It had been an hour since Mo Yichen arrived at the outskirts of the valley where the boars resided. In that time, he had encountered a fair share of peak-stage mortal beasts.
Did he fight them? Not at all!
Instead, Mo Yichen had expertly sneaked past those boars. Not out of cowardice, (of course not). First, he simply didn't have a decent weapon, and wasting his precious talismans on mere mortal beasts felt like burning spirit stones for a bowl of plain rice. Utterly unreasonable.
And second, it might attract spirit beasts which will be regrettable as he still is looking for the treasures. He let out a soft sigh as he carefully plucked another stalk of herbs, its faint spiritual glow flickering under his touch.
If Yeqing was here... he thought dryly, plucking a stalk of Twilight Dewgrass beside his boot.
That guy could clear out those beasts without breaking a sweat. And if they had those beast cores, even if they weren't the highly coveted golden cores of spirit beasts, they'd still be useful for maintaining the dimension.
He thought back to his master's words—"Always secure multiple sources of spirit qi to sustain the dimension. Never rely on the ambient qi of nature as the absorption rate of heaven and earth ambient qi of dimension is still unstable and slow"
So in other words, the dimension might disappear the moment it breaks. And to stabilize it, Mo Yichen will need a continuous source of spiritual energy.
Easier said than done...
Just as he was about to move forward, a faint hum broke the silence. His steps halted. It came again—a low, vibrating resonance. His gaze snapped down to his wrist. Looking at the jade bangle. A thin string of golden qi slithered around it like a living thing, its glow shifting like the ripples of a hidden formation.
Mo Yichen raised an eyebrow. "What…?" he muttered, feeling the bangle subtly tighten around his wrist as if responding to something.
His fingers hovered over it, hesitating. A thought crossed his mind. Could it be… reacting to something inside the valley? Maybe Yeqing is nearby..!
Mo Yichen thanked his past self for swallowing that scent concealment pill as he edged toward the cave's gaping maw. The stench hit him like a physical blow—rotting flesh, blood, and something unnervingly sweet beneath it all. His stomach lurched violently.
What the fucking fuck in the hell?! He clapped a hand over his nose, swallowing bile.
How many people have died in there...
The cave entrance was covered with vines before him, its shadows thick enough to chew. Just as he debated fleeing (dignity be damned for all he cared), two hulking boars emerged from the treeline. Their tusks gleamed with fresh blood, and the faint shimmer of earth qi clung to their matted fur.
Spirit beasts..!
Mo Yichen's fingers twitched toward his talismans. Option one: Fight which means alerting every monster in a five-li radius. Option two: Sneak into that forsaken corpse cave. The later option doesn't make any sense whatsoever. So he decided to sneak attack on those spirit beasts.
"One… two… thr—eekk!!"
A hand clamped over his mouth.
"Shuuu. Don't talk."
That voice—deep, languid, and infuriatingly familiar—sent a jolt down his spine. Before he could react, an arm hooked around his elbow and yanked him backward. He stumbled into a solid chest, the scent of chilling frost flooding his senses.
Mo Yichen elbowed him in the ribs. "You—!" A low grunt escaped from Yan Yeqing's lips. "Stay here. Don't move. I'll be done in a minute," he said, his voice calm. And then—he vanished.
Mo Yichen barely had time to blink before Yeqing reappeared just a few steps away from the spirit beasts, standing between them and him with an ease that felt almost insulting.
A sharp hum sliced through the air. Yeqing had unsheathed his sword. The blade itself was unremarkable—plain steel, no engravings, no glow of spiritual energy—but the moment it cleared the scabbard, the very air seemed to shudder.
Mo Yichen shivered. A pure, chilling wave of killing intent, so sharp it prickled against his skin like invisible blades.
The two spirit boars roared, their massive bodies kicking up dirt as they charged—like unstoppable massive tusks gleaming in the red glow of the evening sun.
Mo Yichen braced himself. Even peak-stage Qi cultivators would struggle against these creatures.
The first boar lunged. A blur of silver light flickered. Mo Yichen barely saw what happened—only the afterimage of Yeqing's blade.
SHLIK!
A perfect, clean arc cut through the beast's throat. Blood sprayed in the air—yet not a single drop touched Yeqing's robes. The first beast collapsed with a sickening thud, twitching before falling completely still.
The second boar, seemingly realizing the horrifying difference in strength, let out a furious, panicked roar. It swung its massive tusks, attempting to gore Yeqing before he could turn his blade on it.
Too late.
Yeqing's wrist flicked. His blade glowed faintly with blue, cutting through both the air and the beast's skull as if slicing tofu.
A second thud echoed. The fight had lasted less than five breaths.
Mo Yichen stared in disbelief cautiously making his way towards both corpses. His fingers twitched. His lips parted slightly. "…That's it?"
Yeqing raised a brow watching the youth's surprised yet delicate face covered in the orange-red hue of the sun. The corners of his lips twitched at the sight.
On the other side, before Mo Yichen could fully process what just happened, his body reacted on instinct—a crimson thread of qi unraveling from his fingertips.
Like a living thing, the qi snaked through the air, moving toward the fallen spirit beasts.
With a soft hiss, the crimson thread coiled around the corpses one by one, sucking the greyish crystal-like golden cores out of them into his palm—the process so smooth and precise that not a single drop of essence energy leaked.
