"Who the fuck have I messed with?" Nox cussed as she used Shadow Clone to switch her position again to avoid being blown to pieces.
The world around her blurred, and she briefly stumbled on a tree root after instantaneously switching positions with her clone about a mile away.
Shadow Clone was a Qi-intensive technique that allowed her to swap places instantly with a humanoid shadow that she could control remotely. Without the dense foliage providing miles of shadows, she would never have been able to switch places with a clone so far away during the middle of the day. But for once, the terrain was working to her advantage.
Nox thanked the nine realms she'd had the foresight to activate the Shadow Clone technique in time when she saw that floating behemoth that looked more like an island outfitted for battle in the sky approaching on the distant horizon.
But she had not been prepared for what happened next.
The volley of spatial bombs from the ship that was now obscured behind an illusion array impacted the area she had been in a second before, and she felt the connection with her Shadow Clone cease as the ground trembled and a shockwave smashed through the forest, sending a surge of loose sticks and debris her way.
Nox raised her shadow-coated arm to mitigate the shockwave. "Only three clones left," she clicked her tongue in annoyance at the wasted Qi as she faintly pulled on the connection with her last three shadow clones running eastward. "This is going to be a problem... I should have made even more clones, but they are so Qi-intensive."
With no interest in fighting, as she had only just recovered her cultivation, Nox planned to use any means necessary to flee. Hence, she had used the costly technique, but now she wished she had gone even further and made as many clones as possible.
If the clear blue sky transitioning into a spatial storm that tore reality apart and the volleys of spatial bombs that blew up the foliage she was seeking refuge under wasn't enough, the distance she had put between herself and the ship had been rapidly closed by the Redclaws flying behind her on swords. It should be impossible for them to catch up to her since she was using Shadow Walk to swim through the shadows and Shadow Step to outright teleport.
But the Redclaws utilized portals within the spatial storm to instantly close the gap whenever she switched positions. It was deeply frustrating, forcing her to burn even more Qi to maintain any distance.
And that wasn't all. Nox could feel the monsters throughout the forest that she had empowered with her shadows being silently killed, likely by that void monster, which was somehow still alive after being nearly obliterated back on the Redclaws mountain.
Yet despite all of this, Nox would have been convinced of her ability to escape, especially after using her costly Shadow Clone technique, if not for this strange light beam originating from the floating ship that would lock onto her within seconds of using the Shadow Clone skill to reposition. The beam of light was so intense it carved through the foliage, set trees on fire, and was constantly on her tail.
Nox had ensured that the trees around her weren't exposing her position like last time. So she couldn't for the life of her think up a reason they were able to track her so effortlessly. Even more questionable was where this powerful light cultivator came from? If the source of this light beam, whether it was an artifact or a cultivator, had been present during the meeting, she would have most certainly perished a few weeks ago.
A few moments ago, Nox debated how much Shadow Qi she would use to escape. But now? She was starting to worry if escape was even possible. The wilderness was vast, and the forest went on for many miles, but there were patches of meadow up ahead where shadows would be hard to come by, and she would be exposed to the midday sun.
If it comes down to a fight, the Redclaws should be no match for me, Nox thought as she glanced over her shoulder at the rapidly gaining Star Core cultivators with red hair. I just need to keep tabs on the void monster... if that's even possible.
Few things struck fear into her heart more than the void element, and she was not alone. The fact it was such a hard to cultivate affinity mattered little when a single shot to the head was enough to end her existence.
Sure, it might take that cultivator or monster months, if not years, to recover the void Qi from that single attack, but she wouldn't be alive to enact revenge so why should she care?
Unless I place a bounty on its head, Nox thought as she heard the trees behind her crashing to the ground in a blaze due to the light beam still following her, carving a path only a hundred or so meters behind her. It wasn't dead accurate, but it was close enough that the Redclaws could hit her with wide-area attacks, which Nox knew they were about to do by the immense gathering of fire Qi in the sky.
Nox used Shadow Step to teleport to the side as a ball of crimson flame a hundred meters wide brightened the sky like a shooting star and then crashed into the area before her.
Superheated air was the first to meet her shrouded face, followed by a literal wall of fire that slammed into her, and if not for her shadow armor, she would have suffered from extreme burns. Was the Grand Elder always this strong? Nox was baffled by the stark difference in strength from just a few weeks ago. There was also the chance that the Grand Elder was shoving as much Qi as possible into that single attack and could only do a few before retreating.
