The Cloudy Mountain Province is a poor province at the very fringe of the subcontinent. The inhabitants all moved from other lands within the last one hundred years. They were attracted by vast mountain ranges, pristine farmlands, virgin forests, and hidden treasures. People moved here, abandoning their old homes, in search of a better life, in search of riches, in search of freedom.Those that settled here came from all walks of life. There were poor peasants that came here to claim land as their own. There were mortal sects that sought out a new home with rich resources. There were merchants and traders drawn by the new inhabitants. As a whole, their lives were dangerous and filled with struggle. They had to constantly fight against strange beasts and demons already living in the land as well as other ones that migrate from the wilderness. Over a difficult one hundred years, human resourcefulness and determination gradually took over most of the province as they continually pushed the monsters back.
In this sense, the monster invasion was a savage flood that washed away all the progress within the province. Even as the Immortal a.s.sociation"s Monster Fighting Compet.i.tion started fighting back, h.o.a.rds of beasts and demons flooded in without pause. Hundreds of villages at the eastern edges fell before even the first mission was handed out. Some stayed and fought to their death. Others ran for their lives, causing a huge flow of refugees towards the west.
At an unending and foggy forest, there was a savage battle taking place. A particular man floated above, watching every detail.
"Good job!" The man"s voice called out.
He flew and followed the battlefield. All the trees the surrounding had been cut apart as if they were made of nothing. There were large man-sized monkey demons that laid dead all around. Each corpse was the result of a single slash that split apart their bodies completely.
There was a single woman standing at the edge of the battlefield. Around her, a thin layer of spiritual energy pulsed with vigor. Her white armored robe was completely spotless, compared to the rivers of blood on the ground. When she saw there were no more demons to kill, she sheathed her purple sword.
"Qianyu, you"ve gotten a lot better the last few days!" Chen Wentian praised.
"Thank you, master." Wu Qianyu replied.
He hugged her waist and flew off with her, heading back towards a nearby town.
"How many Jueyuan demons did you kill? I lost count."
"1,204."
"How about I give you that many kisses." Chen Wentian said as he puckered his lips and leaned over.
Wu Qianyu rolled her eyes and shoved his face away, though she was smiling underneath.
Chen Wentian knew she tended to get melancholic after slaying monsters so he always teased her to raise her spirits. She was fine around him as a result but would become depressed if he left her alone to her missions. He wasn"t sure why this was but he didn"t have a solution either.
In the past month since the monster invasion started, he acted as her flying carriage. He only watched from up high as she handled all the missions herself, only helping very rarely. Her cultivation saw a lot of improvement in this month although he still didn"t know what her immortal Dao would be. His own immortal Dao was not compatible with her and the only way was to help her find her own.
He knew Wu Qianyu had trained extremely hard by herself over the last year but he didn"t know exactly how hard. As he watched her in action day after day, he realized how much she pushed herself and he was truly impressed.
She wanted to save as many people as possible. She took on mission after mission without a moment of rest. She made sure every beast or demon within the vicinity was eradicated. She went above and beyond the mission parameters simply to save more people or slay more monsters. She seemed to gain more and more strength as she fought, even getting injured didn"t slow her down.
Through her dedication, Wu Qianyu was now first place in the compet.i.tion"s leader board. This astounded everyone. Even large sects that took advantage of team missions to funnel points to their head disciples were still below her. They gnashed their teeth and shook their fists in anger but they couldn"t escape the fact that Ten Thousand Flower Valley had another s.h.i.+ning star.
Chen Wentian and Wu Qianyu flew out of the forest and across a vast rolling prairie that was dotted with farms and villages. Many had been ravaged and destroyed by that horde demon monkeys. They pa.s.sed by a large village that was partially destroyed when Wu Qianyu seemed to sense something.
"Master, wait. Go there." She pointed to the village.
She had just saved this village from the demon monkeys. They had arrived in time and drove the demon monkeys all the way to the forest. Thus, only half the village was destroyed. The remaining people had stared clearing the debris and dead bodies and looking for survivors.
As she landed, Wu Qianyu looked about at the wreckage of the village. Houses were burnt and collapsed. There were still dead bodies of humans and demons everywhere. People were dragging demon corpses to a large fire to be burnt. They also carried their dead friends and relatives to the village square where there were hundreds already lined up in rows on the ground.
Chen Wentian trailed behind her as she headed towards the village square. Wu Qianyu seemed particularly sensitive around the suffering of the common people and he let her be.
There were women and some men crying besides the dead bodies, the faces covered by blankets and sc.r.a.ps of cloth. Most of the casualties were men who bravely defended the village but there were also women and a children among the dead. The wailing and sobbing was wretched and heartbreaking.
Such scenes were not enough to move Chen Wentian"s heart as he had seen much more death and savagery on his path to immortality. However, Wu Qianyu wasn"t like him. He wasn"t sure what she was feeling but she probably felt better comforting those in misery and suffering.
Wu Qianyu"s approach only attracted a few eyes as most were still occupied. An elderly woman was sobbing on the ground, arms around two dead bodies beside her. Wu Qianyu kelt beside her and laid a soft hand on the woman"s shoulder, channeling a bit of spiritual energy to try and calm her.
Eventually, the woman looked up and saw Wu Qianyu and her eyes widened. She hurriedly bowed, "Immortal G.o.ddess, immortal G.o.ddess!"
Wu Qianyu stopped her from bowing any more as she said, "Auntie, auntie, it"s okay... What"s your name? Can you tell me what happened? Who are these two men?"
The elderly lady wiped her tear stained face before replying, "Immortal G.o.ddess, my name is Pan Ernian. These are my sons..." She started crying uncontrollably again.
"They... tried to fight... I begged them to run, but they didn"t listen!... Wuuu..."
Wu Qianyu hugged the elderly woman, tears falling from her own eyes as well.. She didn"t know what to say in response. What could be said to lessen her pain? She could only hold her as the emotions flowed.
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