Direction

When the radiant haze of the relic spread across the sky, Qi Qianyang was in a treehouse perched high in the forest canopy. He caught sight of the spectacle immediately. Stepping out onto the exterior platform, he gazed up at the sky and raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Oh? It's appeared again?" This was rather unusual. He had originally planned to let both sides wear each other down for a while before stepping in to reap the spoils. He had even consciously leaned toward Great Shun's team to give them some advantage; after all, the Consortium and the Linakes Federation clearly had more powerful fighters, and it would be best if they could be whittled down in advance. This turn of events, however, had disrupted his plans. He looked toward the source of the colored glow. From the very moment this sight appeared, everyone would rush in that direction. Barring any surprises, it would inevitably be seized by the people from the Consortium and Linakes. If that happened, he would have no choice but to intervene ahead of schedule. Still, it didn't matter. If possible, he would have preferred to watch both sides fight and grind each other down, but he wasn't completely unprepared for contingencies. He walked forward a few steps and leaped downward, crossing a distance of over fifty meters before landing on the muddy ground below with a thud, his feet sinking into the soil. From a hollow in the tree trunk behind him, the man with parted hair ran out, looking at him with awe. With his back to him, Qi Qianyang merely turned his head slightly, a cold glint appearing in his eyes. "Old Lao, get ready to begin." Old Lao nodded hurriedly. Running into the treehouse with some nervous agitation, he carried out what looked like a rolled-up mat and quickly spread it across the ground. Intricate esoteric cult patterns covered its surface. He then produced four incense burners, set them down to weigh upon each of the mat's four corners, and lit them one by one. He wiped away a bead of sweat. "Instructor Qi, please take your seat inside." Qi Qianyang strode to the center of the mat and sat down. He asked, "Old Lao, how long do you think it will take?" Old Lao was carefully placing a square jar right in front of him. Pausing at the question, he said cautiously, "Instructor Qi, how long you endure it is equivalent to the duration you need it to last." "I know that, of course. Looks like I'll need to spend a bit more time on it." Qi Qianyang gestured with his chin. "Open it." With two sharp clicks, Old Lao unlocked the latches. Carefully gripping the lid of the jar, he slowly prised open a sliver of an opening. At first, nothing seemed to happen, but moments later, the entire square jar began to tremble violently, and a wisp of vaporous luminescence drifted out. He felt the jar thrashing and bucking in his grip, threatening to tear itself free. The force was so great that it dragged his whole body along with it. Clinging to it with all his might, he called out in a panic, "Instructor Qi, it's coming out!" Qi Qianyang exhaled a long breath first, then reached out and snatched the jar from his hands. Setting it before himself, he drew a violent breath against the fluctuating stream of glowing vapor. This was a technique developed by his teacher that incorporated secret ritual methods from the Convergence faction: capturing an entity from the other side and channeling all of its energy into a fighter's body. Through this, a fighter could more than double their combat prowess for a certain period. As for how long it could be maintained, that depended on how long he could hold out against it during the assimilation process. With his inhale, the stream of light seemed forcibly wrenched out from within. As he threw his head back with effort, the entity was finally pulled out in its entirety, surging into his body through his mouth and nose, sending him staggering back a few paces despite himself. His face and skin first turned an ashen pale as though struck by bitter cold, but after a moment, his whole body grew scalding hot. After several alternating cycles, he relied on his secret Fuming jin technique to fully adapt to this internal conflict. After contending with it for more than three hours, he finally felt the power gradually weaken before being thoroughly assimilated. Without him even realizing it, he had grown taller by more than a head, yet his muscles appeared even more well-proportioned. Making a slight adjustment, he quickly grew accustomed to the difference brought by his altered frame. However, this was merely an incidental physical transformation from the assimilation. The true power he had gained remained concealed within his body, yet to be unleashed; he would only call upon it when the need arose. Under Old Lao's awe-filled gaze, he rose from the mat and said, "Old Lao, I'm heading out to retrieve the item and deal with those people along the way. Remember to fire a signal later to gather everyone who was scattered." Old Lao nodded hastily, but before he could voice a reply, a gust of violent wind and kicked-up mud swept across him. He quickly shielded his face; when he lowered his arms, Qi Qianyang was already gone. Elsewhere, Xu Chan had also spotted the rosy haze. Stepping out from his hiding spot, he stared up at the sky with a solemn expression. He didn't know why this was happening, but he knew that as long as this light appeared, everyone would rush toward it, rendering the plans and arrangements he had carefully laid out largely useless. Under the current circumstances, the