About to Enter the Capital

Traveling by water was fast, but seeing nothing but the scenery along the banks inevitably grew a little monotonous. The days passed one by one.

Then one day, "The capital is almost here."

Only then did everyone aboard realize that, without noticing, they had crossed more than a dozen prefectures from north to south and entered the Eight Direct Prefectures that guarded the capital.

Many of the prefectures they passed through were still in turmoil. Some riverside cities even showed scenes of slaughter and burning. Yet under the protection of Grandmaster Zhou Nanwang, the group ultimately made it through with scares but no danger.

Zhou You had originally thought that, with his formidable martial strength, even if the journey was rough, reaching the capital safely would not be a problem.

After making this trip, however, he had finally seen how perilous the outside world truly was.

River Demons lurked beneath the water, buried motionlessly in the silt. The moment they spotted a vessel on the surface, they would open their mouths, leap up, and swallow it whole.

Evil cultivators also lurked along the banks, disguising themselves as wounded people begging for help. They pretended to be at death's door to lure passing boats into aiding them. Once someone fell for it, they would sink the vessels that approached the shore, slaughtering and plundering with brutal methods.

In some places, the God of Release Cult had even become extremely radical. They blocked the riverways, drained the water, occupied the former riverbeds as cremation grounds, burned corpses day and night, and held rituals to worship their gods.

From time to time, battles between formidable martial artists spilled into the waterways. There were mid-stage and late-stage experts alike. Had Zhou Nanwang not released the aura of a Grandmaster and forced them back, the