"Go to Dark Valley?"
Ling Yuxiu hesitated for a moment. "The old ancestor of the Si family said Dark Valley is extremely dangerous. The experts of the Heavenly Sage Cult and the great shamans of the Loulan Golden Palace explored it and still suffered heavy casualties. How could we possibly go?"
Qin Mu remained resolute. "It may be connected to my origins. No matter what, I must go there. This is a personal matter, unrelated to the Cult and unrelated to you all. I will go alone."
He stood and left the manufacturing workshop, calling for Dragon Qilin, who was sleeping outside the factory. Hearing the call, Dragon Qilin immediately stood up, shaking off his drowsiness. "Is it the next day? Is it time to eat?"
Qin Mu leaped onto his back, grumbling, "It's not the next day! All you do is sleep and eat—what use are you? We're going to Qingmen Pass!"
Dragon Qilin yawned, clouds of fire forming beneath his feet as he dashed northwest. "Cult Master, you've gotten heavier again. You weigh two hundred jin more than before."
Qin Mu was furious. "Nonsense! I've been thinning down these past few days while refining my sword. At most, I've gained about a hundred jin from the swords in my bag. Clearly, you're the one who's gotten fatter!"
Ling Yuxiu and Si Yunxiang chased after them, only to see Dragon Qilin already soaring into the sky, having traveled over ten li.
Ling Yuxiu frowned. "Even if you're going, you should make thorough preparations first. That cowherd is being too reckless, underestimating the dangers of Dark Valley."
Si Yunxiang rubbed her behind again—Qin Mu's slap had been too forceful, leaving both cheeks still burning with pain. "How could the Heavenly Sage Cult lack experts? Ever since Long Jiaonan kidnapped us last time, Jade Heavenly King and Shi Heavenly King have been worried. They must be nearby. Rest assured—if we encounter danger, they certainly won't sit by and watch. It's a pity..."
She stared blankly, then suddenly said, "If the Holy Cult Master dies in Dark Valley, the Holy Maiden could naturally succeed him as Cult Master. It's a pity I didn't go with the Cult Master to Dark Valley—then the Holy Cult Master would definitely die there..."
Ling Yuxiu became alert, sneering, "Little fox, if you dare plot against the cowherd, I'll break both your legs and make you look like the character 'chu'!"
Si Yunxiang giggled. "Little vixen, I've been sick of you for a long time. You strut around the Cult Master every day with your big chest, getting in everyone's way and giving people no chance to act."
The two girls glared at each other, finding each other utterly detestable, and turned away in opposite directions.
Si Yunxiang's eyes flashed as her Thousand-Silk Sword quietly unfurled, slithering like a slender spirit serpent into the ground, tracking Ling Yuxiu's direction from below.
Meanwhile, the Nine Dragons Weapon behind Ling Yuxiu quietly stretched its form, dragon scales shifting silently into position, dragon claws extending sharp blades, as the dragon-shaped spirit weapons silently flew toward Si Yunxiang.
"I've been sick of you for too long!"
Both girls burst into action simultaneously, unleashing vicious moves at each other. Ling Yuxiu's dress was cut by the Thousand-Silk Sword emerging from the ground, narrowly avoiding the sword's strangulation. On the other side, Si Yunxiang's body danced like a butterfly, evading the Nine Dragons' combined strike.
Ling Yuxiu flipped repeatedly, then suddenly slammed her palm to the ground. Terrifying magical power erupted, the earth rumbling as a stone pillar burst from the soil, forcing Si Yunxiang to fly into the air.
Ling Yuxiu leaped up in a few steps, grabbing the Nine Dragons Weapon. Lightning and fire converged into the great hammer, which she brought down with a smash!
"I told you I'd make you look like 'chu', and I never break my word!"
Si Yunxiang giggled as the Thousand-Silk Sword attacked from behind Ling Yuxiu. The silver threads expanded into a razor-thin silver serpent, slashing toward Ling Yuxiu's head. "How does your skill compare to the Buddha's son? You want me to look like 'chu'? I'll cut off your head and make you look like 'tian'!"
