The night is as dark as ink.
The three people and one beast followed the map's guidance, stepped on the undulating mountains, and shot at full speed in the direction of Upper Harmony Prefectural City.
At this time, we were already more than a hundred miles away from Glory City, and the plains below gradually turned into endless barren mountains.
Chen Xian suddenly made a move and brought Zhang Huai to the top of a mountain.
"Fellow Daoist Chen, why do you want to stop?"
Zhang Huai looked pale, and without Dao Power's protective body, he was a little uncomfortable with Chen Xian's flying speed.
"There is movement below, there are quite a few people."
Chen Xian held down Zhang Huai's shoulders and injected a dose of Dao Qi blood power into his body. Only then did Zhang Huai's complexion improve a little.
The three of them cast their sights into the depths of the canyon below.
I saw hundreds of torches lit up on the dark mountain paths, like a long snake made of flames, slowly squirming among the mountain paths.
The sound of heavy iron armor rubbing against each other, the sharp whipping of leather whips, and the suppressed sounds of mortals crying and wailing carried up the mountain wall in the icy night wind.
Walking at the front of this team was a group of soldiers riding six-legged black scale horses and holding fine iron spears.
The light armor on the soldiers was dark red, with a goshawk spreading its wings embroidered on the chest.
Chen Xian recognized at a glance that this was Great Abyss, the elite of Wangwangting, Eagle Hound Guard, and the one riding underneath was Six-Legged Wuzhui.
Behind these hundreds of Eagle Hound Guard are a large group of ragged mortals with disheveled faces.
Looking around, we saw that there were four to five thousand people there, including strong men, old people with white hair, and even many women holding babies in their arms.
The hands of these mortals were tied with thick hemp ropes, and they followed Eagle Hound Guard staggeringly.
"Go faster!"
"You grind and chirp, I'll beat you to death!"
Eagle Hound Guard, who was responsible for monitoring on both sides, had a cold face. As long as someone walked slowly, he would raise the long whip in his hand without mercy. The whip would hit the mortal's back with a harsh sound, leaving bloody wounds.
The person who was knocked down just wailed, then got up again and continued walking forward without saying a word.
This lifeless team is being led by this team of Eagle Hound Guard towards a Abyss Valley entrance where Abyss Mist is constantly spouting out.
Seeing this scene, Zhang Huai's face darkened. "Why are these Great Abyss Dynasty officers and soldiers not staying in various cities to recuperate, but taking advantage of the night to drive thousands of mortals without any cultivation into this Myriad Beast Abyss?"
Chen Xian was also confused and did not say anything. He turned his head and looked at Zhao Ke beside him.
Zhao Ke is half a local of the Great Abyss Dynasty, so he must know.
Zhao Ke put his hands in his sleeves and said with a complicated expression, "Don't worry, you two, this is Great Abyss Dynasty holding Abyss Sacrifice Day."
"Abyss Sacrifice Day?" Zhang Huai looked away, his brows furrowed tighter.
"Not bad."
Zhao Ke pointed to the Abyss Valley entrance below and said slowly, "Great Abyss Dynasty, this territory, has been close to Myriad Beast Abyss since ancient times. It can be said that we rely on the abyss to eat from the abyss."
"But the gray Abyss Mist inside the Myriad Beast Abyss is overbearing and weird. It can not only corrode the monk's Dao Consciousness, but also give birth to all kinds of Abyss Beasts. Ordinary people cannot go deep enough to pick medicinal materials or hunt exotic animals."
"In order to solve this Abyss Mist problem, Great Abyss Royal Court declared to the common people that there lives at the bottom of the abyss an ancient Abyssal Weird who controls the weather and dominates the lifeblood of Great Abyss."
"Every once in a while, the imperial court must select thousands of mortals as sacrifices to Abyssal Weird, in order to appease Abyssal Weird's anger."
Hearing this, Zhang Huai suddenly clenched his fists. "What nonsense! It's the human nation that is losing money. This Great Abyss Royal Court is simply looking down on human life! Don't the people condemn such despicable behavior?"
Zhao Ke suddenly sarcastically said, "The people Great Abyss Royal Court claims to be offering sacrifices to Yuan are the death row prisoners and felons of the imperial court."
Zhang Huai stared, pointing at the men, women, and children below, including even babies waiting to be fed. "Are children under one year old also felons on death row?"
Zhao Ke shook his head and continued, "If it is just an excuse, some people will naturally raise objections, but the most incredible thing is here.
"Every time Great Abyss Dynasty drives thousands of mortals into Myriad Beast Abyss, for as short as one day or as long as three to five days, the Abyss Mist that envelopes the entire Myriad Beast Abyss will take the initiative to retreat deep into the abyss without any warning, and the Abyss Mist on the periphery will become extremely thin."
"In the few days since Abyss Mist retreats, the entire Great Abyss, both monks and mortals, will mobilize in full force and pour into Myriad Beast Abyss."
"Collect medicinal materials, or hunt ordinary Abyss Beasts. The resources Abyss Sacrifice Day brought out from Myriad Beast Abyss this time are countless wealth."
