Quinn Shepherd frowned deeply. Ben Coates, wary of the voodoo he himself had crafted, dared not attack and could only retreat. Yet the soul‑summoning witchcraft he unleashed in his rage was truly terrifying!
Ben Coates is still at the Six Directions realm, but even Seven Stars experts die instantly from a single bow. These three monster monks were especially formidable, their beast cultivation highly advanced.
The Golden‑Winged Peng is a renowned exotic beast in the Great Ruins, famed for its immense strength and hardened body. Having also trained in Little Thunderclap Temple's Buddhist arts, its spirit is exceptionally stable.
He killed three Golden‑Winged Pengs in succession—this technique is powerful enough that even Butcher would have to guard against it!
Ben Coates once carried himself with some dignity, a true master’s demeanor. But now, repeatedly defeated by Quinn Shepherd, he’s become enraged and shameless—striking without restraint.
This time he killed three monster monks from Little Thunderclap Temple; next time, he’ll likely target those close to Quinn Shepherd.
Who could withstand a single bow from him?
"But looking at Ben Coates after he killed those three, he seems badly wounded himself. Clearly, this technique has severe backlash and can’t be used recklessly."
Quinn Shepherd’s brow remained furrowed. Even if the backlash is severe, this kind of ‘bow‑and‑you‑die’ technique is nearly impossible to defend against.
"Let’s bury these three monks. We can’t leave their bodies exposed in the wild."
The group buried the three Golden‑Winged Pengs. Quinn Shepherd bowed in respect and sighed, “Safe journey, all three of you. One day, I’ll burn a Ben Coates effigy to honor your spirits. Let’s go—wait!”
The Dragon‑Qilin stopped at once. Quinn Shepherd closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them, took out brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, and gathered his vital energy, neatly spreading the paper in midair.
He stirred the ink with his brush and painted in the air. Soon, an image of a god‑demon standing atop an altar emerged from his strokes.
Quinn Shepherd was about to add the final stroke, but paused, took out a seal and stamped the painting, then finished with the last brushstroke.
“The key to Ben Coates’s soul‑summoning witchcraft must lie in this god‑demon.”
He checked the painting thoroughly, making sure he hadn’t made a mistake. Deaf taught him calligraphy and painting, emphasizing the need to capture form, intent, and spirit in a single moment. Quinn often traveled with Deaf to sketch from life, painting all sorts of things. Though the god‑demon behind Ben Coates hadn’t appeared for long, Quinn managed to capture its exact shape and aura.
“I don’t recognize this god‑demon, but the Great Ruins is full of all kinds of statues. Village Chief and Grandpa Mark have seen a lot—maybe they’ll know it. Since we’re in the Great Ruins, we might as well go back to the village and ask. Even if they don’t know, there’s the Cult of the Heavenly Saint and the Everpeace Empire—someone will recognize it!”
Quinn Shepherd put away the painting, thinking, “If I can identify this god‑demon, there’s a chance to break Ben Coates’s witchcraft. Otherwise, the only option is to eliminate him at all costs.”
‘At all costs’—which means attacking Loulan Golden Palace. And to conquer a sacred place like Loulan Golden Palace, you’d first have to take the grasslands and destroy all the prairie nations.
Clearly, that’s an almost impossible task.
So in the end, the only remaining option would be to urge the emperor to take military action against the prairie and wipe out Loulan Golden Palace—but the Holy Cult alone doesn't have that kind of power.
The Dragon-Qilin walked ahead, while Quinn called over the two White Bats to heal their wounds. Once they recovered, Quinn, protected by the bats, soared into the sky to survey the terrain.
After a while, Quinn descended, frowning slightly—he hadn’t spotted the Yong River.
If he could see the Yong River, he’d at least be able to determine his position. Without it, and relying only on the Great Ruins map, it was hard to pinpoint exactly where they were.
They headed east for a hundred or so miles. Quinn flew up again, checking the geography and comparing it with his memory of the Great Ruins map.
