Path Of The Dragon (A Dark Fantasy Cultivation Wuxia Xianxia Progression Series)

Chapter 96 Prophecy

The canyon opened up into a valley, surrounded by mountains on all sides that rose up like the walls of some massive fortress. Like the canyon, they too had been carved into an almost wave-like shape around the sides. There were wooden structures built high up on the mountains, though Jie saw no way to reach them.

The loose dirt of the canyon floor gave way to lush grass, bright and beautiful flowers, trees, shrubs, and plants that Jie had no word for. Butterfly-like creatures with long coiled tongues flittered through the air as birds chirped together. In the center of the valley was a massive tree that rose high into the sky with thick branches and beautiful golden leaves.

One of the butterfly creatures flew down to a marble basin, extended its coiled tongue, and drank from it. But, rather than nectar or water, the basin was filled with a rich, dark red liquid.

Jie shuddered and looked closer at the branches above them. This time, she noticed the metal cages with drained, desiccated corpses and the way the cheerful little birds burrowed their beaks into them and drank what little blood remained.

"Stick close together. Stay away from everything and don't touch anything. Everything in here is hungry. Even the flowers," Pan Tian said.

Jie cycled her qi and kept a watchful eye around her. For just a moment, she'd felt relieved, but it seemed this world loved to keep her on edge.

Pan Tian led the way along a white marble path that wound through the meadow. The butterfly creatures flittered close by and stared at them with large, hungry eyes. But, the strongest of them was only at the sixth star of the Adept rank, so Jie was confident they posed little danger.

They weren't the only things watching them, however. Everything from the birds to the horned frogs regarded them with hungry interest. Some followed from a distance, on either side of the pass. There were other creatures too. Strange humanoid bird creatures that walked on two legs and carried spears capped with gleaming red crystals. Their plumage made some of them look like they were wearing a headdress. Their eyes shone with a cruel intelligence and some of them were at the Expert rank. Jie kept her own power veiled as best she could while being ready for an attack.

Better to be underestimated, she thought.

As they followed the path, they crossed over streams of blood filled with spiked fish and large toads.

Dotted around the path were white columns with statues of large beasts covered in scales with impressive antlers and hooved feet perched atop them like gargoyles. They gave Jie an unsettling feeling. Then, one focused its eyes on her and Jie's heart skipped a beat.

Yeah... not statues. And, they can hide their cultivation from me even at my level and me focusing directly on them... these things are at least as strong as I am... maybe stronger. Jie thought.

More of them focused on her, even turning their heads and looking straight at them as they passed.

One of them stepped off its column and onto the path ahead of them. Pan Tian froze and so did Jie and the others.

"What do we do?" Jie whispered.

The creature's ears flicked.

"I don't know," Pan Tian said, "I've never heard of the qilin moving before... and I've never seen it. We'll just have to see."

More of the qilin hopped off their columns, all of them looking closely at Jie and her friends. Their movements were quick but strange. Moving with sudden bursts of speed and then stopping. Leaping and then pausing... Jie frowned as she noticed they didn't touch the grass between the marble stones.

Still, there were a lot of them, and Jie didn't know if she could hold them off. And, distracting them would be difficult as there were so many rather than one big creature like in the lake... maybe if we leave the path... they won't follow? Jie thought.