Boundless Cultivation-Chapter 61 - The Howling Expanse

Alaric froze in his tracks, imprinting every detail of the robed figure into his mind. The person had also spotted him and straightened slightly. Somebody tapped him on the back.

“What happened?” asked Rowan.

Alaric glanced at him for a moment and then snapped his gaze back to the alleyway. The stranger had vanished. In fact, Alaric couldn’t even sense his presence in the surroundings.

“Hmm, what? Nothing,” he muttered absentmindedly. He scoured his surroundings to catch a glimpse of their hidden observer once again, but it was futile. The figure had truly disappeared. I need to be more vigilant from now on when I leave the estate.

Alaric still wasn’t completely certain it was a witch who had been observing their group. There was no reason to believe otherwise since the bracelet he wore effectively erased his mana signature - Edgar had informed him of that later.

Still, he concluded it was better to stay cautious than complacent. All things considered, the stranger hadn’t shown any hostility or murderous intent toward their group. That was at least a positive sign.

Alaric and his friends headed toward the estate. Throughout their journey home, he couldn’t shake the feeling that somebody was watching their group, but no matter how meticulously he searched, he couldn’t detect the presence of anyone suspicious.

***

It was early morning. Alaric had just arrived at the Whispering Woods with Edgar to begin their training session for the day. However, Alaric couldn’t concentrate. His thoughts drifted back to yesterday’s events.

Yesterday, Alaric, Gareth, and George went to see off Rowan at the station after they returned to the mansion. Captain Aldric had taken a break from his guard duty for two weeks and accompanied Rowan to ensure he safely reached his destination - Ravenholm. It was the headquarters of the Twilight Hawk guild.

Gareth and George were downcast after Rowan’s departure. Not that Alaric was in high spirits either. Fortunately, he didn’t feel anyone watching their group on their way to and from the station. All of them stayed up late, chatting, unwilling to be left alone with their thoughts.

“Kid, you need to focus,” said Edgar. “Can’t have you moping just because your friend left the city.”

“No, it’s not about that,” Alaric shook his head. “I need to tell you something. Yesterday, I spotted a robed figure observing our group from a distance.”

“Where was this?” Edgar raised his eyebrows. “Did you notice anything else? Why didn’t you tell me yesterday?”

Alaric hadn’t sensed any immediate danger from the figure, and his instincts were usually accurate. He recounted everything he could remember, and Edgar took a moment to process the information. Truthfully, Alaric wasn’t too worried for now.

Yesterday had been the perfect opportunity to ambush their group. They hadn’t been under the supervision of any adults at the time. Therefore, if that spy hadn’t attacked them then, they were unlikely to strike anytime soon. Especially now that his guard would be heightened.

Edgar assured Alaric he would investigate and not to worry about anything. Alaric chuckled inwardly. Looks like you’re more concerned about it than I am. Nevertheless, he was pleased that Edgar was taking his word seriously.

Once the discussion was over, Alaric commenced his bone reforging session.

***

Tutorial Rift Zone 4 - The Howling Expanse

The Howling Expanse was completely different from the previous three Tutorial Rift zones. It was designed by the system for Tier 2 cultivators and thus, much more vast, challenging, and interesting.

An endless barren desert sprawled before Alaric, stretching to the horizon in every direction. A sandstorm howled around him. His clothes were battered by razor-sharp, mana-infused sands swept up by the raging winds. In fact, the gales were potent enough to strip flesh from bone over time.

This zone was unfit for cultivators lacking a reforged body. Yet, Alaric endured the harsh environment as his body, fortified by root chakra energy, was naturally resilient even without complete reforging.

Even so, he activated his [Mana Strengthening] skill to adapt more swiftly. Alaric’s lips curled into a grin. Let’s see how long I can thrive in this merciless terrain. Eager to hunt monsters, he scoured his surroundings, but none appeared.

All around him, rolling dunes stretched endlessly. Far away in the distance, a large mass of jagged stone cliffs and hardened rock formations dotted the landscape. The sky was overcast, clouding visibility further.

The frequent flashes of lightning accompanied by the crackle of thunder further bathed the whole region in an eerie glow.

Alaric bolted toward the sunbaked plateau of hardened earth he spotted in the distance. After a while, he discovered that the spot was much further away than he had initially thought.

