~~~

Liu Jin flies over the countryside on Soaring Feather’s back. The Black-Winged Imperial Eagle lets out a fierce cry for everyone around to hear, his massive wings fully unfurled.

“You can stop now,” Liu Jin says, patting the bird’s back. “We do not want to be too obvious.”

Song Daiyu told Duke Lai that a giant eagle was seen flying east. Liu Jin does not intend to make a liar out of her. Whoever Duke Lai sends after him will find a trail to follow.

However, he cannot be too obvious. Soaring Feather being seen once or twice can be passed off as normal Spirit Beast behavior. More than that would be suspicious. Someone who did not allow himself to be sensed while hiding in Stone River City cannot suddenly start leaving clues everywhere. It might even prompt his pursuers to err on the side of caution and abandon the search. Liu Jin can’t have that. The more Duke Lai focuses on finding him, the smaller his odds are of noticing Song Daiyu smuggling Yi Jiao to Rumbling Thunder City.

By heading east, Liu Jin is making sure Duke Lai focuses in the wrong direction. It is one of the reasons he chose this path.

The other reason is…

Liu Jin’s eyes narrow as the Black Woods appear on the horizon. It is a massive forest that stretches for many miles and acts as a natural barrier between Duke Lai’s territories and the eastern border where the army is fighting General He’s forces.

The area had first caught Liu Jin’s attention while preparing for the trip to the Storm Dragon Empire. Despite its size, the Black Woods are not considered particularly valuable compared to other territories under Duke Lai’s influence. That is because the Black Woods are largely unexplored. Perhaps the people of the Storm Dragon Empire had once known everything about them, but constant civil war has a way of making knowledge fade away.

General Dan and Duke Lai might be content to let the Black Woods stay as a final bulwark against General He in case of an invasion, but Liu Jin has been talking to Fan Bingbing about the need to explore the Black Woods and other similar areas once they have stabilized the Storm Dragon Empire.

Right now, the Storm Dragon Empire is relying on its known natural resources, but that doesn’t need to be the case forever.

However, that is a subject for another time.

“Do you think you can maneuver between the trees safely?” Liu Jin asks Soaring Feather.

The sound he gets in reply is probably the closest an eagle can get to snorting.

With a beat of his wings, Soaring Feather rises even higher into the sky and takes careful aim. Before Liu Jin can say anything, Soaring Feather zooms down at well over the speed of sound. The sun vanishes in the blink of an eye. Soaring Feather passes through the thick canopy of trees without hitting anything. Right before they hit the ground, Soaring Feather seamlessly rises and lands on a branch without rustling a single leaf.

The smugness the eagle radiates as he glances back at Liu Jin should not be possible for a bird.

“A simple yes will do next time,” Liu Jin says. He hops off the eagle’s back and takes a look around.

Though the forest is mostly silent, Liu Jin can detect numerous creatures moving about. Most of them seem to be small, harmless critters, but there are also predators lurking in the shadows, observing them with wary eyes. The darkness provided by the dense foliage gives them ample camouflage.

If Liu Jin depended on his eyes to be aware of his surroundings, he would probably be a little worried. However, this is nothing compared to the room of the Reverse Tree.

“Since you flew us all the way here, I’ll hunt for your food today,” Liu Jin tells Soaring Feather as he takes a small but very sharp knife from his spatial pouch. It is the knife Meng Yue gifted him many years ago. Liu Jin had refrained from using it all this time, fearing its rarity would attract too much attention. However, there is little sense in worrying about that now.

Considering what he is planning, the knife might come in handy.

“Tomorrow, I expect you to pull your weight,” Liu Jin continues, earning himself an indignant look from Soaring Feather.

“I just got done pulling both our weights to get here!”

That seems to be what Soaring Feather’s eyes are telling him.

“Fair enough,” Lin Jin says, gazing into dense forest. He takes a single step which carries him all the way to the ground.

A gigantic bear, watching them from the shadows, jumps back, startled. It growls and rises to stand on its hind legs. Its size far dwarfs Liu Jin to the point the bear could swallow him whole. A swipe from its paw knocks down a nearby tree before it pounces on Liu Jin.

Liu Jin swings his knife.

The bear’s flesh is torn like paper before a storm. It happens so quickly that the bear does not even have time to cry in pain. One moment, it is standing. The next, it falls down, sending a light tremor through the surrounding area. Blood flows from its multiple wounds and pools around its corpse.

The other predators watching them wisely back away.

“That should give us some peace,” Liu Jin says before glancing up at Soaring Feather. “Well? Are you not going to come down and eat?”

The stunned look on Soaring Feather’s face almost makes him laugh.

~~~

The Black Woods cover a fairly vast area. Going through them is faster than trying to go around them, but by no means does that make the journey through the forest a quick one. If the terrain was free of obstacles, Liu Jin could cross it in under twelve hours. If he pushed himself, he could do it in four or three.

However, since it’s a dense, dark forest, it will take him about two days from start to finish. Not ideal, but still better than the alternative. Once he’s out of the woods, reaching his goal will only take a little more time. Hopefully, Song Daiyu’s information will prove reliable.

