The canyon opened up into a valley, surrounded by mountains on all sides that rose up like the walls of some massive fortress. Like the canyon, they too had been carved into an almost wave-like shape around the sides. There were wooden structures built high up on the mountains, though Jie saw no way to reach them.
The loose dirt of the canyon floor gave way to lush grass, bright and beautiful flowers, trees, shrubs, and plants that Jie had no word for. Butterfly-like creatures with long coiled tongues flittered through the air as birds chirped together. In the center of the valley was a massive tree that rose high into the sky with thick branches and beautiful golden leaves.
One of the butterfly creatures flew down to a marble basin, extended its coiled tongue, and drank from it. But, rather than nectar or water, the basin was filled with a rich, dark red liquid.
Jie shuddered and looked closer at the branches above them. This time, she noticed the metal cages with drained, desiccated corpses and the way the cheerful little birds burrowed their beaks into them and drank what little blood remained.
"Stick close together. Stay away from everything and don't touch anything. Everything in here is hungry. Even the flowers," Pan Tian said.
Jie cycled her qi and kept a watchful eye around her. For just a moment, she'd felt relieved, but it seemed this world loved to keep her on edge.
Pan Tian led the way along a white marble path that wound through the meadow. The butterfly creatures flittered close by and stared at them with large, hungry eyes. But, the strongest of them was only at the sixth star of the Adept rank, so Jie was confident they posed little danger.
They weren't the only things watching them, however. Everything from the birds to the horned frogs regarded them with hungry interest. Some followed from a distance, on either side of the pass. There were other creatures too. Strange humanoid bird creatures that walked on two legs and carried spears capped with gleaming red crystals. Their plumage made some of them look like they were wearing a headdress. Their eyes shone with a cruel intelligence and some of them were at the Expert rank. Jie kept her own power veiled as best she could while being ready for an attack.
Better to be underestimated, she thought.
As they followed the path, they crossed over streams of blood filled with spiked fish and large toads.
Dotted around the path were white columns with statues of large beasts covered in scales with impressive antlers and hooved feet perched atop them like gargoyles. They gave Jie an unsettling feeling. Then, one focused its eyes on her and Jie's heart skipped a beat.
Yeah... not statues. And, they can hide their cultivation from me even at my level and me focusing directly on them... these things are at least as strong as I am... maybe stronger. Jie thought.
More of them focused on her, even turning their heads and looking straight at them as they passed.
One of them stepped off its column and onto the path ahead of them. Pan Tian froze and so did Jie and the others.
"What do we do?" Jie whispered.
The creature's ears flicked.
"I don't know," Pan Tian said, "I've never heard of the qilin moving before... and I've never seen it. We'll just have to see."
More of the qilin hopped off their columns, all of them looking closely at Jie and her friends. Their movements were quick but strange. Moving with sudden bursts of speed and then stopping. Leaping and then pausing... Jie frowned as she noticed they didn't touch the grass between the marble stones.
Still, there were a lot of them, and Jie didn't know if she could hold them off. And, distracting them would be difficult as there were so many rather than one big creature like in the lake... maybe if we leave the path... they won't follow? Jie thought.
"Hello, Liu Jie," said a voice inside Jie's mind. Its words were musical and each note seemed to reverberate peacefully in her mind like wind chimes.
A sense of relief washed over Jie, but she forced herself to keep on her guard as the strange power could be used to make them vulnerable. The others around her gasped and she felt certain that the creatures were speaking to them too.
Still... being respectful and friendly seemed like her best option.
She gave a respectful bow.
"Greetings," she said, "forgive me, but I don't know your name or I would use it."
Laughter rang out within her mind. Gentle, kind, and soothing.
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"There's no need to learn our names," said the one who'd spoken, "you and your friends have good hearts. We offer each of you advice from our divinations. Will you heed my words, Liu Jie?"
"I'll certainly do my best," Jie said, trying to frame the thoughts and send them outward like she would when talking with Ming.
"How delightful. I see you've spoken this way before. You're at a bottleneck in your cultivation, Liu Jie. You work as hard as you can, and yet feel as though you make no progress. This is because cultivation is not merely about gathering and refining Essence. Cultivation is a journey and like any journey, the choices you make shape your destination. You do not advance because your martial heart is at war with itself. A crossroads is coming. One that will force a change from you. Either you will make your darkness serve you, or it will enslave you. Choose wisely and remember that your choices will shape you and your cultivation," said the qilin with its musical telepathy.
"What choice will I have to make? What should I choose?" Jie asked.
