By the time Huo Yan Valley City was visible, I decided to dismiss Long Wang back to my dungeon so that he could get some rest. Unfortunately, Myria and I still had some way to go before we reached the relative safety of the volcanic city. The sight of its tamed boiling lava rivers was welcome, especially after what we had endured so far.
Too bad we couldn't teleport over there like how I teleported my spirit beasts back and forth from my dungeon to wherever I was. The journey was slightly inconvenient, but it was what it was.
"We should be there in an hour," Myria said, wiping the perspiration from her forehead. We had taken breaks on the way back, even setting up camp and spending the night in a secluded region of the valley. Fortunately, none of the spirit beasts inhabiting the Huo Yan Valley showed up to bother us. After waking up, we had a bit of breakfast before resuming our journey.
Thanks to the long night of rest, I felt refreshed. The qi that I had expended the day before was mostly restored, and I was confident I could fight just as hard if necessary. Not that I wanted to get into combat for no reason, but still…
"What's that?"
Myria's voice snapped me out of my thoughts and I glanced in the direction she was pointing in. A Fire Ape was rampaging near the bottom of a ridge, and normally I would leave it alone, but I spotted a small group of people lying on the ground. Five of them, with half their number visibly dead. I knew for sure because they were literally in pieces, their bodies torn apart and lying on top of huge pools of blood.
That left two more. They were barely alive, but unconscious, helpless as the Fire Ape bore down on them.
"We should help them," I said and rushed over. Damn it, if I still had my bow, I could shoot the damned spirit beast down from a distance, but it had finally snapped under the constant exposure to my now potent qi. Without a bow, I had no way of using Azure Rain Celestial Arrows. And I couldn't just reshape my qi into a spirit bow like I did with my swords. Normally, a person only had one spirit weapon that was the pinnacle of his cultivation, so for me to have three was already an abnormality. I mean, Black Frost and White Frost as a pair counted as one spirit sword, so technically I only had two, but…yeah, apparently, I couldn't conjure a spirit bow.
I did attempt during my numerous training sessions and failed, so it wasn't like I was talking out of my ass right now.
Before Myria could object, I jumped off the ridge and hurtled toward the Fire Ape. It was grunting, reaching out with a beefy, red-furred arm and snatching up one of the survivors. I saw that she was a pretty young woman in her mid-twenties, her long brown hair tied into a ponytail. She groaned and stirred awake, only to flail about when she found herself in the grip of an enemy.
"I won't let you kill me so easily!" She snapped, only to shriek in agony as the Fire Ape crushed her in its fist. It then raised her toward its maw, which sported sharp fans. She gritted her teeth and spat at it. "Go to hell, you damned oversized monkey!"
The Fire Ape was not impressed. Actually, it seemed hungry. So it ignored the babbling of its would-be meal and closed its mouth around her.
Before it could bite down, though, I cleaved off its arm with Black Frost. The Fire Ape bellowed as it staggered, blood spurting from its huge stump. The lady cried out when she hit the ground, still in the grip of the disembodied hand, but she was quickly able to free herself from the twitching limb. The Fire Ape swerved around to roar at me, but I cut its throat open with White Frost.
The Fire Ape stared at me, stunned, clutching desperately at its slit carotid artery before toppling over. The lady gaped at me in astonishment, still not believing what had just happened.
"Thank you for saving us." Her companion, a man in his late twenties and stubble lining his square jaw, giving his handsome features a gritty look, crawled to his feet and bowed. I waved his formal mannerisms away.
"No, not at all. We should always be looking out for each other."
"You…you're at least Mystic rank, aren't you? To be able to kill a Yellow ranked Fire Ape so easily…" The lady swallowed before she dropped to her knee. Fortunately, her teammate caught her before she could fall flat on her face. She looked up desperately. "Thanks for saving us."
"What are you doing out here?" I asked, glancing around. "You're from Huo Yan Valley City, aren't you? Why did you come all the way out here?"
The two of them exchanged a glance before turning back to me. By now, Myria had joined me.
"Are you guys all right?"
"Yeah. You…" The lady regarded Myria for a second before facing me. "You two are the guests, right? The ones Gan Jiang and Mo Ye assigned to investigate the cause for the sudden increase in spirit beast activity."
"Yeah."
"We were sent as backup, to check on your progress and see if you need help." She smiled bitterly. "Seems like we're the ones who needed assistance instead."
"That's strange. You seem stronger than what was described in the information we have." The guy looked puzzled as he studied me.
"I gained a lot from the combat experience this time," I explained. Then I gestured toward the city. "If you don't mind, let us return to the city and I'll submit a report."
"Good idea." The lady allowed the guy to support her, and they whirled around to return to the city. I accompanied them, with Myria by my side, and within the hour, we were back in the city hall, waiting for Ying Xing Ran.
This time, he wasn't alone. Mi Shu, his secretary, was an ever-present aide, but they were accompanied by Gan Jiang and Mo Ye.
