Ren knew what was going to happen almost before it happened. But neither he nor Mei Ling reacted fast enough to make a difference. They could have tried to outrun the other cultivator, or they could have tried to force him to fight, but in their hesitation, the cultivator wearing the dark blue patterned robes of the Celestial Instruments Sect rushed past them, leaving them to deal with the enraged blood beast.

  Ren could only curse the bastard son of a donkey even as he prepared to fight. This beast was of the larger variety, and without a formation to restrict its movements, it would be much more daunting to slay it. Ren faced it while Mei Ling moved to the flank. They had grown accustomed to the blood beasts' movements and put all that they had learned into action. They aimed for its hind legs, blocked its vision, poisoned it, and created openings for the other to take advantage of.

  Still, Ren started to take wounds as the beast fought back viciously. It was stronger, acted faster, and was slightly more intelligent than most others they had fought. It didn’t fixate on just Ren and dealt Mei Ling the occasional slash when she let it get too close. Eventually, they managed to weaken it to the point where Mei Ling successfully removed one of its eyes with a fortunate whip strike. Ren charged to its blind side with an earth-striding leap and sunk his blade almost to the hilt into its chest.

  They looked at each other as they tried to get their breath back. They were both bleeding from several wounds, with Ren slightly worse off. Just then they heard a noise from the side and turned their heads sharply. It was the ruthless disciple who had left them to fight unprepared.

  Their guards were up in an instant, but they had just fought an exhaustive battle. Even outnumbering him, their chances weren’t very good. Ren hoped faintly that he had returned to thank them and not take advantage of their weakened state.

  Mei Ling spoke first, “You forfeited your claim to the beast after you fled. It belongs to us now.”

  The young man said nothing but moved the sword hidden behind him to his side. His face was expressionless, but Ren could tell what he had decided.

  Ren stared hard in his direction and finally said with a hint of warning in his voice,

  “You can just walk away. There’s no need for further bloodshed.”

  After a moment he continued, “Or we can walk away. There are plenty of other beasts to fight.”

  He ignored Mei Ling glaring at him in annoyance for giving up the claim to the beast they had slain and kept his gaze towards the enemy. The cultivator took another step forward, his sword rising.

  “Very well.” Sighed Ren under his breath. Then, taking everyone by surprise, shouted, “Run, Ling!" At the same moment, he threw out one of Bao Hua’s talismans.

  A thick root burst out of the ground and wrapped around the enemy cultivator’s leg. Mei Ling finally spotted the new blood beast that had come to investigate their battle, which was now charging toward them from behind the rooted cultivator, and turned to run. Ren didn’t regret having to leave behind their spoils; their lives were more important.

  As they ran, they ignored the scared yells, which cut off suddenly under a bestial roar. They managed to get away far enough to hide their tracks and recover their strength a little. They made their way back carefully to avoid getting into more fights while injured. Bao Hua was concerned at their state, but they assured him they would heal. But there would be no more hunts until then, and most likely, Bao Hua would have finished stabilizing his cultivation by then.

  Ren thanked Hua for sharing the ensnaring root talisman he had prepared for all of them. It would have been impossible to flee the cultivator and the second blood beast without it. He then sat down to let Mei Ling take a look at his wounds and did his best to come to terms with what had happened earlier.

  When he entered the trial, he had been prepared to take lives if he had to defend himself or his friends. He had seen plenty of death before, as lives were cheap, even in the mortal world. He wondered if killing would clash with his principles. But despite it being the first time his actions directly led to someone’s demise, he couldn’t help but feel at peace with the decision to abandon the opponent to his fate. In his mind, their karma had simply been balanced. Everything had a cause and effect, and Ren wasn’t a saint who would save someone who wanted to kill him. That could wait until he was strong enough to be safe.

  Ren looked around the little cave that had hosted them for two weeks. It had been safe if not very comfortable. The experimental herbs that Mei Ling had planted around the blood pool had been harvested and examined. She had wanted to learn the properties of the blood pool but couldn’t discern much beyond that it had blood attribute qi and could potentially affect the attribute of any plant that grew on it. Ren had helped research the uses for the red flowers, the lotuses, and the other spiritual plants they had harvested.

  He also decided to leave behind the formation array he had laid down and made the cave entrance discoverable. They wouldn’t return here, but maybe in the future some other disciple might make use of it. Maybe even the next time the trial opened. It cost him very little to leave behind the array flags. A little act of kindness.

  Healed and stronger than ever with three combat-capable foundation realm cultivators, they decided to traverse the mountain range they were on as they headed inwards. They climbed the mountain rapidly, fighting the occasional beast, but with the three of them fighting together, they ended fights quickly and cleanly. They crested the peak where the bloody haze was the thinnest and looked toward the inner regions.

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  Just as they suspected, the mountains stretched to their right and left with just the hint of curvature before they faded from view. Far below them was a stretch of forests, and beyond that was another mountain range that ringed the center. The light of the realm was constant, and it was hard to tell whether it was day or night. The clouds above them were red, as if at any moment, it would start to rain blood.

  Not wanting to linger for too long, they started to make their way down the mountain, scouring the rocky terrain for any caves they could plunder. Of the four they found, only the last one near the foothills had a blood pool. They decided to make camp again. Mei Ling even tried to transplant some herbs to this blood pool as they recovered from their many fights. The qi had started to increase, and with it, the strength of the blood beasts they fought.

