The mountain forest was dense, and fallen leaves had accumulated over countless years, piling up in a thick layer. They felt soft underfoot, as though he were walking on a carpet of lichen.
Compared with the primeval mountain forests of the Western Frontier, the forests beyond the Great Wilderness felt more alive. Perhaps the people who often walked through them had added a different rhythm.
Di Yi did not travel very quickly. He was in no hurry to press onward; after all, the world beyond the Great Wilderness was unfamiliar to him.
Although he roughly knew the directions and locations of the Heaven Mending Pavilion, the Deer-Chasing Academy, and the others, he had yet to decide which one to choose.
Moreover, according to the waiter, the Heaven Mending Pavilion, the Deer-Chasing Academy, and the others were at least several hundred thousand li from Cloud-Rushing Town. As for the more distant ones, there was no need to even mention them-a journey could easily run over a million li.
This was undoubtedly a long journey, with endless mountain ranges in between. Even a slight deviation in direction along the way could leave him a considerable distance off course.
He felt he could first visit the Central Giant City. It was a major city on the frontier, with routes extending in every direction, and there would surely be people traveling to and from all parts of the Stone Kingdom.
If he was lucky enough to meet someone heading to the Heaven Mending Pavilion, the Deer-Chasing Academy, or somewhere similar, he could even hitch a ride rather than cross wild mountains and forests.
He had once heard the old clan chief say that beyond the Great Wilderness, within the vast territory of the Stone Kingdom, even the two closest cities were tens of thousands of li apart, let alone the frontier and the heartland.
On such an immense scale, if anything happened-a revolt, for instance-it would likely be over long before anyone arrived, and the best opportunity to suppress it would have been lost.
For that reason, some giant cities had teleportation arrays installed to allow a swift response.
Of course, in ordinary times, they also served as trade and transit routes, connecting two places and establishing regular exchanges of information.
"Is that the man?"
Far away, some three or four li from Di Yi, a group of riders had stopped. Concealed among the trees, they stood on sufficiently high ground to watch the man and the strange dog proceeding unhurriedly ahead.
"Yes, that's him," Yu Qing told a middle-aged man beside him.
"What towering audacity! After what happened, he's still so leisurely. Is he treating our kingdom's laws with contempt?!" The middle-aged man's pupils were pale gold, and a suffocating aura radiated from him, like a powerful source of light lying dormant.
"City Lord, why not let this matter pass? After all, it was only a business dispute. Perhaps our man was at fault first. There's no need to damage relations." Yu Qing presented himself as magnanimous and mindful of the bigger picture, his words half sincere and half false.
"Are you worried that arresting him will offend someone in the kingdom's heartland? Indeed, judging by how leisurely he is, his background is probably no small matter. He doesn't care at all about the consequences of killing someone. Perhaps he's a descendant of some powerful marquis's household." The middle-aged man gestured for Yu Qing not to waver in indecision. "But a kingdom has its laws, just as a family has its rules. As the saying goes, even when a deal falls through, goodwill should remain. Killing someone was his fault, and the evidence of his crime is clear."
"Thank you, City Lord. Then, on behalf of the Rain Clan, I dare ask you to secure justice for us!" Yu Qing did not know whether the middle-aged man had truly taken the bait or had some other reason, but his objective had been achieved either way.
"Go seize him. There's no need to waste words on him." The City Lord nodded, accepting the request, then signaled the soldiers he had brought to make the arrest.
These were elite troops. Those dispatched to a strategic frontier location of the Stone Kingdom to resist other races could hardly be weak. Every one had been selected and trained in the military camps of the kingdom's heartland.
Their commander, for example, was a cultivator in the spirit transformation realm. Although he was still in its first stage, he was already a formidable expert in his own right. Whenever a small beast tide appeared, he was the one who led the troops to suppress it.
"Flap, flap..."
