Chapter 172 - The Damaged Pillar and the Fallen Outposts
The procession continued forward.
Even after losing several cultivators to their own sect elders’ anxious rescue, the group did not collapse.
If anything, the people who remained became quieter and more determined. After all, some had personally severed their Spatial Return Threads just to stay.
From that point on, the procession no longer felt like a group merely searching for opportunity.
They had crossed a line without fully realizing it.
The treasures did not stop.
The closer they moved toward the region between Outer Outpost No. 4 and Outer Outpost No. 3, the more valuable the surrounding structures became.
The ruins were deeper, the collapsed halls were better hidden, and the ancient materials left behind were no longer simple scraps from the outermost battlefield.
Naturally, the danger rose with the value.
Miasma beasts no longer died before completing their roars. Some had hardened mineral shells layered with blood-colored veins. Some moved without making sound.
One beast even split into three smaller bodies after being struck, forcing the group to suppress it with frost, poison, earth shields, and Lin Weiyang’s mechanisms before Su Bai ended the fight with needles.
The four Blood Iron Sect disciples were sent forward whenever something needed checking.
They were capable. That was undeniable.
If they had not been greedy, they might have been decent allies from the start.
Su Bai did not praise them.
He gave orders, received reports, corrected their positions when needed, and assigned last shares when appropriate. That was enough. The contract made them obey, fear made them careful, and the treasure made them strangely diligent.
Their expressions became more complicated with every share they received.
The procession moved on.
Their Lotus-Heart Pill supply began declining quickly.
The thicker Ashen-Blood Miasma consumed the barriers faster than before.
Lower-grade Lotus-Heart Pills, which could previously last a respectable amount of time in thinner mist, now faded after passing through several dense zones. Even mid-grade pills thinned visibly after prolonged exposure.
The cultivators began checking their remaining pills with increasingly solemn expressions, and those who had once mocked elders for overpreparing now wished their elders had been even more anxious.
Su Bai noticed the problem and adjusted the route.
They rested in safe pockets whenever possible. The weaker cultivators were moved inward. Those with stronger barriers or special constitutions stood on the outside.
Still, as they approached the direction of Outer Outpost No. 3, Su Bai finally felt that something was wrong.
The Ashen-Blood Miasma had become too thick.
That alone was not the problem. What bothered Su Bai was the silence within it.
Earlier, between Outposts No. 9 to No. 5, they had encountered scattered groups, unlucky survivors, injured teams, cultivators arguing in safe zones, and people who had been poor enough to treat broken tiles with hope.
Now, there were fewer.
For such an important route, that did not make sense.
Su Bai stopped at the edge of a broken stone road half-swallowed by red mist.
Behind him, the procession halted without question.
Su Bai looked ahead. The mist moved slowly around the stone road, curling inward instead of outward.
His eyes narrowed.
"From here on," he said, "no one walks outside formation."
The procession became tense.
Su Bai looked toward the road leading deeper into the mist.
They were getting closer to Outpost No. 3.
But for the first time since the treasure hunt began, the Fallen-Star Sanctuary felt as if it had stopped waiting to be explored.
Now, it felt as if it was waiting for them.
...
By the ninth day inside the Fallen-Star Sanctuary, that feeling finally found its answer.
Outer Outpost No. 3 appeared through the heavy red mist like a half-buried island.
The Boundary Pillar still stood at the center, but the moment Su Bai saw it, his gaze darkened.
The pillar was damaged.
A long scar ran across one side of the Boundary Pillar, cutting through several old formation lines. The light flowing within it flickered unevenly.
Inside the outpost, a large number of cultivators had gathered.
It was far more than Su Bai expected.
But... the atmosphere was even worse than Outpost No. 5.
The moment Su Bai’s procession entered the outer edge of the protected zone, weapons rose across the outpost.
Sword light stirred. Talismans flashed between fingers. Defensive artifacts awakened. Several injured cultivators who had been lying on the ground forced themselves upright with pale faces.
Su Bai’s procession stopped immediately.
Both sides stared at each other.
The cultivators inside Outpost No. 3 looked exhausted, wounded, and deeply suspicious. Many had bloodstained robes. Some lay on mats near broken walls. Others sat with their backs against stone.
A fight had clearly happened not long ago, but this was not like Outpost No. 5’s petty conflict over scraps.
This looked like survivors after a siege.
Su Bai’s eyes swept across them, then he paused.
There were familiar faces here.
Liu Meng. Qin Baoshan. Han Yuelin.
For the first time in several days, Su Bai felt something in his chest loosen.
They were safe.
Liu Meng’s robe was dusty, and one sleeve had been scorched at the edge. Qin Baoshan had several scratches across his arm, and Han Yuelin’s hair looked more disordered than usual, but none of them had serious injuries.
Their breathing was stable, their eyes were clear, and their spiritual fluctuations were their own.
Su Bai almost exhaled in relief.
Liu Meng saw him at almost the same time.
Her eyes brightened instantly.
"Senior Brother Su!"
She took two quick steps forward, clearly wanting to rush over.
But before she could approach, a folding fan blocked her path.
Zhuge Jing stood beside her. His expression was calm but his gaze was sharp.
He activated his Profound Eye of the Heavenly Abacus.
His eyes did not remain on Su Bai alone. They moved across the entire procession behind him, measuring spiritual fluctuations, expressions, and the strange discipline of over a hundred cultivators who somehow stopped as one.
