The Evil Infested Ridge was a land of treasures in the eyes of many powerful sects and nations. This place had an abundance of godly ores, a plethora of spirit medicines and dan herbs, and was accompanied by the roars of Heavenly Beasts and groups of Longevity Spirits.
Even though in the legends, the Evil Infested Ridge was far away from the Forbidden Burials or Ancient Earths, it was still a rare ground with treasures and riches.
No one could clearly speak of the exact origin of the Evil Infested Ridge. Some said that it was a natural ground. Some described it as a land that came from another world. Some also said that it was a place of the Gods...
Thirty thousand years ago until their loss at the hands of the Heavenly God Sect, the Evil Infested Ridge belonged to the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect. Even though they managed to keep their ancestral land, they couldn’t hold on to the Evil Infested Ridge.
That year, the ridge was the hunting ground for the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect; no one dared to trespass. Even though there was an abundance of treasures that caused the mouths of others to become watery, no one dared to have any intentions against the sect.
The defeat of the sect caused the Evil Infested Ridge to be a place without an owner. Even though the Heavenly God Sect was the victor, all of the grand sects and nations in the entire Grand Middle Territory were interested in the ridge. This was why the Heavenly God Sect didn’t dare to own the ridge alone and had to share it with the rest of the world.
Certain grand characters calculated that the opening of the Evil Infested Ridge would happen up to one year at the latest and within three months at the shortest.
Thus, at this moment, all of the experienced big sects and nations clamored to send their disciples on their way to the Evil Infested Ridge, to see whether they would be fortunate enough to seize the treasures in the legends.
As for the hosting country, the Heavenly Jewel Kingdom also sent their disciples earlier and camped at the entrance to the Evil Infested Ridge. Besides greeting the disciples from the grand sects and powerful nations from the eight directions of the Grand Middle Territories, they were also responsible for determining whether certain sects and cultivators had the qualifications to enter.
Even though the saying was that the Evil Infested Ridge was for the world to share, in reality, the sects that could enter the ridge were all grand sects and powerful nations, or a renowned tyrant of one direction. As for the small sects or ordinary cultivators, they wouldn’t expect to qualify to enter the Evil Infested Ridge.
The Evil Infested Ridge was actually not far from the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect. At most, it was only one hundred thousand miles. If the old boundary of the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect resembled a sea snail, then the current sect would be located at its tail and the Evil Infested Ridge would be at its mouth. They had to pass through the sect’s Ancient Land.
Calculating the date a little bit, the time until the opening drew closer. Li Qiye wanted to leave early for the ridge and wait for the opening date.
All of the chosen disciples were waiting. At this point, Niu Fen quickly transformed into a giant snail. Because there were many disciples going, Niu Fen’s body became even larger, like a giant mountain.
Looking at this enormous snail, all of the disciples were dumbfounded. During their time growing up, this was still their first time seeing such an enormous snail.
“Begin.” With Li Qiye’s command, Niu Fen carried all of the disciples of the sect towards the Evil Infested Ridge up ahead. The disciples sitting on the snail enjoyed this fresh and exciting experience.
There were around one thousand disciples coming along with Li Qiye this time. Outside of the three hundred disciples from the Cleansing Jade Peak, Qu Daoli and Protector Mo also led a group along with Tu Bu Yu and First Elder Gu Tieshou. The other four elders stayed behind to protect the sect.
As Li Qiye’s maid, Li Shuangyan also came along. She was also a main part of Li Qiye’s power so he had to bring her along.
As for Nan Huairen, as Li Qiye’s errand boy, he naturally wanted to come along. Nan Huairen was completely loyal so if there were any spoils, Li Qiye wouldn’t forget about his share.
In reality, before the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect’s group began their journey, there were people already stationed at the entrance of the Evil Infested Ridge.
The entrance was a huge horizontal ridge. It was like a giant dragon lying on the earth as if it was a separator between the heaven and earth. This entrance was in front of the ridge that ranged many million miles long. The moment one stood on top of the ridge to overlook all of the directions, it gave the feeling that the whole world was small in comparison.
The door was at the highest peak in this region — extremely magnificent. Of course, this was only the entrance, the true Evil Infested Ridge was bigger than one ever could imagine.
At the first checkpoint of the ridge, there was a team sent by the Heavenly Jewel Kingdom. This vanguard was meant to welcome the disciples from the grand sects as the host, but they also determined who had the qualifications to enter.
The vanguard group of the Heavenly God Sect was personally led by Zhen Wei Hou. Zhen Wei Hou was a Royal Noble of the previous generation, just like Zi Shan Hou. What was worth mentioning was that Zhen Wei Hou’s clan had a good relationship with the Dong Clan. At the same time, Zhen Wei Hou’s personal relationship with Dong Shenglong was very good! [1]
The moment the Heavenly Jewel Kingdom’s troops were stationed at the ridge, many cultivators had heard of the news. Especially the cultivators without a sect and weaker ones; they had come early and watched from a far distance.
