Front Line of the Beast Tide, Part 3

The uneasy night finally passed. Early the next morning, Su Qing opened her eyes.

It was already light outside. Although occasionally the sound of birds flapping wings echoed, it wasn’t as dense and alarming as last night.

The chaos of the night was finally over.

Hua Ling sat up from the bed, somewhat numbly. “I feel like I slept, and yet I didn’t. All in all, I’m in a very blurry state between sleeping and not sleeping.”

Jiang Shuyi also sat up. She was even more numb than Hua Ling. “Whether you slept or not, I don’t know, but I certainly listened to a night of Beast School lessons.”

Hua Ling chuckled, “I wasn’t afraid once I said it out loud.”

Su Qing jumped out of bed and, with a cleaning spell, barely managed to tidy her appearance, reducing her wildness somewhat.

They went downstairs to the inn’s first-floor lobby for breakfast.

No one wanted to experience the taste of demon beast soup with naan bread again.

Everyone, by tacit agreement, pulled out their own dry rations and ate a little with hot water.

Normally, cultivators didn’t need three meals a day; it was only because they had formed the habit of three meals a day at the Sword School that they occasionally needed a snack.

When Su Qing and her group arrived, Gu Zimou, Jiang Xiaocao, and Bai Ying were already there.

The three sat upright and solemn, watching the innkeeper, an old woman, pluck feathers from a duck.

The old woman was as withered as a piece of dead wood, yet her hand movements were very nimble.

Almost in the blink of an eye, the duck in her hand was plucked bald.

To be precise, it wasn’t a normal duck. Hua Ling covered her mouth and whispered, “Bone-marrow-eating bird.”

Su Qing’s gaze dropped, and she saw a winding, rope-like object at the old woman’s feet.

If she wasn’t mistaken, that thing was a Mimic Snake.

Besides, at the old woman’s feet, there was also a pile of rather unfriendly small animals, all slumped over, motionless.

The few “friends” who had visited the inn last night were now being played with in the old woman’s hands.

Even if these demon beasts were not of high grade, being able to subdue them at night meant this old woman was definitely no ordinary person.

This Zhenyao Pass truly was a place where hidden dragons and crouching tigers resided.

Gu Zimou watched for a while, then couldn’t resist going up and negotiating with the old woman.

Afterward, he returned joyfully, holding the limp, broken snake, and said proudly, “I bought it for ten spirit stones! Outside, they start at fifty!”

Jiang Shuyi said with disdain, “What do you want that thing for?”

Talisman School disciple Gu Zimou swore, “The snake bones inside can be extracted to make snake bone brushes.”

Xiaocao said, “But this kind of snake is everywhere once you enter the Myriad Beast Forest. Why spend spirit stones to buy it now?”

“Oh, right.” Gu Zimou held the snake, suddenly realizing, “No wonder that old woman looked at me like I was an idiot!”

Su Qing mused, “Presumably, because there are people in the inn, these demon beasts that like to eat humans are continuously attracted here.”

Bai Ying understood her meaning. He frowned and said, “Then the innkeeper eradicates them. In that case, aren’t we just acting as bait to attract demon beasts? This is too dangerous!”

Last night, though he hadn’t been scared all night, living in the same room as the carefree Gu Zimou and the unconcerned Jiang Xiaocao, as a rational person, he couldn’t help but shoulder more worries.

Therefore, he had meditated until dawn.

Su Qing’s eyes gleamed, “No, I mean, if the inn catches these demon beasts and sells them, wouldn’t they make money twice? This is practically a business with no capital!”

“Oh, right!” Jiang Xiaocao chimed in, “Su Qing, you’re so smart.”

Bai Ying mentally lectured himself: ‘You are a normal person.

These two have abnormal brains. Don’t argue with them.’

The old woman concentrated on her work. Soon, the unfriendly small animals were chopped into pieces of fresh meat.

Su Qing mused, the demon beast soup they ate last night might have been made from these things.

Staying at the inn, they were basically providing their own meals, even if those meals were attracted by their desire to eat them.

After checking out, the Sword School team left the inn and came to the street.

Zhenyao Pass in the morning was much more peaceful than at night.

There were also some pedestrians on the street, mostly from outside the pass, which was easy to tell; people from outside always hurried and had unpleasant expressions. Those from inside the pass looked more cheerful.

Most of these people’s movements were the same: heading towards the merchant houses inside the pass, presumably to exchange and purchase supplies.

Su Qing and Zhu Xing’er had once opened a merchant house in Yinlan City, but due to the complex situation in the city, they had to withdraw. Now, it seemed that those who could stay here and do business well must have backing.

