Novel Full Chapter 37: Marauding Cultivators
Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Marauding Cultivators
The next morning, the five of them set out along a new route.
Today’s route deviated slightly more to the west than yesterday’s, and the terrain was even more desolate.
After walking for about an hour, the terrain began to dip. A shallow trench, roughly ten feet wide, appeared ahead. Its bottom was overgrown with dry, yellow weeds and flanked by low slopes.
The five of them walked along the edge of the trench. He Shou, who was in the lead, suddenly stopped, tilting his head to listen for a few moments.
Li Yuan stopped as well. It wasn’t feedback from the Spirit Detecting Disc—it was a sound.
In the distance, from the direction the trench stretched, a faint commotion could be heard.
The clang of metal, short and rapid.
It was interspersed with several shouts. He couldn’t make out the words, but the tone was urgent.
He Shou’s hand went to the hilt of his saber. He spoke in a low voice.
"A fight’s broken out."
Chen Qi heard it too, leaning forward slightly, his short blade already in his hand.
Li Yuan poured his Spiritual Power into the Spirit Detecting Disc, stretching its perception range to the limit. He didn’t sense anything; the sound was traveling much farther than the Spirit Detecting Disc’s range.
"I’m not picking anything up."
He Shou leaned out from the edge of the trench, glancing in the direction of the sound.
A few hundred yards ahead, several figures were chasing and battling across the wasteland.
The pursuers were relentless, while the ones being chased fled in disarray. Their formation was scattered. It didn’t look like an organized conflict at all—more like a hunt.
He Shou’s eyes narrowed.
His gaze wasn’t on the people fleeing at the front, but locked onto a figure among the pursuers.
The man wore a dark brown tunic. A gray-black strip of cloth was tied around his left arm. One end of the strip fluttered in the wind, revealing a crookedly embroidered symbol: an open bird’s claw.
"The Crow Claw Gang."
He Shou’s voice was hushed.
Li Yuan glanced at him.
He Shou had previously taught them how to identify bandit cultivators. The most basic method was to look for their insignia, though there were many other ways.
To identify fellow members and other gangs, bandit cultivators usually wore a common, discreet insignia—an armband, a belt buckle, a hidden clasp in a boot shaft; each group was different.
Of course, this was just a preliminary way to identify them and avoid being immediately targeted by other groups. They also had secret phrases to confirm identities, but He Shou wasn’t privy to those.
Some bandit cultivator gangs didn’t wear insignia to avoid being instantly recognized by patrol squads, but that just made them potential targets for other gangs.
The Crow Claw Gang used a gray-black armband embroidered with a bird’s claw, worn on the left arm.
"Four chasing three." He Shou’s gaze left the group and swept across the surrounding terrain. "The pursuers are bandit cultivators, and the ones fleeing are Loose Cultivators."
He Shou glanced back at the four people behind him.
"The Crow Claw Gang is a long-established group of bandit cultivators. They used to operate in the southern periphery of the Yuanheng Mountain Range, but they’ve moved considerably north in recent months. They’re on the wanted list."
He Shou drew his saber halfway from its sheath.
"The leader’s aura is around the Qi Refining Fourth Level. The other three are between the Qi Refining Second and Third Levels. Not a tough bunch. The five of us against four, and if those three Loose Cultivators have any strength left to help, it’ll be no problem."
"Besides, if we let bandit cultivators escape and it’s discovered back at base, we’ll be in trouble."
He Shou glanced at Li Yuan.
"Do we fight?"
"We fight. And we don’t leave any survivors."
He Shou was the first to move.
He cut diagonally down the low slope of the trench, his Spiritual Wave diminishing as he went straight for the rearmost bandit cultivator.
Li Yuan followed close behind. Instead of taking the trench floor, he moved along the gravel on its edge, flanking around and putting distance between himself and He Shou.
Chen Qi and Liu Ping swung around from the other side, while Xu Mao held the rear to provide cover.
A few hundred yards ahead, the pursuit continued.
Four bandit cultivators were chasing three Loose Cultivators. One of the Loose Cultivators could barely run anymore. His clothes were torn in several places, his right arm hung limply, and blood dripped from his sleeve. His steps grew slower and slower.
