Ch. 576 - The Caravan

The golden-winged Leviathan tore through layer after layer of space. Its wings stretched for thousands of miles. In a flash, it crossed from one end of the void to the other.

Enlightened Sage had no time to react.

With a loud boom, the Leviathan’s claws slashed through the Buddha statue, then it vanished back into the second tower of Xu Zimo’s Nine-Revolutions God-Tower.

Xu Zimo looked up to see cracks spreading across Enlightened Sage’s Buddha form. A moment later, it shattered completely.

“Benefactor, you are truly merciful,” Enlightened Sage bowed respectfully to Xu Zimo, sighing.

He knew the Leviathan could have killed him easily if it had wanted to.

As soon as he finished speaking, the dark ocean of suffering above his head shattered with a wave of his hand. It turned into a rain of blood, mixing with the downpour, staining the entire forest red.

“Leave. All of you,” Xu Zimo waved his hand slightly. “Let me enjoy this tranquil rain.”

Enlightened Sage stood silently for a moment, as if he wanted to say something, but eventually said nothing. Yue Shan took his arm, and the two left together.

The rain in the sky poured down even harder.

Xu Zimo leaned against the tree, half lying down, eyes closed, resting.

…

In the distance, a horse-drawn carriage raced down the road, hooves pounding frantically. Amid the storm, over a dozen warhorses surrounded the carriage. Each one had a soldier in armor mounted on it.

The coachman was an old man in a green robe, with eyes like an eagle, sharp and gloomy.

“There’s a smell of blood,” the old man muttered.

Everyone tensed up and quickly stopped the carriage.

“There was a big battle here,” the old man surveyed the surroundings and said calmly. “Check the area. Make sure it’s clear before we continue.”

“Uncle Cheng,” a young woman’s voice called from inside the carriage.

“Yes, Miss?” the old man replied quickly.

“Won’t stopping waste time? Someone’s still chasing us,” the girl said, clearly worried.

“Don’t worry, Miss. We’re safe now that we’ve entered the Dragon Ridge Mountains,” the old man said with a smile. “There are many paths through this mountain range. It's hard to track anyone, especially with this rain covering our trail.”

“That’s good,” the woman replied.

Then she gently pulled back the curtain at the front of the carriage.

Inside sat two women. The one on the left looked like a maid based on her clothing. The woman on the right wore a long green dress, her black hair draped like silk. Her face was thin, with strands of damp hair sticking to her right cheek, adding a unique charm.

“Miss, it’s raining. Please stay inside the carriage,” the old man said quickly.

“It’s fine. Little Lian and I just wanted some fresh air,” the woman smiled.

The maid, Little Lian, had a light blue spirit shield around her, keeping all the rain off. But the green-dressed woman used no protection and let the rain fall freely on her.

“Miss, you…” Little Lian looked worried but didn’t finish her sentence.

“I like the rain,” the woman said gently.

As they spoke, a guard shouted from nearby.

“Steward Cheng! There’s someone here!”

The group quickly moved to check. Under a tree, they found a young man lying peacefully. Despite the heavy rain pouring around him, not a single drop touched his body.

“What’s with this guy?” Little Lian asked in confusion.

“There was a battle here. He’s likely involved,” Uncle Cheng said seriously. “Let’s not meddle. We should move on.”

“But if we leave him and he dies, won’t that be wrong?” the green-dressed woman frowned. “We don’t even know if he’s alive or dead.”

A guard tried to check his breathing, but before he got close, the young man opened his eyes.

“Pouring rain, yet someone still comes out here?” Xu Zimo said with interest.

“Who are you?” a nearby guard asked cautiously.

“Just a traveler,” Xu Zimo smiled. He glanced at the carriage and asked, “Where are you headed? Mind giving me a ride?”

“Sorry, that’s not convenient,” Uncle Cheng replied coldly.

“Poor guy like me, walking through a dangerous mountain alone in a storm, so pitiful,” Xu Zimo sighed dramatically.

The green-dressed woman hesitated for a moment, then looked up and said, “If you don’t mind, you can travel with our caravan. We’re heading to the Ninelands Region.”

“Miss, are you sure?” Uncle Cheng asked, concerned.

“We met by chance. If we can help someone, we should,” the woman said kindly.

“But we don’t know his background. It could be dangerous,” Uncle Cheng said.

“Someone who looks this handsome must be a good guy, right?” Xu Zimo joked.

“If you’re not afraid to die, then come,” Uncle Cheng said coldly and turned away.

“Give him a horse,” the young woman instructed one of the guards.

“No need. I have my own ride,” Xu Zimo smiled.

With a wave of his hand, the Darksky Tiger burst out of his storage ring and stopped beside him.

The moment the beast appeared, all the other horses panicked, pulling at their reins nervously.

“You… what is that?” a guard stammered, staring at the beast.

Uncle Cheng narrowed his eyes and stared at the Darksky Tiger for a long time before silently lowering his head, deep in thought.

“Just lead the way,” Xu Zimo said casually.

He wasn’t familiar with the geography of the Dragon Ridge Mountains. Traveling alone through the range to reach Ninelands was risky.

Joining this caravan made things easier.

Among the group, Xu Zimo judged that the strongest was the old man, Uncle Cheng, who was only in the Paragon Meridian Realm, not even a match for the Darksky Tiger.

…

The rain didn’t ease up. It kept pouring, steady and heavy.

The group walked on the muddy ground and soon left the forest.

Ahead, they came upon a fork with a dozen narrow paths.

The guards checked their directions, and the carriage continued along the path heading north.

The sky slowly began to darken.

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