Winds Stir Beyond the Seas — The Walled Village

Chapter 589: Winds Stir Beyond the Seas — The Walled Village

“I can’t say if you’re unlucky or lucky to be here. You’ve stumbled into a once-in-a-century Spirit Void Eruption. When that happens, the spatial tears open far wider than usual. Anyone caught in it has no way to escape, no matter how skilled they are. But because of that, most of the Yin Beasts that usually lair in the mountains have left their dens. Otherwise, you’d have been devoured the moment you fell in.” The lean man glanced back at the two of them, his tone flat.

Han Li’s heart sank slightly at these words. But his expression remained unchanged as he asked:

“Forgive my presumption. Could you tell us exactly where we are? From your tone, this place seems extremely dangerous.”

“Dangerous? Heh. ‘Dangerous’ barely scratches the surface. I don’t care what you did outside, or what illustrious mortal status you once held. Here in this Nether Yin Land, there are no free riders. Anyone capable of moving must work. Otherwise, you end up as Yin Beast feed.” The man studied their clothing again, as if recognizing that neither of them was ordinary, then gave a cold laugh.

Han Li frowned. He wanted to ask more, but the man waved a hand impatiently.

“We’re in a critical period. I don’t have time to give the two of you an in-depth explanation. Everything can wait until we’re back at the village. In a little while, the main horde of Yin Beasts will be returning to their dens. Quick, seal this secret exit. We’ll save it for later use.” The last words were a sharp command to the others around him.

Immediately, the men and women began gathering stones from nearby, blocking the exit tightly.

“Let’s go. If all goes well, Ah Hu and his group should be meeting up with us along the way. If we don’t move now, once the Yin Wind starts up, we won’t make it back.” The lean man looked up at the churning clouds overhead, his face darkening.

With that, he turned and walked away. The other men and women followed silently, not a single one of them bothering to call out to Han Li or the woman.

Han Li’s eyes flickered with a strange light as he sank into thought.

“Should we follow them?” The delicate woman beside him grew uneasy as she watched the group recede into the distance while Han Li stood frozen in place, contemplating. Without her magic power, she was nothing more than a frightened, fragile girl, and she had naturally latched onto Han Li, who remained calm and collected, as someone she could rely on.

“We follow. Why not? Let’s first go to this so-called village. Perhaps there, we can find a way to restore our magic power.” Han Li looked up and said coolly. Then, watching the figures ahead, he strode forward without hesitation.

The woman let out a soft breath of relief and hurried after him.

“By the way, I haven’t asked your surname. My name is Han. I’m a rogue cultivator.” Han Li spoke casually as he walked.

“I’m Mei Ning. I came here with my elder brother. I was sucked into the ghost mist alongside him, so why isn’t he here? This gentle woman was the tender member of the Mei siblings. As she mentioned her brother, a trace of worry crept across her face.

“That’s normal. Those black lightning strikes clearly have a random teleportation ability. We were sent to the mountain’s belly, but your brother might have been sent somewhere else. Otherwise, given the number of cultivators back there, it’s impossible that only the two of us ended up here. We can search for him slowly later. We’ll be reunited eventually.” Han Li’s expression remained unchanged.

His words put Mei Ning somewhat at ease. But at the same time, her curiosity about him grew.

His face was ordinary and unfamiliar. She was certain she had never seen him before. Had he come to the island from a different direction? The woman made this guess, full of questions she wanted to ask, but held back, feeling she wasn’t close enough to him yet.

While she was lost in her own uncertainty, the two of them caught up to the group ahead. Though their magic power was gone, the tempered bodies of cultivators were still far superior to ordinary mortals.

The lean man’s eyes flickered with surprise at seeing them keep pace without falling behind. But he said nothing, simply lowered his head and quickened his pace.

The other men and women matched his speed.

Han Li was momentarily startled. The movements and strides of these people were far more agile than an average person’s. Though they didn’t seem to possess any advanced internal energy, they had clearly practiced some basic external martial arts. It seemed here, only martial skill was of any use.

