In the northern part of the Wasteland, where it bordered Great Zhen, this damned place was said to have a boundary, but in truth, there had never been any clear dividing line. If one had to put it plainly, the more than thousand-li-wide uninhabited zone between the two sides was all considered the border.
Even if one traveled north from the Wasteland into Great Zhen's territory and continued for another thousand li, one might not see many living people.
The flying vessel carrying Chu Ye had raised its protective barrier and floated in midair. Mu Zhiqiu followed close behind, guarding him personally and preparing for any situation that might arise.
After all, this place was already far from Great Qian's territory.
The forces beyond Great Qian would be more than happy to see one of Langya Academy's heads fall.
After all, a Dao Practitioner of this level was far more valuable to Great Qian than a mere powerful expert.
No matter how strong an individual's personal strength was, it was still only personal strength. But a Dao Practitioner of this level had studied Dao cultivation for many years, with broad and profound knowledge. Moreover, without the interference and restrictions that came after Qi Refining, they actually held greater advantages in certain matters.
For example, they could improve and create cultivation methods, secret arts, and even divine abilities; discover and produce new Dharma Treasure materials; create better Dharma Treasures; and accomplish a whole range of things that could be replicated, reduce costs, and strengthen the nation's overall power.
To Great Qian, this value was far more important than that of a formidable expert.
Under ordinary circumstances, before entering the Dao, a Langya Academy head of this level was rarely allowed to leave Great Qian's territory.
"Sir, our movements have been exposed. We must return as soon as possible."
"I know. I've seen almost everything there is to see, but we still haven't found anything my old brother might have left behind..."
Chu Ye gazed northward through the sky-spreading snow.
The cold winds of the Land of the Far North never ceased throughout the year. They constantly swept across western Great Zhen, where the land remained frozen year-round. Without even digging through the ice mountains, which were harder than Black Iron, finding Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Ice was no difficult task.
Even the people of Great Zhen itself rarely lived in its western territories. Nearly all of them had gathered in the warmer east.
A mountain range running north and south cut across the land between east and west. After extending northward, the range turned east, forming a vast windbreak wall that blocked the cold winds of the Land of the Far North and forced them to slide off toward both sides.
Moreover, eastern Great Zhen bordered Great Li. Every year, warm and humid air currents also traveled northward from Great Li. When the warm and cold air collided in eastern Great Zhen, they brought rainfall.
Under this series of complicated factors, the climates of eastern and western Great Zhen differed enormously, and the east was also more prosperous.
It was only because western Great Zhen had several enormous lakes capable of storing heat, and because heat was also carried over from farther west, that the region did not become even colder. Coupled with its abundance of unique resources, this was why the place had not completely turned into a lifeless wasteland devoid of human activity.
But now, standing atop the flying vessel, Chu Ye could already see a new, surging river far to the north. It flowed down from the east to the west and toward the distant horizon. The vapor rising from it constantly climbed upward, soon condensing high in the sky and turning into snowflakes that drifted down.
Judging by the scene, this snowstorm had already been going on for a long time.
Chu Ye was recording the changes here when Mu Zhiqiu's expression suddenly shifted. He formed a hand seal, then reached up and grabbed at the sky.
A point of starlight lit up in the sky. In an instant, it transformed into a streak of light and plunged downward, landing in Mu Zhiqiu's hand. As the radiance faded, it became a transparent fish no larger than a palm. The fish swam through the air, opened its mouth, and spat out a scroll, which unfurled by itself in midair.
At the center of the scroll was a large character: "Seal." A ring of cloud patterns interlaced around it, shifting constantly. Immense power was contained within, as though the slightest sign of anything amiss would cause it to erupt completely.
Mu Zhiqiu stepped forward, forming a hand seal with one hand. With the other, he turned over his palm and produced a large seal, stamping it over the character "Seal." The radiance faded, and both the character and the cloud patterns vanished. In their place appeared another mass of densely packed writing.
The instant Mu Zhiqiu finished reading it at lightning speed, flames automatically sprang up from the scroll. With a whoosh, it turned to ash.
