The Immortal Path Is Crowded

The sound of an intense fight came from behind. It was two high-level cultivators; you could feel it in every clash, in the pressure that expanded with each exchange. However, one side was gradually losing strength, like a tide pulling back. The roar made the ground vibrate beneath their feet.

Luo Wuji heard it and gritted his teeth in frustration. He hadn't been able to kill a mere brat, and that same brat had caused him more trouble than he cared to admit. Staying was no longer an option. If he lingered any longer, those who were exterminating the branch would notice his presence, and in his current state he didn't trust himself to finish off both that boy and the girl who still held talismans between her fingers.

He made his decision in that instant. With a single slash, his sword traced an invisible line charged with intent. It wasn't aimed at Wei Han, but at the girl hidden behind the tree.

Wei Han reacted immediately and stepped into the attack's path. Taking advantage of that brief moment, Luo Wuji blurred into a shadow and fled in the opposite direction. Before the foliage swallowed him completely, he dropped a line with an arrogant calm that didn't match his appearance:

"The next time we meet... it will be the last."

Wei Han gathered his qi, channeled it to the hilt, and poured his intent into the blade. With a precise cut he split the invisible line, but the impact shot through his arms to his shoulders like a violent jolt.

With a dull thud, he dropped to one knee. A thread of blood ran down the corner of his mouth, staining his already torn robe. He remained motionless, gaze fixed on the direction where that young man had disappeared, a hard-to-read emotion hidden deep in his eyes.

Sun Qingli ran toward him, nearly tripping over the roots.

"Senior Brother Wei!"

Wei Han pushed himself up with difficulty, bracing himself with one hand to keep his balance. With the other, he took a small white jade bottle from his storage ring. He uncapped it with his thumb, took out a blue pill streaked with fine silver veins, and swallowed it.

The effect was immediate. A coolness spread through his chest and sank down his meridians, slowly closing the superficial wounds and stopping the bleeding, until only thin red lines remained on the fabric.

Sun Qingli stayed by his side, still uneasy, clutching the talisman she hadn't gotten to use.

"Who was that young man?" she asked quietly. "He seemed to be wearing the robes of the Crimson Demon Sect's branch, but... how can someone our age be that terrifying in just a simple branch?"

Wei Han didn't answer right away. He closed his eyes for a moment and guided the pill's effect toward the most damaged areas, stabilizing his condition.

Only when she had calmed a little did he speak in his usual flat, distant tone:

"There's no point thinking about that now. When our senior brothers arrive, we will report what happened."

He paused briefly and looked back toward the forest.

"I'm sure we will meet him again... sooner or later."

Sun Qingli nodded silently, biting her lip as she followed his gaze toward the devastated area.

When the chaos finally settled, after what felt like half an incense stick's time, the others began to return.

The senior disciples came back almost unscathed; only a couple muttered quietly about having let their guard down against a dying enemy. At the front walked Xiong Li, with his usual broad smile, completely ignoring the long slash across his robe.

As they approached, the first to speak was Feng, from Soul Peak, frowning as he stared at the air.

"What happened here? I can feel strange fluctuations in my spiritual sense... and remnants of some soul technique."

Only then did the others truly pay attention to their surroundings. Everything around them had been reduced to fine dust; tree trunks were cut with precision, the earth torn up, and in the air two distinct sword intents still lingered, persistent, as if the fight hadn't quite ended. They couldn't help but be surprised.

Xiong Li's energetic voice broke the silence, addressing Wei Han:

"Little Wei! Did you run into some straggler who managed to escape? Someone at Foundation Establishment, perhaps?"

Sun Qingli stepped forward before he could answer, gesturing excitedly.

"It wasn't a straggler! He appeared out of nowhere! He looked about our age, but he fought Senior Brother Wei, and his sword intent was terrifying! If it weren't for my talismans, we wouldn't have held out!"

That surprised everyone. Although they hadn't seen the full extent of Wei Han's ability, what little they knew was enough to consider him a monster. That someone his own age and level could have put him in such a state was hard to believe.

Xiong Li opened his mouth to ask something else, but a cold voice descended from above.

Ling Chen was returning from his fight, descending slowly under the moonlight, wrapped in a sword aura so sharp the dust parted in his path.

He landed without a sound.

"I sensed something strange with my spiritual sense," he said calmly. "I perceived a light, sharp aura moving away at great speed. I followed it, but it vanished in a canyon."

Xiong Li looked at him, surprised.

"Even you lost him?"

Ling Chen nodded without changing his expression.

Then he turned his gaze toward Wei Han. Their eyes met in the middle of the devastated clearing. Neither spoke. The silence was brief, but heavy.

A gray-robed disciple, who was cleaning his sword, spoke up:

"If he really is a disciple of the Crimson Demon Sect, letting someone with that talent escape will be a problem."

Fang snorted, crossing his arms.

"I'm not going to lower myself to chase a brat out of fear of the future."

The other didn't answer and kept cleaning his blade.

Sun Qingli, who had been waiting for a moment, raised her hand somewhat timidly.

"Now that it's all over... how do we activate the transportation array to return to the sect?"

Everyone looked at her. A young man in a blue robe, leaning against a trunk with an axe still stained with blood, scratched the back of his neck before answering:

"Array? That was only for the surprise attack. We'll head back using one of Shadow Peak's flying puppets... it'll take about a week."