Wu Ying gestured with his head to Tou He, and together, the pair joined the thin line of guards near Chao Kun. As they readied their respective weapons, the crackling of flame coming from the forest died off and the beat on the shields increased in tempo.
And then stopped.
“Ready yourself,” Chao Kun warned.
The xing tian exploded from the trees in a wave. Wu Ying drew upon the Brilliant Woo Petal Bracer and sent the metal chi into his sword. Executing Covering the clouds with the Tail, Wu Ying tapped into his understanding of the Dragon’s Breath and the metal sword chi to strike at the xing tian. The attack, when it struck, tore open skin and muscle, exposing bone and injuring the demons that failed to block the cultivator’s attack. Next to Wu Ying’s initial target, a pair of demons whose shields had been badly cared for had their defenses shattered, leaving them exposed.
Wu Ying’s projected attack was joined by others. By his side, Senior Ge threw his fists forward at such speed, only the after-shadows of his fist strikes could be seen. The projected fist strikes forced back those who faced him, many falling to the ground, bloody and concussed. Those demons that had the misfortune to face Elder Po could not withstand even a single punch.
But not all portions of the line were as equally fortunate.
Tou He, unable to project energy—even falsely like Wu Ying—took his attackers on directly. The ex-monk swung and thrust the blunt end of his weapons, catching, upsetting, and striking those demons that came within range. But the limited range of his attacks forced him to retreat as axes and shields pressed him back.
As more and more xing tian arrived, the line buckled.
Wu Ying found himself beset by one of the xing tian that had broken away to attack him. Forced to pay attention to the demon, Wu Ying allowed others to close in on the group. Yet he had little choice, for the demon’s overbearing strikes required all his attention. A careless block would see his weapon beaten out of his hand, exposing him to further injuries.
A twist and Wu Ying kicked out, sending the demon flying backward even as it blocked the kick. Another thrust, slipping through the gap between shield and axe, tore open the inner thigh of monster. A hasty dodge and a follow-up corkscrew punch set back another attacker.
The line of cultivators was forced to collapse backward, relying more and more on Chao Kun, Li Yao, Elder Po, and a few other powerful martial specialists. Wu Ying fought as hard as he could, but often had to divert more powerful opponents to Senior Ge.
“Useless.”
The words spoken by Elder Wei were soft, but somehow, they reached everyone’s ears. A muted beat of wood hitting metal resounded behind the cultivators even as greenish-purplish smoke creeped across their feet. Wu Ying, surprised by the change, missed a block and managed to dodge by jerking backward at the last minute. The axe parted the light armor he had purchased, leaving a shallow cut across his chest. As the xing tian moved to finish Wu Ying, the smoke curled up around its legs as if it were alive, shocking the creature.
As the monster opened the mouth that was located at its belly button, the smoke dove within. Immediately, the demon beat on its torso in an attempt to drive out the smoke. All along the line of cultivators, the xing tian were assailed by the smoke. Those behind backed away, wary of the living smoke.
“Fall back,” Elder Po said, shaking the blood off his fists.
The cultivators retreated under the protection of the hip-high smoke. As Wu Ying retreated, he glanced back to see the smoke continuing to spill from the cauldron manned by Elder Wei and Liu Tsong. Wu Ying watched as the Elder directed the smoke from the cauldron with waves of her hand, the smoke twisting and surging toward the xing tian. Even as he watched, Wu Ying saw how the level of smoke forming decreased, the way the smoke at the edges of the clearing dissipated.
“How long can she hold?” Tou He asked.
“Long enough,” Liu Tsong replied with a grim smile. “We used a lot of rare materials for this, but it should hold.”
Wu Ying breathed a sigh of relief, then looked back to where Elder Li and Ru Ping worked. How Ru Ping made the seeds grow and sprout, holding the earth together so that Elder Li’s chi would be less exhausted, amazed Wu Ying. Wu Ying knew the Elder had to be supporting the entire thing with her chi, chi that was being exhausted as they crossed the gap.
As Wu Ying looked back at the cauldron and its smoke and the xing tian prowling the edges of the smoke that had poisoned and killed their friends, Wu Ying could not help but marvel at the Elders. Together, they had held off a clan of xing tian.
“Core Cultivators are amazing,” Wu Ying said.
“Yes. But the xing tian have their own,” Chao Kun said. “They have not come out yet.”
“Why not?” Tou He asked.
“I do not know. They are holding back, far behind the cliffs. It is almost as if…” Chao Kun said.
“As if?” Wu Ying said.
“As if they fear angering what is on the other side of the cliff,” Elder Po said, overhearing their conversation.
His words silenced Wu Ying and the other cultivators until Elder Li finished forming the green earth bridge. The silent group crossed the bridge one, Elder Wei sauntering across at the back. The dying embers of the fire beneath the cauldron sputtered and stopped, the smoke fading away. As Elder Wei walked across, the bridge crumbled behind her feet.
As if outraged by Elder Wei’s slow saunter, a xing tian rushed the gap and leaped forward. Cries of shock erupted from the cultivators’ mouths. Only to be silenced by Elder Wei’s mocking smile as her pill cauldron flew from behind the creature and struck it in the back, sending the monster careening into the depths of the canyon.
Elder Wei turned around then, the cauldron hovering in front of her. She stood there, mocking the demons for long seconds before she tossed her head, black hair billowing behind her. A graceful turn of her heel saw the Elder face the cultivators before she strode forward. As she placed her feet on their side of the canyon, the remainder of the bridge finished crumbling, separating cultivator and xing tian.
“Showoff,” Elder Li complained, the old woman pounding her cane on the ground. “You, porters. And Wu Ying. Help set up camp. We’ll rest here tonight.”
The groaning porters stood back up, pulling out tents and other equipment. Wu Ying staggered over to help them, wincing at the congealed blood on his chest and wondering how many they’d lost in that desperate fight. Too many, most likely.
Chapter 19
The group stayed for a single day, resting and treating their accumulated injuries. At least, most did. Ru Ping roused Wu Ying late that evening and dragged the injured and tired cultivator on a harvesting trip along the cliff face. Hanging off the cliff edge, held in place by a pair of ropes, Wu Ying and Ru Ping swung back and forth, occasionally adjusting their height as they harvested plants from the sheer cliff faces. A third line clipped to their side held the collection bags which were pulled up at intervals as they were filled. And filled they were, for the pair found numerous rare and uncommon herbs that only grew in such locations.
When Wu Ying finally crawled out of his bedroll the next morning to join the expedition group as they ate breakfast, Li Yao asked, “What time did you get back?”
“Late.” Wu Ying had no idea how long they had worked. After the third time Wu Ying suggested they stop and Ru Ping’s strenuously objected, he gave up.
“Will you be able to keep up?” Li Yao said.
“Ru Ping said the expedition will be going slower,” Wu Ying replied as he got his breakfast. He made a face as he ran a tongue along his teeth, debating between pulling out his horsehair toothbrush before breakfast or after. As his stomach rumbled, Wu Ying discarded the idea and focused instead on sating his hunger.