The Undying Immortal System

Chapter 457 – Life 117, Age 21, Martial Master Peak

The first beasts to emerge from the forest were weak Rank 1 animals. We cut them down the moment they appeared, but before the final body even hit the ground, a pack of scrawny wolves burst from the undergrowth and charged us.

Strangely, none of these beasts seemed the least bit hostile. If anything, they looked scared. If we had stepped aside, they might have run past without giving us a second glance.

We didn’t step aside, though. We were still in the middle of the Bureau’s hunting competition, and these wolves were walking bags of points.

A few quick strikes, and the wolves fell, but ever more beasts emerged from the forest in a steady trickle. Then, that trickle became a stream.

Honed by several days of constant combat, none of the Disciples faltered. Neither ours nor those who had chosen to join us. These Rank 1 beasts were nothing more than livestock that needed to be slaughtered.

The beasts didn’t stop coming, though, and the stream soon turned into a river.

Our formation lay directly in the path of this river, but its beasts showed little interest in us. Those that could run past us did so without hesitation. Those that could not were cut down with even less. The river surged forward, but we were the rock upon which it broke. While shrubs and saplings were crushed under the weight of the endless tide, turning the forest floor into a barren wasteland, we held firm.

Of course, the constant flow of water can wear down even the toughest of stones, and we were no different. As the beast tide continued without pause, our bodies steadily weakened, and we were forced to start fighting in shifts.

We had six groups. Two groups remained at the front, fighting off the brunt of the tide. After fifteen minutes, those groups would move to the sides of the formation, preventing any stray beasts from entering. Fifteen minutes after that, they would retreat to the center for a short rest.

One of the biggest issues with fighting off an endless swarm of beasts is that it creates an endless pile of bodies.

Leaving the corpses where they fell would have meant surrounding our hill in a grotesque barricade of cooling meat and shattered bones. This might sound helpful, but the gaps in such a barricade would have allowed smaller beasts to approach unnoticed, and once tall enough, it would block our view of the incoming tide.

So, to keep the battlefield clear, I made use of a small trick. Every ten minutes or so, I walked the perimeter of the formation and pulled all of the fallen beasts into my inner world, sending them straight to the center of Chang’an.

This didn’t result in Chang’an being flooded with beast carcasses. The moment the bodies crossed into my inner world, they unraveled into a swirl of qi. I wasn’t entirely sure exactly what types of qi were involved in this, but it hardly mattered. Over time, it would all be pulled into one of the plane’s spirit fires, transforming it into whatever was needed.

No one from the Amorphous Blade Sect even questioned the disappearance of these beasts. The members of the other sect, however, discussed it in hushed whispers. Surprisingly, though, they didn’t connect these disappearances to my constant patrols. After all, I never really got close to the dead beasts, and not even the largest of storage bags could hold so many carcasses.

If they had more time to think, they might have realized what was going on, but they didn’t. They had to focus on the next enemy.

Always the next enemy.

As the tide ground on, the Rank 1 beasts began to change. The rabbits, wolves, and boars grew larger. Their eyes burned brighter, and their movements sharpened.

Then, the first Rank 2 beasts appeared.

Nearly everyone who had entered this realm was a Martial Disciple, so for most groups, these more powerful beasts would have been a significant threat. For us, they were a reprieve.

I had done my best to tune the formation so that it would only injure Rank 2 beasts, not kill them outright. However, this was based on the strength of an average Rank 2 beast. These first few waves were far below average. The moment they passed through the translucent formation barrier, a phantom bear paw dropped from the air and crushed them, leaving behind nothing but broken bodies.

This reduced the pressure on our front line, but even in this lull, there was still danger.

These Rank 2 beasts weren’t powerful enough to threaten us, but they were powerful enough to tear through the world around us and bring down nearly every tree in their path. So, while the formation took care of the beasts, we took care of the aftermath they left in their wake, doing our best to ensure that our view of the oncoming tide remained unobstructed.

As the forest opened up, the flickering red light of our defensive barrier stood out like a lighthouse in a sea of shadows, drawing cultivators from every direction. Some came seeking shelter. Others came seeking the next stage of the Bureau’s test. Either way, they came.

The first of these new arrivals were small, ragged teams of twos and threes. They were bloody, exhausted, and desperate. After fighting upstream against all those beasts that had avoided us, they collapsed the moment they passed through the translucent barrier, unaware that the formation wasn’t a source of absolute protection.

We couldn’t entirely trust these groups, but not wanting to send them to their deaths, and needing more bodies to help defend against the tide, we let them in.

Next, came larger groups, teams that had banded together for safety. These weren’t as battered as the earlier arrivals, but they were still exhausted and frayed around the edges. Even so, they didn’t pause to rest. They went straight to the front of the formation, killing beasts and earning points with every strike.

