"We set out early tomorrow morning," Qian Renxue said. "Everyone get a good rest tonight. Once we enter the Holy Soul Mountain Range, we might not get a full night's sleep for days."
After the meeting broke up, everyone dispersed. As Su Chen walked out of the meeting room, Chen Hao caught up from behind, falling into step beside him.
"Strategist, is your hand really going to be okay?" Chen Hao asked in a hushed tone. "The Holy Soul Mountain Range isn't like the Clear Wind Valley; they say there are hundred-thousand-year soul beasts in there. Can you manage with just one and a half hands?"
Su Chen patted his shoulder with his left hand. "Relax. Even if I only had one hand, I'd still run faster than you."
Chen Hao curled his lip. "That's debatable. I'm fully recovered now."
Su Chen smiled, not pursuing the topic further. He returned to his room and gathered the essentials for tomorrow. Inside his storage soul tool, he packed two thick cold-weather coats, several packs of compressed rations, a canteen of water, medicinal supplies, a backup soul tool brace, three blank communication jade talismans, and a short blade—his long weapon had been shattered by falling debris during the explosion in the Clear Wind Valley, and he hadn't had the time to forge a new one, so the short blade would have to do for now.
After packing, he sat on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the night sky outside the window. The night in Tian Dou City was as quiet and peaceful as ever. In the distance, the rhythmic clacking of the night watchman's bamboo clapper echoed—slow and drawn out. His fingers unconsciously rubbed the stabilizing brace on his right arm; the bone fracture no longer hurt much, but a sharp pang still shot through it whenever he applied a bit of force.
He didn't know what they would encounter in the Holy Soul Mountain Range. But he knew that if they truly found another Void Cult base there, and if living experimental subjects were inside, they would have to face a choice—save the people first, or destroy the base first. Rescuing people required time, while destroying the base demanded combat power. It would be difficult to accomplish both.
He ran through every possible scenario in his mind, over and over again, until the night deepened, the clapper fell silent, and only the sound of the wind remained outside the window. Only then did he lie down and close his eyes. His thoughts were chaotic, but his body was simply too exhausted. He quickly sank into a deep, dreamless sleep.
——
Early the next morning, before the sky was fully bright, Su Chen awoke. After washing and dressing, he pushed open his door to find Chen Hao and Zhang Wan already waiting in the corridor. Chen Hao had changed into a dark brown combat suit, draped with a grayish-white windproof cloak. A newly forged short sword hung at his waist—the blacksmiths at the Spirit Hall branch had worked through the night to craft it for him. Though it couldn't compare to his original sword, it would suffice. Zhang Wan wore lighter attire: a dark blue short jacket paired with black trousers, her hair pulled back into a neat ponytail. Slung across her back was a palm-sized cloth pouch containing the materials and jade compasses needed for setting up arrays.
Qian Renxue walked up the stairs. She too had changed into attire suited for mountain travel: a white combat suit covered by a gray cloak, her long hair tightly bound with a silver hairpin. She held a rolled-up map in her hand. Seeing that all three were present, she gave a slight nod.
"Let's go. The carriage is waiting at the side gate."
The four exited the Spirit Hall branch through the side gate, where a plain black carriage was already waiting at the mouth of the alley. The driver was a taciturn, middle-aged man who merely nodded upon seeing Qian Renxue before hopping onto the carriage shaft and flicking the reins. The carriage navigated the empty streets of the early morning, turning west after passing through the city gates and speeding toward the Holy Soul Mountain Range.
It was nearly a full day's carriage ride from Tian Dou City to the entrance of the Holy Soul Mountain Range. The interior of the carriage wasn't particularly spacious, and the four of them sitting together felt a bit cramped, but no one complained. Chen Hao leaned against the carriage wall, resting with his eyes closed; Zhang Wan was leafing through a catalog of soul arrays; Qian Renxue had her eyes shut, her breathing steady—it was hard to tell if she was actually asleep. Su Chen lifted a corner of the window curtain, watching the scenery outside transition from plains to rolling hills, and then gradually into an unbroken stretch of mountain shadows. Farmlands grew scarcer, the woods denser, and the air took on the damp, earthy scent of moss and soil.
Around noon, the driver stopped the carriage at a roadside tea shed so everyone could stretch their legs and eat. The shed was rudimentary, boasting only a few rickety wooden tables and long benches. The proprietress, a woman in her sixties, briskly served them bowls of hot tea and a couple of scallion pancakes. The pancakes were pan-fried to a golden crisp, bursting with savory scallion flavor with every bite. Chen Hao devoured three and was still eyeing more, but sheepishly put down his chopsticks only after receiving a stern glare from Zhang Wan.
"Once we cross that mountain ahead, we'll enter the outer perimeter of the Holy Soul Mountain Range," Qian Renxue said, dipping her chopsticks into the tea to sketch a rough map on the tabletop. "The soul beasts on the outer perimeter are mostly under a thousand years old, so they aren't much of a threat. But once we push a hundred miles into the depths, ten-thousand-year soul beasts will become increasingly dense. We need to enter the outer perimeter and find a suitable campsite before nightfall, then push deeper at dawn tomorrow."
Su Chen took a sip of his tea. It was a coarse brew, slightly astringent, but swallowing it down piping hot felt comforting. He gazed at the distant mountain silhouettes. Under the midday sun, the peaks gleamed with a dark, bluish-black sheen, and a thin veil of clouds lingered above the mountainside, obscuring the view.
"Have there been any signs of Void Cult activity in the Holy Soul Mountain Range?" he asked.
"Yes," Qian Renxue replied. "Over the past six months, Soul Masters hunting on the outer perimeter have reported seeing strange black lights rising from the depths of the mountains on multiple occasions. Sometimes, a low rumbling reverberates out—like an earthquake, yet not quite. Those who went in to investigate either found nothing at all, or never came back out. Three months ago, an exploration team led by two Soul Sages ventured deep into the mountains. Fourteen days later, only one man returned. He was completely out of his mind, constantly muttering 'eyes... so many eyes.' His soul power had been utterly drained; he was reduced to an ordinary person."
A heavy silence fell over the table. Chen Hao swallowed his last bite of scallion pancake and cursed under his breath.
"Therefore, our objective is to locate the holding facility for the experimental subjects within the outer perimeter," Qian Renxue continued. "We will not penetrate the mountain core. If those twelve survivors are indeed being held in the Holy Soul Mountain Range, following the Void Cult's usual practices, their confinement site wouldn't be too far from the core experimental zone, but neither would it be placed in the most dangerous area. I theorize that if such a base exists, it should be situated in the transition zone between the outer perimeter and the deep interior—concealed enough, yet relatively safe."
Su Chen set down his teacup. "How large is this transition zone between the perimeter and the interior?"
"Approximately eighty miles east to west, and a hundred and twenty miles north to south. It's still a considerable area, but far smaller than the entire mountain range."
"Do we have any specific search targets?"
Qian Renxue retrieved a small, pale blue soul tool from her robes. It was no larger than a fingernail, entirely transparent, and sealed within it was a wisp of ever-shifting, fine silver thread.
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