Ch. 175 - Land of Blood & Chaos

Absolute silence. No sense of time, no light. In the pitch-black void, everything was still.

It felt like a fleeting moment, yet also like ten lifetimes. This bizarre journey through space finally ended, making one feel the flow of time once more.

The void tore open, and the Grand Elder of the Radiant Light Sacred Ground stepped out, followed by a few young disciples who stood respectfully behind him.

With a wave of his wide sleeve, a misty haze spread out. Through an ancient secret technique, thousands of people descended to the ground, released from the folds of his robe.

They had arrived in the Northern Region. Everyone felt a mix of tension and excitement. Ye Fan was particularly moved, he had finally reached the other end of the Eastern Wilderness. A new life was about to begin. But what kind of land was this?

Looking around, the sight was far from what they'd imagined. There were no blooming flowers, no bustling crowds, no signs of vibrant life. Instead, there was barren earth, red soil, reddish-brown rocks, desolation and lifelessness.

The boundless land was bleak and empty, with only a few bare rocky hills in the distance. A dead silence hung in the air. Not a blade of grass, not a soul in sight.

“This is the Northern Region? Wasn’t it supposed to be full of gold and jade mountains?”

“Forget people, not even a weed grows here. What kind of hell is this?”

“We have to mine source here for ten years before we can return to the Southern Region… gods!”

Thousands stood in a stupor. This desert-like wilderness filled them with dread.

The Grand Elder of Radiant Light frowned.

“Didn’t the sects that sent you here explain what kind of place this is?”

“Not like this. We didn’t expect this. This place isn’t even fit for birds to land.”

“The Northern Region is just like this…” the elder replied coldly, as calm as still water.

The Northern Region, boundless and desolate, famed for its source mines.

In proportion to its vastness, it was severely underpopulated. You could travel for a thousand miles without seeing a soul. Most of the land was barren.

Its rise and fall were both due to the “source”, a mystical substance that seemed to draw all the world’s spiritual energy into itself, draining the land.

Words like grotto-heavens and talented people had little to do with this place. There were oases, but they were nothing compared to the vast wilderness.

People here weren’t starving thanks to the abundance of source. But it was this very abundance that caused constant bloodshed, fights over mining rights were common. Each major sect brought their own people to mine, rather than using locals.

To cultivators, source was as valuable as gold is to mortals. That made this place a haven for thieves and raiders, from locals to forces across the Eastern Wilderness.

Violent struggle was constant. The Northern Region was chaos incarnate.

The Grand Elder walked forward. His footsteps echoed like thunder over the red earth. Suddenly, he vanished from sight.

The ground trembled. Mountains and plains seemed to shift. Thousands stumbled and fell, eyes filled with fear.

Before them, the landscape transformed. In place of empty land were stone houses, people, and rows of source mines.

This area was protected by ancient Dao runes, linked to the earth's veins, forming a massive formation that shielded the Radiant Light Sacred Ground’s mining district.

These thousands of mortals, willing or not, had no choice now. They could only hope that ten years would pass quickly so they could return to the south, rich from their labor.

Housing, food, and logistics were handled by the sect. The Grand Elder vanished soon after arrival.

The most productive source region was around the Primordial Mine, which spanned a hundred thousand miles and was divided among major Sacred Grounds.

The Primordial Mine itself, one of the Seven Forbidden Burial Grounds in the Eastern Wilderness, lay deep in this region. None dared to truly explore it.

Too many tragedies had occurred there in ancient times. Sage Monarchs entered and never returned. Eventually, people stopped trying. It became known as the Cursed Soil.

While the mine itself was avoided, the real threat in the Northern Region wasn’t it, but the Warlords.

The region was filled with warlike people and ruthless raiders from across the Wilderness, some even from the Heartlands and the Northern Reaches.

There were thirteen infamous warlords, each leading powerful warbands that threatened even the sacred grounds.

Despite repeated joint efforts to eliminate them, all failed. These warlords struck and vanished like ghosts, impossible to catch.

