Meng Hao let out a soft sigh. He said nothing, but rather, turned and walked over to where the Tribe members were gathered. As he neared, they all looked toward him, eyes hot with zeal. With a slight smile, Meng Hao continued around to the back of the mountain, and his courtyard.
Here, the rain was falling heavily. He sat down beneath the eaves, surrounded by his neo-demon horde. Big Hairy lay on the ground next to him, letting out light yips. He was wounded, but not fatally.
Meng Hao now had only six thousand neo-demons left in his horde. All were wounded, and were currently healing naturally.
Gu La braved the rainwater to bustle about, giving them food and treating some of their minor injuries. The sky above was dim, and the rain… only continued to fall harder and harder.
The vast sky and land gradually transformed into a depression that weighed down on the hearts of both Meng Hao and the Crow Divinity Tribe members.
“Perhaps I should wait for the parrot to return… and then leave. Leaving really is the best decision. However….” He lapsed into silence again. During his entire time in the Western Desert, he had lived amongst the five Crow Divinity Tribes. He had achieved his goals, and yet, the ones to pay the price had been them.
Objectively speaking, everything that was happening was not Meng Hao’s fault. However, when it came to his heart, Meng Hao found it hard shake off the deep emotions that he felt.
The Crow Soldier Greatfather’s words made sense. The five Crow Divinity Tribes had no ability to migrate, and even if they did… they would never be able to enter the Black Lands.
When he thought of the Black Lands, Meng Hao recalled the war he had seen there, and the Western Desert Cultivators who had fought in them.
“What an incredible plan,” Meng Hao thought, his eyes flashing. “Because of this Apocalypse, the eyes of the entire Western Desert will be focused on the Black Lands. It seems that the time will soon come for those great Tribes who control the Black Lands… to bare their fangs.”
Time passed by slowly. Two months were gone, and the violet rain never ceased to fall. It only grew harder. Meng Hao could no longer stay behind the mountain, because… it had already turned into a small stream as deep as one’s knees.
The five Crow Divinity Tribes had moved to the top of the mountain peak. There, they built huts to shelter themselves from the rain. More than two thousand people lived their lives silently inside these huts.
Already, there were Tribe members who were visibly weakening….
Meng Hao sat cross-legged on the mountain peak, looking at the mountains off in the distance. They had once been green and verdant, but now they were a deathly dark gray. All of the vegetation had withered up and died.
Every day, it was possible to see neo-demons running or flying away from within the deep mountains. It wasn’t just Cultivators who were migrating during this Apocalypse, but neo-demons as well.
The land in many areas around had already turned violet. Streams flowed together to form rivers. It was easy to imagine how, after some bit of time passed, the rivers would merge together to form lakes. Eventually, the lakes would turn into… a sea.
“If I can’t take you with me,” said Meng Hao, “then I will stay with you here. We will await death together. I will not allow the violet rain to bury you. The tombstone of the five Crow Divinity Tribes should have all of your names carved on its surface.” Meng Hao felt deeply melancholy, but he really could not think of any other options. The five Crow Divinity Tribes really had no hope to hold in front of them anymore.
The Black Lands might count as hope. However, it was an intangible hope, a stagnant hope. Besides, the path to the Black Lands would be rife with countless other Tribes all charging toward the same destination. The five Crow Divinity Tribes would have much difficulty fighting for a place amongst all those other Tribes.
“Maybe there is some other hope to be had!” murmured Meng Hao, lifting his head up to look at the violet rain.
More time passed. A month later, hope suddenly appeared one day…. It appeared, not just for Meng Hao, but for all the members of the five Crow Divinity Tribes.
That hope came in the form of a voice!
The voice echoed out throughout the entire Western Desert, from North to South, East to West. It was impossible to say if it was a magical technique or divine ability, nor was it possible to determine the profundity of the speaker’s Cultivation base. The voice was archaic and ancient as it echoed out.
“To all fellow countrymen in the Western Desert, greetings….
“We are the Heavenly Court Alliance of the Black Lands, formed by the great Heavenly Pursuit Tribe, great Wild Flame Tribe, and great Demon Butterfly Tribe. This is our first public announcement to all Cultivators in the Western Desert….”
Meng Hao looked up. The Crow Soldier Tribe Greatfather suddenly opened his