Purple Cloud Emergence

The Yunhuang is sparsely populated, with Savage Beasts and Ferocious Beasts roaming everywhere, and many small Tribes.

Under such circumstances, it would take a great deal of manpower and resources to gather these scattered small Tribes together for an assessment.

Although the Divine Kingdom has a long history, the Warrior selections held in the Great Wilderness have been few and far between.

Therefore, it must be said that being born in the Great Wilderness is a tragedy. Not only are the resources barren, but even if you are a prodigy, it is almost impossible for you to be discovered or to make a name for yourself.

The Tai'a Divine Kingdom knows this very well, but there is nothing they can do. Let alone the Yunhuang, even geniuses born in the 108 prefectures might be overlooked!

So, over the years, how many geniuses from the Great Wilderness have been buried in vain? They might have starved to death, died of illness, fallen to their deaths while gathering herbs, or been devoured by ferocious beasts.

Some individuals who should have become prodigies died like beggars, with no straw mat to cover them after death, simply buried in a random place. Perhaps a wooden plank would be erected as a tombstone – just like Yi Yun's back then. However, this tombstone would at most last a few years before rotting and falling. By the time those who remembered the deceased also died, all that would remain of them in the world would be "nothingness."

Born in poverty, dying without a trace – this is the fate of the people of the Great Wilderness. Lian Chengyu, knowing this deeply, formed his twisted worldview.

The fat old man said, "Our visit this time is neither related nor unrelated to the Tai'a Divine Kingdom's Warrior selection. To be precise, our coming to the Yunhuang, and the sudden Warrior selection by the Tai'a Divine Kingdom, are likely both caused by the same event."

"Oh?" The young girl's interest was piqued, her slender eyes blinking gently, her long eyelashes shimmering faintly in the sunlight.

"Five months ago, an anomaly occurred in the Yunhuang. The sky was clear and bright, but in just over a dozen breaths, the entire sky of the Yunhuang, spanning hundreds of thousands of miles, was covered by thick clouds!"

"And what's most peculiar is that these clouds were purple!"

"Purple clouds covering the Yunhuang – such a celestial phenomenon is truly miraculous. The Astrologers of the Tai'a Divine Kingdom specifically calculated the celestial phenomena that night and called this anomaly – Purple Cloud Emergence!"

"This anomaly reappeared two months ago, and the most recent one was even more terrifying. It was as if the clouds swallowed the sun and moon, and the energy obscured the universe!"

"This Purple Cloud Emergence alarmed the Tai'a Divine Kingdom. However, the mortals of the Yunhuang are not very aware of it, because the anomaly occurred at night. With the eyesight of mortals, it is difficult to distinguish the color of the clouds at night. Moreover, they do not know that these purple clouds covered the entire Yunhuang, nor are they aware of the disturbance in the Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi throughout the Yunhuang caused by the Purple Cloud Emergence."

"At that time, even many ten-thousand-year-old Savage Beasts lurking in the depths of the Yunhuang were alarmed!"

"Such celestial phenomena can have several possible explanations."

"The first possibility is the emergence of a great treasure. However, five months ago, the Tai'a Divine Kingdom had already used its national treasure, the Treasure Seeking Compass, to search the Yunhuang. Although the Treasure Seeking Compass cannot pinpoint the exact location of a treasure, it can at least determine if there is a treasure within a certain large area."

"But the Treasure Seeking Compass showed no reaction. So, either there is no treasure at all, or perhaps this treasure is too mysterious for the Treasure Seeking Compass to detect. If it's the latter, then it's unimaginable! Such a treasure would be enough to cause bloodshed on the continent!"

"The second possibility is that a Hidden Great Emperor of the human race is breaking through their realm, or a certain Ancient Savage Beast is undergoing tribulation. However, this possibility is unlikely. Although the Yunhuang is vast, it is not particularly special in the context of the entire Great World. Hidden Great Emperors or Ancient Savage Beasts might not choose this place to complete their breakthrough."

"As for the third possibility, it is even less likely. It's all based on vague ancient legends, not worth mentioning. I brought you to the Yunhuang because of this celestial phenomenon. Perhaps there is some treasure that can mend your Fatal Meridian!"

"Teacher..." The young girl sighed softly. While touched, she couldn't bear for the fat old man to go to such lengths for her Fatal Meridian, not missing even the slightest glimmer of hope.

But she also knew that her Fatal Meridian was a cursed meridian. Although it was rumored that a female emperor in ancient times had mended her Fatal Meridian with her own power, that was a female emperor, and it was only a rumor.

This kind of rumor precisely proved how difficult it was to mend a Fatal Meridian!

The fat old man knew Xin Tong's thoughts and smiled, "Alright, such a celestial phenomenon is worth witnessing. It doesn't matter if there's no gain. This anomaly occurred within the territory of the Tai'a Divine Kingdom, and the royal family has long been alarmed. Let alone the Tai'a Divine Kingdom, even some people from neighboring Divine Kingdoms have secretly infiltrated the Yunhuang to investigate."

"For the past few months, the Tai'a Divine Kingdom has dispatched the Brocade Dragon Guard, constantly searching for the cause of the anomaly, hoping that a remarkable treasure would emerge. Since the Brocade Dragon Guard has already arrived in the Yunhuang, let's take this opportunity to hold a Warrior selection."

