Martial Cultivator

Chen Chao left Coldgate Pass and set out alone for the desolate northern plains. He originally considered finding a horse to travel with. But after some thought, he decided against it. If he encountered any trouble he could not resolve and needed to flee, leaving the horse behind in the freezing cold would likely result in its death on the desolate northern plains.

Chen Chao who abandoned the idea even deliberately changed into white clothing. Walking through the ice and snow, this would make it harder for him to be noticed. When traveling the world, foreign cultivators often preferred wearing white, perhaps to give off an otherworldly appearance, with a so-called demeanor of immortals. However, to Chen Chao, the choice of white was simply to avoid being easily recognized. His usual black attire with a saber was probably known to all, and he preferred not to be immediately recognized this time.

However, this would probably only fool the younger cultivators. High-level demons or foreign cultivators would likely see through it with one glance. Nonetheless, it was better than nothing. With no aura concealment magic artifact on him, Chen Chao trudged along, sighing as he went.

After traveling for half a day and being surrounded by a sea of white snow, Chen Chao finally took out his map and quickly got a headache. There were two maps: one provided by the General's Office, which was detailed due to their extensive dealings with the demon race. It also mapped out the terrain of the desolate northern plains quite well. Hence, this map was considered rather detailed. The other was personally given by Xie Nandu. Although Xie Nandu had never been to the Northern Frontier, she had the Xie Family behind her. Besides, Xie Nandu had long been interested in the North, so she had a map as well. Comparing the two maps, Chen Chao found that the differences were minimal.

However, Chen Chao sighed repeatedly, not because he could not decide which map to trust, but because after leaving Coldgate Pass, his initial nonchalance during the first half of the day had led to him losing his sense of direction. This meant that although he had a map, it was of little use to him.

Feeling somewhat frustrated, Chen Chao put away the map and said self-deprecatingly, “I've lived too long in comfort, even my basic skills have gone rusty. Not good, not good.”

As the saying goes, “It's easier to shift from frugality to luxury than to shift from luxury to frugality.” This was exactly the case. In the past, dealing with demons daily and lacking sufficient cultivation made Chen Chao cautious every day. He was so familiar with the terrain around Tianqing County that he could escape countless dangerous situations unharmed. But now, having escaped such a life, Chen Chao had become quite lax.

Fortunately, he had never slackened in his cultivation. Chen Chao rubbed his head, shook off the snow and wind, and cupped his hands to his mouth to blow some warm air. Yet he felt no warmth at all.

Looking at the endless, white expanse, Chen Chao walked forward aimlessly.

After another half day, as the sky grew darker, Chen Chao decided to find a snow dune. He used the saber at his waist to dig a deep pit, then comfortably sat down. Feeling somewhat bored, he decided to gather some dry wood and started a fire. Actually, this was rather unwise, as it effectively announced his presence in the dark night, making himself a living target.

However, shortly after leaving Coldgate Pass, there were no demons in this area. The human-demon conflict had been ongoing for many years. Although the desolate northern plains were nominally demon territory, the area close to the Northern Frontier Great Wall had very few demons. Even the demons settled in the desolate northern plains avoided getting too close to the Great Wall, as human troops frequently ventured out to fight demons, making the area close to the Great Wall risky for them. If they were too close, they would only end up as human military achievements in vain.

Thus, Chen Chao felt relatively at ease. After lighting the fire, he took out a gourd of alcohol from his bosom. It was a practical magic artifact given to him by Xie Nandu, capable of holding a good amount of liquor. Chen Chao did not usually drink much, but he had started drinking during his journey to Sword Qi Mountain.

Taking small sips from the gourd of alcohol and watching the flickering flames before him, Chen Chao's gaze softened. This seemingly ordinary life was all he could enjoy at the moment. In a few days, as he ventured deeper into the desolate northern plains, he would likely have to fight for his life every day.

Back in Tianqing County, Xie Nandu had asked him why he did not join the Northern Frontier Army to accumulate military achievements. As a martial artist, joining the army would provide resources for physique tempering; much better prospects than being a small local warden. However, in the North, no matter how great the prospects, one had to fight for them with their life. Chen Chao was unwilling to do that. Yet, now he was here, facing even greater dangers than before.

Chen Chao rubbed his cheeks and sighed, reflecting on how the world was beyond one's control.

Just as Chen Chao was lost in thought, he suddenly noticed some distant flickering lights, swaying in the cold wind. They looked like lanterns.

Returning to his senses, Chen Chao felt the presence of several young cultivators from the other side. Their cultivation levels were not high, the strongest among them was probably at the peak of the Bitter Sea Realm. It was unknown which sect they belonged to.

Chen Chao did not make any move, pretending not to have noticed. He simply placed his hands before the fire, enjoying its warmth.

