In the morning of the Howling Blossom Valley, the air was thick with steam and spores and a scent like flowing nectar. The expedition and I stood in a clearing at the base of a cliff so tall the peak was shrouded in mists, and where the opening tunnel had once gaped, we could now see only blank and ugly stone.

  “I didn’t really think the exit would vanish like that,” Ran Yaliu said as she placed her hand against the rock.

  “It’s in all the stories,” Ran Cong said.

  “Not all the stories are true,” Shen Tongtong said, though she glanced at me as though I might contradict her.

  Others followed her gaze, and I took it as my cue to address the group again.

  “As we can all see, there is no exit. We are stuck here for nine days, and if we cannot return to this point in nine days, then we are stuck here forever. We need to rely on each other in order to survive, and I will be relying on all of you, for you possess skills I do not, and you were raised on stories of the valley that may contain clues no research could ever reveal. I know you all have your own goals when it comes to this expedition, and I will not stand in the way of those goals; however, before we progress any further or part ways, I want to say thank you.”

  I punctuated this statement with a deep bow toward all eight of the assembled cultivators.

  “You followed my instructions, and you worked together despite your differences to ensure the attendants reached safety. It would have been easier for all of us to make the dash ourselves, and now we are in an imperial forbidden zone with depleted qi, but I thank you for doing the right thing.”

  I looked at their expressions one by one as I straightened up. They all seemed a little stunned; perhaps they didn’t expect me to address them like this after my earlier display with Shen Tongtong, but even if we had our differences, I truly wanted us all to be allies rather than friends.

  Maybe it was just the drip of water as I exited the tunnel, but something deep down was telling me to make the most of things and have a good day. This might be dangerous, and we must plan for the worst, but that doesn’t mean we couldn’t hope for the best.

  “Alright,” I said with a clap of my hands. “Some of you mentioned your goals as we were climbing the Stone Cicada Trail, but now that we’re here, I’d like to lay it all out. What do you wish to accomplish, and how can I help?”

  The three groups that had naturally formed, the Ran Clan, the Shen Clan, and the unaffiliated Chen Ai and Song Shuai, all glanced at each other before Song Shuai stepped forward.

  “I’ll go first,” he said with a cocky swagger. “I seek enlightenment. If I can gain insight, then I can make the progression to Foundation Establishment, and I can see no better way than entering an Imperial Forbidden Zone.”

  “Will you be happy helping others with their goals?”

  “So long as I can test myself against danger, I am happy.”

  He was sincere, and once more I was reminded of how truly insane cultivators were.

  I nodded at him and turned to the Clans.

  Ran Cong stepped forward. Despite his young age, he was clearly the leader of that group. Ran Yaliu remained crouched beside Ran Qin, who was slowly regaining consciousness. I made a mental note to privately thank the musician for the effort she put into performing her song.

  “There are numerous botanicals that can only be obtained in this valley. The Ran storehouses have run low or run out years ago, and I plan on gaining enough samples that we can grow them in our own gardens. My list is tiered by priority, and I will need all available time to successfully harvest what I seek.”

  Even now, he looked past me and at the lush flowers and ferns surrounding the clearing with an itching anticipation.

  “You will be working with Ran Yaliu and Ran Qi?” I asked.

  He nodded.

  “Of course, they are only here to serve me.”

  “If I’m being honest, I don’t trust your judgement.”

  He bristled at my words, and for a moment I thought he might challenge me, but that infamous Ran friendliness surfaced in a smile as he gave me a polite bow.

  “You are correct, expedition leader. My poor judgment led to the landslide, which endangered the attendants; however, I learned from that lesson.”

  Shen Tongtong rolled her eyes, but she didn’t openly scoff, which was something. Cabbagy nudged me from under my arms.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  “Ask him what he learned, kid.”

  I nodded.

  “What did you learn, Ran Cong?”

  Once more, he looked caught off guard that I had called him out in front of everyone.

  “All actions can have unforeseen consequences,” he said slowly. “And so decisive action is needed to prevent the need for contingencies.”

  I glanced down at Cabbagy, who did the best job of shrugging that someone could do without shoulders.

  “I want you to report to me every day,” I said, before turning to everyone else. “That goes for all of you. We’ll be splitting up to accomplish our goals, but constant communication is the only way we’ll survive in this place, and if you need resources or assistance, put your pride aside and ask. Nine people entered here, and I want nine people to leave. Alright, Shen?”

  Shen Tongtong bowed.

  “Expedition leader, we seek to restore the honor of the Shen.”

  “Tough task,” murmured Ran Yaliu, but she straightened at my frown.

  “What do you mean?” I asked Shen Tongtong.

  “One of our ancestors entered this place with a family heirloom; we wish to seek out that heirloom. Other than that, our goal is to assist you in your mission and leave this place alive.”

  I glanced at Shen Botao and the older Shen swordsman whose name I still didn’t know, unless he told me and I forgot… There was something wrong with him… but it slipped from my mind as I addressed Shen Botao.

  “Is that true?” I asked him.