From the manufacturing workshop, many Artificer Hall disciples came out, looking up to see the two girls fighting in the sky. Suddenly Si Yunxiang was knocked down, startling the disciples, who wondered whether they should intervene.
Then they saw Si Yunxiang vanish and reappear behind Princess Ling, sending her coughing blood.
"Better not get involved," said one Incense Master. "This is a lovers' quarrel. Whichever side we help, we'll have trouble explaining to the Cult Master. Let's pretend we saw nothing."
The crowd nodded and dispersed.
Dragon Qilin was swift, arriving at Qingmen Pass by evening. The atmosphere there was oppressive. Bian Zhenyun, the pass commander, was an old acquaintance of Qin Mu and came out to meet him. "Divine Doctor, what brings you here?"
"I plan to pass through Qingmen Pass to visit Dark Valley," Qin Mu explained. "It's almost dark, and we can't enter the Great Ruins at night, so I intend to rest here for the night. General, how is the border situation?"
Bian Zhenyun shook his head, his expression grave. "The situation isn't good. These past few months, the Barbarian Di Kingdom across the border has been increasing its forces, and many experts from the Loulan Golden Palace have appeared. I hear the Di Kingdom's envoy secretly returned to the grasslands—it seems the Di Kingdom plans to attack Yan Kang while it's weakened. Just a few days ago, from my watchtower I saw several figures resembling those from the Wolf Junxu Kingdom. Recently, the Di Kingdom's scouts have been active, roaming between the two passes with increasing boldness. I fear..."
He looked worried. "I've already sent a fast messenger to inform the Emperor. If the barbarians attack, Qingmen Pass alone cannot hold. Divine Doctor, normally I would send experts to escort you to Dark Valley, but I simply cannot spare anyone."
Qin Mu smiled. "General, focus on the bigger picture. Don't worry about me. I'm only going to Dark Valley, not the grasslands, so I won't clash with the barbarians."
As night fell and darkness encroached, Qin Mu gazed across and saw the enemy camp a hundred li away, its lights blazing like day, with a vast number of troops encamped.
At dawn, Qin Mu rose, washed, ate breakfast, and fed Dragon Qilin. Bian Zhenyun saw him off. "Divine Doctor, I cannot accompany you, or the enemy will seize the opportunity to launch a large attack. I can only have our scouts follow from a distance to escort you. Be careful on the road."
Qin Mu thanked him and rode Dragon Qilin toward the duck-tongue territory between the two kingdoms.
Behind him, Qingmen Pass's scouts rode various exotic beasts at a distance. When they reached the central duck-tongue territory, a group of figures in strange attire appeared on the opposite side, riding the grasslands' camel-winged beasts—clearly scouts from the Barbarian Di Kingdom.
Both sides spotted each other almost simultaneously, and instantly engaged. Sword pearls and blade pearls filled the sky, clinking and clanging as they collided.
Suddenly, the Qingmen Pass scouts opened several gourds, and clouds of mist erupted, covering an area of over ten li, limiting visibility to just over ten zhang.
Both sides lost track of each other and fell into rare quiet.
Qin Mu opened his Azure Sky Eye, his vision piercing the mist to discern the path. Dragon Qilin used the mist to advance toward the rear of the duck-tongue territory.
"The Emperor indeed followed my advice, collecting clouds, mist, lightning, and thunder as weapons. With so many barbarian troops, breaking through Qingmen Pass will be difficult."
The duck-tongue territory was long, stretching a thousand li, belonging to the Great Ruins. At night, it became a barrier separating the two kingdoms.
Entering the Great Ruins, the greatest danger was the darkness. Qin Mu, a native abandoned child of the Great Ruins, knew the crucial details, so he scanned the surroundings, searching for ruins, stone statues, and the like.
If he couldn't return to Qingmen Pass before dark, he would need to spend the night in the Great Ruins, so he had to find a safe place first.
The duck-tongue territory was eerily quiet—not a single bird or beast in sight.
Qin Mu's expression grew solemn. The absence of any birds or beasts indicated there were no safe places here. Even the Great Ruins' exotic beasts couldn't survive here at night!
He passed a lake, its waters blue as a gemstone, the surface utterly still without a single ripple.
