As we walked out of Mortal City, the feeling that I got from Brother Wen was one of indifference. He didn’t feel like a guard that was sent to safeguard my life. He felt like someone who wouldn’t care if I lived or died.


    On the other hand, Mao just seemed excited, like the day he had been waiting his whole life for had finally arrived.


    This combination left me unnerved, but that was fine. If they decided to attack me for some reason, I was prepared. I didn’t know how strong Wen was, but I believed I could hold my own. And anyway, if I couldn’t, it just meant returning to try and fix everyone’s problems earlier than I expected.


    <hr>


    The walk to the base of Dragon Peak was calm and relaxing. It had been a long time since I had been outside in nature, and even though I was wary of my travel companions, I still took the time to enjoy the walk.


    Near the mountain, the terrain became somewhat hilly, but the entire area was a wide-open grassland. I could see scattered temperate forests on the mountain itself, but out here, a few miles away, there were only rolling fields of green grass.


    While we didn’t rush, we did maintain a steady pace along the dirt road leading to the mountain’s base. Having left the city, we were no longer under the protection of the sect, and anyone could strike at us at any time. I wasn’t too worried since I doubted many would hang around this close to the city walls, but with the threat of the unknown lurking behind the surrounding hills and the danger of being betrayed by my companions, I didn’t allow myself to relax too much.


    About half an hour after leaving the city, we came upon a three-way fork in the road. There was a trail marker explaining things, but Wen didn’t even look at it. He immediately took the rightmost path and urged us forward.


    I didn’t stop to study the marker closely, but I did see that the paths were labeled the ‘Path of Body,’ the ‘Path of Mind,’ and the ‘Path of Soul.’ Wen guided us down the Path of Soul.


    If the Association had been studying me, they would have seen my combat training, limited though it was. They also knew that I was proficient in both alchemy and formations. Were we going down this path because it was seen as my weakness? I had never cultivated my soul, but at this point, it had to be strong enough to withstand a test intended for some run-of-the-mill Grandmaster.


    While I had my guesses as to his motive, I wanted to sate my curiosity.


    “Brother Wen, why did you choose this path?”


    He grunted at me. “It’s the easiest.”


    That didn’t sound true at all, but I let it slide.


    We continued walking along the trail until we reached a point where two stone plinths slightly taller than the top of my head stood on either side of the trail. They formed a type of gateway to the area beyond. Wen spoke up to explain the situation.


    “Once we pass that line, the test will begin. You will feel a heavy pressure on your soul that will make it difficult to continue walking. There are several of these markers along the trail. Each time we pass one, the pressure will increase. That’s all we have to do on this path, just bear with a little pressure. After about a day, we should arrive in Yellow City.”


    I doubted it would be so easy, but I decided not to question his claim directly. Instead, I wanted to know more about a few other details.


    “What if we go around the markers instead of following the trail?”


    “Won’t work. There’s a shield that stops you. That shield will also prevent you from going back after you pass through the markers. You can go off the trail to forage for food and water, but if you want to leave the path completely, the only way is forward, through the next set of markers.”


    “Do we need to worry about being attacked?”


    I noticed Wen’s hand twitch at this question, but it was only an involuntary reflex.


    “Maybe. There are no beasts to attack us on this path, but cultivators who don’t feel they can proceed past the next checkpoint will wait to let their souls grow under the pressure from the path. They may decide to attack, so we should be careful.”


    Finally, I asked the question that truly interested me. “How do you know all this? I tried to research the path to Yellow City a few times, but I could never get any solid information about it. I was convinced the sect was suppressing people from talking about it. How were you able to learn so much?”


    He opened his mouth to speak but closed it again without saying anything. After a bit more thinking, he grunted. “There are benefits to working for a large organization instead of being a rogue cultivator.”


    I thought about asking more, but Wen stopped me.


    “Let’s move.”


    He did not put action to his words though. He waited for Mao and me to pass through the markers first. Deciding to follow his strategy, I looked at Mao, suggesting that he go first.


    Mao just laughed and walked forward.


    When he passed the barrier, it was like a massive weight slammed down on him. He fell to his knees groaning in pain. I paid close attention to his behavior and mannerisms, trying to understand how the soul pressure was making him act.


    A few moments later, he shakily stood and nodded for me to follow.


    When I passed the markers, I immediately fell to my knees and let out a moan, doing my best to mimic Mao’s reaction. I felt a slight pressure in my head like I was about to have a headache, but nothing that would cause me to behave anywhere closer to as dramatically as Mao had acted.


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    Still, I did my best to mimic his reaction and shakily stood. Then, I looked at Wen who smoothly followed us and showed no reaction to the path’s effects.


    We continued down the path at a slightly slower pace. Under the path’s pressure, Mao couldn’t keep walking at the same speed he had previously, and I slowed down to match him. After two hours of slowly plodding along, we found the second set of marker stones. Wen stopped us before we could cross them. He reached into his storage bag and pulled out two pills, handing one to each of us.


    “Take these, they’ll temporarily strengthen your soul, making it easier to continue forward. If you cross first, you might get knocked unconscious.”


    Mao grabbed a pill and swallowed it without a thought. Within seconds, a grin returned to his face.


    “That’s some great stuff. Wish you had given it to us earlier.”


    He nearly danced past the markers and only showed a slight wince at the increased pressure on the other side.


    I studied the pill in my hand, trying to analyze it. I was completely unfamiliar with its ingredients. It had an odd combination of wind and thunder energies mixed with a small amount of light and dark. I had no idea what this pill was or how it worked.


    I considered upgrading my pill analysis ability, but this wasn’t the time. I could worry about studying it later. With Wen staring at me, I needed to hurry and consume it.


