Chapter Ninety-Five: Siege

The day after Shen Qingyun and the others entered the sanctuary point, a few scattered groups came supporting one another into the refuge. From the look of them, the black storm had not been kind.

Such scenes continued intermittently until noon.

And then, at that very moment, something changed.

A monster with a head like an ox’s, yet with an even longer horn growing from the center of its forehead, suddenly let out a deranged bellow and charged toward the sanctuary point.

Feeling the ground tremble beneath them, many people’s faces changed. Hadn’t they said the sanctuary point was absolutely safe? How could monsters still reach it?

The beast did not slow. It rushed straight at the sanctuary point. At the edge of the refuge, a great formation’s radiant barrier rose up, enclosing the entire area. The monster slammed directly into the array outside the sanctuary point, and the formation activated at once. The mighty power of the spell matrix instantly shredded the creature to pieces.

Then several more monsters charged in succession, and the result was just as inevitable. The force of the formation made slaughter of the beasts almost effortless. The instant any monster touched the barrier, it was reduced to nothing.

“So this sanctuary point’s formation is this powerful!”

A young scion of one of the great clans stared at the luminous barrier outside the refuge and laughed. It seemed that seeing monsters, formidable to them beyond measure, being instantly annihilated by the array had finally eased his tense heart.

“Good. Now we can stay here in peace.”

Others laughed as well.

“Something’s not right.” Shen Qingyun watched the monsters hurl themselves against the formation without fear of death, and a barely noticeable crease appeared between his brows.

He understood monsters better than anyone here.

The creatures on the outer edges of the central region possessed a sliver of intelligence. The ones inside the inner circle could not possibly have none. What he was seeing now clearly meant they were being driven by something.

“The black storm?”

That thought suddenly flashed through Shen Qingyun’s mind. His expression changed slightly, and he stood up, saying to Feng Chuxun and the others, “Stop resting. We’re leaving, now!”

Feng Chuxun and the others looked up at him in confusion. They were puzzled, but they did not question him reflexively. So when Shen Qingyun said those words, they all rose at once and prepared to follow him.

At that moment, however, the ground began to shake again, and the tremors grew more and more obvious. From the direction of the passage outside the sanctuary point, a faint rumbling also drifted over.

The sanctuary point had been set within a mountain valley, ringed on all sides by peaks, with only two passages, one front and one back. If there was another exit, it would have to be overhead, at the top of the valley.

Above them came a series of harsh scraping sounds. The noise sent a chill down the spine, raising the hair on one’s body.

Everyone looked up and saw a long-bodied serpent monster clinging to the rock above them. Half its body was rotten flesh, while the other half gleamed with a dreadful cold light like iron scales.

Behind them, another creature with an ox’s head and a serpent’s body was slowly slithering closer, its long mouth spewing black flames. The sanctuary point’s array barrier was struck by the black fire, and, as expected, it held. But while resisting the flames, the barrier actually began to emit a hissing sound, as though it were being scorched.

Crack, crack, crack...

Ahead, a string of sparks suddenly burst into view, especially vivid in the dark valley. The faint rumbling from before was now clearly audible. A figure was slowly advancing toward the sanctuary point through the darkness. Behind it, every few steps, sparks flashed into being.

At the sight of this, no one could laugh anymore.

Both exits were blocked, and even the third place, which could hardly be called an exit at all, was occupied as well. Was this the meaning of being trapped with no wings to escape?

But Shen Qingyun felt that this was only the beginning. Even so, seeing the scene before him, he merely let out a soft sigh. “Forget it. Everyone, sit down.”

“Brother Shen, have you sensed something?”

Qiao Xinran, ever the observant one, was the first to notice that something was off about Shen Qingyun. In the past, he had always given people the feeling of stillness, as calm as a clear spring, yet dependable beyond question.

Now, however, he gave Qiao Xinran the impression of a flame just beginning to rise. A little restless.

Shen Qingyun smiled at her but did not answer directly. “You’ll know in a moment.”

As if to confirm his words, during the following period, aside from the three monsters that had first appeared and exerted overwhelming pressure, the beasts that came afterward were of the same level as those Shen Qingyun and the others had encountered at the edge of the central region.

Strong, but not impossibly so. Yet there were far too many.

The monster tide surged into the passage and instantly jammed it so tightly that not even water could pass. But they could not advance further, because any further step would bring them into contact with the formation, and the power of the array would immediately tear them apart.

So for the people inside the sanctuary point, they were temporarily safe enough.

But a new problem followed immediately: how were they supposed to get out?

The monsters could not come in, and neither could they go out.

To leave, they would have to clear every monster from one passage. Yet with so many beasts, even if everyone attacked together, how many would survive in the end?

And where had so many monsters come from?

Qiao Xinran looked dazed. So did Ling Xiao and the others; their expressions had become somewhat vacant.

“Brother Shen, j-just what is going on?”

“The black storm.”

Shen Qingyun exhaled softly and said slowly, “Most likely, these monsters were stirred up by the black storm. That storm has the power to easily grind these creatures to dust. Naturally they would fear it. Fleeing is only normal.”

“But they shouldn’t have come here!” Qiao Xinran said.