"Wait," Zhuge Jing said.
Liu Meng froze.
Her expression changed, not with anger, but with realization.
Su Bai did not take offense.
Instead, his gaze moved past Liu Meng and landed on the others inside the outpost.
Bai Zhi was there.
Her white robes were no longer spotless. The lotus light around her had dimmed slightly, but her aura remained gentle and steady. Several injured cultivators rested near her, protected by faint lotus radiance.
Yan Lie was also present. His expression was far less arrogant than before, and his fire Qi burned low around his fists.
There were other high-level young cultivators from major factions as well. Some Su Bai recognized from the gathering. Some he only remembered vaguely. All of them looked tense.
This was a strong group. Far stronger than the scattered teams they had met before.
So why were they this cautious?
Su Bai closed his eyes for a breath.
The answer was not that difficult to guess.
Zhuge Jing stared at him for several more breaths.
Finally, he lowered his fan.
"They are real," he said. Then, after a small pause, he added, "At least, Brother Su looks real."
The outpost became quiet for a different reason.
Several people looked at Zhuge Jing, then they looked at Su Bai, then they looked at the enormous procession behind Su Bai.
Someone muttered, "Looks real?"
"That is not comforting."
"Why only Brother Su?"
Zhuge Jing replied calmly, "Because the Heavenly Abacus can count drifting stars, but it has never been able to measure Brother Su’s shadow."
Everyone froze at that.
Liu Meng finally hurried forward. Qin Baoshan followed with a relieved smile, while Han Yuelin walked behind them with his sword hanging lazily at his side. His pace looked relaxed, but his eyes were clear and sharp.
"Senior Brother Su," Liu Meng said, stopping in front of him. Her voice carried relief she clearly tried to hide and failed. "You are finally here."
Su Bai looked at her dusty sleeve, then at the faint exhaustion around her eyes.
"You are not injured?"
Liu Meng shook her head quickly. "Only tired. Junior Brother Qin blocked most of the danger, and Senior Brother Han cut down what came too close."
Qin Baoshan scratched his head. "I only did what I could."
Han Yuelin laughed once. "She says that as if she did not burn half a beast nest with fire."
Liu Meng’s ears reddened slightly. "That was an accident."
Yan Lie, from farther away, said with a dark expression, "Your accidents are very loud."
Liu Meng pretended not to hear him.
Su Bai looked at her for a moment, then lifted his hand and gently patted her head.
Liu Meng froze, then her shoulders relaxed.
The tension she had been holding finally loosened, and for a breath, she looked less like a genius alchemist surviving an ancient battlefield and more like a junior sister who had finally found the person she trusted.
Several people nearby saw this and became quiet.
Tang Ziyan watched with narrowed eyes.
Han Yuelin glanced at Su Bai’s procession and whistled softly.
"Junior Brother Su, did you bring half the Sanctuary with you?"
Qin Baoshan looked behind Su Bai and counted silently for a moment before giving up.
Liu Meng also noticed the size of the group properly now. Her eyes widened.
"Senior Brother Su... why are there so many people following you?"
Before Su Bai could answer, someone from his procession said proudly, "Brother Su finds treasure."
Another added, "Brother Su also finds walls that are not walls."
A third said with deep sincerity, "And the dead seniors occasionally guide him."
The cultivators of Outpost No. 3 fell silent.
Liu Meng slowly looked at Su Bai.
Su Bai looked back calmly.
Zhuge Jing’s fan paused.
Bai Zhi blinked once.
Yan Lie frowned as if trying to decide which part of that sentence was the strangest.
Han Yuelin’s eyes brightened.
"The dead guide him?"
Su Bai immediately said, "Not like that."
Several people from his procession nodded.
"Yes. Brother Su is modest."
Su Bai fell silent.
Liu Meng looked as if she wanted to ask more, but the state of Outpost No. 3 was too serious for jokes to continue.
Su Bai turned toward the damaged Boundary Pillar.
"What happened here?"
The moment he asked, the atmosphere sank again.
Liu Meng’s expression dimmed.
Zhuge Jing closed his fan.
Bai Zhi’s gentle aura became heavier.
Qin Baoshan looked toward the inner side of the outpost, where several injured cultivators lay unconscious. Han Yuelin’s smile faded, though his hand remained loose near his sword.
Zhuge Jing answered first.
"Outpost No. 1 and Outpost No. 2 are gone."
The words seemed to make the damaged Boundary Pillar hum more softly.
Su Bai’s eyes narrowed.
"Gone?"
"Destroyed," Zhuge Jing said. "Their Boundary Pillars were broken. The safe zones collapsed afterward."
A chill passed through Su Bai’s procession.
Many people instinctively looked toward the Boundary Pillar of Outpost No. 3. Its damaged surface suddenly felt much more frightening.
Outposts were safe because of Boundary Pillars.
If the pillars broke, the word safe lost meaning.
Liu Meng continued quietly, "Some survivors from Outpost No. 2 reached here. Not many. They said the mist swallowed the boundary after the pillar cracked. Some people were pulled out by their sects. Some escaped. Some..."
She did not finish.
She did not need to.
Bai Zhi lowered her eyes. "We have been treating those who arrived. But more people are missing than accounted for."
The procession behind Su Bai became restless.
The joy from treasure hunting faded.
Su Bai looked back at his procession, then at the cultivators of Outpost No. 3.
"Rest first," he said. "Exchange information. No one leaves the boundary alone."