Once the moon reached its peak, everyone had settled down and turned in, allowing for the three of us to leave unnoticed after discussing our discoveries.
Brother Xiao had found out that it was the son of the Ice Witch that had died, which was the reason for the big event. She had declared that on the last and final day of the week of silence, if no mystical being would lay to claim her son, she would personally declare war and charge towards the Murim Alliance.
That in itself would be a problem. Our men would fall prey to the cold as we've already dispatched a few of the Great Clan's heads into war while the Demonic Cult has yet to send in any of theirs.
As for Sister Meihui, she had shared that there are rumors of the Heavenly Demon taking on apprentices. If such a thing were to be true, then if we act quickly enough, we may be able to eliminate the next line of possible Demon Kings.
Running through alleyways and leaping from roof to roof, the entirety of the Demonic Realm was filled with silence. No lights from torches, no sounds of laughter or talking, not even footsteps were heard.
"Brother Yu, do you think the Demonic Cult is hiding something? The people here seem to be obvious to any deeds of the cult, perhaps we should venture into the mountains to find the spirits or enter the Heavenly Demon's abode."
"Perhaps… Entering the Heavenly Demon's abode would be nothing than suicide. So our best choice is to simply wait out the week of silence and take action on the 6th night. If nothing happens, we shall return and report our findings to the elders."
Brother Xiao nods, holding his clutch to his sword even harder as we change directions, stealing some essential items as we delve into the mountains.
It was only after a few hours of running did we reach what seemed to be the peak of a mountain, flattened to inhabit life with ease as layers upon layers of walls of Ki fortified bamboo surrounded the peak.
"Brother Xiao, Sister Meihui, look to our left, there seems to be some sort of residence there."
The two nod as we silence our steps, approaching the house with caution as we look around. A well for water, outside patio to train and meditate, a wall of smaller cut down pieces of bamboo surrounding it acting as a defense.
"No one's here."
"That's good to hear. Let's take this place as our own for the next week."
As the two went in with their items, I chose to stay outside.
Bamboo fortified with Ki..? That can only mean this land is rich with Ki to train. Not even a sharp blade of an ax can cut these down… You'll need to cover your blade with your own Ki at a higher refinement.
Coming back out, Brother Xiao calls for me. "Brother Yu! The place is empty, come in and settle down for the night!"
"I'll be there in a bit, Brother Xiao!" Picking up my bags, I join the two in the home, taking a room of my own as I settle down.
Locking myself in my room as the other two go to sleep, I start to meditate, circulating my Ki.
The lower daitain, middle daitain, and upper daitain have all been open. The only problem that I'm facing before reaching the stage of peak mastery is understanding. Thanks to the Zodiac of the Monkey, my Qi reserves and techniques are beyond what most peak masters may even reach, but I have yet to unlock any form of enlightenment of my own due to being gifted.
But what exactly do I lack understanding of? Is it who I am? Or perhaps understanding of my techniques? Maybe it is the philosophy of the mind.
Hmm… I'll just meditate for now.
———
—————
Without warning, a loud crash came from the outer walls surrounding this house, jolting me free from my meditation as I rushed outside, finding myself faced to face with a chimera. A chicken's head, lion's body, eagle's talons and dragon's tail.
And not just one, but an entire pack.
Could they have been attracted to this place because it contains less refined Ki than the rest of the forest?
Still, they should be no problem.
And as if god were to spite me, before I could even swing my staff through them, the first chimera had butted me straight into the wall of our house, creating an open air design.
"Fucking hell… Perhaps I shouldn't assume everything is so easy."
Getting up from the pile of debris, I pick up my staff and lunge into the ground, vaulting with it as the air creates a nice breeze around me. Within a second or two, I had brought my staff down onto the chimera's head, only to find a small wound there rather than its brain matter.
"Jesus fucking crist… And I have to kill 6 of you?"
Dirt flew into the air as we clashed, their talons infused with Ki strong enough to leave scratches on my divine weapon. The smell of wet soil and iron fill the air as the two others join us outside, holding off the other five from joining our fight.
Needles tossed into its legs, paralyzing it for a blow, slamming down into the same spot over and over, finally cracking its head open and killing it, although not without trouble. Me and Brother Xiao sustained a few non fatal injuries here and there.
"Brother Yu, I don't think we can take out the other five…"
"Should I use the zodiac?"
"No… refrain from it. We're in demonic territory. It'll only draw more attention to us."
"Then do you believe we can outrun them?"
"Perhaps with Sister Meihui's poisons we can."
"Then-"
With a booming roar a dragon flew overhead, getting rid and scaring off the chimeras as it departed just as quickly as it appeared.
A dragon… That must mean the mystical creatures are going to make a move.
"Sister Meihui, Brother Xiao… Let us clean up the place and chop off the chimera's legs and head. We'll have chicken stew for breakfast."
"H- Huh? But this is a chimera."
"And we are eating chicken."
"But… It's a chimera."
"We're only eating the chicken."
Both Brother Xiao and Sister Meihui let out a sigh of defeat, getting to work as we clean up the place from our battle. Three master level martial artists were barely enough to take out a single chimera…
What if there's stronger creatures in this forest..? That would only mean I have to train as much as I can and take advantage of this environment.
"Brother Xiao, Sister Meihui, let us take turns meditating. We must grow as strong as we can while we're here."
And I must break through the master realm and enter that of a peak master, no, I must become that of a transcendent if I want to keep my promise with Sister Yue.
In seven days. It will only take me seven days here to reach the realm of transcendent.