The Road to Anchan City

The three members of the Meng clan had barely been able to hold on when they had joined forces. But when the two Snowdragon Mountain disciples stopped holding back, the trio began to struggle desperately.

“I knew I should have listened to Stone.” The pretty, slender woman’s face went pale as she bitterly regretted their decision. The three of them had all become Zifu Disciples, but they hadn’t dared to continue cultivating ever since. Once they reached the mid-Zifu stage, their foundations would be set, and most decent sects would be unwilling to take them as disciples.

Thus, they were all at the early Zifu stage. When they had set out, Meng Yan had said, “Xiao Xin, our power is at the very bottom among Zifu Disciples. If we fly using magic treasures… and get ambushed, we’ll be in danger. It would be best for us to travel on the ground, using mounts, and move along slowly like ordinary people. It’ll take a long time, but it’s safe. Most cultivators can’t be bothered to attack ordinary mortals.”

“You idiot!” Another companion, Meng Jun, had retorted angrily, “Ride a mount and slowly crawl along the ground? Over a journey of a million li, that would take a full year! If you’re willing to waste that time, I’m not. I refuse to believe that we’ll run into anyone who wants to harm us in just a few short days of flying.”

“Stone, Meng Jun has a point. A few days should be fine,” Meng Xin had said at the time, unwilling to spend a full year on the journey. So they had decided to fly to Anchan City.

Unfortunately…

They had indeed run into killers. Some cultivators devoted themselves to bitter training, some grew through slaughter, and some relied on robbery and assassination. Robbery was the fastest way to acquire treasures, and there were indeed quite a few who walked that path.

……

“Pu!” Meng Xin spat out a mouthful of blood as the flying swords struck against her ribbon-like defensive treasures, the impact still forcing its way through.

“Xiao Xin!” The honest-looking man, Meng Yan, cried out in alarm. Clenching his teeth, his face flushed crimson as his aura suddenly exploded outward. The nine dark, spherical stones flying in front of him accelerated to a terrifying speed, hurtling towards the two white-robed men.

“Go, quickly! Go!” Meng Yan howled.

“Stone!”

Meng Xin’s expression changed. She could clearly tell that Meng Yan had activated a forbidden technique. They were on their way to join a sect; using a forbidden art to damage his foundation would make it difficult, if not impossible, to enter any decent sect.

“Go!” Meng Yan roared like a madman.

“Go!” The pale-skinned youth beside him immediately transformed into a streak of smoke and fled. Meng Xin gritted her teeth and followed.

The two white-robed men merely watched with cold smiles. Did they think escaping would be so easy?

Pu!

A blur shot up from the ground, as fast as lightning, passing directly through the heads of the two white-robed men.

“Impossible!”

“How…”

Both white-robed men’s eyes went wide with disbelief. They had carried out many robberies before. They were always cautious. While fighting, they were even more vigilant, constantly on guard against their surroundings. But they hadn’t sensed even a trace of Yuan power fluctuation. A flying sword hidden right beneath their feet had attacked them in an instant. Their own magic treasure armor hadn’t been able to block it in the slightest.

Blood splattered, mixed with traces of white.

The two white-robed men’s bodies went limp, crashing to the ground without a sound.

“Kill, kill!” The honest man, Meng Yan, was still in a frenzy, desperately controlling his nine black stone spheres. But then he froze, staring in shock at the scene before him…

The two white-robed men were on the ground?

Dead?

“This… this…” Meng Yan couldn’t believe it.

Meng Jun, who was frantically fleeing, glanced back. His gaze swept across the distant scene, spotting the two white-robed figures lying on the ground. With his cultivator’s vision, he could clearly see the bloodstains on the ground.

“Xin!” Meng Jun sent a telepathic message. “Stop running! Both Snowdragon Mountain men are dead.”

Meng Xin came to a halt and turned to look. In the distance, at the site of the earlier battle, she could indeed see two figures lying on the ground.

“Let’s go take a look,” Meng Jun said quickly.

“Mm.” Meng Xin cautiously followed.

They quickly flew back to the site of the battle. Both Meng Jun and Meng Xin wore confused expressions as they looked at the honest man, Meng Yan, who was standing there dumbfounded. Meng Jun pressed, “Stone, what happened?”

Boom!

Flames erupted around them, engulfing the two Snowdragon Mountain disciples, burning them to ashes.

“Fire!” The three young men and women of the Meng clan were startled.

A figure emerged from the forest, with a beast following behind it. Looking closely… the one approaching was a young man dressed in animal skins, with a clean, delicate face. A large, snow-white hound accompanied him.

Swoosh.

The beast-skin-clad youth waved his hand, collecting all the magic treasures left behind by the two incinerated Snowdragon Mountain disciples.

“Thank you, senior, for saving our lives!” The honest man, Meng Yan, fell directly to his knees, kowtowing in gratitude.

“There’s no need for such a grand gesture. And there is no need to call me senior. We are fellow Daoists,” Ji Ning said, looking at the honest man. He felt a surge of goodwill toward him. With his divine sense having been spread out, he had witnessed the man activating a forbidden technique and going berserk, telling the woman to flee first. It reminded Ji Ning of the uncle he had never met.

His uncle had done the same thing back then, allowing his mother to escape alive, and allowing Ji Ning himself to come into this world.

Although Ji Ning had rushed over quickly, even using his divine will to send the Annihilation Sword of Silence ahead to intercept the killers, the damage Meng Yan had done to himself by activating that forbidden technique would be difficult to erase.

“A pity,” Ji Ning sighed to himself.

“Thank you, fellow Daoist!” The handsome, pale-skinned youth quickly pulled the honest man to his feet. “We are disciples of the Meng clan. This is Meng Yan, this is Meng Xin, and I am Meng Jun. May I ask which sect you belong to, fellow Daoist?”

