Chapter 231 - 229: Yang Clan’s Classic Barbecue

The next morning, the sandstorm outside had subsided slightly.

At least, it had returned to the level it was at when Yang Shen first entered the Noon Realm.

The locals had no scientific equipment, but their centuries of experience struggling to survive made them better at predicting the weather than any Cyan Blue technology.

"My lord, it should be safe for the next few days. The Xi Race’s party will escort you to the Hei Race."

There were more than ten people in the group. Guiding Yang Shen clearly didn’t require this many, but the Xi Race wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to reconnect with an "outsider."

However, this also greatly slowed them down... Though they were all skilled members of the Xi Race, bearing tattoo-like Curse Engraving marks, their average strength was only at the Bone Training level.

They even brought a few of the "Nameless People," including the shepherd girl.

According to Noon Realm tradition, they were the offspring of intermarriages between the Hei Race and the Xi Race. As they approached "adulthood," the Xi Race would select some to stay, and the rest would be returned to the Hei Race, who would then pay for the cost of raising them.

This meant the journey would take a full three days... far slower than if Yang Shen were to travel alone with his case.

But who was to blame for him getting lost...

Once the large party had left Yixiantian, the old man immediately turned back to ask his granddaughter a question.

"Last night... how did things go?"

His granddaughter looked exhausted, with dark circles under her eyes.

The old man sensed an opportunity—a huge one!

If she could obtain the bloodline of an outsider, it would surely be incredibly precious!

But his granddaughter just said helplessly, "Last night... all we did was move our lips..."

She had spent the whole night acting as a messenger.

The old man froze, then said, his voice full of disappointment, "Foolish girl! What good is just moving your lips!"

"You’re really just hungry!"

————

Meanwhile, Yang Shen set out with the party of more than ten people, carrying his supplies on his back.

Only now did he realize that the Hei Race’s territory was not in the direction he had come from... but the complete opposite.

God knows how he’d gotten so lost he was off by 180 degrees.

As for the "Nameless People" children, Yang Shen didn’t single out the shepherd girl for special attention, merely observing their condition.

As part of a long-standing system in the Noon Realm, the children showed no reluctance or fear; this was all just a part of their common knowledge for survival.

They just marched forward in silence, some even holding a bit of anticipation due to the recent changes in the Hei Race’s situation.

The group traveled for more than ten hours. For the children without Curse Engravings, this was physically exhausting, but Noon Realm People possess incredible willpower, and not a single child complained of being tired.

It wasn’t until dusk that the Xi Race members, with practiced ease, found a cave and ducked inside.

They had traveled this path for hundreds of years. Their pace, their resting spots—it was all established. This was the immense value of the natives; who knew how much more of this kind of "effective information" they held.

Perhaps one day they would give the Cyan Blue Star People a surprise by providing some critical information.

’Protecting the natives is everyone’s responsibility.’

Inside the cave, Yang Shen had the Xi Race members demonstrate their "Curse Engraving"...

’I’ll tentatively name it "Curse Engraving: Water."’

A Xi Race Warrior took a water flask from his waist.

Compared to the Hei Race, the Xi Race’s Curse Engraving manifested as the ability to control water, not create it, and also allowed them to dive to extreme depths, ignoring the water pressure.

The "Underground Lake" at the back of the cave had been excavated and widened by generations of Xi Race members; it was said to have originally been just a single spring.

Relying on the Underground Lake, they did business with the other races by selling water, making them the most "wealthy" and unique among the twelve families.

As for their combat prowess... it had its merits.

At Yang Shen’s request, a Xi Race Warrior controlled a drop of water and shot it out. It struck the rocks with a CLINK CLINK sound. It was no match for a bullet, but it would be quite threatening to an ordinary person.

They also had another Secret Technique similar to a high-pressure water jet. In places with water, the Xi Race’s combat effectiveness was quite good.

The dark humor of the situation was... in the Noon Realm, water was more valuable than gold...

For instance, the Warrior who had performed the demonstration, as soon as he was finished, rushed over to the rock wall and licked up the water droplets he had "biu"-ed out, not wasting a single drop.

Yang Shen could only feel helpless about this.

In a direct comparison, the Noon Realm’s Curse Engravings had many wondrous aspects, but their upper limit was too low, and the users’ physiques were too weak.

However, while the "Curse Engraving" manifested as large tattoos on the Noon Realm People, the latest research results on Shen Juanzhou’s body did not. He didn’t know what the specific difference was.

This was likely Xu Mo’s main line of work. To be able to play such an important role in an event that could influence an entire era spoke volumes about his high level of skill.

Another night of Cultivation passed. In the Noon Realm, Yang Shen could only gain 3-4 points of "source" from his Cultivation... barely a fifth of what he could on Cyan Blue. This was the norm for most Exotic Realms; so far, no Exotic Realm had a higher "source content" than Cyan Blue.