"We heard that you found out the cause for the increase in spirit beast aggression?" The mayor asked, having heard a brief account secondhand. I nodded.
"Yeah, we found the demonic cultivators holing up in this particular volcano." I jabbed a finger against the holographic map, picking out the specific volcano. "They were setting up spirit arrays to spark a chain eruption from all the volcanoes in Huo Yan Valley and engulf the entire region in lava. If they succeeded, they would destroy all the cities in this province."
"So the spirit beasts waves were just a diversion," Gan Jiang remarked thoughtfully. I shrugged.
"Most likely. They were using spirit beasts as guards while they activated their spirit arrays."
"If true, the you have saved our city." Ying Xing Ran was grim. "We'll send out investigation squads to confirm what you found, seal off the area and clean up whatever mess the demonic cultivators left behind, but you have really done us a great service. Thank you very much."
"We owe you a massive debt of gratitude," Mo Ye said, lowering her head. I laughed and waved her thanks away.
"Nah, we already agreed on the reward. So you don't owe me anything except that."
"Right, the weapons." Gan Jiang nodded. "We'll do our best to forge the best possible treasure weapons we can."
"We'll begin right away," Mo Ye promised.
"In the meantime, while you wait for them to forge them, you can rest. We'll provide the best accommodations and offer the greatest hospitality. Mi Shu, please arrange everything for them."
"Already done," the secretary said, her head bowed.
"Oh, and I don't mean to trouble you, but we'll be contacting you over the next few days to clarify any doubts that might arise during the cause of the investigation and cleanup. I hope you'll give us your full cooperation."
"Sure," I promised with a nod. Myria also gave her assent silently, following my lead. For now, though, I couldn't wait to enjoy a well-deserved vacation, though I wasn't sure what exactly Huo Yan Valley City could provide. The place wasn't known for its tourist attractions, after all.
As it turned out, not much. Other than a luxurious hotel meant for VIP guests who came to do business, buy spirit weapons in bulk or other stuff, there wasn't much to sightsee. As impressive as the magnificent sight of lava lakes and volcanic rivers was, after staring at them for a few days, they just got old. I couldn't wait for Gan Jiang and Mo Ye to finish forging my weapons so that I could return home.
The questions did come, and I stayed up to date with the city's investigation squads out of curiosity. It appeared that they did find the remains of the demonic cultivators and spirit beasts where my allies and I had left them, and detected the lingering traces of the devastating spirit arrays that they had set up. Even with the formations gone, they had left qi in the air, enough for the forensics team to piece together and figure out what happened.
These serve as evidence to testify that my report was the truth. I told you, cultivators weren't just prized for their combat abilities. We all had different roles and skillsets, and each of them had their place in human society. The whole "strong eat the weak" rhetoric was nothing more than nonsensical bullshit spouted by lazy writers who wanted to give their protagonists an excuse to kill whatever characters unlucky enough to get in their paths.
Eventually, though, I received a message from Mi Shu about three days after I had returned from the volcanic region.
"Your treasure weapons are completed. You can collect them from the legendary blacksmith couple now."
"Thanks!" I didn't wait, already rushing to their workshop the moment Mi Shu informed me. Myria rolled her eyes and followed close behind, probably wondering what the excitement was about. Being a princess, receiving treasure weapons was most likely natural to her. She didn't even have to pay for them or work in exchange. People would be lining up to gift such precious things to the royal family.
Gan Jiang and Mo Ye were waiting for me when I reached their workshop. The husband presented me a gleaming azure sword that looked similar to Azure Frost, with dragon-shaped runes carved into the blade, while the wife handed me a shining black bow that had similar dragon motifs on its surface.
"This is Azure Dragon," Gan Jiang said proudly, giving the sword to me. I stared at it in awe before bowing my head in thanks.
"And this is Obsidian Drake," Mo Ye added with pride, passing the bow to me. I accepted it with great gratitude.
"Thank you very much, both of you. These are…amazing."
"You exaggerate." Mo Ye laughed. "We are flattered, but they aren't as amazing as you make them sound to be."
"We did pour our heart and soul into making them, though," Gan Jiang declared with a smile. "I hope you will put them into good use. We don't know if these treasure weapons are enough to repay you for what you have done for our city."
"Yes, they are."
"If you have any weapons you want in future, feel free to come to us again. As long as you supply the materials, we should be able to forge anything you want."
"Thanks!" I bowed to Gan Jiang, and then to Mo Ye. "I'm very honored to have received treasure weapons that you both have forged. I'll make sure to protect humanity with them!"
"I'm sure you will."
With that, I found myself fully armed once more. Bidding the renowned blacksmith couple farewell, I then return to the hotel.
"So…this means we will be returning home?" Myria asked. I nodded and grinned, still studying my new treasure weapons and marveling over their incredible quality. I couldn't wait to show them to my family.
"Yup. Let's go back to Xia Hai immediately!"