339: Want to join!

“Who were those people?”

Chen Yuan looked at the woman in his arms, his tone calm, his hand gently stroking An Ge’s belly.

He was referring to the other three Dao Fruit realm experts who had surrounded and attacked her and the Heavenly Dog. These people clearly looked like they were from the Western Regions, not aligned with Military Commander Yang Jianshan, and three Dao Fruit realm experts were no small matter.

At the time, his killing intent was too strong, and he hadn’t thought of leaving anyone alive. When he asked Wei Zhong about it, the Zhonglang General also felt surprised, not knowing the origins of these people.

It seemed there was another hidden story!

Leaning against Chen Yuan’s broad chest, An Ge’s ears flushed crimson, and her breathing quickened slightly. Hearing Chen Yuan’s words, her soft, boneless, full body tensed slightly, but quickly relaxed.

She couldn’t hide it; she knew the General would ask.

She gently rested her head on Chen Yuan’s shoulder, her hair cascading like a waterfall, her eyes becoming distant, her thoughts seemingly drawn out.

“General is currently embroiled in many affairs and troubles. This concubine cannot share your worries, and has even brought more troubles. Today’s changes at Tianxiong Pass are largely due to my Tianxiang Pavilion, dragging Zhonglang General Wei into it.”

Her words were interrupted by Chen Yuan.

Chen Yuan felt that An Ge had changed a lot, becoming more emotional.

After their bond formed, each meeting brought a different realization.

He recalled An Ge’s fiery passion on the night before their last farewell in Jinguancheng, which was completely different from today.

“Both of you say this. It seems today’s events were too big and had quite an impact on you. There’s no need to blame yourselves. This matter might even turn out to be a blessing in disguise.” Chen Yuan’s tone was steady, giving a sense of inexplicable reassurance.

An Ge’s beautiful eyes flickered, and she raised her head slightly, turning her face to meet Chen Yuan’s gaze, with a searching expression.

Chen Yuan smiled, gently pinching the chin of the woman in his arms with two fingers. “Today, I heard a word from the Zhenmo General that was like a sudden enlightenment. Don’t get angry with those insects in the imperial court. When you are strong, great scholars will naturally debate the scriptures for you.”

“From now on, I have the right to mobilize the troops in Shu Land. With troops, I have a say. In the future, I will manage myself. What does the imperial court’s attitude matter to me?”

Chen Yuan had been angry before, but now, after this incident, he saw things more clearly and had made a decision.

The Zhenmo General’s appearance set an example for him, making him less apprehensive.

Seeing Chen Yuan’s composed demeanor, An Ge felt much more at ease. During the great battle earlier, seeing Chen Yuan drawn into this vortex, with more and more important figures descending, she worried for Chen Yuan.

She had even prepared for the worst!

Fortunately.

The danger was averted.

“General truly has a broad mind. This concubine is relieved.”

An Ge’s voice was as clear as a bell.

“Don’t talk about me, tell me about you. What is the origin of those people?”

Chen Yuan returned to the previous topic.

An Ge’s expression didn’t change much; she simply stood up from him and then walked to a wall in the room.

The wall was bare, with no visible abnormalities, but An Ge pressed her finger on one spot.

“Hiss.”

The pressed spot recessed into a small pit, and then the wall seemed to come alive, bricks moving and protruding. After a few breaths, a box flew out from the wall, and then the wall returned to its original state.

The box, with its ordinary red lacquer wood grain, looked unremarkable from the outside, about a foot square, and landed in An Ge’s hand.

An Ge gently held the small box with both hands, came to the table and sat down, then placed the box on the table, and gently twisted the clasp to open it.

There were no intricate mechanisms or Restriction talismans.

Chen Yuan watched this series of actions, somewhat puzzled. His eyes scanned it; the box was just an ordinary object, nothing special, so why was it hidden in such a troublesome way?

At this moment, the box opened.

An Ge’s two fair, delicate hands took out a long, rhomboid object from inside the box. It was silver-gray, like a fallen star, shimmering with tiny, twinkling dots, and in the middle of this object, an eye pattern was carved.

At that instant, Chen Yuan felt a chilling sensation, as if he was being targeted by a venomous snake, wash over him.

The next second, the golden fine line between his eyebrows instantly twitched, and his vertical eye abruptly opened, staring at the eye pattern on the object.

It was at this moment that the chilling, unsettling sensation receded like a tide.

Chen Yuan’s brows furrowed instantly; this feeling made him uncomfortable, and this was the first time he had encountered such a situation.

His brows flickered, and then he closed his eyes.

Strangely, even though the object was right in front of him, he couldn’t sense the slightest aura from it.

He then opened his eyes, his eyelids raising, and glanced at An Ge, waiting for her to explain the origin of this object.