It took him an hour to reach the location and he spent a good twenty minutes scanning the area for monsters to exterminate. However, there were none in sight. He couldn’t detect any mana signature and even his danger sense remained inactive.

Where are all the monsters? At this rate, I’ll run out of mana without having fought a single monster. Alaric didn’t let his guard down for a moment. If monsters were lurking - and he was certain they were - they possessed highly advanced stealth abilities.

A thought crossed his mind. Hmm, what if the monsters are merely waiting for me to drop my guard? Alaric surmised that these desert creatures were patient ambush predators, capable of waiting motionlessly for hours until their prey exhausted itself.

Alaric deactivated his mana-strengthening skill and pretended to let his guard down. An instant later, his danger sense prickled. Sand to his left shifted, and a long, whip-like tongue shot out from the ground.

Alaric instantly grabbed it as it coiled around his forearm. Got you! A massive desert chameleon, as large as a lion, emerged from beneath the sand, its body color perfectly camouflaged with its surroundings.

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What impressed Alaric even more was that even though he could now see the creature, he couldn’t sense its mana signature. The desert chameleon possessed the power to erase its mana signature completely.

Alaric perceived a void in his mana-sensing ability. The colossal lizard jerked on his arm, nearly unbalancing him. “You did not just try to eat me,” Alaric tutted, wagging his finger at the creature in disapproval. “Bad lizard!”

He triggered [Mana Strengthening] and yanked its tongue, still coiled around his forearm, with all his might. Astonishingly, the chameleon was far heavier than he anticipated, preventing him from hurling it as intended.

For several tense moments, Alaric and the chameleon clashed in a fierce contest of strength. The creature writhed in agony, realizing it had bitten off more than it could chew.

Alaric thrust his palm forward and unleashed a mana blast at the lizard’s face, shattering it. The tongue snapped cleanly at the midpoint, splattering blood across the sand. The lizard shrieked in pain.

Alaric winced. Maybe I shouldn’t have been that harsh! His empathy evaporated the moment the lizard spun around and lashed at him with its massive tail. Alaric sidestepped and launched a series of mana javelins to end the fight.

He didn’t want to waste mana, but that approach proved ineffective. The creature’s hide was too dense for the javelins to pierce. Even mana bullets failed to break through its skin.

Apparently, its tongue was its vulnerability. Alaric marveled at the creature’s resilience, fighting ferociously despite its mangled face. Its head was grotesquely deformed from the damage, blood gushing from its wounds in streams. He was certain the lizard had been blinded, yet it could still pinpoint his location.

In the end, Alaric launched two more mana blasts to end the fight. Hah…that ended well. Alaric waited for a while, anticipating another ambush, but no creature dared attack. It seemed they had witnessed the skirmish and were now more cautious.

If only I had my True Vision ability. He shook his head. Alaric had the insight to unlock the True Vision ability, but his limitation lay elsewhere. It required a precise application of mana, which he suspected would only be possible once he acquired the superior mana manipulation ability.

Looks like l really have to get that final skill now. The recommended skill to gain in this zone was a perception-based skill. Alaric had hoped to avoid this since he eventually aimed to unlock True Vision and he already relied on his danger sense.

However, a dedicated perception skill was exactly what he needed to navigate this zone effectively. Fortunately, he already had a solid idea inspired by his [Mana Scrambling] technique.

Alaric focused on his core, commanding his internal mana to rotate. The shifting mana flow made it slightly easier to gauge its position relative to his surroundings. He needed to execute the next step flawlessly.

Alaric sculpted a vivid mental image, mapping where the mana intersected with everything around him. He channeled solar plexus chakra energy to hone his mana manipulation.

The vision crystallized, revealing every intricate detail of his core. In the next instant, a sharp pulse of mana erupted from his body, rippling through the desert.

Some of it seeped beneath the sand and mingled with the airborne particles. The rest surged outward, spanning up to 100 meters. Moments later, Alaric emitted another pulse, then another, maintaining a steady rhythm. These mana pulses were delicate and infused with his curiosity about his surroundings, unlike the raw power of [Mana Scrambling].

These pulses were gentler, almost undetectable, yet capable of traveling vast distances with remarkable efficiency. They couldn’t harm any creature but granted him an expanded awareness of his environment.