ones most likely to locate the relic first were his teammates. In that case, the plans for delay and obstruction had to be revised once more. He was in no rush to move. He understood that times like this called for cool, composed deliberation rather than thoughtless, impulsive action. After considering his options, he drew a vial of medicine from his breast. It was a new drug developed by the Great Shun government and issued to him by the Defense Department. Engineered entirely around the powerful regenerative capabilities of a third-limit fighter, it could fully unleash a fighter's combat potential—so long as their vitality was not exhausted, they could fight on indefinitely. However, if sustained for too long, it could directly claim one's life. He paused to think, but did not consume it. As if struck by a thought, he quickly took out a map, glanced at it, and let his gaze rest on a particular spot. Moments later, he quickly put the map away and double-checked all his gear. With a glance toward the sky, he sprinted off toward that direction. Somewhere in the unknown territory, Chen Chuan was also speeding forward. Even while maintaining his usual rate of stamina consumption, his pace was noticeably faster than in the previous two days. Thanks to the restorative aid of the shell-like object, the fissures he cleaved open with his Xuejun Saber were on an entirely different level compared to before; yesterday, he had opened a rift nearly large enough for a person to pass through. Under the operation of the Lingming Reflection technique, he was able to absorb even more quintessence into his body, transforming it into nourishment that enhanced his spiritual power. It could be said that every day brought tangible progress. The growth of his spiritual power, in turn, made his body's distribution and expenditure of physical force more coordinated and efficient. Meanwhile, the outward radiation of his spirit could drive off or freeze in their tracks any creatures blocking his path well in advance, preventing them from hindering his advance. After traveling for several hours, however, he suddenly looked up at the sky as if sensing something, only to see a magnificent rosy glow erupting across the vault of heaven. With a single glance, he deduced at once that this had to be the haze of a relic. His first thought was: could this be yet another relic? Yet upon closer inspection, he found that the glow was virtually identical to the one described in earlier intelligence reports. It was indeed the same relic as before. Though he didn't know why it had flared with light a second time, he also realized immediately that everyone in this unknown territory, no matter which faction they belonged to, would converge on that spot once they saw this radiant haze. He looked toward where the radiant light met the ground. Though it seemed rather far off, it at least pointed out a clear direction. In that case, he would need to pick up the pace. He swung down the pack from his back, took out the jade mask, and fastened it over his face. At the same time, he called upward. Chaoming, who had been circling in the sky, glided down, its four claws gripping tightly onto the mantle across his shoulders and back. He flicked his red scarf, its long streamers fluttering backward and concealing Chaoming within its folds. Grip tightening on the Xuejun Saber, he focused his intent. In an instant, the Second Self merged into one with him. As he leaned forward, an explosive sonic boom tore through the air. Amid toppling trees and a flurry of shattered branches and leaves, a long line seeming to cleave the dense forest in two rapidly stretched across the earth. At this very moment, tracing back along the magnificent rosy glow that almost blanketed the sky all the way to its source, one could see that it was emanating from the carcass of a black, long-horned creature resembling a cross between a goat and a horse. Captain Hai and the other two captains stood circled around it, raising their hands to shield themselves from the glare as they stared grimly at the creature's corpse. Under the guides' direction, they had found this creature. Likely due to having swallowed the relic, it had become extraordinarily violent and undergone some mutation, yet its life tier had not fundamentally changed. Living organisms could instinctively sense that relics held benefits for them, but in truth, relics could not simply be used off the cuff. Even today, there were numerous relics whose functions had yet to be deciphered across various countries. Deriving benefit purely by swallowing one was exceedingly rare. They had expended considerable effort to corner and kill this beast, never expecting that the moment they cut open its belly, a breathtaking column of rosy light would surge upward. The luminescence was so blinding that they had been forced to step back. Once his eyes adjusted, Captain Hai did not dally. Grabbing a casket from Captain Hu's hands, he darted forward, thrust his hand into the creature's belly, and pulled out the relic—its shape still indistinct—before swiftly depositing it into the box and clamping down the lid securely. Yet he soon realized that this made little difference. While the brilliance was indeed slightly muted, it was only by a fraction; the beam still shot straight up into the sky from the box. Captain Hai looked toward Captain Hu and Captain Lü. A grave dilemma now lay before them: this commotion would undoubtedly attract everyone in this territory, drawing them straight toward their position. What should they do next? …… ……