Leaving for War
The Kingdom of Lunar Song was bordered by seven other kingdoms, but the larger Kingdom of Reptil was bordered by nine. Yaan was somewhat familiar with the seven kingdoms around the Kingdom of Lunar Song, one of which was the Kingdom of Reptil itself, but he was a bit clueless when it came to the other kingdoms which bordered the Kingdom of Reptil.
He would be entering a flower war where his competition consisted of the members of ten kingdoms. Three months before the war was set to begin, Yaan was only familiar with three of these; the Kingdom of Lunar Song, the Kingdom of Reptil and the Five Seas Kingdom.
Information was not exactly restricted in this region, but as a Foundation Step cultivator, it was difficult to obtain knowledge regarding the wider world. Previously, Ga Shu had been Yaan's main source of knowledge. Ga Shu was a well-travelled person who was originally from a different kingdom, but his help became even more prominent following his successful Immortal Ascension. He was especially helpful when he first became an immortal and travelled to the nearby kingdoms to obtain resources and expand his horizons.
Even so, there were 5,000 kingdoms in the empire and Ga Shu was just one man without any backing, so how could he know everything? As such, prior to the start of the flower war, Yaan made it his objective to learn as much as possible regarding what he was getting himself into.
The Lunar Song Tribe's First Immortal King was extremely helpful. He wanted Yaan to represent the Lunar Song Tribe as their leading warrior, so naturally, he assisted Yaan in any way he could. He also felt that it was crucial for Yaan to properly understand the environment he was entering, as well as the competition that he would be facing.
The two had different goals, but in the end, their objectives overlapped and they could cooperate. The First Immortal King wanted Yaan to obtain the major war flower scroll, whilst Yaan wanted to enter the Kingdom of Reptil to slaughter. Either way, for both of their plans to succeed, they needed Yaan to enter the Kingdom of Reptil.
Whilst Yaan didn't care about obtaining the major scroll, he would certainly make his way towards the centre of the kingdom in order to find the strongest and most capable warriors sent by the other kingdoms. So long as he could slaughter those from the other kingdoms, the warriors from the Kingdom of Lunar Song would be able to obtain the scroll.
During these three months, Yaan continued to have dealings with the Bloody Totem Province. He used his accumulated funds to purchase prisoners, then slaughtered the prisoners each night when his mind descended into madness. He also continued with the cultivation of his Psyche Power using the two formations setup below the temple, slowly but steadily improving his psyche cultivation.
After two and a half months, Yaan reached the point in his cultivation where his soul was 2% away from ascending into a Royal Slaughter Soul. The prisoners were not very powerful, but the ongoing stream allowed him to slowly accumulate Slaughter Force.
At this point, Rui finally stopped using the Duality of Sanity spell on Yaan. Yaan also stopped his dealings with the Bloody Totem Province, instead diverting his attention towards managing his ever-slipping mind.
For a few days, he descended into madness due to Rui no longer providing him with any assistance. Thankfully, he eventually experienced a moment of clarity, allowing him to consume one of the 50 pills gifted to him by the Lunar Song Tribe's First Immortal King.
This pill was not perfect. It was just a Rank 5 pill, and it was only thanks to its Pinnacle Grade quality that it was able to have a significant effect on him. Even so, it was enough to allow Yaan to recover his rationality.
Resisting the slaughterous desires was difficult. It was trying on his will power, but he was at least able to endure without acting out recklessly.
Each of these pills lasted for five days. If Yaan used these continuously, it would be enough to maintain his sanity for 250 days, slightly short of a year. This was not really enough, but it was better than nothing.
When Yaan finally emerged from below ground, planning to leave this place to head to the meeting point that he had agreed on with the First Immortal King, he encountered the Bloody Totem Tribe Leader. Naturally, she didn't know about Yaan's contact with the First Immortal King…but she could easily guess that he would be heading to the Kingdom of Reptil.
He would have to be stupid not to go. In the Kingdom of Reptil, he could once again kill to his heart's content, whilst here, he was restrained by his status as a tribal exile.
For a while, the two stood silently, staring at the other whilst lost in thought.
When Yaan saw this woman, he couldn't help but sigh to himself. He knew what kind of person she was, so how could he not understand what she was feeling?
She was an ambitious woman…but she was not heartless.
Her ambition stemmed from her desire to elevate her tribe to greater heights. At her core, she truly cared for her tribe, even more so than she cared for herself.
