Chapter 478 - 266: Withered Tide (2)
"Xiao Feng, envoy of the Cyan Tiger Division, pays his respects to Radiant Moon True Monarch!" the Tiger Barbarian City Priest said in a deep, booming voice, then performed a formal kowtow in the manner of Immortal Cultivators.
The other Barbarians behind him did the same, all bowing respectfully.
The Golden Core cultivators in the hall watched the Barbarian Race’s envoy delegation with cold eyes. Internally, however, they were all thinking the same thing. ’To make the once-defiant Barbarian Race bow their heads like this... they must have come because of the Withered Tide.’
Lü Zhong’s thoughts mirrored theirs as he began to speculate on the Barbarian Race’s purpose.
’Peace talks?’
’Or...’
Shuini glanced at the delegation, her tone impassive. "Speak. For what reason do you seek an audience?"
"Radiant Moon True Monarch, Xiao Feng has come this time under the command of the Great Witch, truly to beg for a place to rest and recuperate." The Tiger Barbarian City Priest didn’t beat around the bush, stating his purpose directly.
"And in return, the Southern Celestial Tribes are willing to recognize you, True Monarch, as our leader, and offer the method of survival under the spreading Withered Tide."
’Beg? And recognize me as their leader?’ Shuini was slightly stunned.
’This manner of speaking... it’s not the Barbarian Race’s style.’
In her memory, the Barbarian Race was the type to believe that heads could roll and blood could be shed, but their dignity must never be lost.
’And now the Southern Celestial Tribes are begging for mercy just to survive?’
’It’s utterly preposterous!’
Her gaze shifted as a possibility occurred to her, and her expression gradually grew solemn. If the Barbarian tribes had truly come in good faith, then that implied a great deal.
For the Barbarian Race to abandon their usual ways and willingly accept an Immortal Cultivator’s Nascent Soul as their leader...
It meant one thing could be determined with near certainty.
The Barbarian Race was facing an imminent crisis of annihilation!
Down below, many others had also realized this.
Their faces were filled with horror.
’This is big trouble...’ Lü Zhong thought, his face impassive.
’If I’m not mistaken, the Barbarian Race’s two Great Witches must have fallen while trying to stop the Withered Tide’s advance. For two Great Witches, whose strength is equivalent to the Nascent Soul realm, to perish so suddenly meant that the Withered Tide’s devastation is far beyond what anyone anticipated. It’s highly likely that the Southern Barbarian lands will suffer the same fate as the Western Realm.’
’Once the Withered Tide spreads through the Southern Barbarian lands, it will be like a return to the ancient era when Evil Spirits roamed the earth. All living beings will have to struggle for survival. And those Outer Dao traditions, like the Demon Cultivators, which originated from Evil Spirits, might just rise from the ashes.’
’When that happens, all hell will truly break loose!’
The atmosphere in the hall suddenly grew heavy.
"What is this method of survival?" Shuini asked.
"True Monarch, please look at this!" Xiao Feng gave a look to the Bear Barbarian behind him. The latter understood immediately and took out a red, Double-tailed Helical Crystal from his person, about the size of an infant’s arm.
The Bear Barbarian held it up high, cradled in his massive, bearlike palm.
"This is a Double-tailed Helical Crystal, obtained by the Great Witch after slaying a malevolent creature in the mist. With this at its core, a Double-Tailed Helix Barrier can be constructed. Inside the Barrier, one need not fear the dangers of the Withered Tide."
But he completely failed to notice that when Lü Zhong saw this Double-tailed Helical Crystal, an irrepressible look of astonishment appeared in his eyes, and a monstrous wave surged through his heart.
A Double-tailed Helical Crystal... he had found one of these in the Western Realm!
No one in the hall, neither the cultivators nor the Barbarians, noticed the change in Lü Zhong’s expression. Only Shuini, who had been keeping an eye on him, spotted his unusual reaction.
After the master and apprentice exchanged a few words via voice transmission, her expression became peculiar.
Meanwhile, to bolster his case, Xiao Feng took out a Memory Stone. His expression inexplicably turned solemn and grave before he activated it, projecting an image.
The viewpoint was high in the sky, and a great, iridescent river appeared in the image.
Lü Zhong knew this was the famous Poisonous Miasma River. It flowed out of the Extreme South Evil Land, its waters so potent that not even a Nascent Soul True Monarch could withstand them. It ran for an unknown number of thousands of miles, and it was said to eventually empty into the Valley of Ten Thousand Poisons.
In the image, a white mist that blotted out the sky could be seen surging from the distance.
The dense fog was like an advancing wall, spreading slowly and steadily.
Wherever the white mist passed, everything lost its color and vitality.
Not even the Poisonous Miasma River could stop it in the slightest!
’So this is the Withered Tide...’ Lü Zhong muttered to himself.
Then, the scene shifted, and two figures hovering in mid-air entered the frame.
Xiao Feng and all the other Barbarians knelt down in unison.
As if in an audience with a king.
The two figures had the heads of a tiger and a deer, respectively. They wore the same style of clothing as Immortal Cultivators, but their bodies were immense, at least a hundred feet tall.
