Happy Thanksgiving guys, wish I could be with family the last couple of days! Ugh my laptop is breaking, refusing to charge. T_T; Thanks to all the readers who voted and commented over the Turkey Break!
On another note, if you all enjoy the series, please do tell your friends who enjoy wuxia about it as well and share since I spend all my time writing the series and 0% of my time marketing it lol.
"Is there a problem?" Lineir looked at the guard in an innocent fashion. A million possibilities flashed through him in that moment and he felt the chilling numbness which accompanied the descent of Madness in his eyes begin to form. However a second later his worries were dispelled,
"You're a cultivator right? Watch yourself in the city, the Jie Clan will brook absolutely no fighting within city limits! The punishment is death for commoners and cultivators are no exception. You've been warned!" The guard said sternly to Lineir with no fear despite the fact that he knew Lineir was a cultivator. "Additionally, there will be an auction soon for cultivators. If you have enough money or treasures to bid or buy then visit the Six Hearts Treasure Pavilion in the coming week and enjoy yourself. All cultivators are welcome though you'll have to stand if you can't afford a seat. That's it, remember...no trouble."
Lineir nodded and clasped his hands before continuing on his way as if he was a monk. He soon found himself wandering the city sampling the various mortal delicacies in Snowfall Citadel. Using simple mortal currency such as silver and gold he enjoyed skewers of succulent meat and the purest of drinks, be they nectar or liquor. He found them all to be excellent as they were grown in the Higher Realms and benefited from the rich and natural Qi which permeated the water, earth, and air.
"Excellent...truly excellent! After so long running around it is nice to enjoy a moment where no enemies are pursuing me. However, I cannot tarry long here. I wonder, should I attend the auction? I have no currency although I have many treasures from cultivators. My treasures are all from the Lower Realms and I doubt they have much value here. Perhaps I should go to the proving ground first?" Lineir wondered whether he should wait for the auction or not. It had been a long time since he'd had the luxury of waiting somewhere as he was always running from something or pursuing something. After some time, he decided to forgo attending the auction. The proving grounds had far more rewards and while he could certainly use some new treasures, he mostly relied on his swords rather than any supplementary treasures.
Lineir spent the next several hours searching the city for supplies and food. Where he could he payed for them in mortal currency, and if he was searching for certain items which only cultivators had, he would exchange various monster cores and treasures which he had looted from the Chosen of the 1000 Cups Trial. Eventually, after his quick shopping spree ended, he exited the city from another gate and smiled as he viewed the numerous guards on the walls.
"This side of the Citadel facing the mountains contains far more guards than any other side. Clearly they fear the monsters descending from the mountainside. I wonder if attacks are common? The city seems peaceful enough."
As Lineir walked out of the gates he was left alone. Several other adventurers wandered out and were heading to the mountain, but Lineir quickly distanced himself from them with a burst of speed. There was no telling who was trustworthy in the isolated mountains, and besides, he was looking to obtain a legacy which he had no intention of sharing.
The winding trail was long but pleasant to travel upon. Eventually, Lineir found himself lost upon the road, following the mental map which the Snow Empress had left him. He activated his stealth techniques and simply drifted along steadily cultivating as night fell. Since he had already decided to miss the auction, he felt no pressure at all to really hurry and spent several hours making his way to the base of the mountains.
Presently, in the dark of night, several piercing howls came,
"Awoooooooooooooo!!!"
"Hmm...it seems I'm in the right place." Lineir said as he mentally checked the map. It was just as expected, the Snow Empress had stated that a pack of Cold Fur Wolves had been at the entrance to the mountain. The only reason she had ever discovered the proving grounds in the first place was because she had been trying to tame one of them and had ended up being chased deep into the mountains when she was younger.
"A pack of tier 6 monsters with a tier 7 leader, capable of easily contending with a tier 8 beast. Not a threat. Should I eliminate them now?" Lineir felt a phantom itch from his elbows as his killing intent flared slightly. However, he eventually relaxed and preceded to meld into the shadows.
"It'll be quicker just to sneak by."
Mei nodded in approval. Lineir's Dao was the Dao of survival, not the Dao of slaughter or war. If he needlessly massacred the wolves it would have a chance of staining his karma or perhaps altering his Dao which would cause a deviation in his Third Heart.
Swit. Swit.
