The sky was clear for ten thousand miles, the blazing sunlight shining directly upon the hills and earth, baking the unshaded areas into hazy, distorted scenes, with many places emitting strange glows that transformed into miasmas, covering the surrounding area.
“The rainy season is here again…” Yuan Wen hid in the shade, squinting toward the outside of the village.
Although he had lived here for over twenty years, he had never liked the rainy season in the southern wilderness. Not only were sudden downpours common, but even when the skies cleared, his body always felt as if covered by a layer of moisture—wet and uncomfortable.
“I heard from Yuanyang that the north isn’t like this…” He gazed into the distance, admiring his younger sister. She had not only consumed rare herbs to remove her terrifying birthmark and slim her figure, but also possessed the courage to venture north alone, experiencing many wonders and strange tales that always made the young people in the tribe envious!
Just as he was thinking of his sister, he saw Yuanyang returning from the wild hills, panting heavily, trying to catch her breath. Her snow-white skin was covered in sweat, clearly having just finished a grueling training session.
“Sister, among the youth of the nearby tribes, you’re already the strongest. Why do you still work so hard?” Yuan Wen didn’t step out of the shade, casually saying.
He hated practicing martial arts during the rainy season the most—just a little movement would make him sweat through his clothes.
Yuanyang smiled: “Brother, the path of martial cultivation is like rowing upstream. If you don’t advance, you retreat.”
With the pressure of reincarnation and constant danger, how could she dare to slack off? Even though she had opened all seven orifices and her inner world had just taken shape, she still lagged far behind true masters who had broken through the barriers.
Yuan Wen felt a surge of irritation. Since his sister had returned from her travels in the north, her speech and mannerisms had become different from the other girls in the tribe, earning praise from elders and making him feel even more useless by comparison.
Yuanyang, having traveled far and wide, could roughly understand her brother’s feelings but said nothing, simply returning to her earthen house to wash up and change clothes.
Having seen so much, she had grown indifferent to the trivial matters of the village, considering most of them petty and not worth wasting her time.
Opening the sturdy wooden door and glancing inside, her eyes suddenly narrowed. She saw a white-robed young man sitting beside the hearth, leisurely roasting a sweet potato, its aroma filling the air.
“Sir… Brother…” She was suddenly excited, then quickly covered her mouth, afraid of drawing attention, but the villagers passing by seemed to see nothing and hear nothing.
Yuanyang suddenly turned, shut the door, and was about to go forward to bow when she suddenly let out a low “Ah!” and hurriedly said, “Wait, please wait, sir.”
She hurriedly moved around, muttering to herself, “Oh no, I haven’t washed up yet. I’m all sweaty. How can I meet a guest like this…”
Compared to women from the Central Plains, she was more straightforward.
Meng Qi smiled silently, saying nothing, slowly peeling the skin off the sweet potato and tasting it.
After a while, Yuanyang tidied herself up and walked out from the bedroom, her hair braided into many small plaits, her eyes sparkling.
“I came to ask about the southern wilderness,” Meng Qi said with a smile after Yuanyang had performed the greeting ritual and sat on the other side of the hearth.
Yuanyang’s face immediately brightened with joy at being able to help her “young master.”
“The southern wilderness is said to have a million mountains, all harsh and perilous, filled with miasmas, venomous insects, monsters, and wild beasts. Travel is difficult, news is scarce, and many heterodox sects occupy the mountains. Nearby tribes are either subjugated by them or rely on them to defend against monstrous beasts, ensuring the tribe’s survival—only the strongest tribes are exceptions…”
She carefully chose her words, trying to use the more refined vocabulary she had learned in the Jin Dynasty.
Meng Qi did not interrupt, listening patiently. When Yuanyang paused, he asked, “What about the Blood Robe Sect?”
At those three words, Yuanyang involuntarily showed a hint of fear on her face, as if she had been constantly reminded of their terror.