“Kill!”

Suddenly, a thunderous roar split the sky. As if to prove that the Northern Region was indeed soaked in blood and strife.

Just as the Dao runes protecting the mine had yet to fully reform, a raiding party of 70–80 elite warriors charged in.

Each rode a massive beast clad in black armor. Their roars echoed for miles, killing intent flooding the air.

These riders were terrifying, murder written on their bodies. Blood light hovered around them like mist.

Thousands of mortals collapsed in terror, overwhelmed by the pressure, knees buckling, unable to even stand.

The thunder of hooves crushed the heavens. At the center, a man in his thirties sat on a massive Suanni Lion, clad in dazzling black armor.

He held eighteen blood-red battle flags, snapping in the wind. Each one dripped with killing aura, as if soaked in the blood of countless souls.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

He planted three flags into the ground. The poles stabbed deep like heavenly pillars. Blood light surged into the sky. Instantly, the surrounding Dao runes lost their effect, the formation collapsed.

“Prepare for battle!”

These raiders were unstoppable, charging forward like an army of steel.

“Who dares invade Radiant Light’s forbidden land?!”

Radiant Light cultivators soared into the sky to block them, three white-haired elders led the charge.

“I am Jiang Yi! Who dares stop me?!” the flag-bearing warrior shouted.

Fifteen more blood-red flags stood behind him, radiating dreadful energy.

He charged forward, wielding a flag like a spear. His speed was so fast that sunlight couldn’t catch him, only an afterimage remained.

“The Ninth Warlord, Jiang Yi?!” the cultivators gasped.

The elders were horrified. Jiang Yi’s name was legendary. His strength was overwhelming.

With a swing, his flag released blood light. Over a dozen disciples behind the elders screamed as they exploded midair.

Blood gathered into his flag. Corpses fell from the sky.

“You were born of an ancient desolate clan, why turn to such brutality?!” one elder roared.

“You’re not worthy of asking that!” Jiang Yi snarled. His beast roared across the land.

Another elder summoned a sacred pestle, large as a mountain, glowing with divine light.

Crack! Jiang Yi’s flag, sharp as a divine spear, shattered it in an instant.

Thud! The elder was impaled, torn to pieces. Blood streamed into the flag.

“You…” It all happened too fast. The remaining elders couldn’t stop it.

“Go join him!” Jiang Yi swung again.

Boom! Boom!

The other two elders exploded. They couldn’t resist.

It was a stunning scene, Jiang Yi, unstoppable, stood alone with a flag that shook the heavens. His Suanni Beast roared as killing intent filled the land.

“The Ninth Warlord, Jiang Yi!”

Two Grand Elders from Radiant Light finally arrived, one was the same who had brought Ye Fan here.

“You are a direct descendant of the Jiang Clan. Why sink so low?” one asked.

“Once my brother Jiang Zhe left the Jiang Clan, I severed all ties. Don’t speak of it again!” Jiang Yi’s eyes flashed coldly.

“Your family matters are your own. Why raid our source mines?”

“Laughable!” Jiang Yi sneered. “These mines should belong to the people of the Northern Region. What gives you the right to claim them?”

Ye Fan’s heart trembled. He knew the name Jiang Zhe, it was the prodigy who had left the Jiang Clan and died in exile. Little Tingting was his descendant.

Boom!

Another flag slammed into the ground, towering hundreds of meters tall, flooding the area with blood light.

“I don’t want unnecessary deaths. You two old fossils, come face me.”

Jiang Yi waved at his riders.

“Go take the source. I’ll handle these two.”

Fourteen blood-red flags flew skyward like pillars supporting the heavens, trapping the elders inside.

Behind him, dozens of ironclad riders thundered forth like a tidal wave.

Ye Fan’s heart surged with emotion, Primordial Mine, the Thirteen Warlords, the Jiang Clan, and the Jade Pool Sacred Ground…

Ch. 175 - Land of Blood & Chaos

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