After the fat old man's explanation, the young girl finally understood. No wonder the Brocade Dragon Guard had specifically drawn maps of the Yunhuang, even marking small Tribes with a population of over a thousand households.

"Alright, let's get going. We'll cross the mountain ahead and pass by the Lian Clan. Our next stop will be the Tao Clan. It's a large Tribe with a population of over 100,000 households. We'll rest there."

As the fat old man was speaking, his heart suddenly stirred, and he let out a soft "Huh?"

"What's wrong, Teacher?"

"There's someone below the waterfall ahead. They seem to be drowning. Let's go take a look!" As the old man spoke, he walked towards the dense forest ahead. His steps appeared slow, but each stride covered a great distance, as if the ground had shrunk beneath his feet.

Xin Tong also followed. They were figures living in the clouds of this world, while the hundreds of millions of common people lived in hardship. They couldn't possibly care for everyone, but if they truly encountered someone in need, they would lend a hand and save lives.

Yi Yun didn't know how long he had been in the pool. Since last night, Yi Yun had absorbed all the energy from the Savage Bones in one go. He had jumped into the pool and begun cultivating with complete abandon. Until now, Yi Yun's consciousness had not fully cleared; he felt like he was having a beautiful dream.

The energy in the Savage Bones had been completely digested by Yi Yun's physical body, leaving not a single drop!

His body had once again entered a state of hunger.

Vaguely, Yi Yun felt a soft hand grasp his collar and lift him up...

Yi Yun's body felt light, as if he were lying on a patch of soft grass. Then, the soft hand pressed against his chest.

"Pfft!"

Yi Yun coughed up a mouthful of water. This water was not clear but incredibly murky, mixed with impurities from Yi Yun's body tempering.

"Huh?"

The young girl who had rescued Yi Yun did not show any signs of disgust upon seeing the dirty water. Instead, she looked somewhat surprised. As a Savage Heaven Master, she instantly judged what this water was.

Yi Yun regained consciousness. As his vision returned, the bright sunlight made it difficult for him to open his eyes.

(I've seen some readers point out bugs, like why the Great Wilderness doesn't grow its own vegetables or catch fish, and how could they be so hungry? Regarding this, I hope everyone doesn't view it from the perspective of modern Earth. In ancient China, there were many eras of famine where people ate Guanyin Soil or even practiced cannibalism. Even in the 1960s, China experienced the shocking Three Years of Great Famine, which killed many people. In fact, you could also ask, why didn't they eat fish, or dig for insects? Why didn't they eat locusts during the locust plague? Are ancient people stupid for not understanding these things?)

(Ancient people were not stupid. When people are starving, they resort to cannibalism; what wouldn't they eat? The Cocooned Cow family lived by the sea and the mountains, where there were more fish in the sea than in the pool, and mushrooms and rabbits on the mountains, yet they still starved. According to the Cocooned Cow's mother, during the year of famine, not even grass grew on the mountains. This was due to drought and the fact that all the grass roots had been dug up and eaten. Grass was gone, making it incredibly difficult to catch rabbits. As for fish, fishing at sea requires fishing boats and large nets, which ordinary people didn't have. In shallow seas, rivers, and lakes, unless fish were specifically farmed, the number of fish would be very small. With so few fish and so many people catching them, there were even fewer. This made the cost of obtaining them extremely high. For someone like Cocooned Cow, catching a few small fish would provide less energy than the effort expended. As for catching insects, it would consume even more energy and lead to faster starvation, which was equivalent to suicide.)

(In this book, the Great Wilderness is set in a place much more barren than Earth. Even the land, as Cocooned Cow wrote, is covered in Black Iron Rock, making cultivation extremely difficult. Compared to ancient China's grain yields, the output is pitifully low. Back then, there were no hybrid rice varieties or combine harvesters. As for other settings regarding the barrenness of the Great Wilderness, Cocooned Cow felt that explaining them one by one would be tedious. The fish in a small pool would be so scarce that the effort to catch them would not be worth the reward. If there were edible and easily catchable frogs, they would have been caught and eaten long ago. When people are starving, they are no different from locusts. Relying on a single pool and a few puddles with frogs is truly not enough to sustain a Tribe of thousands of households. Cocooned Cow avoided being tedious by not elaborating, but unexpectedly, it caused controversy. After thinking about it, I decided to explain this lengthy passage.)

(Some people also asked why Yi Yun didn't go hunting. The book has already explained that one needs to reach the Purple Blood Realm and go to the true Great Wilderness to have the ability to hunt Ferocious Beasts. Some readers might ask again, what do Ferocious Beasts eat? Although Cocooned Cow believes that fantasy books don't need to delve into the "why" of a hundred thousand questions, when writing this book, Cocooned Cow still established a complete world setting to minimize loopholes. As the story unfolds, this will be gradually revealed.)

(I am very grateful for everyone's opinions. I have read all the reviews in the comment section that have substance. If you have any suggestions or comments, please feel free to leave them in the comment section.)

(I've explained a thousand words, I'm speechless. I generally won't do such tedious explanations in the future. I sincerely hope everyone can use their imagination more and question less. In fact, many things are not loopholes; either Cocooned Cow thought it was too tedious to write, or it was written but you didn't see it. Cocooned Cow thanks you all.)