"Yuan tax is also the core source of taxation for the Great Abyss Dynasty. It is purely based on Yuan to eat Yuan."
After Chen Xian listened to Zhao Ke's story, the corners of his eyes twitched slightly on his originally calm face.
Sure enough, most people have benefits, and no one cares about the lives and lives of just a few thousand people.
He suddenly remembered that he was rescued by Old Qi and Shengsheng.
Then Zhao San of Martial Gang led a group of bullies and thugs to violently collect taxes from Qi family.
The tax is Great Abyss Tax, which is Abyss Sacrifice Tax.
Old Qi was almost beaten to death by Zhao San because of this tax, and Shengsheng was almost forcibly taken away to pay the tax.
Chen Xian exhaled a breath of thick air and his eyes turned cold.
Therefore, these mortals below are not serious death row criminals at all, but Great Abyss common people who cannot hand over to Abyss Sacrifice Tax.
Zhang Huai As a deacon of the Saint Hall, he is devoted to the human race.
After learning about this, he even clapped his thighs excitedly. "Absurd! Absolutely ridiculous! Sacrificing humans to animals is extremely ridiculous!"
Chen Xian stretched out two fingers and lifted the Blackie cat lying on his shoulder in front of him.
Blackie The cat was grabbed by the back of the neck, its four legs moved nervously in the air a few times, and it stared at Chen Xian with some confusion.
"Blackie."
Chen Xian asked, "Is there really any so-called Abyssal Weird in this Myriad Beast Abyss?"
Unexpectedly, the Blackie cat rolled its eyes at him. "What are you thinking about? I have stayed in that Myriad Beast Abyss for two thousand years. In that miserable place, except for the black fog, there are only those brainless people.
His stone puppet."
"If there really was something that could control Myriad Beast Abyss's Abyssal Weird, I would have torn it into pieces with my claws and stuffed it into my stomach for food."
"What Abyssal Weird, it's just a lie made up by your human race's court to fool those idiots. However, Great Abyss Dynasty, I know about the sacrifice of mortals to the abyss."
Hearing the Blackie cat's denial, Chen Xian's brows furrowed deeper.
He looked at the team of mortals below the canyon who were slowly disappearing into the gray Abyss Mist under the force of Eagle Hound Guard's icy spears, and continued to ask in the sea of consciousness, "Since there is nothing in Myriad Beast Abyss There is no Abyssal Weird, so why every time Great Abyss Dynasty drives thousands of mortals in, the Abyss Mist in Myriad Beast Abyss will retreat on its own for a few days?"
"Also, those mortals who were driven into Myriad Beast Abyss didn't have any cultivation. Where did they go in the end? It's impossible for them to disappear into thin air, right?"
The Blackie cat scratched its face with its paws, as if remembering something. It spread its two furry front paws in mid-air and added, "If I remember correctly, those people seemed to be driven into the Party B Beast Realm and then swallowed by those monsters?"
Hearing the words Party B Beast Realm, Chen Xian's eyelids jumped hard.
He suddenly said, "Is this the other world you hid in before?"
Blackie Cat nodded his head slightly and narrowed his eyes slightly. "Yes, it is the world I stayed in before."
"I have seen a few times by chance. A mortal passed through Abyssal Rift and entered Beast Realm. Then he was shrouded in black mist and disappeared completely. He should have been eaten by monsters in the black mist."
Chen Xian recalled the scene where he stepped into the broken Beast Realm in order to hunt down Blackie.
"At that time, I entered the Beast Realm and found that the orcs inside seemed to have lost their minds and were going crazy. There was also a strange black mist driving behind them."
Chen Xian looked solemn and asked in the sea of consciousness, "What exactly happened in that place?"
Hearing what Chen Xian said, the originally unfocused cat Blackie's expression suddenly became a little gloomy, and even its whiskers drooped feebly.
It was silent for a moment, and there was a hint of sadness in its voice. "Party B Beast Realm----It wasn't originally like this."
"A long time ago, it was a world of lush vegetation and extremely prosperous. Countless orcs thrived and even gave birth to top orcs."
"Until one day, the sky opened, and a group of monsters covered in black mist, whose true appearance could not be seen, forced their way into the Beast Realm."
"Not only did they massacre high-level orcs, but they also brought the strange black mist that could erode the souls of the beasts. Since then, the order of the Beast Realm has completely collapsed, gradually degenerating into the ghostly appearance it is now."
"That's why I had to escape from the Beast Realm and come to this world."
The sound transmission in the sea of consciousness slowly fell silent.
Chen Xian stood silently, his spotless white robe making a sound in the night wind.
He put the Blackie cat back on his right shoulder and turned to look at Zhang Huai on one side.
Chen Xian concisely repeated to the two of them what Blackie just described.
When he heard the words "Wrapped in black mist and unknown about his true appearance," Zhang Huai's expression suddenly changed.
The eyes of Chen Xian and Zhang Huai collided in mid-air.
