The seventh day from the end of the preliminaries for the Myriad Races Grand Assembly.
Within the Pure Void Secret Realm, a spiritual gathering sanctuary, outside the perimeter of Shou Ding Mountain, a force of a thousand had quietly entered.
In the dense jungle, Xu Mu and his companions, clad in grass woven into cloaks, moved silently, encountering no one along the way.
"Strange, logically, even if we're as stealthy as possible, such a large group should have been discovered by now. But we've been walking for so long, and we haven't even seen a sentry?" Jiang Sheng, from within the group, asked with a hint of confusion. He couldn't understand why there was no one in the vicinity.
"It is rather strange."
Wan Yan Zhen Yao also furrowed his brow.
Logically, the rate of point accumulation in Shou Ding Mountain should be faster than in the Earth Spirit Spring. Therefore, there should be many forces stationed here.
So, no matter how well they concealed themselves, a thousand people moving together should have been discovered long ago.
But why was there no one here?
"Perhaps it's too remote. Looking at the map, the Shou Ding Mountain range is vast and continuous, more than twice the size of the Earth Spirit Spring. And we are currently in the outermost area. It might get better if we head further in," Xu Mu mused after a moment of silence.
However, this explanation was clearly a stretch. The broken trees scattered everywhere, the signs of chaos encountered every so often, and some still-wet bloodstains all testified that a great battle had taken place here.
But who the protagonists of this war were, they did not know.
Unless they could capture someone from this place and question them thoroughly.
Thus, after another hour of travel, Xu Mu and his group successfully reached the central region of Shou Ding Mountain.
It was here that they finally encountered the first living person in Shou Ding Mountain.
He appeared to be a lone cultivator, injured and seeking medicinal herbs for healing, acting with extreme caution. If he hadn't made such a loud commotion while using his abilities to hunt demonic beasts, Xu Mu might not have discovered him.
"Brother, could you come over here for a moment?" Xu Mu led the way, emerging slowly from the jungle, and smiled at the young man.
"Who, who's speaking!" The young man, pale-faced after just killing a stage-two demonic beast, was startled and quickly turned his head to find the source of the voice. However, his vision blurred, and he couldn't locate Xu Mu for a moment.
"I'm right in front of you, cloaked in grass."
"Cloaked in grass?" Hearing this, the young man narrowed his eyes and stared at Xu Mu, about two hundred meters away, for a long time before finally confirming that it was a person.
He took three steps back, cautiously asking, "Who are you, and what do you want with me?"
"Who I am is not important. I merely wish to ask you a few things," Xu Mu said, looking at the young man, then asked, "Please tell me, what has happened here, and why is there no one around?"
"You don't even know this? Are you from somewhere else?" the young man asked, carefully observing Xu Mu.
"Yes, I am indeed from outside, so I want to gather some information about the situation here," Xu Mu continued to inquire.
"I see. However, I advise you to leave quickly." Seeing Xu Mu's friendly demeanor and similar age, the young man's guard lessened by half. He slowly walked over, dragging his prey.
Xu Mu frowned, "Brother, why do you say that? What exactly happened here?"
"A bloodbath, a monumental bloodbath," the young man said, sighing with some helplessness. "I don't know if you are aware, but the rulers of the core region of our Shou Ding Mountain are Wei Dao Xuan and Wei Dao Jue."
"Three nights ago, Wei Dao Xuan and Wei Dao Jue suddenly struck. They joined forces and, starting from the core area of Shou Ding Mountain, swept all the way to the outer perimeter, massacring surrounding factions for three days and two nights, creating a bloodbath. Countless factions suffered calamities, and innumerable people were eliminated!"
As the young man spoke, his expression and tone were filled with despair and terror, indicating the immense impact he had suffered during that bloodbath.
Upon hearing this, Xu Mu's face became grim, and he furrowed his brows. He then asked the young man, "So, why did they do this?"
"I don't know either," the young man lamented, speaking with a dejected air. "All I know is that on that night, an outsider seemed to have arrived, going all the way to Wei Dao Xuan's territory. I heard he said his brother, Wei Dao Lin, had died."
"And then, somehow, Wei Dao Xuan and Wei Dao Jue, together, suddenly launched their purge in the middle of the night."
"Wei Dao Xuan and Wei Dao Jue's forces were vast, numbering a thousand in total, and the incident happened so suddenly. Many factions that could have offered some resistance were annihilated in an instant. As for the rest, they had no strength to fight back and were all massacred!"
The young man spoke with a mournful tone. He himself was a victim of that bloodbath. Although his friends had not died, they had paid a price as severe as death: elimination.
And he had quietly retreated from the central part of Shou Ding Mountain to the outer perimeter, living each day on thin ice, terrified that those two madmen might strike again!
"Oh, I see. Thank you," Xu Mu nodded thoughtfully and then continued, "May I ask where Wei Dao Xuan and Wei Dao Jue are now?"
"They just finished their purge yesterday. At this time, they should still be recuperating in their own territory," the young man answered truthfully.
"Take a look, is it this direction?" Xu Mu raised his hand, pointing in a direction.
"Yes, go straight from here, and it should take about three hours to get there," the young man said, then quickly realized something was amiss.
He froze for a moment, then rapidly retreated tens of meters, looking at Xu Mu with a hint of fear.
"Don't tell me you're one of Wei Dao Xuan's people, sent to steal our points?!"
"Of course not," Xu Mu was taken aback by his reaction, then smiled and explained, "To be honest, I have some grievances with them, which is why I'm asking you where they are."
"Grievances? You've come for revenge?" The young man sized Xu Mu up, then said with some suspicion, "Brother, did I hear you correctly? You said you have a grudge against Wei Dao Xuan and are going to his territory for revenge now?"
Xu Mu clicked his tongue and then asked,
"What, is that not possible?"
"Of course not, you'll die!" The young man shook his head helplessly and waved his hand, trying to dissuade him. "Brother, I see you're about my age, with a bright future ahead. Don't do something so foolish."
"Although Wei Dao Xuan and Wei Dao Jue are greatly weakened, now is a golden opportunity for revenge. But if you go alone, won't you just be throwing away points?"
The young man shook his head repeatedly, "Brother, take my advice. Whatever grievances you have, just let them go."
"Who said I'm alone?" Xu Mu said, smiling slightly, then snapped his fingers.
*Snap!*
Then, from the jungle behind him, hundreds of figures clad in grass cloaks surged forth. They lined up in formation, standing in an orderly fashion beside Xu Mu.
And it wasn't just these. As Xu Mu walked, the number of people behind him continued to increase, until the final revealed number was a full thousand.
The same number as the combined forces of Wei Dao Xuan and Wei Dao Jue.
"Who... who exactly are you?" The young man looked at Xu Mu, feeling the subtle pressure emanating from the thousand-strong team behind him, his legs trembling involuntarily. He swallowed.
"My name is Mu Xu, and I've come to seek revenge on Wei Dao Xuan," Xu Mu walked up to the young man and smiled, patting his shoulder.
"Perhaps you would be willing to join us?"