Not a blade of grass grew here. There was no trace of life, nothing but an apparently endless desolation. Wild gales swept across the land, whipping up sand and gravel until nothing could be seen within ten zhang.
This was the Wasteland!
Upon stepping inside, Yang Kai immediately grew wary. According to Zi Mo, the energy within the Wasteland was strange and unpredictable — disasters could erupt at any moment, and the slightest carelessness would mean being torn to shreds.
Moreover, given how hostile the environment was, anyone without a strong sense of direction could easily become lost.
Every year, a great number of martial artists who ventured in hoping to find opportunities simply vanished — no body ever found, no trace ever left behind.
Zi Mo didn't know exactly how the Wasteland had come into being, only that it had appeared here suddenly a little over two hundred years ago.
The region where the Wasteland now existed hadn't always been this barren and bleak. It hadn't been particularly prosperous either, but at the very least there had been grass, flowers, birds, trees, and signs of human activity.
Then, over two hundred years ago, an anomaly had struck, and the Wasteland — a forbidden zone that made all of Tianlang shudder at its very mention — had mysteriously appeared.
Zi Mo didn't know the Wasteland's origins, but Yang Kai did.
This forbidden ground of Tianlang had been created because of Meng Wuya.
In the final instant before Manager Meng had departed through the Void Corridor toward the Tongxuan Continent, he had transmitted a bit of information to Yang Kai. He had told him the route and method for reaching the Tongxuan Continent, and it was precisely because of Meng Wuya's guidance that Yang Kai had come to this place.
Had it not been for Meng Wuya, Yang Kai would never have known that a hidden Void Corridor existed within this Wasteland — and that finding it would lead to an entirely different world.
Back when Meng Wuya had first come to this world from the Tongxuan Continent, he had arrived right here in what was now the Wasteland. To protect that Void Corridor, he had deployed his power and created this forbidden zone.
Over time, the zone had grown more and more dangerous, exceeding anything Meng Wuya could control, until it had gradually developed into the vast expanse it was today.
Two hundred years ago, Meng Wuya had passed through the Void Corridor into this world… Just how old was Manager Meng? Yang Kai recalled the information the old man had transmitted to him, his expression turning peculiar.
Manager Meng really was as mysterious as they came. Yang Kai had thought he already understood the man well enough, but now it seemed that knowledge was merely a drop in the ocean. He even suspected that the third layer of the Transcendent Realm was not Meng Wuya's true level of cultivation.
That old rascal! Yang Kai shook his head in resignation.
Shui Ling followed close at Yang Kai's side. Though she already possessed cultivation at the peak of the Shenyou Realm, in a place like this she still felt a very real sense of insecurity. She dared not stray too far from Yang Kai, fearing she might become separated from him.
They hadn't gone far when Yang Kai suddenly halted, tilting his head to listen. A moment later his expression changed, and he seized Shui Ling's hand, charging forward at full speed.
They had barely dashed several dozen zhang when a furious roar of wind erupted from behind them.
Shui Ling twisted her head to look and couldn't help but blanch. Behind them, faint at first but growing clearer, pillars of tornadoes reaching straight up into the sky had appeared, the wind blades they carried shredding the earth into a fractured mess of trenches and gorges. From those wind blades pulsed waves of energy so terrifying they made one's heart quake with dread.
"Stay close," Yang Kai warned in a low voice. "The energy here is chaotic. The slightest misstep could cost you your life."
Shui Ling's face was deathly pale. She nodded firmly, then asked with some confusion, "If it's so dangerous here and there aren't any rare treasures, then why did that girl Zi Mo say the strong from Tianlang still come here to seek opportunities?"
"Because all that chaotic energy is actually the manifestation of martial techniques," Yang Kai explained offhandedly.
"Martial techniques?" Shui Ling was stunned.
"Yes. A long time ago, someone released a massive number of high-level martial techniques across this entire area to protect a secret. The destructive power of those techniques was preserved for a very long time using a special method. Although the techniques have long since dissipated and the energy has become thoroughly chaotic, that energy still contains the intent and mysteries behind a supreme master's attacks. If someone can penetrate the intent and mysteries hidden within that energy, they might be able to learn one of those techniques. So tell me — would those powerhouses be able to resist the temptation?"
"Who could possibly be that powerful?" Shui Ling was visibly shaken. "Preserving the destructive force of martial techniques year after year — that seems impossible."
"Why impossible? You've met that person too," Yang Kai said with a smile.
"Who?" Shui Ling was even more puzzled.
Yang Kai didn't answer. After Shui Ling pressed him a few more times, she couldn't help but pout. "You're just teasing me. You've been in the Great Han all along — how could you possibly know the secrets of this place? Even that girl Zi Mo didn't know any of this."
Still, beyond this explanation, Shui Ling couldn't think of what other benefit would draw the powerhouses of Tianlang to risk their lives coming here.
As Yang Kai pressed onward, the two of them encountered violent surges of chaotic energy roughly once every hour. They came in every imaginable attribute and attacked in all manner of bizarre ways, leaving them perpetually on guard.
Fortunately, Yang Kai's vigilance was exceptional. He always managed to sense something wrong at the most critical moments and guide Shui Ling away from the danger zones.
After pushing deeper for two or three days, Shui Ling was thoroughly battered — filthy as a little beggar, her pale blue hair no longer sleek and flowing but hanging limply and raggedly over her shoulders.
And the deeper they ventured, the more dangers they faced, the larger the surges of chaotic energy they encountered. Shui Ling was utterly resigned. Though she had no idea where Yang Kai's objective lay, she followed behind him meekly, without complaint or impatience.
She knew that Yang Kai would lead her to the road home.
Meanwhile, in another part of the Wasteland.