In the
"So that kid actually went out to train," Ye Zong muttered, his brows furrowing slightly. The Sacred Family, the Heartland City's most pressing threat, had just been eliminated, and the
"That kid even left behind all these things before he left." Ye Zong shook his head with a smile. Among the items Nie Li had left, several were meant for the defense of the
Being a father-in-law really wasn't such a bad deal after all, Ye Zong thought to himself. In his heart, he had already made up his mind to entrust Yun'er to Nie Li.
Deep within the
Nie Li soared alone through the dense forest, moving with the ease of someone who knew the terrain by heart. He was intimately familiar with everything here — this was precisely the route they had fled along in his previous life. Relatively speaking, it was safe enough, but along the way, terrifying Demon Beasts still appeared from time to time.
Having fused with the Shadow Demon Spirit, Nie Li's movement speed was extremely fast. When danger arose, he could dodge in time with ease. After a few leaps through the dark jungle, he had already covered a great distance.
In his previous life, they had once believed that the City of Radiance was the last remaining human settlement, because the Beast Tide of the Dark Age had been far too terrifying — nothing living could survive in its path. But in truth, during that era, some people had survived using special methods. They lived and multiplied in a world teeming with danger, eventually forming several small tribes.
Human tenacity for survival far exceeded what one might imagine.
The place Nie Li was heading to was the first inhabited location they had passed during their great migration — the Heavenly Fortune Plateau.
The Heavenly Fortune Plateau sat atop a range of mountains. The entire mountaintop looked as though someone had sliced it off with a single sword stroke, revealing a vast expanse of flatland. Only one mountain road led up to the summit from far below, and there, several thousand people had gathered, forming a tribe.
Because of its high elevation and the single path up and down, even Demon Beasts had difficulty reaching the Heavenly Fortune Plateau, so it was relatively safe. However, food was extremely scarce there, and the several thousand inhabitants could barely scrape by.
Below the Heavenly Fortune Plateau lay an incredibly terrifying dangerous zone — the
The Black Spring flowed down from somewhere deep within the Holy Ancestor Mountain Range, plunging through a bottomless abyss. Demon Beasts prowled around it, and most of them were Black Gold rank or above. Legend had it that within that fathomless abyss, there existed a group of extraordinarily powerful Legendary-rank Demon Beasts.
Were it not for the natural barriers and treacherous terrain, the Heavenly Fortune tribe on the Heavenly Fortune Plateau would never have been able to survive.
When the morning sun cast its first rays of light across the Heavenly Fortune Plateau, Nie Li, dressed in a short tunic, appeared at the Heavenly Fortune tribe's marketplace.
The marketplace was lively and bustling, with people in somewhat tattered clothing coming and going. Compared to them, Nie Li's outfit looked remarkably clean and tidy.
"I wonder which noble family that young gentleman belongs to? Why haven't I seen him at any tribal gatherings?" several people in the marketplace murmured among themselves.
It had been several hundred years since the Heavenly Fortune tribe had seen any outsiders, so they didn't think too much of it.
Nie Li stretched and took a deep breath, a contented smile playing at the corners of his lips. Everything here was just as it had been in his previous life. He walked forward with practiced ease and stopped in front of a congee shop.
An old man with long golden hair was bustling about in the kitchen, while a pretty young girl served bowls of congee to the customers.
"Old Man Yun's congee shop — business is still going strong!" Nie Li thought to himself with a small smile. He sat down at one of the seats and called out, "Two bowls of wood-flour congee, please!"
A moment later, the pretty young girl came over carrying a wooden tray with two steaming bowls of congee. The girl looked to be about fifteen or sixteen, dressed in a plain blue-green garment that had been patched many times, yet none of that diminished her beauty. Beneath her long, slender brows, a pair of clear blue eyes sparkled with purity. Her fair, rosy cheeks framed a straight, delicate nose. When she smiled, two dimples appeared at the corners of her mouth, giving her an air of sweet innocence. Her long golden hair hung naturally over her shoulders.
Sister Yunling was just as beautiful as in his previous life, only a little younger than the first time he'd met her.
In his previous life, when they had migrated here, it was Old Man Yun and Sister Yunling who had taken in him and
She placed the two bowls of congee in front of Nie Li. Yunling's gaze fell upon him, and a flicker of surprise passed through her eyes. She and her father saw a great many customers every single day, and her memory was exceptional. She had practically met every single person in the entire Heavenly Fortune tribe, yet she had never seen Nie Li before.
Yunling's slender little hand trembled slightly as she asked in surprise, "Little brother, I don't recognize you. Are you from the Heavenly Fortune tribe?"
"No, I'm just a traveler passing through," Nie Li replied with a smile.