It has already been a full day since Liu Jin and Soaring Feather ventured into the forest. So far, it has proven nowhere near as dangerous as Liu Jin first feared. Quite the opposite, really.

Well, if he were as strong as the average soldier of General Dan’s army, this forest would be quite dangerous. Since he’s not, he can fully appreciate all it holds. Already Liu Jin has spotted quite a few plants that would fetch a good price if properly harvested. There is definitely untapped potential in the Storm Dragon Empire. It merely needs to be properly nurtured.

As he’s thinking that, multiple acres of the forest are annihilated in cleansing light.

The explosion is as sudden as it is violent. It rocks the entire forest and shines so brightly that Liu Jin has to cover his eyes. Animals of all sizes fall from the trees, and others flee their burrows. Those unfortunate enough to be caught in the blast die instantly. Liu Jin feels countless Qi snuffed out at once.

He also feels the massive Qi of an Earth Realm cultivator blanketing the area, leaving no doubt as to who is behind the explosion.

Liu Jin is suddenly very glad he has been keeping his Qi low since entering the forest.

The Storm Dragon Empire does not have many strong cultivators. That Duke Lai and Colonel Peng, both strong and influential men, are only in the Heaven Realm says enough. Furthermore, Liu Jin hadn’t sensed a single person above the Spirit Realm other than Duke Lai while in Stone River City. At the most, Liu Jin had expected a True Realm cultivator would be sent after him. Maybe more than one.

Liu Jin certainly hadn’t expected someone in the Earth Realm. Let alone someone whose Qi feels so obviously high-quality.

And dead.

Liu Jin narrows his eyes. It is faint, but the scent of death lingers in this person’s Qi. It is not as strong as the disciple of the Death Fashioning Scripture he encountered in the Dead Plains. Not even as strong as the scent of death in Duke Lai’s Qi. This Qi is…

Familiar.

“We’re leaving,” Liu Jin tells Soaring Feather. “You go south. Wait until you’re at least fifty miles away, then fly as high as you can and keep that altitude until you reach Rumbling Thunder City.”

Soaring Feather does not squawk or squeak. He merely looks at him in askance.

“I will keep following the plan,” Liu Jin says as though it should be obvious. Pre-empting Soaring Feather’s next question, he adds, “You’re not strong enough to be remotely close to-”

Liu Jin’s words are cut off by another explosion only a little smaller than the first one.

“To that,” Liu Jin finishes. “You’re not strong enough to be remotely close to that. Don’t worry about me. I can hide far better when I’m alone.”

Soaring Feather glares at him for that but still does as ordered. Liu Jin watches him go for a moment before taking off. He uses Art of the Roaming Thief to move through the forest, making a wide circle around the Earth Realm cultivator.

Another acre of the forest is blasted off.

She cannot keep that up forever, Liu Jin tells himself. Despite the quality of her cultivation, she is still an Earth Realm cultivator. Talented as she might be, the raw energy she has at her disposal is not much different from a “normal” Earth Realm cultivator if such a thing can be said to exist.

The explosions are simply a way to scare him into revealing himself. She might also be trying to eliminate the number of creatures in the forest to have an easier time sensing him, but there is no need to worry about that while he is hiding his Qi.

Another explosion goes off. Liu Jin shields his eyes from the radiance and reminds himself that there is no way she is actually capable of blowing up such a vast forest. He knows this to be true, even if the repeated explosions don’t make him all that confident. Each one leaves his ears ringing and hurts his eyes. Even exposure to the shockwaves is enough to start making his muscles sore. It is a brutal reminder that this foe is not someone he wants to fight. His Qi immediately works to refresh his body and…

Liu Jin’s eyes widen.

Oh, no…

Liu Jin abandons all pretenses of stealth just as an attack is launched right toward him. He chains Ground Contraction after Ground Contraction to speed up as much as possible and manages to escape the blast in time.

Another one goes off in front of him.

Liu Jin barely stops himself from running into the explosion, but the force behind it is still enough to send him crashing to the ground.

Before he has picked himself up, the Earth Realm cultivator appears in front of him.

“So it is you,” she says. The force of her Qi instantly blows away all the dust kicked up by the blast. “And in the Seventh Level of the True Realm already. Seems being Elder Xue’s dog pays better than working for Shang.”

Liu Jin coughs as he rises to his feet. The Earth Realm cultivator is a redheaded girl a few years older than him. She has her arms crossed and looks at him with a scowl on her face.

Her name is Shi Qingxia, and she is one of the disciples of the Eternal Flame Clan who went to the Crimson Cloud Tournament and betrayed the Eternal Flame Clan in the Dead Plains.

Her Qi carries a light scent of death.

“Senior Sister,” Liu Jin says. “I cannot say it is a pleasure to meet you again, but it is certainly an honor. I never expected my stealth to be defeated like that.”

Shi Qingxia snorts. “That just shows how inexperienced you are. It’s always the same with people new to the True Realm. Regeneration is useful, but what’s the point in having something you can’t completely control yet?”

