Cultivation Nerd-Chapter 229: The Sacrifice

Sacrifice? That was certainly a strange way for her to frame her position.

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I lingered on that thought but chose not to press her further. Instead, Fu Yating settled into the translucent jade cube with an ease that bordered on indifference.

I trudged forward, the wet snow clinging to my boots. The terrain was unforgiving, each step sinking into the damp slush, now softened under the weak warmth of the sun. The cold bit into my skin with every gust of wind, wrapping around me like a persistent, icy second skin. Meanwhile, Fu Yating remained untouched, suspended in her jade cocoon.

As we traveled, the journey gave me the chance to talk with my fiancée.

"What do you think of me going behind your back and doing all this?" she asked, a smug smile playing on her lips before adding, "Not many men like being outsmarted."

"Oursmarted?" I raised an eyebrow as I leaped over an icy tree branch. "If this is your idea of outsmarting me, I might've severely overestimated your intelligence."

Her expression didn't change despite the insult.

"Scheming and involving yourself with people and situations far above your cultivation level is reckless, my little fiancée," I added with a smirk, trying to annoy her. "Did you think you were invincible?"

This world wasn't like the one I'd come from. On Earth, humans were relatively equal in many ways. Even the strongest man could be brought down by a gun. Scheming was often an effective tool there.

Here? It was entirely different. Against someone with a higher cultivation level, most people were like ants. That was why I avoided getting entangled in the command of this army or anything beyond my capability. Leading was a Foundation Establishment cultivator's job, not mine.

I had some arrays that might work against Foundation Establishment cultivators, but monstrous beasts like Thunder Wolves? I wasn't confident. The Thousand Thunder Array could just as easily empower them as hurt them, and that was one of the top moves in my arsenal. Without Song Song around, I wouldn't dare gamble on something so dangerous.

That was also why I hadn't been a hundred percent sure Fu Yating could've been the girl from the scouting mission. Such recklessness seemed beneath her, or so I had thought.

"You wasted a perfectly good disguise," I remarked. "It even hid your Qi signature. From what I know, items like that are rare and fragile."

"Don't remind me," she muttered, wincing. But her expression quickly returned to normal. She sighed. "Our marriage will probably be pushed forward now. My clan doesn't seem to like me much anymore."

Was that the truth, or just another ploy? Perhaps a mix of both. Assuming she wasn't outright lying, she clearly had her reasons for being here.

"Can you take down these walls?" she asked, gesturing at the jade surrounding her.

"They're there to shield you from the wind. There are small openings at the top for breathing," I replied, pointing upward.

"You can leave the front wall, but at least make some windows. It feels strange talking to you through this green glass," she said.

Her tone was casual, her face unreadable. But the request was odd and something she wouldn't ask without purpose.

Opening a window could expose me to her tricks. Poison, a concealed weapon, anything was possible. Even though our conversation seemed friendly, I wasn't naive enough to trust her. Acting was her strength.

Still, she wouldn't try something so overt with so many people nearby… would she? Her recent behavior made me reevaluate just how reckless she could be.

In the end, curiosity got the better of me. I opened a window, keeping my guard up. If she had a plan, I intended to uncover it.

The jade box now resembled a translucent floating cube about the size of a small carriage, with windows on either side. The cold wind rushed in as we traveled, but Fu Yating didn't complain.

I crafted a thin jade barrier beneath my clothes, ready to reinforce it around my face at a moment's notice.

Fu Yating smiled and leaned her elbows against the jade window frame while smiling as her hair fluttered with the wind.

"I never noticed before, but you're quite handsome," she said suddenly, her tone light.

"You're quite beautiful too," I replied with a shrug.

Then again, it wasn't like it was the physical appearances of these troublesome women in my life that troubled me. It was what was going on inside their minds that was a headache.

"Can I hug you?" she asked. Once again, it came off as suspicious as hell.

I stared at her. She knew the request was strange, and she knew I knew it. That was precisely the point.

Unlike her, I didn't underestimate others. Despite her lower cultivation level, I was on guard against her tricks.

She was putting on a show; that much was clear. But for what reason was she going through all this trouble? If she wanted to manipulate me, she wasn't doing a good job at it.

