The Expedition: Such Cowardice

Jin Mu and the slaves had now finally left the territory of the Hellish Faction, stepping out into the world of green, finally tasting what freedom would have to offer. 

The slaves all looked around as they took in the fresh wisps of air that had nourished amounts of energy brimming within it as it blew by. 

Even Jin Mu could not hold back the feeling of exasperation which overtook him momentarily as he was fully absorbed into the feeling of the cool breeze battering against his skin. 

His raven black hair fluttered beautifully as his charcoal colored irises glistened with a shimmering light of beauty. 'This… is what awaits me once my strength is sufficient.'

Breathing in and out he soon regained his former self and quickly spoke aloud which snapped the slaves out of their moments of reminiscing. "Do not forget our purpose, let us proceed." 

His voice was raspy, husky even as he coldly gave a few words to instigate a reminder. They all looked forwards and nodded as Jin Mu instinctively took to the front and began walking with his eyes drooped, barely able to hide his determination. Indeed. 

He was fixated on completing this side mission with his all. 

The slaves naturally allowed Jin Mu to take to the front. Even if they did not like it as much there was nothing they could have done about it. Although still unaware of the power hidden within Jin Mu, something told them that the boy wasn't as simple. 

They did not know what sort of mystery it was however they felt as though they would soon find out.

With hours upon hours passing by the sun also moved as quickly, it began to retract into its slumber, switching places with the bluish silvery colored moon which hung directly in place of the sun.

The slaves were breathing heavily, extremely parched as their quench for thirst began to consume them. Only Jin Mu remained, unfazed, unshaken by the state of the situation at this moment.

Ignoring his exhausted peers, Jin Mu gazed at the scenery before his eyes, clearly taken aback by its detailed beauty. With the moon being hung directly above the forest, it casted down a blue-silvery light which illuminated the places the light of day had covered. 

It was something that resembled a scenery straight out of a fairy tale story. Jin Mu was finally shaken out of his stupor however when one of the slaves spoke a few exhausted words.

"W-We're finally h-here..!" The bearer of this voice was one of the two middle-aged men. Due to his throat's dryness, every word spoken caused a sharp pain to stab at his throat. Hence the reason he and the others had refrained from saying as much on their journey. 

Jin Mu spared him a side eye,  staring at the man. He faced forward before taking a stand at ease. With his arms clasped behind his back he observed their current surroundings as he quietly continued devouring the spiritual energy within the air. 

What? Did you really think that Jin Mu would slack in his cultivation if he was given an opportunity to be away from the Hellish Territory?

[Author: If so then you are underestimating the will which drives the boy.]

Jin Mu, from the moment he left the territory of the Hellish Faction and stepped into the Field Of Green he had began devouring the spiritual energy of the world madly all the way along his journey to here. 

While absorbing the spiritual energy, Saber had run a few more scans and gave an updated report of the description of the Gu dwelling inside his body. 

Apparently the Gu had sensed his actions and although it did not seem to react in a frenzied state of panic it caused the suspicions of Saber to grow. 

However Saber summarized that the Gu could not be able to do more than just be a tracking device, which really reassured it but still made it keep its guards up. 

Thus, Saber suggested to Jin Mu that he should attempt to restrict his advancement to the next layer by stacking over his bottleneck yet holding the same layer for as long as he could. 

Saber wanted to ensure the absolute safety of Jin Mu and so it suggested this method as a way to not awake any other little hidden details about this Tier 3 Gu that may possibly turn into something major. 

Although Jin Mu was reluctant to use such a method Saber had successfully enticed him however by explaining to him a single benefit of using this method. 

With the advanced computerized analytical gifts of Saber, it could easily analyze methods, techniques or basically anything and grasp everything which it hid. 

That could either be, benefits or disadvantages. So of course it was able to dig out a major benefit of this method which Saber had already blessed with a name. 

It said 'benefit', Mass Increase and no it did not have any kind of relevance to weight. Rather, it is a term which simply screams 'many advancements'. 

To further elaborate, if Jin Mu is to utilize this method and stack directly over his bottleneck, he can then at a ripe time be able to break through not just one, but rather two or maybe even three layers of the Qi Condensation Realm! 

It was truly an incredible method uncovered by Saber. 

And so Jin Mu had long since reached his bottleneck and began stacking over it mid-way to the designated location. He was quite a bit over-stacked but something told him that he should only continue, further absorbing the spiritual energy and stacking it until the time was truly ripe. 

Of course as he did this, Saber on its own accord worked on disabling the Gu from his body momentarily in order to allow him to make his breakthrough. 