’The Barbarian Race’s Tiger and Deer Great Witches?’ Lü Zhong ignored the kneeling Barbarians, his attention completely focused on the projected image. He saw the two Great Witches with the heads of a tiger and a deer simultaneously activating a Double-tailed Helical Crystal.
It looked like they were trying to generate a Barbarian Text Barrier.
The Barbarian Race’s technological development lagged behind that of Immortal Cultivators. Even when copying techniques, they could only replicate them as Barbarian Arrays. Barbarian script was less versatile than Prohibitions, and thus the Barbarian Arrays they created were inferior to Restriction Arrays.
However, judging by the effect, the Barrier created with the Double-tailed Helical Crystal could indeed hold back the white mist.
Outside the Barrier was a world filled with white mist; inside, everything was normal.
Lü Zhong guessed this was the "method of survival" Xiao Feng had mentioned.
Just then, something unexpected happened!
As the mist in the image churned, the two Great Witches who were outside the Barrier suddenly shot upward. But before long, they froze bizarrely in place. Then, their massive, hundred-foot-tall bodies began to wither rapidly.
In less than fifteen minutes, the two Great Witches, Tiger and Deer, had turned into desiccated corpses.
At the same time, the viewpoint pulled further and further back.
’Were they attacked by Evil Spirits?’ Lü Zhong speculated.
’The Great Witches don’t have the aid of a Spiritual Eye Skill, so it’s normal for them to be defeated by a surprise attack from Evil Spirits. But to be able to kill two Great Witches so quickly... clearly, the Evil Spirits in the mist are at least as powerful as the Nascent Soul realm.’
’If Evil Spirits of that strength were to enter the Southern Barbarian lands, who knows how many living beings would survive?’
At that moment, Shuini spoke.
"This matter is of great importance. Allow me some time to consider it. Someone, take the envoy delegation to the side hall to rest. Everyone else is dismissed for now."
Finally, she sent a voice transmission to Lü Zhong. "My good apprentice, you will stay."
After everyone had left, the hall doors closed silently.
Then, a curtain of light from the Prohibitions lit up.
Shuini closed her eyes and released her Divine Sense, seeming to inspect the hall. After a long moment, she opened her eyes and said, "Alright, no one has left any tricks behind in the hall. You can take out the Double-tailed Helical Crystal now."
Lü Zhong nodded and took an item from his Storage Ring.
It was also a Double-tailed Helical Crystal.
But compared to the one Xiao Feng had shown, his was much larger. It was as thick as a normal person’s thigh and about ten feet tall.
"Apprentice, step back for now. Let me try the Barbarian Race’s method," Shuini said.
After Lü Zhong stepped aside, she began to chant, casting several Technique Mantras in succession. The Double-tailed Helical Crystal showed no reaction during the process, only responding when she infused it with her Magical Power.
Accompanied by a soft white glow, a small Barrier was erected.
"That’s right, it’s a Double-Tailed Helix Barrier!"
Shuini’s eyes lit up.
This small Barrier looked the same as the one the Tiger and Deer Great Witches had activated. In fact, it seemed even more solid. It could probably cover a larger area or had a stronger ability to repel evil.
With this, a plan for how to deal with the Barbarian Race had already formed in her mind.
Lü Zhong then told Shuini the origin of the Double-tailed Helical Crystal, explaining everything piece by piece, save for the parts he needed to conceal. This made her frown.
"So something like that happened? The Western Realm actually... Hmm, it seems we’ll have to find some other way to use this thing!"
Then, Shuini’s face broke into a smile.
"Still, I must thank you, my apprentice Lü Zhong. If it weren’t for you, your master would probably have had no choice but to..."
She didn’t finish her sentence, but Lü Zhong knew what she meant.
It was nothing more than running away.
For a dignified Nascent Soul True Monarch to abandon her Sect and territory and flee was indeed far too shameful.
"This is all of the Double-tailed Helical Crystals." Lü Zhong took out the remaining five crystals. Except for one that he kept for emergencies, he gave the other four to Shuini.
He believed that Shuini would definitely be able to use them properly.
As for their origin, it would be easy to come up with an excuse. They could just say they were obtained by killing Evil Spirits in the mist.
...
Lü Zhong returned to Tide Cave.
"Husband, what’s wrong? You look so troubled." Seeing his unusual expression, Yu Feng’Er couldn’t help but sit down next to him, her face full of concern as she asked.
"Sigh, something big is about to happen again," Lü Zhong sighed.
Then, he told her about the Withered Tide.
"Husband, are you sure?" Yu Feng’Er found it hard to believe at first.
Lü Zhong nodded helplessly, indicating that he wasn’t mistaken.
If his predictions were correct, the Southern Barbarian lands would soon undergo a cataclysmic change just like the Western Realm. This would lead to a sharp decline in Spiritual Object resources, which in turn would trigger all sorts of intense conflicts.
’How many years has it been peaceful?’
"I just want to live a quiet life, to cultivate peacefully and honestly. Why is that so difficult?" Lü Zhong said.