Free Web NovelChapter 299: Chapter 28: The Aftermath
On the ruins of Changwen Prefecture City, more and more people gathered over time. Cultivators from several major local sects came together, setting up a simple camp in the city’s center to direct the conscripted laborers summoned from various regions to clear away the debris.
Standing on the dilapidated wall of the South City, Feng Miao gazed at the boundless, clear sky before looking down at the devastated city. Everything felt surreal, like a dream. She clearly remembered seeing the world shrouded in darkness, just like the legendary invasions of the Demon Dao.
Back then, the earth was corroded, the sky was polluted, and a toxic miasma filled the air. Countless twisted creatures roamed about, devouring every living thing they saw or transforming them into monsters covered in pustules.
She had personally witnessed the great battle from a mountain peak hundreds of miles away. The terror and helplessness she felt were unlike anything she had ever experienced. She felt as weak as an ant—one that could be obliterated by a single breath.
She was terrified and resentful, yet utterly powerless.
She could only watch as White Crane Mountain collapsed. She had thought that returning to report what happened could change things, but in reality, she wasn’t even granted an audience with her grandmaster. That was even more disheartening than watching White Crane Mountain fall.
As the battle in the darkness concluded, she watched the world-spanning darkness get dispelled. The pollution in the clouds vanished before her very eyes, and the corrosion on the land disappeared as if it had never existed. Dense forests and vegetation grew back in its place.
Except for the destroyed Changwen Prefecture City and the innocent commoners within it, it was as if nothing had ever happened!
This cold reality sent a chill through Feng Miao’s entire being. It made her feel like a weed, one that could be trampled to death at any moment, only to grow back after a time and be trampled to death once more.
FWOOSH.
As Feng Miao’s thoughts descended into turmoil, a flicker of flame appeared on her skin, and the Spirit Veins within her threatened to run rampant.
Fortunately, at that moment, a Kun Cultivator landed beside her. She used her own cultivation to forcibly suppress the Spirit Veins in Feng Miao’s body that were about to go berserk.
"Fellow Daoist, why give in to despair? The path of cultivation is a long one, built one step at a time."
A pleasant, gentle voice sounded out. The Kun Cultivator wore a simple blue Daoist robe, her long hair fluttering in the wind behind her, drawing attention to the grayish-white jade coronet on her head.
It was Qingjiang!
"Thank you for saving me, Fellow Daoist Qingjiang!"
Feng Miao let out a breath and composed herself. She knew Qingjiang—after all, she was a famous Cultivator in Mozhou Road. Gazing at Changwen Prefecture City, she said, "Look at this city. For them, destroying it is a casual affair, and so is restoring it. When everything is over, it’s as if nothing ever happened."
She poured out the discontent in her heart.
"Hasn’t the world always been this way? Look at this Cosmos, this earth, these countless living beings... they are all insignificant. Even the lofty True Monarchs on high are but specks of dust in the Cosmos, to say nothing of us."
Qingjiang smiled. "Relax. You should be glad you survived. Since you did, don’t dwell on other things. Just focus on living well. Who knows, maybe one day you’ll be able to stand in that darkness and witness that terrifying world for yourself. Then, at least you’ll know how you died."
Her words held not a trace of comfort.
With that said, she took to the air. In the blink of an eye, she landed before the temporary camp set up in the city. Cultivators immediately began to gather around her; her status as the Lord’s grand-disciple afforded her a transcendent position there.
Feng Miao forcibly suppressed the dreamlike memories, took one last, hard look at the city’s ruins, and then turned to fly north.
After flying beyond the borders of Changwen Prefecture, she descended again. Someone in the distance had issued a warning, signaling her to land.
"These people really look down on others, don’t they?" a mature, alluring female voice suddenly asked. "Makes you want to go up there and take him out, doesn’t it?"
"Who’s there?"
A long, flaming blade materialized beside Feng Miao as she vigilantly scanned her surroundings.
The area was deserted. A small path ran north to south. On one side of the path lay a creek with a large mountain behind it; on the other were the paddy fields of a nearby village, the rice seedlings already sprouting small ears of grain.
"Someone who can change your destiny."
The voice sounded again. The water in the quietly flowing creek suddenly began to boil. A ten-foot-wide fissure then split open, and a figure climbed out—one completely cloaked in magma.
’This must be the ’First Day’ Cultivator who attacked Changwen Prefecture City, the one who escaped with some Secret Technique after being defeated in the siege by Wen Yang and Yunchunzi.’
Feng Miao was all too familiar with this aura. Her expression changed slightly. "’First Day’?"
"Oh, don’t be so nervous. Like I said, I can change your destiny. I can help you ascend to the Third Realm with ease... as long as you’re obedient..."
Before she could finish her sentence, the long blade at Feng Miao’s side shot forward, its flames cleaving the figure in two.
"You’re already injured, yet you still have the gall to come out and try to swindle people. Do you really take me for some naive little girl you can easily trick?"
Feng Miao’s tone was icy. She took out a fire essence and crushed it, gathering the surrounding Spiritual Qi to herself and completely incinerating the body before her. Then, she produced a Water Seal Array made of Blue Crystal from her storage bag and stared coldly at the Primordial Spirit ahead:
"Now, *you’re* the one who’s going to be obedient and listen to me!"
"Alright, alright, I give in. What do you want from me?"
"First, you’re coming with me."
The Sealing Array in Feng Miao’s hand unfolded, trapping the Primordial Spirit within its confines.
As an orthodox successor of a Mystic Sect, Feng Miao knew the value of this Primordial Spirit. It was tied to a spot for advancing to the Third Realm. Her heart pounded with excitement as she rapidly considered what to do with it.
After careful consideration, she looked up toward Jinhuai Prefecture City in the northeast.
Inside Jinhuai Prefecture City, the lives of the common people went on as usual. The Cultivation Realm, however, was in an uproar. Everything that had transpired in Mozhou Road had stirred its members. Some were filled with anticipation, awaiting the new order that would arise from the chaos. Others sighed in despair, fearing for their precarious futures in the aftermath.
In the attic of the main building of the Daoist Scripture Hall.
Wang Ping, Zi Luan, Wu Quan, Ganxing, Mingxin, and Tianshan sat together on the floor. Between them lay dozens of storage bags, containing the accumulated wealth of the Mozhou Road Daoist Scripture Hall from over several centuries!
"Amitabha..."
Monk Mingxin chanted the name of the Buddha, trying to conceal the greedy glint in his eyes.
No one paid his "mercy" any mind. Zi Luan glanced at Wang Ping and said, "We need to set aside twenty percent of these spoils. We’ll still need people at headquarters to pull some strings for us."
"That’s only right!"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Zi Luan continued, "Next is the silver. There are thirty million taels here. That’s nearly thirty percent of all the silver in Mozhou Road. We’ll divide this amount equally."
No one objected to this either.
Next, the group sorted out the storage bags containing the silver, and Wang Ping and Zi Luan began to divide it.
After they finished dividing the silver, Zi Luan brought up the matter of the Barrier Formation from the Daoist Scripture Hall. Everyone’s eyes lit up at the mention of it, but there was only one.
