Li Chijing stood atop the tall, grayish-white city wall, gazing down in silence at the surging horde of beasts below.
Time had left no trace upon his face; he still bore the appearance of a youth, though his demeanor had matured considerably.
After five years of slaughter here in Nanjiang, Li Chijing's sword arts had grown increasingly seasoned. Having mastered and synthesized several sword techniques of the sect, he had also made a name for himself. Everyone knew Qingsui Peak had produced a Little Sword Immortal whose swordsmanship was formidable indeed.
Wiping the blood from his longsword, Li Chijing exhaled a long breath toward the rising morning sun, a wisp of pure white spiritual qi puffing from his lips.
"This Yishan City truly is sturdy."
The Qingchi Sect disciple behind him spoke with a smile, the bead magical artifact in his hand bobbing up and down. It was none other than Deng Qiuzhi.
Li Chijing nodded and swallowed an elixir from his hand, steadily regulating the dharmic power within his body to recover his condition as quickly as possible, hoping to have an easier time during the next shift.
"Oh, what a coincidence! Just as our shift arrives on the walls of Yishan City, a beast tide comes—and every wave is fiercer than the last!"
Deng Qiuzhi sneered, muttering in a mocking tone that made the people around them turn to cast him a glance.
Seeing that Li Chijing remained unmoved and focused on his own cultivation, Deng Qiuzhi sat down on the ground and muttered, "Still, they want to devour you and me, yet all of them will be buried alongside you."
"This guy is losing his mind again..."
"Aren't all Deng clan members like that?"
The people around them whispered amongst themselves, looking at Deng Qiuzhi with strange expressions. Seeing this, Li Chijing furrowed his brows and said in a low voice, "Quiet down and hurry up to recover your dharmic power, lest I have to save you again!"
Deng Qiuzhi was taken aback, then gave an amused shake of his head. Just then, a burst of cheers rose from below.
"They've retreated! They've retreated! The beast tide has finally retreated!"
It turned out this wave of beasts had finally pulled back, granting everyone another chance to catch their breath. Amid joyful cheers, they made their way down from the city walls. A smile touched Li Chijing's lips as well; as he climbed down the steps along the wall, he thought about writing a letter home.
Deng Qiuzhi shamelessly trailed after him, smiling under the radiant morning sun as he said, "Don't you find something amiss?"
"What is amiss?"
Li Chijing raised an eyebrow, sheathed the pale green sword in his hand, and looked at him with an amused smile, teasing, "Why have you been so paranoid lately? Could it be that your cultivation method is getting deeper and you've suffered qi deviation?"
Having fought side by side in Nanjiang for five years through life-and-death trials, Deng Qiuzhi and Li Chijing had long forgotten that past unpleasantness and had become close, trusted friends.
"Every time you and I are completely exhausted, the beast tide obediently withdraws. Since when are they so considerate?"
Deng Qiuzhi spoke with a smile, but his eyes were filled with profound meaning.
"In life-and-death moments, who can afford to hold back? Not just you and me—which sect's disciples on the wall aren't utterly spent?"
Li Chijing refuted his point, offering a greeting and a smile to someone passing beside him.
"Think about it," Deng Qiuzhi clapped him on the shoulder and said in a hushed voice. "If you were a monster king of Nanjiang, would you needlessly drive tens of thousands of wild beasts and monsters to their deaths? With that much flesh and blood, wouldn't it be better to devour them yourself to advance your cultivation? Could these beasts ever hope to tear down Yishan City? Throwing them away under the blades of the Three Sects and Seven Gates—wouldn't that make him a fool?
"Furthermore, if the monster king truly wanted to slaughter these sect disciples, he could simply press the beast tide without pause and grind us to death. Throwing wave after wave like fools only to be cut down, and even easing up to let us rest from time to time... No matter how you look at it, it feels like they're just feeding us easy pickings..."
