# Chapter 298: White Bats
"Go to Nether Valley?"
Ling Yuxiu hesitated for a moment, then said: "The ancestral grandmother of the Si family said that Nether Valley is extremely dangerous. Even when the experts of the Celestial Sage Sect and the great shaman king of Loulan's Golden Palace explored there, they suffered heavy casualties. How much more so for us?"
Qin Mu's resolve remained unchanged. "It might be related to my origins. No matter what, I must go there once. This time it's my personal matter, nothing to do with the Sacred Sect, and nothing to do with you all. I can go alone."
He stood up and walked out of the Supervisor's Workshop, calling for Dragon Qilin. Dragon Qilin was sleeping outside the workshop building. Hearing this, he quickly got up and perked up: "Is it the next day? Is it time to eat?"
Qin Mu leaped onto his back and said irritably: "It's not the next day! All you do is sleep and eat. What use are you? We're going to Qingmen Pass!"
Dragon Qilin yawned, fire clouds forming beneath his feet as he galloped northwest, saying: "Sect Leader, you've gotten fatter. You're two hundred catties heavier than before."
Qin Mu was furious and scolded: "Bullshit! I've lost a lot of weight these days from forging swords, and the swords in my bag weigh at most a hundred catties more. It's clearly you who's gotten fatter!"
Ling Yuxiu and Si Yunxiang chased after them, only to see Dragon Qilin already flying through the air, having traveled over ten li.
Ling Yuxiu frowned: "Even if we must go, we need to make thorough preparations first. That cowherd is too reckless, underestimating the danger of Nether Valley."
Si Yunxiang rubbed her backside again. Qin Mu's slap had been too forceful, leaving both buttocks still burning with pain. She said: "Does the Celestial Sage Sect lack experts? Ever since being kidnapped by Dragon Jiaonan last time, Jade Heavenly King and Master Shi have been uneasy. They're definitely nearby. Don't worry—if danger arises, they certainly won't stand idly by. It's a pity..."
She stared blankly into space, then suddenly said: "If the Sacred Sect Leader were to die in Nether Valley, the Saintess could smoothly succeed as Sect Leader. It's a pity I didn't go with the Sect Leader to Nether Valley, otherwise the Sacred Sect Leader would have definitely died there for real..."
Ling Yuxiu became alert and sneered: "You little fox spirit, if you dare scheme against the cowherd, I'll cripple both your legs and make your body spell the character 'out'!"
Si Yunxiang giggled: "You little slut, I've had my eye on you for a long time too. Every day you hang around the Sect Leader with your big chest, getting in the way, leaving me no chance to make a move."
The two girls glared at each other, finding the other utterly detestable. They turned away from each other and went their separate directions.
Si Yunxiang's eyes flickered as her Thousand Silk Sword quietly unfurled, like a tiny spiritual snake burrowing into the ground, stealthily making its way toward Ling Yuxiu's direction.
At the same time, Ling Yuxiu's Nine Dragon Soldiers quietly stretched out behind her, dragon scales silently shifting positions, dragon claws extending sharp blades as one dragon-shaped spirit weapon after another silently flew toward Si Yunxiang.
"I've had enough of you!"
Both girls erupted almost simultaneously, each unleashing vicious techniques to deliver fatal blows to the other. Ling Yuxiu's dress was sliced open by the Thousand Silk Sword emerging from underground, narrowly avoiding the sword's shredding attack. Meanwhile, Si Yunxiang's body fluttered like a butterfly, dodging the combined strike of the nine dragons.
Ling Yuxiu somersaulted repeatedly, then suddenly slammed her palm against the ground. Terrifying magical power erupted, the earth rumbling as a stone pillar burst forth, forcing Si Yunxiang to fly into the air.
Ling Yuxiu leaped into the air in a few steps, grabbed hold of the Nine Dragon Soldiers, and lightning and fire converged into the Nine Dragon Hammer as she brought it down with a single strike!
"I said I'd make you spell 'out,' and I never break my word!"
Si Yunxiang giggled as the Thousand Silk Sword attacked from behind Ling Yuxiu, the silvery threads suddenly expanding like razor-thin silver snakes slashing toward Ling Yuxiu's head: "How does your skill compare to the Buddha Child's? You want me to spell 'out'? I'll cut off your head and make you spell 'heaven'!"
In the Supervisor's Workshop, many disciples of the Heavenly Workshop Hall came out and looked up to see the two girls locked in fierce combat in the sky. Suddenly, Si Yunxiang was knocked down, startling the Heavenly Workshop Hall disciples, who didn't know whether they should intervene.
