Destiny is ashes

Chapter 44: Huaixu Great Disaster

Xuanming Valley is straight and deep, running across thousands of mountains and peaks. All the mountain streams converge into it, turning into a never-ending river.

On both sides of the river, the gaps between the raised rocky beaches are filled with overflowing water, and blue-black aquatic plants are spreading on the rocks, waiting for the arrival of the rainy season.

An Jing followed the guidance of the sword spirit and walked into the depths of the Xuanming Valley.

The fog is getting thicker.

Ink-colored water vapor hovered in the valley, forming a thin layer of mist on the surface of the sandstone rock walls. The river flowed out from the deep darkness, concealing footsteps.

Legend has it that this is the place where a sword immortal slew demons during the ancient catastrophe. Over the course of a long period of time, the sword energy and demonic energy that crisscrossed the world have been worn away, hidden in the mountains and rivers.

"Right ahead."

The voice of the sword spirit sounded in his mind. The protagonist of the legendary party was now on An Jing's body. A force enveloped An Jing's body, easily expelling all the inky evil spirits. At most, he could only feel a slight chill.

"Fu Xie, where are my fellow apprentices now? Are they okay?"

"It's around the altar, in one of the hundred caves for sword sacrifices back then. It's very good." The sword spirit replied, and An Jing felt slightly relieved.

Bai Qinghan left with a quarter of all the survivors and almost all those who had awakened their fate. This incident shocked him greatly, but it was not incomprehensible.

Dachen's inaction in Northern Xinjiang is indeed very... very inhumane.

But he also knew very well that no matter how horrible and evil a corrupt dynasty was, it was still slightly more reasonable than a cannibalistic cult.

...Maybe? Oh, damn, why are they both so rotten! How can two pieces of muddy shit compare to each other!

An Jing honestly didn't want to choose either side, but things had come to this point and he could only wait and see.

At least before the frost disaster, the people in the northern border did not live in hardship. It could even be said that their lives were in good order. Occasionally, one could hear news about saints working hard to govern the country. No one knew what had happened, but the prosperous and thriving Dachen suddenly turned into the decadent state it is now.

An Jing also didn't want to blame those junior brothers and sisters who chose the Demon Cult - in the Demon Cult, ordinary sons of disaster would most likely not have a good end, but Bai Qinghan and other people with awakened fates would not have that, they would definitely become middle to upper level managers.

This kind of identity is much better than wandering around in Dachen. It is natural for him to choose the Demon Sect.

He just didn't want Bai Qinghan to do anything to Gu Yeqi, Cang Linzu and others when he left.

Fortunately not.

"Brother Jing!"

When An Jing followed the guidance of the sword spirit and came to the depths of the valley, to a cave hidden under a huge rock, he saw a clear and lively figure wandering outside, looking nervously towards the entrance of the Xuanming Valley.

After seeing An Jing's figure, Gu Yeqi's eyes lit up, and he immediately came forward and said with relief: "You are finally back... Hey, didn't Qinghan and the others come back with you, big brother?"

She had no idea when Bai Qinghan and the others left, and she thought they had stayed outside on their own initiative to pick up An Jing.

“…They chose the other side.”

When An Jing opened his mouth, he looked at the girl who was still looking behind An Jing, waiting for the figure of her 'best friend'. After a pause, he told the truth: "I killed the owner of Yaozhuang, but Qinghan still chose the Demon Cult... She and the others left with the remaining teachers."

"What?" Hearing this, Gu Yeqi's eyes widened and he exclaimed in disbelief: "You killed the owner of the manor?"

Following her voice, Canglinzu and the other Sons of Disaster who heard An Jing's footsteps walked out of the cave and were equally shocked: "Big Brother, you killed the owner of the manor?!" "Your strength... is it really that strong?!"

"Isn't this the point?" An Jing was furious. He never expected that these guys didn't care at all about Bai Qinghan and the others leaving. Instead, they were impressed by his strength.

