When the Roulian’s war god, Karol, died, to the west of Heaven’s Moat, the fire from a round purple candle in the Roulian campground went out.
The guards who were stationed outside Karol’s tent saw the candle being extinguished and widened their eyes in horror.
“Men!”
“Here.”
“Notify everyone west of Heaven’s Moat to retreat! Make haste!”
“Understood!”
After the Roulian cultivators and soldiers received the news of their war god’s death, their morale took a huge blow. They followed their orders and retreated to Rouli. Since then, the western side of Heaven’s Moat had quietened down.
Meanwhile, the Evil Sky Pavilion had sped across Heaven’s Moat under Lu Zhou’s lead.
The top of the towering Heaven’s Moat could not be seen from its base. When they were halfway across, they encountered a snowstorm, and the temperature dropped drastically. The cold wind slashed at their protective energies like blades.
Pan Litian had crossed Heaven’s Moat before so he had experienced this before. He activated his energy to keep the endless snowstorm at bay. He said loudly, “This isn’t the worst. I’ve crossed the southern part of Heaven’s Moat in the past. That’s where the seemingly insurmountable part is. When we reach the top, stay close to each other. We can take turns in using our protective energies.”
Naturally, collective power was greater than individual power.
Mingshi Yin asked, “How did the Roulians get here?”
Pan Litian said, “There are three ways. The first one is to skirt around the mountains from the north. The second one is to cross it on a flying chariot. The third one is through a tunnel in the center of Heaven’s Moat. It was used to transport goods before, but the wars gradually cut the path off.”
“I’m enlightened,” Mingshi Yin said.
As they spoke, the wind roared louder and louder.
The others looked up.
“I’ll go first!”
The Golden Gourd Bottle shone brightly as a Five-leaf avatar spun upward. The conical golden energy shielded the others from the snowstorm as the avatar rose above Heaven’s Moat.
The others flew after the avatar. After that, they took turns summoning their avatar.
Conch was the only one whose avatar was still at the Ten Worlds stage. Thus, she could only struggle and stay by Lu Zhou’s side. She could hardly keep up with all these elite cultivators. She seemed troubled by this.
“Little Junior Sister, let’s go!”
“Little Junior Sister!”
“Haha… Little Senior Sister, before you get stronger, I should get on your good side! I’ll help you!”
Duanmu Sheng, Mingshi Yin, Si Wuya, Little Yuan’er, and the others released their energies and shielded Conch from the unrelenting snowstorm.
“Thank you, seniors!” Conch sighed with relief. She made up her mind to quickly get stronger.
They could hardly make out the mountains and rivers at the end of the north of Heaven’s Moat due to the blizzard that painted everything blue. It was like this all year round. When they looked south, they could not see how high Heaven’s Moat was. It was as though they were walking on the mountain’s ridge.
Soon after, the Evil Sky Pavilion members arrived above Heaven’s Moat and landed. They took in the beautiful mountains and rivers in their surroundings.
Bi An had arrived at the top of Heaven’s Moat earlier. It was sitting and gazing into the distance like a stone lion.
“May I one day ascend the summit of all peaks, for there the mountains are dwarves,” Lu Zhou exclaimed emotionally.
“What a good poem!” Mingshi Yin clapped his hands.
Duanmu Sheng turned to look at Mingshi Yin, and Mingshi Yin immediately shut his mouth. Even if he was at the Seven-leaf stage right now, whenever he remembered that his Third Senior Brother had already recultivated to the Four-leaf stage, he lost intention to argue.
Duanmu Sheng turned and said, “Nice poem!”
Mingshi Yin. “???”
Pan Litian said, “The people say that the pavilion master’s sole virtue is his cultivation base, that he’s brave but without brains. Looks like those are nothing but slanderous words. This is indeed a good poem!”
Si Wuya turned around and asked, “Do you know much about poems?”
“Just a little.”
‘What are you bragging about? I’m speechless.’
After enjoying the scenery for a while, Lu Zhou said, “Let’s get down.”
The others nodded. They leaped off Heaven’s Moat and sped downward.
After what seemed like hours, they finally landed.
Lu Zhou, “Everyone, apart from Conch, spread out and search… Prioritize your own safety if you run into danger”
“Understood!”
