Purgatory

Heading north from Mount Tai, once you cross the Northern Border, you enter the vast Hundred Thousand Great Mountains range of the Shiwan Mountains.

The mountains here are chaotic and endless, with countless impoverished and rugged peaks blocking the way, and snow-capped mountain peaks constantly appearing.

This is a natural barrier zone, which has led many powerful dynasties to build cities and garrison here, as well as construct city walls that stretch for thousands of miles along the mountains to block the way.

Only from high above can one overlook that city wall that stretches like a giant dragon.

"These city walls protected our Great Han for a century!"

Standing on the Imperial Shuttle, the new emperor let out a long sigh.

"They kept out packs of roaming wolves, but they also turned the people inside the walls into a docile flock of sheep who only knew how to defend!"

"It seems the fall of Shanggu County wasn't such a bad thing after all!"

"That's certainly a bad thing. We, the Great Han, don't need the massacre of the Hexi Prefectural Governor's Office to ignite our anger. We shouldn't do that!"

"That really shouldn't have happened!"

"Once upon a time, they were just a group of barbarians who submitted to China, backward and ignorant. How could they have ever dared to bully us like this!"

"Yes!"

"We must not only cut off these barbarians, but also the people behind them!"

Zhang Xuezhou cooperated well with the new emperor, only making slight probing remarks before quickly changing his tune.

The new emperor, caught up in a war mentality, was arrogant and aggressive, like a gambler who had placed his bet and had no way to back down.

The new emperor had almost no other choice but to either reclaim his chips and earn more, or to utterly lose everything until he was penniless.

Zhang Xuezhou traveled back and forth between worlds, and his understanding of the operation of the Great Han Dynasty was only superficial. He had difficulty fully comprehending the experiences of the helmsman, but he was well aware that the new emperor was trying to make changes.

Just as they were trying to change the Scarlet Alliance State, the Great Han Dynasty was also changing little by little.

From changing the bureaucratic class to ordinary people, from internal stability to external confrontation, these changes are exactly the same as the core changes of the Scarlet Alliance State.

Zhang Xuezhou was happy to see this change, but the new emperor had too few companions. It was inevitable for an emperor to have few companions, even though Zhang Xuezhou was only a subject and not a companion or friend of the new emperor.

To be honest, Zhang Xuezhou was also very curious about where the new emperor would steer the Great Han Dynasty ship.

He hoped the new emperor would succeed, not only to benefit his fortune, but also because such success might offer them some inspiration.

Humans always make the same mistakes that history has repeated time and time again, and humans can also replicate those successes.

Having a thorough understanding of each other's national core, the Great Han Dynasty was perhaps the most memorable example for Zhang Xuezhou.

Just like his cultivation in both worlds, this place can assist his cultivation in reality, and his cultivation in reality can also nourish himself in this world. The same applies to other experiences and lessons. This may even involve the interaction between the Three Realms and the higher-dimensional life form Hongjun.

"We've now returned to our original direction; heading south from here leads to Chang'an City!"

Zhang Xuezhou still had some impression of Dragon City, and he felt that it wouldn't be difficult to find Dragon City again if he searched carefully.

After traversing the northern lands and turning around amidst the frigid snow-capped peaks of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, they finally returned to the right path.

"This should be Yunzhong," the new emperor said. "That area is the Dingxiang and Daijun region. It was in this area that Gongsun He and Wei Qing led their troops to wipe out the Xiong State's invading army in Shanggu County!"

"Should we search for them since we're just passing by?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"No need. It's too late to search," the new emperor shook his head. "Besides, whether Wei Qing and his men win the battle is irrelevant to our search. The most important thing right now is to find the ancestral land of Dragon City and see if there's a chance to take over this hidden secret place!"

Where did Master Dong go?

"He went to find Wei Qing, hoping he could help him in some way!"

The bright moonlight shone on the earth, and the view from high above was still dim. Zhang Xuezhou and the others did not linger, but instead quickly flew across the sky and left the area.

After passing through the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains and crossing towering peaks to the west, you enter the grassland region.

Human-high weeds with thorns are scattered all over the grassland, while some shallow grasses become grazing areas.

"Our Great Han horses need to be fed to be full, but the Xiong State horses only need to eat and run on this boundless grassland. Their mounts have almost no logistical burden, plus their habit of robbing and eating anything and everything... Stop, stop, stop!"

The new emperor's speeches were not ramblings, but rather a collection of observations and comparisons drawn from his extensive travels across a wide region, which resulted in a variety of statements.

Zhang Xuezhou was used to listening, and he knew about these situations, but nothing beats the new emperor actually going there; only through real experience can one form an objective understanding.

As he continued to obsequiously agree, he heard the new emperor repeatedly shouting.

Zhang Xuezhou's gaze, which had been fixed ahead, immediately turned downwards, where countless torches were lit, and bonfires lit up the ground.

A faint smell of blood and meat wafted in the air. Zhang Xuezhou sniffed a few times and frowned involuntarily.

"Can we sneak in and check things out?" the new emperor asked in a low voice.

"It seems there has been a battle below. This state of combat is different from a galloping charge on horseback; we would feel out of place and find it difficult to integrate!"

Zhang Xuezhou shook his head without hesitation, indicating that it would be difficult to infiltrate the legion as before.

Without needing to inquire below, the two knew perfectly well that the area below was not home to the Great Han army.

The torches and bonfires of the Great Han army would not be so messy, but rather arranged in a relatively orderly manner. Moreover, the Great Han army's rations did not include fresh meat, so it was impossible for the aroma of meat to waft into the sky.

"You're fluent in the language of the Xiong State, could you listen to the message below?"

"Can!"

Zhang Xuezhou nodded, and he slowly descended the Sky Shuttle, carefully maintaining his distance to avoid being discovered by the demonic birds, falcons, peregrine falcons, and other birds.

As they drew closer, a cacophony of sounds began to fill their ears.

The sounds of swords clashing, chainmail clanging, chopping meat and bones, and shouts of catharsis filled the air.

You don't feel anything when you're high in the air, but you can feel the noise of a large number of people and horses gathering when you're falling.

Blood flowed across this land, the firelight illuminating the blood-red traces, and one could see white flesh churning in bronze cauldrons, while sorcerers chanted rituals to refine blood essence.

Some high-ranking officers, such as commanders of thousands and commanders of tens of thousands, as well as demon kings with lion heads and human bodies, were eating the first human legs that had been cooked, and their fanatical shouts could be heard everywhere.

"Li Guang's army has been surrounded and appears to be completely annihilated. He himself has been captured. The commander I overheard was clamoring that the greatest general of the Great Han Dynasty has been captured, and that the country is doomed. He must be referring to General Li Guang... Oh no!"

Zhang Xuezhou's observation and listening lasted only a short time, but he felt a sense of being spied on.

Those who can discover him in this environment are undoubtedly opponents of the same or even higher level; how could he possibly fight fiercely on their turf?

The spying even gave him a vague sense of familiarity.

If I'm not mistaken, those spying on him are likely some old rivals, top-tier experts whom he's not confident he can handle.

Only through the machinations of Daojun and other experts could Li Guang have ended up being captured.

The slowly descending shuttle came to an abrupt halt, and then began a rapid ascent and flight.

The darkness of night undoubtedly concealed too much; even with the bright moon shining in the sky, it was still pitch black when looking up at other areas.

Zhang Xuezhou felt the spying getting closer and closer. He stopped probing and investigating further, and instead kept moving away from this hell on earth, trying to use the nighttime environment to escape the pursuit and killing.