Actually, Zhao Ya had already suspected this.
Because they had been heading west all along, and according to Wu Bao’Er’s description, from Beyond the World heading westward, within a few thousand miles would be the Wilderness Jungle.
Even though they walked most of the time to accommodate Jin Fu, Zhao Ya and his group still managed to cover several thousand miles in those ten days with relative ease.
So even if this wasn’t the Wilderness Jungle, it shouldn’t be too far off.
By this time, they had already climbed halfway up the mountain. Zhao Ya looked far into the distance and saw the layers of forest with red leaves covering the mountains. Although it was the peak of summer, it appeared as if autumn had already set in.
"It doesn’t look out of the ordinary," Zhao Ya said.
"That’s natural," Liang Xin’an smiled at Zhao Ya, "Nowadays, the tribes living in the Wilderness Jungle have learned their lesson. They all hide deep in the mountains and are reluctant to venture out. Do you know why?"
"Does it have to do with me?"
"Of course it does. You should know that during the war between the South and North Canglong, it wasn’t just the South Canglong that was destroyed. The tribes living in the Wilderness Jungle, who worship all kinds of Natural Spirits, suffered even greater losses."
Hearing this, Zhao Ya’s heart was stirred, and he couldn’t help but ask, "Did the people from the South Canglong come here back then?"
"Of course they came. Not only did they come, but they also plundered the divine statues worshiped by these tribes, causing numerous wars. They even sent people to pay respects to the Mechanical Sect, but we paid them no mind," Liang Xin’an said indifferently.
"Given that, these tribes should have formed a life-and-death grudge against the South Canglong. Why did they later pledge allegiance to Jingping Saint?"
In fact, Zhao Ya had long harbored this doubt, but as time passed, even the South Canglong’s base was destroyed, and Jingping Saint’s very bones had decayed, making the reasons unknowable.
Now, seeing Liang Xin’an bring it up, Zhao Ya naturally wanted to get to the bottom of it.
"Actually, I was unaware of the war between the South and North Canglong. Back then, I only noticed a group of people looting these tribes, so I asked about it once."
"As for the war between you and Jingping Saint, I only learned about it after leaving the mountain. But from everyone’s accounts and the clues left behind, Jingping Saint was indeed remarkable."
"To think that he considered absorbing the Divine Power into his mortal body and refining it. If he had succeeded, it certainly could have been possible to break through the Limit of Immortal and Mortal."
Liang Xin’an rarely praised anyone, but he was quite generous in his praise for Jingping Saint.
"The reason these tribes later pledged allegiance to him, I believe, is largely because he absorbed the power from their worshiped divine statues. In doing so, he became equivalent to the earthly incarnation of these Divine Spirits, and the tribes naturally followed his orders."
At this point, Liang Xin’an suddenly thought of something and looked up at Zhao Ya.
"So after Jingping Saint died, you didn’t find his cultivation technique?"
"No!" Zhao Ya shook his head.
He wasn’t lying about this.
Because they truly hadn’t found any trace left by Jingping Saint.
Zhao Ya had thought about it at the time, but unfortunately, Jingping Saint’s body was severely damaged, leaving no trace of value.
Later, Qin Jianji had also personally led a search at the South Canglong’s base, but by then, the people stationed there had already received the news and had vanished.
Aside from a few valuables, they found nothing.
The matter was subsequently left unresolved.
"What a pity," Liang Xin’an remarked. "To be honest, Jingping Saint had the talent to carve out a unique path. It’s just that he lacked a bit of luck and means."
In his words, Liang Xin’an truly expressed regret over Jingping Saint’s fate.
Zhao Ya understood that for someone like Liang Xin’an, conventional morality was quite dim.
What they valued was often the exploration of the world’s rules.
Everything else was generally unimportant.
"So you think this path could succeed?" Zhao Ya asked.
"Who knows? But every exploration of rules is invaluable, and I never believe that the cultivation of the Martial Dao is the only path to the heavens!" Liang Xin’an said lightly, then stepped onto the mountain ridge and pointed forward.
"Look, this is the Mechanical Sect’s base!"
Zhao Ya seemed to realize something but couldn’t quite grasp it, so he temporarily let it go.
Everyone stepped onto the mountain ridge and looked up.
Amidst the surrounding mountains stood a city.
Even from a distance, the grandeur and magnificence of the city could be felt.
Not to mention anything else, just the city walls were about five stories high, made entirely of black basalt, straight and imposing, a truly spectacular sight.
"How is it?" Liang Xin’an asked with some pride.
"It’s simply stunning!" Gui Xuanqing exclaimed sincerely.
"Heh, this is the handiwork of the brothers in the Celestial Craft Department. I’ve told them before, our Mechanical Sect is situated deep in the mountains, and hardly anyone comes by, so why build such massive walls?"
"But they said it wasn’t any trouble for them, so they used just a few days to build it," Liang Xin’an said lightly.
"Such tall walls, constructed in just a few days?" Gui Xuanqing could hardly believe his ears.
"Indeed, it sounds incredible, but the power of machinery is beyond human imagination. So tasks that seem difficult are swiftly accomplished with mechanical assistance."