The others flew and spread out.
Without the Roulian and Lou Lan camps, the western side of Heaven’s Moat was now peaceful and quiet.
Ten days passed in just a blink of an eye.
East of the 100,000-foot-deep abyss, and north of Heaven’s Moat.
Cloud Rage River snaked through the entire continent. Many villages were built around the river.
In Guluo Village.
A Roulian old man was describing the condition of the village to a man in fine robes. “My lord, there are more than 20 children around the age of ten in this village this year. They’re all obedient. Please accept them. All of them have a high potential to become great cultivators in Rouli. They have the makings of a great warrior.”
The man dressed in fine robes shook his head and said, “I’ve checked their constitutions. They’re not suitable to cultivate. Do you have any other children for me?”
“My lord, would you like an older child?”
“I’m sure I’ve met the older children before… Forget it, I’ll head to the next village,” the finely-dress man said before he prepared to take flight.
At this moment, two young men from the village were prodding a young man in tattered robes, forcing him back to the village.
Ah Dong, one of the young men, said, “Ah Hai, stop looking around. We won’t beat you up if you return the things.”
“Don’t even think of running away… It’s chaotic outside. You’ll only starve to death like this.”
The two young men took turns bullying the young man whom they addressed as Ah Hai.
When the finely-dressed man saw Ah Hai, he asked in confusion, “Who’s this?”
The old man replied, “My lord, he’s a slave in our Guluo Village.”
“A slave?”
The old man beckoned Ah Hai over. “Ah Hai, come here…”
Ah Hai placed the things he was carrying on the floor and walked over.
The finely-dressed man appraised him. He saw wounds on Ah Hai’s body and the unconcealed hostility in Ah Hai’s eyes. “A child from Great Yan?”
“That’s right. We’ve always captured Great Yan citizens and use them as slaves. This brat is strong and stubborn. Ordinary Great Yan slaves couldn’t endure this and would’ve taken their own lives long ago. However, this brat is still alive until now,” the old man said.
The finely-dressed man waved his hand. An energy blade slashed at Ah Hai’s garment, revealing obvious and terrifying marks on his body. He sighed and shook his head, “He has a great talent and foundation… Alas, he’s not a Roulian.”
Ah Dong smiled and said, “Heh, I didn’t know Ah Hai is suitable for cultivation.”
The old man shook his head. “Unfortunately, he’s a Great Yan citizen.”
An idea appeared in the finely-dressed man’s mind. He said, “It’s not entirely impossible…”
The old man remained silent, but he seemed to understand the finely-dressed man’s meaning.
Turning a Great Yan citizen into a warrior who would die for Rouli while fighting against Great Yan. This was not unprecedented.
Ah Hai knew about this as well. In Guluo Village, the pain he endured was only physical. If he could endure it, he would one day be able to find a chance to escape. However, if he fell into the hands of a cultivator, his life would be hell. Without any hesitation, he turned around and ran!
Ah Dong scoffed and said, “Running away again. See that? The people of Great Yan are as dumb as pigs.” He raised his hand and whistled.
The strong men from the village and the wolf dogs dashed out.
Ah Hai had been injured and could barely walk straight. It was impossible for him to escape.
Swoosh!
Someone fired a slingshot.
Bam!
It struck Ah Hai’s calf, causing him to fall on the ground.
A few villagers swarmed toward him and started to rain down blows on him.
Ah Hai shielded his head and kept quiet. For some reason, he found this scene familiar. Every time he tried to recall, his memories would always turn up blank.
Life was a cycle. If one did not seek change, one would be repeating the same things all over again.
The finely-dressed man raised a hand “Stop.”
The Guluo villagers spat at Ah Hai before stepping backward.
“The people of Great Yan are all trash.”
The finely-dressed man walked over and said, “You’ll kill him like this.”
“That’s too good for him. Our people have been bullied by them all the time. Six out of my family of ten had died at the hands of Great Yan’s soldiers. When that dog of an emperor Yong Shou launched his west campaign, how many of us lost our lives? He’s lucky if he dies!”
“That’s right! Killing him is doing him a favor! We should keep him as a slave in our village. When he dies, we’ll chop him up and feed him to the dogs.”