These sect-less cultivators, along with weaker ones, absolutely didn’t have the qualifications to enter the Evil Infested Ridge. However, they still wanted to watch the situation and take advantage if the opportunity arose; maybe they could even sneak inside the ridge. If not, they could use this chance to observe the grand characters of the big sects and strong nations for a little bit. There was even a chance to watch the auras of Enlightened Beings and Ancient Saints; this would then be a worthwhile trip.
After the Heavenly Jewel Kingdom’s vanguard had stationed at the entrance, these sect-less cultivators knew to stay far away. They were not dumb enough to oppose a giant monster such as the Heavenly Jewel Kingdom.
“Hun Yuan Hou has arrived...” Not long after Zhen Wei Hou finished his encampment, there was another Royal Noble who arrived by riding a Dragon Horse. This Royal Noble only had three to five followers, but he possessed a powerful primordial blood energy that caused weaker cultivators to lose their colors. [2]
Witnessing the arrival of Hun Yuan Hou from afar, many cultivators spoke with admiration: “Hun Yuan Hou is quite hard to judge, was only bestowed the title Royal Noble for not more than fifty years, yet he already obtained the Mortal King’s special permission to have the qualification in entering the Evil Infested Ridge.”
Zhen Wei Hou, as the host, simply clasped his hands together to greet the arrival of Hun Yuan Hou and didn’t prepare any special arrangement for him. Hun Yuan Hou, in front of Zhen Wei Hou, was also very careful and arranged everything himself.
Then, there were many other Royal Nobles from the Heavenly Jewel Kingdom, with the qualifications to enter the Evil Infested Ridge, who also arrived one after another. However, within their own groups, only one Royal Noble could actually enter.
“The Violet Cloud Sect has arrived...”
As the day went on, there were many disciples from the big sects and powerful nations outside of the Heavenly Jewel Kingdom that arrived.
The Violet Cloud Sect arrived from a rainbow in the sky, spanning across the ridge. After the disciples of the Violet Cloud Sect had arrived, Zhen Wei Hou ordered some disciples to greet them.
The disciples of the Violet Cloud Sect were all extraordinary and had purple energy. A wise man would notice that the majority of these disciples had stepped into the Heaven’s Primal realm!
For the younger generation, to be able to reach the Heaven’s Primal realm was an excellent achievement. Especially when ten years ago, it was still during the Difficult Dao Era. With the lack of Heaven’s Will and how the world’s essence was dried up, it made cultivation extremely difficult!
A person movingly said: “The Flying Dragon Lake has also arrived, very hot stuff. I heard that this time, the Flying Dragon Lake was personally led by its young master. Rumor has it that the young master of Flying Dragon was a giant python that cultivated into a demon, and there was even a chance for him to become Demon King in the future!”
The arrival of the Flying Dragon Lake carried the roar of a dragon. One giant dragon spanned across the sky and carried one hundred disciples, they were all extraordinarily talented. However, the disciples of the Flying Dragon Lake were all demons versed in the Dao and had different appearances. Some had a human body but the head of a hawk, some had ox horns, and some at the back had human heads on a bird’s body...”
Seeing the arrival of new countries along with big sects, a few inexperienced cultivators didn’t know the reasons and curiously asked: “How come there are no Ancient Saints arriving?”
An older cultivator said: “There is something you aren’t aware of. The old legends had it that the Evil Infested Ridge was a place to train the disciples of the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect. It was meant to be a hellish training ground and only awarded to the younger generations, so only cultivators under the Ancient Saint realm could enter. Otherwise, any higher cultivators would be suppressed by immortal power!”
An even more experienced cultivator gently shook his head and explained: “Ancient Saints will not easily appear at the moment. The Difficult Dao Era made everyone suffer for a long thirty thousand years. The majority of grand characters above the Enlightened Being level were all accomplished before the last thirty thousand years. Within these thirty thousand years, no matter if they were Ancient Saints or Heavenly Kings, their cultivations were stuck at the same place so new Ancient Saints within the last era could be counted on one’s fingers. Therefore, all of the Ancient Saints from thirty thousand years ago are either dead from old age, or they forcibly froze their lifespan and are reluctant to go outside.”
Legends had it that thirty thousand years ago, the Black Dragon King suddenly became furious and fought against Immortal Emperor Ta Kong, wanting to rob the Heaven’s Will that was shouldered by him. This battle was murderous to the point where the Gods were crying and the Devils were lamenting. In the end, the Heaven’s Will was ripped apart. After this, the world’s energy dried up and this became the hardest thirty thousand years for cultivators.
During such hard times, many great characters that had reached Enlightened Being and Ancient Saint couldn’t take another half step forward because of the dried up world’s essence, so their cultivation remained at the same place.
This era caused countless Enlightened Beings and Ancient Saints to die from old age. The ones that managed to escape this fate all froze their lifespan and went into mortal isolation and didn’t dare to appear in the world. [3]
[1] Hou is indeed a title, with all of these Hous appearing. Hou meaning noble or marquis and are given by the Mortal King.
[2] Hun Yuan = primordial.
[3] Mortal isolation = a cultivation session that will determine whether you live or die. Also, this is an explanation of why the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect’s elders are all stuck at Royal Noble and below, even if their aptitudes were limited.