Blossoming Path-Chapter 187: On Thin Ice Over a Deep Abyss

I shook my head. “I’m coming with you.”

“No. This isn’t up for debate.”

I exhaled sharply, struggling to rein in my frustration. “I won’t slow you down.”

“You already have,” Jian Feng countered, his voice calm but firm. “You needed healing before we could move forward. That was time lost. We can’t afford another delay.”

“I’m fine now,” I argued, flexing my fingers to prove the point. “And you need me.”

Jian Feng arched a brow. “Do we?”

I met his gaze without hesitation. “Yes. I won’t be reckless, and I won’t put myself at risk. But you will need support. I’ve done it before—with Feng Wu, when we subjugated the Wind Serpents in Qingmu. I kept the frontlines stable, poisoned the Wind Serpent and kept casualties to a minimum. I'm useful outside of a straight fight.”

Jian Feng’s expression didn’t shift, but he was listening.

“I can prepare concoctions for battle,” I pressed on. “Tonics for stamina, antidotes in case there's poison, qi restoratives—things that could make the difference between surviving and losing. You know I’m right.”

The second-class disciple exhaled slowly, rubbing a hand over his chin. “That’s not the problem. You could be useful. I’m not ruling that out.”

“Then what's the problem?”

"We can’t afford to bring dead weight.”

I bristled. Wasn't he listening? “I’m not—”

Jian Feng lifted a hand to cut me off. “I know you’re not. If you were, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. I value your opinion more than before, and I know you’re not weak. But that doesn’t mean I’m convinced this is the right call. If we engage, you'll undeniably be an asset. But if we need to retreat, can you guarantee your ability to keep pace? I cannot risk your safety, nor can I burden others with the responsibility of protecting you.”

The admission should have felt like progress. Instead, it infuriated me to hear his words, as accurate as they were. But this wasn't just a matter of what I was capable of.

“I can’t leave Tianyi and Windy alone to face this.”

Jian Feng’s lips pressed into a thin line.

“I did that once before,” I continued, my voice quieter now, but no less firm. “I followed your orders. I stayed behind when I should have been there. And because of that, they almost died.”

The words hung in the air, heavier than I intended. I bowed my head, pressing my forehead to the dirt.

“I know I’m weak,” I said, voice steady. “But that doesn’t mean I can just stand here and let others die in my place. If something happens, something preventable, and I wasn’t there to stop it—I would never be able to forgive myself.”

A long silence stretched between us.

I kept my head bowed.

“I’m asking you, Jian Feng,” I said, swallowing past the lump in my throat. “Let me go. I’ll take full responsibility for myself.”

He exhaled through his nose, long and slow. I heard the faint shift of his sleeve as he crossed his arms tighter, the telltale scrape of his fingers against his sword hilt. We both knew what this was.

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It was a bad idea.

A terrible idea.

But some things weren’t about what was smart or strategic. Some things weren’t about logic at all.

Jian Feng sighed. “You’re a pain in the ass, you know that?”

I lifted my head slightly. His expression had shifted. Not softer—he wasn’t the type—but something in it had eased. He wasn’t looking at me like I was a liability anymore.

“Fine,” he muttered. “But don’t make me regret this.”

I let out a slow breath, nodding. “I won’t.”

“Then get ready. We'll move once the team sends us a signal.”

The moment Jian Feng gave the go-ahead, I didn’t waste time. My injuries might not have fully healed, but my hands still worked, and that was all I needed.

I crouched by the supply pile and summoned all the ingredients I had in my storage ring. Although I didn't have my pill furnace, my stock of ingredients was still intact—ginseng, wolfberry, Skyreach Flower, and a handful of other herbs I’d gathered from past expeditions. It wasn’t much, but it would do.

Tianyi moved away from me, taking to the skies to monitor the area. I felt secure with her guarding my back.

Jian Feng watched me with thinly veiled curiosity. "What are you doing?"

"Preparing," I said, pulling out a small cauldron from the tent. It was about the size of my fist—meant for simple meals, not alchemical refinement—but it would have to suffice.

Jian Feng frowned. "You’re making medicine now? It'll take too long to make anything of use."

I didn’t answer immediately. Instead, I took a breath and reached outward with my qi, activating the Alchemical Nexus.

Glowing symbols appeared in the air, surrounding the cauldron in the shape of a cube.

