63: Time flies, goodbye Qiu Dao

Thousands of feet above the high sky.

The astral winds howled, blowing Yu Xuzi's cyan robe tight against his body, outlining a slightly thin silhouette.

Beneath his feet, the wings of the Wind-Chasing Golden Eagle, Embracing Star, spread like clouds hanging from the sky; every gentle flap plowed two trails of scattered cloud mist behind it.

Wind-Chasing! Wind-Chasing!

Now it finally had the bearing of a great demon.

Yu Xuzi stood with his hands behind his back on the eagle's back, eyes half-closed, his Divine Sense like invisible ripples sweeping over the vast earth retreating rapidly below.

Suddenly.

His brow furrowed imperceptibly, and his gaze turned toward a certain spot below.

Embracing Star was highly intelligent; without waiting for Yu Xuzi's command, it took the initiative to slightly retract its wings, circling and lowering its flight altitude.

The astral winds weakened, and the clamor and bloody scent of the Mortal world rose up in wisps.

Below was the territory of Guanghe Commandery. The wide Lancang River surged around the commandery city, and the once-towering city walls had now become low and dilapidated.

At this moment, on the riverbanks and plains outside the city, two groups of men and horses were fighting desperately.

One side had black flags, embroidered with a fierce-looking large bird about to take flight, bearing the large character "Yu."

The other side had yellow flags, with a large "Shun" character in the center.

Many soldiers wore yellow turbans, shouting "Long live the Huang Tian!"

The armies of both sides were fighting to the death along the ruins of the city walls and the low walls built temporarily.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!!!"

Arrows were like locusts, and spears were like a forest.

From time to time, soldiers wailed and fell into the foul moat, blood blooming and being instantly swallowed by the rushing river water.

The sharp clanging of blades and spears, the dying wails, the muffled roar of war drums, the hoarse urging of generals... countless sounds converged into a heavy Aura of slaughter, circling over Guanghe Commandery city, making even the sunlight appear dim and turbid.

"Fighting for land, the dead fill the fields; fighting for a city, the dead fill the city."

Yu Xuzi sighed softly, his voice like a breeze dispersing into the high clouds.

It was obvious that one side below represented the Yu Kingdom that had been destroyed ten years ago. It was unclear whether they were merely using the name of the Yu Kingdom to fight for hegemony or if they were truly descendants of the former royal family.

As for the other side, it represented the Yellow Heaven Cult.

For a moment, he seemed to see the scenes of the past Yellow Heaven Cult rebellion.

But the difference was that now, there were no fluctuations of power beyond the mundane in either camp.

No brilliance of Magical Artifacts, no Aura of Talismans.

No existence of Cultivators.

It was purely a collision of flesh and iron.

"Let's go."

Embracing Star gave a clear cry, seemingly unwilling to stay here any longer. With a forceful flap of its wings, its figure once again soared into the sea of clouds in the high sky.

Traveling north all the way, crossing mountains, rivers, towns, and countryside.

The scenes witnessed were basically the same.

"No cockcrow for a thousand miles, white bones exposed in the wild" was no exaggeration.

Some cities had thick smoke billowing, clearly having just experienced looting; some villages were mostly empty, with only wild dogs wandering among the broken walls; no merchants were seen on the official roads, only scattered, sallow-faced refugees dragging heavy steps, not knowing where they were going.

Large and small battles spread like a prairie fire, and the flags everywhere were of all sorts.

Besides the Black Bird Royal Flag representing the Yu Kingdom and the yellow turban flag representing the Yellow Heaven Cult, there were also the "King of Yongchang," "King of Zhendong," "King of Fufeng," "King of Zhennan"... one after another they took the stage, fighting in a chaotic mess.

However, there were still no traces of direct intervention by any Cultivators, no Talisman fluctuations, no clashes of Mana, and no scent of Luck or faith.

The Cultivation World seemed to have completely withdrawn from this vast human world, leaving only Mortals to fight frantically.

"In just two short years, the changes have actually been so great!"

