txolops Chapter 7 Migration to the Wanda Mountains
Chapter 7 Migration to the Wanda Mountains
The night grew deeper.
When Huang Chen's figure appeared at the entrance of the deep valley, the few human youths on night watch could hardly believe their eyes.
"Yes...yes, sir!"
"The master is back!"
A gasp broke the tranquility of the valley.
Soon, a fire lit up the cave, and Ashi led a group of people out, stumbling and falling.
When they saw Huang Chen's appearance, everyone gasped.
Huang Chen was covered in blood, his clothes were tattered, the wound on his left arm was so deep that the bone was visible, and his face was frighteningly pale.
"grown ups!"
Ashi's eyes instantly reddened, and he rushed forward to support the swaying Huang Chen.
"I'm fine."
Huang Chen waved his hand, glanced around at everyone, and only when he saw that they were all safe and sound did his tense mind finally relax.
An indescribable sense of exhaustion washed over him like a tide, and he almost lost his balance.
"My lord, you're injured! Quick, get into the cave!"
Ashi and several other young men quickly stepped forward and carefully helped Huang Chen into the warm and dry cave.
Inside the cave, women, children, the elderly, and the infirm all gathered around, their faces filled with worry and lingering fear.
They all knew that Huang Chen was facing those terrible enemies to protect them.
"Stop crowding around, let the adults rest."
Ah Shi shouted loudly, dispersing the crowd, and helped Huang Chen sit down on a clean animal hide.
A woman brought over a bowl of hot water and handed it to Huang Chen with trembling hands.
Huang Chen took the bowl of water and drank it all in one gulp. The warm water slid into his stomach, dispelling some of the chill.
He looked at the tense and dependent faces inside the cave, and his heart felt heavy.
"Bring out the seized elixirs."
Huang Chen gave instructions to A Shi.
Ashi nodded quickly and found several jade bottles in the storage bag that Huang Chen handed him.
"These are fasting pills. Everyone will be given three pills to start with, so eat them sparingly."
The Elixir of Fasting!
A look of surprise immediately shone in everyone's eyes.
In the desolate wilderness where survival is precarious, food is the most precious thing. Now that they have the fasting pills that even immortals eat, it means that they will no longer have to worry about hunger for a while.
Ashi solemnly accepted the jade bottle and began distributing the pills to his clansmen.
The atmosphere inside the cave suddenly became much more relaxed.
But Huang Chen's next words made everyone's hearts jump into their throats again.
"We can't stay here any longer."
"I killed two disciples of the Xuantian Sect. They will soon find out, and soon more and stronger people will come after them."
"We must leave immediately."
The newly ignited flame of hope was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over its head.
Everyone fell silent.
They had just settled down here, thinking they had found a home where they could breathe again.
Now, is it time to start another period of wandering and fleeing?
"Sir, where...where can we go?"
An old man asked in a trembling voice, his voice filled with confusion and despair.
Yes, in this vast and desolate land, where can humanity find refuge?
Monsters roam freely, and the immortal sects are ruthless.
Huang Chen's gaze passed over the cave entrance and looked towards the distant, undulating, majestic mountain range shrouded in darkness.
"Go to the Ten Thousand Mountains."
"What?!"
"Go to the Ten Thousand Mountains? Isn't that the territory of the demon race?"
"Sir, it's even more dangerous there!"
A chorus of exclamations and doubts immediately arose from the crowd.
In their minds, the Ten Thousand Mountains were synonymous with death, a lair of demons, and a dead end for any human who entered.
Huang Chen raised his hand, and the cave instantly fell silent.
"The most dangerous place is often the safest place."
"The cultivators of the Xuantian Sect consider themselves a prestigious and righteous sect, and disdain venturing into dangerous places filled with demonic energy. The territory of the demon race can provide the best cover."
"If we are careful enough, we can find a glimmer of hope in the cracks."
The group looked at each other, still finding it unbelievable.
"I'll do whatever the adults say!"
Ashi was the first to stand up, his tone firm and resolute.
"Yes! Wherever the adults go, we'll go!"
Others echoed his sentiments.
Huang Chen nodded, feeling somewhat reassured. This decision was risky, but it was the only option.
"Get a good rest tonight, and we'll set off before dawn."
The crowd dispersed, each going about their own preparations.
Only Huang Chen and A Shi remained in the cave.
Ah Shi helped Huang Chen treat the wound on his arm, carefully applying crushed herbs and then wrapping it with clean cloth strips.
After doing all this, he did not leave.
Pfft!
The boy suddenly knelt down and kowtowed heavily to Huang Chen.
