Sanctuary

It was a dawn of a new day, nearly a week after the inauguration into the Predator's Bane, when the badge on my chest began to vibrate and release weak pulses of Qi that woke me up from the deep meditation I was in.I slowly opened my eyes and stretched my limbs. The badge stopped and went still after about a minute of making a ruckus. I still had some time to prepare my stuff before meeting them at the designated spot, at the dividing line between the Inner and Core sect.Well, I had time, but that didn't mean I would laze around. I washed my face and took a sip of water to drink, straightened my clothes, and I was basically done. The traveling gear was already prepared days in advance, safely stored in the pouch at my hip.I then thought about it for a bit, and took the pouch and tied it on my left arm under the armpit on the straps of my leather armor I bought a day ago and wore it underneath the gray Disciple clothes. The sleeves were wide enough so I could easily reach inside, and it was hidden enough so nobody could figure out where I had it hidden.It wasn't that I didn't trust my companions, but you never know what might happen out in the wild with a dozen unfamiliar people. Better not to give them any ideas and avoid conflict. Not to mention that it could simply get snagged on a branch and I would lose it unknowingly. That was a possibility too.Better safe than sorry, though you couldn't always think of every scenario.I exited my home and went to get something to eat, before turning my sight higher up the mountain.A few members of the Predator's Bane were already there, waiting while having a drink. I was the first of the cart pullers, so, after Weh Chu showed me my cart, I took a seat on top of it and waited.The bottom of the cart came to my hips, with wooden side panels about 50 centimeters tall. It had two handles about a meter and a half long, making it quite comfortable to pull without having to worry about hitting the back of your foot on the cart even if you run. The wheels weren't all that big, about 60-70 centimeters in diameter, though they were wide. Most likely so they wouldn't sink too much in mud after being loaded.Right, the carts were mostly empty at the moment, only having a few small boxes with our provisions and a few large empty hemp bags. Or whatever plant they used to make rope in this world, I had no idea.I rested my eyes while trying to do my best to shrink my Aura with the help of the Turtle Breathing Technique. But instead of making it as tiny as possible, which would be relatively easy, I made it look like a Spirit Accumulation II Cultivator trying, and failing spectacularly, to pretend to be at Spirit Accumulation I.I did that by compressing my Aura to the lowest level and only occasionally releasing a slightly higher level, as if I was struggling with control.Doing that was in my opinion the best cover I could have as it would make people think I was just a greenhorn trying to act cool. If anyone had bad intentions toward me, I was fairly confident they would see through my disguise and underestimate me because of it.It was the wanting peace and planning for war kind of mentality.While I rested, the other members began showing up one after the other, as well as the cart pullers. By the time we were all gathered and ready to move, it couldn't have been much longer than two hours since the call. Not wanting to waste any more time, the Predator's Bane core members decided to depart."Alright, people!" Tan Gong shouted and clapped. "Let's move!"We went at a leisurely pace down the mountain and made a sharp turn east. Then we exited the Inner Sect and continued that way for a while, after which we turned north. It made sense as that was where the beasts were coming from, but it was also the most dangerous place.And it wasn't the wild animals I was worried about. The Brilliant Sword Sect was to the northeast of us. I haven't heard anything about the two Sects being on bad terms, but you never know. Accidents tend to happen in the wild and I would be lying if I said I didn't feel at least a little nervous.But it was probably fine. The chances of meeting the one person that saw my face up close were astronomically small.While I was preoccupied with my thoughts, a core member of the Predator's Bane came to us."Here, take these." He handed us, the cart pullers, a talisman each. "You shouldn't need it if everything goes right, but we don't want you to immediately die in case it doesn't."His name was Tai Rash if I remember correctly. I had met him before, I just didn't catch his name at the time. He was the one that was close to that woman, Fyuka."I assume you all know how to use it, right? Of course, you do, what am I saying… Anyway, after you use it, stick it to your body and it will create a barrier around you for about five minutes. Note that it will expire after the time is up. So you need to get to safety by then. Also, don't rely too much on it. While it can protect you from a Golden Core beast it will not last long under a proper assault."We nodded as we walked along the forest path, and I stored the talisman in a pocket inside my sleeves for ease of use."You will know how much power it has left by the color. When the golden glow starts dimming, that's the cue it's going to go out. Alright, any questions?""Yes." One of the cart pullers to my right said. "If we don't use them, do we get to keep them?"Tai rash laughed. "Yes, you do. But don't hesitate to use them if needed. If you die there won't be a next time."The guy nodded and thanked him."But what if we use it up? Do we get another one?" Another one asked."Well, yes, you do. But don't just waste them for no reason, they are expensive." Tair Rash answered. People didn't have any important questions left, so he went back to his group while we remained at the end of the line with our carts."We are going to speed up a bit! I'd like to set up camp before sundown." The leader, Tan Gong shouted, and my muscles tensed. Luckily they only went at a slightly higher pace, a light jog, so we could easily keep up.The dirt forest path soon narrowed so that only one cart could go at once, and the ground started becoming much more uneven and overgrown with weeds.Noticing we were beginning to have trouble, the guys up front began overturning the earth in front of them and then smashed it back down with magic. They were creating a nice sturdy soil path for the carts so we could go faster. It took no effort from their side and it helped