And yet, Han Li was still worried about the ghost mist incident. From the records he’d read, while ghost mist was dangerous, it was never this severe. There was no chance of escape at all. Before even touching the mist, they were stripped of their magic power. That was excessively powerful. If all appearances of ghost mist were this terrifying, even Nascent Soul cultivators would be unable to survive. But clearly, many people had successfully evaded the mist before, including some low-level cultivators.

The lean man’s mention of a “Spirit Void Eruption” cleared things up a little. Just from the name, he could guess that the sealing of their magic power and spiritual sense had everything to do with it.

It seemed they had simply been unlucky enough to encounter an especially powerful wave of ghost mist, and had all been swept up and delivered here. Any other surviving cultivators were likely scattered across other corners of this place.

As Han Li was pondering this, the lean man ahead suddenly halted, jerking his head to one side. The other men and women stopped as well, turning to follow his gaze.

On one side of the desert, a yellow dragon of dust was racing toward them, churning up sand in its path.

“It’s Ah Hu and his group!” A young, naive-faced man cried out in surprise. The others stirred as well.

The lean man nodded, a hint of relief flickering across his face, but his smile froze almost immediately. Because from within the yellow dragon came several sharp, piercing roars.

“Everyone, go help them! They’re being chased by Yin Beasts!” the man shouted, his face twisting in alarm. He yanked the white longblade from his belt and charged forward.

The others, suddenly realizing the situation, drew their own blades and sabers and sprinted to meet them.

Han Li remained where he was, watching the distant yellow dragon with a strange glint in his eyes.

Within moments, the men and women plunged into the yellow dragon. Roars erupted from inside, and the yellow cloud stalled, dissolving into patches of mist that scattered in all directions.

Shouts and cries from the men and women intermingled with the unnatural howls of beasts.

A full quarter of an hour later, the noise gradually subsided, and finally, everything fell silent again.

Soon, a cheer erupted from within, and the men and women emerged from the yellow mist. Every single one of them was splattered with fresh, red beast blood. It was impossible to tell if anyone was injured, but they were all grinning, as if they had stumbled upon some unexpected fortune.

They quickly returned to their original path, now accompanied by a few tall men Han Li had seen in the mountain belly, carrying the enormous leather bags on their backs.

These men looked at Han Li and Mei Ning with some surprise. But after the lean man whispered a few words to them, their expressions shifted to understanding, and they no longer paid them any mind.

With these new additions, the group moved even faster.

After a full hour of travel, they finally emerged from the desert, and before them lay a stretch of pitch-black, jagged stones.

Like the desert, Han Li could not tell how far the stone field extended; it seemed to have no end. But the stones within were all bizarrely shaped and jet-black, giving him an intensely oppressive, chilling feeling.

Yet the moment this group saw the place, every one of them let out a deep sigh of relief, their expressions relaxing.

At that moment, the gloomy clouds above began to churn violently, and the blue lightning flashed more frequently, occasionally striking the ground nearby, leaving craters of various sizes.

Han Li and Mei Ning were startled by the sight, but the others seemed entirely accustomed to it. They strode into the area without concern.

The lean man even called out to them:

“Move faster! The village will be sealing its gates soon. We can’t afford to be locked out.”

At his command, everyone broke into a sprint, pushing forward with all their might.

Han Li and Mei Ning exchanged a glance. Though they didn’t know what was coming, they didn’t dare fall behind.

Led by the group, Han Li wound left and right through the jagged stone field until, suddenly, his vision opened up. A towering stone wall loomed before him, dark and imposing.

The wall was built from massive boulders, each a zhang in size, stacked one atop another to a height of twenty or thirty zhang.

The wall stretched over a thousand zhang from end to end. Every few zhang, a length of sharpened hardwood jutted out from the stone, making the structure look savage and menacing. Directly ahead of Han Li and the others stood an enormous wooden gate, raised high, looming ominously. On either side of the gate, a dozen or so men stood guard, holding white long spears, their eyes alert.

When these guards spotted the lean man’s group returning, their faces lit up with excitement as they called out loudly.

Then, a deep, rumbling sound echoed through the air, and the massive gate was lowered. They were welcomed inside.