Huang Chen frowned slightly.
"What are you doing?"
Ashi raised his head, his still-childish face filled with passion and resentment.
His eyes were bloodshot as he stared intently at Huang Chen.
"My lord! Please, teach me how to slay demons!"
His voice trembled with excitement, yet remained remarkably clear.
"I want to become stronger! I want to avenge my fallen kin with my own hands! I want to protect everyone!"
The boy roared with all his might, each word seeming to be squeezed out of his throat.
He bent down again, his forehead slamming heavily against the hard ground with a dull thud.
"Please, Your Excellency, grant my request!"
Huang Chen looked at the boy in front of him, whose forehead was bruised and bleeding. The flames burning in his eyes were intense and familiar.
He slowly reached out and pulled Ashi up from the cold ground.
"The road is long, don't waste your energy on kowtowing."
"Yes, sir!" Ashi stood up straight, his chest ramrod straight.
The night was as dark as ink, so thick it was impossible to see through.
More than fifty figures, guided by the dim starlight, silently left the cave that had sheltered them for several days and stepped into the perilous wilderness.
Huang Chen walked at the front of the group, and instead of choosing the seemingly flat road, he plunged into the rugged and difficult dense forest.
Behind him were fifty unarmed ordinary people.
The wind howls and cranes cry; even the grass and trees seem like soldiers.
Any unusual sound in the forest would put the group on edge, causing their faces to drain of color.
A woman tripped over a tree root and was about to cry out when a quick-thinking man nearby covered her mouth.
Everyone stopped in their tracks, looking around in horror, their breaths almost stopped.
Huang Chen turned around, his sharp gaze sweeping over the crowd before finally landing on the woman. He simply shook his head slightly and continued on his way.
There was no blame, no comfort; on this blood-soaked land, weakness and pity were deadly poisons.
To survive, you must learn to stand up on your own.
The line began to move again, and the atmosphere grew increasingly tense.
Time slips away silently in the midst of migration.
Five days have passed in the blink of an eye.
The team had long since moved far beyond the area that the Xuantian Sect might be searching for, and had ventured deep into the edge of the Ten Thousand Mountains.
These five days were an ordeal like purgatory for everyone.
They traversed mountains and valleys, forded icy streams, and walked along the edges of swamps teeming with poisonous insects.
Everyone was dressed in rags, their faces and hands covered with cuts from thorns, and they looked so exhausted that they seemed ready to collapse at any moment.
But no one fell behind.
Because the man at the very front is like a tireless stone statue, clearing all obstacles in their path.
At a makeshift campsite, the campfire was kept low, emitting only a faint light and heat.
Most of the survivors were fast asleep, with only the night patrolman and a few other figures still awake.
"Focusing your energy in your dantian doesn't mean holding your breath inside!"
Huang Chen's voice was deep and stern.
"Feel your blood, feel it flowing in your veins! Use your breath to stimulate it, let it surge!"
Ashi and four other selected young men were shirtless, practicing strange horse stances in the cold night wind.
They were drenched in sweat, their muscles trembled uncontrollably, and their jaws clenched so tightly they made a grinding sound.
This is a basic method simplified by Huang Chen based on the "Witch Clan Body Forging Technique". The most domineering and dangerous parts have been removed, and only the most core method of blood and qi circulation has been retained.
For him, this was a scientifically summarized method of human body function training from later generations.
But for people of this era, this was an unheard-of wonder.
"Remember, the body is a furnace, and blood and energy are the fuel! Breath is the wind, and willpower is the fire! Let it burn! Let your blood burn!"
Huang Chen paced among them, occasionally extending his finger to give someone a sharp tap on their lower back, spine, or chest and abdomen.
"Here! Give it your all!"
"Waist and hips in unison! You are human beings, not shrimps!"
"Useless trash! You can't even stand up straight, what are you talking about revenge for!"
His words were like whips, striking the hearts of these young people again and again.
Ashi's face had already turned a deep purplish-red, his legs were trembling like leaves, sweat blurred his vision, and dripped down his chin into the dust.
He felt like he was about to die.
My lungs feel like a broken bellows; every breath is accompanied by a burning pain.
Every muscle in his body was groaning in pain, as if it were about to be completely torn apart at any moment.
"I can't go on... Master..." A boy broke down first, his legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.
Once there's a first one, there's bound to be a second.
Soon, except for Ashi, the other four fell to the ground, like fish out of water.
Only Ashi persisted, his consciousness beginning to blur, clinging on only by an unyielding will to keep him going.
He thought of his parents, who had died tragically at the hands of demons, and of his clansmen, who had been slaughtered.
