Thirty miles north of Clear Sky Sect lay Blood Wolf Marsh, a rotten swamp beneath dark red clouds. Black pools bubbled with foul gas, and dead willows rose from the mud like bony hands.
At its center stood a castle built from the ribs of a giant beast. This was the home of the demonic Blood Wolf Sect.
Patriarch Nether-Ghost sat inside on a throne made from nine hundred human skulls. Phantom faces moved across his scarlet robes. His dry skin stretched tight over sharp cheekbones, and green corpse fire burned in his sunken eyes. He was a Half-Step Nascent Soul tyrant, and each cold breath spread black frost across the floor.
Commander Xue Sha knelt before him. The head of the Ghost Wolf Shadow Squad wore dark cloth that swallowed the torchlight. Two blood-iron hook swords hung at his hips, and nine poisoned needles were hidden in his sleeves.
“Patriarch,” Xue Sha said, “Clear Sky Sect’s mountain barrier is strong. A direct attack could stall us for three days. That would give the nearby righteous sects time to surround us.”
Nether-Ghost tapped one black nail against his throne.
“Then offer me a better plan. Quickly.”
Xue Sha unrolled a sheepskin map beneath a green spirit lamp.
“Our scouts spent three months studying their outer wards. Every main peak has guards, spirit beasts, and alarm bells. Every peak but one.”
He pointed to the western ridge.
“Sunset Peak.”
“Isn’t that where Clear Sky sends its useless disciples to die?”
“Yes.” Xue Sha smiled beneath his mask. “There are no defensive formations and no elder patrols. Only a mortal named Chu Yuan. His spirit roots were declared useless three years ago. The sect left him there to starve.”
He leaned over the map.
“Tonight is the new moon. My seven Late Foundation killers will climb the western cliff. We enter the compound, kill Chu Yuan in his sleep, and plant the Nine-Nether Blood Anchor in his courtyard. It will open a gate behind Clear Sky’s barrier. By dawn, our army will be inside their inner halls.”
Nether-Ghost laughed, a rough sound like millstones grinding bone.
“A mortal cripple guarding the back door to four provinces. Go, Xue Sha. Paint that ridge with his blood. Tonight, Clear Sky Sect burns.”
Xue Sha bowed and melted into a pool of shadow.
***
On Sunset Peak, Austin was enjoying his new construction tool.
He had unlocked the [Star-Hot Earth-Melter | Trench Mode] after lunch, and he did not intend to waste daylight while his perimeter remained open.
First, he marked the layout with stakes and string. He kept the trench eight feet from the cabin so digging would not weaken its foundation. The line formed a clean loop around the lodge, courtyard, and chicken run.
Then he gripped his hoe and activated the skill.
Violet-white fire ran down his arms and gathered around the blade. The tool gave a high hum that made the hair on his arms stand up.
He pushed it into solid granite.
ZZZZZZZT.
The stone melted like butter. Austin walked backward at a steady pace, drawing the hoe through the ground. Behind him opened a trench four meters deep and three meters wide.
The hot stone spread across the walls and cooled into smooth black glass. The sides were straight and slick, with no cracks or footholds. The floor sloped slightly toward the western gully so rain would drain away.
Austin finished the loop and looked down at his work.
“Clean cut. No supports needed, and nothing for frost to break. That saves three weeks of digging and forty loads of riprap.”
Next came the defense.
He laid five bare copper wires along the bottom of the trench, eight inches apart. He connected them to the power from his core and added a switch on the porch post. Then he climbed out and pulled the ladder up behind him.
“Simple drop trap. Anything runs toward the cabin at night, it falls twelve feet onto live wire. The walls keep it there until morning. An AFK mob grinder.”
Li Xiaoyao had finished his evening chores. He sat cross-legged on the porch with his broom across his lap, breathing slowly as twilight settled over the peaks.
Austin went inside and closed the door. The dragon-silk curtains softened the last daylight. He kicked off his sandals, stretched, and climbed into bed.
“Yes,” Austin mumbled, pulling up his quilt. “Wake me when the loot is ready.”
The star in his dantian settled into a low hum. A gentle flow of heat kept the room warm against the mountain cold.
Austin fell asleep in thirty seconds.
***
Midnight arrived under heavy clouds. No moon or stars lit the mountains, and icy wind howled through the ravines.
Three thousand feet below Sunset Peak, seven shadows appeared at the base of the western cliff.
Commander Xue Sha looked up. Green light shone through the slits in his mask.
“Shadow cloaks on. Hide your qi. No noise, no tracks. We climb, cut the mortal’s throat, plant the Blood Anchor, and open the gate.”
The six killers nodded. Their climbing boots clung to the stone without a sound.
They raced up the sheer cliff like giant spiders and crossed three thousand feet in under two minutes. One by one, they vaulted over the rim and landed without disturbing a pebble.
Fifty yards ahead stood the dark shape of Austin’s cabin.
No sentries. No wards. Not even a dog, Xue Sha thought. Clear Sky has handed us the province.
He drew his twin hook swords and pointed at the door.
“Forward. Kill him in his sleep.”
The seven elite assassins sprinted across the grass in a tight formation, heading straight for the unlit trench.