“So boring,” Mo Riyan complained, yawning.

Long Tongshi prodded him in the side. “Look alive. We’re here to guard the border to the Southern region.”

“What are we going to do? If the Eastern region decides to attack, we’re only fifth realm. The lowliest rank of the Eight Tiers Palace wouldn’t take us in!” Mo Riyan returned.

“It’s our important duty to sound the alarm. We must stay alert,” Long Tongshi returned stiffly.

“Eh…” Mo Riyan complained. He shook his head. “We’ve basically been banished from All-Heavens. Why don’t we just give up and go found our own small sects? They can find someone else to watch the border.”

“Mo Riyan!” Long Tongshi snapped.

“What? It’s true. It’s true, and it’s your fault, for flirting with Gui Yutong.” Mo Riyan said.

Long Tongshi harrumphed. He turned away silently.

“If you hadn’t, we could be training under our Master back in All-Heavens Sect still,” Mo Riyan sighed.

“You’re the one who flirted with her,” Long Tongshi snapped.

“Oh, there it is, there it is. Making me take the blame, innocent little—”

A blur of light flashed between the two of them. It struck the barrier separating the Southern Sect Conference from the Eastern Alliance and barely slowed before piercing directly through it and hurtling past on the other side.

Mo Riyan blinked. He jolted upright. “Hey, you! Come back here.”

Long Tongshi grabbed his shoulder before he could run off. He stared in the other direction, back into the Eastern Alliance. “Mo Riyan…”

“What?” Mo Riyan turned.

In the distance, a great roar echoed through the mountains, cutting through the growling thunder and pouring rain. An enormous white ball rose over the hills, propelling itself forward on the thousands of huge white hands that poked out of its surface. Wherever its hands landed, they closed, lifting up handfuls of dirt, boulders. It hefted them up and clenched its fists tight, and the boulders and dirt turned into fine dust.

Pausing, it turned its bulbous body toward the sun. A slit halfway down its body opened, revealing a mouth lined with yet more hands where its teeth should be, all beckoning inward. It tipped itself back and roared.

Beside it, one of the mountains trembled, then collapsed. The sound wave blasted through the air, a visible burst of force. Thousands of kilometers away, it smashed into Mo Riyan and Long Tongshi, throwing them up against the barrier. The barrier lit up, white light sparking all along its length.

Mo Riyan swallowed. He backed away a step, then shook his head. “Sound the alarm. Sound the alarm! We’re under attack by the Eastern Alliance!”

Hurtling away at top speed, Hui looked over his shoulder. He swallowed. I don’t know if that barrier will hold it long. It didn’t hold me long, but then, I am a being of pure death qi… and the monster is a being of pure resentment!

Fuck! What part of me thought this was a good idea? Sometimes my hands move before my brain can catch up, and before I know it, I’m being chased by a resentment demon! Argh, and I can’t even blame it on the clones anymore!

Eh, is this Sectgoer’s heart demon? Did I get infected by the heart demon when we recombined? No! I only have one life left to lose! I can’t afford to have a heart demon!

He turned back. It was a bit of a gamble, but it was the closest shield I could get to! The barrier between the Southern Sects and the Eastern Alliance will surely hold back a newborn resentment demon. Now that I’m on the far side of it, I can casually peg it with attacks while it sits helplessly on the other side!

The resentment demon paused. Although it had no eyes, it seemed to regard the barrier, and Hui on the far side of it. After a long time, it turned away, rolling back around the mountains and deep into the Eastern Alliance’s lands.

Hui frowned. Eh? Not going to chase any longer? I’m happy, but…

Wait, no. That makes sense. It’s a ball of resentment that formed in the Eastern Alliance. Naturally, the source of its resentment is also in the Eastern Alliance. It shouldn’t hold any grudge against the Southern Sect Conference!

Although I was worried it would turn out to be a mindless beast hellbent on destruction that couldn’t tell the difference between one region and the next, that seems to not be the case. It’s at least intelligent enough to know what it wants to attack… ah, aside from going after this small cultivator.

Ah… hmm. If it isn’t mindless, then… I wonder if I can talk with it?

Mo Riyan took a deep breath. “It wasn’t an attack? Phew.”

