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Yu Ziqing truly hadn't expected Great Li to be so ostentatious yet so cautiously probing.

From Great Li's current disaster relief efforts in the west to the merchant caravan Cècè encountered at the western border of Great Li, all of it was part of the other party's indirect attempts to test the waters outside the Wasteland.

He even suspected that someone in that merchant caravan had seen through Cècè's hungry ghost identity, and had secretly used some Spirit Refining secret technique, causing Cècè to overlook many things.

Even if they hadn't seen through Cècè's hungry ghost identity, Cècè's physical body wasn't actually strong after transforming into a hungry ghost. It was more like a Spirit Refining cultivator among hungry ghosts, naturally possessing domain control, which allowed Cècè to be ambushed without awareness and not discover it afterward. Even if the other party wasn't a seventh-tier Yang spirit realm Spirit Refining great cultivator, they wouldn't be far off.

Cècè had told them that he was from the border of Kuihou Kingdom, fleeing to escape natural disasters and pursuit by the heretical path. Most of what he said was true.

As for Er Han, don't think he's stupid. From beginning to end, he played the role of a blank-faced, simple-minded bodyguard. To prevent himself from saying the wrong thing, he endured it and didn't say a single word.

Yu Ziqing estimated that the other party definitely knew that Cècè and Er Han had eventually gone to the Wasteland.

If people from the Great Li court were to investigate backward from there, tracing where Cècè and Er Han had been, they shouldn't find absolutely no clues.

The final conclusion, that there were still living people in the Wasteland, was only a matter of time.

Of course, Yu Ziqing had already considered this problem. They couldn't stay hidden in Jinlan Mountain forever and never go out.

Nor could they forever keep it a secret that there were still living people in Jinlan Mountain, that they hadn't been casually killed by the King of Hungry Ghosts.

No matter how eloquently they explained it, the fact that the people of Jinlan Village were not dead was the most unreasonable part.

Whether the King of Hungry Ghosts didn't care about them or deliberately wanted to kill them, they should have died. Only if the King of Hungry Ghosts deliberately bypassed them and deliberately protected them could they have survived.

With scarce resources and the pressure to interact with the outside world, Yu Ziqing had already discussed it with Old Yang and the Village Chief.

The narrative remained the same as what Old Yang had initially said. It could even be revealed as a last resort secret that Yu Ziqing was the one who awakened the slumbering King of Hungry Ghosts in the Jade Tomb.

Just as Old Yang said, it was clearly a secret, but if someone saw it or heard it, then it was no longer a secret.

Don't talk about everyone being on the same side, with everyone being tight-lipped. As long as you weren't strong enough, as long as the other party was willing to pay the price and could bear the subsequent consequences, there would be ways to leak the secret without you even knowing or reacting.

The purpose of such a secret existing was to be exposed at a crucial moment.

Or to be left for those who were interested to painstakingly excavate, to dig out the truth they believed was buried the deepest.

Interaction with the outside world was imperative.

Old Yang wasn't sure if he could replant the Jinlan Mushroom. If they lost this item, they would have to consider it even more.

The current Wasteland's northern region was comparable to the former extreme northern ice plains. Although the central and southern regions where Jinlan Village was located were much better, winter had lasted for nearly half a year without ending, and it was still snowing.

Old Yang also said that according to his estimation, it was possible that the area where Jinlan Village was located would still be difficult to warm up enough to grow crops even in summer in the future, or rather, the summer with rising temperatures would be so short that it wouldn't be enough for a single harvest.

Planning ahead and interacting with the outside world was inevitable. It was better to be proactive now than to rush things later.

They absolutely could not be like before, confined to one corner. Otherwise, they really didn't know if some disaster unrelated to them would befall them one day.

He heard that in those sects, disciples who reached a certain level of strength were sent down the mountain for training. Many of the strong cultivators within the sects also liked to travel around. Yu Ziqing always felt that they were somewhat trying to prevent the sect from being wiped out in one fell swoop.

They definitely had to learn from that.

Where to expand first, they had discussed it a lot.

To the west of Jinlan Mountain lay the Wasteland, stretching for over ten thousand miles. The further west and north they went, the colder it became, so that area was not considered for now.

What could be considered were Great Zhen to the northeast, Great Li to the east, and Da Gan to the southeast.

Of course, the three here referred only to geographical locations, not the imperial courts.

Da Gan was the first one Yu Ziqing ruled out.

Da Gan's geographical location was too good: warm climate, large population, vast territory, rich resources, bordering the sea with several major ports, and its overall strength was greater than the other two. The number of various sects within its borders was also the highest.

When Yu Ziqing first heard these descriptions, his first reaction was that if the three kingdoms went to war, he would definitely want to cling to Da Gan's coattails. The advantage was too obvious. If someone were to unify the world in the end, it would most likely be Da Gan.

Moreover, there had already been nearly a hundred years of small-scale conflicts. He didn't know if the principle of the world uniting after being divided applied to this world. If he joined at this time and caught the right momentum, he might even be able to be granted the title of Duke in the future.

