Emery

I didn't like that we needed to wait and observe. It went against just about every fiber of my being which just wanted to make a move against the enemy that was stationed here. And it was clear that this was, indeed, the enemy we were looking for.

As Avuri and I peeked around the corner of the large tent we were behind, we could see the center of the camp where everyone was gathered. It looked like they had only returned a little while before we had arrived, or maybe did something else before going over their spoils in the middle of the camp.

But a large group had gathered and was actively shuffling through the items on a wagon that had all been stored in haste. They were clearly sorting through food, valuables, and other items as they took what must have been a family's wealth from the cart and divided it up.

Beside that, there were three cages, two of which held people. One was clearly an adult who looked exhausted. They seemed like they were mostly unharmed, but were still slumped against the cage - maybe unconscious. Given the distance and being unable to use our Qi, it was hard to get a true reading of the person's state beyond the slumped posture and lack of obvious wounds.

I definitely couldn't see any blood on them. While I couldn't discount internal injuries - especially where Cultivators were concerned - they at least didn't seem to be in immediate mortal danger. Beyond the clear danger of the demon camp, of course.

The other cage held a child. They were curled into a little ball, with their arms wrapped around their knees and their head down. Despite the clearly distressed and upset pose, they looked like they were in surprisingly good shape, considering the adult's battered state. I couldn't see any injuries on them at all, which was a relief.

I slipped back around the edge of the tent while Avuri kept watching. Remaining fully suppressed while we were in the camp was going to be the big problem, and I was trying to figure out what the best move was. As it was, we had the element of surprise on our side still, and that was big. But this camp was pretty large and without our Qi, we couldn't really get any useful information on our opponents.

While we knew that there were at least two demons in the camp, it was unlikely we'd be able to figure out who it was without using Qi. Typically, demons would only gain their physical traits while using their Qi, so unless the camp had some large scale training exercise or something, we would be at a loss as to who the real danger was.

And that was assuming there weren't more demons here, which was entirely possible. We also had very little idea what level any of the fighters here would be at, both in terms of Qi and Realm, but also general skill. It wasn't uncommon for demonic Cultivators to be fairly weak combatants who turned to demonic techniques for power - and those types wouldn't be much of a threat.

But if there were powerful, skilled fighters here in addition to the demons themselves, we could be facing a lot of trouble.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, wishing for the ease of the hunts I had taken on previously. For starters, knowing I had Vale as backup was always a good safety net. It let me get a little wild and take risks.

But more than that, I had never tracked down real demonic threats on my own. If real demons were involved, they were usually too strong for me, so Vale would step in. It had only happened twice, and I had needed to make myself scarce because their fights were always so widespread and dangerous.

Even when I had saved Cierra, it had been from a beginner's demonic sect with no demons in attendance, and only people at or below my skill level. And knowing that going in was what had allowed me to scout them out with Qi to begin with.

But hiding in this camp was different. We had little information to work with, and even less that was actually confirmed knowledge. Minimum two demons in attendance, unknown Realms all around us, unknown total number of enemies, unknown demonic techniques…it wasn't painting a good picture for us.

I was even starting to regret my decision to move into the camp, instead of coming back with back up later. Not that I had any idea who would assist us, but some kind of hunting party could've been formed, surely. Avuri and I were hardly the only Cultivators that hated demonic ones.

Maybe it would be better to cut our losses and come back later. We hadn't been noticed, and we could probably still sneak out while they were distracted. We had gotten some solid information and definitely knew where they were based now. We could gather a hunting party and -

Avuri tapped me on the shoulder. It shook me out of my thoughts as I looked at her. The lack of our connection being active was unnerving and I felt that cut deeply as she tried to communicate silently with hand gestures.

You. I. What. Now. 'What do we do now?'

I could only shrug, unsure. Especially given the inability to have a legitimate conversation about planning in hand signs.

Avuri rolled her eyes in frustration and let out a breath that sounded equally annoyed with me. She reached out and snatched up my hand. A second or two after the contact, I felt a jolt like a static shock.

"You have no imagination, you know that?" Avuri sent, once again rolling her eyes.

I looked down at our hands, confused.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"Just because we need to keep our Qi as locked down as possible, doesn't mean there isn't still some in our bodies, you dolt. Sure, we can't connect our Domains, but physical contact would still put our Qi into contact with one another."

"I guess I can't argue with the result." I returned. The logic made some sort of sense. While we were suppressing ourselves, it boiled down to not actively circulating Qi through our bodies or meridians, as that movement of Qi could be sensed. And, of course, using Qi outside our bodies was obviously going to get us caught.