He recalled Huang Chen's invincible figure as he annihilated a demon soldier with a single punch.
"Aaaaaah—!"
Ashi let out a beastly roar that was not human, and a scorching current actually surged from his body, which was already on the verge of its limit!
The heat surged from his dantian with his breath, instantly flowing through his limbs and bones!
"boom!"
He seemed to hear the roar of his blood surging within him, and the fatigue and soreness all over his body were swept away by this heat, replaced by an unprecedented explosive power!
Ashi suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze sharp and piercing!
A hint of approval flashed in Huang Chen's eyes.
Good lad, I knew I wasn't wrong.
This kind of mindset and perseverance makes him a natural candidate for spiritual cultivation.
"You felt it?" Huang Chen asked calmly.
"I feel it! My lord!" Ah Shi's voice trembled with excitement. "I feel... I could kill a bull with one punch!"
Huang Chen neither confirmed nor denied it.
"This is just the first step, refining your Qi and blood. Only when you can make your Qi and blood circulate a full cycle within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn can you be considered to have barely entered the field."
He glanced at the other four people still panting on the ground, his tone indifferent.
"The path has been given to you; how far you go is up to you."
After saying that, he turned around and walked back to the fire, closing his eyes to rest.
Ashi clenched his fist, feeling the surging power within him, and looked at Huang Chen's back with boundless fervor and admiration.
The sixth day of the migration.
The team's marching speed increased significantly.
Having undergone initial qi and blood tempering, A Shi and his group of five possessed physical strength far exceeding that of ordinary people. They took the initiative to undertake the tasks of scouting and guarding, greatly reducing the pressure on Huang Chen.
However, it seems that the good luck has run out.
"roar--!"
A ferocious roar suddenly erupted through the forest without warning, and a foul-smelling gust of wind swept over us!
The team was thrown into chaos instantly!
"A demon...it's a monster!"
"Run!"
The survivors screamed in terror and instinctively tried to scatter and flee.
"Don't move!"
Huang Chen's roar was like a thunderclap, stopping everyone in their tracks.
Suddenly, a wild boar-like monster, as big as an elephant, burst out from the bushes not far ahead!
Its body was covered with black mane as hard as steel needles, and a pair of blood-red eyes stared intently at the group of uninvited guests. Two huge fangs, more than a meter long, gleamed with a cold, white light at the corners of its mouth.
On the fangs, bits of flesh and blood from an unknown creature still clung.
Saber-toothed Boar Demon!
A demonic beast comparable to a human in the early stages of Qi Refining!
"My lord..." Ashi's face turned ashen, his hand gripping a sharpened wooden spear tightly, his palms covered in cold sweat.
The other young men were so frightened that their legs went weak and they could barely stand.
For the first time, they faced a real monster at such close range.
The ferocity and oppressive aura emanating from their very blood almost suffocated them.
However, Huang Chen stood still, motionless.
He didn't even draw the Asura Blood Blade.
He simply stared coldly at the pig demon that was enraged by the disturbance of its food, and then gave orders to Ashi and the others behind him.
"You five, go!" What?!
Not only were A Shi and his group of five stunned, but even the survivors around them were dumbfounded.
Send them to their deaths?
"My lord! We..." Ashi's voice trembled.
"Scared?" Huang Chen asked without turning his head.
"I……"
"If you're scared, get behind the women and children." Huang Chen's tone was completely calm. "Then pray that I can protect you until I die."
These words struck Ah Shi like a heavy hammer blow.
He glanced at the trembling tribesmen behind him, and at the terrified and desperate eyes of the women and children.
Hiding in the back?
Like a piece of trash?
Do not!
Ashi's eyes instantly filled with bloodshot veins, and his fear was replaced by an even stronger sense of humiliation and anger.
He gritted his teeth and let out a roar.
"Brothers! We've been learning from the adults for a few days, let's see how it goes today!"
"Even if I die, I'll knock two teeth out of this beast!"
After saying that, he was the first to raise his wooden spear and charge towards the saber-toothed boar demon!
Seeing this, the other four were also aroused and followed after them with strange cries.
An elderly survivor couldn't help but cry out, "They'll die!"
Huang Chen ignored him, his sharp gaze fixed on the battlefield.
Towering trees cannot grow in a greenhouse.
Without experiencing real life-or-death struggles, they will always just be a flock of lambs to the slaughter.
"roar!"
The saber-toothed boar demon was enraged when it saw that these "ants" dared to provoke it. It strode forward like a rampaging chariot and charged straight at Ah Shi!
