Chapter 48 Cliffhanger

Eznho camped on top of a hill that night after escaping from that embarrassing moment. Firewood was crackling while oil was sizzling from the wild bird being roasted. Eznho tore a leg and bit it with gusto while reading the map.

Four of the six locations were located in the outer area while two were in the middle are. Each location was a bit far from each other and he could at most cover two areas in one day. After finishing dinner, he made his plans, practiced a round of cultivation and called it a day.

The morning mist covered the Stallone Mountains while morning dews were falling from the leaves. Eznho was dashing through the forest and got to the location he was aiming for. The cliff was beside a stream and it was a hundred and fifty meters tall. He looked up and started walking to scan the area, a couple of minutes later he was overjoyed to see a Star Orchid hiding in one of the small cracks in the middle area. It was really well hidden, Eznho was just lucky because the sun was shining directly at the crack and exposed what was inside.

Suppressing his excitement, he prepared himself for the climb, he scanned the area again and made an imaginary path on his mind. He took a deep breath and started his free climb, although it was his first time doing this, he was confident due to his accumulated strength. A fall from a seventy-five-meter height may injure him but it would not kill him unless he was really out of luck.

Taking advantage of the cracks and protruding parts of the cliff, Eznho was progressing smoothly and was halfway from his target. Another half an hour passed and finally, he reached the crack. The crack was actually bigger up close, it was at least a foot in length and five inches wide at the middle. After stabilizing himself, he reached out with his left hand and was ready to uproot the plant when suddenly,

Sssss!

A pair of yellow eyes snapped open that glowed inside the crack, it opened its mouth revealing a pair of fangs that were dropping venom. Without hesitation, it struck like lightning wanting to bite Eznho’s hand. Sensing danger, Eznho’s hair stood up and immediately withdrew his hand.

Snap!

The force of the snake’s mouth closing actually produced a sound due to its force. Without wasting any time, as soon as he withdrew his hand, Eznho’s left hand reached out for his dagger and slashed, cutting the snake’s head off like a hot knife through butter. Blood spilled and the head went down the cliff followed by its body.

“Whew, that was close,” Eznho’s heart was still palpitating as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“This dagger is really sharp, not bad.”

He examined the dagger and actually nodded in approval. It was one of the of daggers that were gifted to him by Talong and was his first time using it. After putting it away, he reached out his left hand again and uprooted the Star Orchid and put it in a special box. Wasting no time, he started his descent and reached the bottom an hour later.

After washing himself at the stream, he collected his things that he hid under a rock and found a place to rest. He brought out the wooden box that could preserve plants for at least a month and opened it.

The Star Orchid had a green steam and four thick leaves, it had many thin roots and the flower was halfway through blooming. He closely examined it and could faintly see a pattern that resembled the night sky. He sniffed and could smell a fresh scent that smelled like the breath of nature, pure and clean.

He closed the box and put it away and scanned the other parts of the cliff when he stumbled on the body of the snake that he killed earlier. It had brown skin and some weird pattern started to form on its back. It was a meter long and was thick as Eznho’s arm. Eznho closely examined it and could faintly feel heavenly energy pulsing from the dead snake.

“Hmm? Its actually evolved recently, its strength is somewhere around the lower bracket of a Rank 1 beast.”

Beasts were ranked according to their strength and Rank 1 was the lowest. Every rank is divided into four from low, mid, late and peak. Rank 1 is equivalent to a Cleansing Stage Cultivator, Rank 2 is to Halo Stage and Rank 3, the Seeker Stage. But of course, beasts have a slight advantage due to there tenacious vitality and body.

Eznho could not identify this beast as it had not completely evolved yet and could not show its dominant bloodline and characteristics.

“Lunch is served I guess,” Eznho grinned and peeled the snakeskin then put it away to be sold later on. A while later, smoke rose from beside the stream.

.....

After leaving only the bones, Eznho scanned the remaining area of the cliff but found nothing. He immediately went on to the next cliff but to his disappointment, it yielded him nothing. The sun has set in the western sky and it was time to call it a day.

The next day, Eznho traveled towards the next cliff but found nothing again. Holding on to hope, he went for the next one and was excited to actually see two stalks of the Star Orchid. The cliff was the highest he had been which was at least two hundred meters high. He was looking down the bottom and gulped, if he would fall, he could actually die.

He found a sturdy tree and tied the rope so he could rappel down the cliff. Slowly and steadily, he reached the first stalk which was thirty meters from the top. It was fairly easy to obtain it so he climbed back up again to relocate his anchor to get the next stalk. After finding the perfect place, he once again descended fifty meters below to get the next one.