But if our connection only required our Qi to be in contact, and not necessarily 'on', then Avuri's reasoning of just requiring contact made some sense. Afterall, our Sky Realm bodies were suffused with Qi during the Breakthrough, so physical touch would be akin to having out Qi in contact.

"So, do we have a plan of any kind?" Avuri asked. "Given the look on your face, I would guess not?"

I shook my head. "No. I'll admit, I was spiraling a bit, and considering leaving to come back with a hunting party later. But being able to discuss plans makes this a little less…overwhelming."

I could feel Avuri's reassurance through the link. "Well, that's a start. And as much as I would love nothing more than to get out of here, too, we can't just leave them." She nodded toward the two recent captives in the cages.

"I know. We need information more than anything else. And I don't know how to safely get it." I sent.

"What are the chances a demonic sect keeps a ledger of members and their contributions like a regular sect?" Avuri asked. "I'm sure it's not common, but this camp looks pretty large. And more than that - it looks strangely…official?"

I took a minute to look around with what Avuri said in mind. It didn't exactly click before, as I had not spent a lot of time in and around major sects, but she was right. There was something oddly official and proper about the camp.

The tents matched. They weren't patchwork-made, they were all solidly crafted with matching colors across the vast majority of the camp.

All of the structures looked more sturdy than the average hobbled together camps that most demonic sects had. While the sturdier construction could have been attributed to them being here for a long time as well as the well hidden location, the string of kidnappings had only started a few months ago. Given that, the structures looked more like the official Cultivator camps that functioned as outreach for the major sects of the world.

"Ri, I'm not nearly as familiar with the major sects as you are. Do the tent colors match any of the major sects?" I asked.

Avuri blinked a few times, then stared off at a tent that we had a clear view of in its entirety. "Dark green and gold? Uh…" I waited patiently as she was wracking her brain for an answer. Most of the major sects had associated colors that went on all of their official uniforms, seals, and caravans. If this camp had been made up of a splinter group from a sect, there was actually a solid chance that they had continued to run the group like a real sect.

Especially if the demons in charge had been inner disciples. They would likely hold that position over the outer disciples that followed them.

"The Highlands border the Jade Steppes, don't they? These could be the Boundless Growth Sect's colors."

"Wood Cultivators?"

"Primarily, yes, but I believe that there are several basic techniques that are taught within the Boundless Growth that are focused on earth Cultivation to make the ground more soft and fertile to allow for more plant growth."

I looked around the cavern with new eyes. It was lit up enough that from our angle I could see most of the massive room clearly, so long as buildings weren't in the way. The sturdiness of the buildings could easily have been attributed to wood Cultivators, using their techniques to produce sturdy, reliable wood for framing the tents. And there were occasionally little bits of greenery showing on some of the exposed beams, which leaned into that explanation, some.

The cavern itself was mostly dirt and stone for walls, but it made sense that they wouldn't want to make the cave particularly lush. I really wanted to get a look inside some of the major tents, though - I was willing to bet that if they were wood Cultivators, there would be plant life inside the tents.

"Are you able to tell which tent might be the leaders' tent? Or if they have a quartermaster's tent with supplies?"

Avuri held back a snort but smiled at me and pointed. The group that had been dividing up the supplies had put a lot of the perishables and other foodstuffs onto a hand cart that was being moved off toward a large tent on our side of the cavern that had a propped up tent flap with carved wooden poles.

"Supply tents are often kept open for easier coming and going with crates or other large supplies." Avuri sent, pointing to the propped open tent entrance. "That one over there is probably for the leaders." She pointed to a tent a little further away, but still on our side of the cave. "See the triple canopy? That's usually reserved for higher ranked members of a sect caravan. Most Inner Disciples would get two tent covers, while Outer only got one."

As she explained, she pointed out tents matching those descriptions. While the tents themselves were clearly of high quality, I could see the pieces she meant. The designs varied between each tent, as some people had clearly set up their space with more elaborate support beams for interesting structure shapes, but the layers of tent covers were fairly standard. They looked like a more elaborate and fancy version of the simple tarps that mortals would use to cover tents against the weather.

Of course, these were designed more elaborately and looked more like roofs than just rain protection, thanks to the elaborate wooden frames they used. But the number of layers was distinct, and not a single tent had put any effort into trying to make their tent look like a higher ranking one.

That alone told me that the camp was likely still adhering to typical sect rules. And it gave me a huge boost in confidence - we could use that information against them very well. Structure like that could make it easy for us to dismantle the peace of the sect with minimal effort, as opposed to the inherent chaos of most demonic sects that were usually ruled through raw strength.

I eyed the two tents that Avuri had pointed out. "I don't have a plan yet, but I think I've got a bit more direction."

"I have some ideas, too. Let's see what we can do."

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