Chapter 171: Chapter 171 - The Vanishing Threads and the Disappearing Cultivators
After the lesson settled and the two injured Blood Iron Sect disciples could breathe without sounding as if broken ice was scraping through their lungs, the matter finally came to an end.
No one from Outpost No. 5 dared mention the stolen mask again.
The four Blood Iron Sect disciples stood behind Su Bai with pale faces and lowered heads.
Once everyone had rested, Su Bai looked at the cultivators of Outpost No. 5.
"We are leaving."
The words immediately made the outpost stir.
Su Bai asked, "Those who wish to come may follow. The rules will be explained. Those who wish to stay may remain in the outpost."
Most nodded without hesitation.
A few hesitated for the sake of pride, then nodded anyway. They did not want to admit they were afraid of being left behind, but everyone could see it clearly enough.
In the end, almost all of Outpost No. 5 chose to come.
No one mocked them.
Several members of Su Bai’s procession even looked at them with the expression of seniors watching juniors finally understand the proper path.
This was very strange, because some of those "seniors" had only joined a day earlier.
But cultivation was like that sometimes.
Enlightenment could come quickly when treasure was involved.
...
Su Bai walked at the front.
Behind him stood his four new Blood Iron Sect subordinates. They were close enough to hear his orders immediately and far enough from the main body that everyone understood their position.
The exploration resumed.
This time, the newly joined Outpost No. 5 cultivators finally understood what the word "magnanimous" had been trying to describe.
It was not only that Su Bai divided treasures fairly. It was not only that he did not hide every opportunity for himself. It was the fact that he kept finding things at all.
The Outpost No. 5 cultivators had spent days wandering, arguing, being misled by false bodies, and fighting over scraps. Now, after following Su Bai for less than half a day, several of them received more than they had gained during all their previous suffering combined.
Their expressions changed very quickly.
Even the four Blood Iron Sect disciples nearly cried.
Their share was small.
By the standards of Su Bai’s procession, it was the final portion after everyone else had chosen. They received leftover fragments, damaged materials, and items no one prioritized.
But to them, those leftovers were not small.
The Blood Iron Sect was harsh. The sect had spent resources to send them into the Fallen-Star Sanctuary, and those resources were not given kindly.
If they returned empty-handed, they would not simply be scolded. Their masters had warned them plainly before entry.
No contribution, no future.
Some had even said that useless disciples might as well have their cultivation crippled and their remaining value squeezed elsewhere.
That was the kind of place Blood Iron Sect had become.
The strong rose. The weak were stepped on. The desperate stole before being discarded.
That did not excuse their actions, but it explained their greed.
Now, after being bound by Su Bai’s contract, forced into the lowest treasure priority, and made to obey like servants, they discovered something deeply uncomfortable.
Their situation had improved.
This realization made them feel humiliated and relieved at the same time.
They had nearly died for stealing a mask. Now they had gained more by waiting politely at the back.
The world felt unreasonable.
The injured disciple beside him whispered hoarsely, "Maybe being a slave is not bad."
The others looked at him, then nodded very slowly.
...
The procession continued.
Whenever danger appeared, the four Blood Iron Sect disciples were the first to receive orders.
"Check the left side."
"Block that path."
"Do not enter. Throw a stone first."
The four obeyed.
At first, several cultivators watched them with pity. Then, after seeing them successfully draw out two hidden miasma beasts, activate one useless trap from a safe distance, and confirm a narrow passage was not stable, the pity became thoughtful.
One cultivator whispered, "Brother Su is truly..."
The person beside him immediately said, "Complicatedly magnanimous."
The first cultivator nodded.
"Yes. That."
As the procession moved farther from Outpost No. 5, the Ashen-Blood Miasma grew thicker.
At first, the change was subtle.
Then, as they approached the region that should lead toward Outer Outpost No. 4, the pressure increased again.
The red mist became denser, heavier, and more alive.
Even the cultivators who had grown arrogant from treasure began growing quiet. Their hands checked their remaining Lotus-Heart Pills more often.
Some exchanged pills with companions. Some reinforced their barriers with talismans. A few looked toward Su Bai, saw that he still walked steadily, and forced themselves to calm down.
It was then that it happened.
