked as if on flat ground.

However, after traveling for a while, they gradually entered the deep mountains, and the sky grew late. The two guides refused to go further, saying that ahead was a restricted area where monsters ate people.

Meng Huazhou naturally did not care, saying he would increase their pay and telling the guides to just lead the way.

The two old hunters were greedy for money, so they walked a few more miles, but suddenly a Fierce Beast lunged from behind a tree; if not for Tang Zhao striking in time, one of them would have been bitten to death long ago.

Now the two guides refused to go any further, no matter how much money was offered. Meng Huazhou simply threw them some money and told them to get lost.

The two guides took the money and suddenly felt a surge of kindness; the younger one even advised, "Masters, that place in the mountains is truly not for people. Why don't you all turn back? Nothing is more important than your lives."

The older one, sensing the atmosphere was wrong, pulled him away; as the two left the mountain with the money, they would surely be discussing things like, "Good words cannot persuade a ghost destined to die."

Meng Huazhou beckoned the group to walk inside, and the others did not retreat.

After walking a while longer, they occasionally saw traces of Fierce Beasts from the woods, behind large rocks, and under cliffs; the further they went, the more Fierce Beasts there were, and they had begun to attack.

Tang Zhao was very surprised. It was not that he had never seen Fierce Beasts; on the contrary, he had seen a great many. When he was interning at the Land Inspection Division and dealing with Small Yin Calamities, he was basically dealing with Fierce Beasts, so he knew well the frequency at which ordinary Fierce Beasts appeared.

The frequency of Fierce Beasts appearing in this Xishan was higher than that of ordinary Small Yin Calamities; aside from a Demon Cave, he really could not think of any other place where so many Fierce Beasts would exist.

It made him want to report it to the Land Inspection Division.

However, he immediately remembered that this place might not fall under the jurisdiction of the Land Inspection Division.

Meng Huazhou, seeing these Fierce Beasts, was instead happy, saying: "This means we have found the right place. Everyone—my research has discovered that the Xiancheng was not destroyed by some demon invasion, but by a Yin Calamity. During the Yin Calamity, there was a great battle between Heavenly Demons and celestial maidens; the Demon Cave and the Xiancheng perished together, the remaining Xiancheng drifted far away, while the Demon Cave shattered. But a Demon Cave is a Demon Cave after all; there might still be Fragments left underground, and the Yin energy has bred many Fierce Beasts. Over more than a hundred years, although some may have dissipated, many still survive."

Black Widow nodded. Although she did not have first-hand information, she had put effort into studying that novel, and she had also speculated this way. The person who wrote the novel clearly was not a Sword Guest or an expert who had been to the front lines; they did not understand the source of the Yin Calamity and wrote it according to the "evil spirits and monsters" style of traditional novels. She had been to the front lines and seen Demon Caves, and could find the shadows of the real world within it.

If it were Demon Cave Fragments, it was normal for Yin energy to remain for over a hundred years.

If Yin energy were free-floating, it would not actually last long. There is a way for heaven and earth to metabolize Yin energy, and that is Sunlight. In places where the sky is clear, Yin energy dissipates easily, but in places that are overcast for days or corners blocked by mountains, the Yin energy naturally lingers for a long time, and one never knows when it will spawn another batch of Fierce Beasts.

And once there is the protection of a Demon Cave, the Yin energy can take root in the Human World, cycling forever like Sunlight with the sunrise and sunset; it hides in the Demon Cave during the day and emerges at night, polluting one thing in the East and another in the West. In just a few years, a region becomes a paradise for Fierce Beasts.

Black Widow said: "If there is a Demon Cave here, why is the Land Inspection Division not seen? Xishan is, after all, still Yunzhou territory."

Tang Zhao wanted to say: "This Xishan is under military control; there are troops stationed inside. Even if there really were a Demon Cave, it would likely have to be handled by the garrison first; the Land Inspection Division cannot easily interfere." But given his status, he certainly could not say this.

Even though Black Widow said this, Meng Huazhou could not help but think: The old man was right to see it clearly; this woman is always thinking about the Land Inspection Division—she is indeed a person with divided loyalties. Is she impatient to offer up the entire manor?

His intent to kill grew stronger, but he only said: "We are almost there."

As he spoke, he kept turning the compass.

"According to my measurements, within a twenty-mile radius of here is where that senior of the Xu family saw the Xiancheng back then," Meng Huazhou said. "But there are too many Fierce Beasts here. Let's split up to clear them out and organize a quiet area so I can set up the ritual. Otherwise, even if it is set up, I fear it will be destroyed."

As he spoke, he took out a map and unfolded it, using a fire-starter to assign areas to everyone.

"Let's designate individual areas; no one should drive the Fierce Beasts in one direction. Senior Sister Xu to the Northwest, Brother Yu to the Northeast, Senior Sister Yin to the Southwest, Brother Tang..."

Tang Zhao said: "I will go to the South with the Manor Master."

Meng Huazhou said: "Patrolling separately will be faster."

Tang Zhao grinned and said: "I won't. Manor Master Yin and I will never separate."

Meng Huazhou's expression stiffened, and Yu Sichen gave a start, laughing: "Fine, A-Yao and I will also be together and handle the North. You and Yue Lai take the East and West; that covers all four sides. Senior Shangguan will coordinate from the center."

Meng Huazhou gathered his breath, knowing they would not give him any opportunity, and had to say: "Very well."

