Buddhist Dancers

Bodhisattva Savage, a remote corner within the already desolate Western Oxhorn Continent, is a place where spiritual energy has nearly dried up. Perhaps due to the lack of nourishing qi, scarcely any cultivators emerge here anymore. It borders the Endless Sea, a vast and boundless expanse where, in the past, some cultivators attempted to uncover its secrets—yet none ever returned.

Legends speak of terrifying demonic beasts in the Endless Sea, their tails spanning hundreds of feet, capable of whipping up towering waves. There are also tales of a colossal divine tree rooted in the sea, bearing fruits of heavenly truth—a single bite said to elevate a mortal to immortality.

Mortals naturally relish such stories, but for those who have truly embarked on the path of cultivation, the first tale might hold a sliver of possibility—if one had witnessed it firsthand. The second, however, about the divine tree, is pure nonsense.

If such a tree truly existed, the eighteen immortal sects wouldn’t be fighting over spirit veins. The heart of the world wouldn’t be the Central Continent—it would be the Western Oxhorn Continent.

As a cultivator, one knows better—there are no such free feasts in this world.

Bodhisattva Savage differs slightly from the rest of the Western Oxhorn Continent, perhaps due to its extreme isolation. It has largely escaped the ravages of war.

Though far from prosperous, it fares better than the ash-covered wastelands left behind by cultivator battles elsewhere in the region.

Its proximity to the sea allows its people to survive by fishing.

Yet, its remoteness also cuts it off from civilization. Most here don’t even speak the common tongue of the Central Continent, nor the local dialects of the Western Oxhorn Continent.

Communication here is reduced to shouting, and flushed faces signify either impatience or desperate urgency.

Fights here are brutal—to the death—because killing carries no consequences.

Those who can interact with the outside world are either returning from studies abroad or fugitives with nowhere else to go but Bodhisattva Savage.

With no teachings or order to speak of, the people here remain in a tribal state, wearing minimal clothing.

The name "Bodhisattva Savage" was given by outsiders, meaning "a place so wild even a Bodhisattva would turn savage."

Such a place has its pros and cons depending on who you ask, but for Xu Jin, who had scouted the area early on, it was undoubtedly a boon.

Why?

Because Xu Jin’s savagery was on an entirely different level.

Though sometimes, excessive reverence isn’t a good thing.

"Wait… I don’t eat rats…"

Xu Jin frowned, waving his hands dismissively as he stared helplessly at a group of middle-aged savages whose scant clothing did little to cover them, their hair tangled and matted. One grinned, unleashing a wave of fermented meat breath that choked the hut of any fresh air.

The savage held out a charred, barely recognizable rodent—unskinned, its organs still intact.

Unfortunately, the savage clearly didn’t understand Xu Jin’s babbling. All he knew was that since their first meeting, Xu Jin hadn’t eaten or drunk a thing.

The savage acknowledged Xu Jin’s strength—how he had once punched a frenzied, monstrous beast into pulp with a single blow, his fist glowing with power.

But even so, refusing food and water meant death.

As the savior of their precarious tribe, the savage couldn’t let Xu Jin starve.

Seeing Xu Jin’s apparent lack of common sense, the savage resorted to gestures, waving the blackened rat near his gaping mouth while muttering,

"Glo’u yaya, bu lie ha ci."

After this elaborate pantomime, he thrust the rat toward Xu Jin again.

Xu Jin remained silent, holding his breath as the savage grinned.

The breath-holding wasn’t because the savage didn’t understand human speech.

It was because the savage’s smile unleashed a foul stench.

Xu Jin had initially tried using spells to communicate, but the people of Bodhisattva Savage, untouched by spiritual energy, reacted bizarrely—some ecstatic, others seemingly on the verge of death.

Those exposed to his magic had shown sheer terror.

Clearly, the experience wasn’t pleasant. Unless he disregarded their lives, Xu Jin was stuck with charades.

There was no way he’d eat that rat. Beyond the savage’s questionable cooking, the rodent was now thoroughly contaminated by the man’s flying saliva.

As the rat inched closer, Xu Jin avoided touching it directly, instead using his qi to shove it into the savage’s mouth.

"I’m not hungry! You eat it."

The savage chewed enthusiastically, eyes wide with reluctance as he stared at Xu Jin.

Xu Jin cut him off, pulling out a cloth painted with a moon symbol, crisscrossed by fine lines at precise angles. It wasn’t his work—the savage had drawn it.

Xu Jin had studied it, tracing the lines with qi, and deduced it was some kind of ritual formation.

At first, he hadn’t paid it much mind. But later, the savage began gesturing at the moon, sketching it alongside frenzied monsters.

Admittedly, the drawings were abstract. Xu Jin wasn’t entirely sure he understood the intended message.

There were many sketches, but few that Xu Jin could decipher.

When he tried to leave, the savage stopped him, pointing frantically at the drawings and counting on his fingers.

It seemed he was indicating how many days remained until the ritual took effect.

After much back-and-forth, with little clarity, Xu Jin studied the crude depiction of the frenzied beasts and decided to wait. In ten or twenty days, he’d see what this ritual truly was.

Was it connected to the frenzied monsters? Was there a demonic presence manipulating this remote land?

Was this the source of the beast tides plaguing the Western Oxhorn Continent?

Assuming, of course, that he’d interpreted the savage’s gestures correctly.

Xu Jin tapped the cloth.

"How much longer? Can you take me to this place first?"

The savage smacked his lips loudly, savoring the roasted rat, then nodded at Xu Jin’s question and began counting on his fingers again.

Xu Jin still couldn’t follow the tally. The savage’s pitying expression didn’t help.

"Hey… you’re just waving your hands. Without pauses, how am I supposed to count?"

With a sigh, Xu Jin rolled up the painting.

He wondered what was happening elsewhere in the Western Oxhorn Continent—had Chu Xingchen reached Blazing Frost City? Had he saved Lizhi?

The savage swallowed the last of the rat, licked his fingers, wiped his mouth, then licked them again.

Xu Jin watched with a mix of disgust and resignation, waving him away.

The savage jabbered and gestured some more, but seeing Xu Jin’s indifference, his face once again filled with pity.

As the middle-aged savage was passionately gesturing, a cool and composed female savage walked into the small thatched hut, her face alight with excitement. She began making strange sounds and gestures in unison.

Xu Jin frowned, unable to comprehend what was happening. Could it be that a demon beast was attacking?

He extended his divine sense outward, and his eyes soon brightened with realization.

Ignoring the still-gesturing savages, he strode outside without hesitation.

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