C1019 The Gathering of the Bandits
In the stillness of Veilfall Canyon, a bolt of lightning darted from a healing, yet unstable, crack.
Yan Qiling stood before several luminous fissures, gazing into the deserted valley, his face etched with astonishment.
He had risked the journey here upon discovering a space rift leading to this place from his location, one that was not yet stable and seemed on the verge of sealing shut.
Unbeknownst to him, Yu Yuan had departed the Nirvana Realm, taking the Dragon Slaying Stage along.
Unable to wait, he hurried over only to find the valley devoid of life.
His remnant soul swept the area, uncovering traces of battle, the forsaken black iron warship, the body of Touzet poisoned by the miasma, and the peculiar broken branches in the ship's hidden chamber...
"The miasma, the peach tree branches, Hu Caiyun!"
Yan Qiling's soulful awareness meticulously scoured the Nirvana Realm once again, yet no further oddities were revealed.
At that moment, several space rifts in Veilfall Canyon seemed poised to seal completely, including the one through which he had arrived.
Yan Qiling eyed the broader rift before him, deep in thought, hesitant to act recklessly.
He surmised that this seemingly safest space rift might well be the one used by Peach Madam and others to depart.
But the destination of the tunnel and the conditions on the other side remained a mystery to him.
This was because the rift had begun to mend and destabilize after Yu Yuan, Benin, and the others vanished, concealing many wonders.
Even Yan Qiling harbored a fear of the unknown and unfamiliar.
"Let it be."
After much deliberation, he decided to abandon his quest, returning through the space rift he knew well.
Thus, he forfeited the chance to encounter Yu Yuan again amidst the stars of the extraterrestrial Star River.
...
In a remote and icy corner of the Star River, where the stars dimmed, a Serpentflame Storm capable of annihilating a Solar Spirit had just been narrowly dodged by three peculiar landmasses.
Arranged in a '品' formation, the foremost land trailed dazzling fiery trails, resembling a Spirit Bird with outstretched wings.
The two trailing lands were being hauled forward by golden chains attached to the lead land.
Innumerable flames coalesced into a tempest behind the trio of unusual lands, a storm that devoured the special materials discarded by the marauders with a cacophony of crackling sounds.
On the land shrouded by a pale blue light barrier, stood an exceptionally tall member of the Stoneborn bandits. His body appeared to be carved from crimson rock, with blood coursing through his veins like molten lava. As he spoke, his saliva sprayed like fiery embers, "Damn it, we've run into the Serpentflame Storm again. This is terrible!"
Upon setting his massive hammer down, a look of astonishment crossed his face.
Near the fiery-red hammer, the skeletal remains of a dire beast emitted a sudden and intense spatial disturbance. An eerie glow filled the empty eye sockets of the massive creature.
This dire beast, towering at twenty to twenty-four meters tall, was known as the Stellar Hurricane Beast. According to legend, its singular eye was a rare treasure sought after by the Voidweavers.
The Stellar Hurricane Beast before him appeared to possess an eighth-level bloodline, but its flesh, bones, and the peculiar eye had long been harvested, leaving only its desolate skeleton behind, ignored by all.
At that moment, the unsold skeleton of the Stellar Hurricane Beast burst into a radiant glow, startling the Stoneborn.
Before he could react, figures began to emerge from the eye sockets of the long-dead Stellar Hurricane Beast.
With a thunderous crash, the skeleton could no longer bear the spatial tremors of the psionic power and disintegrated into dust.
"Something's off here!"
The towering Stoneborn's expression shifted dramatically as he yelled in the demonic tongue commonly used by the Star-Spawned Terrors.
Before humanity ventured into the Star River, it was the Sky Fiends, in their diverse forms, who reigned supreme over the deceased. Thus, the language of the Sky Fiends became the lingua franca of the Star River.
"People! Humans from the Everlands!"
The shout from the Stoneborn rogue quickly drew hundreds of bandits from various races, converging from every direction.
Further out, thousands more bandits looked on in bewilderment, unable to discern the content of his cry.
