Vessel of Worlds

The voices reached Andy's ears before the people came into view.

"Senior Brother Wang, are we really heading straight there? Shouldn't we wait for the other brothers?" This was a young man with a noticeably sharp, high-pitched voice.

"No need." A deep voice, belonging to a middle-aged man. He paused, then continued: "Patriarch Wu's instructions were clear—we have at most half a month to assemble and prepare. Even if fewer than half our sect brothers have gathered by then, as long as at least two of the three of us—Junior Brother Ming, Junior Brother Cheng, and myself—are present, we proceed with the mission. Nearly half the time has already passed, and although Junior Brother Cheng still hasn't appeared, Junior Brother Ming and I are both here. We also have over twenty sect brothers with us—well more than half our numbers. That's enough to begin. If we delay any longer and fail to complete Patriarch Wu's assignment, the Foundation Establishment Pills the sect promised us will be gone!"

"Why is Patriarch Wu being so generous this time? Not only did he bestow all these incredibly powerful artifacts on us, but he also promised that as long as we find even a trace of a lead—we don't even need to go deep into that place—every brother who enters will be rewarded with a Foundation Establishment Pill. Nothing like this has ever happened in any previous Dragon Descent Valley expedition!" The sharp-voiced young man again.

"You think it's that simple, Junior Brother Ming?" the middle-aged man said in a low voice, his tone faintly dismissive.

"Oh? Senior Brother Wang, do you know something about that place?" the young man pressed.

The middle-aged man let out a long sigh. "Very little. But I'm certain it's extremely dangerous—otherwise Patriarch Wu would never have given us so many treasures all at once. Think about what he gave us: every single item is either an offensive consumable powerful enough to threaten even a Foundation Establishment cultivator, or a Foundation Establishment-grade talisman for saving our lives. These are not weapons meant for dealing with Qi Condensation cultivators or tier-one and tier-two beasts."

"You're saying there could be tier-three beasts there—equivalent to mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators!" The young man's voice climbed several pitches higher.

"I can't say for certain, but it's very likely. Think about it—if there were no extremely dangerous beasts, why would Patriarch Wu keep emphasizing that our mission is only to scout the terrain and basic conditions? That if we encounter any restrictive formations blocking our way, we should probe them lightly, and it's perfectly fine if we can't break through? And he stressed again and again that we should gather as many brothers as possible, and that if we encounter a threat beyond our ability to fight, everyone should simply run for their lives. From all of that, it's easy to conclude that the place is far from simple. It's not a question of whether there's treasure—there's clearly some extremely secret matter at stake." The middle-aged man said all of this in a single breath.

"That place has always been listed as one of Dragon Descent Valley's forbidden zones because several tier-two flood dragons have been spotted there. This time, Patriarch Wu is offering generous rewards just for us to scout the area, and he's even said that regardless of whether we find any treasure, as long as we bring back useful information about the place, every one of us earns a Foundation Establishment Pill. Compared to a reward like that, the threat of tier-two flood dragons hardly matters!"

The young man said, "Senior Brother Wang makes an excellent point. With our current manpower and artifacts, we don't even need Patriarch Wu's special gifts to handle tier-two beasts. I just don't understand why Patriarch Wu is suddenly so interested in that place—enough to have us abandon all other tasks, gather every available brother, and go there as a group."

"Heh—I've heard that this wasn't even Patriarch Wu's own decision. Even he is acting on orders from above!" The middle-aged man's tone turned secretive.

The young man's voice immediately filled with astonishment: "You mean that place was designated by the sect's Nascent Soul patriarch?"

This text was taken from NovelFire. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"It's possible. I once asked Patriarch Wu why we had to explore that place. His face darkened and he told me it was a major decision from the sect's upper leadership, and that I shouldn't ask further questions." The middle-aged man spoke slowly and deliberately.

After a pause, the young man's voice came again: "Senior Brother Wang, do you think this expedition is going to turn out well or badly for us?"