After repeating this several times, he finally identified their location based on the lay of the land.
"We’re near the Western Heavenly Palace—not far from the Western Lands."
Quinn, now certain of their direction, breathed a sigh of relief and landed, telling the Dragon-Qilin the route. They continued east for another hundred miles. Quinn estimated they were close to the spot marked ‘Western Heavenly Palace’ on the map and was surveying the area when the road suddenly grew steep.
A vast stretch of land slanted into the Great Ruins like a giant disc, towering above the surrounding peaks—as if it had fallen from the sky and crashed into the Ruins!
The Dragon-Qilin halted, and Quinn looked toward the enormous landmass. Dense forests covered it, but through the greenery, he could glimpse grand ruins of ancient buildings.
In some places where the ground was cracked, metallic glints shone through—something made of metal was buried deep beneath this land, though what it was, he couldn’t tell.
There were also towering god-statues, some standing and some toppled.
They spent some time skirting around this landmass and were stunned by what they saw ahead—a basin scattered with land plates, some stuck upright in the ground, others flipped over showing mountain-like undersides, some split into several pieces. Some plates still held intact ruins—remnants of cities—where exotic beasts roamed, and powerful beast lords would occasionally roar, threatening any creature that dared approach their territory.
Where these land plates were broken, long metallic structures were exposed, uneven in height like the pipes of a sheng.
When the wind blew through the basin, those metal structures hummed, producing musical tones—surprisingly pleasant to the ear.
"Such a great civilization—how did it fall so low?"
Quinn gazed into the distance, then looked away. This place should be safe, hard for darkness to invade, which explained the abundance of exotic beasts. Traveling here required extreme caution.
Taking a detour would likely cost them another day, so they had no choice but to press on.
Quinn jumped off the Dragon-Qilin’s back to lead the way himself. Having grown up in the Great Ruins, he understood the habits of exotic beasts; if he let the Dragon-Qilin or the White Bats lead, they’d probably cause trouble.
They ventured into the basin. Suddenly, Quinn frowned at the wheel tracks on the ground—they likely belonged to True Heaven Palace’s Jewel Incense Carriage. There were also messy footprints, probably left by the cultivators chasing the carriage.
Clearly, they’d entered this area. Judging by their route, these people also understood the rules of the Great Ruins and hadn’t strayed off the safe path.
Still, the divine arts of True Heaven Palace were quite unique—large in scale and movement. If they fought here, they could easily enrage a beast lord.
"If we take the same road as them, we might get dragged in."
Quinn thought about finding another path, but the only safe road through the basin was this one. Any detour would mean crossing a great marsh.
He looked toward the marsh, and suddenly the water churned—a giant crocodile-man rose up, standing on the surface, nostrils steaming, picking at his knife-sharp claws.
This beast lord was not to be trifled with; taking that detour would be courting death.
On the other side was a ruined city, its towering temples as numerous as oxen. Many red-crowned, black-necked cranes danced and flew about, looking peaceful enough.
But in the city, a male and a female crane were forging swords. With a flap of their wings, countless sword-lights filled the sky, forming rings. Judging by the speed of those sword-lights, Quinn figured these crane leaders were even more dangerous than the giant crocodile.
"There’s only one way through!"
Quinn exhaled a heavy breath and whispered, "True Heaven Palace's family matters in the Western Lands—we won't get involved. I'm not the type who loves fighting or meddling in other people's business. Let's just go around..."
The basin was bustling. Four rhinoceroses clad in thick bone armor lumbered over, their hides pure white without a single blemish. Their small eyes darted warily at Quinn, the Dragon-Qilin behind him, and the two White Bat brothers who kept swooping and hanging upside down from the trees.
One of the female rhinos spoke in human tongue, "That big dog is so fat it looks like a pig, but it can still walk."
The lead rhino chief's face turned ashen. He quickly rolled on the ground, transforming into a small giant with a rhino's head and a human body. Under his bone armor, his flesh was knotted and lumpy. He pressed his two front hooves together and said to Quinn, "Friend, my old lady loves to gossip. Please don't take offense!"