The cores settled in his hand, warm and faintly pulsing like tiny hearts still beating. Mo Yichen exhaled slowly. "..should we enter the cave?"
Yan Yeqing looks towards the cave thinking for a bit before replying, "It shouldn't be so easy. there must be some restrictions, let's see first"
Mo Yichen looks over the opening of the cave "Do you mean there is a barrier?"
Yan Yeqing nods slightly, stepping towards the entrance, "Inject your spiritual qi into your eyes and see again,"
Mo Yichen did what was said and his brows furrowed as he focused spiritual energy into his eyes. A faint, glimmering sheen—like fog—wavered before the entrance of a narrow gorge.
"Mn... there's definitely a barrier," Mo Yichen murmured, taking a step closer, the greyish shimmer just out of reach. "But who set it up?"
Yan Yeqing moved beside him, his steps light, his robe swaying softly, "This must be a natural territorial ward. The Thousand Illusions Labyrinth is an ancient realm in the mortal world. It's not unusual for spirit beasts to claim domains like this." He tilted his head, assessing. "Normally, we'd have to eradicate the entire nest to break it, but..."
He thought for a bit then continued, "This one doesn't seem complicated. According to what I have read, there should be a peak-stage spirit beast guarding it. Kill it, and the barrier falls."
Mo Yichen, "Peak stage spirit beast.. how do we lure it out?"
Yan Yeqing tilted his head ever so slightly towards the dead spirit beasts before a slight smirk formed on his lips, "Hmm.. it shouldn't be too difficult"
Mo Yichen, "..."
You are ruthless..
Not that he was any better.
Without another word, he turned and strode toward a nearby plum tree, snapping off a few thin branches of varying lengths, "Wait a minute.. then"
His eyes scanned the forest floor before settling on a patch of pebbles. He crouched down, gathering a handful of smooth stones and arranging them carefully in a small bundle.
Yan Yeqing looks towards him raising his beautifuly well-defined brow. "What are you doing?" Yan Yeqing asked, bending slightly to peer at him.
Mo Yichen looked up slowly, his lids half-lowered, lashes casting soft shadows over his cheeks. The orange-red glow of the setting sun framed his face, highlighting the delicate curve of his jaw and the gentle slope of his nose.
For a split second, Yan Yeqing just... stared. There was something too serene about the youth's face, something too soft. A flicker of emotion—or perhaps something else—passed through his pale blue-black shaded eyes.
Caught off guard by the proximity and the intense gaze, Mo Yichen looked away in a hurry, the tips of his ears betraying a faint flush. "...Making an array," he said quickly, clearing his throat to dispel the awkward silence.
Yan Yeqing blinked, his eyes glued on the back of Mo Yichen's soft and slender neck, then he straightened, concealing whatever emotion flickered briefly behind his eyes. His voice was a little softer now. "You know array arts too?"
"Not really," Mo Yichen replied while collecting everything. "Just some basic stuff..."
He wasn't lying. At least... he didn't think he was. In truth, the array knowledge that felt 'basic' to him came from a compulsory subjects in his academy that had force-fed him talisman crafting, and even basic array theory from some ancient sects of Li Wei's world. But in this world, those so-called basics were practically lost arts..
He arranged the stones, then pulled out a carving blade from his ring and began engraving tiny lotus patterns into their centers.
Curious, Yan Yeqing knelt down, picking up one of the pebbles with his long fingers. "What does this 'lotus' mean?"
Mo Yichen glanced up while finishing another, still not meeting his eyes. "Yeah… I guess it's a habit. I like to mark my arrays. It helps me organize. Plus, I think I have some affinity with lotus motifs." A sheepish chuckle escaped him. "Or maybe I'm just overthinking."
"Lotus…" Yan Yeqing wispered lowly, twirling the pebble thoughtfully. His voice dropped an octave. "Crimson lotus?"
Mo Yichen's hand paused mid-carving. "How do you know about that?"
Without a word, Yan Yeqing retrieved a pill gourd from his robe—one that had a small crimson lotus etched into its surface. He held it up, lips quirking into a faint smile.
"You gave me this," he said.
Mo Yichen nearly choked on air.
Oh. Right.
That had been his thank-you gift—an absurdly high-grade pill... He'd grabbed the bottle without thinking. And probably that was one of the reasons his identity as alchemist got busted..
"…It does have some affinity with me too," Yan Yeqing added softly, his eyes glinting with a strange light.
Mo Yichen coughed again, eyes darting away. "...Probably."
But Yan Yeqing didn't press. Instead, he stepped back, allowing Mo Yichen to finish placing the lotus-carved stones in a formation. They worked in quiet coordination—one calculating, the other silently observing.
Mo Yichen finally stood up arching his back before dusting off his simple black robes, "Hmm.. it's done"
Yan Yeqing glanced towards all the corners the pebbles were placed, and then to the centre where three branches firmly stick to the ground, "What is the purpose of this array?"
Mo Yichen's eyes gleamed with satisfaction, "It's an Spirit-Absorption Seal array which will hold back the beast from moving as well as absorb it's power and transfer it.." he firmly planted one branch a few steps away from the core, and stands there, "I might as well make it easy and quick"
Yan Yeqing's lips twitched. He drags those dead spirit beasts to the entrance of the cave, a strong scent of blood wafting through the air.
A few moments later, a huge roar echoed through the valley. The gound faintly shook and leaves fluttered.
Yan Yeqing unseathed his sword.