Before long, the group had arrived not far from him. The group then stopped, and Chen Chao soon heard a man's voice, “May I ask which immortal mountain you are from, Fellow Daoist?”

Chen Chao smiled. This group of youngsters was quite alert. He quickly replied, “I cultivate at Jade Summit Mountain. And you, Fellow Daoist?”

Upon hearing the name Jade Summit Mountain, the group visibly relaxed and approached him. As they walked, one of them said with a smile, “We are from Pinecreek Mountain.”

As the group drew closer, Chen Chao could clearly see them: two men and three women, all were rather good-looking. The two young men flanked the three women, protecting them. When they reached Chen Chao, the man in the lead soon noticed the sheathed long saber next to the fire and furrowed his brows. After a moment, the man at the back stepped forward with a smile and said, “Jade Summit Mountain... I remember Fellow Daoist Lin Xian. We've had some dealings. Fellow Daoist Lin isn't very talkative, if I recall correctly.”

Chen Chao was taken aback and then asked with curiosity, “Isn't Senior Brother Lin known for his enthusiasm? How could he be not talkative?”

Hearing Chen Chao's comment, the man said with realization, “I must have remembered wrongly.”

Chen Chao smiled without speaking, but he already started cursing inwardly.

Fortunately, he had met Lin Xian before. Otherwise, in this exchange of question and answer, his identity would have surely been exposed.

He was clear that when they saw his saber, they knew that he was a martial artist. Hence, they suspected if he might be a martial artist from the Great Liang Dynasty.

Pinecreek Mountain, Chen Chao recalled, was one of the sects in the northern qi refiner sects. Although not very renowned, given his past grudges with qi refiners, it was uncertain whether they would immediately attack if they learned his identity.

However, since they had identified him as a Jade Summit Mountain cultivator, they were less concerned about his martial artist status. Such a situation was common in many foreign land sects, but the status of a martial artist was generally looked down upon.

“I am Xu Ru. May I ask your name, Fellow Daoist? Fate has brought us together. May we rest for a while?”

Xu Ru asked with a smile, though the tone of his proposal had little hint of negotiation.

Chen Chao gave a bitter laugh, “Of course.”

He agreed but did not mention his own name. It seemed the others were no longer concerned about it.

It was just a formality in the first place, no one took it seriously.

The fire was small, and once everyone sat down, it became a bit cramped. Xu Ru glanced at Chen Chao who cursed inwardly. But Chen Chao pretended to be nonchalant and stood up, “I'll go gather some more firewood. Please wait a moment.”

Chen Chao left quickly.

None of the others in the group commented, except for the girl who looked the youngest, who frowned and said, “Senior Brother Xu, isn't this a bit too impolite?”

Xu Ru was unconcerned. “Just a martial artist. If he weren't from Jade Summit Mountain, I wouldn't even want to say another word to him.”

As Xu Ru spoke, the other man nodded too as he concurred, “People like him are bullied daily at Jade Summit Mountain. He must be used to it by now. Since he's alone, he's probably being ostracized. Even his fellow disciples treat him this way, so we're already being quite decent.”

Following their comments, the other two women also nodded in agreement. Only the youngest woman in white looked somewhat unhappy. However, since everyone else present were her senior brothers and sisters, she could not say much. She just sulkily lowered her head and fiddled with a piece of dry wood.

Xu Ru remained silent, but the other man spoke up to comfort her, “Junior Sister Liang, what Senior Brother said is the truth. People with a kind heart like you are easily deceived outside. This world can't compare to our sect, there aren’t that many good people out there.”c

Junior Sister Liang did not speak, but she still had her head lowered.

Understanding their junior sister's temperament, the others did not say much.

Taking the chance while Chen Chao was still away, Xu Ru whispered, “Before setting out to the desolate north, Master gave instructions to avoid encounters with demons as much as possible. We don't need to get involved with the larger sect ruins;,other sects will definitely be watching those. As for the smaller sect ruins, we can check them out ourselves. As qi refiners, finding such places is our natural ability, how could those other cultivators compare?"

"We will listen to Senior Brother Xu."

The others spoke up.

Only that girl surnamed Liang did not speak.

Soon, Chen Chao returned with a large bundle of firewood, placing most of it aside. Seeing that his previous spot was occupied, he tactfully kept quiet and instead kindled a new fire on the other side, then continued drinking his wine in small sips.

The group over there ignored him, and Chen Chao did not bother to make conversation either.

After about two hours or so, the group got up to continue their journey, and no one paid any attention to Chen Chao.

Chen Chao just continued drinking his alcohol in silence.

However, as the girl surnamed Liang got up and took a few steps, she turned back and called out to Chen Chao, “Sorry about it.”

Chen Chao was taken aback for a moment, then he smiled.