Chapter 613: The Situation in the Southern Wilderness

Translator: Henyee Translations | Editor: Henyee Translations

Huh?

Hearing the words of the man in the brocade robe, Jiang Chengxuan and Shen Ruyan were both somewhat astonished.

What is going on?

What did he mean by “two that slipped through the net”?

Had they come to the wrong place?

They were both puzzled at this point.

However, the cultivators accompanying the man in the brocade robe didn’t hesitate.

In a flash, they lunged at Jiang Chengxuan and Shen Ruyan.

Jiang Chengxuan was speechless.

And so was Shen Ruyan.

Was there a misunderstanding?

Since when did mere Foundation Establishment cultivators dare to challenge them?

At this moment, Jiang Chengxuan and Shen Ruyan made no move.

But those who were reaching for them suddenly froze in place, unable to move, only their eyes swirling with fear.

The man in the brocade robe, a Violet Palace cultivator, noticed something was amiss.

His pupils contracted as he stared intently at Jiang Chengxuan and Shen Ruyan, his expression shifting from disdain to seriousness.

He cautiously asked, “Who exactly are you two? Do you realize what you are doing right now?”

Jiang Chengxuan was speechless.

And so was Shen Ruyan.

Hadn’t it been he who initiated the attack on them, and now he was blaming them?

But they had no interest in wasting words with such a minor character.

Jiang Chengxuan demanded, “You called us ‘those who slipped through the net.’

What does that mean? Who are you? What has happened to this place? What exactly has transpired here?”

“Uh…

You are not cultivators from the Southern Wilderness?”

It seemed that only at this moment did the brocade-robed man suddenly react.

The two people in front of him should not be native cultivators of the Southern Wilderness.

“So what if we aren’t?” Jiang Chengxuan immediately frowned.

Crack—

Suddenly, the man’s communication jade talisman shattered into pieces.

This caused his expression to immediately change.

Jiang Chengxuan’s expression had now turned cold.

He fixed his gaze on the man in the brocade robe and said in a chilling tone, word byword,

“In my presence, don’t bother with those petty tricks.

They’re meaningless. Now, answer the questions I just asked you.”

The man in the brocade robe’s face turned red and then white.

He had never felt so humiliated in his life, his expression contorting with frustration.

Seeing this, Shen Ruyan’s eyes turn cold.

“Forget it, husband, if he doesn’t want to talk, then we’ll find out for ourselves.”

Without waiting for the man in the brocade robe to react, Shen Ruyan pressed her hand directly onto his head.

No matter how much he tried to evade, he couldn’t escape her grasp.

Only at this moment did the man realize he was no match for the couple before him.

He wanted to speak up, to announce his identity, but Shen Ruyan didn’t give him the chance.

A force that the man couldn’t resist surged into his sea of consciousness, plunging his mind into chaos.

The last thought he had was “soul searching.”

That’s right.

Shen Ruyan was using a soul-searching technique on him.

Information, both relevant and irrelevant, flashed through her mind like a fast-forward movie, providing her with a detailed understanding of the current situation and the identities of the man and his companions.

By the time Shen Ruyan released her hand, the man in the brocade robe had collapsed, bleeding from his seven orifices and lifeless.

Jiang Chengxuan turned to Shen Ruyan and asked, “How did it go?”

Shen Ruyan’s expression was a bit grim.

She pondered for a moment before speaking, “These people, like us, are not native cultivators of the Southern Wilderness.”

“Huh?”

Jiang Chengxuan was somewhat surprised.

Shen Ruyan nodded, “Yes, they are from the Central Plain.

When the demonic calamity befell, Heavenly Lord Scripture Abyss and Heavenly Lord Cloudthunder of the Southern Wilderness knew that they could not withstand the demonic calamity with their strength.

So.

They sent out a distress message to the Central Plain.

The Central Plain, led by the Great Ling Imperial Palace and several other Soul Formation forces, demanded half of the Southern Wilderness’s territories in return for their help.

This included all the spiritual veins, mines, and even the cultivators, who were to remain untouched and not relocated.

Only then would they assist the Southern Wilderness.

Understanding their lack of leverage or power to refuse, Heavenly Lord Cloudthunder and Heavenly Lord Scripture Abyss agreed.

