Picking Up Attributes In Martial World

The hill was only a few hundred metres away from Ye Jun, looking no different than an ordinary one. But he could feel an ominous aura radiating from it.

A strange wrongness settled in the atmosphere around the hill. That same thing had attracted all the Spiritual Beasts here, making them forget to even fight each other.

’I can’t go in there,’ he thought.

As much as he desired to find out what lay inside, there was no way he could get past such powerful creatures. Currently, their entire focus was on the hill, so he was safe.

But if he tried to enter, they might all jump on him together. Especially the two Tier 4 Spiritual Beasts who could snap him out of existence with a single stomp.

Ye Jun considered his next course of action. ’I can’t enter, so should I just wait here and see what they do next?’

Just then, the earth shook again but Ye Jun didn’t react as he guessed it was because of the two beasts fighting in the distance. But the company around him didn’t think the same.

Howls. Screeches. Hisses. Creepy laughter.

All kinds of sounds filled the Wildlands around him, giving him goosebumps as he lowered himself and looked around. All the Spiritual Beasts gathered had gone wild, their eyes shining in... excitement? Longing?

Ye Jun was surprised to see such raw emotions in them, as Spiritual Beasts before Tier 3 didn’t have proper sentience.

Even he was feeling his emotional side getting affected, which made him alert. ’I need to get out of here.’

Without any hesitation, he slowly began backing away so that the Spiritual Beasts didn’t notice him. On the other hand, the beasts began to rampage.

Once he was out of their range, Ye Jun quickly used his movement techniques to get away from that location as quickly as possible. The further he moved from it, the better he began to feel.

After a while, he stopped and looked back. ’It’s too suspicious. Maybe the sect can do something about it.’

Normally, it wouldn’t have made him this worried, as this was the cultivation world and weird things like these were common here. But the world’s end was coming, so he didn’t want to ignore such an anomaly.

Ye Jun tried to send the warning to Han Yuexin again, but the flute refused to work.

’Goddamnit!’

He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration and almost smashed the flute. But the fear of compensating for it made him silently put it back into the space ring.

He tried to calmly analyse the situation and thought, ’Maybe the village is also affected by it and that’s why they stopped paying the tribute.’

Ye Jun couldn’t feel the influence of that hill any longer, but it didn’t mean it couldn’t affect Greywood Village. It wasn’t far from this location, after all.

His heart sank as he decided to check it out. He had already advanced to the Eighth-Stage Qi Condensation Realm. It was more important now.

Thinking of that, he changed direction and ran towards the marks he had left behind initially. He wasn’t familiar with this area, so he had been leaving some marks behind to get back to the main track.

Fortunately, a towering structure stood in the distance to help him not lose his way. After a few minutes, he got back on his initial track and chose the northwest direction.

Before long, the forest began thinning until it completely disappeared and he began to see farm fields. There were also some areas used to grow herbs of various kinds.

He increased his pace as he could finally see a settlement in the distance. Loosely built stone walls came into his view, broken in many areas. The villagers patched them using boulders or wooden planks.

It made the wall look crude, but this was a small village. They couldn’t afford tall fortress-like walls like those of Bright Star City. But then again, they didn’t need it.

’They don’t have enough people for it anyway.’

Spiritual Beasts were attracted to the life force of humans. The greater the population, the greater the attraction. That’s why Bright Star City needed such fortification.

Especially since it also housed many cultivators who naturally had a higher life force.

On the other hand, villages like Greywood Village hardly had a population of more than five hundred. Only weaker Spiritual Beasts and monsters were interested in them, who were dealt with by the White Gale Pavilion.

’The crops are fine,’ Ye Jun noted. ’Herbs also look just fine. They are clearly well-tended, so it also means nothing happened to the villagers.’

He was really confused now. ’If no crisis fell upon them, then why did they stop paying the tribute? No way they’re stupid enough to side with the demonic sect.’

But then again, it was entirely possible. After all, the demonic sects didn’t need their permission. They could simply force them to join.

But that also gave him more questions.

’Why would they be interested in such a weak and small village? They aren’t stupid enough to antagonise White Gale Pavilion for a bunch of mundane humans.’

It made no sense.

’Whatever. I’ll just have to see it myself. Hopefully, they aren’t affected by that damned hill. I have a really bad feeling about it.’

Finally, he reached the entrance of the village where he found a middle-aged man standing guard. He wore leather armour, which showed faint signs of breaking. The signs of battle were clear on his uniform.

Ye Jun slowed down and stopped before him. The guard finally noticed him and narrowed his eyes. Upon seeing his uniform, he remained standing there for a few seconds before smiling.

He bowed before him and said, "Greetings, Honored One from the sect. Welcome to Greywood Village."

’He seems normal,’ Ye Jun thought, still feeling a bit weird. ’Maybe that hill is still affecting my feelings.’

He smiled at the guard and said, "Thanks. I came on a mission from the sect, so I hope I can meet your Village Head."

"Yes, please," the guard gestured inside. "Consider the village yours, Honored One. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t be living such a peaceful life. We are so grateful for everything the sect has done for us."

Ye Jun stared at him. He could see and feel that he was being honest. But then why was he still feeling so suspicious of him?

’If you really are grateful, then why haven’t you paid the tribute?’ Ye Jun wondered, as he nodded. "It is our duty to protect the weak. The Heavens gave us this strength. It’s not a gift, but a privilege, so we use it to protect others."

"Such noble words!" The guard exclaimed in joy. "We are eternally grateful, Honored One. Please, continue on and meet the Village Head."

Ye Jun nodded and went inside. Crossing the wall, he finally had a good view of the village.

The village was small, just as he had expected. Tightly packed stone houses lined the unpaved roads, their walls worn and uneven.

The roofs were a mix of clay tiles and dried thatch, some patched clumsily where time had eaten through them. Wooden stalls sat along the sides, a few still open with vendors selling produce and simple goods.

Children ran between them, weaving around the legs of adults who moved about their daily tasks without hurry. It was a completely ordinary sight.

Nothing suggested anything was wrong here.

And yet, Ye Jun couldn’t shake the unease settled deep in his chest. He scanned the faces around him, looking for something he couldn’t name.

All normal. But then why was he still feeling like something was off?

’That hill is probably still messing with me,’ he thought, exhaling slowly. ’Get it together.’

Still, he trusted his instincts, so even though the hill had messed with his feelings, he didn’t immediately lower his guard. He decided to treat the situation as high difficulty.

He made his way forward, keeping an eye on everyone. Others turned towards him and upon seeing the sect’s robes, they all smiled in delight and bowed towards him.

The vendors offered sweets and other stuff to him, but he politely refused them. Who knew what was mixed in that food?

As he was nearing the centre of the village, he noticed a well there. That wasn’t the odd part, but the three young men who sat there with eyes closed, deep in meditation.

’Interesting. The villagers are also producing cultivators!’ he smiled faintly. ’Unfortunately, they are probably in the Body Strengthening Realm, so they won’t give me any attributes.’

"Ah! Honored One! Please forgive me for being late."

The village head came running towards him, gasping for breath. He was an old man with grey hair and a grey beard and a hunched back, after all.