106: Chapter 105 The dust has already settled.

Yun Ming asked, "What news?"

The old man thought for a moment and said, "Back then, the two Nascent Soul Old Ancestors from the Qingxuan Sect and the Danding Sect both took action. They took turns using great Divine Abilities to scour Great Qian twice, but corpse ghouls continued to emerge from every corner incessantly. Later, they simply blockaded the borders and stationed people to guard them. As for the people inside Great Qian, those who could escape did, and those who couldn't... were left to fend for themselves inside."

He glanced at Yun Ming and said cautiously, "If Senior intends to go there, you must be extremely prudent. Even the Nascent Soul Old Ancestors couldn't handle it. Although you are in the Golden Core realm, it is still best to be careful."

Yun Ming fell silent for a moment, then asked, "What about the Sunset Glow Sect?"

The old man was taken aback: "The Sunset Glow Sect?"

"Yes, the Sunset Glow Sect." Yun Ming stared at him, "How is it now?"

The old man thought for a bit and said, "The Old Ancestor of the Sunset Glow Sect... was killed, wasn't he? This old man heard that True Lord Luoxia took action during the Great Qian catastrophe to confront that Devil Head. He supposedly perished later; his Nascent Soul escaped, and its whereabouts are unknown. Without its Old Ancestor, the Sunset Glow Sect was quickly carved up by the Qingxuan Sect and the Danding Sect."

Yun Ming's gaze narrowed slightly: "How do you know so much?"

The old man gave a bitter smile: "Senior, seven or eight years have passed. The fall of a kingdom and the death of a Nascent Soul—neither of these is a small matter. Although this old man is only a Qi Refinement Cultivator, it would be hard not to know these things—those who escaped always discuss them over tea and meals. On the contrary, Senior..."

He looked at Yun Ming warily: "As a Golden Core Immortal Master, how could you not know this?"

Yun Ming did not answer.

He just remained silent, silent for a long time.

Seven or eight years.

Mother, Er Ya... they are likely more dead than alive.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

That culprit, that Nascent Soul old devil who refined an entire kingdom, presumably failed his Breakthrough and died from his body exploding.

Dead and gone completely.

Even if he wanted revenge, he couldn't even find his enemy.

Yun Ming opened his eyes, took out a Medicinal Pill from his robes, and placed it on the table.

It was a yunling pill, Medium Grade of the second tier.

"Take it." He stood up. "Consider it payment."

The old man froze, then waved his hands repeatedly: "Senior, how can I accept this? This old man only spoke a few words, I cannot take your things—"

Yun Ming ignored him and turned to walk out.

The old man hurriedly stood up and knelt on the ground to kowtow: "Many thanks, Senior! Many thanks, Senior!"

Yun Ming did not look back.

He pushed open the door of the coffin shop, and with a flash of his figure, he disappeared around the street corner.

The old man knelt on the ground, looking at the empty doorway, then looked down at the pill in his hand that emitted a faint fragrance, and casually tossed it into a corner.

Yun Ming left Qinghe City, activated his taiqing wanderer, and headed north all the way.

The wind whistled in his ears, and the mountains and rivers beneath his feet receded rapidly. He stood atop the clouds, looking at the grey horizon in the distance, his heart filled with an indescribable feeling.

Yun Ming shook his head, not daring to think further.

Even if there was no hope left, he still wanted to go back and see.

Even if, upon returning, there were only corpse ghouls everywhere and devastated ruins.

He still had to go back.

Killing a few corpse ghouls would count as revenge for Mother, for Er Ya, and for the people of Great Qian who died in the catastrophe.

Yun Ming took a deep breath and urged the taiqing wanderer to move even faster.

In these seven or eight years, too many things had happened. The fall of Great Qian, the death of a Nascent Soul, the blockade of the borders by the two great sects, and countless people becoming displaced—any one of these events would be enough for a storyteller to speak of for three days and three nights.

But Yun Ming's mind was not on this.