She thought about the reward Yan Yan promised her after dealing with the Abyssal Void leader, and her heart stirred slightly. When the demonic bone incident ended, she would also open a merchant house here. The beast tide front lines provided almost endless resources; doing business here would never lack stock.

This narrow city could be traversed in half a day. At its very front was a winding, thousands-of-miles-long black city wall.

Zhenyao Pass was the foremost defensive line against beast tides.

It was located on a desolate plain, with vast surrounding terrain and hidden mountains, lacking natural barriers.

In the past, whenever beast tides erupted, the guards found it extremely difficult to resist.

The rampaging demon beasts traveled thousands of miles a day, rushing into subsidiary cities and main cities to bite and kill residents, which was not uncommon. Therefore, the previous Yan family city lord led the people of Yinlan City to begin building the city wall. This construction project was massive, and it wasn’t until Yan Chi took power that the city wall was expanded to about ten times its original length.

The city wall was built of black megaliths, carefully processed to be roughly uniform in size.

It was dozens of meters high and over five meters wide, with a platform at the top for the Yan family army to patrol and keep watch.

Looking out from the top of the city wall, one could see the Myriad Beast Forest stretching endlessly into the distance, covering the sky.

The outer edges of the Myriad Beast Forest were relatively sparse, allowing one to discern the green of the trees, and even sunlight could penetrate the forest.

But further back, the forest became so dense, a deep green, standing there heavily, like some living entity shrouded in grayish-green shadow.

As humans watched it, it seemed to be distantly observing them in return, wondering when it would devour this group of beings into its shadowy depths.

The city gates were made of bronze, with intricate array formations and obscure runes etched above them.

The gate panels were ancient and heavy, each weighing several tons, and could only be opened through complex mechanical devices.

Therefore, these gates were rarely opened throughout the year, with only a side gate open for passersby.

The side gate was, as usual, guarded by soldiers in black armor.

Entry into the pass was strictly regulated, but exit was very lenient.

The Sword School team encountered almost no obstacles and smoothly left Zhenyao Pass, heading towards the Myriad Beast Forest, which was the beast tide front line.

Upon exiting Zhenyao Pass, Su Qing and the others all became alert, fearing that they might encounter some strange bird flying out of nowhere, just like last night, and be carried off and eaten.

But along the way, although low-tier demon beasts were present, it was relatively peaceful, much safer than everyone had imagined.

Su Qing guessed, “It seems daytime and nighttime are two different worlds here.”

The further they walked, the closer they got to the Myriad Beast Forest.

The vegetation also gradually changed from sparse to dense.

The vegetation on the outer side of the forest always showed signs of being cut down, presumably where people from the city would come to chop firewood, gather herbs, and so on.

Because they had not officially entered the forest and had been lingering at its edge, Su Qing did not encounter any danger along the way.

A week later, after traveling on and off for nearly several hundred miles, an open valley suddenly appeared ahead.

A small stream, its ice and snow slightly melted, cut across the valley.

Thousands of tents were pitched beside the stream.

The tents varied in size and were mottled in color, covered with thick fur, looking from a distance like some giant furry beast curled up in the valley.

The atmosphere inside was somewhat relaxed; it didn’t seem to be a military camp.

After so many days of travel, this was the first time they encountered a concentrated human encampment.

The team members exchanged glances and all decided to go forward and take a look.

As they entered the valley, they saw a shed pitched on the only passable path.

There was a person inside, a lean young man. He was peeling fur with a curved knife. Seeing them approach, his eyes lit up, and he greeted, “Are you fellow Daoists new here? Do you want to join our camp?”

Gu Zimou stepped forward, bowed, and asked, “Fellow Daoist, may I ask which sect or faction you belong to?”

“Just call me Qiu Er.” Qiu Er introduced, “Fellow Daoist asks about our sect or faction, alas, to be honest, we have all sorts of people here. There are many from small, minor sects, and even more unaligned rogue cultivators. We don’t inquire about each other. As long as you’re not a vicious demonic cultivator or evil cultivator, seeking opportunities together here is no big deal.”

“I see.”

Gu Zimou said, “We are disciples of the World Sword Sect. Fellow Daoist Qiu, do you know where the Sword Sect’s camp is located?”

Qiu Er’s enthusiasm did not wane upon hearing they were Sword Sect disciples.

Instead, he said, “I know. The Sword Sect’s camp is further north. Because there’s a Transform Spirit stage expert leading the way, the Sword Sect’s camp is much deeper than ours. I’m not trying to scare you, but with just six of you, without a high-level cultivator escorting you, it might be difficult to reach there. Why not stay here, scout out the situation, and then decide? Or send a message for your sect to pick you up; that would be much safer.”

