A Scroll of Infinite Glory

Chapter 291 A New World

The vast primeval forests grow along the long mountain ranges, stretching across this land for countless ages.

Even after hundreds or thousands of years, and countless disasters, this jungle has been extremely fortunate and tenacious in maintaining its pristine state.

Beneath the tall trees, the low shrubs resembled layers of scales clinging to the giant rocks.

Amidst the lush, deep green hues, clusters of golden chain flowers, resembling delicate golden bells, occasionally dot the landscape.

Ban Yang crouched slightly as he walked down the slightly steep hillside.

It was already quite dark. It had rained not long ago, and the ground was slippery. The pebbles buried in the soil were more likely to loosen than when it was dry.

However, the tall Ban Yang possessed an agility and keen observation skills beyond his stature. On this hillside, he only needed to bounce lightly three times before safely landing on the flat ground below.

His three jumps each landed on the most stable part of the soil, leaving complete and clear footprints, with the distance between each pair of footprints definitely exceeding five meters.

Once they reached a slightly flatter area at the bottom of the hill, Ban Yang did not rush to continue forward, but instead looked back up the hillside.

At the top of the hillside, Zhang Yamin, wearing a light green rainproof jacket, emerged from the road opened up by Banyang, squatted under a large tree with lush branches, and unrolled a set of blueprints.

"It should be in that direction."

Zhang Yamin stood up, turned the watch strap on his wrist, and a red dot of light shot out from the watch. It stayed at Ban Yang's feet for a while, and then gradually moved away from Ban Yang's feet in a fixed direction.

Ban Yang followed the bright spot and moved several hundred meters away, arriving at an area covered with black mud and rocks.

"Those black things are probably tin ore, which may have slid down from the mountains a long time ago. Move those ore aside and see if there are any traces of a forest road from decades ago underneath. If there are, it means we are on the right track and can get out of the jungle by going this way."

Despite being hundreds of meters away, Zhang Yamin's voice, at a normal volume, clearly reached Ban Yang's ears, and only Ban Yang could hear it.

Ban Yang looked down, selected a low-lying spot and the smallest stone, bent down, touched the edges with both hands, and pulled it out of the soil.

The stone weighs only about 200 pounds, but it is still quite difficult to pull it out of the mud.

After moving the stone, a pit appeared on the spot. Ban Yang reached in and dug around. His fingers brushed aside the soil and gravel, and he quickly touched the bottom of a flat stone.

Ban Yang bent his knuckles and punched the stone, cracking it open. He grabbed some fragments and examined them closely; they had a texture different from the rocks in the mountains.

"It looks like a highway."

Ban Yang got excited, quickly turned around and went back, jumped up the hillside, and handed the handful of crumbs to Zhang Yamin.

Zhang Yamin picked up a small amount with his fingers, examined it, and smiled, "It's definitely concrete."

"These forest roads, more than fifty years ago, directly crossed the entire mountain area, connecting the big cities on both sides of the mountain. As long as we can find one of these roads, it proves that we are generally on the right track."

More importantly, even if these places, which were originally roads, later suffered disasters and various changes, the mountainous terrain on both sides of the road is much safer than the deep jungle.

After that, everyone can save a lot of effort by simply following the road.

Zhang Yamin and Ban Yang returned to the jungle and announced their discovery to the people who were setting up tents and boiling water.

Under the shade of the trees, the hundreds of people, who had been exhausted, showed a noticeable improvement in their spirits.

Some of the younger ones picked up their backpacks, as if they were about to embark on a new journey.

Zhang Yamin quickly added, "But it's getting late. Let's rest here for the night and set off tomorrow."

This team, which decided to flee their hometown and cross the mountains, was originally just a temporary group, but after spending time together, Zhang Yamin and Ban Yang have clearly established themselves as leaders.

The restless young people were calmed down, put down their backpacks, and each took out some spray and sprayed it in the surrounding jungle.

These sprays are effective at repelling mosquitoes, venomous snakes, and most wild animals in the jungle. It is said that the scent of these sprays can travel five kilometers away and still retain a deterrent effect similar to that of a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

But as night fell and everyone had crawled into their tents, the howling sounds from the jungle continued to rise and fall, lingering in everyone's ears.

The mournful howls of wolves, along with the roars of other animals whose species were indistinguishable, mingled together, becoming increasingly noisy and terrifying as the night deepened.

Ban Yang was still awake. He was leading a group of people on night watch. Some people sat around the tents, while others walked around constantly.

