The Outlaws of the Lost Valley

It was the middle of the night. The weather outside was cold enough to make a normal person without any protection to kill within an hour. Roars of demonic beasts that mostly hunt at night could be heard.

In an unknown part of the forest of thousand trees, a cave was carved into a small mountain hidden within the foliage. Within the veil of darkness, it was hard to identify the entrance of the cave.

The entrance of the cave was made small intentionally to make it easier to hide. But the interior of the cave was big enough for more than 20 people to rest effortlessly.

Around 18 people could be seen drinking and chatting leisurely and getting drunk. The scent of blood effortlessly suggested that all of them were far from normal individuals.

They were the ones killing innocent people for a month now. They were not local to this region. Their main hideout was in Lost Valley City. And they came to this region for a reason only the person leading them knew.

Inside the cave, only one door could be seen that seemed to separate a room from the rest. This was the leader of these bandits' chamber.

Inside the room, dim light was glistening. A small round table could be seen in the middle where drinks and meat were put on. Two people were sitting around the table. They were the leader and vice-leader of this bandit group.

The vice leader, Ying Long who was a cultivator in the fifth stage of the Qi Awakening realm, spoke after gulping a bottle.

"Leader, what will our next target be? We have already collected 90 percent necessary human body and blood for the job we asked for."

Ying Long was a burly man in his early 30s. He had black eyes and hair with a sword by his waist. He was wearing simple clothes.

In front of Ying Long, a middle-aged man was sitting, his eyes were closed. Deep scars were presented all over his face making him look quite dangerous.

He was Xuan Ming, the leader of this group and a powerful cultivator in the sixth stage of the Qi Awakening realm. He had a bald head and a muscular physical body.

Hearing Ying Long's question, he opened his eyes. He appeared to have only one eye but the sharpness within could not be hidden.

With a cold voice and emotionless expression, he replied, "I guess one last village will complete the job. There is a village near the forest. And the strongest person is only at the third stage of the Qi Awakening realm. That village should do it."

Understanding their next target Ying Long nodded but seeing the leader already had closed his eyes again, he hesitated for some time, but in the end, he asked, "Leader why are we collecting the body and blood of these many people?"

Without opening his eye this time, Xuan Ming answered, " Although I'm not completely sure, it seemed an unorthodox sect has requested this job. Others are working in different places and we are asked to come here to do the same."

Ying Long frowned and wanted to inquire more but Xuan Ming gestured for him to leave and he could only do as ordered to.

~~~~

Ren was walking along with all the workers with equipment to do his daily work oblivious to the danger that was about to happen.

Mistwood Village was situated two kilometers from the forest. And it took around 20 minutes to reach there.

Without wasting any time, the laborers started their assignment under the supervision of a few guards. This time they did not venture deep into the forest.

Only a few hours left till sunset. It was at that moment, someone screamed out loud. "W-why is there fire in the direction of the village?"

His voice attracted all workers' and guards' attention. No one knew who but someone abruptly said, "Is it the bandits? Did they come to our village?"

A premature silence took over the place. Most of them began to run in the direction of the village. Even though the guards were shouting orders no one seemed to care at this moment. After all, all of them had their families living there.

Ren's weary feet trudged through the dense forest, his heart pounding against his chest. He was the last one to reach the village. He avoided entering from the village gate and hid in the foliage to observe the situation.

Even though he was just 14, ever since he started living alone he matured enough to understand he had no power to interfere in this kind of situation.

But seeing the surroundings, he froze. The bandits were slaughtering the villagers. They did not care if they were children or women. It was as though hell had descended. But the weird thing was that they were collecting the bodies of the dead.

Screams of begging could be heard all around. Few bandits were torturing women before killing them.

Ren could only see as the village chief who was the strongest person he ever knew, was killed with a single strike by a one-eyed person. Wei Chen, the boy he had known since childhood was killed mercilessly.

Within just one hour, all lives had been slaughtered. The scars of the onslaught tainted the village, the charred remains of their houses had become a constant reminder of the violence that had shattered their peaceful existence.

Ren's heart ached with the weight of loss. For a second, he forgot the bandits were still present. He was the only one who was left alive.

Unfortunately, he made a mistake. Cause when he gained his bearing to run in the direction of his house to hide, a bandit noticed him. How could a youth who was unstable after seeing such brutality for the first time, stay steady to make a rightful decision? How could a normal person run away from a cultivator?

And it was already too late. Ren was discovered and the bandits looked like playing with him. He could only use his axe to protect himself, but his attempt seemed to receive ridicule from the bandits instead.

It was at that moment when Ren had already lost all expectancy to live, brilliant golden light came from the sky directly toward Ren, and before he knew it and the bandits could comprehend what was happening, the golden light suddenly entered Ren's glabella.

[Ding!]

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