Qi Like Tar

As the door shaped like a boulder closed behind them, the tunnel was illuminated by a series of qi lights along the ceiling.

Tunnel was the wrong word to call it. Rather, a hallway with fine decor carved into the rocks. Apparently, the outside appearance of this place was camouflage rather than representative of how they lived.

"How has the Mysterious Mountain Sect been doing these last few centuries?" Father asked.

Paike had to stop any expression from showing on his face. It was a rather on-the-nose name. Who would call themselves that?

Sheng Gou heaved a deep sigh. "Mister Kong, I will never understand your humor. You know that is not our name. The Hidden Summit Sect has been surviving. With a community as small as ours, it is hard to do more when we have few reliable trading partners around us."

"I understand that things have gotten worse in the neighborhood recently," Father commented.

"It has been a while since the last imperial purge of demonic cultivators in this region, and they are starting to mass outside of the boundaries."

That news made Paike's hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Actual demonic cultivators? That wasn't something that was supposed to exist. For the most part, any cultivator who tried demonic things died fast and hard. It was just too hard to control. And if any did survive, the empire would surely stamp them out.

"The empire has its attention elsewhere. There are many things calling on its time." Father commented lightly. Paike could tell that he wasn't happy about it.