Then they saw Si Yunxiang's figure vanish and reappear behind Princess Xiu, striking Ling Yuxiu until she spat blood.
"Well, perhaps we should ignore this."
One incense master said: "This is a matter of romantic rivalry. Whichever side we help, it won't look good before the Sect Leader. Let's pretend we didn't see anything."
Everyone nodded and dispersed.
Dragon Qilin's speed was not slow. By evening, they arrived at Qingmen Pass, where the atmosphere was tense. The commander of Qingmen Pass, Bian Zhenyun, was an old acquaintance of Qin Mu's. He hurried to greet him, saying: "Divine Physician, what brings you here?"
"I plan to pass through Qingmen Pass and go to Nether Valley."
Qin Mu explained his purpose, saying: "It's almost dark now, so I can't enter the Great Wasteland. I plan to rest at Qingmen Pass for the night. General, how are things at the border lately?"
Bian Zhenyun shook his head, his expression grave: "The situation is not good. Over the past few months, the barbarian Di Kingdom across the way has been continuously reinforcing their troops, and there are many more experts from Loulan's Golden Palace. I've heard that the barbarian Di Kingdom's ambassador secretly returned to the grasslands. It seems the barbarian Di Kingdom intends to take advantage of Yan Kang's weakness and launch an attack. Just a few days ago, when I looked toward the barbarian stronghold opposite, I even saw some people who looked like they were from Wolf Ju Xu Kingdom. Recently, barbarian scouts have been frequently active, roaming between the two passes with arrogant bearing. I'm afraid..."
His face showed worry as he said: "I've already sent men on swift horses to report to the Emperor. If the barbarians attack, the forces at Qingmen Pass alone won't be able to hold them off. Divine Physician Qin, normally I should send experts to escort you to Nether Valley, but I simply can't spare the personnel."
Qin Mu smiled: "General, you must prioritize the larger situation. Don't worry about me. I'm only going to Nether Valley, not to the grasslands. I won't come into conflict with the barbarians."
As night fell and darkness encroached, Qin Mu looked into the distance. On the opposite side, a hundred li away, the enemy camp's light blazed into the sky, bright as day, with a great many troops stationed there.
At dawn, Qin Mu got up, washed, ate breakfast, and fed Dragon Qilin until he was full. Bian Zhenyun saw him out of the pass, saying: "Divine Physician, I cannot escort you further, otherwise the enemy will take the opportunity to mobilize their army. I can only have our scouts follow at a distance to protect you. Be careful on the road."
Qin Mu thanked him and sat on Dragon Qilin's back as they galloped toward the duck-tongue strip of land between the two kingdoms.
Behind him, scouts from Qingmen Pass rode various strange beasts, following at a distance. When they reached the central duck-tongue strip, figures suddenly appeared on the opposite side as well, dressed in strange clothing, riding the winged camels of the grasslands—presumably scouts from the barbarian Di Kingdom.
Both sides spotted each other from afar and attacked almost simultaneously. Sword pellets and blade pellets filled the sky, clanging and colliding.
Suddenly, the scouts from Qingmen Pass opened several gourds, and clouds and mist roared out, covering an area of over ten li, limiting visibility to just over ten zhang.
Both sides immediately lost track of each other, and a rare silence fell.
Qin Mu opened his Azure Sky Heavenly Eye, his vision piercing through the mist to discern the path. Dragon Qilin took advantage of the clouds and mist to head toward the rear of the duck-tongue strip.
"The Emperor did follow my advice and turned clouds, mist, lightning, and thunder into weapons. With so many barbarian Di troops massed, breaking through Qingmen Pass will be difficult."
The duck-tongue strip was very long, stretching a thousand li, belonging to the Great Wasteland. At night, it became a barrier separating the two kingdoms.
Entering the Great Wasteland, the greatest danger was the darkness. Qin Mu was an abandoned native of the Great Wasteland and naturally understood the key points, so he looked around, searching for ruins, stone statues, and similar things.
If he couldn't return to Qingmen Pass before dark, he would need to spend the night in the Great Wasteland, so he had to find a place to take shelter first.
The duck-tongue strip was very quiet. As they traveled, they couldn't see a single bird or beast.
Qin Mu's expression grew solemn. Seeing no birds or living creatures here indicated that there was no safe place. At night, even the strange beasts of the Great Wasteland couldn't survive here!