Finally, shortly after the first Rank 3 beasts made their appearance, a mass of more than fifty warriors carved their way through the endless swarm. Having spent nearly a full week in this realm, their robes had been reduced to little more than bloody rags, making it impossible to know which sect they had come from. However, unlike the other groups, these cultivators marched in with confident strides and disciplined precision.

Most of these warriors were complete strangers. Twelve weren’t.

Kan, YuLong, and their ten Disciples.

After entering the barrier, none of these warriors paused for even a moment. They spread along the perimeter and began cutting down beasts so aggressively that they sometimes stepped outside the formation to intercept beasts that would have preferred to avoid us entirely.

With the arrival of this final group, our position stabilized, and it began to look like we might be able to ride out the rest of the tide in relative peace. However, the moment the beasts were no longer a threat, humans stepped in to replace them.

I had crafted the formation that was protecting us on my own. I had done so without the aid of any other group, save for Meng LuYao’s. We had allowed others to join us, but this was still a competition. So, whenever a Rank 3 beast approached the formation, I moved myself, Meng LuYao, or JiuLi into position to absorb the points from its death.

As far as I was concerned, my formation killed these beasts, so the reward was mine by right.

Others disagreed.

As the newly arrived group of warriors got settled in, their leaders watched as every Rank 3 kill resolved the same way: the beasts charged forward, the formation swatted them down, and the points from the death shot straight toward me, JiuLi, or Meng LuYao.

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With each kill, the looks these warriors gave me grew uglier, and before long, a cluster of Martial Masters peeled away from the crowd, advancing on me with deliberate intent.

Seeing what was about to unfold, Kan and YuLong joined them. However, they stayed near the rear of the group, eyeing their former compatriots with grim resolve.

The point man was a Peak Master with sun-darkened skin and a sharp, hawk-like face. He glanced at my bracer, then gave me a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“You might have gotten here first,” he said, voice thick with entitlement, “but I will take care of things from here. Why don’t you go sit down and catch your breath?”

I could have explained that I had created this formation, but would he believe me? Would he even care? So, seeing little point in arguing, I just ignored him.

His expression twisted. “Didn’t you hear me, bastard?”

Jerking my head up, I looked to the right side of the formation, tracking movement in the beast tide.

“JiuLi,” I shouted. “There’s another one coming in on your left.”

Heeding my call, JiuLi turned and sprinted, arriving at the edge of the formation just in time to absorb the light of the freshly killed Rank 3 beast.

“Damn you!” Infuriated, the hawk-faced man rushed me, followed close behind by all the Masters who had chosen to follow him—including Kan and YuLong.

They made it only a few steps. Kan and YuLong flashed behind them and started cutting down one Master after another. The hawk-faced man was able to get within striking distance, but he didn’t manage to launch an attack. With my weapon still strapped to my back, I triggered one of its formations, firing a beam of concentrated guandao qi straight through his heart.

For a heartbeat, everything went still. Then, several of the dead Masters’ Disciples screamed and rushed forward in a stupid attempt at revenge.

We put them down just as quickly, not showing them a shred of mercy. We were still in the middle of a rampaging beast tide, and no matter how safe things might look, constant infighting would only lead to everyone’s death.

As the sun slowly slid toward the horizon and dust thickened the air, the constant flow of beasts faltered, then split. The tide still raged, but it simply streamed past us on either side, leaving us in a narrow corridor of relative calm.

Perhaps thinking the tide had finally broken, several of the Disciples sighed and lowered their weapons.

I didn’t. I rose and signaled for YuLong and the other Masters to join me near the front.

“Stay sharp,” I said. “Something’s coming.”

A few of the outsiders scoffed, waving away my warning with tired confidence. The members of the Amorphous Blade Sect, however, tightened their grips on their guandaos and fixed their eyes on the churning cloud of dust in front of us.

Three figures stepped into view.

The first was an ibex.

This ibex was no taller than my chest, but it was compact and powerful, with thick shoulders and massive backward-curving horns. However, there were no obvious signs of demonic energy. Aside from an unnatural brightness in its eyes, it looked like little more than a mundane animal.

Flanking the ibex on either side, two massive snow leopards strode forward with heavy, measured steps. Unlike the ibex, these leopards were clearly Rank 3 beasts. As large as war horses, their pale, spotted fur shone with a brilliant luster, and the ground shattered beneath the weight of their giant paws.

Energy vision told much the same story. These leopards had boosted their skin, muscles, and bones, just like that first Rank 3 bear. These were siege beasts that had been built to take a heavy beating.

The ibex, however…

Nothing about the ibex made sense. Its muscles glowed faintly with the light of an energy I didn’t immediately recognize, while brighter lines threaded through its body in a branching, vein-like pattern.

As the ibex drew nearer, I was able to see the pattern more clearly. The lines of energy all led to a single bright knot of power inside the creature’s skull. Had it enhanced its muscles, nervous system, and brain, then?