I quietly extended the jade barrier to cover my face. It was thin and discreet, likely imperceptible unless someone looked closely. Then again, cultivators were known for their sharp eyes.

Fu Yating’s eyes narrowed as her gaze flicked to the barrier I’d just put up. Her expression said it all, as if she wanted to say: really?

I shrugged, stepping closer to her floating jade cube as we continued moving forward. She sighed, extended her arms through the new opening in the barrier, and gave me a brief, unexpected hug.

She smelled faintly of lavender. Poison perhaps? It may be time to shut off the breathing system in my armor.

“Thanks,” she said lightly. Meanwhile, I blocked all the airways in my jade armor. Then, leaning closer, she whispered in my ear, her voice low and sharp, “You need to escape, my cute husband. This is a trap.”

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She pulled away, her face still adorned with a pleasant smile as though her whispered words had been nothing but a figment of my imagination.

Why was she telling me this? I doubted it came from the goodness of her heart. Was she trying to unruffle my feathers? But for what purpose? Her warning felt calculated. Perhaps she was hedging her bets, attempting to gain my favor in case her clan lost this looming battle. After all, the clans that failed here would likely be massacred.

Despite my suspicions, I kept my expression neutral. Now wasn’t the time for petty schemes or clever comebacks.

“It’s no problem,” I said evenly, answering both her spoken thanks and her whispered warning. “After all, we’re going to be husband and wife. If I didn’t help you now, you might stab me in my sleep later.”

She chuckled at the remark, and some nearby cultivators smiled as if sharing in the joke. Some even commented along the lines on how a happy wife meant a happy life.

...

Some days the weather was okay, while others it was mostly snowing, with the rare occasion of a hailstorm with ice pieces as big as the tip of my pinky pouring down like the heavens were throwing rocks at us.

The journey was grueling. Even with my arrays, the cold seeped into my bones, and the endless snow stretched my patience.

We were all worn down when we reached the area where the scouting party had encountered the Thunder Wolf. The army set up camp while scouts ventured out again to locate the Thunder Wolves’ nest.

I wandered through the snowy clearing, trying to piece together what had happened after the team had faced the beast. Scorched trees marked the area, charred as if struck by lightning, but there were no corpses. That didn’t mean no one had died; monstrous beasts didn’t leave scraps behind when food was scarce.

Returning to my tent, I noticed another pitched right next to it, looking exactly like mine. Fu Yating peeked out of the second tent, her expression a mix of feigned innocence and amusement.

“Why are you here? Oh… don’t tell me this is your tent? How embarrassing,” she said with a mock gasp.

“If you so much as touch my tent flap without announcing yourself, I’ll stab first and ask questions later,” I said, keeping my tone flat. Whatever she was scheming, it wasn’t worth entertaining. “By the way, did anyone die when we ran away?”

“Wow, you’re actually calling it running away?” she teased, her eyes widening in mock surprise. “I thought you’d dress it up as a ‘strategic retreat.’”

I didn’t bother correcting her. Her words were just noise.

The others in the camp had the good sense to pitch their tents farther apart, and their chatter made it easy to ignore whatever nonsense Fu Yating was trying to stir up.

She smirked, taking a step back. “I know a couple of Fu Clan members died,” she said casually. “We all tried to escape when we saw you run. We were just a second too late to react.”

“Only a couple?” I asked, narrowing my eyes. That didn’t add up. The Thunder Wolf was a Foundation Establishment beast.

Fu Yating glanced around, her gaze flitting over the camp as if checking for eavesdroppers. Finally, she shrugged, giving me a look that seemed to say: Figure it out yourself.

The token she’d lent me during our first meeting crossed my mind. If she’d told me the truth, it could’ve protected her from some attacks even at the Foundation Establishment level.

As if reading my thoughts, she smiled coyly. “I’m a bit scared of the dark,” she said, her voice sweet. “Can I sleep in your tent? Or maybe you can keep me company until I fall asleep?”

“No,” I replied curtly, stepping into my tent and activating a heating and barrier array. Warmth spread through the space, melting away the day’s cold.