When they first began cooperating, she had seen Yaan as a risky investment, but over the years, she felt like she was right to place her hopes in him.
But now, she wasn't sure what to feel.
She had seen a height that she could not even imagine previously, but now, she had fallen back down. Whilst her tribe's position could be considered 'higher' than it was in the past, it was extremely tentative. Every day, she wondered if it would be her tribe's last.
They were being threatened by an immortal tribe, as well as the majority of the tribes in the province. Their tribe, their conquest, had incurred the hate of so many people. They had killed too many along their journey, and now, it seemed that Yaan, her sole hope, could no longer help her.
No, from the beginning, he never intended to 'help' her, did he…
He had warned her. Yaan warned the tribe leader when they first joined forces, that she would need to deal with the consequences of taking him in. And now, she was paying the price for that decision.
"You're leaving?" She asked simply after a long period of silence, not feeling the need to expand further than that.
Yaan gave a silent nod.
Silence took over the region again, and for a while, neither knew what to say.
"Goodbye, tribe leader." Yaan was the one to break the silence. His expression remained unchanged as he walked past her, he looked forwards and did not turn back.
"Be careful, ok? I expect you to come back to us, senior…" She suddenly called out behind him.
Yaan paused, but he did not turn around. He could not see her face, but he recognised that tone of voice. Unknowingly, he smiled.
He could imagine the sort of firm, strong-willed expression that she was wearing right now.
This woman was not heartless, but could the flames of her ambition be extinguished so easily?
They could not!
Even now, she would not give up hope! Even now, she felt that it was not enough…she wanted to see an even greater height, she wanted to obtain more for her tribe!
Even if it was hopeless, she would not give up hope.
"Wait for me."
With those final parting words, Yaan vanished from her field of view. He left behind no traces, other than the echo of his words in the tribe leader's mind. She stared after him for a long period of time, even though she had lost sight of him almost immediately. She could already predict that this mysterious person would once again raise a storm where he was going.
Yaan moved alone through the kingdom, silently and without drawing any attention. He practised restraining his slaughterous aura, only because he wanted to maintain a firm grip over his mind.
Yaan's movement speed had reached a shocking level.
Cultivators below Rank 4 could not fly, and likewise, their long-distance movement speed was not overly impressive. When it came to running along the ground, body temperers were far more capable than Qi refiners, but they would still struggle to cover vast distances with their bodies alone. This was why tamed spirit beasts were so popular.
At Rank 4, cultivators of almost all paths would attain the ability to fly. Their internal energies had reached such a level that they could resist gravity using their power of cultivation alone.
On the Blood Plane, there was greater gravity and Spiritual Pressure at higher altitudes. Likewise, the Blood Plane's world laws placed greater resistance upon movement speeds, especially at high levels. Even the strongest Peak 4-Star Realm body temperers would struggle to maintain a speed of 100 miles per hour for an extended period of time.
5-Star Realm warriors were more capable, but even those at the peak of Rank 5 were limited by the Blood Plane's suppression. Travelling a thousand miles in an hour could be considered an extraordinary feat for a Peak 5-Star Realm warrior on the Blood Plane.
Yaan travelled ten thousand miles every hour. This was not a strenuous pace for him, it was actually quite relaxed. He could cross a normal sized province in just a few hours, and as such, he reached the agreed upon meeting point within just five days. Even though he crossed half of the Kingdom of Lunar Song, his journey only required him to travel for five days!
This sort of movement speed had even surpassed what was typical of 6-Star Realm warriors, it was actually approaching the realm of immortals!
The instantaneous and long-distance movement speed possessed by immortals granted them a great degree of freedom in this world compared to Foundation Step cultivators. Immortals could travel through the world, making use of their travel speed and their extended lifespans to explore each and every corner of the vast universe.
Whilst the Blood Plane suppressed the abilities of cultivators to a much greater degree than the Qi Plane, particularly high speed movement, the Blood Plane was also much smaller than the Qi Plane. However, due to the world suppression, the dense populations and the large areas of prosperous lands all across the Blood Plane, it didn't actually feel any smaller than the Qi Plane, which was largely occupied by vast regions of empty space.
Yaan pondered over the differences between the two planes during his five day excursion. In the end though, thinking about the Qi Plane just reminded him of his homeland, and the fact that he was still so, so far away from reaching his goal of returning home.
Finally, Yaan arrived at his destination.