The Iron-Web Gorge was an interconnecting scar on the earth.

  From the vantage point of Tekton’s head, Li Yu could see why it had earned its name and its reputation. The gorge wasn’t just a canyon; it was a labyrinth of jagged black stone that twisted deeper into the crust than sunlight could reach. Spanning the gaps between the cliffs were webs. Not the silky gossamer threads of normal spiders but thick grey cables that looked like rusted steel chains.

  But it wasn't just spiders. The air buzzed with the drone of armored beetles the size of boulders, multi-legged horrors skittered along the vertical walls and more. Dark clouds swirled above the entrance. It was heavy with lightning that refused to strike and seemed trapped by the strange magnetic anomalies of the area.

  "Smells like copper or some other metal," Li Yu muttered. "And rot."

  Tekton descended toward a plateau overlooking the gorge entrance. A ragged defensive line had been set up there. It was a collection of hastily erected earth walls and flickering array shields.

  As the massive centipede landed, the cultivators behind the walls flinched. They had their weapons rising in panic before they realized it wasn't an enemy.

  A man in heavy slate-grey armor walked out to meet them. He walked with a limp and his helmet was missing. The missing helmet revealed a face covered in grime and dried blood. He carried a massive two-handed sword that dragged in the dirt behind him.

  This was Sect Master Kong of the Mountain-Splitter Sect. He was the ranking officer of the surviving forces here. They were the remnants of the second team sent to reinforce the initial collapse.

  "You must be Li Yu," Kong said. He didn't bow or do any other formal gestures. He looked too tired for formalities. "Command said you were coming. I didn't expect you to bring a pet dreadnought and a fresh army. I thought none of the forces left over were unharmed."

  "Greetings," Li Yu said as he was hopping down. He gestured to the army disembarking behind him. "Status report on this area."

  Kong spat a glob of bloody saliva onto the ground. "Status is 'hell.' We have twelve hundred combat-capable troops left out of the three thousand that were stationed here yesterday. The beasts in the gorge... they aren't just attacking. They're hunting. They wait for us to push, then they collapse the webs on top of us."

  He pointed a gauntleted finger toward the dark maw of the gorge.

  "The Silver Sword Sect went in there four hours ago. Sect Master Yin... he wasn't entirely reckless. He sent some scouts. He probed the entrance. But the moment his main force committed, the beast density spiked tenfold. It was a lure. They drew him in five miles and then slammed the door."

  Kong let out a bitter laugh. "They've been encircled ever since. We can sense their energy but they're fading. The Golden Pagoda artifact they used to set up a perimeter is cracking."

  "Why haven't you pushed in to help?" Commander Lei asked.

  Kong looked at Lei like he was an idiot. "Because I'm not going to feed my last twelve hundred to the grinder to save a man who called us 'mud-legged peasants' before marching to his death. If we go in, we don't come out."

  Li Yu nodded at the response. He appreciated pragmatism. There was no reason to throw away their lives needlessly.

  "Fair enough," Li Yu said. "You guys stay here."

  He turned to his own commanders.

  "Set up a perimeter. Help Sect Master Kong reinforce these walls. Get the medics working on his wounded. Tekton will stay here as the guard so you shouldn’t need to worry. If the worse happens, flee with Tekton. I don’t like heros."

  "Commander?" Sect Master Zhou frowned. "You aren't taking the army?"

  "No," Li Yu said as he was looking at the tangled mess of webs filling the gorge. "That terrain is a nightmare for a large force. You'd get tangled up and picked off one by one. I move faster alone and more importantly I am confident that I can escape at the first signs of danger."

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  He sounded like a coward but not one there thought so. These were all people from small to middle size forces. Survival was more important than anything like honor or face.

  "Alone?" Patriarch Han gasped. "Into that? Commander, that is a bit reckless!"

  "It's efficient," Li Yu corrected. "If I get into trouble, I can run as I said. If I have to take over two thousand people with me, I can't."

  He patted Tekton’s leg. "Guard the house, big guy. Don't eat anyone unless they attack first."

  Tekton hissed an acknowledgment. He then curled his massive body around the perimeter of the camp which instantly doubled the defensive value of the position.

  Li Yu turned back to the gorge. He took a step forward and his figure blurred.

