A Thousand Li Books 1-3: An Omnibus Collection for a Xianxia Cultivation Series (A Thousand Li Omnibus)

by Tao Wong

“Senior?” Wu Ying said.

  “They are still not back,” Liu Tsong said, stating the obvious.

  “You mentioned they might be staying later.”

  “Later. But they should have returned, or at least sent a messenger.”

  “Is there anything we can do?” Li Yao said as she stepped forward. As the most senior martial specialist left at the camp, she took command of the discussion.

  Wu Ying scratched his head but left it, knowing it was not his place to speak.

  “Not yet. The Elders are discussing the matter, but I wanted to let you know.” Liu Tsong looked around once more, her eyes landing on the formation flags distributed throughout the camp. “I understand Elder Dong wants to reinforce the formation before we send others out.”

  “Very well. We shall await your commands,” Li Yao said, though she looked worried.

  As Elder Li had taken Ru Ping and the majority of the martial specialists, there were a few guards left. And one was still injured. As it stood, the injured guard had been forced to exert his cultivation to keep pace with them, adding internal injuries to his external ones. The week of rest had been meant to allow the man to recuperate.

  “What do you think they are talking about?” Wu Ying said.

  It was simple enough to him. Elder Li was in trouble. They should help her. Was that not what Liu Tsong had spoken of? The bonds between sect members? As for Elder Wei’s comments about leaving them, it had just been words. After all, no one had been left.

  “I know not,” Li Yao said, nodding over to where the Elders conferred in their tent. “But they are unlikely to leave Elder Li. She might not be as treasured as Elder Wang, but her abilities have provided many with much-needed medicine and pill ingredients. Losing her would be injurious to the sect.”

  Wu Ying touched the hilt of his sword as he turned away, staring in the direction the party had left a day ago. He could not help but wonder what could have delayed them. What it was that might have killed the group, if they had died. The pixiu’s ominous words resounded in Wu Ying’s mind once more, and he could not help but dread what they would find.

  It was an hour later when the three Elders broke from their meeting. Elder Po walked to Wu Ying as he sat, reinforcing his cultivation. As the Elder neared, Wu Ying settled his chi and stood.

  “Long Wu Ying?” Elder Po said.

  “Yes, Elder.”

  “Did Elder Li teach you how to harvest the kurinji flower?” Elder Po said, getting to the point immediately. Wu Ying nodded. “How confident are you at harvesting the plant successfully?”

  “Not at all, Elder,” Wu Ying admitted. “The flower is tricky and requires one to control their aura and chi flow minutely. While my aura is well controlled, I am still new to this. Fluctuations in my aura and chi while harvesting the kurinji will affect its potency. To do the best job possible, two individuals are required as well.”

  “Can you teach, or at least guide, a second?”

  Wu Ying frowned. “I could, but I too have just started learning.”

  “Understood,” Elder Po said. “One of us will aid you if necessary. You will have to teach all of us Elders nonetheless.”

  “Are we not looking for Elder Li?”

  “Of course. But we must also plan for the fact they are not alive. We want—no, we need—the kurinji flower. Even if it is not as potent if you harvest it, we must finish this expedition,” Elder Po said.

  “Yes, Elder,” Wu Ying said. “Elder…?”

  “Speak.”

  “Why is it so important?” Wu Ying frowned, looking around and recalling the fallen. So many fallen.

  Elder Po hesitated, then he stepped closer and lowered his voice. “Do not speak of this to others. The sect has learnt the Six Jades Sect had three Elders break through into the pinnacle of the Core cultivation stage over the winter.”

  “Three?” Wu Ying’s jaw dropped. The Six Jades Sect were the Verdant Green Waters’ rival sect from the State of Wei. They were who the sect fought on the battlefields when the two states warred. And if they deployed all three pinnacle Elders, the balance of the war would tilt drastically toward the Wei.

  “Yes. The armies will clash this year, as always, but it will be muted. The Elders must reinforce their cultivation. But next year…” Elder Po shook his head. “That is why we must have the pills. We are close to breaking through. All of us. But enlightenment has yet to strike. Our cultivation has bottlenecked.”

