"We make the temporary camp here," the Elder hissed, banking sharply downward into a deep-set crater located at the very edge of the miasma border.
Ji’an channeled her Qi, guiding the palm-leaf yacht down through the thick, swirling fog.
As they broke through the cloud cover and landed on the valley floor, the atmosphere instantly shifted.
The heat of the Scorched Plateaus was gone, replaced by a damp, oppressive chill. The valley was not empty
It was a chaotic maze of towering, jagged rock formations that looked like the petrified ribs of ancient, colossal beasts.
The ground was slick with bioluminescent moss, and thick, thorny vines hung from the stone like hangman’s nooses.
The most unsettling part, however, was the noise. Or rather, the lack of it.
There were no crickets, no wind, only the heavy, thick silence of an ecosystem where every single living entity was an apex predator currently holding its breath.
"Welcome," Elder Viper announced, stepping off his staff as the other disciples landed around him. "To the Labyrinth of the Beasts."
The name alone caused the junior disciples, and the three Azure Crane maidens, to draw their weapons in unison, their eyes darting frantically into the deep, pitch-black shadows of the rock formations.
"This valley serves as the natural, biological moat protecting our sect," Elder Viper explained smoothly, leaning on his staff. "The beasts that reside here have mutated over centuries of exposure to the miasma runoff. They are hyper-aggressive, highly venomous, and possess thick, armored hides that resist low-tier Qi strikes. We will camp in the center of this clearing. Set your perimeter wards. Do not wander. If the shadows take you, you will not be returned."
The tension in the clearing instantly spiked to maximum capacity.
The thirteen male prodigies immediately shifted into a flawless, coordinated, defensive formation.
Lu Jianheng drew Autumn Shine, his blue aura illuminating the gloom, his eyes scanning the perimeter for threats. Hu Yanlie slammed his fists together, his feral beast-fire igniting to push back the creeping shadows.
Mo Wuchen melted into the darkness, becoming a silent perimeter scout. Even Gu Zhiwei raised his holy sword, standing protectively in front of the shivering Azure Crane maidens.
"Form a circle!" Jianheng barked, falling into his natural, aristocratic leadership role. "Do not let the darkness breach our line of sight! Keep your spiritual senses extended! The moment a beast steps out of the fog, we strike as one!"
"Watch the high ground!" Shiru warned, tossing a few glowing illumination coins into the air to light the jagged cliffs. "These mutated beasts likely possess enhanced vertical mobility!"
They were a picture of orthodox martial perfection. They were vigilant and terrified, but they were also ready for war.
And then...
CLANG!
The heavy, deafening, metallic sound of four hundred pounds of cast iron hitting the solid stone floor echoed through the dead-silent valley like a bomb going off.
The defensive circle flinched violently, whirling around, expecting a monstrous ambush.
It was not an ambush.
It was Lin Ji’an.
The Apex Anomaly had completely ignored the defensive perimeter. She had walked directly into the center of the clearing, snapped her fingers to summon Shen Zechuan, and had him drop her massive Black Iron Wok onto the ground.
She wasn’t drawing a sword or casting a ward.
She was currently tying a crisp, white chef’s apron tightly over her Szechuan Red combat silk.
Ji’an pulled two massive, gleaming, razor-sharp cleavers from her spatial ring. She clanged them together twice, testing the edges, a look of drooling culinary mania spreading across her face.
"Elder Viper!" Ji’an yelled, her voice echoing loudly into the dark, monster-infested labyrinth. "You said these beasts are mutated! Do they possess something like venom sacs, or is the toxicity systemic throughout the muscle tissue?!"
"Usually stored to the fangs and spinal ridges!" Elder Viper called back, abandoning the defensive circle to walk over and watch her prep her station.
"Excellent!" Ji’an cheered, her silver-flecked eyes practically spinning with slot-machine dollar signs.
She turned and looked directly into the pitch-black, terrifying shadows of the Labyrinth of the Beasts. She didn’t see this place as a lethal trial or a nightmare valley.
She saw a massive, free-range, organic, exotic-meat grocery store standing there on a huge discount give away!
"HEAR ME, YOU GLOWING-EYED, MUTATED STEAKS!" Ji’an roared into the darkness, raising her cleavers high above her head. "MAMA IS DOING A LATE-NIGHT BBQ! I WANT HIGH-TIER MARBLING! I WANT VENOMOUS TENDERLOINS! IF YOU ARE RANK 5 OR BELOW, DO NOT WASTE MY TIME! I AM ONLY ACCEPTING PREMIUM CUTS TONIGHT!"
The thirteen male prodigies standing in the defensive circle stared at her.
Their flawless, masculine martial stances completely dissolved into postures of existential bewilderment.
"He... he is taunting them," Lu Jianheng whispered, his sword dropping slightly as he stared at the cook in red. "He is actively inviting the apex predators of a forbidden death zone to attack us."
"He isn’t inviting them to attack," Wen Shiru corrected, adjusting his glasses, a bead of sweat rolling down his pale face. "He is inviting them to become his dinner."
"Is anyone else terrified that we are following a complete lunatic?" one of the Crimson Blade try-hards whimpered, clutching his broadsword to his chest.
In the shadows of the labyrinth, the taunt did not go unanswered.
A low, deep, earth-shaking, guttural growl echoed from the darkness.
The mist parted.
Stepping into the faint light of the illumination coins was a Rank 7 Shadow-Stalker Bear.
It was a monstrosity of nature.
It stood fifteen feet tall on its hind legs. Its fur was pitch-black, absorbing the light around it, and its razor-sharp claws dripped with a glowing, corrosive green acid. Its eyes burned with a feral, demonic hunger as it looked at the tiny humans in its territory.
The disciples collectively gasped, taking a synchronized step backward. A Rank 7 beast was a nightmare. It required the coordinated, ultimate techniques of at least four Golden Core prodigies to even scratch its armored hide.