Dawn After the Ninth Kill – Departure
The Bone Bridge creaked under Wuya's weight as he crossed it for the final time.
Behind him: Black Cliff Monastery soaked in monk blood.
Before him: the South Sea, crimson under the rising sun.
Abbot Hei stood at the threshold, iron rings in his eyelids now dripping with tears of pride.
"You leave as Wuya—Boundless.
Take nothing but your hate.
Leave nothing but your name."
Wuya turned.
His bowl-claw whip—now 50 feet of living crimson-black crystal, 9 monk souls screaming inside—coiled around his torso like sentient armor.
The porcelain shard in his heart glowed through transparent skin:
"Blood… Sand… City…"
The Flayed Wolf Mask
In the Severance Hall, Wuya had skinned the Alpha King wolf—its hide still warm.
He wore it now:
Crimson fur draped over shoulders.
Snout pulled over his face—fangs framing his transparent eyelids.
Eyes replaced with demon wolf orbs—glowing red.
He carved the name into the mask's forehead with a demon claw:
无涯 – Wuya.
The mask fused to his flayed skin—demon silk stitches glowing black.
The Final Gift
Abbot Hei offered a black iron box.
Inside:
Crimson Wolf Sect Token – stolen from Monk Gui.
Map to Blood Sand City – inked in traitor blood.
Prayer Bead Rosary – 108 beads, each a shrunken monk skull.
Wuya took the rosary.
Strung it around the bowl-claw whip.
The skulls clacked—9 new souls joined the chorus.
"I will return," Wuya said, voice layered with Lan and Hua, "when Zhao Heng's skull is the 109th bead."
The 40-Day Desert Hunt
Route: Black Cliff → Jade Serpent Wasteland → Blood Sand City (1,200 li).
Conditions: No food. No water. Only killing intent.
Day 1–5: The Sand Vipers
A caravan of slavers crossed his path—30 men, 12 child slaves in chains.
Wuya watched from a dune, wolf mask snarling.
Night 3.
He Ghost Stepped into the camp—blink.
Whip lashed 60 feet—SLASH.
Ten heads rolled.
Children screamed.
Wuya freed them with demon claws—chains melted under his touch.
He spoke in Lan's voice:
"Run north. Black Cliff will take you."
The remaining slavers fled.
Wuya hunted them for sport.
One nailed to a cactus—flayed alive, skin used as a tent.
Two buried to necks—scorpions poured into mouths.
Last forced to eat his own fingers before the whip devoured his soul.
Tally carved into dune with whip-tip: 二十二 to 三十 – 22 to 30.
Day 10: The Sandstorm Devil
A Qi Condensation Late-Stage cultivator—Sandstorm Devil Mo, rogue from Blood Sand City—ambushed with sand blades.
Wuya's Iron Corpse Skin absorbed—sand turned to glass on contact.
Mo unleashed Desert Twister.
Wuya Ghost Stepped inside—blink.
Whip pierced Mo's dantian—RIP.
Qi core yanked out, still spinning.
Wuya crushed it—sandstorm died.
He wore Mo's face as a second mask—flayed and stitched under the wolf snout.
Tally on Mo's spine: 三十一 – Thirty-One.
Day 20: The Mirage Oasis
A phantom oasis—water, shade, Zhao Heng's illusion laughing.
Wuya knew it was a trap.
Bowl-claw whip sensed souls—15 bandits hiding.
He walked in.
Illusion-Zhao crushed illusion-Lan's skull.
Wuya roared.
Whip exploded 80 feet—multi-headed hydra.
15 bandits shredded—limbs flew like confetti.
He bathed in the mirage water—blood turned it real.
Drank.
Tally on oasis stone: 三十二 to 四十六 – 32 to 46.
Day 30: The Salt Caravan
Crimson Wolf Sect caravan—50 guards, salt crates, child miners in cages.
Wuya infiltrated wearing Mo's face.
Midnight.
Whip lashed silently—SLASH-SLASH.
Guards dropped—throats opened.
He freed 28 children.
Burned the salt—white flames.
Carved Zhao Heng's name into the lead guard's chest—still alive.
"Tell him Wuya is coming."
Tally on caravan banner: 四十七 to 九十六 – 47 to 96.
Day 40: Blood Sand City Gates
The city walls rose—red stone, wolf banners.
Wuya stood at the horizon, wolf mask snarling, whip-armor writhing.
The bowl-claw shard in his heart sang:
"HE'S HERE… INSIDE…"
He carved the final tally into his own forearm with the whip:
九十七 – Ninety-Seven.
Three more until Zhao Heng.
The Name of Boundless
A child slave he freed on Day 1 ran to the gates—shouting:
"A demon in wolf skin saved us!
He carves tallies in blood!
His name is WUYA—BOUNDLESS!"
The guards laughed.
Until they saw the caravan banner nailed to a cactus—96 tallies.
Fear spread like plague.
Wuya smiled under the mask.
The 40- day hunt was over.
The real hunt began.
End of Chapter 10