Yuexin didn't return for the rest of the day. After such a large-scale conflict, I'd imagine everyone was quite busy. But that works well for me.
My injuries are far less severe now, thanks to the repeated breakthrough. Possibly because of the body cultivation involved within my cultivation technique, bones, muscles, and ligaments all repaired themselves... for the most part.
Shadowless Step.
The world blurs. Far more than before. The speed and the precision of the technique increased alongside my cultivation.
''No complications with movement.''
The sooner I deal with the Zhan family, the sooner I can focus on martial arts. I'm currently 'heavily injured' and possibly near death, so besides my 'father', no one should connect it to me.
Silent Pulse Breathing.
Similarly to the Shadowless Step, there are some noticeable changes when it comes to this technique as well. Unlike before, it seems like... my body itself is silent. Whether it's heartbeat, breathing, or the blood flow, all of them are dead silent.
Not being able to hear your own heartbeat, even with enhanced senses...
''This is disturbing even for me...''
With a shake of my head, I open the window in my room and listen to my surroundings. A minute passes just like that, my focus solely on my hearing.
As expected, everyone is still on high alert. But that shouldn't be an issue. With my current cultivation, if I don't want to, they won't notice me.
Confident, I head out, my Qi fully suppressed and my presence erased while avoiding all the places I hear sound from.
Moments later, I enter the forest that we came from. Fear Qi envelops me like a living cloak, a dark mist leaking out of it, blending with the night.
''This will be a long trip. But I should be back before sunrise.''
The Zhan family. They reside in the place where I first woke up, namely, Chifeng City. With a carriage, the trip can take anywhere from one to two days.
But with my cultivation, perhaps ten hours total would be reasonable. A lot less if I use Shadowless Step.
But that's a last case scenario on the way back. Can't arrive to the Zhan family with just half my Qi...
...
Five hours later, the forest begins to thin out. The city walls, while still a good distance away, are now in my sight.
'Four-hour trip with just my body cultivation. Trip back will be half as long.'
Despite running through open plains, my Fear Qi cloak combined with Silent Pulse Breathing makes me near invisible.
'I don't think anyone below Late Foundation can even spot me.'
Satisfied with my progress, I speed up and with a leap, I jump over the city walls. Landing in a dark alley, I begin to look for any signs of life.
My hearing pushed to its limits, I listen.
Clank.... Clank... Clank...
Those are most certainly footsteps, a guard? Despite my hearing covering a large area, I only hear one single guard with no cultivation.
Perhaps because the city has two escort services in it, the security sure is lax. Well, works for me.
Shadowless Step.
Within an instant, a shadowy figure appears behind the guard. Despite my presence being suppressed to a bare minimum, his whole body freezes immediately. No touch, no sound, he didn't even see me. But he feels me.
He begins to tremble violently, but his body refuses to move even a muscle.
[You've gathered 5 points of Fear]
[You've inflicted permanent Trauma on 1 person]
''Mortal, tell me where I can find the Zhan family.''
Using Thousand Faces Arts, an old, raspy voice comes out of my throat, as if an old monster has just woken up from its slumber.
As my words fall, I completely retract all the Fear Qi in my surroundings, giving the guard a chance to speak. His body twitches as he gets free from my grasp, but he refuses to move his body nonetheless. Not even daring to turn around or run away.
''Z-Zh-Zhan f-family is th-this w-way....''
He slowly raises his hand at an angle, pointing towards a tower in the distance. The movement is slow and shaky, as if gravity was doing its best to keep the hand at bay.
''B-behind t-that to-tower...''
In a blink, the pressure disappears. The guard, who was originally walking towards the tower, turns on his heels and awkwardly walks towards the opposite direction.
...
Zhan family POV
Within the Zhan estate, everything was calm and peaceful. Guards were yawning on top of the walls, lanterns swayed in the breeze, and subtle laughs could be heard from inside the mansion.
Until now.
The air thickened. The temperature dropped to a chilling degree. A pressure, suffocating, heavy pressure seeped into every single corner within the estate. The lanterns swayed violently, their flames dimming, as if afraid of what was coming.
From beyond the gates, a figure appeared. Clad in a dark, misty cloak that seemed to coil around his body. The cloak constantly reformed itself, its edges dissolving and reforming like smoke alive.
The guards on the wall let go of their weapons in an instant. No one dared to move, no one dared to shout. The only sound within the mansion was falling weapons and the footsteps of the dark figure.
[You've gathered 246 points of Fear]
[You've inflicted permanent Trauma on 82 people]
''W-what… what is that?''
Another guard dropped on his knees, his back arching as his head hit the ground. Voice full of desperation and fear, he whispered,
''That's no man. That's a demon wearing a man's skin.''
[You've gathered 462 points of Fear]
[You've inflicted permanent Trauma on 154 people]
The mansion turned quiet. A few elders made their way outside, instantly probing the dark figure with their Qi. The patriarch himself made a move. His Mid Foundation gave him enough confidence to ignore some of the pressure.
The moment their Qi reached the dark figure, the recoil was something no one ever expected, or experienced. What they touched was not Qi as they knew it. It was denser, heavier, alien... seeping with primordial horror itself.
''Gods have mercy.''
All the color drained from their faces. All will to fight disappeared in an instant. The only thing left was their acceptance. Acceptance of their impending death.
[You've gathered 519 points of Fear]
[You've inflicted permanent Trauma on 173 people]
''Death… death itself has come to our gates.''
.
.
.
[STATUS]
[Name: Han Ye]
[Age: 18]
[Cultivation: Terror Manifestation Realm - Late Stage ▸ Qi condensation - Early Stage]
[Fear Points: 2 538]
[Trauma: +517/day]
[Fear Points needed for the next stage: 6 000]
[Techniques: Shadowless Step, Thousand Faces Arts (incomplete), Silent Pulse Breathing, Crow Shroud Technique]
Authors note: If you're enjoying the novel so far, please add it to your collections! Every single one goes a long way. Honest review will be Great too!
Powerstones: If we can reach 70 power stones in a week, I will make one more chapter a day for 1 week. Let's do it!