My Star Core is filled to the brim with Qi, and I should be the highest stage cultivator here. Nox thought as she traveled through the shadows at immense speed. If I keep baiting them into using such large-scale attacks and wear them out, I might be able to turn the tables and go on the offensive. That way, I free myself of these pursuers as the Tainted Cloud Sect is still far from here.
Annoyingly, due to the Grand Elder's attack, Nox was practically forced to head north or south, as a large section of the eastern forest was now ablaze. Cutting off her direct route to the only place she considered home.
Deciding to head north to put as much distance between her and the slow-moving ship in the distance, her eyes widened as a second ball of flame descended before her, originating from the other weaker Star Core Elder.
"Since when did the Redclaw family have two fucking Star Core Elders? I was told by the Voidmind family that they were weak!" Nox seethed as she mobilized her shadow Qi to form a giant claw of shadows that raised up to catch the far weaker fireball. It would be troublesome if it set even more of the forest on fire and potentially cut off her connection to her clones.
Considering this Redclaw Elder was only at the first stage and, therefore, eight stages below, Nox's shadow claw easily raised up and snuffed out the fireball despite the affinity disadvantage.
If only those bastards would come down here and fight, Nox lamented as she glared at the blazing ball of fire in the sky that was the sun. If it wasn't midday right now, I would be able to Shadow Step up onto the swords and slit their throats in a single motion.
The worst part was that the Grand Elder knew this and was exploiting her weakness by never getting too close to the foliage, always keeping the sun to his back, and wrapping his entire body in soul flames to leave no shadows for her to teleport to.
While analyzing her opponents hot on her heels with her spiritual sight, Nox noticed that the Grand Elder seemed to pause as if listening to something. The man then suddenly began pulling back.
Having noticed this attack pattern before, Nox stopped fleeing and instead used Shadow Step to keep as close to the Redclaws as possible. Here it comes! Sure enough, a moment later, Nox's spiritual sense went haywire as a volley of spatial bombs tore through the sky and impacted the area she had been moments before.
Once again, the firepower on display was ridiculous as the entire ground shook, and even reality seemed torn apart for a brief moment.
The Redclaws didn't give her a moment's rest and took advantage of her proximity by raining down hellfire, and the light beam was once again hot on her tail, ready to cut her in two if she so much as tripped.
"This is getting troublesome." Nox hissed through her teeth as she threw bolts of shadow at the Grand Elder.
The man floating on the sword far overhead wasn't distracted by the attack for even a second, which was the right choice as the Shadow Bolts fizzled out long before they could touch his skin.
Nox cursed as she had to burn even more Qi to use Shadow Step in rapid succession to create some distance.
***
An hour later, Nox had to accept a simple fact: if this onslaught of attacks went on, she wouldn't survive until nightfall. She was slowly being trapped by the rampant forest fires to the east and would soon be boxed in and forced to double back westward toward that floating fortress that seemed to never run out of Qi as it hurled relentless volleys of spatial bombs. What the hell were they using to power that thing? Had the Ashfallen Trading Company enslaved a family of spatial cultivators and chained them to the fortress as Qi sources?
Her only saving grace so far was that the Redclaws flying overhead had stopped casting wide-scale attacks, likely due to running out of Qi, and were focusing on throwing more targeted attacks.
Even at nightfall, my victory under that floating fortress isn't assured in my current state. I need to keep away from it at all costs. Nox gritted her teeth as she searched for a way out. I need some fucking allies. If only Hammond was here, he could teleport me out within moments—
Nox threw herself to the ground as a void-coated claw silently cleaved through the air where her head had just been. If not for the slight change in the shadows, she would have never noticed the monster appearing behind her.
Tumbling on the rough ground for a moment before jumping back to her feet, Nox raised both her hands, and hundreds of tendrils of shadows shot forth. As expected, the void beast could easily slash her Qi, but that didn't matter. In a battle of attrition void Qi would always lose. The monster then vanished into the void, and Nox didn't waste a second to use Shadow Step to teleport a few meters away.
"Missed me," Nox smirked as she watched the monster reappear where she had just been. Another victory. Shadow Step was far cheaper Qi-wise than Void Step. The monster should retreat if she could keep this up for a bit. The only problem was a single fuck up would be her end.
The monster slowly turned and looked at her with its empty eyes.
"I'm always ready to dance with death," Nox brought out two daggers and coated them in shadow. "Do your worst."
***
Another hour passed, and Nox had successfully danced with death. At some point, the void Ent had retreated, and the Redclaws overhead were more passive.
