Side Story: A Tale from the Red Spring Hinterland

The Red Spring Hinterland was a vast region of inland seas, jagged mountains that pierced into the sky for what seemed like an eternity, as well as forests and deserts that hid unknown terrors. It was considered its own continent and lay to the east of the Eastern Sanmu Subcontinent and to the south of the Martial Brilliance Continent. To humans who did not know of the existence of this name, like many in the Eastern Sanmu Subcontinent, they considered this place as the Eastern Wilderness where in reality, the Eastern Wilderness was merely the far-flung outskirts of the hinterland.

For those that did know, the Red Spring Hinterland was a land filled with hidden treasures and fantastical sources of spiritual energy. It was also a dangerous land where only the bravest and strongest humans dared to enter. This was a wild and ferocious land without a single master. Unlike the Martial Brilliance Continent where humans held hegemony, the Red Spring Hinterland was a constant battlefield between demons, beasts, human explorers, and other unknown races.

There were hidden experts all over the place. Being a Spirit Lord was considered the bare minimum and a Spirit King was considered average. The true tyrants were those at the Spirit Emperor Realm or even higher. Eastern Sanmu was only a subcontinent because it had few resources and could not support any immortals above the Spirit King Realm. Indeed, this was the true meaning behind calling a region a continent.

--

Qin Shui'er emerged from a black lake, her body returning to its original color of clear blue. She did not take a human form as there was no need to. There were no humans here, and if there were, they were mere slaves and playthings of demons.

There was no light all around her, only pure darkness. An impenetrable fog pressed down like a thick blanket. Her spiritual sense could only pierce a few meters in all directions and the only thing she could perceive was a stone path that led away from the shore.

She followed the path, taking slow deliberate steps. She felt the spiritual sense of other beings brush against hers. Unseen figures dashed around her on the ground and in the air. She kept her guard up, not really expecting to be attacked but just in case.

After a while, she arrived at the foot of a sheer cliff. Before her was a set of doors made of a black metal that reflected no light. Not even spiritual energy could penetrate it.

She knelt before the door and bowed to the ground, "Disciple Qin Shui'er has returned. Disciple is incapable and failed her mission. A senior brother was also lost in the process. There is nothing I can say that can atone for my failure. I am willing to accept any punishment that master may bestow me."

A long time passed with no reaction from the gate. Qin Shui'er knelt there silently, her heart trembling. She didn't know how her master would punish her. She didn't think he would kill her since the mission hadn't been a total loss. She had information on the source of the demon slayer art, Lin Huzhong, as well as the existence of a divine beast. She hoped that was enough. But depending on her master's mood today, anything was possible.

Finally, there was a tremendous noise akin to a mountain splitting in half. The gate doors cracked open and swung in. Then, from inside the murky darkness, a shapeless being floated out.

"My, my... I was wondering what useless thing came here making so much noise. It was you." It said as it floated before her. "You certainly took the scenic route back here."

"Senior Brother Seventh Black." She greeted with another bow.

This being was an ancient shade, a demon born of shadow. It came from the darkest places in the world such as subterranean caves. It was a master of its element like she was with water. It was capable of hiding in the darkness and traveling stealthily across vast distances.

Seventh Black was her senior brother but he was already at the Spirit King Realm, like many senior disciples. She was glad it was him who greeted her. It meant that her master's mood was probably better than usual.

Seventh Black seemed to guess her thoughts and spoke, "You're in luck. Master recently made a great stride in his recovery. If you had come back a month ago, your life would have been in danger. Come, let's go meet him."

"Yes, senior brother."

The pair entered the mountain and traveled through a myriad of tunnels, descending deeper and deeper. They chatted about idle things like old friends. A few immortal demons passed by them but none stopped to greet them.

They eventually entered a vast underground cavern that was as tall as the sky and as deep as the underworld. It was pitch black and it was impossible to tell how far it was to the other side or if the other side even existed.

