It was now night.

  Within the mansion, Ying Shi had gathered the party around the round table, the guards included. Baiyun noticed Mohei fidgeting nervously, so he gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

  "We have gathered here today to detail our pns for the uping hunt." Ying Shi said.

  The disciples straightened up, a few nodding.

  Ying Shi reached into his bag and pulled out an enormous map taller than he was. He plopped it onto the table and rolled it ft, draping the ey of the table as if it were a tablecloth. It was a truly expansive map, showing the local region i detail. Even the massive WanLing main district was merely the size of a die on it, tred right in the midst of the map.

  Baiyun narrowed his eyes. This was a rare opportunity!

  He began to look ily at every detail, his eyes flig bad forth as he attempted to memorise every miail of it. His hands clutched the table as if he wao crush it, his eyes practically bzing. Mohei gave Baiyun a weirded out look.

  Meanwhile, Ying Shi took out a small figure with a rounded base, depig a faceless emperor of sorts. He pced it on a se of odd-looking forest on the map.

  "It is that time of the year again, so I'm sure most of us know where we'll be hunting. But for the sake of our newers. I shall expin regardless." he said.

  Ying Shi took out a piece of paper depig a sketch of sorts.

  It was a sketch of a dense forest of woody tree pnts, with many trunks that reached high above. Each trunk erfectly smooth, their tips ending with crooked branches arched like bird cws. Every ced a cluster of greenery, a co of dense leaves that bore a strange resembo cabbages.

  Further down, the roots of the forest were depicted as well. They were garbled and strange, full of openings that blossomed into narrow underground chambers, stuffed full of tiipedes and egg chambers.

  A human figure was drawn beside the forest for parison, but it was hardly bigger than the tipedes.

  Mohei stood up and smmed his hands oable, dismay etched onto his face.

  "Ehhh? We are hunting giaipedes?"

  Ying Shi harrumphed and poiowards the door.

  "You are free to leave if it bothers you," he said coldly.

  "What?" Mohei sounded offended. "I-I'm not scared of some dumb bugs! I'll fight them!"

  "Then don't waste our time."

  Ying Shi moved on and expio them the specifics of the expedition in excruciatiail.

  The Thousand Veils Twisted Forest was a stra that lived in symbiosis with Horned tipedes. It would create huge stretches of ing chambers with its roots, as well as provide them with a certain amount of precious Lifesap. In exge, the tipedes would protect the tree with their lives.

  There were a few types of tipedes present in the worth noting.

  Worker tipedes were the most numerous aypically at low level Qi Gathering (2).

  Gatekeeper tipedes, extra rge is which served to block off the entrance of the , each at low Foundational (3).

  Warrior tipedes were in charge of defending the and could cultivate. In this , most of them were at low Core Shaping (4). There was also a group of about 10-20 Elite Warriors, each at the peak of Core Shaping.

  And finally, the queeipede herself, a mighty spirit beast at the Soul (5) level.

  Baiyun nearly choked. This party of mostly Qi Gathering children was raiding a pce that dangerous? He had been expeg a dying spirit forest filled with mostly Qi Gatheris, perhaps a few Foundational beasts at worst!

  Ying Shi tio eborate.

  Every year when autumn approached, the strange cabbagey leaf cos of the Twisted Forest would blossom. Dandelion-like seeds would burst out with tipede queen rvae ging to them, flying into the distan search of erritory.

  But before this grand annual event, the queeipede would be forced into overdrive to produce royal eggs.

  The queen was incredibly powerful. But she would be defenceless during this period, forced to recall almost all the tipede warriors of the into her brooding chambers to protect her.

  "This is the best time to strike." Ying Shi said. "We will attad lure the workers out. Then ohe coast is clear, we rush into the and pilge the Lifesap for ourselves."

  So the queen and the warriors would be rgely out of the equation. That expined why they dared to raid such a dangerous area, but Baiyun was still troubled. This was still the den of a Soul beast after all.

  Mohei seemed uneasy as well.

  "Ying Shi!" he stammered. "Are you sure this is safe?"

  "I uand your s." Ying Shi said. "But we've successfully raided this 3 times without issue. We also have a Soul Elder apanying us for safety. That said, not once has he found the o take a personally. Elder sister Yingtao will apany us as well, and she is a Peak Core Shaper."

  "But..." Mohei said.

  "You choose to leave if you please." Ying Shi crossed his arms.

  Sanguang sneered from opposite the table and Mohei smmed his hands onto the table angrily.