After walking around the outermost edge of those tents, Ban Yang came to Zhang Yamin's tent.

Zhang Yamin was still awake, squatting outside his tent, leaning his upper body slightly back against the taut tent fabric, looking up at the sky through the gaps in the branches and leaves.

"Looking at the moon?" Ban Yang also squatted down and looked up.

The moon is beautiful tonight; several parts of the moon are shining in the sky.

It is said that when the sky is at its best, if you look up, you can see patches of light stretching across the entire night sky, illuminating the earth as if it were daytime.

Although today's scenery wasn't particularly spectacular, Ban Yang counted on his fingers and there were at least twelve moons.

The larger ones are about the size of a whole house, hanging in the sky, shining brightly; the smallest ones are only the size of a washbasin, and look a bit like a triangle.

Zhang Yamin laughed when he heard Ban Yang counting the moons: "You know what? Actually, in the past, the idea of ​​twelve moons was considered a myth or legend."

Ban Yang said, "I know, I'm a bit older than you, I'll be fifty-four in two days. I've read some history books, and they all say that there used to be only one moon in the sky. Ah, that is, the year I was born, there was only one moon in the sky."

"Tsk!" he said with some regret. "It's a pity I don't remember if I saw a moon like that when I was born. But those howling ghosts in the forest certainly didn't see one either. Maybe they howl like that every day because they can't see a full moon."

Zhang Yamin turned to look at him, surprised, and asked, "Did you guess, or have you read some books on this topic before?"

Ban Yang was even more surprised: "Really? The moon is so far away, what does it have to do with them? Could it be that these beasts are sentimental?"

"Although the moon is far away, its influence on the earth is significant."

Zhang Yamin sighed, "The period of frequent major disasters fifty years ago, although the exact cause is still unknown, is clearly closely related to the breaking of the moon. Moreover, the changes in the lunar phases have a certain impact on the emotions and genes of plants and animals."

"The wild animals in the forest are so ferocious and strong now because of the dramatic changes in the lunar phases over the past fifty years, and the result of genetic selection."

Ban Yang frowned and stroked his stubble: "There's such a saying? Does that mean these wild beasts will become more and more powerful in the future?"

"That's unlikely. The impact of the lunar phase change is limited and will eventually subside naturally. The changes in those wild beasts should be the limit."

Zhang Yamin spoke somewhat uncertainly, shaking his head, "Sigh, I wouldn't call myself an expert, I'm not really sure about the specifics of this kind of thing."

Ban Yang nodded and changed the subject: "That regime in the north claims to be a global human united regime, but if we actually go there, they won't refuse to accept us, will they?"

Zhang Yamin thought to himself, "I don't know either."

But after thinking for a while, he still said, "No matter what, it's better than the Eight Leaves. At least I've never heard of the North stripping ordinary people of their spiritual power."

"That's true." Ban Yang seemed somewhat comforted, but couldn't help complaining again, "What were the leaders of those cities thinking? Why did they surrender to the Eight Leaves?"

Zhang Yamin said, "Maybe they can't do anything about it."

Ban Yang said resentfully, "If I had agreed to join the coalition government earlier, this might not have happened."

After chatting for a few more minutes, Zhang Yamin went back to his tent to rest.

The next day, after dawn, Zhang Yamin woke up on time and glanced at his watch.

2303年，6月1日，06∶00。

It was exactly six o'clock again, a habit he had maintained for many years. He used to wake up at this time every time, full of energy.

But lately, when Zhang Yamin woke up at this time, he felt an inexplicable irritability, as if he was getting more and more tired every day.

He touched his face, unable to tell if it was sweat or oily skin. After getting out of the tent and wiping his face with a damp towel, he mentally encouraged himself.

"We've found the forest road. In a few days, we'll be able to reach the city to the north and settle down."

Thinking this way, Zhang Yamin seemed to have barely suppressed his anxiety. He rallied his spirits and, together with Ban Yang, directed everyone to pack up the tents and begin their journey for the day.

They walked for several kilometers along the forest road that had been buried by ore and soil, and then discovered that there was a section of the road ahead that was free of ore, only soil and fallen leaves, and the ground was perfectly flat. They were overjoyed and quickened their pace.

As noon approached, a series of booming and exploding sounds suddenly came from the forest to the right.

The blue fireball suddenly expanded, engulfing several towering trees.

The dazzling blue light shone on Zhang Yamin and his group. Hundreds of people, young and old, supported each other and stopped in their tracks, their faces filled with astonishment.