"Your turn." Seventh Black said, retreating into the tunnel, "Don't ruin his mood too much. A few more of your fellow brothers and sisters are due to report back soon. I don't want them to lose their lives."

"Yes, senior brother."

Qin Shui'er walked forward on a solidary stone ledge until it eventually ended. She overlooked the pit of sheer darkness and knelt to the ground, "Disciple Qin Shui'er, greets master."

After a short moment, the darkness trembled. A fearsome aura erupted, flooding her senses and washing away her spiritual energy. She remained bowed, defenseless, at the mercy of the powerful being that slowly rose from the depths.

"Shui'er..." A voice as deep as the world spoke.

Her master's black mass filled her senses. She was but a speck of dust. How large was her master? She didn't know and never thought to ask. All she knew was that this massive cavern that could fit whole mountains seemed too small all of the sudden.

"Tell me what happened."

"Yes, master..."

Qin Shui'er retold the events from the time she arrived at the Eastern Sanmu Subcontinent. The broken message that reported the existence of a Demon Slayer Art left no other detail so her first task was to gather information and hunt down the origin of the message. She started by laying down a vast network of water sprites, tiny water demons under her command capable of hiding in bodies of water, no matter how small. They could even be cast down over an area through raindrops.

After narrowing down the search area to the northeast quadrant of the subcontinent, she began commanding the local demon clans to attack humans at will to lure out the source of the Demon Slayer Art. This was also successful as it brought out Immortal Sword Bandit Lin Huzhong and his Six Meridians Demon Blight sword style.

The final act was the ambush. She knew she couldn't do it alone so she recruited White Claw, the wangliang, from his post in the Eastern Sanmu Metropolis to assist her.

"Master, I'm sorry. Senior Brother White Claw's death is all my fault." Her voice was full of regret and a healthy dose of fear.

"How did he die?"

Qin Shui'er quickly described the arrival of the Nine Tailed Moonlight Fox and her ambush being turned around on her.

"Senior brother sacrificed his life so that I may escape. Disciple is incapable, I will submit to any punishment master has in store for me!"

The voice in the deep laughed, "A Nine Tailed Moonlight Fox? Interesting. What is the Purple Moon Clan trying to do now? Have they not learned their lesson? Do they want more suffering? Hahaha!"

Qin Shui'er remained silent, having no idea what her master was talking about.

"Anyway, I won't blame you since a divine beast showed up. Neither you nor White Claw can fight against a divine beast in a fair fight, even an immature one."

Relief washed over her, "Master, thank you master. Please let me gather some fellow disciples to hunt down this fox. We will get revenge on brother White Claw!"

"No need! You won't be able to catch it. Divine beasts are tricky little things, always sneaky and cowardly. It doesn't matter. I don't care about one divine beast, what I care about is the Eastern Sanmu Subcontinent. Like I have said before, the only thing that could possibly stand in the way of us taking over that subcontinent was the potential existence of a Demon Slayer Art. From what you describe, that sword art you unearthed is not a true Demon Slayer Art but a poor recreation. In that case, we don't have to worry about it!"

"Yes, master."

The darkness continued speaking, "White Claw died so we don't have anyone handling our sect's matters in the subcontinent right now. Therefore, I will send Seventh Black as a replacement. It will be a good opportunity for him to feed on the dreams of these useless human immortals and get stronger. As for you, since you are already familiar with the land, you will join Seventh Black and accelerate our plans there. Oh, and before you leave, I've gathered some Pearls of Pure Water, you are already close to the next realm and they should help you breakthrough."

Qin Shui'er's heart swelled. She wasn't being punished but was being rewarded instead. She didn't know why but she didn't care to ask. Pearls of Pure Water contained abundant spiritual energy with the purest water attribute. For her, it was the best cultivation treasure. It was exactly what she needed.

"Thank you, master, thank you! I promise, once I reach the Spirit King Realm, I will return to the Eastern Sanmu Subcontinent. Along with brother Seventh Black, we will destroy the humans and subdue the land as a gift to master."

"Good, don't disappoint me."

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