us save a ton of energy.The wooden wheels were well-oiled and ran smoothly as long as there was ground flat enough for them to turn on. We went like that for half a day and stopped to take a short rest at noon. We received some traveling rations and ate them with glee. Even the cheapest stuff the Core Disciples had were much better quality than what we could afford. I was actually suspecting the meat jerky we received belonged to at least a Nascent Soul beast. It was damn delicious and helped us recover the exhaustion like crazy.We also got some kind of cookies that just melted in your mouth despite being bone-dry. A single sip of water and they would dissolve into a sweet porridge that had a hint of vanilla in its flavor. The taste was quite mild though, nothing like the sugar bombs people were used to in modern times where even simple bread had as much sweetness as a cake.We rested for about 30 minutes and then went back on the road. Well, the road we traveled on didn't exist prior to them making it, and it also wouldn't last long after were done with it. Nature was going to overtake it in a few months, if not weeks. It's just how things worked around these parts.The Predator's Bane core members consisted of ten men and two women, while the cart pullers were all guys. It was basically a sausage party.I was actually mildly surprised there weren't more women hunters, considering they actually outnumbered the men in the sect. For every 10 men, there were 12 or 13 women, if what I was told was correct. Why that was so, or why I didn't see many of them, was currently still a mystery for me.What I had learned though, was that fighting was almost exclusively done by men. It actually made sense if you think about it.Even just Mortals differed by about 30% in body strength between the two genders, and yes, there were just two, I asked just in case, and people looked at me as if I was a fucking dumbass for even asking that question.Anyway, if even between Mortals the difference was already so large, then as every single Realm amplified that difference, by the time they both reached Golden Core Realm, all other things being equal, there was already no comparison between the two. And considering that monsters were stronger than men still, sending a woman into a fight was basically the dumbest thing someone could do. Unless you wanted your species to go extinct. In that case, it was quite a good idea.Anyway, towards the evening we stopped at some spot in the forest, I wasn't exactly sure where exactly. We made so many twists and turns, I suspected we were about a few dozen kilometers from the Sect. The two women began setting up camp while the guys spread out and began establishing a perimeter.One of them took some sort of sticks out of his pouch, they were either silver or steel, I couldn't really tell, and had some runes carved into them. They were about a meter long and had a light brown gem on top of it, about the size of a chicken egg. He had a whole pile of them and stuck them in the ground every 3-5 meters around the camp. The others went around and pulled the bedrock out of the ground and rapidly shaped it to create some weird geometrical patterns on the ground.They then poured some black liquid into the channels of the stone floor and then sprinkled some blue dust all over it. Weh Chu watched it all happen while holding his hands behind his back, making sure everything went smoothly. It seemed he was used to doing this, as they have likely done it countless times before.Their leader, Tan Gong, just sat on the ground in the middle with closed eyes, seemingly meditating.I, together with the other cart pullers, just stood to the side and out of the way as they worked. After about half an hour, everything was ready. The camp had many of the stone concentric stone circles around it with some triangles, squares, and other less recognizable geometrical patterns between them."It's ready." Weh Chu suddenly said, and at the same time, Tan Gong opened his eyes. He opened his eyes and stood up, his hands holding two Spirit Stones each. He set them into the stone circles, one facing each side of the sky, and then returned back to the middle, where he activated some kind of skill.His body glowed golden and created some kind of bubble. The bubble then expanded while turning a bright turquoise color and covered the entire camp. It stopped at the first stone circle on the ground and separated into two. The first one remained where it was, and the second one, that one pale white and much more transparent, reached the second circle, and then stopped. They then both flashed brightly, dimmed, and disappeared."Sanctuary is complete! At ease!" Tan Gong announced loudly and went to the women to get something to eat."Just a reminder, don't use any terrain-manipulation Mystic Arts inside the camp or there will be trouble!" Weh Chu loudly said towards the rest of their core members, but I suspected it was more a warning for us new guys. The rest of them probably already knew that.The thing they made was fascinating, probably a small-scale formation, though I had no clue what principles it used or how it worked. Especially since I couldn't detect a single thing from it after the initial pulse of magic during its activation. Even with Magic Eyes, I couldn't see the edge, and if it wasn't for the stone circles and seeing it happen with my own eyes, I wouldn't even know it was there.[Isn't that expensive? Using four Spirit Stones?] I asked myself aloud, not expecting to get an answer."Not really. The activation only used our leader's Qi, and as long as we aren't attacked during the night, the Spirit Stones will barely lose 1% of their energy." Weh Chu said as he sat down on a mat with a warm drink in hand. "It's a very efficient formation. As long as the first formation isn't breached, the second won't activate, so it won't use any power. And the reaction is nearly instantaneous, so we will be completely safe… for a bit. Long enough to wake up and get ready to fight at least."[I see. But what if a beast is really fast and manages to jump in before the second barrier forms?] I asked, not out of concern, but pure curiosity.Weh Chu laughed at that. "If something like that happens then we are probably all dead. A beast of that caliber wouldn't care about the barrier anyway, so there is really no need to worry about it."[Thanks, that makes me feel better.] Yeah, at least I won't know how I died. What a crazy world."You are welcome!" He grinned.