  "I'm not leaving!"

  Goaded into that so easily...

  "And you, Baiyun. What will be your decision?" Ying Shi asked.

  Baiyun frowned as he thought hard about it. It seemed their fidence came from their past successful expeditions, but he worried they had grown pt, even if a Soul elder was guarding them.

  Still... this was an excuse for him to get out of the sect. He would no longer be strained by the surveilnce of the spirits and could freely use Divine Seside! Many more options would open for him.

  If it came down to it, perhaps he could find an opportunity to flee and live outside as a rogue cultivator. Heh. That was quite the iing thought. But for a brief moment, he remembered the light spirit. How would she react if he suddenly disappeared?

  ...

  Baiyun didn't know how he felt about that. He decided he would figure that out aime, when he wasn't being surrounded by disciples waiting for his answer.

  "I'll join," he said, holding back a sigh.

  Ying Shi nodded, satisfied. He tihe meeting for several more minutes before cluding it, saying he disliked draggiings on needlessly. In that time, he detailed his pn and assigned each disciple their role.

  It was te, so the disciples headed off to the guest rooms to sleep, preparing for the long day ahead.

  Baiyun was about to leave as well when he saw Mohei slumped oable listlessly. He walked over and spped him on the back.

  "What's wrong?"

  Mohei looked at him with watery eyes.

  "Ying Shi gave everyone a role, even you... But I'm the only one he didn't tell to do anything..." he said. "He's only bringing me along because of you, isn't he?"

  "Ah."

  Baiyued a little. Was it a mistake for him to ask Ying Shi to take Mohei ihought food moment to himself, befrabbing Mohei's hand.

  "e. I'll show you something!"

  "Eh? Where are you taking me?" Mohei said in arm.

  Baiyun rushed to the front door with him in tow a, the door shutting behind him. The only o in the main room was Qinghe, who watched as Baiyun dragged Mohei out.

  The night air was calm, tless stars dotting the cloudless skies.

  On the maal poles, the paper nterns were now lit, fireflies and moths swarming around their gentle light. Crickets chirped from the grass around them and moonlight shone upon the massive ke, refleg the surrounding trees like a giant mirror.

  At the training grounds, Mohei looked around curiously.

  "What did you take me here for?"

  "Mohei. Since Ying Shi doesn't think much of your fire skills, let's think of some ways they be useful in the hunt!" Baiyun said.

  "Eh? It won't be that easy, right? Since we 't damage prey, and we don't want to set the big tipede tree on fire..."

  "Maybe. But all you need is to be a little more creative."

  As they discussed, Mohei's eyes lit up. Half an hour had passed before they k.

  "Baiyun, you have such amazing ideas! I'm going to shock everyoomorrow, hehe!"

  Baiyun ughed silently to himself as the boy ran off excitedly, ready to practise his moves. If not for his identity, he would have given Mohei proper coag to improve his fire trol, but for now, a few novel ideas would do.

  As for he himself... he still needed more practice.

  Baiyun took a bow from the on racks and filled a quiver with steel-tipped arrows. He notched an arrow into his boulled the string taut.

  Twack!

  Arrow after arrow struck the very same tree. He might have missed plenty of shots today, but tomorrow, he had no iion of missing another shot.

  Many hours passed, the periodic sound of wood being struck eg.

  The m sun slowly rose, the light of dawn refleg off the droplets of sweat on Baiyun's face.

  He reached for another arrow, but paused, hearing the faint sound of sturdy footsteps from behind.

  "Baiyun. Did you not rest st night?" Ying Shi asked. "Your room was untouched."

  He gazed at the tree used as a target. A small se was riddled with holes and practically smashed into a crater, but the rest of its wood remained pristine. Ying Shi ripped an arrow out from the tree, before toug the crevice thoughtfully.

  "I ractising all night." Baiyun said.

  "It's good to be diligent. But do not sacrifice your performan the hunt itself. I want you to be at your best ter."

  Baiyun nodded but did not take his words to heart. It would be a joke if someoh an old monster's soul succumbed to mental fatigue.

  It was then that he realised someone had e along with Ying Shi. Fei An's brother Jingfeng approached as well, running up to the tree.

  "Incredible. This tree is already on the verge of breakily how many arrows did you shoot st night?" he excimed. "But like master Ying Shi said, you o learn to rest well!"

  Baiyun sighed. Having to pretend he needed sleep was far more exhausting.

  "I don't usually push myself to this extent," he said. "It's an exception this time."

