The first month was complete hell. We started in the Blood Peak Cliffs, following some ancient map that looked like it was drawn by a drunk monkey. Every cave we entered was either filled with poisonous gas, carnivorous bats, or absolutely nothing. Liangyu's earth cultivation came in handy, sure, but mostly for getting us out of collapsed tunnels rather than finding any mystical pearls.
The second month took us to the Whispering Gorge. The name should've been a red flag. The place was crawling with Phantom Shadows. Nasty little spirits that mimicked your voice and led you in circles until you starved to death. We spent three days chasing our own voices before I figured out the trick was to stuff our ears with mud and follow Liangyu's earth sense instead.
We found nothing there either, except a severe case of tinnitus that lasted a whole week before we could manage to get hold of a Healing Cultivator.
By the third month, we'd developed a routine. Wake up, eat whatever horrible rations we'd packed, argue about which direction to go, explore caves that tried to kill us, find nothing, make camp, and repeat. The glamorous life of treasure hunters, ladies and gentlemen.
The Bone Desert nearly did us in during month four. No caves there, but plenty of buried ruins. We spent weeks digging through sand that felt like it was alive, constantly shifting and trying to bury us. Liangyu's earth powers did help though.
Month five brought us to the Abyss of Wailing Cries. Yeah, real subtle naming in this world. The caves there actually did scream when you entered them. Something about the wind patterns and crystalline formations, but it sounded like a hundred dying banshees. We lasted exactly four hours before we decided to speedrun the whole thing and found no pearl.
Month six was when things started getting interesting. We'd made our way to the Frozen Mist Peaks, following a rumor from some half-drunk merchant about a "pink glow" seen deep in the mountain's belly. The caves here were different. With symbols carved into the walls that neither of us could read.
"These markings," Liangyu said, running his fingers along the carved stone. "They feel... ancient. Like, older than the Academy ancient."
"Can you sense anything with your earth cultivation?" I asked.
He closed his eyes and pressed his palms against the cave wall. After a moment, his eyes snapped open. "There's something deeper. Much deeper. And it's... warm."
You're damn right he felt something deeper and warm. About time, bitches.
We followed the tunnel system for days, deeper than we'd ever gone before. There was definitely a faint pink glow emanating from somewhere ahead.
The tunnel opened into a massive cavern. And there, floating in the center of a natural stone pedestal, was the Spirit Devouring Pearl.
"Holy shit," I whispered. "We actually found it."
"After seven months of eating dirt and dodging death traps," Liangyu said, grinning. "We actually found the fucking thing."
You might think the pearl was protected by some kind of booby traps or whatever, but there were none. I was quite surprised to be honest but then again, why would I complain after the torture we went through for almost seven months for that glowing pink ball of sucking powers.
We dragged our exhausted souls back to Tianlan Academy, where a sea of masters were waiting. Liangyu was soaking in the thunderous applause, his face glowing with a flush so deep I couldn't tell where the pride ended and his sunburn began. Receiving a standing ovation from Tianlan's elite? That's the kind of high you don't come down from.
"Finally, we have a chance of taking him down!" one of them shouted.
"Years of hard work and it finally paid off!" screamed another.
Master Juechen stepped up quietly, smiling. "You did good," he said.
And listen, those three words? That was a big deal. In all our years of training, he'd only ever said that once before, back when we were snot nosed kids in grade school. For a second, it felt like we'd actually won.
Then the Master of the Blue Moon Sect walked over. He gave us a heavy, congratulatory pat on the back, his mouth opening to offer some praise.
His head slid off his shoulders before the first word came out.
I thought I was hallucinating. I had to be. But the fountain of red spraying from his neck was too warm, and the sound of his body hitting the dirt was too heavy.
A voice drifted from behind me, "I could hear your applause from miles away. A little too early to celebrate, don't you think?"
I turned and there he was. Longwei, perched on the edge of a rooftop, bathed in the afternoon sun like it was his personal spotlight.
'How?!' I thought. 'How did he cross the courtyard, decapitate a Sect Master, and retreat to a roof before a single one of us could even blink?!!'
In an instant, all the masters dropped into fighting stances. Master Juechen clutched the pearl.
Longwei just strolled off the roof and walked toward us, looking like a man out for a morning walk.
I never imagined I'd freeze at the sight of anyone, but there I was, standing like a fucking statue and my heart was pounding.
By the time he reached the center of the group, it was over. Every master in the vicinity, aside from me, Liangyu, and Master Juechen, was on the ground. Their legs had been severed in a single clean slice.
The screams started a second later.
The courtyard was filled with groans of agony, but Master Juechen didn't hesitate. He activated the pearl, aiming to drain Longwei's qi.
It took exactly five seconds before the pearl couldn't contain the qi anymore and shattered into a thousand shards.
Longwei just smiled. He looked at the legendary Master Juechen, a man feared by nations, and slapped him. It wasn't a killing blow, though. Just a casual, backhanded insult. He chose to mutilate everyone else, but for Master Juechen, he chose total disrespect.
Through the red haze of shock, I saw Liangyu freeze, pretending he hadn't seen the humiliation of our master. I couldn't help it. My body moved before my brain could even process what was happening. I was in range, so I wound up and tried to bury a punch into Longwei's stomach.
I hit a fucking rock!
He let me land that punch.
He just leaned in, his face inches from mine, wearing that same infuriating, effortless smile. "This little relic hunting picnic you boys went on?" he whispered. "Try it again. I dare you. Or, here's an idea: just give up. Let me live in peace, and I'll let you do the same. Win-win."
Then, he was gone. There wasn't a jump, a flash or atleast even a blur! Just a hole in the air in front of me where a god used to be.
The shit I witnessed that day, let me just tell you, if being overpowered was a physical manifestation, it was him.
It left me shook for hours and that was only the first time I had crossed paths with him.