  Wu Ying bowed his head, understanding at last. This, this expedition, was about more than money or contribution points or the self-serving development of a group of Elders. This expedition was about survival. Of the sect and the state.

  “I will do my best, Elder.” Wu Ying could not help but add, “But I hope I am not required to.”

  “So do we.” Elder Po placed a hand on Wu Ying’s shoulder then removed it before gesturing. “Pack yourself and get ready. We leave after lunch.”

  ***

  The group that left after lunch consisted of Elder Po, who knew where the flower was located; Elder Wei, who brought her cauldron; Liu Tsong; Li Yao; and two-thirds of the remaining martial specialists. Including Wu Ying, that number totaled nine members, leaving Elder Dong to care for their base camp and the porters, cooks, and remaining specialists.

  Knowing they needed to travel fast, the group packed easily consumable food and the minimum amount of camping materials. In theory, the location was a half day journey for non-cultivators, a short few hours’ run for the group. Once again, Wu Ying had to admit, his lower cultivation level would slow the group. Even if he had achieved another level of cultivation, the gap between them all was large. But at least, Wu Ying comforted himself, it was not as if they could finish the job without him.

  Once they had left the boundaries of the camp, Elder Po beckoned Wu Ying to where Elder Wei and himself waited. Liu Tsong, gliding beside the two, smiled at Wu Ying as he neared.

  “You will inform us how we are to harvest the kurinji flower,” Elder Po said. “Now.”

  Wu Ying gulped, seeing the seriousness in the pair of Elders. Drawing a deep breath, he pushed his hesitation aside and began.

  A short minutes later, Elder Wei snapped, “Enough with the conditions and the humble words. We understand. You are a neonate. If we fail, we will not blame you.” The Elders next, under-her-breath word was probably not something Wu Ying was expected to hear. “Much.”

  Wu Ying gulped again but took the fear within him and pushed it away, focusing instead on reiterating what the Elders needed to know. After a half hour more of discussion, Elder Po clapped to end the talk.

  “Good. That is sufficient. I understand you recently broke through again?” Elder Po said.

  “Yes, Elder.”

  “Unfortunate timing,” Elder Wei said. “Your aura control has grown shoddy once more.”

  “Yes, Elder.”

  “Go. Practice.”

  “Yes, Elder.”

  Wu Ying took advantage of her abrupt command, falling away from the pair and focusing on his aura. He had not spent much time practicing his aura strengthening technique recently, so he knew the Elder’s harsh words were correct. If a little hurtful.

  ***

  As the group traversed the mountain, ascending steep slopes, the amount of vegetation decreased at an alarming rate. At one point, Elder Po stopped and pointed wordlessly at a tree trunk. Elder Wei stepped forward, using a conjured ladle to push against the shattered edges of the tree itself. Wu Ying edged closer and frowned as he realized the stump looked to have been shattered not by claw or blade but by teeth. Remnant strips of bark still hung on the edges of the dying tree, tiny gouges from claw marks showing how even the bark itself had been ripped from the tree.

  The pair of Elders shared a knowing glance before they waved the group on. As they climbed, the trees grew further and further stripped, bereft of bark, leaves, and often their very trunks. Bushes were ripped from their moorings, chewed portions of the leaves and branches
scattered about. Wu Ying eyed the green carnage, grateful to note from the dried-out remnants that this destruction had been done weeks ago.

  Up and up, the group climbed. Eventually, the clearing leveled out and they increased in speed. Wisps of low-hanging clouds floated around the mountains, hiding and revealing sharp cliff faces and bare rock in the distance. In front of them, mists floated, shrouding the clearing they journeyed toward. As they moved forward, Wu Ying sensed the difference in chi. Something. Somehow…

  “What is that?” Wu Ying asked Li Yao, who trotted beside him.

  Li Yao shook her head, uncertain as well. “The pressure?”

  “That is a formation,” Liu Tsong said, frowning.

  As she spoke, Wu Ying noted how the Elders were looking ever more concerned. Yet instead of speeding up, they were moving more slowly before the Elders came to a stop.

