Trials on the Road

The carriage rumbled along the Imperial Road.

From Heaven Dou City to Gengxin City, they had to pass through the Heaven Dou Empire and two kingdoms before reaching the Star Luo Empire. The journey was long, crossing the entire continent from north to south.

At a hundred li a day, the carriage would need more than half a month.

The scenery on both sides of the Imperial Road changed from endless plains to rolling hills, then from hills to continuous mountain ranges.

The trees by the roadside changed from tall oaks to short pines, then from pines to shrubs.

Villages became fewer and fewer, and signs of people grew increasingly sparse. After passing Jiayuguan Pass, they had left the core region of the Heaven Dou Empire. The Imperial Road grew narrow, and the surface was full of potholes. The carriage jolted violently.

The route Xiao Yun chose deliberately avoided the direction of the Star Dou Great Forest, as well as the direction of Spirit City.

They made a detour through the Sivess Kingdom, then turned toward Suotuo City in the Balak Kingdom.

This road was sparsely populated, but relatively safe. They would not run into the high-ranking elders and consecrators of Spirit Hall, nor would they encounter Soul Beasts that had wandered out of the Star Dou Great Forest.

They reached the Balak Kingdom. When the carriage entered the Balak Kingdom from the Heaven Dou Empire, everything went smoothly. The city guards glanced at the token from the Crown Prince's Mansion and respectfully let them through.

After passing Suotuo City, the road conditions grew worse and worse, and the carriage jolted more and more violently.

By the time they reached the border between the Balak Kingdom and the Hadrian Kingdom, the Imperial Road had disappeared, replaced by a dirt track