Chapter One Hundred and Twenty: Key Figures
A flash of brilliant silver light seemed to sever the sound, abruptly halting the words of the Zhanbu Tribe member, plunging the entire hall of the Zhanbu Tribe into silence.
A few seconds later, a line of bl**d slowly appeared on the neck of the Zhanbu Tribe member.
“Thud—!”
The dull sound of the body hitting the ground echoed, and everyone present seemed to remember that breathing was necessary, inhaling in unison.
Furongluo’s gaze followed the Zhanbu Tribe member as he fell, then fixated on his lifeless body, stunned and lost in thought.
At this moment, he had already lost his breath; a near-perfect arc, from throat to nape, executed the beheading cleanly and smoothly, the severed surface as smooth as a mirror, faintly glittering with a gem-like luster, yet not a drop of bl**d flowed out.
A true “throat seal” with one sword, effortlessly completed the beheading, even severing the operation of spirit energy and the flow of bl**d within the Zhanbu Tribe member’s body.
Furongluo was genuinely frightened; it wasn’t because the Zhanbu Tribe member, who had come as an envoy, had died.
Although killing this Zhanbu Tribe member would provoke the ire of the Zhanbu Tribe, and even the three major tribes, bringing great trouble to the Zhanbu Tribe, she had long harbored the thought of leaving the Gobi Desert with all her tribesmen; if such a situation arose, the worst outcome would just be to flee.
What truly terrified her was the spirit energy fluctuation that enveloped the entire hall at the moment the silver light of the sword burst forth.
Though the fluctuation was not particularly intense and lasted only a fleeting moment, she could sense that the quality of this spirit energy fluctuation was extraordinarily high.
At least far superior to her own A+ Grade!
Such suppression from the spirit energy fluctuation was the real reason she felt fear and why the hall fell silent.
Could the one who drew the sword be Brother Bai Kai? Has he become this strong now? A+ grade, or even… Calamity? Furongluo pondered, a strong sense of powerlessness rising inexplicably within her.
Since parting with Bai Kai, she had been striving to make herself stronger.
Not only to have enough power to protect the Zhanbu Tribe but also to chase after Bai Kai’s footsteps.
But now, she suddenly realized that no matter how fast she pursued, the gap between her and Bai Kai remained as vast as it was when they first met.
No, it was even much larger than that!
It was at this moment that she suddenly realized she might have been blinded by the plots in the storybooks she collected, leading her to believe it was possible to catch up to Bai Kai.
In reality, the goal you want to chase after is inherently more talented and faster in progress. If they do not stop to wait for you, under the same effort, why could you catch up to them?
“Xiang Bohe, you and your tribesmen need not go to that so-called gathering place; I’ll go in your stead.”
He was already heading to Yumen Pass, and it was completely fine to help Furongluo deal with a minor trouble along the way.
Only when Bai Kai’s voice sounded did Furongluo come back to her senses and look up ahead.
She saw Bai Kai smiling at her, the bright silver longsword slowly returning to its sheath, a white robe swaying gently in the breeze that blew in from nowhere, exuding an air of righteous vigor.
“……” After a few seconds of silence, Furongluo stubbornly shook her head, bit her lip, and smiled wryly, “No, Brother Bai, let me go by myself. They specifically called for our Zhanbu Tribe’s help, what would it mean for you, an outsider, to go?”
She was well aware that if Bai Kai went, he likely would not return.
That would mean she not only couldn’t repay Bai Kai’s life-saving grace but would also have to bear the favor of Bai Kai saving the Zhanbu Tribe.
Bai Kai would eventually leave, and while leaving, he wanted her to acknowledge his grace, which was simply too unkind; she absolutely could not accept it!
“Outsider?” Bai Kai stepped closer with a smile, gently lifting Furongluo’s chin, kissing her forehead lightly, and softly asked, “Shouldn’t we be lovers?”
“Isn’t it only right to help one’s own lover with what one can do?”
As he spoke, he took another step forward, giving Furongluo a deep embrace, murmuring in her ear, “Be good, just stay at home and wait.”
As soon as the words fell, he flickered and vanished, as if blown away by the wind.
Furongluo stood frozen in place, stunned for a few seconds by Bai Kai’s astonishing action before she broke free from her stupor and chased after him.
However, by the time she crawled out of the well in the desolate village and reached the village entrance, Bai Kai had already vanished without a trace.
After a long time, a late Zhanbu Tribe youth quietly asked Furongluo beside her, “Tribe Leader, are we going or not?”
“Going!” Furongluo said with a serious expression, and after speaking, took out something from her bosom and stuffed it into the hand of the tribesman beside her, “But I’ll go alone.”
The Zhanbu Tribe youth opened his palm and his face changed drastically.
In his hand lay a flower-shaped badge made of pure white gem, inscribed with small Huihu characters, which was the token of the Zhanbu Tribe leader.
“But Aunt…”
The Zhanbu Tribe youth opened his mouth to say something, but Furongluo interrupted him with a hand, “Child, from today onwards, you are the leader of the Zhanbu Tribe.”
“Remember, regardless of whether the other half-urban legend tribes successfully rescue the Shaman Queen or not, after the ritual to assume leadership is completed, you must immediately lead everyone to leave, migrating to the forest edge meadows at the western foot of the Greater Khingan Mountains, understood?”
“Aunt… won’t you come back?” the youth frowned and asked.
“……” Furongluo lowered her head, silent for a few seconds, then smiled brightly, “Probably not.”
