Vast Divine Land stretched far and wide. Beyond the wealthiest region, the Central Plains, lay the bitterly cold ice fields to the north, where few people ever ventured. To the east was an endless sea. In the south, beyond the Central Plains, stood the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, rising along the frontier and stretching as far as the eye could see. The land there was wild and inhospitable, teeming with miasma and poisonous creatures. Legends also spoke of strange, savage tribes dwelling in the wilderness, who ate raw flesh and drank blood and were vicious beyond compare.
To the southwest lay the vast Death Swamp, a place whose very mention made people turn pale. It stretched for nearly eight thousand li in every direction, an unbroken expanse where people had rarely set foot since ancient times.
The swamp was divided into two regions. The first was the outer marsh, which made up seven or eight tenths of the Death Swamp. Towering trees filled it, bottomless mud pits lay everywhere, and poisonous insects abounded.
The second was the inner marsh, perpetually shrouded in highly toxic miasma. Yin spirits and vengeful ghosts were beyond counting, and bitter winds and rain never ceased. Of those who strayed inside, nine out of ten vanished without a trace, their fate unknown.
The name Death Swamp alone was enough to make people blanch.
Naturally, few people were ever seen in such a dangerous place.
Half a day's journey east of the Death Swamp stood a desolate little village called Great King Village. It had gotten its name because the villagers worshiped a mysterious deity known as the "Great King." The deity, however, had never been much good at answering prayers. He neither blessed the villagers with promotions and wealth nor ensured bountiful harvests and a life