Chapter 743: A Huge Life Form in Extreme Peace County
Revered Ancient was astonishingly large. In the era of the Ancient Emperors, a survey revealed that it contained a total of 365 regions.
After the great catastrophe, many of them were divided up. What was more, tectonic shifts resulted in even more changes. As species divided the lands up, people lost track of how many regions there were in total. That said, based on the understanding of many species, about thirty percent of Revered Ancient were dead lands where life didn’t exist.
Eventually, five god domains came to exist, with three of them being in those dead lands. Of course, even outside of the dead lands, the regions were so huge that cultivators couldn’t traverse them in a lifetime. Only by using long-range teleportations was it possible for people to travel long distances. That said, because those teleportation portals were controlled by different species in different regions, traveling from one to the other was difficult. And there were many regions that couldn’t even build such portals.
Generally speaking, teleportation routes had to be set up between two portals controlled by the same species. In other words, traveling amongst portals in one small area was usually easy. But going between portals controlled by different species was the opposite. Thanks to the advantage humankind had long ago, they managed to maintain control of the ancient road that led from the Imperial capital all the way to the Holytide Region.
The next stop on the route after leaving the Holytide Region was the Audeng Region. That name had existed even in the time of Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity, and had not changed since then. In fact, it was even possible it had existed before then. There were many stories about its history, but among them, one was the most commonly repeated.
It related to the name of a heavenly dao. Supposedly, the very first heavenly dao in Revered Ancient had started out as a cultivator who eventually sacrificed himself to stand guard over the continent. His name was Audeng, and the region that bore his name now was his hometown. The region was now controlled by three major species, all of whom claimed to be descendants of Audeng. All of them had many other species that worked for them, and were constantly at war, viewing the other species as foreigners and outsiders.
Because of the endless war, the commoners had rough lives. The lands were all in varying states of decay, and it was a struggle just to stay alive. However, that was the reason why the humans were able to keep control of Extreme Peace County. The downside was that they had to pay rent to the three greater species.
Those three species collectively had a single domain treasure. The domain treasure was faulty, and needed blood sacrifices to keep it working. And control of it was split between the three species. Its functionality was primarily defensive, which meant that the interior of the Audeng Region could be controlled easily, but expansion wasn’t really possible. However, that was enough.
When it came to the rent that had to be paid, for reasons of face, the Imperial Region didn’t make any statement about it. But the successive governors of Extreme Peace County knew that, in order to keep the county safe, they had to cooperate.
However, once humankind revealed their Dawning Suns, everything changed. When that happened, humans everywhere lifted their heads proudly. In the administrative districts outside the capital, the effects were pronounced. For instance, Extreme Peace County stopped paying rent to the three species of that region, and those species didn’t say anything in response.
In Tranquil Sun Prefecture in Extreme Peace County, the night sky was suddenly illuminated by the glittering light of teleportation. From a distance, the cultivators of Extreme Peace County were waiting in combat readiness, their expressions somber as they looked in the direction of the teleportation portal. Although they weren’t unfamiliar with Sea-Sealing County, neither were they particularly close with them. Regardless, news about the things happening recently in Sea-Sealing County had spread like wildfire through Revered Ancient. Thus, they were paying very close attention to teleportations coming from Sea-Sealing County.
As a glittering sea of light expanded, a group of 30,000 swordsages appeared on the platform, led by Li Yunshan. The moment they appeared, all of them revealed varying degrees of discomfort. Despite how severe such symptoms were, the swordsages kept them under control. Following Li Yunshan’s arrangements, they scattered, forming into ranks and then staring around vigilantly.
After it was clear the situation was safe, the next group came in, composed of Plumdark, Ningyan, and the others. After that was finished, Xu Qing arrived.
A very dry wind blew. Xu Qing was used to South Phoenix, Sea-Sealing County, and the Holytide Region, all of which were close to the sea, with climates that were generally cool and humid. Even the Moonrite Region was mostly cold. Therefore, being in a landlocked place like Extreme Peace County, the climate difference was immediately noticeable.
In terms of a reaction to the long-range teleportation, Xu Qing had a god body, so he didn’t feel uncomfortable at all.
“Extreme Peace County,” the Captain said, stretching his arms. “What a good name! Little Ah Qing, what do you say we change the name of Mount Heavenly Ox? We could call it Mount Extreme Ox! I feel like the ‘extreme’ character is really impressive.”
Seeing how excited the Captain was at the prospect, Xu Qing gave it some serious thought. “We could try that.”
The Captain smiled broadly. Off to the side, Ningyan nodded, and even went so far as to thump his own chest.
“No problem, Captain,” he said. “If I can build my power base, then we can add the character Ox to everything in the region!”
The Captain’s eyes lit up, and he dragged Ningyan off to the side to discuss the details.
Xu Qing ignored them. Looking up into the sky, he saw that the moon here was different than in the Holytide Region. It was very far away, and it wasn’t circular. It was actually triangular, almost like a mountain in the sky. What was more, it cast blue light down onto the lands below.
