Front Line of the Beast Tide, Part 7

In this narrow, yet infinitely wide due to darkness, underground world, a source of light suddenly appeared.

Layers of white figures converged, their facial features indistinct, their voices indistinguishable.

All human differences seemed to be pressed flat by the book pages, completely simplified, leaving only their humanoid forms.

The humanoid figures were illuminated by the flames within their chests.

The crimson-white flames continuously flickered and swayed. Though one flame was small, its light was infinite, and there were nearly two thousand such flames accumulated in this tunnel.

Nearly two thousand translucent humanoid figures stood, sat, lay, or reclined, some conversing in low tones, others gazing into the distance, some lost in thought, or standing alone and motionless.

And at the center of the crowd was a small cluster of flames.

It did not, like other flames, rest within a person’s chest, fueled by human vitality. Instead, it floated silently in the air, like a rootless fire.

But this flame was incredibly dazzling, astonishingly bright, far surpassing other heart-fires.

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In this endless, impenetrable darkness, familiar figures suddenly appeared.

Even unable to distinguish friend from foe, Su Qing couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief.

But this feeling was very dangerous. She vigilantly remained in place, not daring to move forward.

Su Qing couldn’t help but look down at her hands.

Sure enough, the human bones and musculature had disappeared, replaced by a faint, light-covered silhouette.

This book world was dim. Thick black mist that devoured vitality wandered everywhere.

The only light source seemed to come solely from people, from the flame in their chests.

Su Qing vaguely perceived the meaning of that flame: vitality.

She had only stayed outside for a short while, and a layer of light had been taken away by the mist. It took away not just light, but also a part of her vitality.

Presumably, when all the light on her body was stripped away, or when the flame in her chest extinguished, that would be the time of her death.

But the black mist and cold wind outside were endless, while the heart-fire within a person’s chest was limited.

A slight carelessness could lead to it being extinguished and devoured.

A drop of water easily evaporated completely under the scorching sun, but a pool of water would not.

This might also be why this group of figures gathered together.

It was safer here than outside.

Su Qing’s mind raced. She looked at the person who stood up and greeted her. From the figure alone, it should be a young woman.

The figure was slender, so although it was just a thin outline, it inexplicably exuded an extraordinary aura.

She cautiously nodded, “Presumably, I just arrived.”

The person was not surprised, “You are the fourth today. What’s your cultivation level?”

Su Qing replied, “Early Foundation Establishment.”

“Early Foundation Establishment, you can last thirty days,” the person called out, “Don’t just stand there, come over. Don’t worry, we won’t harm you, but if you don’t absorb some heart-fire and expel the demonic energy from your body, you’ll be completely beyond saving.”

She pointed to Su Qing’s chest. Su Qing followed the direction of her finger and looked down. Unbeknownst to her, her heart-fire was entangled with faint purplish-black mist, clearly the same mist that wandered outside.

‘That mist, is it demonic energy?’

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With so many flames gathered here, and not a few brighter than hers, there was no reason for them to harm her.

Moreover, she also wanted to understand what kind of place she had come to.

Su Qing decided to trust her.

Under the other party’s invitation, she slowly walked into the crowd.

Seeing her approach, many white figures tacitly made way, revealing the rootless heart-fire in the center. A female cultivator stood beside the heart-fire. Her figure was slender, her demeanor very elegant, and she appeared to have a good temper. She said gently, “It must be cold, come quickly.”

The people around seemed to have noticed her hesitation and all spoke up, “It’s alright, don’t be afraid.”

“Just expel the demonic energy.”

“Once you’re here, everyone has to rely on each other. No one will harm you.”

The closer she walked to the center of the figures, the brighter the light became.

The flame in Su Qing’s chest also brightened slightly.

When the female cultivator in the center placed that flame in her hand, it was as if she was holding a warm, breathing little life.

The rootless heart-fire emitted circles of halo.

Under its illumination, Su Qing felt as if a kind of scorching magma had flowed into her body, or like a starlit river being lit up node by node.

The coldness that had resided within her completely receded, and warmth flowed soothingly through her limbs and bones.

The vitality that had been stripped away by the black mist returned to her.

She almost couldn’t help but let out a comfortable sigh.

The female cultivator asked, “Feeling much better?”

Su Qing nodded and asked, “What did that person mean earlier by ‘early Foundation Establishment can only last thirty days’?”

The female cultivator explained, “Without additional heart-fire, Foundation Establishment cultivation can only last thirty days here. On the surface, it wouldn’t even last ten days.”

Su Qing asked, “Even if everyone gathers together?”

“Even if everyone gathers together.” The female cultivator nodded, “The demonic energy is too vast, and we are too minuscule. Even gathered, we cannot resist it.”

It was like the drop of water theory: even if countless drops of water gathered into a puddle, if the scorching sun was pressing down, the puddle would likely dry up in a few days.

“But gathering together, at least, reduces consumption.”

The female cultivator said softly, “Therefore, everyone is very important to us.”

Su Qing understood. This was why the other party was so friendly from the start; after all, her survival also benefited the collective.

