Chen Yu's eyes opened to pale morning light filtering through the canopy above, his body aching from sleeping on the ground with muscles stiff and protesting as he shifted on the bedroll. The spiritual energy depletion from yesterday sat in his chest like a hollow weight, maybe thirty percent of his normal capacity restored through natural recovery overnight.
He closed his eyes again and sank inward, consciousness diving into that familiar space within himself.
The void stretched around him, dark and empty except for his original body floating in its center like it always was. The clone had been cultivating through the night as commanded, and Chen Yu could sense the accumulated spiritual energy hovering around it like morning mist, ready to be absorbed. He reached out and pulled that energy toward himself, feeling it flow through the connection between his two forms in a rush that filled the emptiness.
The hollow feeling in his chest filled rapidly, spiritual energy flooding back to full capacity until he felt whole again. The bone-deep exhaustion faded as power returned to his channels, replaced by the steady hum of energy running through his body the way it was supposed to. Chen Yu opened his eyes in the physical world and sat up, rolling his shoulders experimentally as the last traces of weakness disappeared like they'd never been there.
Xie Jun was already up, efficiently packing his bedroll and checking through his storage pouch with the practiced movements of someone who'd done this hundreds of times. The camp had been mostly dismantled while Chen Yu slept, fire reduced to nothing but cold ashes that wouldn't give them away to any passing beasts.
"Sleep well?" Xie Jun asked without looking up from his work.
"Well enough." Chen Yu stood and started rolling his own bedroll, movements clumsy compared to Xie Jun's efficiency. "You?"
"I've had worse." Xie Jun pulled out some leftover boar meat from his storage pouch, handing a portion to Chen Yu without ceremony. "We should eat and head back. Want to reach town before afternoon if we can manage it."
They ate quickly, the cold meat still filling even if it lacked yesterday's warmth and spices that had made it so good. Chen Yu chewed methodically while Xie Jun finished the last of the packing, his movements so practiced they seemed almost automatic.
Within minutes they'd erased all traces of their camp and started walking, following the forest paths back toward Silver Mist Town through morning mist that clung to the ground in patches.
The mist gave the forest an ethereal quality that made everything feel distant and muffled. Birds called from the branches above in their morning songs, and somewhere in the distance water burbled over rocks with a sound that was almost peaceful. Chen Yu's legs fell into an easy rhythm after a few minutes, the walk almost meditative after yesterday's intensity and the spiritual fox's death that still sat heavy in his memory.
A rustle in the undergrowth ahead made Xie Jun's hand move to his sword hilt in an instant, his entire body going tense and alert. Chen Yu stopped immediately, stepping back without needing instruction because he'd learned that lesson well enough by now.
A horned rabbit burst from the bushes like something had spooked it, its single spiral horn glinting in the filtered sunlight that made it through the canopy. A Tier 0 spirit beast, barely stronger than a normal animal but with just enough spiritual energy to form a small core worth harvesting.
Xie Jun moved before it could flee or attack. Three strikes, precise and economical, no wasted movement or unnecessary flourishes. The rabbit dropped without a sound, its small body hitting the ground with a soft thump.
He knelt and extracted the tiny beast core with practiced efficiency that spoke of years doing this, then removed the pelt with a few quick cuts of his knife. Both items disappeared into his storage pouch to join yesterday's more impressive haul.
"Not much," Xie Jun said while wiping his blade clean on some leaves. "But cores add up over time. Every little bit helps the clan coffers."
They continued walking, the tension from the encounter already fading as quickly as it had come. Chen Yu could see Xie Jun relaxing incrementally as they drew closer to civilization, the constant vigilance of the deep forest giving way to something more routine, almost casual.
Then sounds echoed through the trees ahead that made both of them freeze. The clash of metal on metal, sharp and distinctive, not the sounds of beasts but weapons. Voices raised in anger, though too distant to make out words.
Xie Jun's entire posture changed in an instant, every muscle going taut. His hand shot up in a signal Chen Yu had learned meant halt and silence, no questions asked.
They both crouched low. Xie Jun moved forward carefully through the undergrowth, each footfall placed with deliberate quietness that came from years of hunting. Chen Yu followed as best he could, mimicking the older boy's movements even though he knew he was probably making ten times more noise than Xie Jun was.
The sounds grew louder as they approached through the trees. Not the chaotic noise of spirit beasts fighting over territory, but the organized clash of weapons and the specific rhythm of trained fighters testing each other, probing for weaknesses.
Xie Jun found a dense thicket of bushes that provided good cover and positioned himself behind it, gesturing for Chen Yu to do the same with sharp hand movements. Through gaps in the foliage they had a clear view into a clearing about thirty meters ahead, close enough to see everything but far enough to hopefully avoid detection.
On one side stood three young men wearing dark green and brown, the colors of the Liu Clan that Chen Yu recognized from seeing their people in town. Two carried swords that looked well-maintained if not exceptional, one held a spear with what looked like a spiritual steel tip. Their stances were solid, weight distributed properly, the kind of bearing that came from real training and experience.
Opposite them, two cultivators in blue and silver—Feng Clan colors—held defensive positions with their backs partially to each other so they could watch both flanks. Both wielded swords of noticeably higher quality than the Liu disciples' weapons, the metal catching the light with that particular sheen that marked spiritual weapons rather than mundane steel. They moved with confidence, muscles relaxed but ready to explode into action.
In the exact center of the clearing, growing from a small patch of soil that seemed to glow faintly with concentrated spiritual energy, sat a plant about knee-high. Its leaves were pale blue and luminescent, pulsing gently with spiritual energy in a rhythm that almost looked like breathing. Even from here Chen Yu could feel something special about it, some quality that marked it as valuable.