This was the third moon Xu Qing had ever seen. After gazing at it for a bit, he turned his attention to the Extreme Peace County cultivators off in the distance watching the teleportation portal. Li Yunshan had already flown over to talk to them.
After teleporting in, Plumdark had been focused on the actual portal beneath their feet. A strange expression could be seen on her face as she approached Xu Qing.
“Xu Qing,” she said, “something’s off about this teleportation portal.”
As the lingering glow of the teleportation illuminated Plumdark in the dark of night, she seemed like an immortal being, her skin as fair as snow, the long sleeves of her garments swaying in the wind. Her eyes resembled limpid autumn waters, and she almost seemed to shimmer, making her stand out among the crowd.
In response to her comment, Xu Qing looked down at the teleportation portal. He sent his shadow spreading out underneath the moonlight to check, and a moment later, excited fluctuations reached him.
“Huge... life....”
Xu Qing’s eyes glittered. Meanwhile, Li Yunshan flew back from his meeting with the Extreme Peace County cultivators.
“I’m afraid we need to wait here for a time,” he said.
“Because of the teleportation portal?” Xu Qing asked.
Li Yunshan nodded. “There are certain things about Extreme Peace County that are a mystery to us in Sea-Sealing County. This teleportation portal is one of them. Preparations need to be made in order to activate it again. It normally would take about seven days. However, in three days, something will happen that the portal will need half a month to recover from.”
“It’s... alive?” Plumdark asked suddenly.
Her words were noticed by Ningyan and Wu Jianwu. Kong Xianglong also looked curiously at the portal underfoot. It didn’t look any different from any other teleportation portal. As for the Captain, his eyes glittered as he squatted down and touched the platform curiously.
Li Yunshan took a deep breath. He had only just now learned this information from the Extreme Peace County forces, and it had been very surprising.
“According to what Extreme Peace County told me, this ancient teleportation portal was looked at by the broken face. Strangely, though, this location didn’t turn into a forbidden region. However, when that happened, the ancient teleportation portal... gained consciousness. The invasion brought life to it. Put simply, it is indeed alive.
“Every half month, the portal will transform, turning into a vicious beast that roams Extreme Peace County looking to amuse itself. Wherever it goes, it randomly teleports people to other locations. The teleportations are limited to this county. The living portal has a temperament similar to a child, and is not malevolent. As a result, the locals view the whole thing similar to weather changes.
“There are some benefits. Whenever the living portal goes back to sleep, the teleportations can be carried out for free. As a result, the county doesn’t do anything about it. And that’s why we need to wait for half a month before the next teleportation.”
When Li Yunshan finished his explanation, he looked at Xu Qing.
Xu Qing didn’t say anything. Plumdark, the Captain, and Li Yunshan discussed the matter a bit more, and ultimately decided to just wait. And thus, they set up a camp about 50 kilometers away from the portal.
The local cultivators kept distance between themselves and Xu Qing’s group. They were clearly staying on guard. It wasn’t just them. The county capital of Extreme Peace County was nearby, and they were on guard as well. In fact, so were all of the species and organizations in the county. All species issued orders to stay away from Tranquil Sun Prefecture.
Xu Qing made sure not to disturb the locals. After the camp was set up, he closed his eyes and focused on meditation. So did everyone else, except for the Captain, who went out curiously to look at the ancient teleportation portal.
Late in the night three days later, a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering rumbling sound echoed out from the portal. The quaking ground caused Xu Qing to open his eyes and walk out of his tent.
Plumdark, Ningyan, Li Yunshan, Kong Xianglong, and everyone else also stepped out and looked off into the distance. Before long, they saw something spectacular.
The huge teleportation portal shone with dark blue light. At the same time, the moonlight dimmed, as if all of it were being sucked into the portal. Blue hairs grew off the portal, more and more of them, like a coat of fur. As the rumbling sounds continued, the portal... uprooted itself. The ground shook, and the sky turned dark. The portal floated up, flat and covered with drifting hair. It didn’t look dangerous. It was almost like a big, hairy mooncake. A haircake....
And when it opened its two, huge eyes, it actually looked somewhat cute. It made a happy little noise, then floated off into the distance. Birds in the sky scattered in fear, but they weren’t fast enough, and as the portal passed them, they were teleported to other locations. That seemed to make the portal happy, and it continued off into the distance.
“This huge world really is full of extraordinary things...” Li Yunshan said with a sigh.
Plumdark’s eyes glittered with reminiscence as she looked at the haircake floating off into the distance.
Meanwhile, Xu Qing’s heart was racing. Over the years that had passed, he had seen many mysterious and fantastic things in Revered Ancient. Every time it was different. After all, what Revered Ancient could reveal to him personally was just the tip of the iceberg.
As everyone looked on in surprise, the Captain licked his lips, and his eyes shone brightly.
This thingy looks like a real treasure. And since it appeared to me, that means we’re connected by destiny!