213: Chapter 213 Burial Ground

Venerable Hantian's expression changed slightly.

"tribulation qi—that is one of the most ominous powers in the world," Venerable Hantian said, his voice lowering a bit.

"tribulation qi itself is the Incarnation of calamity. There is tribulation qi when a Heavenly Tribulation is imminent, there is tribulation qi when the earth veins collapse, and there is tribulation qi when living beings are plunged into misery. Ordinary Cultivators avoid it like the plague, let alone absorbing it into their bodies and making it their own."

He paused, a look of reminiscence appearing in his eyes: "But in ancient times, there was indeed a faction that could control tribulation qi. They refined tribulation qi into Origin power, used tribulation qi for Body Tempering, used tribulation qi to attack enemies, and even used tribulation qi to deduce the progression of great tribulations of heaven and earth."

"The name of this faction is probably remembered by very few in the Xuanhuang World today, but in ancient times, it was a dark cloud hanging over the heads of all factions in the Five Regions."

"Zangtian," Venerable Hantian slowly uttered these two words, as if they carried some sort of ominous weight.

Jiang Changge's brow twitched slightly. "Zangtian?"

"Zangtian Holy Land," Venerable Hantian's tone grew increasingly solemn. "In ancient times, it was the most powerful and mysterious faction in the Xuanhuang World, bar none."

"They did not belong to any of the Five Regions. Their strongholds were scattered throughout the Xuanhuang World, and they acted in bizarre and unpredictable ways. They never allied with any faction, nor did they participate in any disputes—at least on the surface."

"But in secret, they were constantly gathering tribulation qi, using it as a guide, planning who knows what. The major forces joined hands several times to encircle and suppress them, but they were never able to completely eradicate them."

"There were rumors that the purpose of Zangtian Holy Land's existence was to welcome a great tribulation of heaven and earth capable of destroying the entire Xuanhuang World, and they wanted to play a certain role in that great tribulation. Others said that Zangtian Holy Land itself was created by an ancient being whose level of power far surpassed that of an ordinary Red Dust Immortal, and might even have come from outside the Xuanhuang World."

"Later, Zangtian Holy Land vanished overnight. No one knew where they went, and no one knew why they disappeared."

"Perhaps they angered the Heavenly Dao and were wiped out when the Heavenly Dao brought down a world-destroying heavenly punishment. Or perhaps they found a path to a higher-level world and migrated their entire sect there. But the most likely scenario is that they went into hiding, waiting for a specific opportunity, waiting for that great tribulation of heaven and earth they had been preparing for."

Venerable Hantian raised his eyes, looking straight at Jiang Changge, his voice carrying a faint hint of warning: "Fellow Daoist, you just said that there might be someone controlling that demonic Cultivator named Venerable Lingyun from behind the scenes."

"If that power is truly related to tribulation qi, and if Zangtian indeed still exists in this world, then this is no longer just a matter of a corner of the Southern Wilderness, but a variable affecting the entire Xuanhuang World."

Jiang Changge did not reply immediately, his mind rapidly sorting through the information in Venerable Hantian's words.

Zangtian Holy Land, tribulation qi, those grey mists in the Southern Wilderness, and the tribulation qi shrouding the Jiuqiu Fox Clan.

These fragments were piecing themselves together in a way he did not like. He had originally thought the anomaly in the Southern Wilderness was just some naturally formed disaster, but now it seemed that it was probably not that simple.

Jiang Changge fell silent for a moment, putting these clues into place one by one in his mind.

Venerable Lingyun's cultivation had recovered extremely quickly after breaking his seal, and the power within that blood bead was by no means ordinary; the tribulation qi shrouding the Jiuqiu Fox Clan, and that dark aura within Qing Yue and the Young Clan Leader of the Jiuqiu Fox Clan that was converted into combat strength.

The grey mists constantly appearing all over the Southern Wilderness, the eroded and withered vegetation, the contaminated spiritual mines, and the blackened lakes.

Viewed individually, all of this might just be scattered anomalies, but if connected by the thread of 'Zangtian', they faintly pointed in the same direction.

Someone was setting up a scheme in the Southern Wilderness, and the timing of this layout was far earlier than the Seven Great Factions of the Southern Wilderness had realized.

He raised his eyes, looked at Venerable Hantian, and asked the second question that had been lingering in his mind for a long time: "Fellow Daoist Hantian, how much do you know about the Jiuqiu Fox Clan?"

When Venerable Hantian heard the words "Nine Hills," his hand holding the tea paused almost imperceptibly.

He did not answer immediately, but slowly set the teacup back on the stone table, a trace of complex reminiscence appearing in his eyes, as if this name touched upon some long-buried memories deep within him.

"The Jiuqiu Fox Clan," he repeated in a low voice, his tone carrying a hint of emotion. "If you hadn't asked, Fellow Daoist, I might not have actively brought them up even after another tens of thousands of years. This Yao Race actually has some history with me."

He fell silent for a moment, seemingly organizing his words, and also seemingly recalling certain details.

After a moment, he slowly spoke, his voice slightly lower than when he was talking about the Zangtian Holy Land earlier: "That was a very long time ago."

"At that time, not long after my Immortal Ascension, I happened to meet a Grand Elder of the Jiuqiu Fox Clan during my travels. She was being besieged by several ancient Yao Beasts in an unnamed valley in the Southern Wilderness. I happened to pass by and helped her out."

"After that battle, she invited me to visit the Nine Hills. I also wanted to see one of the oldest Yao Races of the Southern Wilderness, so I went with her."

"The Nine Hills is indeed a good place," Venerable Hantian's gaze became somewhat distant, as if he were looking through the walls of the Immortal Cave to see that ancient clan land hidden deep in the mountains.

"Spiritual Qi is abundant, the mountains are clear and the waters are beautiful, and spiritual flowers and exotic herbs are everywhere in the clan. The members of the Fox Clan, whether male or female, young or old, are all of outstanding appearance and extraordinary temperament."

"That Grand Elder was warm and hospitable, taking me on a tour of the Nine Hills for over half a month, visiting almost every scenic spot in the clan. We had a wonderful conversation, and upon parting, she even gave me a token, saying that if I ever needed help in the future, I could seek her out with it."

"What was that Grand Elder's name?" Jiang Changge asked.

"Qingxi," Venerable Hantian said, his tone carrying an extremely faint, almost imperceptible gentleness when he spoke this name.

"Her name was Qingxi, and she was one of the most powerful Cultivators in the Jiuqiu Fox Clan at the time, as well as the most experienced Grand Elder. Her true form was a Nine-Tailed Azure Fox with an extremely pure Bloodline, only one step away from becoming a Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox."

At this point, Venerable Hantian's tone suddenly shifted, the gentleness replaced by a complex emotion: "Later, for some unknown reason, the Jiuqiu Fox Clan gradually began to cut off contact with the outside world."

"At first, they merely reduced their members' activities outside, but later they shut their mountain gates entirely, even severing their connections with other Yao Races. The outside forces didn't care at first, assuming the Fox Clan was undergoing some sort of secluded cultivation or Legacy. However, as time went on, the duration of the Nine Hills' isolation grew longer and longer, from hundreds of years to thousands of years, and then to nearly ten thousand years without a single word."