Old Yang's first choice for Yu Ziqing was also Da Gan. The competition there was fierce, but there were also more resources and more opportunities.

But Yu Ziqing had ruled it out.

He hadn't forgotten why Old Yang had turned into a goat.

At least at the current stage, when he was too weak, he wouldn't go to Da Gan.

Cècè's return this time wasn't just about experiencing those events; he had also gathered a lot of information along the way.

For example, an Academy Head from Da Gan's Langya Academy had died in the Wasteland during the period when the Great Sun Descended.

However, there was no news about who it specifically was.

Yu Ziqing hadn't asked, but he knew that it must have been referring to Old Yang.

At that time, in the entire Wasteland, there couldn't have been a second person like Old Yang who met the following conditions.

A mortal, an elder, with broad and deep knowledge, covering astronomy, geography, cultivation, alchemy, cultivation methods, and secret techniques. Even if he wasn't proficient in some areas, he seemed to know a little about everything.

Why did he fake his death, being forced to completely change his life form, transform into a goat, and then undergo demon transformation?

Looking at the current Wasteland, with hungry ghosts like tides, covering the sky and earth, considering the Great Sun Descended in the Wasteland and the subsequent disasters.

Considering that starvation doesn't necessarily turn one into a starving ghost, and becoming a starving ghost doesn't necessarily allow one to last until the path of hungry ghosts opens, from the time the disaster struck until today, saying that millions died in the Wasteland would be conservative.

Given such a great catastrophe, if it were simply a natural disaster, why would Old Yang, a mere Academy Head, have to hide? Why would someone want to kill him?

And it was a covert pursuit, as if they were afraid of being discovered.

Also, where did Old Yang's protectors, his escorts, everyone, go?

They're most likely all dead.

But to this day, the disasters that occurred in the Wasteland have been concluded by various parties as natural calamities.

After the conclusion of natural disasters, those heretical cults of the White Sun heretic path eagerly jumped on the bandwagon, claiming these were heavenly omens, divine instructions from the heavens.

Because of this, Yu Ziqing naturally found these heretical paths extremely displeasing to his sight.

Heavenly omens, my ass.

In the first few months after landing, Yu Ziqing had watched, with his own eyes, as person after person collapsed within his line of sight. He had watched, with his own eyes, as people driven to madness madly devoured white meat. He never wanted to see that kind of hellish scene again in his life.

Therefore, those White Sun heretics who called these things heavenly omens, he would kill every single one he encountered from now on.

Looking back, it was said that a certain Academy Head from Da Gan personally went to the Wasteland to investigate, and people from the Imperial Guard also came to investigate. The results were still the same.

If Old Yang hadn't been lying beside him, Yu Ziqing would have truly believed this was purely a natural disaster, and that the fallen Academy Head had been purely unlucky, with no human factors involved at all.

All the various doubts and inconsistencies here, when added up and each suspicion ruled out, only one entity could have done all this without leaving a single trace.

Who could it be?

Only someone who was both the player and the referee, and also a third-party overseer.

Only the Da Gan imperial court.

Old Yang taught him many things, naturally making him understand to respect many things and not be too arrogant.

Therefore, in his current weak state, Yu Ziqing truly didn't dare to go to Da Gan.

He was afraid of encountering the people acting as referees and them detecting even the slightest flaw, which would only result in them killing him without question rather than letting him go.

He wouldn't resent the person who caused all this just because he closed his eyes and thought of the tragically deceased, then opened them to see hungry ghosts everywhere. Because he was weak, a weakling's resentment was worthless and would only harm himself.

Of course, in the future, when he had the ability and strength, he wouldn't mind investigating whether it was a natural disaster or a man-made one. If it was man-made, then he would smash the mastermind's head, scatter his divine soul, and ensure he never reincarnated for eternity.

All of the above, the options for contacting the outside world, left only Da Zhen and Great Li.

Either one would actually be fine. The overall ranking of Body Cultivators, Da Zhen was the highest, Great Li was second. In Da Gan, Body Cultivators were notoriously miserable.

With the entire village practicing body cultivation, Da Zhen was actually the best choice.

However, Great Li, for some unknown reason, had been cautiously probing.

Or rather, it was a grand yet cautious gesture of goodwill.

They spent resources, distributing large quantities of grain to the common people. Anyone who saw it received a share, regardless of who they were. As long as they were from western Great Li, they would be given a large amount of grain. It was fine if they couldn't finish it; they were told that this was not just food, but also seeds for them to plant in the spring.

And our Great Li citizens are hardworking people who endure hardship. To prevent your cultivated land from being too vast and insufficient for planting, we give you more.

This is the Eastern Palace overseeing the nation, practicing benevolent governance, which is very reasonable.

Yu Ziqing still couldn't understand why. If these were considered Great Li's goodwill, then no matter how you looked at it, they were lowering their status, which was too much.

But then, they had already had some "you pretend not to know you found me, and I'll pretend not to know I found you" interactions with Great Li.

Combined, these made Yu Ziqing certain that this might truly be an expression of goodwill.

Towards them, those who were still alive, from Jinlan Mountain, the mortals.