She took a few deep breaths before slowly saying, “The Blood Robe Sect is the cruelest of all. They like to cultivate using human bodies, and they are ruthless even to themselves. Therefore, their temperaments are extreme, and they enjoy killing. Eight out of ten tribal annihilations in the southern wilderness are likely their doing.”
“Even heterodox sects and evil cults are reluctant to provoke them—if you fight one, a whole swarm will come seeking revenge. However, communication in the southern wilderness is difficult, and the wild beasts lack intelligence. They dare not act too brazenly in front of powerful cultivators.”
Otherwise, if they truly angered someone, they might secretly capture them and throw them to the beasts. No matter how strong the Blood Robe Sect was, could they really find the real culprit?
“The main hall of the Blood Robe Sect is deep in the southern wilderness, but many elders and disciples like to occupy mountain strongholds and enslave tribes…” Yuanyang continued.
Meng Qi’s main purposes for coming to the southern wilderness were twofold: first, to understand the Blood Robe Sect’s strange cultivation techniques through various means, so he would at least know how to deal with them if he encountered them during a death mission. Second, to investigate the matter of the so-called “reincarnation child.” If he could directly eliminate the Blood Sea Rakshasa’s infiltration into that divine and demonic world through Du Huaimei, that would be best.
Therefore, he asked directly, “Have you heard of any reincarnation matters in the southern wilderness?”
Yuanyang’s expression suddenly changed, as if recalling something terrifying. After a long while, she said, “When I was young, the elders mentioned a tribe near Changshe Mountain called ‘Eternal Life.’ Every member of this tribe possessed the ability to reincarnate. When one was about to die, they would leave behind hints and tokens for their kin to find their reincarnated self. Each time, they successfully located the reincarnation, who possessed the deceased’s complete memories, personality, habits, and speech patterns, but as a child.”
“Children in this tribe are born only with great difficulty, unless another tribe member has died and become their reincarnation.”
Such a strange phenomenon had always given her nightmares as a child!
It sounded like a tribe of living Buddhas… Meng Qi almost laughed out loud.
He was no stranger to such situations and naturally wasn’t afraid.
Knowing that the young master was powerful and unafraid of ghosts and monsters, Yuanyang gave a self-deprecating smile and continued, “However, the Eternal Life tribe has already been wiped out.”
“Wiped out?” Meng Qi was genuinely surprised this time, vaguely guessing something.
Sure enough, Yuanyang nodded: “More than ten years ago, the leader of the Blood Robe Sect suddenly attacked and wiped them out.”
Meng Qi had already finished his sweet potato. He placed his right hand on the back of his left and began tapping lightly, lost in thought.
“The Blood Sea Rakshasa destroyed the Eternal Life tribe that possessed reincarnation abilities,” and “Du Huaishang is her reincarnation child.” Meng Qi couldn’t believe these two events were unrelated.
“Were there any survivors from the Eternal Life tribe?” he asked.
Yuanyang frowned in thought, finally shaking her head after a long while: “It was said that the Blood Robe Sect launched a large-scale hunt at the time, but there was no follow-up afterward.”
“Hmm.” Meng Qi nodded thoughtfully. After confirming the location of Changshe Mountain, he patted his clothes and slowly stood up.
Yuanyang’s eyes lit up: “Young master, do you want to go to Changshe Mountain? I can guide you.”
“No need. Before heading to Changshe Mountain, I plan to cause trouble for the Blood Robe Sect. Do you want to follow me to attack one of their branch halls?” Meng Qi smiled.
He had come alone to the southern wilderness. As long as he controlled the level of confrontation and avoided drawing the attention of the highest-level experts from the Blood Robe Sect, he had nothing to fear. Therefore, he planned to directly confront them!
Yuanyang was momentarily speechless. She did believe in the young master’s strength, but her own tribe was located in the southern wilderness. After the young master succeeded, he could simply leave, but she couldn’t easily escape her home.
Meng Qi laughed heartily and, with a single step, vanished from the earthen house.
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