As Xianqing Pavilion spread the news, more and more people learned about it.
The continent, which had remained peaceful for so long, now seemed to be on the verge of a storm. An oppressive gloom hung over the land, refusing to disperse. The large-scale movements of the Dragon and Witch Clans appeared to confirm these fears. As a result, many well-informed people with some degree of ability began making plans for the future before the upheaval arrived.
Life was not easy for ordinary people either—
Under normal circumstances, occasional showers followed wherever dragons passed.
Now that so many dragons were travelling together, combined with the fact that winter was already the season for snow, the weather became even more severe. Hail and torrential rain poured down relentlessly. Countless crops were destroyed, and some commoners whose homes were not sturdily built even lost both their houses and their families.
Moreover, the Witch Clan enjoyed pillaging. Wherever the forces gathered by Ao Qin and Wu Yao went, death followed.
Fortunately, Ao Qin was in a hurry to reach his destination, while Wu Yao still possessed some control over the witches beneath him. Only because of this were widespread casualties avoided.
The forces of the Dragon and Witch Clans were advancing towards the Demon Realm, while the members of the Demon Clan and the Special Lifeform Alliance were already close to reaching Yifa.
At the same time, scattered demonic creatures and powerful cultivators gradually began heading towards Yifa after making up their minds. However, even more people suffering from the curse chose to give up this opportunity.
Yifa was located in the Demon Realm, where the climate was extremely harsh. Without sufficient strength, reaching it was impossible.
…
On the second day after Mr. Dragon’s departure, Mu Wanwan, who had remained in seclusion refining pills, began suffering from physical exhaustion and fatigue in her spiritual consciousness.
She put away the pills she had just refined and was about to stand when her arms and legs suddenly became weak and sore. She could not even lift her arms.
Mu Wanwan lowered her head and looked at her palms. For an instant, her fingertips seemed to become transparent.
She blinked, and her fingers returned to normal. It was as though everything she had just seen had merely been an illusion.
However, her limbs remained weak.
Gritting her teeth, she finished refining the pills inside the furnace. After putting them away, she supported herself against the tables and chairs with unsteady steps.
She noticed the large fluffy bird nearby enthusiastically gnawing on a spirit stone, and a smile flashed through her eyes.
Mengmeng had grown a little larger. It had also nearly finished replacing its feathers recently. The fine black down had fallen away, leaving behind soft, pure-white feathers. Even the silly tuft on top of its head had become much stiffer.
It no longer resembled such a tiny fledgling.
“Chirp~”
Mengmeng swallowed a spirit stone, flapped its wings and flew into her arms, intending to perform its usual flying tackle.
Mu Wanwan opened her arms as usual, but she failed to catch Mengmeng properly, causing it to land heavily on its bottom.
“You’ve gotten chubbier, Chirp,” Mu Wanwan teased.
“Chirp, chirp!”
Mengmeng had not! Mengmeng was clearly very slender!
Mu Wanwan frowned almost imperceptibly. She bent down and stroked the fluffy bird while examining the inside of her body—
The spiritual energy within her dantian was almost completely depleted, and even her meridians appeared to have become somewhat transparent.
Her head ached slightly.
Mu Wanwan rubbed her forehead. This had to be an illusion, right?
No matter how she looked at it, refining pills until her meridians and body became transparent did not seem possible.
“Chirp?”
Mengmeng tilted its head and rubbed against her palm, seemingly sensing that something was wrong with her mood and trying to comfort her.
Mu Wanwan scratched beneath its chin. Feeling that some strength had returned to her limbs, she lowered her head and looked at the small dragon horn hanging around her neck.
It was still emitting a faint glow.
She breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Mr. Dragon should still be safe. He had not encountered any danger.
Mu Wanwan gently held the dragon horn, which had absorbed her body heat and was now warm on one side and cool on the other. She raised it to her lips and softly kissed it.
After sitting for a little longer, she stood and prepared to go outside.
Chi Yan had previously said that she was leaving. Had she already evacuated?
Also, the people who had received the news earliest and wanted to exchange for pills should have arrived by now, shouldn’t they?
While thinking this, Mu Wanwan pushed open the door. She had only just stepped into the corridor when a familiar voice came from behind her.