Jian Feng’s breath hitched.

I adjusted the formation, guiding the flow of energy. With a subtle shift of my will, I focused on hastening the process. The formations shuddered, then shifted—lines tightening, the glow intensifying. The fire beneath the cauldron responded immediately, flickering brighter, the water inside boiling within seconds.

So this is what it meant by refining without a pill furnace...

Even with such a simple setup, I could already tell—it worked.

I reached into my storage ring and pulled out a fresh Skyreach Flower. I’d planned to collect it earlier, but the demonic cultivator’s ambush had derailed everything. Now, though, I was glad I had Tianyi pick it for me while we were still in the area.

I extracted it's essence, and a fine golden mist rose from the flower. I pushed further, narrowing my focus, sifting through the gathered essence, isolating only one property—its ability to heighten one's senses.

I moved the remaining parts of the essence, unnecessary for this concoction, into a smaller vial I had on hand.

I poured the Skyreach Flower’s concentrated essence into the cauldron, adding the rest of the ingredients; ginger and red dates, watching the liquid shift from a pale gold to a rich amber. With my Alchemical Nexus set to hasten the process, the reaction stabilized almost instantly. Within minutes, the potion was complete.

I carefully extracted the liquid and funneled it into a small vial. The result was a Warming Tonic—a potion that staved off cold, improved circulation, and temporarily enhanced strength by invigorating the blood. Simple, but effective.

Jian Feng stared. “…That took you less than five minutes.”

I grinned, rolling the vial between my fingers. “Convenient, right? A gift from the Interface; I can adjust the formation to either strengthen the effects, quicken the process, or stabilize a volatile process.”

His eyes flicked back to the glowing formations still surrounding the cauldron. “I'll admit; our group isn't very capable in this field, and only two of us are capable of using alchemical formations. But even we know there's never been a way to form an array without a physical engraving—at least not at our level.”

I shrugged, tucking the vial away. “Then it’s a good thing I came with you, huh?”

His expression darkened slightly, but I caught the corner of his mouth twitching—just a little.

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I took that as a win.

An hour passed in a blur of preparation.

I worked methodically, my hands moving with the practiced precision of someone who had done this a thousand times. The Alchemical Nexus allowed me to refine without a furnace, but it wasn’t just the speed that made it invaluable—it was the sheer flexibility. I had set it to hasten the process, but if needed, I could switch to stability or potency at a moment’s notice.

In that time, I had produced over a dozen vials. Warming Tonics, Qi Restoratives, and even a few Explosive Elixirs—designed to ignite upon impact, like the ones used in the Grand Alchemy Gauntlet. Admittedly, they were weak in comparison due to the lack of potent ingredients. But the Alchemical Nexus came in handy; raising it's potency enough to the point it'd be useful in a fight.

"The disciples are returning."

Just as I funneled the last of the refined liquid into a vial, two of the disciples walked into the camp. Their expressions were tense, breath coming in quick gasps from exertion.

"We found it," one of them said, voice taut with urgency. "The demonic cultivator’s base."

Jian Feng immediately rose, his posture straightening. "Where?"

"Northwest, several li away. It’s well hidden, tucked between the cliffs, but the sna—er, Windy caught sight of movement. At least three figures. Maybe more inside. The rest of us are monitoring the area and ensuring there's no traps."

That was all we needed to hear.

I tucked the remaining vials into my belt, distributing several to the disciples as we moved. I handed out Qi Restoratives and passed a couple of Explosive Elixirs to Jian Feng, who eyed them with mild surprise before securing them at his waist.

With that, we pressed forward.

We moved quickly, our footsteps muffled by the forest floor. Despite the urgency, there was a heavy tension that settled over the group, an unspoken understanding that this wasn’t a simple skirmish.

We passed by the spirit beast bear from earlier. It had finally succumbed to its wounds, its massive form lying still beneath the morning light.

But what caught my attention wasn’t just the body—it was what had already found it.

A fox and a badger, their muzzles slick with fresh blood, were already feasting on the carcass.

The bear had been left to die, just like the Iron Boar and Black Tiger. The demonic cultivators hadn’t finished it off themselves—they had let nature do their work for them.

And as we moved past the corpse, I came to a sinking realization.

They left them to lure others in.