They passed by a lake. The lake was azure blue, like a gemstone, its surface perfectly calm without a single ripple.
It was a dead lake, with no fish or shrimp in it.
"There's no place in the lake to hide from the darkness either."
Qin Mu steadied himself and continued forward. Unconsciously, Dragon Qilin left the duck-tongue strip. The surrounding mountains gradually became steeper, and a canyon appeared before them.
Qin Mu sat on Dragon Qilin's back, observing the canyon. Trees grew haphazardly in all directions, clinging to the cliffs as if freed from the geomagnetic force, growing sideways and covering the sky above the canyon.
He seemed to have entered a topsy-turvy world, where the cliffs appeared to be the ground.
The thick trees were extremely ancient; some would require dozens of people to encircle. Their roots twisted like coiled dragons, and beneath the roots could be seen ghostly fires and phosphorescent lights—the white bones of giant beasts. Some bones Qin Mu couldn't even identify as belonging to any strange beast.
Strangely, these skeletons were on the cliffs, not at the bottom of the valley.
And the leaves that fell from the trees didn't drift to the valley floor either, but landed on the cliffs. This canyon was surprisingly clean, with no dead branches or withered leaves to be seen.
Thump.
Dragon Qilin accidentally bumped into a large stone floating in the air. The stone spun slowly and drifted to the side, still floating.
Further ahead in the valley path, stones of various sizes floated in the air, large and small.
"Sect Leader, have we entered Nether Valley?" Dragon Qilin asked in a muffled voice.
Qin Mu nodded: "We should be within Nether Valley's range. But there are still no other living creatures here, which makes me uneasy..."
Just as he said this, he suddenly heard voices coming from ahead: "...You always like to eat them raw, but I actually prefer them cooked. Medium-rare is best, roasted over the fire until the fat drips, tender inside. A few people came by these past few days, and they tasted great, but you insisted on eating them raw. See how you've gotten yourself dirty?"
"Medium-rare isn't good. It lacks that fresh, tender sensation. It's best to roast them over the fire, just singe off the fur, and eat them while they're still squeaking—that's the most delicious..."
"Nonsense! Medium-rare is better... Shh, quiet. Someone else is coming."
...
Qin Mu activated the Blazing Fire Marquis True Art, transforming into the form of the Blazing Fire Star Lord with an ox head, human body, and feet treading on twin dragons. Dragon Qilin carried him forward cautiously. When they reached the place where the voices came from, Qin Mu looked around and was momentarily stunned.
The voices had come from here, but he couldn't see anyone speaking. He could only see a large bonfire on the cliff wall. On the fire, a great shaman from Loulan's Golden Palace was being roasted. The shaman, being deeply cultivated, wasn't dead yet, but had been roasted until he had no strength left. He weakly opened his eyes and glanced at Qin Mu and Dragon Qilin.
Rustle.
Suddenly, the leaves moved, and two large white-furred bats dropped down from the tree, hanging upside down before Qin Mu. The two white bats were extremely robust, with bulging muscles all over their bodies. Their arms were crossed over their chests, and white light shone from their eyes, as if white flames flowed within them.
Qin Mu's heart skipped a beat. These two large bats were of a strange breed, a very terrifying strange breed. They no longer had demonic aura about them; instead, they exuded an aura like that of gods or demons. They should be descendants of gods or demons!
"Not human."
One of the large bats retracted its body back into the tree canopy: "How disappointing. I thought they were more humans."
The other large bat also withdrew. Qin Mu quickly said: "Greetings, fellow cultivators!"
The leaves rustled, and the two large bats hung down from the canopy again, still with arms crossed over their chests, speaking in unison: "Greetings! But we won't give you any to eat—we caught these ourselves! If you have the skill, go catch people to eat yourself. There are more in the valley."
Qin Mu quickly smiled: "Little brother is a vegetarian, born vegetarian."
The two large bats relaxed. Qin Mu said: "Little brother is an outsider. Fellow cultivators, is it safe in the valley at night?"
One bat laughed: "No wonder you look unfamiliar. The valley is very safe."
Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief, thanked the two bats, and the bats retracted their bodies again, appearing on the cliff hanging upside down by the bonfire, quietly waiting for the great shaman to be cooked through.
"That ox earlier seemed to have the bloodline of Blazing Fire. Pity it wouldn't taste good. Humans are still the best to eat—flavorful and juicy." One bat stared at the bonfire.
The other bat chuckled: "Then why did you harm him? You know full well how dangerous the valley is..."