In Eastern Secret, beyond the Far Spirit Wilds, the Start of Spring had arrived.
At the foot of the mountain, over a thousand Barbarians advanced in orderly ranks, with cultivators maintaining order on either side. There were no clashes. A mere thousand or so Barbarians were not many to Great Scarlet now, but differences in customs and language meant that the people of these three tribes could only be settled temporarily in the Fish River Wilds on the Eastern Secret side.
On Eastern Secret's highest peak, a man in a jet-black robe looked down, his yellow eyes bright. The corpses once heaped outside the mountain had been gnawed apart by all manner of poisonous insects, and he had used spells to turn everything that remained into nourishment for the soil.
Far to the east, a silver-white Tribulation Pool hung high overhead. Intricate script of laws manifested above it, branches of thunder and serpents of lightning racing through an interwoven mass of purple and white that obscured the daylight.
Xu Fayan withdrew his gaze and turned south, toward the Plainlands. His master and Qiong He had already headed to the border of the Wilderness of Witches, leaving him to guard against unexpected developments elsewhere.
His aura was steady. Since taking the azure precious pill his master had given him and entering seclusion, he had reached the seventh level of Qi Refining. Such progress far surpassed that of every previous generation in the sect, owing not only to his Spirit Root, but also to the support of the Spirit Land, cultivation methods, and pills.
By his reckoning, once he reached the Eighth Layer, he could take another Dan to break through. According to his master, condensing his Nature Root should be exceedingly simple for him. In another ten years or so, he