The scent of fresh blood would attract more creatures. Scavengers, predators, even other spirit beasts—none would pass up an easy meal. The demonic cultivators weren’t just killing. They were baiting a larger catch.

A cold shudder ran down my spine.

Just like us.

I clenched my jaw, pushing harder, my feet pounding against the dirt as I picked up my pace.

We thought we were in control, that we were tracking them. But what if we weren’t? What if this was exactly what they wanted? What if we were just the next layer of prey, following the scent of blood like every other beast before us?

I swallowed hard, the creeping sense of unease growing heavier with every step.

"Jian Feng," I said, breath coming quicker now, not from exertion, but from the weight of my own thoughts.

He gave a short grunt of acknowledgment, not breaking stride.

I hesitated, then forced the words out. "What if we’re the fox and the badger?"

He shot me a glance, his brows furrowed, but I kept going.

"They didn’t finish the bear off. Just like the Iron Boar in Qingmu. Just like the Black Tiger. They didn’t do it because they didn’t need to. They let them die on their own, because the scent of blood would do the rest of the work for them."

Jian Feng’s expression darkened.

"We’re the scavengers," I said, voice lower now. "We think we’re tracking them. But what if they’re the ones pulling us in? What if we’re already in their trap?"

Jian Feng didn’t answer right away. His eyes flicked toward the path ahead, toward the cliffs looming in the distance. His jaw tightened.

"I had the same thought," he admitted finally.

That sent a jolt through me. "Then—"

"But it doesn’t change anything. Even if this is a trap, what’s the alternative? Turning back? Leaving them to do whatever they’re doing out here? Letting them come to us when we’re unprepared? We don’t have a choice. We have to see this through."

I hated that he was right.

We were caught in a snare of our own making—one we couldn’t afford to escape from. Because if we ran now, we wouldn’t be the only ones at risk.

I grit my teeth and nodded, shaking off the cold dread curling in my stomach.

"Then we go in knowing what we might be walking into," I muttered.

Jian Feng shot me a sidelong glance, something flickering in his gaze—maybe approval, maybe just acknowledgment.

"We go in," he said. "But we don’t get careless."

We pressed forward, our pace measured but urgent, our ears straining for any sound beyond our own movements.

Ahead, one of the Verdant Lotus disciples raised a hand, signaling for us to slow down.

“This is where we set our traps. Follow exactly where we step.”

Jian Feng gave a firm nod, motioning for me and Tianyi to stay close.

I adjusted my pace, falling in line behind them. The disciples pointed out subtle cues—tiny disturbances in the dirt, thin threads barely visible in the underbrush, small indentations that seemed like nothing until I looked closer.

I exhaled quietly. Even knowing they were there, they were damn near impossible to spot.

As we moved, I distributed the vials I had made, briefly explaining their properties. The disciples accepted them without question, securing them in their robes with practiced ease. Even those unfamiliar with alchemy understood the value of an edge in battle.

The deeper we went, the darker the forest became. The forest itself seemed… wrong.

The leaves rustled without wind. The ground underfoot felt softer, almost spongy, like decay had settled far too deep. And the trees—some of them were wrong. Their shapes were subtly distorted, their trunks twisted unnaturally as if something had influenced their growth.

Windy slithered close behind us, alerting us to his presence. Tianyi spoke, listening to the serpent's hisses and relaying his message.

“They are close,” she said. “This is as far as we go before they notice.”

Jian Feng gestured for everyone to halt. We crouched low, taking cover behind a fallen tree.

From here, the terrain sloped downward, forming a natural basin between the cliffs.

And there—half-shrouded in unnatural darkness—stood the entrance to what could only be the demonic cultivators' hideout.

It wasn’t a constructed fortress or anything overtly unnatural. Rather, it was an old cavern, nestled within the jagged rock formations, almost indistinguishable from its surroundings if not for the faint glow emanating from within. A dim, sickly light pulsed faintly at the entrance, flickering like dying embers.

Movement.

I barely caught it—a figure, just at the entrance, shifting in and out of the shadows.

Even from this distance, the air was thick with the same corrupting qi I had felt when the demonic cultivator struck me. It clung to the space around the cavern like an invisible fog.

Something strong.

"What's our plan, Brother Jian Feng?"

Jian Feng exhaled, his expression hardening.

"We're attacking."

He glanced at us all, then explained the plan.