  The next day they set out to face the forests. The woods were the same twisted trees with red leaves they had seen when they first entered the trial. Ren was starting to get sick of the monochromatic landscape. What was the intent behind this blood-themed trial?

  The elders cautioned them that the trial’s creator might have suffered cultivation deviation and any manuals they found might have been tainted. They also allowed the sect members to trade in any manuals they found for a large reward of contribution points. Ren knew he wouldn’t be practicing anything, but he was curious to see if there was anything he could use as reference.

  His idle ponderings were interrupted by faint shouts and sounds of battle. The three of them looked at each other and decided to approach quietly. A few moments later, they came upon a small clearing where 5 cultivators were demolishing a creature they hadn’t yet fought. Ren was relieved to see that they were all disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect. The creature they were facing was the one Mei Ling had spotted from a distance.

  It walked on two legs, and its forelimbs were scythe-like blades that it slashed in sweeping motions. It was tall and had a wolf-like face with a long muzzle. It had a long reach, and its movements were quick, but its opponents made it look like a stumbling drunk. Ren was slightly awed by their teamwork and the devastating attacks of fire and earth they were unleashing. Just then he noticed another who wasn’t even participating. She looked slightly bored and watched the others as if she were waiting for a play to end. Careful observation revealed that she was a core disciple and the other four were inner sect disciples.

  After the beast was slain, the core disciple looked in at the thicket they were hiding in as if waiting. They walked out abashed and quickly bowed.

  "Greetings, senior sister.”

  They didn’t dare ask any questions, as her status was far above them. They could only hope she would look kindly upon her juniors.

  “You three look like you’ve been doing well in the trial. Are you heading further in now? I wouldn’t recommend it. You aren’t strong enough.”

  “But don’t worry, we were tasked by my master to look out for little juniors like you during this trial.”

  Seeing her somewhat friendly demeanor, Mei Ling asked, “Senior sister, aren’t you interested in the inheritance?”

  The core disciple laughed softly, “Hah, why would I care about the tattered ravings that aren’t even compatible with me? Don’t doubt us so much. I’m not interested in your little treasures. We have our own reward waiting for us back at the sect. Now if you would like to join us back at the camp, we can offer some advice and a safe haven.” After which she proceeded to ignore them and swept her hand at the corpse of the scythe beast, which vanished into her spatial pouch.

  They relaxed a little at that. True, why would a core disciple care about the natural treasures they found in the outer regions when they were clearly capable of heading much further in? They agreed and introduced themselves. The one other girl from the elite team, Aifei, was ordered to lead them back while the others continued their hunt.

  She was a kindly, talkative girl who didn’t mind answering their questions.

  “Her master already gave her a cultivation manual perfectly suited for her 1st order spirit root of the fire attribute, so the blood, water, and lunar attributes found here are not suitable. So instead of just searching for treasures, she helps preserve the numbers of our weaker sect members. It’s the same for us.”

  “We made a defensible camp and put the weaker disciples there to recover. The most dangerous spot is this forest, where everybody too strong for the outer regions thinks they can easily survive the inner regions.”

  Before they had a chance to be embarrassed, she continued, “I don’t mean you. I think you could make it to the second mountain range at least. You’re in good shape, having come so far. But you saw that slasher beast earlier; we've lost quite a few to those types.”

  Bao Hua jumped in when she paused to take a breath, “Senior, how big is this subspace? How far do we have to travel to reach the mountains?”

  "Oh, this is one of the biggest subspaces I’ve been in. Even the one in the Celestial Instruments Sect fails to compare. The mist and clouds cause disorientation, so flying devices can’t be used. My estimate is that it would take months to circle the outer mountains. As for this forest, you can reach the mountains in a week or so. Not too much danger if you stick to our territory.”

  "Oh, and this area is actually close to the Hidden Sea Sect. You’re lucky you met us first. Definitely stay away from them. We’ve heard some unsavory rumors, and they’ve even attacked us a few times.”

  “On the other side of our territory is the monks’ territory. They’re not a bad sort, but it’s best to avoid conflict. They occasionally send disciples of our sect in our direction.”

  Mei Ling was more curious about the inner regions. “Has there been any news from the inner regions?”

  Aifei replied with a shrug. “Not much. Only from a few injured who returned to safer grounds. All the elites who headed straight there should be busy competing like crazy and probably finding amazing treasures. But clearly nobody has earned the big prize yet, or the trial would have started to close.”

  She looked a little wistful. She was surely a strong mid-stage foundation realm cultivator who would do well in the inner regions, but she clearly admired those true elites. It was a fact that cultivation stage wasn’t everything. Talent and techniques could overcome those of higher cultivation. The elites were proof of that. They were the late or peak stage foundation realm cultivators this trial was meant for.

  Aifei had continued talking about how amazing Li Xing was, the core disciple they had met earlier.

  As they approached camp, Aifei took out a token that allowed entry. In an instant, Ren could see the formations around camp had clearly been battered. He could see faults where the qi was pooling dangerously and nodes missing the formation flag where the channels were leaking qi. The whole thing looked precarious.

  A little hesitantly, he volunteered his services.

  “I am a formation user so I can help make the…” He was interrupted by a painful grasp on his shoulder. The chatty girl was replaced by a deadly serious senior.

  “Why didn’t you say so earlier! Come with me!” and proceeded to drag him towards one of the tents inside.