————
The half-urban legend tribes formed an alliance at the natural square in Devil City and elected the Zhanbu Tribe leader as their head. Soon, taking advantage of the fact that the sandstorm had not yet intensified, they returned to gather their people in their respective tribes.
By the time the raging winds rampaged across the Gobi Desert, shrouding the earth like a thick mist, the battle teams composed of half-urban legends, led by experienced half-urban legend elders, set out towards Yumen Pass against the winds and sand.
As evening approached, the sky darkened at a visibly rapid pace.
It wasn’t black, but dark—a suffocating dimness.
The clouds in the sky swirled, and the sand and stones fell like rain, forming dark yellow lines that poured onto this nearly lifeless land.
The gale swept back and forth across the earth, the howling winds unending. In the midst of the tornadoes, luminous flashes appeared sporadically, some white, some blue.
They were not lightning.
Some said it was the wind lifting sand and gravel rich in phosphorus, violently colliding in mid-air, creating a natural phenomenon; but only those familiar with the surroundings of Yumen Pass or half-urban legends would know that it was the rift between the God Realm Yumen Pass and the real world opening, dissipating spirit energy and erupting with intense light.
If Yumen Pass could be likened to a beast that devours urban legends, then those rays of fierce light would be its gaping mouth, ready to shred everything nearby and drain all spirit energy.
Amidst the fierce sandstorm, groups of half-urban legend teams emerged from beneath the yellow sand, from caves formed by wind-eroded rock hills, ruins of desolate villages, and water pools among Gobi greenery… advancing through the swirling yellow sand like streams, gradually merging, progressively growing stronger, until they finally converged into rushing rivers, ultimately gathering around Sanlongsha.
At the end of the battle team formed by the Zhanbu Tribe and seven medium-sized tribes, Fang Ji gazed back with an indecisive expression until a figure riding a colossal beast broke through the wind and sand and approached him.
Seeing Gu Qiqi land in front of him riding a flying pig named “Jinhua,” he asked crossly, “Where have you been running off to this time? How many times have you fallen behind now?”
In fact, Fang Ji’s question was rhetorical; he clearly remembered that from departure until now, this was already the seventh time Gu Qiqi had fallen behind.
Every time they passed by a medium-sized tribe’s settlement, she would fall behind once.
Such coincidences made him suspect that every time they passed those half-urban legend tribes’ gathering places, Gu Qiqi would take the opportunity to sneak in and loot.
Moreover, it wasn’t just looting wealth; Fang Ji suspected that she might even be “eating people”!
After all, Gu Qiqi’s previous explanation for the sudden disappearance of the “breeding machines” imprisoned by the Zhanbu Tribe was that she had eaten them.
Whether it was the bloodthirsty witch Gu Qiqi who feasted on urban legends, or the notorious calamity who kills without blinking, both could potentially consume humans or urban legends, so…
What’s the harm in her eating a few people?
Although Fang Ji could barely accept this explanation, when he recounted it to the Zhanbu Tribe leader, the other party’s facial expression twitched violently, as if experiencing a seizure.
“Can you be a little more restrained?” Fang Ji said earnestly to Gu Qiqi, “We are currently in a cooperative relationship with these half-urban legends; if you keep causing trouble like this, do you want to make it impossible for your friend to awaken?”
“I…” Gu Qiqi pouted, “Alright, I get it. Stop nagging! I won’t go next time we pass those robbers’ dens.”
While speaking, she completely didn’t dare to look Fang Ji in the eye.
To be honest, she still felt very guilty, worried that those half-urban legends would discover that she had looted their tribes, leaving them with not even a hair.
Though her original intention was to rescue those half-urban legends and humans imprisoned in those gathering sites, like her prison mates, time was tight; she felt she couldn’t do it without leaving traces, so she simply stuffed all the survivors from every half-urban legend gathering into the Bamboo Slips Illusion.
This was what the System taught her.
When she was no longer confident about doing something without leaving traces, she could opt not to leave any survivors…
Not leaving survivors doesn’t mean killing them all, right?
“You won’t have the chance to go anyway.” Fang Ji rolled his eyes, gazing ahead with slightly squinted eyes.
There were still five kilometers to the destination, and on that five-kilometer path, there were no other half-urban legend gathering places…
He only hoped Gu Qiqi’s looting of those seven half-urban legend gathering places wouldn’t be exposed too quickly, or if it was exposed, that the response wouldn’t be too intense, he thought.
As he was lost in thought, the voice of the Zhanbu Tribe leader suddenly sounded behind him, “Brother Fang, probably in about a quarter of an hour, all half-urban legend tribes will be gathered; shouldn’t we start preparing for the method you mentioned for entering Yumen Pass?”
“Not urgent, not urgent.” Fang Ji waved his hand, “The key figure isn’t here yet!”
“Key figure?” The Zhanbu Tribe leader frowned.
“Our esteemed Holy Son!” Fang Ji said with a smile.
“When will he arrive?”
Fang Ji extended his hand, raising five fingers, “Five…”
“Five minutes?”
“Four, three, two, one!”
As soon as the words fell, a low rumbling sound came from not far away.
Looking in the direction of the sound, they saw a ragged figure leaping over a sand dune, carrying a woman, rolling and scrambling towards them.
Extremely disheveled.
The Zhanbu Tribe leader, “……” The Holy Son of the Miracle Cult is like this? Doesn’t seem very reliable!