“Stone.” Meng Xin grabbed the honest man’s hand, tears glistening in her eyes. She also looked at Ji Ning, feeling both curiosity and reverence for the beast-skin-clad youth before her.

Ji Ning nodded. “My name is Ji Ning. I happen to be on my way to Anchan City and encountered you three by chance.”

“Brother Ji Ning is also heading to Anchan City?” The handsome, pale-skinned youth beamed with joy. “The three of us are going to Anchan City as well! If you don’t mind, Brother Ji Ning, why don’t we travel together?”

Meng Yan and the woman, Meng Xin, also looked at him with hopeful eyes.

Ji Ning nodded slightly. “Fine.”

When his divine sense had been covering the area earlier, Meng Yan had already begun activating his forbidden technique… so Ji Ning didn’t know the identity of these three. But judging by their names, they seemed to be from the same clan. And they didn’t look very old.

“A single clan producing three Zifu Disciples, all of the same age group,” Ji Ning mused to himself. “And all with the surname Meng. One of the major powers marked on my map is a Meng clan.”

……

Choosing to travel with these three, Ji Ning also wanted to learn more about the outside world through them. After all, the Ji clan’s records of the outside world were far too sparse.

“Come, Brother Ji Ning, try this fine wine. It’s brewed in-house by our Meng clan.”

“Brother Ji Ning, try this fruit.”

A large boat was sailing through the clouds and mist. Ji Ning and the three Meng clan members sat separately, with low tables placed before them, laden with fruit and wine. Ji Ning’s strength was clearly exceptional, and the three Meng clan members were eager to curry favor with him. Moreover, having him travel with them was like having a guardian deity.

“It really is the Meng clan.” Having traveled together for over two days, Ji Ning was learning more and more.

Of the three, Meng Jun was talkative and skilled at flattery, though his sycophancy was a bit too obvious, which made Ji Ning somewhat uncomfortable.

Meng Xin was absolutely stunning, a beauty that would be hard to find even in the Ji clan.

Meng Yan was the honest man who had used the forbidden technique earlier, the only one of the three Ji Ning felt any fondness for and was willing to befriend.

“Meng Jun is right.” Meng Xin shook her head, her voice crisp. “Our Eastern Bend branch has always been bullied and oppressed. Even the direct descendants of the Eastern Bend lineage have a hard time making ends meet. For us side branches, it’s even more miserable… We were incredibly lucky just to barely reach the Zifu stage. Wanting to obtain top-tier ki refining techniques? Impossible. The other branches will always oppress us, refusing to let our Eastern Bend lineage grow strong. So after we reached the early Zifu stage, we agreed to set out together for Anchan City. Anchan City has recruitment points for all the major sects. We can try our luck at several sects. The only pity is that Stone has already…”

Meng Yan just smiled. “It’s fine. Being alive is already great. Using a forbidden technique just once won’t have too much of an effect. No matter what, we’re almost at Anchan City! We have a chance to go further on the path of cultivation!”

“Yeah, we’re leaving the clan.” Meng Jun ground his teeth. “Wait until one of us becomes a Primal Daoist. Hah, then all those old fogies in the clan will come crawling over to welcome us.”

“Keep your feet on the ground,” Meng Yan said, giving him a look.

Meng Jun let out a dramatic sigh. “How pitiful we three are! Born into the prestigious Meng clan, yet our magic treasures are worse than those two Snowdragon Mountain disciples.” His eyes suddenly turned pitiful as he looked toward Ji Ning. “Brother Ji Ning, your strength is incredible. You killed those two Snowdragon Mountain disciples like they were chickens. I imagine those magic treasures are worthless to you. Brother Ji Ning… how about bestowing just one or two treasures upon us? That way, we won’t be such a burden to you.”

“Just one or two, we don’t ask for much,” Meng Jun said, staring at Ji Ning with anticipation in his eyes.

Ji Ning frowned slightly.

This Meng Jun… his excessive flattery was one thing, but now he had discovered another of his ‘fine qualities’: an utter shamelessness.

“No one ever has too many magic treasures,” Ji Ning said, glancing at Meng Jun. “I’m planning to trade for a formation array at Anchan City, but I’m afraid I don’t have enough treasures on me to make the exchange. Brother Meng Jun, would you be willing to lend me one or two?”

Meng Jun’s face went pale, and he gave a sheepish laugh, cursing inwardly: “What a miser! Last time I flattered our clan’s Ruxu, he casually tossed me a treasure. I’ve been buttering up this Ji Ning for ages, treating him to fine wine, and I haven’t gotten a single thing. With his strength and that Zifu-level spirit beast, I thought he was someone important. What a cheapskate!”

Ji Ning couldn’t be bothered to look at Meng Jun anymore.

He had chosen to travel with these three for two reasons: first, to learn more about the outside world from them, and second, because he genuinely liked Meng Yan.

“Brother Ji Ning!” Meng Xin suddenly pointed downward and called out. “Look, is that Anchan City?”

“Anchan City?” Ji Ning quickly turned his head to look.

In the distance, at the foot of the vast land below, an enormous city stretched as far as the eye could see, so massive that its boundaries were lost to the horizon. Even from a thousand li away, Ji Ning could faintly sense waves of energy emanating from that majestic, colossal city. The ripples seemed faint, but they pulsed with an endless, profound power.

Just by looking at it with his naked eyes, Ji Ning felt an invisible pressure.

“We’re here. Anchan City.” Ji Ning’s eyes burned with longing.

“Anchan City.” In the eyes of Meng Jun, Meng Yan, and Meng Xin, there was the same longing and anticipation—an anticipation for the future.