They had only just begun their journey after flying through the mountains. Finally, they arrived at the border of the Green province again. The boundless blue sea extended south to the ends of the world.
Li Qingshan took out the mental map of the Mist province and glanced at it. His gaze landed on a range of mountains. This was Fire Melt mountain, where the divine wutong tree resided.
He specially asked the Banyan Tree King for guidance, but the matter was rather troublesome, as Fire Melt mountain was where the royal court of the Fire Devourers currently resided, while the divine wutong tree was the divine tree of the race. It was completely unapproachable.
There was nothing strange about this. Everyone wanted a good place. In the end, it would definitely belong to the strong. After the phoenix had flown away, anyone who could become the new master of the divine wutong tree would definitely not be weak.
Li Qingshan said to Little Ann beside him, "Let's go to Cloud Dream marsh first and see how Ru Xin is doing."
"Alright."
The Great Marsh of Cloud Dream was shrouded in clouds and mist, rising and falling.
The marsh was filled with dense spiritual qi, vaguely condensing together. The vast expanse of light was controlled by a tiny Water God Seal.
"She seems to be cultivating," Li Qingshan sensed.
"Why don't we wait until we reach the South Sea commandery and clear away the danger before letting her go over?" Little Ann said.
"That works too. We'll let her properly cultivate here for a while!" Li Qingshan nodded. Controlling such a large region of water was a rare opportunity for her with the bloodline of Merfolk. Compared to cultivation, everything else could be set aside for later.
As a result, the two of them flew over Cloud Dream marsh and continued south. Their destination was not the South Sea commandery, but the Mist capital.
The Mist capital was located in the centre of the Mist province, where the lord's estate of the Mist province resided. It was the capital city of the King of Southern Yue, the second largest city in the Mist province. The headquarters of the Hawkwolf Guard of the Mist province was nearby.
Under the gloomy sky, a huge, golden hawk with a wingspan of several hundred meters gripped the mountain firmly with its talons. Its eyes gazed at the Mist capital in the distance, giving off a heavy sense of surveillance and warning. The Hawkwolf Guard had always been an important force that the empire used to deter the outskirts of the wilderness. However, after several thousand years of trials and tribulations, even the golden hawk that had been refined with great effort seemed to pale in comparison.
The Great Xia empire had already lost control over the Mist province. All that remained now was submission in name. As for the Hawkwolf Guard that was originally awe-inspiring, it had instead become a target of public criticism. Not a single organisation welcomed it. It basically only had the organisation of commanderies left in the Mist province, and they were all cowering away.
At this time, Li Qingshan and Little Ann were standing at the foot of the mountain, looking up at the golden eagle standing proudly at the top of the mountain.
After being reported, under the guidance of an attendant, he set foot on the mountain. The vegetation on the mountain was lush, and the trees formed a forest. The scenery was beautiful. The pavilions, terraces, and buildings were all grand, and they were not influenced by the customs of the Mist province. Instead, they bore the strong imprint of the Dragon province.
However, there weren't many people around, making it seem rather deserted. Occasionally, he would see a few people, but they were all Qi Practitioners who were not much stronger than mortals. They served as attendants and maintained the basic operations of this place.
Li Qingshan arrived at the top of the mountain. There was a chain of halls here, splendid and magnificent. However, after walking around there, he did not see the Golden Eagle commander. He learnt he was in secluded cultivation.
In the end, under the guidance of an attendant in black, he collected his uniform and waist tablet as a White Wolf commander. Afterwards, he did not receive any special treatment, so he descended the mountain again. He felt rather confused.
He was a White Wolf commander after all. That was an important figure in the Green province. He could be regarded as one of the upper echelons of the Hawkwolf Guard, yet he was actually treated so coldly in the Mist province.
However, he had already understood the underlying meaning. "No matter what kind of trouble you encounter, don't expect anyone to stand up for you. Even if someone kills you, no one will avenge you!"
"Got it!" Li Qingshan smiled and said to Little Ann, "If there's no place for me here, there'll definitely be a place for me. Let's go!"
As a result, he did not linger in the Mist capital at all. He immediately made his way to the South Sea commandery. The two of them moved and stopped from time to time. After over a dozen days of flying, they finally arrived at the commandery city of South Sea at dusk.
The air became hotter and more humid. When they breathed in, they felt like they had inhaled water vapour into their lungs. Huge trees that stood several dozen meters tall could be seen everywhere, and trees over three hundred meters tall were not rare either. If this were his past life, they would be skyscrapers that stood a hundred storeys tall, forming a primitive and three-dimensional world, and the commandery city of South Sea was built in there.
More accurately, it was a huge tree that stood almost one thousand and five hundred meters tall. The trunk was covered in holes, and there were plank paths built around the trunk. People in strange attires moved in and out of the holes, walking on the plank paths like tiny ants.
Incomparably thick branches propped up buildings and strongholds. People walked on the bridges woven from vines, moving between the branches. It was bustling and bustling, no different from an ordinary human city.
Before he made Li Qingshan come to the South Sea commandery, he had done some homework. He knew that the closer they were to the south, the taller and thicker the trees were. People all lived in the trees, and unless it was necessary, they would never go to the ground. Some people had never even set foot in their entire lives.
It was very difficult for sunlight to penetrate the dense canopy, so there was no daylight on the ground. Thick mist constantly drifted about. That was a fatal miasma. Layers of fallen leaves piled up, forming a terrain similar to a swamp. That was a paradise for various daemonic beasts and venomous insects. Even the plants that lived in the shadows all year round were filled with aggression.
In such an extreme environment, let alone mortals, even cultivators were in danger. It was impossible for barbarian tribes composed of mortals to exist. Only powerful shaman tribes could survive, but they were forced to face the test of death at all times.
As a result, the lines of good and evil became extremely blurry here. Only survival came first. Most people who survived in such an environment possessed indomitable, cruel, and cunning natures. For the sake of survival, they would do anything. Whether they were men or women, young or old, they all crazily pursued power.
Demonic arts and evil arts that could rapidly increase their strength were widespread, no matter how bloody the cultivation method was or how severe the consequences were. A neutral and peaceful method of cultivation would never work here. If they could not even survive today, how were they supposed to think about ten years later?
Gambling with one's life went without saying. Life was worthless, whether it was someone else's or their own. The more people treasured their lives, the less they could live. As a result, regardless of whether demonic cultivators were powerful or weak, they could never be eradicated. No matter what cultivation method they practised, the powerful cultivators who emerged from this land would all bear the deep imprint of demonic cultivators.
"From today onwards, we'll be spending our days in a place like this. It feels pretty nice. It's a pity that we're still very far away from the sea. Once we pass through the Hawkwolf Guard, let's go to the seaside and have a look! "
Li Qingshan said eagerly. He had practised the Arts of the Boundless Ocean for all these years, but he had never seen the sea of this world before! The true sea surged with great waves, boundless and boundless.
As a symbol of the Hawkwolf Guard, a silver-white hawk stood on a thick branch high up on the huge tree. At first glance, it seemed rather balanced, just like a regular hawk perched on the top of a tree.
Li Qingshan flew over and attracted countless gazes. An alert voice rang out from the Hawkwolf Guard.
"Who is it?"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