Shi Qingxia hadn’t just been trying to scare him by throwing those powerful blasts around. She had been trying to damage his body through the shockwaves. Because he has grown in cultivation, his regeneration has gotten to the point where it simply happens on its own without needing any input from him. Even if the damage is not big, his Qi will still do its best to repair it.

And so, because his body had acted to repair the minor damage caused by the shockwaves, his Qi became noticeable.

“I will make sure to take Senior Sister’s lesson to heart,” Liu Jin says while trying to think of a way to escape. “If you do not mind me asking, how is it that Senior Sister is in the Storm Dragon Empire? I never expected to encounter her in a place like this.”

Shi Qingxia glares at him.

“Don’t ask stupid questions, junior. It just makes it obvious you’re trying to buy time.” Light shines in her hand. “Do not test my patience.”

She is half right.

Liu Jin understands the Death Fashioning Scripture is the common factor tying Elder Fa, Duke Lai, and the traitorous disciples together. It is even likely that Elder Fa sent all three traitors to the Storm Dragon Empire after the debacle in the Dead Plains.

What Liu Jin is curious about, however, is how exactly did Duke Lai contact them. The first few explosions caused by Shi Qingxia happened in front of Liu Jin rather than behind him, almost as if she had entered the forest from the opposite direction Liu Jin did.

“I will give you one chance to stand down,” Shi Qingxia says, aiming her glowing palm at him. “If at all possible, we want you alive for questioning. Elder Xue. Feng Gui’s family. Elder Xun’s disciple. You seem to be in contact with quite a few powerful people.”

“I have thought of this before, but Senior Sister is quite kind,” Liu Jin says. “You could have killed us in the Dead Plains had you not tried so hard to make us stand down, yet you are doing it again.”

Searing light grazes his cheek. Liu Jin does not even blink.

“I believe,” Liu Jin continues, “that Senior Sister does not enjoy killing those of the Eternal Flame Clan.”

Shi Qingxia scowls at him. “The Heavens failed to give you a brain. If you think I can’t kill you, I will be sure to show you how much can be done to a person before killing him.”

“I am a doctor, Senior Sister,” Liu Jin says, settling into a stance. “I know full well the steps that lead someone towards death.”

“And yet you gleefully keep taking them,” Shi Qingxia adopts her own stance. Her qi flares around her.

For a moment, neither one says anything. Both of them just carefully examine each other in silence.

This is not an impossible fight, Liu Jin tells himself. Shi Qingxia might be in the Earth Realm while Liu Jin is only in the True Realm, but the curse of the Earth Realm means she is not much faster than him. Besides, she is bound to be tired from all those blasts. If he can hold on a little while, he can probably distract her and disappear into the forest.

That’s all he needs to do.

Liu Jin and Shi Qingxia’s eyes narrow.

It is not impossible. He can do it.

In a split second, the two vanish from sight. Their Qi clash against each other as furious light strikes roaring venom.

The winner is decided in an instant.

“Did you really think you could defeat someone in the Earth Realm?” Shi Qingxia asks him as she holds him by the throat. There are numerous scratches on her, but it is nothing compared to the ugly wound in Liu Jin’s stomach. “Your successes have made you grow arrogant.”

“I thank Senior Sister for… her guidance,” Liu Jin says, wincing as her grip on his neck tightens. “However, it is not arrogance. I did not believe I could beat you. I believed I had to. Could and would have no place here.”

She rolls her eyes at him. “Ugh, you talky types are the worst. Do you really think it matte-ARGH!”

Shi Qingxia suddenly screams and lets go of Liu Jin. She falls to her knees with her hand clutching her shoulder.

“I… wasn’t sure if that would work,” Liu Jin says, standing while holding his stomach.

“What did you do?” Shi Qingxia grits her teeth to stop herself from screaming. Something begins bulging under her robes. “How?”

“I wasn’t sure until you choked me, but... the reason you and the others smell like death… It is not because you practice the arts of that Sect. It is because of those things in you…”

When Huang Shing was attacked by one of the creatures the Death Fashioning Scripture used, it left behind a flesh bud inside him. It had been dormant, ready to wake up at any moment. Had Liu Jin not removed it, it could have grievously injured him.

“I am sure those flesh buds must have some use, but unfortunately, they react quite violently to someone trying to manipulate them. It is as you said, Senior Sister. There is no use in power that cannot be fully controlled.”

“You little…” Shi Qingxia cannot bring herself to say more. All her Qi must be focused on trying to contain the flesh bud going wild inside her.

“I do not believe you will die here,” Liu Jin says as he walks away. “I would offer to help you, but I am sure you would try to kill me the moment I got too close.”

“Of course, I’ll kill-Aaagh!”

By now, the flesh surrounding Shi Qingxia’s arm has tripled in size. Her Qi sparks dangerously around her, a sure sign Liu Jin has to get away fast.

“If you ever wish to be rid of that thing, seek me out. The same goes for the other two,” Liu Jin says before jumping back into the forest.

“You bastard! I’ll kill you for this!”

Lin Jin keeps running.

~~~