A young cultivator who had followed Su Bai since the earlier rescue suddenly stopped.
His expression changed.
"My Spatial Return Thread..."
The words had barely left his mouth when another cultivator stiffened.
"Mine too."
A third paled. "It is... dissolving."
Several people immediately checked their own threads.
The reaction spread quickly.
Those who had traveled with Su Bai the longest were the first to feel it. One by one, their Spatial Return Threads dissolved, snapped, or faded into nothing.
For a moment, panic surged through the procession.
"My return thread is gone!"
"What happened?"
"Is this the mist?"
"Are we trapped?"
The old fear of the Fallen-Star Sanctuary returned all at once.
A Spatial Return Thread was reassurance. It was the final thread connecting them to safety.
But the panic did not last as long as it should have.
It was because Su Bai was still standing at the front.
Someone looked at him, and for some reason, his heart settled a little.
The others did the same.
No Spatial Return Thread?
That’s unfortunate, but Brother Su still walked as if the Fallen-Star Sanctuary owed him directions.
The panic slowly weakened.
A cultivator took a breath and said, "It is fine. We are still with Brother Su."
Another nodded quickly. "Yes. Brother Su can find outposts."
A third added, "And walls that are not walls."
Su Bai heard the voices behind him and felt complicated.
Their trust was useful, but also heavy.
Still, they continued.
When the procession entered the boundary region near Outer Outpost No. 4, the Ashen-Blood Miasma thickened all at once.
The red mist outside the protected zone was so dense that it no longer looked like drifting vapor. It resembled slow blood diluted in water, moving with a rhythm that made people uncomfortable.
Even the newer members felt their Spatial Return Threads react.
Several disciples cried out.
"My thread is being pulled!"
"No, mine is shaking!"
"Wait—something outside is responding!"
The expressions of the cultivators changed.
Just then, before anyone could fully understand what was happening, one disciple disappeared.
A flash of spatial light wrapped around him.
His eyes widened.
"Wait! No—"
He vanished.
For one breath, everyone froze.
Then another disciple shouted angrily as his body began glowing.
"My sect is pulling me out!"
He reacted fast. A blade of Qi flashed across his wrist where the thread’s mark had been. The weakening Spatial Return Thread was severed before the outside force could lock onto him.
The light around him dispersed.
He staggered, then laughed with relief.
"I am still here!"
The people around him immediately understood.
The outside sects had sensed the return threads disappearing.
They thought their disciples were in danger, so they were pulling them out early.
For normal circumstances, that was correct.
For this circumstance, it was a disaster.
More spatial lights ignited across the procession.
Some disciples reacted quickly and severed their threads before the pull completed. Some hesitated, unsure whether to resist their sect’s rescue. Some were too slow.
One after another, cultivators vanished from the procession.
"Elders, wait!"
"Don’t pull me out now!"
"Senior Brother Su is here!"
"My storage ring is not full yet!"
The last cry carried the deepest grief, then the speaker vanished.
The procession fell into stunned silence.
Even Su Bai was speechless.
He had considered many dangers. He had not expected the outside elders to become the ones removing his people.
After a few moments, Su Bai sighed.
He could not really blame them.
From the outside, several Spatial Return Threads disappearing at nearly the same time would look like a large-scale crisis. Any responsible elder would panic. If they had no way to see what was happening inside, pulling disciples out was the safest choice.
Unfortunately, safe was not always correct.
Some sects had just dragged their disciples away from the richest opportunity of their lives.
The cultivators who had successfully severed their threads looked pale, then relieved, then guilty, then smug.
The ones remaining from the same sects as those who vanished looked at the empty spaces and felt complicated.
A cultivator muttered, "Junior Brother was taken out."
Another said softly, "His storage ring was almost full too."
"That is good, then."
"No. He was about to receive his share from the next ruin."
The first cultivator fell silent.
That was indeed tragic.
Su Bai looked at the reduced procession.
His force had decreased. Several capable cultivators had vanished.
It was inconvenient.
Still, the information would reach the outside soon.
Those who had been pulled out would explain what was happening.
Perhaps their elders would regret acting so quickly. Perhaps they would not.
Either way, there was nothing Su Bai could do about it now.
He turned forward again.
"We continue."
The remaining cultivators straightened almost immediately.
Comments