    I raised it to my lips, and the moment right before I released it into my mouth, I shoved it into my storage space and replaced it with a basic Rank 3 healing pill that was a similar shade of dark green.


    Judging by Mao’s reaction, the pill clearly had an effect on the soul, and there was no way I was going to consume such a thing without understanding exactly what it did first.


    When the pill entered my mouth, the tension in Wen’s shoulders relaxed.


    With my soul definitely strengthened from the pill, I crossed the marker line and showed the same slight wince that Mao had. Wen followed after us and again showed no reaction to the increased pressure.


    At the third set of marker stones, this same pantomime repeated itself. I was given a pill, I studied it, pocketed it in my storage space, and ate a healing pill.


    At the fourth set of markers, I didn’t bother studying the pill anymore. I just quickly ‘consumed’ it.


    While the soul pressure was beginning to build, and I was starting to feel it, I was thankfully not hindered by it in any way. This let me continue my show of easy compliance up until we reached the fifth set of marker stones.


    As we approached, I noticed a tension settle over Wen’s shoulders once more.


    He handed me a pill, and I quickly ‘swallowed’ it for him to see. Then, passed through the marker stones once more.


    As Wen passed through the stones, he let out a hearty chuckle.


    “Damn, you alchemists are so annoying. Do you know that? Suspicious of anything you’re given, but once you’re convinced you know what it is, you swallow it down without question.”


    I raised my eyebrow as he continued to rant.


    “I got in a lot of trouble with the boss over you. Letting a skilled alchemist slip through the cracks. He wasn’t too happy about that. Not at all. Not my fault you’re an idiot who went to the Earth Peak for some damn reason. Can’t believe I’m forced to ascend because of you. Should have been able to just shove that damn pill down your throat on the Fire Peak like normal. At least I got a promotion out of it, so I’ll have to thank you.”


    He gave me a mock bow to conclude his little soliloquy.


    I had no idea what he thought was going on. Those pills must have had some additional effect, but without spending time studying them, I had no clue what it could be.


    “Care to explain?” He was being nice and forthcoming about his plans, so I was willing to let him just tell me anything I needed to know.


    Mao started laughing. “Master Wen, let me, please. This fool has no idea what’s going to happen to him.”


    Wen gestured magnanimously to Brother Mao who gave me a mocking glare.


    “You think I’m some idiot. Someone willing to be your pet slave for a pittance while you sell mountains of pills, right?” He laughed crazily. “That’s why I contacted Master Pang. He doesn’t like alchies ruining his business. Now, you are going to be nothing but his slave, and I will be rewarded handsomely for helping capture you.”


    His words made it sound like he was burning with resentment and anger, but all I sensed from the man was naked greed. I had known Mao was a bit greedy, but I didn’t expect it to push him this far. I would need to be more sensitive to this in the future.


    I turned to Wen.


    “Are you serious? You’re going to reward him for this? That seems like a strange business decision.”


    Mao laughed. “What do you know about business? You—”


    His words immediately cut off as Wen flicked his hand and an invisible blade of wind slashed out at Mao. Completely unprepared, Mao could only gape in horror as the blade sliced through his neck.


    I nodded at the scene then looked back to Wen.


    “That makes more sense. I’m confused though. How, exactly, am I your slave now? I mean, I get that you can attack me. You might even be able to easily kill me, but how does that make me a slave?”


    Wen grinned. “Not familiar with wind cultivators, I see. Not a surprise. The civilized regions don’t appreciate us too much. The Nine Rivers Sect is one of the few places on this damn continent where we can freely practice our craft.”


    I cocked my head to the side. I remembered thinking about the profession connected to wind cultivators in the past, but I had never heard anything about it. Even in the Yellow Orchid Academy, they had wind techniques, but there wasn’t a library dedicated to its elusive profession.


    “And what craft is that?”


    Wen, believing I was completely under his control, was more than happy to monologue.


    He reached into his storage bag and pulled something out. It took me a long moment to understand what I was looking at.


    “A centipede?”


    “A gu worm. This is a soul gu. After it enters your body, it crawls its way into your very soul. As a Gu Grandmaster, it is under my complete control. If you don’t follow my commands, it will release a potent toxin that will cause you unbearable agony until you comply.”


    “I see. So, this insect, this ‘gu,’ is under your control. You tell it to hurt me, and it does?”


    Wen smirked in confirmation.


    “And… you want me to put that thing inside my body… I don’t think I will do that.”


    “Don’t worry, that’s already been taken care of. You were kind enough to not only willingly consume several Soul Numbing Pills, but you also swallowed the egg of a soul gu. Your assistance is no longer required.”


    “I see. Well, that is unfortunate.”


    My calm reaction was beginning to make Wen slightly nervous. I needed to act.


    I reached into my storage space and made several potent exploding formations appear directly in my right hand. I charged and threw them at Wen in a single fluid motion.


    He was surprised, but not completely.


    He was a trained Grandmaster combatant, and I had no experience fighting against someone with his element. I needed to take him out before he could respond. I couldn’t allow him to do anything that would affect my soul.


    Following up the formations, I took out half a dozen Rank 4 exploding pills and threw them.


    Then, I pulled out a shielding formation to protect myself from the blast.


    A firestorm erupted only a few meters in front of me. When it cleared, I saw Wen lying on the ground.


    He might have been dead, but I wasn’t willing to take any chances.


    I threw out a formation that had a Rank 3 metal attack technique inscribed into it.


    Metal qi burst out and stabbed Wen in the heart.


    Now confident of my opponent’s death, I quickly looked for his storage bag, but it was destroyed in the bombardment.


    I didn’t want to stick around in case anyone else was nearby, so I ran off the path and into the forests that comprised the area past the fifth set of marker stones.