Yu Xuzi shook his head and sighed.

It could only be said that the collapse of the Huangtian Dynasty was too sudden.

Having just unified the fifteen thousand miles of territory in the Southwest region of the continent, although the administration was in place and had won the hearts of the Mortals, six months was still too short.

Moreover, because the Huangtian Dynasty had killed or driven away almost all Cultivators in the Southwest region, and its own leadership had been almost wiped out by True Person Yanling.

It was not surprising that such a vast territory collapsed instantly.

Sunset.

The outline of a large area of ruins appeared on the horizon, and an indescribable sense of decay and emptiness hit him.

Tianjing City had arrived.

Embracing Star slowed down, slowly circling around this former hub of the Southwest and capital of the Huangtian Dynasty from two years ago.

The Tianjing City that was once majestic with rows of grand mansions was now in ruins, its gates wide open, with charred marks from fires in many places.

The streets and alleys in the city crisscrossed, but most were empty, with only a small number of districts having weak cooking smoke.

Even the most prosperous Zongheng Avenue had patches of weeds growing from the cracks in the stone slabs.

"Red Heaven King?"

"What kind of king is this again?"

Yu Xuzi's gaze swept over the red flag on the wall of Tianjing City, then he slightly shook his head and turned toward the east of the city.

There, Purple Gold Mountain should have been.

The place where the Huangtian Dynasty's Luck was anchored and where the Spiritual Vein was elegant.

But now Purple Gold Mountain was long gone.

At its original site was a shocking, irregularly shaped, giant circular deep pit.

Roughly estimated, the diameter was actually over ten miles.

The walls of the pit were steep and charred black, as if they had been instantly eroded by unimaginable high temperatures.

At the bottom of the deep pit, there was already a faint reflection of dark water; because of the accumulation of groundwater or rainwater, a deep pool had already formed.

In time, it might turn into a beautiful lake, accompanied by a legend of an Immortal burning a mountain.

"This land no longer has any Spiritual Veins."

"When the strife stops and a new Dynasty or country is established, the figures of Cultivators will no longer appear here."

"Immortals... will sooner or later become absurd legends."

Yu Xuzi lamented for a moment.

Embracing Star flapped its wings and flew into the high sky, disappearing into the horizon.

To find a Cultivator to ask clearly, one still had to go to a place with a Spiritual Vein... the former Yuan Country, now the Qiu Country.

White Lotus Mountain.

Just as he approached the range of White Lotus Mountain, Yu Xuzi's always calm eyes finally moved slightly.

He felt the fluctuations of a Formation.

This fluctuation was very weak and extremely restrained, and its operation even showed a sense of stagnation that was barely maintained; he could break it with a light sword strike.

But at the very least, this meant there were Cultivators inside.

Yu Xuzi pondered for a moment, neither entering directly nor calling out.

Instead, he released a wisp of his Dao Foundation pressure without concealment, gently touching the hidden light screen of the Formation.

In an instant, the Void Realm ahead rippled like water.

After a moment, a figure flew up hurriedly, stumbling slightly as he passed through the Formation's light screen, arriving in the air not far in front of Yu Xuzi and bowing.

This was a young man dressed in a brown Daoist robe.

"I do not know which Senior has graced us with your presence. This Junior—"

When he clearly saw Yu Xuzi's face on the eagle's back, he was first stunned, then his eyes widened, and he cried out in shock: "Fellow Daoist Taiyin?!!"

Yu Xuzi's gaze fell on his face, and he said slowly with some surprise, "Fellow Daoist Qiu, I hope you have been well."

A flash of joy passed over Qiu Dao's face, which was then replaced by deeper shock.

He hurriedly cupped his hands in the air: "I dare not be called 'Fellow Daoist.' I didn't expect Senior Taiyin to already be a Dao Foundation expert. I was reckless just now."

Yu Xuzi nodded slightly, withdrew his pressure, and said with a smile, "Fellow Daoist Qiu, won't you invite me in for a seat?"

"Senior, please come in!"