Chapter 2: Mysterious Canyon

The massive green wolf scared off its peer, and to prevent its prey from being snatched away, it accelerated and lunged toward Lu Xiaotian.

"Ah!"

Lu Xiaotian unslung his wicker basket and screamed, throwing the woodcutter's knife in his hand at the green wolf. Taking advantage of the moment the wolf dodged, he used all his strength to sprint across the snowy ground. The green wolf only dodged slightly before accelerating to give chase again, the distance between man and beast closing rapidly.

Fleeing to a small slope, Lu Xiaotian tripped and tumbled down, rolling all the way to the bottom. The green wolf behind him let out a low growl and pounced.

Terrified, Lu Xiaotian barely dared to look at the horrific scene.

"Roar!" A much more majestic roar nearly deafened Lu Xiaotian. To his disbelief, a giant black bear nearly a zhang tall came charging over, its roar shaking the icy ground beneath its two-thousand-plus-pound frame. The black bear displayed a level of agility and speed that defied its massive size.

The once ferocious green wolf let out a mournful howl; it was swatted away by the giant bear’s paw without any ability to resist. The hundred-pound wolf shrieked as if it had lost all weight, slamming into a tree trunk over two zhang away. The tree, thicker than a man’s waist, shook violently from the impact. The wolf fell to the ground like a dead object and stopped moving entirely.

The other green wolf had long since been scared off, vanishing without a trace.

Stunned, Lu Xiaotian even forgot the pain from his fall. He watched as the giant, furry bear face leaned in toward him. When the black bear breathed, the thick, foul stench hit his face, and he didn't even dare to move a muscle.

Just then, the crisp sound of a short flute rang out. The giant black bear let out a soft growl, pulled back its face, and, abandoning Lu Xiaotian, trotted off with surprising docility in the direction of the flute.

Immediately after, Lu Xiaotian saw an old man draped in a black robe, revealing only a pale, wrinkled face, appear abruptly on the snow. With a flick of his wide sleeves, a gust of wind rushed toward him. Before Lu Xiaotian could react, he fell into a deep sleep.

Without any visible movement, the black-robed old man crossed several zhang in a few steps and arrived before Lu Xiaotian. He took out a colorless, transparent crystal disc and placed Lu Xiaotian’s hand upon it. The crystal disc immediately glowed with five colors—red, blue, green, gold, and yellow—swirling together and shifting, yet never coming to a stop.

"It seems he has spiritual roots, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to activate this spirit-testing disc. But it’s constantly shifting—what kind of spiritual root is this? Oh well, in this secular land of the Beiliang Kingdom, finding someone with spiritual roots is truly difficult. Since I have no one else to use, I’ll just have to make do for now."

The black-robed old man’s expression was unreadable. Having walked the path of immortality for so many years, this was the first time he had encountered a situation where the spirit-testing disc could not determine the root. A moment later, the old man chanted an obscure incantation. The black bear let out a low growl, lowered its head to pick up Lu Xiaotian, and strode off, following the old man. The old man took light steps, yet he remained ahead of the charging bear, the mountain forest receding behind them.

Several hours later, deep in the Mang Mountains, hundreds of miles from the Leidao Sect, a valley was wreathed in white mist, with the roars of tigers and apes echoing from within.

At the mouth of the valley, three figures stood faintly visible.

"That bunch of mongrels from the Lingxiao Palace are on our tails tight. We had to flee all the way to the Beiliang Kingdom just to shake them off. If those mad dogs keep biting at our heels, I’m afraid we’ll truly have nowhere left to hide."

A burly man with a thick beard, bare-chested despite the winter cold and revealing bronze skin and sturdy muscles, with a bronze battle-axe hanging at his waist, spoke in a muffled voice.

"The Lingxiao Palace’s influence is too great. It’s all the Blood Dwarf’s fault; if you hadn't been so clumsy, how could the people from Lingxiao Palace have found a trail? We’ve spent years living like stray dogs. Now the spirit stones in our hands are almost gone—are we supposed to live like commoners and eat grains?" A plump young woman in a green dress with a thin scar on her face complained.

"How can you blame me? The cultivators of Lingxiao Palace are indeed formidable. If you hadn't been greedy for murder and treasure, how would any of this have happened?" The Blood Dwarf was a man in red clothes, the size of an eight or nine-year-old child but over forty years old, with a touch of blue stubble on his chin. Hearing the woman, he sneered, "Besides, if the Lingxiao Palace disciples hadn't forced us, we wouldn't have stumbled upon this mysterious valley in such a remote place. The spiritual energy here is so abundant; it must be a treasure land."

"Whether it’s a treasure land or a death trap, it’s too early to say. This valley is quite strange; the white mist inside never dissipates, and there seems to be a restriction that blocks divine sense. Once we cultivators enter, we are no different from ordinary people. If we encounter demonic beasts inside, the situation will be more than just dangerous," the bearded man said solemnly.

The woman in the green dress said impatiently, "Our spirit stones and pills are almost exhausted. If we can't replenish our supplies, what will we do? No matter how dangerous it is inside, we have to go in and investigate. It might even be a treasure land. Old Man Geng is truly something—he’s been gone for days. If he doesn't come back soon, I’ll have to go in myself."

"If that’s the case, you are more than welcome to go in and investigate yourselves," a cold, aged voice rang out, followed by the dull thud of a giant black bear’s footsteps.

The woman in the green dress changed her expression upon hearing this, then let out a forced, long laugh. "Look at what Fellow Daoist Geng is saying. I was just joking. This valley is quite peculiar, and Fellow Daoist Geng’s cultivation is the deepest among the four of us, and you are skilled in alchemy. Without you, we wouldn't have the ability to break into this strange valley."

"Fellow Daoist Geng, you’ve returned. You’ve kept us waiting for quite a while."

In his dazed state, Lu Xiaotian heard a hearty laugh. "Eh? Why did you bring back a little brat?"

"You’re big, but your brain isn't very sharp. We’ve been fleeing all the way to the Beiliang Kingdom, and Fellow Daoist Geng’s alchemy boy didn't have time to escape and was killed by the Lingxiao Palace disciples. Naturally, he needs to find a new one." The dwarf chuckled, "But now that Fellow Daoist Geng has found a boy, shall we pick a day to enter the valley and see what’s inside?"

"Exactly. The Blood Dwarf hit the nail on the head. Fellow Daoist Geng, although this valley is somewhat dangerous, it might be a treasure land. What’s more, no other cultivators have been seen here. This is a heaven-sent treasure land."

The Blood Dwarf and the bearded man nodded repeatedly. For treasure-hunting cultivators like them, their greatest enemies were usually not the demonic beasts or traps in a spirit land, but other malicious treasure hunters. Between the three of them, each had the blood of at least ten other cultivators on their hands. Like most rogue cultivators who survived this long while drifting from place to place, they were ruthless and decisive.

(End of chapter)