But that's because they had her trapped. The forest to the north and south had been burned to a crisp. She was currently being forced to slowly head back into the floating fortress's attack range, and Nox was all out of clones.
"There are clearly spatial cultivators on that ship, so reinforcements could be arriving any moment," Nox cursed. Even if night arrived, her Star Core had dimmed from overuse. She was mentally and physically exhausted from fighting the void monster.
"I need help." She whispered words she thought she would never say to herself in the forest's silence. There was still a way for her to prevent her seemingly sealed fate of being blasted to death by spatial bombs in the next few hours, but it wasn't one she was happy with.
Nox's silver ring flashed as she brought out an artifact she hoped to never use again. Despite the chaotic situation, as she swam through the shadows, she looked at the gold and black pendant of the Eternal Pursuit Pavilion between her fingers with a pained look. Before even activating it, she knew an unpleasant conversation lay ahead, but she saw no other option.
Stabbing her finger against the spike in the center of the pendant and letting her warm blood drip onto the artifact's surface along with some Qi. It lit up with power a moment later, establishing the connection.
"Greetings, Nox Duskwalker of the Jade Sentinels. It's been a while." A woman wearing a black cloak embroidered with a phoenix over a lotus on her heart manifested in her mind within a dense fog.
It was a mental projection created through the artifact that allowed Nox to speak directly with one of the lowest-ranking members of the Eternal Pursuit Pavilion, and the mere sight of that phoenix symbol made Nox grind her teeth. The phoenix was supposed to symbolize a relentless pursuit and rebirth of justice but it brought back terrible memories.
"Now is not the time for small talk, Lotus Informant," Nox said with a little more malice than she had intended. "I wish to place a bounty. Would that be possible considering..."
"How you broke our leader's heart?" The woman chuckled, "Or the large bounty looming over your head?"
Nox grimaced at the mention of the leader, "How much has the bounty reached now? It's been a while since I checked in."
The woman's head turned to the side, likely to study something out of view, and then looked back at her with a smile, "30,000 Yinxi Coins. One of the highest currently out there."
"There's someone with a higher bounty than me?" Nox asked with interest. Ever since she broke off the arranged marriage with the most powerful family in the Tainted Cloud Sect, her betrothed had spared no expense to have her hunted down.
But really, 30,000 Yinxi Coins? Considering they are a currency unique to the Eternal Pursuit Pavilion that is only obtainable by exchanging artifacts, pills, and technique manuals directly with them or completing missions, that's absurd. Even if I exchanged all I had on me, including these pills I stole from Stella, with the Eternal Pursuit Pavilion, I wouldn't be able to amass that much.
Nox hadn't taken on any bounties or missions from the Eternal Pursuit Pavilion in decades. Still, even as a top-ranking Jade Sentinel, she would only get paid around two to three thousand Yinxi Coins per job she completed. So the fact her bounty had grown to 30,000 was baffling to her. Just how angry was her betrothed? It has been 500 years since then...
"Yes, there are a few higher ranked since the leader has been suppressing how much your bounty can grow. For instance, Vincent Nightrose and the Grand Elder of the Silverspire family in the Blood Lotus Sect are both at 100,000 Yinxi Coins."
Nox's heart beat a little faster at the mention of the leader's kindness. He was the man she cheated on her betrothed with, after all. It was a... messy situation, to say the least.
Makes sense that the largest provider of spatial rings and the leader of the rival Blood Lotus Sect have the highest bounties. Especially since it's the only demonic sect in the wilderness that refused to allow a branch of the Eternal Pursuit Pavilion to be built.
Nox suddenly used Shadow Step to avoid a blast of ash from a tree up ahead. Within the darkness of the foliage, she could make out eight eyes the size of her fists glaring at her. Shit, the reinforcements have arrived sooner than I thought.
The woman in her mind seemed to sense the sudden disturbance. "Nox? Are you in a spot of trouble?"
"Why else do you think I would contact those I wished to leave behind?" Nox snapped back as she frustratingly headed further west. "So? Can you process my bounty? I'm running out of time here."
The woman sighed, "Yes, I can. Please provide details of the target, including their name, location, and threat level. As you already know, the bounty's reward will be decided based on these and more factors."
"Yes, I know," Nox replied and then spent a second thinking about who she should send her fellow Jade Sentinels after. Before the floating ship activated its illusion array, Nox had seen Stella standing on its bow. Until now, she was still the only one yet to come after her, suggesting she must be the one aiming that blasted light beam at her.