Early the next morning, the group set out again, heading for the next cave.

Along the way, however, they encountered someone on a mountain ridge...

From a distance, two figures could be seen on the opposite barren mountain peak. It seemed they had spotted the Xi Race’s party and were now leaping toward them.

Each leap covered a distance of over a hundred meters. As they charged down the mountain, they left a gray trail of dust in their wake. Judging by their physiques, they were clearly Martial Artists from Cyan Blue.

The Xi Race members braced themselves, looking nervous. The various races of the Noon Realm had differing levels of contact with the outsiders, but it was a basic assumption that every single one of them was extremely powerful.

Yang Shen put down his case and stepped forward to block the two of them without any hesitation.

They had deep-set eyes and curly, brownish-blond hair. They were two people from Europe, and both were Temple Warriors.

But they were nowhere near as heavily armed as the one Yang Shen had encountered before. Both wore Half-Body Armor, with only regular clothing on their lower bodies.

One carried a massive Full Body Shield on his back, the other a Two-Handed Hammer.

Seeing Yang Shen block their path, the two cautiously stopped ten meters away.

Yang Shen tossed a translator over. "What’s the matter?"

One of them caught it, his eyes fixed on Yang Shen. "We’re looking for a lost comrade. Have you seen a Temple Warrior wearing a full suit of Rune Armor?"

Yang Shen: "Absolutely not."

"Where are you headed?"

Yang Shen: "The Yin Race."

The exchange was brief. It couldn’t be called cooperative or uncooperative; they were all competitors, and Yang Shen had no obligation to help the people from Europe.

For example, by telling them he had dismantled Rune Armor fragments in his backpack.

It seemed the "Well-done Knight" had some background.

But Yang Shen wasn’t fazed in the slightest. Yanhua didn’t need to care about such things, and Yang Shen cared even less.

Europe, compared to Yanhua, was very weak.

These two, compared to Yang Shen, should also be very weak.

’Among Cyan Blue Star People, strength is supreme.’

The two men looked toward the Xi Race party, their gazes falling on the water flasks at everyone’s waists, which were larger and fuller.

Then, without lingering, they turned and left, returning to the hillside they had come from.

After watching the party continue on its way from a distance, the man with the Two-Handed Hammer said, "I think there’s something wrong with that guy. He was too calm..."

"He’s one of the Yanhu People. They’ve always been arrogant... Besides, if the Lord’s disappearance is related to him, we wouldn’t be able to handle him anyway..."

He was, after all, of the Direct Lineage Bloodline of an old noble family, and not only was he exceptionally talented, but he also possessed a full suit of Rune Armor...

"I don’t think we’re going to find the Lord. This sandstorm is enough to bury all traces."

"Then what do we do? If we go back and get blamed for this, we won’t be able to bear the consequences..."

"Those people just now should be the Xi Race from the files. Their water flasks are large, and they’re a bit richer than the other poor bastards in the Noon Realm. They just haven’t been subjugated yet because their location is so remote."

The one carrying the giant shield said in a low voice, "Of the six families near the Gate of the Exotic Realm, we’ve taken one. Yanhua and Magna have each taken two, leaving only this Xi Race."

"If it weren’t for our supply lines failing, we would have made contact long ago. Unfortunately, our logistics are weak. I asked Commissioner Smith, and he said all available battleships are already deployed, but they still can’t compare to Yanhua’s colossal steel ships."

"In any case, the intel that Yanhua is contacting the Xi Race is also important. Let’s go back and report it. At least it’ll be something to show for our efforts."

A ruthless look appeared in his eyes. "Developing the Exotic Realm is more important than what happened to the Lord. If the Xi Race is also won over by Yanhua, the balance of power between the three factions will be broken..."

"We have to find a way. We absolutely cannot let Yanhua get what they want!"

"We have to stop Yanhua..."

Just then... the brawny man with the giant shield suddenly whipped his head around, his face a mask of horror!

Behind them, a figure stood, having appeared at some unknown moment. It was the Yanhu man who had stopped them earlier.

Yang Shen was looking down at the translator. He leisurely raised a hand and said, "Hang on, this machine translation is a bit slow."

"You! You followed us?! Are you ignoring the joint development agreement?!"

The two of them took the giant shield and the Two-Handed Hammer from their backs.

A moment later, Yang Shen finally saw the complete text.

"Oh... so you want to interfere with Yanhua’s work... Well, that makes things simple."

His guilt lessened considerably. He had originally just used Earth Element Escape to come take a look, to see if there were any hidden risks related to the Well-done Knight.

He had always been a cautious person.

Yang Shen put away the translator. Even if there was any more communication, it would no longer be needed.

He just watched the two men calmly.

"Do you two... like barbecue?"