Chapter 229: Buried Traces of Desolation
Chapter 229: Buried Traces of Desolation
At one point where a depleted vein connected to another, there was a medium sized spirit vein that had not been drained.
It was filled with mid grade spirit stones.
Yet for some reason, the spiritual energy within it was tightly sealed and did not leak out at all.
"As expected." Fu Young’s gaze darkened.
Still holding Xiao Shou’s hand, he did not answer immediately and instead said, "Master, follow me."
He continued along the spirit vein.
After traveling a long distance, he reached another junction connected to a depleted vein and followed that path.
Xiao Shou could not tell how Fu Young was navigating underground.
He only felt that after winding through several turns along the newly discovered vein, they eventually found another pair of black and white Cycle of Cause and End Relics.
Xiao Shou could not believe it and transmitted his voice to Fu Young, "Weren’t the Cycle of Cause and End Relics supposed to be legendary treasures? Why did we find another pair here? At this rate, I might start thinking they can be mass produced."
"Perhaps," Fu Young replied calmly.
He sealed the black and white flowers again and stored them before looking at Xiao Shou.
"Master, do you want to go up and take a look?"
"Mm."
At this point, after seeing the Cycle of Cause and End Relics, Xiao Shou had already guessed that something must have happened in this region as well and it was likely a tragedy that was similar to Xiao Family Village and Bottle Gourd Town.
Even though he did not want to see it, he was even less willing to avoid it.
The two of them broke through the ground together.
As soon as they emerged, they saw a desolate land that was barren in all directions.
Not a single blade of grass grew.
The soil was scorched black.
There were no wild beasts, not even a trace of an ant.
Looking at this scene, Fu Young said to Xiao Shou, "Master, let us split up and investigate the situation here. It would be best to gather detailed information about what exactly happened to turn this place into what it is now."
Xiao Shou nodded.
Without another word, he rose into the air and flew toward a distant gathering of people he had sensed.
Fu Young watched his figure for a moment before heading off in the opposite direction.
More than an hour later, with the sun already high in the sky, the two returned and exchanged the information they had gathered.
It turned out that this place was within the borders of the Great Tang Kingdom, in an area known as Vermilion Bird Mountain and Vermilion Bird Town.
Over three hundred years ago, a plague had broken out here.
It spread rapidly, turning large numbers of people in nearby villages and towns into infected victims.
In the end, with no other options, they sought help from the Imperial Preceptor of the Great Tang Kingdom.
However, even he could not cure it.
Left with no choice, he sought external assistance.
As an outer disciple of the Holy Sword Sect, he naturally turned to them.
Not long after that, a cultivator known as Master Xing Chen was sent to handle the situation.
After arriving and conducting several examinations, Master Xing Chen determined that the plague was a mutated disease spread by evil cultivators and that it could not be cured.
The only way to eliminate the source of the plague was to isolate all carriers and infected individuals and burn them with spiritual flames of heaven and earth.
Thus, under the leadership of the Imperial Preceptor’s residence, with assistance from local officials, the uninfected survivors were relocated.
Those who had already been infected were completely burned away by Xing Chen’s spiritual fire.
Aside from this, the two of them also learned of another matter.
In this devastating plague that often wiped out entire villages, only Jian Family Village had a fortunate child.
He was noticed by Xing Chen and, after the plague ended, he was taken back to the Holy Sword Sect.
Some of this information came from county records, while some was passed down through word of mouth among the older generation.
After learning all this, Xiao Shou developed a thought without any concrete evidence.
The fortunate child from Jian Family Village over three hundred years ago was very likely Jian Li.
If the next pair of Cycle of Cause and End Relics they found was connected to the demonic sect and the survivor turned out to be Zhong Kui, he would not be surprised either.
"The truth of the Sunfall Domain from more than three hundred years ago has probably been hidden for a very long time. Perhaps I would not even be surprised if it dates back to the very moment the Sunfall Domain became a mortal realm," Fu Young said after organizing the information.
Xiao Shou gave a bitter smile. "If that is the case, then this truth may be an unfathomable abyss."
"Master, do you want to continue investigating?" Fu Young gently patted Xiao Shou’s back.
Xiao Shou nodded, his expression firm. "We must investigate. We have to uncover the truth. This concerns the lives of the people from Xiao Family Village, Bottle Gourd Town, and this place. There may even be countless other victims beyond them, silently waiting for the day the truth comes to light."
"Mm. I will investigate with you, Master. No matter how powerful the person or organization behind this is, they are nothing more than cowards who hide in the shadows and plot in secret, never daring to face the light. There is nothing to fear from such beings," Fu Young said.
From that day on, the two of them descended deep underground following the earth’s spirit veins in their search.
One after another, they discovered ninety one pairs of Cycle of Cause and End Relics.
Wherever these relics appeared, the land had either become a dead zone, turned into barren land or transformed into desert.