"I was initially thinking of going out to hunt and develop a few fighting techniques since we don't have one, but at this moment, I think it that would be a total waste of time…"

Dara spoke whist looking in the direction of the village of sang;

"I will continue cultivating, and when the time is ripe, you guys would stay in here and activate all defenses whilst I go to somewhere to get some answers…"

Uncle Min and Aunt Lin obviously knew what Dara was thinking but couldn't object to it… There was no way for them to even do so…

Dara alone can take on both of them and kill them three times over with his current strength, and whilst he hasn't comprehended any fighting techniques yet, the little combat experience he gained from the little information he got from Sam's memory still had some basic Taekwondo, Karate, Kung Fu and Tai Chi skills within...

Then if one coupled that with his current physical body power and the hand of death, then it is at least safe to say that even if Dara was left alone, out here in the jungle, he still had the ability to survive and come out unscathed…

Thus, with no possible leverage with which they could change his mind, the couple watched Dara return to the pit and his cultivation…

Dara was determined not to step a foot into the light until he had completely unlocked every single meridian possible…

Meanwhile…

Back at the Village of Sang…

This morning, a tanned looking boy could be seen walking his way towards the village chief's office, and wherever he passed, everyone around him looked towards him with the gaze full of fawn and respect;

"Young Chief!"

"Young Chief!"

"Young Chief!"

Many of these people would greet the youth and make way for him to pass, whilst most kid were simply too scared, because of the long scar that ran across his face, which seemed to have blinded one of his eyes

The youth had a smug grin plastered on his face, as he walked towards the village chief's structure with a kind of swagger that was radiating intense pride…

"Young Chief!"

One of the two guards stationed at the entrance of the apartment saw the little kid and bowed, whilst the youth simply replied with a simple nod;

"I have something to discuss with father, announce my arrival…"

The youth said as the second guard went in to do as he was told…

About ten minutes later, the guard stepped outside and spoke softly;

"The village chief will see you now…"

He said with a respectful bow as the youth raised the curtain in front of the entrance with one hand and poked his head into the room…

Ji Hai saw three old men who seemed to be in his fifties from their physical appearances alone seated in a triangular manner facing one another as if he had interrupted a secret meeting;

"Congratulations Hai, I just heard a while ago that you have managed to unlock your fifth peripheral meridian…"

The village chief who sat in front of the other two spoke with a proud smile as he looked towards his son who everyone within the village now believed to have fought, killed and survived an Obun Leader…

"It is all thanks to father's meridian opening techniques, I barely did nothing much with my mediocre talent…" Ji Hai replied, as the Elder on the left of the village chief responded;

"Not only do you have a successor who is valiant, but he is also brave, respectful and humble…" The man said before adding;

"Young one, it is not only your father that is proud of your recent accomplishments, the entire village is also proud of you and even my niece won't stop recounting the stories of your heroic deeds to me…"

"You flatter me too much, Left Elder… I was merely lucky" Ji Hai replied;

"If that killing an Obun Leader and living to tell the tale is being merely lucky, then what might we classify as true heroic deed?" The other elder asked with a smile;

"Perhaps, when I have taken the entire Dark Lands in the name of my father; the village chief, then I can count that as a heroic deed…"

Ji Hai responded with a tone dripping with humility which was a stark opposite of the way he behaved before he came in here, showcasing the extents of Ji Hai's pretentious and scheming nature;

"Speaking about conquering territories, what news do you have for me?"

The village chief brought everyone's attention back to the matter at hand which is very vital to their grand plan…

"Yes father, we have already purged everything lurking within a 2 mile radius towards our East, South and North, but the west is the reason why I am here…" Ji Hai spoke after he had given these trio a respectful bow…

"What is wrong with the west?"

