Beixuan Jizhou, south of Xishan, east of Minhai.
Mountains crisscrossed this land, and a hundred rivers flowed together. It had once been a desolate place rarely touched by human footsteps. Yet several years ago, the Frost Calamity suddenly rose in Xishan. Bitter cold descended from the heavens, the earth froze over, and countless living things perished from the cold upon the snowy plains.
To survive, great numbers of refugees dragged their families with them, abandoning their homes, until they finally fled here.
In name, the Da Chen Imperial Court designated this place the "West Min Coast" and declared that it would provide aid. But the documents requiring official approval circulated through bureaucratic hands for years, never once taking practical effect.
The officials of Xishan did not want to concern themselves with these refugees who had crossed an entire region, seeing them as burdens they could not shake off. The officials of Minhai did not want to concern themselves with them either, denouncing them as vagrants of unknown origin.
Since the legitimate authorities were unwilling to lend a hand, then naturally, someone else—some other force—would legitimately take hold of that authority.
The Tianyi Demonic Sect took hold of that authority.
A year ago, when Bai Qinghan, the Mysterious Yin Goddess of the Tianyi Divine Sect, first set foot in this place, the first thought that rose in her heart was disbelief.
What docile, law-abiding folk!
Such a vast group of docile, law-abiding folk—though their homes had been destroyed, though they had been displaced and scattered, though the authorities regarded them as dirt beneath their feet—they had not gathered in the mountains and forests to bring calamity upon the land.
They merely endured in silence, reclaiming wasteland and putting up shacks upon this earth. Whether in life or death, they intended to