“I’ve told you everything,” Shang groaned. Koyo had been asking him questions about his family and background incessantly for the past hour. Shang answered honestly, only omitting any mention of Rue. He shifted uneasily under her unsettling gaze. He prided himself as a great liar, but this girl was off putting. Now that he was sure of her family, his biological mechanisms for self preservation sent his pulse racing. She was not someone he wanted to be on the wrong side of.

“But it doesn’t make any sense. The attribute points are one thing, but 100/100 meridian alignment?! If I hadn’t witnessed it, I would not believe you,” Koyo hissed. They were both seated in the recruiting fields, waiting for the scouts to return before they set off for the gorge. The rest of the team waited a healthy distance away, so he was alone with her questions.

“I don’t know what that even means,” Shang sighed. “Maybe, I’m just lucky.”

Koyo scoffed in response. “Luck is something you create,” she said. “Now the question is, who created you?” Shang’s left eye twitched at the question. She was more correct than she could know. After a pause, Koyo nodded her head, coming to a decision. “From now on, you will not allow anyone to perform a recorded spiritual scan on you.”

“Why?” Shang asked, happy that the questioning was over at last.

“Trust me, you don’t want to draw the attention of the wrong people,” she said ominously. Shang wanted to ask if she was one of these wrong people, but he smartly kept his mouth shut.

“Ah, our scout is back!” Party leader Nio exclaimed. The white bearded man looked like he had aged significantly since their first meeting. It seems inviting Shang and Koyo into his group was more than he had bargained for. Shang turned to see a large giant of a man approach the group. Shang let out a groan. Of course!

The man had cleaned off some of the blood covering his face and hair, but the dark stains were still visible on his robes.

“Ah Nio! I see you have some new recruits,” Bataa said gesturing at Shang and Koyo. To Shang’s surprise, the man seemed happy to see them. “My disciple ran into some trouble, so he won’t be joining us.” His gaze flicked to Koyo, but her expression remained impassive.

“Oh…well, good thing we have Lady Koyo and her… attendant then,” Nio said. He quickly retreated to the rest of the group.

Bataa strode into the party, clapping members on the back. “What did I miss? Why’s everyone looking at you like you’ve grown a second head kid?” Bataa asked.

“Don’t answer that,” Koyo interjected. Shang was getting tired of being bossed around by Rue and now Koyo too, but he had sense enough to obey. He gave Bataa an apologetic look and shrugged.

“No matter! I’m happy to be in the presence of such interesting and mysterious friends,” he boomed out a boisterous laugh.

Shang’s eyes caught on the large incisors glistening from his open maw as he laughed. Even when his mouth was closed, they protruded slightly from his lips. Sensing Shang’s gaze, he turned to look towards him with a wicked grin. The black of his pupils consumed his irises making them indistinguishable from each other. Shang felt the hairs on his neck prickle in alarm. Those were the eyes of a predator.

“So young friend, how did you come to know Yong-sa?” Bataa settled his large frame beside Shang, creating a breeze as he sat. “Ah, forgive me, I have not introduced myself. You may call me Bataa, third son of the Vul clan. What should I call you?” As he spoke, he patted the emblem on his vest—a fox with three stars on its head was embossed in the leather.

Shang introduced himself and shared the short story of his entanglement with Koyo. His eyes stared intently at Bataa the whole while. The longer he stared, the more convinced he became that Bataa was not human. Shang had never seen a human being so large and corded with muscle. Those animalistic eyes, fangs, and fluid movements. All of it put Shang on edge.

Rue, any thoughts?

You know you can just ask right? You should really work on your social skills.

Well, what do I ask? Are you human? Don’t you think that’s a bit rude?

Why would it be rude? If anything, it’s a compliment. Who would want to be a human? Rue scoffed.

“So Bataa, the Vul clan? I apologize, I’m from a small village and have never heard of your people,” Shang started.

Bataa turned his predatory eyes towards Shang. They widened slightly in surprise. “I was too prideful to think that you have not heard of the great Vuls. Worry not my friend. I will explain. We reside on the eastern edge of the Sapphire Plains. Currently, we are contracted under the Yong family and have been for many generations.” Bataa glanced at Koyo, but she was in cycling form, her eyes closed. “Tell me friend, have you heard of the HuLi Jing?”

Shang nodded in assent. The fox spirit was a great mythological creature equally cursed and loved in stories—both a conniving temptress and a source of wisdom and fortune.

“We are descendants of the greatest HuLi Jing of all, the golden Celestial Fox with nine tails.”

Shang gaped in wonder. His mother told him many stories of the legendary creature. The Celestial Fox was capable of trampling mountains and could shape-shift to anything living or imagined creature, including human beings. According to legends, the fox was defeated and tamed by a great cultivator named ManTa, and its powers were passed down to his descendants. Shang couldn’t believe the legend was real.

“Ah, that’s the look of awe I’ve been expecting. I know we will be great friends, young Shang. Don’t worry, you will get to see more of what it means to be a Vul soon.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

At Bataa’s return, the group was now complete. In total, the team consisted of thirteen cultivators. According to Bataa, most were in the Second Realm, the Mortal Realm, with Bataa, Nio, and Koyo as the only Mind Realm cultivators. And of course, Shang was the only Foundation cultivator.

“Don’t worry friend. You have a strange scent about you. I will keep you alive to study later!” Bataa exclaimed happily.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself Bataa. As I said, he’s with me,” Koyo said. Shang glanced nervously between the two, shrinking from their wolfish gazes.