Li Chijing smiled and greeted another passerby, flatly cutting Deng Qiuzhi off. Glaring in annoyance, Deng Qiuzhi leaned in and whispered into Li Chijing's ear, "Do you know when Yishan City was last breached?"
Still smiling, Li Chijing replied under his breath, "Twenty-five years ago. The Three Sects and Seven Gates suffered heavy casualties, among whom was the Foundation Establishment cultivator Yu Yuxie, who cultivated the Panqi Jade True Art and had consumed Taiyin moon essence."
Deng Qiuzhi froze at once, shock flashing in his eyes. He stammered, "You... you knew..."
"Of course I know."
Li Chijing nodded with a faint smile. Neither said another word as they climbed the mountain and entered Li Chijing's cave dwelling.
Seeing Deng Qiuzhi step inside, Li Chijing formed an incantation seal with his hand, sealing the interior off from the outside world before silently fixing his gaze on Deng Qiuzhi.
"I have been in this godforsaken place for five years. I have read every dharmic slip and secret parchment within the city. Pieced together with what happened on Xunlin Plain, how could I fail to see that something is amiss?
"I only do not know when they will make their move, or how much longer they intend to fatten me up... But as for you, why are you caught up in this?"
Deng Qiuzhi clenched his fists, grinding his teeth. "The Qingchi Sect lost its line of inheritance for Taiyin moon essence long ago. Because my Deng clan possesses a unique constitution, they forced our clan to cultivate that secret art generation after generation, refining us into tonics to trade as merchandise with the monster kings of Nanjiang for spiritual treasures.
"In the early years, the secret art was incomplete, and every Deng clan member who practiced it went mad. Over the past few centuries, it was gradually refined, and in truth, it no longer impairs one's sanity. But we still have to feign madness and play the fool..."
Li Chijing remained silent. He unfastened his feathered robe, sat down beside the stone table, and began brewing tea.
Deng Qiuzhi let out a deep sigh. Pausing, he added, "I examined the various spirit herbs and pills provided by the sect. They are all auxiliary ingredients with far-reaching medicinal properties. They are... refining human elixirs."
"Human elixirs?"
Li Chijing filled both teacups before them, smiling as he remarked, "I only wonder which monster king of Nanjiang is seeking a breakthrough. Quite a grand undertaking indeed."
Seeing the smile on Li Chijing's face, Deng Qiuzhi relaxed considerably and grumbled, "You can still laugh."
"What else is there to do?"
Li Chijing shook his head and said evenly, "The Qingchi Sect holds immense power; you and I have nowhere to retreat. If I die in Nanjiang for no clear reason, nominally I sacrificed myself for the sect, which will at least bring some compensation to my family. Could I really find an excuse to flee and bring about the extermination of my entire clan?"
Deng Qiuzhi took a sip of tea, lowered his head in indignation, and cried out, "Even so... have you and I lived this life for nothing, born only to end up in the bellies of monster beasts?!"
The smile on Li Chijing's face faded, and his expression turned forlorn as he said, "Others are the cleaver and chopping block, while we are the meat upon it. Meat must have the self-awareness of meat. Has your Deng family not endured and bided its time generation after generation? The Qingchi Sect has flourished for five hundred years, but could it possibly prosper for all eternity? The day of its decline will come. So long as the clan endures and quietly bides its strength, there will come a day to avenge even a grudge nine generations old.
"Cultivators possess long lifespans; rarely is a grievance of today avenged tomorrow. Every generation has its own mission."
Li Chijing slowly rose to his feet, gazing down at the green blade in his hand. "Your mission and mine is to feed the Qingchi Sect so that our families may have room to breathe. If not for that, what else could we do? Could we really ascend directly to the Purple Palace out of thin air like in storybooks and force Qingchi Sect to rescind its orders?"
"We can only take it one step at a time."
Deng Qiuzhi sat cross-legged on the floor, speaking dejectedly, "No matter what, we dare not flee. If you and I were to escape Yishan City, our loved ones at home would be doomed."
Chapter 87