Ch. 773 - The Woman From Mortal Dust Palace

“Tell me, why did the Heavenly Dao destroy the Desolate Kingdom back then?” Xu Zimo asked curiously as they walked down the mountain.

“How would I know that? But the Heavenly Dao must have had its reasons,” the wise monk replied.

“The Heavenly Dao doesn't act lightly. It's like a ruler, maintaining the basic balance of this world. Unless something breaks that balance, it won't intervene.”

“You sure know a lot,” Xu Zimo said with a smile.

“Because our sect studies divination and often deals with the will of Heaven, naturally we know a bit more,” the monk explained.

“Have you ever defied Heaven?” Xu Zimo asked with a grin.

“What does it mean to defy Heaven?” The monk laughed loudly.

“Only those legendary figures might have the chance to provoke the Heavenly Dao. Talking about defying Heaven, for someone like me, a mere ant, the Heavenly Dao probably wouldn't even glance at me. There's no such thing as defying Heaven. At most, it's just being unwilling to accept an ordinary fate, trying to change my own destiny.”

Xu Zimo glanced at the monk. This guy really had some insight.

...

The two walked down Heaven-Jade Mountain and arrived at a river.

This river was one of the many branches of the Endless Sky Sea. Following it upstream would lead them to the sea area of the Endless Sky Sea.

Usually, there were boats here specifically for ferrying people to the sea.

But because the mountain had been sealed off, the river now looked rather desolate and deserted.

“There’s a small village nearby. Let’s go take a look, maybe there are boats,” the monk suggested, glancing into the distance.

The outline of a small village could be vaguely seen far away, and it looked like someone was cooking, with smoke curling into the sky.

Xu Zimo nodded, not objecting.

The two could have flown through the air, but since it was still some distance to the Endless Sky Sea, traveling by boat would be much more comfortable.

...

The village wasn't far away. It was a decently sized place.

When Xu Zimo and the monk arrived, the stone tablet at the entrance bore the words "Small Village."

The village seemed newly built; the stone tablet still looked fresh.

On both sides were a few cape trees covered in silver-white frost, quite beautiful.

Xu Zimo entered the village and greeted a villager, asking about boats.

“There are boats in the village, but they’re all managed by the village chief. You can talk to him,” the villager replied.

Following the directions, Xu Zimo and the monk walked along a stone path to the far end.

There was a small hut made of stone blocks.

An elderly man was sitting on a stone stool in front of the house, seemingly cleaning some seafood.

“Outsiders?” The old man stood up slightly and was the first to speak when he saw them.

“Village chief, we want to go to the Endless Sky Sea and would like to borrow a boat from the village,” the monk said.

“Isn’t Heaven-Jade Mountain sealed? How did you get here?” the old man asked suspiciously.

“We got lost in the mountain and somehow ended up here,” the monk explained casually.

“I can send someone to take you by boat, but do you have spirit crystals?” the old man asked.

“Taoists usually don't care for worldly money,” the monk said to Xu Zimo.

Xu Zimo smiled, casually took out a few dozen spirit crystals from his storage ring, and handed them over.

The old man glanced curiously at Xu Zimo’s storage ring, then smiled and said, “Wait here a moment, I’ll go make arrangements.”

He hurried into the village.

Watching the old man walk away, the monk said quietly, “Don’t you think something’s off?”

“What’s off?” Xu Zimo asked with a smile.

“When we walked through the village earlier, I felt like countless eyes were watching us from both sides. Didn’t you feel it?” the monk asked.

“What’s the point in overthinking? As long as it doesn’t stop us from reaching the sea,” Xu Zimo replied.

As they spoke, a flurry of footsteps came from within the village.

Soon, the old man returned with a group of men running behind him.

Dust-covered, these were all burly men carrying weapons like chained sabers.

Each wore a red headband with a skull emblem on it.

“Don’t tell me we’ve stumbled into a bandit’s den,” the monk said helplessly.

“That young one looks rich,” the old man told the group behind him.

As they got closer, one of the men stepped forward and said, “Hand over everything valuable, and I’ll let you die with a whole corpse.”

“Boring,” Xu Zimo replied with some annoyance.

No one saw the saber drawn, but a wave of blade intent swept out.

Dozens of heads fell to the ground.

Only the old man stood frozen in place.

“Where’s the boat?” Xu Zimo asked calmly.

“South... south side of the village,” the old man stammered, eyes empty.

“Who are you people?” the monk asked from the side.

“We're pirates from around here,” the old man quickly answered.

“Despicable,” the monk muttered, then crushed the old man’s head with a palm strike.

They were about to head to the south side of the village to look for the boats.

But halfway there, Xu Zimo looked at a nearby house on the street and frowned slightly.

“Someone’s hiding?” he said.

When they kicked open the door, they saw a woman tied up inside.

Her clothes were partly torn, and she was sobbing.

Seeing Xu Zimo and the monk enter, she became even more terrified.

“Who are you?” the monk removed the cloth from her mouth and asked.

“Aren’t you with those men?” the woman asked cautiously.

“We're just passing through this village,” the monk replied.

“Please save me. I was kidnapped by them,” the woman begged.

“Amitabha,” the monk recited a Buddhist chant and untied her.

“Where are you from?” Xu Zimo asked.

“I... I came here with my parents,” the woman hesitated and replied. “But they killed my parents and abducted me.”

“When a person speaks, the truth is written on their face. You can’t fool me,” the monk said, shaking his head.

“Don’t trust us?”

“I...” the woman hesitated, then finally said, “I ran away from the Mortal Dust Palace.”

Hearing this, the monk frowned slightly.

“How could someone leave the Mortal Dust Palace?”

Those who enter the Mortal Dust Palace are supposed to give up all worldly desires and detach from everything.

Once you enter, you can never leave.

That’s what makes the Mortal Dust Palace so feared, most people avoid it at all costs.

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