The sound of birds beating their wings came from above Di Yi. At the same moment, he sensed something amiss and turned to look behind him, toward the place where the birds had been startled into flight.
A troop of armored cavalry was charging toward him.
There were more than a dozen riders, their armor gleaming coldly as they exuded a murderous air. They had originally been three or four li away, but with the speed of the exotic mounts beneath them, they soon reached a spot only a few steps from Di Yi.
"Criminal Di Yi! You killed a man and fled, and the evidence is clear. Surrender and you may still have a chance to live. Otherwise-execution on the spot!" The commander, who had spent years in the army, brimmed with killing intent as he stared at Di Yi and shouted.
"Killed a man and fled?" Di Yi looked at the soldiers and asked, "What do you mean, killed a man and fled?"
"Impudent! The evidence is clear, yet you still dare try to argue your way out?!" the commander barked. "Someone approached you earlier to discuss buying that strange dog, and you killed him. Is that correct?"
"That did happen." Di Yi nodded. "But he brought it on himself. He attacked me with the intent to kill."
"Nothing but your side of the story. Since you refuse to confess, you'll be executed here and now!" The commander ignored Di Yi's explanation. With a sweep of his hand, he led his men in an attack.
As far as he was concerned, this was merely a minor incident that had been blown out of proportion. After all, the dead man had been a cultivator, and cultivators killing one another was commonplace, nothing worth making a fuss over.
The crucial issue was that the dead man's identity was sensitive: he belonged to the Rain Clan. That demanded careful handling.
The Rain Clan's ancestral seat was the Rain King Mansion, and it also maintained close ties with the Martial King Manor. Its influence was immense, with two supreme kings and marquises backing it.
If this matter was mishandled, not only the Cloud-Rushing Town City Lord, but even they themselves would be implicated.
Faced with the prospect of offending two supreme royal and noble powers, they could only choose the weaker party to squeeze. In his view, no royal or noble household in the entire Stone Kingdom could rival the Martial King Manor and the Stone Manor in strength.
After all, the Martial King had once competed with the current Stone Emperor for the throne.
"So you intend to stand up for someone from a royal or noble household, regardless of right and wrong?" Di Yi looked at the soldiers and sighed softly. He finally understood why the old clan chief had said that people beyond the Great Wilderness were not so simple.
"Roar!"
The Golden Hou felt that it was time to show what he could do again. Radiant light gushed forth, and runes rumbled like thunder.
"Form up!" Holding his weapon, the commander manifested rune after rune around himself. They had a cold, hard quality, as though he were a heavy mountain of metal, exerting tremendous pressure.
The next instant, he leveled his war spear and charged at Di Yi ahead of his men, his astonishing might surging like rivers and seas.
This was the manifestation of the spirit transformation realm. Unlike previous transformations, it was a sublimation from the flesh to the spirit, and then to communion with the external grotto-heavens. Every inch of flesh and blood would develop spirituality, possessing strength far beyond the limits of the physical body alone.
He was indeed a formidable expert worthy of the name, several levels stronger than even the chiefs of powerful clans in the Great Wilderness.
Unfortunately, he was nowhere near enough to contend with either Di Yi or the Golden Hou.
When the Golden Hou moved his foot, the entire sky shuddered. The gushing radiance and thunderous runes pierced forward with unstoppable force, carrying a sky full of golden light.
Heaven and earth trembled.
Boom!
Nothing could be seen anymore. Mountains crumbled and the earth split here, an unimaginable aura spreading outward. Terrifying energy surged toward the eight reaches of the world, and divine light billowed like great waves pounding the sand.
Instant annihilation!
In truth, the Golden Hou had already held back. He had not even used a Precious Technique; in his eyes, those petty men were not worth a serious attack.
Otherwise, if he truly unleashed a Precious Technique, even the slightest use would have been terrifying in the extreme. Not just this spot, but everything within several li would have been blasted into a sunken wasteland of scorched earth.
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