Chapter 475 - Aerial Assault (1/2)
“Tell me about the Wastelands you mentioned earlier.”
The seven swordsmen from the Wastelands could not help but shudder under Xiao Chen’s stern and firm look. In his eyes that never once blinked with doubt, they could feel his greatness and his valor in battle earlier left them in awe that they would have readily bent their knees to him.
“The Wastelands are not part of the Five Continents. But its size is not smaller than the Five Continents put together…” The leader spoke carefully, although he paused in the end with a hint of hesitation.
Xiao Chen held him in a glare that shredded him and uttered, “Go on.”
Humbled by Xiao Chen’s commanding stature, he gulped hard and nodded before he went on, “Then again, the Wastelands are not without a power structure of its own—societal hierarchies that include mages and common folk of the Wastelands—which is free from the influence of the Immortals’ League. Only…”
“Only what?” Xiao Chen pressed.
The swordsman paused uncertainly before he went on, “The Wastelands are thus called, because much of the ground is either dry, barren, or desolate. Most of the Wastelands are covered by miles and miles of swamps and desert, unlike the lush verdant steppes of the Violet Manor, which is what the natives of the Wastelands call the Five Continents.”
Xiao Chen took in a long, heavy breath. “Am I now on the brink of ruin, on the run from the Immortals’ League, that I have to seek refuge in the desolate Wastelands?”
The leader of the swordsman saw his expression and guessed that Xiao Chen must be disparaging life in the Wastelands. He explained, “It is the harshness of life in the Wastelands that demands the survival of the fittest. The strong grow stronger and the weak remain powerless. By virtue of this, the various factions wielding considerable influence and power inside the Wastelands are no weaker compared to their counterparts in the Violet Manor, especially…”
“Especially what?” Xiao Chen pressed, looking deeply at him.
“Especially the place called the Wasteland Sea. There is a city there, known as Sea City which serves as the seat of one of the strongest factions that terrorized the Wastelands, the Desolate Seas. The Desolate Seas gang has nine powerful lieutenants, called the Nine Lords of the Shining Stars. Each of them wears a mask and none alive has ever seen their true faces…”
“I know enough about the Wastelands myself,” Gu Xian interjected suddenly, “The Wastelands are divided into eight provinces: Life, Aged, Sickly, Death, Sea, Abyss, Sky, and Hades, no? The first four regions are the four most barren places in the Wastelands where most of the common folk live. And that Desolate Seas gang you mentioned? They are in the Wasteland Seas, are they not?”
“You’re right on all counts, dear Sir,” the leader of the swordsmen smiled, “You seem to know a lot about the Wastelands. Have you been there before?”
To everyone’s surprise, Gui Xian snorted disdainfully and said nothing else, visibly displeased.
The leader of the swordsmen chuckled and continued, “The Wastelands are different from the Violet Manor. Like what I’ve said before, the Wastelands are governed by one and only one law: the survival of the fittest. Hence there are no distinctions between Good and Evil, only Strong and Weak.”
Xiao Chen’s forehead creased in grim anticipation. “Must I really go to the Wastelands to escape the pursuit of the Immortals’ League? Is there really no other way?” Still, he asked, “How can we enter the domain of the Wastelands?”
“Go north from here. Pass through the Northern Continent and through the Mountains of Kunlun, then through the Arctic Wilderness far north, and last you’d be entering the region of the Wastelands by then. The journey would take around a month.”
“No! Not now!” Gu Xian barked suddenly. He glowered from the front of the flying stone conveyance, “You need to have your arm reattached in seven days, Boy. Or else… You will have to forfeit it forever.”
The mention of his arm reminded Xiao Chen of his own wound and the bloody stub twanged with a shot of pain as if in a cue. Despite being temporarily dressed by a layer of his True Energy, the pain was still very much real to him. His teacher had gone through great lengths to resurrect him, his parents have always hope only the best for him, yet today, a Rogue Immortal of the League had clove off his arm in a stroke! A stroke that he’d remember forever, and the taste of vengeance would be sweet then!
Xiao Chen cracked his knuckles lividly as the memories of what happened just now came back to him. “If only I have enough strength to match Xuanxuzi, if only I have enough power to tame the cantankerous Immortals’ League… But I will return. Someday I’ll return nonetheless and I’ll make sure vengeance is dispensed!”
This encounter with the Rogue Immortals had also taught him a lesson. There were too many powerful individuals here around the world. Nevermind the true demigods and the Immortal Kings in the Heaven Realm, even a Rogue Immortal now could easily vanquish him with a lift of his finger and it was imperative that he improved himself.
He inhaled another deep breath and looked at Gui Xian. “Can my arm be reattached, Senior?”
Gu Xian watched him wordlessly. Yi Tong’s finger winced once but he too was silent. No one said a word. Huangfu Xin’er was still unconscious and the Flying-cloud Stone sailed on quietly, save for Koo-chee’s soft moaning.
The Flying-cloud Stone shook violently and Gu Feng and Xiao Ning, who were resting at the edges, were jolted awake. Xiao Chen roused abruptly and his hands went immediately to his weapon. But before he could stand up, Ziyun’er held him down. “You need rest, My Lord! Leave this to us!”
The commotion stirred Huangfu Xin’er awake. Her eyes first caught the glimpse of Xiao Chen’s missing arm and she reeled with disbelief. “So it’s true… It was not a dream… Not a dream at all…”
Xiao Chen saw the morose look on her face and the beads of tears brimming her eyes and pulled her close. “It’s fine, Xin’er,” he cooed softly, “It’s all fine…”
BOOM!
The Flying-cloud Stone gave another lurch, tossing Koo-chee off his feet and the little creature rolled like a barrel. When he finally got up, he cast a long bewildered look into the distance and saw several other Flying-cloud Stones racing towards them. There was already another just at their rear which the leader of the swordsmen spied and cried, “Dammit! It’s the Immortals’ League! They’ve found us!”