Volcanic Age

The search party entered the thick forests of the Southern Jungles. The large trees were densely packed, meaning that barely any light penetrated the canopy.

Pushing through the thick foliage, the party went deeper into the forest, wary of the cries of wild beasts coming from within.

They still couldn't believe that they were only at the border, just the beginning of what constituted the Southern Jungles. The party couldn't begin to imagine what could be lurking inside.

"It's supposed to be around here…" Tang Lian muttered, his brows furrowing.

Although the agreed-upon meeting point with the Diancang Sect wasn't that far away, it was difficult to find.

“Ugh, it’s so hot I feel like I'm dying."

"I know they said that the climate here was completely different from the Central Plains, but…"

"I'm either going to lose my mind from the stuffiness or die from the heat."

The Central Plains didn't pay much attention to the Southern Jungles because the environment within the jungles wasn't very good.

The jungle’s tropical climate meant that the temperature was high by default, and due to the nature of the forests, the wind was blocked by the densely packed trees, preventing ventilation.

The large leaves and unidentified plants absorbed the heat and moisture, trapping it even further and creating an even more severe environment.

Just walking consumed stamina, and none of them even wanted to consider fighting here.

"But there's some good poisons around, don't you think?"

"Oho, that's hard to find."

"I should take some back with me when we return to the Central Plains."

As expected, the Southern Jungles was a world of poison. While it was a dangerous place for ordinary people, it was heaven for the Tang Family.

They walked with shining eyes, looking around. What they saw around them may have been comforting, as the irritation caused by the weather was slightly reduced.

After walking for two hours, Tang Lian smiled brightly as if he had found something.

"There it is!"

There was a fence visible only two, no, three, zhang away. It must have been the work of the Diancang Sect, who should have set up a camp nearby.

"Have we finally arrived?"

"Finally, we can rest."

Members of the search party finally let out deep breaths and laughed.

"Wait a second."

Zhou Xuchuan stopped walking and raised a hand, stopping the others.

"What is it?" Tang Lian asked Zhou Xuchuan nervously.

"I smell blood."

"...!"

The faces of the search party members stiffened.

"Really?" Tang Lian asked with a slightly suspicious look.

The more one handled poison, the more sensitive they became to smells. That was why the Tang Family members had a more keen sense of smell than others.

So, when Zhou Xuchuan said that he smelled blood, they couldn't help but be suspicious.

"I understand that this might hurt your pride, but you should still be on guard," Tang Hui snarked to Tang Lian in an unpleasant tone. It seemed the elder's pride had been hurt because he hadn't noticed it first.

The search party slowly approached their destination while keeping a close eye on their surroundings. The closer they got, the more tense they became.

After clearing away the foliage that was blocking their view and emerging from the bushes, they were met with the sight of several stumps that had traces of human hands.

"Heavens!"

A Tang Family warrior unconsciously let out a surprised gasp.

The sight was horrifying. Severed body parts were strewn about, and dried blood stained the tents and wooden tables.

"Gasp!"

Tang Lian let out a gasp that was a mix of surprise and worry.

The surprise was from seeing what had happened, just as Zhou Xuchuan had warned, and the worry was for the safety of the search party.

"Could the Diancang Sect have been attacked?"

He couldn’t believe it.

The Diancang Sect had been famous for its practical martial arts since ancient times. It was said that their Dao could be found on the battlefield.

Sometimes, they were so warlike that it seemed like they belonged more to the Evil Faction than the Righteous Faction. It was hard to believe they had been slaughtered so quickly, considering they were seen as incredibly strong even among the Nine Sects and One Gang.

"At the very least, it doesn't seem like they were completely wiped out here."

Tang Hui’s eyes narrowed as she scanned the surroundings.

"You're right. I don't see a single body."

Upon closer inspection, while they could see a few severed body parts, there weren't any bodies.

"Search the area in groups of five."

“Understood.”

Yuan Dashi led the warriors and searched the surrounding area. Not long after they began their search, a report came in.

“The blood trail continues this way!”

"I have a rough idea of what happened," Zhou Xuchuan said, nodding to himself.

