60: One Hundred Thousand Mountains

After leaving Qingqiu, the two continued their journey northward.

This was the general direction indicated to them by the Golden Bell.

It just so happened that they also wanted to take a look at the North.

The Northern Hundred Thousand Great Mountains was once the lair of the Vicious Beasts; perhaps it hid some unexpected opportunities.

Besides that, the land of Beiming was also quite famous.

The main reason was that a relatively large and famous Innate Sacred Being resided there, which made Qing Wu somewhat curious.

Of course, this refers to the slumbering Black Tortoise of the North Sea.

This could be said to be the most homebody and most tragic figure in the Primordial World; he had existed since the creation of heaven and earth, yet had never left the North Sea from beginning to end.

Neither competing nor grabbing, he silently cultivated to a very high Realm. What did the little tortoise ever do wrong?

In the end, he was targeted by a Saint, his four limbs were severed and used as pillars to prop up the heavens.

The Black Tortoise's strength at that time had probably reached the Peak of Hunyuan Golden Immortal, yet his life and death were still decided by a single word from a Saint.

The result proved the saying: 'All beneath the Saint are but ants.'

Qing Wu couldn't help but sigh at his fate.

"Qing Wu, what's wrong?"

Seeing him somewhat lost in thought, Yuan Feng couldn't help but ask.

Hearing this, Qing Wu snapped out of it and shook his head. "It's nothing."

Yuan Feng blinked her beautiful eyes, looking somewhat skeptical.

But this was a state Qing Wu often found himself in, thinking about who knows what. She didn't understand, but she was willing to listen.

Yuan Feng nodded gently. "If there's anything, you can say it. Between us, there's naturally no need for reservations."

"Mhm!" Qing Wu gave a faint smile and then took her hand.

Feeling the warmth from her palm, Qing Wu had no more stray thoughts.

The person most important to him was right by his side.

His primary consideration should be Yuan Feng.

Although in his memory, whenever there was a battle, big or small, Yuan Feng was always the one charging at the front.

It might be due to her personality; Yuan Feng was prone to acting on impulse.

It could also be that Yuan Feng had absolute confidence in her strength and wanted to protect him.

It was even more likely to be both.

Regardless, the one Qing Wu should most consider protecting was Yuan Feng.

As for the Black Tortoise, he would leave it to fate... Once out of Qingqiu, things were no longer so harmonious.

Along the way, the figures of Cultivators from the Three Clans gradually became more frequent.

Although a full-scale war had not broken out, small-scale conflicts never ceased at the borders of each clan's territory.

Bursts of spiritual energy fluctuations suddenly came from the distance.

Several streaks of light flashed across the horizon as a group of Dragon Clan Cultivators pursued several members of the Qilin Clan.

The two sides fought among the clouds, the sounds of dragon roars and beast howls echoing incessantly.

Yuan Feng's brow furrowed slightly, but she ultimately did not intervene.

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust; this was the Karma between them.

Only after the combatants had moved far away did they continue their journey.

The two of them concealed their auras, taking on the appearance of ordinary Loose Cultivators without showing the slightest edge. They specifically chose remote paths to travel, avoiding the main activity areas of the Three Clans.

They didn't even go for a tour of Mount Buzhou. As a top-tier treasure land of the Primordial World, it was surely being explored by Cultivators of the Three Clans right now.

Karma is entangled; once touched, one is stained by it.

Finally, after over a thousand years of travel, they finally set foot on the northern lands.

As the main battlefield of the former Beast Calamity, the great war had caused severe damage to the environment here.

Looking out, the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains resembled a corpse that had been drained of its essence and blood.

The grayish-brown mountains exposed hideous cracks, and the ridges were filled with honeycomb-like holes that still occasionally spewed out turbid Qi.

In the dried-up riverbeds, pitch-black gravel was deposited at the bottom, and the bones of certain giant creatures could occasionally be seen embedded within.

Countless crystalline fragments were scattered across the barren plains where not a blade of grass grew, reflecting eerie halos under the sunlight. Some fragments contained distorted shadows, faintly recognizable as the final poses of the creatures that participated in the war back then.

The thin Spiritual Qi was mixed with the violent lingering aura of the Vicious Beasts, causing the entire region to be shrouded in distorted light and shadow.

The Hundred Thousand Great Mountains is no land of kindness; every step is a tribulation that buries immortal bones.

This was the best description of the current Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.

Logically speaking, the recovery ability of the Primordial World was very powerful, and the earth veins of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains had not been completely destroyed.

The Beast Calamity had passed for a long time, so the traces of war should have lessened.

However, the endless resentment and Evil Qi shrouding this place greatly slowed down this process.

In his memory, during the Late Stage of the Lich Calamity, the Yao Race withdrew from the stage of the Primordial World and entered these Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.

Even by then, the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains remained a land of bitter desolation.

One could see just how dense the Evil Qi here was.

"There is an Opportunity ahead!"

Yuan Feng spoke, her gaze falling in a certain direction.

Following her gaze, Qing Wu also discovered something unusual.

In that area, the heavy clouds of Evil Qi shrouding the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains actually had a visible gap, like a drop of clear water falling into an ink pool, repelling the surrounding murky colors.

The two of them immediately approached that location.

They sensed a crisp water-element Qi blowing toward them, forming a sharp contrast with the surrounding turbid Evil Qi.

Immediately after, they felt the three treasure flags begin to vibrate slightly, the dao patternss on the flag surfaces flowing of their own accord, emitting a pleasant sound of resonance.

"The Five Directional Flags share the same root and origin; they truly can sense each other."

The Innate Five Directional Flags all originated from the Chaos Azure Lotus and were items of the same root and origin, so there were naturally some connections between them.

Qing Wu took out the Azure Lotus Treasure Flag, and fine black dao patternss appeared on the flag's surface, pointing in a certain direction.

As they drew closer, the light of the Azure Lotus Treasure Flag became even more brilliant, creating a strong resonance with the aura emanating from that location.

Soon, the two saw the true face of this place: it was a lake.

The shape of the lake was so regular it didn't look naturally formed, but rather like a pure land forcibly carved out among the mountains by some great power.

In the center of the lake, a black flag floated quietly.

The flag surface was only three feet wide, yet it seemed to carry the weight of the four seas, with every dao patterns aligning with the ultimate principles of the Water Dao.

A Formation enveloped the surrounding ten thousand miles; within the Formation, the Evil Qi was completely gone, and even the space appeared exceptionally clear.

"The Profound Origin Water Control Flag actually appeared here; no wonder the Evil Qi in this place has receded," Qing Wu said with a hint of pleasant surprise.

Besides having excellent defensive capabilities, the Innate Five Directional Flags also all had the effect of resisting all forms of magic.

At this moment, the Profound Origin Water Control Flag was radiating its own power, repelling the surrounding invasion of Evil Qi.

As expected, some opportunities would be hidden within these Hundred Thousand Great Mountains; they had indeed come to the right place.

The two looked at each other, and it was decided that Qing Wu would take action.

With his current strength, breaking this Formation would not be difficult; it would just take some time.