“Stop sounding the alarm over every little thing,” Long Tongshi snapped, punching him lightly on the head.

Mo Riyan ducked, putting his hands up defensively. “You were scared, too! Ah, and hey… wasn’t there something ahead of that ball thing? Where did it go?”

Long Tongshi turned. “That’s right. There was something, wasn’t there…?”

Hui startled. Ah! I’ll worry about talking with the resentment demon next time. For now, let’s go, let’s go! I don’t want to get caught by the border guards! Tossing a seed down to mark his place, he flew away from the barrier, deeper into the Southern Sect Conference.

Ahead of him, a wall of mountains loomed. Tall and imposing, they pierced the sky. Flying as he was, Hui still couldn’t see their tops. They seemed to plunge into eternity, so tall that no one and nothing could pass.

Confused, Hui paused. He looked back. This wall of mountains is impassable, even to cultivators… is this what the reaper meant when she said the Southern Sect Conference wasn’t easy to reach? But if it’s impassable, then how did the guards get to the border? There must be a way around.

Maybe… a teleportation pad? Linked to the far side of the mountains? But then… someone had to cross the mountains in the first place to place the teleportation pads. There must be a way around the mountain.

…unless the person who placed the teleportation pads was an Immortal or near-Immortal. Then this small cultivator is out of luck.

Well, no. Let’s not be stupid here, Hui! There is a very simple solution. The teleportation pads! So what if they don’t know my face? So what if I emanate an aura of death qi? If there’s one thing I’m… maybe a little confident… about, it’s my ability to disguise myself!

Mmm, not that I’m sure there’s teleportation pads, or that teleportation pads even exist in this world… but it’s a good place to start! Better than flying around these mountains for who knows how long. If I’m right, I’ve cut days off my travel time. If I’m wrong… I’ll only have wasted a few minutes of the days it will take to circumnavigate the mountains. And hey, the guards get here somehow. If it’s not teleportation pads, there’s probably something that cuts down the cross-mountain travel time. It’s worth a look.

Hui paused. He circulated his qi and cast the snakeskin technique, only for a layer of ash to fall over his skin. He held up his black-stained hands and frowned. “Huh?”

Hold on. I’m using death qi now. I can’t use ordinary qi or life qi. This technique, of all my techniques, ought to work with death qi, since it’s originally a demonic technique… but obviously, I can’t circulate my death qi the way I do my ordinary qi.

Hui crossed his legs, sitting down in midair. He propped his chin on his hand. Death qi is cold and dark. It kills, and corrupts and extinguishes ordinary qi, while life qi and death qi negate one another.

How do I translate that into using death qi like ordinary qi?

Damn. I wish I had Fang Hua. She’d know.

Hui sighed, pursing his lips. It can’t be difficult. Every single death cultivator figures it out. It has to be something simple. It’s the opposite of life qi… corrupts ordinary qi… hmm. It’s like the backwards version of qi, so maybe it’s something like… like circulating it retrograde.

Hui sat bolt upright. Circulating it in the opposite direction! Is it that simple? Immediately, he tried the snakeskin technique again, but ran it backward instead. A cold snakeskin covered his body, unusually clammy and thin.

Ugh, gross. But it worked. It worked, and that’s what matters! Hui drew the snakeskin off himself, then peered back over his shoulder at the guards. Alright. I’ll transform into one of them!

Transformed, Hui stood up, facing the horizon. He flew off for the next guard station. It’s no good going to this guard station. They’ll immediately know I’m—well, I’m not one of the two of them. I’ll go to the next guard station instead. That way, no one should suspect anything!

He flew on. And on. And on. Hours passed. Not a single other guard appeared on the horizon.

Hui frowned. Is there only one guard station? Surely not. But I haven’t seen any sign of any other guards.

They are cultivators. It’s possible there are only two guards. Though in that case, they’re mostly relying on the barrier and the mountains…

…well, I can’t find a way around the mountains, so I guess it’s fine.

Hui faced back toward the guards. Alright. I’ll head back to them. They can’t stay together all the time! I’ll approach the one I’m not dressed as, and see if I can get him to let me in to the teleportation pad. Yes, yes. It’s the perfect plan! Completely flawless. Or at least… something that’s worth a shot!