The village chief asked whilst the other two elders also paid close attention;

"Well one of our scouts which I sent into the area seemed to have discovered a well fortified structure about 5 miles deep into the jungle…"

"Isn't that place on the Grey Lands territory?" The village chief turned to his partners;

"Yes I believe so…"

"It is just a little past the Dark Lands, but it can still be considered part of the borders…" The Left Elder confirmed;

"But if that is the grey lands, then we should not venture out there yet…"

"The Obuns are more concentrated within the grey lands, and from what I can suspect, their base would most likely be in there…" The Right Elder chipped in with fear a little apparent in his tone;

"Perhaps, we could use that opportunity to sweep out the Obun's completely, or capture some of them and torture them into servitude…" Ji Hai suggested;

"Hai, there things are humans who have completely lost all sense of morality, ethics and civilization…"

"They have become monsters, and whilst we commend you for killing one of their leaders, there are many more leaders out there, and even the population of the ordinary Obuns are very close to half of what we have now…"

"If we go to war with them, the village would suffer too many casualties, and that might not be healthy for the progress of the village…" The village chief explained;

"I know that might not be enough reason for you, that's why he also told me that crops are easier to grow there since the death aura in the soil is much weaker, and there are more edible games on can hunt also, and from what he said, the wetness in the area signified the presence of water…"

The three reasons Ji Hai just dropped was so lucrative, that the three men had to stop what they were doing and turn over to him;

"Are you sure he is telling the truth?"

"My scout would never dare lie to me, especially when it is an information of this magnitude…"

Hu!

The village chief let out a huge sigh of frustration as he began to ponder two different scenarios within his head…

"He also told me, he must have heard Dara's voice…"

Bang!

The village chief smacked the table in front of him out of reflexive shock;

"Did you just say, he found Dara!?"

The village chief stood up and approached his son like a crazed human being;

"Though he didn't get to see him specifically, but he said the only way that voice would belong to someone else is if Dara had a twin…" Ji Hai added;

"Left!-"

"Village Chief!"

"Right!-"

"Yes Chief!"

"-It is time we stepped out…"

The village chief spoke with a sharp tone as the aura of old age surrounding him began to transform into that of a hardened warrior who have survived so many bloodbaths and bloodsheds;

"Hai, go and prepare 500 men, we set out at dusk… Even if it's just a 3 percent chance that it might be Dara, I am taking it!"

The village chief spoke with a deep tone as he gazed towards the west before waving Ji Hai away…

"Left, right… I will be back, there is something I must take care of before we set out…"

"Don't worry chief, we would make sure our men are all well prepared…"

The left Elder said as the Village Chief stepped out of the room and headed in opposite direction of Ji Hai who headed towards the village gates…

The Village Chief went to the back of the entire village, as houses and many other structures became sparser and sparser, the deeper he went, until he came to a massive wooden structure, and from within, one could hear loud growls and clanging of chains within, and the moment he reached the gates, two elderly men came out to meet him;

"Village Chief!"

They greeted with their most respectful bow as the village head responded;

"Is there progress?"

"They have still refused to reveal the technique, and they also claim not to know where their son is, no matter how much or hard we interrogate them…" One of the two elders responded;

"Have you used the glaive?"

"Not yet chief…"

"Alright, let's go in…"

"V-village chief, you mean-"

"Yeah… Perhaps this would push him to reveal everything… Lead the way!"

The village chief harried the two elders who opened the gates and went in…

The first thing they encountered were several massive cages containing about five different chained beasts, but they didn't stop there, instead the moved deeper into the dark corners of this structure, and before long, they were standing in front of another door, and the two elders paused…

Hu!

The village chief seemed to readjust his mental state and put on a determined expression before he then looked towards the two elders and nodded affirmatively at them…

The first elder opened the door whilst the second elder grabbed a very familiar glaive from the side and handed it over to the village chief;

Jia!

The massive door opened, and the other elder grabbed two flaming torches and handed one to his partner as they led the village chief through a winding downward tunnel…

This place was extremely humid, chilly and eerie, especially when one considered the occasional plumes of black smoke pouring out from every angle…