All that followed the dark robed youth's presence was the rustling of frostbitten weeds and grass as he flashed from one spot to the next. His passage was smooth and soon he reached the den of the Cold Fur Wolves. They were covered in grey and white fur which luxuriously shined in the moonlight. As he watched, the leader of the wolves stretched out and bathed amidst the other wolves, completely carefree. The pack leader was twice as large as the other wolves and silver furred to boot with an aura of majesty.
CRAAAAAAACK!!!!!
Suddenly the peaceful gathering of wolves was interrupted as a loud cracking noise came.
"What? A tree falling...?" Lineir looked over as the noise drove the wolves into high alert. A second later he spotted a party of other cultivators in the distance. They were very far away but they had smashed a large pine tree into the ground and preceding to light the surrounding area on fire with fireballs.
"Come on you beasts! We, the Flame Guard Squad, will take you on!" One of the squad yelled and the others cheered shaking their weapons. Immediately the Cold Fur Wolves began to howl and rushed towards the invaders.
"AWOOOOO!!!!" As they began to pack together Lineir quietly watched in wait with some amusement. The Flame Guard Squad reminded him a little bit of himself using traps and schemes against enemies. He decided to sit back and watch the fun and slip by once the Pack Leader stopped paying attention.
Tac Tac Tac!!!
Dozens of giant wolves the size of an ordinary elephant began to run towards the cultivators who were waiting in a ring of fire. Before the wolves could arrive the cultivators reached into their robes and removed several bows and crossbows which abruptly lit on fire as well.
Twang! Twang! Twang!
They released a volley of flaming arrows and bolts which peppered the wolves. Snarls erupted from the pack as they thunderously approached the cultivator's encirclement. Lineir grinned as the wolves which had been struck suddenly lit on fire!
WHOOOOOOOSH!!!
"AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"
Pained snarls and yelps came as it became apparent that the arrows were covered in some sort of enchanted oil which would immolate the wolves! However the wolves did not break off their charge and quickly spread out before leaping into the wide circle of flames. In a flash the dozen or so cultivators inside were embroiled in brutal combat with the wolves, some of which were still on fire. There were three warriors who engaged in close combat with swords and spears, three classic cultivators who attacked with strange cultivator arts, three healers who were furiously casting heals and warding off wolves simultaneously, and three mages who were all throwing fireballs.
"Hmmm...but that's not all now is it? With your strength you can't handle that many wolves..." Lineir muttered as he watched. Soon his curiosity was sated as a mage in the back of the party stopped throwing fireballs and shouted,
"Prepare yourselves! I'm going to light it!"
With rehearsed actions every cultivator in the squad, even the mages, pushed aside their robes and revealed that they were wearing shining black armor reminiscent of a beetle's shell. Emblazoned on their armor was a faint emblem of the...Jin Clan?
"Do these cultivators belong to the Jin Clan? I didn't think the Jin Clan had to resort to such methods to deal with a mere pack of Cold Fur Wolves...one ancestor could stomp the whole pack flat... and their geniuses shouldn't have any trouble either." Lineir's face grew tense. He suddenly had a terrible feeling about the Flame Guard Squad. He glanced at the Pack Leader which had stood up after seeing the armor. It was intelligent and quickly barked out a retreat call but before the trap had already been sprung.
"WOO WOO!!!!!"
From the mage's hand a small shining bottle of elixir fell upon the snowy ground.
Clink.......
WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!!!!!
A huge fireball came from the elixir which burned everything for thousands of feet around. It expanded and shook the trees with a bang! The wolves howled and those that were far enough away to avoid being caught in the direct blast immediately turned tail and ran away. When the fireball receded and flickered out leaving naught but a blackened circle on the ground and charred corpses, the Flame Guard Squad removed their arms from around their heads and looked around. Gradually they broke out into smiles and brushed the ash off their armor!
"Ahahahaha look at all the monster cores that are left! The armor really is immune to fire!" They giggled and grinned as they quickly began to extract monster cores from the dozens of felled wolves. The Pack Leader was enraged with all its fur standing up, but remained wary in case there was more of the firebomb elixirs. It could only watch in fury as the Flame Guard Squad cut up its children.
"Alright, that's enough, time to go!" The Flame Guard Squadron had finished collecting cores and were turning around to leave the mountain. Unbeknownst to the distracted Cold Fur Wolves and them, Lineir was stealthily sneaking past the pack to enter the pass. However...as he was almost past...something unexpected happened. He heard several pained shouts from behind him.
"What....why is my armor growing hot????? ARRRRRRRRRRRGHHHH!!!!!"