“Wanwan.”
Mu Wanwan abruptly turned around and met Jiu Qing’s peach-blossom eyes, which carried a teasing half-smile.
The corners of Jiu Qing’s beautiful eyes curved upwards. Tiny ice crystals clung to her curled eyelashes, and her red lips were raised in a smile as she leaned halfway against the doorway.
“Jiu Qing?”
Mu Wanwan could hardly believe her eyes and tentatively called her name.
“Have you gone silly?” Jiu Qing straightened. “You didn’t expect me to come?”
“Mm.”
Mu Wanwan truly was surprised.
She had previously obtained information about the Special Lifeform Alliance and knew a little about Jiu Qing’s circumstances within the Demon Clan. She had assumed Jiu Qing would remain there to consolidate her position.
Jiu Qing raised one eyebrow and patted Mu Wanwan’s shoulder.
“I’m not the only one here.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Chi Yan emerged from around the corner and looked helplessly at Jiu Qing.
Mu Wanwan froze slightly.
“Chi Yan…”
“Don’t be so quick to act surprised.”
Jiu Qing took her by the arm and pulled her towards a small pavilion belonging to Xianqing Pavilion that stood beside the inn.
“Uncle Chen?”
Mu Wanwan stared at the familiar, smiling beastman.
“Aunt Hua?”
“Girl.”
Now that they were indoors, Aunt Hua was no longer as cold. Much of her energy had returned, and she looked at Mu Wanwan with a smile.
“Why do you seem thinner?”
Mu Wanwan instinctively touched her cheek, her eyes beginning to burn.
This small pavilion contained several familiar faces. How could she not be moved?
It turned out that they were not alone and without support.
There were still people who cared about them.
Mu Wanwan struggled to hold back her tears. When she met Jiu Qing’s gentle gaze, she felt slightly embarrassed.
Jiu Qing tightened her grip on Mu Wanwan’s hand and pointed towards the people nearby.
“These are all members of the Special Lifeform Alliance.”
“This is Martial Uncle Moteng,” Chi Yan introduced briefly.
She then pushed open the wooden window on the upper floor of the pavilion, which connected to the neighbouring inn. She turned and glanced at Mu Wanwan.
“Most of the people inside came because of the message you sent.”
“Everyone,” Chi Yan called down, silencing the noisy voices below. “The alchemist has arrived.”
After an initial uproar, a long silence followed.
Mu Wanwan looked down and met numerous pairs of differently coloured eyes belonging to many different races.
When those eyes saw her, all kinds of emotions passed through them.
There was relief, a sense of release and even traces of inner conflict.
Mu Wanwan looked at the curse marks that covered their faces to varying degrees. She tightened her grip on the storage pouch containing the pills, but a smile rose to her lips—
There were far more people than she had expected.
With this many people, they should possess at least some ability to resist the Dragon and Witch Clans.
…
After discussing matters with Uncle Chen and the others, Mu Wanwan divided the pills she had just refined.
Considering the number of people involved, she had deliberately focused on refining large quantities of low-grade Spirit-Recovery Pills and Demon-Dispelling Pills.
These low-grade pills could be given as an initial reward to steady everyone’s morale.
Once the pills had been distributed, only pills of the third rank and above remained in her possession.
According to the arrangement she had discussed with Jiu Qing, these pills would later be distributed based on each person’s accumulated contributions during the battle against the Dragon and Witch Clans.
No one was dissatisfied with this arrangement.
After all, being given benefits before they had even faced the danger was already extremely generous.
Moreover, after the first half-demon immediately consumed a pill and experienced remarkable results, the hope in the hearts of those waiting behind him grew even stronger.
Those tiny pills represented the hope of escaping the curse and continuing to live.
Everyone constructed formations and barriers in front of the entrance to the inheritance.
Throughout the following day, more people and demonic creatures arrived one after another. By the evening of the second day, Hai Ren and Hai Jiu of the Mermaid Clan had also arrived.
The final person to arrive was an elf wearing a bamboo hat.
He walked beneath the dying rays of the setting sun.
Ten *li* behind him, the unending roars of dragons rose and fell across the land.
Among them were countless strange puppets belonging to the Witch Clan.
They had arrived.
Leave a Reply