Far in the distance, Qin Yun noticed clouds of sand burst into the air, obscuring most of his vision from behind a giant sand dune. At first, he thought this was but another one of those sandworms joyfully slithering along the ground in the hopes of finding another prey, yet he stood corrected as four riders emerged from it, ascending the dune.

Their mounts were unusual for the rest of the western regions, yet not so much for this part of the land. They were large quadrupeds, much larger than a horse. Their legs were long and slim, allowing them to run incredibly fast. Their tails were short, while their necks were much longer than a horse's. They also drooped in the middle, allowing their heads to rest parallel to their bodies.

On their backs were too large lumps covered by thick carpets, allowing the riders to rest comfortably, even through the rocky speed of their gallops. Qin Yun also spotted two large bags resting on each side of their hind quarters suspended by straps, allowing these beasts to carry large loads for an extended distance, even under the harsh heat of this desert sun.

In fact, these creatures seemed almost unbothered by the severity of this environment as they sped along the dunes, unlike the individuals that stood on their backs. They wore deep green robes, which seemed most unsuited for these conditions. Qin Yun could even see them guzzling water from their pouches as if they had been denied hydration for years.

Judging by their current heading, Qin Yun and the duo would be bound to encounter them. With a single leap, Qin Yun fell from his perch, making next to no sound as he reached the ground, his legs absorbing the impact as if he possessed almost no weight. There was barely any vibration at the point of contact.

“We seem to have some visitors,” Qin Yun said, surprising the two with his arrival. “Friends of yours?”

The two swivelled their heads to the side almost in unison, locking into the barely perceptible sand cloud in the distance. Yao Ruolan even had to squint and use her hand to block the sun to ascertain their headings.

“I can’t tell from this distance,” the man said. “Did they have any unique features?”

"Green robes embroidered with the emblem of a snake," Qin Yun replied casually. "Most of them are in the Foundation Building realm."

Yao Ruolan’s hand grasped the man’s arm, showing a brilliant smile.

"Disciples of the Emerald Lord!" she exclaimed, her joy apparent. "They have been searching for us! They should be able to cure you, right?"

Unlike her optimism, the man remained calm, even showing a slight frown, which Qin Yun took notice of.

"Emerald Lord?" Qin Yun asked. "A man of prestige, I'd assume?"

The duo turned toward him, perplexed by his ignorance.

“You don’t know?” Yao Ruolan blurted out. “Where do you come from to not have heard of him?”

“It’s my first time near the western edge,” he replied, shrugging. “You can’t expect me to know everyone. Besides, do you have any idea how large just the western region is?”

"Oh... just another stuck-up city boy,” she mumbled, her expression soured. “Too good to remember the names of us plebeians...”

Qin Yun's eyebrows rose slightly, amused, only for the injured man to sigh.

“Please forgive her," he said as he took the woman's hand. "Yao Ruolan has had bad encounters with some disciples of the sects out east. Hearing you say that you don't know the Emerald Lord, she just assumed you to be one of them."

“It’s fine,” Qin Yun replied. “I’m just a rogue cultivator. I’m not interested in your rivalries.”

“Why do you act as if this has nothing to do with you?” she asked, her temper flaring up. “Do you know that without our four local sects holding the fort, the outsiders would have already spilled inwards, laying waste to the land? Your peace was only built on top of our sacrifices! Without us, all of you would be nothing more than corpses under their blades.”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“If the threat was as great as you claim, the Immortal Beasts Alliance would have already dealt with it and not leave it to you to do so," Qin Yun replied. "Do you really think they don't possess the means? You shouldn't be so selfish in your thought process and look at the bigger picture."

“What bigger picture!?”

“Instead of the outer region, what if we were able to secure a place in the middle region?” Qin Yun said. The argument stunned Yao Ruolan, prompting her to keep silent, ruminating his words as he added, "Between the outer and middle regions, the choice is obvious. However, you must realize that ousting someone from the middle region requires so much resources that they simply cannot spare any for something as trivial as the outsider's threat."

“So we should just serve as a shield in the meantime?" she replied through gritted teeth, her small hand paling as she clenched it, almost drawing blood, until the man took hers into his, making her relax slightly.

“I’m not interested in the morality of their decision," Qin Yun said as he shrugged. "Right or wrong is irrelevant. However, the benefits are clear, and it seems worth the price. Thinking purely in terms of profit, their decision is the right one. What your sect should focus on should be to take advantage of it."

“And how would that be?" the man asked, keeping his cool, unlike Yao Ruolan.

“There are many ways," Qin Yun replied. "The most straightforward would be to prove your worth. Only through strength will you have a chance to change your fate. You can't expect kindness from others if they don't benefit."

The man's gaze lingered on Qin Yun, keeping his silence for a while longer. Qin Yun met him without faltering. The man smiled slightly and asked, "What about you? What is the price of your kindness?"