Settling into the comfort of my tent, I pulled out a book from my storage ring, its familiar weight a slight ceasefire from the exhausting journey. With the warmth surrounding me, I let myself drift into the calm rhythm of light reading before sleep.

…

The journey continued without incident, the endless snowy forest stretching to the horizon like an unbroken, frozen sea. Towering pines loomed above us, their branches bowed under thick layers of frost, forming a cold, claustrophobic tunnel. Each breath we exhaled rose in ghostly wisps, vanishing into the gray void of the sky. The only sounds were the crunch of snow beneath our boots and the occasional whisper of wind weaving through the trees, magnifying the stillness.

After days of this monotonous landscape, the sight of our destination brought a strange blend of relief and unease. Ahead, a frozen river shimmered under the pale sunlight, its surface a fractured mirror of crystalline ice. Beyond it, the mouth of a cavern gaped wide, framed by jagged rock formations resembling frozen fangs. A faint mist curled from the cavern's entrance as though it were breathing, its depths cloaked in shadows impenetrable to the weak light.

This was where my cousins and I had once turned back, unwilling to venture further.

The battlefield we had left behind was unrecognizable now. The mangled corpses of Thunder Wolves, once strewn across the snow like grotesque markers of violence, were gone. Yet the air still carried a faint, acrid hint of rotting corpses that lingered despite the passage of time. In place of the dead, the living prowled. Sleek Thunder Wolves moved cautiously through the icy expanse, their electric-blue fur glinting faintly.

Some lingered near the cavern's shadowy edges, their sharp eyes fixed on us with guarded intensity. Others remained close to their cubs, the pups tumbling and yipping in playful bursts. Their antics seemed almost innocent, yet the tension in the air was unmistakable. This was still their territory. Though the carnage had faded, their vigilance had not.

These beasts rivaled Qi Gathering cultivators in strength, and overpowered most of them in a head-on fight. But their lack of refined training and lesser sensitivity to Qi left them at a disadvantage. For now, they hadn't registered us as a threat, likely unaware of the army just beyond the hill.

The command came to a single word, spoken softly. "Charge."

It passed through the ranks like a ripple, whispered from one person to the next until it reached every ear. Then, without hesitation, we surged forward, spilling over the hill like a tide of dark-clad figures against the snowy expanse.

I ran shoulder to shoulder with the others while Fu Yating remained within the jade cube at the rear, observing the scene with those tasked with guarding our position.

The wolves were unprepared, which was surprising.

A pack of their size should have had scouts or even a few Foundation Establishment-level members capable of organizing a defense. Perhaps their numbers had been too greatly diminished by whatever battle had ravaged them before.

Or maybe, despite their intelligence, they lacked the capacity to preserve and share knowledge like humans. So they didn't have positions like scouting or anything else.

The wolves scrambled as we descended into their midst. Haunting howls filled the air, mingling with the cries of their pups. Their instinct to protect their young dulled their ferocity, and that hesitation proved fatal.

The cultivators struck with ruthless precision. Swords gleamed, Qi flared, and blood sprayed across the pristine snow, staining it in violent streaks. Wolves lunged in desperate retaliation but were cut down one by one. Their cries, sharp, pitiful, and full of pain, echoed through the clearing, the pups' yelps adding a tragic layer to the chaos. The snow became a tableau of death, the wolves falling together in a futile attempt to defend what they could not save.

The slaughter ended quicker than anyone had anticipated. What we had prepared for as a battle became a massacre. Silence descended once more, broken only by the faint, fading echoes of the wolves' last cries.

Something felt off. I slowed my pace, falling behind the leading group, charging toward the cavern.

The last of the wolves fell quickly, their resistance no match for our sheer numbers. Casualties among us were minimal, though a few lives were lost, their bodies lying still amidst the carnage. Victory seemed inevitable, almost disturbingly easy.

And then, the ground trembled. A deep, resonant vibration coursed through the snow, its intensity shaking me to my core.

A sound that shattered the fragile stillness came from the cavern's shadowy maw. A thunderous roar of pure, primal rage. The air seemed to crackle with its force, and every head turned toward the source.

The cavern, dark and silent moments ago, now loomed as a doorway to something far more dangerous than the wolves we had just killed.

Ah. Shit…