  To the onlookers, it looked like he used a movement technique to dash forward. In reality, he stepped sideways, slipping through the membrane of reality and into the First Void Layer.

  The world turned grey and silent. The roar of the wind and the hum of the webs vanished and was replaced by the muffled underwater sensation of the Void. It was a strange place but Li Yu was feeling more and more at home here.

  Li Yu walked through the air, hovering above the treacherous webs. In this layer, the physical obstacles were just ghostly outlines. He could see the beasts in this area. Thousands of them.

  It was a biodiversity of nightmares. Flying-Iron Spiders hung from the webs like gargoyles. Rock-Crusher Beetles with mandibles capable of snapping spirit swords swarmed the floor. Acid-Spitting Centipedes coiled around rock pillars and were dripping corrosive slime. And buzzing in the air were swarms of Needle-Mosquitoes, each the size of a dog.

  "Crowded," Li Yu muttered as he looked around.

  He tapped his necklace. "Ladies. I need your help."

  Two ethereal forms drifted out but were staying close to him in the Void. Si Luo and Bai Ruo looked around with distaste.

  "Ugly," Si Luo pronounced immediately. "No elegance at all."

  "Please go check the Second Layer," Li Yu asked. "I need to know if there's something else here or a mastermind hiding in the deeper spaces waiting to ambush me."

  "On it," Bai Ruo whispered. She grabbed Si Luo’s hand and the two of them faded further. They were slipping into the deeper and more turbulent currents of the Second Void Layer. Li Yu waited for their return. He was floating invisibly above a cluster of beetles that were currently trying to chew through a rock wall.

  A moment later, the ladies returned.

  "Clear," Bai Ruo reported. "The spatial stability here is terrible for some reason but there are no entities in the Second Layer. Just us. If they are in the third layer we would have no idea though. However, if they were in the third layer, we wouldn’t stand a chance anyways."

  "Good," Li Yu said. "Go back now. I have to finish this last mission and get a break for us."

  He dismissed them and continued deeper into the gorge. Five miles in the canyon widened into a subterranean amphitheater. This was the kill box. Li Yu hovered near the ceiling and was looking down. The Silver Sword Sect was making their last stand.

  They had retreated into a depression in the canyon floor. It was a natural bowl that offered some cover. Above them a shimmering golden dome flickered erratically. It was generated by a massive artifact, a Golden Pagoda. Sect Master Yin had planted it in the center of their formation.

  But the Pagoda was cracked and its power weakened. A spider-web fracture ran down its side and it was leaking spiritual energy.

  Outside the dome the ground was carpeted with beast corpses and human bodies in silver robes. The beasts were relentless. They pounded on the barrier, spat acid that hissed against the gold light and tried to dig underneath the perimeter.

  Inside the dome, it was a scene of desperation.

  Sect Master Yin stood near the Pagoda. His face was pale and sweating. His left shoulder was bandaged but blood seeped through the white cloth. He was pouring his own Soul Formation cultivation into the artifact to keep it running. It was the best thing he could do for himself and his group right now

  Around him the surviving disciples were huddling together and was a hive of activity. They were popping healing pills and bandaging wounds. They would go out in groups to try and fight some of the beasts back before retreating back inside the protective barrier. Every time the barrier flickered, a wave of terror washed over them.

  Li Yu watched them. He hovered in the grey mist of the void, invisible and untouchable. He looked at Sect Master Yin.

  ‘I could just wait,’ Li Yu thought. The thought was cold, precise and seductive.

  ‘The barrier will fail soon most likely. Yin is drained. He won't survive the rush. If he dies here, the Silver Sword Sect loses its head. They crumble. Their threats against me and the newly formed alliance goes away. No one would know. I could say I arrived too late and they were already dead. The beasts were too strong.’

  It was the smart play. It was the ruthless cultivator play. Yin was an enemy. He had threatened Li Yu. He had threatened others. In this world, leaving an enemy alive was usually considered a mistake. They could always come back and get you. Leaving behind loose ends was never ideal.

  Li Yu watched a Silver Sword disciple staring at the cracking barrier with tears streaming down his face. He saw an elder trying to comfort him, even though the elder’s hands were shaking as well. They saw the end nearing and no way to escape.