He added solemnly: "Everyone, tonight is just a drill; the Xiancheng will only descend tomorrow. Kill the Fierce Beasts if you can; if you cannot, call for help in time. It is not shameful for everyone to act together. But there is one thing: if you see anything special, especially something white, something that glows at night, do not act rashly. You must come back and tell me so I can handle it. That may be a key clue; if you move it carelessly, you might cut off the path to the heavens."

The group then separated. Black Widow and Tang Zhao went on one path, heading straight south and sweeping away any Fierce Beasts they saw. It was mainly Black Widow attacking, while Tang Zhao focused on picking up the slack; he was not the main force, but kept his eyes and ears open, putting his mind to other things.

Black Widow beheaded a Fierce Beast and laughed: "Looking at how careful you are, do you think he can't wait for the Xiancheng and wants to finish me off tonight?"

Tang Zhao said: "It's not impossible. He accepted his father's dying wish; the order to kill you might be ranked even before finding the Xiancheng."

Black Widow sighed: "I don't know how I offended that father and son; they are like mad dogs chasing and biting me. With you watching, I'm not worried down here, but I'm afraid he will make his move once we reach the Xiancheng; that will be his home turf."

Tang Zhao nodded: "I am also a bit worried. I discovered that his knowledge of the Xiancheng is more than I imagined. He actually surveyed the terrain here long ago and has already made up his mind. The guides were just for show, and the compass and such were even more of a pretense to make us think he wasn't familiar with it, so we would let our guard down."

Black Widow gave an 'oh' and said: "Is that so? The compass is for show?"

Tang Zhao said: "That compass of his... is actually what we Talisman Sword Masters use, specifically for measuring Fu Yuanshu. I don't know where he scrounged it up; he probably thought this compass was particularly flashy and looked professional? He can't measure a damn thing with that for direction! He had already memorized the surrounding terrain and even drawn a map. I suspect he has even figured out where the Demon Cave Fragments are, but he just won't tell us, keeping it to ambush us."

He then said sternly: "So, Sister Yin, do not leave my sight here."

Black Widow smiled and said: "Alright. Our Azhao has grown up; you are truly reliable."

She then asked: "Do you think him telling us to watch out for glowing white things is a ruse? Or is he collecting other things and just using the white things as a smokescreen?"

Tang Zhao pondered, finally saying: "I don't know either. Logically, he shouldn't lie about such a critical issue. I don't believe he really doesn't want to find Cloud City. Let's just not be deceived by appearances; open up our Inspiration and look for the most special things."

Black Widow said: "That will have to be you."

She knew well that Tang Zhao's Inspiration was astonishingly strong; if there were any discoveries, it should be Tang Zhao who found them, and she could take a rest. Moreover, people with strong Inspiration are often injured by inexplicable external forces; only a Sword Guest has a sword and can protect themselves. It is very dangerous for those who are not Sword Guests to let their Inspiration run wild.

The two chatted as they walked, killing Fierce Beasts along the way, and as they killed, they felt there were more and more of them.

Originally, those Fierce Beasts were one here and one there; some attacked actively, while others were timid and ran away directly. But gradually, those Fierce Beasts seemed like cats that had smelled blood, actively lunging out. Their momentum was very fierce, wave after wave, endless.

One or two were fine; Black Widow killed dozens in a row and felt a bit overwhelmed, so Tang Zhao stepped up to add a few sword strikes. Black Widow took a short rest, found a few large trees, and wrapped her Soul-Startling Silk around them several times, as if weaving a web; nets formed between the trees, resembling a soul-bewildering formation.

Once the weaving was mostly done, Black Widow called to Tang Zhao: "Come in and rest for a while."

The two retreated into the net, and as they watched the Fierce Beasts rush over, they were instantly sliced into fragments by the invisible thin threads, turning into black gas. The two sat peacefully in the net to rest, like two spiders waiting to hunt.

Tang Zhao praised, "This Array is good. It is especially suitable for Fierce Beasts; if it were ordinary wild beasts being cut, they would inevitably get covered in flesh and blood, and once the threads get stuck, they wouldn't be sharp anymore. This Fierce Beast leaves no corpse behind, so it can keep cutting. Meng Huazhou saying he wanted to set up an Array was mostly just for show; only Sister Yin knows how to set up an Array."

Black Widow watched the endless stream of Fierce Beasts. Her Soul-Stunning Threads were fine, but the large trees entangled by the threads were gradually unable to hold up, swaying and on the verge of collapsing. She said, "You say these Fierce Beasts have gone mad; is there a mastermind behind it? Is Meng Huazhou playing tricks? Or is it a Beast Charm?"

Tang Zhao said, "Meng Huazhou is not nearby, I can be certain of that. It doesn't seem like a Beast Charm either..."

Beast Charms command Fierce Beasts with method, even like marching in a war; the Fierce Beasts here have at most had their ferocity triggered, and are chaotic and disorganized. Even if it were a Beast Charm, it would likely be a poor one.

At this moment, Tang Zhao thought of the matter mentioned earlier, and so he wantonly released his Inspiration.

With the cultivation of his Sword Heart, Tang Zhao's Inspiration became increasingly dense and vast, already covering a large area of the forest.

Before long, Tang Zhao sensed something. He glanced at Black Widow, but instead of leaving, he swung his sword.

A ray of light, as if possessing a spirit, flew out, passing through the layers of forest in the dark night.

At the other end of the forest, beneath a tall arbor, in the midst of dense shrubbery, a white shadow was hiding there. In the blink of an eye, the light arrived before it.

"Found you!"