“That was pretty easy,”

Eznho was smiling as he looked at the three stalks inside the wooden box. After resting for a bit and enjoying the view, he went on to the fourth location but sadly it had no Star Orchid on it. The next two locations were pretty dangerous as it was located in the middle area. This area was the territory of Rank 1 beasts. He had to be extra careful, beasts were territorial after all.

.....

Eznho slowed down his pace when he reached the middle area of the Stallone Mountains. His senses were on high alert all the time, he already rerouted a couple of times to avoid the beasts. Although he can actually fight them, he preferred not to, to avoid unnecessary complications.

He finally reached his destination a couple of hours later. The cliff was really high with a towering height of two hundred and fifty meters. He sucked in a cold breath after looking down, it even made his feet itchy and his palms sweaty. Walking with caution, he scanned the area and found a stalk fifteen minutes later. It was about a hundred meters down but there was a problem, it was near a bird’s nest. The worst part is, it actually had two eggs on it, so an adult bird must be somewhere nearby.

Darn it, should I risk it?

Eznho was conflicted, he would be in great danger if the adult bird would come while he was rappelling, he would become a sitting duck if that happens.

No, it's not worth it, too risky, better be safe than sorry,

He abandoned the idea and scanned the other parts of the cliff but sadly, it only had that one stalk. After pondering, he decided to check the other place first and come back here if he really had no choice.

.....

While Eznho was having his own adventures, the other new recruits were also doing their own missions. Paul, together with his two comrades, Gani and Kato were sneering as they were staring down on a new recruit who was laying on the ground with blood all over his clothes.

“What now? I thought you were tough? Didn’t you want to fight me?”

Paul ridiculed while kicking the wounded boy, it was the same boy who challenged him on the training grounds.

“Ughh! You coward! Attacking in the shadows and claiming to be someone strong? Pweh!”

The boy glared back with hatred and spat. He was on his way to the First Misty Cliff when he was ambushed by Paul out of nowhere.

“Hahaha! You really are an idiot! Muscleheads like you are the most annoying kind of people. It's your fault for not paying attention.”

Paul was not angry but found it funny instead. He lost interest and unsheathed the saber strapped on his back.

“Just die like the dog you are,”

Slash!

Blood spurted and the boy’s head was separated from his body. Paul rummaged through the corpse and found a box, a pair of claw weapon, a brown bank card and other miscellaneous things.

“Not bad,” Paul remarked and nodded in satisfaction.

He opened the box and found two stalks of Star Orchid, he then closed it and tossed it to Gani while keeping the other valuable things.

“Your lucky Gani, now we only need three more to complete your mission,”

Gani had a dark, brown skin and was actually good looking, he had a tall nose and deep-set eyes. His long black hair was neatly tied around his back with a spear on his hand which was his choice of weapon.

“Thank you brother,” Gani grinned and put the box away.

“What now, where do we go next?” Kato asked nonchalantly.

He was tan skinned with very short hair, his eyes were sharp and he held a glaive in his right hand. The glaive was taller than him by at least half a meter with a curved metal blade.

“According to the map, the First Misty Cliff is nearby and it may have Star Orchids on it,” Paul answered with reverence in his eyes.

“Father told me that that cliff is actually made by a sword beam that came from the heavens a thousand years ago that stabbed the earth. According to him, there are three of those cliffs with the biggest one in the middle of the Stallone Mountains. The two smaller cliffs were already fully investigated and the people who were able to go to the bottom found treasures which brought bloodbath throughout the land. But the biggest in the middle still remains a mystery. Many experts tried to go to the bottom but nobody succeeded. According to the reports, they kept on descending but could never reach the bottom. One day, I’ll be the one to reach the bottom and sweep through the continent,”

Paul spoke with pride and ambition.

“The Third Misty Cliff had long been reserved for you brother,” Gani and Kato spoke with a fawning tone. They call Paul their brother but they both knew, they are only considered subordinates. Of course, if Paul really rose to prominence, their status would also soar with him.

“Naturally,” Paul answered with certainty.

“Let’s go,” He ordered and the trio dashed leaving the boy’s corpse to be feasted upon by beasts.

.....

Eznho reached his destination but it was already evening so he had to camp first and scout the area in the morning. The next day, he woke up early and practiced the Dragon-Tiger Roar but only had a small progress.

Patience Eznho, patience.