"Heh—that's truly hard to say. If we're lucky and don't run into anything terrifyingly powerful, and don't trigger any extremely dangerous formations, our chances of returning safely are quite good. But if things go wrong, even with all these treasures in hand, the odds won't be in our favor!" After saying this, the middle-aged man let out a long sigh, then raised his voice, apparently addressing the entire group:

"Brothers—whether this mission brings fortune or disaster, none of us can say. But I am neither a coward nor a bloodthirsty killer. Patriarch Wu has placed Junior Brother Ming and me in command for this operation. If all goes smoothly, every one of you will have completed the mission and earned a Foundation Establishment Pill—everyone wins. But if we encounter danger, you must obey my orders without question. I will assess the situation: if we can fight, we will not retreat. If the danger is truly too great, I will be the first to call for withdrawal. At that point, every man runs for his life and trusts to fate. Anyone who escapes the valley alive and reports back to the sect with information about that place will still receive a Foundation Establishment Pill!"

The middle-aged man paused briefly, then continued: "Before entering the valley, you all trained in certain formations for dealing with high-level beasts. We're short a few people now, so there will be slight adjustments to the formations—changes to individual roles and positions. Junior Brother Ming will explain the details. One last thing, and I cannot stress this enough: if we encounter danger beyond our ability to resist, I will say so. But if a fight is called for, every man holds his position. Anyone who disobeys orders—Junior Brother Ming and I personally guarantee he will not leave Dragon Descent Valley alive." The threat in his final words was unmistakable.

The warning seemed to have its effect. The group of cultivators, who had been murmuring and whispering among themselves, fell silent for a long stretch.

"Hm? There are signs of a fight here!" The young man's sharp voice rang out again.

"Indeed—and judging by the residual spiritual fluctuations, it was a major battle that ended not long ago!" the middle-aged man agreed.

"Could it have been that pale-faced cultivator from the Great Void Sect?" the young man asked.

"Possibly. But what does it matter to us? Let it be. This mission takes priority. Unless someone is foolish enough to come looking for trouble, we don't bother with outsiders." The middle-aged man's tone was indifferent.

"Right—whatever treasures those people carry can't compare to what Patriarch Wu gave us. Not worth the effort!" The young man said this, then cast a seemingly casual glance toward a jumble of rocks a hundred-odd zhang to the right before falling silent.

The group of twenty-odd cultivators gradually receded into the distance.

Before long, the young man's sharp voice carried back once more: "Senior Brother Wang, the Corpse Dragon Compass is reacting!"

"Is it?" A note of excitement crept into the middle-aged man's voice. "You're right—mine is reacting too. There must be a flood dragon carcass somewhere nearby. But that's strange—according to the compass, it's not in the direction of that place. It seems to be near Bitter Cold Pool."

"Let's go take a look first. If there's nothing to find, we can head to that place afterward—it's in the same general direction anyway," the young man suggested.

"Good thinking. Patriarch Wu said what we're looking for is probably at that place, but he wasn't certain. No harm in checking." The middle-aged man agreed.

"There are quite a few flood dragons in this valley. I don't understand why Patriarch Wu is so interested in flood dragon corpses at that particular location—he even had these special Corpse Dragon Compasses made just to detect dead dragon remains," the young man murmured.

"I don't know either. Patriarch Wu simply said we need to reach that place, then take out the compasses and follow their readings as far in as we can manage…" The middle-aged man's voice grew fainter and fainter until it disappeared entirely.

Andy waited a full ten minutes after the group had gone, until his spiritual sense could no longer detect a single cultivator, before finally emerging from the crevice in the rocks.

He glanced curiously in the direction the Heavenly Wanderer Sect cultivators had gone, shook his head, and continued on his way toward Peaceful Valley.

The mysterious place they had mentioned, the flood dragon corpses—he had only caught fragments and couldn't make much sense of it. In any case, these people were after something entirely different from what he wanted. There was no conflict between them, and he had no desire to get involved. With that many cultivators in one group, he certainly wasn't about to stir up trouble.