"If I told you that, it wouldn't be your choice. Good luck, Liu Jie. We have faith in you... and we are deeply sorry for what is coming. We are bound by the rules of our contract and cannot save you from the darkness," said the qilin.
"Is there nothing more you can tell me?" Jie asked.
"We have already done all that we can. Good luck, Liu Jie. This universe needs you more than you know," said the qilin.
The creatures nodded their heads and hopped back upon their columns where they stopped moving, looking like statues to all but the closest observer.
"Thank you for your guidance," Jie said and gave a bow.
Pan Tian wiped at her eyes and gave a bow of her own. Xue and Ithilix looked as confused as Jie felt but also gave respectful bows. They continued on their way, though their pace was far slower and Pan Tian kept sniffling.
"Is everything okay?" Jie asked.
"Of course. No need to worry about me," Pan Tian said.
"This one is curious. What did they tell you?" Ithilix asked.
"I can't say," Pan Tian said, "talking about mine will change things and make a bad outcome more likely."
"Oh..." Ithilix said.
"Don't worry," Pan Tian said with a forced smile, "everything will be fine. I just can't talk about it. What about you two?"
Everyone gave Jie a look.
"Oh... I guess I'll go first then. They didn't say I shouldn't," Jie said, and she told them what the voice in her mind had said.
"That's ominous," Pan Tian said, "what conflict are they talking about?"
"I'm not sure... I think it's about killing people. I know I'll have to at some stage... but I don't want to become a bad person and my parents always said that... well anyway. I'm trying to figure it out. I guess that's my crossroads," Jie said.
"That makes sense," Pan Tian said, "and you, Ithilix?"
"They told this one that this one would choose whether to save those who hate the Hive or allow them to die," Ithilix said.
"That's intense," Jie said.
"This one agrees. But, divinations are often unreliable and this one is far from powerful enough to make such a choice," Ithilix said.
"So what they told us might not even come true?" Pan Tian asked.
"That is correct. Also, they could be lying. Though qilin are usually good-natured and wouldn't lead us astray. Still, this one thinks one should not put much faith in prophecy or predictions of the future. They can always be changed," Ithilix said.
Jie found herself wondering what Xue had been told and wished he could tell her. As it was, she felt only a calm reassurance coming from him through their bond.
They continued along the pathway until they came to a marble archway built into the base of the enormous tree, with a large white wall with three spherical indentations and swirling patterns with runes inscribed all along them.
Jie's skin tingled and a red glow covered her and her friends. The indentations glowed and tendrils of blood flowed out of them. Then, lashed out at Jie and her friends. They smashed against them and broke apart into a splatter. The wall then split apart down the middle, forming two doors that opened outward and exposed a shimmering red portal.
"We're the first ones here," Pan Tian said, "let's do this."
Pan Tian stepped forward into the portal. The red energy surrounding her hummed as it touched the swirling blood. She pushed through it and was gone.
Jie followed after her. The glowing red energy around her kept the blood from actually touching her and she stepped out right behind Pan Tian, with the shimmering barrier of blood in the door frame at their backs. The air inside was musty, stale, and heavy with the metallic scent of blood.
"Huh... I thought it was a teleporter," Jie said.
"No, this one just punishes you if you didn't complete the plaques," Pan Tian said in a hushed voice.
"Do I want to know what it does to you if you haven't done them?" Jie asked as Ithilix and Xue appeared behind them.
"Probably not," Pan Tian said, "you're pretty sensitive about some stuff."
Jie opened her mouth to argue but closed it again. How could she possibly explain that she wasn't sensitive, but that she came from a world where most children didn't walk through creepy gardens of murderous insanity?
The walls, floor, and ceiling seemed to be made of the same white marble as outside. Only it was weathered and old with tree roots breaking through in places and a long tunnel leading away into the darkness. In the walls were small troughs of blood that oozed along in a steady trickle in different directions. Everything around them was lit by the dim red glow of the swirling blood in the doorway behind them.
Yeah... literal blood running along the walls, but I'm sensitive just because I think that's freaking weird? Sure. Jie thought.
"Alright, we're going to need lanterns here. Use the ones I gave you earlier. Attach them to your belts. This place is filled with dangers, so it's important to keep your hands free," Pan Tian whispered.
They did as Pan Tian suggested and Jie affixed a lantern to Xue's collar, so it dangled under his neck. It didn't look particularly comfortable, but she didn't want Xue to be stuck in total darkness if they were separated somehow.
Jie adjusted the dial on hers and Xue's until a soft blue glow emanated from both their lanterns.
"That's good," Pan Tian said, "keep it at that level for now. The twists and turns in this place help to obscure our light, but we still have to be careful. Any brighter than that and things could get tricky. Even for you."