  Wu Ying let out a breath, feeling the tightness in his chest and the churning in his gut decrease as they stopped moving. As he stood still, a cold wind blew by and Wu Ying shivered as he realized the back of his robes was damp with sweat. “What…?”

  “A fear and beguilement formation,” Elder Po said, eyes narrowed. “It is the Seven Star Fear and Beguilement Formation from the sect.”

  “Why would it be here?” Li Yao said.

  “The team,” Wu Ying said, realization striking home. “They’re alive. And using this. But—”

  A howl cut through the silence of the mountain, making Wu Ying shake and shudder as an instinctive part of him quailed at the noise. In the scream was a ravenous hunger, a desperate need to fill a never-ending abyss. His hand clenched around his jian, knuckles growing white.

  “What was that?” Liu Tsong asked.

  “The taotei,” Chao Kun said, appearing beside the group from the mist. The once-cultured, kempt inner sect member was bedraggled, deep bags under his eyes, long hair in disarray and a portion shorn off. A torn sleeve revealed a still-bleeding left arm. “Come. We must go. Place a hand on my shoulder. I will lead you through the formation.”

  ***

  Once the rescue group managed to traverse the beguilement formation, they found a much-reduced scouting group. In a heptagon formation, seven members of the original group sat, each of them cultivating and supplying chi to the formation via the formation flags set forth before them. Even Wu Ying could tell the formation had been hastily constructed using pre-prepared formation flags. As he extended his senses to the formation and the individuals supporting it, Wu Ying could not help but notice how a significant portion of the chi they provided was dissipating into the air instead of reinforcing the formation.

  What was even more shocking was the state and numbers of the scouting group. Elder Li, who sat in the center of the formation, had a cane laid before her, but it was one Wu Ying had never seen. Each of the surviving members of the scouting group lay about on the ground recuperating or sat cultivating, and all were injured. Even Tou He looked the worse for the wear, seated in front of a formation flag, bare-chested with deep bruises along one side.

  “What happened?” Wu Ying said.

  “The taotei caught us unaware,” Chao Kun replied. “Rest for a bit. I will deliver the Elders to Elder Li, after which I will show those of you who have arrived how to replace us at the formation flags.”

  “I know this formation,” Li Yao volunteered.

  “Good. Bei Khoo is tiring the most,” Chao Kun said.

  Li Yao bobbed her head and trotted off to replace the cultivator.

  The other cultivators moved to take a break, have a quick word with their friends, or in a few cases, relieve other cultivators at the formation flags, leaving Wu Ying to truly take in the clearing. The first thing to catch his eyes were the kurinji plants dotting the clearing. The kurinji were a few-feet tall shrubs that sprouted and grew at irregular intervals. As Wu Ying bent to look at a shrub, he could not help but notice how close to blooming the flower buds were. The petals for the plants were purplish-blue in color, with some shading all the way to sky blue. It did not take Wu Ying long to notice the plant he stared at was of the common variety, flowering once every twelve years. What they were looking for was the much rarer, spirit-enhanced plant which flowered once every half century.

  “Beautiful, aren’t they?” Ru Ping said as he limped over.

  Wu Ying’s jaw dropped as he saw how bandaged the cultivator was, one entire side of his face covered.

  When Ru Ping saw Wu Ying’s gaze drift to where his ear had been, and the bandage that covered one eye, the cultivator offered a sad half-smile. “I am one of the lucky ones. It only ate one ear. I shall regain my eyesight eventually.”

  “What is the taotei?” Wu Ying asked, his voice hushed as he looked around. “Everyone mentions it, but I have never heard of it.”

  “I keep forgetting you are new to the sect,” Ru Ping said. “The taotei has plagued these lands for decades. It constantly moves around the spirit lands, so much so we do not know if there is one or a dozen of these creatures. We believe it be at least three though—for its cultivation level constantly changes.”

  “And this one’s level?”

  “Peak Core,” Ru Ping said. “It’s a demonic beast, released from the underworld directly. The taotei has four legs and carries its strength in its forelegs. It has a mouth filled with teeth, horns that surround and protect its body, beady, ever-hungry eyes, and a flat snout. The creature prefers those with chi for its meals, but it never stops eating.”

  “The trees.”