"What do you mean, rough idea?"

"However, I hope my suspicions are wrong."

"Stop trying to make me curious and just explain it already."

"There are two possibilities. The former is that they were attacked on a large scale and were moved to another location…"

"And the latter?"

"A cannibalistic tribe captured them."

Tang Lian's expression hardened.

The lawless Southern Jungles, untouched by the imperial government, had many ethnic minorities and uncivilized barbarians.

“Are you saying there are cannibalistic tribes here?”

“Yes.”

In response to Tang Lian's question, Zhou Xuchuan told the group basic knowledge about the Southern Jungles that he had gotten from the books he had read in his previous life.

"The Southern Jungles don't have a unified nation. Instead, they have many tribes, one of which is cannibalistic."

"Tsk! What outrageous people!"

Cannibalism.

It went without saying that such customs were considered absolutely outrageous.

It was something that went against humanity and only appeared in the Demonic Path's Two Lineages and the like.

"And now we won't be able to move around leisurely."

Tang Hui also frowned, seemingly displeased.

It was obvious what would happen if they were captured by the cannibalistic tribe. They had to rescue them as soon as possible.

"If it was the cannibal tribe, they have a custom of offering sacrifices to their gods before eating their victims, so the Diancang Sect members wouldn't have been eaten right away."

“Then how much time do we have?”

“Not that much…”

Zhou Xuchuan suddenly froze, and his eyes narrowed.

"...!"

Tang Lian also felt something strange. Tang Hui glanced around and gave orders to the warriors.

The search party began forming groups of three or five, moving cautiously to avoid detection.

How many are there?

Zhou Xuchuan focused on his five senses and even spread his qi sense. His wide-spread qi sense rippled in waves and swept through the forest.

His senses passed a tree so large that it couldn't be wrapped around by four or five people, and searched through the thick brushes.

Found them.

His sharp senses detected eight people. All of them were quite powerful as they hid in all directions.

"There are eight of them in each direction! Be on alert!"

As soon as Zhou Xuchuan gave the order, the search party moved in unison.

Initially, Tang Lian was leading the party, but after Zhou Xuchuan joined, the command began to shift. He already knew a little about the Southern Jungles, and since there was no one stronger than him, it was natural.

Tang Lian also recognized that, so he followed along obediently without complaint.

Thwip!

"Ugh!"

One of the warriors grabbed his nape and collapsed. Since he was opposite Zhou Xuchuan, he wasn't able to save him.

Zhou Xuchuan's eyes widened as he examined the warrior’s nape. Upon closer inspection, he could see a needle.

"They're using poisoned needles! Be careful!"

The people of the Southern Jungles mainly used poison arts, heretical arts and beast arts. Moreover, the poisons they used were incomparable to what was used in the Central Plains.

The poisons that appeared on Mount Ailao, known as the Poisonblood Valley, were all also commonly found here in the Southern Jungles.

"Whew!"

Zhou Xuchuan exhaled deeply, his muscles swelling as his blood circulated rapidly. His head felt hot, and his dantian boiled with energy.

"You dare!"

Stepping forward with his left foot, he swung his beloved sword, Tai’e, with all his might. This time, he wielded it with both hands. It was the Ten-Thousand Jin Sword.

Boom!

It was a sword imbued with weight. As he swung his heavy sword, the sword pressure increased accordingly. The pressure gathered and turned into a wind, becoming a tempest.

A loud, ripping sound tore through the atmosphere, followed by the eruption of a massive sword wind that swept everything before it.

BOOM!

The sheer force of the sword wind caused an explosion, shaking a massive tree in front of him. The bushes split apart, revealing two hidden cannibal tribesmen, who were thrown to the ground and rolled helplessly across the ground.

As expected, it's as powerful as I thought. The weight I can handle has increased, and it's more stable, too. Most importantly, since I'm using Tai'e instead of an iron sword, there's no need to force myself to keep it stable.

Zhou Xuchuan was both surprised and satisfied.

