With a powerful kick, Qin Yun's foot dug deep into the rock, snugly entrenching itself between two stable masses as his only hand wrapped around a protuberance slightly over his head. He hung there, hundreds of meters above the desert, dangling from the sheer cliff that rose toward the sky.

  He felt the dry wind blow across his now bronze skin as the sun slowly rose from the south, only to be reflected by the white-washed wall straight into his eyes. He could barely look at it, making the climb much more arduous than it should have been.

  “What are you thinking?” the young man said from the ground, his voice barely reaching over the blowing winds. “If we don’t leave right now, we might not be able to catch them!”

  And yet, Qin Yun ignored him. He focused all his strength on reaching the top. He had tried to explain his thought process, yet all it amounted to was something akin to a hunch, something the young man couldn't put his faith into. Qin Yun didn't blame him as they barely knew each other. Still, he trusted his instincts.

  Bending his legs like springs, Qin Yun pushed against the rock, leaping several meters into the air as he barely reached a small ledge. His fingers dug into the stone, grinding it into dust, yet this hold remained secure in his grasp. Despite possessing only one arm, he easily lifted himself onto said ledge.

  This one-armed business is starting to become a pain. I should deal with it sooner rather than later...

  Now pressed against the cold stone, Qin Yun looked up, estimating the distance. He then looked downward, only to realize he had reached the halfway point. Without even knowing, he was now over two hundred meters into the air. While those were rookie numbers for any decent cultivator, a fall from this height could be dangerous, if not outright fatal. However, no Qi Refining cultivator could brag about possessing a body as strong as his. Not even the outsiders could boast as such.

  Still, the climb had been more gruelling than he expected. Every move and every leap he made against the white rock wall used more strength than it should have. Although his muscles were still in their prime, his breath had become slightly ragged—something he had yet to experience in this lifetime. While he had been injured before, this was the first time he experienced fatigue.

  There’s something peculiar about this mountain. It’s like the rock itself is absorbing my physical strength...

  Qin Yun stopped his ascent once he reached a slightly larger ledge if only to take a small break. Yet, he used this moment to look in on himself, examining the state of his empty meridians.

  It was such a peculiar sight, seeing his qi channels so barren. The world around him was so devoid of qi that it even seeped out of his flesh as if by osmosis. But, even with the river running right through both regions, transporting the qi born in the centre of the continent, it wasn’t enough to stop this exodus.

  Although he could feel remnants of qi perish all around him as it sublimated into the air, he could absorb none of it. To be exact, he could, yet it would remain for but an instant before disintegrating into something he didn’t recognize—some sort of energy which qi was supposedly made of.

  He found this interaction interesting. He prided himself as a man of learning—possessing many lifetimes of knowledge—yet facing the unknown still brought him so much joy. He wondered whether or not he could harness such energy, yet nothing he did seemed to have any effect on it. Not even the lotus at the core of his dantian could move it in any way.

  Speaking of his lotus, it was wilted beyond belief—like a plant in desperate need of moisture. This explained why the ancients created the frontier and the Heavenly Dao the Great Barrier. The Outerlands were hostile to their kind. A prolonged stay in this environment would wreak havoc on most's cultivation, maybe even shattering decades of gruelling efforts.

  However, Qin Yun's path was far from ordinary. The golden characters pulsed on the brown lotus, almost as if they were nourishing it. It seemed to be the only thing keeping it afloat in this dry ocean. Without their support, his lotus would have collapsed so long ago.

  It’s surprising how much they adapted to this environment, Qin Yun thought as he looked downward toward the young man. Everything about them screams survival of the fittest. I wonder what they would become if they ever set foot on the Mainland.

  While the thought was entertaining, Qin Yun knew he couldn't let it happen—not until the corruption was over and dealt with. The great barrier couldn't be allowed to fall, but he couldn't do this alone—not with his current strength. As such, he needed to reach the top of this pile of rocks.

  From this ledge, Qin Yun leapt again, aiming for a slight protrusion. However, he hadn’t expected his footing to be so brittle. Just as he was about to take off, the rock gave under his feet. His jump was far shallower than expected, and he missed his landing by over a meter.

  He tried to hang on to something else, yet the walls were slick, polished by the ever-raging winds. No matter what little he grasped, it would either break, or his fingers would merely slide along the smooth surface.

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  His body picked up speed, heading for the ground at increased velocity. There wasn't any protrusion on his path to break his fall. He would hit the ground in only a few seconds if nothing was to be done.

  Despite all this, Qin Yun remained level-headed. He didn't panic, knowing the fall wouldn't be fatal. He might be hurt, yet he would survive. Still, he had other plans.

  He jammed his hand forward, straight into the rock. If there was no hold to break his fall, he only had to make one. The stone was as hard as granite and just as sharp, yet Qin Yun's hand ripped through it just like butter, sending shards of rock and dust flying.