  "Ah... I 't bme you after yesterday." Jingfeng gave him a sympathetic look. "Sanguang thought you were bullying him, but I could tell what was really going on. The truth is, you were nervous because so many people were watg you, weren't you? I get it! The pressure of expectation is crushing!"

  Oh? The expnation was off, but it made perfect sense.

  "Yeah, haha..."

  Baiyun decided to take Jingfeng's assumption as his cover story.

  Jingfeng seemed excited for whatever reason.

  "If you'd like, I coach you with the bow! I might not look like it, but I have had several years of practice with the bow! Though I admit as of te, I have been training with the sword more." Jingfeng said, thumping a hand to his ow.

  "Thanks. I'll be imposing on you then." Baiyun smiled awkwardly.

  "o be so formal! e, I will show you better form." he took the bow from Baiyun. "Your shots might be accurate, but..."

  Jiook the bow and an arrow from Baiyuered a straance as he drew the bow, before releasing. The arrow shot out with a swirl of wind, pierg into the tree with a long bang!

  Slowly, a faint crackle grew louder and louder. Until finally, the tree colpsed, sending a cloud of leaves fluttering into the air.

  "Your shots have no power behind them!" Jingfeng said. "e, I'll show you how to properly hold a bow!"

  Ying Shi shook his head. Why was everyoroying the trees in his property without permission? But it roblem he was already used to, so he decided there were bigger s.

  "Jingfeng. Did you not agree he needed rest?" Ying Shi asked.

  "Ah! It slipped my mind somehow! Sorry!"

  "Baiyun, I'll show you to the carriage shortly. You sleep there till we arrive at our destination." Ying Shi said. "Also, take this."

  Ying Shi reached into his ste ring and pulled out a glimmering bow of dark metal, passing it to Baiyun. It was strangely light despite its metalliposition.

  "I'll lend you this artefact bow. You should be able to pull your weight with this.

  Baiyun stared at it in a daze. He was ha so casually?

  The spending power of a rge certainly was quite something. With the ability to hand out artefacts like dy, it was no wohey had no worries raiding such a dangerous .

  "Thank you. I'll use it well!" Baiyun nodded in thanks.

  "Ah. Before I escort you to the carriage, give me one final demonstration. Shoot down this shield after I toss it into the air."

  Ying Shi took a shield out from his bag but Baiyun coughed.

  "Ahem! Let me practise a shot or two first!" he said.

  It would be a disaster if he missed because he wasn't used to the bow yet. He had no iion of repeating that embarrassing se from before. Ying Shi nodded. Baiyun wasn't sure if he imagi, but the slightest bit of a bemused smirk raised the edge of the boy's mouth, fading just as quickly.

  The metal of the bow was cold to the touch, harsh and lifeless uhe wooden bow he had used all night. As he slotted a wooden arrow in and drew the string, he couldn't help but notice how effortless it was. The tendon-like string had the shine of metal and resembled steel; yet when he pulled, it was as if he ulling a strand of silk.

  Baiyun could sense tless formations engraved on the hollow insides of the bow with Diviouch. It was an intricate piece of art, but unfortunately, not one he could appreciate the plexity of. After all, he knew o nothing about formations.

  He notched an arrow and aimed the bow at a tree. A tremendous power ehe arrow as he released it, its strength han a on!

  BANG!

  Baiyun stumbled from the recoil, nearly falling over from the sheer force. His arms trembled painfully, having taken the brunt of the impact.

  Several holes had been bsted into the tree, each rge enough to fit a head through. It was as if it had been under assault from a barrage of on balls.

  "Incredible..." Jingfeng gasped. "It duplicate arrows?"

  Ying Shi shook his head.

  "That is not the case. Baiyun, describe what happened." he said.

  Looking at his emotionless yet expet eyes, Baiyun sighed.

  "The arrow was uo hahe power of the bow and shattered the moment it left the bow. But each splitter was still strong enough to tear through the tree."

  "Excellent. It seemed I was right to entrust it to you." Ying Shi looked satisfied.

  He handed over three quivers of arrows to Baiyun. Two of them were filled with ordinary arrows, but the st quiver had 10 silver arrows and 5 bck arrows in it.

  "The silver and bck arrows hahe strength of the bow, but they are precious. Save them for crucial moments." Ying Shi said.

  Baiyun began to feel uneasy. They were mostly up against Qi Gatheriipedes, right? Was there a need for such firepower?

  LunaTheGhost