Chapter 47: The Reason (Additional Chapter 9/10 for Alliance Leader Lan Ruoruo)

This was merely a minor episode. Although Liu Sui and Xu Shan were key members of Zhou Wu’s team, they could not yet be counted as its core, so their actions did not arouse much speculation among the others. Of course, whatever Zhou Wu’s group might think was no concern of Wei Cheng’s; after all, he had already managed to assemble his own team.

And it was quite an impressive lineup.

Wei Cheng himself was a Mountain Mover of the Seventh Cycle, a formidable rank. Liu Sui was a Purple Mist of the Fourth Cycle, equally distinguished. Xu Shan was a Spirit Swallow of the Fifth Cycle. Cheng An and Mei Renli were both Mountain Movers of the Fifth Cycle. Yu Liang, Wang Wei, Dong Fang, and Sun Yi were all Mountain Movers of the Fourth Cycle. The last member, Han Dong, was something of a sacrifice—a Purple Mist of the Third Cycle.

Wei Cheng gave everyone a brief introduction, so they might become acquainted. This team was not randomly thrown together at the start, nor was it a matter of mere convenience; rather, it was formed through various upheavals and shifting loyalties, and thus held great potential for cultivation.

Hence, he hoped this team would not disband as they went along.

“Whoever’s inner strength is depleted, sit down and meditate. Those whose power is full, stand guard for us,” he instructed.

Seeing that Zhou Wu’s group required a little time to reorganize, Wei Cheng wasted none and seized the opportunity to adjust his own breath.

Unexpectedly, of the ten in his group, apart from himself, everyone else’s inner strength was still abundant.

At this, Xu Shan glanced at Liu Sui, and the couple shared a barely perceptible look of understanding.

Within a dozen minutes, Zhou Wu had finished reorganizing his team. The groupings were quite flexible—among those present, there were thirty-two squad leaders, so thirty-two squads were formed, arranged as A, B, C, and D.

When it came time to assign members to Wei Cheng’s squad, there were no idle trial-takers left.

To this, Xu Shan sneered, Liu Sui remained impassive, and Wei Cheng himself was entirely indifferent.

“Everyone, time is short—we cannot linger here!” Zhou Wu called out. “But let me say this first: with more than five hundred of us, our movements will draw attention. So we must designate scouting squads and night-watch squads in advance. The scouting squads will rotate every thirty miles; the night-watch squads, every two hours. Every team must participate—there are no exceptions. Now, squad leaders, please come and draw lots.”

Qin Douzi, acting much like Zhou Wu’s advisor, had already prepared a bundle of wooden sticks—mostly long, with only one short stick.

Whoever drew the short stick would take the first shift, whether for scouting or for night watch. After each draw, one long stick was removed, and the process repeated for subsequent rounds.

From a procedural perspective, there was nothing to criticize.

“Wei, are we scouting or on night watch?” Xu Shan asked, turning with an air of long acquaintance.

“Scouting,” Wei Cheng replied without hesitation, for he needed no advantage or avoidance—he simply sought more battle.

The rest was of little consequence.

Soon, Wei Cheng drew the third scouting shift.

All squads quickly settled their roles and order. Qin Douzi took the opportunity to lay out some simple but essential rules regarding the distribution of food, the handling of enemy encounters, who would cover the rear, and the marching order.

For the moment, everything seemed in proper form.

However, perhaps intentionally, Qin Douzi made no mention of how to divide spoils of war, especially concerning the transmission stone steles. No one brought it up, and all were tacitly silent.

At present, everyone needed Zhou Wu’s map—at least to know in which direction lay the city of Cangwu.

Zhou Wu kept his word, drawing a simple map on the ground and indicating the approximate direction of Cangwu.

Then, the first scouting squad set off, followed by the main force, maintaining a distance of three to five miles. That scouting squad proved resourceful, gathering flags from the ruins for signal communication.

Astonishingly, some of them even suggested creating a code akin to Morse.

Wei Cheng could only watch in amazement.

“Wei, thank you,” Liu Sui said quietly as they walked, clearly hinting at something.

“What for? You’re all skilled—if anything, I should be thanking you for joining my team,” Wei Cheng replied, feigning ignorance with a laugh.

Liu Sui paused, then said slowly, “Thirteen days ago, the authorities organized a group of elite trial-takers—supposedly to hunt demons infiltrating City C. But that group has yet to return. No bodies, no trace.”

“Xu Shan and I were supposed to join them, and we had planned to invite you as well.”

He left it at that, but Wei Cheng understood his meaning.

Perhaps even the rift between the couple and Zhou Wu’s team was connected to this matter.

Wei Cheng was struck by a further thought: just how shrewd were Liu Sui and Xu Shan? Hearing he was not going, did they truly believe the mission dangerous?

Or did they simply trust him that much?

As he pondered this, Xu Shan sidled closer and whispered, “Wei, East An District was your doing, wasn’t it? Don’t deny it—only your inner strength was depleted, and you had direct contact with the demon.”

Liu Sui added, “Wei, we mean nothing else by this—if we tell you, it’s only to spare you doubts. We’re ordinary folks too, and of course we want to choose reliable companions.”

Hearing this, Wei Cheng was left speechless for a long moment. These two were truly transparent in their dealings.

Leaving behind the ruins of Cloud City, the mood of the group grew heavier. Outside the city, the fields and villages had all been reduced to ashes, the crops in the fields utterly destroyed.

Most horrifying of all, some wicked method employed by the demon army had turned the earth a deep, unnatural purple-black; streams once clear now stank with a foul odor.

Wild grass and trees had withered, tendrils of strange black smoke rising from the ground like writhing serpents.

The sky showed no sun, no blue—only oppressive black clouds hanging low, suffocating all beneath them.

“This is truly not a place to tarry,” Wei Cheng thought. He felt extreme unease here, a persistent anxiety, as if something unspeakably dreadful slumbered beneath the earth, on the verge of awakening. Was this the so-called Shadow Curse?

No one in the team spoke any longer; all, without realizing it, quickened their pace.

Moreover, for reasons unknown, since leaving the ruins of Cloud City, the dense array of transmission stone steles that once filled the horizon had vanished.

Clearly, the trial immortals would allow them no loopholes—those demons were not mere game NPCs, confined to a set area. The disappearance of the steles was entirely reasonable.

They ran for seventy miles without pause. The scouting squads had already rotated twice, and nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.

“It’s our turn to scout,” Wei Cheng called out. The group quickened their steps, overtaking the others and rushing to the very front.