It was worth the hard work of training the Iron Shirt. In fact, beyond strengthening his body, it had a more meaningful effect on his ability to perform the Ten-Thousand Jin Sword more perfectly.

"You dare!"

As the cannibalistic tribesmen tried to stand again, Zhou Xuchuan kicked off the ground and ran forward.

He tried to close the distance to deal with them quickly, not knowing what they would do next. Suddenly, he detected movement nearby.

Right as two of the tribesmen were attacked, two people came out from the bushes on each side and attacked from the side.

At the same time, the tribesmen that had fallen jumped up.

Oho! Are they fishing?

They would make one run-in before one was completely prepared and finish them off in an instant. The tactic was commendable.

However, Zhou Xuchuan was already wary of that. Even if he wasn't wary in the first place, it wasn't dangerous for him at all.

He switched from a two-handed grip to a one-handed grip, and instead of using the Ten-Thousand Jin Sword, he executed the Twenty-four Sword Forms of the Plum Blossom for the first time in a long time.

Swish!

Sword threads were emitted brilliantly. The cannibalistic tribesmen let out startled cries, but they were silenced almost immediately.

Although it wasn't a quick sword technique, as a technique executed by a Harmony Realm Master, its speed was incredible. The area around him was torn apart.

"Agk!"

The four cannibalistic tribesmen who were targeting what seemed to be their prey were killed instantly.

Zhou Xuchuan turned around and shouted as soon as he confirmed that his targets were dead.

"The forest is their territory! Don't push yourselves too far and let yourself get dragged away. Respond calmly while relying on each other!"

With the situation the way it was, he omitted all honorifics.

"Ugh!"

"Agh!"

However, there were still many casualties.

They hadn't gotten caught in the fishing trap. They had been killed and by the poison needles flying through the bushes.

"A warrior of the Tang Family is getting affected by poison needles this easily?"

Tang Lian was dumbfounded.

Even if the warriors weren't of the direct or branch bloodlines, the warrior guards of the Tang Family were close to poison, meaning that their resistance was naturally high.

"How dare you? Who do you think you're facing…"

Not only Tang Lian but Tang Hui's pride was also hurt. She was absolutely infuriated about the fact that members of the Tang Family were getting played with by poison needles.

"I'll show you the poisons of the Central Plains!"

Tang Hui extended her right hand, unleashing hidden weapons from her sleeve.

However, the surrounding environment wasn't suitable for using hidden weapons.

No matter how accurately she threw them, there were too many variables, such as the enormous trees, leaves, and vines that were obstructing the attack. Furthermore, the cannibalistic tribesmen moved through the bushes, making her efforts almost meaningless.

So, realizing that his sword might become an obstacle too, Zhou Xuchuan instead started to tear through the bushes in front of him using his sword wind.

The tropical climate, the suffocating heat and humidity, the bugs and poisonous creatures that kept coming in, and even the dense terrain!

With the cannibalistic tribesmen being nearly invisible as they attacked, the Southern Jungles were truly like hell.

It wasn't without reason that the imperial government and the murim of the Central Plains hadn't advanced into the Southern Jungles. The environment itself was so harsh that it was simply too difficult to do so.

Zhou Xuchuan couldn't understand the people who lived in such a place.

"Wait!"

Zhou Xuchuan quickly stepped forward to prevent any accidents.

He used his sword wind to the bushes apart, then used the sword techniques of the Mount Hua Sect to deal with three of the tribesmen in an instant.

"Did you leave one on purpose?" Tang Hui asked when she saw one of them running away.

"Yes. We need to know where their den is. Let's dose the fallen warriors with antidotes and move quickly."

The Benevolence Clinic hadn't asked Zhou Xuchuan for help without good reason. Knowing the environment and the dangers of the Southern Jungles, they had felt that the Tang Family alone wouldn't have been enough and had asked for him.

"Will we be okay?" she asked.

"Without the Diancang Sect, the search will become even harder. I just hope that they're still alive," Zhou Xuchuan responded.

He also hoped that the Divine Physician hadn't been captured by the cannibalistic tribe.

That would be the worst-case scenario.

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