Nio gathered the group together, designating roles. Combat-focused Paths like Koyo and Bataa would lead the group while cultivators with sensory Paths and Yin affinities would stay in the group’s center to scout ahead and sense their way through the darkness of the caves.

“You get this.” Nio handed Shang a bag. It was roughly the size of his own expanse bag and the inside was similarly pitch black. “That is a third realm expanse bag. It’s worth a fortune so do not drop it.” Nio enunciated his words. “You will be at the back of the party.” Shang was instructed to pick up the gems and cores dropped by the monsters and to, generally, stay out of everyone’s way.

“You stay next to me,” Koyo said. Nio tried to keep his face impassive, but his eyebrows twitched in annoyance.

“Yong-sa, the back is the safest position in the party.”

“No, he stays with me.” Her tone left no room for argument.

The party set out, exiting the domed translucent structure. Shang couldn’t help but stare at the ceiling as he walked, this time making sure to not run into anyone. As they left the recruitment field, the sound of rushing water grew steadily louder. Soon, the roaring of the current drowned out the casual conversation of the band.

Shang had been told that the water in the PalTang Gorge was not actually water at all. It was a form of condensed qi that had strong water qualities used to keep the creatures from the other domain from exiting the gorge. These monsters originated from a domain of only yin, so they were unable to manipulate water, which had a primarily yang affinity.

Shang peered over the lip of the gorge. The water did not froth up and grow opaque as it rushed through the gorge like normal water would. It remained perfectly translucent, but the floor of the gorge was too far down for the light to reach. Shang breathed in deeply. The air had a fresh and light quality to it like they were standing at the foot of a waterfall. The group was ushered by Nio to a mechanical overhang made from metal. Beneath the overhang was a dozen paces of open air and then the fathomless deep of the gorge. The ground shook as the party stepped on. Shang gripped the railing tightly, not trusting the structure to hold so much weight.

When everyone stood on the platform, Nio brandished a badge engraved with a lightning bird over the control panel, and the whole structure began to descend. Soon, the water licked at Shang’s ankles. It felt just as water should, cool and biting in the summer heat. When the water rose to Shang’s chest, he began to worry.

“Can I breathe down here?” He screamed over the roaring of the gorge.

“Just cycle!” Nio answered. Shang tried to empty his mind to begin cycling, but the ever-rising water levels made it hard to concentrate. When the water covered his mouth and nose, he breathed in and choked. It was not the sting of breathing in water. The pressure of the surrounding liquid made his throat close up. There was no air. He was suffocating.

Breathe, Rue instructed.

I can’t! I’m underwater.

You are not. This is just the air with a high concentration of water quality qi. Just cycle like normal. Close your eyes, focus your mind, and open your meridians.

Shang focused on Rue’s voice, letting it lull him to calm. He welcomed the feeling of scorching pain that accompanied his cycling technique. He was breathing, but the pressure did not subside. It felt like the air was too thick to fully inhale.

This is because your meridians are almost completely balanced to take in qi at 50% yin and 50% yang. That usually helps with qi intake speed unless you’re in an environment like this. This atmosphere is more than 90% yang. You are only able to draw in ambient qi at a 1:1 ratio, so now it takes five times as much cycling to absorb qi compared to what you’re used to.

The air here felt denser than that of the most humid of FuLong summer nights. Instead of a warm heavy wetness, the air was numbingly cold. As he got his cycling under control, Shang finally managed to open his eyes. Koyo was looking at him with a raised eyebrow. Bataa was grinning his madman’s grin. The rest of the group looked at him with disdain. Apparently, he was the only one that was having any trouble at all. Even underwater, he could see their faces and the sides of the gorge clearly. As they descended deeper, the light from the sun gradually faded. Someone in their band, a small wiry woman with red hair, was pushing the shadows away from the group. Everything in the immediate area was visible, but anything beyond was shrouded in shadow.

Shang did not know when they left the metal platform, but now they were drifting along in their enclosed shelter toward their destination. Nio was guiding them using a glowing projected map of the gorge. This cave was located at the edge of the minor camp territories. It was still a fair distance from the center of the gorge, but almost touched the major camp territories. The creatures located in the inner gorge were usually larger and stronger. Nio assured that, given the time in the cycle, all the monsters here were relatively weak.

As they traversed the gorge, Shang could make out shrill cries and harrowing screams. His mind contrived many grotesque beasts to accompany the feral sounds. Some sounded human. Shang gulped loudly. Bataa’s large hand patted him on the back, surprisingly gentle. The wild maniacal grin on his face took away any possibility of comfort the action might have brought. Shang glanced at the rest of the group. Koyo’s face was so placid that Shang thought she might have been napping standing up.

Rue, are you sure this is a good idea? Aren’t there better ways of gaining resources? There was a pause before he answered.

Don’t worry. You are in good hands! Look how confident your new friends are, Rue exclaimed gesturing at the nearly asleep Koyo. Now that we’re here, I wanted to mention that we also have a secret mission.

Shang closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable trap to close. He knew Rue was acting weird, but he was so clueless that felt like being led by Rue, however blindly, was better than the alternative.

Outside of the monster parts, we also have a few other things to retrieve. Rue paused again, waiting for Shang to object. Shang stayed silent, unwilling to give him the satisfaction of a question. Well, just two things really. I need blood. A bit from the big fox man and a bit from the scary girl. Now, I will warn you. You should be circumspect. Treat it like a secret mission. Blood is a bit of a taboo substance among cultivators.

Shang’s face twitched. He could already feel a tension headache building. And how do you suggest we get that blood? Shang kept his eyes closed and kneaded his temples.

You’re heading to a den of monsters. It’s a perfect distraction. I’m sure you’ll find a way.