"A bandit stronghold."
Yu Yuan smiled softly, standing amidst the remains of the Stellar Hurricane Beast, and instinctively glanced up at the sky.
The pale blue barrier before him was not the familiar wall he knew, but rather a barrier akin to the one found in the Moonfall Sanctuary—an artificial energy halo created to prevent the chaotic psionic powers from the Star River from seeping in. This was to protect the bandits with lower bloodline levels, who were fragile and at risk of death.
After a few deep breaths, he observed hundreds of bandits hurrying towards him. Their bloodline levels were indeed unimpressive.
The majority were sixth, seventh, and eighth level Otherkin, each clad in mismatched attire, hailing from numerous small tribes he had never encountered before.
Shura, enchantresses, Shadowkin, and Dawnbringers were a rare sight.
It seemed highly unlikely for Otherkin of noble blood to fall into banditry.
"Silverscale Tribe! And, there's a Voidweaver!"
A booming shout pierced through all other sounds, followed by a heavy, earthquake-like rumble, revealing a dark-brown-skinned giant towering over ten meters tall.
His upper body, bare and crisscrossed with scabbed scars, was encircled by black iron chains at the waist.
Some chains trailed on the ground, sliding like a tail as he moved.
The black iron chains, stained with blood and dulled with use, were likely his weapon of choice, though it was unknown how many creatures had fallen to them.
As he approached, the stench of blood emanating from him caused many to recoil in discomfort, instinctively giving him a wide berth.
"Titan," Zhan Ruonan of the Ruby Hand muttered with a furrowed brow and a sneer of contempt.
"A formidable Titan indeed," Sun Jun remarked, his eyes narrowed, seemingly indifferent. To the humans who had emerged from the extraterrestrial realms, most Otherkin were nothing more than prey and lambs, hardly worth noting.
"They're humans!"
The bandits gradually shifted their language, shouting in the cumbersome tongue of humans, seemingly eager to be understood.
Yu Yuan carefully observed the hundreds of bandits on the land, noting the fear and wariness in their eyes as they gazed upon them, as if they were beholding a flood or a ferocious beast.
This place was a significant hub for the extraterrestrial bandits, apparently home to three Kings of Bandits.
Although the three Kings of Bandits often ventured out to hunt and were not always present, they lived lives on the edge, constantly licking blood from their blades, and their numbers were substantial. Yet, upon realizing that the newcomers were from the Everlands, even these battle-hardened bandits couldn't help but feel a sense of dread.
Yu Yuan chuckled to himself. He was acutely aware that deep within the Star River of the extraterrestrial realms, in the eyes of the Sky Fiends and various Otherkin, it was the Human Race that was seen as the most ferocious, the most savage, and the common foe—a terror to all.
"Benin, and Hart, you two are now safe," Yu Yuan said, stroking his chin and gesturing to Benin. "You're free to leave on your own accord. Go wherever you wish."
Benin remained silent.
Hart's expression soured as he pondered, "This is the stronghold of the King of Bandits. As members of the regular army, we've always been at odds with bandits. Where can we possibly go now?"
"Where have you come from, and what brings you to our lands?" asked a towering warrior from the Titan Race, standing before Yu Yuan and the others like a formidable hill. He was one of the few bandits who showed no fear, likely confident in his own combat prowess.
"I've heard that the white crane from the Everlands was here not too long ago," Yu Yuan inquired.
At that moment, Peach Madam stepped forward with a graceful smile, emerging from behind Yu Yuan and Sun Jun. Sun Jun hastily stepped aside as she approached, wary that she might suddenly unleash a deadly miasma that would engulf him.
"The white crane? The same one that departed with Hei Xun from the Embers Sea?" Yu Yuan exclaimed in surprise.
Peach Madam nodded gently. "I made a promise that upon leaving the Nirvana Realm, I would inform you of Hei Xun's whereabouts, as well as that of the white crane. Let's save Hei Xun for later and focus on the white crane for now."
"The white crane!" The Titan warrior's face blanched, his eyes betraying a deep-seated fear.