“There’s a legend in the Western Regions. A long, long time ago, a prophet discovered a miraculous place. It was rumored that one could descend to the netherworld and peer beyond the heavens from there, and gain incredible power within. That place was called the Divine Ruins.”

“Later, countless tribes in the Western Regions fought over this miraculous place, leading to years of war and countless casualties, and this miraculous place also disappeared into the long river of time. Later, in this area of the Western Regions, a Holy Sect appeared. They claimed to have found this miraculous place and discovered a way to gain power from within. When this news spread, countless people flocked to it, and so the Holy Sect became rampant in the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions.”

“This is the Sacred Fire Token!”

“The people of the Holy Sect call this token the key to that miraculous place.”

“Anyone who holds this token, enters that place, and returns alive can become the Saintess of the Holy Sect, above ten thousand people.”

An Ge spoke slowly, narrating a story.

Only, there was a faint tremor in her voice.

Chen Yuan listened intently, and upon hearing the words “Holy Sect,” he instinctively felt a sense of disgust.

The Feixian Sect in Baidi City, which incited the chaos between humans and demons, was still vivid in his memory. Hearing any mention of “Divine Sect” or “Holy Sect” made him feel they were nothing good.

Furthermore, the legend in An Ge’s story and the first impression this Sacred Fire Token gave him were not good; it felt mystical and suspicious.

However, this Holy Sect seemed like a formidable force, its influence spanning across the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions.

“Since the Sacred Fire Token is in your hands, have you entered that so-called Divine Ruins?” Chen Yuan asked.

“I have.”

“But I escaped. That place is not a miraculous land at all. All the talk of flourishing beauty and fiery prosperity is an illusion. It is a place of curses and evil. But precisely because I understood the truth, it brought me and Loulan the danger of death. The people of the Holy Sect came for us…”

As An Ge spoke, her aqua-blue pupils flickered rapidly, her voice trying hard to suppress emotion, and her body trembling slightly.

She tried her best to recount the past calmly, but ultimately failed, and did not continue speaking.

At this moment, a large hand grasped her trembling hand, comforting her.

Chen Yuan didn’t say anything sentimental, as he wasn’t good at it.

“I will keep an eye on this so-called Holy Sect.”

However, An Ge’s other hand gripped his, “Though I haven’t forgotten the past, there’s a long future ahead. I understand what you mean.”

“This concubine knows the General’s ambition, but this sect should still be approached with caution. Has the General ever heard of ‘Monsters’?”

“Monsters?” Chen Yuan was a bit confused.

“This sect has many experts, but what needs to be most guarded against are the Monsters. Those are the powers they found from the so-called Divine Ruins.”

Then, An Ge began to explain about Monsters.

“All living beings have their own categories. People often speak of demons, devils, ghosts, and monsters, each referring to something specific…”

Demons are animals or mountain spirits that have transformed. These animals and plants, after long periods of Cultivation or influenced by some mysterious power, gain sentience and can then change forms, such as fox demons and tree spirits, all belonging to this category.

Devils, on the other hand, are a powerful, highly intelligent race, born with strong Bloodline Legacy and power, tyrannical and bloodthirsty. The Ten Fiends of the Ten Thousand Mountains, and the Eight Divisions of the Demon Country, all belong to this category.

Ghosts are Souls that leave the body after a person dies and, under certain specific conditions, remain in the human world, becoming “ghosts,” for example, due to resentment, or a specific environment, such as water ghosts.

As for the last category, Monsters, they are existences that defy common sense, possessing some extraordinary Divine Ability. They have no specific designation, transcending certain Laws of Heaven and Earth, often possessing incredible abilities, difficult to detect, and difficult to grasp.

They might appear silently beside you and kill you, but if you abide by their specific rules, you can be safe and sound; they are all strange and varied.

In An Ge’s narration, there were some such existences in that “Divine Ruins,” and the Holy Sect’s power came from them, which was terrifying to hear.

This was the first time Chen Yuan had heard of such things, and he was astonished. These existences sounded somewhat intimidating. All things follow the Laws of nature, and such existences that defy these Laws have an extremely high upper limit and are very dangerous.

This made him keep a Minds Eye.

At the same time, he couldn’t help but sigh, “Now, demons, devils, ghosts, and monsters are all accounted for.”

“Understood. I have my own discretion in this matter. However, you have already been exposed, and it is no longer suitable for you to stay in Tianxiong Pass.”

“Come with me to Jinguancheng. I will arrange for you to enter the Ninth Mountain. That way, I will be more at ease.”

Chen Yuan made the decision, his tone allowing no refusal.

An Ge hummed and nodded.

As her belly grew larger, for some reason, her dependence on Chen Yuan grew stronger, and she wished to stay with him.

Next, their eyes met.