As the mana pulses swept across the landscape, Alaric’s mental map grew increasingly vivid. Each pulse subtly altered the image, capturing dynamic changes and creating an illusion of motion.

He perceived every crack in the rocks, sensed what lay beneath the surface, and even perceived through the rugged cliffs. Naturally, he also identified numerous desert chameleons, concealed and waiting patiently for him to make a mistake.

A series of dings rang in his mind and he decided to check them. It wasn’t like the chameleons were in a hurry to attack him.

Congratulations! You have acquired the skill [Mana Pulse] (common).

[Mana Pulse lvl 1]

Mana Pulse - You can emit subtle pulses of mana that travel in all directions, detecting the presence and location of creatures as they collide with their bodies or are absorbed by the surrounding terrain. This technique is highly mana-efficient and non-destructive, allowing for precise spatial awareness without revealing your position. Higher skill levels enhance range, sensitivity, and detection accuracy, even through obstacles.

Alaric’s lips curled into a grin. The skill functioned exactly as he envisioned. Perfect! Now, let’s see. He aimed his palm at the closest desert chameleon and fired a mana blast. The creature was flawlessly camouflaged against a nearby rock formation.

As the swirling ball of mana approached it, the chameleon didn’t make any move to evade it. Instead, it seamlessly melded into the stone, dodging the attack as the blast shattered the rock.

Seconds later, Alaric detected a shimmer as the chameleon reappeared, its tongue darting toward him like a spear. He sidestepped, noting the barbed tips on its tongue. This one is craftier.

More chameleons emerged nearby and surrounded him. Alaric tactically positioned himself against a cliff to reduce the angles from which he could be attacked.

He deactivated his [Mana Pulse] skill, observing that his foes had all chosen to reveal themselves. Although each pulse was more efficient than a mana scrambling wave, maintaining the frequency rapidly drained his reserves.

All at once, numerous chameleons launched their barbed tongues at Alaric, who weaved through each attack effortlessly and retaliated with mana bullets. The ones he couldn’t evade, he deflected with layered mana shields.

His [Zen Flow] skill was running on full steam as Alaric danced in a primal battle with 12 predators, each one hungry for his life. His mana reserves dwindled rapidly. For nearly two hours, he had maintained his mana-strengthening skill, and his new ability siphoned a significant portion of his energy.

On top of that, he had to unleash mana blasts at these tenacious creatures since regular mana javelins proved utterly useless. Pounding on their armored hides with mana gauntlets or a mana lance was equally ineffective.

Their scales were too resilient, evolved to endure the brutal elements of The Howling Expanse.

I need to end this quickly, or I’ll be drained dry. Suddenly, the ground quaked as if an earthquake had struck, and Alaric’s danger sense blared in warning. Many chameleons melded into the rock or sand, vanishing to save themselves.

Alaric refused to stand idle and wait for whatever had terrified even the chameleons. He activated [Mana Pulse] and detected an enormous entity barreling toward them underground.

But his brief lapse in focus cost him—he couldn’t form his mana shield in time for the next onslaught. A cluster of chameleons lashed out, their tongues wrapping around his legs. One, then two, three, and four.

The barbs on their tongue shredded the skin off his bone, sending searing agony through his body. Alaric gritted his teeth. These are poisoned. He felt the venom creeping through his veins, gradually paralyzing his limbs.

Alaric triggered [Vital Mana Flow] and circulated a drop of sacral chakra to dull the pain. He funneled every ounce of his remaining mana into [Mana Strengthening] and wrenched at the tongues. “Aargh!” It wasn’t enough.

He cycled a drop of root chakra, igniting a burst of strength in his muscles. With a savage roar, he became a whirlwind of fury, tearing the tongues that clung to his body.

Blood drenched his frame and soaked the sand. The chameleons shrieked in anguish. He was on the brink of mana exhaustion, his breath ragged. Alaric shook his head. No, I won’t fall here.

He cupped his hands, attempting to channel a fully charged mana blast. A sphere of blue energy flickered to life in his palms but fizzled out before it could complete. He was out of mana.

In the next heartbeat, a colossal ring of fangs erupted from beneath the earth, consuming everything in its path—including Alaric.