If Stella is killed... however they are tracking me would stop. She's also weaker and less well-known than the Redclaw Grand Elder, so the bounty will be cheaper to place.
"I would like to place a bounty on Stella Crestfallen. Her base of operations is the mountain range near Darklight City located in the Blood Lotus Sect. However, her current location is on a spiritual ship above the great forest of the western wilderness." Nox explained to the woman in her head, and the Lotus Informant noted everything.
"There is no record of Stella Crestfallen," The woman said after a moment, "Please explain more so we can give an accurate description to those wishing to take the job."
Nox tried her best to recall the girl. "She is around sixteen years old with short blonde hair, a single red maple leaf earring, and crazed pink eyes. She's also rather tall for a girl and can sometimes be seen wearing a mask or going by the pseudonym of Roselyn."
"Noted. And what is Stella Crestfallen's strength?" The woman asked.
"Spatial affinity with extremely pure spirit roots." Nox said, "I estimate her to be around the first stage of the Star Core Realm, and she was also extremely talented with the sword."
"Interesting," The Lotus Informant muttered as they jotted everything down. "And what is Stella's affiliation? Is she part of any groups or factions bounty hunters may wish to avoid?"
"Besides being part of the Crestfallen family, which I know little about, she also sells pills on behalf of an entity called the Ashfallen Trading Company while using the pseudonym of Roselyn."
The woman paused and then looked to the side and frowned. "We also have no records of this Ashfallen Trading Company. What threat level would you describe this group having?"
Nox glanced up through the foliage at the floating fortress still shrouded in a grand illusion array surrounded by a steady stream of floating corpses that it seemed to be absorbing. "Errr, maybe around Star Core Nine?"
The woman raised her brow, "Star Core Nine? That means only those of equal or higher rank than you should be taking on this job. That will greatly drive up the cost of the bounty."
"I understand." Nox replied, "So how much will the bounty cost?"
"Let me see... an unverified Star Core spatial cultivator with spatial affinity sets the base cost at 3,000 Yinxi Coins as they are tricky to track down and kill. Then the fact she is affiliated with such a powerful and unverified faction that sells pills doubles the cost to 6,000 Yinxi Coins."
Nox winced at the cost.
"Oh, I forgot to ask, what time limit did you wish to place?"
Nox looked at the setting sun and sighed. "Double the reward if the mission is completed by sundown. Otherwise, keep the base reward for those that complete it by the year's end."
"Such a tight time limit! Only those groups with a spatial cultivator can complete it in time," the woman said, licking her lips. "How interesting. To think the leader's sweetheart would return after decades to place such an interesting bounty."
Nox wanted to crawl into a hole and die. She hated being called that.
"Your bounty has been registered and will appear on all job boards across the wilderness and to everyone's pendants." The woman smiled, "But I do wonder Nox... looking at your account, you only have 7,000 Yinxi Coins in savings. I hope you have items to sell us to make the difference for the double reward?"
Nox felt her heart freeze. If she failed to pay the double reward on time, she would be forced to pay back the debt to the Eternal Pursuit Pavilion with interest. Also, her standing and reputation within the pavilion would plummet, taking years to recover.
"I will get the funds somehow, don't you worry," Nox said with an awkward smile. It was a total lie. If someone actually completed the bounty tonight, she was screwed. "I can always ask the leader for some help." Another lie, the leader would love for her to be in debt so she could never leave his side.
"If you say so. Usually, you have to pay it all upfront, but just for you, I will make an exception." The woman faded into the mist, "The bounty is now live. Good luck, Nox Duskwalker of the Jade Sentinels."
Nox flipped the golden and black pendant over in her hand and saw a new line of spiritual text appear.
[Death of Stella Crestfallen]
Target's estimated threat level: Star Core 1 [Unverified]
Affiliation with Ashfallen Trading Company: Star Core 9 [Unverified]
Bounty: 6,000 Yinxi Coins. Double if completed by sundown.
The bounty is placed by Nox Duskwalker, and the target is at the marked location. For more information, consult a Lotus Informant.
Nox deposited the pendant into her spatial ring. It would act as a beacon for those thirsting for the double pay by sundown. Hopefully, Stella being swarmed by bounty hunters will give me a chance to slip past and escape. Nox thought. But if they actually succeed in killing Stella by sundown, I will be fucked as I will have to sell everything I own to pay the double payment. So don't die too fast, Stella Crestfallen.