However, what they didn’t anticipate was that when these forces from the Central Plain arrived via the large cross-region teleportation array, they somehow bypassed parts of the oath contract, avoiding its backlash.

As previously agreed upon, they were supposed to assist at once, but they didn’t. It wasn’t until Heavenly Lord Cloudthunder fell and Heavenly Lord Scripture Abyss was gravely injured that the Great Ling Imperial Palace and others slowly began to help counter the demonic calamity.

After the demonic calamity ended, only Heavenly Lord Scripture Abyss, a gravely injured Heavenly Lord, remained. He was powerless to prevent the further expansion of the Great Ling Imperial Palace and other powerful forces from the Central Plain. He could only watch helplessly as they extended their reach until they occupied nearly two-thirds of the Southern Wilderness. This expansion only halted temporarily due to the constraints of the oath contract between them.

Otherwise, by now, the entire Southern Wilderness would likely be under the control of these Central Plain forces.

Jiang Chengxuan had never imagined that the real situation here would be like this.

Being from the Nine Essences Cultivation World’s foremost region, they didn’t first think of uniting all available forces against the demonic calamity. Instead, they schemed against their own fellow cultivators and calculated how much benefit they could gain from this calamity.

It was akin to those who profiteer during national crises, which is contemptible and detestable.

No wonder Heavenly Lord Purple Flame and others from the Northern Border had refused to let the Central Plain’s Heavenly Lords intervene in their affairs, let alone accept their help.

The appetites of these forces were too large, beyond what any reasonable person could accept.

“And after they occupied the territories of the Southern Wilderness, they didn’t try to develop these lands. Instead, they heavily exploited the resources there.

They even treated all the cultivators in these areas as slaves.”

Shen Ruyan added this piece of information, and Jiang Chengxuan finally understood why the scenery they encountered upon arriving in the Southern Wilderness was so desolate.

Especially the cultivators they saw, with lifeless eyes and faces devoid of vitality, all numbed.

It was no surprise that anyone would feel despair after enduring such treatment.

“Do you know where we are now?

How far is it from the region where Heavenly Lord Scripture Abyss and the others are?”

Jiang Chengxuan looked at Shen Ruyan.

After a moment of thought, Shen Ruyan replied, “We are currently in the State of Great Yan. The place where Heavenly Lord Scripture Abyss resides, the State of Duo Deity, is still a considerable distance away.

Even at our speed, flying there would take about ten days.”

“Ten days? Then let’s go and take a look.”

Jiang Chengxuan said with a smile.

Shen Ruyan nodded, “Alright, let’s go and see.”

As they spoke, the bodies of the Foundation Establishment Cultivators they had frozen in midair turned into dust.

“How dare you kill cultivators from my Heaven’s Gate Sect?

You’re courting death!”

At this moment, an angry shout suddenly sounded from behind Jiang Chengxuan and Shen Ruyan.

A middle-aged cultivator in a long robe was charging towards Jiang Chengxuan and Shen Ruyan with several Golden Cores.

However, Jiang Chengxuan and Shen Ruyan didn’t turn around.

Suddenly, a roar sounded in the air.

Immediately after, an incomparably large earth dragon appeared in front of the cultivators.

BANG!

Without any suspense, a single strike from the earth dragon turned those cultivators into a mist of blood.

The dragon then let out an excited roar and swiftly carried Jiang Chengxuan and Shen Ruyan towards the State of Duo Deity.

Shortly afterward, three streams of light descended upon the scene.

The leader was a pale, beardless man with narrow eyes and an aura of coldness.

He was Yan Zhengying, a eunuch from the Great Ling Imperial Palace dispatched here, possessing an early Nascent Soul cultivation.

Accompanying him were two early Nascent Soul cultivators from Heaven’s Gate Sect, Zhongxuan and Wuchen.

The three of them, especially Zhongxuan and Wuchen, looked extremely grim at the sight before them.

The deceased were members of their Heaven’s Gate Sect, and the audacious act of killing them in broad daylight was a clear sign of disrespect towards Heaven’s Gate Sect.

“Eunuch Yan…”

Zhongxuan turned to Yan Zhengying and spoke,

“The perpetrator who dared to openly kill our Heaven’s Gate Sect cultivators here must be extremely vicious.

We hope you can use that secret artifact to help us identify the murderer. Our Heaven’s Gate Sect will be deeply grateful for your assistance..”