It was a dead lake—no fish or shrimp within.
"There's no place to shelter from the darkness in the lake either."
Qin Mu steadied himself and continued forward. Unknowingly, Dragon Qilin left the duck-tongue territory, and the surrounding peaks grew steeper. A canyon appeared before them.
Qin Mu sat on Dragon Qilin's back, observing the trees in the canyon growing in chaotic directions along the cliffs, as if freed from terrestrial magnetism, growing sideways and obscuring the sky above the canyon.
He felt as if he had entered an inverted, disordered world where the cliffs seemed to be the ground.
The massive trees were ancient, some so large that dozens of people could barely encircle them. Their roots twisted like dragons, and beneath them glowed ghostly phosphorescent lights—the white bones of enormous beasts, some of which Qin Mu couldn't identify.
Strangely, these bones lay on the cliffs, not at the canyon floor.
The leaves falling from the trees didn't drift to the bottom either, but landed on the cliffs. The canyon was remarkably clean, without any dead branches or fallen leaves.
Thud.
Dragon Qilin accidentally bumped a large stone floating in mid-air. The stone rotated and drifted aside, still floating.
Ahead in the canyon, stones of all sizes floated in the air.
"Cult Master, we must have entered Dark Valley, right?" Dragon Qilin asked in his deep voice.
Qin Mu nodded. "We should be within Dark Valley's range. Still no other living creatures here—this makes me uneasy..."
Just as he spoke, voices came from ahead: "...You always insist on eating raw. I actually prefer it cooked—medium-rare is best, roasted over a fire until the juices flow, with tender meat inside. Some people have come these past few days, quite tasty, but you insist on eating them raw. Look what a mess you've made of yourself!"
"Medium-rare isn't tasty—it lacks that fresh, tender sensation. Better to roast it over a fire, singe off the fur, and eat it while it's still squealing. That's the most delicious..."
"Bullshit—medium-rare is better... Shh, be quiet. Someone else is coming."
...
Qin Mu activated his True Art of the Fiery Star Lord, transforming into the form of the Fiery Star Lord—a bull-headed, human-bodied figure standing atop twin dragons. Dragon Qilin carried him cautiously forward toward the source of the voices. Qin Mu looked around and was slightly stunned.
The voices had come from here, but he couldn't see the speakers. He could only see a large bonfire on the cliff face, upon which a great shaman from the Loulan Golden Palace was being roasted. The shaman, with his profound cultivation, wasn't dead yet, but had been cooked to the point of weakness, weakly opening his eyes to glance at Qin Mu and Dragon Qilin.
Whoosh.
Suddenly the leaves rustled, and two large white-furred bats descended from the trees, hanging upside down before Qin Mu. They were powerfully built, muscles rippling, arms crossed over their chests, with white light glowing in their eyes as if white flames flowed within.
Qin Mu's heart skipped a beat. These two giant bats were a rare breed—terrifyingly so. They no longer carried any demonic aura; instead, they emanated a god-demon-like presence, suggesting they were descendants of gods or demons!
"Not humans."
One of the bats shrank back into the canopy. "What a disappointment. I thought it was humans again."
The other bat also withdrew. Qin Mu hastily said, "Greetings, fellow Daoists!"
The leaves rustled again as the two bats descended once more, still with arms crossed, speaking in unison: "Greetings! But we won't give you any to eat—we caught them ourselves. If you're capable, catch your own humans to eat. There are more in the valley."
Qin Mu quickly laughed, "I'm vegetarian—born and raised on plants."
The two bats relaxed. Qin Mu continued, "I'm a newcomer. Fellow Daoists, is the valley safe at night?"
One bat chuckled, "No wonder you look unfamiliar. The valley is perfectly safe."
Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief and thanked the two bats. They shrank back up and reappeared hanging upside down by the bonfire on the cliff, quietly waiting for the shaman to finish roasting.
"That bull just now seemed to have Fiery Star bloodline—pity it wouldn't taste good. Humans are still the best—delicious and juicy." One bat stared at the bonfire.
The other bat chuckled, "Then why didn't you eat him? You know perfectly well how dangerous the valley is..."