648: There are actually indigenous people?

There was no sun, moon, or stars above, only an unknown light falling from somewhere, illuminating the earth's surface. Unable to distinguish directions, Shen Bei could only walk straight ahead, following the direction he was facing.

Entering the first level of the Black Tower, he was unexpectedly met with a wheat field, which caught Shen Bei completely by surprise.

There were no terrifying tomb-guarding beasts, no Death Qi filling the air, not even a sense of danger. Instead, it was a wheat field that made one feel refreshed and cleared many 雜念 from their mind.

Moreover, the people who had entered before him were nowhere to be seen.

“Is it really this strange?”

Shen Bei mused, he had already prepared for a fight.

But now, it seemed like he had arrived at a farm stay.

What in the world was this?

It felt like a set of nesting dolls.

Unable to make sense of it, Shen Bei could only continue walking through the wheat field.

Two hours later, he finally exited the wheat field and found himself in a field of jade rice. It was also growing vigorously, with perfectly formed plants, and no signs of insects or disease.

Further ahead, various spiritual plants were scattered across the earth's surface, along with all sorts of medicinal herbs, including the most common and widely used ginseng.

Ginseng was not only found on the earth's surface but also in the underground caves.

Furthermore, when Shen Bei was a Night Watcher, he had visited the Night Watcher's warehouse, which contained many medicinal herbs, all labeled with their age.

Shen Bei had seen thousand-year-old ginseng in the warehouse.

Here, the ginseng roots were at least three to four hundred years old, and like the common jade rice, they grew in vast patches…

Shen Bei even dug up a purple ginseng of unknown age from one ginseng field, but conservatively, it had to be over three thousand years old. This ginseng had already grown into a human shape, looking as if it were about to gain sentience.

“Is this the Burial Sea Secret Lord’s herb garden?” Shen Bei only collected some of the oldest medicinal herbs, leaving most of them untouched.

Because there were simply too many, so many that he couldn't possibly collect them all.

Just thinking about herb fields stretching for hundreds of miles made his scalp tingle.

After another day of travel, he saw a trickle of water flowing quietly on the earth's surface. Following the downstream of the stream, he found a river no more than a hundred meters wide.

The river water was not deep, and the current was so slow that there was no noticeable ripple on the surface, like a emerald green jade belt adorning the earth's surface.

Not long after following the river, Shen Bei saw something different.

A rather new-looking bamboo raft was tied to the bank, and a bamboo pole for punting was leaning against a crooked-necked tree by the bank.

Shen Bei frowned slightly, looking around, but found no other traces.

Since there was a bamboo raft, and it had been used for at most three or four years, it meant there were other people here.

He had initially thought the thriving but unharvested spiritual plants he saw earlier were from ancient plantings that, through the cycle of blossoming and withering over the years, had become as worthless as weeds.

Untying the rope, he stepped onto the bamboo raft. He didn't punt, letting the raft drift downstream in the slowly flowing river.

Both banks were eerily silent, with no chirping of insects or birds, yet full of vibrant life, so rich it seemed to overflow.

Shen Bei stood on the bamboo raft, his expression growing increasingly solemn.

When he first saw this place, it was pleasing to the eye, as if all his worries had been swept away.

But the further he went, the stranger it felt. The fields were fertile, and medicinal herbs were everywhere, yet why couldn't he find a single living insect?

The river water was very clear; he could see the aquatic plants at the bottom, but not even a single fish fry could be found.

Shen Bei sat cross-legged on the bamboo raft, his eyelids slightly drooping as he fell into contemplation. Bridal Gown, meanwhile, was 趴 on his back, her head seemingly resting on his shoulder. As the bamboo raft swayed with the breeze and the water shimmered, it created quite a Concept.

Drifting downstream, another three days passed in a blink. The river widened, the banks became more undulating, and mountains began to appear.

Both banks were lush and green with dense vegetation. Shen Bei was determined not to punt and not to care about the direction.

After another half-day, as they passed a river fork, the bamboo raft unexpectedly did not follow the main current but turned into a smaller tributary, only about thirty meters wide.

After several more hours along the winding river, he saw a mountain cave, less than ten meters high, at the end of the river ahead.

The river's flow remained slow, showing no signs of accelerating, indicating that it wasn't flowing into an underground river.

Entering the cave, within a mere quarter of an hour, he saw a faint glow reflecting from the river surface ahead.

The cave actually had another exit.

Floating out of the cave, he was suddenly met with a fresh vitality, unlike the vibrant yet eerily silent atmosphere outside.

On the flat areas along both banks of the river, rice was planted, and even on the hillsides, terraced fields were arranged in an orderly fashion.

In the distance, wisps of cooking smoke drifted upwards, and faintly, a corner of a village could be seen.

Looking out, he could also see several fishing boats on the river, and the rough shouts and joyful sounds of harvest drifted on the wind.

Shen Bei looked down and saw that the river was full of fish and shrimp, and they all looked plump and delicious, whether braised or steamed.

“Woof, woof, woof…”

Floating a bit further, he heard a burst of dog barks.

On the bank, a lean, entirely black dog, with only yellow paws, barked. The dog also had two bright yellow spots above its eyes, making it look as if it had four eyes.

The black dog barked wildly at Shen Bei. Soon, an old farmer emerged from the field to investigate.

Upon seeing Shen Bei, the old farmer, with his deeply furrowed face and dark skin, was startled. Then, seeing Bridal Gown on Shen Bei’s back, he quickly smiled and waved at Shen Bei.

Shen Bei glanced at him; he was just an ordinary Mortal old farmer, his hands full of calluses from farm work.

But wasn't this old farmer's attitude a bit too enthusiastic?

“Elder, I apologize for the intrusion, but where is this place?” After getting ashore, Shen Bei asked politely.

“I didn't expect anyone to come here for so many years, and now there are outsiders again these days, and a young man carrying his wife! Oh, lad, your father-in-law must not have approved of your marriage, eh…” The old farmer laughed heartily…

Clearly, he had mistaken Shen Bei for a poor wretch who had secretly eloped with his bride because his father-in-law disapproved…

“Ah…” Shen Bei was utterly embarrassed. How was he supposed to respond to that?

If I say no, then whose bride is she on my back?

“Oh, lad, you've come at a good time! Our village is also having a wedding today. Wang Er's son finally managed to find a wife, and the girl is truly beautiful! Come, let's go eat wedding feast! Everyone in the village will be there. That old fellow, Wang Er, said he was going to catch a Dragon fish, and I wonder if he caught it…”

“He should have caught it, I think. When I came by just now, I heard the fishermen seemed quite happy…” Shen Bei replied casually.

“Hahaha, then let's go quickly! A Dragon fish! That old fellow, Wang Er, hasn't gone fishing for one in years! Oh, lad, you're in for a treat!”

The old farmer enthusiastically led Shen Bei back to the village.

The village was decorated with lanterns and colored streamers, and rows of tables stretched out for hundreds of feet.

When the villagers saw Shen Bei, the old farmer went over and explained.

As a result, Shen Bei, who was supposedly unafraid of his father-in-law and had run away with his bride, inexplicably received a shower of praise…

Shen Bei was utterly bewildered. Were the people here so open-minded?

They even praised elopement?

If this were a village elsewhere, Shen Bei would not have thought anything of it.

But this was inside the Black Tower! What was going on?

Yet, no matter how he looked, these people were all Mortals, without any martial power.

The old farmer led him to a table, and they didn't ask Shen Bei why he didn't put Bridal Gown down.

Everything seemed perfectly normal.

After about an hour, a shout rang out.

“The bride is here!”