Herders, Mountain God

"Holy shit! Who is this badass? How come we've never heard of him before? Does anyone know where he came from?"

"Unfamiliar face. Never seen him."

"That makes no sense. He's so strong and so young—he shouldn't be some unknown nobody!"

Reality was not like novels or television dramas. How could there be so many people who suddenly appeared out of nowhere and became famous overnight?

Among the impoverished masses at the bottom, how many could fight their way into Chang'an and make all the flowers wither?

Looking throughout history, among billions upon billions of people over nearly a thousand years, only one or two had appeared. It was an absolute low-probability event.

Family background. Connections.

Any prodigy possessed at least one of those two things, and they became famous in their youth, entering the public eye long ago.

Moreover, prodigies like that were only on Liu Mei's level.

For a young man like Yuan Tianzong, who could casually kill prodigies and elders... his name should have long resounded in every direction like thunder rolling across the heavens!

Yet the truth was that everyone present searched through their memories and scoured information on prodigies from every faction online, but none could find anyone from the younger generation who matched him.

"Yin Xu Mountain's Elder Xia Zhong of the Four Symbols Realm and Liu Mei, a Meridian Channeling Realm prodigy, were killed in the blink of an eye! How terrifying!"

"How did he do it? He controlled a sword from afar to kill people—such a method is unheard of!"

Someone was utterly astonished. "My god, there really isn't any information about him at all. He's truly a powerful dragon that appeared out of nowhere!"

"Stop standing around! Hurry and report this to the sect master!" The people of Yin Xu Mountain finally came to their senses, and someone immediately stepped forward to take charge.

Quite a few quick-witted martial artists suddenly made their move. Taking advantage of Yin Xu Mountain's chaos following Liu Mei and Elder Xia's deaths, they darted forward toward the boundless snowy mountains.

With Liu Mei and Elder Xia gone, the person who took over leadership of Yin Xu Mountain lacked the ability to back it up. He simply could not stop the surging crowd as one person after another passed through the checkpoint and swiftly disappeared into the distance.

"Let's go. I'll personally report what happened here to the sect master!"

"Everyone, come with me. We're not guarding this place anymore!"

So many people had already broken through that there was no point in remaining here. The person in charge made a swift decision, ordering all Yin Xu Mountain disciples to leave with him and join the main force deeper inside.

"The world seemed to have grown larger."

As someone from the Dharma-ending era who had once traveled through many places, Yuan Tianzong clearly realized that the sky and earth had expanded during the Years he had spent asleep.

Kunlun was the same, vast beyond compare.

The phantom of the South Heaven Gate was incomparably immense, nearly spanning the sky above all of Kunlun. No one knew where the opportunity it represented would actually appear.

Thus, Yuan Tianzong wandered onward without any particular destination.

After an unknown amount of time, he walked out of the area ravaged by wind and snow.

Without the blizzard, his vision extended much farther.

Looking toward the magnificent peaks that soared into the clouds in the distance, Yuan Tianzong felt a slight headache. He did not know where exactly he should go.

He was very clear about what he needed.

Without the Shackles, all he needed was a higher-tiered mystical art to soar to new heights and let his life evolve once more.

Techniques above the Grandmaster level did not exist in the Dharma-ending era.

Even his Extreme Yang Genesis Technique lacked the driving force to support cultivation beyond the Grandmaster realm.

Focusing his gaze, he saw two Tibetans, one tall and one short, driving yaks through a grassy ravine at the edge of his vision.

After thinking it over, Yuan Tianzong headed toward them.

"Woof! Woof!"

Several majestic Tibetan mastiffs with sleek fur spotted Yuan Tianzong and swiftly charged over. From more than ten meters away, they barked warnings at him.

Yuan Tianzong could tell at a glance that these Tibetan mastiffs were already showing signs of transformation. They belonged among the Molting Beasts.

They had grown stronger, yet they remained loyal companions to the Tibetan people.

The tall and short pair naturally noticed Yuan Tianzong as well. They rode over on horseback, while the older young man shouted at the Tibetan mastiffs, telling them to quiet down.

"A cultivator from inland?" the young man asked in heavily accented Mandarin.

Nowadays, with Molting Beasts running rampant, tourists had practically vanished.

Anyone who still dared to travel alone through such sparsely populated regions was most likely a Martial Dao cultivator.

"Yes." Yuan Tianzong nodded, displaying a brilliant smile to show that he meant no harm and was certainly not a bad person.

"Are you lost?" the young man asked in his heavily accented Mandarin.

"A little."

In the end, the kindhearted young man rode forward and gestured to Yuan Tianzong. "Cha, cha, go?"

"What?" Yuan Tianzong did not understand.

The young man spoke again, miming the act of tilting his head back to drink. "Cha, cha, hot cha. Go? Drink?"

"Tea? Sure."

The young man grinned, revealing very white teeth.

The Tibetan mastiffs, which had undergone a shallow evolution, were extremely intelligent. Realizing that this outsider had been invited by their master, they stopped barking.

Through their conversation, Yuan Tianzong learned that the young man before him was named Dorje.

Generally speaking, names among the people of the Tibetan area carried different meanings, so Yuan Tianzong casually asked about it.

Dorje answered with a faint smile, "My father hoped I would be indestructible and protect my family like Vajra."

A man like Vajra.

Yuan Tianzong nodded in praise. "A good name. What about her?"

"She is my younger sister, Dawa—the bright moon on a clear day."

"Hello, Dawa." Yuan Tianzong waved at her.

The little girl was even shyer than Dorje. Her already rosy cheeks became redder when Yuan Tianzong greeted her. Finally, encouraged by her brother, she raised her little hand and waved. "Hewwo~"

After following Dorje for about half an hour, Yuan Tianzong spotted several black tents from afar.

A middle-aged man dressed in Tibetan clothing and wearing beads quickly came forward. He was Dorje's father.

The middle-aged man was not particularly surprised by the arrival of an outsider like Yuan Tianzong.

Although this place was remote, cultivators from inland occasionally passed through. He had even seen foreign cultivators before.

Yuan Tianzong could tell that this man possessed some cultivation as well, though it was quite ordinary—only around the Blood Transfusion Realm. His blood and vitality were vigorous enough to resist the cold, and he wore much less than Dorje and Dawa.

After exchanging a few simple words with Dorje, the man stepped forward and greeted Yuan Tianzong. "Hello. My name is Gyej. Come in and have a cup of butter tea, friend."

"Thank you."

Inside the tent, Dorje immediately brought out a great deal of food.

Butter tea, air-dried beef, mutton, and some dried fruit pastries.

After they had eaten a little, Gyej changed the subject and asked, "Mr. Yuan, you came for the South Heaven Gate phenomenon that appeared not long ago too, didn't you?"

Yuan Tianzong did not deny it. "Yes."

"I advise you to go back. It's too dangerous. That isn't something mortals can touch. If you insist on going, the Mountain Gods in the sacred mountains will become enraged!"

Mountain Gods of the sacred mountains?

Yuan Tianzong gnawed on some dried beef and continued asking, "Gyej, you mentioned Mountain Gods. Have you seen them?"

"Of course. They come with the Golden Mist. Wherever they pass, the Mountain Gods' wrath is like a sickle, reaping the lives of mortal creatures. Don't think I'm lying—I saw it with my own eyes!"

Yuan Tianzong raised an eyebrow.

If mythical colossi like the South Heaven Gate had appeared, then the existence of Mountain Gods, river gods, and the like was not impossible to accept.