The gathering area at the mouth of the Heaven Rending valley rarely saw this much foot traffic. However, the desote area didn’t change much even with the wave of heads. The sudden gusts of wind kicked up the fine, discolored soil. Even in winter, the sun above the valley made them all sweat. Surrounded by deteriorated rocky hills, their wait wasn’t long. Mist rose from the mouth of the valley and formed a curtain. Color blended in, and soon a figure appeared. Cd in white robes, long hair deep bck as a moonless night, and deep charismatic eyes, Li Muchen brought the mic closer to his moist lips.

  “Welcome, you diamonds-in-the-rough.” His smile had both dignity and softness. “Today is the day you can prove your true worth as warriors and open doors to wider stages to leave your mark on.”

  Loud cheers erupted. Not only from the hundreds of disciples there to participate, even the one who came to watch the show from outer sect shouted at the top of their lungs. Especially the women.

  The reason?

  “Today’s trial is simple. You have seven days to roam the outer area of Heaven Rending Valley and search for the hidden treasures. They are valuable items, techniques, pills, and precious resources like rare herbs. The generous seniors of our sect had provided enough to develop and strengthen you kids. Anything you find will belong to you, and you will be free to sell or use it for yourself with the sect’s support.” Once Muchen began expining the trial, the squealing vanished and everyone clung onto his every word with bated breath. “The more precious your find, the higher your rank. Aside from navigating, you will also have to face Qi beasts. But your reliable senior disciples will be watching over you. So, if you target your fellow disciples with ill intent, you’ll be disqualified.”

  Peach Peak Master Huang, Grand Elder Li, and Chrysanthemum Peak Master Chen Zhipeng appeared on the curtain. Behind them were several elders who held high positions in the seven peaks.

  “We are watching and rooting for you. There are two routes, quality or quantity, you are free to choose your methods.” Muchen’s speech came near its end, so he moved on to the rewards they had prepared.

  “I wasn’t able to provide any treasures for the hunt itself, I will reward the first ten disciples with pills and items I created in preparation for the Eastern Martial Meet. And, the next twenty will receive a bottle of 8th-tier Earth grade recovery pills. So, give it your all and don’t look back.” The curtain dissolved, and the air grew thick with excitement.

  However, more than the young men who eyed the treasures and position of fame, the true excitement came from the female demographic. The guys could see the red eyes and leering smiles of the women around them. They seemed crazed, insane even.

  “Man, Peak Master Li has a lot of fangirls…” Haomu covered his ears so the screeching of the nearby female disciples didn’t rupture his eardrums.

  “I am scared.” Yesu hid behind Xu Qiang.

  “Whatever, we just have to win.” Xu Qiang smirked.

  The senior disciples from Lotus Peak opened an entrance in the formation covering the valley.

  “Yeah, we have to pce first.” Wang Yang held onto the handle of his sword and stepped forward.

  The disciples could enter the trial in two ways. First, alone like Sun Lingling, or in groups like Wang Yang.

  With Xu Qiang, Haomu, Huajin, Yesu, and himself, Wang Yang became determined to pce first. The team wore identical red badges with the number 7 on their chest and stepped onto the circur formation prepared by an elder from Lotus Peak.

  “If any of you feel nauseous after this, give it a second and it’ll go away.” The elder with a white beard spoke with an amiable tone. “Now, only open your eyes when you feel the earth below your feet.”

  They stood on the transfer formation. The sect prepared this to spread the disciples across the valley using the existing formation of Li Xianquan. The badges on the disciples worked as markers, using that they could all stick together in the transfer and keep track of the disciples.

  How does this formation work? I’ll ask Master when I come back.

  With his eyes closed, the nd underneath his feet disappeared. He felt the floating sensation for a moment, like a bird that opened its wings for the first time. It seemed like an eternity had passed with surges of qi circling him like fireflies. Even in the darkness behind his closed eyelids, Wang Yang could see the colorful streaks of qi like shooting stars across the night. And, this pure white streak in particur caught his attention because it headed towards him. He extended his hand on impulse, but before that streak collided with him, he felt the ground again.

