Cultivation System: Elder Edition

Chapter 471

Death (VIII)

"To the left!" a kid voiced out as I felt a shadow stir from that exact direction. Another pair came forth and managed to easily deflect and then destroy the figure, turning it into the pile of fading vapors.

"Dammit. Is there an end to them?"

I had no heart to give an honest answer to that question.

We were surrounded on all sides, and, in the depths of my heart, I began fearing there was no end to this. That there was no savior turtle waiting at the end, no light, just an endless stretch of darkness full of howling horrors that never end.

Fortunately, it wasn't all bad yet; the figures that attacked us were relatively weak, and though they blended in well into the shadow, I was always able to pick up on their approach just in time. Even some kids had tuned their senses finely enough that they were picking up on them from over a hundred yards away by now.

"Is anybody hurt?" I asked.

"No, Senior, we're all fine," Duo Xin said as we all gathered back around the flaming light. "But this is... really strange. It shouldn't be like this," she said, a complex array of emotions dancing on her face.

"Don't worry about it," I consoled with a smile. "We're all fine; we're progressing. The attackers don't seem to be that strong even if they are numerous. Do any of you need to rest?"

"No, Senior! We can go!"

We started moving right after, navigating the rather simple strips of the canyon. It wasn't much of a maze, in the end, since the gashes ran forward with visible splits--sometimes one path would split into two, but they'd all eventually merge back. I don't know exactly how many paths there were in the canyon, but the one we were one had split and merged at least four times by now.

It was some fifteen minutes later that we came across yet another one of those splits, almost instinctively choosing left as we had every other time. Just past the edge, I stopped and raised my hand; the kids immediately got into a formation, surrounding the weaker, younger ones as the spheres of light--six in total--got pushed out toward the edges of the formation.

The world fell eerily silent for a moment as we waited, my hand on the sword; the flicker of the shadow came from my left, and I immediately drew the blade out, cutting in one motion. The shadow dissipated like smoke, leaving behind a somewhat repugnant stench that didn't last for long.

At the same time, I heard arrays of attacks break out from behind me. Turning around, I saw that at least four more shadows were felled, but, for the first time, there was an injury--one of the boys had a gash on his chest and was immediately pulled back into the circle, another kid stepping out to hold the position.

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"Condense the formation a bit!" I called out and rushed into the circle, crouching by the kid and inspecting the wound. Luckily, it wasn't deep; I quickly washed it with some water and told them to keep an eye out on him before going back to my position.

The attack lasted for about a minute longer, totaling in twenty-two figures attacking. Luckily, save for that one kid, there were no other injuries.

... it was a worrying sign, however.

It was beginning to remind me of how it was in that damned Sunless Forest. While it started out okay, the deeper in we went, the worse it got; there were fewer and fewer moments of respite, the beasts got stronger and stronger, and we got more and more tired.

The setting, too, was eerily similar, with darkness enshrouding everything.

It was a different kind of darkness, as here Qi lights worked just fine, but it was darkness nonetheless.

The split path converged once again, and I decided to take a little break; it was the most spacious the entire canyon had been since we entered, and we needed to catch our breath a bit (metaphorically speaking, mostly).

Darkness gnawed away at the psyche as everyone had to be on a constant alert, and resting a bit while guarding in shifts would do us a lot of good in resetting.

"You should rest, too, Senior," Duo Xia said. "We've settled on the shifts already."

"I'm fine," I said, and I wasn't really lying. Though slightly anxious, I was far from tired and had stopped mostly for kids' sake.

... ah, how times have changed.

"Are you sure?"

"Why? Do I look that weak?"

"N-no, that's not what I meant, I--"

"Ha ha, relax, I'm kidding," I laughed merrily, letting loose the built-up anxiety through it the best I could. "Do you regret it? Deciding to take me?"

"... a bit," she replied with a wry smile. "But... it's an experience, that's for certain. We've come here precisely for that. If we survive and get to go back home... we might be awarded some truly rare beasts as gifts!"

"..." Yeah. These kids really are just stupid. To have decided to come along with a complete stranger...

... speaking of strangers, how the fuck is that guy still following us?!

Though their coverage had slipped a bit, and if kids weren't preoccupied with the figures coming from the shadows, they'd also been able to spot him, they were still... there. Somehow unbothered and, far more importantly, unnoticed by the figures.

How?! How was it that I could see them, but the figures could not? I had half the mind to break the little silent truce and ask but stayed silent. I still didn't even know what exactly the point of them being here even was. Were they a guardian? If so, they ought to have stepped out long before I'd dragged the kids here.

Were they here just as a passive observer? Sort of like a teacher with a notebook jotting down how kids were performing?

... that's just dark as shit.

Then again, is it really my place to judge? I've come here willingly, knowing it was kind of a death trap with all my kids, and I'm not even there to 'shadow' them like that guy was, at least.

Ah, dark thoughts go away. I've no room for you.

I stayed on the outskirts of our little improvised camp, listening. It really was deathly silent, especially as the kids quieted down and separated.

I felt a sudden jerk, like when your body tries to shiver to warm itself up, before my vision disappeared. Before my heart had a chance to stop at the sudden change, light--as well as shapes--came back into view. Right there, in front of me, standing taller than a goddamn skyscraper, was a face--aged, withered, sallow--and a pair of cosmic eyes that seemed beyond depthless.

"Are you the one who delivered death unto my realm?"

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