"Scatter! Disturb it! Don't engage it head-on!"
Huang Chen's instructions rang in A Shi's ears just in time.
A Shi snapped to attention, forcibly suppressing the urge to fight head-on. Just as the pig demon was about to collide with him, he did a clumsy roll, narrowly avoiding the pair of deadly tusks.
The other four followed his example, flanking him from both sides and using their wooden spears to stab the boar demon's sides and hind legs.
"Pfft!"
The wooden spear pierced the boar demon's tough hide, but only penetrated an inch or so, leaving no decent wound. Instead, it enraged the boar demon even more.
The boar demon suddenly swung its head, and its huge tusks swept the boy's wooden spear in half, then slammed into his chest with undiminished force.
"Snap!"
The boy screamed and flew backward like a tattered sack, a large dent visibly appearing in his chest, blood gushing from his mouth, clearly beyond saving.
Blood! Real blood!
The arrival of death left the remaining four people completely blank.
"What are you standing there for! Do you want to be buried with him?!"
Huang Chen's angry shout startled them awake.
Ashi's eyes were bloodshot as he looked at his fallen companion, filled with grief and indignation.
"I'll kill you, you beast!"
He went completely mad, ignoring Huang Chen's orders, and thrust the broken spear towards the pig demon's eyes.
"idiot!"
Huang Chen cursed under his breath.
This pig demon has thick skin and flesh; its only weaknesses are its eyes and snout.
But how could it not focus its protection on such a vital point?
Sure enough, the pig demon tilted its head and easily dodged A Shi's attack. At the same time, it opened its blood-red maw and bit down on A Shi's neck!
Finished!
Ashi felt a stench hit him, and he could even see the blood and saliva on the fangs.
The shadow of death instantly enveloped him.
At this critical moment!
A dark shadow flashed by like a ghost!
It's Huang Chen!
He arrived late but arrived early, appearing instantly beside Ashi. Without dodging or avoiding, he simply threw a punch at the pig demon's enormous head.
There was no earth-shattering spectacle, no dazzling light and shadow.
Only a simple, unadorned punch, incredibly fast.
"Bang!"
A muffled thud, like a watermelon being smashed by a heavy hammer.
The arrogant saber-toothed boar demon suddenly stiffened, its violent charge abruptly halted.
The fierce light in its blood-red eyes quickly faded, replaced by a blank and lifeless silence.
next second.
"Thump!"
Its massive body crashed to the ground, kicking up clouds of dust.
A clear fist mark appeared between its eyebrows.
The entire skull, along with the brain inside, was completely shattered into dust by this punch.
Sold out instantly!
[Ding! Slay the saber-toothed boar demon, stripping it of its life, and gain 150 karma points.]
A cold system notification sounded in Huang Chen's mind.
Without even glancing at the corpse on the ground, he turned around and grabbed Ah Shi by the collar, who was still in a daze.
"I let you harass me, but who gave you the right to fight so desperately?"
"If you die, who will protect them?"
Huang Chen pointed at the group of elderly, weak, women and children behind him, his voice as cold as ice.
Ashi's lips trembled, and he couldn't utter a single word.
"Remember, your life is not yours alone now."
Huang Chen released his grip, causing him to stumble.
The survivors who had escaped the ordeal erupted in cheers, looking at Huang Chen with eyes that seemed to venerate a god.
Ashi and the other two surviving boys lowered their heads, their faces filled with shame and lingering fear.
Huang Chen ignored everyone's reactions and walked to the corpse of the pig demon, squatting down beside it.
With a thought, the communication system opens the online store.
"Exchange for fasting pills, 50 people, 10-day supply."
[Exchange for 500 Fasting Pills, consuming 100 Karma Points.]
Instantly, a cloth bag filled with pills appeared in the storage space.
Standing up, Huang Chen tossed the cloth bag to an elderly man in the crowd.
"One pill per person per day."
After doing all this, he looked at Ashi, who had a guilty expression, again.
"Its fangs and fur can be used to make weapons and armor. The meat of the demon beast contains spiritual energy, and eating it can enhance one's health and vitality."
"Burn the bodies of your dead comrades."
Ashi nodded heavily, his eyes no longer filled with confusion, but instead with an unprecedented calmness and determination. He walked to the side of the dead boy, silently picked him up, and carried him aside.
Huang Chen walked to the pig demon's corpse, crushed its head with one foot, and precisely picked up a pigeon egg-sized demon core from the pile of bloody flesh. The core emitted a faint earthy yellow halo.
He wiped it off casually and tossed the demon core to Ashi, who was preparing to dispose of the corpse.
"Take it."