When the land of Middle-earth was in chaos for hundreds of years, Daqian was just a weak northern country.
Qizhou, where it belongs, is located on the edge of the northwest of Daqian.
To this day, when Daqian dominates the world, Qizhou can still be called desolate.
Walking further, you will reach the border, bordering a foreign country.
The capital of Qizhou is Yongcheng, but Xu Mochen and Tang Derun did not enter directly.
After disguising themselves, the two people were investigating the surrounding area.
The largest continuous mountain range here is called Duanhun Ridge. As its name suggests, in addition to the dangerous terrain, there are also many poisonous insects and beasts.
But even if it is dangerous, many humans will try their best to pass.
The reason is that passing from here is a foreign country, and some trade can be carried out privately without paying additional taxes.
As long as there is profit, there will be people who take risks.
Xu Mochen and Tang Derun came to a small village.
It was quiet everywhere, the doors and windows of every house were closed, and there was no one in sight, not even cats or dogs.
The cold wind blew, and the dead leaves on the ground rolled with dust.
Xu Mochen's consciousness swept over and he understood the situation here.
It’s not that there are no people, but that everyone has died and been eaten until only skin and bones remain.
"Your Majesty... Young Master," Tang Derun pushed open a door, and there were three mummies lying in the house. "There is a high probability that it was the work of the monster world.
However, those who attack human villages so proactively and openly should be some unorganized and low-intelligence monsters."
The world of monsters and beasts also has regulations in the world of monsters and beasts. To cultivate immortality, everyone must follow certain rules.
Especially those who cultivate immortality are based on the human race.
They can regard humans as ants, but they will not think of killing all the ants.
There must be some monsters that eat people, but not many.
Normally in this situation, the Xianxia world and other sects would intervene and kill the violating monsters to maintain order.
But obviously, no one cares about the Broken Soul Ridge area.
"Wei Chen...I think it's not that the Wuji Sect doesn't care, but that they don't take it to heart at all." Tang Derun sighed.
Xu Mochen's eyes were dark. As the emperor of the human race, he was naturally angry when he saw such a tragic image.
"With this, can I appeal to the Immortal Cultivation World to get the Wuji Sect's sins punished?" he asked.
Tang Derun was silent for a while, with a helpless tone: "At most, it is a dereliction of duty and rectification. We want to completely eliminate the Wuji Sect and change the situation in Qizhou, unless we can find a more serious problem."
This is the tragedy of the low status of the human race.
Xu Mochen loosened his clenched fists: "Let's bury them first."
After receiving the order, Tang Derun quickly collected the corpses, piled them with firewood, and lit them on fire.
He took out a talisman, which was specially used to clear away resentments. He raised his right hand, and the talisman floated and lit.
A gust of breeze dispersed, and the air in the village became much fresher, but Tang Derun said "Eh".
"Sir," Tang Derun frowned, "it stands to reason that the villagers died tragically, and there should be some residual resentment left behind.
But I just used the soul-clearing talisman and found that there is no soul left here."
Xu Mochen looked around: "What you mean is that the souls of the villagers are gone."
"Yes, someone should have taken it away on purpose." Tang Derun concluded.
As for monsters, they only devour essence and blood, and they have no interest in souls.
On the contrary, when it comes to the soul, it is related to the underworld.
"It seems that the water in Qizhou is a bit deep," Xu Mochen smiled, "If a remote area is like this, we can understand the situation in the world."
Tang Derun didn't dare to answer the call.
Xu Mochen said nothing more, and when the corpses were burned, Tang Derun raised a gust of wind and sent them all into a pond outside the village.
The two spread out their bodies and flew away, quickly traveling through the jungle.
According to Tang Derun's prior investigation, the area in Duanhun Ridge that needs human flesh and blood the most is a monster organization called Red Moon Castle.
The monsters in Red Moon Castle are all bat monsters, and they are in great need of blood.
Xu Mochen wondered if he could open a crack from here.
The place where immortal cultivators live is their own sacred place, but the door is hidden and hidden in the mountains, making it very difficult to find.
Xu Mochen and the other two could only focus their consciousness in their eyes, trying to detect abnormalities.
There are many poisonous insects and ferocious beasts in the mountains, but they can feel the oppressive force of the two men and avoid them wherever they go.
While we were moving forward quickly, suddenly a dozen red lights fell in front of us.
The vision suddenly appeared, and Tang Derun reacted quickly. He accelerated and rushed forward. Two magical holes opened behind him and a long whip flew out.
The long whip rolled up, locking in a red light, and then the whip exploded into a ball of flying fragments, hitting the rest of the red light.
There were screams one after another, and the red light fell to the ground, turning into bat monsters.
Except for the bat demon whose neck was locked with a long whip, the others fell to the ground unconscious.
Immortal cultivators cannot kill at will, otherwise it will be the result of a fight to the death.
Tang Derun did not kill them at the beginning, but just stunned them.
"Tell me," he tightened his whip, "are you from Red Moon Castle? Where is the entrance?"
The bat demon shivered and pointed at his neck.
Tang Derun relaxed a little, and the bat demon answered in tears: "There is a stone tablet in front of us, and that is the entrance to our Red Moon Castle."
Since these two people took the initiative to come to his door, He was happy to see them.
After getting the answer, Tang Derun pointed his finger, and the other party fell down.
"Let's go." Xu Mochen's expression was relaxed. As the emperor on horseback, he is much more courageous than others.
After turning a few intersections, the two of them saw the stone monument.
With his spiritual consciousness concentrated in his eyes, the stone tablet glowed with a strange light.
"Will there be any problems if we go in rashly?" Xu Mochen asked.
"I'm going to try the formation to open the portal." Tang Derun stepped forward, quickly formed seals with his hands, and pressed them on the stone tablet.
The light on the stele changed, and Tang Derun turned around: "Sir, you can go in."
The two of them ducked in, and the scene inside was completely different.
In the sky, there is a red moon, and the mountains below are continuous, until it meets the sky in the distance, and a huge castle can be vaguely seen.
The trees on these mountains are very weird. The trunks of each tree are like huge needles. They have no leaves and only red and purple fruits of different sizes hanging on them.
"What they bear are blood fruits," Tang Derun explained. "Monsters that need blood rely on these blood fruits to refine their energy.
The nutrients of blood fruits are usually provided by animals without intelligence, of course..."
Once the rules are broken, anything of flesh and blood can become nutrients.
Including humans.
Xu Mochen pointed ahead. At the foot of the mountain, two groups of people stood face to face. To their right, there was a group of human beings tied with chains.
It seems to be some kind of transaction.
One of them wore similar clothes to the bat demon Xu Mochen had just met, and they were from Red Moon Castle.
The other group were all wearing cloaks, and their faces could not be seen clearly.
Seeing this situation, the two people sneaked over without making a sound.