He only wanted to confirm as soon as possible whether Mother and Er Ya had truly lost their lives in that catastrophe.

A distance of ten thousand miles took him a full two days, even with the flight speed of a Golden Core Cultivator.

Two days later, he finally entered the territory of Great Qian.

At first glance, he was stunned.

The kingdom in his memory, with its beautiful scenery and dense population, had completely changed its appearance. The earth was cracked, not a blade of grass grew, and all he could see was desolate Gobi desert. The wind whipped up yellow sand, stinging his face. Occasionally, a few dead trees could be seen, their bare branches stretching toward the sky like desperate hands.

Dry bones were everywhere on the ground.

There were human bones and animal bones. Some were complete, some were shattered, some were scattered about, and some were piled into mountains. When the wind blew, the bones rolled, making a clicking sound.

Yun Ming landed by a dried-up riverbed and looked down at the skeleton at his feet.

It was a child.

The small skeleton was curled into a ball, with a few strands of withered yellow hair still remaining on the skull. His arms were tightly hugged to his chest as if protecting something, but his arms were empty; there was nothing there.

Yun Ming squatted down and quietly looked at the skeleton.

He didn't know whose child this was, what his name was, or what he was thinking before he died. He only knew that when this child was alive, he must have been very afraid and must have really wanted to live.

He stood up and continued forward.

The deeper he went, the more tragic the scenes became.

Villages had turned into ruins, and towns had become graveyards. Amidst the broken walls, white bones were everywhere. Some were gnawed until they were incomplete, while others still maintained their struggling posture from before death. There were mothers holding children, old men protecting their grandsons, and men in their prime collapsed at their doorways, still clutching hoes—their only weapons.

The wind wailed as it blew through the ruins, sounding like the cries of countless lost souls.

Yun Ming did not speak, only walking in silence.

Jiu Jiu poked its head out from his robes, startled by the scene before it, and its childish voice rang in his mind: "Master... it's so scary here..."

Yun Ming rubbed its head: "Help me look around to see if there are any survivors."

Jiu Jiu nodded, flapped its wings, and flew up, circling in mid-air with its small eyes looking everywhere.

Before he had walked much further, there was movement ahead.

Two corpse ghouls were crouched over a fresh corpse, tearing and biting at it. Their bodies were greenish-black, their skin dry as tree bark, and their eye sockets were empty, save for two points of crimson light. Sharp fangs tore through flesh, making a tooth-aching chewing sound.

Early Stage of Qi Refinement.

Yun Ming raised his hand, and a bolt of Purple Heaven Divine Thunder struck down.

The thunderous light flashed, and those two corpse ghouls didn't even have time to scream before they turned into two puddles of bloody filth. The blood splattered on the ground and squirmed a few times, but it never condensed into a form again.

Yun Ming looked at those two puddles of blood, his brow furrowing slightly.

The methods of a Nascent Soul Cultivator were truly terrifying to such an extent.

Even after being dead for many years, his blood could still turn into corpse ghouls to plague a region. And there was no telling how many such corpse ghouls were still within Great Qian's borders.

He continued forward.

Jiu Jiu also began to help. Although it had only recently achieved its Foundation Establishment Breakthrough, the power of that Crimson Glow Pure Sky was astonishing. Wherever the red flames passed, corpse ghouls were instantly turned to ash, leaving not even blood behind.

The man and the bird killed their way along, rushing toward Qingzhou City.

The closer they got to Qingzhou, the more Yun Ming's heart sank.

The entire Qingzhou City was left with only a patch of scorched earth and a few twisted, burnt branches; the originally high city walls had also collapsed.

The broken walls were intermittent, with some places completely collapsed into piles of rubble. The city gates stood wide open, the door panels long gone, looking like a gaping black maw.

Yun Ming stood outside the city, gazing at the ruins. He hadn't held much hope, but as his Divine Sense swept over, he was pleasantly surprised to find that people were actually still alive.