Seeing that Leng Qianshuang seemed moved and was still pondering something.
Han Xuanji frankly stated:
" Thousand Souls City is still there, and I still have some old friends there. If the Desolate Domain riots again, Thousand Souls City will most likely be affected."
I want to know more, at least to have a better understanding.
Leng Qianshuang listened and nodded slightly, without questioning the truthfulness of his words.
She was silent for a moment, and when she spoke again, her tone was more serious than before:
"Since you asked, I'll tell you about it."
These are things you shouldn't be involved in so early, but what you said makes sense; knowing is better than not knowing.
Han Xuanji did not interrupt, but listened quietly.
"The An is a Holy Lord- level being in the Desolate Domain, and it controls most of the ferocious beasts in the Desolate Domain."
It is not aggressive, nor does it have any ambition; one could even say it harbors no hostility towards cultivators.
But it has an older brother named Zi.
When Leng Qianshuang mentioned this name, her tone became noticeably heavier. "Zi is inherently cruel and has always believed that hiding in the Heavenly South Desolate Domain will eventually lead to our annihilation by cultivators, so he has been trying to find ways to deplete our strength."
It is it that drives each beast tide from behind.
It can also strengthen itself by devouring the flesh, blood, and soul of cultivators, and at the same time, it will select powerful and brutal beasts from the beast tide to cultivate.
"What about the elk? Doesn't it care?"
Han Xuanji asked.
"The 'Han' truly doesn't care, or rather, it tacitly approves of the 'Zi's' behavior."
Leng Qianshuang said calmly, "They are brothers after all. As long as Zi doesn't cross the real bottom line, An won't interfere."
Zi was also well aware of this balance—each beast tide was kept within the borders, posing no real threat to Nine Mysteries City. The frequency of these tides was also infrequent, preventing the Sacred Court from perceiving them as a significant threat. Furthermore, the beast tides rarely featured powerful ferocious beasts; at most, they would only include a few Sage- level beasts.
" Nine Mysteries City and the Sacred Court... Have they really never thought of dealing with it?"
Han Xuanji was somewhat curious.
He didn't believe that a powerful and influential force would be helpless.
"Of course I've thought about it."
Leng Qianshuang's tone carried a complex meaning:
"In fact, Nine Mysteries City once organized a campaign specifically targeting Zi, but Zi is extremely cunning. Although it is only at the Sage level, it never personally appears on the front line of the beast tide. Most of the time, it hides within the territory of An and is protected by An."
Once the Holy Lord of the Sacred Court gets close, Han and other powerful beings will notice.
That campaign was launched after learning top-secret information that Zi would break through in a secret realm in the Desolate Domain. Nine Mysteries City dispatched many Sage experts to attack him, but they suffered heavy losses and didn't even manage to catch Zi's tail.
Since then, there has been no intention to launch another major attack.
"Among the people sent out..."
Han Xuanji remained silent for a moment, then suddenly thought of something.
He had overheard Hun Qianxue mentioning the fall of the previous head of the Soul Household, Hun Wanli, during a casual conversation.
It is said that he participated in a secret operation. At that time, Hun Wanli was already Eternal Sage. As the strongest cultivator in the Soul Household, he participated in that operation and has been out of contact ever since.
It seems this is most likely the operation in question.
After all, resolving the Zi issue would be Wuliang service to Thousand Souls City.
Seeing Han Xuanji's moved expression, Leng Qianshuang seemed to sense that he was thinking of something, and instead of continuing the topic, she said calmly:
"Furthermore, in the eyes of some in power, border areas are not a bottom line that must be defended."
She paused, speaking in a flat tone, as if simply stating a fact.
"If we can hold on, that's good; if we can't, it's not a huge loss."
"There's not even a need to invest too much in defense."
The Nine Mysteries City had also conducted internal simulations, and it was found that if a large-scale defense were to be carried out every time, it would not only consume a lot of manpower and resources, but also pose a great risk.
A surprise attack could easily wipe out most of the elite troops of Nine Mysteries City.
There is also a very high possibility that this will lead to the downfall of Sage.
Given the danger involved, no one dared to go and guard the border.
The risks are too high; it's too much work for no reward.
But if there were no cities like Thousand Souls City, wouldn't that threaten cities like Nine Mysteries City?
Furthermore, there are some resources in the peripheral areas that need to be accessed.
Therefore, Thousand Souls City has its necessity.
"That's a kind of tacit understanding."
Han Xuanji knew in his heart that although this sounded somewhat cold, it was indeed the rule in the cultivation world.
Survival of the fittest and the allocation of resources to more core and important people and places is not a choice made by any one person or force, but rather the way the entire system operates.
"However, Nine Mysteries City has actually been sending people to monitor the movements in the Desolate Domain."
Leng Qianshuang added, "Before each beast tide, scouts will detect signs of the beasts gathering in advance, and then promptly notify the border cities so that they can evacuate in time, thus minimizing losses."
"Um."
Han Xuanji nodded, saying nothing more, but a chill ran through him.
According to the simulated future, the scouts detected no movement at all, or perhaps something unexpected had happened and they didn't have time to notify anyone.
Furthermore, with the Sage who was originally stationed in Thousand Souls City gone, the Eternal True God was almost powerless against this beast tide, and the entire Thousand Souls City was destroyed before any rescue could be carried out.
Moreover, they may never receive any rescue.
Leng Qianshuang stopped there and didn't continue.
She is merely an Eternal Sage, unable to control this situation.
Even their master, the powerful Eternal Holy Lord, still had no good solution.
What could Han Xuanji do even if she found out?
If possible, Leng Qianshuang felt that Han Xuanji would be better off having his closer relatives move to Nine Mysteries City to find other opportunities.
This isn't exactly a stupid method.
Despite the numerous powerful factions in Nine Mysteries City, Han Xuanji, a disciple of the Holy Lord, still managed to secure many good positions.
It all depends on whether Han Xuanji is willing or not.
After discussing this rather heavy topic, the two stopped talking and waited silently.
The airship continued its journey forward across the hazy, Primordial Sea.
The speed is much, much faster than it was on True God Black Rock's warship back then.
After all, this is a Saint-level flying boat, and it is being propelled by Leng Qianshuang's Saintly power for high-altitude flight.
The Chaos aura ahead was becoming clearer, and he could feel that faint connection gradually strengthening.
Han Xuanji estimated that, at this rate, barring any unforeseen circumstances, it would only take a few months to arrive.
During this time, Han Xuanji naturally didn't intend to be idle. Instead, he received a sign-in reward—insights into the Nine Heavens Heavenly Mandate Instruction.
In an instant, a flood of insights into cultivation welled up in my mind.
Han Xuanji didn't have the energy to think too much about the beast tide, and immediately went into the Seclusion Chamber inside the flying ship without even saying hello.
Seeing that Han Xuanji needed to cultivate even in such a short time, Leng Qianshuang nodded slightly and didn't mind.
Perhaps Master valued Junior Brother's diligence?
As expected of those Transcendent, they are all said to be ascetics with an almost pathological desire to become stronger.
This is actually something that the descendants of powerful figures on the Eternal Continent often lack.