  “Where is this?” Wang Yang found more darkness after opening his eyes. “Brother Xu? Haomu, you there?”

  His voice seemed to echo on in the darkness. The humid, stagnant air assaulted his nose and mouth. He took out a mp to secure light and fought the urge to vomit. With the light, he noticed the yer of water running down the jagged edges of the cave wall. The water came up to his ankles and flowed down to his right, where endless darkness mingled with eerie silence.

  “There’s no one around…” Wang Yang gulped.

  No matter where he turned, only darkness greeted him. But he calmed himself. His Master had prepared him for situations like these. He tied a cloth around his nose and mouth. With a deep breath, he spread his Qi to get an idea of the space around him with his sword unsheathed. The cave wasn’t as wide as he had expected, but it had a high ceiling. And, stuck to that ceiling were beasts. A lot of them.

  This half meter bck beasts hung upside down from the ceiling. His Qi alerted it and a set of red eyes opened up. Then, like a wave many eyes appeared behind the first two. All eyes nded on the sole source of light present in the cave like vultures.

  Sonic bats. Wang Yang stepped back.

  Sonic bats weren’t strong individuals, each only had the realm of the 5th yer of Qi refining realm. But, in a group, they could hunt beyond their realms. In darkness where they could see, their danger level rose by another level. They didn’t mind sacrifices and would tear into anything, even their dead brethren, for food.

  —Kieeeeekkkkk!

  With the echoing screech, the hundred or so bats took off. Waves of air from their fpping wings rustled through the cave. If Wang Yang hadn’t cut off his hearing with Qi, he would get hit by the sound bombardment released in the combined screech. With ruptured eardrums and destroyed bance, he would’ve become an easier target.

  I can’t let them surround me. Wang Yang cut down the first bat clean and ran back.

  The sharp cws attached to the thin wings and the cttering teeth followed him like a shadow.

  The bats kept track of him with the spshes of water and light from the mp, but he couldn’t discard them. He couldn’t see well in this darkness. Even if he did discard the mp, the bats would still find him with their hearing and eyes. He could only run and fight. But his stamina had limits. He couldn’t fight for too long, the bats would surround him.

  The damp cave also limited his options for attack. He couldn’t use fire in a cave with the danger of it caving in. He hadn’t trained enough with water to control it. And while he had good attainments in martial arts and sword arts, those had their limits in the face of this bat mob.

  The number that started at a hundred bats had grown several times over because of his noisy retreat. If it continued, Wang Yang would have no way out. The numbers would continue to increase till he runs out of gas and gives up.

  I can’t contact anyone. What happened to the disciple token? Wang Yang sweated as his hope for help didn’t show any promise. Think, Think… What can I do to survive till they come looking for me? Everything that Master taught me… everything… use everything.

  Since something went wrong with the transfer, his master should be on the way to save him. If he could bide his time. He would be ok. With a deep breath, Wang Yang looked through his storage ring. His master had emphasized multiple times to prepare for every situation. And, now he felt gd listening through hours of those lectures.

  He spun on his heel and threw two balls at the wave of bats, one grey and one white.

  The grey ball, wrapped in silk cloth, exploded with an ear-piercing bang that shook the cave. The sound assaulted the ears of the sound-sensitive bats. They screeched in pain. The damaged ears bled and their senses went haywire.

  But the crashing bats had more to worry about. The white linen ball spread a white powder upon explosion. The wild fpping of the bats spread this powder all over the pce. That’s when their true problem began.

  With the hearing gone, they could only rely on their qi sense to find their target. However, the white powder, a special by product left behind while making qi dispersing pills, limited their senses to only a meter around them. The bats went crazy. Crashing into the cave and each other in a heated frenzy. With their direction destroyed and no ways of finding their target, they fpped around in the white cloud and attracted nearby bats.

