267 Legend (1/2)
”Long ago, when the continents were one great and unbroken land, there was an expert at the apex of strength in the world.
”No one knew where this expert came from, nor what her agenda was. She just appeared one day as if she had sprouted from the soil itself, and then she entered the Yan Tribe.
”Back before the continents were separated, the Yan tribe was a tribe which contained all the multi-eyed experts, and their need for soul power was immense.
”Her emergence was a mystery and remained unnoticed as she then managed to excavate the Black Nebula Stone mine and informed everyone about the use of the Black Nebula Stones and the heart of the mine that could produce soul power, while the stones themselves could attract and store soul power too.
”This expert single-handedly built the Garden of Shadows and named the place. She also somehow made it possible for everyone to cultivate at a speed far surpassing the rate which they were accustomed to before.
”From then on, the Garden of Shadows was almost as important as the King's palace; it was a holy place where all the most renowned experts of the Yan Tribe would go to cultivate like never before.
”Only those who went to the Garden of Shadows would have rapid improvements in their cultivation, and thus only the students of the Garden of Shadows would become prominent figures in society.
”Suddenly, when the continents started to shift and the world began to shake, massive sword strikes and the dao of sword appeared everywhere, viciously tearing apart the entire world into multiple continents. The wind was furious and the oceans' waves were so enormous and devastating—they sucked or swept away each broken piece of land far apart, leaving them to become their own continents.
”As to what exactly was the reason behind the appearance of this sudden sword storm and the destruction of the continents, we never found out. Still, the sword-storm was the most destructive thing we'd ever seen, and some of the slashes landed devastatingly close to our tribe. Were it not for this expert then we would never have survived.
”This is also why you can see the sea right next to our capital. The capital is the location of the original Yan tribe, but right next to it was the cut that separated this continent from the rest.
”When we were separated, the esteemed expert managed to unite the entire continent under the rule of the Yan Tribe, and named it the 'Yan Dalu.'
”We owe this expert so much for what she did for us, but at one point she simply vanished. It is said that she began using her powers excessively, that she was growing tired and dissatisfied. As a result, she locked herself in isolated cultivation in what we now call the forbidden area.
”Because she locked herself indoor and requested nobody disturb her cultivation, the area became a forbidden area. No one wished to interrupt her; no one wanted to cause her problems, so everyone stayed away.
”This was thousands of years ago, none of us knows whether or not she survived all this time, if she secretly left as she had arrived or if she died. Only the Headmaster and a few of the highest ranked elders enter the forbidden area from time to time, but they never say anything, and we do not know if they go to pay their respects in front of the esteemed expert's door, or if they just go to clean the area.”
”I see.” Lin Xiao was in deep thought when he smiled at the man and handed him a pill. ”That legend was quite informative,” he grinned.
”It is just a legend,” one of the other experts said with indignance. If he had been just a bit faster, he would have been able to tell this legend—everyone within Yan Dalu knew this legend—but he lost the chance to get a pill because he did not think that someone would find this information useful.
”Don't worry.” Hei Gou understood his thoughts, and he spoke up again, something he had not done a lot, ”we are still interested in plenty more things, so anyone who has something interesting to tell us should stay and exchange their information for pills.”
Although they had gotten some interesting information about this forbidden area, and both of them felt that this legend had some curious implications, they could not let go of their source of information, nor could they let go of a chance to suddenly get more knowledge of this place.
”I can tell you about missing people!” someone suddenly called out. Mentioning just the kind of information they sought most, both Lin Xiao and Hei Gou swung their heads around to look at the speaker, their eyes glistened, but their expressions remained the same as before.
”Oh? People go missing?” Lin Xiao asked with feigned surprise and intrigue in his voice, ”That can't be good.”
”It is not a big secret,” the person responded. He was slightly embarrassed because this was also known to all, but he was using it to exchange for a pill, so he gritted his teeth and muscled through.
”Every day around ten people will vanish on the continent. There is no limit to who vanishes, it can be commoners with two eyes each, or it can even be experts with three or four eyes. The only ones who have never vanished are the five-eyed experts.
”We don't know where these ten experts vanish to, we have tried many different ways to examine this sudden disappearance but there are never any signs of fights, nor is there any messages left behind. They all seem to vanish into thin air, and they vanish from anywhere on the continent, so it is hard to say who is behind it.”
Lin Xiao's brows furrowed. If it was that the ten people vanished from the same place every day, or followed some sort of pattern by vanishing in certain locations on certain days, then it would not be so difficult to track, but if they vanished from anywhere and every day, then it could not be just one person behind it.
If it was a big group of people who were behind the supposed kidnapping, then it could be explained, but then it was also extremely dangerous considering how many people had gone missing. The government definitely would have an idea as to what was happening, but it seemed as if they did not, or at least they did not share this information.