Chapter 1544: Blessing or Curse

It was because they couldn’t find anything. The entire palace was empty and spotless like a dog had licked every nook and cranny of it.

If this was the only palace that was empty, they could have accepted this outcome. But no, every single palace they checked was like this.

There was only one possibility. Someone had gotten ahead of them and taken all of the good stuff.

Who could this person be? There was only one answer. The celestials of the Eight Views Sect.

For whatever reason, the celestials of the Eight Views Sect had decided to run away. They even took all the good stuff within the sect with them, leaving not even a sip of soup behind. The only emotion they got from this scene was, “It’s mine! It’s all mine!”

Sorrow welled inside the trio’s hearts. It was a hot, sunny day, but they felt icy from head to toe as if they were submerged inside a pool of ice. “How could you do this, seniors... how could you?!”

What terrible celestials they were!

......

“You seriously took everything?” On the Cloud Boat, Feng Qingyou was looking at Ye Qing with an odd expression.

“The Eight Views Sect had used up almost all of their accumulation after tens of thousands of years. The few things that remained are good, but they are either severely damaged or incomplete.”

Ye Qing said with a sincere expression, “They’re too young. They won’t be able to keep these goods even if they try. It will do them much harm but no good whatsoever.”

Feng Qingyou smiled playfully, “So that’s your justification for taking everything?”

“I’m doing this for their own good.” Ye Qing sighed. “What can I do? I’m a benevolent and understanding soul. I can’t help but help those in need.”

“As long as it pleases you.” Feng Qingyou barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

We’re Sages now. Can we have some sagely dignity please?

Ye Qing smiled and said nothing.

To be honest, it wasn’t like he didn’t want to leave the warriors with anything. However, there was literally not a single piece of “juicy meat” or even a single drop of “soup” in the entire Eight Views Sect. All that was left behind were tough, teeth-breaking bones.

The Eight Views Sect had shut their own gates and cut themselves from the world in order to deal with the Evil Infant. After tens of thousands of years, they had more or less run out of pills, energy, Strange Artifacts and everything else. The only things that remained after such an insanely long time were powerful Strange Artifacts and treasures.

However, these items were either extremely damaged and so required an enormous amount of resource and effort to repair—the kind an ordinary warrior could never hope to pay in a million years—or corrupted into evil Strange Artifacts by evil qi. A single misstep, and the person would succumb to madness and evil themselves.

Take the Sea Patrolling Divine Generals for example. All thirty three of them had been corrupted by the Evil Infant and transformed into evil objects. Although they were a pale shadow of their ancient self, no one below the Sage-stage was a match for them. There was no way an ordinary warrior could ever hope to control them, so leaving them behind would only damn them to madness or death. That was why he took everything.

It wasn’t because he was greedy, really! It was because the waters were too deep, and they were too young to grasp it, that’s all!

“Oh, if we’re going to pass through Nanjiang, should we pay Miss Meng a visit?” Ye Qing asked.

Earlier, they had agreed to check out Bei You first after returning to the God Continent.

Bei You was their old haunt. They could not help but wonder if something had happened to it during their absence; if Emperor Jing Run had laid his slimy hands on it.

“Why not?” Feng Qingyou nodded. “It’s a good place to get a feel for the bigger picture as well.”

Having made up their mind, the duo immediately made way for the Nanjiang Royal Court.

Now that they were both Sages, they traveled very quickly as a matter of course. Just two hours later, they arrived at the One Hundred Thousand Mountains of Nanjiang.

“Wow! The spirit and energies here are so rich!”

The duo immediately sense rich ambient energies after entering the One Hundred Thousand Mountains of Nanjiang. In the past, the spirit and energies of this place was chaotic. It was also covered in miasma, poisonous fog, and Strangers. But now, the order of the Five Phases were strong, and the place was overflowing with spirit and energies. It was very differently from what it used to be.

“The age of change has arrived, and spiritual energies are returning to this land. That is why the One Hundred Thousand Mountains of Nanjiang had undergone such a transformation.”

𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Feng Qingyou sighed. “Whether it is a blessing or a curse is impossible to say though.”

Ye Qing understood Feng Qingyou’s meaning. For the people living here, the fact that the One Hundred Thousand Mountains of Nanjiang went from a terribly dangerous place filled with threats of all kinds into a bountiful land was, of course, a good thing. However, the resurrection of spiritual energies also meant that some terrifying existences might use this opportunity to awaken and return to the world. That could be a terrible thing for the people.

The duo didn’t discuss much about it though. It wasn’t like they could stop the age of change from happening. The only thing they could do was to increase their strength as much as possible and ensure that they would be able to survive the incoming tide of tribulations.

The good news was that they had become Sages ahead of everyone else. They were no longer just ants and specks of dust that could only be blown away by the currents of tribulation.

They were still a long, long way from being able to combat the storm and be fearless at anything it might throw at them, however. They still had a lot of work ahead of them.

The duo concealed themselves and continued to move toward the Nanjiang Royal Court.

Since the spiritual energies of the One Hundred Thousand Mountains of Nanjiang had returned, and the environment had become better, the people’s lives had naturally become better as well. The closer they got to the Nanjiang Royal Court, the more villages, forts, towns and cities they found. The traffic was great, and the activities were greater. They were existing in harmony and order as well. It was completely unlike their previous lifestyle where the people basically lived day to day not knowing if they would see tomorrow’s sun while being beset by poverty and hardships, not to mention the endless strife and conflict between each clan, tribe, and fort.

“Miss Meng is truly incredible. To think it took her just over a year to improve Nanjiang to this extent!” Ye Qing praised.

This wasn’t a scene mere resurrection of spiritual energy and improvement in the environment could create. It was more thanks to Meng Feixue’s governance.

“Don’t you think that something isn’t quite right with those people?”

Suddenly, Feng Qingyou spoke up in a strange voice.

“What?” Ye Qing looked around and couldn’t find anything amiss. “Isn’t it normal for the people to live in peace, harmony and happiness with each other?”

“Wait a second. Peace? Harmony? Happiness?”

It was at this moment Ye Qing himself noticed that something wasn’t right. No, there was nothing wrong with these adjectives. If they were used to describe a stable, wealthy place where the people were mostly untouched by violence, then it would not feel incongruous as well. However, these adjectives should not apply to these people.

After all, this was Nanjiang; the One Hundred Thousand Mountains of Nanjiang no less.

The One Hundred Thousand Mountains of Nanjiang used to have a terrible environment. Externally, Chu was constantly looking for an excuse to attack them. Internally, conflict and strife were endless as well. Therefore, the large majority of the people living here were cold, violent, cunning, and paranoid. Violence was the one theme that united them all. They were wary even against people from their own village, fort, clan or tribe, much less others.

However, these people were all wearing smiles on their faces. Their smiles were warm, truthful, and kind.

They could hold a friendly conversation against both friendly faces and strangers.

They could communicate with each other like equals no matter the differences between their statuses and classes.

They could even interact with ordinary mortals or elite warriors like it was nothing unusual.

There was no wariness or caution, no paranoia or indifference, no class or status discrimination between anyone. There wasn’t any argument, fights, or fights that led to the deaths of others. There wasn’t even a speck of violence or darkness on their person. Everyone and everything looked peaceful, harmonious, and happy.