The other two Loose Cultivators supported him on either side, practically dragging him along as they fled.
The bandit cultivator at the front of the chase raised his hand and flung out a Spirit Bullet. The gravel at the Loose Cultivators’ feet exploded, and the three of them staggered, nearly falling.
Just as the bandit cultivator prepared to strike again, He Shou arrived and unleashed a Wind Blade Skill.
The bandit cultivator reacted quickly. Sensing the Spiritual Wave, he dodged to the side, but the attack still sliced off a large flap of skin from his face, exposing his teeth.
"We’ve got company!"
The bandit’s shout made his three companions ahead turn around simultaneously.
The leader of the bandits was short but had a fierce look. The gray-black armband was tied to his left arm. A single glance was all it took for him to spot the guard uniform on He Shou.
"It’s the market guards! Let’s go!"
The bandit leader made a quick assessment. He had already expended a great deal of Spiritual Power and knew he couldn’t win a direct fight. With a shout, he moved to retreat.
But it was already too late.
Li Yuan had already flanked them. He gathered Spiritual Power in his palm, activating his Origin Condensation Skill and further compressing the Fireball forming there.
The dark red orb of light shot from his hand, heading straight for the bandit leader’s side.
The bandit sensed the fluctuation of Spiritual Qi, twisted his body sharply, and pulled out a narrow-bladed dagger to block.
The Fireball slammed into the blade, its impact far greater than the bandit had anticipated.
The narrow dagger was violently knocked back, splitting the webbing between his thumb and forefinger. The fiery aftershock washed over his chest and left arm, charring most of the gray-black armband and scorching the front of his robe.
The bandit staggered back three steps, a look of horror on his face.
’He’s at the Qi Refining Fourth Level. The Spiritual Power fluctuations from this Inspector General across from me seem only slightly stronger than my own, yet the power of that Fireball is beyond what someone of the same level should be able to unleash.’
Li Yuan gave him no time to breathe. A second Fireball was already forming in his palm.
Meanwhile, Chen Qi and Liu Ping charged in from the left flank, working together to entangle a bandit at the Qi Refining Third Level.
To the rear, He Shou had already cornered the bandit he’d intercepted against the trench wall. A fight between a Qi Refining Fourth Level and a Qi Refining Third Level was a complete rout.
The tide of battle turned in an instant.
Of the four bandits, one was completely suppressed by He Shou, another was tied down by Chen Qi and Liu Ping, and a third was being forced back relentlessly by Li Yuan’s Fireballs.
The last one—a Qi Refining Second Level, the weakest of the four—took one look at the situation, turned, and bolted. He was chewing on something, and his speed far surpassed that of others at his level.
Xu Mao, providing cover from the rear, shot out an ice spike. It struck the fleeing bandit in the back but seemed to be blocked by something.
The man staggered but didn’t fall. Within moments, he had vanished into a distant thicket. After a moment’s thought, Xu Mao decided not to pursue.
The remaining three bandit cultivators had no chance to escape.
He Shou finished his fight first. A Wind Blade struck the bandit in the shoulder, shearing off his arm. The bandit screamed and fell to his knees, only to be kicked over by He Shou, who then delivered a final blow, extinguishing his life.
It was a similar story with Chen Qi and Liu Ping; the bandit they were fighting died on the spot under their combined assault.
Li Yuan dealt with the bandit leader as well.
The second Fireball slammed into the Spiritual Power shield he’d hastily raised. The shield shattered, and the fiery aftershock sent him sprawling.
The bandit rolled twice, trying to get back up, but Li Yuan was already upon him, the crimson glow of a third Fireball in his palm illuminating the bandit’s face.
The bandit’s narrow dagger lay two paces away. His arm was burned, and his Spiritual Power was nearly exhausted.
He looked up at Li Yuan, his mouth moving, but no words came out.
He Shou walked over from behind, his saber still bloody. He glanced at the bandit leader on the ground, then looked at Li Yuan with a hint of surprise.
"A Crow Claw Gang member. He’s on the wanted list."
"Finish him. No need to keep him alive. We won’t get anything out of him."
He Shou then dispatched him with his saber. The Fireball in Li Yuan’s palm slowly dissipated.