Ban Yang's eyes remained fixed, and suddenly a large number of blood vessels appeared on the surface of his eyeballs.

At that moment, he saw many thin black lines suddenly piercing through the blue fireball.

The sight at that moment was beyond his eyes' capacity to bear. By the time he closed his eyes, they were sore and he had to cover them with his hands.

So he didn't see that the huge blue fireball was pierced by those black lines, twisted into a thick plume of smoke, and shot straight into the sky.

They didn't see a figure entangled in black lines shoot out from the ruined forest, travel nearly two kilometers, and crash down in front of them.

Leaves fluttered and black mud splashed everywhere.

A thick, golden Zen staff stood upright, a large hand grasping the staff, slowly rising from the ground and straightening its body.

He was a bald man so strong he didn't look human, like a monster made of muscles.

The golden staff was over two and a half meters tall, but this bald man was a head taller than the staff in his hand. His large clothes were tattered, and only a few pieces of red cloth embroidered with gold thread could be seen slipping from between his strong upper body muscles.

His trousers were tattered, with only strips of cloth hanging from his waist, offering no coverage.

The hundreds of people on the forest road were astonished by the muscles this man possessed.

Zhang Yamin was shocked by the things flying slowly at a slower pace around the bald man.

Those black lines.

From speed so fast that even afterimages are invisible, to slowing down to a point where the naked eye can focus, the black matter gathers into round beads.

The surface of the cylinder reflected the sunlight, which gathered on the bald man's chest and neck, forming a string of prayer beads the size of a fist.

"The Arhat Army..."

A faint sound escaped Zhang Yamin's throat, so low that even he couldn't hear it.

The 180,000-strong Bhikkhu force of the "Eight Leaves" could easily send out a ten-man elite team to completely eliminate any hope of resistance for Zhang Yamin's group.

At this very moment, what appeared before them was actually a member of the Five Hundred Arhats Army.

Members of the Bhikkhu (Buddhist monks) corps may only wear silver-white prayer beads on their wrists, while only members of the Arhat corps are entitled to wear forty-eight black prayer beads around their necks.

These distinctive features in their attire also represent a clear difference in strength.

The forty-eight black prayer beads are made entirely of magnetic solid particles with a diameter of less than ten nanometers, mixed with a carrier liquid and surfactants to form a stable colloidal liquid.

That is, magnetofluid.

It allows the magnetofluid to maintain its smooth, jade-like, and steel-like appearance under normal conditions.

No matter how these prayer beads swing while walking, they maintain their round shape and do not deform, which is enough to show that the spiritual energy of the prayer bead holder has reached the level of being able to build a stable force field outside the body.

Moreover, every minute and every second, the spiritual energy field remains undiminished and its intensity neither increases nor decreases.

With 24-hour, all-around spiritual energy protection, one attains the golden body of an Arhat.

If the appearance of a "War-Supervising Arhat" belonging to the Eight Leaves wasn't the most terrifying thing, then...

What's even more terrifying is that after surveying the hundreds of people before him, this Arhat delivered his verdict in a deep and gentle voice.

"Are there still so many people who want to follow them and escape north?"

He slammed his staff on the ground, producing a resounding boom, "You are all guilty!"

Ban Yang suddenly opened his eyes. He had closed his eyes and couldn't see the other person's expression, but he heard something in the voice that sent chills down his spine.

That was a psionic shockwave brimming with murderous intent!

Hundreds of people, young and old, were like a swarm of tiny ants, rendered powerless by this shock.

"Run!!!"

Zhang Yamin let out a sharp cry that stung his throat, and with a flick of his wristwatch, a distorted beam of light was emitted.

Zhang Yamin's approach to developing psychic abilities is manifested in his control over sound waves.

When this heart-wrenching scream is amplified by his watch to its maximum power, the focused sound wave can punch a hole in a 20-centimeter-thick solid concrete wall.

However, before such sound waves could even touch the Arhat, they were blocked by the spiritual energy field that was always hidden around him.

With a flick of his eyes, the bottommost rosary bead detached and disappeared from Zhang Yamin's sight.

All Zhang Yamin saw was a white light, and his mind went blank.

The book says that when people die, they see a retrospective of their life, but it turns out that's a lie...

It was clearly just a white expanse.

Wait, that's not right.

There seemed to be something inside that white light.

Is it... just one person?

"Holy crap, what was that? It almost hit my face!"

(End of this chapter)