Published: March 3, 2025
Chapter 529: The Cause and Effect of That Year (For this month's additional update due to 700 monthly votes!)
Below, the barren wasteland.
A large group of ragged and disheveled mortals were weakly walking across the wasteland, migrating south towards the Chu State.
It was evident that these were "refugees" who had been forced to flee their homes due to the outbreak of the beast tide, which prevented them from farming normally.
Flying over, Liu Yu slowed down to observe the situation in Qingzhou.
He had seen many such groups of refugees along the way.
The reason he stopped this time was because among the crowd of refugees, there was a young boy who seemed to have quite good aptitude.
This was a boy around thirteen or fourteen years old. Due to long-term travel, his face and clothes were covered in a layer of filth.
His originally white robe had turned dark, and his face was the same.
But even amidst the dirt, one could faintly see a trace of refinement in his features.
However, in Liu Yu's vision, he could see a faint red light emanating from the top of the boy's head, suggesting that he possessed a spiritual root, and a good one at that.
The reason he stopped was precisely because of this.
“With this appearance, he must have a fire spiritual root, and his affinity for spiritual energy is not low.”
“He's at least a dual spiritual root or higher.”
Liu Yu thought this to himself.
He was not excited simply because the boy had good aptitude and entertained the thought of taking him as a disciple.
Rather, he was reminded of the cause and effect of the "Sword of Ruin."
Back then, Tang Tianbao, knowing he was bound to die, entrusted the Sword of Ruin to him and promised that he would ensure the Holy Flame Sect would continue.
“Back in the secret realm expedition, the core members of the Holy Flame Sect suffered heavy casualties, leaving only a few stragglers.”
“Now, after several decades, I wonder how the Holy Flame Sect is faring? Has it perished under the oppression of the Divine Sand Sect?”
Liu Yu's thoughts drifted, and his gaze became somewhat distant.
He recalled that battle from years ago when Tang Tianbao made a dazzling sword strike, burning his life essence to its peak.
Even if he forcibly refined the Sword of Ruin within the Immortal Abode, he couldn’t guarantee that, at the golden core stage, he could deliver a strike powerful enough to match that one.
After all, his swordsmanship was quite ordinary, and the cooperation with his “sword spirit” was reluctant at best.
“Perhaps if I fulfill my promise early, it would be beneficial in gaining the sword spirit's acknowledgment?”
This thought flashed through Liu Yu's mind.
Thinking of this, he subconsciously reached for the Sword of Ruin hanging at his waist, but it remained unresponsive.
Just then, a sudden uproar arose from the refugee group below, and they instantly became panicked, fleeing in all directions.
"Hiss, hiss."
Five or six mottled giant pythons, each about three zhang long and as thick as a water barrel, suddenly appeared in the wasteland, rushing toward the refugee group.
"Ahhh!"
The piercing screams rang out, sending chills down the spine.
With each opening of their massive jaws, the mottled giant pythons would swallow a person whole, their stomachs showing no signs of bulging, leaving one to wonder just how big their appetites were.
Though these pythons were only first-tier inferior demonic beasts, they were already insurmountable for ordinary mortals.
Perhaps a group of “martial artists” could risk killing one, but unfortunately, there were none in this refugee group.
Young and old, men and women, all seemed to have grown accustomed to the sight; at the very moment of a demonic beast's appearance, they fled in the opposite direction.
These refugees had long been used to such a life of fleeing and were like startled birds.
The reason they gathered together was primarily that with more numbers, should they encounter a demonic beast, some could distract it, thus increasing the chance of escape.