Their breathing stagnated at the same moment, and they almost said in unison, "Void Demon!!"
Zhang Huai clenched his fists and his voice trembled. "That's right - it must be them! It was Void Demon who intercepted and killed us in the void. It turns out that they had already begun to invade our human territory two thousand years ago!"
Zhao Ke on the side frowned. Although he didn't know what Void Demon was, he couldn't understand what the two were discussing.
Yes, but I also felt an unusual meaning from the tone.
Zhang Huai looked at the long dragon of torches submerging into the abyss below the canyon, with an uncertain expression.
This so-called Abyss Sacrifice Day is basically Great Abyss Dynasty sending mortals into the Beast Realm to feed Void Demon.
Regardless of knowing it or not, what he did is not tolerated by the Saint Hall rules.
"To save or not to save?"
Chen Xian followed Zhang Huai's gaze as he looked at the panicked crowd below and asked.
He knows what Zhang Huai is thinking.
"No."
Zhang Huai closed his eyes for a long time, suddenly exhaled a long breath, and withdrew his gaze, "Fellow Daoist Chen, let's go. Don't try to scare the snake. At this time, we need to leave it to the elder Saint Hall to make the decision."
"Okay." Chen Xian glanced at Zhang Huai in surprise and nodded.
Dao Power surged from Chen Xian's body, firmly holding the two people beside him, and continued to fly in the direction of Upper Harmony Prefectural City.
About the time of one stick of incense has passed.
At the end of the horizon ahead, the outline of a majestic city dozens of times larger than Glory City broke through the billowing night fog and suddenly appeared in the sight of the three people.
The hundred-foot-high dark iron city wall reflects an icy luster under the moonlight, with dense defensive formations carved on it. Groups of monks in official uniforms can still be vaguely seen patrolling the gaps in the city wall.
This is Upper Harmony Prefectural City.
"This city should have been a fortress built by the ancestors of the human race, and was taken in and used by Great Abyss Royal Court." Zhang Huai looked at the mysterious formations on the city wall and thought.
Chen Xian After hearing what he said, he looked at the city a few more times and found that there were many traces of attacks on it, including knife marks and palm prints. It seemed that a long time had passed.
Chen Xian made a mental calculation and estimated that even with all his strength, he wouldn't be able to break through the city wall at all.
The one who can leave traces on it is probably at least Truth-Breaking Realm.
Chen Xian landed slowly on an official road three miles away from the city gate of Fucheng.
Although he could easily reveal his identity as Dao Venerable and enter the city, no one would dare to stop him.
But Chen Xian still chooses to keep a low profile, especially when Zhang Huai is still a useless person.
Zhang Huai said, "When we enter the city later, we will ask the Lord of Shanhe Palace to activate Array Platform. Then we should be able to reach Great Abyss Capital directly."
Chen Xian stood where he was, not moving.
"Why don't Fellow Daoist Chen leave?" Zhang Huai looked at Chen Xian in confusion.
Chen Xian turned his head and pursed his lips.
Within a few breaths, Blackie ran up from the darkness behind him, then jumped onto Chen Xian's shoulder and licked his paws.
Zhang Huai Upon closer inspection, he found that the white hair on the Blackie cat's paws seemed to be stained with blood.
Zhang Huai suddenly understood, shook his head and said with a smile, "Chen Daoyou is still kind-hearted, I am no better than you."
"Chen Xian, if you want me to help you run errands and kill people, you need to add Beast Crystal!" Blackie said fiercely.
Chen Xian ignored Blackie's message and smiled, "If you see it, you can't ignore it. Let's go into the city."
The three of them walked for a while and arrived at the city gate.
Even though the night was completely dark, people entering the city were still lined up in three long queues outside the city gate. On both sides of the towering black iron city gate, in addition to the government sergeants stationed there, there were dozens of monks wearing dark gold robes with huge money patterns embroidered on their chests.
Those dark gold-robed monks all made no secret of the Dao Power flow around them. They were all monks of the Dao Master Realm or above. The two old men in the lead exuded the aura of the Dao Sect Realm.
"They are the people from the Myriad Treasures Pavilion, how can they move so fast?" Chen Xian said in surprise. He recognized that the clothes of these people were similar to those of Xie Xuan.
At this time, every monk who enters the city not only has to undergo interrogation by the government, but also has to hand over his or her belongings Dao Artifact to those Myriad Treasures Pavilion monks in dark gold robes to scan them back and forth with a strange compass.
"It should be Myriad Treasures Pavilion's inspection."
Zhao Ke's eyes fell on the compasses and his voice was very low. "It seems that the news that Myriad Treasures Pavilion and Venerable were enshrined in death has completely alarmed the higher-ups."
"The compass should be Soul Artifact. It can detect who killed the person."
"Those two people were actually killed by Blackie, I just destroyed their bodies." Chen Xian grinned and reached out to pat Blackie on the shoulder.
"Let's go! Are you afraid of him Myriad Treasures Pavilion?"
Chen Xian took long strides, leading the two people behind him, and walked straight towards the gate of Hefu City.