Chapter 160 — The Recluse

Xiao Yichen smiled faintly. "Then I'll go take a look over there." With that he left Lin Jinghong and walked off, intending to search He Yin City once more to be sure no civilians had been left behind—for if the beast demons attacked, they would surely perish. But he had gone only a few steps when a low murmur from Lin Jinghong came drifting faintly from behind him:

"Back... fire... back..."

Xiao Yichen paused and turned to look. Lin Jinghong stood frowning deeply, his face clouded with confusion, murmuring softly to himself. Xiao Yichen listened closely, but the words seemed muddled—something that sounded like "back" or the like.

Xiao Yichen raised an eyebrow. "Junior Brother Lin, what's happened at the back mountain?"

Lin Jinghong started. He looked up. "The back mountain? What back mountain?"

Xiao Yichen was taken aback in turn. "I heard you saying 'back mountain' over and over. I thought, since you've often gone to the ancestral shrine on the back mountain of Jietian Peak these years to tend and sweep it, that something must have happened there!"

Lin Jinghong looked a little embarrassed and said quickly, "No, no—I was just muttering to myself. I've worried you for nothing, Senior Brother."

Xiao Yichen smiled. "As long as all is well. Junior Brother Lin, battle is imminent—you must keep up your strength."

Lin Jinghong smiled and nodded. He was just about to speak when suddenly a cry of alarm came from somewhere in the distance, from a Qingyun disciple. Startled, Xiao Yichen and Lin Jinghong almost simultaneously leaped into the air and flew toward the sound.

The cry had come from the south gate of He Yin City, where several Qingyun disciples were making a final patrol. Now they stood as if facing a great enemy, talismans summoned, expressions taut. There atop the city wall stood a hideous beast with a lion's head and a wolf's body, its great eyes glaring fiercely, a low growl rumbling in its throat as it fixed its gaze on the Qingyun disciples. But it seemed to know these were no ordinary folk, and so for the moment it made no rash move.

Xiao Yichen and Lin Jinghong landed. By now other Qingyun disciples had hurried over as well. When they saw the creature clearly, all drew a sharp breath. Xiao Yichen exhaled slowly and said in a low voice, "A beast demon."

Suddenly a Qingyun disciple beside Lin Jinghong cried out loudly, "Outside—outside..."

The panic in his voice made everyone's hearts seem to leap into their throats. Almost in unison they looked toward the distance beyond He Yin City, in the direction the disciple was pointing.

Beneath the vast, black mass of storm clouds, on the horizon, rolling thunder approached; silent lightning split the firmament. The earth trembled faintly, and a deep rumbling seemed to seep up from the depths of the nine underworlds, yet it drove straight into the depths of the soul, echoing without end.

Countless beast demons gathered into a boundless, black, terrifying tide, surging forth from afar. Their rumbling was like rolling thunder, already drowning out the thunder of the heavens. The world turned desolate and lethal; lightning flickered like monstrous serpents gone wild. The murderous aura that oppressed the heart came rushing at them even from so great a distance.

Every Qingyun disciple was ashen. Xiao Yichen gritted his teeth and shouted, "Go! Go now—back to Canglan Mountain at once."

At his sharp cry, the Qingyun disciples dared not dawdle; one after another they summoned their immortal swords and soared into the sky. The lion-headed, wolf-bodied monstrosity atop the wall roared loudly, savage in appearance.

Lin Jinghong brought up the rear of the crowd, turning his head midair to gaze back. He saw only an endless, frenzied tide of beast-demons surging forward—the whole earth seemed already an ocean of vicious beasts, with not a trace of human presence left anywhere.

This catastrophe had finally reached its most critical hour!

********

When the urgent report of Xiao Yichen and the others' hurried return arrived, the gathered orthodox cultivators in the Yuheng Hall atop Jietian Peak of Canglan Mountain all fell silent for a time.

Stillness settled over the vast hall. What was fated to come had come at last.

Daoist Priest Daoyan rose slowly, his countenance grave, and said in a measured voice, "Fellow cultivators, the fate of all living things under heaven rests here. As things stand, the beast-demons hold He Yin City and will attack Qingyun before many days pass. I have no further words to offer—please return and rest well. On the day to come, we shall fight the beast-demons to the death."

The crowd exchanged glances; after a moment they slowly rose to their feet. A low murmur of private talk gradually filled the Yuheng Hall, and amid that subdued hum the people filed out one by one. Daoyan turned to Master Pucheng and Yun Yifeng, seated beside him, and said, "You two should rest as well. I have a small matter to discuss with the other senior masters of the Canglan Sect."

Master Pucheng and Yun Yifeng both stood and returned the courtesy. "As you wish, Priest."

Daoyan returned the salute, exchanged a word with Xiao Yichen, and Xiao Yichen hurried to follow him into the rear hall, where somewhere within, the other senior masters and elders of the Canglan Sect were already waiting for them. Lin Jinghong watched them go, then stepped out of the Yuheng Hall alone and strolled to the railing outside, where he leaned and looked out. The vault of heaven was ink-black, the dark clouds heavy and sunken, without a sliver of light. The mountain wind cut like a knife, moaning as it blew, stinging his face.

He stood there in silence, and all unbidden his mind turned again to that mysterious slip of paper and the baffling four characters upon it:

Fire in the rear court...

Fire in the rear court, fire in the rear court? What fire in the rear court? Countless thoughts churned through Lin Jinghong's mind, and at last they slowly gathered to a single point—the slightly stunned words of Xiao Yichen echoing at his ear: "What's happened to the back mountain, Junior Brother Lin..."

The back mountain?

Lin Jinghong's brow furrowed once more. Though his eyes lit up, he slowly shook his head and fell to puzzling again. How long he stood lost in thought he did not know; when he came to himself, he found no one left around him. Lin Jinghong sighed and walked slowly down the steps.

********

Ever since the beast-demons appeared, the Canglan Sect had strengthened the guard of Canglan Mountain, especially the front slopes—no one knew when those countless savage beasts might suddenly come charging up. Yet Canglan Mountain had always been perilous, and Jietian Peak in particular towered into the clouds, easy to hold and hard to take. To cultivators of accomplished Dao these heights were no great obstacle, but to the many beast-demons that could not fly they were superb natural barriers.

Yet the beast-demons had always swept all before them wherever they went, and countless appalling rumors surrounded them. No one could be sure they had no unexpected means of attack, and what was more, no one to this day knew the true depths of that legendary Beast Lord—all of which deepened everyone's misgivings.

Compared with the front slopes, the back mountain of the Canglan Sect was almost entirely sheer cliff and precipice, impassable even to apes. Even so, the sect still posted many disciples to patrol the skies on their swords, just in case. There was one curious thing, however: near the sect's forbidden ground, the Illusory Moon Grotto-Heaven, and around the Ancestral Master Hall at its very edge, there were remarkably few Qingyun disciples on guard—as though the Canglan Sect had no worry at all about these two places.