But if you think about it carefully, the values ​​of the Sons of Disaster have basically been changed. Bai Qinghan left, and who hasn't experienced a good friend being eliminated midway during training? Even according to the current truth, what about dying midway?
They have long been accustomed to losing, so they value strength even more.

"It's a good thing, at least Qinghan has awakened her destiny..."

Except for Gu Yeqi who looked towards the entrance of the valley with some disappointment, feeling sad for having lost another close friend, everyone else didn't take it seriously.

This is the devil. The "Mo" of indifference. The "Mo" of silence.

Although they left the Demon Cult, the thinking of these junior brothers and sisters has not changed yet... Rather, An Jing discovered that the reason they were willing to betray the Demon Cult, in addition to the cult's own cruelty and killing of friends, was essentially because they believed in themselves more.

They didn't really understand An Jing's anger, they just resisted because An Jing was resisting.

"Don't be too sad. Before she left, she asked me to say sorry to you on her behalf... Everyone has their own aspirations."

After calming down, An Jing comforted Gu Yeqi, and then told everyone: "You still need to wait here for a while."

"Zhuangzi's guards are still fighting with the Red Armor Guards. Dachen's troops can't tell whether we are innocent or members of the Demon Cult. Don't act rashly until the situation stabilizes."

"If Dachen isn't a good guy, I'll find a chance to get away. There aren't many ferocious beasts around Xuanming Valley, and there are still some villages. I'm confident I can help you survive."

This was not an empty statement. An Jing was now a warrior, and he had musket bullets. The Sons of Disaster were also strong and proficient in martial arts and cooperation. As long as they could avoid being seen, and with the help and guidance of the sword spirit, An Jing could live safely around the mountains for a while.

"Brother..." But Cang Linzu frowned when he heard this: "What are you going to do alone? Can you take me with you? I can still do something!"

"It's too dangerous. Your strength is indeed good, but you haven't reached the inner breath yet, so you are not qualified to act with me."

Cang Linzu can also be considered a genius. His strength is close to the realm of inner breath - and if it were not for his own influence, which weakened the calamity of the demonic energy, he, like Gu Yeqi, would have a 70 to 80 percent chance of awakening his destiny.

Therefore, An Jing patiently explained: "There is a dungeon deep in the Dongshan manor, and there are still many junior brothers and sisters who have been eliminated but have not yet been 'dealt with' by the Demon Cult - I have to go and see how they are doing. The manor is on fire and no one is coming to rescue them. I'm afraid they will be burned to death."

"After I make sure you're all in good condition, I'll take action and rescue the others."

An Jing gave a few more instructions, and after comforting all the Sons of Disaster, he turned and left.

Gu Yeqi and Cang Linzu both knew that An Jing was a man of his word, so they naturally would not try to keep him. Instead, they acted as An Jing's assistants, treating the injuries and cleaning the wounds of their injured companions.

What the sword spirit said was correct. The altar was right next to the cave where the Sons of Disaster were, in another 'crack' covered by river rocks and water plants.

This crack is natural and at first glance looks like a common crack on the rock wall, but this is just an illusion. It is very narrow at first, but gradually widens to form a natural corridor.

There are some ancient murals on both sides of the corridor. The contents of most of the murals have been washed away by the surging river water from time to time, but An Jing can still roughly see that this is a story about immortals eliminating demons and protecting the people.

In ancient times, Huaixu encountered a great catastrophe. From above the nine heavens, countless demons descended upon the world. They brought fighting, disaster, and destruction, causing countries to collapse, the earth's wind and rain to become disordered, thousands of ethnic groups to become extinct, and countless people to hate and fight each other, and the wars continued.

In order to fight against the devil, the immortals who ascended to heaven in the past returned to the human world to lead all living beings to fight against the devil.

Among them was an immortal god, holding a long green blade, who subdued demons and evil spirits.

(End of this chapter)