Chapter 413 (1/2)

Xia Valley

During the day, there was still a strong breeze. When the winds blew across the valley, they whistled.

“There used to be a river here,” said Gongjia Heng. The river was called Xia River but after that, it dried up and became a valley. So this was now Xia Valley.

“It will be difficult to cross Xia Valley. It was easier when there was a river. Now that the river has dried up into a valley, there have been many changes. I heard that people who entered the Xia Valley never returned.”

These were stories the older people had told Heng. Now that he had seen the place for himself, it felt different.

“So this is Xia Valley. Shao Xuan, do you smell a very special smell?” he asked.

“Rocks?”

“It’s the smell of death.”

Gongjia Heng commented wistfully, and then continued walking ahead.

Gongjia Mountain was in Xia valley. However, there was a suffocating feeling when one walked in the valley.

There were no animals, just bare rocks and boulders on both sides. Even vegetation was sparse. Before this, although there were no animals in the forest, at least there were plants. Here, it just looked like a dead piece of land.

Did the Xia people live here years ago?

Gongjia Heng said this used to be a river. That meant a long time ago, this should have been a good place to settle. Not sure why it became this.

“We’ll travel in the afternoon,” said Heng.

“Why?”

“The door to Gongjia Mountain can only be found in the afternoon.”

Shao Xuan listened, since Gongjia Heng had said such a thing. The Xia people definitely knew more than him, it was better than travelling blindly.

In the afternoon, they set off.

As they walked further ahead, Shao Xuan had a familiar feeling. It reminded him of something. He had to admit that it was just as Gongjia Heng said- there was the smell of death here- but to others, it was the smell of opportunity.

Shao Xuan felt the core seed’s presence. It was not here, it was still far away. However, Shao Xuan clearly felt the sense of death that came from a core seed. Perhaps this entire piece of land was dead because of the core seed.

The legends denote that only the people of the Great Six had core seeds. It should be very rare for other tribes to have it. Plus the Xia people had already dispersed to different parts of the world, how could they have a core seed?

No matter what, finding Gongjia Mountain should be the answer.

Just like the forest, this was like an upgraded version of a maze. There were many forks, and every time you walked, you would quickly be blocked by a cliff or a mountain. Shao Xuan couldn’t just climb over either. Right now, he still could memorise the path he had taken, in case he had to return. But if he started climbing mountains, would he still remember?

Right now, Shao Xuan had not been able to conduct a successful reading. Just like in the forest, he had not enough information. That was why he had to walk the journey on his own. Perhaps it would succeed when he had more information.

The third time they met a dead end, Gongjia Heng sighed. “My elders once told me that Xia river was a very special river. I have now seen it for myself.”

The Xia river was formed naturally, not man made. That was why it was special. Now that it had dried up, it had become a natural maze.

They looked up at the blue sky, so empty they could not see any clouds. Around them was just the valley, reeking of death.

As they travelled, they both made markings on mountain walls. When the sun set, Gongjia Heng stopped. They had to wait for the next afternoon.

“If we do not find the place as soon as possible, we will starve to death,” said Gongjia Heng.

In the forest, they knew how to return to their original path so if they were hungry, they could temporarily leave to get some food. Here, if they accidentally got lost, they could easily be trapped in the valley if they could not find their initial path. They could climb up mountains and take a straight path in the direction where they came from but somehow, one would unconsciously deviate from his original direction. It was a strange feeling. It was very easy to pinpoint the wrong direction too because of the sun in the sky. As time went on, sometimes there was one, then suddenly two, or even more. Sometimes, when you saw one sun, it could also be an illusion.

In a place like this, if you were not mentally strong, you would not live long.

It had been three days. They had walked in the valley for three days to no avail. Every day, they only had half a day’s time to search for the place. Gongjia Heng said they could walk slowly, as long as the method was correct, it should be fine. Unfortunately, it all amounted to nothing.

To save energy, other than the designated hours for searching, they would find a place to rest. Saving energy was also saving food. They brought limited dried meat with them, their stash definitely couldn’t last very long.