Gu Xuan stared blankly at the massive stone pillar before him. His pupils dilated, his gaze vacant, as the scene from this morning replayed incessantly in his mind.
Unlike reality, those memories were shrouded in a crimson haze, reeking of blood and decay.
It felt as if he were reliving the moment his elder sister was captured by a tusked bandit.
Her terrified face, her anguished screams, and the drooling, fanged maw of the boar-like brute seemed grotesquely mismatched.
Then her head was bitten off.
Like a sugarcane stalk on the slopes of Jian Valley Mountain, bitten into with ease, releasing a gush of juice.
Except what poured out from her was blood.
Ten or so uncles and elder brothers charged forward, desperate to save her, only to be killed as well.
Their bodies were dragged away by the tusked tribesmen, likely to become their next meal.
"Why didn't I rush forward with my uncles and brothers back then?"
This question plagued Gu Xuan's mind.
"No, that's not right. I wanted to charge in, but my third uncle held me back."
Gu Xuan recalled that moment. He had seen his sister so easily caught by the drunken boar-man who had barged into their cell, and instinctively tried to leap forward.
But his third uncle restrained him, whispering into his ear, "Gu Xuan! You can't die. You are the hope of Jian Valley Mountain. Let us go instead!"
The next thing he saw was his sister being bitten to death.
Her wildly struggling limbs fell silent in the instant her head was severed.
The relatives who had thrown themselves into the fray to save her met the same fate: beaten, bitten, or torn apart.
Then Gu Xuan froze in terror.
His body went numb, his mind filled with the image of his sister's death. His limbs felt devoid of strength.
The elders around him shook their heads.
Seeing Gu Xuan's despairing state, they sighed heavily.
No one blamed this sixteen-year-old boy. In the face of such catastrophe, his collapse was understandable.
"We sacrificed dozens of clansmen to allow Yan Yi and Yan You to escape, but it's been four days now without a word."
"Could it be that Tai Cang won't dare to send help? A thousand cultivators of the sixth stage, led by a commander in the divine realm—if Tai Cang's strength is as you say, they may simply lack the power to intervene."
"Do you not understand the state of the Boundless Wasteland? Perhaps Yan Yi and Yan You never made it to Tai Cang. Maybe they were devoured by beasts or captured by other tribes along the way!"
"If they were eaten, it'd be quick; one bite and they'd be gone. But I fear they were taken by savage tribes, had their limbs hacked off, and are being kept alive as playthings!"
The elders sighed, their brows furrowed with worry and fear.
"When the food runs out, and the sun sets, we'll likely become their feast."
"Honestly, I've always felt we have no hope. These bandits are too powerful. Tai Cang wouldn't dare to come."
"And even if they did, what then? Our food is gone, our houses burned. In the night's chill, we'll starve or freeze to death!"
"Shh, don't say such things! If the others hear, it'll only deepen their despair!"
But their words reached Gu Xuan, who sat nearby, lost in thought.
Yet his heart felt nothing. Being eaten didn't seem so bad.
If his sister could be eaten, why not him?
An elder beside Gu Xuan gently tugged his sleeve.
"Gu Xuan, take this blade. If the tusked ones come for you, don't be afraid. Use it to end your life. It'll hurt less that way. If you're captured by cruel ones, they'll start eating you piece by piece. You won't endure it..."
Gu Xuan numbly accepted the small blade and looked at the elder.
The old man's face was kind, his wrinkles deeply etched, his expression laced with a comforting smile.
The numbness receded like a tide. Gu Xuan's nose stung, and he asked tremulously, "Ninth Grandfather, is there truly no hope left for us?"
The hundred-odd captives in the room all turned to the elder, their eyes filled with fear, exhaustion, and a glimmer of hope.
Their gazes bore into the elder, their hope unwavering.
The elder, seeing those expectant eyes, wanted to offer comforting words but found them caught in his throat.
"There is no hope," he lamented silently. "You've lived your lives in Jian Valley, unaware of what a thousand sixth-stage bandits mean, unaware of the power of a divine realm cultivator."
"Such power rivals that of a nation. Even if Tai Cang is stronger, it's not by much. And Tai Cang has enemies. Sending troops here would weaken their defenses."
"That would only lead to Tai Cang's destruction, its people devoured by invaders. Tens of thousands would perish."
"In such a situation, no ruler, no matter how benevolent, would send aid."
Everyone awaited the elder's answer.
But none came.
Their hope faded into despair.
A young man in his early twenties suddenly threw himself toward the stone pillar, attempting to end his life!
Thankfully, a nearby youth acted swiftly, kicking him down.
"Gu Shui, what are you doing?"
"If I don't die now, should I wait for them to eat me alive?"
The young man's eyes were bloodshot, his lips pale, his body trembling. "They won't kill us before eating! They'll devour us alive, piece by piece! Is struggling in their mouths better than dying now?"
Chaos erupted.
Some scolded the boy for his rashness; others stayed silent, considering if death now was better.
Gu Xuan lowered his head, his mind filled with images of mechanical constructs.
If not for his unwillingness to leave his sister unavenged, or his uncompleted designs, perhaps he, too, would choose death.
The noise seemed to irritate the guards outside.
Three tusked bandits, armed with bronze-ringed sabers, entered the room.
The space fell deathly quiet.
Their massive brown pig heads and tusks made them look all the more terrifying.
As they paced among the prisoners, their eyes scanned the captives, perhaps looking for someone to make an example of.
Gu Xuan ignored them, his eyes fixed on the boar-man with a few hairs atop his head—the one who had eaten his sister.
He tightened his grip on the blade, unsure if it could pierce the thick skin of a tusked bandit.
But he had to try!
As the boar-man neared and passed by him, Gu Xuan suddenly leapt.
His second-stage cultivation wasn't enough for a prolonged fight, but it gave him enough power to jump high.
The tusked bandit was ten feet tall. Gu Xuan's blade slashed at his throat!
Hatred filled Gu Xuan's youthful face as fear gripped the other captives.
He didn't care. He would avenge his sister!
Slash!
Gu Xuan landed. The blade had grazed the bandit's throat, leaving only a shallow mark—no blood.
"Thud!"
A kick from the bandit sent Gu Xuan flying into the stone wall. His body felt as though it would shatter.
The bandit advanced on him, drooling and sneering, as if to say, "Pathetic human, stop struggling."
Blood trickled from Gu Xuan's mouth as he smiled faintly.
"The Boundless Wasteland is hell for humans," he thought. "We are fuel, forever burning, worthless. Perhaps humans will never rise, always food for stronger races, eternally wretched."
As he awaited death, a sudden whistle split the air.
A long spear flew in from the doorway, charged with a roaring surge of spiritual energy. It pierced the boar-man's shoulder, nailing him to the wall.
The impact cracked the stone. Gu Xuan turned to see the once-dominant bandit dead, pinned to the wall.
"The Tai Cang Silver Guard is here! Tusked bandits, surrender is not an option!"
A figure in brown plate armor stepped into the room, his voice cold. "I will personally sever your heads and stack them into a mound!"
Behind him, a burly man entered, holding a massive severed head—the boar-man chief, a divine cultivator.
The enormous pig head stared in death, its eyes wide with disbelief.
"Am I dreaming?"
Gu Xuan saw Yan Yi and Yan You walk in, and with that thought, he fainted.