“But you don’t need to be too scared,” the female cultivator said. “Although my cultivation is low, I’ve already been here for one hundred and eighteen days. As long as you replenish your heart-fire in time, there’s nothing to worry about.”

“How did you get in?” the female cultivator asked again. “Some people here came in while eating, some while sleeping, some suddenly during battle, and some even came in without doing anything at all. Everyone originally came to the Myriad Beast Forest to seek an opportunity, never expecting such a change to occur.”

Su Qing thought to herself, ‘She couldn’t possibly say that she went to investigate the truth and ended up walking straight into a trap, could she?’

She rephrased it in a more subtle way, “I came in while practicing calligraphy.”

The female cultivator was noncommittal, seemingly believing Su Qing’s explanation. “Then you probably have a connection with the wood attribute. We’ve discussed it; everyone who comes here is like that.”

The other party’s voice had no discernible timbre, but her tone was gentle and calm, giving a sense of peace and warmth.

Upon arriving in such a dangerous environment, having someone calmly talk beside her could somewhat soothe one’s nerves.

Su Qing, “How should I address you?”

The other party said, “Names here are linked to a certain fate and cannot be easily mentioned. We all use aliases. Before I came in, I was a healer accompanying the army. They all called me Healer, so you can call me that too.”

Healer?

Su Qing’s thoughts flickered for a moment. She carefully scrutinized the figure in front, but couldn’t make anything out.

To be safe, she didn’t probe further. Instead, she said, “Then I’ll call myself Swordsman.”

However, there were too many swordsmen here. So after much discussion and statistics from the crowd, Su Qing was given a new name: Swordsman Number Twenty-Six, or Twenty-Six for short.

Su Qing was talking with the Healer when she saw the woman who had greeted her earlier approach with two or three others.

This person’s alias was Rainbow.

The Healer was very familiar with her. Seeing her arrive, she even made a small space for her to walk in.

Rainbow said, “Tomorrow you need to go hunting on the surface with me. Soul Beasts are most attracted to the vitality of newcomers; having you will be very effective.”

“Soul Beasts?”

The situation was urgent, and all available forces had to be mobilized. Therefore, Rainbow did not hide anything from Su Qing but directly stated the reason.

Rainbow’s gaze fell on the rootless fire in Su Qing’s hand.

“They are called Soul Beasts, but they are actually beast forms condensed from vengeful souls and demonic energy. The beast cores of Soul Beasts are the fuel for this fire. We must capture at least fifty beast cores daily to supply a night’s worth of burning. If we want the flame to grow larger, we need more beast cores.”

“Perhaps one day this heart-fire will grow large enough to drive out all the demonic energy, and we will be able to leave here.” Rainbow had little hope, shrugging, “But the urgent task is to survive first.”

The Healer said, “All newcomers are the same. Don’t worry, Rainbow will protect you, and you will slowly gain experience.”

Su Qing had no objections.

Borrowing someone else’s shelter always required some give and take. Rainbow’s straightforwardness actually put her at ease.

Moreover, she also had some things she wanted to verify.

Su Qing stayed in this encampment for a night without incident.

In truth, it was very dim here, both day and night, but the demonic energy at night was thicker, almost covering the sky, not letting through a single ray of light.

During the day, it was a little better; although the demonic energy still spread, its concentration was much lower than at night.

After Su Qing recovered, she returned her heart-fire to its original place.

The flame flickered, emitting continuous light and heat, driving away the cold and darkness of the night.

Everyone stopped speaking, perhaps because they were too tired as the night deepened, or perhaps because speaking also consumed extra vitality. They tacitly remained motionless until dawn.

Su Qing noticed that those closest to the heart-fire generally had lower cultivation.

The people gathered here, from inside to outside, gradually increased in cultivation.

And the higher the cultivation, the stronger their vitality.

Rainbow sat on the outermost edge and was the first person to discover her, indicating she was a top performer here.

She huddled in the light, slowly pondering, trying to sort out everything that had happened today.

She wondered how Xiaocao and the others were doing…

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The next day, Rainbow came over, patted her shoulder, and motioned for her to follow her out. “Twenty-Six, fall in.”

This was not just one hunting team. After Su Qing walked out, she realized that only a third of the people remained in place; the rest had all gathered into teams to participate in the daytime hunt.

The Healer did not leave; her duty was to guard the heart-fire, staying by its side at all times.

Of the four newcomers who arrived yesterday, two were assigned to Rainbow’s team. One of them was Su Qing. Now, Rainbow’s team consisted of twenty people in total.

Everyone who came here had lost all their external possessions.

Let alone weapons, not even storage bags were left. She truly didn’t know how to fight Soul Beasts.

But Su Qing wasn’t panicking, because last night she had confirmed that the tiny white jade-like object had also followed her into this world.

If the wandering entity outside was indeed persistent demonic energy, then perhaps this was her opportunity.

After advancing for some distance, the team arrived at a cave entrance.

The cave opening above was covered by withered vines, not letting through a single ray of light.

Rainbow pushed aside the concealing withered vines and was the first to climb up, “Follow me.”