"Sir, let's go. We're heading back. It isn't only Seventh Floor spies operating in the Wasteland anymore. Great Li and Great Zhen have both sent people. News of your presence in the Wasteland has already been exposed.
"Moreover, the refugees who previously fled the Wasteland have poured into Great Qian, Great Li, and Great Zhen in large numbers—especially Great Qian. The people living along the Wasteland's border have all begun to panic, and some evil cultivators have already started stirring up trouble.
"Besides, something has happened at Langya Academy as well. There are matters that require you to return, sir."
Mu Zhiqiu urged him once again.
"All right. Let's go back." Chu Ye glanced northward once more. He felt as though he had overlooked something. Even if his old brother had fallen, it was impossible for him to have left behind nothing at all.
Mu Zhiqiu did not know what Chu Ye was thinking. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief, took out a scroll, wrote that they had begun their return journey, and handed it to the transparent fish.
The fish opened its mouth and swallowed. The scroll automatically shrank and vanished into its mouth. Yet after receiving the item, the fish did not leave. It continued circling the two of them.
"Heh, Zhiqiu, you forgot. This little thing has never worked for free." Chu Ye chuckled and reminded him.
Mu Zhiqiu's expression darkened. He touched his waist and took out a thumb-sized spirit jade that radiated a hazy aura, then tossed it to the fish. After swallowing it, the fish still did not leave.
"Kun You can cross tens of thousands of li from Great Qian's capital. Do you think you can send it away with just that?"
Mu Zhiqiu's expression darkened even further, and his eyelid twitched. That single piece had been worth a month of his salary.
This time, however, Chu Ye tossed out a spirit jade first. It was entirely translucent green, with inner patterns that resembled natural Runes. After Kun You swallowed it, it seemed delighted. It swam up to Chu Ye and moved up, down, left, and right, as though trying to express something. A moment later, it transformed into a streak of light, shot into the sky, and vanished.
The smile on Chu Ye's face faded as he looked toward the east.
"Zhiqiu, let's go. Be more generous the next time you see Kun You.
"These little things actually have fairly high intelligence. They just can't be bothered to pay attention to you. Don't let the fact that it raced here all the way from the Gale Layer fool you—it knows far more than you imagine.
"It just told me that someone from Great Li was coming this way. Moreover, there was a powerful expert capable of detecting it not far from here. It told us to steer clear."
"It can say things like that?" Mu Zhiqiu was somewhat dumbfounded. Apart from knowing that Kun You was greedy and would simply slack off if it was not given a reward, he truly knew nothing else. Kun You never paid him any attention in daily life, and even necessary messages were not sent directly to him...
The flying vessel maintained its concealment. Instead of flying directly southeast toward Great Qian, it first headed farther west before traveling south, taking a detour around the Great Li experts they might encounter.
In the eastern part of the Wasteland, where it bordered Great Li, a troop mounted on Flame Dragon Horses charged into the Wasteland.
Those Flame Dragon Horses had flames sprouting from all four hooves. They stood half a foot above the ground, galloping through the air at tremendous speed. They were Great Li's unique war mounts, said to possess a trace of Dragon race blood. Their stamina, speed, and other qualities were all exceptional.
The troop was like a streak of flame racing forward. Suddenly, a howl rang out from within its ranks. The troop's charging speed abruptly slowed, and the flames scattered along with it.
A burly man in armor, also mounted on a Flame Dragon Horse, spoke in a deep voice from within the formation.
"There's no need to go all-out anymore. It's unnecessary. Great Qian's Kun You has been dispatched. We can no longer encounter the target."
After speaking, the burly man sighed inwardly at the missed opportunity.
If they had the chance, they certainly would not mind killing a Dao Practitioner from Langya Academy. If the other party was one of its heads, that would be even better.
Killing one would be a huge profit. Then, even if the evidence was ironclad, they could simply refuse to admit it. If that did not work, they could shift the blame to Great Zhen. After all, if Great Zhen had the chance, it would do the same thing—and probably want to even more.
After doing something bad, they could pin the blame on Great Li, making Great Li and Great Qian fight while Great Zhen watched from the side and reaped the benefits.