Quinn laughed, "No offense taken. The Dragon-Fat is indeed a bit chubby."
The rhino chief breathed a sigh of relief, leading the three female rhinos away at a brisk pace. He grumbled, "Didn't you see? Those guys are all tough customers, every one of them looks fierce—especially that human and the two White Bats. They’re wrapped in who knows how many vengeful souls."
Quinn was surprised. The Dragon-Qilin said, "They say White Rhinos are clairvoyant, able to see the underworld and restless spirits. Impressive. Still, they got it wrong about me—I'm no big dog, and I'm not fat, just... robust."
Suddenly, the clash of divine arts and spirit weapons erupted up ahead—loud and explosive. Quinn called the White Bats back and cautiously moved forward.
They hadn’t gone far before a battlefield came into view. The True Heaven Palace experts were besieging the Jewel Incense Carriage, each of them wounded.
When they saw Quinn and his group arrive, the True Heaven Palace cultivators abruptly stopped their assault, turning to stare at them, motionless.
"Friend."
A young man stepped forward from the crowd and saluted Quinn. "Family matter."
Quinn returned the salute. "Just passing through."
The youth smiled and waved. "Clear a path—let them go by."
Quinn smiled and nodded to those on either side, leading the Dragon-Qilin and the White Bat brothers past. Ahead, the Jewel Incense Carriage lay in ruins, its wheels and canopy shattered. One of the spotted deer had taken human form, slumped beside the wreck; the other, likely the doe, had reverted to her true shape, badly wounded and lying there.
The mother and daughter they’d been protecting emerged from the carriage. The young woman was covered in blood, panting heavily as she shielded her child.
"Righteous one..."
The stag-turned-man suddenly reached out, grabbing Quinn’s hem. He struggled to lift his head, his voice faint as a whisper: "Righteous one, please..."
Quinn lifted his robe, slipped free of the grip, and kept walking.
As he passed the doe, Quinn paused, startled to see the one with the little red flower in her hair was already dead—her breath gone.
Quinn withdrew his gaze and continued forward. Suddenly, the woman called 'Nai Kui' grabbed his hand, looking at him with desperate hope, her voice hoarse: "Take my child with you. As long as she survives..."
Quinn halted. Behind him, the True Heaven Palace youth called out loudly, "Friend, this is an internal affair of our True Heaven Palace!"
Quinn broke free of her grip and walked on, smiling politely to the True Heaven Palace cultivators on either side as he led the Dragon-Qilin and the two White Bats through the battlefield.
The Dragon-Qilin hurried to catch up, glancing at Quinn’s face and hesitating, "Cult Master..."
Quinn’s face was expressionless. "Other people's family matters—we don't meddle..."
The Dragon-Qilin said, "Maybe that's for the best. Patriarch always said you were a troublemaker, but it seems you've really grown up."
Quinn paused, a little dazed. "Grown up? Is this what it means to grow up?"
"Knowing how to weigh consequences—that's growing up. That's rational."
The Dragon-Qilin said, "You used to be reckless—fighting here, fighting there, never afraid to offend anyone. Patriarch had to clean up after you for months."
Quinn fell silent as shouts and the sounds of slaughter echoed behind them.
"So this is what it means to grow up... But I don't want to grow up like this..."
Quinn let out a bitter laugh and kept walking. From his Glutton Dragon Pouch, small swords silently flew out one after another, embedding themselves around the area—more and more swords landed, forming a sword formation.
He kept moving forward, with eight thousand swords paving the way ahead. The Sword Treading Mountains and Rivers—these swords even formed the shapes of mountains and rivers as they landed.
Ding—the final sword light struck the ground.
Quinn stopped, pressed his hand down, and all eight thousand swords sank into the earth at once. Suddenly, he lifted his robe and vanished!
"I refuse to become that kind of adult!"