“General, the night is deep and cold. You have traveled a long way. Please rest here tonight!”

The next day, early morning, before dawn, the snow outside had stopped!

The front hall of this courtyard in Zaoshan, South City.

With a “creak,” a foot stepped out!

And as this movement sounded, a neat and uniform voice followed.

“Greetings, Your Highness’s Consort!”

In the front courtyard’s snowy ground, countless figures had gathered at some unknown time.

There were hundreds of them, and behind them, countless boxes were piled high.

They were all Hu people.

These were, of course, the old subordinates who had fled their homeland with An Ge and lived incognito in Tianxiong Pass.

These people bowed, their hands placed on their chests, their faces filled with reverence.

When they heard the news that the famous Ninth Mountain Zhonglang General was the Princess’s Consort, all the Hu people were astonished.

Just yesterday, this Zhonglang General’s unparalleled might shook Tianxiong Pass. With an invincible momentum, he confronted the imperial army and even went so far as to resist a powerful expert beyond General Wu Sheng, leaving a huge impact.

This General’s name would surely resound throughout the Jianghu, the imperial court, and even the Western Regions in the future. He was an existence they looked up to, but now suddenly to be told that this person was their Consort, how could they not be shocked and feel complex emotions?

At this moment, Chen Yuan’s figure stepped out from the front hall, and behind him, An Ge, dressed in a purple robe with her hair tied up, also emerged.

Chen Yuan looked at An Ge’s subordinates, nodded, and said nothing, only turning his head to ask An Ge:

“Are all the people here?”

An Ge looked towards Miyi, who stood by the door.

Miyi took small steps forward and whispered:

“Reporting to Your Highness’s Consort, everyone has arrived.”

“Good! Then prepare to depart. I will cast a spell to take you all, so tell your people not to panic.”

After Chen Yuan finished speaking, he raised his left sleeve and flicked it. Immediately, the sleeve expanded greatly, transforming into a flowing cloud wide-sleeve, covering the snowy ground above. Then, a huge suction force came from within.

Under this suction, the hundreds of Hu people on the snowy ground cried out in surprise and were sucked into the flowing cloud wide-sleeve.

It took no more than two or three hours for all these people and their “luggage” to be collected into the flowing cloud wide-sleeve.

Then, An Ge, along with Miyi, also jumped in.

Now, the entire courtyard returned to its desolate state.

Chen Yuan retracted his sleeve, then stomped his foot and soared into the air, flying out of Zaoshan. He then flew directly towards the South City Gate, preparing to leave Tianxiong Pass and return to Jinguancheng.

Last night, he had already greeted Wei Zhong, and General Wu Sheng had also led his troops back to Jiange Pass overnight yesterday, otherwise, Jiange Pass would fall into chaos without anyone guarding it.

Everyone had gathered in a flurry and then rushed off in different directions without stopping.

At this moment, South City was still lit by torches like Dragons, and the Sky Patrol Division forces were rapidly rebuilding.

This scene unfolded beneath Chen Yuan’s feet as he moved away. Not long after, he arrived outside Tianxiong Pass, where he once again summoned his Gǔdiāo and sat upon it, transforming into a brilliant silver light that shot away into the distance.

When he arrived, North Sea Dragon Girl and Old Man Dong of the Huanlong Clan were traveling with him, but at this moment, these two were recuperating within Chen Yuan’s Pot Heaven space and did not show themselves.

Before long, Chen Yuan, seated on the Gǔdiāo, shot twenty miles away.

Suddenly, his brows twitched slightly, and a faint golden light gathered in his eyes, revealing a scene.

About seven or eight miles diagonally below, on the summit of a mountain over a thousand zhang high, a figure wearing a straw cape, covered in white snow, sat cross-legged. A large blade, wrapped in black cloth, was strapped to his back.

The figure looked up, his eyes sharp and piercing, seeing through several miles of sky, and suddenly looked in the direction of the Gǔdiāo, then stood up.

Then, he cupped his hands and bowed remotely towards Chen Yuan’s direction.

“Is that Ninth Zhonglang?”

The voice was not loud, but it shook the sky and clearly reached Chen Yuan’s ears.

Chen Yuan’s gaze narrowed slightly.

A General Wu Sheng realm expert!

He was specifically waiting for him.

He immediately thought of many possibilities. Could it be that someone thought he was seriously injured in yesterday’s battle and wanted to intercept and kill him?

Whose side was it?

The three families?

The Holy Sect?

Or the Northern Liang Royal Mansion?

“Who are you?” He stood up, the golden light in his eyes suddenly intensifying, looking down at the mountain peak.

“I am Yuwen Guang, a Jianghu wanderer. Yesterday, I witnessed the General’s demeanor and wished to seek an opportunity!”

Upon hearing this, Chen Yuan was stunned! (End of Chapter)