  It felt as if the mountain itself would split into two halves, even creating a slight tremor, yet after but a second more, Qin Yun's fall had been stopped. While he had dropped more than a hundred meters, it was better than hitting the ground at that speed. Still, what concerned him was the dull ache in his shoulder—something a fall of this scale shouldn't have produced.

  Am I getting old, or is this rock formation much more than it seems?

  "Hey! Are you still alive up there?!" the young man shouted as he watched chunks of the rock wall fall back down to the desert sand, creating small explosions of sand as they hit the ground.

  “I’m fine!” Qin Yun shouted back. “I was careless. This won’t happen again.”

  Indeed, it didn’t. Having climbed this way once before, Qin Yun sped right through it, returning to the height at which he fell. And yet, his fatigue kept mounting, making each action take slightly more time and effort. This felt very curious to him.

  I should probably take a few samples to examine later.

  However, just as he was about to dislodge some of the white stone to take with him, he heard a rumbling come from overhead. The strangest thing was that he felt no tremor assaulting the rock platform where he stood, yet he still felt peddle and sand fall on top of his head.

  “Watch out! Above you!" the young man shouted as he stepped away from the rock wall.

  A loud cracking sound reverberated through the rock, almost as if the earth had split open. Qin Yun hugged the rock wall and used his arm to shield his eyes if only to sweep away the falling sand as he looked up. However, what he saw stunned him.

  It was as if a mountain itself was falling straight onto him.

  It almost blinded him as the falling white wall reflected the sun's rays straight into his eyes. Despite it all, he knew clearly that this mass was aimed at him.

  Without much thought, Qin Yun dug through his clothes, pulling out a short dagger, which he infused with a slight amount of sword intent, then threw straight into the heart of this falling boulder.

  The dagger sped through the air, carving away at the wind like an arrow mid-flight. Even down below, the young man could hear the blade sing even as it dug straight into the boulder’s hard surface. It left but a slit in the rock as it travelled further, yet the damage was done.

  When the sword intent finally dissipated, having travelled almost halfway through it, the blade shattered due to the sudden increase in pressure. However, the impact was much more substantial than expected, and this was what Qin Yun relied on.

  When the blade suddenly stopped and shattered, all its kinetic energy was transferred to the boulder from the inside out. It shattered into countless smaller pieces, some no bigger than a grain of sand, before raining down to the desert below.

  The rock explosion rang, creating a shock wave that traveled along the rock surface, even through Qin Yun's body. However, more troubles were coming. Many smaller fragments were still heading straight toward him, but this time at even greater velocity. However, he was prepared.

  He raised his hand to the sky and activated the black box swirling over it. It expanded, opening like a giant maw, swallowing every piece headed his way.

  The rock rain lasted only a few seconds, yet it drastically changed its surroundings. Some fragments embedded themselves into the rock wall, while others dislodged even more from it. The smooth surface was now ragged, laced with many more footholds, while the rest fell to the desert, creating showers of sand.

  I didn’t think these rocks were that unstable. What were the chances? Qin Yun thought, eyes slightly narrowed as he retracted the swirling black box full of white stone. He looked up to the summit and then down toward the young man.

  Fortunately, he had taken refuge far from the rock wall, and no debris fell anywhere near him. Qin Yun could hear him shout something, yet he couldn't make the words out as his ears were still ringing. Regardless, he chose to continue upwards.

  The rest of the journey was uneventful. In fact, it was even easier now that more holds had been dug into the wall by the explosion. He arrived at the top in almost half the time it took him to reach the halfway point.

  The summit felt quite strange. He expected a more rugged terrain, made of peaks and valleys, yet the summit was mostly flat—unnaturally so. Thinking back on it, this mountain did strangely resemble a large prism. Although its edges weren't exactly at a right angle, it strangely resembled a half-buried tower.

  Why did I not realize sooner? Did something mess with my perceptions?

  Qin Yun advanced slowly as he explored his surroundings, yet something immediately caught his attention. Not far away from the edge was a rock protrusion sprouting from the ground, but what truly bewildered him were the steel anchors digging into its side.

  Since when did the desert people use metal?

  Ever since he had left the frontier, everything he had seen from those people was objects made of bone and leather. Occasionally, they were made of wood, yet metal was a first.

  Three metal hooks were embedded deeply into the rock, and a large chain was still attached to one of them. Surprisingly, the metal surface did not show signs of rust, almost as if someone had taken great care of it.

  “Hey! What’s it like up there? Talk to me!”

  Qin Yun frowned at the sight but then doubled back toward the edge. There was no doubt that people once used this place for something, yet the question was, what for? Still, he couldn't let the young man below hanging for too long.

  However, just as he reached back to the edge, he noticed something else that was strange. He stood right where the massive boulder that fell used to be, a mass of rock hanging right over the edge. He wondered how such a large mass could have suddenly split from its foundation before tumbling down the side of the mountain, but there was his answer.

  Tool marks, Qin Yun thought as he knelt down, brushing his fingers against the broken stone. Somebody meant for it to fall...