Vol. 1 - Ch. 325 - The Journey

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An invisible gaze fell upon the newly planted locust tree, which was already beginning to grow rapidly.

After a long moment of contemplation, the gaze slowly faded away. In the shadowy depths of the earth, not far away, a rat crawled out of a corner of the soil.

Though its body was covered in murky dirt, the corners of its mouth curled upward ever so slightly. Even within its gray pupils, a trace of delight flickered.

...

"The day grows late. We’ll rest at the encampment.”

After a full day’s journey, Chen Tianjing looked at the desolate road and dimming sky around them, then spoke.

The clansmen began to set things in order with practiced efficiency upon hearing this.

The Azure Wolves, summoned by the clansmen, swiftly unloaded the Blood Rice from their backs before gathering to rest.

Meanwhile, Chen Tianyu directed the clansmen as he studied the tattered map in his hand, occasionally writing and sketching to fill in missing details.

Between Yong’an City and Yunmeng City lay a wide avenue. As for who had built it, none could say. Perhaps it was constructed by great clans for trade or by the combined efforts of the smaller families and villages that lived nearby.

However, this greatly facilitated the clan’s transport. With the extraordinary endurance and strength of the Azure Wolves, the journey to Yunmeng City was completed a full day earlier than expected.

In truth, given the size of the convoy, they could have traveled at night as well, reducing the time even further. After all, aside from the Azure Wolves, even the weakest clansmen had reached the Body Tempering Realm. If necessary, riding on the Wolves posed no issue.

Yet, considering various factors, such as the condition of the clansmen and the mood of the Wolves, Chen Tianyu ultimately rejected the idea.

The main reason was that they had plenty of time. There were still several days before the meeting with the Cui family, so there was no need to rush.

After quickly marking out the encampment, several bonfires rose in the darkness.

Many clansmen took out the blood rice and dried meat they had brought and began cooking.

Although eating Blood Rice raw could achieve the same effect, it was still rice. Cooking it improved the taste and ensured that none of its Qi and Blood was lost.

Of course, during critical moments, the clansmen did not care about taste.

As the rice cooked and the meat roasted, the clansmen sat around the bonfire and gazed at the star-filled sky. They shared recent clan anecdotes and teased the young ones who had joined the expedition.

The elders naturally knew countless embarrassing stories from the youths' childhoods.

In the silent night, only the crackling of the fire and the clansmen's joyous laughter remained.

Even Chen Tianyu was touched by the atmosphere; the corners of his mouth lifted into a faint smile.

Only Chen Qinghe sat with a darkened expression because many of his "glorious deeds" were surely woven within the laughter.

Damn it... Why did I ever agree to join this journey?

Just as the clansmen relaxed, Chen Tianyu suddenly turned his gaze toward the darkness not far away.

Soon after, Chen Tianquan also seemed to sense something and slowly rose to his feet.

Seeing the two clan elders react this way, the others quickly realized that something was amiss. They fell silent and listened intently.

"It seems someone is rushing toward us."

"And there are quite a few of them!"

"Could it be an ambush?"

After listening to the clansman’s analysis, Chen Qinghe quickly asked,

"You're overthinking it. There's no need to pay it any mind.”

Already aware of the situation, Chen Tianyu spoke with a smile.

This caused Chen Qinghe’s excited expression to fade.

He had worked himself up for nothing—he had even been hoping to test out his Taizu Long Fist technique.

After his last bout with the Zhao Clan youth, he had noticed that his technique had improved. Clearly, only through real combat could martial skills advance. Perhaps he too could soon reach the stage of mastery, just like his cousin Qingyu.

Seeing the smile on Chen Tianyu’s face, the other clansmen relaxed as well, returning to their earlier leisure. Still, a trace of caution and watchfulness lingered in the corners of their eyes.

"Uncle Lu, it's just ahead."

In the darkness, a young man looked toward the bright firelight ahead. His voice was filled with joy.

Beside him, a middle-aged man in the Blood Coagulation Realm exhaled in relief and called out to the others.

“Everyone, let’s rest here. Tie Zhu and Er Niu, come with me to greet them.”

Two youths at the Body Tempering Realm quickly stepped forward from the crowd at the middle-aged man’s call. They followed him.

The group immediately made their way toward the firelight.

The man smiled kindly. Judging by the number of bonfires, the other group must be quite large. Perhaps they were fellow travelers on the same road. If so, things would be much easier.

He wondered how many martial cultivators the other side had. Still, more people meant more mutual protection.

With this thought, the middle-aged man quickened his pace.

Soon, the sound of conversation by the bonfire reached his ears, and he caught sight of many clansmen seated around the flames.

But before he could greet them, the young man beside him suddenly pointed toward the darkness and cried out,

"Uncle Lu, look—what is that?"

The boy’s voice was urgent and tinged with fear.

This made the middle-aged man, who had been about to speak, turn his head instinctively.

In the pitch-black night, a pair of faintly crimson eyes fixed on them.

As the man froze in shock, more pairs of identical eyes appeared, surrounding them faintly.

With the help of the dim firelight, the middle-aged man could finally see clearly what surrounded them: massive Azure Wolves with sharp, predatory eyes. At a glance, there were no fewer than ten, and many of them were far more advanced than he was.

Having only reached the mid-stage of the Blood Coagulation Realm, the man had never encountered such a scene before. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead instantly, and the youths behind him grew so tense that they could hardly breathe.

Just as the wolves seemed ready to bare their fangs, a gentle voice suddenly drifted over.

"Do you gentlemen have some business here?"

As the words fell, Chen Tianyu appeared before them. The Azure Wolves that had encircled the group immediately closed their eyes and lay silently on the ground.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man quickly understood—these enormous wolves must be the ferocious beasts raised by the people before him.

Snapping back to his senses, the man hurriedly replied.

"Greetings, honored sir. I am Lu Meng, the village chief of Lu Family Village. I am currently leading a group to Yunmeng City to sell some of our village’s specialties. We came upon your encampment and thought we would come greet you. If we have offended you in any way, I beg your pardon.”

After speaking, the middle-aged man felt uneasy.

Even the ferocious beasts raised by these people were formidable. What cultivation realm must these people possess?

Surely, only powerful clans could command such strength!

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