Though, right now, it was nowhere near a good time. Saber knew that if it had done as it wanted to, Hong Cui would think that someone had already been wiped out and since Jin Mu had to return to the Hellish Faction he could not return with the Gu missing or even worse, dead within his body as it was surely going to cause an uproar which would most likely bring closer, his demise. 

And so, in order to prevent something like this, Saber continued to study the Gu as Jin Mu understood and left it be. Finally, the exhausted slaves had recovered as their stop was a rather long yet gifted one. 

Grateful that they had finally reached their destination, they all suggested to Jin Mu that they camp out here and move in by the morning. Jin Mu nodded and began to carefully analyze the knee high bushes which surrounded both him and his peers. 

He could see black and blue berries which sprouted from them, full and ready to be consumed. 

Using his Aura Detection or so he had decided to name the skill, he perceived that these fruits were quite normal and so he initiated a thought that they were edible. 

He turned to one of his peers and lifted his hand before calling him forth. "You and two others go together and collect the nearby fruits. 

Make sure you aren't too noisy as we wouldn't like any unwelcome trouble at a time such as this." Hearing his words, the slave, a young man barely in his 20s, tall yet pale, could not help but nod at Jin Mu's words. 

He turned to leave and do as he had been instructed but not before opening his ears to one more piece of information. "Oh and tell the others that we won't be starting any campfires and such. Maintain silence as much as you could and just soundlessly go to bed after having your fill, understood?" 

Hearing the absolute authority the mere slave known as Jin Mu gave off was extraordinarily shocking. The slave did not know why but he felt the need to submit and show nothing but undevoted loyalty. 

When had such a man appeared amongst us slaves?

Replying with a firm nod, the tall and skinny man went off as he accepted his 'orders'. Liking the development of things thus far Jin Mu once again activated Aura Detection, peering into the beautiful forest as two clear, colorless shells of spiritual energy formed within his bottomless abyssal-like eyes. 

Looking around there was not a sight of a single Spirit Beast. 

'Hm? That's a bit… strange, isn't it?' Common sense would tell almost any sensible person who may have made the same discovery as he did that this was not how things should be. 

Obviously he was correct. However, thinking of it being a simple act of beast migration he ignored it and walked away, before turning off his Aura Detection. 

Despite being a mere village boy previously, Jin Mu was rather knowledgeable on a lot of things. Even after becoming a slave he continued to educate himself by either eves-dropping or asking slaves older than himself that had been with the Hellish Faction for quite a long time a lot of questions.

But anyhow, Jin Mu ignored what he felt was irrelevant and went on to eat some of the gathered berries. Its texture despite being a fruit of ordinary stature was simply exquisite. He dug into quite a few before they all fell asleep right where they were.

….

..

Soon, the next day had arrived and as the sleeping plants and trees welcomed the warm and loving rays of the morning sun, so did the slumbering people. 

It seemingly cascaded down each of the slaves' bodies, jolting them out of their slumber. Jin Mu being one of the first to wake up made sure to rescan their surroundings to ensure that there were not any drastic changes throughout the environment while they had slept. 

Strangely enough, there were no changes from what he observed. Jin Mu felt as though however that this truly was not a simple matter that should be brushed off. 

There was something about the emptiness of what he could scan of the massive forest that gave way to a heavy feeling of ominousness which only tightened the hand of caution around his heart. Not wanting to think too much of it, he went on to gather the slaves and venture into the forest coated in a golden shimmer of light.

Jin Mu then, only after reaching a certain point, stopped before sorting each slave into groups of two. Why would he do this might you ask? Other than it being a faster way to garner the listed resources he also wanted to give himself an advantage for the quest. He had to return with at least one person and that self is what he had planned to do. 

Splitting up after forming their groups Jin Mu had been paired with a young woman that looked about 5 '3. Despite the mud and gunk that covered her body it was as clear as day that she was a beauty. 

Her lapis blue irises gave off the feeling of a calm sea, a beautiful one as clear as glass yet as blue as the sky. 

She stared deeply at Jin Mu before introducing herself as Mei Xing. Jin Mu however, remained unfazed and plainly introduced himself before he ignored her and directly took out the same piece of paper he had received from Hong Cui. From there, Jin Mu read through the third task once more, reminding himself the specifics in which he had to find. 

'Task 3: For your final task you have been selected to venture out of the Hellish Faction along with some more of your peers in search for a batch of Zek Stones and a basket of Zek Fruits, preferably collect ones at Tier 3. Though, Tier 2 ones would also be acceptable as well. Required amount needed would be around 45-55 Zek Fruits.'

