Ashes Of Heaven Book 1 : Solar Calamity

"You're telling me that little Kai might be one of the demonic cultivators we've been looking for? Goodness, what has happened to this world? Truly, the Jiang hu is a brutal place...Only by being a loner can we survive."

Mu Ran stared at the spot where Shen Kai had vanished off and his face looked like he was undergoing some sort of profound character development. Seeing that things were taking an unfavorable turn, especially for him, Han Xuhan decided to kick Mu Ran's development back into a more...suitable track.

"Boss, how can you say that? If the two of us didn't work together today, perhaps you would be the one to get ambushed suddenly. I only survived a fluke, but if you were a loner, death would be the only outcome! Since the Jiang hu is so brutal, it is actually important that we righteous cultivators stick together and fight off evil as a united front! As they say, apes together, apes strong!"

Mu Ran laughed uproariously as if he had just heard a hilarious joke.

"Underling, your argument is so flawed! We're MEN, not apes. And if YOU are lucky enough to survive a sneak attack, then I don't think I need to be worried, really, because even my dogshit fortune is better than yours."

Han Xuhan curled his lips, feeling too complex a range of emotions to answer Mu Ran.

Zhanxian, wearing the dark cloak Xuhan had lent him, stood idly beside them, busy picking his nasal cavity using a thin shard of crystallized qi.

The aura emitting marble in his robe was still glowing faintly in the night's bleak light, stimulated by the remnants of Xuhan's qi. This was Han Xuhan's final trump card. This was the source of the powerful aura that had scared Shen Kai shitless.

Han Xuhan really wanted to see what Shen Kai's reaction would be after learning that he had been frightened off by a skeleton that wasn't even as strong as Xuhan himself. Shen Kai's expression would be such a precious sight! If they really ever met in the future again, Xuhan would surely reveal this small information during a critical moment. Maybe it would give the bastard a heart demon for the rest of his life.

Looking back, it had been the most intense struggle of his life. Had he failed to deceive Shen Kai just once, his fate might have been sealed. That said, Han Xuhan vaguely felt that Shen Kai originally didn't want to kill him. The spot where he had tried to stab Xuhan on his first move was a bit off from the position of his heart. Had the dagger entered his body, it would've come out under his left collarbone.

Xuhan couldn't think of a reason why Shen Kai would bother to maim him. Even if the weird portal was a trap, Han Xuhan was so weak that he would have died before anyone else after going in.

Unless...That wasn't a trap, but a clue to what the demonic cultivators were up to. That could explain why Shen Kai suddenly went berserk despite his well-prepared disguise.

No wonder he had offered to go in inside the portal first despite how dangerous it seemed to Han Xuhan and Mu Ran!

But then, why would such an important clue like the portal be exposed like this? It was so easy to find that even Mu Ran had found it while peeing, not to mention, it was in the middle of a clearing in a jungle with clear evidence of human activities...Anyone could have found this place with a bit of effort, right?

...Unless, Mu Ran had lied about how he had found the portal. Logically, the only oddity here was Mu Ran, and it was he who 'accidentally' found out about the portal, something that should have been well disguised and protected, judging by Shen Kai's desperate move.

Following that logic, it could be assumed that Mu Ran definitely did something he didn't want others to know and managed to unearth the hidden portal to someplace that likely had an important clue to their mission.

Looking at how enthusiastic Mu Ran was about venturing inside this suspicious portal, Xuhan guessed that some sort of precious treasure was involved here. Perhaps Mu Ran had found something he didn't want to share with others, understandably.

Han Xuhan didn't want to compete with Mu Ran for such treasures. But seeing how much risk he had been forced to take, Xuhan felt that he deserved some remuneration.

"Boss, what's on the other side of the portal? Is it really a trap?"

Mu Ran's chain of thoughts broke as he turned to look at Xuhan. He seemed to have recovered from the shock pretty fast.

"Oh it's definitely not a trap. If it was, it'd be difficult for me to return so fast, wouldn't it?

The other side seems to be a completely separate world from this side."

Han Xuhan's eyes grew wide. Now this...this was getting interesting!

"The first thing I saw there was an overwhelming amount of fog and countless balls of light floating in the air in the midst of the fog.

For some reason, the fog gave off a dangerous impression. So I didn't get close to it and waited for the two of you to come over. Had I known that the situation on your side was so dire, I would have rushed here to help. After all, you're so weak. It must've been quite difficult to defeat someone two layers above you in terms of cultivation level."

"He was at least five layers above me."

"...Ah, must've been slightly more difficult than I thought. So anyway, since it's not a trap, how about we return and check it out?"

