Chapter 11: The Hill That Wouldn't Bow
Morning came with fog. Thick and white, like milk poured over the world.
Alex stood at the top of the hill, watching it roll in slow, covering the fields, the trees, even the stone path leading up from the forest below.
"System," he whispered, "status?"
"All cloaking active. Hostile force estimated to arrive in 28 minutes. Defensive field is at 100%. No spiritual signature leaks."
"Good. Let's make sure they see only what I want them to."
He walked back toward the cottage, calm. The villagers stayed underground for now, in the tunnels beneath the fields. Meilin waited by the spirit well, blade sheathed, eyes sharp.
"Worried?" she asked.
Alex shrugged. "Nah. Just don't wanna ruin the crops."
Down the path, the Hollow Eye Sect marched in silence.
Twenty of them. Clad in black and grey. All Golden Core or higher. At the center, the golden-robed man. His hair long, his expression colder than ice in a mountain spring.
"This is the place?" he asked.
One of the scouts nodded. "Yes, Sect Leader Yu. The qi here is rich—unnaturally so."
He narrowed his eyes. "Then we claim it now."
But the moment they stepped onto the hill… everything changed.
The fog twisted. Roots rose from the soil like snakes. The path behind them vanished—literally. It was just… gone.
The air shimmered, and a voice echoed through the mist.
"You are not welcome."
They paused. The cultivators formed defense lines. Blades out. Spells ready.
A ring of glowing mushrooms lit up around them. Then vines snaked out, grabbing ankles, wrists, choking weapons.
One man tried to fly—and the sky folded. He fell, caught in a net of clouds and qi mist.
"What… what is this?!" someone yelled.
"It's a prison," said Sect Leader Yu, frowning.
"No," the voice said again."It's a farm."
Suddenly, Alex appeared.
He walked out from the mist like he was on a morning stroll. Wore plain robes, a straw hat, and a cloak of woven vines. Behind him, spirit butterflies danced in the air.
"Leave now," he said. "Or I'll bury you gently."
Sect Leader Yu laughed once. "You're alone."
Alex shook his head. "No. The land's with me. And it don't like you."
The leader raised his hand—and fired a blade of golden qi.
It shot through the air like lightning.
Alex didn't even move.
The field in front of him lifted. Literally. A wall of soil and roots rose like a giant hand, catching the blast and eating it like breakfast.
The Hollow Eye cultivators froze.
"This ain't a sect," Alex said, stepping forward. "Ain't a battlefield."
He touched the ground with one finger.
All around them, the earth opened. Not wide. Just enough to show they could be swallowed at any second.
"It's a home."
Meilin walked out next, slow. Not even using her sword. Just looking at them.
"You brought war to the wrong doorstep."
Sect Leader Yu clenched his fists. "You… You think dirt and weeds can stop the Hollow Eye?!"
Alex looked at him. "No. But I think kindness can. I'll give you one last chance."
Silence. Heavy.
Then one of the cultivators dropped his weapon. Another stepped back. Then a third knelt.
Yu's eyes went wide. "Traitors!"
"They ain't," Alex said. "They're tired. Same as I was."
In the end, only Yu stood his ground.
Alex sighed. "I ain't gonna kill you. But the hill… it might."
And the roots came.
Fast. Gentle. But firm. They wrapped around the golden-robed man and pulled him into the soil, deep, far from the sky.
He wasn't dead. Just gone. Planted like a bad weed.
When the fog cleared, the farm was untouched. The fields bright. The people safe.
Alex stood by the path, watching the sunrise.
Meilin smiled. "Still think you're just a farmer?"
He grinned. "Yeah. Just a stubborn one."