Even if Great Qian ultimately wanted to wage war or seek revenge, so be it. Great Li and Great Qian shared a border. Had they not fought enough over the years? In the past century, the years without fighting added up to fewer than twenty. Only in the past two years had things been a little more peaceful.
Great Qian had just lost one head of Langya Academy. If another died now, Great Qian would definitely settle down for a while.
In any case, they would never let an opportunity to weaken Great Qian slip away.
In the southeastern part of the Wasteland, the fellow whose soul had just been damaged, whose face bore more tattoos than skin, rode a Black Goat larger than a warhorse as he stepped into the Wasteland.
He had now determined who had died before. Black Five and Black Eight, one man and one goat, had died one after another, yet he had been unable to discover who had killed them.
Black Five had fallen into a trap and been outmaneuvered, while when Black Eight died, he had not dared act recklessly at all. It was Black Eight's blood relative, the Black Goat, that had learned who had died through bloodline sensing.
Once all these clues were compiled, one could determine who had fallen even without using a secret technique. They could also determine where the two had been before their deaths.
"Can you determine the approximate direction?"
"Not exactly. I only know that it died in the Wasteland, with both body and soul destroyed. However, its inner core is still there. Every so often, I can sense a trace of it." The Black Goat beneath Tattooed Face shook its head, a ferocious glint in its eyes.
As it spoke, the Black Goat suddenly froze slightly, and its tone grew solemn.
"I can't sense it anymore. It may have been forcibly refined. That was fast. I think we should be cautious. The other party is probably very strong—perhaps a fifth- or sixth-rank expert. I just don't know which path they took."
Tattooed Face fell silent for a moment, then nodded.
"All right. We'll deal with the other matters first. We'll investigate this later."
As the Wasteland grew increasingly turbulent, the village still appeared peaceful.
At the village entrance, Old Yang opened its mouth and spat out the Black Goat's inner core, tossing it into the Locust tree forest.
Just as expected, the inner core was swallowed by the layer of fallen leaves that flowed like quicksand. The immense power within it was rapidly broken down and dispersed throughout the entire Locust tree forest, where it was slowly divided and devoured.
In the time it took to burn a single incense stick, the Locust tree forest had once again returned to silence.
"Old Yang, don't you want that inner core? Your current state seems just right for using it."
"No need. Other people's power ultimately belongs to other people. I was only studying it; I've already understood everything I needed to. Given our current situation, the power contained in that inner core not only has no value, it also carries the hidden danger of exposing us."
A trace of worry also appeared in Old Yang's expression.
"Besides, you went out of the village to look yesterday. The weather outside has been growing worse and worse. That means this place is actually no longer very safe either."
"The weather?"
Yu Ziqing had not sensed any drop in the village's temperature. Outside, however, the environment was indeed becoming increasingly harsh. Before he came to the village, it had felt like twenty degrees below zero. Now, it had dropped by at least another ten degrees, and fierce winds and heavy snow continued without pause.
"It isn't the weather. It's the people."
Old Yang drew a few simple lines on the ground.
"These sections roughly represent the Wasteland, along with Great Zhen, Great Li, and Great Qian around it. At first, I thought they might only send a few people to take a look and wouldn't pay too much attention.
"After all, those lords would not pay much attention to the disasters suffered by the people below. At most, they would discuss disaster relief. The people who fled after being affected were from the Wasteland, so they probably cared even less.
"But now, An Yue of the Imperial Guard has come. I don't believe he'll return to report after completing his trade.
"A core member of Seventh Floor came and died in the Wasteland.
"Langya Academy will definitely send people as well. Judging by the situation outside, this is no longer an ordinary winter. It will certainly attract Langya Academy's attention. A major figure might even come.
"If that happens, Great Li and Great Zhen will both send out true experts..."
Old Yang had not finished speaking before Yu Ziqing understood.
By then, there would be more than just three sides involved. Other forces would also be caught in the middle. With old grievances already in place, all it would take was for someone to muddy the waters and stir things up, and it would be difficult for a fight not to break out. Once they started fighting, Jinlan Mine—the only place in the Wasteland that currently had living people and precious resources—would most likely be caught in the crossfire.
These ordinary people would truly become the mortals in the saying: "When immortals fight, mortals suffer."
Before you continue