Xuhan felt a bit pissed off at how lightly Mu Ran treated his victory just now. But it was understandable. Mu Ran was used to beating up opponents much stronger than himself in terms of cultivation level. He wouldn't think of the victory as something to be awed about.

But the fact remained that Han Xuhan was being forced to battle the hazards Mu Ran kept running headfirst into stubbornly...Something had to be done, or he'd not be able to attain the peace of his mind.

"Boss, since it's not a trap, that means it might be something the demonic cultivators don't want others to find out. In that case, they wouldn't leave the entrance out in the open so conspicuously, right? Did you really discover it while peeing?"

Han Xuhan's tone was quite casual, but a slippery undertone snuck into the manner he spoke in.

Mu Ran suddenly looked rather awkward. Avoiding Xuhan's gaze which seemed to be laced with suspicion and anger, Mu Ran stuttered and tried to come up with a believable reply.

But Xuhan interrupted him as soon as he opened his mouth, striking the iron while it was hot.

"You know, I think we should really return to the sect and report this to the authority. After all, Shen Kai alone almost killed me, and he's definitely not the only demonic cultivator around. I can't see any point in risking my life just because you want to go inside that portal that leads to some godforsaken place. Surely, an elder from the sect would be a much better investigator, since the enemies involved here are so powerful. Even if the other side of the portal is not a trap, your description makes it seem like a place we outer court disciples shouldn't explore stupidly."

"Now hold up, underling. I'm confident that I can protect us both-"

"I don't remember you fighting Shen Kai though. But I certainly recall that the sect's information about this mission restricted the danger level below the 7th layer of the physique transformation realm, whereas the first enemy we've faced is already near that limit. He is obviously not alone, and he is obviously not the leader. So how can we tackle a mission so dangerous by ourselves? Impossible!"

Mu Ran winced.

How was he supposed to explain to his underling that the ancient, slumbering soul hiding in his body was desperately urging him to go inside that portal and explore the mysterious world fragment on the other side?

If Mu Ran didn't comply, the ancient soul might fall into another long period of slumber, from which it might never wake up at all. He had made a deal with that soul. If the soul really fell asleep, Mu Ran's fate was sealed. Eternal torment awaited him down that path.

But Mu Ran couldn't find any faults in Han Xuhan's logic either. Han Xuhan was an out-and-out weakling. He saved his neck from Shen Kai's clutch by relying on luck. But the next incident may not lead to such a good ending for either of them.

A bizarre expression took shape on his face slowly. The gaze he cast at Han Xuhan transformed into a 'weapon'.

"Fine, Han Xuhan." He spoke in a low tone, his voice slightly different from before.

"How about this? Let's make a deal. You won't report the incident of me going down the portal to the sect. In return, I'll share ten percent of whatever I find in there or the equal worth in spirit stones. You don't even have to go in, just wait outside."

Han Xuhan felt something creepy about the way Mu Ran was looking at him. The guy never called him by his full name...

Regardless, this was just what he had been aiming for!

Finally, Mu Ran was starting to think on the same wavelength as him. He mentally gave himself a fist-bump and threw the bait he had been preparing for so long.

"Boss, I've just realized that I was being a bit unreasonable."

Mu Ran blinked, caught off guard.

What's going on? Did his minor hypnosis evolve into something more powerful? The target wasn't supposed to be hypnotized so fast!

"It's clear as a day that you have some secret information that you're unwilling to share." Han Xuhan spoke on without giving him time to think.

"I have great trust in you, boss. I believe that if you're unwilling to share something, it's none of my concern anyway. But it's clearly making you desperate enough to rush into such a terrible place.

How can I, as your friend, let you face the danger here alone? How can I face myself when I just lectured you about the power of unity?!

Like I said, apes together, apes strong! For the sake of being a good friend, for the sake of keeping true to my words, I'll accompany you!"

Taken aback at first, Mu Ran slowly let out a grin and agreed, "indeed, underling. I too, was mistaken. Apes together, apes strong!"

Under the dim moonlight, he saw his own smile being perfectly replicated on Han Xuhan's face.

Mu Ran couldn't help but marvel at his magnificent charm and hypnotic power. But then...he heard Han Xuhan speak again.

"So, to make things fair for me, how about we split the share of our findings based on our contribution during the exploration? And if I really don't manage to contribute much, we can follow your offer just now. Twenty percent, wasn't it?"

Mu Ran nearly lost his balance from the shock.

So it wasn't his hypnosis affecting Han Xuhan! It was his underling's greed!

This Jiang hu was indeed a brutal place!