It had taken them two years to walk out from within the depths of the Western Desert North region. They had experienced many battles, and in the end, had fought it out with the Five Poisons Tribe. Now, it was as if a door had opened for them.
After passing through this door, the glory of the Crow Divinity Tribe would once again be known in the Western Lands.
The giant viper shot through the air for many days. They passed over quite a few Tribes who had no flying machines, and soon had gone farther than they could have traveled in ten years on foot.
The further south they flew, the fewer lakes they saw, and the more rivers. The reason for this was because the further south one got, the higher the elevation. Contrariwise, many areas in the lands in the north were already becoming seas.
Several days later, a mountain range became visible up ahead. It was black, and stretched out seemingly endlessly.
Sitting next to Meng Hao was the Crow Divinity Tribe Greatfather. His face was pale, and his body aged. As he looked off into the distance, he coughed, and then slowly said, “This is the true demarcation between the Western Desert North region and the Central region, the Ink Qilin Mountain Range….”
During the battle, the Greatfather had chosen to burn his own life force in order to delay the enemy High Priest. Despite months of treatment by consuming medicinal pills concocted by Meng Hao, as well as healing power from his Wood-type totem, he had harmed his foundation. He knew that the time of his death drew close. He only had about half of a sixty-year cycle left.
He felt no regrets. Half of a sixty-year cycle was enough that he might be able to watch with his own eyes as the Crow Divinity Tribe entered the Black Lands. He might even be able to spend some time living with the Tribe after they got there.
To him, that was enough. During the few months of travel, he had not practiced Cultivation, but rather, lived like an ordinary person. He would sleep, and sometimes dream, something he hadn’t experienced in many years. Within his dreams he saw images of himself and the other Greatfathers with whom he had fought and schemed against for so many years. In his dreams, they were smiling and beckoning to him, inviting him to leave with them.
They had fought for a lifetime, but now, he was the only one left. He would wake up from his dreams feeling lonely and alone.
“After we pass these mountains,” he continued, his voice low, “we will be in the Western Desert Central region. Right now, that is probably where the largest groups of Cultivators are gathered.” After that, he coughed a few more times.
“Our stockpile of Spirit Stones is sufficient,” he went on. “Unfortunately, this Five Poisons Tribe flying treasure probably won’t be able to keep going for a very long time. Because it was overloaded earlier, it was damaged. I’m afraid it won’t be able to sustain flight for more than half a year. After that, it will stop working.” The Greatfather frowned anxiously.
Meng Hao nodded, but did not respond. As the flying viper treasure shot over the Ink Qilin Mountains, a vast tableau opened up in front of Meng Hao’s eyes. It was an enormous plain that was completely different from the lands in the north.
Although the violet rain fell here, there was still greenery visible, areas where the violet rain had not exterminated all the vegetation.
As they proceeded further south, the previously extinguished spiritual energy suddenly began to sparkle to life. This caused the Crow Divinity Tribe members to instantly be enlivened.
Meng Hao frowned. Because the spiritual energy had not been completely cut off in the Western Desert Central region, and because not all life had been exterminated, it meant that there would be more Tribes here.
“Now that we’re here, we need to be more cautious,” he said. With that, he sent the flying viper forward to search for a place in the plains where the Tribe could rest and reorganize.