  Though he still looked fatigued from his recent qi exhaustion and collapse, he clasped his hands in a martial salute and bowed.

  “Yes, expedition leader!”

  “Very well,” I said. “If that’s all…”

  Chen Ai coughed.

  “Yes, junior sister?” I asked with a smile.

  “There is spirit grass here that is calling to me. I will find it, but otherwise I have no goals, as you know.”

  I nodded.

  “Very well then,” I said. “We shall split into three groups. Chen Ai shall join the Ran, Song Shuai shall join the Shen, and I shall go off on my own. My own goal is to pick an Azure Tiger Blossom, but I wish to investigate the temple before I reach the flowerfields.”

  There were some mutterings at this announcement, but I wasn’t surprised or perturbed.

  Howling Blossom Valley was divided into four major sections.

  There was the initial jungle by the entrance point, which was filled with numerous plants and deadly creatures, and after traversing here, the path split to the east and to the west.

  To the east sat the ruins of an ancient temple, possibly linked to the remnant architecture of Sleeping Ruin Pass. To the west sat a deep lake with rare and exotic plants growing on the banks, and strange creatures swimming in the depths.

  To the north of these places, the valley narrowed and the paths converged into a wide field of blooming flowers of all colors and all scents as they clustered around the version of the Myriad Tree that grew at the end of this valley.

  Our paths would ultimately converge at that tree, but I wanted to investigate the temple alone, for I believed that it must contain the demonic facility that the guard told me about as she died.

  Even though I trusted Chen Ai more and more every day, I didn’t want to bring her into a demonic facility, especially since I didn’t know what revelations I might find.

  Everyone was looking at me with shock and surprise after I revealed that I would be heading out on my own, and I couldn’t help but grin.

  There’s a certain charm to being perceived as a madman, and it might be something I wanted to cultivate in the future.

  “Don’t worry,” I said. “I shall be safe enough on my own, and we’ll work together again once we reach the flower fields. Until then, we can meet at the path convergences, and Ran Yaliu or Song Shuai can serve as our correspondents with their movement techniques…”

  Everyone was still staring at me as though I were a ghost.

  “What?” I asked with a grin. “Is there something on my face?”

  “More like something on your head,” said Song Shuai with an uncharacteristic seriousness.

  I patted the top of my head and felt feathers. Everyone gasped and stepped back, their faces as pale as sun-bleached bone. There was a bird perched on my head. I poked it, and it pecked me.

  “Arrgh!”

  I quickly pulled my hand away.

  That hurt.

  My finger was gone. Blood pumped from my missing digit. Pain flared at the base of the wound, alternating hot and cold, as shock ran through my veins like poison. What… what did that?

  I looked up and saw a grey bird looking down at me. Blood dripped from a short, sharp beak. Grey feathers covered its body, except for a white belly and a black ribbon across its eyes like a mask. Those eyes…

  They weren’t just dark.

  They were the void.

  Endless.

  Depths within depths and within those depths something stirred…

  Stop looking!

  I tore my gaze away and saw that everyone else was kowtowing.

  “We greet the Butcher Bird!” said the old Shen swordsman with a voice that trembled on the edge of tears.

  The bird moved so fast I didn’t feel a thing or hear a wingbeat. It stood on top of the old Shen man’s head.

  “Why have you come here?” said the bird in a baritone so deep it shook my bones.

  “We’re here on an expedition,” I said. “I need to pick a flower and…”

  My vision split as the Butcher Bird pulled my eye out of my socket. It used just enough force to keep the nerves intact and allow me to see inside its gullet, before it crushed my eye with a swallow.

  Pain flashed through my head, and I staggered backwards with a groan.

  “I didn’t speak to you,” it said.

  I covered my gaping eye wound with my hand.

  “Technically, you didn’t address anyone specifically.”

  “Kid, shut the fuck up! That monster is in the Nascent Soul realm!”

  The Butcher Bird whipped its head towards Cabbagy. For a long, tense moment, the bird stared at my mentor. Cabbagy said nothing, acting for all the world like a cabbage in a field.

  Eventually, the Butcher Bird turned away.

  “Interesting,” said the Butcher Bird. “Nine people entered, so that rule still stands. All of you are in the Qi Condensing realm, so that rule still stands. You say you have nine days? Interesting. We shall see if that rule still stands. You are here now, so you are mine to do with as I please.”

  “Actually,” I said as I stopped the bleeding in my eye socket. “We have plans ?—”

  A tree branch extended out from my torso, punched through my back, and out through my shattered ribs. I probed it gently with disbelieving fingers. It happened so suddenly that I still thought I was standing on the ground when I felt wood grating against my spine. Blood dripped down to the forest floor like nectar from an overflowing flower.

  The Butcher Bird perched on the branch ahead of me, just out of my reach, and cocked its head as it inspected its handiwork.

  “Welcome to the Valley of Howling Blossoms,” it said. “You may scream now.”

  a scary meatcanyon voice. Caution, pretty gross and graphic animation if you're not familiar.

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