Qin Yun smiled back, yet before he had the opportunity to respond, new arrivals were already upon them.

Four large camels stopped just a few meters before them, their riders looking down on the trio, scrutinizing them. The four were males, and their strength ranged from upper-level Qi Refining Realm to Mid Foundation Building. Judging by their ages, none of them were talentless. In fact, the youngest didn't seem more than fifteen years old, yet had already reached the eighth stage of the Qi Refining realm.

The men dismounted and approached the trio, but there was something in their eyes that Qin Yun couldn't quite place. He ignored it, only to grab his sword stuck on the ground, the aroma of his sandworm steak spreading in the air. He took a bite before leaning on a large rock, pretending to be only a bystander.

“Who’s He Zihao?” the strongest of the four said, as his gaze rested on Qin Yun, a slight glint in his eyes.

His voice was deep and cold. Despite the injured man's current state, there was no trace of concern in it. Yao Ruolan frowned and sought to rise, her hand close to her blade, yet the man gently stopped her as he rose himself with difficulty.

“I am,” he said. “What business do the Emerald Lord’s disciple have with me?”

"So it's you..." the man said as he turned to face He Zihao, his gaze staring right through him. "You are to be taken captive on the grounds of conspiracy to murder disciples of the four sects and suspicion of treason against the Western Region by collaborating with the outsiders in a plot to let them bypass the Great Barrier."

Yao Ruolan's hand jerked, trying to reach for her sword even more, yet He Zihao's grip was as firm as steel despite his weakened state. They both looked at the four men dressed in green as if this was one big misunderstanding, yet the resolve in the men's eyes gave credence to their intent. Qin Yun only watched all this play out with a slight smile.

“Do you have any evidence for these claims?” He Zihao said, his voice calm and cold, yet he couldn’t stop a slight hint of anger from transpiring. “I doubt my sect would have approved this without sufficient facts to back this up.”

One of the men stepped forward, a large sneer on his face as he pulled a small dagger from his clothes. He looked upon the trio with disgust as he spoke next.

“Why would the Moonlight Sword Palace's stance matter? We already have a witness who testified against you. Your guilt is already apparent. Either you surrender yourself or face the consequences. We have already been given the right to use force should you choose to resist."

The men stood upright, ready for battle. Some displayed their weapons while others simply waited, arms crossed, trying to seem imposing. Qin Yun could only shake his head, yet the duo were utterly taken aback.

Yao Ruolan shook with rage, her mind on the verge of exploding. Even for He Zihao's usually calm demeanour, this seemed almost too much to process. He barely had the presence of mind to stop her from escalating the situation, yet this also proved insufficient. She wrestled herself out of his hold and held her blade forward, its white edge glistening under the sun as her murderous intent pervaded the atmosphere.

"We were attacked by a swarm of giant sandworms almost as soon as we left sight of the Great Barrier!" she said, losing her cool. "Most of us died, eaten by the worms, while others of their wounds soon after. Only three of us managed to escape the onslaught alive, and if not for someone's grace, we, too, would have died. Now, you have the gall to accuse senior brother of being personally responsible for their deaths like some kind of executioner? If you want him so badly, then you better do so over my dead body!"

Although her words were filled with strength, she knew her chances of prevailing against these four men were slim to none. She was only in the Qi Refining realm, while her opponents were almost an entire realm beyond her. Her only hope was to somewhat even the odds. She glanced at Qin Yun, only to see him eat his morsel of cooked meat without a care. She could only grit her teeth in frustration at her powerlessness.

“If you collude with this criminal, then you leave us no chance but to apprehend you too,” one of the men in green said. “You may avoid sharing the same fate if you know what’s good for you.”

Qin Yun burst out in hearty laughter, almost dropping his meat in the process. The men were stunned, turning toward him as their eyes narrowed, a slight hint of killing intent in their gazes. Even Yao Ruolan and He Zihao stood there, unable to comprehend his actions.

“Don't talk as if you have any intentions of letting any of us go," he said after finally calming down, looking at the men in greens as if they were clowns. "You're not fooling anyone with such flimsy excuses. Why don't you just come out and say it? Someone ordered you to kill them, didn't they?"

The tension in the air was palpable as the scene remained silent. It wasn't until one of the men reached for something nestled inside his outer robes that the silence finally broke as Qin Yun's black crystal sword whistled through the air before being impaled into the man's forehead, shattering his skull into a fountain of gore.

Before the body could even hit the stone slab it perished on, Qin Yun had already retrieved his blade, but also the weapon the man had tried to reach: three large needles coated in a potent poison that stung Qin Yun's nostrils as he merely held them in his hand. He turned toward the remaining three men, only offering a slight smile.

“These two owe me,” Qin Yun said as he pointed at the duo. “Before they pay me back, you’re not touching them.”