'Okay, so a batch of Zek Stones could be said to be at least half of the needed amount of the Zek Fruits. So, around 22? Yeah, that amount should be acceptable. But wait, 22 Tier 3 Zek Stones? That's an unrealistic amount to gather considering how shallow we currently lay within this forest. In fact, the only way for both Mei Xing and I to gather this amount is to venture further into the forest. But Mei Xing, she might not survive if we were to encounter a beast of high strength. My strength is only sufficient to protect myself.. fuck! I'll just have her remain within these shallow parts of the forest and collect whatever we manage to uncover here.' 

Jin Mu summarized and considered ways on how he should move. Naturally, he came to a conclusion and decided to go along with what he had concluded. 

Jin Mu from there on decided that he should keep Mei Xing informed with his plans. 

After explaining to her that they would need to venture deeper into the forest she surprisingly accepted it as is and gave him a simple nod in understanding. Jin Mu raised an eyebrow to this strange behavior of the girl. 

'Wasn't she way too calm considering that she, a mortal, had to venture deeper into a place where beasts so powerful a sneeze of theirs could obliterate you?' He was stunned. His opinion of the girl changed once more as he re-evaluated her. Shaking his head however, simply thinking that the girl was being too bold for her own good, he felt that she would attempt to do something extremely reckless and so, he felt a budding feeling that a situation would arise where he would have to save her.

And so they began to trail further into the forest, no longer delaying time. 

At this moment, a shocking incident occurred on the opposite side of where both Jin Mu and Mei Xing had been.

The wandering group members who had split up into their respective groups had mysteriously found their way back to each other, all gathering at the exact same point. 

This left them all in a sudden state of confusion. 

Staring at each other, speechless, one of the middle aged men decided to finally speak, being the first to break the silence.

Yet, just as his raspy voice crept out a howl laced with a tinge of eeriness suddenly ripped forward.

Howl!

The howl did not originate from any beast of sorts, rather it belonged to that of the passing wind. It was as though nature demanded silence, absolute silence as the wind commanded in its steed. 

The slaves, with their backs now turnt against each other, looked around as panic began filling their hearts. As their widened eyes filled with fear trailed around the trees and bushes; shadows, seemingly formless, could be seen jumping from time to time. 

The unknown entities began releasing auras so monstrous that some of the group members had urinated upon themselves. They at this current moment, felt powerless.

No…

They were powerless as they knew there was nothing they, as mere mortals, could do. 

Death became apparently close as they all showed an expression of unwillingness. Yet, strangely, as quickly as that expression came it left. 

Like a calm sea, their facial expressions, simultaneously changed. This is what the slaves who were now faced with an opportunity of potential death, awaiting them in just a matter of moments had shown at their last moments. They had shown a heart of acceptance and a face oddly akin to one of gratification.

Indeed, they were pleased in spite of their unwillingness that they would be granted a way out of this miserable life. 

Such scornful cowardice was enough to make even Jin Mu flinch in disgust. 

And so, like the spineless weaklings they were, that day they all lost their lives as a swift yet loud 'swoosh' was the final thing they heard as a gash appeared on their necks, spraying out all of their bottled-up blood. 

Psh!!

Their blood burst forward ferociously, gathering in huge amounts whilst painting the field of green red and filling it with a scenery of gore to match.

***

Along the time of these individuals' death a man lingering within a certain was seen standing seemingly motionless. The only thing which appeared to move was the robe cladding his body. 

He bore the expression of a calm yet flowing river. Suddenly however, that calmness had strangely dispersed. 

In place of it was now a sinisterly twisted expression. 

No longer resisting this sudden urge his now quivering lips suddenly bloomed into a maniacal grin as a looming shadow was suddenly casted onto his face.

'Ah~ The six of those lowly maggots died almost instantly… together even..!! Oh, how one can only imagine how their facial expressions must have been.. mm~ Yes! YES! YESSS!!! DID YOU LOWLY MAGGOTS SUFFER?! DID YOU ENJOY HAVING YOUR SOUL DRAINED FROM YOUR MISERABLE BODIES?! AH~ S-such… mm~ Pleasure..!' 

Hong Cui, who had suddenly revealed himself to be a sick and twisted saddest, had been consumed by his twisted fantasies of the supposed 'fear' the six slaves had felt as they perished.

Yes, Hong Cui's form of entertainment was him depriving pleasure out of his selected candidates which he knowingly sent to their deaths. 

Unbeknownst to Hong Cui however, reality had betrayed his expectations as even he would not think that the slaves whom he assumed to have perished in fear, died in gratification.