Su Qing then asked, “Where is the Yan family army’s camp?”

Qiu Er answered everything he knew, “The Yan family army has several encampments. The closest one isn’t far from here, about a hundred miles to the east. You few, if you want to join the Yan family army, it’s not impossible, but their military discipline is a bit strict. For rogue cultivators like us, living here is much more comfortable.”

The Sword School team didn’t just listen to Qiu Er’s one-sided story.

They thought about the scenes they had passed along the way, discussed it among themselves, and decided it wouldn’t hurt to stay here for a few days first.

After understanding some of the patterns of the Myriad Beast Forest, they could then make a decision.

Su Qing, meanwhile, thought that since this place was a mix of good and bad, Ye Mingshi might also be staying here.

Seeing the six decide to stay, Qiu Er’s face showed some joy.

Su Qing guessed that recruiting people was probably linked to his performance.

He led the group deeper into the valley, introducing as he walked, “The most important part of our camp are those two tents in the middle, one large and one small. The large one is for posting tasks, receiving tasks, and forming teams. The small tent is where materials are bought and sold. Merchants come here every three days to trade. They buy almost everything: beast hides, bones, blood, and cores. They also sell goods, various pills, external injury medicines, and some spiritual martial artifacts.”

“Besides merchants, we also trade internally, right in front of that tent. Every evening at dusk, people set up stalls there, mostly bartering. Of course, exchanging for spirit stones is even better. But there are many poor people here, so not many trade for spirit stones.”

Su Qing asked, “What if someone gets injured? Are there healers to help?”

Qiu Er shook his head, “It’s not a period of beast tide rampage right now, so there are no healers assigned to the camp. We’re still at the edge of the Myriad Beast Forest; only the very front line of the army has healers. If you get injured, you usually take care of it yourself. If it’s serious, you pay to find a rogue cultivator in the camp who knows medical arts.”

Su Qing understood. It seemed Xiu Fu wasn’t here.

Qiu Er had them simply register their names, then introduced some camp rules, such as needing to return to camp before dusk and absolutely not lingering in the forest at night, as that was extremely dangerous.

Staying here would also involve fixed night watch duties, which were rotational.

When it was Su Qing and her team’s turn, someone would inform them. Water had to be drawn downstream, and public firewood had to be returned promptly, and so on…

After Qiu Er briefly finished, he asked them about their living arrangements, whether they needed to buy tents, and offered recommendations, guaranteeing good quality and reasonable prices.

The Sword School members were all thrifty where they could be and generous where they needed to be, even carefully calculating one spirit stone.

They all refused to buy pre-made tents, opting instead to buy some thick, windproof furs, while cutting down wood themselves to build the frames.

They arrived late, so their tent location could only be at the edge of the camp.

But gathering together was safer than six people living alone in the forest.

The surrounding tents, seeing newcomers, neither resisted nor actively initiated conversation.

As Qiu Er said, this place was relatively relaxed, not restricting arrivals or departures.

This day, Su Qing did nothing but set up the tent.

The space inside was neither too big nor too small, more than enough for six people, but the quality of life was another matter.

The team agreed that four people would take turns on night watch every evening, in pairs, looking out for each other.

After all, they weren’t in their own Sword School camp, so it was better for everyone to be more vigilant.

Gu Zimou and Bai Ying were on watch during the first half of the night. These two were constantly bickering.

After everyone protested, they chose to bicker via spiritual transmission.

For the second half of the night, Su Qing and Xiaocao took over.

The wood spiritual energy in the forest was more abundant than other spiritual energies, which was quite pleasant for plant cultivators and those with wood spiritual roots.

The two didn’t speak, yet felt no awkwardness, naturally cultivating silently while on watch.

For Su Qing, this place not only had spiritual energy but also extremely faint demonic energy, which she could also use.

Since she first sensed demonic energy, the white jade-like object in her dantian had been in a slightly activated state.

This thing was probably somewhat related to demonic energy.

Su Qing took out the wooden box she carried and opened it. Half a month had passed, and the scales inside were still very vibrant.

She knew that some spells could locate people through hair, bones, teeth, and other items.

The Tang family had once used blood to find Tang Yueling. Unfortunately, she hadn’t learned this cultivation technique yet and didn’t know if it would work on Ye Mingshi.

The next day, several people split up to gather information.

Su Qing went to the large tent where tasks were posted. She hadn’t forgotten that her main purpose here was to improve her cultivation.

If there was a suitable task to take, it would naturally be for the best.