He consoled himself, despite his slow progress, he could feel that his inner organs were getting stronger and tougher. Gathering all his thoughts, he went to the edge of the First Misty Cliff and looked below. Mist gathered thirty meters below and it became thicker downwards. Eznho could barely see fifty meters from his position.

“According to the information, there are three of such cliff with the biggest one at the centermost part of the Stallone Mountains,”

He muttered to himself as he recalled all the information he gathered. Looking at the other side, he could see another cliff a hundred meters away from where he was standing. If you look from above, the place actually looked like it was stabbed with a sword.

Focusing his vision to the max, he slowly walked at the edge and carefully checked for Star Orchids. Time passed and it was already two hours later when he spotted one approximately forty meters below him.

“Gotcha!”

Eznho was elated and prepared then checked his surroundings. After confirming he was alone, he tied the rope and started his descent. The more he descended, the more the temperature started to drop. He already reached the thirty-meter mark and his vision started to become limited.

With the mist on his way, he slowed down and finally reached his target. Without delay, he uprooted it and started to ascend, he was creeped out by the place as if something was lurking below. Eznho wanted to go up as soon as possible, he was twenty meters from reaching the top when he heard something.

Damn, someone is here,

He gritted his teeth and hastened when three heads popped up from above.

“Well, lookie here, we got a cliffhanger,” One of them spoke mockingly.

Eznho could not clearly see their faces due to the sunlight but he had an idea who they were.

Don’t tell me it's them?

He cursed inwardly, he remembered Paul and his two companions who were obviously not good people.

“Its actually you, kid. Haha, what a coincidence, mind if you share your loot?”

Paul laughed with delight, he enjoyed the misery of others.

“What do you want?” Eznho spoke with coldness.

“Well, why don’t you throw the Star Orchid and we will be on our way?” Paul grinned.

Are you kidding me? This is straight up robbery!

Eznho gritted his teeth but he was in a bad position.

“Why would I trust your words?” He tried to delay and think of a solution.

“You have no other choice kid. Hurry up, I don’t have time to waste on you,”

Paul unsheathed his saber and put it on top of the rope.

“I’ll count to three, one, two!” He shouted.

“Wait!” Eznho started to panic but had no choice at the moment.

The most important thing, for now, is for him to survive. He brought out the box containing the four orchids and throw it upwards with reluctance. Gani caught it and opened it, he was elated when he saw four Star Orchids.

“Good boy,” Paul grinned then was replaced by a malicious smile. He pressed his saber which cut the rope halfway.

“See you around kid, hahaha,” He then put away his saber and the trio walked away.

Eznho’s pupil shrank when he felt the rope was cut.

Damn you!

He breathed deeply and ascended with the fastest speed he could muster. He was five meters away from the top when the rope finally gave in. Making use of a protruding rock, he circulated his heavenly energy on his right foot to boost his jump.

With the boost from his heavenly energy, he reached and passed the edge and was about to land when his face fell. The trio was still there with ridicule plastered on their faces.

“I told you, he could make it,”

Paul spoke with a nonchalant face and threw the dagger he was holding in his right hand towards Eznho who was still mid-air. The dagger whistled through the air bringing death towards Eznho.

Shit!

Eznho’s face paled but acted without delay and used his right hand to get the dagger from his left waist.

Clang!

With great speed, he used it to deflect the incoming dagger but he was forced backward by the attack. The edge was now out of his reach and gravity started to pull him down the cliff. Knowing that he could not do anything to reverse the situation, his eyes became sharp and circulated heavenly energy towards his right hand.

“Curse you and your family tree!” He shouted and threw the dagger with all his might.

The trio’s pupil shrank, the attack was unexpected and was coming very fast towards Paul. Despite the danger he was in, Paul did not panic and with a decisive gaze, he circulated his energy towards his head to protect it. At the same time, he leaned his body to the right while tilting his head to avoid the incoming dagger.

Sssskk! Bang!

Blood dripped on the ground, Paul was breathing heavily. It was a close call and he barely dodged the dagger. A three inches horizontal wound appeared on his left cheek oozing with blood. The dagger continued on its path and blasted apart a boulder from behind the trio.

Eznho smiled with bitterness when his attack failed, he looked towards the sky as his fall accelerated. The faces of the people he cared about flashed on his mind, his Aunt Minchin, Budoy, Little Aiza and his Big Brother Martin. Aside from that, he actually felt at peace while facing death.

Is the end of my journey? How pitiful, I’m sorry everyone. I wish all of you find happiness.