  “Yes. We should have known. We should have realized it had come to this land.” Ru Ping’s voice dropped as he continued. “Maybe she did and wanted the flowers anyway. When we arrived, Elder Li set up the formation immediately. But it was too late by then.

  “It hit us when we were nearly done. Tore into Ah Bei. Bit off his arm. And then his torso. And legs.” Ru Ping glanced at a corner before jerking his gaze back to Wu Ying. There, in the shadows of the mist, Wu Ying could swear he saw a darker spot. “Killed and ate another two before it bore me down. If not for Senior Ge’s attack and sacrifice of his arm, I might have been eaten too. He struck it in the side. And then…”

  “Then?” Liu Tsong, who had stayed, asked breathlessly.

  “Then Elder Li hit him with her cane. Broke her cane and released the stored chi within, blowing it away. She hurt it enough that it backed off. And when it was outside our formation, we activated it forcefully,” Ru Ping said, nodding toward the group.

  “That’s why it’s so sloppy,” Liu Tsong said.

  “Yes. It saved our lives. But we cannot leave,” Ru Ping said.

  “I don’t understand. If it’s at peak Core formation, should not the Elders be able to win?” Wu Ying said, brows drawn as he spoke. He looked over to where the Elders spoke in hushed tones, tension and worry radiating from their bodies.

  “Not everything can be judged solely from their cultivation level,” Chao Kun said as he returned to the group. Even in the short time away, it looked as if his arm had been bandaged over. “Just as it is possible for a cultivator to beat those a tier above them.” Chao Kun looked pointedly at Wu Ying. “It is possible—even likely—for certain kinds of creatures to be stronger than their tiers. Elder Po is the only martial specialist among the Elders. And the taotei is a powerful, tier-bending demonic beast. It draws its strength from the food it eats, growing in strength as it eats more. Or when it is starved.”

  “Then what are we to do?” Wu Ying asked.

  “That will be up to the Elders. For now, you have training. You will need to take your turn too,” Chao Kun said, jerking his head toward the formation points.

  “Yes, Senior.”

  ***

  The basics of the formation support was simple—all it required Wu Ying to do was take the cultivator’s place, sit down, and channel his chi into the formation flag before him. The trick was that Wu Ying needed to channel the chi into the formation in a steady and constant fashion to match the expenditu
re of energy. This was unfortunately complicated by the inefficient formation, due to its hasty set up, and the variable amount required due to errant winds blowing away the mists, and the addition or subtraction of living creatures within the formation.

  All of that meant it was better to send more chi rather than less into the formation. Wasted chi would not affect the formation, but too little chi could weaken it. As Wu Ying breathed and focused upon the formation flag before him, he steadied his beating heart and pushed more chi through his meridians from his dantian, sending it coursing from his hands to the flag. Even as he supported the formation, Wu Ying cultivated, drawing in additional chi from the ambient environment to increase his endurance. Each moment, each breath saw the exhalation of power, saw the chi in his body course through his meridians and out into the formation. The process was tiring, as if Wu Ying was taking part in a fast-paced marathon session. A marathon that required him to breathe slowly and steadily.

  Hours later, Wu Ying was awoken from his cultivation and gently pried away from the formation flag. Too tired to walk away, Wu Ying rolled to the side and lay spread-eagled on the ground, his body soaked.

  “If you would leave, that would be great,” the cultivator who had taken his place grumbled before he shut his eyes. Hands cupped together loosely, the cultivator deepened his breathing and took over the reinforcement of the formation.

  Wu Ying ignored the cultivator, too tired to speak as he focused on recovering his energy. Eventually, Wu Ying managed to stagger to his feet and find a somewhat private location to wipe himself down, change his clothes, and comb his hair. Finally presentable, the cultivator strode over to join the small fire where a filling meal stewed.

  “How long was I at the formation?” Wu Ying muttered as he noted both Li Yao and Liu Tsong still in their places in the formation.

  “About four hours,” Tou He said from behind Wu Ying.

  “Tou He!” Wu Ying exclaimed as he spun and hugged his friend. He stepped back when Tou He expressed his displeasure and detached from his friend. “You are looking better.”