When the three beasts were almost on top of us, I finally realized what I was looking at. The energy in the ibex’s body… it wasn’t wu. It was qi.

“Shoot them!” I snapped. “Shoot them now. Don’t let the ibex reach the barrier!”

They might not have understood my panic, but every cultivator with a long-range weapon opened fire. Beams of guandao qi. Throwing weapons. Bows. Pills. Even attacks from a few random blessings.

The snow leopards stepped forward, shoulders braced, and intercepted every volley. The attacks splashed harmlessly against their reinforced hides and dispersed, not even ruffling the beasts’ fur.

The ibex never broke stride.

“Again!” shouted Kan. “Pour everything you have into the next volley!”

We tried, but the leopards absorbed it all.

When the trio reached the formation barrier, some of the defenders actually relaxed, expecting the formation to crush these beasts like it had everything else.

The leopards paused at the edge. The ibex walked straight through.

No reaction. No phantom paw. No strike.

“Fang!” YuLong barked. “What’s going on?”

“It’s not a demon beast,” I said, voice tight. “No demonic energy, so the formation won’t attack it.”

“What— What is it?”

“A spirit beast. A beast that cultivates qi, not wu.”

The only spirit beasts I had seen before were fish from the Abyssal Depths, but logically, I knew they must exist elsewhere. Was this the Bureau’s final test? Not a Rank 4 demon beast, but a Peak Rank 3 spirit beast?

For a fraction of a second, we hesitated, minds scrambling for a way to defeat this creature when our bodies were ready to collapse from exhaustion.

The ibex didn’t wait for us to decide. The instant it cleared the formation barrier, it activated a movement technique and shot to our left.

At first, I was confused. Then, I saw where it was headed.

“No—” I lunged forward, but the beast was already out of reach.

The ibex slammed its horns into one of the bone spheres, shattering it. Then, without stopping, it turned and sprinted for the next.

“It’s trying to bring down the formation!” I shouted. “Guard the nodes!”

We weren’t fast enough. The ibex reached the second node and shattered it with a single, clean blow.

Knowing we had no chance of beating the ibex to the next sphere, all of us with ranged attacks raised our weapons and fired.

The ibex barely even paused. It cycled its qi and brought up a defensive technique that turned the volley into harmless flashes of light.

Brief though it was, this pause bought Kan and YuLong just enough time to cut in front of the beast, blocking it from advancing any further.

The ibex didn’t care. Tapping into the compressed qi of a Peak Grandmaster, it activated a movement technique, slipped past them, and drove its horns into the third sphere, finally tearing a gap in our defensive barrier.

The snow leopards leapt through at once, colliding with the nearest line of cultivators like demonic battering rams.

“You two take the leopards!” I shouted at Kan and YuLong. “I’ll take the overgrown goat!”

I met the ibex head-on. Its strikes were simple thrusts and sweeps of its two massive horns. The few qi techniques it used were equally straightforward, nothing more than feeding qi into its horns to amplify their speed and power.

Dodging these attacks wasn’t too difficult, but when I countered, my blade couldn’t find purchase. The ibex’s qi formed a dense mantle over its hide that not even my refined guandao could penetrate.

Kan and YuLong ran into the same problem with the leopards. With the help of the more skilled Disciples, they were able to block the leopards from fatally wounding anyone, but they weren’t able to do any real damage.

The fight devolved into a grinding stalemate, with no clear advantage on either side.

This stalemate favored the beasts, not us. We were already exhausted from a week of constant combat. The beasts weren’t. The leopards’ enhanced bodies would carry them through the night, and the ibex’s dantian contained enough qi to outlast all of us.

If Kan, YuLong, and I all teamed up on a single beast, we could probably bring it down, especially if JiuLi and the others joined in. But how many of our Disciples would die in the process? Yes, I had created a reset point before we entered this place, but I wasn’t overly eager to relive this week.

We kept fighting, unwilling to commit to focusing on a single beast, and the sun sank below the horizon. The moment it vanished, a bright golden dome flared to life behind the beast tide.

Seven days. We didn’t need to kill these beasts. We only needed to survive seven days, and we had.

“Move!” I shouted. “Get to the dome!”

Most of the outsiders broke immediately, sprinting for salvation without a backward glance. A handful, out of stubborn pride or sheer exhaustion, stayed and helped us stage a more orderly retreat.

The beasts tried to stop us, but this time, we held the advantage.

They had to kill us to win. We only had to escape.

Step by brutal step, we fought our way to the dome.

The instant we crossed its golden boundary, the wasteland of churned earth and splintered trees blinked out of existence, replaced by the quiet slope of a small mountain hidden deep within an unscarred forest. After a quick scan confirmed we were out of immediate danger, I allowed my weary body to slump to the ground.

We had survived.