  From that white cloud, Wang Yang appeared in a bck cloak with a low hood. With a bloody sword in one hand, he had killed as many as he could. Touching the cave wall with his left hand, he inched forward with closed eyes. He stored the mp and gathered qi at the soles of his feet to stay above water. With the presence-concealing cloak his master gave him after their first journey outside, he didn’t have to worry about the bats locating him. That brought him to the next agenda.

  Slow… and precise. I have to find a shelter and wait for rescue. Wang Yang couldn’t move fast on the water’s surface. Walking on water with Qi manipution took precise control. He couldn't train the technique enough because of Hua Mei. But he took his baby steps to the ideal situation.

  Wang Yang found a small crack in the wall. There weren’t any beasts crawling in this little crack. It only had a small pool of clean water. He checked the fifty-meter-wide clearing with extreme caution and only breathed easy when he found nothing wrong.

  He had found the ideal shelter and went straight to work. With a camoufge formation etched on a silk cloth beforehand, he hid the crack. Then he checked the water with a tool his master had him carry. After he filled half a gss cup with the water and dropped in a pill the size of his pinky nail. The pill dissolved in an instant, then the water bubbled changing color. This sted only a moment, the water settled after turning green.

  Green means drinkable, after boiling. Wang Yang checked his notes and nodded in satisfaction.

  With a tool that used spiritual stones, he could boil the water without fire. His ring had food for two weeks and enough supplies to give the bats a slip if needed. With a sigh, he leaned against the wall, wishing his master would arrive soon.

  But no one arrived, and two months had passed by. At least according to lines on the wall behind him.

  Wang Yang sat by the wall with the rumbling of his stomach. His food ran out, even after he started to minimize intake after the first week. If it wasn’t for the food pills he had for emergencies, he would’ve died of hunger. And, even those would run low in a few more days. At least the water would st him another month. But he didn’t know if he could survive that long. His reflection showed cheeks had started to sink in and dark circles. In a beast-filled cavern with little to no sleep, his health would’ve plummeted more if he didn’t have healing pills. But all he could do was think over and over in his mind, with no one around.

  Why did Master not arrive?

  Could he not find me?

  Was I… abandoned?

  No… don’t think about that. Wang Yang took a deep breath in and started to meditate. Being alone started to mess with his psyche. That’s all he had done since coming to the small hideout. Even though he had progressed a level and reached the 7th yer of Qi refinement, he couldn’t feel the joy in his heart as his progress started to come to a standstill.

  Water from the ceiling again. Maybe the water will increase more this time. Wang Yang thought as a few more drops fell on his hood.

  But his expression stiffened when the drop nded on his hand. It wasn’t water. Slimy, pungent enough to make him cough, but he held it in. In the past two months, Wang Yang had practiced gathering qi in his eyes to get accustomed with the dark.

  He gathered his resolve and looked at the ceiling with his racing heart. Eight green eyes stared at him, each the size of his head. This beast that ate through the cave wall had eight long, hairy legs that kept it stuck to the ceiling. It had a humungous body that could crush Wang Yang like an ant. And, the mouth looked like a creature out of a nightmare. Sharp, cw-like lips with slobbering saliva and sharp teeth inside.

  I have the cloak on, it shouldn’t be able to see me. Wang Yang tried to reassure himself in front of the unmoving spider like beast.

  —Aiiek!!

  However, the beast’s screech shook the cave. It jumped down, carving a crater in the cave’s floor. The cloak provided more than stealth. It also had a function to estimate the strength of its user’s target. And, the estimated strength of the beast before him was, Peak of Foundation Establishment Realm.

  A death sentence.

  ...

  Want to read chapters early or support the novel directly?Check out my PatreonYou'll get advance chapters, exclusive content, and help keep this story going strong!

  Thanks for reading, and see you in the next chapter!