“Have you forgotten what Gu Yang said earlier? The reason the sanctuary point is safe is because it was found through generations of exploration by the disciples of the five great sects. Only after countless searches in Ghost Valley did they discover a place that was truly safe,” Shen Qingyun said. “If outside sect disciples can find it, why can’t the monsters that have grown here in Ghost Valley?”

“Those black storms can slaughter them with ease. Do you think they would just stand there stupidly and wait to be killed?”

“If this place is safe, then of course they would come here.”

He said it as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

At his words, Qiao Xinran and the others were all stunned.

Su Ye then asked, “But Brother Shen, didn’t you also say that there are already black storms in the outer reaches of the center? If that’s the case, why didn’t they come here then?”

“That only means the black storm outside has intensified.”

Shen Qingyun’s tone grew heavier.

“So much so that even these monsters had no choice but to flee.”

“Hiss...”

At this, everyone drew in a sharp breath.

If creatures as formidable as these monsters had no choice but to hide, then for them to encounter one outside would mean certain death.

“Brother Shen, when will these monsters disperse?”

Shen Qingyun looked at Su Ye. At times he could not help but marvel at how many questions this man had.

“Probably not.”

“Why not?”

“Have you ever seen enemies meet and then let the other side go?”

Su Ye shook his head, and the others fell silent.

Shen Qingyun was not wrong. Under normal circumstances, if they had not been in the sanctuary point, once the black storm passed, these monsters might indeed have scattered.

It was just that their luck had been terrible; they had happened to run into one another at precisely this moment.

They wanted to kill these monsters, and why would the monsters not want to kill them? It was impossible that someone would come to take my life, and I would still stand there stupidly and let them do it.

As the saying goes, when enemies meet, their eyes blaze with fury. That was exactly the predicament they and these monsters were in.

“Everyone, get ready. I’m afraid that before long, these monsters will begin to besiege the sanctuary point’s formation.”

As he spoke, a glint flashed in Shen Qingyun’s eyes. He had no intention of simply sitting here and waiting to die.

Slowly turning the white storage ring on the index finger of his left hand, Shen Qingyun fell into thought.

Gradually, many others began to realize the problem as well. Some who were more hotheaded, upon realizing it, immediately shouted, “Quick, before they gather any more! Let’s use the advantage of the formation and go out to kill them!”

The people around him at once turned to look at him as though he were an idiot. If it were that simple, they would have already done it!

Use your brain!

Some people sneered inwardly. There were only two passages, and both were already packed full of monsters. Where was there room to squeeze in any more?

Most of the true disciples of the five great sects had already gathered to discuss a countermeasure.

That was the advantage of a sect. They had been conducting trials in Ghost Valley for hundreds of years. Outside, they were rivals. Here, even if there were sky-high grudges, they had to set them aside and weather the crisis together. The experience passed down through the generations was far beyond what any clan trying its first trial could match.

...

“There’s no other way. We have to charge!”

A true disciple carrying a sword on his back said with a grave expression.

“How are we supposed to charge?” Across from him, a true disciple of the Pure Silence Sect looked at him and said, “We’ve all seen the strength of the monsters outside. We have to nearly exhaust ourselves just to kill one.”

“With so many monsters now, even if we all rush forward together, it’ll only be throwing our lives away.”

“I actually think we can try charging once.” Beside him, a pale, effeminate true disciple of the Fiend Puppet Sect smiled faintly as he spoke. Even his faint smile carried a sinister chill.

“You’re crazy! That’s so many lives!” The Pure Silence Sect disciple looked at him.

The Fiend Puppet Sect disciple only gave him a disdainful smile. “Indecisive people never amount to much. In our Fiend Puppet Sect, a waste’s life is worth the least.”

Hearing this, the true disciples of the other four sects all subconsciously shifted their feet, wanting to stand a little farther away from him. There had long been rumors among the four other sects that the Fiend Puppet Sect was the strangest of the five great sects, and even its disciples could not be judged by ordinary standards.

“One idea won’t work, another is suicide. Then you people who keep rejecting everything should come up with something better!”

A graceful figure standing a little apart from them spoke up, and the true disciples all turned to look at her.

“Oh? Does the chief true disciple of the Hundred Flowers Sect have some guidance for us?”

The Fiend Puppet Sect disciple smiled in that same feminine way.

The Hundred Flowers Sect’s chief true disciple cast an irritated glance at him, and her words were equally disdainful. “Not only are you wishy-washy, but you’re neither male nor female. Is everyone in the Fiend Puppet Sect like this?”

The Fiend Puppet Sect disciple narrowed his eyes slightly, a flash of malice crossing the depths of them, yet his face remained all smiles as he replied, “You jest. Everyone in our sect is different. I am merely this way because of the technique I cultivate.”

“Disgusting.”

The chief true disciple of the Hundred Flowers Sect said only that.

“Then I have truly offended your eyes.”

Even after being treated like this, the Fiend Puppet Sect disciple did not lose his temper. He still smiled.

The chief true disciple of the Hundred Flowers Sect merely glanced at him with phoenix eyes and said no more.

While they were still arguing over there, Shen Qingyun stood up again.

“Everyone, get ready. We’re charging out.”